HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Two more people have been arrested in the Monday kidnapping case involving a Hutchinson man. Hutchinson police report that 32-year-old Amanda Gresham and 30-year-old John Sullivan were taken into custody Thursday.

Gresham is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and aggravated battery. Sullivan is charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery.

Gresham and Sullivan, along with 38-year-old Titus Thompson, are the believed suspects behind the abduction of 50-year-old Leon Levasseur, who was taken by knifepoint from his residence, then placed in his car and driven to an area near Burrton, where he was finally able to escape and call 911.

Police say the recovery of multiple items taken from Levasseur’s residence led them to the arrests. Detectives determined Thompson and a second suspect were dropped off in the area of Avenue B and Elm in the morning hours of Oct. 22, by a female, with the intent to commit robbery.

Gresham is being held on a $135,000 bond. Sullivan’s bond is set at $160,000.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Town Club board has voted to accept a bid of $200,000 from USD 308 for the Town Club building. The school district will use the building to meet the needs of middle school students.

Gary Price, Superintendent for the Hutchinson School District, was given authority to negotiate the sale on behalf of the USD 308 School Board. Final approval will be given at the Nov. 12 board meeting.

The Town Club is planning a sale of contents of the building for members only on Thursday, Nov. 29, and to the public on Nov. 30. Times for both sales will be announced later.

The Town Club will close Oct 31.

The club is closing because members are getting older and younger people are not interested in joining.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The proposed wind farm in southeast Reno County has commissioners considering what they call overlay zoning. It’s used for specific businesses that may want to build in the county.

County Commissioner Bob Bush talked about this controversy with some residents in the Haven area who want a moratorium on any wind towers being built in the county until any zoning can be put in place.

Bush discusses the concern surrounding wind towers in incorporated and unincorporated parts of the county:

At a meeting earlier this month, NextEra Energy told the commission it would abide by zoning in place in the unincorporated area as the company will have to do in the incorporated areas.

Bush wants to make it clear that any zoning put in place by the county would only be for certain industry:

Bush says he understands that residents of the rural areas of the county live there to avoid all the zoning issues. But, the commission wants to make sure it is protected from certain forms of industry:

The planning commission will put together some form of zoning for those areas. That could take up to six months.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Police were called to 300 block of West 8th just before 4 p.m. Thursday on the report of an armed subject.

Robert Prebble

When officers arrived, they learned 35-year-old Robert Prebble had pulled a knife on a man he was having a verbal argument with.

Prebble had already left the scene, but was found shortly after in a detached garage on West 7th. After a search of that garage, officers reportedly found the knife with a curved blade. During a court appearance, Prebble denied he ever had a knife.

He faces a charge of aggravated assault.

Clancey Nelson, 23, was also arrested on drug charges at the location on West 8th. Authorities say they found methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia on him. Nelson also faces a charge of interference with law enforcement.

Both men will be back in court next week.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The U.S. Attorney’s office has filed a civil case against a Hutchinson oncologist and the Hutchinson Clinic for misuse of chemotherapy treatments involving at least nine cancer patients and the filing of false claims to Medicare and Tricare.

In the complaint, the Federal Courts claim that Dr. Mark Fesen and the clinic performed medically unnecessary services and cancer treatment, most involving the drug Rituxan, for lymphoma patients. An audit of the clinic found widespread problems with Fesen’s chemotherapy regimens, particularly the use of Rituxan.

The complaint reports that, from May 2008 to December 2011, Fesen and the Hutchinson Clinic were responsible for at least 289,407 claims for Medicare for Fesen’s treatments and were paid over $30 million. Of those payments, $17 million were for chemotherapy and other cancer drugs alone.

During that same time, Fesen and the clinic filed more than 10,700 claims and were paid nearly $546,000 from Tricare for various cancer treatments. Fesen is also accused of billing Medicare 1,316 times for Rituxan administered to his patients, totaling more than $3.8 million.

The civil filing also says some patients were given Rituxan well beyond the usual two-year treatment period. One patient was given the drug for five years. That patient eventually died. The complaint also talks about fines levied against Fesen for his actions and numerous accounts of how he tried to go around various rules and protocols for treatment of cancer patients.

In another incident, despite being presented with direct evidence that Fesen was providing medically unnecessary treatment to Medicare beneficiaries — possibly even to patients with no current disease — Hutchinson Clinic took no action to investigate whether it had received improper payment from government insurers for medically unnecessary services to some patients who may not have even been sick.

After Fesen left Hutchinson Clinic in 2011, some of his patients started seeing another oncologist who encountered several patients who had been receiving chemotherapy from Fesen even though their conditions were more appropriately described as precancerous.

The civil action also holds the clinic responsible for not doing enough to stop Fesen’s actions despite concerns being expressed by others at the clinic.

Updated 10/26 at 7 p.m.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The sentencing for an Arizona man convicted of being in possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute marijuana has been pushed back one week.

Dominic Holder was convicted for having around 44 pounds of marijuana on April 15, 2017, and conspired to distribute with Alyssa Holler. The state alleges that both traveled together in separate vehicles when they were stopped for speeding in Reno County. They were apparently taking the marijuana from Mesa, Arizona, to Indianapolis, Indiana.

Deputy District Attorney Tom Stanton wanted more time after the defense filed a 10-page motion Thursday seeking some form of departure when sentencing happens. Stanton said he could not come up with a response to that motion with so little time.

Reno County District Judge Trish Rose agreed to the continuance. Sentencing will be next Friday.

Holler has already entered a plea in this case and was granted three years community corrections.

Original Story

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — An Arizona man convicted of being in possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute marijuana is scheduled to be sentenced Friday.

Dominic Holder was convicted for having around 44 pounds of marijuana on April 15, 2017, and conspired to distribute with Alyssa Holler. The state alleges that both traveled together in separate vehicles when they were stopped for speeding in Reno County.

They were apparently taking the marijuana from Mesa, Arizona, to Indianapolis, Indiana. Holler testified at the trial that she agreed to help Holder because she cared about him. With the money he provided, she rented a car and they left Arizona the day before the traffic stop.

Holler has already entered a plea in this case and was granted three years community corrections.

The sentencing is scheduled in front of District Judge Trish Rose.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — If advance voting in the county is any indication, it could be a pretty good turnout for the Nov. 6 election.

In the first six days since advance voting started, 2,444 ballots have been cast in Reno County. Another 1,816 have been mailed out as well, according to the clerk’s office.

That comes out to 12 percent of the eligible voters that have already cast a ballot in the county. The Reno County Annex will be open until 7 p.m. Tuesday for voting and again Saturday, Nov. 3, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 64-year-old man is jailed on a $21,750 bond after he allegedly fired a weapon at a home on Park Street Oct. 26.

William Lee Claypole faces potential charges of distributions of drugs, aggravated assault, criminal threat, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia — one for distribution and the other for personal use — theft, and criminal discharge of a weapon.

He allegedly fired the weapon inside a home and made the person there feel threatened. She told police she came to the home looking for another woman and Claypole told her she wasn’t there. He told the woman to stop lying about him. She says she heard two men arguing and saw glass on the porch. He moved his hands behind his back and the woman feared he might have a gun. She started walking to her car when she heard a gunshot.

Police were called on the report of an armed subject. When they arrived, they made contact with Claypole. He said he only had a BB gun. However, officers found a .380 shell casing on the ground. That led to a search of the home. Officers found drugs, paraphernalia and two guns — one was reported stolen in McPherson.

Claypole has priors for attempted manufacture of methamphetamine, two convictions for unlawful possession of firearms, criminal damage, and aggravated burglary.

He will be back in court next week.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 60-year-old man was arrested Sunday after he allegedly struck a moped near 5th & Adams. The victim believes it was done on purpose.

Timothy Davis faces a single count of aggravated battery. There is some evidence to suggest that he and the victim, 29-year-old Corey Wilson, knew each other possibly from a previous case. Davis was arrested Oct. 18 for the burglary of a trailer and theft of items.

It was Davis who contacted police over the rolling disturbance, but struck the moped once it was near his vehicle. Wilson’s brother then began following Davis.

Davis, in addition to facing charges from the burglary earlier this month, is also on community corrections for a burglary conviction that occurred last year.

He made an initial court appearance Monday for the new arrest. His bond was set at $25,000.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The quarterly earnings session continues on Tuesday as Arconic releases its third quarter earnings before the bell.

The metals finishing company reported adjusted earnings of 37 cents per share for the second quarter of 2018, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents, translating into a 27.6 percent positive surprise.

Revenues rose around 10 percent year-over-year to $3.57 million in the quarter, also beating Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.47 million.

The often embattled spin-off company of Alcoa is in the middle of a bidding war for its ownership and is currently in the midst of a potential civil case involving the Grenfell Tower fire in London.

Arconic employs about 75 workers at its Hutchinson aluminum finishing facility for the aerospace industry.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It’s been awhile since any area of Kansas has reported having too much moisture.

But, according to the latest from the National Ag Statistics Service, much of the area is reporting adequate to surplus soil moisture. According to the latest numbers, topsoil moisture is rated as 3 percent short, 75 percent adequate and 22 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture is rated at 7 percent short, 81 percent adequate and 11 percent surplus.

Despite some flooding around the area, the wheat crop is doing pretty well. Wheat is rated at 40 percent fair and 42 percent good or excellent.

In south central Kansas, 61 percent of the what has been planted, although some may need to be replanted because of flooding. Fifty-nine percent of the wheat has emerged.

Both are well below the state average, although any wheat that wasn’t drowned in the flooding is doing well.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A major change has happened on the Hutchinson Police force. According to sources, Capt. Troy Hoover, who has been a part of the police force for nearly 30 years, has been terminated. 

City Manager John Deardoff announced that a press conference would be held on Wednesday. Hoover was let go on Monday less than two weeks after new Police Chief Jeffrey Hooper took over leadership of the police department.

No official word was given for the termination, but several members of the police force had been under investigation by the KBI in regard to favoritism shown to an officer who was pulled over for erratic driving. The officer is no longer with the force.

Hoover says he believes the termination stems from that February incident involving a Hutchinson patrol officer. Calls were placed to 911 saying the female officer was driving erratically and had her child in the car. However, Hoover couldn’t confirm that was the reason.

Supposedly, the officer was not given a field sobriety test back then. Hoover allegedly asked that she be driven home by other officers. “I would never do anything to dishonor the department,” Hoover said Monday evening.

Officials have not said if the investigation by the KBI is complete. Hoover, who was the Assistant Police Chief, joined the force in 1988.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Although the Reno County Commission met, it had no agenda items to approve. However, commissioners did get more comments on proposed wind farms in Reno County and how the county needs to have a moratorium while it puts together blanket zoning for such facilities.

Amy Brown, who lives near Haven, says the wind giants are receiving tax breaks while the residents being affected are an afterthought:

She also wants this proposed wind farm to be fully vetted before anything is built in Reno County:

One other person spoke during the meeting and was also in favor of a moratorium to stop NextEra from building a wind farm until zoning is in place.

Only two commissioners were present. They made no comments after the two ladies spoke.

Here are Brown’s written comments and links she cited:

Good morning gentlemen, Amy Brown, Haven, Kansas. During last week’s commission meeting, Kristy Horsch, another concerned citizen, formally requested a moratorium be placed on wind farm development. There was also a request to re-evaluate the current zoning regulations that are in place regarding wind farms, as they are insufficient to protect the health of the constituents of this county. Thank you for requesting that the County Planning Commission study a zoning overlay for the County, however, without a Moratorium on wind farm development, the study is useless, as this developer could begin building at their leisure in the un-zoned part of the county and in essence impose the industrial wind facility on the entire county, without giving constituents adequate time to vet out the full impact of living in the shadow of an industrial wind facility as well as understanding the potential or perceived economic benefit. It is imperative that a Moratorium on Wind Farm development be put in place immediately. Time is of the essence, the quality of life, the health and the economic impact on the constituents of this county, which you have a constitutional responsibility to serve and protect, remain in the balance of your choice of activity or passivity. I ask you to move expeditiously on both the matter of a moratorium and the review of current wind farm zoning regulations.

Further, we have requested the promised and perceived economic benefits of the industrial wind facilities, in order to objectively analyze, the “What’s In It for Us”, or the ultimate benefit to the bottom line for Reno County. To date, we have not obtained that information. We do not have the promised PILOT dollars or any other promises made to the county, short of a vague and possibly inaccurate FAQ posted, now in the archived documents section of the Reno County website found at this web address: https://renogov.org/DocumentCenter/View/6184/Nextera-Reno-County-QA-Rev-7_6_18.
Until a solid financial and health impact can be determined for the county again the Moratorium is essential.

– Are property values negatively affected?

Farm animals can graze immediately below a wind turbine because even at the bottom of its swing, the rotor blade is generally more than 100 feet above the ground.
www.renogov.org.

Additionally, a savvy business person, typically understands not only what they are getting, but what they are leaving on the table. The billionaire, Warren Buffet, whom we would all agree is astute, has gone on record in May of 2012, in US News https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/nancy-pfotenhauer/2014/05/12/even-warren-buffet-admits-wind-energy-is-a-bad-investment as saying, “I will do anything that is basically covered by the law to reduce Berkshire’s tax rate. For example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That is the only reason to build them. They don’t make sense without a tax credit.” Let me repeat, “I will do anything that is basically covered by the law to reduce Berkshire’s tax rate. For example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of industrial wind facilities. That is the only reason to build them.” In providing the lucrative tax incentives to these industrial wind facilities, we are spending taxpayers dollars and the only thing that we are accomplishing is creating a gigantic tax credit for the industrial wind generators while doing nothing to aid in our tax base.
https://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/subsidizing-big-wind-real-costs-taxpayers-5752.html#.UGs4Fo6L_do.

Taxpayers are heavily invested in industrial wind generating facilities, actually, tax dollars are funding them on a federal and state level. To make a long story short, what’s in it for us are higher energy bills and no red carpet treatment for normal everyday tax paying residents or businesses, that are adding to the county tax base. Higher electric costs mean a lower quality of life for everyone in the county and the country for that matter. To that end, we must evaluate this looming industrial wind facility in light of the incentives that they are receiving at a federal, state and county level, in essence, the money that is being excluded from our tax base, and compare that to the promises and perceived benefit as well. Mr. Buffet accurately accessed it, the only reason to build a wind farm is a tax credit. The tax base and incentive certainly warrants a thorough understanding, before Reno County allows industrial wind facilities to take hold.

To conclude, I appreciate your action regarding the immediate institution of a Moratorium on industrial wind facilities, a review of current zoning regulations for industrial wind facilities for their scientific basis adequacy of those regulation to protect the constituents of Reno County. Finally, thank you for taking the time to thoroughly review and explore the promised and perceived the financial benefit to the residents of Reno County.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/04/23/if-solar-and-wind-are-so-cheap-why-are-they-making-electricity-more-expensive/#1d3bcaf1dc66.

If Solar And Wind Are So Cheap, Why Are They Making …Between 2009 and 2017, the price of solar per watt declined by 75 percent while the price of wind declined by 50 percent. However, the places that deployed significant quantities of solar and wind … www.forbes.com.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas State Fair Manager Robin Jennison has been in his new position for about a month and a half. He says his experience with state government is only a plus for the fair:

He already sees things he wants to work on as manager. That includes adding to the fairgrounds yearly lineup:

With the new law allowing the state fair to keep a big chunk of the sales tax it generates throughout the year, what happens if the fair generates so much money that state lawmakers want to come back and take away that extra money? Jennison says that’s not going to happen:

Jennison says he has yet to get sales tax numbers generated from this year’s fair.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — On Monday, HPD’s Assistant Police Chief Troy Hoover was terminated from his job.

City Manager John Deardoff has now confirmed that several officers have been placed on administrative leave. The number and names of the officers involved was not released, but an internal investigation continues. The actions came from new Chief Jeffrey Hooper, who has been on the job less than two weeks.

In talking with Hoover Monday, he says he believes the termination stems from a February incident involving a Hutchinson patrol officer. Calls were placed to 911 saying the female officer was driving erratically and had her child in the car. However, Hoover couldn’t confirm that was the reason. That officer has since resigned from the force.

The leave of the officers may or may not be connected to that investigation, but Deardoff says more information will be provided during a Wednesday press conference. Deardoff also wanted to stress that the officers were not suspended, but placed on leave.

RENO COUNTY — A Reno County man injured in a farming accident last week is showing improvement at a Wichita hospital. A spokesperson for Wesley Medical Center says 31-year-old Brian Miller has improved from critical to fair condition.

Miller was run over by a grain drill he was pulling. The tractor went into gear while he was working on the farm implement. The accident happened Oct. 23, five miles west of South Hutchinson.

He was airlifted by a Lifeteam helicopter for his upper body injuries.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Arconic announced its quarterly earnings before the bell Tuesday. The spin-off company of Alcoa posted earnings of $0.32 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.30 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.25 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise as most felt the embattled company would see decline because of aluminum prices and uncertainty about the company’s future. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.

Arconic, the metals finishing company, posted revenues of $3.52 billion for the quarter that ended September 2018, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.14 percent. This compares to revenues of $3.24 billion a year ago. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.

Arconic employs about 75 workers in Hutchinson doing finishing work for the aerospace industry.

The next company with ties to the area to report its quarterly results will be Siemens Gamesa Nov. 6.

MCPHERSON, Kan. (AP) — Pfizer Inc., which already employs nearly 2,000 people in a Kansas town with a population of just over 13,000, is looking for hundreds more employees.

The company, which manufactures injectable medicines, is scouring the state for 350 more workers for its McPherson plant. Pfizer has had job fairs in Wichita and Salina to fill a variety of jobs.

Carole Johnson, site leader at the McPherson plant, says the company is responding to an increase in demand.

Johnson said the search for workers is more challenging because of Kansas’ 3.3 percent statewide unemployment rate.

The plant is trying to fill a variety of positions, such as production supervisors, project managers, process engineers and microbiologists. Many of the open positions don’t require a scientific or medical education.

PRATT, Kan. — The weather is going to play a good and bad role when it comes to pheasant and quail season this fall.

According to Mike Miller with the Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks and Tourism, the dry winters are making it hard on the pheasant population due to lack of adequate ground cover.

Miller says he expects the hunting to be spotty with some areas void of birds and some with very good turnout. Miller says areas around Barton, Russell and Rush counties will offer some of the best hunting.

The recent wet weather is proving to be good for the quail population and hunting is expected to be quite good in most areas of the state. Miller feels that the quail population is going to be some of the best in recent years.

There’s plenty of walk-in hunting as well in Kansas with over one million acres of public land available in some very good areas.

Pheasant and quail hunting begins Nov. 10. Prairie chicken season will follow on Nov. 17.

HARVEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating  a high-tech interstate theft ring and have made two arrests.

Bacelan -photo Harvey County

Ion-Florin-photo Harvey Co.

Over the past few weeks, area police departments had received warnings from banks and other law enforcement agencies about ATM thefts in Colorado and western Kansas, according to a media release from Newton Police. The thieves were using special cards that allowed the ATMs to dispense money without the use of pin numbers. 

Police in Newton arrested Alexandru Ion-Florin, 44, and Maria Bacelan, 22, on Oct. 27 after a series of thefts at Newton’s Citizens State Bank locations. A total of $22,600 had been taken in six cases.

Both of Newton’s Citizens State Bank branches were hit multiple times on Oct. 26, and the bank captured two suspects on surveillance video. The following day, a Newton officer spotted a car with Texas license plates stopped at the north and then the south Citizens Bank ATMs.

The officer stopped the car, and the occupants matched the description of the suspects in the surveillance video.