Open house to celebrate opening of gaming office

Matt All, a Lawrence resident and chief counsel to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, will address an open house today at the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas’ new gaming commission office near Horton.

The commission oversees gaming regulations at the tribe’s Golden Eagle Casino, now in its seventh year of operation.

Lasting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the open house will feature tours, prizes and an outdoor luncheon.

Besides All, Marilyn Bread, director of the National Training Center and the Center for Tribal Entrepreneurial Studies at Haskell Indian Nations University, is scheduled to speak at the event.

Unwatched 7-year-old drives truck into creek

A 7-year-old girl drove a truck into a creek bed Wednesday afternoon but survived with no injuries, according to a Douglas County Sheriff’s report.

Cynthia Falley apparently got behind the wheel of the truck while her father and the truck’s owner were talking about asphalt repairs at the Falleys’ home in the 2000 section of East 1400 Road, said Lt. Kathy Tate, a Sheriff’s spokeswoman.

The owner of the truck, a resident of Whiteboro, Texas, had left the vehicle running and unoccupied, Tate said.

The girl drove the truck through the yard and into a creek bed, Tate said. The vehicle remained on private property throughout the girl’s joyride and had been removed from the creek by the time deputies arrived, Tate said.

Program promotes safety near railways

The Kansas Highway Patrol will educate the public about railroad safety issues during Operation Lifesaver through May 24.

Law enforcement officers will set up “positive enforcement lanes” near railroad grade crossings, where they will distribute coupons for free Sonic Drive-In hamburgers and safety information for drivers and pedestrians.

Officers also will heavily enforce traffic and railroad right-of-way laws.

The Federal Railroad Administration estimates that railroad accidents have killed five to 20 and injured 18 to 47 people every year in Kansas for the past decade.

The eight counties with the highest railroad collision rates will get the most attention, which are Douglas, Johnson, Wyandotte, Butler, Harvey, Reno, Saline and Sedgwick counties.