BonnerSprings.com

Staffers at the Chieftain have selected their top stories of 2008. They are, in no particular order:

Waiting for justice

Since his guilty conviction in May, Robert Haberlein’s sentencing hearing has been delayed four times.

The 20-year-old Kansas City, Kan., resident, was convicted of first degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery in the November 2005 death of Robin Bell, a 44-year-old Tonganoxie resident and manager at the northside Dollar General in Bonner Springs.

Haberlein was the first to be tried among three people charged with murdering Bell.

During a motion hearing in November, Judge John McNally ordered a competency evaluation for Haberlein in response to a motion by Haberlein’s attorney, Richard Payne.

Chris Schneider, assistant district attorney, said McNally ruled that Haberlein’s mental health and abilities would be assessed by two doctors. The results of the evaluation could influence the sentence Haberlein receives.

During his hearing last December, Stephanie Carlin, who served as Haberlein’s supervisor in the Wyandotte County Intensive Supervision Program of the Juvenile Division of Community Corrections, testified that he had been assessed as having “mild mental retardation.”

The trial for another suspect in the murder, Jon Backus, 22, Bonner Springs, is scheduled to begin Jan. 27.

The third person arrested in September 2007 for Bell’s murder, Amber Russell, of Lenexa, has a deal with the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office that she would be charged as a minor — she was 15 at the time of the crime — in exchange for her truthful testimony in the trials of Haberlein and Backus.

A dream come true

Construction of the new Bonner Springs City Library continues at its new location at the former site of the Sacred Heart School, 216 Allcutt. A March 2009 completion date is expected for the 17,000-square-foot building, which will more than triple the library's current location in the Bonner Springs Community Center that measures about 5,400 square feet. Work on the new building began in March with the demolition of the Sacred Heart building.

"I love how excited patrons are. They see the foundations and can't wait to see walls go up," said library director Kim Beets. "It makes us (library staff) feel so good that everyone is excited and has the same dreams we do."

Teenager’s death shocks family, friends

Mark "Tony" Holmes, 18, a Bonner Springs High School senior, died in an accident Friday, March 28, when the vehicle he was riding in turned left heading east on Kansas Highway 32 to the ramp for northbound Kansas Highway 7 and was hit by a westbound truck on K-32.

Holmes, who was in the passenger seat, died in the accident. Daniel Perkins, 17, the second passenger sitting in the back seat, sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported by helicopter to Overland Park Regional Hospital.

The driver, Chad Way, had injuries that were not life-threatening and was taken to Kansas University Medical Center. None of the teenagers were wearing seat belts.

The driver of the other vehicle, Daniel Hernandez, 40, Bonner Springs, was injured and taken to Providence Medical Center. He was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.

In 2000, Holmes had survived a sometimes-fatal disease, Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome. As a result, however, doctors were forced to amputate each of his legs below the knees because blood circulation there had stopped for an extended period of time.

Holmes eventually learned to walk with prosthetics.

Developer found dead

Tom Overby, a Bonner Springs resident and head of the development group that sought to bring a tornado-themed tourist park to the Bonner Springs and Edwardsville area, was found dead in his business office Sunday, June 8, of a gunshot wound.

The 61-year-old Bonner Springs resident died of an accidental gunshot wound.

"I think the community has lost a wonderful asset, one of their greatest cheerleaders," said Stephanie Eickhoff, former mayor of Edwardsville and a friend of Tom and Diane Overby.

"He was a very determined person who always saw the positive in things. Even with his project, even at the end of his rope he seemed to always find another avenue," Eickhoff said, referring to the setbacks endured by Overby's long-pursued project, the Kansas Landmark Tower park.

The plan envisioned a 650-foot-tall tower built to resemble a tornado, Dorothy's Farm, a retail and restaurant area and a museum. Total cost for the project was estimated at $244.4 million. Its most recent snag was the state's withdrawal of approval for $72 million in Sales Tax Accelerated Revenue bonds, though the Overby's development company, Avenue Area Inc., had succeeded in attracting millions of dollars of investment by firms such as AIG Edwards.

Diane Overby said she would continue to work for the completion of the Kansas Landmark Tower in her husband's honor.

Economy forces casino to back out

Kansas Entertainment LLC, a joint venture between The Cordish Company and Kansas Speedway, announced Friday it has withdrawn its application for Lottery Gaming Facility Manager for the Northeast Kansas gaming zone. The groups intend to re-apply upon the reopening of bidding for the zone.

The decision to withdraw was based on the weak U.S. economy.

In a letter to the Kansas Lottery, Joseph S. Weinberg of Kansas Entertainment said the group was prepared “immediately to commence development of the $400 million Hard Rock-branded casino outlined in our presentations.” But, he said, economic conditions necessitated phasing in the nongaming retail and hotel portions of the project. Since Kansas Entertainment’s agreement with the state did not permit such a phasing, “We must therefore reluctantly withdraw our Application for Lottery Gaming Facility Manager from consideration for the Northeast Kansas gaming zone.”

Weinberg said the Hard Rock still is interested in Kansas City, Kan.

“It is absolutely our intention to re-apply for a license in the Northeast zone, with the phased development plan outlined here, upon the State re-opening bidding for this zone,” he wrote.

The decision means, at the least, a delay in the opening of a Wyandotte County casino, along with the tax revenues it would bring.

An interlocal agreement between the Unified Government, Bonner Springs and Edwardsville spelled out how those governments would split 3 percent of gambling revenues. Those revenues were estimated around $1.1 million annually for Bonner Springs, $650,000 annually for Edwardsville and $5.26 million for the Unified Government.

Comments