Topeka

Social justice advocate to speak at Washburn

Jonathan Kozol, award-winning author, public school teacher and advocate for education and social justice in America, will be guest speaker at a brown bag presentation at Washburn University.

He will speak from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Washburn Room at the school’s Memorial Union.

For 40 years, Kozol has focused on bringing the plight of students in underfunded, urban schools to the attention of the nation. His writing addresses major educational problems connected to poverty, hunger and illiteracy.

Kozol documented his first year as a teacher in “Death at an Early Age: The Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools” (1967) and won the National Book Award in 1968.

The event is free and open to the public.

Kansas City, Mo.

Suspect pleads guilty to series of robberies

A Kansas City man pleaded guilty Thursday to 38 counts involving a series of holdups at bars and other businesses over a six-week period.

In exchange for the guilty plea by William Blair, 30, prosecutors dropped 50 other counts of robbery, assault and armed criminal action related to 18 robberies.

In a series of robberies from Dec. 3, 2003, to Jan. 8, 2004, masked armed robbers terrorized employees and patrons at bars and other businesses.

In some cases, the robbers fired warning shots into the air, kicked and shoved bar patrons, pistol-whipped some victims and threatened to kill others.

Three others have also been charged in the robberies.

Blair pleaded guilty Thursday to 17 counts of first-degree robbery, one count each of attempted robbery and first-degree assault and 19 counts of armed criminal action.

Sentencing was set for Jan. 6. Blair could be sentenced to more than three dozen life terms.

Burlington

Nuclear power plant back in operation

The Wolf Creek Generating Station, a nuclear power plant, resumed generating electricity Friday afternoon after an emergency shutdown caused by a lightning strike.

Officials expected the plant, about 50 miles south of Topeka in Coffey County, to operate at full power Saturday.

Plant officials said a lightning strike on the ground caused an electrical surge in instruments, which automatically triggered a shutdown.

“There’s no indication that it struck a building,” said spokeswoman Jeannene Ryan. “Nothing was damaged.”

Topeka

Charges dropped against casino manager

The Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office on Friday dropped its pursuit of criminal charges against Ellis Enyart, the manager of a Kansas City, Kan., casino operated by the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma.

Charges were filed after the state raided and shut down the casino in April.

A county judge dismissed a felony and a misdemeanor charge against Enyart in July, but the district attorney’s office asked the Kansas Court of Appeals to reinstate them.

Atty. Gen. Phill Kline’s office, which consulted with the district attorney’s office, announced the action.

It came two days after U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled that only the federal government could regulate American Indian gambling. Her decision came in a civil lawsuit filed by the tribe.

Robinson said the state could not regulate the casino, but she also did not allow the tribe to reopen it.

Junction City

Newspaper hires new managing editor

Tom Murray will take over as The Daily Union newspaper’s managing editor Monday. He replaces Andy Obermueller.

Murray worked at The Joplin Globe in Missouri for 34 years, from 1965 to 1998. He began as a sports writer, then held several editing positions. He was the managing editor from 1982 to 1998.