Coffeyville City Clerk Melissa Carter's last day is tomorrow. City Manager Mark Hall says she will be missed.

Carter took over as the city clerk in February 2020. She starts her new job as the executive administrative assistant at Coffeyville Regional Medical Center on Monday.

 A Bartlesville man is alive today thanks to the quick thinking actions of an off-duty firefighter and a police officer on his way to work.

 The officer and fire fighter were following a man in a truck on Adams Boulevard early this morning when the truck left the road, became airborne and came to rest in Lee Lake. 

The officer and firefighter quickly jumped into action.They broke the truck's window to force entry into the vehicle and get the man out of the water. 

The man is receiving medical attention. He was having a medical episode which led to the accident. No names were released at this time.

 The Christmas season gets underway tomorrow in Coffeyville.

 Chamber President Candi Westbrook says there is a lot to see and do tomorrow evening in downtown Coffeyville.

The Christmas Parade will be full of floats, lights, Christmas cheer, and, of course, Santa Claus. The parade begins at 6pm and will be broadcast live on the Mighty 690 KGGF and on Facebook live. Westbrook says, after the parade, there is even more fun to be had.

The home decorating contest and the gingerbread house decorating contest are both underway.

To enter the gingerbread house contest:

• Entries must be received by Noon, December 8
• One house per participant
• All decorations must be 100% edible
• Divisions are: Youth, Adult, Professional
• Bonus points for building Coffeyville attractions

To enter the home decorating contest:

• Submit photo of your home light display along with your address to the coffeyville Chamber at chamberadmin@coffeyville.com
• Entries must be received by December 3rd
• Winners will be announced on December 8th

Coffeyville Community College baseball is using the offseason to raise money for the program.

The team is holding a raffle fundraiser to support the upcoming season. Head coach Jake Martin says the winner will receive an exciting prize.

The baseball program will use the fundraiser money to finance gear, hotel costs, food, and workout equipment. A portion of the raised funds will also contribute to the remodel of Walter Johnson Park, following the spring fire.

Martin says people can choose a player to endorse when they donate.

The raffle winner will be decided on December 15th.

 A traffic accident involving a cattle truck causes an overnight road closure near Baxter Springs.

 At around 10:30 last night, a truck hauling cattle overturned on US 166 just east of Baxter Springs. There were 65 cows in the truck at the time of the accident. All of the animals survived and the driver was uninjured.

 A Bartlesville man accused of shooting and killing 16-year-old Markus Scott on November 13^th appeared yesterday in Washington County Court in Bartlesville to face charges of first-degree murder. 

 20-year-old Bryson Towers is being held on $500,000 bond. He allegedly shot and killed Scott near the intersection of Western Avenue and US 60 in Bartlesville. A probable cause affidavit states the mother of another juvenile who knew both Towers and Scott, will testify that the two were arguing at her residence. Towers and the victim then left in the defendant's vehicle and a short time later, she heard what she described as shots.  

Security footage near the scene where Scott's body was found shows a vehicle matching Towers' 2015 Lincoln come into view about 10 minutes before officers were called to the scene. Security footage shows Scott get out of the car and then fall to the ground from apparent gunshots. The vehicle then fled the scene. 

Scott was pronounced dead at the scene. Towers was caught a short time later by Coffeyville Police and has spent the last two weeks in the Montgomery County Jail before being extradited back to Washington County. 

Towers' next court date is set for December 19^th

Members of the Edna Volunteer Fire Department have a new way to stay hydrated during responses.

Anheuser-Busch has donated a pallet of nearly 2400 cans of drinking water to the department through their emergency drinking water program. Fire Chief Joe Kashka says he learned about the opportunity from a volunteer fire organization.

Volunteer firefighter Jacob McCallie says having this water ready will save the department time and money.

Other nearby department that have received water since the program began include the Caney Fire Department, Elk County Rural Fire, Saint Paul Mission Township Fire Department, the Girard Fire Department, Galena Fire, the Commerce Fire Department, Welch Fire and the Dewey Fire Department.

The Coffeyville mayor is thankful for support on two items during the month of November. Mayor Ann Marie Vannoster says she wants to sincerely thank the citizens of Coffeyville for their support on the sales tax question.

Mayor Vannoster says she is also thankful for the support during Coffeyville's Match Day, which turned out to be a phenomenal day.  Mayor Vannoster also wanted to remind everyone about all the events going on in Coffeyville during the holiday season.

The Independence Community College Theater Department is putting on their second performance of the 2023-2024 season. Director of Theater Performance Paul Molnar says the name of the play is Tartuffe, which was written in the 1600s.

Molnar says the students have put in many, many hours getting ready for this performance.  Molnar says they also have an orchestra concert coming up next Wednesday, December 6^th. He says this will feature both ICC students and members of the community.

Wilson County is hoping to change the color of caution lights on Road and Bridge Department vehicles.

Road and Bridge Director Kary Tatum says the current color isn't being noticed by drivers. The commissioners are on board with the change to red and blue lights, as long as there are no legal issues with the change.

Additional items of business at this week's meeting was the approval of the 2024 holiday calendar for county employees. Everything remains the same as 2023, with the addition of December 26th as a holiday.

There will be no meeting next week due to the Kansas Association of Counties conference in Wichita. The next meeting will be on December 13th.

 The Kansas Department of Transportation's Cost Share Program provides funding to enhance county roads, bridges, and the overall safety of Kansas roadways and walkways.

 In the latest round of grant money awarded by the state, the city of Parsons will be among those communities to get funding for transportation projects. The money headed to Parsons will be used to replace the sidewalks along Main Street. The grant were announced earlier this week by Governor Laura Kelly.

Kelly, along with Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed, announced the more than $12 million in grants that went to 16 construction projects across the state.

 There's lots of cheerful fun to be had this holiday season in Sedan.

 Christmas in the Hollow is underway in Sedan with different activities to enjoy every week from now until Christmas. Festivities began last Saturday night, but due to the wintry weather, the Broken Spoke Clydesdale carriage rides were postponed until tomorrow night. Diana Clanton from the Sedan Chamber of Commerce says the carriage rides are a great way to enjoy the Christmas light displays in the city.

The rides are available tomorrow night from 5 to 8pm. Clanton adds that on Saturday night, pack up the family and bring the kids out for pictures with a favorite Christmas character.

Christmas in the Hollow takes place in downtown Sedan during the month of December.

 The Nowata County Commissioners met Monday after taking off last week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

 A large part of the meeting was spent discussing  the replacement of the piping at the Nowata County Courthouse. Representatives from Powell Mechanical installation were present to answer questions the commissioners may have had in regard to the piping. They explain why the piping needs to be replaced as soon as possible. 

It was also noted that most the pipes were corroded and rusted. The commissioners decided to start taking bids on the project.

The commission will meet again on Monday at 9 am at the Nowata County Courthouse Annex. The meeting is open to the public.
 

 The Christmas Spirit will be alive and well in Neodesha tonight.

 The Neodesha Christmas Parade happens tonight at 7pm. There will be floats, fun and more in downtown Neodesha.

 Cherryvale kicks off Christmas festivities this weekend with the annual lighting of the community Christmas tree.

 The public is invited to join the fun by bringing an ornament to hang on the tree. All ornaments should be suitable for the outside elements. There will be hot cocoa and cookies, plus the Grinch will be on hand for pictures beside the tree.
Festvities began at 6pm in Logan Park on Saturday in Cherryvale.
 

 For those who enjoy decorating gingerbread houses during the holiday season, Visit Coffeyville has a contest for you.
 Amy Dollar with Coffeyville Tourism says this is a brand new holiday contest.

All decorations on the house should be edible and submissions are limited to one house per participant. Those wanting to take part should bring their decorated houses to the Coffeyville Chamber Offices at 807 South Walnut during business hours between December 4th and 8th. Judging will take place at noon on the 8th and the winners will be announced at 3pm that day. All entries will be on display at the Condon Bank until December 18th.
 

 The city of Independence makes some headway on the housing shortage.

 In an attempt to reduce the housing shortage in the city, the Independence Housing Authority purchased 6 ½ acres of land in order to build 20 new, single family homes. April Nutt, Executive Director of the I-H-A, appeared before the city commission at last night's meeting and informed commissioners that construction is ready to begin and the completion of the project should be soon.

Mayor Louis Ysusi says it's a much needed project.

The commission approved a bid of $1 million by J. Graham construction to begin work on the project.

In other business at last night's meeting, the newest officer for the Independence Police Department Benjamin Roark  was officially sworn in.

 North Eastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami receives federal funds from the US Department of Education through the Native American Serving Nontribal Institutions program.

 The funds – totaling nearly $4 million over a five year period – will allow the school to partner with Carl Albert State College in Poteau, OK, to strengthen faculty and staff capacity to use data to support best practices for virtual campus, online, hybrid, Zoom-based instruction, and services.

The federal program offers grants and services that focus on improving the capacity of Native American-serving, nontribal institutions to cater to Native American and low income students.

 Representatives from the Montgomery County Wellness Coalition increase efforts at opiod awareness.

 Marci Roberts, Grant Coordinator, and Emily Lewis, Community Mobilizer with the Coalition spoke before the Montgomery County Commission Meeting yesterday in Independence. Roberts tells commissioners that the group has many plans to reach out to the community on the subject of opiods.

In other business at yesterday's meeting, commissioners went into two extended executive sessions. No action was taken on either session.

Rain chances are back in the forecast for the four states.

Widespread rain is expected tomorrow and tomorrow night, with chances continuing into Friday.  The Coffeyville area has a good chance of getting at least 1/2 inch of rain according to the National Weather Service.  Areas in northeast Oklahoma could get up to an inch.  A few thunderstorms are also possible tomorrow night, but they are not expected to be severe.

Coffeyville City Manager Mark Hall formally introduces the new head of the fire department. Fire Chief Hal Bumgarner says he went to high school and grew up not too far from here.

Bumgarner says he's been a paramedic since 1991.  Bumgarner steps into a position that was at the center of controversy over the last year after former Fire Chief Kenneth Ward was fired in March.

The Cherokee County Sheriff's is warning the public about two scams going around the county.

The first is a letter some residents have received, indicating a purchase agreement on their property. The Cherokee County Register of Deeds Office has had several calls and visits from those who have received this letter. They say this is a scam attempt. A copy of the letter can be seen here.

The second involves scammers spoofing the phone number of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The caller tells the person answering the phone they are under indictment and must place a specific amount of money in a secured locker at a bank. This is a scam. No legitimate agency is going to call and advise there is an active investigation or indictment and even if there were, the target of the investigation would not be required to provide the investigative agency money.

A Baxter Springs man receives sentencing in a drug case in Cherokee County.

60-year-old Timothy Leon Sargent was sentenced to just over nine years after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

The prison sentence stems from a May 2022 traffic stop, where a search of the vehicle driven by Sargent resulted in the discovery and seizure of a considerable amount of methamphetamine.

 Kansas presses pause on new license plate design.

 The state of Kansas released the new design for the state license plates last week and the design was met with mostly negative feedback from the public. The purpose of the new design was to create a plate that was clear and easy to read. The new design that was black on top of a gold background drew criticism from citizens via social media.

In response, Governor Laura Kelly announced today (yesterday) that the Kansas Department of Revenue will pause production on the new plates a create a process to allow the public to vote on possible new designs.

Kelly stated, “I promised to be a bipartisan governor, and I think we can all admit – I succeeded at bringing Kansans across the political aisle together in disliking this new license plate.”

 Last weekend in Bartlesville, a 15-year-old male was arrested on charges of shooting with intent to kill and possession of a firearm while committing a felony.

  Bartlesville Police Chief Kevin Ickleberry says 46-year-old Caleb William Casey, who is the father of the 15 year old suspect and the owner of the residence in the 2300 block of Windsor Way, was arrested on the charge of felon in possession of a firearm after former conviction.

According to police, at about 3:20 pm on Saturday, BPD was notified of a gunshot victim seeking help at an Urgent Care Center in Bartlesville. The victim was transferred to a Tulsa hospital, where he was later taken into surgery due to a gunshot wound to the face. He is currently listed in stable condition. 

Detectives served a search warrant on a residence in the 2300 block of Windsor Way and located a weapon that was possibly used in the shooting, along with multiple other weapons and narcotics.  

Casey appeared in Washington County Court yesterday with two counts of possession of a firearm after previous felony conviction. He has posted a $25,000 bond and is set to return to court on December 15^th . 

Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact the Bartlesville Police Department at 918-338-4001 or Capt. Daniel Elkins at 918-338-4020 or dbelkins@cityofbartlesville.org.