EMS in Watonga had a busy December. According to the report made to the city council, there were 45 calls made to 91-1. Of those, there were four transfers from Watonga Mercy to other facilities. An additional 12 transfers were declined because there was not enough staff to provide backup coverage. The report indicates those declined calls, picked up by other agencies, were worth $23,952.
EMS reported there were 439 calls for service in the calendar year 2025.
In municipal court, there were 22 cases in December.
The city police department issued 43 tickets, 18 warnings and made four arrests. There were two accidents, 7 animal complaints and 17 reports were taken.
The PD report shows three simple assaults, two breaking and entering and one civil juvenile case. There was one report of drugs, narcotics or marijuana violations, one report of drunkenness and two reports of embezzlement.
One case of fraud or identity theft was reported, as was one case of animal bites and two cases of public peace disruption. There were two reports of vandalism or destruction of property, two warrants for other agencies served and a single local warrant served.
The airport showed it sold 438 gallons of jet fuel and 100 gallons of AV gas. There were approximately 205 takeoff and landings. There are 18 T-hangars rented and one used for airport maintenance. There are two spaces in use in the corporate hangar north and two more in use in the south corporate hangar, bringing the hangars to 100% capacity.
There were eight instances of use of the courtesy cars, three involving local overnight stays and the remainder for aircraft pilots to get food at local establishments.
This data was from the packet provided to the media and city council members for the January 20 meeting.
This newspaper previously carried weekly reports of EMS calls, police and fire department responses. Hopes are to return to that format in order to keep the public informed.
December numbers show multiple transfers from Mercy Watonga to other facilities. However, a dozen transfers were made using other ambulance services because there were not enough Watonga crews to keep the town covered and man the transfers, resulting in revenue going to other towns.