AREA BRIEFS
CHETOPA — The city of Chetopa is asking its residents to conserve electricity between 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. because of equipment issues with the city’s power grid.
Chetopa owns its electrical distribution system and buys power from the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency.
The city’s social media site indicated the city hopes to resolve issues quickly.
At the end of April, Liberty shut off the city’s power, and problems arose when the utility turned the power back on. One of the control panels for a reclosure would not work. The city had an electrician fix the problem. The control panel was sent for repair. After a couple of weeks, the city learned that the panel could be repaired. The company recommended an upgraded panel, which the city purchased, the city’s social media post said.
A portion of the city had a power outage again in the first week of June, knocking out another control panel. Another member city of the KMEA loaned Chetopa a reclosure and control panel; the new panel has been delivered as well. These will be installed soon and another new one panel should arrive in the coming weeks. However, the city is running on two reclosures instead of four. The power outage Sunday caused more damage to the electrical grid, the city’s post read.
“Please note that we are doing everything we can to resolve the issues and upgrade our substation as quickly as possible. Please bear with us during this time,” the post concluded.
Veterans Road bridge collapses
ST. PAUL — Late Thursday morning, the Neosho County E-911 center received a report of the Neosho River bridge on Veterans Road south of 80th Road had collapsed into the river. This is south of St. Paul.
Neosho County sheriff’s deputies and Neosho County Road and Bridge personnel immediately responded. The 3-ton bridge appears to have collapsed after a large tree dropped onto the south end of the bridge. The road will be closed indefinitely at this point. No injuries were reported.
Tennessee man arrested
CHETOPA — At 3:26 a.m. Monday a Chetopa police officer was conducting a check on a vehicle at 1029 Maple Street in Chetopa. Upon making contact with the driver, the officer noticed something was off and called for K-9 assistance. Oswego’s K-9 officer and his dog responded, along with a Labette County sheriff deputy. The dog alerted to the presence of drugs. A search of the vehicle turned up 2.6 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in the trunk of the car. The officer arrested the driver, Jon Anthony Solberg, 45, Big Sandy, Tennessee, on suspicion of distribution of drugs within 1,000 feet of a school. Solberg is in the Labette County Jail on a $75,000 bond.
