Current Events
Posted on Wed, Nov. 19, 2003
Trial draws near close in case of Kansas college student slain in Costa Rica
FREDDY PARRALES
Associated Press
GOLFITO, Costa Rica - Amid heavy security brought on by death threats received by the victim's mother, lawyers made final arguments Wednesday in the trial of three Costa Ricans accused of killing University of Kansas student Shannon Martin.
A three-judge panel hearing the case refused to allow testimony by a final, unidentified prosecution witness because that testimony was based on hearsay. But they permitted a video of Martin's autopsy to be shown in court.
Only the defense, prosecution and the judges were allowed in the courtroom during the presentation of the video. Martin's mother, Jeanette Stauffer, said she did not want others to see her daughter's condition following the autopsy.
Rafael Zumbado, 48, Kattia Cruz, 28, and Luis Alberto Castro, 38, are charged with homicide in Martin's death. The case is not being heard by a jury and will be decided by the three-judge panel.
Prosecutors also expressed regret that they have not been able to find another potential witness, a taxi driver who allegedly picked up the suspects after the killing. A gas station employee said he saw blood in the taxi after the suspects got out.
The judges scheduled a final court session for summations and closing arguments for Nov. 24.
On Tuesday, Stauffer - who traveled to Costa Rica for the trial - received death threats at the hotel where she is staying along with other family members, said Raul Quesada Galagarza, head of law enforcement authorities for all of southern Costa Rica.
Extra police were assigned to guard the court following the threats, and Stauffer was also protected by private security guards.
Quesada Galagarza said a caller threatened to kill Stauffer, but would not say if the threat was heard by Stauffer directly or by someone else.
Martin, a 23-year-old student from Topeka, Kan., was stabbed to death on May 13, 2001, after she left a nightclub in Golfito, about 100 miles south of the Costa Rican capital, San Jose. Martin was in the country to gather specimens for a biology project.
On Friday, a key witness in the case, Rosibel Munoz, was forced to give her testimony behind closed doors because of death threats. Shortly before Munoz was scheduled to testify, the courthouse office of the prosecutor received a call saying, "If Rosibel testifies, we'll kill her."
Stauffer, who had offered up to $50,000 to anyone who could provide information about the killing, has traveled to Costa Rica constantly since her daughter's death and vowed to remain in Golfito for the duration of the trial.
Stabbed 15 times, Martin's body was found along an airport access road about 100 feet from the home of the Costa Rican family she was living with.
Tier Awarded Three-Year Contract Extension from Kansas for Operation of State
Payment Center for Child Support
11/19/03
WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Nov 19, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Tier Technologies, Inc., (Nasdaq: TIER) announced today that the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services has awarded the company a three-year extension to continue to operate the Kansas Payment Center for child support payment processing.
The agreement, scheduled to run through Aug. 31, 2006, is a contract valued at an estimated $7 million per year, or approximately $22 million through the three-year extension.
Tier staffs the Kansas Payment Center, which receives and processes child support payments for custodial parents in the state of Kansas. Tier signed its initial contract with Kansas in 1999 to implement and operate the center. The scope of the original implementation project included systems integration and the design and development of an application and database to process child support payments. In addition, Tier developed a web-based solution designed to support the more than 100 county operations that interface with the application and associated operation. The center began operating in September 2000.
During 2002, Tier processed over 1.8 million transactions, which provided more than $325 million in child support and maintenance payments for the children of Kansas.
Tier has been providing child support payment processing services for the state of Kansas for more than three years,'said James R. Weaver, Tier's Chief Executive Officer. 'We're extremely gratified that the state has given our services a vote of confidence by extending our contract an additional three years.
About Tier
Tier is a vertically focused consulting firm that provides business and information technology consulting, systems design and integration, transaction processing, business process outsourcing and business process reengineering for its clients primarily in the state and local government market. Tier brings specific industry knowledge, proven delivery capability and proprietary applications to its client relationships. The combination of domain expertise and technical capability allow Tier to provide solutions that link increased operating efficiencies with systems and technology improvements. Tier is included in the Russell 3000(R) Index and was ranked by Forbes Magazine as one of the '200 Best Small Companies'in America in 2002. More information about the company is available at www.tier.com.
Statements made in this press release, including statements regarding the estimated value of the contract extension and services to be provided, are forward looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Each of these statements is made as of the date hereof based only on current information and expectations that are inherently subject to change and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in any of such statements due to various factors, including but not limited to the timing, initiation, completion, renewal, extension or early termination of client projects; the potential loss of funding by clients, including due to government budget shortfalls or revisions to mandated statutes; failure to achieve anticipated gross margin levels with respect to individual projects, including due to unanticipated costs incurred in fixed-price or transaction-based projects; and unanticipated claims as a result of project performance, including due to the failure of software providers or subcontractors to satisfactorily complete engagements.
For a discussion of these and other factors which may cause our actual events or results to differ from those projected, please refer to the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Sept. 30, 2002 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other filings with the SEC.
Transportation program expected to create Kansas jobs
David Dinell
A comprehensive transportation bill will create 47,500 jobs in Kansas, says Congressman Jerry Moran.
The bill, which authorizes funding for federal highways, public transportation programs and safety initiatives for the next six years, would spend more than $2.7 billion in transportation programs in the state, he says.
Included in the reauthorization bill are funding initiatives to improve the overall safety of roads and the interstate system, in addition to upgrading bridges and rail lines.
It is estimated the bill will create 1.7 million jobs nationwide in the transportation sector.
Kansas has the fourth largest number of public roads in the nation, totaling more than 134,500 miles, and ranks third among all states in the number of bridges.
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