El Dorado

El Dorado firefighters continue to battle a house fire. The fire broke out in the back of the home around 2:30 Friday morning. It was still burning at four o'clock Friday morning. The home is in the 300 block of N. Star.  Emergency dispatchers tell us firefighters would put part of the fire out, but before it spread to other areas of the home. It's not clear what started the fire or how much damaged has been done. One man in the home made it out safely.

Numana is planning a food packaging event in El Dorado next weekend. They want to package food to help victims of Japan's tsunami. The event is Saturday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at Butler County Community College in El Dorado. Rick McNary with Numana says the organization needs cash donations to put together the food packages. www.savingthestarving.com

Butler County emergency officials have closed the 600 block of Haverhill Road in El Dorado due to a gas leak. The street will be closed from Towanda to Central until the leak is fixed. Currently, there are no evacuations. Drivers are being asked to avoid the area.

A Butler County Dispatcher says the driver hurt in a rollover accident has died. The accident happened just after one o'clock Wednesday morning on Highway 54 and River Road.  That's just east of El Dorado. The dispatcher tells Eyewitness News the driver was coming off the highway and somehow rolled the vehicle. The accident is under investigation by the Butler County Sheriff. Kansas Highway Patrol is assisting in the accident.

Wichita made the change five years ago.  This week, liquor stores in El Dorado were open for the first time on a Sunday. The El Dorado City Commission approved the change earlier this spring, citing that most other communities in South Central Kansas have already done it.  But the owner of Bright's Liquor says it didn't come at the recommendation of of retailers.  He doesn't expect Sunday sales to improve his bottom line.  Instead, he says...

One of the nation's top community college football teams will be moving into a new stadium next year. Dozens attended the groundbreaking on the 6,500-seat stadium for Butler Community College in El Dorado Friday afternoon. The facility will also be used for high school and Little League games. Construction of the $11 million BG Products Veterans Sports Complex is a joint project of the college, El Dorado public schools and the city. Businessman Bob Lane has been leading the effort to raise $5 million for the project.

Police in El Dorado arrest a man who they say was soliciting minors online.  Police say they were alerted by the Wichita Police Department and the Sedgwick County Exploited and Missing Child Unit about the situation.  They got a warrant and searched 31-year-old Peter Ferley's home.  He was arrested and police removed items from his home which they say are related to the charges. Ferley made his first appearance in Butler County District Court and faces charges including Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Electronic Solicitation of someone over 14 years old. Ferley is in Butler County Jail on $100,000 bond.

Members of the El Dorado Presbyterian Youth Group don't usually have problems with the law but they have friends who like to stay out late and cause mischief. "Yeah some of my friends stay out way late...they loop around Main Street and central just to kill time," said 16-year-old Meghan Rhodes. That's part of the reason why the City Commission discussed the possibility of a curfew for El Dorado youth at their last meeting. "It can be used as a tool but is has to be narrowly defined and address a pervasive problem," said City Manager Herb Llewellyn.

Firefighters put out a house fire in El Dorado Thursday afternoon. No one was hurt when flames damaged the home in the 300 block of W. Kansas Thursday afternoon. Investigators are looking for a cause.

Authorities think bitter overnight lows may have contributed to the death of an El Dorado woman. 30-year-old Beth Ann Noffsinger was found dead early Monday morning in a field. The Butler County Sheriff's office says deputies were called to Highway 54 and SE Cattle Pen Road for the report of a missing person around 12:45 Monday morning.  The victim's fiance was in his car parked in the area.  He said he drove to the area with Noffisnger, but then she became disoriented and got out of the car and started running.  He told officials he doesn't know why she left.

Authorities in El Dorado are searching for a man accused of robbing a bank. It happened at the Community National Bank, 2815 W. Central, just before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Dispatchers said the suspect exchanged words with a teller. He left with an unknown amount of cash. Police said the man was not armed. No one was hurt. He is described as a white man in his 30s to 40s, about 6'2" tall. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a green, hooded sweatshirt and a blue bandana across his face.

Update: Authorities in Cowley County arrest a suspect in Monday mornings shooting in El Dorado.  A 23-year-old man was shot in the head inside a home.   Cowley County authorities made the arrest after receiving a report of a stolen vehicle  Deputies located the vehicle and a chase developed. The suspect then abandoned  a car and foot chase started west of Winfield.  Several agencies were involved in the search.  The Kansas Highway Patrol used its plane to search for him.  Both KHP and the Cowley County Sheriff's Department used K-9 units to aid in the search.

A man shot inside his El Dorado home early Monday has died from his injuries. In a press release, the El Dorado Police Department said Trevor Wakefield, 24, died from a gunshot wound to the head at Wesley Medical Center Wednesday morning. A man and a woman from Wichita have been arrested in connection to the shooting. Montee Iverson, 34, and Mandy Crandall, 29, made their first appearance in Butler County District Court Wednesday. Iverson is charged with attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault and criminal possession of a firearm.

Driving the Kansas Turnpike just got more expensive.  Tolls went up Friday.  And, on top of that, gas prices are up too! It started at midnight. A 10% hike in what it costs to travel along the Kansas Turnpike, if you're paying cash, 5% for a K-Tag.  The Turnpike Authority calls it a regular, modest rate increase that happens about every three years. "Everything's going up," said Denna Rice, who'd stopped at the Towanda Service Area near El Dorado for gas. The money from the hike is slated to pay for roadwork, like deck replacements on bridges.

A gun on school grounds leads to panic for some high school parents, but the El Dorado school district says there was never a threat to students. We first told you Monday on KWCH El Dorado school officials recovered the gun. But some parents say the school did not not handle the situation the right way. Rebecca McRee is the parent of a senior at El Dorado High School. She says, "I think we have a competent staff at the school. I think maybe just a mistake was made yesterday. When a student comes into school with a gun, he's a gunman.

It was a sad night for the Wildcats, as head coach Gary Melcher was missing from the sidelines. His mother had passed away. "We are thinking about coach Melcher tonight," assistant coach Jordan Regehr said. "We wish he could have been here. " And on Friday the El Dorado boys team got their first loss, falling to McPherson 65-40. "It was the first time they've had to play without coach Melcher," Regehr said. Regehr had the tough job of rallying the troops to take on a 7-1 McPherson team in the roundhouse.

Police in Oklahoma found a missing El Dorado man. Authorities say 80-year-old Donald Brickley disappeared Saturday morning. His family said he left his home on Bluestem road in a pick-up truck. Brickley suffers from dementia. He was found in Oklahoma around 3:30 Saturday afternoon.      

Authorities think bitter overnight lows may have contributed to the death of an El Dorado woman. 30-year-old Beth Ann Noffsinger was found dead early Monday morning in a field. The Butler County Sheriff's office says deputies were called to Highway 54 and SE Cattle Pen Road for the report of a missing person around 12:45 Monday morning.  The victim's fiance was in his car parked in the area.  He said he drove to the area with Noffisnger, but then she became disoriented and got out of the car and started running.  He told officials he doesn't know why she left.

The El Dorado man no longer accused of murder has bonded out of jail.  Thursday a judge in Butler County dismissed a first-degree murder charge against Justin Edwards. Edwards had previously been charged in the death of 18-month-old Jayla Haag.  Judge David Ricke ruled the state failed to provide enough evidence regarding the cause of death. It is possible that charges could be refiled at a later date. Edwards bonded out of jail Friday after posting bond, which was set at $26,000.  He faces four other charges, but they are unrelated to the death of Jayla.

An El Dorado man keeps beating the odds. Sixty-one-year-old Danny Shipman had to give up golf two years ago, when he almost gave up the ghost. The retired Bluestem High School golf coach suffered complications from heart surgery that caused a coma and stroke.  "We didn't think he was going to make it," Shipman's wife, Linda, says.  "They didn't give up much hope. " He survived, but suffered paralysis in his right hand.  Shipman never thought he would play golf again.