TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Republican lawmaker who advocates increasing pay for Kansas corrections officers is calling for a special session of the Legislature to do it immediately.

Rep. J.R. Claeys of Salina said Friday that he worries that staffing shortages at state prisons are putting officers at risk.

Claeys is chairman of a House budget subcommittee on public safety and said low pay for corrections officers is a major issue in staffing shortages. It starts at $13.95 an hour.

He said the state needs to get ahead of the issue before an officer is hurt or killed.

The state’s maximum-security prison in El Dorado has seen multiple inmate disturbances in the past three months. About 23 percent of its uniformed-officer positions were open as of Tuesday.

Lawmakers adjourned for the year in June.

MANHATTAN— Law enforcement authorities continue an investigation into a serial rapist who remains on the loose after attacking more than a dozen women in two Kansas college. On Friday, authorities announced a new web site to communicate information about the crime, according to the Riley County Police Department.

Police in Lawrence and Manhattan announced during a joint news conference last week that a July 2015 attempted rape in Manhattan is the latest case linked to the unidentified suspect. The man also is suspected in 12 other rapes and one other attempted rape from 2000 to 2008.

Authorities are urging other women who may have been victimized to come forward. Police say all but one of the attacks occurred during school breaks at Kansas State and the University of Kansas. Officials have said the suspect is usually armed.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.

SEDGWICK COUNTY – One person was injured in an accident just after 7:30p.m. Thursday in Sedgwick County.

A BNSF train traveling near the 6900 Block of Kansas 15 near Red Powell Drive just across from the Derby city limits hit a 2013 Ford Fiesta driven by a 50-year-old Wichita woman, according to Lt. Lin Dehning of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department.

Emergency crews transported to driver to a local hospital in serious condition.  Officials did not release her name.

Deputies are investigating whether alcohol possibly played a role in the crash, according to Dehning.

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — A 22-year-old Kansas man has been charged with vehicular homicide for the crash deaths of four Iowa residents in western Nebraska.

Authorities say a car driven by 22-year-old Jeser Cisneros-Hernandez, of Liberal, Kansas, crossed the center line on U.S. Highway 26 south of Lake McConaughy (muh-KAH’-nuh-hay) on July 1, striking two motorcycles carrying two people each.

Authorities say 54-year-old Sheila Matheny and 61-year-old James Matheny, from Bedford, Iowa, were on one motorcycle. The other riders were 58-year-old Michal Weese and 59-year-old Jerolyn Weese, who lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Court records don’t list an attorney for Cisneros-Hernandez, who remained in the Keith County Jail on Friday. He’d told investigators that he’d had little rest the day of the crash while driving from his workplace in Sidney, Montana, home to Kansas.

RENO COUNTY — A Kansas man and woman were formally charged Thursday with possession of heroin, two different prescription  drugs with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

On July 26, Police arrested Charles J. Davis III, 22 and Tara Moeller, 26, both of Hutchinson, after a local motel operator reported possible damage to one of the rooms while others motel guests complained of the smell of marijuana.

Police say they reportedly found the drugs and drug paraphernalia as well as a substantial amount of cash in the room after Davis

gave written permission to search to conduct a search. Both are free on bond and are due back in court on August 9.

SALINE COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on numerous charges after a he caused damage to a home and vehicle.

Just before 3a.m. Thursday, police responded to a disturbance at an east Salina home, according to Police Captain Paul Forrester.

Officers found 27-year-old Derek White of Salina. He appeared to be under the influence of narcotics and had damaged the walls, ceiling, ceiling fan and a car parked in the garage of his mother’s home following an argument, according to Forrester. White resisted arrest.

Police ultimately booked White into the Saline County Jail on charges of felony damage to property and resisting arrest.

Damage to the home and car is estimated at $1,200.

INDEPENDENCE –  An Oklahoma man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for at least 50 years for murder and related crimes, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

Thad Christopher Green, 33, Pawhuska, Okla., was sentenced in Montgomery County District Court by Judge F. William Cullins. In addition to the life sentence, Green was sentenced to 53 months for related charges. A jury found Green guilty in May of one count of murder in the first degree, one count of arson and one count of aggravated burglary. The convictions stemmed from crimes that occurred in December 2015 in connection with the death of Cameron Wawrzyniak in Montgomery County.

The case was investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Osage County, Okla. Sheriff’s Office, Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office, Coffeyville Police Department and the Osage Nation Tribal Police. Assistant Attorneys General Jessica Domme and Amanda Voth of Schmidt’s office prosecuted the case against Green.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today announced the Senate has unanimously passed his legislation with U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) to award former Kansas U.S. Senator Robert J. Dole with the Congressional Gold Medal. Roberts secured all 100 U.S. senators to cosponsor the legislation.

“The overwhelming support from every U.S. Senator shows how deserving Bob Dole is of this award,” said Roberts. “Bob has spent nearly his whole life in service to our nation. From his days in Russell, Kansas, his service in World War II, and his lifetime dedication to public service, Bob Dole embodies the American spirit. I am fortunate to call him a friend, mentor and brother. I am very grateful for the support from all of my Senate colleagues, and with the help of Rep. Lynn Jenkins, I look forward to seeing to getting this bill the president’s desk and awarding Senator Dole with this much-deserved honor.”

“This is promising step toward our goal of awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to Senator Dole,” said Congresswoman Jenkins.“With 100 Senators as cosponsors, it is a remarkable sign of the depth of respect and support for Senator Dole. I applaud Senator Roberts on this effort, he truly went above and beyond. Now, I encourage my House colleagues to join me in this bipartisan effort so that we can get this legislation to the President’s desk.”

The Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal Act, was introduced on July 24, 2017. If passed by the House and Senate, the bill would award Sen. Dole with the Congressional Gold Medal in “recognition for his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator and statesman.” It is the highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions. It is the most distinguished honor and the highest civilian honor given by the Congress. The legislation must be cosponsored by two-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the House. Every Senator is a cosponsor of the Senate bill.

Rep. Jenkins introduced the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. Currently, it has 73 bipartisan cosponsors, including the entire Kansas delegation: U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Reps. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) and Ron Estes (R-Kan.).

In addition, a bipartisan group of Senator Dole’s former colleagues who remain in the Senate signed on to the legislation as original cosponsors. They include: Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Patty Murray (Wash.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), and Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.).

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A former Lawrence, Kansas, mayor awaiting sentencing for stealing money from a food pantry while he served as the organization’s executive director is asking a federal judge for probation.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Jeremy Farmer says in court filings in advance of his scheduled Aug. 15 sentencing that he has cooperated with authorities and maintained a steady job. He believes that merits probation instead of prison time.

Farmer pleaded guilty in September of last year to one count of interstate transportation of stolen funds.

Farmer resigned from Just Food and his elected seat on the Lawrence City Commission in August 2015 after it was revealed that he had not paid more than $50,000 in federal and state payroll taxes on behalf of the nonprofit Lawrence food agency.

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that sent three people to a hospital early Wednesday with life-threatening injuries.

Just after 1a.m., Wednesday, police were dispatched to a shooting at a home in the 2900 Block of SE Highland CT., in Topeka, according to a media release.

Upon arrival, police found Virgil Moppin, 38,  Andrea Carter, 39, and Colin Moppin, 15, all of Topeka with gunshot injuries.

Detectives and K-9 processed the crime scene. Police have made no arrests.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Topeka Police.