Valley Center

Held hostage for two hours by a suspected bank robber, a Valley Center teenager says he thought he was going to die. Fifteen-year-old Logan Burks performed with his marching band at the Valley Center football game on Friday--just one day after it all happened. Burks says the suspect--who authorities say is 49-year-old Terry Revels--broke in while he was home alone watching TV. Investigators say Revels and three others had just robbed the Intrust Bank in Valley Center and fled in different directions.  Burks says he heard a noise, opened his bedroom door and Revels grabbed him. "I was freaked out," Burks says.  "I was really scared for a while.  I prayed a lot obviously, but I'm just thankful I'm alive.

Eyewitness News continues to follow the latest developments out of Valley Center in the wake of an explosion and fire at Barton Solvents. The Latest Valley Center City Administrator I.D. Creech says everyone evacuated after Tuesday's incident is now allowed back home. There will be a lot of noise during the next few days while cleanup is underway. Barton says it will continue to pay for hotel rooms if the noise where you live is too loud. Only Birch and Cedar Roads remain closed.

(VALLEY CENTER, Kan.) Her name: Bella. Her address: Afghanistan. A Kansas woman and her soldier husband are on a mission to raise more than $2,500 to bring this puppy to the United States. Amanda May is a dog lover. So it's no surprise her husband Lucas is too. Even from the mountains of Afghanistan. Amanda related the conversation: "And he said, 'well, we found this puppy.' " That puppy is named Bella. "She has these floppy ears and these big brown eyes," described Amanda.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office will be offering 20 horses for permanent adoption. The horses are among 143 animals seized due to neglect and animal cruelty in the last year. Officials say there are limited resources to house animals. The 20 horses are now in the care of Hope In The Valley Equine Rescue and Sancuary at 9025 North Broadway in Valley Center. They'll be available for permanent adoption June 4. For more information,  you can contact Hope In The Valley at www.hitveras.org, or 316-755-2826.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 901 North Fifth Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101 Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations EPA Responds to Valley Center, Kan. Explosion Contact Information: Dianna Whitaker, 913-551-7598, whitaker.dianna@epa.gov Environmental News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Kansas City, Kan., July 17, 2007) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mobilized three On-Scene Coordinators to Valley Center, Kan., this morning to respond to an explosion at the Barton Solvents plant.

by Brian Heap (VALLEY CENTER, Kan.) For the third installment of "In The Zone", we reached outside the city limits of Wichita to Valley Center.  At the request of an Eyewitness News viewer, we checked out the school zone at Wheatland Elementary on Meadow. Map of Wheatland Elementary This particular school zone is unique in that there are no flashing yellow lights to catch drivers' attention, just signs at both ends of the zone, letting them know it's 20 mph between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 8:45 a.m.  Meadow is a curvy road with no marked crosswalks and that adds to the danger for children.

One person involved in a police chase is released from Wesley Medical Center Monday afternoon with a second listed in fair condition. Police chased a vehicle from Valley Center to Newton at 10:30 Saturday night. The chase ended when the vehicle crashed into a building. When police first spotted the vehicle in Valley Center, they suspected the driver was intoxicated. The officer pulled the Grand Am over, but the car then took off, injuring the officer in the process. Then, Harvey County dispatchers say, one of the suspects fired a gun. Park City police chased after the vehicle 11 miles into Harvey County.

Valley Center seventh graders Michael Charvat, Jayson Moler, Gage Brown and Dakota Metzger want their town to build a skate park. "I know lots of people who spend most of their time inside and don't do anything," Moler says. The park would be for skateboards and bicycles.  Right now, all they have are sidewalks and a few basketball courts to ride on. "I think there's a great need," Charvat says. The boys are in a weekly group that's part of the Communities in Schools program.  It's aimed at teaching kids to succeed both in and out of the classroom.

Since last year, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department has seized about 150 animals due to neglect and animal cruelty. The resources that house and rehabilitate the animals are at capacity. “We expect to see more of them and that's why were pushing for the adoption of the ones we have,” says Detective Dale Butcher. Hope in the Valley is an equine rescue operation in Valley Center.   It has more than 20 rescued horses that need permanent homes.

Press Release August 23rd, 2007 VALLEY CENTER, KS - Barton Solvents officials announced today that the cleanup process at its Valley Center, Kansas, distribution site can begin in earnest. The company has been notified by the U.S Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) and insurance investigators that their physical, on-site evaluations of the facility's tank farm, which was destroyed by fire on July 17, have reached the stage where demolition and clean-up can commence.