CANEY — Calamity and hilarity will reign when the Caney Valley High School Playmakers present “Fully Committed” to the public for two performances: Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25. The performances start at 7 p.m., in the CVHS Auditorium. Admission is $4 per person.

The play, written by Becky Mode, centers on the calamity and chaos surrounding out-of-work actor-turned-restaurant reservation taker Sam Peliczowski, who is played by CVHS senior Dalton Powell. As the head of reservations at the upscale Le Restaurant du Chef de Cuisine, Sam is responsible for getting the reservations in line for the snooty upper crust.

However, one day in the life of Sam’s frustrated world reveals an abundance of interruptions — dealing with peeved customers, cleaning dirty toilets, contending with odd family members, avoiding sensitive Chef Claude, and arguing with feisty senior citizens.

The fact that such imperfections can be found at a créme-de-la-créme cafe makes Sam’s situation even more bizarre . . . and riotous.

Amber Toth is the CVHS Playmakers advisor.

The public is invited to attend.

CANEY — The annual Caney Citywide Spring Clean-Up Week is scheduled for May 2-9, excluding, Sunday, May 3. The Caney City Landfill will be open each day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for Caney residents to haul their own unwanted items and dispose of them.
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Click on the photo to see a brief video scene from the Civil War encampment at the Brown Mansion in Coffeyville on Saturday, April 18.

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

The chairman of the Montgomery County Rural Fire District’s board of directors says the Montgomery County Commission ignored a recommendation from the fire board calling for the reappointment of department coordinator Wilbur Schwatken.

County commissioners on Monday chose to not reappoint Schwatken to his role of rural fire department coordinator. Commissioner Larry McManus presented a motion to reappoint Schwatken, however his motion failed to garner any further support from commissioners Tony Fowler or Fred Brown, thereby resulting in a dead motion. Therefore, Schwatken’s reappointment automatically failed.

All other department chief reappointments were approved by the commission.

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Montgomery County Commission chairman Tony Fowler on Wednesday would not provide details about the commission’s reason to not reappoint Wilbur Schwatken, rural fire district coordinator.

However, Fowler, who has been commissioner for two years and was named chairman in January, says the commission has new goals and vision for the rural fire director position.

Fowler said he could not talk specifically about Schwatken’s dismissal. However, he did refute claims that the commission did not consider the recommendation of the Montgomery County Rural Fire District board of directors, which voted unanimously to recommend Schwatken’s reappointment.

“As far as the firefighting side, we do listen to the fire board carefully and have never said “no” to any budget request,” said Fowler. “But as far as the administrative side, we feel that it’s something quite simply where the director position needs to be put in a different direction.”

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BY ANDY TAYLOR

The chairman of the Montgomery County Rural Fire District’s board of directors says the Montgomery County Commission ignored a recommendation from the board calling for the reappointment of department coordinator Wilbur Schwatken.

Schwatken was not reappointed to his role of rural fire department coordinator on Monday. Commissioner Larry McManus presented a motion to reappoint Schwatken, however his motion failed to garner any further support from commissioners Tony Fowler or Fred Brown, thereby resulting in a dead motion. Therefore, Schwatken’s reappointment automatically failed. Read more

BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — A Caney man convicted of assault and battery of a co-worker last July will have one more chance to gain mercy from an Oklahoma court.

Darek Dustin Windsor, 28, of Caney entered a no contest plea to the charge of assault and a battery with a deadly weapon in a hearing in Washington County Court on March 9. Windsor also entered a blind plea in hopes that the court will provide leniency in his punishment, said Rick Esser, Washington County Attorney. Read more

Three cities in Montgomery County will be the recipients of state and federal money devoted toward improving drinking water infrastructure in those cities.
The cities of Cherryvale, Coffeyville and Independence will collect more than $4 million in grant money from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for the water projects. The projects will be funded, in part, through monies provided by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, commonly known as the federal stimulus bill. Read more

COFFEYVILLE — The Coffeyville Regional Medical Center board of directors agreed last Wednesday, April 15, to close the V.J. Reddy Behavioral Health Unit. The board made the decision based upon the recommendation of the medical center’s administration. Read more