Science experiment prompts call to cops

PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police officers spent two hours investigating a suspicious plastic container found behind a Missouri sandwich shop before determining it was a high school science experiment.
KMBC-TV reports that police were summoned Tuesday to a Jimmy John’s in Platte City on the northern edge of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The plastic container they encountered was filled with blue fluid attached to other items. Officers eventually determined it was an experiment meant to demonstrate how hydrogen can be used as power.
The student who built the project demonstrated it to friends inside the Jimmy John’s then left it behind the store so other friends could see it. But a worker at a nearby convenience store spotted the gadget and called 911.
No charges are expected.

Area News

Sewer work needed under highway
YATES CENTER — Two large piles of dirt on both sides of Highway 75, along with heavy equipment, are part of a repair project to replace sections of sewer under the highway, The Yates Center News reported. Sections of the city’s sewer lines were flagged as needing replaced after routine cleaning and video surveillance. Crews are boring underneath the highway from both sides, rather than tearing up the highway.

Residents sound off on wind farm
ERIE — Neosho County Commissioners heard nearly two hours of comments on the planned Neosho Ridge wind generation project, The Chanute Tribune reported. Some property owners were opposed to the project, saying it would decrease property values. Others supported the project. Neosho County is in a “sweet spot” for wind generation because it is located near a major transmission line.

New fire station back on track
WELDA — Construction of a new county fire station at Welda is back on track after the Osage Nation gave the go-ahead for the project, according to The Anderson County Review. The Osage Nation sent county officials a letter saying there were no cultural artifacts in the area. An investigation into the matter, required under a federal grant, had put the project on hold since May.

Parsons residents upset over feral cats
PARSONS — Residents complaining about problems with feral cats were told by city officials there’s nothing the city can do about it, according to The Parsons Sun. It’s illegal for the owner of a cat to permit it to run at large, the city’s attorney said. Someone who feeds feral cats could be considered responsible for them, he said. He suggested neighbors work with an animal advocacy group to control the feral cat population through trap-neuter-release programs.

Speed limit lowered near Burlington
BURLINGTON — Coffey County Commissioners lowered the speed limit on a one-mile stretch of road south of Burlington. The 40 mph limit applies to a portion of Lynx Lane, from 10th road north one mile to the Burlington city limit on Housatonic Street. A cemetery and several new homes bring more than 900 vehicles to that stretch of road each day, The Coffey County Republican reported.

Chetopa worries about farm animals
CHETOPA — Residents expressed concern about farm animals within the city limits, The Parsons Sun reported. Some said they’d heard the owner of alpacas planned to move the animals to lots he bought at a sheriff’s sale, but the owner said he didn’t plan to move alpacas to any of the lots. The concerned residents asked if farm animals could be prohibited in certain areas, and the city attorney said such zoning could be accomplished with an ordinance. Other residents, though, said they wanted to make sure existing farm animals within the zoned area would be allowed.

Dance students collect numerous awards

At the recent close of Supernova Dance Authority’s 2017-2018 competitive season, the dance studio compiled a treasure chest of awards. Over the course of the year the studio accumulated 49 overall top ten awards including six first place overall championships.
Dance members include Ainslee Glasgow, Taylor Korte, Chloe Hageman, Emma Weseloh, Justice Wilson, Mia Aronson, Elza Clift, Bella Wilson, Morgan DelaCruz, Holland Johnson, Piper Aronson, Avery Martin, Kimberly Purl DelaCruz, Marielle Melvin, Karly McGuffin, Ashley Crane, Aurora Parker-Collins, Carly Dreher, Dally Curry, Elizabeth Lewis, Emalee Thomson, Gretchen Boyers, Kyndellin Church and Peyton Weast.  
The studio is under the direction of Marielle Melvin.

 

Orangutan born at zoo

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A baby Sumatran orangutan has been getting lots of snuggles from zookeepers in Wichita.
The Sedgwick County Zoo says on its Facebook page that the primate was delivered Friday via C-section after her mother, Daisy, encountered complications.
The post says zookeepers provided “round-the-clock” feedings while Daisy recovered. The zoo posted video showing the newborn clinging to a zookeeper wearing a handmade shirt with fleece fringe that is designed to simulate Daisy’s long fur.
The baby is the third for Daisy, who is 36, and the third for her father, Panji, who is 22. In the wild, Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered because of deforestation for palm oil plantations.

Board rejects challenge to Kobach’s bid for governor

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An all-Republican state board on Monday rejected a liberal Kansas activist’s challenge to Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s listing as the GOP nominee for governor on the November ballot after he argued that hundreds of legal votes were not counted in the primary election.
The State Objections Board concluded that Davis Hammet, of Topeka, could not show that Kobach’s narrow victory over Gov. Jeff Colyer in the GOP primary could be overturned by the issues Hammet raised. It also rejected Hammet’s argument that Kobach’s chief deputy should not have been involved in reviewing the challenge.
Kobach defeated Colyer by 343 votes out of more than 317,000 cast. Colyer’s supporters initially raised some of the same questions Hammet did in his objection, but the governor conceded the race a week after the primary.
“It is not merely that an objection has been made for one of the appropriate grounds. You also must present evidence that this election would be overturned,” said Assistant Secretary of State Eric Rucker, who presided over the board’s meeting.
But Hammet said later that he couldn’t show that Kobach’s victory might be overturned because counties wouldn’t give him information about voters whose ballots were not counted. Also, he said, counties aren’t consistent in how they report the number of rejected ballots. He did not rule out filing a lawsuit.
“None of my objections were addressed,” Hammet said. “They just ignored every single argument I made.”
Hammet is the founder and president of a voting rights group, Loud Light, and has frequently been critical of Kobach, other Republicans and their policies.
Kobach’s campaign was represented at the hearing by Mike Roman, a former special assistant to President Donald Trump, who endorsed Kobach the day before the primary. Kobach advised Trump’s presidential campaign and has advised the White House; the Kansas secretary of state also served as vice chairman of Trump’s now-disbanded commission on election fraud.
Roman argued that Hammet did not have the right under Kansas law to file an objection to Kobach’s nomination because Hammet is a registered Democrat and cannot legally vote in the Republican primary.
“I really don’t think he has standing,” Roman said.
The board rejected Roman’s argument, based on previous cases, but Hammet criticized members for even considering the issue. He also argued that Rucker shouldn’t have been involved in reviewing the objection because he’s Kobach’s top deputy and a past contributor to Kobach’s campaigns.
Kansas law says objections like Hammet’s are reviewed by a board made up of the secretary of state, the attorney general and lieutenant governor, or their representatives. Rucker was Kobach’s substitute on the board, and the other two officials sent substitutes as well.
Hammet argued that someone outside Kobach’s office should have replaced Kobach on the board, instead of Rucker.
Board members said there’s nothing in state law allowing the officials to appoint representatives outside their offices to serve on the board.
But Hammet replied: “This is a ridiculous board in need of reform.”

Bus accident in India kills 55

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — A bus carrying pilgrims from a Hindu temple in the hills of south India plunged off a road today, killing at least 55 people including four children, officials said. At least 33 others were injured.
The driver lost control as he hit a speed bump on a road leading from the popular Anjaneya Swamy temple in Telangana state, about 118 miles from Hyderabad, the state capital, Transport Minister P. Maneder Reddy said.
The overcrowded bus pitched into a gorge.
Crowds often throng the temple on Tuesdays.
The temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Hanuman, and Tuesdays are seen as auspicious for offering prayers to him.
Passersby rushed to help after the bus crashed, mangling the front of the vehicle.
Volunteers crawled into the bus through broken windows, carrying the dead and injured though thick grass and up the hill to the road. The injured were taken to area hospitals.
Local broadcaster ETV showed chaotic scenes at a hospital in Jagtiyal, where people wailed over bodies in a mortuary.
Reddy said at a news conference that the bus depot manager had been suspended.
“The bus was carrying more passengers than allowed,” Reddy said, adding that the accident appeared to have been caused by a brake failure.
An investigation has been ordered into the cause, officials said.
Among those killed was the bus driver, who lost both of his legs in the accident and later died in the hospital.
“The bus accident in Telangana’s Jagtial district is shocking beyond words,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet. “Anguished by the loss of lives. My thoughts and solidarity with the bereaved families. I pray that the injured recover quickly.”

Strong show at State Fair

Southwind Extension District 4-H members from Allen and Neosho Counties competed Sunday, at the Kansas State Fair Photography Judging Contest. There were 94 youth competing in the intermediate division and 96 in the senior division from across the state.
The senior team of Tarah Stockebrand, Kim Yarnell, and Sophie Osborn placed 11th in the state.  Tarah Stockebrand led the team with an 8th place individual placing.   The other Southwind senior team members included Shelby Yoho, Zoi Yoho, Jackson Wilks, Zoey Rinehart, Levi Meiwes, and Kahlan Roloff.
The Southwind Extension District intermediate team members included Grant Stockebrand, Abigail Meiwes, and Abby Rinehart.
They were accompanied by their coach Terri Kretzmeier.

Prairie Dell 4-H Club meets

The regular monthly meeting of the Prairie Dell 4-H club met at the Riverside Park Building on Sept. 3. Acting president Emilia Wilkerson called the meeting to order. Roll call was answered by “What did you do over summer break?”
It was decided to attend First Presbyterian Church in Iola on Oct. 7 for 4-H Sunday. To celebrate 4-H week, club members are encouraged to wear their club shirts to school on Oct. 9 or 10. A display will be set up in the Iola Public Library during 4-H week, details about set-up times will be sent to members through email.
The next meeting will be at 6:30 pm Oct. 1 on the Iola square. We will be playing yard games and having a scavenger hunt before the meeting starts. Members are asked to bring a snack to share.  Families interested in joining 4-H are encouraged to attend this party and meeting.
— Emilia Wilkerson, club reporter

Storm may pack a wallop

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Mandatory evacuations were imposed for parts of three East Coast states today as millions of Americans prepared for what could become one of the most catastrophic hurricanes to hit the Eastern Seaboard in decades.
Hurricane Florence’s size is “staggering,” National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham warned.
“We could cover several states easily with the cloud cover alone,” Graham said. “This is not just a coastal event.”
Florence’s top winds dipped to 130 mph this morning, but it remains a Category 4 storm and is expected to approach the most-damaging Category 5 status as it slows and strengthens over very warm ocean water off the coast of North and South Carolina.
The center of the massive storm is then forecast to meander Thursday, Friday and Saturday over a stretch of coastline saturated by rising seas, inundating several states and triggering life-threatening floods. Seven-day rainfall totals are forecast to reach 10 to 20 inches over much of North Carolina and Virginia, and even 30 inches in some places. Combined with high tides, the storm surge could swell as high as 12 feet.
“The water could overtake some of these barrier islands and keep on going. With time, the wind pushes the water into every nook and cranny you can think of,” Graham said. “All you have to do is look up at your ceiling, and think about 12 feet (of water). That, folks, is extremely life-threatening.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said his state is “in the bullseye” and urged people to “get ready now.”
The very center of that bullseye may be Camp Lejeune, the sprawling Marine Corps training base, where authorities were opening emergency operation centers and staging equipment.
“Please be prepared, be careful and be SAFE!” tweeted President Donald Trump, adding: “WE are here for you.”
South Carolina’s governor ordered the state’s entire coastline evacuated starting at noon today and predicted that 1 million people would flee as highways reverse directions. Coastal evacuations were in effect for Virginia and North Carolina as well.
Florence could hit the Carolinas harder than any hurricane since Hazel packed 130 mph (209 kph) winds in 1954. That Category 4 storm destroyed 15,000 buildings and killed 19 people in North Carolina. In the six decades since then, many thousands of people have moved to the coast.
Ahead of Florence’s arrival, barrier islands were already seeing dangerous rip currents and seawater flowed over a state highway — the harbinger of a storm surge that could wipe out dunes and submerge entire communities.
Watches in effect Tuesday forecast a storm surge of up to 12 feet at high tide from Cape Fear to Cape Lookout in North Carolina. A hurricane watch was in effect for Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to Virginia’s southern border, with the first hurricane-force winds arriving late Thursday.
For many people, the challenge could be finding a safe refuge: If Florence slows to a crawl, it could bring torrential rains all the way into the Appalachian mountains and as far away as West Virginia, causing flash floods, mudslides and other dangerous conditions in places that have already experienced lots of rain recently.
“This is going to produce heavy rainfall, and it may not move very fast. The threat will be inland, so I’m afraid, based on my experience at FEMA, that the public is probably not as prepared as everybody would like,” said Craig Fugate, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

MVJH play Northeast

Marmaton Valley junior high volleyball played their second set of games Thursday night against Northeast Arma.
The A-Team lost in three sets (25-17, 23-25, 8-15).
Raveyn Kegler and Madison Lawson led the team with eight points apiece followed by Tayven Sutton who had five and Janae Granere who had four. Roslyn Houk, Gracie Yoho and Brooklyn Adams each had a point.
The B-Team lost in three sets (23-25, 25-17, 12-15).
Bailey LaRue and Zoe Sneed each had six points followed by Mallory Heim, Na’Sha Gregory and Adams with three points and Kaitlyn Drake and Yoho with a point.
The C-Team won its one-set game 25-10.
Yoho had nine points mostly off of serves and Heim added five points. Drake and Sneed both contributed two points.
The Wildcat A-Team competed in Pleasanton on Monday versus Pleasant, Northeast-Arma and Yates Center. The Register will post those results when received.