Reno County

Voters have said no before, now a new vote on a tax hike to help fund a new Reno County jail is pushed back. It was supposed to happen in November of 2012; instead the vote will take place in April of 2013. Those who want a new jail in Reno County say the current jail is too old and outdated. For years, they've been pushing for a new jail. Eyewitness News found out Wednesday that Reno County voters will have a chance to decide next year. That may seem like a long time away, but there's a big reason they don't want to put it on the ballot this November.

The Reno County Sheriff's office has now captured two suspects after searching for several hours Monday night. Officers believe one of the suspects may have escaped from the Kansas Department of Corrections. What started as a burglary call in Reno County carried into Sedgwick County with police searching for the two suspects for hours. Reno County Sheriff, Randy Henderson, said that at 5:09 pm, Steven Schrock was working in a field in the area of Arlington Rd  and Victory Rd, just south of Haven.

A Wichita woman is injured in a Saturday morning accident in Reno County. It happened in the Yoder area on Red Rock Road east of Halstaead Road just after 7:30am. Authorities say the 25-year-old woman was on her way to work in Hutchinson traveling westbound when she turned around and began heading eastbound on K96 for an unknown reason. As she came upon the Red Rock Road overpass she drove off the right side of the road and went down an embankment, then through a drainage ditch.

The Reno County Sheriff's Department is calling it a Christmas miracle.  A neighbor rescues two girls after witnessing them fall through the ice of a pond. It happened around 2:00pm Sunday, in a neighborhood East of Hutchinson. Bud Brown told deputies he happened to be looking out his window when the girls, ages 6 & 7, fall through the ice.  Brown ran outside to the pond, and went in after the girls. Brown pulled the girls out, and took both girls to his home to get warmed up while he contacted 911.  The girls had been in the water for less than 5 minutes.

A Hutchinson man is accused of sodomizing a three month old child. 25-year-old Michael Sherman was charged with aggravated sodomy in Reno County Tuesday. According to The Hutchinson News , police say Sherman told them he was watching pornography when the crime occurred. Sherman could face life in prison. His bond is set at $50,000.

Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson is giving public tours of the county jail Sunday, in hopes of showing voters the need for a new jail. Henderson says the current facilities are too crowded and need many improvements. The tours will take place today from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Anyone who wants to take the tour will need a photo ID and go through a metal detector. Similar tours of the 40-year-old jail also will be offered Dec. 4th and Dec. 18th. Tours will resume in January 2012.

Times have changed since the Reno County Jail was built in 1971 but from the look inside, the building has not. "Is now a good time? I'm not sure how much longer we can wait," said Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson. Sheriff Henderson tried to get a new jail five years ago, but it didn't pass. He says they needed it badly then, now it's even more imperative. "It's very frustrating," he said. That's why he's opening up his facility to the public, giving them a tour so they can see for themselves what it's like.

The Reno County Sheriff's office said that a motorcyclist had an accident with a deer Monday morning. At 7:15 a.m. a man struck a deer while on his motorcycle in the 25000 Blk S. Brownlee Rd. The man, whose family has not been located yet, is a residence of Reno County and was transported to St Francis Hospital in Wichita by Lifeteam Helicopter for undetermined injuries. The cyclist was wearing a helmet. The motorcyclist's name will be released when family has been notified.

Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder is preparing to try one of the most high profile cases in the county's history.  But months away, he already sees a crisis. "In this situation, next summer I see a big demand on attorneys, especially with the Jennifer Heckel homicide case.  We suspect trials will take at least three weeks,” Schroeder said. There are only six attorneys in his office.  Schroeder suspects half of them will be involved in trying the two men accused of killing Hutchinson mother, Jennifer Heckel, back in June.

"I didn't do this. I didn't do this. " Accused killer Charles Logsdon ranted about his innocence in court this week during a first appearance with co-defendant Billy Joe Craig Jr. Months from now a jury will decide if the two men are guilty of gunning down a Hutchinson wife and mother.  Jennifer Heckel, 27, was shot to death while home with her young son in June.  Prosecutors have said her killers targeted the wrong person and the wrong house....