Kansas.com: News

Locked up long-term

HURST LAVIANA — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:38 CDT

71 jail inmates have been in for over a year

The Sedgwick County Jail, which was built to hold defendants awaiting trial and petty criminals serving short jail sentences, now holds 71 inmates who have been in custody for a year or longer, a recent survey found.

As jail administrators try to draw on a variety of programs to keep inmate levels in check, they have concluded that the long-timers are not the types of inmates who can benefit from any of those programs.

"The ones that are left here are the ones, we agree, that should be in custody," Sheriff Gary Steed said.

The inmate analysis was conducted by sheriff's Maj. Glenn Kurtz, who said he picked up the idea last month while attending a conference for large jail administrators sponsored by the National Institute of Corrections.

High demand delays shingles vaccine

KAREN SHIDELER — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:38 CDT

Demand for the vaccine that prevents shingles has outstripped supply, and health care providers nationwide are telling patients they'll have to wait for the shot.

"They're not calling it a shortage," said Claudia Blackburn, director of the Sedgwick County Health Department. "There is a 'shipment delay.' "

The delays -- of three months or more -- have created patient waiting lists and frustration for area health care providers.

Shingles is a painful skin rash, most common in people 50 and older, that's caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. Anyone who has had chicken pox is at risk because the virus stays in the body even after the person recovers. Usually it doesn't cause problems, but it can reappear years later.

"You don't want shingles," said Wichita physician Brenda Schewe, director of the internal medicine clinic at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. "They hurt like the devil."

Tougher to pass bonds in Wichita

SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIAS — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:44 CDT

Over the past two decades, Wichita voters have approved a $284.5 million bond issue for new and upgraded schools -- its only bond issue since the 1970s.

Over the same time period, voters in six suburban districts have approved 21 bond issues for a total of more than $564 million.

"Perimeter school districts do seem to have an easier time (passing bond issues)," said Kenton Cox of Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey, a local architecture firm who managed Wichita's 2000 bond issue and helped formulate the $370 million plan voters will decide Nov. 4.

"Quite frankly, it just baffles me. I have never figured that out."

Cox, whose company has managed bond issues for dozens of urban, suburban and rural school districts in Kansas and elsewhere, points to several possibilities.

DUI law glitch let man stay on road

TIM POTTER — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:38 CDT

Even if Gary Hammitt gets convicted of his fifth DUI in the deaths of a Wichita woman and her 4-year-old daughter, he still would not permanently lose his driver's license.

If convicted of drunken driving in the Oct. 1 crash, he would have to be caught driving under the influence two more times before the state could permanently revoke his license, because of the way the law is applied by the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Hammitt has a criminal record going back 34 years -- including four previous convictions for driving under the influence.

He was arrested and charged, but not convicted, in a fifth DUI case in 1983.

In a sixth incident in 1994, he refused to take an alcohol test after a hit-and-run injury accident, a police report said.

Historian: Today's politicians could learn a lot from Lincoln

BILL WILSON — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:38 CDT

As America prepares to elect a president, historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin said what the country needs is another Abraham Lincoln to lead it out of today's economic crisis.

A reflective Lincoln, who loved to surround himself with dissenting opinions to mold public policy consensus, is what's missing in today's national economic crisis, said Goodwin, the keynote speaker at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting on Nov. 11.

Lincoln welcomed and encouraged arguments among cabinet members, Goodwin said, weighing them as a point-counterpoint before taking action on a variety of issues.

"It's a basic human quality to wish for in our friends and our politicians," said Goodwin, 65.

"The ability to share credit, the ability to shoulder blame when things go badly, acknowledge errors and take responsibility for them."

Gentry: Robinson concocted plot to kill

FRED MANN — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:38 CDT

Everett Gentry dug her grave.

Theodore Burnett strangled her with electrical cord.

Both of them put Chelsea Brooks in the ground.

But, Gentry testified Friday in Sedgwick County District Court, Elgin Ray Robinson Jr. started the whole thing -- an assertion his defense team denies.

It was Robinson, Gentry said, who initiated the idea of killing Chelsea and helped plan her murder, which happened the night of June 9, 2006.

World leaders try to halt rippling market troubles

JEANNINE AVERSA — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:13 CDT

Finance officials from the world's top economic powers endorsed a plan Friday to stem the worst financial crisis in more than a half-century. The officials from the Group of Seven countries issued the five-point plan aimed at reversing a credit crisis that has unhinged Wall Street and markets around the globe. They pledged to take "decisive action and use all available tools."

Fear has tightened its grip on investors worldwide.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 9.6 percent Friday, its worst single-day decline in two decades, ending an abysmal week in which the index lost nearly one quarter of its value.

Stocks plunged elsewhere in Asia, as well as in Europe and South America. Middle East markets were closed.

Under the plan announced Friday, the countries vowed to protect major banks and to prevent their failure. They also committed to working to get credit flowing more freely again, support the efforts of banks to raise money from public and private sources, safeguard bank depositors and revive the battered mortgage financing market.

Was bleak week on Wall St. the bottom?

TIM PARADIS — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:38 CDT

Wall Street capped one of its worst weeks ever with a wild session Friday that saw the Dow Jones industrials gyrate within a 1,000-point range before closing with a relatively mild loss and the Nasdaq composite index actually ending with a modest advance.

Investors were still agonizing over frozen credit markets, but days of massive losses and the possibility of further government support for the markets tempted some investors late in the session.

The Dow lost 128 points, giving the blue chips an eight-day loss of just under 2,400, or 22.1 percent. The average had its worst week on record in both point and percentage terms. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, the indicator most watched by market professionals, posted its worst weekly run since 1933.

The latest loss also means the Dow is down 40.3 percent since reaching a record high close of 14,164.53 a year ago, on Oct. 9, 2007. The S&P 500, which reached its high of 1,565.15 the same day, is down 42.5 percent.

President Bush on Friday urged Americans to remain calm and allow time for a rescue plan to stabilize financial markets, reflecting a renewed attempt by the White House to stave off panic in the face of the global economic meltdown.

Tiahrt and Betts visit Nonprofit Chamber

SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIAS — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:38 CDT

Rep. Todd Tiahrt and state Sen. Donald Betts met briefly with leaders of Wichita-area nonprofit groups Friday in a rare forum that included both congressional candidates.

Betts, who is challenging 14-year incumbent Republican Tiahrt, used the event -- not a debate, but separate question-and-answer sessions -- to criticize Tiahrt for his recent vote against a $700 billion Wall Street bailout.

"I would have had to put people over politics," Betts said. "What Congress did was tough... But those that did (vote for the bailout) did, I believe, the right thing. Those that didn't and didn't offer any alternatives -- well, I'll let you decide that."

Earlier in the forum, hosted by the Nonprofit Chamber of Services, Tiahrt said he voted against the bailout because it "never got to the root cause of the problem."

Comparing the country's mortgage and financial services industries to a house in need of structural repairs, Tiahrt said the bailout amounted to "a shiny new roof on Wall Street, but we have a crumbling foundation."

Report: Palin abused power, didn't break law

JAMES V. GRIMALDI AND KIMBERLY KINDY — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:18 CDT

An Alaska state legislative investigator found Friday that Gov. Sarah Palin abused her executive power when she and her husband engaged in a campaign to oust her former brother-in-law from the state police force.

In a lengthy report released in Anchorage, Stephen Branchflower found that Palin also improperly allowed her husband, Todd, to use the governor's office to pursue a personal vendetta against the trooper.

"Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: To get Trooper Michael Wooten fired," said the report released by a bipartisan legislative committee.

Defenders of Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, called the report's release, coming less than four weeks before Election Day, a politically motivated attempt to damage the ticket of Sen. John McCain and Palin. They said Palin's actions were fully justified.

The report will go to the Republican-dominated state legislature for possible further action.

Firefighters find body in burning car

TIM POTTER — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:42 CDT

Firefighters found a man's body Thursday night in the driver's seat of a burning car in the garage of a south Wichita house, a fire official said.

The fire developed quickly, and the car was in flames when firefighters arrived, said Fire Marshal Ed Bricknell. The house is in the 3100 block of South Bennett, near 31st South and Meridian.

Investigators had not identified the man or determined the cause of the fire or his death, Bricknell said.

The man lives by himself at the house, he said.

Neighbors reported the fire at about 5:30 p.m.

Group calls on Gabel, Peterjohn to drop out

ROY WENZL — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:20 CDT

A group of Wichita small- business owners Thursday called on Craig Gabel to quit the Sedgwick County Commission race because of his past personal problems and police reports involving multiple women.

Sheryl Wohlford, a business owner and co-founder of the business group, said Gabel's legal and personal troubles disqualify him from serious consideration for the County Commission.

The Eagle reported Sunday that police reports show at least seven women had called police to complain about Gabel between 1995 and 2005.

Gabel, reached for comment, said, "I don't quit," and that it's up to voters to decide whether he's qualified to hold office.

"I don't understand these people," he said. "They are crazy."

20 YEARS OF BOND ISSUES

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:45 CDT

Wichita

Year: 2000

Amount: $284.5 million

Purpose: Air-condition schools; upgrade plumbing and electrical systems; build a new elementary and middle school; rebuild five aging schools; add classrooms and multipurpose rooms

Result: Passed

Timeline of Gary Hammitt's criminal history

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:42 CDT

From Wichita police reports, Sedgwick County District Court and Wichita Municipal Court records and Kansas Department of Corrections:

• Sept. 13, 1974: convicted of misdemeanor drug possession

• Sept. 20, 1974: convicted of felony burglary

• Nov. 19, 1976: convicted of misdemeanor possession of marijuana

• Jan. 18, 1979: convicted of felony burglary and felony theft

Dow Jones closes at its lowest level since 2003

TIM PARADIS — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:42 CDT

NEW YORK -- Stocks plunged Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down 679 points -- more than 7 percent -- to its lowest level in five years.

Stocks took a nosedive after a major credit-rating agency said it might cut its rating on General Motors and Ford, further rattling investors already fretting over the impact of tight credit on the economy.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index also fell more than 7 percent.

The declines came on the one-year anniversary of the closing highs of the Dow and the S&P. The Dow has lost 5,585 points, or 39.4 percent, since closing at 14,164.53 on Oct. 9, 2007. It's the worst run for the Dow since the nearly two-year bear market that ended in December 1974, when the Dow lost 45 percent. The S&P 500, meanwhile, is off 655 points, or 41.9 percent, since recording its high of 1,565.15.

U.S. stock market paper losses totaled $872 billion Thursday and the value of shares overall has tumbled a stunning $8.33 trillion since last year's high. That's based on figures measured by the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index, which tracks 5,000 U.S.-based companies' stocks and represents almost all stocks traded in America.

Friends: Robinson visit was planned

FRED MANN — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:41 CDT

Friends of Chelsea Brooks testified Thursday that she left a skating rink in south Wichita on June 9, 2006, expecting to meet Elgin Ray Robinson Jr.

Marissa Drydale and Amy Keeler testified they knew of Robinson's plans to meet with Chelsea the day she disappeared because they watched her exchange messages with him on their home computers.

Their testimony came during the second day of Robinson's capital murder trial in Sedgwick County District Court.

Prosecutors charge that Robinson, now 22, arranged for two other men to kill Chelsea, who was 14 and nine months pregnant with his child when she died.

Robinson's lawyers have said he didn't plan Chelsea's murder and was in "utter disbelief" when he learned she'd been killed.

County gets avalanche of requests for mail ballots

STAN FINGER — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:42 CDT

With more than three weeks left before the general election, a record number of Sedgwick County voters have chosen to vote from the comfort of their own homes and avoid potentially long lines at next month's general election.

As of Wednesday, more than 57,000 mail-in ballots had been requested from the Sedgwick County Election Office -- more than twice the total for the 2004 presidential election.

"We've planned for a big response, and hoped for a big response, so it is nice to see a big response," Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Bill Gale said Thursday.

The strong early response is significant, Gale said, because he expects a record turnout of more than 200,000 voters in the county on Nov. 4. There are about 250,000 registered voters in Sedgwick County.

He hopes as much as 45 percent of the voter turnout will come in the form of mail-in ballots or advance voting, which begins at the election office on Oct. 22 and at other locations on Oct. 28. Early indicators suggest that goal could easily be exceeded.

KU freshman making quick work of transition

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:08 CDT

Jeremiah Hatch says that he doesn't care which position he plays on the offensive line at Kansas, but his eyes got pretty big when reminded that left tackles get paid the most money in the NFL.

"I got a LONG way, LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG way to the NFL," said Hatch, a redshirt freshman now starting at left tackle. "Trust me, I'm not even thinking about the NFL."

Hatch is living in the moment, just as he did as a freshman at Carter High School in Dallas when his basketball coach told him that he had to play football to play basketball. Hatch had never played football before, and he's pretty sure the request from the basketball coach was no coincidence.

"I think it was more of the football coach telling the basketball coach," Hatch said.

Carter coach Allen Wilson must have known what he was doing. Hatch was starting on the varsity by the end of his sophomore season, playing center for one of the Metroplex's most notable high school football programs.

Machinists, Boeing to renew talks

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:42 CDT

Boeing and the Machinists union will resume talks in an attempt to end a strike that reached its 34th day today, the company and union confirmed late Wednesday.

Union leaders Tom Wroblewski and Mark Blondin met Wednesday with Boeing executive vice president Scott Carson and other Boeing officials, the union said.

"We're interested in exploring whether there is a path forward to resolve the strike," said Boeing Wichita spokesman Jarrod Bartlett.

Boeing and the union are working out details of the negotiations with a federal mediator, the union said.

Machinists union District 70 president Steve Rooney said he will return to Seattle for the meeting as soon as the logistics are set. He said he expects a meeting will be held in the next couple of days.

Lawyer: Murder startled Robinson

RON SYLVESTER — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:42 CDT

Trial starts on Chelsea Brooks' birthday

Elgin Ray Robinson Jr. didn't know his pregnant 14-year-old girlfriend had been killed, much less plan her death, his lawyer said Wednesday.

On what would have been Chelsea Brooks' 17th birthday, a jury heard Robinson's side of the events leading to her death.

"When Elgin learned that Chelsea was dead, he was in utter disbelief," defense attorney Val Wachtel said during his opening statements in Robinson's capital murder trial.

Robinson was in Kansas City with another girlfriend the night Chelsea died.