Kan. gov. hopeful wary of court selection process

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Sam Brownback's spokeswoman said Thursday that the U.S. senator and Republican nominee for Kansas governor questions whether the process for picking new state Supreme Court justices is constitutional.

Brownback's views are in line with a federal lawsuit alleging that the selection process violates voters' rights by allowing attorneys to control who gets appointed to the high court. Attorneys chosen only by fellow attorneys make up a majority of the commission screening applications for Supreme Court vacancies.

The selection process is an important issue for some of Brownback's fellow conservative Republicans, who've been upset in recent years by Supreme Court rulings on abortion and education funding. They argue that the court isn't accountable enough to voters because of how justices are picked.

The GOP nominee doesn't intend to draft a plan for changing the process, spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag said, but "He's going to continue to talk with those who are interested in making a change."

Brownback's Democratic opponent, state Sen. Tom Holland, has said he doesn't see the need to make any changes in the selection process. He and others, including some GOP moderates, believe it is insulated from partisan politics.

Holland campaign manager Dana Houle questioned Brownback's judgment on such issues by noting his past support for Phill Kline, an anti-abortion Republican, as a nominee for U.S. attorney for Kansas.

------ Kansas nursing home: No patients got diluted drugs

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- A Kansas nursing home where a nurse with a history of drug abuse allegedly diluted morphine said Thursday that no patients actually got the tampered medicine.

Deborah J. Riggs of Goddard was charged Wednesday in a 10-count indictment with tampering with a consumer product and adulteration of drugs. The 55-year-old nurse is accused of diluting the morphine solutions intended for five patients at the Halstead Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Riggs has a history of convictions and nursing-license suspensions stemming from previous allegations of mismanaging or stealing controlled substances.

"The indictment alleges Rigg's actions were taken with reckless disregard for and extreme indifference to the risk that another person would be placed in danger of death or bodily injury," U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said in a statement.

Her public defender, Marilyn Trubey, was out of the office Thursday. Rigg's phone was disconnected.

Lee Eaton, the nursing home's regional manager, said the affected drugs in the most recent case were taken from a seldom-used overflow area. Facility officials noticed broken seals on the bottles and sent the drugs for testing.

------ Services for slain Kan. teen to celebrate her life

GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) -- A "celebration of life" service for a slain 14-year-old girl was scheduled Friday in Great Bend.

The service for Alicia DeBolt will be at 10 a.m. at the First Assembly of God in Great Bend. The Rev. Kyle Ermoian will officiate. A private family inurnment will take place after the service.

Alicia's family last saw her late on the night of Aug. 21, when she left home to go to a party. Her burned body was found three days later at an asphalt plant outside Great Bend.

No one has yet been charged in her death, but a so-called person of interest has been arrested on vehicular burglary and theft charges related to a van stolen from the asphalt plant where the body was found.

------ Federal judge blocks Neb. ban on flag mutilation

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- A federal judge overturned Nebraska's ban on flag mutilation Thursday, clearing the way for Kansas church protesters to continue trampling on the U.S. flag when they protest at military funerals.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf said the law can't be applied as long as Megan Phelps-Roper and fellow members of the Westboro Baptist Church "otherwise act peacefully while desecrating the American or Nebraska flag during their religiously motivated protests."

It was unclear whether the ruling applied only to the church members or to everyone in Nebraska. An earlier temporary block of the law applied only to Phelps-Roper.

The judge declined to explain the intent of his ruling when reached by The Associated Press.

A message left Thursday with the Nebraska attorney general's office wasn't immediately returned.

Attorney General Jon Bruning has previously said the flag-protection law passed in 1977 is not consistent with later U.S. Supreme Court rulings that labeled flag desecration a form of protected speech.

------ Kansas says vital stats office back to normal

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says its vital statistics office is back to normal operations following computer problems.

KDHE officials said Thursday the office has cleared a backlog of 6,400 requests for birth certificates, death certificates and other vital statistics records.

The backlog built up after KDHE's computer storage hardware crashed Aug. 5 and took down 85 percent of its servers.

The crash cut off access to electronic versions of agency records, including vital statistics documents. The department has said no data were lost.

KDHE says the vital statistics system was back up Monday, but the department temporarily reassigned about 50 workers to help clear the backlog of requests for records.

------ 2-day event to celebrate all things 'Gunsmoke'

DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Fans of "Gunsmoke" can travel back to the glory days of the classic TV western during a 55th anniversary celebration opening Friday in Dodge City.

The two-day event will feature speakers associated with the long-running CBS show. There will also be a Western-dress banquet and showings of special "Gunsmoke" episodes.

The celebration is organized by the nonprofit Dodge City Trail of Fame Inc. and takes place at the Dodge House Hotel and Convention Center on Wyatt Earp Boulevard.

Trail of Fame president Jim Johnson told the Dodge City Daily Globe he was looking forward to meeting some of the writers and actors linked to the show. Johnson says the event is a lot of work, but a lot of fun.

"Gunsmoke" was set in Dodge City and ran on TV from 1955 through 1975.

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