Historic Events - 2000 to Present
November 4, 2000 – Wichita Police
Lieutenant John "Jack" E. Galvin died of injuries received October 20th
from an explosion as he and members of the agency's bomb squad were
destroying commercial fireworks.
The bomb squad was participating in a training exercise with
1,500 pounds of fireworks which were approximately three years old.
As they were loading some of the fireworks into the pit that
Lieutenant Galvin was working, an unknown event triggered an explosion,
causing the remaining fireworks on the truck to ignite. Lieutenant
Galvin received second and third-degree burns over 80 percent of his
body. Another officer and a civilian were also injured in the explosion.
Lieutenant Galvin had been employed with the Wichita Police
Department for 20 years, and had received numerous awards for bravery,
including being involved with apprehending cop-killer in 1981. He was
survived by his wife, daughter, and three sons.
April 11, 2001 - Damaging 43-65 knot southwest winds across central and south-central Kansas from late morning thru early evening caused some buildings to lose roofs and hazardous driving for high profile vehicles. At least half a dozen tractor-trailers were overturned resulting in injuries to two people. One injury occurred 3 W Augusta in western Butler County when a tractor overturned and the driver was thrown. One man was injured on K-96 about 10 W Wichita when his tractor-trailer overturned. A total of five tractor-trailers overturned on I-235 in Wichita and on K-96 alone. Damage to trees, power lines, and power poles was widespread and occasionally started fires. A few areas were without power thru the following morning. In addition, windows were blown out and many signs either blown out or blown over.
May 20, 2001, 1844 CST – An F0 tornado with a width of 55 yards touched down in open country near Oaklawn and tracked for one mile with no reported property damage.
July 15-21, 2001 – Operation Save America revives the second “Summer of Mercy” anti-abortion protests which began with over 1,500 protestors at the Word of Life Church with a kick-off rally, and later at the Women’s Health Care Services clinic located at 5107 E Kellogg in Wichita. Parades were held by the protestors and four protestors were arrested.
August 24, 2001 – Trees, power lines, and power poles downed, severing power for three hours in Mount Hope from 70+ mph thunderstorm winds. A light pole toppled at Mt. Hope Grade School, windows were blown out and metal panels blown off the co-op elevator. Windows were also shattered at an unspecified number of residences, and a pickup truck blown into an alfalfa field. Approximate property damages from the storm totaled $100,000.
August 30, 2001 – A BNSF train derailment occurred near the intersection of Greenwich & 103rd Street South in Sedgwick County. Several railcars were on fire with the following chemicals: carbon dioxide (2 cylinders of 12 kilograms each), nitrogen (one cylinder of 0.75 kilogram), perfume products (1,358 pounds), white asbestos (44,782 pounds plus 1,020 pounds of intermodal), plastics & FAK, and sodium hydroxide. Evacuation was at one-mile from site with two reported injuries.
September 5, 2001 – Four-year old Jaquilla Evonne Scales was believed to be abducted from her bed around 12:30AM and reported missing at 3AM in the vicinity of 16th and Volutsia in Wichita. At the time of the abduction, she was last seen wearing a knee-length flowered nightshirt and tan barrettes in her hair. Jaquilla has a scar on her upper right leg, a brown birthmark on her face and her upper teeth are decayed, and may answer to the name Grammy-Boo. This case is still unsolved, and if anyone has seen seen Jacquille or have any information about her disappearance or whereabouts, please call 911, Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 24-hours, toll-free at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
September 11, 2001 – At 9:25AM, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered all aircraft within the Continental United States to land as soon as reasonable due to terrorist actions, and by 10:21AM all international flights to be diverted to the U.S.. Mid-Continent airport was required to handle an emergency landing of 167 commercial aircraft of which one was also an Israeli EL AL flight. Due to concerns for their safety and the volatility of the situation, all 123 Israelis were taken from the airport to another location until they could return to the airport. By September 13th, the FAA gave permission for airports to resume normal operations.
January 29-31, 2002 - Precipitation began late Tuesday afternoon (Jan 29th) in South Central Kansas in the form of freezing rain and drizzle. This type of precipitation persisted through Wednesday morning and mixed in with some sleet Wednesday Afternoon and Wednesday night, before changing over to snow Thursday morning. The result was a major ice accumulation of 1-2 inches on trees and power lines across south-central Kansas that severed power to much of the area. A Federal declaration was made (FEMA 1402-DR) affecting 35 counties in south-central and eastern Kansas. Damages from this winter storm amount to almost $15 million.
July 9, 2003, 1830 CST – An F0 tornado with a width of 50 yards touched down two miles east of Cheney in open country and tracked for one mile and terminating two miles ESE of Cheney with no reported property damage.
June 12, 2004 – An F-3 tornado touched down one mile east and one mile south of Mulvane and continued to the Mulvane Sewer Plant before lifting and touching down within a 1/2 mile of the south city limits. Several homes and barns were destroyed, one horse was killed and some very minor injuries to motorists as it crossed K-15 highway. Damage was estimated at $575,000.
November 5, 2004 – An Amber Alert was issued for three year old Jaylin Calhoun last seen in Wichita and abducted by his 43-year old uncle Ralph Trice in a 2001 Ford Taurus. The Exploited and Missing Child Unit (EMCU) and Sedgwick County Emergency Management worked together in recovering Jaylin until the search was terminated after the vehicle was stopped by Wichita Police Department near City Hall at 9:29PM.
July 3, 2005, 1731 CST – An F0 tornado with a width of 55 yards touched down two miles SW of Colwich in open country and tracked for one mile with no reported property damage.
May 10, 2007 – A total of 5.52 inches of rain fell in Mulvane within 3 hours; however, four inches of the rain fell in the first hour between 16:45 hrs and 17:45 hrs. Access North & South through town was completely cut off at one point, with the main flooding being on the west side of town. Kansas Highway 53 was closed at either city limit with water over the road in multiple places, with barricades at the railroad tracks.
September
24, 2007 – Sedgwick County Fire Lieutenant Byron Wayne “Bubba” Johnson was
killed by electrocution while fighting a grass fire in the 9400 Block of South
Broadway. Lieutenant Johnson had
just been accepted into the prestigious Executive Fire Officer program conducted
by the National Fire Academy in Emmetsburg, Maryland.
He was one of the youngest applicants
ever accepted into the academy’s program. Bryon
Johnson left behind a wife, two sons, ages 10 and 12, and many friends and
family members.
March 25, 2008 – A security guard for Wichita Area Technical College (WATC) central campus (Emporia and 3rd Street in downtown Wichita), who is also a Wichita Police Officer, was shot at around 1:30 Tuesday afternoon. The bullet missed him, but struck his radio, which rested against his chest. The campus was locked down after with about 120 people on the campus kept inside the building for about three hours.
January 24, 2009 – Between 50 to 100 people were gathered for a Laotian wake for a 49-year old woman Saturday night which resulted in a drive-by shooting around 9:30PM in the 2900 block of East Dunham (northwest of 31st Street South and Hillside in Wichita) that left two people dead and seven others hurt stemming from gang retaliation. Killed were 66-year-old Keo Intavong and 22-year-old Jeffrey Chitanavong. A 57-year-old man was in very critical condition, four in serious condition and the rest received minor injuries. All the victims were men ranging in ages from 20 to 57. Police believed rival gang members targeted the wake as retaliation for a 2006 shooting at the Mid-American Indian Center when someone was shot and killed at a wedding.
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