Prosecutors oppose sentencing reduction

Wichita — Sedgwick County prosecutors on Thursday said they would oppose efforts to reduce a Wichita man’s life sentence for cocaine possession.

“We oppose any modification of sentence, but we’ll not comment on the specifics of our opposition until the matter comes before a judge,” said Georgia Cole, spokeswomen for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.

Kansas Department of Corrections officials on Wednesday announced they had filed a motion in Sedgwick County District Court, seeking a sentence modification for Paul Goseland, who was sentenced in 1992 to life in prison under the state’s old “three-strikes” law.

If convicted of the same crime today, Goseland, 51, likely would be sentenced to 17 months under the state’s sentencing guidelines.

A similar motion was filed in Geary County regarding Gloria VanWinkle, 44, who’s also serving a life sentence for drug possession.

Tony Cruz, an attorney with the Geary County Attorney’s Office, declined comment on VanWinkle’s case, saying he’d not seen the motion.

Law library to mark its first anniversary

The Douglas County Law Library will celebrate its first anniversary with an open house April 30.

The library, which opened May 1, 2003, on the ground floor of the Judicial & Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St., features statute books, access to the computerized Lexis-Nexis legal research system, and other resources. It’s open to the public Monday through Thursday and open around the clock to licensed attorneys.

The open house will be from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. and will include light refreshments. The event also will mark the opening of the library’s art gallery, with photographs on display by attorney Hudson Luce.

More information about the library is available at www.douglascolawlibrary.org.

Researcher seeks families of Harvey Girls

A doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota is seeking stories from descendants of Harvey Girls, women who worked in the Harvey House railroad restaurants from 1878 to 1910.

Marisa Brandt, who plans to write her dissertation on the topic, is interested in interviewing descendants and viewing materials from the women, such as diaries.

Brandt’s mailing address is Department of history, 614 Social Sciences Tower, University of Minnesota, 267 19th Ave. South, Minneapolis MN 55455. Her phone number is (612) 625-1393, and her e-mail address is bran0368@umn.edu.