Local court among those closed to mourn Bush

The 31st Judicial District Court will be among state and federal offices closed Wednesday for a national day of mourning for former President George H.W. Bush.

Those who are scheduled to appear in court Wednesday should check with their attorney or call the district court office today at 620-365-1425, Chief Clerk Dina Morrison said. Staff were working Monday to notify those who might be affected by the change.

No hearings are scheduled Wednesday before either the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals. The Kansas Judicial Center will be closed.

The Kansas Supreme Court gave chief judges of each of the state’s 31 judicial districts discretion to conduct court proceedings that day if they are in the best interest of justice.

The 31st Judicial District includes Allen, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson counties.

 

UMW members hear lesson on ‘God’s toolbox’

Iola United Methodist Women learned about “God’s toolbox” at their Nov. 8 meeting at Calvary United Methodist Church.

Gerry Uphoff presented the lesson, explaining the tools God uses (including us) are all part of His world for our good and His purpose. For instance, the church is our toolbox, Uphoff said. Within it are tools for God’s purpose — pastor, leadership, music, youth and UMW.

United Methodist Women is supported in many ways, she concluded.

Iola UMW collected $328 for blankets to be distributed by Church World Service to people in crisis. The unit sent a check for $330.

Regina Woodworth suggested members bring plastic bags to be woven into mats for those in need.

UMW is a worldwide organization 150 years old with more than 800,000 members working for God’s purpose.

The World Thank Offering was taken to supplement the UMW total program. In 2017, more than $1 billion was collected worldwide.

The Vespers program will be at  3 p.m. Sunday at the church.

 

France suspends fuel tax amid outcry

PARIS (AP) — The French government’s decision to suspend fuel tax and utility hikes today did little to appease protesters, who called the move a “first step” and vowed to fight on after large-scale rioting in Paris last weekend.

In a major U-turn for the government, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced in a live televised address that the planned increases, which were set to be introduced in January, would be postponed until summer.

The backpedaling by President Emmanuel Macron’s government appeared designed to calm the nation, coming three days after the worst unrest on the streets of Paris in decades.

“No tax is worth putting the nation’s unity in danger,” Philippe said, just three weeks after insisting that the government wouldn’t change course in its determination to wean French consumers off polluting fossil fuels.

But demonstrations continued around the country today.

Protesters wearing their signature fluorescent yellow vests kept blocking several fuel depots. In the southern city of Marseille, students clashed with police outside a high school. And on a highway near the southern city of Aubagne, protesters took over a toll booth to let vehicles pass for free. They put up a sign by the side of the road reading “Macron dictator.”

More protests were expected this weekend in Paris.

“It’s a first step, but we will not settle for a crumb,” said Benjamin Cauchy, a protest leader.

Last weekend, more than 130 people were injured and 412 arrested in the French capital. Shops were looted and cars torched in plush neighborhoods around the famed Champs-Elysees Avenue.

The Arc de Triomphe, which is home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and was visited by world leaders last month to mark the centenary of the end of World War I, was sprayed with graffiti and vandalized.

“This violence must end,” Philippe said.

Philippe held crisis talks with representatives of major political parties on Monday, and met with Macron, who canceled a two-day trip to Serbia amid the most serious challenge to his presidency since his election in May 2017.

Philippe announced a freeze in electricity and natural gas prices today until May 2019, and warned protesters against more disruptions.

“If another day of protests takes place on Saturday, it should be authorized and should take place in calm,” he said. “The interior minister will use all means to ensure order is respected.”

A soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Montpellier, scheduled for Saturday in Paris, was postponed after police said they couldn’t guarantee security there and at protests simultaneously.

The protests began last month with motorists upset over the fuel tax hike, but have grown to encompass a range of complaints, with protesters claiming that Macron’s government doesn’t care about the problems of ordinary people.

In all, four people have been killed and hundreds injured in clashes or accidents stemming from the protests.

Political opponents of the government called Philippe’s announcement Tuesday too little, too late.

“This decision should have been taken from the start, as soon as the conflict emerged,” said prominent Socialist figure Segolene Royal, a former candidate for president, adding: “The more you let a conflict fester, the more you eventually have to concede.”

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen tweeted that the delay in price rises was “obviously not up to the expectations of the French people struggling with precariousness,” and noted sarcastically that it is “surely a coincidence” that the price hikes will now come into effect a few days after EU elections.

Fall harvest in Kansas nearly done

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The last weekly government report for the 2018 growing season shows fall harvest for the major farm crops in Kansas is nearly finished.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that the corn harvest is 96 percent in, while soybean harvest stands at 95 percent complete. About 89 percent of both sorghum and sunflower crops are cut.

Winter wheat condition is rated as 16 percent poor to very poor. About 39 percent is listed as fair while 45 percent is in good to excellent condition. About 89 percent of the 2019 winter wheat crop has emerged.

K-State vet school receives donation

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State’s College of Veterinary Medicine has received a $2.2 million donation from Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

The $2.2 million gift is the largest corporate donation in history for the college.

The university says the money will be used to renovate the college’s Mosier Hall to add about 16,000 square feet of clinical training, classroom teaching and research spaces. A 5,000-square-foot research suite will be added to the second floor of Moser Hall. The renovation also includes removing Frick Auditorium and creating the Hill’s Pet Nutrition and Health Center.

The Manhattan Mercury reports a 270-seat auditorium will be built in a different area of the veterinary medicine complex.

Bonnie Rush, interim dean of the college, says she expects construction to begin in the summer.

Suit: Drill bit left during repair caused crash

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A drill bit left during repair of a single-engine Cessna aircraft is responsible for a 2015 crash in Arkansas that caused minor injuries to the pilot and destroyed the new $712,290 aircraft, a federal lawsuit alleged.

The complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas against Textron Aviation in U.S. by Mid-Continent Aircraft Corp. of Missouri and its insurance company involves the purchase of a 2014 Cessna T206H Stationair TC aircraft.

The lawsuit alleges the misplaced drill bit was the cause of the crash and that Cessna’s parent company Textron refuses to pay for the loss of the aircraft.

Textron declined to comment on the pending litigation.

During a pre-acceptance test flight, a problem was found in the left magneto, a self-contained electrical generator which fires the engine spark plugs.

Wichita, Kansas-based Cessna Aircraft Company replaced the faulty magneto and noted in the plane’s maintenance logbook that aircraft was airworthy, according to the lawsuit.

Mid-Continent took delivery of aircraft N164CS on April 3, 2015. The following month, the plane crashed during takeoff from Piggott Municipal Airport in Arkansas.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s report of the May 15, 2015, accident said the airplane was about 20 to 30 feet in the air when the engine “surged” before losing power. The airplane settled back down to the ground, but was traveling too fast to stop on the remaining runway. It came to rest in an irrigation ditch near the runway. The pilot’s air bag deployed during the accident.

When investigators took apart the failed magneto, they found a section of a drill bit about 3/8 of an inch long inside it, according to the NTSB report.

Mid-Continent said in its lawsuit that its insurer, National Union Fire Insurance Company, paid $699,000 for the insured loss. Mid-Continent has another $13,290 in uninsured losses.

Orscheln alarm draws Iola police

An incident at Orscheln Farm and Home in Iola resulted in no arrests but plenty of excitement Monday.

Iola Police Chief Jared Warner said an argument involving a customer resulted in the customer walking behind a sales counter at the store, prompting employees to press what he described as a “hold-up” button.

The button is pressed in times of emergencies, such as a robbery, Warner explained.

The alarm prompted a full response from police officers and sheriff’s deputies, with their guns drawn.

The situation was quickly diffused, Warner said.

 

Manhattan district to go all in on wind

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — The Manhattan-Ogden school board plans to move to 100 percent wind energy for 20 years, beginning in 2021.

The Manhattan Mercury reports Westar Energy offered several public entities a 20-year fixed rate to join the Soldier Creek Wind Farm project.

The school board voted Wednesday to accept the offer. Kansas State University and Manhattan city government earlier agreed to draw 50 percent of their electricity from the wind farm in Nemaha County.

Westar projects the school district will save $43,800 per year. The district allotted $1.3 million for electricity during the current fiscal year.

State tax collections more than expected

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is reporting it collected $2.5 million more in taxes than expected in November and extended its streak of better-than-anticipated figures to 18 consecutive months.

It is the longest streak of better-than-expected tax collections in more than 50 years. An AP spreadsheet compiled from monthly reports shows the state hasn’t seen such a streak since at least May 1966.

The Kansas Department of Revenue reported Monday that tax collections were $500 million last month. The state’s official forecast predicted $497.5 million.

The monthly surplus was 0.5 percent.

The state revised its fiscal forecast in November. Tax collections since the current fiscal year began in July have totaled $2.7 billion.

Tax collections for the current fiscal year are $220 million ahead of the previous fiscal year’s collections, up 8.9 percent.

US Senate bill would designate Route 66 as historic trail

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Missouri and Kansas supporters are optimistic that the iconic Route 66 is on the road to becoming part of a National Historic Trail.

U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Jim Inhofe announced this week that a bipartisan bill would include Route 66 in the National Trails System Act, which would allow the National Park Service to award federal grants for preservation, development and promotion along the route from Chicago to Los Angeles, The Joplin Globe reported. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in June.

Route 66 was an economic boon for small towns — including in Missouri and Kansas — before the interstate system was built.

The plan comes as cities and towns along the once-busy Route 66 have been working on revitalization projects to rehabilitate aging buildings and landmarks to attract tourists.

Udall, a New Mexico Democrat, said in a statement that Route 66 allowed motorists to visit mom-and-pop diners, small businesses and scenic byways through eight states.

“Just as importantly, this bill would safeguard Route 66 as (a) cultural landmark, preserving its significance as the ‘Main Street of America’ for future generations of adventurers, migrants, hitchhikers, and tourists venturing westward,” Udall said.

Patrick Tuttle, director of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, said having dedicated federal oversight “will hopefully bring a helpful level of notoriety. It’s a very important piece of legislation.”

The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership also was thrilled that the Senate took up the issue, said Bill Thomas, chairman of the board of directors of the group, which is a collaborative effort to bring together the states Route 66 passes through.

Thomas said he’s optimistic Congress will pass the measure and it will be signed by the president by the end of the year.

Renee Charles, president of the Kansas Historic Route 66 Association, said she was “ecstatic” to hear the legislation has advanced to the Senate. Even though Kansas has the smallest stretch of Route 66, it is one of the main economic factors for towns such as Galena and Baxter Springs.

“I think it’s been a large driver to the area since 2006, and it continues to be a driver,” Charles said. “More domestic travel has come through now, both in the Four-State Area and beyond. I think it’s building each year, and now if it becomes a national trail, then that’s more advertisement. I think it will bring more people.”

Route 66, which spans more than 2,400 miles, was born in 1926 after the Bureau of Public Roads launched the nation’s first federal highway system, bringing together existing local and state roads from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles. Small towns opened shops, motels and gas stations to pump revenue into local economies just as the nation’s car culture took off. It was decommissioned as a U.S. highway in 1985.