EL DORADO, Kan. — Changes are on the way for how scholarships are handed out in the Jayhawk Conference and the number of out-of-state athletes you can have on a roster following a long meeting of the 19 Junior College Presidents Thursday afternoon.

The meeting resulted in two bylaw changes. Beginning with the 2017-2018 academic year, the KJCCC will be comprised of institutions competing at the NJCAA Division I and Division II levels and will follow NJCAA roster limits for all participating sports. This change removes previous KJCCC out-of-state and roster size limitations. The KJCCC also passed scholarship changes to begin with the 2018-2019 academic year. These changes align with NJCAA guidelines, which provide the ability to grant full-ride scholarships in Division I sports. If a new bylaw is not passed related to scholarship limitations at the April 2017 KJCCC meeting, then beginning with the 2020 academic year, the bylaw reverts back to the current KJCCC scholarship limitations.

Dr. Mike Calvert, president of the KJCCC, stated “The meeting consisted of positive dialogue that resulted in unanimous support, proving that the conference is united and moving forward together.” Both bylaw changes were passed unanimously.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Sports Arena project took another unexpected financial hit on Friday when it was discovered that the concrete floor in the north addition held too much moisture. Until the problem is fixed, the gym floors cannot be installed.

Parks Director Justin Combs, who is the liaison for the city on the project, told the City Council that the fix could be an additional $40 – $90 thousand. With the naturally high water table in the city and the damp weather of the summer, the concrete moisture level has stayed around 90-95 percent. It must be below 80 percent or the moisture will damage the wood floor. Combs said that running the air conditioners could help with the moisture level, but it’s not a likely fix.

That means the construction crews will have to lay a permanent moisture barrier on the floor before installing the wood gym floor. It’s the second major financial hit to the project contingency budget in the last week. It was announced during last week’s arena building committee meeting that the floor around the concourse will need to have an epoxy surface placed over the concrete floor, costing more than $217 thousand over the original cost.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Police are now asking for the public’s help in solving the robbery at the 14th & Main Dillons. At approximately 9:43 a.m., a suspect wearing dark clothing and a devil’s Halloween mask entered the store and demanded money.

The suspect fled the store on a bicycle, but abandoned it in the alley directly behind the store. Police need your help in identifying the owner of the bicycle in the two pictures above.

If you know who owns this bicycle or have any other information in regard to this crime, please call Crime Stoppers of Reno County at 1-800-222-TIPS or Detective Loepp at 620-694-2829. Please associate your tip with case #2016-26254.

This is the second time the store has been robbed this year. A 25-year-old Goddard man, Austin Kinnaird, awaits a federal trial in that case.

 

HAVEN, Kan. — The City of Haven has issued a boil water advisory for the public water supply. This advisory is being issued due to a loss of pressure. Inadequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination.

The advisory took effect on Oct. 16 and will remain in effect until conditions that place the system at risk of contamination are deemed by KDHE officials to be adequately resolved.

Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:

Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation, or use bottled water.

Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.

Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.

Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested. Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.

If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
Public water suppliers in Kansas take all measures necessary to notify customers quickly after a system failure. Regardless of whether it’s the supplier or KDHE that announces a boil water advisory, KDHE will issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.

WICHITA— On Friday, Federal prosecutors announced charges related to a planned attack on the Somali immigrant community in Garden City.

Following an 8-month investigation, three men Curtis Allen 49, Liberal, Gavin Wright, 49, Liberal, and Patrick Stein, 47, Wright, were charged with domestic terrorism, according to acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

During a Friday news conference, Beal reported the government alleges the men conspired to bomb
an apartment complex in the 300 Block of West Mary Street in Garden City.

Muslim immigrants from Somalia live and worship at the complex.

The government says the suspects conducted survelliance to size up potential targets and stockpiled ammunition, firearms and explosive components.

They also prepared a manifesto describing their beliefs to be published after the bombing.

One suspect told investigators “The bombing would wake people up.”

The defendants were members of a small group they called the Crusaders and they formed a plan for a violent attack, according to Beall.

“They considered a variety of targets including churches and public officials who had expressed support for Somalis.

The suspects discussed obtaining four vehicles, filling them with explosives and parking them at the four corners of the apartment complex to create a large explosion.

The men were arrested on Friday morning in Liberal. If convicted they could face life in prison, he said.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — No project as big as a school bond issue or a major project like the sports arena ever goes without some setbacks. And that was the case on Thursday as the Arena building committee had to deal with issues involving the arena floor.

Those red tiles that have been a part of the floor for more than 30 years are coming up. But that revealed several major problems, including uneven concrete. The variance in the concrete means the floor cannot be sanded down and refinished as planned. The only viable alternative is to lay a new urethane floor over the concrete. The low bid for the floor is more than $217 thousand. It’s not a short process either as the floor project will need to begin in the next month to have it finished before the national tournament.

One other issue arose once the new basketball goals were erected in the practice gym. It was discovered that the auxiliary goals on the side of the floor stuck out almost four feet onto the playing surface, causing obstructions for when the basketball teams are running the full length of the floor. How they will deal with that issue remains to be seen, but the engineers hope to have a solution by the next meeting.

The project itself is running on schedule with the exception of the parking lots due to the persistent rain that has fallen over the past two months. The north side gyms will get new floors next week and the home locker rooms are finished. The main gym is moving along with some seating yet to be installed, along with the sound system and video boards.

 

WICHITA, Kan. — The trial for a Goddard man accused of numerous robberies including the holdup of the North Main Dillon’s store in Hutchinson is now set for December 13 in US District Court.

Twenty-five year-old Austan Kinnaird faces a federal indictment for holding up the Hutchinson Dillon’s store along with two other Dillon’s, and a Golf pro shop in Wichita.

He was originally arrested in connection with the April 29, robbery of the Intrust Bank in the Dillon’s store at 9450 E. Harry in Wichita and was then indicted on the other four robberies.

Kinnaird is accused of walking into the Hutchinson Dillon’s March 11 and telling the clerk he had a weapon and wanted money. He then made off on foot with an undetermined amount of cash.

The robbery forced Hutchinson USD 308 to place HMS-8 into lock down while police searched for a suspect.