RILEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Riley County are investigating a report of aggravated arson.

On Thursday, police filed a report from a 39-year-old man who told police a 36-year-old woman known to him set his bed on fire and hit him with a cell phone at a residence in Manhattan.

The woman faces possible charges of domestic battery and aggravated arson.

There were no injuries, according to Riley County Police spokesman Alexander Robinson.

Due to the nature of the allegations made, police released no additional information.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man will be sentenced in May for causing a fatal traffic crash while he was fleeing from law enforcement.

Forty-one-year-old Boyd Chism, of Shawnee, pleaded no contest Thursday to reckless second-degree murder in the November 2015 death of 17-month-old Addilynn Poole.

The Kansas City Star reports Chism also pleaded no contest to a charge of aggravated battery for injuries suffered by another child.

A Johnson County judge accepted the pleas and found Chism guilty. His sentencing is scheduled for May 11.

Chism’s car hit a vehicle driven by Addilynn’s mother as he was fleeing from a Johnson County sheriff’s deputy who tried to stop him for speeding.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say an 18-year-old who pointed a gun at a Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop last year died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Sheriff Jeff Easter released the findings Friday in the death of Caleb J. Douglas. An autopsy ruled his death a suicide after the bullet in his head matched the handgun found in his car.

A bullet fragment found in his left shoulder is believed to have come from the deputy’s gun.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett says no charges will be filed over the Sept. 1 encounter.

When the driver pulled a handgun, the deputy ran toward his patrol car before turning and firing multiple shots at the suspect’s car. The driver sped off.

His car hit a house about two blocks away.

SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a woman who allegedly violated a protection from stalking order.

On Thursday, police arrested Marlyce Rose, 74, Salina, during a traffic stop, according to Police Captain Paul Forrester.

Rose was wanted on a warrant after she allegedly violated the October 2016 protection order on February 27 and March 2.  The victims, former co-workers of Rose, included a 71-year-old Salina man and his wife, according to Forrester. 

Rose faces charges including battery, two counts of stalking and two counts of violating a protection order.

LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — A modern day cattle roundup shut down traffic ramps on a busy section of Kansas highways in Johnson County.

The Kansas Department of Transportation closed ramps about noon Friday near Kansas 10 and Interstate 435 after an semi-trailer truck overturned on the westbound Interstate 35 lanes to Kansas 10, releasing dozens of cows.

At one point, between 55 and 60 cows were running loose.

Several law enforcement agencies were involved in the roundup.

The transportation department was warning motorists avoid the area while law enforcement herds “them thar pesky cows.” The ramps were expected to be closed for several hours.

FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are asking the public for help to locate a suspect who ran from two traffic stops.

Just before 10 a.m. Thursday, Officers of the Garden City Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 1700 Block of North 8th Street for a traffic violation. After the vehicle stopped a male passenger fled from the vehicle on foot.

Officers checked the area but were unable to locate the suspect.

Other occupants of the vehicle identified the person that fled as John DeHerrera, 41, no known address. Further investigation revealed DeHerrera has active arrest warrants for his arrest from the Garden City Municipal Court for theft and a Warrant from Kearny County for Failure to Appear on traffic charges.

A short time later deputies of the Finney County Sheriff’s Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of 4101 E Highway 50.

During the stop, a passenger fled from the vehicle. After an interview with the driver, it was learned the passenger that fled was again John DeHerrera.

Deputies and Officers searched the area. During the search of the area, two schools Charles O’ Stones and Victor Ornelas, were notified of the incident and went into lockdown procedures as a precaution.

The suspect has not been located.

Anyone with information on DeHerrera should call the Garden City Police Department (620) 276-1300, Crime Stoppers (620) 275-7807, or text your tip to Garden City PD, text GCTIP and your tip to Tip411 (847411).

By Mallory Houser
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA—With a nationwide shortage of psychiatrists, Senate Bill 32 would broaden the Medical Student and Resident Loan Act to include psychiatry, providing an incentive for psychiatry students to practice in Kansas upon graduation.

While there is a psychiatric specialist deficit across the state, rural areas are especially suffering.

Compass Behavioral Health is one of the 26 community mental health centers in Kansas that covers 11,000 square miles of the state. Eight of the 13 counties it serves are considered “Frontier,” with less than six persons per square mile. In these counties, one psychiatrist covers approximately 5,000 lives within 683 square miles, opposed to urban areas where one psychiatrist covers approximately 900 lives within one square mile.

Executive Director of Compass Behavioral Health Ric Dalke faces geographical and resource barriers daily to provide mental health services to rural Kansans. To address this issue, the center has established a tele-psychiatry program, providing services completely on tele-video. While this has been beneficial, Dalke said it is secondary to face-to-face services.

“If people in the eastern part of Kansas can see a psychiatrist face-to-face, people in the western side Kansas should also be able to see a psychiatrist face-to-face,” Dalke said. “It is the best way to provide psychiatric service.”

Another issue Dalke faces is recruiting psychiatrists who are under retirement age and will practice for more than a few years. Dalke believes adding an incentive such as a medical student loan repayment is a step to fix this issue.

“If we can get people out, and they see and experience the people and the culture of rural and frontier Kansas, many of those people stay,” Dalke said.

Legislative Liaison for the Kansas Sheriffs Association Ed Klumpp has similar concerns about Kansans mental health, as law enforcement officers interact daily with people who have mental health issues.

“Law enforcement is usually the primary conduit for getting people help,” Klumpp said.

Law enforcement agencies depend on local services to assist people into treatment before they reach a mental health crisis where officers must take action if they become a risk to themselves or others. Especially in rural areas, Klumpp said SB32 could fill the deficit of psychiatric professionals to prevent escalated instances.

“It’s a matter of having a quantity of trained professionals to provide services,” Klumpp said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”
SB32 was passed in the Senate with a 35-5 vote on last month, and is now in the House Health and Human Services committee. The bill will continue to be discussed once the legislature reconvenes.

Mallory Houser is a University of Kansas junior journalism major from Dallas.

ROXBURY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a pilot went missing for several hours after a small propeller plane crash-landed in a central Kansas field.

Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner says the plane went down around 3:30 p.m. Thursday in a rural area near the small town of Roxbury. The Federal Aviation Administration says wind caught the Maule M-5 and that the left wing struck the ground during the landing.

Gardner says troopers tried reaching out to hospitals in the area in an effort to locate the pilot but were unsuccessful. Gardner says the patrol didn’t hear from the pilot until he called dispatchers about six hours later.

Gardner says the pilot’s plane was disabled and that it’s unclear how he left the scene. Gardner says investigators are trying to determine what happened.

——–

LAWRENCE — Two KU juniors are finalists for Harry S. Truman Scholarships, which provide up to $30,000 for graduate study, according to a media release from the University of Kansas.

The awards are given to college juniors for leadership in public service. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation reviewed more than 750 files from 315 institutions before selecting its finalists.

From that pool, the foundation chose 199 finalists from 136 institutions. Those students will now compete for about 60 awards.

KU’s finalists:

Taylor Zabel of Smith Center is majoring in biochemistry. He graduated from Smith Center Junior-Senior High School. He is the son of John and Laura Zabel. At KU, Zabel has been involved in the University Honors Program, Student Senate, is on the advisory board of KU’s Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) and was active in the Provost’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Group. He has held national internships with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and with the National Institutes of Health

The other finalist is Tomas Green of Lynnwood, Washington. He is majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in public policy.

The foundation will interview finalists in March and April before announcing the 2017 Class of Truman Scholars in late April.

The awards are selected on the criteria including an extensive record of campus and community service, commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit and advocacy sectors, communication skills and a high probability of becoming a “change agent,” and a strong academic record with likely acceptance to the graduate school of the candidate’s choice. The campus nomination process is coordinated through the Office of Fellowships & Scholarships, which is housed in the University Honors Program and open to all KU undergraduates.

Scholars receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government.

Since 1981, 18 KU students have become Truman scholars. Ashlie Koehn was the last KU student to receive the honor in 2015.

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to President Harry S. Truman.

 

 

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who survived an apparently racially motivated shooting at a suburban Kansas City bar has been released from the hospital.

Ian Grillot was one of three men shot Feb. 22 at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas. One of the men, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was killed. Kuchibhotla’s friend, Alok Madasani, was wounded.

Watch his comments here.

The University of Kansas Health System said in a statement Thursday that Grillot was released from the hospital Tuesday. A bullet hit Grillot in the hand and entered his chest when he tried to stop the suspected gunman, 51-year-old Adam Purinton, of Olathe. Purinton is charged with murder and attempted murder.

Witnesses say Purinton shouted racial slurs before shooting Kuchibhotla and Madasani, natives of India who were engineers at GPS-maker Garmin.