Court employee accused of aiding felon

An employee of the Douglas County Court system is accused of official misconduct and aiding a felon.

Lawrence Police allege the employee, a 63-year-old male, allowed someone to stay at his house when he knew the person had a felony arrest warrant.

The offense happened between Feb. 1 and April 14, according to a report.

Sgt. Mike Pattrick said he couldn’t release the employee’s name or any details because of legal reasons.

District Court Administrator Linda Koester-Vogelsang said she couldn’t say anything about the case because it was a personnel matter.

Police forwarded a report to Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney for review.

KU professor to be honored at Illinois

A Kansas University professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering will be recognized tonight as an outstanding alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

David Darwin, who received a doctorate from Illinois in 1974, will receive the award from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Assn. there.

Darwin’s research focuses on structural engineering, engineering materials, reinforced concrete design and analysis, plain concrete, composite construction, finite element analysis, earthquake engineering and experimental studies.

He is president of the Kansas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Sharpton cancels visit to Topeka

The Rev. Al Sharpton, the New York civil rights activist and Democratic presidential hopeful, has canceled a planned visit to Topeka next week, his campaign spokesman said Thursday night.

Sharpton had been scheduled to attend a Saturday reception at a Topeka restaurant, then attend church services and make a speech Sunday on the Statehouse steps.

“We’re going to have to take a raincheck,” campaign spokesman Frank Watkins said.

Instead, Watkins said, Sharpton will attend a dinner with broadcasters in Washington, D.C. Several other candidates are expected to attend.

Sharpton’s visit was scheduled to coincide with a celebration marking the 21st anniversary of the naming a portion of Interstate 70 in memory of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Delta flight to Atlanta delayed after threat

Kansas City, Mo. — A bomb threat phoned in Thursday night forced a two-hour delay of a Delta flight headed to Atlanta, authorities said.

The threat was called in to the airport shortly before the flight was scheduled to leave Kansas City about 7:30 p.m., said Joe McBride, spokesman for Kansas City International Airport.

McBride said the passengers were immediately escorted off the plane, and the plane was taken to a secure location and swept for explosives. No bombs were found, he said.

The passengers returned to the aircraft, which took off about 9:45 p.m. McBride didn’t know how many passengers were on board.