AP Top Kansas News at 5:45 a.m. CDT

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Navajo Nation honors fallen NM soldier

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) -- Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. has ordered flags on the reservation to be flown at half-staff from Wednesday to Saturday to honor a fallen soldier from New Mexico.

The Department of Defense says Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth W. Westbrook died Oct. 7 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

The 41-year-old Westbrook was injured Sept. 8 when insurgents attacked his unit in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan.

Westbook grew up in Shiprock, N.M., and joined the Army after graduating from Shiprock High School in 1987.

He lived with his wife and three sons in Fountain, Colo., and his family says he planned to retire from the service in November after a 22-year career.

Westbrook's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday in New Mexico at the Farmington Civic Center.

------ Reesing, Meier, Briscoe fuel Kansas' aerial attack

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- No matter how opponents might attack it, the Kansas offense is historic.

For example, Dezmon Briscoe was the leading pass receiver in Kansas history last week for about 15 minutes.

Then teammate Kerry Meier caught up in the second quarter against Iowa State and Meier became the leading pass receiver in Kansas history.

But Meier may not hold the record long, given Briscoe's big-play ability and the way the ball is being flung around by Todd Reesing, the leading passer in Kansas history.

The Jayhawks (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) occupy a unique position in college football these days. Their quarterback and top two wide receivers are the most productive the school has ever had -- and they're all on the field at the same time.

"It's hard to believe there's a better pitch-and-catch group in the country than those guys," said coach Mark Mangino. "I'd be hard-pressed to find a better one."

------ Kan. massage parlor operators sentenced to 5 years

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Two Chinese nationals were sentenced Tuesday to five years in federal prison for coercing Asian women to come to Kansas City and forcing them to perform sex acts for customers at two area massage parlors.

Zhong Yan Liu, known as "Lucky," and Cheng Tang, known as "Tom," pleaded guilty last year to human trafficking charges. They admitted coercing women to travel across state lines and international borders to engage in prostitution.

The two were ordered to forfeit to the federal government more than $500,000 they raised through the scheme, and both are subject to deportation after they have served their sentences.

Liu and Tang were among four people arrested in 2007 after an undercover operation led to raids of 12 businesses and four homes in Johnson County, which is part of the Kansas City metro area.type:italic; A third person involved in the scheme, Ling Xu, also known as "Cherry," is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday.

According to court documents, Xu, Liu and Tang flew women from California, New York, Nevada and Arizona into Kansas City International Airport, where they were picked up and taken to massage parlors in Overland Park, Kan. All the women were originally from China.

Prosecutors identified at least 22 victims, although they noted in court documents that the women were rotated out every 30 days and there appeared to be many more victims in the 18 months the massage parlors operated from November 2005 until May 2007.

------ Army agrees Kansas priest worthy of Medal of Honor

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- As his fellow prisoners of war returned home from the Korean War, they shared stories of self-sacrifice about Rev. Emil Kapaun, the humble priest from Kansas.

The prisoners of the 8th Cavalry Regiment spoke of how Kapaun, an Army chaplain, continued to look after his men even though he was wounded and sick himself. Risking his own life, Kapaun would sneak out after dark to scrounge food for those too weak to eat, fashion makeshift containers to collect water and wash their soiled clothes.

Kapaun died at the camp hospital seven months after he was first taken captive by the Chinese in 1950. More than a half-century later, the Army's top civilian leader has recommended that Kapaun, who is also a candidate for sainthood, receive the Medal of Honor.

Helen Kapaun, the chaplain's sister-in-law, said her husband, Eugene, 85, has prayed that he would live to see his brother honored.

"We hoped it would have been sooner," Helen Kapaun said Monday. "I think there were a lot of circumstances that had to be finished in God's hands. Now, it proves that he was a saintly, holy man."

In one of his final acts as Army secretary, Pete Geren, wrote to Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., saying he agreed that Kapaun was worthy of the honor. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has also endorsed Kapaun's honor.

------ Economist, key lawmaker push Kan. pension change

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A university economist and a key legislator who wants Kansas to have 401(k)-style pensions for its new teachers and government workers said Tuesday that such a plan can be started quickly.

The economist, Art Hall, told the House Appropriations Committee that starting such a plan would lessen long-term funding problems for the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. Committee Chairman Kevin Yoder backs the idea.

"I think there are a lot of legislators interested," said Yoder, an Overland Park Republican.

Hall is executive director of the Center for Applied Economics at the University of Kansas, which raised eyebrows across state government with a recent report describing KPERS as "bankrupt." Several committee Democrats took him to task for the description, saying it unnecessarily frightened some seniors.

Hall acknowledged -- as KPERS officials have said -- that current retirees' pensions aren't in danger in the near-term. But at the end of last year, KPERS projected the gap between its income and expenses over the next 25 years at $8.3 billion.

He told the committee the state faces pouring increasing amounts of money into KPERS unless it moves away from guaranteeing teachers and government workers benefits, based on their years of service and salaries.

------ Garden City plan incentives for housing developers

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Garden City officials are hoping to ease a housing shortage by offering incentives for developers to build new homes.

City commissioners agreed to offer developers building permit waivers and $3,000 in cash for each single-family home they build within city limits. The City Commission approved the program at last Tuesday's commission meeting.

The city budgeted $60,000 for the program.

"In this last year, you could count the number of new houses on one of two hands," said Garden City Mayor Nancy Harness. "The reason we're doing this is not only to encourage development within the city but home ownership, as well."

To qualify, a single-family home be at least 1,250 square feet and include a two-car garage. And the cash incentives are limited to the first 20 builders who apply beginning Jan. 1, 2010.

Kaleb Kentner, director of Planning and Community Development, said less than a dozen new homes a year are being built in Garden City, with only 40 to 50 homes for sale.