KU chancellor dismisses report about IU post

Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway reiterated Friday that he was not a finalist and had never been a candidate for president of Indiana University.

A story Thursday from The Associated Press had reported that IU had narrowed its search to two finalists and that Hemenway “may be on the list.”

A KU spokesman called the report erroneous.

“It is no surprise that the chancellor’s name is linked to searches at major public universities given his accomplishments at KU,” said Lynn Bretz, director of KU’s university relations. “However, he repeated today what he told media months ago: He is staying at KU’s helm and will be a Jayhawk for life.”

Hemenway told the Journal-World in April that he declined an invitation to become a candidate for the Indiana presidency when a search firm contacted him early in the year.

Prison: Inmate admits trying to kill fellow prisoner

Hutchinson — An El Dorado Correctional Facility inmate who is serving 19 years to life for first-degree murder has pleaded guilty to trying to kill at least one fellow prisoner.

Reno County prosecutor Keith Schroeder said 31-year-old Clifford Burt had a death wish when he tried to slit the throat of inmate Michael Mellen on Feb. 18.

“He wanted the death penalty,” Schroeder said. “He knew that an inmate killing another inmate would get him that.”

Burt pleaded guilty Thursday to attempted first-degree murder and aggravated arson charges.

Prosecutors said Burt also threw a lit roll of toilet paper into the cell of another prisoner, Michael Popp on Feb. 13. Burt believed both Mellen and Popp were prison “snitches,” Schroeder said.

District Judge Tim Chambers accepted Burt’s plea. He will be sentenced July 11.

Courts: Officer’s sentence reduced for burglaries

Hutchinson — A former sergeant with the Hutchinson Police Department will serve two months instead of two years for a string of burglaries he committed in 1999 and 2000.

Randall Ray Sprinkle had been sentenced to two years in prison, but the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that was an unconstitutional departure from sentencing guidelines.

“I have to do what I think is right,” District Judge Richard Rome said Thursday. “I know that you were a police officer and a man in a position of trust. And I think you need to go to jail.”

Sprinkle’s case stemmed from break-ins at 12 Hutchinson businesses between Aug. 20 and Dec. 21, 1999, and between Nov. 20 and Dec. 17, 2000, while he was a police officer.