Couple killed in crash with dump truck

A Basehor couple died Thursday in a wreck in Leavenworth County that happened when their car pulled out in front of a dump truck, police said.

J. M. Brandenburg Sr., 89, was driving his 1986 Dodge north on 150th Street shortly before 11 a.m. when he pulled out in front of a 1979 Kenworth dump truck that was eastbound on U.S. Highway 24-40.

The dump truck struck the car in the driver’s side. Brandenburg and his wife, Frances L. Brandenburg, 80, died. They were not wearing seat belts, police said.

The driver of the dump truck, Joseph S. Riley, 30, Tonganoxie, was not injured.

Police

Report: Vans dumped waste water illegally

Police are investigating a report that someone illegally dumped brown-colored waste water on the ground near a Dumpster at The Malls shopping center at 23rd and Louisiana streets.

An employee of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which has an office in the area, noticed about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday that two vans were parked near a Dumpster and one was emptying water onto the ground through a hose. The employee got license-plate numbers and gave it to police, who were working Thursday to identify the drivers.

A health department worker also came to the scene and tested the liquid. Results are pending, spokeswoman Sharon Watson said.

County

Conservation district meeting Tuesday

The Douglas County Conservation District will have its 59th annual meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Building 21 at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The Kansas Bankers Assn. will present awards to Betty Jo Haley and LeRoy Lenning for their conservation efforts.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and the Kansas Bankers Assn. Wildlife Habitat Conservation Award will be given to Fred and Lilian Six for their efforts in improving and developing wildlife habitat.

The Kansas Association of Conservation Districts and Sharp Bros. Seed Grassland Award will be presented to Gary and Terrie Price.

The Douglas County Conservation District and the Jayhawk Chapter of Quail Unlimited co-sponsored the Douglas County Buffer Award to be presented to Betsy Haehl.

Preregistration for the meeting should be made by calling the office at 843-4260, ext. 3. For more on soil and conservation efforts in Douglas County, see Tuesday’s Journal-World.

Courts

Lawrence man indicted on drug charges

A Lawrence man has been charged in federal court with two counts of distributing methamphetamine.

Isaac E. Smith, 32, was indicted Jan. 3 in U.S. District Court for distributing 1.76 grams of methamphetamine and 3.5 grams of methamphetamine. Both alleged crimes happened Oct. 6, records show.

On Jan. 13, Smith was ordered to remain detained pending trial.

Schools

Sunflower Broadband donates to foundation

New telephone subscribers were helping Lawrence children in November and December, whether they knew it or not.

Sunflower Broadband set aside money for each new telephone customer it enrolled at the end of 2004. On Thursday, the money from the fund-raiser was formally donated to the Lawrence Schools Foundation.

A Sunflower Broadband representative presented a check for $7,575 to Susan Esau, the foundation’s executive director.

Esau credited the money with helping the foundation reach its fund-raising goal of $28,000. She said the money would be used for the Early Childhood Education program and teacher grants, among other things.

Research administrator leaving KU for Texas

Robert Barnhill, who led Kansas University’s research efforts from 1997 to 2003, has been named vice chancellor for research and technology transfer at the University of Texas system.

Barnhill will be in charge of coordinating research activities at the UT system’s 15 campuses, which combined for $1.45 billion in research during 2003, the most recent data available. KU’s four campuses had $257.9 million in annual research the same year.

Barnhill, 65, came to KU in 1997 to serve as vice provost for research and president of KU Center for Research. He left in September 2003 for a one-year dean-in-residence position at the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C. He returned to KU in fall 2004 to be a research fellow studying research administration.

During Barnhill’s tenure, KU’s research activities more than doubled.

Flag-lowering request for slain sheriff denied

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday issued a statement denying a request to fly United States flags at half-mast in recognition of the death of a Kansas sheriff.

Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels was shot to death Wednesday after he and two deputies went to serve a felony warrant. The man suspected of killing Samuels was taken into custody Wednesday evening after a standoff with police.

In the statement, Sebelius said that federal protocol dictated that fallen officers be honored with flags flown at half-mast on Peace Officers Memorial Day in May. Sebelius said she would dedicate Peace Officers Memorial Day to Samuels.

Sheriff: Office not connected with solicitor

Douglas County Sheriff Ken McGovern said Thursday that his office has no connection with a controversial deputy sheriff’s group that’s been making telemarketing calls asking for donations in the area in recent days.

Several citizens have called the sheriff’s office after getting calls asking for money for the American Deputy Sheriff’s Assn.

According to a state Web site, the association dedicates 88 percent of its funds to fund raising and 12 percent to charitable organizations. The group is being sued by Iowa’s attorney general for an allegation that it uses deceptive business practices to make people think the caller is a local sheriff’s deputy.

McGovern is urging people to go to the Web site www.kscharitycheck.org to look into groups before deciding whether to donate.

People with concerns about a telemarketing solicitation also can call the sheriff’s office at 841-0007 or the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s office at 1-800-432-2310.