Month: April 2016

Class to give tips on landscaping to attract birds and butterflies

As much as gardeners like birds and butterflies, they usually hesitate to include wildlife habitats, fearing a weedy mess.

The goals of beauty and habitat can be achieved together, with a garden design easily including the specific plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife and pollinators while still remaining beautiful for the humans, according to gardening experts.

The class, “Landscaping for Wildlife and Pollinators,” will be taught by Meg Mullett, a Johnson County Extension Master Gardener and Kansas Master Naturalist, who has been gardening for 40 years.

She not only grows food for her family, but also maintains an attractive landscape for wildlife using only organic methods.

The class, sponsored by the Wyandotte County Extension Master Gardeners, will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 5, in the Sunflower Room at the Wyandotte County Extension Office, 1208 N. 79th St., Kansas City, Kan., 913-299-9300. The fee is $5, payable at the door. Registration is not required.

Leavenworth Road Association to meet Tuesday, April 12

The Leavenworth Road Association will meet Tuesday, April 12, at the Eisenhower Recreation Center, 2901 N. 72nd, Kansas City, Kan.

A potluck dinner and social hour will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the meeting at 7 p.m.

Guest speaker will be Bud Chapman with Abate of Kansas District 5, active in community projects.

Board members will be elected at this meeting.

Ham and broccoli will be provided for the dinner, and those attending may bring a covered dish to share.

Topeka man indicted on gun charge within months of release from prison

A Topeka man was indicted Wednesday on a federal firearm charge that is alleged to have occurred within months of his release from federal prison in a similar case, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Brandon E. Derr, 31, who is being held in the Shawnee County Jail, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm following a felony conviction. According to the federal Bureau of Prisons, Derr was released Sept. 18, 2015, after serving a 24-month sentence. In that case he was indicted in 2012. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2013.

In the new indictment, it is alleged Derr possessed a Smith and Wesson 9 mm pistol on Nov. 12, 2015, in Topeka.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.

Other grand jury indictments include:

Jason D. Bulger, 35, who is being held in the Shawnee County Jail, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm following a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Feb. 26, 2016, in Topeka, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.

Vondel S. Johnson, 32, who is being held in the CCA facility in Leavenworth, Kan., is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm following a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred March 3, 2016, in Topeka, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.