Saline County

Saline County Commissioners have extended the burn ban due to the continued drought.  The burn ban prohibits all open burning in Saline County, including the cities of Salina, New Cambria, Brookville, Assaria, Smolan, and Gypsum. For more information or questions, please contact the Emergency Management office at 785-826-6511      

An 82-year-old Ellsworth woman is dead after an accident in Saline County Tuesday morning.  It happened along I-70 just west of Salina. The Kansas Highway Patrol says Mary Donley was exiting from I-70, but then tried to get back onto the highway when she pulled out in front of another vehicle. The 18-year-old driver of the other car was not hurt.

The Saline County Emergency Management Director was arrested Monday afternoon. According to our news partners with the Salina Journal , Joe Koch was arrested on charges of aggravated battery, attempted aggravated criminal sodomy and criminal restraint. The arrest was in connection to a warrant that had been filed. According to jail records, Koch's bond has been set at $80,000 Koch has been the Emergency Management Director in Saline County since January 2010.  He is now on paid administrative leave.

A former Salina man was found guilty Friday of one count of rape, three counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, one count of attempted aggravated criminal sodomy, one count of attempted rape, and one count of aggravated sexual battery. 31 year old Jeffrey Shawn Casey, now of Norman, Oklahoma was convicted by a Saline County jury of the charges.  Sentencing has been set for September 11 at 1:30 p.m. The crimes occurred in August 2005 in Salina. Casey was living in Oklahoma at the time of his arrest in August 2010.

How should Saline County address jail overcrowding? The County's sheriff is asking for the public's opinion. The Saline County Sheriff's Department is sending out a survey to around 4,000 households, asking people their thoughts on ways to address jail overcrowding. The current jail was designed with 192 beds, but the sheriff says it regularly holds more than 200 inmates, often using portable beds. The county's juvenile detention facility has also been near or at capacity on a regular basis.

A Saline County man has been arrested after authorities say he videotaped his family without their knowledge. The man has been arrested on two counts of felony sexual exploitation of child and nine counts of eavesdropping. By Thursday afternoon, sheriff's office personnel had reviewed hours of VHS tape that they had seized from the suspects home in Bridgeport. This all comes after his own step-daughter found a hidden camera in the bathroom and notified officials. The step-daughter told KWCH on Thursday, “At first you just don't believe it…you're angry because you are the one that had to say something, and you feel guilty for it even though you did not do anything wrong.

Investigators now say alcohol was involved in a deadly crash in Saline County this weekend. Kansas State student Megan Will died. The driver, a Salina man, was hurt when their car crashed in the 2600 block of N. Ohio around two o'clock Sunday morning. The sheriff says the car was going fast and the driver lost control. The car flipped several times. Will was the passenger and was wearing a seatbelt. She died on scene. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt.

A 7-year-old boy is in critical condition after being shot. Our news partners at the Salina Journal report the boy was shot around 6:00 Friday night. He was taken to Salina Regional Health Center and then flown to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. Police expect to release more information on Monday

A car that was reported missing from Salina late last week has been found submerged in Mulberry Creek. Saline County authorities say the car disappeared during a rainstorm in the western part of the county on Thursday. The car was found late Saturday about 3/4 of a mile away. The Sheriff tells our news partners at the Salina Journal that the 2008 Chevy Malibu had damage that indicated it had rolled and tumbled as it was washed away during the heavy rain. The owner says the car got stuck in a muddy driveway late Thursday.

A hog farm in Saline County is projecting upwards of a million dollars in damages after Saturday night's storm.  Crews spent the morning trying to rescue pigs that made it through the severe weather.  Around 40 pigs died due to a roof that collapsed on their housing area.  “We haven't assessed all the damage, but there are three or four buildings completely gone,” Dave Crumbaker said. Photos of Storm Damage Crumbaker is the owner of the “Crumbaker Pork Plant” in Smolen.  The storms that hit Saturday night may have been just too much to keep his old plant up and running.

A Saline County judge has granted a change of venue motion in a first-degree murder and child abuse trial. Attorneys for Antonio Brown asked a judge to consider the motion, saying their client could not receive a fair trial in Saline County. Brown is accused of killing his girlfriend's 14-month-old son in 2011. Police said Clayden Urbanek died from injuries relating to internal bleeding and a broken rib. Investigators said the child also had bruises all over his body. Brown originally pleaded no contest to the charges, but last month a judge allowed him to withdraw his plea.

A car that was reported missing from Salina late last week has been found submerged in Mulberry Creek. Saline County authorities say the car disappeared during a rainstorm in the western part of the county on Thursday. The car was found late Saturday about 3/4 of a mile away. The Sheriff tells our news partners at the Salina Journal that the 2008 Chevy Malibu had damage that indicated it had rolled and tumbled as it was washed away during the heavy rain. The owner says the car got stuck in a muddy driveway late Thursday.

A Wichita man remains hospitalized after a motorcycle accident outside of Salina. It happened in the southbound lanes of I-135 near the 82nd exit around 6 p.m. Troopers on the scene said Mark Follin, 47, moved into the left lane to pass, when he went off the roadway and crashed in the median. He was flown to Wichita in critical condition. Authorities said he was wearing a helmet. A hospital spokeswoman said Follin is listed in serious condition. The man was riding with another motorcycle rider, but no other injuries were reported.

The Saline County Juvenile Detention Center is closing down temporarily.  Officials made the announcement in Salina on Monday.  There have been reports of fights and security problems at the facility. According to authorities one inmate was even hospitalized after another inmate kicked him in his head. Authorities say that the juvenile inmates are now committing more serious crimes and that there have been more of them. Sheriff Glen Kochanowski says he is making changes to help protect both the kids and the staff.

A 7-year-old boy is in critical condition after being shot. Our news partners at the Salina Journal report the boy was shot around 6:00 Friday night. He was taken to Salina Regional Health Center and then flown to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. Police expect to release more information on Monday

Saline County authorities are asking for help finding a man accused of sex crimes. Investigators are looking for 20-year-old Jerry Wayne Watkins, Jr. from western Kansas. He has a warrant for his arrest charging him with rape and aggravated indecent liberties in connection to a Saline County case. The sheriff's department said Watkins, Jr. was last known to be living in the Dodge City or Ensign areas. He may be working as a mobile welder in southwest Kansas or Oklahoma with a welding crew.

A Salina man who pleaded no contest to child sex crimes will spend the next 18 years behind bars. A Saline County judge ordered Jaime Serda to prison for sexually abusing three boys. He was charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy and one count of indecent liberties with a child. Serda must also register as sex offender after serving his prison sentence. Prosecutors said Serda sexually assaulted children in his Salina home. The crimes dated back to December of 2010.

While and city and county crew were out in the snow making sure everyone was safe, Saline County's emergency management department has been planning for days, trying to make sure everyone has the information they need. "Since we have the ability to communicate with the weather service,  we usually have a pretty good idea, several days ahead of time as to what we can be expecting," emergency management director Hannah Furbeck said. "Then we can kind of prepare for it. " Furbeck and her team work to gather and give out information to city, county and business authorities, so they know how to best use their resources.

Antonio Brown is back in the jail he escaped from earlier this week.  Police say he surrendered late Wednesday.  This was a relief to the family of 14-month old Clayden Urbanek, the boy whose murder Brown pleaded no contest to.  He'll now be sentenced for the death of Clayden March 7th.  He'll be back in court March 10th to face new charges for his escape. "I was just so excited," Lorie Urbanek, mother of Clayden said. "I was like 'thank god.' I had been praying and hoping that he'd get a conscience and turn himself in. " The time between Brown's escape and capture was difficult, especially for Clayden's father.

A convicted murderer is still on the run.  As of Wednesday morning, Saline County authorities still don't know where Antonio Brown Sr. is located.  They've searched for him since Monday afternoon. Around 4:15 Monday, Brown walked away from the Saline County Jail.  Authorities had just transported him to Saline County to be sentenced for the death of Salina toddler Clayden Urbanek. Eyewitness News asked Sheriff Glen Kochanowski how Brown was able to just walk away.  The sheriff says Brown and two other inmates were in a holding cell.  He says somehow the door to the holding cell was unlocked.  Brown walked out the door and into a sally port, which is a secure entryway.  Click here to see photos inside the Saline Co. jail The sheriff says once in the sally port, Brown walked alongside a car leaving the building.  Once outside, he walked away from the jail.  Ten minutes passed before anyone noticed.  "Something happened to keep that door opened.  We are looking at various different people who were working yesterday to see what happened and why it happened," Sheriff Kochanowski said.