FBI seeks suspect in area bank robberies

A man accused of robbing a Lawrence credit union last month is suspected of robbing three other area financial institutions, the FBI said Monday.

The man is suspected in the Jan. 13 robbery of Midwest Regional Credit Union, 1015 W. Sixth St.

He is also a suspect in robberies Oct. 16, 2002, at First Kansas Bank and Trust in Edgerton; Oct. 22, 2002, at Citizens State Bank in Pomona; and Dec. 9, 2002, at U.S. Bank in Silver Lake.

In each case, the man entered the business, announced a robbery and pulled up his shirt to reveal a handgun in his waistband, FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said. The suspect, pictured above, is about 6 feet tall and weighs about 230 pounds.

Praeger to testify at U.S. Senate hearing

Topeka — Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger of Lawrence will testify Wednesday before a U.S. Senate committee to oppose a proposed insurance plan.

The proposal, called the Association Health Plan, would allow small employers to purchase coverage that doesn’t comply with state-required consumer safeguards, Praeger said.

Praeger will testify before the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. She is testifying on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Tire slasher strikes south of KU campus

Police are investigating reports of at least 20 slashed tires late Friday or early Saturday in an area south of the Kansas University campus.

According to a police report, someone slashed 17 tires in the 1700 block of Ohio Street, one tire in the 1700 block of Alabama Street and two tires in the 1700 block of Illinois Street.

Anyone with information about the crime can call 843-TIPS.

Hearing checkups offered at KU clinic

People of all ages can get their hearing checked for free Saturday afternoon on the Kansas University campus.

The screenings, sponsored by the Lawrence Sertoma Club, are part of a campaign called “Douglas County Communicates.”

The event is from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Schiefelbusch Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic in Haworth Hall.

For more information, call 864-4690.

Suspect in kidnapping has hearing rescheduled

One of four men charged with kidnapping and intimidating a witness is scheduled to be in Douglas County District Court for a preliminary hearing March 5.

The new hearing date for Michael D. Zamora, 22, Kansas City, Kan., was set during a brief appearance last week before Judge Michael Malone.

Zamora and three other men were arrested last month after a 25-year-old Lawrence man was forced to accompany some men traveling in a van. The man was released unharmed in less than an hour, Lawrence police said. Police and prosecutors have said little else about the cases.

The other three suspects have preliminary hearings scheduled for Feb. 12 before Malone.

Researchers seek survey responses online

Emporia — They’re called “flashbulb memories”: People tend to remember exactly what they were doing when they learned about a shocking event such as the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia or the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Two Emporia State University researchers want to know exactly how long these kinds of memories linger and how people’s age, location and personal connections to the event shape their memories.

To accomplish this, the researchers — associate professor of psychology Lauren Shapiro and graduate student Erynne Haugen — have undertaken a study that involves surveying Kansas residents to learn about their personal memories of 9-11.

People can take the survey online at www.emporia.edu/psyspe/FBMSurvey.htm, but respondents must be at least 18 years old.