Tag Archives: parsons

Two die in head-on collision south of Parsons

Posted on by

LABETTE COUNTY, Mo. – Two are dead following a crash in Labette County, Kansas.

Authorities with the Kansas State Highway Patrol say it happened around two in the afternoon on US-59 south of Parsons, Kansas. They say a vehicle driven by 43-year-old Jason Hopkins of Parsons crossed the center line, colliding head-on with 67-year-old Robert Rowe of Oswego, Kansas.

Hopkins and Rowe were both pronounced dead at the scene. Hopkin’s passenger, 41 year old Jennifer Faller of Parsons, was taken to the hospital with suspected serious injuries.

COPYRIGHT 2021 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.

Sen. Jerry Moran tours Parsons Cytocheck Laboratory

Posted on by

PARSONS, Kan. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran made a stop in Parsons, Kansas.

Among his stops was Cytocheck Laboratory. The lab provides pathology services to doctors offices.

“If you want rural America to grow and our kids to stay or to return home, these kinds of opportunities are ways that we can do it,” said Sen. Moran. “So from a health public safety point of view, (it’s) great to see this laboratory and what they do from the growth of Parsons, Kansas. It’s great to see these employment opportunities are here.”

During the pandemic, the lab got permission to process COVID-19 tests for local hospitals and providers.

Parsons man killed in NE Oklahoma wreck

Posted on by

NOWATA, Okla. – A Parsons, Kansas man is dead following a crash in Nowata County, Oklahoma Sunday evening

According to Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the wreck happened around 7:17 p.m. on U.S. 169, 10 miles north of Nowata, Oklahoma. A car driven by 50-year-old Christopher Alvarado of Parsons collided with another vehicle driven by 56-year-old Betty Koscelny of Delaware, Oklahoma.

Alvarado was pronounced dead at the scene. Koscelny and Alvarado’s passenger, 50-year-old Coletta Alvarado of Parsons, were transported to the hospital with injuries.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Family, police appeal to public in hit and run case

Posted on by

PARSONS, Kan. – The Scott family and Parsons police appeal to the driver and public for help solving a hit and run case.

The hit and run incident happened on December 19, 2020, between the hours of 2:20 a.m. and 4:40 a.m.

According to the Parsons Police Department, Andrew Scott was walking south in the area of 1400 S. 35th Street when a motor vehicle hit him.

Authorities say the driver didn’t stop to render aid or call emergency services. It wasn’t until about 4:40 a.m. that a resident heard Scott’s pleas for help and called police.

Officers arrived and found Scott just off the road, where it appeared he had tried to crawl for help.

According to a family member, Scott currently has to wear full-time leg braces. He underwent one knee surgery this month to reconstruct and repair damage from the incident. They plan for a surgery on the other knee later this year. The family member tells police he has many other surgeries on his road to recovery.

The Parsons Police Department states there have been many rumors about the incident. Law enforcement has conducted multiple interviews and followed up on tips and leads.

The Police Department stated in a release, “First, the driver of the vehicle needs to do the right thing and come forward and give their side of the story to clear up any rumors about this incident and the circumstances surrounding this accident. Second, we are looking for assistance from anyone who may have been a passenger in the vehicle at the time, or someone who has heard the driver or passenger(s) talk about the incident.”

The Scott Family and the Parsons Police Department encourage anyone with information to come forward and help Andrew find justice and closure to this incident.

Residents are encouraged to “See It, Hear It, Report It.” If anyone has any further information on this incident or any other criminal activity, you can contact the Parsons Police Department at 421-7060 or call the Tip Line at 421-7057 or email at tips@parsonspd.com.

Parsons man killed in a wreck while passing another vehicle

Posted on by

LABETTE COUNTY, Kan. – A Parsons, Kansas man dies in a wreck in rural Labette County Friday morning.

Kansas Highway Patrol says it happed at 7:35 a.m. at 9000 and Ness Rd about 4.5 miles south of U-160. 25-year-old Axzivian Cummings of Parsons was passing another vehicle at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his car. The car hit the ditch, collided with two utility poles, rotated counter clockwise, rolled multiple times and came to rest in a field.

Cummings was pronounced dead at the scene.

Construction begins on bigger LCC athletic complex

Posted on by

PARSONS, Kan. – A bigger athletic and academic complex is coming to Labette Community College in Parsons, Kansas.

A groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday officially kicked things off. The $5.8 million project renovates and expands the current gymnasium. There will be new spaces for fitness and wellness education.

“So they are excited,” said Lindi Forbes of the Labette Community College Foundation. “It makes them feel really good to know that so many people gave, to make their lives better. To help them compete at a higher level to have a better facility, to bring in more fans and to bring in more community spirit and pride.”

(Previous story: LCC surpasses goal for athletic complex campaign)

College officials say the finished product will not only add to the college, but the entire Parsons community.

Parsons celebrates 150 years

Posted on by

PARSONS, Ks. — There was a sesquicentennial celebration Monday in Southeast Kansas. We spoke with the families who’ve called Parsons their home for generations.

Marilyn Smith, Parsons Resident, said, “Everybody was community built, everybody was friends with everybody.”

This was a major day for the city of Parsons 150 years ago.

Dave Mattox, Parsons Historian, said, “On March 8th, 1871, the very first lots were sold in Parsons at the KATY Freight Depot. They were looking for a junction point for the two KATY lines, and Parsons ending up being that junction.”

Bringing people people far and wide to work on creating the city. People like Stephen Miller’s great grandparents, who lived in the area before the city was even established, wanted to help create something great.

Dr. Stephen Miller, Parsons Resident, said, “They put their two story country farm house up on skids and had the mules pull them into town, and was one of the first rooming houses for the construction people who were building the other things in Parsons.”

The city grew and the railroad continued to provide employment for generations.

“My grandparents worked at the railroad, my grandpa cleaned out box cars, I had another grandpa who worked at the baggage clerk, my dad worked at the diesel shops in several different crafts, I worked in the diesel shops as a laborer, I was the second female to ever be hired as a laborer,” said Smith.

Creating a community of people who love their hometown, and giving the city reason to celebrate 150 years later.

“When people say ‘Why don’t you move to Lawrence where you have three little grandkids?’ I say, ‘No I rather live in Parsons.,” said Miller.

Parsons Police Department gains K-9 officer

Posted on by

PARSONS, Ks. — The Parsons Police Department is going to the dogs, but in this case – that saying is a good thing.

Robert Spinks, Parsons Police Chief, said, “That’s the key thing in rural Kansas, we have to work together or we just are not effective.”

And to do this, the Parsons Police Department has been working on a very special project for over 20 years. On Monday night, it finally came together.

“This is exciting for our department, we received approval last night from our city commission to purchase our first canine.”

This specific K-9 is named Karim, and thanks to the community, he will soon be the newest member of the department.

“This is really a community supported endeavor, we’ve been able to raise $14,500 so far, and another $10,000 in pledges.”

Up to this point, the department has depended on K-9 units in other cities.

Darren Eichinger, Labette County Sheriff, said, “Even if they do have K-9’s, we still go out and help them, a lot of times if there are K-9 officers, one of ours can come on out and help them.”

Now Karim will join those other dogs in the county to help those in need.

“It benefits everybody because a lot of times if we don’t have our K-9s out or they’re down, they can call one of the other cities that may have one and they would respond to help them.”

Speeding up investigations, and helping make parsons, as well as departments across the county, more effective.

“We don’t have to wait around, if we make a traffic stop we can deploy the dog instantaneously, if we have to go do a search of a building or its part of a search warrant process, we instantaneously have that extra cool, very sensitive nose that will point us in the right direction,” said Spinks.

Parsons ‘strongly recommends’ residents boil their water

Posted on by

PARSONS, Kan. – The City of Parsons implements a voluntary boil order as crews monitor and test the city’s water system.

While there is not a KDHE mandatory boil order currently in effect, official strongly recommend residents boil water they plan on cooking with or drinking for at least the next 24-48 hours. Parsons is also recommending health services and others at-need- residents use bottled water for drinking.

City crews are currently testing water at a dozen points throughout the city. Once the city gets official confirmation on the system or water sampling, it share that information on its official Facebook page.

 

At this time there is NOT a mandatory boil order from KDHE however the City has implemented a voluntary boil order for…

Posted by Parsons, KS Public Information Office on Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Kansas Senator holds Town Hall Meeting

Posted on by

A Kansas Senator held a town hall Saturday afternoon in Labette County.
Senator Roger Marshall was in Parsons answering questions from residents about topics ranging from medical marijuana, voter fraud and raising the minimum wage.

Two Kansas Mayor’s in attendance say their city is seeing a spike in price for their electric bills after the cold spell last week.
The Mayor of one Kansas town says they received an electric bill estimate of $541,000, which is the price for one year of electricity.
She asked Senator Marshall what is being done to fix the pricing issue.

Senator Roger Marshall representing District 1 said, “We asked for the federal energy regulatory commission which oversees this to investigate the situation to see if there is something nefarious that went on regarding the prices.”

Senator Marshall says conserving energy during the cold spell helped the state avoid brownouts.
Kansas residents who were in the audience say they think the town hall was successful.

Don Alexander a Neosho county resident said, “I think we are lucky when we have our senators and representatives come out and spend time with the people they represent.

Lon Hale a resident from Allen county said, “It’s been a good town hall meeting. i brought my children today and so they would bring my grandchildren today because I wanted them to see the process.”

Saturday night’s town hall lasted for nearly an hour.