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Historian presents info on Tommy gun
Local historian Arnold Schofield was called into the Bourbon County Commission room to answer questions regarding the 1921 Thompson sub-machine gun that Bourbon County Sheriff Bill Martin is thinking about selling.
Bourbon County Commission Chairwoman Barbara Albright received a call from a local television reporter during the meeting regarding the gun, and Commissioner Harold Coleman noticed that Schofield was on the second floor of the courthouse for other business.
They called Schofield in to field history questions from the TV reporter, and put the conversation on speaker phone.
"This weapon is unique," Schofield said. "They have complete documentation of the history of it in Bourbon County. There are probably very few of them left today. Very few left that have historical documents to go with it. It's Kansas and Bourbon County history."
The history of the gun starts in the 1920s and 1930s when there was a crime spree across the country, Schofield said.
"The governor of Kansas decided he was going to issue one of these weapons...for local sheriff's departments to have equal weapons (to the criminals)," Schofield said. "They used some like these in World War II and Vietnam. My concern is that a piece of local history leaves (the county)."
Schofield said he has seen this type of machine gun sell from between $55,000 to $75,000, depending on its condition.
"This one through its' provenance makes it very rare," he said. "I don't think you can put a price on that kind of history."
"My hope is the sheriff and the commission can find another way to modernize the department," Schofield said.
He would like to see it displayed for the public to view, he said.
"Several senior gentlemen...have stopped me," Schofield said. "They said we should keep the gun here."
Albright said she was not aware of the gun until the sheriff said he'd like to sell it to get equipment for his department.
"The sheriff has the final say," Albright said.
Schofield appears again
Arnold Schofield came a little later in the morning to the commission to ask him to authorize him to fill out a preliminary questionnaire from the Kansas Historical Society (KHS) to nominate the Bourbon County Courthouse for the National Register of Historical Places.
Following the lunch break, Schofield came again to the commission to tell them he had made a mistake.
The Fort Scott Downtown Historic District, including the courthouse, is already on the National Register of Historic Places.
Therefore, Schofield said, the commission could apply for a Heritage Trust Grant.
"People are afraid of the National Register," Schofield said. "They say you can't do anything to your building. If it's architectural, no, but if your windows need to be replaced, you could. The style of the window would have to be the same. If you want to put in a new heating system or paint the lobby, you could do that. All citizens of Kansas pay a percentage into the Heritage Trust Fund.
"It's a competitive, matching grant. The process could take as little as eight to 10 months or a year, depending on how you orchestrate it."
Schofield gave an example.
"I'll use $90,000," he said. "If you could pledge $10,000 (towards a needed project), they'd give $80,000. The Kansas Historical Society looks for a place around the state that hasn't applied before. I'm 99.9 percent sure we are in the district, so we are on the register. I think the maximum is $90,000. They have a specialist that deals with tax credits. I learned last week we could apply for tax credits, then you could sell them."
Schofield said the KHS can come to the commission to explain about the Heritage Trust Fund and also tax credits. The commissioners indicated they are agreeable to this proposition by nods.
Blast rock lands in resident's yard
Mitch Welch came to the commission with a rock the size of a man's fist.
The rock was found in his yard, 1137 145th Street, Redfield, following a recent blast by the county at the Blake Quarry, which is next to his house.
Welch had safety concerns with the rock ending up in his yard following the blast. Rocks were also found in his pasture that could damage mowing equipment he said.
"I'll talk to the blaster," Public Works Director Jim Harris told Welch.
Notice was given to Welch of the blast and a seismograph was placed on his property. A seismograph is an instrument that makes a record of seismic waves caused by earthquakes, explosions or other earth-shaking phenomenon.
"One question I have," Welch said. "What is the limits on the seismograph and what were they that day? What is the distance away from a standing structure?"
"We have regulations we go by," Harris said. But sometimes explosions don't fall they way they are supposed to, he said.
Welch said there are current cracks in the walls of his home, which was previously owned by Geneva Blake.
"If I get the wall done and get cracks, what can I do?" Welch asked.
"If we damage it, we should pay for it," Harris said.
Welch also said the road in front of his house is deteriorated since he purchased the property.
"When I bought that house, it was one of the better roads in the county," Welch said. "It's getting bad because of the trucks (that haul rocks from the quarry)," he said.
Harris said he would look into it.