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Month: January 2014
Trial reset for man accused of killing 8 year old girl
Topeka (AP) — A trial for a Topeka man charged with kidnapping and killing an 8-year-old girl has been rescheduled for November.
Billy Frank Davis Jr. had been scheduled to stand trial in April. But a Shawnee County judge on Friday granted a defense request to postpone the trial until Nov. 12.
Davis faces two alternative counts of capital murder in the March 2012 death of 8-year-old Ahliyah Nachelle Irvin. He’s also charged with rape, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary. The child’s body was found in a clothes dryer.
Davis could face the death penalty if convicted. Friday was the second postponement of the trial.
Kansas man dies in Saturday train accident
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An Amtrak train has struck and killed a man on tracks south of Topeka.
The accident happened early Saturday when the train heading south hit the man close to an intersection.
The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department says the victim was from Topeka, but his identity hasn’t been released. Crews told the sheriff’s department the man had been running along the railroad tracks before the accident occurred.
No one on the train was hurt. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Study: wind farms could endanger small aircraft
(AP) — A new study by researchers at the University of Kansas shows that air turbulence created by wind energy turbines could pose safety problems for small aircraft.
Tom Mulinazzi, a KU engineering professor, says wind turbines can set up a circular vortex that can roll a small plane if it gets in there. He says the turbines can also increase crosswind speeds above what pilots expect, which can also be dangerous.
The study was done for the Kansas Department of Transportation after the department began hearing more pilots complain they had experienced unusual turbulence as they flew near wind farms.
Kansas is one of the leading states for wind farm developments; there are 16 wind farms in Kansas, with proposals for 58 more.
Mo. Lawmakers Shift Strategies on College Funding
(AP) – Missouri lawmakers are backing down on a proposal to penalize public universities for failing to meet certain funding and academic goals.
Instead, legislation considered by the Senate Education Committee recently would only allow performance standards to be used for year-to-year higher education funding increases.
If passed, the plan would be familiar to the state’s four-year public universities. Gov. Jay Nixon used the model informally when he gave them a $25 million increase for the current fiscal year.
Committee chairman and sponsoring Sen. David Pearce, of Warrensburg, says universities should be financially rewarded for achieving performance goals. Under his plan, the universities would work with the Department of Higher Education to develop their own performance criteria.
Search for stolen vehicles
Law enforcement authorities in the region have been alerted to report of a stolen 1991 Dodge Dakota.
The vehicle, taken in Atchison County, is described as Silver with damage to the passenger side and a large dent in the back. The Kansas license is 473FSZ
Authorities also report a motorcycle taken from a residence in Ottawa, Kansas. The black 1972 Harley Davidson was allegedly stolen between Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning. It has dual exhaust, paint peeling from the motor and a Kansas license 976AQM.
If you have information on these vehicles or see them, contact police.
Government Jeep investigation UPDATE
(AP) — The government is closing its investigation into older-model Jeeps with fuel tanks that could rupture and cause fires.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked Chrysler to recall 2.7 million Jeeps last summer. Involved were Grand Cherokees from the 1993 to 2004 model years and Libertys from 2002 to 2007.
NHTSA said the gas tanks can rupture if they’re hit from the rear. At least 51 people have died in fiery Jeep crashes.
Chrysler Group initially refused to recall the vehicles, but then agreed to recall a little more than half of them and install trailer hitches to protect the gas tanks.
NHTSA said Friday it has no concerns about Chrysler’s recall plans. The agency is expected to issue a final report on its investigation in a few weeks.
5 finalists in Super Bowl commercial contest. Which one do you like? (VIDEO)
Thousands from around the world sent submission and Doritos has announced the five finalists for their “Crash the Super Bowl” contest worth a $1 million grand prize. Which is your favorite?
MWSU seeing Student-Athlete success
More than half of the 279 student-athletes at Missouri Western State University achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or better in the fall 2013 and will be honored at halftime of the basketball games against Southwest Baptist at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Jan. 18. The athletic department as a whole achieved a GPA of 2.99 last semester, the highest average on record at Missouri Western.
One Hundred Sixty Six Missouri Western State University student-athletes have been selected to the President’s, Dean’s and Athletics Director’s Academic Honor Roll for their work in the classroom during the Fall 2013 semester as announced by the University. To qualify for the President’s Honor Roll, students must earn a semester cumulative GPA of 4.0. Student’s qualifying for the Dean’s Honor Roll must earn a semester cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and students qualifying for the Athletics Directors Honor Roll earned cumulative semester GPA’s of 3.0 or high. In addition, the 279 student-athletes as a whole posted the highest cumulative semester GPA on record with a 2.99 cume. Griffon Athletics will recognize all of these individuals as well as Spring 2013 honor roll recipients as part of the annual Student-Athlete Honor’s Day during halftime of this Saturday, January 18th’s basketball games as the Griffons take on Southwest Baptist in the MWSU Fieldhouse with tip time set for 1:30/3:30 PM.
PRESIDENT’S HONOR ROLL RECIPIENTS (SEMESTER CUMULATIVE GPA OF 4.0)
Cody Childs – Baseball
Amber Chivington – Golf Dylan Queen – Golf
Kelly Cochran – Tennis Megan Rasmussen – Basketball
Bailey Dervin – Soccer Morgan Rathmann – Softball
Shae Fannon- Cheerleading Alex Saxen – Basketball
Sarah Faubel – Volleyball Taylor Schaben – Softball
Jody Goers – Tennis Teddi Serna – Soccer
Veronika Goranova – Volleyball Sara Vitito – Volleyball
Katie Kempf – Soccer Madison Welde – Soccer
Charlie Marquardt – Basketball Connor Whitney – Baseball
Andrew Molloy – Football Callie Wilson – Golf
Kelsey Olion – Volleyball Margret Winter – Tennis
DEAN’S HONOR ROLL RECIPIENTS (SEMESTER CUMULATIVE GPA OF 3.5 OR HIGHER)
Sydney Andrews – Soccer Kristin Lange – Softball
Erin Backhuus- Volleyball Quenisha Lockett – Basketball
Amanda Boender – Volleyball Sydney McCune – Softball
Jerico Burasco – Baseball Meredith McCormick – Volleyball
Austin Burau – Football Wes Mitter – Basketball
Mackenzie Burgess – Cheerleading Alex Molloy – Football
Tyron Crockom – Football James O’Brien – Golf
Demetric Dinwiddie – Football Christian Orduno – Football
Austin Drennen – Football Jonathan Owens – Football
Shelby Elliott – Softball Lindsey Partridge – Volleyball
Alek Ferbet – Football Alex Prewitt – Football
Taylor Gant – Soccer Mason Queen – Baseball
Wilfred Gaye – Football K.C. Ramsell – Soccer
Cameron Glenn – Football Erica Rottinghaus – Volleyball
Katie Griffith – Cheerleading Tara Russell – Soccer
Scott Groner – Football Kelly Scannell – Volleyball
Chris Hughes – Football James Schoonover – Football
Chris Jimenez – Football Darcy Smith – Golf
Kyle Kelly – Baseball Connor Soukup – Basketball
Brock Kimball – Football Kat Stepanovich – Softball
Katelyn Klosterman – Softball Jonathan Temenak – Baseball
Dylon Koch – Baseball Emily Thomson – Cheerleading
Megan Korgie – Softball Tanner Tripp – Basketball
Chris Kottwitz – Football Hunter Weiss – Baseball
Tess Kram – Cheerleading Emmett Wester – Football
Dalton Krysa – Football Leonard Wester – Football
Allie Ladd – Softball Michael Yeager – Baseball
ATHLETICS DIRECTORS HONOR ROLL RECIPIENTS (SEMESTER CUMULATIVE GPA OF 3.0 OR HIGHER)
Tiffanie Abrams – Basketball Sarah Lyle – Soccer
Alexa Adams – Soccer Reid Martinez – Baseball
Rachel Allen – Cheerleading Ian McIntosh – Football
Yomi Alli – Football Seth Morton – Football
Taylor Anderson – Football Ariana Novak – Basketball
Taylor Anding – Softball John Oglesby – Football
Ryan Bainbridge – Baseball Nathan O’Neill – Football
Nichole Birr – Soccer Katelyn Palmer – Soccer
Ceara Boldridge – Tennis Kurt Petroll – Football
Joey Capul – Football Jac’que Polite – Football
Wallace Carter – Football Holly Pollock – Volleyball
Brandyn Chambers – Basketball Chris Puett – Football
Jordan Chohon – Volleyball Andrew Ramirez – Baseball
Coltyn Clark – Football Andrew Rieth – Baseball
Brooke Cousino – Volleyball Dylan Roades – Baseball
Krysten Crawford – Basketball Derek Rohlfsen – Golf
Shelby Dier – Cheerleading Madison Romjue – Golf
Kayla Dysart – Tennis Derek Rotttinghaus – Baseball
Josh Ferge – Football Matt Russell – Baseball
Tyler Gast – Golf Brooke Schaben – Softball
Tiffany Gillaspy – Softball Jake Schrader – Baseball
Zoey Granger – Cheerleading Scott Sheldon – Golf
Kailey Green – Softball Kendall Short – Football
Cal Griencewic – Football Brett Smith – Baseball
Darius Griffin – Football Cassey Sobaski – Basketball
Ryan Grismer – Football Gabe Spencer – Football
Tiara Hall – Basketball Michelle Stevenson – Softball
Bailey Hollingsworth – Baseball Evan McCarthy – Golf
Marc Harrison – Football Shelby Stone – Golf
Stephanie Hattey – Volleyball Zach Taylor – Baseball
Derek Hawkins – Golf Dominic Thomas – Football
Emily Hoffman – Soccer Mitch Thorman – Baseball
Michael Hollander – Baseball Jessie Thorup – Volleyball
Sean Holloran – Football Hans Thun – Basketball
Summer Howe – Cheerleading Lane Titus – Basketball
Miles Jumps – Golf Daven Tomlinson – Football
Ashley Juravich – Soccer Tyler Tuepker – Baseball
Zach Kroymann – Baseball Sydney Washington – Softball
TJ Lafaver- Football Donte Watkins – Football
Trevor Lahonta – Baseball Dylan Watts – Golf
Josh Lansangan – Baseball Ricky Webb – Football
Sharniece Lewis – Basketball Brittany White – Cheerleading
Emily Lewis – Soccer Nathan Wilson – Football
Derek Libby – Football
Stephanie Lichtenauer – Basketball
Blunt Introduces Bill To Help Create Jobs
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Michael Bennet (Colo.) introduced the bipartisan “Partnership to Build America Act” this week to help jump-start job creation by improving our nation’s capability to build and repair roads, bridges, highways, ports, schools, and other infrastructure projects. Click here to read the bill.
The bipartisan, bicameral legislation would establish a $50 billion “American Infrastructure Fund” to help finance top-priority infrastructure projects nationwide. That fund would finance transportation, energy, communications, water, and education infrastructure projects to help put people back to work and improve U.S. competitiveness around the world.
The fund can also potentially support hundreds of billions in loan guarantees and financing authority for state and local governments. The bill encourages U.S. companies to purchase these bonds by allowing them to exclude a certain portion of their overseas earnings from taxation. The amount that they are permitted to repatriate for each dollar of bond purchases will be determined by a competitive auction.
“Washington needs to pass policies to help jump-start private sector job creation. American farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and workers are greatly reliant on our nation’s infrastructure to move goods and services as quickly as possible,” said Blunt. “I’m proud to support this bipartisan bill, which will help communities in Missouri and across America improve infrastructure and compete in a global economy.”
The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Mark Begich (Alaska), Dan Coats (Ind.), Lindsay Graham (S.C.), John Hoeven (N.D.), Angus King (Maine), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Mary Landrieu (La.), and Mark Warner (Va.). U.S. Representative John Delaney (Md.) introduced the companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, which has been cosponsored by 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans.
“Our parents and grandparents helped build this country from the ground up, and in the process grew our economy into one of America’s greatest assets. Unfortunately, Washington has failed to fulfill its promise to maintain our infrastructure – from roads and bridges to our energy grid and public schools,” Bennet said. “In Colorado, we do our best with limited resources to keep things in working order and to break ground on critical new projects like the Arkansas Valley Conduit and the ongoing expansion of public transit in the Denver metro area. This bill will help us improve and expand the infrastructure we need to compete in the 21st century.”
“The American people expect us to work together and find solutions and that’s the spirit behind this legislation,” said Delaney. “It’s clear that we have to upgrade our crumbling roads and bridges and that we must do so in a fiscally responsible manner. Rebuilding our infrastructure will create jobs, make our economy more competitive, and improve our quality of life. I thank Senator Bennet for introducing this legislation in the Senate and Senator Blunt for reaching across the aisle to join him.”
Additional Background On The Partnership To Build America Act:
The “American Infrastructure Fund” will make guarantees or low-cost loans to state or local governments, nonprofits, private parties, and public-private partnerships to finance infrastructure projects that state and local governments prioritize.
The American Society of Civil Engineers gave America’s infrastructure a D+ on its 2013 report card. Estimates of how much investment is needed to repair and rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure reach as high as $2 trillion over the next two decades.
The bill is supported by numerous groups, including the American Business Conference, the American Planning Association, the Associated General Contractors of America, CH2M Hill, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, among many others.