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Mo. man gets 14 years in sex trafficking case

JENNIFER McDERMOTT, Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Missouri man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for taking a developmentally delayed girl from Massachusetts to a motel in Rhode Island, where he sold her for sex.

Stephen Ardrey, of Springfield, Missouri, was sentenced in federal court in Rhode Island on Tuesday and apologized to the 17-year-old girl and her family. He previously pleaded guilty to trafficking a minor and transporting a minor to engage in sex.

The teen’s mother says her daughter suffers from nightmares and couldn’t attend the sentencing because of anxiety.

Prosecutors say Ardrey met the girl online and corresponded with her before taking her in September from a library in Medfield, Massachusetts, to a motel in West Greenwich, Rhode Island. They say he engaged in sexual activity with her then sold her.

 

Mo. man sentenced in girlfriend’s shooting death

VIENNA, Mo. (AP) — A mid-Missouri man will serve the rest of his life in prison for the shooting death of his girlfriend in June 2010.

Forty-three-year-old Terry Fritz of Meta (MEE-duh) was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole plus 100 years for the death of 35-year-old Kinga Gillibrand.

JailThe Jefferson City News Tribune reports  that Gillibrand was killed at the couple’s home about 20 miles south of Jefferson City.

Gillibrand’s remains weren’t found until November 2010 when hunters discovered them. The hunters said her remains were covered by bloody bedding, and investigators found a bullet in the couple’s home.

Missouri appeals stay of execution

JIM SALTER, Associated Press

Middleton
Middleton

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is asking an appeals court to overturn a stay of execution for John Middleton, scheduled to die early Wednesday for killing three people in northern Missouri in 1995.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry ruled Tuesday that there was enough question about whether Middleton’s sanity that a hearing should take place. The U.S. Constitution prohibits executing the mentally ill.

Koster asked the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the stay.

Middleton was a methamphetamine dealer convicted of killing Randy “Happy” Hamilton, Stacey Hodge and Alfred Pinegar because he feared they would go to police.

In a separate ruling late Monday, the appeals court refused to halt the execution on Middleton’s claim that he is innocent. Middleton’s attorneys appealed that case to the Supreme Court.

 

Former police chief enters Alford pleas

TCourtOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The former police chief of a southeast Kansas city has entered Alford pleas to four felonies.

Former Independence Police Chief Kenneth Parker entered Alford pleas Tuesday to perjury, official misconduct, misuse of public funds and theft of property valued at more than 25,000. An Alford plea means Parker doesn’t admit to the crime but acknowledges prosecutors likely can prove the charge.

He entered the pleas in Montgomery County court, but the case was handled by a Shawnee County deputy district attorney after the Montgomery County attorney and his staff recused themselves.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Parker, who resigned as chief in 2011, was accused of stealing ammunition, firearms, cash and other property from the city.

Parker was sentenced to two years’ probation and ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution.

 

Blunt Applauds Committee Approval To Extend Growler Aircraft Production

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), who serves as a member of both the defense authorizing and appropriations committees, released the following statement applauding the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense’s approval of 12 additional E/A-18G Growler aircraft during the markup of the FY2015 defense spending bill today:

“I’m very pleased my colleagues on the defense appropriations subcommittee have agreed to fund the production of 12 additional Growler aircraft. This important move preserves our nation’s airborne electronic attack capability and continues to support an irreplaceable defense industrial base in Missouri.”

In May 2014, Blunt and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (Mo.) offered an amendment that was included in the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that authorized $100 million for the U.S. Navy to keep the Growler production line open.

New med school dean at University of Missouri

Patrice Delafontaine, M.D.
Patrice Delafontaine, M.D.

COLUMBIA (AP) – The chief of cardiology at Tulane University will become the dean of the University of Missouri School of Medicine, effective Dec. 1.

The university announced Tuesday that it had chosen Patrice Delafontaine, a member of the Tulane faculty from 2003 to 2014. He served in various roles, including director of the Heart and Vascular Institute and medical director of cardiovascular services at Tulane University Hospital and Clinic.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports Delafontaine’s appointment comes more than two years after the medical school’s former dean, Robert Churchill, resigned shortly before a federal fraud investigation. Investigators found two radiologists committed billing fraud. The investigation and an accompanying lawsuit are continuing.

Delafontaine previously worked at the University of Kansas Medical Center, the University of Geneva and Emory University in Atlanta.

Kansas Republicans back Davis in governor’s race

Davis
Davis

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger and more than 100 other Republicans are endorsing the presumed Democratic nominee for governor.

Democratic challenger Paul Davis had a news conference Tuesday to announce the formation of Republicans for Kansas Values. The list of participating Republicans was led by Praeger, who has clashed with Gov. Sam Brownback on health care policy.

But the list of founding members also includes three former Kansas Senate presidents and three former state House speakers, as well as former Congresswoman Jan Meyers.

The Kansas Republican Party immediately responded with a tweet noting that Kansas has more than 700,000 Republicans.

Obama presses for more lasting highway funding

NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press

McLEAN, Va. (AP) — President Barack Obama says he supports measures in Congress to keep federal highway funding flowing to the states.

But Obama adds that Congress shouldn’t be too quick to pat itself on the back for skirting disaster for a few months. He says Congress should act on a more permanent solution to the funding shortfall.

The House is to vote Tuesday on a temporary patch for the Highway Trust Fund, which is scheduled to run dry next month unless Congress acts.

Obama commented at a federal highway research center in northern Virginia where the government, auto industry and academics are developing new transportation technologies to help cars communicate with each other and the world around them.

He also got behind the wheel of a car — on a virtual road.

 

Open meetings, open records training series begins next week

Screen Shot 2014-07-15 at 10.33.07 AM

TOPEKA – The Kansas Attorney General’s Office will present seminars on the Kansas Open Meetings Act and Kansas Open Records Act at six locations across the state beginning next week, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Tuesday in a news release.

Sessions are scheduled for Dodge City, Concordia, Topeka, Wichita, Emporia and Overland Park.

Elected officials, public employees, members of the media and the general public are encouraged to attend. The seminars are sponsored by the Attorney General’s Office, Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government, Kansas Press Association and Kansas Newspaper Foundation.

Space at each location is limited, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants can register on the Kansas Attorney General’s website at http://1.usa.gov/1zCjV9T, or by calling (785) 296-2215 or (888) 428-8436.

Click HERE for the complete schedule.

Shared use path along U.S. 73 chosen for KDOT ‘Alternatives’ program

KDOT.jpgScreen Shot 2014-07-15 at 10.23.19 AMKansas Department of Transportation

TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Transportation has selected 20 projects for inclusion in its Transportation Alternatives program.

KDOT received 43 applications from local units of government for funding consideration totaling more than $22.5 million.

Transportation Alternatives projects under this federal program include facilities for pedestrians and bicycles; rehabilitation of historic transportation buildings, structures or facilities; construction of turnouts, overlooks and viewing areas; conversion of abandoned railway corridors to trails; community improvement activities such as downtown streetscape enhancements and the control or removal of outdoor advertising.

The total cost for the 20 selected projects is $11.5 million. A minimum of 20 percent of the project cost must come from the applicant.

A list of selected projects and the federal funding awarded is below:

Historical Projects
Goodland – Rehabilitation of historic brick street on Main Street ($308,408); Kansas Historical Society – Restoration of Hollenberg Pony Express Station near Hanover ($44,000); Manhattan – Rehabilitation of brick street on Juliette Avenue ($517,799).

Scenic/Environmental Projects
Baldwin City – Improvements to the exterior of the Baldwin City Depot ($145,390); Barton County – Construction of viewing tower at K-4 Overlook ($185,968); Girard – Streetscape improvements in downtown area ($1,232,000); Hiawatha – Streetscape improvements in downtown area ($750,880); Hutchinson – Streetscape improvements in downtown area ($762,040); Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism – Implementation of Kansas Byways Interpretive Plan including informational kiosks and interpretive boards on turnouts, overlooks or viewing areas of all 11 byways ($800,000); Little River – Streetscape improvements in downtown area ($475,000).

Pedestrian/Bicycle
Atchison – Shared use path along U.S. 73 ($1,171,235); Cimarron – Construction of shared use path on Main Street ($191,452); Concordia – Shared use paths through College Drive Park ($462,387); Junction City – Shared use path along K-18 ($950,000); Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism – Phase II development of the Flint Hills Nature Trail ($1,972,592); Manhattan – Shared use path along Knox Lane ($165,100); McPherson – Shared use path along Avenue A ($302,910); Ottawa – Sidewalk and bike lanes on 15th Street ($223,203); Pittsburg – Shared use path along South Rouse Avenue ($656,103); Topeka – Implementation of Phase II of the Topeka Bikeways Master Plan ($223,075).

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