the last paragraph which give the total number of Tornados this year so far and last year. And the 3 year trend. As well as helpful info on how to save your fanny during one.

Automobiles poor protection from twisters: CJOnline - Automobiles poor protection from twisters

The Associated Press
Published Monday, May 12, 2008 at 2:47 p.m. CDT
SENECA, Mo. — Trapped in his car on the way to a friend’s wedding, Rick Rountree and his family never stood a chance once a tornado packing winds of 170 mph hit southwest Missouri.

“It’s like taking a handful of Matchbox cars and rolling them across the kitchen floor,” said Sgt. Dan Bracker of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, surveying the damage in Newton County near the Oklahoma border, the hardest hit area. “This is devastating.”

Nearly half of the 21 victims of a weekend tornado that devastated parts of Oklahoma and Missouri died in cars — troubling experts who say vehicles are among the worst places to be when a twister bears down.

At least 24 people were dead in Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama after severe storms erupted Saturday over the southern plains and swept east. Fifteen people died in Missouri from the same storm that decimated Picher, Okla., killing six there.

Wind speeds for the twister that struck Newton County varied, but at one point it became an EF4 tornado reaching 170 miles per hour or higher — moving at a pace of 50 mph to 60 mph, said Andy Foster, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Springfield, Mo.

According to data from the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center, 49 of the 705 deaths — or about 7 percent — attributed to tornadoes from 1997 to 2007 were people who were in vehicles when the storm struck.

“They can cover more ground than you can in your car, so unless you know you are moving away from the tornado, the best thing you can do is find a strong structure,” Foster said.

Rountree, his wife Kathy, their 13-year-old son Clayton and Ruby Bilke, Kathy Rountree’s 76-year-old mother, were driving to a friend’s wedding Saturday night when the tornado hit the family’s passenger van on a rural highway about eight miles north of Seneca, said Larry Bilke, Ruby’s son.

Ruby Bilke died barely 100 yards from the place where she was born, her son said. The Rountree family left their home in Joplin, 15 miles away, and picked up Bilke at her home in the county in an effort to arrive early for a 7 p.m. wedding, where Rick Rountree was scheduled to sing.

“They were on the road when the warnings came,” said Larry Bilke, whose own home just one mile from the crash site was unscathed.

Authorities continued today to match the bodies recovered from the deadly tornado with the circumstances surrounding the victims’ deaths. But Bracker of the Missouri State Highway Patrol preliminarily identified two other car passengers who died when their vehicle was thrown from the same road, state Highway 43, as the Rountree family.

In Picher, Okla., 32 miles away, a man and a woman died when their car was blown into a lagoon. The body of another man from the car wound up in a nearby tree, said Oklahoma Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten. A 13-year-old girl who was riding in the car survived the crash, and was released after her injuries were treated at a hospital.

Fire Chief Jeff Reeves said they weren’t trying to outrun the twister.

“I think they were actually trying to get to a family member’s house on the south side of town to help them and they just didn’t make it over,” Reeves said.

The multiple deaths of Missourians in cars when the tornado hit prompted Gov. Matt Blunt to issue a stern reminder to state residents: stay out of vehicles when a tornado is nearby.

Among the tips: motorists and their passengers should find a sturdy shelter or even lie flat in a ditch or other low spot, covering their heads with arms, coats or blankets if the tornado is moving in their direction.

Overpasses and bridges should also be avoided — the overpass can create a wind tunnel effect, and bridges could collapse.

The National Weather Service said about 100 people have died in U.S. twisters so far this year. If trends hold, this could stack up as one of the deadliest tornado years in recent history. The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said 130 people died in U.S. tornadoes in 1998, the eighth deadliest year since 1950. The highest number of tornado-related deaths came in 1953, when 519 people died.

Through mid-May of this year, 910 tornadoes have been reported, though not all have been confirmed by the National Weather Service. That is compared to 1,093 confirmed twisters for all of last year. In the last three years, there has been an average of 1,159 tornadoes confirmed.

Reader comments included.

Gunman robs business on S.W.Topeka Boulevard: CJOnline - Gunman robs business on S.W.Topeka Boulevard

The Capital-Journal
Published Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. CDT
A man escaped with an undisclosed amount of money after robbing a south Topeka business Monday night.

According to Kristi Pankratz, spokeswoman for the Topeka Police Department, the man entered Priscilla’s, 3330 S.W. Topeka Blvd., at about 10:30 p.m., displayed a gun and demanded money. No one was injured.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic male who was last seen wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and a black ski mask.

Police ask anyone with information on the robbery to call detectives at 368-9400 or Crime Stoppers at 234-0007.

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Reader Comments
-1 Rating Posted by: dwd69 at May 13, 2008 at 10:35:01 AM
This place must be an easy target that's at least twice in how many months. Just shut it down.

Posted by: frankfurter at May 13, 2008 at 11:48:54 AM
Is that a gun or are you just happy to see me?

+ 1 Rating Posted by: ezstreet at May 13, 2008 at 12:17:56 PM
That location has now been hit twice, and the location on 21st street was also robbed.

Sounds fishy to me.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: thehambone at May 13, 2008 at 02:11:27 PM
Does Priscilla’s have a slaughter sign on the door (you know the no gun sign)? If so might take it down make them (the crooks) wonder a bit more. If they do have a sign up …well it is a welcome mat you know.

Posted by: heidis at May 13, 2008 at 02:45:41 PM
Hambone- OK, so if you think guns are not a necessary part of ordinary life, you have a welcome mat?
Only frightened lil punks carry a gun. Worried someone bigger might beat their a$$.
Most of the time in an intrusion, the robber (who may be unarmed) can get it away from you and hurt you or your family...All good, evolution at its best!

Posted by: robinhood at May 13, 2008 at 03:07:15 PM
Arm the shopkeeper, blast the bad guy and this crap will stop.

-1 Rating Posted by: T-TownTracker at May 13, 2008 at 03:19:48 PM
heidis,
Thanks for letting us know that only frightened little punks carry a gun. I was worried.

Posted by: oldcop at May 13, 2008 at 04:02:29 PM
heidis,
The ONLY time an unarmed intruder can disarm someone and use their firearm against them is when the resident has inadequate training or is unprepared to pull the trigger. This is a common myth perpetuated by anti-gun people. Carrying a firearm is not for everyone. To do so you must be prepared to kill someone when necessary. If that presents a problem on a personal level, then it would be unwise to carry any type of deadly weapon.

Posted by: BandtChsr at May 13, 2008 at 04:32:19 PM
Heidis, Your way is like opening the door and telling the crooks... We won't shoot go ahead and take our hard earn money, our cars, our homes, our familes...

Old Cop is correct, the stat for gun oweners killed by their own gun, isn't a stat for home defense. They compile every incident where an owner of a gun was injured by it.
If you don't think or you have a doubt that you can pull the trigger on a human. Then don't pull a gun.... never pull a gun unless your prepared to use it.
When we lived in Southern Calif. I had to pull a gun on intruders to our house twice in two years. Once shots were fired... We lived right on a pathway for Illegals on their way from Mexico.
So, no way can you tell me that guns don't protect the home owner.
Besides it is always better to error on the side of caution. It is better to have a gun for protection and never use. Than to need one and not have it.

So sad. I didn't include reader comments as they seem to have mixed feelings.

Crash with fleeing SUV kills woman, daughter: CJOnline - Crash with fleeing SUV kills woman, daughter

The Associated Press
Published Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 8:20 a.m. CDT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City police say a mother and her daughter were killed Monday night when their car apparently was struck by a sport utility vehicle that was fleeing officers.

The Kansas City Star reports that the incident started about 8:40 p.m. when two officers tried stopping the SUV. It isn’t clear why the stop was made. Two passengers in the vehicle got out and ran, but were caught and arrested.

The SUV driver fled, but police didn’t pursue the man. Officers saw the SUV crashed a short time later and arrested the driver.

Police say the SUV struck a car with a mother and her children inside. The woman and one of her daughters were killed. Two other daughters were taken to hospitals.

Their names and ages weren’t immediately released.

Death penatly!...

__________________
"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

A-Men...
I read yesterday where we had 2 more armed robbery's. We have 6 known gangs here and as usual several auto accidents. KS. is number 6 in the nation with DUI's. Or worst! But I don't include them in my posts.

I thought crime and politics would bring others to share. But even while the reader numbers go up it is just you and I that post here.

I felt from the beginning that this thread could unite many citizens to share info and bring us together in one form or another. I read (when time permits) news papers from many states as I have posted them above some wheres. And I see we are no different that the other states. But I don't want to post news from them myself.

Yet this has become a thread on how bad KS. is I guess. There is a lot more to KS. than what I do post.
I guess I need to think about if it is worth going forward with hope that others might join in or let it end. I never was trying to bring KS., down. But from my many reads I see one thing that is the same each time. The parties involvement in the local level and crime. I guess we will see in time what I do. Maybe it is just me that it upsets.... lol
And the rest of the US that has overcome their feelings. Maybe that is what I need to do too. Well I doubt I can do that. I care to much for my city, state and my country to give up trying to get others to share. And from it if enough we can possible help bring about change in one form or another. Which is my real goal in this thread.

I left out a lot of the reader comments, mine included as it is at the bottom of the list. If auto accidents are your thing just click the link. There are about 4 as I glance thru the topics.

Southwest Topeka gunfire suspect arrested: CJOnline - Southwest Topeka gunfire suspect arrested

Shot missed pursuer following holdup
By Steve Fry
The Capital-Journal
Published Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 11:42 a.m. CDT
Topeka police arrested a 40-year-old man Wednesday night in connection with the armed robbery of a southwest Topeka tire store several hours earlier in which the gunman fired a shot at a pursuer.

David Anthony Cox, 40, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Jail in connection with one count of aggravated robbery, Kristi Pankratz, police spokesman, said this morning.

Cox was arrested in the Topeka robbery of Expert Tire, 5320 SW 21st, at about 5 p.m. Wednesday. No one was wounded during the robbery, which occurred as rush-hour traffic streamed along S.W. 21st, customers drove through a drive-up lane at the adjacent Arby’s, and children and adults jogged and ran on the Topeka West High School track about 100 yards west of the tire store.

Police said a man entered the business, displayed a handgun and left the business with an undisclosed amount of money. Police said the robber ran north through the rear parking lot of the business, around a chain-link fence and into the adjacent parking lot at the Fairlawn Green Apartment complex, 5237 S.W. 20th Terrace.

A 44-year-old store clerk pursued the man and was climbing the parking lot fence when the gunman fired a single shot at him from the apartment parking lot. The range appeared to be roughly 25 feet. The bullet, which wasn’t recovered, was thought to have passed between Expert Tire and The Toy Store, 5300 S.W. 21st. Police guessed the bullet might have landed in a tree line far to the south side of S.W. 21st Street.

The gunman then jumped into a vehicle that was waiting and left the area.

The vehicle was located by officers in the 3300 block of S.E. Emerson about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, and the vehicle’s occupant, Cox, was taken to the Law Enforcement Center where he was interviewed, then arrested, Pankratz said.

Police are looking for a second man, described as a black male in his early 30s, 5-feet-10 and weighing 205 pounds. Police have asked that anyone with information please call detectives at 368-9400 or Crime Stoppers at 234-0007.

Steve Fry can be reached (785) 295-1206 or at steve.fry@cjonline com.

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Reader Comments
+ 1 Rating Posted by: wolfmoon83 at May 15, 2008 at 12:02:39 PM
Huh!!!! Imagine that. A couple of black men with guns from the Highland Park area robbing and shooting.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: djquik1 at May 15, 2008 at 12:08:42 PM
We couldn't see that one coming wolfmoon83.......LOL.It is a shame that the city council isn't taking the gang related crimes and violent crimes more seriously.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: Macguyver at May 15, 2008 at 12:11:17 PM
ohh wow, I can feel it brewing, another East vs West storm. I can't wait for all the original comments that are getting ready to hit.

-2 Rating Posted by: T-TownTracker at May 15, 2008 at 12:11:54 PM
WM83,
I didn't see where this article disclosed a description of Cox ya friggin' racist. It Ain't like no other ethnic group never committed armed robbery.





+ 1 Rating Posted by: wolfmoon83 at May 15, 2008 at 12:12:44 PM
I was talking to a Topeka PD Officer yesterday nad he said approx 8 yrs ago when they cleaned up the gang trouble they basically disbanded the gang unit and haven't re-instated the task force. It sounds like it's about time they did. Maybe, we as concerned citizens, should start bombarding the Police Dept. with phone calls demanding they start doing something about the gang-bangers. As a Highland Park resident I think it's well past time for some action from our Illustrious PD!!!!!!!!!

+ 2 Rating Posted by: Macguyver at May 15, 2008 at 12:18:30 PM
Actually T town, the earlier article about this story did give a description of Cox. Not withstanding whether wolfmoon is a racist or not.

+ 3 Rating Posted by: wolfmoon83 at May 15, 2008 at 12:20:39 PM
Yea!!! T-town the first article stated that the robber was a 6-0 or 6-1 light complected black man. Maybe you learn to read before you spout off at the mouth ya friggin idiot.

+ 3 Rating Posted by: djquik1 at May 15, 2008 at 12:21:24 PM
T-town.The earlier article claimed Cox was a 6' to 6'1" black male.If wolfman is a racist for sure has yet to be seen.

Posted by: Macguyver at May 15, 2008 at 12:22:58 PM
wow, ok. Wolfmoon, your on your own now.

Posted by: wolfmoon83 at May 15, 2008 at 12:23:33 PM
And besides when was the last time you heard of a caucasian doing a drive by or committing armed robbery in this town. And when there is lets get a comparison from Topeka PD. I'll bet you'll be surprised with the ratio. Not racism, just simple fact

Posted by: Macguyver at May 15, 2008 at 12:26:23 PM
Ok, I am definately not with him.

Posted by: T-TownTracker at May 15, 2008 at 12:26:41 PM
so djquik.1,
Are we to now assume that any armed robbery was committed by gang members?

Ya know, the TV has a brightness control on it. Too bad this blog doesn't.

This illustrates a need for the skin hue scale. Drug addiction, organized crime, and robbery is not the exclusive claim of any ethnic group. I knew a guy that committed several armed robberies that had the same last name, "Cox". I thought this might be his younger brother, but I guess I should assume it is not since he doesn't match the presumed description.

-2 Rating Posted by: funkymcstain at May 15, 2008 at 12:29:37 PM
pretty sure i read an article last week about a white armed robber wolfmoon83. your still a biggot. hang out in north topeka much? bunch of upstanding white folk around there for sure.

Posted by: wolfmoon83 at May 15, 2008 at 12:34:27 PM
Yea, I work in North Topeka and live Highland Park. Don't care for either that much. That's why I'm back to the country where I feel safer!

+ 1 Rating Posted by: buttongod at May 15, 2008 at 12:34:34 PM
Tracker, the saying goes: "why is there a control on the tv for brightness, but not one for intelegence ?" Just trying to help !

Posted by: T-TownTracker at May 15, 2008 at 12:34:58 PM
I thought wolfmoon might have seen the description, but he did not bother stating that, did he?

It was the rest of his comment that showed his racism. Race is a social construct and does not scientifically exist. Socio-economics and other environmental factors lead to crime, not an imaginary classification based on the way you look, speak, act, hail from, or any convenient combination decided by racist men in distant offices.

Did you know that there are still Mexican-Americans in Topeka that remember being white? That was before the Civil Rights movement deemed them "minorities".

All reader comments included... Anything like this happening in your area?

Man charged with violating Clean Water Act; CJOnline - Man charged with violating Clean Water Act


The Capital-Journal
Published Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. CDT
A Lawrence man and his company have been charged with violating the Clean Water Act.

A federal indictment charges Raymond Sawyer, 56, and MagnaGro International., Inc., with unlawfully discharging waste from a fertilizer manufacturing operation into the Lawrence sewer system in violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act.

In 2001, Sawyer and MagnaGro discharged a large quantity of industrial waste into the Lawrence sewer system, interfering with the system’s operation. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the city of Lawrence told Sawyer not to discharge more material into the sewer system.

In September 2007, the indictment says, agents from the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division served a search warrant at MagnaGro and determined that Sawyer was discharging waste from MagnaGro’s fertilizer production directly into the city’s sewer system.

Sawyer had been pumping water from a waste pit surrounding the fertilizer mixing vat. The waste was pumped through a hose and into a toilet at the MagnaGro facility.

If convicted, Sawyer faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The company could be fined up to $500,000.

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Reader Comments
-2 Rating Posted by: bigjohnpowercat at May 15, 2008 at 12:22:49 PM
The tree huggers of Lawrence are going to run this guy out of town even if he doesn't get convicted.

Posted by: TopekaIsBoring at May 15, 2008 at 12:39:36 PM
Throw the book at this jerk. I hope that he gets the max.

+ 2 Rating Posted by: ILikeCheese at May 15, 2008 at 12:50:16 PM
need to take a look at Jani!!!

+ 1 Rating Posted by: spiritwind at May 15, 2008 at 03:09:10 PM
He won't spend time in jail, and his fine is less then his company makes in a week. People like this, their business should be shut down, period.

Posted by: T-TownTracker at May 15, 2008 at 05:46:20 PM
There are "tree huggers" everywhere. Things like this should make ecology activists of all of us. It is time to put our home planet, food and water supply ahead of the almight buck! China is polluting worse than we ever did, and we don't care because we make (or save) money off them.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: kansasman101 at May 15, 2008 at 05:57:15 PM
I totally agree! EVERY needs to buy their own wind turbine then we wouldn't need these big corporations who are "money hogs" wanting to provide electricity.

Posted by: bluesguy at May 15, 2008 at 06:07:53 PM
Mr. Sawyers should get to drink untreated waste water while he is serving his time.

I also think bigjohnpowercat should get to live in a 3rd world country for a few years and drink that water. There are some heavy metal mining operations in South America where he can live just downstream of their operation. That way he can experience laissez-faire capitalism & the environment. I wonder if bigjohnpowercat would be a tree hugger after that experience.

I think we will top the last 2 years for homicides. I left out the reader comments as they got a bit racy.

Police identify latest homicide victim: CJOnline - Police identify latest homicide victim

Description of shooter changed
The Capital-Journal
Published Friday, May 16, 2008 at 9:17 a.m. CDT
The city’s latest homicide victim has been identified as Pamela K. McMaster, 50, of Topeka, police department spokeswoman Kristi Pankratz said in a news release this morning.

Police responding to a report of gunfire about 7:50 p.m. Thursday at Regency Inn, 3802 S.W. Topeka Blvd., found McMaster with multiple gunshot wounds near the east side of the office. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The shooter initially was described as a white man wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and a bandana, but Pankratz said that description had changed to a slender, 6-foot-tall black man in his 20s. He was last seen wearing a black or gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

The man got into a four-door, newer model vehicle occupied by three white females. The vehicle’s tag is described as having a blue or gray background with red lettering and a partial tag of “920.”

McMaster is the city’s fifth homicide victim this year and the third since April 27.

Police continue to investigate and ask anyone with information to call detectives at 368-9400 or Crime Stoppers at 234-0007.

Now I know about every county in America has this problem. So please share.

Topekan arrested on meth charges: CJOnline - Topekan arrested on meth charges

The Capital-Journal
Published Friday, May 16, 2008 at 11:22 a.m. CDT
A Topeka man has been arrested on suspicion of operating a methamphetamine lab.

Fred Lehmann, 50, of Topeka was booked into the Shawnee County Jail on Thursday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of drug paraphernalia associated with the manufacturing of meth, according to a news release this morning from the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office.

Acting on a tip about a possible meth lab at 3750 N.W. 62nd St., authorities executed a search warrant at the residence and discovered evidence of a red phosphorous meth lab.

The Topeka Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Response Team and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment responded to the scene to help with cleanup and disposal.

I know this will get some thinking. It names names of the Sentors who added pork/eramarks for a lot of non farm items. Politics at it best. Costing you the taxpayers. In my siggy is a way to e-mail each one with your thoughts. Simple and quick.

Farmers frustrated by farm bill's earmarks: CJOnline / The Topeka Capital-Journal - Farmers frustrated by farm bill's earmarks

The Associated Press
Published Friday, May 16, 2008
A good farm bill wouldn't be complete without a little pork.

Individual lawmakers, mostly senators, slipped several dozen earmarks, or pet causes, into the $290 billion farm bill passed by the House and Senate this week that have at best tentative connections to the tilling of land.



Michael Hooper / The Capital-Journal
The bill includes tax breaks for horse owners, water for Nevada desert lakes, aid for Pacific Coast salmon farmers and a crackdown on puppy trafficking.

Paul Penner, vice president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, said it's frustrating when money that should go to farm subsidies is converted for "pet projects that have the ears of politicians."

An example, he said, is the push to divest subsidies into environment and conservation programs.

"Although the intention (of environmentalists) may be honorable, (they) don't understand the complexity of agriculture and how important it is to maintain a viable infrastructure in the production of food," he said.

Here are some of the special provisions included in the farm bill:

• Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., pushed to allow the federal government to sell portions of the Green Mountain National Forest to a ski resort in the state. Leahy's office said the provision would save the Forest Service management costs for the land.

• Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., wants to allow state and local governments and nonprofits to issue $500 million in tax-credit bonds to buy forest land for conservation purposes. The provision would authorize the purchase of 400,000 acres of land in Montana from a single owner, the Plum Creek Timber Co.

• Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., pushed for $170 million in relief for the salmon crisis on the West Coast, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture argued the funds weren't needed because West Coast salmon fishermen received $60 million in federal aid two years ago.

• Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell included a tax break for horse owners that would benefit horse farms in his state of Kentucky. The provision ensures all race horses are depreciated over three years for tax purposes, regardless of when the horses start training. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates this would cost $126 million over 10 years.

• Senate Democratic Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., inserted a measure to curb the import of puppies for commercial sale from foreign puppy mills. The bill, backed the Humane Society, also strengthens the federal animal fighting law.

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., championed $175 million to provide water for desert lakes in his state.

• Senators from Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland succeeded in including $382 million for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Conservation Program.

• Baucus also got $1 million for a national sheep and goat industry improvement center.

• Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas, secured $10 million a year for five years for a program that helps people in poor, rural areas find housing.

• The bill also authorizes funds for a drought mitigation center at the University of Nebraska, water systems for rural and native villages in Alaska, and a congressional hunger center.

Topeka Capital-Journal staff writer Jan Biles contributed to this report.