Four-wheeler rider dies in accident at quarry

A 29-year-old Gardner man died Sunday after a four-wheeler he was riding flipped backward on him as he tried to ride up a steep embankment at a rock quarry.

The man, whose name police hadn’t released Sunday night, was four-wheeling with a handful of other people at a private quarry near U.S. Highway 59 and North 700 Road in rural Douglas County. Police were dispatched to the wreck at 4:06 p.m.

The man was near the top of the embankment when the vehicle flipped, said Lt. Kathy Tate, a spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. He was not wearing a helmet, Tate said.

Tate did not say Sunday who owned the property where the accident occurred, or whether the riders had permission to be there.

Homeland security: State gets $1.2 million for emergency planning

Federal emergency preparedness officials have set aside more than $1.2 million for homeland security efforts in Kansas.

Most of the money will be used to update plans and procedures used in responding to hazards of all kinds but with an emphasis on weapons of mass destruction.

Almost $275,000 will be available for starting and expanding community response teams aimed at creating opportunities for volunteers interested in taking part in local homeland security efforts.

At least 75 percent of the money from the grants are to be awarded to city and county governments.

“This is just the beginning,” said Federal Emergency Management Agency regional director Dick Hainje. “These grants are critical to supporting our state and local partners in preparing for all kinds of disasters, natural or manmade.”

FEMA is a 2,500-person national agency supplemented by more than 5,000 stand-by disaster reservists.