The drownings of two people near Mound Valley were reported Wednesday morning by the Labette County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff William C. Blundell said victims were Tonya L. Demoss of Springfield, Mo., and 26-year-old Tyler J. Odaffer of Parsons.

The couple were reported missing on Tuesday when friends and family members last saw them around 10 p.m. east of Mound Valley on 15000 Road.

Officers began searching a low water crossing and contacted Parsons Fire Department Water Rescue units and EMS for assistance.

Around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, their vehicle, a 1998 Saturn four-door, was found in Pumpkin Creek approximately 200 feet south of the low-water crossing overturned and submerged under approximately 10-feet for water trapping both occupants.. It is believed the vehicle was traveling west on 15000 road and tried to cross a low water crossing and was swept off the roadway.

Tonya Demoss was driving the vehicle and Tyler Odaffer was a passenger in the car.

Both bodies were sent to Topeka for autopsies.

Lindsey Pease, Chetopa, received FFA’s highest district award when she was named the District Star Greenhand Entrepreneur at the South East District awards banquet on Wednesday, April 16, at Girard High School.
Lindsey is the daughter of Wayne and Stephanie Pease of Chetopa. She has been an active member of Chetopa FFA since she was in seventh grade and is currently serving as Chapter FFA Secretary. She is a sophomore and carries a 4.0 GPA.
To be eligible for the award, Lindsey had to participate in a Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE). Lindsey chose the area of Specialty Animal production. She currently has a goat herd consisting of 53 Boer does and two Boer bucks, along with a large number of kids on the ground. The meat goats are marketed as show projects for 4-H and FFA youth.
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Labette County High School Junior AP Language and Composition Student, Michael Sexton, has been selected as the first place winner of the Day and Zimmermann Kansas Chapter of National Management Association Essay Contest said Chairman, Mark Powers.
Michael is the son of Jeff and Marla Sexton of rural Altamont.

The Lady Grizzly Softball Team will face the Parsons Lady Vikings on Thursday, May 7. The games will begin at 4:30 p.m., at the Denny Davidson Softball Field in Altamont and are being called the “Strike Out Cancer” games.
Each team will be wearing something pink that day as part of their uniform.
The Lady Grizzlies are asking that each person in attendance will give a donation to the American Cancer Society. Janell Shaffer and Marge Sloan, from Altamont,  breast cancer survivors, will be throwing out the first pitches.

Area health departments including the one in Labette County are monitoring the Swine Flu situation which now has reached Kansas with active cases.
Debbi Baugher from the Health County Health Department and Jim Cook, Director of Emergency Preparedness, are staying in contact with officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), learning all they can about the flu and its possible impact within Kanas.
No swine flu cases have been reported in southeast Kansas.
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County Health Department Administrator Debbi Baugher was given permission to order software with a GPS application for Larry Cupit, county sanitation officer, at Monday’s Commission meeting.
Cupit can work in the field and send his work to the county road and bridge mapping department. The cost is around $1,200 and will be paid out of the county general courthouse fund. “If he (Cupit) feels he needs it, so move,” Chairman Lonie Addis said. “I am very impressed with Cupit,” he added. Cupit is the floodplain manager.
See this week’s paper for the full story.

City Council member Edith Fox recently presented a check to Welch Lions Club President Tom Andris in the amount of $2,500 to go toward the purchase of a generator for the Welch Civic Auditorium.

The devastating ice storm of 2007 left the town of Welch without electricity for 6 days with no means to care for its residents. The purchase of the generator will enable the Welch community to feed and shelter 150 to 200 people. Community leaders stress the importance of having this piece of the town’s emergency plan in place should another disaster occur.  Read more

For more information, see the April 29, 2009, issue of the Labette Avenue. To locate previously posted death notices, enter the decedent’s last name in the archive search box on Labette Avenue’s home page. Labette Avenue publishes death notices free of charge. Paid obituaries ($20) are printed in their entirety in the Labette Avenue and online at www.taylornews.org/lba.

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