The town of Ordway stands divided as a number of plaintiffs, including a former town administrator and former trustee, have filed a lawsuit against several members of the community.

The lawsuit alleges the existence of a widespread conspiracy to "squelch dissent regarding the allocation of Ordway's valuable water assets and punish plaintiffs for reporting allegations of rampant misconduct on the part of Ordway Marshal William Ferritto." Defendants include Ferritto, the town council and several Ordway trustees.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants allegedly retaliated against former town administrator Karen Dietrich for her opposition to the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservatory District (LAVWCD) promoted $300 million water conduit. The lawsuit accuses conspirators of filing complaints accusing Dietrich and her husband of abusing their daughter; the lawsuit also accuses defendant Carrie Steele-Collins of attempting to damage Dietrich's family life by exploiting her daughter's emotional and cognitive disabilities.

Dietrich's daughter, also a plaintiff, claims the Crowley County Board of Education and Superintendent Scott Cuckow failed to take proper steps in protecting her from Steele-Collins. Steele-Collins is the wife of defendant Larry Collins, a town trustee.

According to the lawsuit, several women accused Ferritto of misbehavior on the job, including sexual harassment. The lawsuit says that trustee Lynn Chubbuck became a target of harassment after he sent a confidential letter to the Crowley County district attorney regarding accusations against Ferritto.

The lawsuit claims that Ferritto, Collins and Ordway Mayor Kelli Jo Rusher visited the D.A. after Chubbuck's letter was revealed, urging him to prosecute Chubbuck for his role in the sale of a beat-up concession trailer the school district wanted removed. Plaintiffs have accused Ferritto of retrieving the trailer from owner Bart Arbuthnot in Dumas, Texas, accusing Arbuthnot of forging the title, and reporting the trailer stolen. Arbuthnot and his wife are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Ferritto, Collins and Rusher, according to the lawsuit, have since attempted to harass and intimidate Chubbuck; former Ordway code enforcement officer Julie Decker, who assisted Chubbuck in the letter; and Decker's daughter, who has accused Ferritto of sexual harassment. The lawsuit alleges that Ferritto harassed Chubbuck, Decker and Decker's daughter by charging them with numerous unfounded misdemeanors.

The lawsuit, formally called Arbuthnot et al. v. Town Council of the Town of Ordway et al., has been assigned to Judge Marcia S. Krieger.