Keys to the Kingdom – Carolyn Tucker

In 1969, my Dad and I began watching the weekly TV variety show “Hee Haw” which featured comedy skits and country music guest stars. I was impressed with the musicians and singers as they performed their hit songs, and we laughed aloud at the outrageous silliness portrayed by the regular cast. Every week Grandpa Jones was asked, “Hey Grandpa, what’s for supper?” He would stop washing the fake window and reply something like, “Fresh cornbread slathered in butter, smoked ham and pinto beans, polk salad and turnip greens.” Then in unison everyone would shout, “Yum, Yum!” Eating together has always been a warm and fuzzy way to share food and love, whether you live in the hills and hollers or in the big city.

As we look forward to the cherished day of Thanksgiving, let’s think about feasting on something other than food. “So let us feast upon Him (Christ, God’s Lamb) and grow strong in the Christian life, leaving entirely behind us the cancerous old life with all its hatreds and wickedness. Let us feast instead upon the pure bread of honor and sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8 TLB).

Our bodies were made to love, serve, and worship the Lord, which is why substitutions do not satisfy. We should desire to worship the Lord with our bodies. Worship is a believer’s grateful response to the holiness of God. When mentioned in the Bible, worship is authentically individualized and it is not listless or motionless. Every time there is true worship, some part of the body is involved as indicated in the following scriptures:

Bowed head: “So the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped” (Exodus 4:31 NKJV). Bowed body: “Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. Bow before Him, all who are mortal, all whose lives will end as dust” (Psalm 22:29 NLT).

Kneeling: “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 3:14,15 NLT). Uplifted hands: “Daily I will worship you passionately and with all my heart. My arms will wave to You like banners of praise” (Psalm 63:4 TPT).

Falling prostrate: “And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle…and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering…on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces” (Leviticus 9:23,24 NKJV).

Singing and speaking: The mouth reverently and joyfully responds in worship also. “Remember what Christ taught and let His words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, and come with Him into the presence of God the Father to give Him your thanks” (Colossians 3:16,17 TLB).

The Key: Celebrate Thanksgiving, feast upon the Bread of Life and worship Him with all your might.

In last week’s column, I discussed some of the causes of our “help wanted” crisis in America, particularly in rural areas. What can we do about this in Bourbon County? Here are some thoughts:

1. Quality Housing. This has to be the number one reason why some people are reluctant to move to Bourbon County. Not many homes of adequate quality are available to purchase or rent that a working family can afford. The cost to build a 1,800 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2 bath house on a city lot far exceeds the appraised value once it is completed; this cost-to-value gap inhibits the construction of new homes. We need creative public/private/charitable solutions to bridge this cost versus value gap. This should be the focus of our community leaders.

2. Health Care. We need a hospital. A community without a hospital is a non-starter for many who might consider moving here. Let’s all pray that Noble Health Corporation says “yes” to reopening our hospital.

3. Taxes. As reported earlier, our property tax rates are prohibitive compared to our neighbors. We have to begin incrementally lowering the mill levy to solve this problem. We can’t do it in one fiscal year, but we have to start on the long-term solutions.

4. Schools. We have to work together to bring our school ratings up and do all we can to support all the schools in our county, both public and private. Support needs to come from everyone, whether or not one has a school-aged child.

5. Infrastructure. We have to repair our roads, bridges, sewers, wastewater systems, storm sewers, etc., to improve our quality of life and protect property values; this includes revitalizing all the downtowns we have in the county. Beauty and functionality are important to our everyday lives and turn off new people when they are not up to par.

6. Strategic Plan. We need our leaders countywide, both public and private, to create a civic vision for the entire county that we can all embrace. It should include a list of priorities that we want to achieve together and include every economic sector and geography of our county. We need a common community vision that will inspire hope and encourage investment.

No science supports this list, and you might legitimately see it differently. We are trying to attract a variety of working families, and their priorities might all be slightly different. It is time to come together and search for solutions as a county. Let’s pool our time, talent, and treasure; roll up our sleeves, and get to work.

It is no surprise that most people go to their grave wondering if they made a difference, if they contributed, if they mattered.

Last week on Veteran’s Day, we celebrated a group who don’t have to ask that question. Their contributions are immeasurable, for their fight for FREEDOM –the freedom for which they sacrificed–IS NEVER FREE. It comes at a great price, the price these heroes paid.

Father Dennis Edward O’Brien, USMC, understood their importance. It was he who wrote the following: “It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the organizer, who gave us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, and who allows the protestor to burn the flag.”

The t-shirt worn by the man in the picture above is the same one we bought for our son, Adam’s, birthday this month. We were celebrating alongside the Afghanistan family who moved to Fort Scott last week.

Even they were touched by the shirt, for they knew first-hand about the sacrifices made over the past 20 years in an attempt to bring freedom to their country.

I am in a bi-weekly Bible study Zoom call with a group of Vietnam vets and their wives. In our last meeting, one of the ex-soldiers shared about the memorial services he and his wife are organizing for the families of Vietnam vets who never had a proper burial. We all listened in awe as he revealed the impact these services were having on loved ones.

Dale, the army veteran who leads us, spoke of Stan, the Vietnam soldier with whom this Zoom group platooned and who wrote of his experience in that war.

Helicopters dropped his group of U.S. soldiers off in a jungle, not knowing it was a bunker complex set up by the North Vietnamese. A round of bullets rang out. The first shot hit Stan’s chin. On the second stream, Stan felt a hot flash and was knocked on his back. He couldn’t find his M-16 machine gun but saw the men on both sides of him were dead. His right knee was shot out and his lung punctured. His arm was hanging by the skin at the top of his shoulder, most of the bone missing. Stan scooted on his back to try and find cover. A fellow soldier grabbed him under the armpits and dragged him to a nearby medic.

After surgery and I.C.U., he was told that shrapnel had taken half of his liver. The soldier’s personal belongings—including his New Testament Bible—were brought to his hospital bed. The second bullet had penetrated his pocket-sized Bible which he carried in his jacket pocket. Its tip was lodged at 2 Corinthians 5:7: For we walk by faith, not by sight. That Bible had saved his life…literally.

Today, Groveport Heritage Museum displays that Bible. Look at that t-shirt again. We never will know the hidden stories of what our military men and women went through to protect us.

Let’s make it a habit to show our appreciation…not just on Veteran’s Day but every day.

Keys to the Kingdom

I distinctly remember my Mom pulling our 1959 Chevy Impala into the gas station and telling the friendly attendant, “Two dollars worth please.“ While the gas was pumping, he would wash the windshield and check the oil. This incident happened around 1966 when I was just a little kid growing up in Missouri. Two dollars of gas didn’t fill up the tank, but it would get us to the grocery store and church several times and probably make a trip to Greenfield to see relatives.

What are you full of? Where I come from, an individual can be full of baloney but I don’t recommend it if you’re a Christ follower. Your testimony won’t amount to anything if you aren’t trustworthy nor speak the truth. And I wouldn’t recommend being full of yourself either — that’s a big turnoff. God‘s Word instructs us to be full of God. “…So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19 NASB).

Believers should have a burning desire to be full of their heavenly Father and represent Him well. If we’re full of God, then we’re full of love and that’s a big drawing card that never fails. We can draw people to Christ Jesus by simply loving on them. “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them” (1 John 4:16 NLT).

I remember my Dad cautioning me to be careful at the gas pump and not accidentally fill my tank with diesel instead of unleaded. It’s not a good thing to be filled with the wrong stuff. The New Testament states that a person can be filled with drunkenness, fear, madness, lies, indignation, envy, confusion, and unrighteousness, just to name a few. I ran out of gas a couple of times in the ‘70s and that was a bad deal. There were no cell phones, so I had to hitch a ride to the nearest gas station to fill a borrowed gas can. When I returned to my vehicle and poured the gas in the tank, I had to make sure I’d saved a little bit to pour into the carburetor or it wouldn‘t start.

It’s important for Christians to keep a sharp eye on their spiritual gas gauge. We need to keep our tanks full; we can do that by daily studying God’s Word, living out worship, communing in prayer, being a faithful church partner, and practicing love. Mary’s Song of Praise contained these words, “He has filled the hungry with good things” (Luke 1:53 NLT). Some of those good things are wisdom, joy, all knowledge, comfort, all the fullness of God, and fruits of righteousness, just to name a few. We should be so full of God that love pours all over everyone we’re around.

A believer with an empty love tank simply isn’t in top working condition. And a ‘65 Stingray is disappointing without fuel — that machine was made to run! Christ followers were made to love, so let‘s fill ‘er up and get to loving on people!

The Key: Watch your spiritual gas gauge and keep your love tank filled up.

“Hiring for all positions.” “Immediate openings.” “Career opportunities, inquire within.” We have all seen the signs everywhere. Why can’t employers fill positions? Is the economy really that hot? What is going on?

While the economy is experiencing growth, it really can’t be described as “hot.” In September, the U.S. had 5 million fewer jobs than it had before the pandemic, based on Labor Department data. Yet, employers have reported high rates of unfilled openings. Hiring difficulties have also increased competition for workers and put upward pressure on wages. Across the economy, there were 10.4 million unfilled jobs at the end of August, according to the Labor Department, exceeding the roughly 8.4 million unemployed Americans looking for work.

In the near-term, the number one reason why we are shorthanded nationwide is the increasing retirement rate among Baby Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964). Until this year, the overall number of retired Boomers had been growing annually by about 2 million on average since 2011 (the year the oldest Boomer reached age 65); in this last year ending September 30, the number was 3.2 million, bringing the total number of retired Americans to 28.6 million. Apparently the pandemic accelerated the retirement decision for many Boomers at just the wrong time for our economy.

Another trend that has aggravated our labor shortage is the declining birth rate. The American birth rate has fallen from 24.268 births per 1,000 in 1950 to 12.001 in 2020; less than half. As a percentage of the whole, there are simply fewer young people coming into the labor force every year.

Additionally, the labor force participation rate has dropped significantly in recent years. The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population 16 years and older who are working or actively looking for work. This measurement has been dropping and stood at 66.1% before the Great Recession of 2007 caused the rate to fall to an all-time low of 58.2% in 2010. We have recovered to a rate of 61.7% in June of this year, but it remains 1.7 percentage points below the pre-pandemic level of 63.4%.

Why are fewer working age Americans wanting to work? No one knows for sure, but speculation points to the increases in the social safety net, the difficulty of finding day care, the increasing need for care of the elderly, and a change in the work ethic, to name a few.

The bottom line is that employers will go where there is workforce. To attract and retain employers, we will have to grow our workforce in rural America. Bourbon County REDI is focused on how we can make our communities more attractive to the workforce we need. More on that in my next column.

“Jenn,” I spoke with urgency to my daughter-in-law, “there’s a terrible storm headed our way. It will be here in the next 30 minutes. Large hail is expected, so people and animals are to find protection.”

It was evening, and Dave and I had returned from Jenn’s house and were watching television when the alarm trailed across the bottom of our screen. There were no phone notifications and no rain in the area, but Bourbon and Vernon County clearly were listed as areas of potential damage. I hustled outside to anchor our deck furniture.

Soon, Jenn called me back, questioning why her television gave no warning. “I don’t know, but I’m reading it right now,” I said. Without delay, I made plans to go to the basement to safety, reminding Dave to grab shoes with solid soles in case a tornado lifted our house from its footings and we had to walk through glass and debris. Dave, also without delay, made no attempt to leave his easy chair where he was watching football replays.

Clearly, my southern California-raised husband had no respect for the death sentence a storm warning could be. One more look at the television caused concern. “Dave, it says this warning is good until 7:00 P.M. But it’s 9:15. How can that be?”

By now, you’ve probably figured out what I had not. Dave and I were watching a DVR of a football game we had taped from a week before. It was an embarrassing retraction to explain my goof to my daughter-in-law who, of course, found it hysterical.

Let’s face it. In this age, warning systems are common. We in the Midwest are not unaware of tornado sirens. Waterfront countries have Tsunami Warning Systems. Amber Alerts and Silver Alerts awaken us in the middle of the night. Irons caution that they are hot, and plastic bags inform that they can suffocate. Never have there been as many warning signs as today.

Starting with the Old Testament, warnings have been common. Prophets such as Ezekiel, Isaiah and Daniel provided writings calling the Israelites to repentance. Noah begged his neighbors to board the ark. Moses gave the Israelites a kajillion warnings to stay true to the one, true God. Jesus admonished his followers against sin and evil by saying, “Watch out! Be on guard.” (Luke 12:15).  John 8:24 cautions everyone: “If you do not believe (Jesus is the Savior), you will die in your sins.”

More recently, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, wrote of a danger to our times: “On another level, a tsunami of sin is rising in our world. Old convictions and standards are being swept away right before our very eyes. Behavior that was once considered immoral is now openly flaunted and widely accepted. The winds of change are blowing all around us, and alarming things lie just over the horizon…It is time for us to take our stand, face what is approaching and open our mouths to sound the warning.”

Unlike my false DVR warning, some need to be taken seriously.

Jesus is coming back. Either we are ready or not, and this, dear readers, will be no respecter of the time or day.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

When I was about seven years old, my Dad borrowed our neighbor’s Shetland pony for the evening.

When I mounted that thing, he was totally uncontrollable and headed for every low-lying branch on our place. He dragged me off his back and I landed hard on the ground seven times. That Shetland had a mean streak a mile long and by the end of the night I pretty-much hated him.

I can’t say exactly what the point of this episode was but, because Dad was a horse lover, I think it was to see if I’d be interested in riding horses. I’m happy to say he never borrowed that crazy little hairy varmint again.

That Shetland pony was a really bad representation of what a good horse is like. I’m glad I didn’t give up on all horses, thinking they were all alike. If I would have had that wrong mindset, I would have never ridden a horse again, and I would’ve missed out on wonderful times with my father.

We enjoyed riding around the Hayward Rancho where I learned the difference between a running walk and a foxtrot. We were members of the Stockton Saddle Club and trailered our horses to the arena to ride with our friends on Monday nights. We rode together in the Stockton Walnut Festival parade and went on trail rides. Spending time with my Dad was a very special benefit for me. I wouldn’t trade those experiences and memories for a farm in Texas or all the gold in California.

Not all Christians are alike either. I’m very saddened when I hear this scenario: Q: “Where do you go to church?” A: “I don’t go to church. I used to, but someone offended me and I’ve never been back. All Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites.”

Unfortunately, this similar conversation is repeated by people all over the world.

It’s true that Christians are not perfect in everything we do or say all the time. But serious Christ followers have a perfect heart toward pleasing their heavenly Father. “But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said,’ I have found David son of Jesse, a man after My own heart. He will do everything I want him to do’” (Acts 13:22 NLT). King David loved God with all his heart. However, there were a few times he didn‘t do everything right. But because his heart was tender toward his heavenly Father, David repented, practiced obedience, and did mighty exploits for God’s Kingdom.

If I’ve got a box of truffles and one piece is messed up, it’s not going to keep me from enjoying the rest of the chocolates. If Mom burned the biscuits once, that’s not going to stop me from eating future mouth-watering biscuits that are baked to perfection. Give the devil a black eye and do yourself a favor — receive the imperfect and loving people that God has placed on your trail to lead you home.

Don’t miss out on the wonderfully- blessed life you were designed to have with your heavenly Father.

If you’ve been thrown for a loop, get back in the saddle again and ride into a personal relationship with Jesus. You can grow and enjoy the trail ride with other like-minded and like-hearted believers.

When your horse throws a shoe, you don’t shoot the horse! You make the necessary repairs and replace the shoe. You keep on riding the trail with all the others. When you’ve got the best Trail Boss and a lot of friendly imperfect riders to help you along, you’ll eventually get to your destination even if you’re riding drag.

The Key: Genuine representations of Christ are everywhere and they’re in the church too.

In the news and on social media, one often hears phrases such as “tax the rich” and “the rich should pay their fair share.” It seems fair that the wealthy pay most of the taxes because they don’t need all that extra money. Is it good to have a large number of high income and high net worth Americans? How much do the rich pay? Is taxing the rich the answer to our deficit?

Let me start with the last question first; if every American who made over $1 million per year paid 100% of their income in taxes, the IRS would take in about $612 billion. This number represents about one-third of our deficit; the Federal government could not even balance the budget with a 100% tax on high earners. By itself, the “tax the rich” approach is not the answer.

How much do the rich pay? According to an August 2021 report by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, the top 1% of earners pay 40% of all taxes collected, the next 38% of earners pay 60% of all taxes, and the bottom 61% of American households paid zero taxes in 2020. That means that over 100 million Americans paid no income tax in 2020.

The new proposal by the majority party in Congress this year is to tax the accumulated wealth of Americans. For example, when the stock price of Tesla goes up, Elon Musk becomes wealthier, but does not pay taxes on the growth because he has not sold the stock. Accordingly, when your 401K goes up in value, the IRS will expect you to send a percentage of this unrealized gain in with your income tax due. Conversely, can you imagine the government sending out large refund checks to millions of Americans when stock prices fall like they did in 2008?

Why is accumulated wealth a good thing for all Americans? Because that is where the bulk of the investment capital comes from to grow existing businesses and start new ones. Without the investment of cash by a handful of Bourbon County residents who had accumulated wealth, we would not have the Sleep Inn. Some of our large businesses like Ward-Kraft, Extrusions, and Peerless would not have had the capital to expand and diversify their product offerings as they have done in recent years. Noble Health would not be in a position to reopen our hospital without the accumulated wealth of the company and its owners. Excess cash by the rich puts the capital in capitalism.

For economic development to occur in Bourbon County, we need people with accumulated wealth to invest in us. Yes, we can apply for grants, and we have. However, sustained economic growth is accomplished by those with accumulated wealth who believe in our communities and want to invest in who we are and what we can be. We over-tax the rich to our peril.

Dave, my husband, is struggling with Alexa, our know-it-all internet gadget given to us by one of our sons. When Alexa hears her name, a white light spins around her top, letting us know that she is ready to respond. Last night, Dave and I were trying to recall the name of the new movie about Serena and Venus Williams’ upbringing. “Alexa,” Dave said, “What new movie will soon be released that is about Serena Williams and her family?”
“Too many words,” I told him. Alexa: “I don’t understand your question.” Me: “That’s because you used too many words,” I offered. Dave: “Alexa, what new movie will be coming out soon that is about the Williams’ tennis sisters and their family?” Me: “Much better,” I said, trying not to laugh. Alexa muttered something about Serena Williams’ most recent tennis tournament. Dave: “Could you hear her?” (I could not.) “How do I tell her that I can’t hear her?” Me: “Tell her that you can’t hear her. Or maybe you could just Google your question and get a faster answer.” Dave was not about to lose this competition. “Serena, please speak louder. No, I don’t mean Serena. I mean Alexa. Alexa, please speak louder.” Me: “Definitely improving. Much shorter sentences.” At this point, I cracked up. After two more attempts, Alexa admitted that she did not have an answer for us. Dave thanked her anyway, and she responded, “No problem.” “You thanked her for trying?” I asked. “She’s a machine. She’s not your friend.” “You never know,” Dave muttered, texting his question to Google. Alexa, like the rest of us, has her limitations. Sometimes she interrupts our conversations, even when she’s not invited. She doesn’t hear all. She doesn’t see all. She doesn’t know all. Most of the time she tries to help, but often, she can’t. As one of my friends said, “Well, she isn’t God, you know.” And my friend is right, even though it’s hard to fathom that God knows everything. He knows how many hairs are on our heads, the number of days of our lives, what we are thinking, how we will die and where we will spend eternity. No one has ever lived who understands life as He, our Creator, does. I love the (yes, over-told) story of the group of scientists who decided that man no longer needed God. So, they picked one scientist to go and tell Him so. The scientist walked up to God and said, “God, we’re at the point that we can clone people and do miraculous things; we don’t need you here anymore, so you can go your way. ” God listened patiently to the man and then responded, “Very well, but how about this? Let’s say we have a man-making contest just like we did in the old days with Adam.” The scientist replied, “Okay, great!” and then bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt. God looked at him and said, “There’s just one slight problem here. Get your own dirt!” This morning, Dave Googled his tennis question and learned the Williams’ movie is King Richard. While he was figuring out how to word his question, I asked Alexa to “play contemporary Christian music.” Four words. That’s all. Alexa obliged. Sometimes you just have to know how to ask.

Keys to the Kingdom by Carolyn Tucker

I had drastically overused my left shoulder awhile back, so I made an appointment for a therapeutic massage. During my “first-time-ever” session, I could tell the massage therapist/friend knew exactly what she was doing. She had the proper training and several years of experience under her belt. The massage kinda hurt but helped my shoulder all at the same time, so I scheduled another appointment because I’m not a wimp!

God’s Word can also help and hurt all at the same time. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16,17 NLT).

Forty years ago, you possibly heard this statement during the sermon, “Say ouch or amen!” In the 1980s, I remember my pastor often saying, “You’ve got to love me enough to get to heaven,” when he would preach a hard truth. And then there would be times when some parishioners would shake the pastor’s hand and say, “You stepped on my toes today!” Not every message from the pulpit is easy to swallow, or what you want to hear, but it’s what you need to hear in order to become a mature Christ follower.

It’s not just apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers that deliver messages. My current pastor recently reminded us, “You are preaching a gospel — I hope it’s the right thing.“ That one adage should give all believers something to chew on until our last day on earth. Our attitudes, actions, reactions, habits, hobbies, and casual conversations are sending messages to everyone we’re around. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where people place their loyalties.

Do we believers have enough of Jesus to rub off on anybody? As a teen in high school, I worked in the kitchen at a restaurant. When I got off work, I smelled like I’d had a hamburger-grease massage because I was completely saturated in it. Honestly, Christians should have enough Jesus in them to affect everyone they’re around. We should be so overflowing with Jesus that His love permeates the very space we’re occupying.

The Word of God is a bit like pouring antiseptic on an owie. It’s necessary to clean the wound (which stings), but it begins the crucial healing process. Believers should never shy away from the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Conviction is simply God’s mercy speaking to our heart when we need to make a change in our life. It’s important to respond quickly by obeying God in whatever He‘s telling us to do or not do.

My shoulder and spiritual muscles need to be in first-rate condition, so I‘m willing to go through some discomfort in order to be whole and strong. The Word of God shows us the right way to navigate life. As we read and study the scriptures, we may sometimes think, “Ouch!“ But we should be thankful God is showing us how to come up higher and get in tip-top shape to do His good work.

The Key: God’s Word is beneficial for teaching, conviction, correction, and instruction. Amen.

Our community created a land bank earlier this year, but few know about it and even fewer know what it is and why we did it. I agreed serve on the board when it was organized because I believe it is a valuable tool to help us address some of our challenges in residential real estate and commercial buildings in the county’s downtown areas.

Why a land bank?

Land banks can play a number of different roles including, (a) providing a mechanism for assembling parcels of tax-delinquent or abandoned properties for redevelopment, (b) acquiring and holding historic properties until the community can develop them, and (c) acquiring properties to convert to other uses such as retail, parks, or housing.

In addition to acquiring and holding land, land banks can maintain, rehabilitate, demolish, and lease or sell property.

Land banks are most commonly established in localities like Bourbon County with low housing costs and an inventory of tax-delinquent properties that the community wants to repurpose to support community goals.

Additionally, a land bank is great vehicle to create public/private/charitable partnerships in order to address difficult issues such as the market value gap between costs to construct and appraised value after the improvements are completed.

It is a great way to involve real estate expertise that might not be possessed by local governments.

It can also be an entity under which a community land trust is formed for the purpose of providing a community with a permanent and increasing level of affordable housing.

The Eagle Block buildings were the original motivation to initiate this drawing board idea that had been discussed for a few years.

Unfortunately, we were too late to save that historical structure, having been formed just a few weeks before the building collapsed. That building might still be standing, along with its neighbor, if we would have formed the land bank a few years ago; I am thankful that our current commissions had the vision to act, even though it was too late for the Eagle Block.

How could a land bank have saved the Eagle Block buildings? By working closely with the city to enforce codes and hold owners of buildings in the historical district to their responsibility to preserve and protect these irreplaceable memorials to our community’s history.

We have just started and it will take some time to create effective processes. These are the kinds of initiatives that we need to help Bourbon County be all that we can be. Look for the land bank to do good things in the years to come.