Textron names new leader
Textron Aviation has announced Brian Rohloff as its new president and CEO.
In a press release, the company announced that Rohloff will succeed Ron Draper, who announced his retirement after more than 27 years with Textron
Rohloff, who is a WSU graduate, most recently served as a senior vice president who led the company’s global customer support operations.
Textron CEO and president Lisa Atherton said throughout his 29-year career with Textron Aviation, Rohloff had demonstrated strong leadership across multiple functions and built trusted relationships with employees, customers and suppliers.
D. A. Scam Alert
The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office is warning people against e-mail scams after someone allegedly lost thousands of dollars to a fraudulent e-mail request.
The DA's office says it is investigating a "six-figure loss" that was the result of a fake electronic payment.
The office says if you receive an e-mail request from a vendor, employee, or other person about a money transfer, you should make sure the e-mail address provided exactly matches the known e-mail address.
Also, before sending money, you should call the person to ensure they made the request.
Court decision on detainee in Reno County
The state’s highest court has upheld the drug conviction of a Reno County woman who was found sleeping under a bridge.
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the woman, Nicole Willard, was not unlawfully detained, and that a reasonable person would have believed she was free to leave the scene.
Hutchinson firefighters found Willard sleeping under a bridge. She refused medical care but paramedics stayed with her until police arrived.
An officer later discovered she had an outstanding warrant.
At the jail, officers searched her and found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Willard appealed, arguing she had been unlawfully detained.
The Court of Appeals agreed, but the Kansas Supreme Court reversed the ruling.
New Wichita fire chief in place
This week marks the beginning of work for Wichita's 15th fire chief, Mike Mire.
Mire joins the Wichita Fire Department after a nearly 30 year career in Houston, Texas. He most recently worked as that city's assistant fire chief and head of its emergency response command.
Mire succeeds Tammy Snow as the head of the department. Snow was seen as a trailblazer for the department as the first female fire chief in its history. She announced her retirement in February.
Mire was selected as Snow's replacement in July after city officials conducted a national search for the next chief.
Superintendent arrest in Ness County
A western Kansas school superintendent is facing ten criminal charges including several financial crimes.
The Ness County Sheriff’s offices arrested Western Plains Superintendent Jeff Jones on Friday.
Charges include official misconduct, misuse of public funds, theft and more. But law enforcement has not released any details about what led to the charges.
The case has been referred to the county attorney for prosecution.
Budget week for City and County governments
Tonight at 6 the Wichita City Council votes on a proposed eight-hundred-million $800 million budget. Tomorrow at 9 a..m. the Sedgwick County Commission makes up its mind on a $660 million budget.
The budget proposals before the Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission are tens of millions of dollars higher than the year before, but neither jurisdiction is considering a mill rate increase.
That's the number of dollars a property is taxed for every $1,000 in assessed value. Local mill rates might stay the same or decrease because property assessments are expected to rise by 7.5%.
A rise like that would mean more tax dollars even at lower mill rates.
The Wichita budget vote will help decide whether those dollars go to increase police and homelessness spending.
The Sedgwick County budget would direct taxes to what the Commission calls 'core' needs, like additional EMS staffing.
Commissioners are considering other funds for what they call less essential projects, like repairs to Intrust Arena.
Rural veterinarians needed
A recent 5 year report from a local coalition shows that livestock producers think there is a veterinary shortage.
The Rural Veterinary Workforce Task Force is a group working to keep them in the state to address the gap.
Brad White is a professor at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He says the group brings together producers, veterinarians and educational institutions, “We get many different perspectives as we look at how we evaluate these issues to make sure we have enough service to rural Kansas.”
The group has helped expand the K-State Veterinary Training Program which offers up to $25,000 to graduates who stay in Kansas.
In its 20 years, 108 students have started the program and 95% of graduates are still in Kansas.
E-Bike dangers
The increasing crashes and deaths related to e-bikes and e-scooters have some Kansans advocating for statewide regulations.
Last session, the parents of a Leawood boy who died in an e-scooter crash pushed for a bill that would've imposed statewide age, weight of vehicle and speed regulations. It never received a hearing.
Wichita Republican state representative Steve Brunk serves on the House Transportation Committee. He says the wide differences in Kansas communities can make it hard to pass regulations for something like e-bikes, “I mean Kansas is so diverse. You’ve got downtown and highways and four and five lanes of traffic going each way sometimes – and stoplights you know, lots of people — and so that’s completely different than if you’re in a town of 100 people.”
For now, regulations are up to local jurisdictions. After the Leawood boy died, the city of Leawood passed an ordinance requiring all minors to wear helmets while riding an e-bike or e-scooter. Some cities have set speed limit regulations, like in Topeka, where riders can’t go over 15 miles per hour.
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