Tonkawa city councilmen, meeting in special session, voted unanimously to keep Kirk Henderson as its City Manager.Henderson was charged with fraud and conspiracy in Kay County District Court along with Blackwell Mayor T.J. Greenfield and former Blackwell City Manager Chip Outhier.The council met in secret session for 90 minutes before coming out and rendering the decision.There were about 20 residents in attendance.Jack Evans and Charley Conaghan made the motion to keep Henderson with Mayor Ken Smith and Councilmen Scott Klufa, Stacy Burns joined in the decision.The charges stem from the purchase of surplus items then the eventual resale of the items back to Blackwell. It was all approved by City Attorney Bryce Kennedy as well as Councilmen Conaghan, Evans, Smith, Glenn Cope and Rick Allan back in March of 2018.According to the city attorney, “A straw purchase or nominee purchase is any purchase wherein an agent agrees to acquire a good or service for someone who is often unable or unwilling to purchase the good or service themselves, and the agent transfers the goods or services to that person after purchasing them. In general, straw purchases are legal except in cases where the ultimate receiver of goods or services uses those goods or services in the commission of a crime with the prior knowledge of the straw purchaser, or if the ultimate possessor is not legally able to purchase the goods or services.”
