Coffeyville

by Jennifer Searle A Coffeyville company says it will buy homes that were damaged when its refinery spilled crude oil into floodwaters. Coffeyville Resources' refinery spilled 71,000 gallons of crude oil during record flooding that devastated the town in late June and early July. The company will buy the homes based on their market value before the flood. Around 300 homes will qualify. For more information about the program call: 1-800-958-5380

by The Associated Press COFFEYVILLE, Kan. (AP) - State health and environment officials say a refinery storage tank's valve that was left open caused the oil spill that damaged hundreds of Coffeyville homes. The problem occurred during flooding four weeks ago. Coffeyville Resources owns the refinery. The company acknowledges that a storage tank overflowed as floodwaters from nearby Verdigris River swamped the refinery. An estimated 71,000 gallons of crude oil escaped and flowed downriver and into surrounding neighborhoods.

Update : Hutchinson has been seeded 4th in the tournament, and will play on Tuesday, March 19 against the winner of the Howard/East Mississippi game, which will be played on Monday. Click here to see the complete Men's Bracket. Coffeyville was also awarded an at-large bid, and is hte #9 seed. The Ravens will play on Monday (March 18) at 8:30pm against Walters State. The Hutch Women's team also qualified for the National tournament, and will play in Salina on Wednesday, March 20 at 5:00pm.

A long-term investigation in illegal drugs in southeast Kansas leads to six warrants and multiple arrests. The operation included officers from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Coffeyville Police Department, Independence Police Department, Joplin, MO, Police Department, Jasper County, MO, Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. They were also assisted by the Kansas Department of Revenue and Montgomery County Environmental Health.

Three Kansas teams take the top three spots in the NJCAA Football Poll released Tuesday October 5th. Butler is number 1, Hutchinson's ranked number 2 and Coffeyville's Number three. The last time one conference owned the top three spots in a single poll came on Oct. 1, 1991 when Southwest Junior College Football Conference teams Navarro, Kilgore and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M resided at the top of junior college football. It will still be one more week before Hutchinson, Butler and Coffeyville start battling each other.

Windows may not be the only things shattered by Wednesday's severe storms. The National Weather Service is investigating the possibly of a new hail stone record for the state. Melissa McCarter says a 7.5 inch hail stone fell at Pawnee and 119th in west Wichita. The hail stone's weight and circumference were measured 15 hours after it fell. It weight 1.1 pounds and has a circumference of 15.5 inches. The previous record was set by a hail stone in 1970.

by John Boyd American Red Cross workers from Wichita and around Kansas helping out with the disaster relief operation in Southeast Kansas. To date the Red Cross says it's opened six shelters in towns including Coffeyville, Independence, Yates Center, Iola, Chanute and Altoona. Around 265 people are being helped by these shelters. The Midway-Kansas Chapter in Wichita is working with Kansas Food Bank Warehouse to hep the operation with deployments of supply trucks.  Those trucks are carrying cots, water, baby wipes and diapers, and heater meals.

Press Release July 6th, 2007 Preliminary damage assessments for five southeast Kansas counties affected by flooding reveal at least 3,150 homes and businesses have been destroyed or sustained major damage. These figures were derived from an aerial survey conducted by joint federal/state teams on Thursday. Following the survey, FEMA granted federal Individual Assistance be made available to these counties. Assessments of the remaining counties in the state's disaster declaration will begin early next week, providing the opportunity for more counties to also become eligible for federal assistance.

Off to an 8-0 start, the Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team has climbed to No. 2 in this week’s NJCAA Division I men’s basketball poll. With losses by defending national champion Howard College and preseason No. 1 Midland College, the Blue Dragons moved up two spots to No. 2. North Idaho College is the nation’s new No. 1 junior college men’s basketball team. Hutchinson comes off a pair of neutral court victories last weekend, defeating Independence 81-77 and Quakerdale Prep 84-64 last weekend in Great Bend.

People living in North East Kansas are keeping a close eye on the Missouri River. Residents are concerned about the amount of water making its way downstream, and how long it will stick around. The river typically rises in the spring.  But water levels are expected to remain high long into the summer, putting constant pressure on levees protecting farmland, roads, and towns along the Missouri river. If the predictions are true, when the Missouri River floods, Kansas will have more destruction to clean up.  It has already been a tough year for disaster in Kansas, and state disaster aid funds are running out. When a federal disaster declaration is issued, FEMA pays 75% of the aid money, local government pays 15%, and the state takes care for the remaining 10%. The state's portion adds up quickly.  Adjutant General's spokesperson, Sharon Watson, says money is still being distributed from the 2007 Kansas Disaster Fund.