Investigation: Sheriff seeks information about bus-watcher

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Department is seeking information about a man seen watching children get off school buses near the 1600 section of North 1748 Road.

A woman called authorities after seeing the man twice last week, Lt. Ken Massey said. She described him as a white man with a gray beard sitting in a tan sport utility-type vehicle.

The woman said the man appeared out of place and that he left the area both afternoons after the school buses left.

Anyone with information is asked to call 843-TIPS (8477).

Schools: Baldwin High officials dismiss students early

Baldwin High School students were sent home at 12:30 p.m. Monday after a construction crew digging nearby cracked into a pipeline, leaving the school without water pressure.

The school’s heating system is water-cooled. Because the water pressure dropped from the outage, a valve shut off the school’s furnace.

A new subdivision is being built just north of the high school, and contractors were digging to lay sewer pipes and connect the subdivision to the rest of the city. A construction crew member said a mismarked waterline caused the crew to dig in the wrong spot. The pipeline was repaired within a few hours.

Classes will resume this morning.

Police: Parole violator arrested after low-speed chase

A man wanted for state parole violation was arrested Monday by Douglas County Sheriff’s officers after the pickup truck he was in crashed through a fence and stopped in a field.

Jesse W. Remby, 42, was taken into custody, Sheriff’s Lt. Ken Massey said. A Topeka woman who was driving the truck also was arrested, he said.

The truck, a 1993 Chevrolet, had been reported stolen last week by a Lawrence man, Massey said. The owner saw his truck about 7:45 a.m. Monday in North Lawrence and called 911 by cell phone.

The man followed the truck and reported its location to dispatchers until two sheriff’s officers caught up and attempted to stop it near Teepee Junction north of Lawrence. The truck continued north of Lawrence Municipal Airport in what Massey described as a low-speed chase.

Remby had convictions in Shawnee County for felony theft and fleeing and eluding police officers.