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

Sunday, July 5, 2009

2 smaller Kansas racetracks face uncertain future

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Two small-town Kansas racetracks face an uncertain future with the loss of simulcasting revenue after two larger tracks closed.

The state's small tracks have depended on the larger ones since 1992 when the Kansas Legislature approved simulcasting and gave a third of the taxes from wagers to the smaller tracks to pay for operations and purses. With simulcasting, racetracks air races live at other locations to get more bets.

Stephen Martino, executive director of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission in Topeka, said Eureka Downs in eastern Kansas and Anthony Downs in south central Kansas will likely become "collateral damage" in the collapse of the state's racing industry.

"These tracks face an enormous challenge to construct budgets and put on programs that will attract horse owners to race and spectators to wager and watch," Martino said.

The tracks have long histories: Eureka Downs was established in 1872, and Anthony Downs was built in 1904.

But they have been struggling since Wichita Greyhound Park closed in 2007 and The Woodlands dog and horse track near Kansas City closed last year.

------ Kansas National Guard soldiers heading to Egypt

SALINA, Kan. (AP) -- About 425 members of the Kansas National Guard based in Clay Center are preparing to deploy to Egypt.

The soldiers will help prevent violations of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace, a 1979 agreement of mutual recognition between the two countries, the National Guard said.

The members of the 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery and a subordinate unit from Clay Center, the 250th Forward Support Battalion, are now conducting pre-mobilization training in Salina.

The training involves Army warrior tasks -- exercises to ensure soldiers are up to speed on the skills they will need. It includes weapons use, first aid and other field skills.

First Lt. Travis Zeigler said the unit will be doing infantry work.

"It will be a challenging environment, a good chance to test our skills as a unit," he said.

------ 4-year-old NW Kan. boy dies in forklift accident

COLBY, Kan. (AP) -- A 4-year-old boy has died in a forklift accident near the northwest Kansas town of Colby.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said that Justin Schroeder of Colby was riding on the forklift with his father Friday when he fell off and was run over by the vehicle's back right tire.

He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The boy's father wasn't injured.

------ Explosive devices found in KCK house with body

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Authorities are investigating after explosive devices and a man's body were found inside the same Kansas City, Kan., home.

The discoveries were made Friday when officers responded to a shooting call at the home.

The police bomb squad collected the devices. The department continues to investigate the cause of the man's death.

The name of the man was not immediately released.

------ Suspect arrested in double homicide in Wichita

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- A suspect has been arrested in a double homicide at a Wichita apartment complex.

Wichita media outlets are reporting that the suspect in Thursday's shootings is 21 years old.

The shooting left a 23-year-old man dead at the scene. Police said an 18-year-old man died at a hospital.

No names have been released.

Police said that more information about the shootings will be provided Monday.

The deaths mark the city's 16th and 17th homicides of the year.

------ Kansas gallery shows collection of known artists

OTTAWA, Kan. (AP) -- An eastern Kansas art gallery has a small collection of works by some well-known early 20th century American artists.

Promoters of the collection say it's an uncommon gallery for a small town.

The Mary Bridget McAuliffe Walker Art Collection in the Garnett Public Library includes American paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings.

The collection includes pieces by artists Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Edouard Manet and Walt Kuhn.

Promoters of the collection say it's an uncommon gallery for a small town.

A John Steuart Curry painting "Tobacco Plant" is one of the most recognizable pieces in the gallery.

------ Parsons girl raises money for Haiti homes

PARSONS, Kan. (AP) -- A Kansas girl has helped raise money to build a home in Haiti by selling her homemade gift cards.

Seven-year-old Isabelle Redford, of Parsons, has raised more than $15,000 through card sales, and sales of her art work, toys, clothes and baked goods.

Isabelle's parents had performed mission work in Haiti and explained some of their experiences to Isabelle.

Her first home she helped build was in Tiatayn, Haiti, in Hope Village.

She raised $10,000 for part of a four-apartment complex for six orphans to live and a house mother.

The home was named Isabelle Redford's House of Hope. A second home is scheduled to begin construction soon in Ghana or Kenya, Africa.

------ WWII fathers sought -- and sometimes found

OVERLAND, Mo. (AP) -- A northeastern Missouri man has spent eight years researching questions about the father he has never met.

Now John Wastle of Scotland, Mo., is searching the millions of military records stored at a division of the National Archives and Records Administration in Overland.

The 64-year-old hopes to uncover information about his father, who he believes was an American GI.

Wastle is among thousands of "war babies" who have used the National Personnel Records Center to search for their father.

Since Nov. 1, 2007, the center has made files of any service person who was discharged 62 or more years ago available to the public.

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------ Large Mo. family adopts special-needs children

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) -- A northwestern Missouri couple has adopted seven special-needs children after raising two of their two biological children.

In an era where large families are making news headlines, the St. Joseph family lives a quiet life.

Arthur and Juanita Lonjers started adopting after their own children moved out.

The family has brought in others who have been given up by families not prepared for the requirements and needs of the children.

The Lonjers children range from six to 21.

Some of the children's requirements are similar: Four are in wheelchairs, and six wear diapers.

------ Riding the bus twice a life-saver for KC man

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A Kansas City man has survived two medical emergencies and been saved both times while riding a bus.

James Jones has rode the Liberty Express Metro bus nearly every day since 1998 between Liberty and downtown Kansas City.

He works as an engineer in the Kansas City Public Works Department.

He had a stroke while riding the bus on June 9. It was the second time he'd received quick medical attention while riding the bus.

On Oct. 1, 2007, the bus stopped on Interstate 35 when Jones nearly fainted because of a dangerously low heart rate. A defibrillator at the hospital stabilized his heart.

Recently, he brought a box of doughnuts to thank others riding the bus.

------ Budget battles keep states from tackling reforms

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- As lawmakers in cash-strapped states wrestled this year with revenues that kept on falling, both campaign promises and long-standing reform efforts got pushed to the side. There just wasn't enough time or money to expand health care or improve education -- or, in Rhode Island, finally get around to banning indoor prostitution -- while also passing a budget.

In California, where lawmakers failed last week to solve the state's whopping $24.3 billion deficit by the start of the new fiscal year, they can't legally do anything else. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had declared a fiscal state of emergency that prevents the Legislature from taking action on anything but the budget until the state's fiscal crisis is resolved.

Unlike their colleagues in Washington, where policy work isn't hindered by the need to pay as you go, state lawmakers generally can't leave for home without settling on a spending plan. This year, the trials of passing a budget kept lawmakers nationwide from work on health care, transportation, unemployment insurance trust funds and pension funds, said Sujit CanagaRetna, a senior fiscal analyst at the Council of State Governments in Atlanta.

"The sea of red ink we're swimming in now has completely displaced these other fundamental issues," CanagaRetna said. "The can's been kicked down the road and those issues are going to have to be dealt with."

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's plans for an overhaul of the state's public education system -- a key campaign promise -- remains in limbo as lawmakers argue over a proposal to allow casino-style gambling to raise money and the state gets by on a one-week temporary budget. The state Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that the existing school-funding system is unconstitutional, in part for an over-reliance on property taxes.

Strickland isn't alone. Missouri's Republican-led Legislature, citing tight finances, refused to act on two of new Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's main campaign pledges -- to restore Medicaid coverage for low-income parents and to expand a community college scholarship program.