Democrat plans bid for district attorney

An election-year challenger for Republican Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney has stepped forward.

Martin Miller, a Lawrence defense attorney and former prosecutor, confirmed Monday that he planned to run for the office on the Democratic ticket. He unsuccessfully ran against Kenney in 1996 as an independent.

“I kind of owe it to the community that I’ve lived in and worked in for 25 years to broaden the field a little bit,” said Miller, 56. “I believe in the democratic system of presenting voters with enough choices that they can make an informed decision.”

Miller faces a likely challenge in the Democratic primary from Lawrence attorney Charles Branson, who has been gathering petition signatures to put his name on the ballot but has yet to officially announced his candidacy.

The filing deadline is noon June 10. If necessary, a primary election would be contested Aug. 3. The general election is Nov. 2.

Half-handcuffed suspect escapes from officer

A man who struggled with a Lawrence Police officer early Friday escaped on foot with handcuffs dangling from one wrist, according to a police report.

Officers were looking for the suspect, police spokesman Sgt. Mike Pattrick said.

The incident began about 2:30 a.m. Friday when an officer attempted to stop a car for traffic violations. The driver of the car, a Honda CRX, tried to flee from police and pulled into a mobile home park at 1045 E. 23rd St. The officer found the car at the back of the park and attempted to arrest the driver.

The suspect fought with the officer and ran on foot, but was caught in a tree line near Kaw Valley Industries, 1105 E. 23rd St., Pattrick said. A struggle ensued, and the suspect fled after the officer got a handcuff on one wrist.

Police investigating theft from ATM

Lawrence Police are investigating a former employee of a security firm who is suspected of taking $1,200 from an automatic teller machine.

The suspect is a 27-year-old man who had worked for PSI Armored of Topeka. He may have taken the money from an ATM in the 900 block of Ohio Street while repairing the machine, according to a police report. The money was taken between March 16 and 22.

No arrest has been made.

KU student injured in wreck on K-10 bridge

A Kansas University student was injured early Monday when his pickup truck struck the Wakarusa River bridge on Kansas Highway 10 a mile west of Eudora.

The victim was identified as Caleb D. Regan, 20, a sophomore from Fort Scott. He was taken by helicopter ambulance to University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., Douglas County Sheriff’s Lt. Kathy Tate said.

Regan was driving west when he lost control of his 1997 Ford pickup. The truck hit one side of the bridge and then bounced and hit the opposite side of the bridge, Tate said.

Ex-state representative for Ottawa dies at 80

Ottawa (ap) — Former state Rep. Dorothy Nichols, 80, died Monday, her daughter said.

Nichols, who served two terms in the House and was Ottawa’s mayor for two years, died in Harlingen, Texas.

Her daughter, Chris Campbell, said Nichols experienced congestive heart failure.

Nichols and her husband, Bill, operated a restaurant from 1964 to 1984 in Ottawa. More recently, she contributed a column to The Ottawa Herald for several years.

Funeral arrangements are pending.