Month: March 2019

Closed case DNA bill passes Senate

by Mary Rupert

Before Senate Bill 102, the closed case DNA bill, passed the Kansas Senate Thursday, human rights activist Alvin Sykes was on the phone with Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist.

Sykes, who had advocated for the bill, really wanted to be there in person when the bill passed. Instead, he had to settle for listening from a hospital room.

The bill that passed would set up a task force to study opening DNA searches to closed cases as well as open cases. It is supported by the Innocence Project. Sen. Haley said the bill would be “groundbreaking.”

Sykes was hospitalized after a fall on Saturday. Sykes said he was on his way to visit the Rev. Wheeler Parker, a cousin of Emmett Till’s, when Sykes fell at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri.

Sykes has worked for many years on the Emmett Till Justice Campaign, and has been instrumental in the passage of laws that provide authorization and funding to reopen long-ago civil rights cases.

He was hurrying to get in line for a train on Saturday when he did not see a bench in front of him, because he is blind in one of his eyes, he said.

Sykes said he was fortunate that a doctor also was in line and came over to assist him. The doctor calmed him, prevented him from moving around and being further injured.

“I just kept saying, let my legs down,” Sykes said. “She said, ‘Your legs are down.’ That’s when I knew it was serious.”

He said he would like to find the doctor’s name and thank her.

Sykes said he has temporarily lost the use of his hands and legs, and was unable to contact many people recently.

While it could take a while for him to get back on his feet, he said he will return to his human rights work.

“I want to let people know that I’m going to make it back,” he said.

Senate Bill 102

Senate Bill 102 would set up a task force to study DNA searches on closed cases. The task force would have representation from many different areas, including law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, victim advocates, legislators, innocence organization litigators and others. The task force would make recommendations on protocols to be used in the future.

Sykes earlier had asked Sen. Haley to work on the bill, which is supported by the Midwest Innocence Project. Sen. Haley brought the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which sponsored it.

Sykes believes that looking at closed cases as well as open cases could lead to information that would raise questions about whether the right person is in prison.

The bill was on the Senate’s consent calendar, and it had wide support. The bill passed the Senate Thursday, with only one no vote, and now will go to the House for consideration, where it will be assigned to a committee, Sen. Haley said.

“Senate Bill 102 would be groundbreaking nationally,” Sen. Haley said.

“I’m excited, to say the very least, it’s a major step for us to be the first in the country to fully employ DNA technology as it applies to all cases, both open and closed,” Sen. Haley said. “I’m excited to be a part of it, Alvin’s work and the Innocence Project, helping to bring this work to the country through Kansas.”

The bill passed one major hurdle, now it faces another in the House, Sen. Haley said. He said he was optimistic about its chances of passage.

Tricia Bushnell of the Innocence Project offered this statement: “The Midwest Innocence Project and the Innocence Project are thrilled that Kansas is on the precipice of becoming the first state in the nation to address this gaping hole in the criminal process. We heartily congratulate its champions Alvin Sykes, Senator Haley, and lawmakers in the Kansas Legislature and hope that other states look to Kansas to ensure that hits to closed cases can be used to enable justice for the wrongfully convicted.”

To see earlier stories on this topic, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/hearing-scheduled-tuesday-on-bill-on-expanding-dna-searches-to-closed-cases/.

Residents encouraged to be vigilant about monitoring river conditions

The Missouri River at Parkville, which also includes the forecast for Wyandotte County, is in moderate flood stage and is projected to reach a crest of 34.8 feet on Friday and Saturday. (National Weather Service – USGS graphic)

The Corps of Engineers today urged people to continue being vigilant about monitoring river conditions.

Local officials said on Wednesday that they did not expect flooding on the Missouri River to affect any residences in Wyandotte County. The river levels and expected crests of the river at different places changes every day with the changing flow of water in the river.

Today’s breach of a levee across the river from Atchison, Kansas, is expected to have an effect on the river levels downstream in the Kansas City area.

The Missouri River at Atchison, Kansas, is now in major flood stage and is projected to rise to a record level of 31.8 feet on Friday, according to Corps of Engineers officials.

The Missouri River in the Wyandotte County area currently is forecast to crest on Friday night in Kansas City, Kansas, according to this afternoon’s updated hydrology charts.

The Missouri River above Parkville, Missouri, a gauge on I-435 over the Missouri River that also includes Wyandotte County, is now projected to crest at 34.6 feet, just below major flood stage, on Friday night, according to hydrology charts. The Wolcott levees in western Kansas City, Kansas, will be overtopped at 32 feet and 32.5 feet, according to hydrology charts.

The current level on Thursday afternoon is 30.83 feet, and there were no signs of flooding visible from the road Thursday afternoon at Lakeside Speedway on Wolcott Drive, next to the Missouri River. There was, however, some water in fields down the street on Wolcott Drive. This location is west of I-435.

At the Missouri River at Kansas City (not far from the Kaw Point and James Street areas), and the Kansas River at 23rd Street (Kansas Avenue near the state line), both affecting the east edge of Kansas City, Kansas, the rivers are projected to go into minor flood stage and will crest either Friday or Saturday. The rivers in this location are not projected to affect any homes.

Rain that is forecast this weekend is not projected to have an effect on flooding in Kansas City, according to officials.

Corps of Engineers officials reported today there were 43 confirmed breaches or overtoppings of levees in Nebraska and Iowa in the Omaha district. Another total nine were in Kansas or Missouri in the Kansas City district.

Today was the first time a federal levee in the KC district was overtopped since the 1993 flood, officials stated. That levee was in Doniphan County, Kansas, near the St. Joseph area. The other seven levees that overtopped or were breached were nonfederal levees, officials said.

While they don’t expect to see a lot of levee damage, it is a possibility, officials said, and they encouraged people to monitor the conditions in their area. Additional levees could overtop today, officials said.

The Corps of Engineers is providing mobile teams to assist levee districts and local authorities that request help through the local emergency managers. The corps has more than 3.6 million sandbags on hand.

Water releases from the Gavins Point dam in South Dakota were reduced from 28,000 cubic feet per second to 24,000 cubic feet per second on Wednesday. They were scheduled to be reduced to 20,000 cfs by this morning, but because inflows from the Niobrara River continued to match releases, the releases were kept at 24,000, according to Corps officials. The Corps is monitoring runoff throughout the Missouri River basin, officials said.

BPU monitoring river, no negative effects at this time

David Mehlhaff, a spokesman for the Board of Public Utilities, said Thursday morning that the BPU is monitoring the Missouri River levels very, very closely at its plants.

The BPU Nearman Creek plant is near North 55th and the Missouri River in Kansas City, Kansas. The BPU Quindaro plant, also on the Missouri River, was shut down earlier this year.

“We do have some water around the horizontal collector wells, but the way they are set up, our water supply is safe,” Mehlhaff said. Drinking water comes from the Missouri River aquifer, below the river. “We will monitor it close, right now everything is in good shape.”

More information

Residents who want updated information may visit the National Weather Service webpage at www.weather.gov, and enter their location to get the latest weather forecasts. The river charts are under the heading, “Hydrology.”

Residents also may call 511 on their telephones to find out about road closures, and 211 to find out about essential community services. Road conditions are available online at www.kandrive.org/kandrive. Wyandotte County residents may call 311 to find out about local government programs and services.

The Missouri River at Kansas City is projected to go into the minor flood stage on Friday and crest on Friday or Saturday. At this minor flood level, there could be minor flooding outside of the levees. (National Weather Service – USGS graphic)
The Kansas River at 23rd Street (at Kansas Avenue and state line), is projected to go into minor flood stage on Thursday night or Friday morning, and to crest on Friday night or Saturday. At the minor flood stage, there could be some flooding of undeveloped woodland along the river. (National Weather Service -USGS graphic)
There were no signs of flooding on Thursday afternoon at Lakeside Speedway, as seen from Wolcott Drive. The location is west of I-435 in Kansas City, Kansas.

Missouri River breaches levees near Winthrop, residents urged to leave

Rising waters have breached levees along the Missouri River. Water level was already high Tuesday in St. Joseph, Missouri, in north Buchanan County. (Photo by Andrea Tudhope, KCUR)

by Lisa Rodriguez, Andrea Tudhope and Elle Moxley, Kansas News Service

Updated, 2:53 p.m. Thursday: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson declared a state of emergency Thursday, following flooding along the Missouri River.

Thursday morning the river breached a levee near Winthrop, Missouri, across from Atchison, Kansas.

“The rising floodwaters are affecting more Missouri communities and farms, closing more roads and threatening levees, water treatment plants and other critical infrastructure,” Parson said in a written statement. “We will continue to work closely with our local partners to assess needs and provide resources to help as Missourians continue this flood fight and as we work to assist one another.”

The executive order activates the state’s Emergency Operations Plan, which lets state agencies coordinate efforts directly with cities and counties.

Buchanan County Commissioner Ron Hook says water is coming through the levee and over the top, flooding farmland. He’s part of the team telling people to get out.

“We had sheriff’s department, emergency managers, going door to door, knocking, making sure people were aware water was going to be on their doorstep real soon,” Hook said.

Amanda Horton lives in Winthrop, Missouri, about half a mile from the Missouri River.

“It looks like I have a lake very close to my house, which is not normal,” Horton said.

Horton said she was driving back and forth to Atchison, Kansas, Thursday morning over U.S. Highway 59. After the levee breach, she said the change was almost immediate.

“There was water in the fields, everywhere. It’s pretty significant,” Horton said.

The highway was closed shortly after the breach. With U.S. 59 shutdown, Horton’s three children had to stay home from school which is about eight miles away in Rushville, Missouri.

There are only a few businesses in Winthrop. Horton said the liquor store owners left last weekend, and the convenience stores have sandbagged the lower part of their buildings and are packing up today.

“A lot of our neighbors have already gotten their water shut off, so they’ve moved a lot of stuff out fearing water will get in and destroy their things,” she said.

Horton said usually when the river rises, the water flows into Sugar Lake at the Lewis and Clark State Park southeast of Winthrop. She said residents there have basements and houses filled with water.

Levee break near city of Atchison, Kansas, on the east side of the river. (Photo from KHP Air Support Unit@KHPAircraft)

Jim Kunce is the superintendent of Lewis and Clark State Park in Buchanan County, Missouri. He said the park was prepared for the flood. All staff and equipment were evacuated.

“The park has been through different floods throughout its existence. Each time it floods, something does change, whether we lose some trees, or we have to make adjustments to our landscaping,” he said.

He said he expects to see the impacts of Thursday’s levee breach within the next 24 hours. Compared to a flood in 1993 and one in 2011, this would be the worst, as far as the water level is concerned.

Severe flooding along the Missouri River after last week’s “bomb cyclone” and ongoing snowmelt has affected communities in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has issued an executive order temporarily waiving fees and easing regulation on motor carriers assisting with flood relief, to expedite restoration efforts.

“It’s important communities in both states receive the aid they need immediately,” Kelly said in a statement.

Kelly is expected to tour affected areas today (Thursday) with the National Guard and Kansas Department of Emergency Management.

The National Weather Service says the Missouri River at Atchison is in major flood stage and expected to crest at 31.8 feet around 1 p.m. Friday. The record for that area is 31.6 feet.

Lisa Rodriguez is a reporter and the afternoon newscaster for KCUR 89.3. Follow her on Twitter @larodrig.
Elle Moxley covers education for KCUR. You can reach her on Twitter @ellemoxley.
Andrea Tudhope is a reporter for KCUR 89.3. Email her at [email protected], and follow her on Twitter @andreatudhope.

Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/post/missouri-river-breaches-levees-near-winthrop-residents-urged-leave