Storm that killed 2 in Texas continues north

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine trekked northward after forcing more than 100 high-water rescues in Texas, swamping streets, producing several tornadoes and killing at least two people.

As the front edge of the storm moved into Oklahoma on Wednesday, a tornado toppled power lines, damaged a couple of homes and blew over a tractor-trailer rig on U.S. 69 near Colbert, sending the driver to the hospital, Durant police said. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol closed the highway so crews could clear downed electrical lines.

The National Weather Services said two other tornadoes were reported in the area.

Flash flood watches were in effect until Thursday morning for flood-weary Oklahoma, where three children were killed in high waters in one week in July and dozens of people had to be rescued after a June 14 deluge in Oklahoma City. The storm also had started moving into Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas on Wednesday night, and flood watches were in effect for parts of those states until Thursday night.

Hermine packed a relatively light punch when it made landfall Monday night, and many Texas residents said they felt unprepared for Wednesday's sudden flooding.

In Arlington, a suburb 22 miles west of Dallas, 67-year-old retiree George Lowe said he and his wife, Laura, were surprised by how quickly and badly their neighborhood flooded. Water reached up to 5 feet high in some homes -- many just a single story -- laying waste to belongings. Quilts and artwork hung dripping and ruined on walls, and couches and furniture lay overturned on sodden, muddy floors.

------ Harrah's drops south-central Kansas casino bid

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Harrah's Entertainment Inc. on Wednesday dropped its proposal to build a casino south of Wichita, leaving two smaller regional companies to compete for a contract with the Kansas Lottery.

The Las Vegas-based gambling company didn't say why it withdrew its proposal to build a $260 million complex, including a 100-room hotel, near Mulvane. Trevor Busche, Harrah's vice president for development, said only that the decision came after "careful consideration."

The announcement came about a month after the company posted a $274 million loss for the second quarter of this year. Harrah's also reported that at the end of March, it was carrying more than $22 billion debt, though none of it was due before 2015.

"There wasn't one factor in play," company spokeswoman Jacqueline Peterson said. "The decision was based on many data points."

Harrah's withdrew its plan on the same day that the Kansas Lottery Commission reviewed proposals for the new casino in south-central Kansas.

The commission endorsed the two remaining proposals. One is from a subsidiary of Dubuque, Iowa-based Peninsula Gaming, and the other from a subsidiary of Ada, Okla.-based Global Gaming Solutions, which is owned by the Chickasaw Nation.

------ Ex-KU athletics official receives sentencing delay

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- A federal judge gave a former University of Kansas athletics official a delay in sentencing Wednesday to give him time to help prosecutors investigate a $1 million ticket scalping scam.

Jason Jeffries, the school's former assistant director of ticket operations, pleaded guilty in July to misprison of a felony, essentially knowing about the scam and hiding it from authorities. Brandon Simmons, the university's former assistant athletic director for sales and marketing, pleaded guilty to the same charge.

U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown delayed Jeffries' sentencing until March 7. He did not immediately rule on Simmons' request for a similar extension.

In separate motions filed Wednesday, attorneys for both men said the government has agreed to allow their clients to earn a reduction in sentencing in exchange for their help in the ongoing investigation and prosecution of other cases involving misuse of university sports tickets. Jeffries said he couldn't get the reduction until the other cases were resolved and asked for a six-month postponement.

Simmons' motion quoted a Tuesday e-mail from Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney indicating his plea agreement requires him to be sentenced after the resolution of the other cases "whether or not filed."

As part of their plea deals, both men agreed to cooperate fully in the federal probe into the ticket scam and to testify in any grand jury or other court proceeding. They also agreed to disclose to the government all assets for forfeiture and not to contest any forfeiture proceedings.

------ Garden City American Legion closes struggling club

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) -- A club in an American Legion post that has provided refuge to veterans since the 1930s will close because of a lack of money, and officials say a smoking ban and new state casino are partially to blame.

The club in the basement of the Harry H. Renick American Legion Post No. 9 in Garden City will close Saturday because it isn't making enough money to cover costs, said Donald Nevin, the Legion's commander.

The crowd began dwindling when the city imposed a smoking ban in 2007 that included private clubs such as the American Legion, Nevin said. Some of the club's Saturday night bingo players -- who heavily subsidized the operation -- have begun traveling to play at the Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City, where they can smoke while they gamble, Nevin said.

"That's the great hypocrisy," Nevin told The Garden City Telegram. "I don't know why it's healthy to smoke in a casino but not in a club."

The post's adjutant, Jim Arwine, also cited the increasing age of the club's approximately 360 members, many of whom have mobility or health problems.

Both men said they would like to reopen the club, but that it would require the nonprofit fraternal organization to raise tens of thousands of dollars to install an elevator that would bring the club into compliance with accessibility laws.

------ Men die 2 days apart in southeast Kansas home

EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) -- Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the deaths of two men within three days inside a southeast Kansas home.

But police say they don't suspect foul play in the deaths of 37-year-old James Drake and 41-year-old David Long at the home in El Dorado (dor-AY'-doh).

Police Chief Tom Boren says emergency responders were called to the house Wednesday morning and found Long unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

On Monday, Drake died after being found unresponsive at the house.

KWCH-TV reports investigators have ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning or some other hazardous gas. Police believe the deaths so close together may have been an unfortunate coincide.

Toxicology and autopsy reports are pending.

------ Kansas state Sen. Jim Barnett resigning

EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) -- Republican Jim Barnett of Emporia is resigning from the Kansas state Senate with two years left in his latest term.

The Emporia Gazette reports Barnett announced the decision Wednesday in a statement that didn't give a reason. He'll step down Oct. 1 and will announce his future plans within the coming week.

Barnett is a physician who retired from an Emporia medical group earlier this year to campaign for Congress. He is serving his third four-year term in the Senate. Messages seeking comment were not immediately returned.

He was the Republican nominee for governor in 2006, losing to Democrat Kathleen Sebelius. This year he ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in Kansas' 1st Congressional District.

Barnett's current Senate term runs through 2012. The Republican Central Committee for the 17th District will hold a convention to pick his replacement, who will finish his Senate term.

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