Corey Krehbiel, Kevin Warner and Gene Albers

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Gene Albers, Robert and Rettalou Massey

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Murdock woman dies in accident

A Murdock woman killed Monday is the first accident fatality of 2012 in Kingman County.
Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Colton Lann was the first to respond to the one-vehicle accident, which occurred shortly after 11 a.m. on SE 80 Ave. and East Bluff St., two miles west of Murdock.
Mary E. Green, 73, Murdock, was driving southbound, 1/4 of a mile south of East Bluff Road on SE 80 Ave., when she lost control of her 1999 Ford and rolled. The Green vehicle ended up in a field east of the road with the car facing northbound on its wheels.
Thelda Blank, 91, Murdock, was a passenger in the Green vehicle. After the accident, she was able to get out of the vehicle and start walking. A passerby, Mike Bradley, an employee of High Sierra in Spivey, spotted Green and notified the Kingman Police Department at 11:51 a.m. Both of the women were wearing seatbelts.
Upon Trooper Lann's arrival, Green was already deceased. Kingman Emergency Services were notified because Blank had minor injuries.
Green's body was taken to the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center in Wichita for autopsy.

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The Leader-Courier staff

Connie Schoenhofer, Editor, Irene Arensdorf, Circulation; Bob McQuin Publisher , Nancy Borst Sports, writer, Ashlee Arensdorf, Advertising sales & Accounts Receivable.

 

 

Awards presented at Kingman County Conservation District meeting and dinner Monday

Gene Albers, John Kuszmaul and Corey Krehbiel

The 61st Annual Meeting for the Kingman County Conservation District was held Monday, Jan. 23 and just over 200 people enjoyed a chicken fried steak dinner, courtesy of Citizens Bank of Kansas, Kingman; Kanza Bank, Kingman; First National Bank, Cunningham, and Conway Bank, Norwich.
Progress of the county conservation efforts was shared by Mike Clover, who is the NRCS District Conservationist.
John Kuszmaul received the Kansas Banker Conservation Award. He and his family, wife, Cynthia, and daughters, Kaitlin and Devin, farm southwest of Kingman producing mostly wheat but he has recently added milo, soybeans and feed to his operation.
Kevin Warner was the recipient of the Kansas Banker Windbreak Award. Kevin, and his wife, Delinda, live south of Kingman. They have a daughter, Madison, and son, Andy, who is married to Emily. They also have one granddaughter, Blakely. The Warners planted a windbreak of 125 bare root Eastern Red Cedar trees to the south and west of their property in 2003.
Bob and Rettalou Massey were given the Grassland Award. They are the owners/operators of Kingman County Corrientes. They have one son, Robert, who is married to Deb, and two grandchildren, Randi and Austin. Samantha Rohlman placed 1st in the state Limerick contest and Adam Leroux placed 3rd in the state essay contest.

"He thought it would be good advertising (for Champlin)," Leona said.
Not long after Nelson's visit, the newspaper reported, the city received word that the Champlin Oil Company had decided to deed the property to the city with the understanding that the area be called "The Champlin Park."
Roy Riggs, owner of Southwestern Nurseries, said his father, "Cap" Riggs, at that time owned the Kingman Floral Company on land adjacent to the Champlin land. Today Southwestern Nurseries is located across the highway south of the park.
Roy said there was a Champlin gas station there in the 1930s and his mother talked about going there to buy candy bars after work. The area also at one time included a welding business, run by Vince Tatro and later, Bob Melton.
According to newspaper reports, after Champlin Oil gave the land to the city, the Chamber of Commerce said it would erect a shelter house, add picnic tables and "other facilities."An old run-down building that stood near the highway was taken down, trees were trimmed and undergrowth was removed. Members of the Junior 4-H Leaders donated time to assist with the clean up. Today, the Kingman Garden Club helps maintain the park's landscaping.
In 1966, the Kingman C of C put five picnic tables in the park. The park's sign was erected near the entrance. There also was talk of adding restrooms, though that has not been done.
Riggs said the park, because of its location on the highway, "introduces" travelers to Kingman. He sees how many people stop there to stretch, walk pets or grab a bite to eat. The park's potential also caught the eye of the 1966 Kingman Journal.
"The spot is ideally located for the convenience of tourists, and in a short time should become a popular area for visitors passing through the city seeking a convenient place to rest and relax for a short while," the newspaper reported.

Shell Oil plans to drill well in Kingman County

By Nancy D. Borst
A surge in new technology oil exploration in a relatively shallow limestone play in Oklahoma and southern Kansas has attracted a global company to Kingman County.
Officials from Shell Oil Company have met with Kingman County Commissioners to discuss the company's plans to drill at least one exploration well in the county this year.
"Shell basically came on a good will mission," said Commission Chair Carol Voran of the Jan. 11 meeting.
Scott Scheffler, communications specialist with Shell, confirmed the company is working in the county.
"By the middle of 2012, Shell plans to have at least three rigs working in southern Kansas to explore the potential of our acreage position," Scheffler said. "Only after drilling over many locations will we understand the chances for a long-term development in the area."
An exploration well is slated to go in near Duquoin in far southern Kingman County with drilling likely to begin in May. The company is evaluating the Mississippi Limestone Play to determine whether there is enough commercially viable resource (oil and gas) to justify a significant investment beyond a 12 to 18 month appraisal period.
The Mississippi Limestone is a thin, porous lime deposit that encompasses millions of acres in Oklahoma and southern Kansas. It has an average depth of 6,000 feet and the formation thickness is 200 to 300 feet. In other words, it is shallow and less expensive to drill.
This area is nothing new to oil and gas exploration. It has been the site of decades of drilling and its geology is well known. But, according to the October issue of the American Oil & Gas Reporter, "what has suddenly jumped the Mississippi Limestone to the front of the line as a top-flight onshore liquids play is the same set of technologies that independent operators are deploying to enable economic shale development: horizontal drilling and multistage completions."
Wells will be drilled horizontally and will include the "fracturing" process to aid the flow of hydrocarbons from the shale rock. An added bonus to working in this area is ready access to transportation infrastructure, equipment and skilled workers.
Shell acquired most of its leasehold position through acquisitions from a few independent exploration companies, said Scheffler. That included 10 producing wells, producing approximately 100 bbl/day.
The company also continues to lease additional acreage in Barber, Harper, Kingman, Pratt, Reno, Sedgwick and Sumner counties, but Shell is primarily focused on Barber, Harper and Kingman counties. The company declined to specify total acreage or terms of acquisitions or leases.

Shell, which also was active in south central Kansas from 1930 through the 1990s, has established an office in Harper.
Scheffler said it is common practice for Shell to keep local stakeholders engaged as the company makes plans for an area. Voran said, "Their perspective was 'what can we do for you?'"
"Shell wants to partner with us for emergency services if there is a need for water for fire. They have some availability for that," she said. "All the wells they're drilling are to gather data to decide whether to come in full force." She said there may be some willingness by the company to make financial contributions to the county toward things such as first response. Shell gave commissioners the example that if it helps provide training on using the foam method of firefighting, it may be willing to purchase foam adapters.
"The real emphasis is on training," Voran said. "They are concerned about emergency response times."
At this point, there are no long-term certainties. But the county must be prepared in case the play pans out for Shell.
"We can't invest a lot in infrastructure because we don't know if it's going to be permanent," Voran said. "We can't ignore the fact they are doing an appraisal."
Scheffler said Shell's rigs will remain on their pad locations for more than a month to drill a producing well. The fracking process usually takes approximately 24 hours to complete with the equipment on the pad site for about seven days. Shell will not use pump jacks, thus reducing its footprint once the rig moves on. Shell plans to have three to four rigs operating in Kansas by the end of this year.