Kansas Klips
Atwood woman lives 100 years of “the good life”
ATWOOD — Frances Kompus, who just celebrated her 100th birthday on Nov. 11, says she’s pleased to be celebrating the century mark with her sisters, Julia Kopriva, who is almost 104, and Lucy Pochop, who turned 102 in June. Frances and her sisters were born to Florian and Fannie Chleborad Holub on a farm northwest of Beardsley in Rawlins County. All four of their grandparents immigrated from Czechoslovakia to homestead in Kansas. Being the youngest in the trio of sisters influenced Frances’ growing up years, but just about everything she wore was hand-me-downs. The girls had a two-mile walk to Beardsley where they went to school. She speaks fondly of the little town of Beardsley that no longer exists. After the husbands of the three sisters died, the women were back together again when they each secured their own apartments in a complex in Atwood, getting together every night to play cards as they did when they were young. (Rawlins County Square Deal)
Man hospitalized after semi overturns in a ditch
THOMAS COUNTY — A Kansas man was injured in an accident just after 7:30 a.m. Monday in Thomas County. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Kenworth semi driven by Alvin Abraham Pleitez-Valles, 32, Holcomb, was northbound on Kansas 25 twelve mile south of Colby. The semi drifted to the right off the roadway. The driver overcorrected and the semi traveled across both lanes of the highway and overturned in the west ditch. EMS transported Pleitez-Valles to the hospital in Colby. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP. (HaysPost.com)
Suspect stole $5,600 engagement ring from store
MANHATTAN — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a jewelry store theft in Manhattan. Just after 2 p.m. Friday, police filed a report for theft in the 400 block of Poyntz Ave. in Manhattan. Danenberg Jewelers reported an unknown suspect stole a 14k yellow gold engagement ring on October 14. The estimated total loss associated with this case is approximately $5,600. (JCPost.com)
Man charged in fatal wrong-way, head-on crash
WICHITA — A 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and manslaughter after a head-on collision that killed a 19-year-old from Caldwell. Just before 3 a.m. Nov. 6, a GMC Sierra pickup driven by Jose Rios-Cruz was westbound in the eastbound lanes of Kansas Highway 254 in northeast Sedgwick County, according to Sheriff’s Lt. Benjamin Blick. The pickup collided with a Chrysler PT Cruiser driven by 19-year-old Clayton Patterson of Caldwell. Patterson died after the collision. Rios-Cruz is being held on a $500,000 bond and is due back in court on November 22, according to the district attorney’s office. (HaysPost.com)
Police await coroner’s report in death of 1-year-old boy
TOPEKA — Law enforcement authorities continue investigating the death of a one-year old boy and have not made an arrest in the case, according to Topeka Police Department spokesperson Gretchen Spiker. Just after 11 a.m. last Tuesday, police responded to a medical call involving an unresponsive child at a residence in Topeka, according to Spiker. The Topeka Fire Department and American Medical Response also responded to the scene. Life-saving measures were attempted at the scene. AMR transported the child to a local hospital, where the child was later pronounced deceased by medical personnel. Authorities are awaiting the Coroner’s Report which will determine cause of death, according to Spiker. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
Three suspects jailed in iPhone thefts
JACKSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a series of thefts from Walmart stores in Kansas and other states and have three women in custody. On November 9, sheriff’s deputies were alerted to a possible theft in process at a Walmart Supercenter in Holton. Deputies stopped the suspect vehicle, a black 2015 Dodge Charger east of Arizona Avenue on Banner Road. They took three women in the vehicle into custody. Deputies located items believed to have been taken from the store as well as other items believed to have been stolen from other Walmart stores including 22 iPhones believed to have been stolen from a Houston, Texas Walmart. The three women, all from Galveston, Texas, remain in the Jackson County Jail on charges that include possession of stolen property, theft, and criminal damage to property. One woman also had an outstanding felony warrant from the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office in Galveston, Texas. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
