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Tag Archives: featured
If Federal Government Shut Down Continues, SNAP Benefits For November Are In Question
Kansas Department for Children and Families Shares Update on Status of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Amid Ongoing Federal Government Shutdown
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) has received a letter from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) regarding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November amid the ongoing federal government shutdown. That letter to all states says that if a lapse in funding, caused by the shutdown, continues, there will not be enough money to pay full SNAP benefits for November.
The letter directs agencies to hold off on processing November benefits until further notice. Until a budget agreement or continuing resolution is reached at the federal level, or the federal government identifies a funding pathway, November SNAP benefits may be delayed or interrupted entirely. If no federal action is taken by October 28, 2025, November SNAP benefits will not be disbursed until the federal government reaches a resolution.
SNAP provides benefits for approximately 42 million people across the country. That includes a total distribution of more than $34.4 million to more than 93,000 Kansas households – nearly 188,000 Kansans – who depend on SNAP each month to help put food on their tables.
Impact on Kansans
This potential interruption in benefits comes at the start of the holiday season – an already busy time for food banks and food pantries helping people in need and when many children have days off from school without access to school meals.
DCF is monitoring the situation closely and is exploring what this may mean for Kansans. November benefits for current SNAP recipients are set to begin processing on October 28 and appearing on Kansas Benefits Cards beginning November 1-10 on an established staggered schedule based on last names. If an agreement is not reached by October 28, benefits could be delayed or suspended until the shutdown has ended.
“As soon as an agreement is reached or the federal government finds an alternative funding source, and DCF receives approval from FNS, we are prepared to act quickly with contracting partners to get benefits out to Kansans,” said DCF Secretary Laura Howard. “Depending on the timing of the approval, DCF and its partners could have benefits available on cards within 72 hours.”
October SNAP benefits were distributed as planned. At this time, SNAP recipients should continue using their October benefits as normal. SNAP recipients should continue meeting program requirements, including reporting required changes and completing recertifications.
DCF is continuing to process SNAP applications as usual. Applications can be accessed online at dcf.ks.gov or by visiting a local DCF service center. A map with service center locations can be found on dcf.ks.gov.
What happens next?
DCF is closely monitoring the impact the federal government shutdown is having on programs and services the agency delivers and will provide updates through its various communication channels as this situation evolves. Information about federal shutdown impacts on DCF programs and services is available at dcf.ks.gov.
Help for Kansans
For Kansans in need of additional support, Kansas Food Source, kansasfoodsource.org, and Harvesters.org provide locations of food banks and food pantries across the state. The United Way’s 211 hotline or website, 211.org, and 1-800-CHILDREN, 1800childrenks.com, also connects Kansans to resources in their communities.
The loss of federal funding places additional stress on Kansas food banks, pantries and meals programs, which are already strained to meet the needs of those who utilize them. Kansans wishing to help their local food resources can find those locations on the Kansas Food Source website, kansasfoodsource.org.
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Pulling Together For The Common Good
The U.S. Federal Government shut down is affecting areas not thought of previously.
During a city supervisor’s meeting last week, it was brought up in conversation that the Fort Scott National Historic Site’s lawn had not been mowed as usual.
“With the government shutdown the FSNHS, staff has not been allowed to work at the Fort, but the grass continues to grow,” said Brad Matkin, Fort Scott City Manager on the city’s Facebook page. “So I reached out to the FSNHS superintendent to see what kind of hoops we needed to jump through to enable us to mow the property. After a few days of government work we were given the OK to proceed with mowing, Knowing the weekend is going to be nice and visitors will be wanting to see the Fort in it’s beauty, the Parks Department and Chief Bruner took time out of their regular daily duties to go mow and weedeat the grounds. Thank you guys for your dedication.”
Norman Mackley, Fort Scott Park Department Supervisor, said “At a supervisors weekly meeting, I think, (Fort Scott Fire Chief) Dave Bruner volunteered. Then Dave contacted me.”
Thursday afternoon, October 16, Mackley and Parks Maintenance employee Paul Ballou, each took a 72 inch city lawn mower and spent about three hours mowing the Fort Scott National Historic Site lawn.
“I found out, there is more to mow than I thought,” Mackley said. “I estimate seven acres.”
On Friday, Bruner trimmed weeds and overgrown grass with a with a weed eater to keep the Fort lawn looking neat, and manicured, with trimming also from Mackley and Ballou.
Quarterly Downtown Meet and Greet Learns of Fall Happenings in Fort Scott
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Downtown Quarterly Meet and Greet is a meeting to share events and opportunities that are coming.
Stacy and Wayne Racy, owners of Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall, were introduced by Lindsey Madison, Chamber CEO.
The Racy’s took over ownership in May 2025, from the Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene, where they are members. Since then, they have been revamping the menu to some healthier options and featuring evening entertainment periodically. They are having a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the Honor Flights program for military veterans on Oct. 25 starting at 4 p.m. To learn more:
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=fort%20scott%20honor%20flights
Later than evening the coffee company will feature live music by Serenade at 7 p.m. on Oct. 25 Admission is free for this concert.
For updates on happenings at the coffee company: https://www.facebook.com/fscommonground/
Main Street Approach
The City of Fort Scott Housing and Community Development Coordinator Lisa Dillon spoke about work done on a possible Main Street Program designation. Main Street assists in developing strategies to revitalize or strengthen downtown areas.
The Main Street Program will give technical assistance, training, access to design services, available state and national grant funds and membership to the Main Street America Network, according to info provided by Dillon.
Dillon said it has proven to be successful for communities enhancing the downtown area, but there must be community engagement in the process.
“After meeting four times over the past six months to plan and discuss this effort, we’re now at the point of collecting letters of support for our application,” Dillon said later.
To create a letter of support:
Other news from the meeting:
- Fort Scott National Historic Site Superintendent Jill Jaworski told the group that the annual Christmas Candlelight Tour will proceed, but because of the government shut down during the planning season for the event, ” it may not be what it was in the past.” Tickets will go on sale on Nov. 1.
- The City of Fort is sponsoring a live music concert by Almost Kiss on Oct. 25 at 9 p.m. at the pavilion on North National Avenue, with costumes encouraged, said Rachel Carpenter, Special Project Coordinator.
- Carpenter also told of a new app that she is using that can tell how many visitors visited the city, for example: Fortfest 2025 had 2,500 visitors. Additionally, it can tell spots the visitors went to while here.
- The city is sponsoring Haunted Trails at Riverside Park on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Actors are still needed, those “who like to scare people.”
Contact Carpenter at 620-223-0550 Ext. 205.
- The annual children’s downtown Halloween Parade will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday Oct. 25, with preliminary fun activities and pizza and drink to end the event. Drink donations are appreciated. Call the Chamber of Commerce at 620.223.3566.
- Small business Saturday is November 29.
- The Christmas Parade is Thursday, December 4 with a theme of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.
- During Christmas on the Bricks festival event, stores will stay open late and entertainment will abound in the downtown. Diane Striler is the facilitator of this annual event. There will be a cookie making site, a wreath making site, a skating rink, carriage rides, a new event at the splash pad area for children, various alcoholic tasting spots around the downtown, a scavenger hunt and tree decorating contest among many others. See their Facebook page for more info: https://www.facebook.com/fortscottchristmasonthebricks
- The Chamber downtown map that has been in the making is nearing completion, Madison said.
- The Chamber Guide and Directory deadline is Oct. 31 for reviewing all info.
- There is a Chamber sponsored candidate forum on Oct. 22 at the Ellis Fine Arts Center at Fort Scott Community College, doors open at 5:30 p.m.
- Upcoming Chamber Coffees: 10/23 is First United Methodist Church, 10/30 is Fort Scott Area Community Foundation Grant Awards at Landmark Bank.
- There are E-community grants and Grow KS grants available: contact the Chamber for more details.
- The Cohn’s Fall Murder Mystery Dinner is Oct. 30.
Buy Tickets by calling 620-418-6209
or order online at
- The coffee bar at Hare and Crow Barber Shop opens soon.
Heirloom Corn Sheller Will Be Moving From PHF
An heirloom corn sheller that has been a part of the Pioneer Harvest Fiesta for many years, will not likely be there in the future.
The Pioneer Harvest Fiesta event showcases rural America in an earlier era. One can experience educational and historic exhibits, refreshments, and live musical entertainment all weekend this weekend.
The Kemmerer’s corn sheller been a part of the PHF since 2009 after it was taken back from the Illinois Agriculture Museum.
“It’s a 1-of-its-kind in the world.” said Jim Kemmerer Jr., grandson of one of the creators of the machine.
Jim and his dad, Jim Sr. thought that, eventually, neither of them would be demonstrating, and began a search of what to do next with it.
“Shortly after starting the search for a new home for the sheller, we found a couple of possible homes. One is the Iowa 80 of Walcott,Iowa, which is the world’s largest truck stop and has a fantastic truck museum! Or the Will County Thresherman’s Association (Will County, IL). The Will County group is similar to PHF. It’s also the county that the sheller was ‘born’ and used from, 1950 to 1995, and some of the members remember my grandfather and seeing the sheller in operation.”
“Due to the eagerness of the new home possibilities, the chance is very good that 2025 is the last year the sheller will participate in PHF,”Jim Jr. said.
For those who don’t know, a sheller was a farm machine that separates corn, grown on one’s farm, from the cob, husk, and dust.
“It does everything a combine does except pick the corn. Combines came after pickers and shellers. The name combine is short for combination, which a combine is a combination of a picker and sheller.”
Kemmerer is encouraging people to stop by to see the sheller at the event this weekend at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds.
About the PHF
The Pioneer Harvest Fiesta (PHF) is an annual Bourbon County event that takes place this year from October 3-5 at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds on South Horton Street in Fort Scott.
The event showcases rural American culture in an earlier time period.
To learn more: https://pioneerharvestfiesta.com/
The event kicks off with a parade of antique and classic farm implements and more, through Fort Scott’s historic downtown on Thursday, October 2, at 6 p.m., according to the PHF website.
All three days showcase steam engines, blacksmiths, food and Flea Market vendors, drag saw demonstrations, Tractors and Gas Engines on display, Baker Fan demonstrations, arts and crafts, straw baling, wheat threshing, corn husking and shelling, sorghum making, rock crushing, saw mill operation, Car Show, Tractor Pull (Antique & Classic), Garden Tractor Pull, and many more.
This year’s full weekend admission is only $5 per person and includes a collector button and the Friday Bean Feed at 5 PM. Children under age 12 are free.
Free admission does not include a collector button. Prior year’s collector buttons are available for purchase for $1.
History of the Corn Sheller Heirloom
The circa 1950 was built by Harold Kemmerer, Jim Sr.’s dad, and Lloyd Erickson from “junk and used parts.”
Harold Kemmerer was the owner and operator from Plainfield, Illinois.
Erickson was creator and patent holder of the first articulated four-wheel drive tractor.
“The sheller is a 1932 Le Moon truck lengthened four feet, with a 1944 Buda diesel from a Greyhound Bus from Chicago,” Jim Jr. said.
Farm Collector Magazine featured the sheller in an 2020 article
3-31-20 Farm Collector Homemade Corn Sheller Built to Work
View Jim Kemmerer’s YouTube channel to see videos from a corn shelling job in August 1985. This was a trial job after reclaiming it from the Illinois Agriculture Museum in 2008.
Other facts about the machine:
“Only four new items ever used on it,” he said. “New items and when installed were:
-
- 1950, a Joliet Big 6 Corn Sheller and a transfer case.
- 1952, a Reeves Variable Speed Industrial Transmission which uses a wooden belt.
- 1965, a Frantz Oil Filter System. That was also the last time the oil was changed.
“It was used from 1950 to 1995, it has shelled between 14 and 16 million bushels. That can fill the world’s second-largest elevator which is located in Enid, OK,” Jim Jr. said.
Other facts about the sheller:
-
- Motor has never been rebuilt, and it can be started with a flame.
- Still street-legal, with a maximum speed of 32 MPH.
- It can shell up to 1,800 bushels per hour.
- It weighs 13,480 lbs. 5 feet tall, 30 feet long when folded up, up to over 100’ long when used in a linear set-up.
- The only electric items are the lights and starter. No power steering or power brakes.
- It can be demonstrated with or without running corn through it. We have a binder of information to help with demonstrations. We also can hang signage from the sheller which explains history and components.”
- Kemmerer corn sheller videos can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NroTC5J44s&list=PLL3NXNyTZRWOX3jhAOqI-fA0PPJAgrpJ9&pp=gAQBiAQB.
Fort Scott Manor Is Turned Into Standard Market Apartments
Fort Scottians need more apartments, and a Kansas contractor is turning a former nursing home, which has been vacant for several years, into new rentals after a complete renovation of the property.
The former Fort Scott Manor nursing home property, 736 Heylman, was purchased by Rural Asset Management (RAM) in January 2022, after being closed down by the state several years prior.
The new name for the Fort Scott property is Charlotte Place, RAM Owner Shane Lamb said, adding that his children pick the name of the business’s properties.
The first four units are slated for rental availability in late October, said Lamb, if all goes as planned.
Work started on the property, then halted to finish a similar Iola project in March 2025.
“It’s coming together, it’s been an intensive and costly project, and it should be nice when done,” he said. “Our goal is to be the nicest apartments in the community we are in, and to keep it affordable.”
There will be 24 units: one-bedroom, one-bath apartments are 550-626 square feet with a range of $650-695 per month, two-bedroom apartments are between 700-1000 square feet with a range of $800 to 875, and there will be a 500 square foot studio apartment for short-term rentals, Lamb said.
“The short-term rental, a couple of local businesses want to lease for their staff,” Lamb said.
The apartments will feature new appliances, including a stove, above-stove microwave, and fridge, and will be equipped with fiber optic internet availability.
Tenants will pay rent and their electric bill; the landlord pays for the water, trash, and sewer service.
There will be a brand new on-site laundry provided for the tenants.
Additionally, “there will be a pet-friendly fenced-in area in the back of the apartments,” he said.
These apartments will not be low-income rentals, but instead will be available to the standard market, said Lamb.
“The standard market means that they are not subsidized by the government,” Lamb said.
About Rural Asset Management
RAM focuses on rural towns and rural housing, purchasing nursing homes, schools, and hospitals that are converted to housing, according to a prior interview with Lamb.
“We currently have 13 projects under construction in rural communities,” he said. “We typically supply 300-600 apartments per year in rural communities.”
Jake Stevenson Will Open Rogers RBW Body Shop on September 22
Jake Stevenson has purchased the Rogers Body Shop that closed in April this year and renamed it Rogers RBW.
“When I heard Larry Rogers was going to retire, I was interested,” Stevenson said.
For three generations, the Stevensons have been in the vehicle body repair industry and have operated a body repair shop in Richmond, KS, for 42 years. Richmond is north of Garnett.
They will still operate the Richmond Body Works in Richmond and operate the Rogers RBW, Stevenson said. He will be bringing three employees from that facility to Fort Scott to work, and in addition, is interviewing for more.
He is retaining the Rogers name as part of the new business venture, and Larry Rogers was helping him with finishing details on the facility on September 17.
Stevenson purchased the shop from Rogers on August 15 and has been updating the building and equipment since then.
The services they offer the community are paint and body repair, mostly with insurance claims, but they will also do private pay.
On Monday, September 22, Stevenson will open the office of the business and start bringing cars in, he said.
A Chamber of Commerce Coffee is scheduled for October 9.
The shop is located at 120 W. 19th, and the phone number is 620.223.0380.
Ninety-Six People Became Citizens Today at a Federal Ceremony at the Fort
Ninety-six people from 44 countries became new American citizens today at Fort Scott National Historic Site in a U.S. District Court of Kansas Naturalization proceeding.
The humidity of this beautiful September day made the ceremony a little stifling.
The citizens were welcomed by local, state, and federal officials, listened to the Fort Scott High School Orchestra students play patriotic songs, were introduced by their county of origin, pledged an oath of allegiance to their new country, and took numerous photos of the event.
Representatives of the Kansas Secretary of State were on hand so the new citizens could register to vote, following the ceremony.
Annual Blues Festival is Sept. 26-27 in Fort Scott
Blues Music weekend is here.
The weekend of Sept. 26-27, the Care to Share Fortfest25 will be at Riverfront Park on North National Avenue in Fort Scott.
The event is free, but donations are accepted for Care to Share, a local helping organization for cancer survivors and their families.
“The kids’ fair will be bigger than ever with bouncy houses and more games,” said an organizer, Cory Bryers. “It’s all new bands with the same format as previous years. New this year is that the bike show and car show are the same day, Saturday, Sept. 27.”
A transplant from the Kansas City area, Bryers started this event in September 2022 on his property. Blues Festival Coming to Fort Scott Sept. 24. He and his wife, Cecelia, are Blues Music fans and moved to the area in 2021.
Friday evening, there will be performances starting at 6 p.m. by Bridget and Her Bandoliers from the K.C. area, followed by The Spooklights from Southwest Missouri.
On Saturday, there will be performances starting at 1 p.m.by Meaza Joy from Washington, MO; Martin and the Dead Guys from Florida and Independence, KS; Amanda Fish, Nashville; and Randy McAllister, Texas.
Saturday morning will be a car show, followed by a bike show. Saturday afternoon will be the kids’ fair, arts and crafts fair, food and drink, and of course, Blues Music.
Riverside Park is located by the Marmaton River and has lots of shade trees, so bring your family and friends, along with chairs/blankets/bug spray, AND a donation to Care to Share. Small coolers are welcome.
Care to Share is a well-known and respected organization that helps local cancer survivors and their families with needs they may have in their battle with the disease.
The Pioneer Harvest Fiesta Offers New Fiber Arts Show
The Pioneer Harvest Fiesta (PHF) is an annual Bourbon County event that takes place this year from October 3-5 at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds on South Horton Street in Fort Scott.
The event showcases rural American culture in an earlier time period.
To learn more: https://pioneerharvestfiesta.com/
The event kicks off with a parade of antique and classic farm implements and more, through Fort Scott’s historic downtown on Thursday, October 2, at 6 p.m., according to the PHF website.
One can experience educational and historic exhibits, refreshments, and live musical entertainment all weekend.
All three days showcase steam engines, blacksmiths, food and Flea Market vendors, drag saw demonstrations, Tractors and Gas Engines on display, Baker Fan demonstrations, arts and crafts, straw baling, wheat threshing, corn husking and shelling, sorghum making, rock crushing, saw mill operation, Car Show, Tractor Pull (Antique & Classic), Garden Tractor Pull, and many more.
This year’s full weekend admission is only $5 per person and includes a collector button and the Friday Bean Feed at 5 PM. Children under age 12 are free.
Free admission does not include a collector button. Prior year’s collector buttons are available for purchase for $1.
One of the new additions to the event is a fiber arts show in conjunction with the annual quilt show.
New Craft Added
The PHF quilt show has a new name this year and a new direction. The Quilt and Fiber Arts Show will feature beautiful quilts as usual, and will also showcase examples of various fiber arts, according to a press release from Linda Rogers, a local quilter.
Fiber art is work done with thread, yarn, fiber, or fabric, according to Rogers. Examples of fiber art include weaving, rug hooking, spinning, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, needlepoint, cross-stitching, tatting, needle felting, macramé, and more.
Area quilters and fiber artists are invited to enter items for the show to be held October 3-5 at the Myers Building at the Bourbon County Fairground during the annual Pioneer Harvest Fiesta. This event is free to the public.
“Anyone may enter items not previously shown at this show, no limit on the number of items, and the public is invited to view the entries at NO COST! (There is an entry fee for the machinery show.)” said Linda Rogers, this year’s quilt and fiber arts organizer at the annual event.
In addition to the exhibits, fiber artists will be present at various times during the show, working on their current projects. The public is invited to drop in, view the exhibits, talk to the artists, and bring their needlework projects to work on, according to Rogers.
“Generations ago, quilting and needlework were necessary skills,” she said. “These traditional crafts continued to be kept alive by many of our grandmothers and mothers who, although they no longer needed to make things, nevertheless enjoyed filling their spare time with creative pursuits.”
Recently, quilting and traditional crafts have been “rediscovered” by new generations of enthusiastic fans and are sometimes referred to as “granny crafts” or “Grandma Core”, she said.
“In our hyper-connected, technology-driven world, both adults and youth are finding the simple joy and calm that comes from working with colors and textures to create something tangible with their own hands, according to the press release.”
“A quilt and fiber arts show is a wonderful place to come be inspired, encouraged, and tempted,” said Rogers.“You will see some fantastic quilts, some showcasing new techniques and contemporary colors, as well as more traditional quilts. And if you are thinking about taking up a new craft, or if you are in the middle of a needlework project and have hit a roadblock, maybe one of our quilters or artisans can make suggestions to help you.”
The “take-in” time to enter quilts and items for exhibit is Thursday, October 2, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There is no fee to exhibit items. The only award that will take place is a “People’s Choice Award”. Items can be picked up on Sunday, October 5, from 2:30 to 3:00.
The Quilt and Fiber Arts Show will be open for public viewing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, October 3, and Saturday, October 4, and on Sunday, October 5, from noon to 2:00. Admittance to the quilt show is free. For more information, contact Rogers at 620-215-4905.
Rogers is entering a quilt that was pieced by an ancestor of hers, and gives the details:
History of Linda Ramsey Roger’s Family Vintage Quilt
Quilts often become heirlooms, taken care of and handed down to generations after their creation. Such is the case with Linda Ramsey Roger’s quilt, which was created in 1864.
“Information below is taken from a handwritten note, written by my great-grandmother, Alice Ann (Hinton) Konantz, concerning the quilt, other death dates of my family, and an email sent to me from my 1st cousin, who gifted the quilt to me.
*1864 – Charlotte (Hinton) Hinton (great-great-grandmother), age 23, pieced and appliqued the quilt while living in Iowa. Her daughter, Alice Ann, recalls in a note remembering her mother working on it when she was 7 years old. Charlotte died later that year, and shortly after, she and her dad moved to Bourbon County, Kansas.
*1923 – Alice Ann (Hinton) Konantz (great-grandmother), age 66, had it hand quilted by the Methodist Episcopal Ladies Aid, which Rogers reckons is the United Methodist Church of Uniontown.
1933 – Alice Konantz wrote the *note telling the above information.
1940 – Alice Konantz died at 83 years old. “Most likely the quilt passed to my grandmother, Grace Miriam (Konantz) Griffith.”
1982 – Grace Miriam Griffith died at age 84. “Most likely the quilt passed to her oldest living daughter, my aunt, Betty Jane (Griffith) Perry, while living in Montana.”
1999 -Her Aunt Betty gifted the quilt to her oldest daughter, Kathleen (Perry) Martinell, Roger’s first cousin, who still resides in Montana.
2024 – Kathleen gifted the quilt to Rogers, who lives in Bourbon County, Kansas.
Opinion: How Big of Government Do You Want?
I was recently in another state visiting a county, not all that different from Bourbon, and looked at their taxes. Property taxes were double what I pay in Bourbon County for a house with a similar appraised value. As high as taxes seem locally, there are places that have grown the size of their government to where they are much higher.
When confronted with the fact that other people are paying twice as much in property taxes, you probably had one of two reactions. If you like bigger government, you might think, “Wow, think how much more our county could spend if we could double property taxes!” If you like smaller government, you probably think, “Wow, how do we keep our county from becoming like that?”
A few months before George Washington took office, Jefferson wrote, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground.” Whether you fall into the “bigger government is better” camp, or you are aligned with “smaller is better,” Jefferson’s quote gives you a blueprint. If you want a bigger, more powerful government, you simply have to let government take its natural course and undermine efforts by anyone who wants to prioritize liberty that would constrain government growth and spending.
On the other hand, if you want a small government, you have a much harder job. Why is it so much harder? You have to be willing to give up having control of some things that you consider good, in exchange for keeping government small.
For example, if Bob built his house right next to his neighbor’s property line and the neighbor decides his life goal is crossing roosters, guineas, and emus to try to set a world record for the world’s loudest bird, Bob might be inclined to support some type of county-wide noise ordinance.
If Jane really wants a county-run indoor skydiving facility, she might be inclined to support a new sales tax so she can get other people to pay for it. If John feels that the ~$20,000 spent on his little Johnny in the public school is half as much as he’d like to see spent, he might support dramatic increases in property taxes to drive it up to $40,000—especially if John doesn’t own much property and thinks the burden will fall more on his neighbors.
While those may seem like silly examples (though I have heard people supporting the school spending one), they illustrate the fact that everyone has things they would like to see the government demand of or take from their neighbor.
This is the natural progression that Jefferson describes. Citizens that think controlling or taking money from their neighbor is more important than keeping government small will end up with a very large government and a large tax bill. Citizens that feel that their neighbor’s liberty is more important than their own personal convenience have a shot at keeping government small and their tax bill constrained.
This is one of the reasons I am opposed to Bourbon County exceeding the revenue-neutral rate. Spending has grown by 11.2% over the last two years. If we start by asking “What do we want to pay for?” the budget will always go up. If we start by saying, “Here is how much we have to spend,” then careful prioritization will make sure we retain the most important functions while constraining the growth of government.
This is also one of the reasons I’m opposed to the commissioners’ current efforts to implement zoning in Bourbon County. While I can see some ways that zoning might be beneficial, even some things that would benefit me personally, making the county government even bigger in our current situation comes with a cost, both in dollars and loss of freedom, that far outweighs any benefit.
Mark Shead
Note: FortScott.biz publishes opinion pieces with a variety of perspectives. If you would like to share your opinion, please send a letter to [email protected].
Fall Music Series Starts Sept. 27 at Common Ground Coffee Shop
The Sept. 13 Concert listed on this flyer is cancelled due to the illness of the performers.
Fall Music at Common Ground Coffee Shop, 12 E. Wall, is back.
“Bring a friend, grab your favorite latte, and enjoy the sound of fall at Common Ground,” said shop owner Stacy Racy. “We decided a couple of months ago to bring back the Fall Concert Series. We’ve done it in the past and it’s been well received, so we’re excited to do it again.”
“Join us this fall for evenings filled with live music, cozy drinks, and community vibes,” she said.
The live music shows are from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday evenings, and all ages are welcome.
Upcoming Shows:
The September 13 – Jesse Jack & The Electric String Band was cancelled due to illness.
September 27 – Vinyl Revival
October 11-Jerico Jones
October 25- Serenade
“We’ll have drinks, cookies, and food available for people to enjoy while they listen,’ she said. “We have some amazing local and regional musicians we love listening to, and we thought this would be a great way to give the community something to do on Saturday evenings through the fall.”
Music lovers might want to try some of the new menu items offered by the coffee shop staff as they listen to the music in the large stage area in a room adjacent to the public seating area.
“Our new menu items are going really well – that’s the biggest new thing right now, and we’re excited about the community response.”
For the live music nights, they will have their flatbreads, paninis, and chicken salad sandwiches along with cookies and drinks available for purchase, she said.
