El Dorado

Two men killed in Butler County accident

Two men were killed when the pickup truck they were in was struck by another truck on a road south of U.S. 54.

The two men were identified as Ira Rucker, 82, of Clearwater, and Robert McCall, 80, of Wichita. They died Thursday, shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Butler County Sheriff Craig Murphy, whose office is investigating the accident, says it appears the truck the men were in was backing up in the southbound lane of Bluestem Road when it was struck from behind by another pickup truck.

Russell

Judge gives murder suspect reprieve

A Russell County man ordered extradited to Mississippi on murder charges is still in Kansas after the judge in the case gave him more time to fight the decision.

District Judge Hannelore Kitts, who on Thursday denied Roger Gillett’s attempt to avoid extradition, agreed later in the day to stay her decision while Gillett’s appeal goes before the Kansas Court of Appeals.

Barring a reversal by the appellate court, Gillett will be taken into custody by Hattiesburg, Miss., police on Wednesday.

Police have charged Gillett, 29, with murdering Hattiesburg residents Vernon Hulett and Linda Heintzelman. Investigators found their bodies in March on a farm near Luray.

Gillett’s girlfriend, Lisa Jo Chamberlin, 31, is already in custody in Mississippi, also charged with the murders.

Great Bend

Four killed when plane crashes near Great

Authorities have identified the four people killed Wednesday night when their single-engine plane crashed during a severe thunderstorm.

Barton County Sheriff Buck Causey identified the dead as Roger Richter, 48, Justin Larson, 25, Layne Mason, 48, all of Great Bend, and Kimberly Caley, 32, of Stafford.

Larson was general manager of a GMC dealership, and Richter, the pilot, was a salesman. The women worked for CPI Qualified Plan Consultants in Great Bend, Causey said.

He said the plane took off from the Great Bend Airport, but he did not know its intended destination. It crashed about 11:30 p.m. in a wheat field about two miles southwest of Great Bend, the sheriff said.

Kansas City, Kan.

Kansas City Kansan hires new publisher

The Kansas City Kansan has hired Kim Sexton as its new publisher.

The third-generation newspaper editor and publisher will lead The Kansan, the Wyandotte Shopper, both in Wyandotte County, and the Shawnee Journal Herald, a weekly in Shawnee, Kan., all owned by Liberty Group Publishing.

“I’m looking forward to working with the fine staff members in these three publications to plug in strategies that are working elsewhere,” he said.