Teenage driver hits sheriff’s vehicle

Tonganoxie — Two teenagers and a Leavenworth County Sheriff’s officer were injured Tuesday afternoon when their vehicles collided at an intersection in Tonganoxie.

The accident occurred at 1:18 p.m. when a 1986 Chevrolet truck southbound on 166th Street and crossing State Avenue struck the sheriff’s car, a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria, that was eastbound on State, the Kansas Highway Patrol said. The driver of the truck, Amanda C. Gilsdorf, 17, Bonner Springs, failed to yield, the patrol said.

Gilsdorf and a passenger, Savannah M. White, 16, Basehor, were taken to University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan. Also taken there was the driver of the sheriff’s car, Daniel R. Abramovitz, 43, Winchester. There was no word on their conditions late Tuesday.

Kansas University

Judge weighs fee issue in Watkins Hall lawsuit

A judge is now considering who should pay Bank of America’s attorney fees in a lawsuit brought by Kansas University students.

Attorneys for Kansas University, the bank and students from Watkins and Miller scholarship halls were in Douglas County District Court Tuesday to argue the matter. It is a final piece of a lawsuit brought by the students in 2001 that alleged mismanagement of the trust designed for hall upkeep.

Much of the lawsuit was dismissed, though hall residents have claimed positive changes in how the trust was administered were a result of the suit.

Judge Jack Murphy already has ruled that the $283,533 in attorney fees rung up by Bank of America, which administers the trust, must be paid. KU attorneys have claimed the fees should come from the 26 former hall residents who sued and their attorneys, saying taking it from the trust would deplete the fund and raise rents. The plaintiffs have said they wanted the fees to come from the trust fund.

No time frame has been set for Murphy’s ruling.

Television

Wildlife photographer to appear on ‘River City’

Bob Gress, a wildlife photographer and director of the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita, talks about his book, “Faces of the Great Plains,” on this week’s “River City Weekly.”

The book, written with noted prairie author Paul Johnsgard, chronicles the prairie wildlife of the region and features photos and field notes by Gress.

“River City Weekly,” with host Greg Hurd, premieres on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6 at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, with replays at 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m. Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Mondays, and 10 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays.