Hutchinson

Emergency dispatch in Hutchinson says emergency crews have cleared the scene at a chlorine leak at the water treatment plant. Police have also reopened roads around E. 23rd and Severance. No one was hurt. Authorities have not evacuated homes or businesses in the area.

Some parents are picketing and pulling their kids out of Lincoln Elementary in Hutchinson today. They're protesting recent changes that were made to staffing.  The school, which is struggling, had to shuffle around staff under the federal No Child Left Behind law. The school says it sent out letters explaining the changes and didn't hear any complaints until they received word of the demonstration.

The Hutchinson school board has named Jan Strecker as interim superintendent. Strecker will serve in the position for the 2010-2011 school year. She retired from the district as an assistant superintendent after the 2008-2009 school year. Strecker temporarily fills the position left vacant by Superintendent David Flowers. Flowers is leaving Hutchinson to take the top job in the West Fargo, ND, school district. The Kansas Association of School Boards will work with the Hutchinson district to find a permanent replacement for Flowers during the next school year.

A Reno County woman is in critical condition at a Wichita hospital. She was hurt when the SUV she was in collided with a semi near U.S. 50 and Airport Road in Hutchinson. Twenty-four year-old tammy lenz was flown to Wesley Medical Center. Two other people suffered less serious injuries.

Authorities evacuate a home in Hutchinson because of a gas leak. The leak happened Tuesday morning at 32nd Terrace and Carnegie Place. A road construction crew struck a large gas line while working.  The residents living in the home will have to stay out until the Kansas Gas Company fixes the problem. No one has been injured and no major damage was caused by the leak.

A Hutchinson man is fair condition at a Wichita hospital after rolling his car Monday morning. Officials say the man was driving on private property next to a railroad track when he drove off a four foot wall. The vehicle landed on Main Street and rolled. The driver was airlifted to a Wichita hospital. No one else was hurt. The investigation is on going.

For the second time Tuesday, Hutchinson firefighters have put out a house fire. This time, in the 100 block of E. 12th St.  The fire started in the front yard. Hutchinson Fire Chief Rex Albright says they went defensive on the house fire. Crews tried to make entry but couldn't because the fire in the attic. As far Albright knows, no one was at home at the time of the fire and no one is hurt. Stay tuned on-air and online at www.KWCH.com for the latest.

A Hutchinson man was hit by a car after trying to cross the street.  The accident happened around 12:30 Tuesday near 17th and Lorraine. Doug Engle was air lifted to a Wichita hospital for possible head and shoulder injuries. Hutchinson police say Engle was walking across the street when an SUV hit him.  Brian Bonebright was driving the vehicle.  Police say the cause of the accident is under investigation, but alcohol was not involved

A crash near the town of Zenith kills a Reno County man. courtesy: Terry Spradley/St. John News Map - Zenith, Kansas The crash happened just before one o'clock Wednesday afternoon on Highway 50. A semi truck and a pickup carrying a motorcycle and hauling a small trailer collided. courtesy: Terry Spradley/St. John News Twenty-three year-old Jeremy Bowley from Hutchinson died in the wreck.

Hutchinson's last bowling alley closed over a year ago.  Now it's a church. The Janzen family used to bowl several times a week. "A lot of this town has just quit bowling," Levi Janzen says.  "But I can't do that.  It's in my blood. " Now they have to drive more than half an hour--to either Wichita or Newton--to throw some balls. With a population of 42,000, Reno County Commissioner Brad Dillon agrees Hutchinson is probably one of the biggest cities in the nation without a bowling alley.  He and a partner bought some land and got it rezoned with the hopes of building a new one. "People want one," Dillon says.  "They continually talk about the fact they have to go out of town for entertainment.  We want to keep them here.