A fiery plane crash Saturday night, Dec. 15, near Phillipsburg Municipal Airport, injured two New York men. The pilot of the plane, Darren H. Mesibov, 32, Potsdam, N.Y., was in critical condition at Via Christi Regional Medical Center, St. Francis Campus in Wichita. A passenger, Christopher Calderone, 20, St. James, N.Y., was taken to the same hospital, treated and released. Investigators say the aircraft was enroute from Potsdam to Flagstaff, Ariz., when it suffered engine problems and was forced to make an emergency landing. The pilot contacted air traffic controllers in Denver and was advised the Phillipsburg airport was the closest to their location. The plane, a 1963 Mooney single-engine, missed the airport by about a mile and made a crash landing in a nearby field. The occupants escaped the crashed plane just as it caught fire, according to a press release from the Phillips County Sheriff’s office.

One of the suggestions from the 2006 Children’s Advisory Project for Stockton was to have the area children paint a wall mural on the side of one of the town’s buildings. This was now a reality as the Stockton Area Arts Council (SAAC) was to sponsor the painting of a mural on the west exterior wall of a Cityowned building located at 410 S. First Street. The SAAC was asking the public for ideas and sketches for suggestions.

Rooks County taxpayers were to be digging deeper next year, as the new tax figures for 2007 showed an increase of $543,358 over 2006. Nila Denton’s Nativities were on display at the library during the Christmas season.

The Stockton community was shocked and saddened at the news of the death of Kimberly Michelle (Lowe) Ray, 45, who was killed in a car accident on the Saline River bridge south of Plainville. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, four vehicles were involved in the accident. Snow was falling and the bridge was icy which contributed to the accident.

A ribbon-cutting event was held to celebrate the opening of Main Street Gallery. On hand for the formalities were business people and chamber members: Pastor Vince Williams, Jeff Dean, Connie Conyac, Jayne Prockish, Linda McLaughlin, co-owners Randy and Lin Cross, Kelly Buss, Twila Sander, Christopher Cross, Tracy Buss and Chris Sander.

The Stockton Grade School 3rd graders and their teachers, Mrs. McReynolds and Mrs. Kollman, visited Joe Bellerive’s Pumpkin Patch. They each got to choose a pumpkin to take home, thanks to Joe! Pictured with Joe and his daughter, Elaine Maddy, were: Brendan Harrison, Brayden Winters, Tristan Williams, Joel Green, Kian Coffey, Kieran Graf, Dillon Krier, Kyle Hull, Chance Snell, Evan Ruiz, Cassie Jackson, Taren Kuhlmann, Emily Conyac, Caity Merritt, Hannah Reichard, Crystal Bliss, Allison Morgan, Hannah Wildeman and D. J. Wise.

The Stockton High School Theater Department was presenting, “Is There A Doctor In The House?” on November 9 and 10, 2007 in the high school gymnasium. The play was a new kind of classic cowboy-country comedy with a wide variety of zany Western characters, which included: Marcus Moll, Chelsey Kriley, MaryLynn Griebel, Madison Reed, Macee Kellner, Lyndsey Gilmore, Josh Barnedt, Nathan Palmer, Ty Winters, Alex Henry, Jonathan Reed, Jordann Wiltfong, Brenna Schlaegel, Katy Carsten, Caleb Kriley, Sage Penner, Conrad Griebel, Jonathan Bellerive, Carlee Lindsey, Kyle Weiser, Billie Chesney, Stephen Bellerive, Jana Conger, Emily Barnett, Hayley Strutt, and Stephen Moll.

It was almost perfect—almost. The evening was a cool, crisp one with no wind; the stands were filled with enthusiastic fans on both sides; and the Tigers were taking on their county foe, the Plainville Cardinals, in the Tigers’ final 11-man game, at least for the next two years. The game was hard-fought, with Plainville hoping for a chance to advance to bi-district play, and the Tigers playing for pride and the opportunity to win their final game before switching to 8-man the following season. Although Stockton struck first and led 7-0 at halftime, it was the Cardinals that prevailed in the end, scoring 14 unanswered points in the second half to claim the 14-7 victory, flawing the “perfect” night for the Tigers.

Ground was broken October 20, 2007 in Plainville for the new Redbud Estates Assisted Living complex. The ceremony was attended by many county, city, state and even federal elected officials, including hometown boy, U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran.

Redbud Village invited the public to attend the ground breaking ceremony of the new assisted living, Redbud Estates, on October 20, 2007. The ceremony was to be held behind the southwest corner of the nursing home.