WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Writer Stephen King says the daughter of the BTK serial killer does not have to worry about her father being flattered by his portrayal in an upcoming movie inspired by the Wichita case.

King said in an emailed statement Friday that the character depicting Dennis Rader in his film “A Good Marriage” is a banal little man. King says the story isn’t about the killer husband, but about a brave and determined woman.

King was responding to criticism from Kerri Rawson that he was exploiting her father’s victims. Rawson says that King’s upcoming movie inspired her to break a self-imposed nine-year silence.

But the author says the drive to understand is the basis of art, and that is what he strove for in the novella and movie.

———

ORIGINAL   –WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The daughter of the BTK serial killer is criticizing writer Stephen King for making a movie partly inspired by the Wichita case.

In the first public comments from a member of the killer’s family, Kerri Rawson says King is exploiting Dennis Rader’s 10 victims and their families.

Rawson told the Wichita Eagle she had been one of her favorite writers, but says she won’t read another of his novels now.

Rawson said her father was also a huge King fan, and she fears his books might have influenced some of the things Rader did in his later murders.

King has said in media interviews that the upcoming movie, “A Good Marriage,” was inspired by Rader and his family.

King’s publicist did not immediately respond to an email Friday seeking comment.

FERGUSON (AP) – Business leaders in Ferguson have postponed a weekend street festival in response to safety concerns as angry protests over 18-year-old Michael Brown’s fatal police shooting continue.

The 15th annual Ferguson StreetFest was scheduled to begin Friday afternoon and continue through Saturday night. The Ferguson Special Business District announced the postponement earlier this week after a contentious series of town hall meetings Monday night hosted by city officials who hoped to heal a community still in turmoil after Brown’s early August death.

Community tensions have flared up in recent days after fire destroyed a makeshift memorial for Brown Tuesday and the arrest of several protesters Thursday night as Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson attempted to join a protest march.

The Office of Kansas Attorney General

EMPORIA – An Emporia woman was sentenced today to more than seven years in prison for mistreatment of a dependent adult and conspiring to mistreat a dependent adult, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

 Dalene Miller, 56, was sentenced to 91 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections by Judge W. Lee Fowler in Lyon County District Court.  In July, Miller was convicted of the charges by a Lyon County jury following a four-day trial. The case stemmed from a complaint sent to Adult Protective Services in May 2011.

 An investigation by the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office discovered that between July 2011 and January 2012, Miller acted as durable power of attorney and a trustee for her mother-in-law and made purchases including a house, farm and truck while her mother-in-law’s expenses went unpaid.

 Assistant Attorney General Stefani Hepford prosecuted the case with assistance from the Lyon County Attorney’s Office.

 Charges remain pending against Miller’s husband, Rick Miller, who is scheduled to face trial in November. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

OZARK (AP) – Ozark school district officials have suspended a high school assistant football coach after a profane outburst during a 40-14 loss.

The Springfield News-Leader reported the coach won’t be in the press box when the Ozark Tigers visit the Branson Pirates on Friday. The district hasn’t released his name or the length of the suspension.

A district spokesman said the coach made “completely inappropriate remarks” in front of parents, staff and students. He said the comments were made from the press box during the Sept. 19 loss to the Willard Tigers.

Ozark Superintendent Kevin Patterson sent a letter of apology to the Willard Board of Education and others.

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Agriculture Department says unregulated genetically modified wheat has popped up in a second location in the U.S., this time in Montana.

No genetically engineered wheat has been approved for U.S. farming. Unapproved genetically modified plants pose a potential threat to U.S. trade with countries that have concerns about genetically modified foods.

USDA said Friday that the Montana wheat covered a much smaller area than a similar discovery in Oregon last year. And the wheat was found in a location where agricultural giant Monsanto legally tested such seeds 11 years ago. The plants in Oregon were found in a field that had never conducted such tests.

USDA has said the wheat would be safe to eat if consumed but that none of it ever entered commerce.

KANSAS CITY- One person was injured in an accident just after 10:30 a.m. on Friday in Wyandotte County
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Ford 500 driven by Tia M. Owens-Williams, 30, Kansas City, was northbound on Interstate 635 just north of State Avenue.
Another vehicle changed lanes in front of the Ford and braked hard. The Ford braked hard and swerved to avoid hitting the other vehicle and struck the barrier wall.

Owens-Williams was transported to KU Medical Center. A passenger in the Ford Michael L. Dupree, 30, Kansas City, was not injured.
The KHP reported both were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The candidates for Kansas insurance commissioner are having a forum next month in Wichita

The event is Oct. 17 at the Wichita Marriott hotel and is sponsored by the Kansas Association of Insurance Agents. The forum is part of an annual conference.

Republican nominee Ken Selzer and Democratic candidate Dennis Anderson are running to replace retiring three-term GOP incumbent Sandy Praeger.

Praeger has been unusual among prominent Republicans for publicly defending the federal health care overhaul championed by Democratic President Barack Obama. She’s also broken with her party to endorse Anderson.

The Democrat is from Overland Park and operates a family business providing educational services to insurance and financial services firms.

Selzer is as a certified public accountant and a global reinsurance company executive. He is from Leawood.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Four longtime Methodist youth camps across Missouri are facing an uncertain future following the dismissal of the sites’ directors.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church camps will not be in operation next summer. The conference released a statement earlier this month saying its camping and retreat board decided to go in a new direction with camp programming.

Hundreds of people are rallying in an attempt to save them. A 24-year-old Chillicothe woman, who began attending a camp near Lawson when she was 8, says there’s still hope because the camps haven’t been sold yet.

The conference’s director of connectional ministries says a decision could be made at a June meeting.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Campus police have arrested a 19-year-old student suspected of posting a threat to use explosives at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

The university’s library was briefly evacuated on Wednesday after the anonymous threat was posted on a social media app. The university says the social network Yik Yak cooperated with university police in tracking the post.

The university says student is a freshman from Ogallala. Buffalo County records said he remained in custody on Friday. Online court records don’t yet show that he’s been formally charged.