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

Saturday, November 7, 2009

NM city prepares for salt cavern collapse

CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) -- The bright yellow signs on U.S. 285 are the first indication that things aren't right in Carlsbad.

"US 285 south subject to sinkhole 1,000 feet ahead," motorists are warned.

But there is little other evidence that in southeastern New Mexico's oil country, a giant cavern sits beneath the earth, ready to swallow part of the highway and possibly a church, several businesses and a trailer park.

The cavern was formed over three decades as oil field service companies pumped fresh water into a salt layer more than 400 feet below the surface and extracted several million barrels of brine to help with drilling. State regulators flagged it as a potential danger after concluding that it was similar to two wells northwest of Carlsbad that collapsed without warning last year.

Over the past few decades, communities in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Canada and Europe learned of similar underground danger only after cracks appeared and the ground began to sink. Regulators are trying to determine how to prevent future collapses by better managing a practice that's used throughout the world.

Most brine wells operate far from homes and businesses, but Carlsbad's is unique because it is in a population center -- and could prove potentially disastrous.

------ Missouri defeats Truman St. in exhibition, 96-33

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Tigers men's basketball team has defeated division II Truman State 96-33 in its first exhibition game at Mizzou Arena.

The Tigers came storming out of the gate Friday evening, jumping out to a 23-3 lead early in the first half. They maintained a large lead throughout.

Missouri forward Laurence Bowers led the way, scoring 14 points and adding 12 rebounds. The Tigers shot 49 percent for the day and had five players in double figures, including freshman Michael Dixon, who scored 10 points in his first collegiate game.

The Tigers forced Truman State into 28 turnovers with Missouri coach Mike Anderson's trademark "40 Minutes of Hell" defense. Twenty of those were steals by the Tigers.

Vesko Filchev was the high scorer for the Bulldogs, netting 8 points.

------ Circus elephant that escaped and was hit by SUV OK

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An animal rights group on Friday asked a U.S. Department of Agriculture agency to look into an owner's treatment of a circus elephant that escaped and was hit by a sport utility vehicle on a northwestern Oklahoma highway.

The 29-year-old female elephant, meanwhile, was treated by veterinarians at Oklahoma State University and released to its owner, said university spokesman Gary Shutt. Shutt would only say that the animal's injuries were not major.

The group In Defense of Animals wants the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service "to confiscate two suffering elephants" from Douglas K. Terranova of Kaufman, Texas, the group said in a letter to Robert Gibbens, a regional director for the agency.

Agency spokesman David Sacks said all complaints are taken seriously and that the agency will look into the situation.

"If it holds some weight, we'll address that," he said.

A report filed by Enid police concerning the Wednesday night incident listed Terranova as the elephant's owner. Terranova did not immediately return a phone message left Friday.

------ Royals trade Teahen to White Sox for Getz, Fields

CHICAGO (AP) -- Mark Teahen has a new team and a new city. Happily for him, he's got his old position back.

The Kansas City Royals sent Teahen to the White Sox on Friday and Chicago will find a home for him at third base.

"That's really my comfort position," Teahen said. "It's huge. The past three years I haven't known where I'm going to play and the past 24 hours I haven't know what city I'm going to play in."

The Royals got Chris Getz and Josh Fields from the White Sox in exchange.

Teahen was established at third base in Kansas City, but three years ago the Royals called up Alex Gordon, who'd been the No. 2 overall draft pick two years earlier.

Thus began a trip around the diamond for Teahen and he never really settled in at any position.

------ Veteran admits faking paralysis to avoid Iraq

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) -- An Army veteran admitted in federal court Friday that he plotted with his wife to bilk the U.S. government by faking paralysis after a car wreck to get disability benefits and avoid being deployed to Iraq.

Jeffrey Rush, 27, also pleaded guilty to fraud charges tied to his product-liability lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. and a seat-belt maker over the 2004 rollover accident he claimed led to his becoming a paraplegic.

Federal prosecutors alleged Rush, now of Nashville, Tenn., and wife Amy Rush, 25, stood to get millions of dollars in their scam, much of it in the Ford lawsuit that unraveled and eventually was dropped by their attorney when he figured out he was being duped by the couple.

As part of the scheme, court records show, Rush wrongly got $107,857 in benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and scammed an additional $28,730 from the Social Security Administration. Court documents and discussions offered no details on how Rush perpetuated the scheme.

Rush, standing upright in court Friday with shoulders slouched and hands folded in front of him, pleaded guilty to two fraud conspiracy counts and one count apiece of mail fraud and making false statements to the Social Security Administration.

Rush, who entered the pleas without any deal with prosecutors, faces up to 65 years in prison and $1 million in fines when sentenced Feb. 17. He remains free on bond. Amy Rush pleaded guilty last month to similar charges and awaits Jan. 22 sentencing.

------ Perot pledges $6.1M to Army college in Kansas

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) -- Texas billionaire and two-time presidential candidate Ross Perot has pledged $6.1 million to a private foundation to pay for programs at Fort Leavenworth's Command and General Staff College.

Army majors spend 10 months at the school to prepare for unit command or staff positions. The college also has educated more than 7,100 international officers who have gone on to lead their militaries and, in some cases, nations.

Perot's pledge will help the Army expand ethics training for officers and bolster communication and cooperation between the military and government agencies, such as the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and State Department. Several agency employees are currently enrolled in the 10-month course of instruction.

He made the pledge after visiting the college's Lewis and Clark Center late last month and discussing history with a class of officers.

"That was the best part of the day," Perot said in telephone interview Friday from his office in Texas. "They're doing a great job, and I couldn't be more proud of them."

The money will go to the nonprofit Command and General Staff College Foundation, which is in midst of a five-year campaign to raise $10.5 million to support the college. Money raised will be matched with the proceeds from the sale of a commemorative coin series honoring the nation's five-star generals. The coin program must be authorized by Congress and is expected to begin in 2013.

------ 3 charged with kidnapping slain Mo. woman

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) -- Three people are charged with kidnapping a 23-year-old northwest Missouri woman who was found dead in a neighboring county.

Carol Thomas was seen being beaten and stuffed in the trunk of a car Wednesday night in the Clay County town of Excelsior Springs. Her body was found the following day in a rural part of neighboring Ray County. Authorities say Thomas had been shot twice.

Clay County authorities on Friday announced kidnapping charges against James P. Reardon, 23, of no known permanent address; Jennifer L. Saling, 21, of Holt; and Erik R. Zimmerman, 29, of Excelsior Springs. They were being held on $1 million bonds; none had a lawyer.

The homicide investigation was being carried out in Ray County, where any charges in the killing would be filed.

------ Circus elephant that escaped and was hit by SUV OK

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A circus elephant that escaped and was hit by a sport utility vehicle in northwestern Oklahoma is apparently back with its owner.

An Oklahoma State University spokesman says the elephant was treated by veterinarians at the school and released to its owner. The spokesman declined to talk specifically about the animal's injuries except to say they were not major.

A report filed by Enid police says Douglas Terranova of Kaufman, Texas, is the elephant's owner. Terranova did not immediately return a phone message left Friday.

A volunteer for the animal rights group In Defense of Animals says it plans to file a complaint against Terranova with the U.S. Department of Agriculture concerning the Wednesday incident.

And a USDA complaint says two elephants owned by Terranova escaped from a circus in Kansas in June 2008.

------ Fire in Wilson destroys opera house, no injuries

WILSON, Kan. (AP) -- Wilson Police Chief Mike Schoenhofer says a fire that destroyed the historic Wilson Opera House started in an auto repair shop.

Schoenhofer says the fire was reported about 2:30 a.m. Friday by a resident. When firefighters arrived, the garage was engulfed in flames and the east wall of the opera house was on fire. When firefighters got the blaze under control, the century-old opera house was gutted.

The fire also destroyed a physician's office. No one was injured.

The opera house was filled with historical records and photographs chroniciling the history of Ellsworth County. It was on the Kansas register of historic places.

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Information from: The Salina Journal, http://www.saljournal.com

------ Former TV star bounces back from woes

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) -- In our last episode of "Willie Aames Confidential," the onetime star of TV's "Eight Is Enough" and "Charles in Charge" was holding a yard sale in front of his foreclosed home in Olathe. Eight months have passed since then, and the 49-year-old Aames has since begun an extreme makeover -- not of his house, but of his life.

He's training to be a financial adviser.

That's right. Aames, who has filed for bankruptcy twice since 1997 and was selling his possessions in March just to make ends meet, has stabilized his finances and is well on his way toward learning this new profession. He hopes his story will inspire others who find themselves in similar straits.

"As of Dec. 12, I had no wife, no family, no car, no computer, no home, no electricity, no gas and no way to obtain any of it," Aames said this week. "How do you start over from scratch? I didn't know. But I thought that if I made it, maybe, just maybe, it would be helpful to some people."

No less than Thomas W. Butch, the president of Waddell & Reed Inc., and the VH1 cable channel -- which is aired a one-hour special on Aames Thursday night -- took an interest in the former actor after he hit bottom. Aames has responded by passing the Series 7 and Life & Health examinations, two of the three tests required to qualify as a financial adviser.

Not unlike a contestant on the weight-loss program "The Biggest Loser" who decides to become a fitness trainer, Aames could find himself hanging out a shingle as a financial adviser with Waddell & Reed by 2010.

------ Experienced Kansas St could make waves in Big 12

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -- In his first two years as Kansas State coach, Frank Martin had just about everything except experience.

His first year, he had Michael Beasley, arguably the most talented player in school history. His second year, he had determination and flair and one of the quickest guards in the nation in Denis Clemente.

He no longer has Beasley. But the Wildcats still have Clemente. And they finally are blessed with experience, that vital ingredient they've always lacked.

With three seniors and three juniors to go along with a talented newcomer, the Wildcats could make serious noise in the Big 12 this year.

Back for his junior season is point guard Jacob Pullen. The super-quick Clemente, who tied the Big 12 record last year with 44 points at Texas, is a senior, as is 6-foot-10 Luis Colon. Also back are forward Jamar Samuels, a sophomore, and junior swingman Dominique Sutton.

Also in the mix is one of the Big 12's most intriguing transfers, 6-foot-8 Curtis Kelly, and 6-foot-9 freshman Wally Judge, rated by Rivals.com as the No. 18 recruit in the nation.

------ Avalanche having trouble filling Pepsi Center

DENVER (AP) -- Despite their strong start this season, the Colorado Avalanche are still having trouble filling seats at the Pepsi Center.

The crowd for Wednesday's game against Phoenix set a new record home low at 11,012. Colorado's average attendance -- 14,759 -- puts the team in 25th place in the NHL, ahead of only five teams including the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay.

Kroenke Sports executive vice president Paul Andrews said he'd normally think the economy was to blame but he said team is offering many low-cost options.

------ Repairs to Cimarron Valley Railroad to begin

SUBLETTE, Kan. (AP) -- Train whistles sounded as railcars filled with wheat slowly moved eastward along the tracks, headed for export to Mexico via Dodge City.

Here in the heart of Kansas' agricultural region, farmers and grain merchants have relied on the Cimarron Valley Railroad, a short-line railroad that helps get their crops to market, for the past 13 years.

Now, with the help of a public and private partnership between the Kansas Department of Transportation, the Port Authority of the Southwest and the Cimarron Valley Railroad, much needed upgrades will be made to the track.

"It's a major rehabilitation project," said John Maddox, with the freight and rail unit of the Kansas Department of Transportation. New cross ties will be installed and new ballast, as well as other track components, including some rail replacement. The project will cost $15 million, with each partner contributing $5 million.

According to Maddox, KDOT's money is coming from a grant and a convertible incentive-based loan.

"This is not federal money," he said. "These are state funds through the rail service improvement fund."

------ Suspect in 2 deaths returns to Riley County

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -- A former Ogden man who is suspected in the deaths of a woman and her toddler son has been returned to Riley County from Texas.

Riley County police Lt. Herb Crosby Jr. says 22-year-old Luis Antonio Aguirre returned to Kansas Thursday and is being held in the county jail on $2.5 million bond.

Aguirre waived extradition earlier this week from Texas, where he was arrested last Friday.

Aguirre is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of 18-year-old Tanya Maldonado and her 15-month-old son, Juan Luis Maldonado. A hunter found the victims' remains in a shallow grave east of Ogden last month.

------ Great Bend man sentenced in shooting death

GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) -- A Great Bend man has been sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for the shooting death of another Great Bend man last year.

Thirty-one-year-old Antonio Mosqueda was sentenced Thursday in Barton County Court in the August 2008 death of 30-year-old Jose L. Villanueva Jr.

Mosqueda pleaded guilty in September to second-degree murder.

Investigators have not determined a clear motive for Villanueva's slaying.

Mosqueda's brother, 35-year-old Armando Mosqueda of Lyons, was charged Monday in Rice County with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his girlfriend, Jeannie Jacobsen, also of Lyons. He body was found Sunday morning at her Lyons home.