WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court has refused to hear the appeal of a Kansas man who tried to set off what he thought was a bomb at an Army post to support the Islamic State.
A three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed on Tuesday the appeal filed by John T. Booker, Jr., of Topeka challenging some conditions of his supervised release. It ruled the Topeka man had waived his appeal rights in his plea deal.
Booker was sentenced in July to 30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to one count each of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy government property with an explosive.
He was arrested in 2015 outside Fort Riley in Kansas.
MANHATTAN — Mary Vanier, Manhattan, has given a gift of $1 million to Kansas State University to create at least 30 matching gift scholarships as part of the K-State Family Scholarship Program. This program is an initiative of the Kansas State University Foundation to increase scholarship dollars to help the university attract and retain students and to inspire new donors to invest in student success, according to a media release.
The Mary L. Vanier K-State Family Scholarship will be used to match at least 30 new gifts for scholarships. New gifts of $30,000 will be matched with $30,000 from Vanier’s gift, while $10,000 will go into an expendable scholarship fund, making $2,000 scholarships immediately available to students. New gifts of $30,000 will be matched with $30,000 from Vanier’s gift, while $10,000 will go into an expendable scholarship fund, making $2,000 scholarships immediately available to students. Fifty thousand dollars will go into the endowment, ensuring future generations of Wildcats will receive scholarships as well.
The program’s goal is to widen the philanthropic support base for Kansas State University by inspiring new donors to give while creating scholarships necessary to help students attend the university today and in the future.
“I hope this inspires those who have thought about setting up a scholarship but haven’t because they couldn’t meet the minimum endowment requirement,” Vanier said. “It’s going to take all of us to support K-State, and this program offers a wonderful way to get involved. With this match program, our newest donors can make a significant impact on students right away.
“We are at a very critical time at Kansas State University due to decreased state support of higher education and decreased enrollments,” Vanier said. “I hope this gift and the 30 gifts it inspires will send a message to the young people who want to attend K-State that we care, we want you at our university, and we support your goals of attaining a college degree.”
The K-State Family Scholarship Program is looking to expand.
“We are asking our most loyal and generous donors to lay the financial foundation, as Mary Vanier has, to build a successful scholarship program by offering matching funds,” said Greg Willems, president of the KSU Foundation. “Widening our donor base will be imperative to creating the substantial increase in student support required to attract and retain students to K-State, now and in the future. The creation of matching scholarships is a powerful expression of what it means to live up to the true spirit of the K-State family.”
Police on the scene of traffic stop early Tuesday -photo courtesy KCTV
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have found a woman dead inside a vehicle after the driver was stopped for speeding in suburban Kansas City while attempting to rush the woman to a hospital.
Officers & detectives working a homicide at 7th & Armstrong.
Kansas City, Kansas, police said in a news release that police in neighboring Mission, Kansas, stopped the vehicle early Tuesday. Inside officers found a 28-year-old woman dead from an apparent gunshot wound.
The release says the investigation determined that the crime happened in Kansas City, Kansas. The name of the slain woman wasn’t immediately released.
SALINE COUNTY — Several Saline County Sheriff’s Deputies were injured attempting to subdue a suspect “with excited delirium,” according to Saline County Undersheriff Brent Melander.
Just before 12:30 Monday, deputies were dispatched to Scoular Elevator in the 3300 Block of East Country Club Road after several employees reported that a shirtless man was attempting to steal tools from a construction site behind the elevator.
When confronted by the employees, the suspect, later identified as 32-year-old Manuel Zapien, Jr., of Turon, began swinging around a segment of rebar, according to Melander.
Zapien attempted to flee on foot when deputies arrived. Undersheriff Melander said the suspect seemed extremely incoherent, babbling and fell down.
Zapien was also uncooperative, fighting with deputies and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers who were assisting.
Zapien was tased twice during the confrontation but to no avail. Sheriff Melander said that the suspect was suffering from excited delirium and could not feel pain.
It took a combination of five deputies and troopers to hold Zapien down and place him in custody. He was then sedated by paramedics and transported to Salina Regional Health Center, where he was observed until around 8 p.m.
Three deputies, Eric Appel, Robert Little and Chad Flesher, were injured during the confrontation. Appel and Flesher were transported to the hospital and Little was treated and released at the scene.
Zapien was in possession of a pipe that field tested positive for methamphetamine, according to Melander.
Zapien was booked into the Saline County Jail for three counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, possession of a narcotic, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal damage to property and additional charges may follow.
He has previous convictions for drugs and aggravated indecent liberties with a victim under the age of 16, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State officials in Kansas are insisting that eliminated and delayed payments to a pension fund for teachers and other government workers won’t affect retirees.
Officials with the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System assured retirees’ financial safety to a legislative oversight committee on Monday. The message is part of the retirement system’s annual report to the Legislature about the actuarial value of the pension fund and the estimated difference between its current assets and long-term obligations.
KPERS is a pension system that manages retirement accounts of more than 300,000 members, including state employees. The state eliminated a nearly $100 million payment to the pension fund last year. Lawmakers also delayed a $64 million payment this year.
GRAY COUNTY — A man is recovering in the hospital following a rattlesnake bite Monday in Gray County.
The man was bitten while hunting pheasant and quail in tall grass in southern Gray County, according to the sheriff’s department.
The victim called 911 and EMS transported him to the hospital in Dodge City. Another first responder drove the victim’s pickup and dogs to the hospital.
A hospital spokesperson and the sheriff’s department did not have details on the man’s condition early Tuesday.
The sheriff’s department did issue a reminder to use caution when working or enjoying the outdoors and beware that even though it is at the end of November, venomous snakes are out and do pose a severe threat.
FORD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged attempted murder.
After a four-month search, police have finally arrested 19-year-old Xavier Alejandro Masts, according to a social media report.
Detectives with the Dodge City Police Department, the Ford County Sheriff and the KBI working with information provided by an anonymous public tip were able to take Xavier into custody without any further incident Monday from a residence in the 200 block of W. Oak St, in Dodge City.
On July 24, Officers from the Dodge City Police Department were dispatched to a mobile home at 201 E. McArtor for a shooting, according to a media release.
When Officers arrived, they found two adult men suffering from gunshot wounds. During the investigation, Detectives determined the victims were standing outside the trailer when they were shot.
Maestas is being held for Attempted Murder in the First Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Aggravated Assault – Use of a deadly Weapon, and Criminal Discharge of a Firearm – Shooting into an occupied dwelling, according to police.
RENO COUNTY— A Kansas woman arrested in connection with theft of a 1997 Ford single-axle dump truck, a 22-foot trailer and a Case skid-steer from an APAC-Shears facility on West First Street in Hutchinson and trying to sell them was back in court Monday.
Ashley Miles, 31, is charged with felony theft and criminal damage to property. In court, she denied any involvement.
An employee of the company reported the theft. Miles and Jason Crabbs, 37, are suspected of taking the items with a total value of $46,000. They apparently tried to sell them to in Sedgwick County but the buyer became suspicious and called law enforcement.
Police say the duo crashed the truck through a fence when they were stealing it, causing front-end damage.
Crabbs
Miles was arrested in Sedgwick County and she remains jailed on a $19,500 bond. Crabbs ran from the scene and police have not found him. He has 15 previous convictions for burglary, forgery, identity theft, aggravated assault and more.
Kansas National Guard hard at work in Puerto Rico-photo courtesy 242nd Engineer Company
PUERTO RICO —Soldiers of the Kansas National Guard’s 242nd Engineer Company have kept busy over the past several weeks assisting authorities in Puerto Rico with recovery operations from Hurricane Maria.
According to a media release from the the Adjutant General’s office, the unit’s first mission tasked 16 soldiers skilled in heavy hauling to support operations in Aguadilla on the western coast. Heavy rains during the hurricane caused water to overflow Guajataca Lake Dam and washed out the bottom of the earthen structure. Their mission, coordinated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, moved rock from a nearby quarry to repair the dam and return its reservoir to service.
The remaining personnel began clearing the roadways in the mountainous region near Utuado and Aricebo. Rainfall and high winds caused mudslides, downed trees and power lines, and undermined roads. The 242nd engineers used heavy equipment to push debris off roadways, remove dangerous overhangs, and clear passage for locals and agencies providing service to remote areas.
Engineers have been working on debris removal and improvement along Route 111, a major highway in the western half of the island, and along Route 123, which leads into Ponce on the island’s south central coast. The operation along Route 111 is expected to be completed within the next 48 hours and reconnaissance is being conducted of Route 157 in the central and eastern part of the island to make improvements to this route. Recon missions are also being conducted along Routes 608 and 615.
The soldiers are also supporting local schools with cleanup and debris removal from playgrounds, as time permits.
“To see a child playing there again, that would make my day,” said Capt. Kevin Hubbard, company commander.
Approximately 60 soldiers of the 242nd Engineer Company, augmented by soldiers from other engineer units, departed Nov. 7 to relieve a National Guard unit from another state. They are expected to be in Puerto Rico for 30 days.
The mission was arranged by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a multistate, mutual aid agreement that facilitates interstate assistance in response and recovery operations during a disaster.
Massage Envy has 11 locations in Kansas- google image
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — An investigative news report has found that more than 180 people have filed sexual misconduct complaints against Massage Envy spas, franchises’ employees and the national company.
The report by BuzzFeed News found that those who complained filed sexual assault lawsuits, police reports and other complaints.
The website reports many of those who complained believed their claims were mishandled or ignored by employees, owners of individual Massage Envy spas and by the national company.
Massage Envy issued a statement late Monday afternoon saying that the complaints documented by BuzzFeed News spanned a period of more than 15 years. It called each account heartbreaking.
Massage Envy general counsel Melanie Hansen told BuzzFeed News that the company holds franchise owners accountable and has created rigorous policies for hiring, screening and training therapists.
