Harvey County

Doors were locked at Newton High School Thursday. School officials say it was a precaution after one of their teachers was arrested Wednesday. According to Newton Police, 45-year-old Eden Bloom was asked to leave the school several times before a School Resource Officer arrested her. That's when they found methamphetamine in her possession.  “At the time of the incident no students were in danger,” said Newton Police Deputy Chief Eric Murphy. Newton parents received an alert on Thursday afternoon around 1:30 that there was increased security at the school.

Firefighters from Harvey County and McPherson have put out a grass fire in northwestern Harvey County. 911 dispatchers say the fire was in the area of NW 36 and North Wheat State Road, about four miles north of Burrton. Close to a dozen emergency units were on the scene. The call of the fire came in around 11:46 a.m. Dispatchers say they don't know how large the fire was but that no homes or structures are being threatened. No injuries have been reported.  

One woman is dead following an accident east of Newton in Harvey County. A vehicle was stopped and waiting to make a left-turn from U50 onto East Lake Road. For an unknown reason, Roberta Ann Winter of Florence attempted to pass that vehicle on the left. Winter's Ford Taurus struck the rear of the turning vehicle, pushing that vehicle to the right. Winter's vehicle then spun into the westbound lane of traffic where it collided with a semi. Winter was 50-years-old and was from Florence in Marion County.

The Harvey County Commission has extended a burn ban until Mon., Dec. 13, 2010. Officials say continued dry weather has led to a continued fire danger. --------------- Harvey County's burn ban has been on and off for the last couple of weeks. The latest one was terminated about a week and a half ago but it was reinstated Monday that's because Emergency Management Coordinator Lon Buller says there are such dry conditions this late in the year. Buller says there were several fires over the holiday weekend.

     The group teaches kids about saying no to drugs and alcohol. But it recently lost the majority of its funding, when it didn't get a grant it depended on.      The students involved say they're determined to keep getting their message out. "It will affect us, but we can still keep going. " said Taylor Clark, a junior at Newton High School. She is a member of LEGIT. "It's like legit, like too legit to drink," explains Jeremiah Locke, another member. The group promotes a drug and alcohol free message.

A semi driver killed when his truck slammed into a train in Harvey County has been identified as 80-year-old Herbert Entz.  The crash happened around 1:30 Tuesday near Highway 196 and Osage. The Kansas Highway Patrol says Entz was carrying a double-trailer when the accident happened. He was headed east on Highway 196 and was struck by the front end fo the train. Eyewitnesses waiting on the opposite side of the tracks as the semi came through say the railroad crossing lights were flashing and the crossbars were down.

The Harvey County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday afternoon charges against a man accused of killing his father. Lamoine Wiebe, 43, is officially charged with First Degree Murder and held in jail on a $750,000 bond.  Investigators say, Wiebe shot and killed his 78-year-old father Richard Wiebe. Lamoine Wiebe was arrested in Wichita on unrelated charges over the weekend.  Wichita police then alerted Harvey County authorities, asking them to do a welfare check on Wiebe's father.  Deputies found Richard Wiebe dead in his camper Sunday.

Doors were locked at Newton High School Thursday. School officials say it was a precaution after one of their teachers was arrested Wednesday. According to Newton Police, 45-year-old Eden Bloom was asked to leave the school several times before a School Resource Officer arrested her. That's when they found methamphetamine in her possession.  “At the time of the incident no students were in danger,” said Newton Police Deputy Chief Eric Murphy. Newton parents received an alert on Thursday afternoon around 1:30 that there was increased security at the school.

Authorities in Harvey County say it's reached a critical level, the jail population is at an all time high and doesn't seem to be going down. The overcrowding is making the job of being a detention deputy even more difficult.  "It's an amazing job. They have to put up with so much, you talk about stress, that is a stressful place," said Sheriff T. Walton. Right now the jail is holding 133 inmates, it's built to hold 136.  Sheriff Walton says overcrowding is something they first noticed earlier this year.  Each month since then the population has increased.

A member of the Wichita State Final Four basketball team is under investigation for rape.  We spoke with a prosecutor in a neighboring county about investigating and prosecuting cases like this. Harvey County attorney David Yoder says perhaps the biggest issue with rape cases is the very sensitive nature of the crime.  It's hard enough for victims to come forward and report a rape.  And, if you're talking about a case involving a high-profile suspect, Yoder says it's all the more difficult for the victim.

Many farmers and gardeners went to bed Tuesday night, worried about how the ice would impact their gardens and plants. But one local farmer says she's actually relieved about the freeze. Sarah Beck says it's actually good for her crops. She may be one of the few people in Kansas who was praying for a storm. "Our trees, thank God, are covered in ice," she said. Click here to view storm shots The Harvey County farmer says this much needed moisture is a blessing in the storm.

Quite a scene in Harvey County as a bomb squad is called to check out the contents of a semi. It happened Monday evening along I-135 when the driver noticed a suspicious box in the cab of his truck. Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton says the truck driver called authorities after he received a call on his cell phone. The caller told the driver he had an explosive hooked to his truck. The driver pulled over near milemarker 35 on I-135. Authorties say the driver was confused about where he was, so it took some time for emergency crews to find him. Once there, Harvey County deputies met with the driver, who told them there was a suspicious box in the cab of the truck.

The weather conditions Monday afternoon didn't create the best "work environment" for two Harvey County deputies. "It was pretty much a white out at that point, you couldn't see very well,” Sheriff T. Walton said. Walton says his deputies were sent to a jack-knifed semi on I-135.  A trooper needed help slowing-down traffic. "Here comes a van, doing about 65 miles per hour, trying to pass another vehicle, and goes directly into my deputy,” Sheriff Walton said. The van rear-ended the deputy, sitting inside his truck.

11 Sedan, KS (Chautauqua County) 6:30pm CST The talk will be held at the VFW located at 520 W. Walnut.         13 Eureka, KS (Greenwood County) 6:30pm CST Talk will be held at the Eureka High School Auditorium.     20 Lincoln, KS (Lincoln County) 6:30pm CST The talk will be at Lincoln High School located at 701 E. North St.     21 Salina, KS (Saline County)

A man shoots at a person trying to steal a car from his auto sales lot.  The botched theft happened Wednesday morning in Harvey County.  It then turned into a manhunt spanning from Burrton to Bentley. Wednesday morning, the owner of Southwest Wheels Auto Sales near Burrton called 911 to report someone was stealing one of his trucks.  When he went outside, he found a second person trying to steal another truck. The driver tried to hit him with it, but the owner was armed with a shotgun.

Update: Authorities in Harvey County have identified the suspects they believe are responsible for several burglaries in the southeastern part of the county. Investigators with the sheriff's office say they plan to release more information soon. ----------------- Original Story, November 29 The Harvey County Sheriff's Department is asking for help after burglars ransack several homes in the middle of the day.  Five burglaries this week and it doesn't surprise Harvey County Undersheriff Todd Hanchett.

A young mother and newly married woman is dead and two others injured after their car was hit by a train. Emergency crews responded to the railroad crossing at Northeast 48th street and Highway 50 near Walton around 12:15 p.m. Saturday. Investigators say 19-year-old Taylor Sowell died from massive head injuries. Her 20-year-old husband Dylan Sowell, was airlifted to Wesley Medical Center and is now listed in fair condition. Her 17-year-old brother, Kyle Malek, was released from the hospital.