A man is dead, and another is injured following a fiery crash in Derby Wednesday night. Police it happened shortly before 10pm, 27-year-old Kurtis Tabor driving eastbound on Patriot Avenue near North Rough Creek Road when he crashed head-on into a vehicle headed westbound. Witnesses told police that he was driving fast and erratically before the accident. The force of the impact threw him from the car and ended up pinned underneath it. One of the cars caught fire. The driver of the other car was a juvenile who is hospitalized in critical condition. Tabor died at the scene. No further information has been released; the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has rescinded the boil water advisory for the City of Wichita and Andover after tests came back showing that there was no contaminates. The boil water advisory will stay in place for Sedgwick County Rural Water Districts 2 and 3, along with Derby, Valley Center and Rose Hill. These water supply systems purchase water from the city of Wichita. According to officials during routine maintenance a filter at the 80-year-old water plant malfunctioned. Officials say that the problem was corrected, but people still are being urged to boil their water for one minute prior to consumption. Officials say that they anticipate the rest of the areas under advisory to be lifted sometime this morning.
This is the second time a boil water advisory has been issued in the past eight months. The two incidents aren’t connected-one problem involved a pipe the other was a filter that malfunctioned at the 80-year-old facility. Officials are hoping that the new $500 million dollar Wichita Water Treatment plant under construction will help. It is currently slated to up and running in 2025 and will be able to treat 120 million gallons of water a day.
Gas prices across the state continue to rise. On Thursday Triple-A reported that the price of regular was at $4.59 a gallon. In Wichita the price was $4.57. In Arkansas City the average price was around $4.54 and in Winfield the average $4.55.
Tomorrow a second loyal local shopping event is being held to attract customers. The Winfield BEST (Businesses Earning Success Together) Committee of the Chamber of Commerce put together this event where participating businesses will be offering refreshments, special promotions, or prize giveaways. Visit the Loyal Local Shopping Event on Facebook for a complete list of the stores participating.
Winfield City commissioners earlier this week voted to increase ambulance fees charged by Winfield Fire/EMS due to the spike in fuel and equipment prices. This increase is happening earlier than planned, the city originally wanted to increase the fees later this year or early next year. This is the first time the fees have changed since 2014 when the city began managing EMS services. The vote approving the change was 2-0.