Area quilters show compassion for NW Kansas wildfire victims JUNCTION CITY — Quilts have been made for families who had their homes and livelihood destroyed by the Dec. 15 fires in six northwestern Kansas counties.

Active shooter training held at USD 211 NORTON — Norton USD 211 participated in Active Shooter Training at Eisenhower Elementary School. Wes DuBois, a former Norton County Sheriff Deputy who is currently employed by Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Recreation, was the instructor for a full day of training for the USD 211 staff.

Man arrested after stand-off in Russell RUSSELL — A man was arrested after an eight-hour standoff with police in Russell last week Monday. Officers went to a home in the 300 block of West 16th around 10 a.m.

Norton man sentenced to 20 years on rape, escape charges PHILLIPSBURG — A Norton man charged with raping a child and later attacking a sheriff’s deputy while in jail has been sentenced to decades in prison. According to the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office, David Alexander, 19, of Norton, was sentenced to 20 years and five months in prison on charges of rape, blackmail, aggravated intimidation of a witness, aggravated escape from custody and aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer.

Clay Center Rep. charged with two counts after DUI arrest TOPEKA — Rep.

Uhlaender eyes next target ATWOOD — Five-time Olympian Katie Uhlaender finished her Olympic career with a 6th place finish in the women’s skeleton finals Feb. 12 in Beijing.

Pharmacist indicted in drug tampering case WICHITA — Prosecutors say a Kansas City-area pharmacist took medicine from a container at a Lenexa pharmacy and replaced it with something else. The Department of Justice says that a federal grand jury in Kansas City returned an indictment charging Benjamin Dandurand, 34, of Shawnee Mission, with tampering with a consumer product; possession of Tramadol by deception and subterfuge; possession of Zolpidem by deception and subterfuge; and possession of Oxycodone Hydrochloride by deception and subterfuge.

‘Air-ball’ chant at high school basketball game gets some students tossed out OVERLAND PARK — When a basketball player attempts a shot that doesn’t hit the rim, fans from the opposing team often chant the word, “air-ball.” When a group of students from Blue Valley Northwest High School did that recently, it lead them to getting kicked out the game. During the second quarter of that contest, Northwest High School administrators ejected 20-30 students from the school’s spirit section for chanting, “air-ball.” Chris Daniel, a junior at the school, was one of them.

Norton prison COVID cluster the state’s largest TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Norton Correctional Facility continues to be the largest active COVID cluster in the state. KDHE last Wednesday reported 387 active COVID clusters in the state, acounting for 8,454 cases, 93 hospitalizations and 74 deaths.

‘Micro-influencer’ promotes brands online ATWOOD — Gloria Lankas has embarked on a new career path—one that enables her to work from home and does not appear to have been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lankas is a micro-influencer, who uses her social media following to promote products she likes or uses in return for compensation from the companies who sell them.