BY ANDY TAYLOR
MOLINE, Ill. — John Deere & Company said Thursday, Aug. 28 it plans to further expand manufacturing capacity of its large, high-horsepower tractors — resulting in improvements to the manufacturer’s Coffeyville production assembly. A total of $97 million will be spent at various Deere facilities across the globe.

John Deere owns the former Funk Manufacturing plant in Coffeyville, where Deere builds transmissions and other drive train components.

A John Deere spokesperson said it was not yet known if the improvements at the Coffeyville plant will result in additional employment.

Other parts of the John Deere expansion will create 103,000 square feet of new manufacturing space at a drive train operation in Waterloo, Iowa.

The project announced Aug. 28 is in addition to the investment of approximately $90 million that Deere had announced in February to increase manufacturing capacity at the Waterloo Operations. In combination, the projects will increase John Deere’s manufacturing capacity to build high horsepower tractors in Waterloo by about 40 percent and increase capacity for other tractor components and service parts. The company said both projects are expected to be complete by early 2010.

Tractors built in Waterloo are exported to more than 130 countries and are highly popular with the most productive farmers and growers in North America.

CANEY — The roar from racing cars has returned to the summer skies of Caney on Saturday nights.
And, that noise brings a smile to the face of Kerry Gorby.

Gorby is the promoter and brains behind the rebirth of the Caney Valley Speedway, which is enjoying a resurrgence of popularity among racers and racing fans.

Last Saturday was the third consecutive week for the speedway to be open for the 2008 season. So far, more than 1,000 spectators have packed the renovated speedway for an evening of racing action, and as many as 75 racers have brought their cars to the 1/4-mile oval track for an evening of spinning dirt.

“It’s good entertainment for the family,” said Gorby. “So far, the response from the racers, racing crews and the racing fans has far surpassed my expectations. It’s been great.”

Gorby is no stranger to the racing circuit. The rural Havana man has spent most of his youth and adult life not only as a front-row spectator at racing venues but as a pit man and racer himself.

“My dad owned the speedway when I was a kid, so the speedway was like a second home to me,” he said. “And, later on, I worked in the pits and also owned my own race car. I still own a race car and have a driver. So, I’ve been involved in a lot aspects of the racing business. Now, I just want to bring back the tradition of racing at the Caney Valley Speedway on Saturday nights.”

So far, the return to tradition is paying dividends.

The Caney Valley Speedway has sat silent for several years after the track was unable to compete with neighboring tracks and their larger prize purses in the southeast Kansas/northeast Oklahoma region.

When Gorby agreed to lease the facility from owners Ed and Phyllis Johnson earlier this year, he knew he had a tough challenge ahead. For starters, the facility was in dire need of attention. Several years of dormancy has taken a toll on the bleachers, restrooms, pit area, concession stand and press box. The
sad-looking track looked as if it had seen its last race.

However, Gorby repacked the banks of the track, painted the pipe fencing surrounding the parking area and pit area, improved the concession area, erected new restrooms, and built a new press box.

Plus, he improved the size of the purses for the racers — a big drawing card for the weekend racing enthusiast.

“We get a lot of the racers from the Chanute and Iola area who compete at a track in Humboldt on Friday nights,” said Gorby. “Now, we’re getting a lot of the racers who competed at the track in South Coffeyville on Saturday nights.”

Gorby says he has hopes of having several special races for the remainder of the 2008 season, which ends in late October. He says he is toying with the prospects of having a special Thanksgiving weekend race.

For the Labor Day holiday weekend, the Caney Valley Speedway will step away from its usual Saturday format and host races on Saturday, Aug. 30 and Sunday, Aug. 31 .Headlining the Saturday program will be USRA-sanctioned Modifieds as they will be battling for track and national points in the USRA Casey’s General Stores Weekly Racing Series. Also on the racing card will be Street Stocks, Factory Stocks, B-Mods, Pure Stocks and Turf Cars.

Sunday’s racing will include action in five classes. Headlining the program will be USRA-sanctioned Modifieds as they will be battling for track and national points in the USRA Casey’s General Stores Weekly Racing Series. Also on the racing card will be Street Stocks, Factory Stocks, B-Mods and Pure Stocks.

For more details about the speedway, go to the Caney Valley Speedway website at www.caneyvalleyspeedway.net.

About this weekend’s races at the Caney Valley Speedway:

• On Saturday, Aug. 30: Pit and grandstands gates will open at 5 p.m., with hot laps slated for 7:30 and racing action to kick off at 8 p.m. Adult ticket prices are just $8, seniors are $5, kids ages 6-12 are $4 and children under 6 are admitted free of charge. Pit passes will be $25.

• On Sunday, Aug. 31: Pit and grandstands gates will open at 4 p.m. on Sunday, with hot laps slated for 6:30 and racing action to kick off at 7 p.m. Adult ticket prices are just $8, seniors are $5, kids ages 6-12 are $4 and children under 6 are admitted free of charge. Pit passes will be $25. Two-day grandstand passes are $12 for adults, $6 for kids age 6-12, $8 for senior citizens, and free for children under the age of 5.

CHERRYVALE — Jeff Menzer of Menzer Performance faces the ultimate challenge of his life.

Accustomed to tricking old vehicles into muscular race cars at his Cherryvale business, Menzer Performance, the Cherryvale man is transforming his own body into a machine of speed and endurance.

Menzer has joined forces with a friend from their Cherryvale High School days in training for the Chicago Marathon, which will be held in six weeks. The 26-mile race on Sunday, Oct. 12, will take more than 47,000 runners through the winding suburbs and asphalt jungle of the Windy City.

However, the grueling training regimen of Jeff Menzer and his friend, Cherryvale native Jeremy Bell, now living in Olathe, Kan., has more to do with helping others rather than testing the physical limits of their own bodies. Menzer is running the marathon as a salute to his mother-in-law, Cherryvale resident Barbara Long, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.

Menzer is using the marathon to raise awarness about breast cancer, and he is collecting donations for the marathon with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.

“Jeremy and I ran the Neewollah 5K run last October in Independence, and afterward we agreed to do something bigger to get our bodies in shape,” Menzer said. “That’s when we thought about doing a marathon. My only stipulation is that we train for a marathon as a way to raise money for someone. And, that’s when I thought about Barbara.

“I talked to Barbara about it, and she was totally in full support of it. Barbara told me that she could not have survived breast cancer without the help of the American Cancer Society. So, we’re training for the marathon while also raising funds for the American Cancer Society.”

Menzer and Bell began their marathon training on Jan. 1 with a weekly running program that was designed to increase endurance and stamina.
Just eight weeks into their training program, the two Cherryvale natives participated in a half marathon (13 miles) in Olathe. Menzer said the half marathon was a barometer to see if a full marathon was possible.
“I’m glad we did it because it was a real eye opener,” he said. “After the half marathon, we just pushed ourselves for the full marathon in Chicago.”
Menzer and Bell are now in the midst of an aggressive 18-week training program in preparation for the marathon. The training program involves weekday runs —ranging from three to six miles — capped by a longer run — about nine or 10 miles — on the weekend.
And, in between those daily treks is a diet that is geared toward improving the performance of the body. That includes protein-intense foods combined with a volume of high fats after longer runs. The goal is to try to get about 5,000 calories of “clean” food in the body each day.

For example, on Tuesday, Menzer feasted on a breakfast that included one cup of oatmeal, four eggs topped with one ounce of cheese and six slices of bacon. Lunch included a 16-ounce pork chop with four ounces of broccoli. Supper included a platter of nachos topped with cheese and chicken.

In between those meals, as well as at the end of the night, Menzer will drink protein shakes.

And, he’ll wash all of the food down his gullet each day with three to four gallons of water.

On the day of the longest runs, he’ll eat four or five pieces of french toast, several bananas, and perhaps three or four bowls of cereal.

“I love Fruity Pebbles,” he said. “It’s pretty common to eat half a box of cereal after my longest runs on the weekends.”

Menzer also feeds his body with a myraid of vitamins and health supplements each day.

However, whoofing down a lot of food and swallowing a handful of vitamin supplements has impacted one part of the body that he didn’t anticipate: his wallet.

“With the higher cost of food, my wife and I have been amazed to see our monthly food bill increase dramatically,” he said. “Training for a marathon isn’t cheap.”

Also adding to the cost of the training is shoe replacement. Menzer wears out one pair of running shoes each month.

Menzer and Bell have one goal in mind when competing in the Chicago marathon: to finish the 26-mile race in four and a hours or less. The marathon is a test of the human body, not the speed of the feet, Menzer said.

“We realize we’re not going to win it,” he said. “In fact, the faster runners are always at the front of the starting line. Those runners like Jeremy and I who hope to finish in the four-hour range are placed about halfway back of the racers. In fact, by the time we get to the starting line, the fastest runners will already be 30 minutes into their marathon.”

Menzer and Bell talk by telephone several times each day. They motivate each other by talking before and after their daily training exercises.

“I’ll call him immediately after we run each day,” he said. “I’ll be out of breath, I’ll hear him trying to catch his breath, too. We’ll both say that the training sure sucked that day and that we’ll talk the next day. That’s the way we motivate each other.”

Menzer currently is gathering donations for breast cancer awareness via a website with an edgy name: www.runningforboobs.com.

“I thought it would be a joke at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the concept,” he said. “Someone who logs on to the website expecting to find boobs is going to be met with a story of one person’s survival from breast cancer. And, they’ll think, ‘Hey, I’d like to donate to that cause.’”

Regardless of who wins the race for the U.S. presidency in November, a Caney Valley High School freshman will be on hand when the new president assumes the oath of office.

Abby Hanigan has been chosen to be among 200 high school students from the United States to attend the inauguration of the U.S. president on Jan. 20, 2009, in Washington, D.C. She was chosen for the elite seat with the People to People Leadership Summit — which trains elementary, junior high and high school students to serve as national and global ambassadors for the United States.

Hanigan is a veteran of the People to People program, after having attended national leadership forums in Washington, D.C., in 2006 and a national theatre and arts summit in New York City in 2007.

At those summits, People to People delegates like Hanigan hear speeches from noted public officials, where they instill leadership skills into the delegates.

“I’ve visited with people from Canada to South America,” she said. “We also tour all of the attractions where the summits are held.”

People to People traces its heritage back to 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower called a special White House meeting of American leaders to create the People to People initiative. Over the past five decades, the People to People mission has been built upon personal exchanges and firsthand experiences with other cultures. The program is open to middle school, junior high and high school students.

Hanigan said she was looking forward to witnessing a unique moment in U.S. history: the inauguration of a new U.S. president.

And, does Hanigan have a preference of which person — either Barack Obama or John McCain — she would rather see assume the oath of office?

“I like Obama,” she said. “I think it would be cool to see a black person be the U.S. president. Plus, the rest of my family are Democrats and would also like to see Obama elected.”

Hanigan is the daughter of Paula Manley of South Coffeyville, Okla., and Alan Hanigan of Kansas City, Mo.

Persons wishing to donate money for Hanigan to make the trip to Washington, D.C., can send contributions to Abby Hanigan, Rt. 1, Box 500, South Coffeyville, OK 74072. s, Josh Fletcher, Kurt Lockwood, Sarah Nelson, Travis Post, Jessica Wells, Jonathan Williams, Cessalie Wood and Tyler Wyant.

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

The largest-ever class of debaters fills the Caney Valley High School roster for the 2008 season.

Amber Toth, debate instructor, said this year’s debate program has 36 total debaters, more than half of whom are new to the program.

“We had to split our program into two class times to accommodate the number of debaters,” said Toth. “I think that says something about our program.”

The debaters currently are preparing their cases and arguments concerning the 2008 national debate topic, which is: “Resolved: that the United States federal government should substantially increase alternative energy incentives in the U.S.”

Toth said the debate resolution was among the broadest topics in recent memory — encompassing a myriad of subjects, ranging from global warming to oil and gas exploration to reduction of methane produced in livestock feedlots.

Debaters will attend their first tournament of  the season on Saturday, Sept. 20 in Independence.

Three members of the Bullpup debate program participated in summer camps in Kansas. C.J. Brown attended the Blue Dragon Institute at Hutchinson Community College, and Casey McCammon and Bruce Williams took part in the Heart of America Camp a Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kan. At the Heart of America Camp, Williams earned the distinction of producing the most cards — that is, the most documented evidence — among all campers. McCammon also was offered a $17,000 college scholarship at Kansas Wesleyan University because of his participation and accomplishments in public speaking during his high school career.

Among the experienced debaters in this year’s program are C.J. Brown, Brandon Blagg, Trevor Buster, Bruce Williams, Holly Barks, Corey Matthews, Sean Mellen, Casey McCammon, Caleb McIntosh and Stefania Salazar.

First-year debaters include Scarlett Simpler, Phillip Nelson, Dustin Mullinax, Eric Mason, Abby Hannigan, Rainey Hall, Gage Griffin, Megan Evans, Luke DeWitt, Chase Brake, Alex Taylor, Tyler Wood, Amber Benning, Kayla Clapp, Ben Crossman, Rachel Estes, Josh Fletcher, Kurt Lockwood, Sarah Nelson, Travis Post, Jessica Wells, Jonathan Williams, Cessalie Wood and Tyler Wyant.

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

CHERRYVALE — More than 135 years after the Bender clan committed a series of grisly murders at their rural Cherryvale inn, the saga of this serial killer family continues to draw interest.

Top on the list of questions asked by people who hear the Bender story: what happened to the family after their murderous deeds were discovered?

That’s where fact and fiction have collided.

Most prominent among the theories: a posse came in contact with the family as the Benders attempted to flee southeast Kansas. According to tales told years later by men claiming to be members of the posse, the Benders were apprehended by the posse and killed in a fit of Old West justice.

After all, protecting the peace in the days of the untamed prairie was only as quick as a twitchy trigger finger and as strong as a hangman’s noose.

The posse swore an oath of secrecy that the Benders’ demise and the location of their corpses would never be known, according to popular legend.

Other tales claim the Benders made a clean getaway and found new life in other parts of the nation under alias names.

And, one other fanciful story claim the family attempted to leave the United States via a hot air balloon, only to crash into a ship in the Gulf of Mexico during a wind storm.

Most of the stories are full of holes but continue to add to the lore of the Benders.

One thing for certain: no one definitely knows what happened to the Benders.

However, noted author Phyllis de la Garza may have added another chapter to the never-ending saga.

In 2005, de la Garza, who lives in Willco, Ariz., penned the book “Death for Dinner: The Benders of (Old) Kansas.” The book not only documents the story of the Bender murders, which took place northeast of Cherryvale in the early 1870s, but also serves as a compendium to the many myths and legends to the Bender family’s eventual disappearance or deaths.

The Arizona author thought her research was completed when the book was published in 2005. However, a recent reader of the book notified de la Garza about the gravesites of a John Joseph Bender and a Catherine C. Bender buried in a Glenwood Springs, Colo., cemetery.

De la Garza put her sleuth’s cap on her head and returned to the Bender mystery trail.

“At first, I was skeptical, but after researching the information about the Benders buried in Colorado, I discovered too many coincidences with the Benders in Kansas,” she said. “Even if the Benders in Colorado were not the same John and Katie Bender in Cherryvale, it’s almost storyworthy to note the similarities between the two sets of Bender family members.”

De la Garza said the John Joseph Bender buried in Glenwood Springs, Colo., carries a similar identity to the John Bender Sr., of the Cherryvale fame. How so?

• Both men were born in Germany: John Joseph Bender of Colorado was born in Germany in 1843; the John Bender, Sr., of Cherryvale is believed to hailed from Germany because of the thick Dutch accent.

• Both men lived in Missouri: John Joseph Bender of Colorado lived in Missouri in the late 1860s; John Bender Sr., is believed to have come to Cherryvale in 1870 after living several years in Missouri.

• Both men have connections to the blacksmith trade: John Joseph Bender of Colorado was known as a blacksmith; the Bender hammers allegedly used by John Bender Sr., in the murder of guests to the Bender Inn are believed to have been tools used by a blacksmith.

• There is a gap of information about John Joseph Bender’s life in the early 1870s: According to  the “Portrait and Biographical Record of the State of Colorado,” printed in 1899, the life of the Colorado Bender was told in detail — except for a period of years in the early 1870s. That’s when the John Bender, Sr., is believed to have lived with his family near Cherryvale.

De la Garza also noted a similarity in the photograph of the John Joseph Bender in the 1899 publication and a sketch of John Bender Sr., found in the book “The Five Fiends,” written by C.W. Alexander in 1874. The Bender of Cherryvale lore is depicted with a heavy crop of hair, slicked back above his brow, sitting atop a chiseled face. The Colorado Bender is clean cut and well dressed — but the square jaw and Germanic face are similar to that of the Cherryvale Bender.

And, what about Kate Bender — the primary actor in the Cherryvale story — and the Catherine C. Bender of Colorado?

Their circles of commonality are also uncanny, de la Garza said.

The Catherine C. Bender of Colorado is believed to have come from Germany as did the Kate Bender of Cherryvale.

• The Catherine C. Bender of Colorado spent her adult years childless, even though she and John Joseph Bender were the parents of six children (all sons), all of whom died in infancy. The Kate Bender of Cherryvale is believed to have been childless.

• The Catherine C. Bender of Colorado and the Kate Bender of Cherryvale appear to be the same period in age (they would have been in their 20s when Kate Bender roamed the Cherryvale area in the early 1870s).

• Catherine C. Bender spent her early career in Colorado as the owner of the Commercial Restaurant in Glenwood Springs. Kate Bender of Cherryvale once worked as a waitress at a Cherryvale hotel restaurant and also spent time preparing meals at the Bender’s rural inn and grocery store.

• An 1899-era photograph of Catherine C. Bender shows similarities to the sketch of Kate Bender found in books written about the Kansas murders. Both appear to have an auburn or reddish-brown hair color with light-colored eyes.

But, what about the documented marriage between John Joseph Bender and Catherine C. Bender? Would that mean that the father/daughter team of John Bender Sr., and Kate Bender of Cherryvale (this is where the story veers to the most extreme levels of bizarre)  were husband and wife in later life in Colorado?

“Nothing was ever right about the Benders of Cherryvale,” de la Garza said. “There were lots of questions as to whether Ma and Pa Bender were actually the parents of Kate Bender and John Bender Jr. And, there is some anecdotal evidence that John Bender Sr., and Kate Bender had an unusual relationship. Then again, the entire Bender family of Cherryvale was unusual.”

The John Joseph Bender of Glenwood Springs, Colo., died in 1888, of what newspaper accounts claim was “dropsy of the heart.”

Meanwhile, Catherine C. Bender spent her widow years as a successful land owner and real estate agent, taking advantage of the growth of the Colorado territory. She accumulated so much wealth that she took excursions to her native Bavaria and attended the Worlds Fair in Germany.

“She appears to have been a fantastic real estate saleswoman,” said de la Garza. “People seemed drawn to her personality, just like people were drawn to Kate Bender’s grace and beauty in Cherryvale.”

There is no hint that the Colorado Benders had any scrapes with the law. Nor are there any tales of homicides committed in gruesome fashion with a hammer in the Glenwood Springs, Colo., region.

Could the infamous John Bender Sr., and Kate Bender turned over a new leaf after their homicidal rages in Cherryvale?

Or, did the Cherryvale Benders find their deaths in the hands of the revenge-minded posse?

No one will ever know for certain.

For buried under two tombstones in Glenwood Springs, Colo., and (possibly) in the eternal silence of the Kansas soil are stories from two sets of families who shared not only a name but also an unbelievable amount of coincidence.

When Barack Obama accepts the Democrat Party nomination for U.S. president at tonight’s Democrat Party Convention in Denver, Colo., few people will realize that the U.S. senator from Illinois has ancestorial roots in Chautauqua and Montgomery counties.

Several weeks ago, the Montgomery County Chronicle published a story about Obama’s grandmother, 85-year-old Madelyn Dunham, who resides in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dunham raised Obama from the age of 10, and Obama has often referred to his grandmother’s caring attributes in his political speeches.

Dunham, formerly Madelyn Lee Payne, was born in Peru in Chautauqua County in 1925 to Rolla Payne and Leona McMurry. The Payne family spent most of their years in Chautauqua County. Madelyn’s grandparents, Thomas Creekmore McMurry and Margaret Belle Wright, who would be Obama’s great-grandparents were well-known in Peru and both are buried in the Peru Cemetery.

The Payne family moved to Butler County when Madelyn was 3 years old, and it was in the El Dorado and Augusta area where Madelyn spent the bulk of her childhood and youth years before marrying Stanley Dunham and moving to Hawaii.

Now, members of the Dunham family have traced Obama’s roots to the Havana community.

Judy Carra, a Havana native now living in Independence, Mo., provided information to the Montgomery County Chronicle this week that shows Obama’s connection to the Dunham clan of Havana. Obama’s grandfather was Stanley Dunham. Stanley Dunham’s grandparents, or Obama’s great-grandparents, were Jacob W. Dunham and Mary Ann (Hollowell) Dunham (ironically, two of Jacob W. Dunham’s brothers married the other two sisters of Mary Ann Dunham, making three Dunham boys marrying three Hollowell girls). Jacob W. Dunham’s parents were Jacob Mackey Dunham and Louisa Stroup Dunham.

Jacob Mackey Dunham, who is Obama’s great-great-grandfather, was the eldest brother to David Dunham. David Dunham, and his wife, Lavonia Bonecutter, moved from Indiana, to the Havana area in the 1870s and were regarded as being among the first generation of settlers in the Havana community. David Dunham, who would be Obama’s great-great-great-uncle, is buried in the Havana Cemetery with many of his descendants.

Carra said the Dunham name continues in the Montgomery County area through Marvin Dunham, who is a descendant of David Dunham.

“Obama is a decedent from Jacob Dunham, the brother of David Dunham, which indirectly makes Obama a ‘shirt tail cousin’ umpteen times removed,” said Carra in an e-mail this week. “It’s interesting to be a distant relative to Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for president. I did not realize that genealogy could be this interesting.”

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

CHERRYVALE — The youngest sister of television actress Vivian Vance, the Cherryvale-born star who is best known in her role as Ethel Mertz on the “I Love Lucy” series, will make a visit to Cherryvale on the weekend of Sept. 13-14.

The Cherryvale Chamber of Commerce learned about the arrival of Lou Ann Graham, Vance’s youngest sister, at a meeting last Friday morning. Details of Graham’s appearance in Cherryvale are still being developed, however the chamber agreed to host a dinner reception in her honor at the Cherryvale Middle-High School Commons Area on Saturday, Sept. 13.

Also coming with Graham to Cherryvale will be Wanda Clark, a Tulsa, Okla., resident who served as the private secretary to TV actress Lucille Ball. At the Sept. 13 event in Cherryvale, Graham and Clark will share their recollections of Vance and her professional and personal friendship with Lucille Ball.

Lou Ann Graham, who lives in Albuquerque, N.M., was not born in Cherryvale like her more famous older sister was in 1909. However, Graham has maintained a close tie to the entertainment business just like her older sister.

Graham has dabbled in acting over the years, even having a role in an 1976 episode of “The Streets of San Francisco” and a 1993 made-for-TV movie “Voices in the Garden.” Today, she is widely regarded for her instruction in improvisational comedy.

In August 2007, Graham was a guest of honor in Jamestown, N.Y., the birthplace of Lucille Ball, for the unveiling of the “We Remember Viv: A Tribute to Vivian Vance” exhibit during the annual Lucille Ball Birthday Celebration. Jamestown also is home to The Lucy-Desi Museum.

Vivian Vance spent her earliest childhood years in Cherryvale before the Jones family moved to Independence when Vivian was age 6. Vivian later attended Independence High School, where she studied dramatic studies under the tutelage of Anna Ingleman. Vivian also was a schoolmate of eventual Academy Award winning playwright William Inge.

Honored for her work in 1953, Vance became the first actress to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress through her role of Ethel Mertz on “I Love Lucy.” Vance maintained her role as Ball’s friend and sidekick through the subsequent spin-offs of the “I Love Lucy” series, including “Here’s Lucy” and “The Lucille Ball Show.”

Vivian spent many years in theatre, broadway, and television. She died on Aug. 17, 1979 of breast cancer.

More details of the Graham/Clark visit to Cherryvale will be printed in next week’s edition of the Montgomery County Chronicle.

For information, call Tina Cunningham at 620-891-0072.

A 21-year-old Florida man was killed and two Independence men were injured in a one-vehicle mishap on a county road north of Coffeyville shortly after 2 a.m., Saturday morning. The Kansas Highway Patrol says Lance Allen Walters, 21, of Kissimee, Fla., was killed when a 1999 Ford pickup truck driven by Jacob Stockton, 21, of Independence, drove off county road 4500 two miles north of Coffeyville. Stockton tried to overcorrect his steering and went into a ditch on the opposite side of the road. The vehicle hit a cuvlert and overturned twice, landing on its top. Stockton, along with passenger Justin Cole Wright, 21, of Independence were injured at the scene. No report was given by the Kansas Highway Patrol regarding their conditions. The Kansas Highway Patrol said the driver and the two passengers were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the wreck. The death of Walters marks the seventh vehicle-related fatality in Montgomery County since Aug. 1. The