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

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Man bears striking resemblance to missing NY boy

KALKASKA, Mich. (AP) -- For most of his life, John Barnes has suspected the couple who raised him were not his biological parents -- and he's waiting for DNA test results that could prove it.

But the man who calls himself Barnes' father described as "a bunch of foolishness" the suggestion that Barnes was the 2-year-old boy snatched from outside a bakery on New York's Long Island more than a half-century ago.

"I'm his dad," Richard Barnes told The Associated Press on Wednesday. He replied, "No, no," when asked by a reporter whether he had kidnapped John Barnes.

Cheryl Barnes, Richard's daughter, said she was "flabbergasted" by John's claims and was willing to undergo DNA testing to prove they are biological siblings.

"I can't begin to know why he would think this," said Cheryl Barnes, 50. "Everybody in my family thinks John looks just like my dad."

For his part, John Barnes said he never really bonded with the mother and father who raised him. He said they didn't look like him and just didn't seem like family.

------ Animal activists decry expanded elephant displays

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (AP) -- Seven lumbering elephants -- four of them newcomers -- are the star attractions in the San Diego Zoo's biggest, most costly expansion in its 90-plus years.

But such multimillion dollar displays like the city's $45 million Elephant Odyssey are prompting an outcry from animal rights activists who view similar expansions in Denver, Los Angeles, Washington, Wichita, Kan., and Oklahoma City as part of a troubling trend.

"They increase the size of the exhibit and then cram more elephants in," said Suzanne Roy, program director of In Defense of Animals, or IDA. "Zoos are spending millions of dollars in exactly the wrong direction."

Within five years, the number of elephants in 77 accredited zoos across the country istype:bold,italic; expected to rise from 290 to 532, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, or AZA. But animal rights groups say too many elephants are already in captivity and that the expansions are not spacious enough for animals that wander by nature.

Critics also cite studies finding that zoo elephants die prematurely, contract diseases -- the herpes virus, in particular -- and suffer debilitating conditions such as obesity and arthritis more frequently than they do in their natural habitat.

But zoos that are expanding say they are contributing to public awareness, acting as ambassadors for these majestic animals and aiding conservation efforts for endangered Asian elephants and threatened African elephants.

------ Midwest storms cause flooding, spawn tornadoes

DREXEL, Mo. (AP) -- Storms that spread across the central U.S. brought heavy rains, wind and at least two tornadoes, renewing flooding concerns in already soggy areas and leaving thousands of people without power.

No serious injuries were reported from the two storm systems that hit the central part of the U.S. on Monday and early Tuesday.

In Minnesota, an apparent tornado struck the town of Austin, uprooting trees, knocking down power lines and at least one person was reported with minor injuries. The National Weather Service said the storm sent debris flying, flipped cars on their sides and sent trees through roofs.

Power was out in much of the city, including at KAAL-TV, which broadcast from a dark newsroom while anchors were handed papers to read.

Cloud rotations were spotted in several other areas and some brief tornado touchdowns were reported, but not immediately confirmed.

Heavy rain brought flooding concerns to areas of central North Dakota hit by flooding earlier this spring. Burleigh County Emergency Manager Mary Senger said the damage means some repairs made after flooding in March and April would have to be done again. Rainfall totals in Burleigh and Morton counties reached up to 5 inches to 7 inches.

------ Strong winds cause damage in Mo. town

NORBORNE, Mo. (AP) -- A storm sweeping across northwest Missouri has damaged buildings and toppled trees and power lines in the small town of Norborne.

The extent of the damage Wednesday evening was not immediately known. No injuries have been reported.

Norborne is about an hour's drive northeast of Kansas City in Carroll County and has less than 800 residents.

Mike July, a National Weather Service meteorolgist in Pleasant Hill, said straight-line winds moved through Norborne at 74 mph and above, knocking down walls on one building and damaging roofs on others.

Norborne and several other communities suffered tree damage.

Hail as large as golf balls also fell as the storm that originated in northeast Kansas moved southeast.

------ Salina smoking ban challenge lacks signatures

SALINA, Kan. (AP) -- Opponents of Salina's revamped smoking ban lack the signatures needed to put a proposed repeal to a vote.

Organizers of the repeal effort turned in petitions earlier this month to County Clerk Don Merriman.

He said Wednesday that only 994 of the signatures were valid, short 396 from the 1,390 signatures that were needed before the issue could be put to a vote.

The city's revamped smoking ban took effect May 2.

The ordinance bans smoking in almost all public buildings, changing old rules restricting smoking in restaurants to between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.

------ Kan. lottery considers high-priced, lavish casinos

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- The potential glitz of buzzing slot machines was drowned out by the recession Wednesday as state officials heard proposals from companies that want to operate state-owned casinos in Kansas.

The Kansas Lottery Commission is negotiating contracts with two applicants that want to run a casino in Wyandotte County and three looking at a casino in Sumner County. Their plans come after the companies originally awarded the contracts walked away last year, blaming the tanking economy.

The new applicants are offering less talk about amenities -- though they still plan lavish hotels and casinos -- and more assurance that they have the money to move forward.

"It's a good market and once the economy picks up, it'll be even more profitable," said Damon Schramm, vice president of Lakes Entertainment, which submitted a $317 million proposal for a hotel and casino in Sumner County.

Of the 13 states with commercial casinos, Kansas is the only state with state-owned casinos. Under a 2007 state law, four counties can have one casino each. The only casino being built is in Dodge City, and it's scheduled to open in November.

Plans fell apart last year when a partnership between Kansas Speedway and Baltimore-based Cordish Co. pulled its $700 million proposal for Wyandotte County. Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment walked away from its $535 million plan.

------ Case of short propane tanks heats up this summer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The heat is being turned up on big propane companies who last summer quietly reduced the amount of fuel in canisters that are attached to backyard grills without telling their customers, according to a pair of federal lawsuits.

The propane companies named in the suits said they cut the amount of fuel in each tank to avoid raising prices last summer when energy prices soared. Propane prices have since plunged, however, yet the practice of putting 15 pounds of gas in a 20-pound tank continues.

Attorneys, who are seeking class-action status in both suits, say the companies failed to give fair warning to customers.

"When you're paying more for less it affects people in the long run and it affects their pocketbooks," said Eric Gibbs, an attorney representing a California man in a case filed against FerrellGas on June 4 in the U.S. District of Kansas.

Gibbs' client noticed there was less fuel when he lifted the tank at home, he said.

The second case, filed on June 9 in the U.S. District of Northern California, involves four plaintiffs who are suing FerrellGas and AmeriGas.

------ KU community tributes Frederick at service

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- The guests, all standing, filled the well-adorned performing arts center with the haunting sounds of the University of Kansas alma mater song. A rousing chant of "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk" was next, followed by a cheer better suited for nearby Allen Fieldhouse.

Not exactly the sounds you'd expect to hear at a memorial service, but a perfect punctuation for the celebration of Bob Frederick's life.

Kansas coaches and players joined hundreds of people in paying tribute to Frederick on Wednesday, recounting the former athletic director's verve for life and passion for making the lives of those around him better.

"In coach-speak, when we lost Bob we lost our MVP, our stud, our go-to guy," said Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard, who was hired by Frederick 11 years ago and led the crowd in a standing ovation for his former boss.

Frederick, KU's athletic director from 1987-2001, died in a Kansas City, Kan., hospital on Friday, a day after being thrown over the handlebars in a bicycling accident in Lawrence. He was 69.

His oldest son, Brad, joked that he wasn't sure how many people would show up for the public memorial service.

------ Wheat harvest gets under way in southern Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- The first loads of the 2009 Kansas winter wheat crop have begun coming in, and officials are hopeful that they'll see good results in the wake of little disease and mostly good growing weather.

The OK Co-Op Grain Co. in Kiowa reported Wednesday that harvest has started "in pretty good fashion" once fields in the area dried from the weekend rains. Spotty harvest activity was reported as far north as Salina, where the crop typically ripens later.

The Kiowa elevator took in about 250,000 bushels of wheat after cutting began in earnest Tuesday afternoon, said interim manager Kelly Davidson.

Quality is fair with early test weights in the area averaging about 59 pounds per bushel. Top quality wheat typically has test weights of 60 pounds per bushel or better.

The grain industry anxiously awaits its first hard look at the quality of the new Kansas crop.

"I think we will have a decent harvest. It won't be any bin breaker, but first word we're getting out of the field is yield is a little bit better than expected," Davidson said.

------ Kan. cemetery not honoring prepaid burial plans

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Shawnee County has sent letters to 1,300 customers of a Kansas cemetery informing them that their prepaid burial purchases won't be honored.

The burial plans were made at Westlawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Topeka, where the former owner was accused of embezzling money before he died in 2007.

The letter from the county said customers' prepaid merchandise and labor wouldn't be honored, but some partial refunds will be offered.

Assistant county counselor Shawn Leisinger says the only other option is for county taxpayers to pay the millions of dollars in losses.

The Kansas attorney general's office sued owner Michael Graham and Associates in 2005 for not having a trust fund with 110 percent of prepaid sales.

The county was named as owner of the cemetery.

------ Topeka mayor hospitalized with pneumonia

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten is in the hospital suffering from pneumonia.

A city spokeswoman says the 79-year-old Bunten was admitted Tuesday evening to Stormont-Vail HealthCare Topeka for a rapid heart rate and pneumonia. He will remain hospitalized until his health issues are resolved, spokesman David Bevens said.

It's the second time in recent years that Bunten has been hospitalized.

In March 2007, a doctor performed an angioplasty to unclog a blocked artery in the Bunten's heart.

Bunten was elected to his second four-year term in April. He entered office in 2005 after being elected on his 75th birthday.

------ 2 Kansas inmates fight to remain in Nebraska

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) -- Two escaped Kansas jail inmates who were captured in southeast Nebraska will contest their return.

At their Nebraska hearing Tuesday in Gage County Court, Douglas Kling and West Canfield declined to waive extradition proceedings. Bail for each was set at $1 million, and attorneys were appointed for them.

Beatrice police say Kling and Canfield were captured early Monday without incident after a brief foot chase.

Marshall County (Kan.) Sheriff Daniel Hargrave says the pair escaped after overpowering a jail guard Sunday night.

Kling was being held on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, while Canfield was charged with burglary and theft.

------