AP Top Kansas News at 5:45 a.m. CDT

Friday, November 6, 2009

NW Mo. police arrest 4 in woman's death

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) -- Excelsior Springs police say they have arrested four people in connection with the apparent kidnapping and death of a 23-year-old woman.

Lt. Clint Reno says police on Thursday found a body in rural Ray County that matches the description of 23-year-old Carol Thomas, who was apparently kidnapped from an Excelsior Springs street Wednesday night.

But Reno says the body has not been positively identified as that of Thomas.

The four people in custody are two men and two women. Reno said one of the women is considered a person of interest in the case, and the other three are suspects. Formal charges have not been filed.

Reno said police believe there will not be additional arrests in the case.

------ Former Kan. Gov. Avery dies at the age of 98

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- William Avery, a one-term Republican governor in the 1960s and former U.S. House member, has died, the governor's office said Thursday. He was 98.

Gov. Mark Parkinson's office said Avery died Wednesday and ordered flags across the state lowered until Nov. 14.

"Governor Avery led our state during a time of tragic loss and national attention. Kansas honors his long life and service to our state. Our thoughts and prayers are with his children and family," Parkinson said in a statement.

Born Aug. 11, 1911, he grew up on the family farm in Wakefield. After graduating from the University of Kansas he returned there to farm and raise livestock.

Avery entered politics as a local school board member after a stint as a pilot in World War II. He then served in the Kansas House from 1951-55. After that, Avery began a decade-long career as a congressman from the 2nd District before running for governor.

Avery served his one term from 1965-66, when a governor's term was two years. He was defeated for re-election by Democrat Robert Docking, receiving 44 percent of the vote.

------ K-State has edge over Kansas this time

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas and Kansas State face each other Saturday in one of college football's longest-running rivalries, 107 years and counting.

One team is leading the Big 12 North Division, the other reeling through a losing streak -- just like always.

Well, not quite like always. This year, the roles are reversed, at least from recent years.

Kansas State is the team on a roll. Kansas needs a win.

This is more like the Sunflower Showdown, circa 2003.

"You never know where somebody's going to be at this point in the season," Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing said. "I didn't think we'd be where we are now, so it just goes to show you never know how things are going to play out."

------ Kan. group cuts revenue forecast $235M

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A group of economists and policy-makers slashed Kansas tax collection estimates Thursday by $235 million, reflecting signs of continued weakness in the state economy.

The new forecast for the remainder of the state's 2010 fiscal year through next June 30 means Kansas government will have 4.2 percent fewer tax dollars to finance services, including public education, than previously estimated in April. Kansas began its fiscal year July 1.

That means Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson and legislators will have to trim as much as $460 million from the budget approved earlier this year to break even. The Kansas Constitution prohibits the state from ending a fiscal year in debt.

"The recession in Kansas is not over in the current fiscal year," said Alan Conroy, director of the Kansas Legislative Research Department and member of the estimating group.

Parkinson issued a statement, calling the forecast a a challenge, but manageable.

"In the coming weeks, I will take whatever steps are necessary to balance the 2010 budget before the Legislature returns," Parkinson said in a statement. "That is a promise I have made, and it is a promise I will keep."

------ Workers at USDA lab in Wyo. have option to move

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) -- Nineteen employees at a federal animal disease lab in Wyoming have been given the option to move with the facility to Kansas.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Laboratory is moving to Manhattan, Kan., from Laramie.

Michael McGuire of USDA said the decision on whether to follow the lab is up to the individual workers involved.

The move is expected to be completed by next August. The lab studies livestock diseases spread by insects and arachnids, such as mosquitoes and ticks.

It has been located in Laramie since the mid-1980s.

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------ Missouri tries to build on first Big 12 victory

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- After hobbling on a sprained right ankle for three weeks, Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert is feeling a lot better.

Same goes for his team, although it's still pretty deep in a hole.

The Tigers will try to build on their first Big 12 victory that was easy on Gabbert's legs and further distance themselves from an 0-3 conference mark on Saturday against Baylor. They're two-touchdown favorites against a team that's scuffled since losing quarterback Robert Griffin for the season in late September.

Coach Gary Pinkel reminds players there's still plenty of work ahead if Missouri (5-3, 1-3 Big 12) has any shot of winning its third straight North title. Even if the Tigers are 7-0 against Baylor in Big 12 play.

"Nothing's changed," Pinkel said. "I tell our players 'You think everything's going good now, if you want to accomplish our goals it's going to get tougher. I guarantee you that."'

Holdovers from the title teams haven't forgotten Pinkel's oft-stated belief that they're starting the month that'll determine their season. Another victory, and Missouri is bowl-eligible for the fifth straight season.

------ Cranes close hunting at Quivira National Refuge

STAFFORD, Kan. (AP) -- Hunting has been temporarily halted at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge to protect more than a dozen whooping cranes who were spotted at the refuge.

Melanie Olds, biological science technician at the refuge, says 11 adult and three juvenile cranes were spotted Wednesday in the north part of the refuge.

Hunting is not allowed when the whooping cranes are present because they are an endangered species.

Olds says the weather determines who long the birds will stay at the refuge.

Refuge officials say hunting will resume when it's determined that the cranes are gone.

------ Parents of dead Spelman student file lawsuit

ATLANTA (AP) -- The parents of a Spelman College student killed by a stray bullet as she walked on the Clark Atlanta University campus are suing the university for their daughter's death.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Fulton County State Court, Constance Franklin and Clint Lynn of Kansas City, Mo., say Clark Atlanta did not take "necessary actions to properly secure its campus." The lawsuit claims that lack of security directly led to the Sept. 3 shooting death of 19-year-old Jasmine Lynn.

The lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of money.

Franklin said her daughter was so proud of getting into Spelman that she gave her acceptance letter to her mother as a Christmas gift in 2008. Lynn had a 3.8 GPA and was studying to be a clinical psychologist, according to the suit.

"No amount of money could heal my pain," Franklin said during a news conference in downtown Atlanta after the lawsuit was filed. "I don't want another parent to have to stand here in my shoes. We have to save our babies."

Clark Atlanta spokesman Larry Calhoun declined comment. He said the university had not yet received the lawsuit.

------ Kaw official says casino approval near

BRAMAN, Okla. (AP) -- An official with the Kaw Nation's development agency says a new casino just south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border is close to winning approval.

Marketing director Nancy Walton with the Kaw Enterprise Development Authority says the Bureau of Indian Affairs appears to be in the final stage of approving the plans. She says she's optimistic the casino will become a reality.

The proposal has already won approval from Kay County officials, neighboring Indian tribes and the mayor of nearby Braman.

The tribe is proposing the facility on just more than 21 acres at the intersection of Interstate 35 and U.S. 177 about five miles south of the Kansas state line. Walton says the tribe hopes to build a 36,000 square-foot casino employing 200 to 250 persons.

------ Report: Aircraft shipments down nearly 47 percent

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- The General Aviation Manufacturers Association has released a grim assessment of the industry's third quarter shipment and billings.

The trade group reported Thursday that the airplane shipments fell 46.8 percent. That is just 1,587 planes so far this year, compared to 2,982 at this time a year ago.

Billings are also down 23.5 percent to $13.8 billion.

GAMA President Pete Bunce blames the weak economy for the downturn. But he also says a contributing factor has been unwarranted negative attacks on business aviation.

------ Storm in March in Pratt set state record

PRATT, Kan. (AP) -- A blizzard that dropped 30 inches of snow on Pratt County in March will set a record for the most snow in a 24-hour period in the state's history, State Climatologist Mary Knapp said.

Knapp said the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., has to finish its verification process, but she is sure the storm will set a record.

"We have a few hoops to go through but when all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed it will be a new state record," Knapp said.

Several factors contributed to the record. High moisture is necessary to produce big snowfalls and the March storm was fed by moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

"The 30-inch snow had high liquid values. Every inch of snow had a tenth of an inch of liquid and that is pretty wet snow," Knapp said.

The storm system also was stationary and narrow. Towns close to Pratt reported only a couple of inches of snow.

------ KU trying to figure out how to fix campus lake

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- University of Kansas scientists who travel all over the state gathering data on lakes stayed home on Wednesday conducting research in their backyard.

What they found was enough silt in Potter Lake to fill roughly 600 dump trucks with mud.

A group from the Kansas Biological Survey took soil samples at Potter Lake to determine how much it would cost to dredge the aging pond.

"That's an awful lot of silt, considering we have a fairly small watershed here," said Mark Jakubauskas, a research associate professor at the Kansas Biological Survey.

A campus treasure, Potter Lake once hosted canoe races and had diving platforms. In the 1950s, it was drained and dredged. Over the past half century, runoff has washed into the lake, filling it with sediment, nutrients and plant life.

This summer, the lake's health was at a crisis point. Heavy rainfalls led to a burst in plant growth, which sucked oxygen from the water. As a result, hundreds of fish died.

------ Student hurt after accidentally ingesting chemical

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- A University of Kansas graduate student was hospitalized in critical condition after he ingested a toxic chemical while working in a lab.

The university says it believes the student, whose name has not been released, ingested sodium azide accidentally while working Wednesday night in Malott Hall.

Lawrence Douglas County Fire and Medical inspected the fifth-floor labortatory early Thursday but found no hazardous materials.

The university opened the laboratory and building for normal operation after the inspection.

Sodium azide is an odorless and colorless preservative commonly used in school labs.