The three mothers who showed up at Nola Foulston's office on Wednesday came to complain that their kids had been abused, falsely accused and neglected while in state custody.

Foulston, the Sedgwick County district attorney, had invited them so she could answer their questions, and because she's still angry about Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services director Don Jordan saying recently that her office "bullied" SRS workers into putting information into court documents that they don't believe.

Jordan has since said he had no basis in fact to say what he did. But Foulston said he still did a lot of damage.

The meeting started with hard feelings on both sides, but ended with Foulston advising the women on how to navigate the legal system.

After a few tense minutes, Foulston told the mothers -- Vaniece Crawford, Carlene Eye and Annette Jones -- that she wanted to help them and other families better understand the system.

Site begins low-cost neuter, spay surgery

The summer so far has not been kind to Jolene Sanders. First her refrigerator went out, and then, early this week, the air conditioner in her trailer quit.

The bright spot for Sanders, who lives on $650 a month, was knowing that her three female cats -- Phoebe, Chloe and Buttons -- were getting spayed Wednesday at the new Spay-Neuter Kansas clinic.

Sanders, 55, was one of the first clients to take advantage of the clinic at 319 S. Hydraulic, which offers low-cost spay and neuter surgeries for the pets of people who can't afford them.

"This is awesome that they've gotten together and done this," said Sanders, who had her male cat, Rocky, neutered about a year ago after two litters of kittens were born. "I don't want to raise another litter."

About half of Halstead's teachers have rejected a unilateral contract issued by the school district, officials said Wednesday.

But officials on both sides of the teacher-contract battle say they're optimistic going into negotiations for a new contract, which again will focus on terms of the district's early retirement policy.

"My goal would be to sit down, really put things on the table and come to an agreement that's in the best interest of everyone involved," said Duane Knoll, a Halstead science teacher and union president.

David Burns, attorney for the Halstead school board, said 29 of the district's 59 teachers signed and returned their contracts by Monday's deadline.

The rest -- about 65 percent of tenured teachers -- opted not to sign the 2007-08 contract, and will instead work under the previous contract.

Fourth of July weekend is bringing safety reminders from several groups, who remind us that fireworks have the potential to permanently harm sight and hearing as well as burn.

Safe Kids Kansas says more than 1,300 Kansas children 14 or younger have been treated or hospitalized for fireworks-related injuries over the past two years, with more than half of the injuries coming on the Fourth of July.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology and Grene Vision Group say one-fourth of fireworks-related eye injuries result in permanent vision loss, and children account for half of the fireworks-related eye injuries.

During last year's July 4th celebrations, 13 patients sought care at Via Christi Regional Medical Center, and 10 were under the age of 18.

Three injuries were from sparklers, six were from fireworks that exploded too early, three were from fireworks that shot sideways, and one was from a lit punk. One of the 13 patients had to be admitted to a hospital.

A sheriff's detention deputy in the Sedgwick County Jail faced criminal charges Wednesday in the beating of a mentally ill inmate.

Manuel J. Diaz Jr. was charged with aggravated battery in a Feb. 15 altercation with Edgar Richard Jr.

Sedgwick County District Judge Eric Yost released Diaz on his own recognizance and scheduled him for a preliminary hearing on July 16. He has been suspended with pay.

Sheriff Gary Steed said Diaz would continue to receive pay pending an employee status hearing within the next two weeks.

Richard suffered a broken jaw and brain injuries, his lawyer said. Sheriff's officials said the altercation occurred when Richard tried to leave his cell.

The grand jury investigating Wichita abortion provider George Tiller adjourned Wednesday afternoon without a criminal indictment.

Retired Sedgwick County District Judge Paul Buchanan, assigned to preside over the grand jury, said the panel returned a finding of "no true bill," meaning criminal charges would not be filed.

The grand jury was convened in January through a petition drive by anti-abortion groups seeking an investigation into whether Tiller violated state abortion laws.

In a statement released by the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office, the grand jury said:

"After six months of conducting an investigation that included hearing extensive witness testimony, reviewing volumes of documents and medical records of patients of Women's Health Care Services (Tiller's clinic), this Grand Jury has not found sufficient evidence to bring an indictment on any crime related to the abortion laws."

Between setting off fireworks and flipping burgers, safety officials are warning parents to keep an eye on the water as well.

About 40 percent of drownings and near drownings treated at Wesley Medical Center last year occurred during the 10 days surrounding the Fourth of July; 85 percent of them involved children.

That's a 10 percent increase over years past, Shelia Rupp, the hospital's pediatric trauma coordinator, said.

Earlier this week, the hospital treated its first patient who nearly drowned.

"I think it has a lot to do with the recreation, the fact that you get a lot of people together and, a lot of times, it's the younger kids who are pretty quick at escaping the eye," Rupp said.

Recent rains don't dampen holiday spirits

When Shirley Daniels and her family woke up Friday morning, their trailer and campsite at El Dorado Reservoir were surrounded by five inches of water from the rising lake.

Park rangers helped Daniels and her family relocate to a drier campsite.

"We're not going home because of the water," she said.

Rainy weather hasn't kept campers like the Danielses from the lake for the Independence Day holiday.

Federal immigration officials and Wichita police arrested 22 Mexican citizens whom they identified as gang members and associates in a roundup targeting four violent street gangs, authorities announced Wednesday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the suspects were members or associates of the Vato Loco Boys, Sureno 13, Players for Life and North Side Gangsters gangs. The local effort was part of a national program called Operation Community Shield.

Nine of the suspects were already in custody during the planning stages on warrants for burglary, theft, assault, drive-by shootings, weapons violations and other crimes, ICE said. They will be deported after their cases are finalized.

The remaining 13 alleged gang members arrested in the one-day sweep are in the U.S. illegally and will be returned to Mexico, ICE officials said.

"We are glad to see it," said Dennis Romero, co-chairman of Peoples Alliance for Latino Advancement in Kansas.

Tears clouded the Rev. Peggy Elliott's eyes as she looked over the crowd Wednesday night at the Boys & Girls Club gathered for an impromptu meeting following the second shooting death in as many days.

"What's happening is evil," Elliott said to the crowd of nearly 40 people, which included Teresa Walker, whose 23-year-old daughter, Deshonda, was gunned down around 3 a.m. in the 3400 block of East Munger, near Pawnee and Hillside.

Police said Deshonda Walker's shooting death apparently resulted from an argument Saturday night over where a car was parked.

Teresa Walker said her daughter had asked for someone to move their car out of her grandmother's parking space.

The suspect is a 27-year-old man police identified as Albert Thomas.

A husband and wife from Nebraska are dead and their two children are hospitalized after a two-vehicle crash on I-435 in suburban Kansas City.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said Wednesday that the crash near Edwardsville killed Daniel Jamela, 37, and his wife Marigold Jamela, 34, both of Omaha.

Troopers say their southbound SUV was pulling a U-Haul trailer at around 11 p.m. Tuesday when it crossed the median into the northbound lanes and slammed almost head-on into a semi.

The Jamelas' children, 8-year-old Mishael and 6-month-old Mario, were taken to Children's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.

-- Associated Press

Professionals interested in a career in the nonprofit sector can attend a panel discussion next month on the pros and cons of running a nonprofit organization.

Wichita's Nonprofit Chamber of Services is hosting the roundtable program.

One in three nonprofit executives will be retiring in the next five years, the group said.

The panel will discuss the credentials required, including experience, education and a desire to lead.

Panelists include Mark Eby, executive director of Sedgwick County Big Brothers Big Sisters; Alberto Meloni, executive director of Exploration Place; Jan Davis, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of South Central Kansas; Mary Galvin, executive director of Communities in Schools; and facilitator Denny Bender, executive director of the Arthritis Foundation-Kansas Chapter.

Little Josie is on a roll. The tiny Chihuahua scoots along on two back legs and the model airplane wheels that have taken the place of her missing front legs, her tail in nonstop motion as she sniffs toes and snarfs treats.

She's Jill Schuldt's dog, but she's also the mascot and special project at Hanger Orthopedic Group, a prosthetics and orthotics business at Central and Hillside.

Schuldt is office administrator there, and her colleagues fashioned the contraption that has made Josie the office -- and client -- favorite.

Josie was one of four puppies with problems in a litter of five born earlier this year in Wichita. Two others are missing front legs; one has three legs. The fifth is normal.

Schuldt's family adopted animals of all sorts while she was growing up, so when she saw a TV report about the puppies, she applied to adopt one. Her sister owns Josie's three-legged sibling. They were among more than 450 people willing to take the dogs in.

The Broadview Hotel's future remains in question after the Wichita City Council denied a proposal Tuesday that would have sent millions in taxpayer dollars to help a New York company buy it.

The historic hotel is seen as key in drawing more conventions to the adjacent Century II.

PAZ Management would not guarantee that it could secure a major hotel franchise to put its flag on the bankrupt hotel, which has failed under several owners.

"This was disappointing," said Jacob Reckess, a managing partner with Partner Hospitality, a subsidiary of PAZ Management.

Under the proposed agreement, the new owners would have had to repay a forgivable loan if they couldn't get a commitment from a major hotel chain.

A congressional committee has approved funding for the second phase of a consolidation project at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita.

The $6.8 million approved by the House Appropriations Committee will help relocate management and aircraft maintenance units to where planes are parked. That will reduce the travel time between the aircraft and maintenance units and improve command and control.

Congress still must give final approval of the appropriation bill, and it must then be signed by President Bush.

Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, said the changes will increase productivity and efficiencies while improving the integration of active duty and reserve squadrons.

McConnell is home to the 22nd Air Refueling Wing and the 931st Air Refueling Group of the Air Force Reserve. The Kansas Air National Guard's 184th Intelligence Wing is also at McConnell.

Shequita Staten's ringtone, "Never Would Have Made It" by gospel artist Marvin Sapp, blasted as she talked about the shooting death of her 17-year-old cousin, Iesha Donaby.

"It was crazy how it all went down," she said.

Donaby was riding Monday night with Staten and a 17-year-old boy, heading south on Hillside behind a white car, police said. The two cars turned right onto 11th Street, police said, and then the white car stopped.

Staten said she waited, then honked at the white car as she went around. The three teenagers arrived at their destination, a home at 11th and Lorraine, and were walking to the front door when a man got out of the white car.

He didn't speak, Staten said.

Pete Reynolds combed through a box of electrical cords like a seasoned garage sale shopper.

But his search was for an item he had already bought -- a camera cord taken from his home during one of more than 65 robberies in the Wichita area, most in May and June.

Reynolds and his wife, Becky, of Goddard, were among the 23 victims raking through loot recovered from searches of three properties following a series of arrests.

Police Tuesday released the names of four of the 10 people linked to a string of home burglaries across Wichita and Sedgwick County.

Authorities said a large number of burglaries in which windows or doors were pried open in May led them to suspect a group of burglars.

A 37-year-old woman was taken to the hospital with second-degree burns Tuesday after a man threw a chemical at her during a robbery at Tee Pee's Smoke Shop, 913 E. Harry.

Police Sgt. Dave Armstrong said two men drove up in a silver compact car shortly after 5 p.m., and the passenger went inside and asked for cigars.

Armstrong said the man threw some type of acid or chemical at the woman behind the cash register and took money from the cash drawer.

She was taken to Via Christi -St. Francis with burns to her face and shoulders, Armstrong said.

He said police had to wait for the Wichita Fire Department to ventilate the store before entering.

Wichita City Council members bailed out the ailing Old Town Warren Theatre on Tuesday, giving its owners a $6 million low-interest loan.

In exchange, the Warren's six owners agreed to keep the theater open at least another decade.

The unanimous decision was hotly contested by several Wichitans who blasted the council for using tax dollars for a business loan.

But supporters say the loan helps secure the success of Old Town and could save taxpayers money by ensuring the area generates enough property tax to pay off bonds for Old Town Square's parking garage, decorative fountains and other features.

The city hasn't previously used taxpayer money for a business loan. Interim City Manager Ed Flentje and other finance experts have said the loan sets a precedent that may lead other troubled businesses to City Hall for favorable loans.

Despite rising fuel prices and cuts to service by financially troubled airlines, Wichita remains in need of a new $150 million terminal building, an aviation expert and city officials say.

The current terminal at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport is 54 years old and showing its age and limitations.

But whether struggling carriers will be able to afford higher rents needed to help pay for the terminal when it opens must be weighed before the city decides to break ground.

"Airlines are in a state of panic right now," said director of airports Victor White.

They're scaling back operations, and fares continue to rise.