2/20/2011

january

1Civil Air Patrol cadets spend New Year's Day completing a weeklong Winter Encampment at Salina's Great Plains Regional Training Center. Cadets, ranging in age from 12 to 18, hail from Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas.

3Hundreds of Salina's 14- and 15-year-olds visited the Kansas Driver's License examination office during the past few days of 2009 seeking a learner's permit before new laws concerning new drivers took effect Jan. 1. Driver's license offices across the state saw an influx of teens hoping to be grandfathered in before new, graduated license requirements took effect.

4 Deputy Attorney General Barry Disney writes a letter announcing that no charges will be filed against a Salina police officer who was involved in an altercation at a Salina bar in July 2009 while he was off duty. Disney writes that eyewitness accounts that support officer Ricardo Garcia's contention that he acted in self-defense make conviction unlikely. Saline County Attorney Ellen Mitchell referred the case to the attorney general's office shortly after the July 18 altercation, which occurred on the dance floor of the Inferno, 112 S. Santa Fe. No one was injured enough to require medical treatment, and no arrests were made.

5The Greater Salina Community Foundation announces that its assets have topped $50 million, and it has given away more than $20 million in grants to community organizations and projects over the past 10 years. When community leaders established the foundation in 1999, they were hoping to have reached $10 million in assets by this time, according to Betsy Wearing, president and executive director of the foundation.

6The one-of-a-kind taste of Cozy Inn hamburgers soon will be available not only in the six-stool emporium in downtown Salina, but also in a second hamburger shop in Manhattan. Cozy owner-operator Steve Howard confirms that plans are being finalized for a Cozy in Aggieville, the pub and entertainment district close to Kansas State University. The restaurant is to be built on the site of a former barbershop at 1109 Moro.

7Three people are found dead in a rural New Cambria home after Saline County law enforcement officers negotiate for about four hours on the phone with a man who told a relative he'd shot his parents. One of those found dead is believed to be the shooter.

7Frigid weather is making it a challenge for workers in Salina's city street department to cope with water main breaks and issues with traffic signals as temperatures plunge. Workers respond to about eight water main and water service connection breaks throughout Salina that send water pouring onto the ground. Workers treat the icy areas with chemicals, salt and sand.

8Authorities say they don't know why a rural Saline County man, Lance Begnoche, 35, shot his elderly parents and then shot himself at their home a day earlier. The parents are identified as Gary Begnoche, 64, and Ellen Begnoche, 61. Lance Begnoche's sister called authorities after he telephoned her and indicated that he had shot their parents.

8Central Mall marketing manager Lisa McDowell says no changes are anticipated in the operation of the mall, which was sold for $27 million Dec. 29 in a sheriff's sale to Wachovia Bank, the only bidder. The bank had foreclosed on the mall's mortgage.

8Rather than rail against former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's appearance at the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting, a group of Salinans is offering citizens an alternative event the night of Palin's speech with a decidedly less conservative flair. The coalition RNC, which organizers say stands for Reality Not Celebrity, is hosting a dinner featuring as speaker former Salina Journal editor and editorial writer George Pyle. The event will take place Feb. 5 at Martinelli's Little Italy.

9A crowd shows up to help Kelly Thayer turn her new house at 221 N. Second, constructed by Habitat for Humanity volunteers, into a home. It's the 26th home in Salina constructed by the nonprofit organization.

11 Claiming the state has "reneged" on its constitutional duty to fund public schools, attorneys representing a statewide coalition of school districts have formally asked the Kansas Supreme Court to reopen the 1999 Montoy case. On the first day of the legislative session and just hours before Gov. Mark Parkinson's State of the State speech, attorneys John Robb, of Newton, and Alan Rupe, of Wichita, filed their motion asking the high court to reopen the case it dismissed in 2006.

11 An event to counter former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's Feb. 5 appearance in Salina has sold out of tickets, which doesn't come as a surprise to one of the organizers. David Norlin says people quickly snapped up the 150 or so tickets available to the "Unpolitical Party," sponsored by the coalition RNC. The event features remarks by columnist, author and editorial writer George Pyle, now at the Buffalo News in western New York.

12To cope with the latest round of state budget cuts, the Salina School District intends to cut the equivalent of four positions, reduce the number of children getting help in summer school and delay buying textbooks and other classroom materials. Superintendent Rob Winter outlines his proposal for dealing with a $568,000 cut made by Parkinson on Nov. 9, part of the fifth round of such cuts prompted by the economic downturn, at a school board meeting.

12Royals Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett and former Royals Joe Randa and Jamie Quirk visit Cottonwood Elementary School to recognize third-grader Cauy Rickley, who won an essay contest with a piece he wrote about wanting to learn more about baseball.

13In a letter signed by all three Saline County commissioners, Salina city commissioners are notified that the county is terminating the city's occupancy of Oakdale Park as of March 20, 2011. Jerry Fowler, county commission chairman, says the letter is not an idle threat. "The bottom line to the whole thing is that it's time to quit cutting bait and start fishing," he said. He also notes that the city has treated the county "subserviently" for many years. "We'd like to be treated as an equal partner," he said. Jason Gage, city manager, says the letter is being taken seriously.

15Chamber of Commerce officials take another look at seating areas at the Bicentennial Center and make available another 600 tickets for Sarah Palin's Feb. 5 appearance, making the total number of seats available 5,600. A record number of tickets have been sold for the annual meeting.

15Saline County commissioners say their threat to take away the city's use of Oakdale Park, home to the Smoky Hill River Festival, a public tennis complex and numerous other events, symbolizes their frustration with a negotiating process with the city of Salina that's gone on for far too long. They say the letter was what it took for the city to take the county seriously.

18Salinans observe Martin Luther King Day with performances at St. John's Missionary Baptist Church.

20A 72-year-old Salina man who originally was sentenced to life in prison after pleading no contest to fondling three girls between the ages of 9 and 13 instead will spend about five years behind bars. District Judge Daniel Hebert departs from standard sentencing guidelines that would have imposed a life sentence for Harry O. White, who, for the second time, pleaded no contest to aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Hebert rules there were "substantial and compelling" reasons to depart from state sentencing guidelines because of White's age, his lack of criminal history and an agreement reached between attorneys representing White and the state.

20The official ground-breaking for Salina Community Theatre's new education wing will be 11 a.m. Feb. 1, theater executive director Michael Spicer announces, although work on the addition will begin in a few days. Spicer announces that the theater has raised sufficient funding to match a $519,000 challenge grant from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation, of Tulsa, Okla. With this grant and other donations, the $3.5 million needed to complete the building project has been raised, Spicer says.

22Saline County District Judge Daniel Hebert decides three trials were enough for Cameron A. Nelson, and he sentences the 21-year-old Salinan to 25 years in prison for unintentional second-degree murder. Attorney Julie McKenna, who represented Nelson during his multiple appearances in district court, immediately presents the judge with a notice of appeal. Nelson was convicted in September at the conclusion of his third trial of shooting to death Mark H. Simpson, 38, as Simpson stood in the 500 block of South 10th Street shortly before 2:30 a.m. April 16, 2008. Two previous trials had ended in mistrial when those juries were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

22A letter concerning Oakdale and Kenwood parks that the city of Salina sends to Saline County commissioners is "well-written and well thought out," but it doesn't address what the county wants from the city -- a long-term lease for Kenwood Park. And Saline County Commission Chairman Jerry Fowler says reassurance from the city that it has no plans to build a new rec center in Kenwood doesn't mean the county won't evict the city from Oakdale Park. The city's three-page letter, signed by Mayor Luci Larson, asks the county for such details as a proposed timetable, cost estimates and funding sources for construction of improvements the county would make in Kenwood Park. Kenwood is owned by the city and is home to the city's new aquatic park and the Bicentennial Center. It's also home to the county's Tri-Rivers Fair and numerous stock shows.

27Cosmopolitan.com lists Ellsworth native Josh Svaty, then Kansas Secretary of Agriculture, as one of "7 More Politicians We'd Like to See Shirtless" in an online feature. "It may be a cliche, but the sexy Secretary of Agriculture proves that they sure grow 'em cute in Kansas. We wouldn't mind seeing him in nothing but a row of corn," reads the caption under a photo from the Department of Agriculture.

28Workers take apart and box up equipment at Duffens Optical, 919 E. Prescott, marking the end of a business with ties to Salina that date back to the early 1900s. Duplication of services by other, larger optical laboratories capable of finishing eyeglass lenses made this the final day of work for the Salina lab's seven workers, most of whom have been working for the company for 35 to 40 years.

28With the purchase of inexpensive editing software and the use of Facebook and YouTube, the Salina Police Department and Crimestoppers begin putting more store-surveillance videos of crimes in progress out for public viewing. The goal, Deputy Police Chief Carson Mansfield says, is to solve crimes. Police hope people will view the videos and phone in tips to identify the perpetrators.

29Brian Enright, 18, of LeRoy, and Robert "Kenny" Feebeck, 20, of Tescott, are bound over for trial on five counts of attempted second-degree murder and other charges in connection with the shooting of a Colorado family's pickup truck as it traveled on Interstate Highway 70. Saline County District Court Judge Patrick Thompson bound over the two after hearing testimony from the man who was driving the truck when a bullet pierced the top of the cab near his head. David L. Weaver, of Hillside, Calif., testified that his wife, Suzanna, and their three daughters -- Erika, 5, Amy, 3, and Kara, 1 -- were asleep in the truck when the bullet streaked across the top of the cab and shattered the rear windshield, showering the children with glass.

29A 22-year-old man who court records indicate was sexually abused himself as a child was sentenced in Saline County District Court for inappropriate behavior with a 3-year-old girl. "The human element is very apparent on both sides of this case," said Judge Jerome Hellmer before imposing sentence on Robert E. Elliott Jr., 22. "When you victimize a child, there are seeds that are planted that produce other fruits in society." Elliott received a prison sentence totaling 12 years and 8 months for three offenses, including attempted aggravated indecent solicitation of a child, criminal threat and battery of a corrections officer.

29 Ken Cannon, of Salina, launches a campaign for Kansas governor that he'd been mulling for years, kicking off the campaign with a speech at Ell-Saline School, where he works as a teacher. Running as a Reform Party candidate, Cannon advocates "using the best of what each (political party) has to offer" as he joins the fight to fix several issues. Topping his list are the economy and education.

february

1 Saline County planning and zoning commissioners approve a conditional-use permit for Andrew Hammond to operate an off-road course for motocross, all-terrain vehicles, mountain biking and similar activities on a 21-acre site near Salina. Gary and Mary Gleason own the site at 2002 N. Halstead known as Prairie Harbor Golf Course. The property is adjacent to the south side of Interstate Highway 70 and is recognizable by a large lighthouse.

2Jason Christopher Clay, formerly of Salina, is arrested after a traffic stop near Whitney, Texas, and will be brought to face charges in Saline County District Court. Capt. Mike Sweeney, of the Salina Police Department, says that on July 29, 2009, Salina police received a report from an individual who loaned Clay a cell phone this past summer. When the phone was returned, it contained photographs of young girls who were nude and partially nude. Police determined the identities of three of the girls, and they all were younger than 18. Police allege that Clay met the girls through the social networking website Facebook and convinced them to send nude pictures of themselves to his cell phone.

3Coronado Elementary School students cheer at a school assembly as their donations for Haiti hurricane relief, totaling more than $1,000, are turned over to Bud DeArvil, of Blue Beacon.

3As it was described beforehand, Ell-Saline School District Superintendent Jerry Minneman had no problem with Ken Cannon announcing a run for Kansas governor Jan. 29 at Ell-Saline School. But the announcement apparently didn't turn out as advertised, and it might have violated a district policy against political rallies, district officials say.

3Keith Jorgensen, 81, dies after leaving his car running all day in the attached garage of his town home at 750 Fairdale, and three firefighters who responded to a call to assist him are hospitalized overnight for exposure to the toxic fumes; four additional firefighters and a police officer are treated at Salina Regional Health Center for exposure to the fumes, according to Fire Marshal Roger Williams. The peak level of carbon monoxide was a lethal 1,024 parts per million. Firefighters are trained to wear their self-contained breathing apparatus if the carbon monoxide measurement at a fire exceeds 100 parts per million.

3Salina Area United Way campaign chairman John Quinley announces that the final dollar amount raised was $1.15 million, about 2.1 percent less than the 2008 campaign total of $1.175 million. The campaign goal was to go after new donors -- 500, to be exact. Out of a total of 4,322 donors, 300 were identified as being new.

5Speaking to a crowd of 300-plus at an alternative to the annual Salina Area Chamber of Commerce banquet, George Pyle, editorial writer at the Buffalo News in New York and former editorial editor of the Salina Journal, touched on the subjects of health care reform, death panels, public education, small businesses, Social Security and fear of government.

5After watching the State of the Union address, Sarah Palin started looking for some analysis. Some of the best, she said, was on the PBS website, which featured a video and written analysis by students from Salina Central High School. "It was inspiring to see such smart, articulate people," Palin told a crowd of about 6,000 people packed into the Bicentennial Center for the annual meeting of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce.

6CAPS raises $77,300 at its annual Celebrity Benefit Auction, down about $4,000 from the previous year. Money raised helps CAPS fund family support services, counseling, social work, parenting classes and more. A loft dinner for 16 with assorted wines sold for about $3,200. A team-autographed basketball from the University of Kansas men's squad sold for about $1,700, while a team-autographed basketball from Kansas State University sold for about $1,100.

8A proposed public sculpture program for downtown Salina, modeled after a similar program in Sioux Falls, S.D., draws reservations from staff of Salina Arts and Humanities, who were concerned about how the program would be implemented and managed. Salina city commissioners give staff informal permission to proceed with developing guidelines for a similar effort here.

9Live at Home Solutions, a new service offered through the Salina Senior Center, 245 N. Ninth, and jointly staffed by the North Central-Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging and the Saline County Commission on Aging, is designed to make it easier for older or disabled adults to find the services they need to continue living at home. Workers help provide connections to services an older family member might need.

9What improvements should be made to Saline County's expo and fairground facilities in Kenwood Park and how those improvements might be funded aren't relevant topics in talks between city and county leaders negotiating leases for Kenwood and Oakdale parks, county leaders say in their latest letter to Salina's mayor. The letter, signed by the three Saline County commissioners, details the negotiations since March 2006 relating to the leases for Oakdale Park and Kenwood Park. In the letter, county commissioners say city leaders still appear to want to retain sole discretion as to future development in Kenwood Park. They also say that they can't give city leaders an outline of possible capital improvements at the expo center and fairgrounds or a plan for possible county utilization of Oakdale Park until they know how much land would be available to them in Kenwood Park.

12Paul Curry, who works as senior plans examiner for North Las Vegas, Nev., has been hired as the new building official for the city of Salina, taking the place of Mike Roberts, who left the post at the beginning of the year. Curry is tentatively scheduled to begin work March 1. Curry is a certified building official and master code professional, and he has experience in private construction management, building inspections, personnel management, code and regulatory compliance and federal planning. His professional resume also includes a computer science and information technology degree, plus a mechanical engineering degree from Columbia State University. He holds more than 30 International Code Council and International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Organization certifications.

12Salinan Jonathan M. Gordon, who crashed his car into a sport utility vehicle while fleeing police on the morning of Feb. 11, was one of six people served with federal warrants for drug trafficking that day. The other warrants -- which resulted from a law enforcement effort to stop a methamphetamine distribution organization -- were served without incident, said Lt. Jim Norton, commander of the I-135/I-70 Drug Task Force. Gordon, 29, who was not wearing a seat belt when he crashed his car into a sport utility vehicle driven by Amanda Meier at the intersection of Bond and Santa Fe streets, was taken to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

16Jim Maes, of ComPro Realty, working with Sparrowhawk Land Co. and Alsop Sand, presents an application to Salina's planning and zoning commission for a 150-acre development at the northeast corner of Ohio and Schilling streets that would include homes and businesses. The homes would surround a depleted sand pit and include a beach, pool and other amenities. The proposal includes 158 single-family lots, 34 multi-family lots, 11 smaller commercial lots and one large commercial lot.

16More strong talk surfaces as the Saline County-City Building Authority board haggles over a policy regulating use of the meeting rooms in the City-County Building. On a 4-2 vote, the board restricts the use of Rooms 107 and 107B to city and county business. The amended policy stems from County Commissioner Randy Duncan booking the commission room Jan. 6 so Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., could stage a town hall meeting. Some argue the gathering was a political rally for Tiahrt, who is running for U.S. Senate.

17As Salina Hawker Beechcraft workers react to the demise of their jobs, the Salina Airport Authority continues to prepare for the airplane maker's pullout by early 2012. Members of the International Aerospace Machinist Union Local 2328 were told by a Hawker manager that none of the estimated 240 jobs at the Salina plant -- which is marked to close -- are being transferred to Wichita.

17Salina's abnormally cold and wet weather is keeping those building the new water park from pouring the more than 70,000 feet of concrete deck and sidewalks. Steve Snyder, director of parks and recreation, says that while not being able to pour the concrete might be a concern in the future, it's currently not a "critical" problem.

18Workers at The Sign House in Salina create an LED sign that will be used outside Greensburg's new city hall.

18Family members gather at Webster Conference Center to say goodbye to members of the 425th Transportation Company as they prepare to deploy.

20Passers-by rescue injured teens from a burning vehicle at Holmes and Water Well roads.

21Ice and snow cause motor vehicle collisions throughout north-central and northwest Kansas.

20Paul Henry Parker Jr., 46, who has a long criminal history, is detained by hospital employees and then turned over to Salina police officers after allegedly raping an elderly patient at Salina Regional Health Center. Police allege the rape occurred about 8 p.m. in the room of the patient, who is in her 90s.

22Saline County commissioners and Salina city commissioners might be closer to reaching an agreement on Kenwood and Oakdale park leases after a joint meeting.

22Preston Reyna stands in a Saline County District Courtroom and quietly apologizes for his actions before he is sentenced to spend 10 years and 11 months in prison for killing a man with a board. C. Richard Comfort, attorney for Reyna, 20, sought to reduce the sentence to eight years, arguing that Reyna's judgment was impaired by schizophrenia the night of Jan. 17, 2009, when he became involved in a confrontation with Nicholas Chavez-Castro, 39, a Mexican national.

23Salina city commissioners approve a zoning change for a 40-acre commercial development at the southwest corner of Magnolia Road and Interstate Highway 135 that could see construction on a Menards home improvement store soon. Plans for the site, named Magnolia Commons, include the Menards store on 16.45 acres, a drainage pond on 3.29 acres and two commercial development sites on a combined 16.97 acres.

23A day after telling Salina city commissioners that the county could, in short order, give them a footprint for how the county would utilize the parts of Kenwood Park it doesn't now occupy, county staff was working on revising a map showing those boundaries. The county's map essentially is the same one formerly offered as an option by a consultant, Gralla Architects, for renovating the expo center and fairgrounds where they are now in the park -- but with one significant change. In the original plan, two multipurpose buildings planned to be built to replace the aging Kenwood Hall were to be located where the city's new aquatic park, Kenwood Cove, is under construction. The county now is looking to move those multipurpose buildings to the space where the old municipal pool is located. That pool would be demolished.

23Records show that Paul Henry Parker Jr. was arrested for DUI on Feb. 7, violating his prison parole, but those in charge didn't contest his jail release the next day. Nearly two weeks later, he was accused of raping an elderly woman in her hospital room.

26Congressman Jerry Moran speaks at the 2010 Boy Scouts of America Friends of Scouting Kickoff Breakfast at Salina Country Club. The Boy Scouts are celebrating their 100th anniversary.

26Head Start officials break ground on a 6,500-square-foot addition that will be paid for with the help of a federal grant for $847,931 that's part of the federal stimulus program. The addition will create space for 28 additional infants and toddlers in the Heartland Programs Head Start program.

march

1Kansas State University President Kirk Schulz questions Kansas State University at Salina students about what they need and how he can help. He spends the day on the K-State campus and meets with students in residence halls, engineering labs and the cafeteria.

1Joe Ritter, who as a Salina city commissioner in the 1980s wanted his hometown to grow and become a regional hub in the Midwest, dies at the age of 76 after an 11-year battle with prostate cancer. Ritter served on the Salina City Commission from 1983 to 1987 and was Salina mayor from 1986 to 1987. He was owner, president and general manager of Crown Distributors, the local Coors beer distributor, from 1982 until 1994, when he sold the business to his son Mark and daughter Karrie Ritter Sullivan.

2Canadian Consul General Norris Pettis visits with Canadian Air Force and Army troops who have been training at Salina Municipal Airport. Pettis is based in Dallas. The Canadians rehashed their country's 3-2 overtime victory over the U.S. in the Vancouver Olympic games. Canada won gold.

2Saline County commissioners forward their latest written reply -- and a new map with proposed boundaries -- to city staff and commissioners concerning the county's desire to expand and modernize the expo and livestock center and fairgrounds in Kenwood Park. The greatest change concerns the county's desire to take over the location where the old municipal pool is now. The pool would be demolished to make way for pull-through RV parking and utility hookups. The stadium arena adjacent to the old swimming pool would be covered, and the seating and concession areas remodeled.

3A Saline County District Court order that would have allowed Paul Henry Parker Jr. access to documents containing the address of the woman whom he is accused of raping was modified by the court. Judge Rene Young entered a protective order stating that the alleged victim's address and phone number from a police report should not be disclosed to the accused. Full information will be provided to Parker's attorney, Mark Dinkel, Young ruled.

3Janet Wozniak, a senior manager in the IT and Learning Technologies Group at Apple and wife of Apple co-founder Steve "The Woz" Wozniak, visits Southeast of Saline Elementary School to see how teachers Juliana Pearson and Kent Jacobson and their third-grade students use Apple iPod Touch hand-held computers in the classroom.

5Paul Henry Parker Jr., 46, of Salina, is bound over for trial on rape and other charges stemming from the alleged attack on an elderly woman in her hospital bed Feb. 20 at Salina Regional Health Center. Charges include one count of rape, one count of attempted rape, one count of aggravated sexual battery and one count of aggravated burglary.

5Three people are in police custody after an incident in which more than a dozen shots are fired into at least three houses and a car on South 12th Street between Morrison and Washington streets. No one is injured in the incident, which occurred about 2 p.m.

8Salina city officials say the Federal Emergency Management Agency's new floodplain map is just plain wrong and they'll consider appealing the maps for the south part of town. Most of the concern regarding the remapping is the fact that 22 percent of Salina property owners could be forced to purchase flood insurance if the house they own falls in the new floodplain mapped by FEMA.

8Police arrest two men in connection with an incident on South 12th Street on March 5 in which more than 25 shots were fired, resulting in bullet holes in at least four houses. No one was injured in the incident. Witnesses told police that Danial G. Meade, 28, of Wichita, drove a car down South 12th Street between Morrison and Washington streets multiple times before shots were fired at the car, Deputy Police Chief Carson Mansfield said. Jose L. Martinez-Soto, 27, is believed to have shot at the vehicle with a 9 mm handgun from the front of his house and from a second location near the intersection of 12th and Washington streets, Mansfield said. Mansfield said the men had been involved in an ongoing argument over money.

9Salina's choice for a scheduled air carrier beginning as soon as next month is Portland, Ore.-based SeaPort Airlines, which has smaller airplanes, more frequent flights and lower fares. The company will offer nine-seat airplanes flying three times daily to Kansas City Sunday through Friday.

9The majority of speakers addressing Saline County commissioners at a public hearing don't want to see a motocross track approved for Prairie Harbor Golf Course west of Salina. Their homes and property would suffer from the extra noise from the motorcycles and ATVs, traffic on Interstate Highway 70 adjacent to the course would be put at risk from dust raised, and the added traffic to and from the facility could be hazardous to children attending nearby Ell-Saline Elementary School, on Halstead Road, they say. The hearing drew a standing-room-only crowd in the meeting room of the City-County Building. The hearing was to receive comments regarding an appeal of a Planning and Zoning Commission decision to grant a conditional-use permit for the motocross track to operate, with events starting in May.

10A jury trial for Paul Henry Parker Jr. is scheduled to begin May 18 in Saline County District Court. He pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of rape and attempted rape for incidents authorities allege occurred at Salina Regional Health Center. Pretrial motions, including a motion for a change of venue, will be heard at a conference scheduled for 10 a.m. April 8.

10In a school funding legal drama that became known as the Montoy case, the Salina School District played a leading role -- as the district in which student plaintiffs Eric and Ryan Montoy attended school. But as work begins on the sequel, the district has, so far, remained an extra. Late last month, when the organization Schools for Fair Funding voted overwhelmingly to initiate a new lawsuit over school funding, the Salina School District was one of two that didn't vote in favor of moving ahead.

10A ribbon-cutting is conducted at Cafe Choices, a concession area at the Salina Public Library. Cafe Choices is staffed entirely by people with developmental disabilities through the Choices Network. Choices Network is an organization that provides people with disabilities an opportunity to be active and working members of the community.

12American Legion Riders escort the bus carrying airmen of Canada's Air Force 425th Squadron as they leave for Alrus Air Force Base in Oklahoma. The Canadian airmen had been staying in Salina while supporting Canadian soldiers training for deployment to Afghanistan.

13Volunteers spend the morning cleaning the banks of the Smoky Hill River.

15At 31 years old, Salina's Bicentennial Center is showing signs of aging, but manager Marshall Perry hopes to give the building an injection of life with a $14.5 million facelift. Perry talks with Salina city commissioners at a study session about areas in need of renovation and says he'll bring a five-year plan to the April 5 city commission meeting.

15Gov. Mark Parkinson, in Salina to sign a copy of the Kansas Clean Indoor Act after making it law in Topeka four days earlier, thanks Salina city commissioners who supported Salina's smoking ban, saying it demonstrated that businesses could survive a public smoking ban. He said city smoking bans made it easier for lawmakers to enact a statewide ban.

15Dr. William Cathcart-Rake, who has been medical director of the Tammy Walker Cancer Center since 2003, is named director of the University of Kansas' planned medical school in Salina. He said the university hopes its first class at the new school in Salina will start in the fall of 2011, though it might not be until 2012.

16A new hotel could be filling a vacant lot in south Salina in a few months after members of the Salina Planning Commission approve a change to height requirements on property near Riffel Drive and South Ninth Street. Ken Bieberly, of Bieberly Architects, asks planning commissioners to allow Deepa Hospitality Group to build a 46-foot high, 22,000-square-foot Holiday Inn hotel southwest of Lowe's Home Improvement. The hotel would be four floors with 115 rooms and sit on 3.25 acres. The first floor would contain a restaurant but no rooms.

17A projected drop in revenue of more than $1 million has County Administrator Rita Deister warning department heads to prepare for budget cuts. Those cuts could amount to about 7.5 percent in the county's general operations fund and for large departments, such as the sheriff's office.

18Employees in Saline County District Court and other courts across the state will be furloughed for four Fridays starting in April as part of an effort to deal with continued state budget shortfalls. State employees who will not be working include clerks, bailiffs, court reporters and court services personnel, such as probation officers. Saline County employees who work in district court will not be affected, including the county attorney's office and court security officers.

20A man is shot once by a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper and is in stable condition at Salina Regional Health Center after a brief chase through southeast Salina. Highway Patrol spokesman J.L. Riedel says that troopers began pursuing the man on U.S. Highway 81 south of Salina. The man exited his vehicle in the parking lot of Emmanuel Christian Center, 1325 E. Cloud, and he entered the open doors to an addition under construction. Troopers and a police officer followed him inside. When the man displayed a handgun, one of the troopers fired once, striking the man in the abdomen.

22Saline County District Court Judge Rene Young has ruled that Salina attorney Julie McKenna is a necessary witness in the state's capital murder case against Terrence J. Watson, and she has been disqualified as his defense attorney. Watson is charged in the Sept. 26, 2008, murders of Ernest Jones Jr. and Taryn Dechant, both 22, who were found shot to death in their home.

22Charles Dinneen, 46, of Smolan, who was shot by a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper after a short chase, is released from Salina Regional Health Center and booked into the Saline County Jail on charges of criminal use of a weapon, fleeing and eluding, and aggravated assault. He also was accused of attempting to kidnap a 28-year-old woman and threatening to kill her before the chase.

23Saline County commissioners impose a $5,000 penalty for people who build on their property in the floodplain without first getting the proper permits. Vicki Koepsel, the county's planning and zoning director, said the penalty will be reduced to $500 if her office is contacted within 24 hours of the citation to make arrangements to correct the oversight.

24Owners of some commercial properties in Salina are shocked to receive change-in-value notices from the Saline County Appraiser's Office that show increases of up to 127 percent in the appraised values of their properties. Duane Billings, owner of The Scheme restaurant and bar, said the appraiser's office shows the value of his property increased 91 percent, to $133,200.

25Kansas State University at Salina students bask in the glory as the Wildcat men's basketball team wins a double overtime thriller over Xavier to make it into the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament in Salt Lake City.

26OCCK Vice President and CFO Patrick Wallerius announces that CityGo will begin a fourth route in April with 36 new stops. Started in December 2008, CityGo buses carried more than 114,000 riders in the first year of business. Ridership exceeded projected third- and fourth-year ridership.

28For the past two weeks, a team of Canadian mural specialists have been trying to install panels consisting of more than 300,000 individual glass pieces onto a concrete wall in Kenwood Cove, Salina's new water park. The unpredictable Kansas weather hasn't made the job easy. Winter and spring storms have made for a sometimes frustrating time for the team from Mosaika Art & Design, a company from Montreal. The team began work March 16 on the mural.

30Earl Merkel, a Russell physician, donates $75,000 and the Salina Regional Health Foundation $225,000 to the Salina campus of KU School of Medicine.