Early morning fire kills three in K.C.

Kansas City, Mo. (ap) — Two adults and a child were killed early Sunday when their house caught fire, authorities said.

The victims’ names were not immediately released, pending notification of relatives.

Firefighters initially thought there might be another victim but called off the search after learning the missing family member was not home when the fire started, according to a news release.

The release said firefighters have determined the fire started near the kitchen range, and smoke alarms within the home were improperly installed. The house was engulfed in fire when crews arrived after receiving a 911 call at 6:09 a.m, said Tricia Middleton, a spokeswoman for the fire department. She said the fire was under control in about 30 minutes.

Loss to the home and its contents is estimated at $110,000.

Military

23 students nominated to attend academies

Rep. Jim Ryun has nominated 23 high school students from Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District for appointments to the nation’s military service academies.

Area nominees include:

Thomas Hastings, Leavenworth, for the Naval Academy; Daniel LeBlanc, Leavenworth, for the Air Force Academy; Jacob McGhee, Tonganoxie, for the Air Force Academy; Scott Schultz, Lansing, for the Military Academy; Joseph Sebes, Lansing, for the Merchant Marine Academy; Jonathan Wilson, Leavenworth, for the Merchant Marine Academy; and Saras Yi, Leavenworth, for the Air Force Academy.

Recognition

Kansas/Asia program selects 25 students

Twenty-five Kansas University students have been selected to participate in the third year of the Kansas/Asia scholars program at the university.

The list includes two Lawrence natives, Amanda Blackhorse and Anne McEnroe, both juniors.

The program, financed through a $2 million grant from the Freeman Foundation of New York City and Stowe, Vt., is designed to help connect Kansans with people and businesses of Asia. The grant is used to send KU students to Japan, South Korea and China on three-week study tours and to establish the Kansas/Asia Community Connection, a program that strengthens ties between Kansans in agriculture and business with their counterparts in Asia.

The 25 students selected this year will travel in late May and early June to Asia.

Topeka

Kansas universities honored in magazine

The Hispanic Outlook on Higher Education magazine has named Washburn and Kansas universities as two of three Kansas schools with a solid record of recruiting and graduating Hispanic students.

The list of 2004 publisher’s picks is based on formal and informal inquiries as well as data obtained from the National Center for Educational Statistics.

Wichita State University is the third school named by the magazine. The list features 564 institutions from 41 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Safe Kids honors members, groups

Kansas groups working to secure the safety of children received awards from the Kansas Safe Kids Coalition earlier this month.

One of the recipients was the Kansas Safety Belt Education Office, which is located in Lawrence. The group received the award for being an outstanding coalition organization.

Other recipients included the Pottawatomie/Waubaunsee County Safe Kids Chapter for local chapter of the year; Brenda Gibson, of Wichita, for outstanding achievement in child safety; and Phyllis Larimore, who works with Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, for outstanding coalition member award.

Kansas Safe Kids Inc. is a nonprofit coalition of 67 statewide organizations and businesses dedicated to preventing unintentional injuries to Kansas children from birth through age 14.