Kansas.com: Top Stories

Robber of east-side bank still at large

STAN FINGER — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

Authorities are still looking for a man who robbed the Bank of America branch at Central and Woodlawn on Tuesday afternoon.

The man came into the bank just before 2:30 p.m., waited for a customer or two to leave and handed a note to a teller. He left with an undisclosed amount of money, authorities said.

The man indicated he had a gun, but one wasn't seen, Wichita Police Capt. Darrell Haynes said.

The man was described as white, between 30 and 40 years old, about 6 feet tall, 220 pounds, with a reddish-brown goatee. He was wearing a blue jacket and a baseball cap.

One of the images from a bank security camera suggests he has a shaved head, Haynes said.

State ethics panel fines Tiller's PAC $2,500

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

The state ethics commission fined Wichita abortion provider George Tiller's political action committee $2,500 on Wednesday for failing to list some contributors' occupations.

The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission could have fined ProKanDo up to $15,000 for not fully complying with the state's campaign finance reporting law.

"Compared to the possibility of $15,000, we're elated," said Julie Burkhart, ProKanDo chief executive. "We've been dealing with this for 12 months. We provided the information they requested, and we're happy to have this over."

The commission heard testimony from Burkhart on Wednesday, then spent about 15 minutes in a closed session before announcing its decision without comment.

"It appeared they did make a sincere effort to obtain the additional information," commission chairwoman Sabrina Standifer said after the meeting.

10-year-old's abortion is center of Tiller hearing

RON SYLVESTER — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

A 10-year-old girl who received an abortion became the center of a Kansas attorney general's argument to obtain patient records from a Wichita clinic.

Here was a possible child-rape victim, officers for then-Attorney General Phill Kline told a Topeka judge in 2006 -- and a crime that abortion provider George Tiller didn't report, as required by law.

They wanted to find out whether Tiller hadn't reported other crimes, and they needed his records to do that.

But their claims about Tiller weren't true, his attorneys argued Wednesday in Wichita.

Tiller's lawyers are in Sedgwick County District Court this week arguing that 19 misdemeanor charges he faces should be dismissed. They contend the charges are based on evidence obtained by Kline and his officers through false pretenses and abuses of power.

Colleges connect to China

LORI YOUNT — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

Chinese student enrollment hits record levels

Fei Li first learned of Wichita State University from a friend of a friend when she was considering leaving China to study at an American university. She was told the people in Wichita are "very nice."

"He said it's not like New York. It's suitable for study here," Li said.

Li, who enrolled three months ago and is earning a master's degree in economics, is one of 132 Chinese students at WSU this fall.

The number of Chinese students at WSU has more than quadrupled in the past two years, up from 28 in the fall of 2006.

Study: Time 'wasted' online benefits teens

STEPHEN HUDAK — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

Equipped with a mobile phone, laptop and Internet access, Heather Prince hangs out for hours a day on MySpace, YouTube and other venues in a virtual world baffling to her mother.

"Often I think she could be using her time doing something better," Annette Deuel said of her daughter, a senior at Tavares High School in Lake County, Fla.

"My mom doesn't get it," Heather, 17, said while scanning fresh postings on her MySpace page.

Many parents don't, says a new study, regarded as the largest ever to examine how the Internet affects kids' social development and education. It concluded that Heather's and her mom's generational differences over the value of spending time online are common.

The report also points out benefits for "geeked out" kids who take full advantage of such learning opportunities. They can find the freedom and encouragement to pursue interests that might not be popular with their school peers. They also become more technologically savvy.

UMKC trips up Wichita State at home

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:39 CST

Spencer Johnson scored 14 points and Latreze Mushatt added 13 as UMKC beat Wichita State 66-63 Wednesday night.

Free throws made a big difference, with the Kangaroos (1-2) hitting 10-of-13 while Wichita State (1-1) was just 10-of-22.

Ramon Clemente scored 11 points and had a game-high 15 rebounds for the Shockers.

After UMKC led 27-26 at halftime, neither team led by more than three points during the first nine minutes of the second half. Mushatt's dunk started a 7-0 run that gave the Roos a 50-44 lead with 10:27 to play.

UMKC stretched the advantage to 59-51 on a three-point play by Dustin Dibble.

Boeing to cut 800 jobs in 2009

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

Wichita's aviation industry took another hit Wednesday when Boeing said it would cut 800 jobs -- about a quarter of its Wichita work force -- in the first half of next year.

A handful of layoff notices will be issued Friday. The remainder will be distributed early in 2009.

Wednesday's announcement was the third major layoff by a Wichita aviation company this month.

Hawker Beechcraft announced Nov. 3 that it was cutting about 490 jobs this month. Less than 10 days later, Cessna Aircraft said it would lay off 500 employees in early January.

Unlike Hawker Beechcraft and Cessna, Boeing officials said its cuts aren't related to the current economic downturn. The layoffs are due to work winding down on some military programs and a delay in a program to replace aging U.S. Air Force refueling tankers.

K-State defeats Emporia State

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:14 CST

Fred Brown and Dominique Sutton scored 14 points apiece to lead Kansas State over Emporia State 82-60 on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats (3-0) also got 11 points from Jamar Samuels and 10 points from Ron Anderson, who pulled in a game-high 10 rebounds.

Robert Moores led Division II Emporia State (1-1) with 12 points. Lamar Wilbern and Adam Holthaus added 10 apiece.

The Hornets took a 14-13 lead midway through the first half on a basket by Wilbern. Kansas State responded late in the period with a 20-4 run, including 11 points by Brown, and led 40-34 at halftime.

In the second half, the Wildcats went on a 13-1 run midway through the period to put the game out of reach with a 69-50 lead.

Boy's killer sentenced to 19 years

TIM POTTER — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

In court Wednesday, Athena Haga started to read from a piece of paper where she put down her thoughts for the sentencing of Heidi Dieball. It was Dieball who fatally beat Haga's 19-month-old son, Andrew Haga, while baby-sitting him last January.

But as Haga started to speak, she crumpled the paper. Between sobs, she said, "I just want to know, 'Why?' "

Dieball, 25, who had been Haga's roommate, had admitted to beating the boy on three separate occasions to punish him that January night, the prosecutor said.

Haga, 25, told how when she came home from work tired and demoralized, her 19-month-old son would make her smile. He comforted her.

Now, she said, "I kiss his urn goodnight.

Local nonprofit awarded grant to help teens

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

Catholic Charities of Wichita was one of 11 groups nationwide selected to receive up to a $1 million grant that it will use to help prevent teen dating violence and abuse.

The grant, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will help Catholic Charities establish the Wichita Building Healthy Teen Relationships Project.

The charity will work with other groups that are part of the Wichita/Sedgwick County Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition to reach 7,750 teens through activities, and provide education about healthy relationships and ending intimate-partner violence.

Other members of the coalition are the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center, the Wichita public school district, the Wichita State University Department of Sociology and WSU's Center for Community Support and Research.

-- Joe Rodriguez

Maui Invitational field, including WSU, announced

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:41 CST

Wichita State will join some of college basketball's biggest names in the 2010 Maui Invitational. Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan State and Oklahoma are in the eight-team field announced today.

Virginia, Washington and host Chaminade complete the field.

Matchups and dates for the Thanksgiving-week tournament have not been set.

WSU will make its first appearance in the Maui Invitational, which will cap a three-season run in some of the season's most prominent tournaments. Next week, WSU plays in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., starting with a game against Georgetown. In 2009, WSU plays in the CBE Classic with the finals in Kansas City's Sprint Center.

Woman sentenced in beating death of toddler

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:06 CST

A Wichita woman who pleaded guilty to the January beating death of 19-month-old Andrew Haga was sentenced today to about 19 years in prison.

Heidi Dieball, 25, was sentenced for second-degree intentional murder and two counts of child abuse.

One by one, Andrew's tearful relatives spoke in Sedgwick County District Court, before Judge Ben Burgess sentenced Dieball. One of the relatives' questions for Dieball was "Why?"

Dieball, a roommate of Andrew's mother, had been baby-sitting Andrew when she beat him because she was angry about having to care for him, said prosecutor Kevin O'Connor.

Andrew died of his injuries at a hospital.

Commissioners approve $1.7 million for economic development

DEB GRUVER — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:51 CST

Sedgwick County commissioners voted 4-1 today to approve an agreement with the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition to provide economic development services.

The contract over five years calls for $1.7 million in funding, given out annually.

The group works to attract and retain businesses and jobs to the Wichita area. For every $1 invested, the group says, it has returned $2.39 in public benefits.

Board member Kelly Parks voted against the funding, expressing concerns about an extra $50,000 for next year and the length of the contract given an uncertain economy.

For more on the county's contract with the group, read Thursday's Eagle.

Boeing Wichita to cut about 800 jobs in 2009

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:41 CST

Boeing Wichita plans to cut about 800 jobs from its workforce in the first half of 2009 as some of its programs wind down.

Layoff notices will go out to about 76 employees on Friday. Their last day of work is scheduled for mid-January.

Boeing will deliver the rest of the layoff notices throughout 2009, the company said. Most will occur in the first half of the year.

Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems facility in Wichita currently employs about 3,000 people.

Tanker programs for the Japanese and Italian governments are winding down, company officials said. Layoffs were also caused by a delay in the U.S. Air Force tanker program. Boeing and Airbus are competing for that program.

Wheel spill blocks I-135, injures one

STAN FINGER — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:31 CST

One person has been hurt and southbound I-135 has been blocked after combine wheels spilled from a semi-trailer truck near the Eighth Street exit, authorities reported.

One of the wheels struck a jeep shortly after 2 p.m., and an EMS crew is treating the driver for unspecified injuries, a Sedgwick County dispatcher said.

All three lanes of southbound I-135 are blocked by the accident, she said.

Check Kansas.com for updates.

Former secretary suing sheriff, Harvey County

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:41 CST

A former secretary in the Harvey County Sheriff's Office is suing, saying she was fired because she wouldn't support the sheriff's election bid.

Jeanne Drake filed the federal job discrimination lawsuit against Sheriff Arlis "A.J." Wuthnow and the county commissioners.

Drake claims Wuthnow fired her in August because she wouldn't sign his nominating petition in his bid to be elected sheriff. And she says he also tried to get her fired from her current job in the county coroner's office.

Wuthnow lost the Aug. 5 Republican primary election and a write-in bid during the general election. He'll leave office in January.

Investigator testifies about trouble getting abortion records

RON SYLVESTER — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:36 CST

Tom Williams said he'd never seen the kind of legal scrutiny he experienced when he tried to ask for abortion records from a Wichita clinic.

"Not even federal wire taps," Williams said, in his third day of testimony in a suppression hearing for Wichita physician George Tiller this morning in Sedgwick County District Court.

Tiller's lawyers are asking Judge Clark Owens to dismiss 19 misdemeanor charges against Tiller, arguing that the Kansas Attorney General's Office, under Phill Kline, overstepped the bounds of its authority in collecting evidence.

Williams, Kline's chief investigator, said he looked into practices at abortion clinics for Kline as he would in any investigation, including in his past job for the U.S. Treasury Department.

That is, until he began seeking abortion records from Tiller's clinic. Then the investigation received about a year of legal scrutiny and went to the Kansas Supreme Court.

Police looking for twins after robbery

STAN FINGER — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:56 CST

Wichita police are looking for twins who robbed a man at his apartment Tuesday morning.

The 20-year-old victim said the brothers broke into his apartment in the 5700 block of East Mainsgate shortly before 10 a.m. and ordered him to stay in bed and cover his face with a pillow.

The two 18-year-old suspects proceeded to ransack the apartment and steal several items, including two laptops, a television set and an MP3 player.

The victim knows the suspects, police said.

Bank of America robber remains elusive

STAN FINGER — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:16 CST

Authorities are still looking for a man who robbed the Bank of America branch at Central and Woodlawn Tuesday afternoon.

The man came into the bank just before 2:30 p.m., handed a note to a teller after waiting for a customer or two to leave and left with an undisclosed amount of money, authorities said.

The robber indicated he had a gun, but none was actually seen, Wichita Police Capt. Darrell Haynes said.

The suspect was described as white, between 30 and 40 years old, about 6 feet tall, 220 pounds, with a reddish-brown goatee. He was wearing a blue jacket and baseball cap.

One of the images from a bank security camera suggests the suspect has a shaved head, Haynes said.

'Operation Bus Stop' yields 11 citations

STAN FINGER — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:26 CST

Eleven motorists were ticketed during "Operation Bus Stop" in Maize Tuesday afternoon, authorities announced.

Ten of them were cited for not stopping for a halted school bus with flashing red lights activated.

State law requires motorists to stop when a bus has its flashing lights turned on, and they cannot proceed until the bus resumes motion or the flashing lights are turned off. Violators may be fined $300.

The operation, which was conducted between 2 and 5 p.m., involved 35 law enforcement officers from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office, the Wichita and Maize police departments and the Kansas Highway Patrol.