SHAWNEE COUNTY&nbsp; —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have&nbsp; identified the victim as&nbsp;as 31 year-old Anterio D. Deshazer of Topeka.

On Saturday, police were dispatched to an injury accident near SE 21st street and SE Illinois Avenue in Topeka, according to Lt. Aaron Jones. 

Upon arrival they discovered one of the two occupants, later identified as Deshazer, was suffering from a gunshot wound. 

He was pronounced deceased at the scene. Police took the second occupant, a woman, into custody. Police released no additional details early Monday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592170516784.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation-photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation-photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY&nbsp; —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have&nbsp; identified the victim as&nbsp;as 31 year-old Anterio D. Deshazer of Topeka.On Saturday, police were dispatched to an injury accident near SE 21st street and SE Illinois Avenue in Topeka, according to Lt. Aaron Jones. Upon arrival they discovered one of the two occupants, later identified as Deshazer, was suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. Police took the second occupant, a woman, into custody. Police released no additional details early Monday.

Police find fatal shooting victim at scene of Kansas crash

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Senate candidate and former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has reported that he had four guns stolen from his pickup truck parked at a Wichita hotel over the weekend. Wichita police say officers responded to a call from Kobach around 11:30 a.m. Saturday at a hotel parking garage. 

Police say someone broke into the pickup overnight and stole a rifle, two shotguns and a handgun. A spokeswoman for Kobach's campaign says he was in Wichita for a campaign event and had the long guns with him for a scheduled shooting event. 

Campaign spokeswoman Danedri Herbert said Kobach also “always has at least one firearm with him for personal protection.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592223986186.png" alt="Kris Kobach at a campaign stop in Ottawa -photo courtesy Kris Kobach campaign" />
 <figcaption>Kris Kobach at a campaign stop in Ottawa -photo courtesy Kris Kobach campaign</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Senate candidate and former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has reported that he had four guns stolen from his pickup truck parked at a Wichita hotel over the weekend. Wichita police say officers responded to a call from Kobach around 11:30 a.m. Saturday at a hotel parking garage. Police say someone broke into the pickup overnight and stole a rifle, two shotguns and a handgun. A spokeswoman for Kobach's campaign says he was in Wichita for a campaign event and had the long guns with him for a scheduled shooting event. Campaign spokeswoman Danedri Herbert said Kobach also “always has at least one firearm with him for personal protection.”

US Senate candidate Kris Kobach reports guns stolen

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Jeremy Rooks works the evening shift at a fast-food restaurant these days to avoid being on the street past dusk. He needs somewhere to go at night: He and his wife are homeless after the extended-stay motel where they had lived since Thanksgiving evicted them in April when they couldn’t pay their rent.

They should have been protected because the Georgia Supreme Court has effectively halted evictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. But Rooks said the owner still sent a man posing as a sheriff’s deputy, armed with a gun, to throw the couple out a few days after rent was due.

The pandemic has shut housing courts and prompted most states and federal authorities to initiate policies protecting renters from eviction. But not everyone is covered and a number of landlords -- some desperate to pay their mortgages themselves -- are turning to threats and harassment to force tenants out.

“Every day, they tried to basically get us out of there. It was basically like a game to them,” said Rooks, who wasn’t able to make his rent at the Marietta, Georgia, motel after his employer paid him late and his wife was laid off in the pandemic. “One of us had to stay in a room at all times because they wouldn’t redo the keys for us.”

The evictions threaten to exacerbate a problem that has plagued people&nbsp; like Rooks long before the pandemic, when landlords across the U.S. were filing about 300,000 eviction requests every month.

In Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly says she is considering using part of Kansas’ share of federal coronavirus relief funds to help people struggling to pay their rent or mortgage because of economic problems tied to the pandemic. 

On May 26, Kelly canceled an executive order that had banned landlords from pursuing new evictions or lenders from starting to foreclose on home mortgages. She said she had to lift the order because keeping it in place would have stressed lenders and businesses that rent homes and apartments. But she said creating a new relief program would be a top priority.

Data and analytics real estate firm Amherst projects that 28 million renters, or about 22.5% of all households, are at risk of eviction. Tenant advocates expect that number to increase significantly unless protections are put in place, and project that many of those affected will be African Americans and households led by women, both of which historically are more likely to be evicted.

In a sign of what could happen nationally, Virginia has seen a crush of proceedings since eviction hearings resumed May 18. About 700 cases already have been heard statewide, according to Christie Marra, director of housing advocacy for the Virginia Poverty Law Center. On top of that, 2,200 cases are on the docket for the end of June and early July in Richmond, which has one of the country’s highest eviction rates.

Rachel Garland, an attorney at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, said her group has experienced a spike in calls from tenants who lost their jobs due to the lockdown and fear being evicted. Philadelphia had the fourth-highest eviction rate in the country.

“Even if they can’t be evicted right now, if the courts are closed, the landlords are sending threatening emails, text messages, asking for rent, threatening to lock tenants out,” Garland said.

Alieza Durana of Princeton University’s Eviction Lab said affected tenants face high rates of depression and suicide from the stress, along with mounting debt and homelessness. Additionally, court judgments and debt collection actions against renters are reported to credit bureaus, affecting their ability to access housing for years.

Jose Ortiz, deputy director of Essex/Newark Legal Services, which includes New Jersey’s largest city, said he’s heard complaints from tenants who have been asked to exchange sex for rent and instances where landlords have threatened to alert immigration authorities about tenants living in the country without legal permission if they don’t pay their rent.

“They are not working. They don’t have the income to pay their bills and they are afraid about what will happen once the eviction ban is lifted,” Ortiz said. “Are they going to be displaced? Is there going to be a mad rush to the courthouse to get these tenants evicted?”

Tenants also are complaining about landlords locking them out and shutting off utilities.

Unable to pay her April rent in full on her townhouse in Millersville, Maryland, Dawn McBride said she began getting texts from her landlord suggesting she find work at Walmart or Costco. She said the landlord then tried to get her to sign a rent-deferral agreement, but wouldn’t let her fully read it. She ultimately was handed a 30-day notice to vacate because her lease was month-to-month, a strategy landlords increasingly are using.

“Honestly, it stresses me out a lot because it’s me and my children,” said McBride, who lost her pet-sitting job. “And, you know, I’m just like, `Where are we going to go?’”

Some tenants facing eviction have turned the table on landlords and are organizing rent strikes. From New York to Chicago to San Francisco, tenants are banding together and demanding landlords negotiate with an eye toward forgiving their rent entirely until the pandemic ends.

Many like Diana Hou, who lost her job with a political campaign and has helped organized a rent strike in her Brooklyn building with her half-dozen roommates. are pushing for legislation at the state and federal level to provide rent and mortgage relief.

“Many of us are worried about our prospects of securing housing without income and with a looming debt of unpaid rent. For the majority of the house, not being able to secure housing would mean homelessness in the middle of a pandemic,” Hou said.

Jay Martin, executive director of the Community Housing Improvement Program, which represents 4,000 building owners in New York, said he doesn't condone rent strikes but sympathizes with tenants' plight.

“Renters need a bailout,” Martin said, adding that landlords are supporting federal proposals that would cover back rent and future payments. Without those measures, he predicted a drop in property and real estate taxes that would sap state and city budgets.

The federal government’s $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package includes eviction moratoriums for most people living in federally subsidized apartments, as well as homes covered by federally backed mortgages. A second $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed in May by the U.S. House would provide about $175 billion to pay rents and mortgages, but has almost no chance of passing in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.

State and local lawmakers across the country also are stepping in with assistance and proposals aimed at averting a wave of evictions.

New Jersey lawmakers passed a $100 million rent relief bill, while in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation directing $175 million of the federal coronavirus rescue package to rent and mortgage relief. Boston is providing $8 million for rental assistance, Baltimore has designated $13 million in federal coronavirus relief funding to start a rental assistance program, and Philadelphia provided $10 million to help about 13,000 people with their rent.

Other proposals would offer long-term payment plans for those unable to afford rent and programs like mediation before cases head to housing court.

“We have to do something,” said Philadelphia Council member Helen Gym, whose bill would prevent evictions until two months after the state’s emergency order was lifted.

“We can’t go back to business as usual in a city that evicts 18,000 people a year,” she said. “That is just not sustainable.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1590531890706.png" alt="In Kansas, Governor Kelly canceled an executive order that had banned landlords from pursuing new evictions." />
 <figcaption>In Kansas, Governor Kelly canceled an executive order that had banned landlords from pursuing new evictions.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — Jeremy Rooks works the evening shift at a fast-food restaurant these days to avoid being on the street past dusk. He needs somewhere to go at night: He and his wife are homeless after the extended-stay motel where they had lived since Thanksgiving evicted them in April when they couldn’t pay their rent.They should have been protected because the Georgia Supreme Court has effectively halted evictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. But Rooks said the owner still sent a man posing as a sheriff’s deputy, armed with a gun, to throw the couple out a few days after rent was due.The pandemic has shut housing courts and prompted most states and federal authorities to initiate policies protecting renters from eviction. But not everyone is covered and a number of landlords -- some desperate to pay their mortgages themselves -- are turning to threats and harassment to force tenants out.“Every day, they tried to basically get us out of there. It was basically like a game to them,” said Rooks, who wasn’t able to make his rent at the Marietta, Georgia, motel after his employer paid him late and his wife was laid off in the pandemic. “One of us had to stay in a room at all times because they wouldn’t redo the keys for us.”The evictions threaten to exacerbate a problem that has plagued people&nbsp; like Rooks long before the pandemic, when landlords across the U.S. were filing about 300,000 eviction requests every month.In Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly says she is considering using part of Kansas’ share of federal coronavirus relief funds to help people struggling to pay their rent or mortgage because of economic problems tied to the pandemic. On May 26, Kelly canceled an executive order that had banned landlords from pursuing new evictions or lenders from starting to foreclose on home mortgages. She said she had to lift the order because keeping it in place would have stressed lenders and businesses that rent homes and apartments. But she said creating a new relief program would be a top priority.Data and analytics real estate firm Amherst projects that 28 million renters, or about 22.5% of all households, are at risk of eviction. Tenant advocates expect that number to increase significantly unless protections are put in place, and project that many of those affected will be African Americans and households led by women, both of which historically are more likely to be evicted.In a sign of what could happen nationally, Virginia has seen a crush of proceedings since eviction hearings resumed May 18. About 700 cases already have been heard statewide, according to Christie Marra, director of housing advocacy for the Virginia Poverty Law Center. On top of that, 2,200 cases are on the docket for the end of June and early July in Richmond, which has one of the country’s highest eviction rates.Rachel Garland, an attorney at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, said her group has experienced a spike in calls from tenants who lost their jobs due to the lockdown and fear being evicted. Philadelphia had the fourth-highest eviction rate in the country.“Even if they can’t be evicted right now, if the courts are closed, the landlords are sending threatening emails, text messages, asking for rent, threatening to lock tenants out,” Garland said.Alieza Durana of Princeton University’s Eviction Lab said affected tenants face high rates of depression and suicide from the stress, along with mounting debt and homelessness. Additionally, court judgments and debt collection actions against renters are reported to credit bureaus, affecting their ability to access housing for years.Jose Ortiz, deputy director of Essex/Newark Legal Services, which includes New Jersey’s largest city, said he’s heard complaints from tenants who have been asked to exchange sex for rent and instances where landlords have threatened to alert immigration authorities about tenants living in the country without legal permission if they don’t pay their rent.“They are not working. They don’t have the income to pay their bills and they are afraid about what will happen once the eviction ban is lifted,” Ortiz said. “Are they going to be displaced? Is there going to be a mad rush to the courthouse to get these tenants evicted?”Tenants also are complaining about landlords locking them out and shutting off utilities.Unable to pay her April rent in full on her townhouse in Millersville, Maryland, Dawn McBride said she began getting texts from her landlord suggesting she find work at Walmart or Costco. She said the landlord then tried to get her to sign a rent-deferral agreement, but wouldn’t let her fully read it. She ultimately was handed a 30-day notice to vacate because her lease was month-to-month, a strategy landlords increasingly are using.“Honestly, it stresses me out a lot because it’s me and my children,” said McBride, who lost her pet-sitting job. “And, you know, I’m just like, `Where are we going to go?’”Some tenants facing eviction have turned the table on landlords and are organizing rent strikes. From New York to Chicago to San Francisco, tenants are banding together and demanding landlords negotiate with an eye toward forgiving their rent entirely until the pandemic ends.Many like Diana Hou, who lost her job with a political campaign and has helped organized a rent strike in her Brooklyn building with her half-dozen roommates. are pushing for legislation at the state and federal level to provide rent and mortgage relief.“Many of us are worried about our prospects of securing housing without income and with a looming debt of unpaid rent. For the majority of the house, not being able to secure housing would mean homelessness in the middle of a pandemic,” Hou said.Jay Martin, executive director of the Community Housing Improvement Program, which represents 4,000 building owners in New York, said he doesn't condone rent strikes but sympathizes with tenants' plight.“Renters need a bailout,” Martin said, adding that landlords are supporting federal proposals that would cover back rent and future payments. Without those measures, he predicted a drop in property and real estate taxes that would sap state and city budgets.The federal government’s $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package includes eviction moratoriums for most people living in federally subsidized apartments, as well as homes covered by federally backed mortgages. A second $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed in May by the U.S. House would provide about $175 billion to pay rents and mortgages, but has almost no chance of passing in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.State and local lawmakers across the country also are stepping in with assistance and proposals aimed at averting a wave of evictions.New Jersey lawmakers passed a $100 million rent relief bill, while in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation directing $175 million of the federal coronavirus rescue package to rent and mortgage relief. Boston is providing $8 million for rental assistance, Baltimore has designated $13 million in federal coronavirus relief funding to start a rental assistance program, and Philadelphia provided $10 million to help about 13,000 people with their rent.Other proposals would offer long-term payment plans for those unable to afford rent and programs like mediation before cases head to housing court.“We have to do something,” said Philadelphia Council member Helen Gym, whose bill would prevent evictions until two months after the state’s emergency order was lifted.“We can’t go back to business as usual in a city that evicts 18,000 people a year,” she said. “That is just not sustainable.”

Tenants behind on rent in pandemic face harassment, eviction

WASHINGTON– Lakeside Refrigerated Services, a Swedesboro, N.J. establishment, is recalling approximately 42,922 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with&nbsp;E. coli&nbsp;O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Sunday.

The raw ground beef items were produced on June 1, 2020. The following products are subject to recall: &nbsp;

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 46841” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide and also sold at Walmart.

The problem was discovered during routine FSIS testing. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.&nbsp;E. coli&nbsp;O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps 2–8 days (3–4 days, on average) after exposure the organism. While most people recover within a week, some develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This condition can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5-years old and older adults. It is marked by easy bruising, pallor, and decreased urine output. Persons who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately.

FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their&nbsp;customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls">www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls</a>.

FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160°F. The only way to confirm that ground beef is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart">https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart</a>.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact the Lakeside Processing Center Call Center at (856) 832-3881.

<a>Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or live chat via&nbsp;</a><a href="https://ask.usda.gov/" target="_blank">Ask USDA</a>&nbsp;from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Consumers can also browse food safety messages at&nbsp;<a href="https://ask.usda.gov/" target="_blank">Ask USDA</a>&nbsp;or send a question via email to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:MPHotline@usda.gov">MPHotline@usda.gov</a>. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at&nbsp;<a href="https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/" target="_blank">https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592217359280.png" alt="USDA image" />
 <figcaption>USDA image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON– Lakeside Refrigerated Services, a Swedesboro, N.J. establishment, is recalling approximately 42,922 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with&nbsp;E. coli&nbsp;O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Sunday.The raw ground beef items were produced on June 1, 2020. The following products are subject to recall: &nbsp;<ol>
 <li>1-lb. vacuum packages containing “MARKETSIDE BUTCHER ORGANIC GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF” and a use or freeze by date of 07/01/20 and lot code P-53298-82.</li><li>1-lb. vacuum packages containing four ¼ lb. pieces of “MARKETSIDE BUTCHER ORGANIC GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF PATTIES” and a use or freeze by date of June 27, 2020 and lot code P-53934-28.</li><li>3-lb. vacuum packages containing three 1 lb. pieces of “MARKETSIDE BUTCHER ORGANIC GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF 93% LEAN / 7% FAT” and a use or freeze by date of 07/01/20 and lot code P53929-70.</li><li>1-lb. tray packages containing four ¼ lb. pieces of “THOMAS FARMS GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF PATTIES 85% LEAN / 15% FAT” and a use or freeze by date of 06/25/20 and lot code P53944-10.</li><li>4-lb. tray packages containing 10 ¼ lb. pieces of “THOMAS FARMS GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF PATTIES 80% LEAN / 20% FAT” and a use or freeze by date of 06/25/20 and lot code P53937-45.</li><li>1-lb. vacuum packages containing four ¼ lb. pieces of “THOMAS FARMS GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF PATTIES 85% LEAN / 15% FAT” and a use or freeze by date of 06/27/20 and lot code P53935-25.</li><li>1-lb. vacuum packages containing “VALUE PACK FRESH GROUND BEEF 76% LEAN / 24% FAT” and a use or freeze by date of 07/01/20 and lot code P53930-18.</li>
 </ol>The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 46841” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide and also sold at Walmart.The problem was discovered during routine FSIS testing. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.&nbsp;E. coli&nbsp;O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps 2–8 days (3–4 days, on average) after exposure the organism. While most people recover within a week, some develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This condition can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5-years old and older adults. It is marked by easy bruising, pallor, and decreased urine output. Persons who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately.FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their&nbsp;customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls">www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls</a>.FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160°F. The only way to confirm that ground beef is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart">https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart</a>.Consumers with questions about the recall can contact the Lakeside Processing Center Call Center at (856) 832-3881.<a>Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or live chat via&nbsp;</a><a href="https://ask.usda.gov/" target="_blank">Ask USDA</a>&nbsp;from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Consumers can also browse food safety messages at&nbsp;<a href="https://ask.usda.gov/" target="_blank">Ask USDA</a>&nbsp;or send a question via email to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:MPHotline@usda.gov">MPHotline@usda.gov</a>. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at&nbsp;<a href="https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/" target="_blank">https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/</a>.

Beef products recalled due to possible E.coli contamination

HUTCHINSON— Former Kansas Lt. Gov. Tracey Mann ran for Congress once before in 2010, but now he's got more experience as he looks at the Big First seat in 2020.

"Politics were off my radar, but they got on my radar in a big way when I was appointed by Jeff Colyer to serve as his lieutenant governor," Mann said. "I served as the 50th lieutenant governor of Kansas. That put politics back on my radar, and now, with the seat opening with Roger Marshall running for the U.S. Senate, I decided to run for this open Congressional seat here in the Big First."

Mann grew up on a farm near Quinter, which he believes gives him the perspective needed to represent the district's agricultural interests.

"Agriculture is the biggest driver of our economy in the Big First," Mann said. "Hutch, Salina, McPherson also are impacted by commodity prices. When commodity prices are high, when agriculture does well, there's more money to spend on Main Street in Reno County and across the district."

It's vitally important, in Mann's opinion, that the Big First's representative be on the House Agriculture committee.

"I think we'd be amazed to know how many members of the House Ag committee have never really toured a modern farm today, that really understand where their meat comes from, where their products come from," Mann said. "I think, through this COVID thing, I think a lot of people in urban areas of our country have been so used to going to the grocery stores and having fewer worries that there will be everything on the shelf. I think there's an increased appreciation for farmers and ranchers and I would like to carry that momentum to the House Ag committee."

Mann was endorsed recently by the Kansas Farm Bureau for the First District's Republican nomination.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1591976850719.jpeg" alt="Kansas Farm Bureau endorsed Tracy Mann in the race for congress in the Big First District" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Farm Bureau endorsed Tracy Mann in the race for congress in the Big First District</figcaption>
 </figure>By NICK GOSNELLHutch PostHUTCHINSON— Former Kansas Lt. Gov. Tracey Mann ran for Congress once before in 2010, but now he's got more experience as he looks at the Big First seat in 2020."Politics were off my radar, but they got on my radar in a big way when I was appointed by Jeff Colyer to serve as his lieutenant governor," Mann said. "I served as the 50th lieutenant governor of Kansas. That put politics back on my radar, and now, with the seat opening with Roger Marshall running for the U.S. Senate, I decided to run for this open Congressional seat here in the Big First."Mann grew up on a farm near Quinter, which he believes gives him the perspective needed to represent the district's agricultural interests."Agriculture is the biggest driver of our economy in the Big First," Mann said. "Hutch, Salina, McPherson also are impacted by commodity prices. When commodity prices are high, when agriculture does well, there's more money to spend on Main Street in Reno County and across the district."It's vitally important, in Mann's opinion, that the Big First's representative be on the House Agriculture committee."I think we'd be amazed to know how many members of the House Ag committee have never really toured a modern farm today, that really understand where their meat comes from, where their products come from," Mann said. "I think, through this COVID thing, I think a lot of people in urban areas of our country have been so used to going to the grocery stores and having fewer worries that there will be everything on the shelf. I think there's an increased appreciation for farmers and ranchers and I would like to carry that momentum to the House Ag committee."Mann was endorsed recently by the Kansas Farm Bureau for the First District's Republican nomination.

Kansas Farm Bureau endorses Mann in Big First District race

BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating three suspects following meth investigation in Barton County.

Just before 8a.m. Friday, deputies executed search warrants in Barton County at 327 Township Road in Pawnee Rock and at 7 NE. 30th Road north of Great Bend, according to sheriff Brian Bellendir.

Both search warrants were part of an ongoing methamphetamine investigation involving several suspects. Three suspects were arrested at the location on NE. 30th Road.&nbsp;

An unlawful firearm and drug paraphernalia were located at the Pawnee Rock address, drugs and drug paraphernalia were located on 30 Road.

&nbsp;Buddy Ross, age 49 of Pawnee Rock, Kansas booked on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, criminal possession of a firearm and possession of drug paraphernalia. Ross is being held in the Barton County jail in lieu of a $50,000 bond.

Dustin Sullivan age 47 of Great Bend was booked on requested charges of&nbsp; possession of methamphetamine possession of drug paraphernalia and interference with law enforcement officer. Sullivan is being held in lieu of a $10,000 bond. 

&nbsp;Jeanie Hollar-Camp age 46 of Great Bend was booked on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, interference with law enforcement officer and criminal threats against law enforcement officer. Holler- Camp is being held in lieu of a $10,000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Office has previously served multiple search warrants at both of these locations.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592219044727.png" alt="Deputies at the scene of the investigation-photo Barton Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Deputies at the scene of the investigation-photo Barton Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating three suspects following meth investigation in Barton County.Just before 8a.m. Friday, deputies executed search warrants in Barton County at 327 Township Road in Pawnee Rock and at 7 NE. 30th Road north of Great Bend, according to sheriff Brian Bellendir.Both search warrants were part of an ongoing methamphetamine investigation involving several suspects. Three suspects were arrested at the location on NE. 30th Road.&nbsp;An unlawful firearm and drug paraphernalia were located at the Pawnee Rock address, drugs and drug paraphernalia were located on 30 Road.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592219074814.png" alt="Ross photo Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Ross photo Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;Buddy Ross, age 49 of Pawnee Rock, Kansas booked on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, criminal possession of a firearm and possession of drug paraphernalia. Ross is being held in the Barton County jail in lieu of a $50,000 bond.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592219016510.png" alt="Sullivan-photo Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Sullivan-photo Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Dustin Sullivan age 47 of Great Bend was booked on requested charges of&nbsp; possession of methamphetamine possession of drug paraphernalia and interference with law enforcement officer. Sullivan is being held in lieu of a $10,000 bond. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592218945597.png" alt="Hollar-Camp" />
 <figcaption>Hollar-Camp</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;Jeanie Hollar-Camp age 46 of Great Bend was booked on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, interference with law enforcement officer and criminal threats against law enforcement officer. Holler- Camp is being held in lieu of a $10,000 bond.The Sheriff’s Office has previously served multiple search warrants at both of these locations.

Deputies arrest 3 as part of ongoing Barton County drug investigation

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A homeless Kansas City woman has been charged with fatally stabbing her also homeless boyfriend.

Forty-eight-year-old Ilene Davis is jailed on $150,00 bond after she was charged Friday with second degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing of 46-year-old Howard West. No attorney is listed for her in online court records.

West’s body was found last month on a sidewalk in northeast Kansas City, with a trail of blood leading to a parked RV that was used by the homeless. Witnesses said they were sleeping in the RV and woke up to “tussling” between Davis and West, court records say.

One of the witnesses said she heard Davis yelling “you raped me” and “you stole from me” before leaving the trailer with blood on her. Court records said the other witness said Davis had an object that appeared to be a knife in her hand. The stabbing later was captured on surveillance video.

When police questioned Davis on Thursday, court records said, a small knife was found in her bag and “apparent blood” was seen on and inside the bag.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592217776391.png" alt="Davis photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Davis photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — A homeless Kansas City woman has been charged with fatally stabbing her also homeless boyfriend.Forty-eight-year-old Ilene Davis is jailed on $150,00 bond after she was charged Friday with second degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing of 46-year-old Howard West. No attorney is listed for her in online court records.West’s body was found last month on a sidewalk in northeast Kansas City, with a trail of blood leading to a parked RV that was used by the homeless. Witnesses said they were sleeping in the RV and woke up to “tussling” between Davis and West, court records say.One of the witnesses said she heard Davis yelling “you raped me” and “you stole from me” before leaving the trailer with blood on her. Court records said the other witness said Davis had an object that appeared to be a knife in her hand. The stabbing later was captured on surveillance video.When police questioned Davis on Thursday, court records said, a small knife was found in her bag and “apparent blood” was seen on and inside the bag.

Kansas City woman charged in fatal stabbing

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a pair of residential burglaries and have a suspect in custody.

Just before 1p.m. Thursday, sheriff's&nbsp;deputies&nbsp;responded to a residential burglary that had recently occurred in the 3900 block of SE Howey Road, according to deputy Shayna Anderson.&nbsp;

The victims provided a description of the suspect and deputies began searching the area. 

At 2:15pm deputies responded to another reported residential burglary nearby in the 2200 block of SE 41st Street.

Deputies, K9’s and drones were used to search the area and the suspect was identified as Paul D. Cohagen, 50, Topeka, was found hiding in a wooded area with stolen items. 

Deputies took Cohagen into custody without incident. He was transported to the Shawnee County Sheriff’s office for questioning and later booked him on requested charges of&nbsp;Burglary, Felony theft, Theft, Criminal damage to property, Possession of marijuana and Possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Anderson.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1591958915554.png" alt="Cohagen photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Cohagen photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a pair of residential burglaries and have a suspect in custody.Just before 1p.m. Thursday, sheriff's&nbsp;deputies&nbsp;responded to a residential burglary that had recently occurred in the 3900 block of SE Howey Road, according to deputy Shayna Anderson.&nbsp;The victims provided a description of the suspect and deputies began searching the area. At 2:15pm deputies responded to another reported residential burglary nearby in the 2200 block of SE 41st Street.Deputies, K9’s and drones were used to search the area and the suspect was identified as Paul D. Cohagen, 50, Topeka, was found hiding in a wooded area with stolen items. Deputies took Cohagen into custody without incident. He was transported to the Shawnee County Sheriff’s office for questioning and later booked him on requested charges of&nbsp;Burglary, Felony theft, Theft, Criminal damage to property, Possession of marijuana and Possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Anderson.

Drones help find Kan. burglary suspect hiding in woods

OSBORNE COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just before 11a.m. Sunday in Osborne County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Jeep Laredo was northbound on U.S. 281 HWY eleven miles south of Osborne. 

The Jeep traveled off the right side of the roadway, back onto the roadway, crossed the centerline, traveled off the roadway to the left, returned to the road and rolled.&nbsp;Both occupants were ejected.

&nbsp;Thomas F. Scott, 85, and Nyla J. Scott, 77, both of Chambers, Nebraska were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to&nbsp; Clark-Gashaw Morturary.&nbsp;&nbsp;

First responders were unable to determine who was driving. They were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.&nbsp;

OSBORNE COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just before 11a.m. Sunday in Osborne County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Jeep Laredo was northbound on U.S. 281 HWY eleven miles south of Osborne. The Jeep traveled off the right side of the roadway, back onto the roadway, crossed the centerline, traveled off the roadway to the left, returned to the road and rolled.&nbsp;Both occupants were ejected.&nbsp;Thomas F. Scott, 85, and Nyla J. Scott, 77, both of Chambers, Nebraska were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to&nbsp; Clark-Gashaw Morturary.&nbsp;&nbsp;First responders were unable to determine who was driving. They were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.&nbsp;

2 dead after being ejected in NW Kansas rollover crash

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A proposal to allow the first black bear hunt in modern Missouri history is drawing strong interest, particularly from opponents.

The Missouri Department of Conservation asked for public response to a plan for a limited black bear hunt next year as a way to manage a bear population that is growing and expanding its range. The department said between 540 and 840 black bears live in Missouri, mostly south of the Missouri River.

The state Conservation Commission must ultimately approve the proposal.

The comment period, which ended June 5, drew more than 3,300 responses. As of June 2, more than 67% of the respondents opposed the idea,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/state-and-regional/fur-flies-over-missouri-proposal-to-allow-hunting-of-black-bears/article_57908419-572d-586a-b279-e8e0d985fac0.html">according&nbsp;</a>to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Some opponents object to hunting generally, while others didn't like some details of the plan, such as imposing a quota or holding the bear hunt during deer hunting season.

More than 1,000 survey respondents supported plans for the bear hunt. And the Conservation Federation of Missouri, a nonprofit organization that represents 100 groups with more than 80,000 affiliated members, favors the hunt.

“We agree that it’s crucial to use science-based methods to manage a self-sustaining population of black bears, focusing on research and monitoring, population management, and habitat management,” said Tyler Schwartze, the group’s executive director.

Only Missouri residents would be allowed to hunt the bears, and hunters would be limited to one bear. Because most bears live south of the Missouri River, conservation officials would create three “Bear Management Zones.”

The hunt would start the third Monday of October 2021, last no longer than 10 days and end if hunters reached their quota before then. Quotas would be established for each zone in the spring before the hunt.

Baiting and use of dogs wouldn’t be allowed, and at least 10% of permits designated for each zone would go to qualified landowners. An application for a permit would cost $10, with those who won licenses from a random drawing paying $25 for the permit.

Laura Conlee, chief furbearer biologist for the Department of Conservation, said hunters would be allowed to kill any bear that is by itself, but not bears in groups — such as a sow with cubs nearby.

Comments opposing the bear hunt came from across Missouri but also from other states and even Germany.

"My heart breaks for these wonderful highly intelligent animals! I kindly ask you to NOT allow such a massacre!” wrote Vera Kebsch-Müller of Germany. “Hunting is barbaric, extremely brutal and perverse and those who are able to do it are no humans in my eyes.”

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A proposal to allow the first black bear hunt in modern Missouri history is drawing strong interest, particularly from opponents.The Missouri Department of Conservation asked for public response to a plan for a limited black bear hunt next year as a way to manage a bear population that is growing and expanding its range. The department said between 540 and 840 black bears live in Missouri, mostly south of the Missouri River.The state Conservation Commission must ultimately approve the proposal.The comment period, which ended June 5, drew more than 3,300 responses. As of June 2, more than 67% of the respondents opposed the idea,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/state-and-regional/fur-flies-over-missouri-proposal-to-allow-hunting-of-black-bears/article_57908419-572d-586a-b279-e8e0d985fac0.html">according&nbsp;</a>to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.Some opponents object to hunting generally, while others didn't like some details of the plan, such as imposing a quota or holding the bear hunt during deer hunting season.More than 1,000 survey respondents supported plans for the bear hunt. And the Conservation Federation of Missouri, a nonprofit organization that represents 100 groups with more than 80,000 affiliated members, favors the hunt.“We agree that it’s crucial to use science-based methods to manage a self-sustaining population of black bears, focusing on research and monitoring, population management, and habitat management,” said Tyler Schwartze, the group’s executive director.Only Missouri residents would be allowed to hunt the bears, and hunters would be limited to one bear. Because most bears live south of the Missouri River, conservation officials would create three “Bear Management Zones.”The hunt would start the third Monday of October 2021, last no longer than 10 days and end if hunters reached their quota before then. Quotas would be established for each zone in the spring before the hunt.Baiting and use of dogs wouldn’t be allowed, and at least 10% of permits designated for each zone would go to qualified landowners. An application for a permit would cost $10, with those who won licenses from a random drawing paying $25 for the permit.Laura Conlee, chief furbearer biologist for the Department of Conservation, said hunters would be allowed to kill any bear that is by itself, but not bears in groups — such as a sow with cubs nearby.Comments opposing the bear hunt came from across Missouri but also from other states and even Germany."My heart breaks for these wonderful highly intelligent animals! I kindly ask you to NOT allow such a massacre!” wrote Vera Kebsch-Müller of Germany. “Hunting is barbaric, extremely brutal and perverse and those who are able to do it are no humans in my eyes.”

Critics slam plan for first black bear hunt in Missouri 

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary that sent two suspects to an area hospital and have reported an arrest.

Just after 2 a.m. Monday, police responded to a burglary-in-progress call at the home in the 1400 Block of North Caddy in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Upon arrival, officers located a black 2017 Mazda 4-door that had crashed into a tree in the front yard of a separate home in the same block.&nbsp; Inside the vehicle was a 19-year-old female who had sustained a gunshot wound to her leg and a 19-year-old male who had sustained a gunshot wound to his body.&nbsp;

The woman identified as Mia Yevonne Marie Hidalgo was taken to an area hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening injury, and the man was taken to an area hospital for treatment of a serious injury.

The investigation revealed a 42-year-old male was at home with his 38-year-old spouse and 5-year-old son.&nbsp; He heard his garage door open, went outside and heard a discussion between individuals in the Mazda and a black truck, targeting his home.&nbsp; 

The 19-year-old man and woman then pulled into his driveway with their headlights off and began to get out of the car.&nbsp; The 42-year-old yelled at them and fired two times from a shotgun, striking the individuals and the Mazda.&nbsp; Inside the Mazda, officers located two handguns, and the vehicle was reported as stolen.&nbsp; The truck fled the scene.

On Friday, police reported Mia Yevonne Marie Hidalgo, 19, was now in custody on requested charges of aggravated burglary, theft and a drug possession charge, according to the Sedgwick County booking report. She is being <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20061018">held on a bond of $51,500,</a> according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1591965362598.png" alt="Hidalgo -photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Hidalgo -photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary that sent two suspects to an area hospital and have reported an arrest.Just after 2 a.m. Monday, police responded to a burglary-in-progress call at the home in the 1400 Block of North Caddy in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.Upon arrival, officers located a black 2017 Mazda 4-door that had crashed into a tree in the front yard of a separate home in the same block.&nbsp; Inside the vehicle was a 19-year-old female who had sustained a gunshot wound to her leg and a 19-year-old male who had sustained a gunshot wound to his body.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1591635014456.png" alt="Police on the scene of Monday's burglary -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of Monday's burglary -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>The woman identified as Mia Yevonne Marie Hidalgo was taken to an area hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening injury, and the man was taken to an area hospital for treatment of a serious injury.The investigation revealed a 42-year-old male was at home with his 38-year-old spouse and 5-year-old son.&nbsp; He heard his garage door open, went outside and heard a discussion between individuals in the Mazda and a black truck, targeting his home.&nbsp; The 19-year-old man and woman then pulled into his driveway with their headlights off and began to get out of the car.&nbsp; The 42-year-old yelled at them and fired two times from a shotgun, striking the individuals and the Mazda.&nbsp; Inside the Mazda, officers located two handguns, and the vehicle was reported as stolen.&nbsp; The truck fled the scene.On Friday, police reported Mia Yevonne Marie Hidalgo, 19, was now in custody on requested charges of aggravated burglary, theft and a drug possession charge, according to the Sedgwick County booking report. She is being <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20061018">held on a bond of $51,500,</a> according to online jail records.

Burglary suspect wounded by Kan. homeowner moved from hospital to jail

The U.S. communications regulator proposed a $225 million fine, its largest ever, against two health insurance telemarketers for spamming people with 1 billion robocalls using fake phone numbers.

The Federal Communications Commission said John Spiller and Jakob Mears made the calls through two businesses. State attorneys general of&nbsp;Arkansas,&nbsp;Indiana,&nbsp;Michigan,&nbsp;Missouri,&nbsp;North Carolina,&nbsp;Ohio&nbsp;and&nbsp;Texas&nbsp;also sued the two men and their companies, Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom, in federal court in Texas, where both men live, for violating the federal law governing telemarketing, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The FCC said the robocalls offered plans from major insurers like Aetna and UnitedHealth with an automated message. If consumers pressed a button for more information, however, they were transferred to a call center that sold plans not connected to those companies. The FCC said the Missouri attorney general sued Rising Eagle’s largest client, Health Advisors of America, for telemarketing violations last year.

Over more than four months in early 2019, the FCC said, these telemarketers faked the number their calls displayed in caller ID with intent to deceive consumers; purposefully called people who are on the Do Not Call list; and called people's mobile phones without getting permission first.

Consumers weren't the only ones bothered. The telemarketers faked their calls to make them appear they came from other companies, which then received angry calls and were named in lawsuits from consumers. The FCC didn't name these companies, but said one got so many calls that its phone network “became unusable.”

The fine is not a final decision. Spiller and Mears will have a chance to respond.

As robocalls became a pressing issue for consumers, both as an annoyance and as a vehicle for fraud, the FCC has pushed carriers to do more to stop them. A new law beefs up enforcement and mandates that the phone industry not charge for call-blocking tools and put in place a system designed to weed out “spoofed” calls made using fake numbers.

Reached by phone at the number listed for JSquared, Spiller declined to comment. He declined to provide contact information for Mears and said neither would speak before talking to an attorney.

BY TALI ARBEL, AP Technology WriterThe U.S. communications regulator proposed a $225 million fine, its largest ever, against two health insurance telemarketers for spamming people with 1 billion robocalls using fake phone numbers.The Federal Communications Commission said John Spiller and Jakob Mears made the calls through two businesses. State attorneys general of&nbsp;Arkansas,&nbsp;Indiana,&nbsp;Michigan,&nbsp;Missouri,&nbsp;North Carolina,&nbsp;Ohio&nbsp;and&nbsp;Texas&nbsp;also sued the two men and their companies, Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom, in federal court in Texas, where both men live, for violating the federal law governing telemarketing, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.The FCC said the robocalls offered plans from major insurers like Aetna and UnitedHealth with an automated message. If consumers pressed a button for more information, however, they were transferred to a call center that sold plans not connected to those companies. The FCC said the Missouri attorney general sued Rising Eagle’s largest client, Health Advisors of America, for telemarketing violations last year.Over more than four months in early 2019, the FCC said, these telemarketers faked the number their calls displayed in caller ID with intent to deceive consumers; purposefully called people who are on the Do Not Call list; and called people's mobile phones without getting permission first.Consumers weren't the only ones bothered. The telemarketers faked their calls to make them appear they came from other companies, which then received angry calls and were named in lawsuits from consumers. The FCC didn't name these companies, but said one got so many calls that its phone network “became unusable.”The fine is not a final decision. Spiller and Mears will have a chance to respond.As robocalls became a pressing issue for consumers, both as an annoyance and as a vehicle for fraud, the FCC has pushed carriers to do more to stop them. A new law beefs up enforcement and mandates that the phone industry not charge for call-blocking tools and put in place a system designed to weed out “spoofed” calls made using fake numbers.Reached by phone at the number listed for JSquared, Spiller declined to comment. He declined to provide contact information for Mears and said neither would speak before talking to an attorney.

Feds seek $225M fine for pair who made a billion robocalls

RENO COUNTY— A Kansas man who was arrested for embezzling more than $380,000 from a local company will spend the next 11 years in prison after his sentencing Friday afternoon in Reno County District Court.

Fifty-four-year-old Anthony Mills of Hutchinson could have been looking at even more time, but the sentence will run concurrent to a lengthy prison sentence he will serve in Colorado for a previous crime involving an unlawful sexual relationship.

Mills was convicted of embezzlement and computer crimes after taking the money from B &amp; B Hydraulics. The defense in the case had asked for community corrections, saying it would allow Mills to pay restitution in the case. But the prosecution noted the representatives of B &amp; B felt that any chance of meaningful restitution was not likely to happen and asked for the maximum sentence.

It was back in March that law enforcement learned Mills had used company funds to pay personal debts from 2017 to the present. Through the investigation, detectives determined that the total loss was approximately $384,000 over a three-year period.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Mills was also sentenced for failing to register as an offender from his Colorado case. In arguing against any community corrections for Mills, the prosecution noted that Mills was still having contact with the victim.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592049726796.png" alt="Mills -photo KBI offender registry" />
 <figcaption>Mills -photo KBI offender registry</figcaption>
 </figure> RENO COUNTY— A Kansas man who was arrested for embezzling more than $380,000 from a local company will spend the next 11 years in prison after his sentencing Friday afternoon in Reno County District Court.Fifty-four-year-old Anthony Mills of Hutchinson could have been looking at even more time, but the sentence will run concurrent to a lengthy prison sentence he will serve in Colorado for a previous crime involving an unlawful sexual relationship.Mills was convicted of embezzlement and computer crimes after taking the money from B &amp; B Hydraulics. The defense in the case had asked for community corrections, saying it would allow Mills to pay restitution in the case. But the prosecution noted the representatives of B &amp; B felt that any chance of meaningful restitution was not likely to happen and asked for the maximum sentence.It was back in March that law enforcement learned Mills had used company funds to pay personal debts from 2017 to the present. Through the investigation, detectives determined that the total loss was approximately $384,000 over a three-year period.&nbsp;&nbsp;Mills was also sentenced for failing to register as an offender from his Colorado case. In arguing against any community corrections for Mills, the prosecution noted that Mills was still having contact with the victim.

Registered sex offender sentenced for embezzlement from employer

Gilbert Baker left Kansas as soon as
 he could. But, as many around the world celebrate LGBTQ pride month, 
it's worth noting that Kansas also struggled to hold the flag creator 
dear.

By C.J. JANOVY <a href="https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2020-06-06/rainbow-flags-creator-didnt-celebrate-his-home-state-but-some-kansans-are-keeping-his-memory-alive">Kansas News Service</a>

The iced tea is flowing, and the women of Parsons High School’s class of 1969 are on a roll.

A
 handful of them are circled up at a table in the increasingly crowded 
fellowship hall of St. John’s Episcopal Church, where yearbooks from 50 
years ago are spread out at the front of the room and laughter from old 
stories grows louder amid the white cinder block walls and 
green-and-yellow linoleum-tiled floor. One of the women at the table has
 purple hair – not the subtle tint of elderly ladies’ salon rinses but 
the declarative violet in vogue among queer kids.

All of these 
women have clear recollections of a classmate who got the hell out of 
Kansas as soon as he could and went on to change the world.

Gilbert
 Baker, born in Chanute, Kansas, on June 2, 1951, designed the rainbow 
flag, now flown all over the world to signify support for LGBTQ equality
 and pride.

“He always was into the arts,” one of Baker’s classmates remembers.

“He was a personality unto himself,” says another.

“He was always at our lunch table. He really did feel comfortable with us, and we felt comfortable with him.”

“He loved to act, and help us do the plays.”

They
 remember a dark-haired boy with thick Buddy Holly glasses. “You know, 
he would be the kind to wear a scarf or shawl, whatever you’d call it.”

“This may not be etiquette, but in ’69, we didn’t know what gay was. 
So Gilbert was just different,” says Debbie Sailsbury Burke. “People 
would make fun of him because he was different, but he set the stage way
 before it was ever a norm.”

One time, he asked Patty Eakins 
Edgington on a date. “I’d evidently broken up with a boyfriend. I don’t 
know what I’d done, I was 16 or 17, who knows. And I don’t know why he 
said – that’s just Gilbert – he said, ‘Let’s go to the drive-in.’ So we 
went to the drive-in movie and it was a quote, date, but I kind of knew 
it wasn’t really a date.”

Everyone agrees: “Just a friend — just a friend.”

“The
 next day,” Edgington continues, “I got yellow roses delivered to my 
house: ‘Thank you for a great time.’ He was just a nice guy.”

In 
the decades since they graduated, people began to realize what Baker had
 done after leaving Kansas. Eventually Facebook came along.

“I 
shot a request to him and he accepted,” Edgington says. “I posted some 
stuff over the years because I fiddled around in art, and he’d comment.”

At some point there was talk of inviting Baker back for one of the reunions, but that brought up other memories.

“At
 our lunch table, the guys, the jocks, would come by with their trays 
and they would slap him in the back of the head,” Burke says. “I mean 
some of them were cruel to him. I always felt sorry for him.”

They
 point across the room to Sandy Salyer, who remembers Baker doing 
cartwheels. Salyer says she read an interview where Baker talked about 
being bullied as a kid.

“When I heard that it broke my heart,” she
 says. “We were just innocent and didn’t understand what a gay person 
was. He was a free spirit, loving life.” A lot of people didn’t know 
where he went after high school, but he seemed destined for greatness.

“I’m
 just so proud of what he did and the movement he was part of,” Sayler 
says. And she begins to tear up. “I’m really sorry people treated him 
that way.”

Kansas
 has a rough time staking much of a claim to Gilbert Baker. By the time 
of his death, at age 65 on March 31, 2017, his personality and his work 
were too big even for San Francisco. He’d made his home in New York 
City.

“The rainbow flag has become a universal symbol for 
inclusion, peace and love,” the New York Times noted in his obituary. 
“It has been waved by gay rights supporters in China fighting for 
equality. It has been hung from apartment balconies as a sign of 
solidarity. After the United States Supreme Court legalized gay marriage
 in 2015, more than 26 million people on Facebook changed their profile 
photos to include the flag.”

In his autobiography “<a href="https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/rainbow-warrior-products-9781641601504.php" target="_blank">Rainbow Warrior: My Life in Color</a>,”
 published posthumously in 2019, Baker devotes a grand total of eight 
pages to his Kansas upbringing. He titled that chapter “Dreaming of a 
Life Over the Rainbow.”

“I was born gay and I always knew it,” Baker writes, before detailing the pain of that knowledge in 1950s Kansas.

As
 a child in his room, Baker pulled sheets off of his bed to fashion 
outfits for a kindergartner’s imaginary drag routine, dancing to songs 
on the radio until he heard someone coming and scrambled to put the 
sheets back on the bed. 

Later, when his parents discovered him twirling in his aunt’s old 
prom dress, his father spanked him. Sundays at the Methodist church were
 no comfort. “In my soul, questions burned: Did God make me gay and love
 me, or was I going to hell for a sin?” He considered killing himself.

Still,
 his work was inspired and ultimately shaped by a quintessentially 
Kansas event: President Dwight D. Eisenhower running for re-election, 
which Baker’s mother let him watch on TV.

“I was mesmerized by the
 hoopla of bunting and balloons and thrilled by the pageantry,” he 
writes. “I especially loved the parade of state delegates, each group 
carrying signs and banners created in crepe paper. There were crazy hats
 and pretty girls in washes of stars and stripes, the national anthem 
and the Pledge of Allegiance. I was especially moved by the sight of the
 American flag.”

Armed with crayons, young Baker became obsessed 
with drawing what he’d seen. But “it was not considered normal to 
imagine greatness and beauty,” he writes. “Being an artist was bad in 
the same way that homosexuality was bad.”

Baker’s family moved to 
Wichita for his father’s law practice. By the time he was 9, he was in 
such distress that he went to the library to try to figure out what was 
wrong with him; in a book about Freud and abnormal psychology, a 
description of “delusions of grandeur” seemed to explain his feelings. 
Fearing his parents would send him to a mental institution, Baker, like 
so many other Midwestern kids of his time, tortured himself with efforts
 to be something he was not. 

He grew obsessed with death. “Only one thing seemed certain about my 
life in Kansas: I would either be blown up by a nuclear bomb or die from
 boredom.”

Peak mid-century TV provided a bit of salvation: 
Phyllis Diller on “The Tonight Show”; the political, passionate and 
kooky Barbra Streisand; the long-haired Beatles and the Rolling Stones. 
“Old people said they looked like girls, so they were definitely pushing
 a button on the taboo of homosexuality,” he writes.

Baker took up
 the trumpet, and music became his teenage means of survival – “the way I
 could compensate socially for being so effeminate and being known as 
the class queer.” Nobody wanted to play Sousa marches, so Baker 
pressured music teachers to include arrangements of Herb Alpert &amp; 
the Tijuana Brass and Blood, Sweat &amp; Tears.

“My efforts succeeded,” he writes, “and I even became popular with my classmates because of it.”

But
 fights with his parents intensified, and he grew riveted to news from 
the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The streets of Chicago were 
exploding, “but the only thing taking over the streets in Kansas was 
tumbleweed.”

By the time he was 19, he knew it was time to leave.

“So, unlike Dorothy, when the tornado came I ran right for it, saying, ‘Take me away!’”

About
 35 miles south of Baker’s birthplace in Chanute, in the far southeast 
corner of the state, Parsons is home to around 10,000 people. Its 
well-kept Main Street and the presence of Labette Community College make
 it feel almost like a city to the kids from nearby towns of just a few 
hundred.

It’s the kind of place where people remember<a href="https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/zasu-pitts/15496" target="_blank"> ZaSu Pitts</a>,
 an actress who started out in silent films and worked up through 1963’s
 “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Pitts has a star on the Hollywood 
Walk of Fame and a bronze star in front of the Parsons movie theater. 
It’s also the birthplace of a jazz trumpeter named<a href="https://library.umkc.edu/archival-collections/clayton" target="_blank"> Buck Clayton</a>,
 who played with Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Billie Holliday and has 
been honored with a local jazz festival. Cherryvale, 20-some miles away,
 has bragging rights to two people:<a href="https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/vivian-vance/15499" target="_blank"> Vivian Vance</a> from “I Love Lucy,” and<a href="https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/pledge-of-allegiance/12172" target="_blank"> Frank E. Bellamy</a>, a high school student who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance.

“We
 jump on every little tiny thing we can to get people to our towns,” 
says Scotty Zollars, the library director at Labette Community College. 
“But why has there never been any mention of Gilbert, who had much wider
 representation than that?”

It would be easy to consider that a 
rhetorical question with the obvious answer that a stereotypically 
conservative place like small-town Kansas wants no part of celebrating 
gay culture. But the real answer is more complicated.

Even 
Zollars, a gay man in his late 50s who has lived around Parsons for 
almost his entire life, had never heard of Gilbert Baker until 2017. And
 that’s not because Zollars has stayed in the closet.

“I don’t 
hide it. Everybody at work knows, my boss knows. My fiancé and I go to 
college events, we go to Mass together, we’ve had no repercussions at 
all,” Zollars says. “We just act like it’s normal. And there’s other 
couples in town who are the same way. My impression is that people in 
southeast Kansas, they really don’t care as long as you don’t shove it 
in their face.”

Flying rainbow flags does, of course, put something in people’s 
faces. But that only partly explains the lack of recognition for Baker’s
 legacy.

It’s also as if Baker, by leaving so early and so thoroughly, helped erase his own legacy in Kansas.

Another
 reason Zollars had never heard of Gilbert Baker until 2017 was that no 
one had made any serious effort to honor him until Aaron Casserly 
Stewart was elected to the city commission. Stewart was an anomaly in 
Parsons for two reasons.

“As a gay, black man, to be honest, I 
didn’t think I was going to be elected,” Stewart says. But he was newly 
back to town for family reasons, and ran for office to honor his father.
 “He was the city building inspector, so anything that was built in the 
town he had to sign off on it. A lot of people knew him.”

Stewart 
doesn’t think the fact that he’s gay had much to do with his election. 
“I beat out an incumbent who had been on the council for a while. I 
think people wanted a change.”

During his own high school years, a
 couple of generations after Baker’s, Stewart had been the president of 
the student council, popular enough to be president of all the southeast
 Kansas student councils. But some kids found his diary, in which 
Stewart had been trying to deal with his sexuality. They took it to a 
party and read it out loud.

“Being outed, at 17 in rural Kansas in 1983, was more than I could 
deal with, so I left,” he says. Stewart finished his senior year in 
Lawrence and, like Baker, then joined the military and left the state.

Stewart
 ended up in Minneapolis, where, possessed of a soulful baritone, he got
 a gig singing with the Sounds of Blackness, a three-time-Grammy-winning
 group whose members ran in the same circles as Janet Jackson and the 
esteemed producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. From there he moved to Los
 Angeles, where he worked as a personal assistant for the keyboardist 
Morris Hayes, who’d been in Prince’s New Power Generation.

By the 
time he came back to Parsons, Stewart had been gone for 22 years. Now in
 his late 40s, he didn’t need anyone’s validation. Dealing with people’s
 conservative views was hard, but Stewart was also surprised to find a 
lot of support.

“Because my husband is British, and we’re an 
interracial, inter-generational couple,” he explains, “there was a bit 
of, how do I say, just, interest in that because we were kind of a 
novelty.”

Recognizing an opportunity to which the rest of the town was apparently oblivious, Stewart got in touch with Baker.

“He had not been back to Parsons since he left, so I invited him back,” Stewart says.

He
 also called some of Baker’s old classmates, and they talked about 
having a day in his honor, with Stewart giving him a key to the city and
 the college hosting a Gilbert Baker Film Festival.

Over the course of almost a year, Stewart had phone conversations updating Baker on the various plans.

“He was really reluctant to come back because of the experience growing up in small town Kansas,” Stewart says.

But both men seemed struck by the fact that no one had ever asked Baker to come back.

Finally, Stewart says, “he decided to come.”

A month before his celebrated return, Baker died.

The film festival went on as planned. Zollars screened the hits “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013753/" target="_blank">Milk</a>” and “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3169706/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Pride</a>” as well as “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5839198/" target="_blank">Out Here in Kansas</a>,”
 a short documentary about a gay football star from Andover, and he gave
 an award for one of the student submissions. Hardly anyone came – maybe
 15 or 20 people including staff at the college. “It was not a good 
showing,” Zollars says, “but we did it.”

In the year that 
followed, Stewart immigrated to England where he and his husband were 
married. But he stayed in touch with a few people back in Parsons, and 
in 2019, he reached out to one of the city commissioners and asked if 
they’d fly a rainbow flag at City Hall during June.

“I didn’t get a response,” he says.