Isidro Castro-Lopez has pleaded guilty to making and selling counterfeit Social Security cards and driver's licenses.

A resident of Mexico, he said he possessed forged documents when he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Dec. 2.

He sold the set of documents for $70 a piece in Kansas City, Kan. He was using his own computer and software to produce the cards. Along with the fake documents in the United States, Castro-Lopez also sold fake Mexican driver's licenses.

He faces 10 years of prison and could pay a fine up to $250,000.

Sentencing is set for April.

Unified Government Mayor/CEO Joe Reardon will deliver his State of the Government address on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the Jack Reardon Convention Center.

The speech will be hosted by the Kansas City, Kan., Rotary Club.

"I appreciate working with all of you in moving our community forward. My address will focus in part on recognizing our collective efforts," Reardon said. "I am hoping you will be able to attend as we discuss where we have been and our hopes for 2010 and beyond."

Tickets to the event and luncheon are $20. Contact (913) 299-0466 for more information.

Photos and story courtesy of SUSAN ENLOE, KCKPS

Diana Jones (pictured left), librarian at New Stanley Elementary School was honored by members of the Kansas City, Kansas Board of Education as January 2009 Employee of the Month.  

Ms. Jones was nominated by New Stanley principal Sharyn Conner and
teacher Pamela Del Castillo.

In her nomination letter, Connor said about Jones, “Diana Jones is truly a teaching librarian who instills in her students and colleagues a ‘love for reading’.”  Her high expectations for all students is the reason that Del Castillo nominated Jones.  “She encourages (students) to read difficult texts and participate in the William Allen White Book Club.  She works tirelessly with the Summer Reading program and organizing the reading logs and reading awards, “ wrote Del Castillo.  

Dr. Kelli Mather, Executive Director of Operations and Quality Control, nominated the entire team of mechanics at the district’s transportation department. Her nomination letter reads, “The arrival of snow seems to bring on a different reaction from different people.

All the adults are watching weather forecasts and street conditions as they anticipate their drive into work.  Parents are doing this, as well as watching the scroll of school closings to actually confirm if their children need to get ready for school and, of course, all of the children are anxiously awaiting the announcement - is school open or closed?

All of this is happening in the homes around town by 5:00-6:00 a.m., however, the transportation department and specifically mechanics are up much earlier than this working in preparation to transport students of Kansas City, Kansas safely.  

The mechanics for transportation are up and at the bus barn by 2-2:30 a.m. starting and warming every single bus.

Sometimes they have to jump start busses or even replace batteries, but they get them ready to go for the routes so that students can be picked up in a timely manner.

Sometimes we forget to thank those that work so diligently behind the scenes to make sure that things are running smoothly.  Without these gentlemen doing just that, we would not be able to transport the thousands of students that we do and for that the parents and the district recognizes their efforts and thanks them.”

Pictured are:  Back row - Rick Baker, John King, Gary Blair, Mike
Robinson, Ed Bohr, Claire Jobe

Front row - Ron Utter-Head Mechanic, Quinton Zenon, Barry Goodwin-Night
Lead

Not Pictured-Tony Ray

ASSAULT

• 3100 Block of Wyandotte: Aggravated assault

BATTERY

• 2200 Block of S. 55th Street
• 5600 Block of State Avenue

BURGLARY/THEFTS

• 200 Block of S. 14th Street: Watch stolen from home
• 7700 Block of Elizabeth Avenue: Saw, concrete tools stolen
• 1900 Block of N. 76th Drive: Car break in (CD)
• 6300 Block of State Avenue: Gun stolen
• 2600 Block of N. Mill Street: Aggravated robbery with gun
• 3000 Block of N. 22nd Street: TV stolen (CD)
• 3500 Block of Rainbow Boulevard: Cashable checks stolen
• 1700 Block of Kansas Avenue: Electric impact wrench (CD)
• 3900 Block of Springfield Street: Samsung TV, Sony TV stolen (CD)
• 1300 Block of N. 64th Street: Car stereo taken from car
• 1000 Block of N. 62nd Street: LCD TV stolen (CD)
• 600 Block of N. 98th: Copper ground, bus bar stolen
• 7800 Block of Leavenworth Road: Attempted robbery (CD)
• 7300 Block of Leavenworth Road
• 800 Block of N. 6th Street: Plastic stool, vacuum stolen, but recovered
• 3500 Block of Rainbow Boulevard: Coin rolls taken from bank

CAR THEFTS

• 11000 Block of Haskell
• W. 39th Avenue and State Line Road
• 1100 Block of County Line Road
• 300 Block of N. 70th Terrace
• 7100 Block of Splitlog
• 1800 Block of N. 76th Street

CRIMINAL DAMAGE

• 3100 Block of Brinkerhoff
• 200 Block of Walker
• 1000 Block of Metropolitan
• 5700 Block of Richland

DRUGS

• N. 18th Street: Possession of pipes
• 4200 Block of Dodson Avenue: 10,000 grams of weed, about $2,000 in currency
• 13th and Georgia Avenue: Cocaine, marijuana
• 10th and Northrup: Cocaine
• 22nd Street and Quindaro Boulevard: Baggies found
• 22nd Street and Quindaro Boulevard: Marijuana found
• N. 38th Street and Georgia Avenue: Marijuana found
• 78th and Tauromee: Marijuana found
• N. 99th and Parallel Parkway: Possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia
• 25th and Metropolitan: Possession of marijuana
• 900 Block of N. 86th Street: Marijuana
• 2500 Block of Grandview: Possession of marijuana
• 7th and Quindaro: Possession of a controlled substance
• 5th and Quindaro: Possession of marijuana
• 3000 N. 17th Street: Possession of marijuana
• 3100 Block of Greeley: Possession of marijuana
• S. 9th and Pacific: Possession of marijuana
• Cessna and Webster: Possession of PCP
• N. 10th and Parallel Parkway: Possession of drug paraphernalia
• 42nd and Shawnee Drive: Possession of marijuana, simulated substance
• 1500 Block of Haskell: Possession of drug paraphernalia
• W. 42nd Avenue and Mission Road: Possession of a stimulant
• 18th and Parallel Parkway: Marijuana

FORGERY

• 4300 Block of State Avenue: Counterfeit check cashed

After Kansas City, Kan., Police Department officers discovered two bodies in a home Tuesday, the cause of death remains an unanswered question.

KCK police found the bodies at a home on the 2500 Block of Junction Road.

After arriving on the season on a nature unknown call, police officers spoke with an area resident who made the discovery of the two dead bodies, one white male and one white female.

However, the cause of the deaths remain unknown and identifications will not be released until a positive identification and family notification.

View Larger Map

Traditionally, Wyandotte County teams have a tough go on the road in Johnson County.

Not so much for the Washington Wildcats Tuesday night.

Washington destroyed Shawnee Mission North 83-55 behind the efforts of Tra'vaughn White, Kalen Allen, Deandre Clark and Rakim McCoy. Each scored double figures for Washington.

White led the way with 20 points. Allen scored 15, 13 for Clark and McCoy scored 12.

From the get go, Washington was the aggressor, taking an 18-9 lead after the first quarter. They expanded the lead to 41-29 by halftime. They padded onto the lead even more in the second half, building a 17 point lead early into the second half.

Washington, now 8-4 on the season, has dropped just one game in the team's past five.

While students in the Turner School District may have enjoyed their days off earlier this month because of a winter storm, they'll have to make up for it.

Three additional days have been added onto the schedule. Pre-K through 11th graders will have to stay until June 1, while the last day for seniors in the school district is May 24.

School was called off in Turner on Jan. 6, 7 and 8 of this year.

All changes have been approved by the Turner Board of Education.

Annicka Martinez, a Kansas City, Kan., woman who was sought for questioning concerning an area homicide, has been found dead in Kansas City, Mo.

Her remains were identified today.

Earlier this month, her body was found in a burned car.

Full story from KMBC Channel 9.

Five Kansas City, Kan., basketball players have received national recognition this week.

Sumner Academy's Reese Holliday and Harmon's De'Ontae Hooks have been selected as Kansas nominees for the 2010 McDonald's All American games.

Both players lead their respective teams in scoring. Both also had big weekends during area tournaments.

Holliday averaged about 24 points a game last week in the Spring Hill Invitational, scoring 23 against Bishop Ward, 20 against Piper and 28 against Hogan Prep in the championship game.

During Harmon's run to the Harold Thomas Interstate Classic title in Coffeyville, Kan., Hooks had a 30-point game in the team's victory against Central (KCMO). Overall for the weekend, Hooks drilled 13 three-point shots, coming off a major slump.

Hooks and Holliday are two of just 28 players from Kansas nominated.

On the girl's side, Kylie Burns of Bishop Ward High School and Marisha Henderson and Tylisha James of Washington were selected.

Burns averages over 21 points a game for the Cyclones. Six times, she's eclipsed the 20 point mark. She scored 34 against Basehor Linwood earlier this year and 29 against Blue Valley Northwest.

Henderson is Washington's leading scorer this year. Both have received all league honors in the Kansas City, Kan., League.

They are three of 23 Kansas girls basketball players selected.

A Shawnee, Kan., coach who impersonated a girl on Facebook has been sentenced to 17 years of federal prison.

Michael T. Cowley, a former activities coach, was sentenced after being found guilty on charges of child pornography.

He pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography. He posed on Facebook as a 19-year-old female in an effort to convince teenage boys to provide nude photos to him.

In some photos, the teens were taking part in sexual activities. In exchange for those photos, he would send them nude photos of girls he found on the Internet.

The investigation began after a police report was filed in Vancouver, Wash. His sentencing today was in a Kansas City, Kan., court.

A group of eight friends will take a drive that covers the entire state of Kansas to mark Kansas Day this weekend.

Natives of Kansas, the group will end their state-wide tour in Village West on Saturday. The trip begins Thursday as they visit portions of south and southwest Kansas.

On Friday, they head out west to cities such as Goessel, Lindsborg, Chase, Ellinwood and Great bend.

The trip on Saturday will begin at Scott City, which is near the Colorado border. From there, they'll begin to head home.

Those taking part: Sarah Blakesley, Olathe; Matt Carlson, Parkville; Sasha Horn, Kansas City, Mo.; Amy Lerma, Wamego/Garden City; Lindsay O’Connor, Olathe; Sarah Palermo, Lenexa; Lauren Vaughan, Mission and Reagan Welsh, Salina.

Jose Guadalupe Mayorga-Diaz, 32, has been charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.

He's also been charged with illegally re-entering the country after previously being deported once already. Diaz would face 10 years for the gun charge if he is convicted. He could face two more years for re-entering the country illegal.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department.

“KU Confidential,” a new work created by University of Kansas theatre students, will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12; 9 p.m. Feb. 6 and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 7 and 13, at the William Inge Theatre in Murphy Hall.

Issac Dean, a threatre major Turner High School, is among those involved in the program.

The “KU Confidential” project has been under the direction of Henry Bial, associate professor of theatre. Tammy Keiser, a graduate student in scenography from Blue Springs, Mo., is the scenic, lighting and costume designer. James Diemer, a doctoral student from Carbondale, Ill., is sound and video designer.   
   
“For the last five months, our company of nine actors, a scenographer, a stage manager and an assistant director-dramaturg has been working collaboratively to turn the everyday incidents and experiences of their lives into a theater event that speaks directly and immediately to the KU student experience,” said Bial.
   
He said the company started not with a text but with the performers themselves.
   
“We explored our talents, our lives and our desires through experiments in word, sound and image,” said Bial. “Thinking, writing and acting together over an extended period of time, we developed a play that reflects a collective, multifocal artistic vision. We emphasized imagination, invention, risk and total commitment to the performance.”
   
General admission tickets for “KU Confidential” are on sale in the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, 864-3982, and Lied Center, 864-ARTS, and online at kutheatre.com.

Seating is limited. Tickets are $15 for the public, $10 for students and $14 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff. All major credit cards are accepted for phone and online orders.
   
The Feb. 6 “pay what you can” performance is a benefit for the LeWan Alexander Spiritship Fund. There are no advance sales. Donations will be accepted at the door.
   
“KU Confidential” contains profanity and references to drug use and sex. It is not recommended for anyone under 17, Bial said.
   
Designers and members of the ensemble for the KU production are listed below by hometown, level in school, major, parents’ names and high school.

A fire at 1331 Webster caused roughly $20,000 in damage Monday night.

The fire was reported to to the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department at around 10:30 p.m. Monday. No one was injured as the home was vaccant.

"Fire crews arrived on scene within three minutes reported smoke showing from a one story wood frame structure, fire coming from the attic area," said Craig Duke, spokesperson and Battalion Chief for the KCKFD. "Crews had fire under control within 15 minutes. "

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.