For E.T. Anderson, the Quonset huts at the Lyon County Fairgrounds have a special meaning — they still serve a purpose and he’s willing to use his own funds to spruce the huts up and make them more attractive.
Anderson is the son of Kenneth Anderson and the gran
dson of E.T. Anderson, who donated the 40-plus acres of land that the Lyon County Fairgrounds sits on. The land was donated in 1946. That same year, the first Lyon County Fair was held and was governed by a fair association, rather than a fair board like today.
The first in a row of four Quonset huts was the first building on the fairgrounds. Sitting on the Lyon County Fairgrounds last week, Anderson, along with resident Betty Miller, who was involved in the fair when it first started, talked about the huts, their use and why the buildings should not be torn down.
Anderson came forward following approval from the Lyon County Fair Board to tear down the huts. That approval came after an announcement by the Clint Bowyer 79 Fund to build a new building on the fairgrounds. Emporia native and NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer unveiled the plans for the new 6,000-square-foot building in late August during the fund’s third annual charity event.
To read complete story see the print edition or the online print edition.
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Do they all have to come down?
October 12, 2010 at 10:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
chrissylynn_2 (anonymous) says...
i fell like they DO still serve a purpose and the money it would cost to tear them down or move them could be spent on about 500 other things right here in emporia that need attention/help/funding.
October 12, 2010 at 11:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reality (anonymous) says...
Sell them, would make a nice shop building for someone.
October 12, 2010 at 11:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dhughs (anonymous) says...
As a former resident, I think those buildings are historical and when I see them as I come to town, I am always reminded of the good times I had at the fair and other events on the grounds. If they need refurbished, then do that, but please do not tear them down.
October 12, 2010 at 12:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
doubt_it (anonymous) says...
Please keep the Quonset huts (all of them), spruce them up and continue to use them. I'm sure there is room on the fairgrounds for both the Boyer Building and the huts. Everything isn't going to fit in the Boyer building and not everything needs to be in the Boyer building. Let's keep some pieces of history on the fairgrounds.
October 12, 2010 at 12:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
crazycatlady (anonymous) says...
I say if he's willing to make them look nice again, I'm all for it.
October 12, 2010 at 1:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Quack (anonymous) says...
Fix them right, and if they don't look better, sell them off piece by piece for use elsewhere or salvage
October 12, 2010 at 2:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Diane (anonymous) says...
I agree with comments made above - if ET Anderson wants to fix them up so that they can be used for storage and the Fair Board will benefit from renting them - go ahead - they are also a piece of history which many people state that they have very fond memories from their childhood fair days. I say let them stand and build the Bowyer building on another part of the land.
October 12, 2010 at 2:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sun (anonymous) says...
Yes why would we want to tear down the ugly, old metal buildings that are highly visable and greet any visitor as they come into Emporia? Lets leave them up and keep this town as shabby as ever. It might be different if these were on some farm in the boonies, they might serve a purpose. Times change and it's time for those eyesores to go. How do you think one might spruce up a bunch of metal buildings? New metal colored paint??
October 12, 2010 at 2:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tosie (anonymous) says...
The few new windows that he is offering to put in is not fixing these things up - sorry ET, the plan was approved and they are coming down. It is not just the buildings that are old and need repairs....the concrete floors are badly broken and would have to be taken out and redone as well. Funny how you want to come forward to help after all these years...maybe you should have come forward a long time ago and offered to help out if these fairgrounds were so important to you.
October 12, 2010 at 3:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
HenryVIII (anonymous) says...
I agree that they should be "fixed-up". We should "fix" them up to look like the new Bowyer Building! Of course, this will mean tearing them down and rebuilding to fit the design of the Bowyer Building, but at least poor little E.T. Anderson won't have to cry himself to sleep because he lost his precious storage sheds.
They're just metal sheds! There is nothing “cool" or "historical" about them!
Get rid of them, already!
Clinging to the past = Stifling progress
'enry
October 12, 2010 at 4:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
snow (anonymous) says...
I tend to agree that it's time to move on ... but there's no reason to be mean-spirited about it, and trash the people who see it differently. Ugly is in the eye of the beholder, and ugly is what I see when I look at the quonsets. They are kind of special in their utilitarian simplicity and in the role they played in military operations and such, so I suppose there is a point in preserving some of them somewhere. Maybe Emporia is that somewhere, but I'm thinking a military base would be a better somewhere. Whatever the case, they are, in fact, ugly and their time has passed. I'd ditch them and move ahead.
October 12, 2010 at 4:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
keasha (anonymous) says...
Let's not forget who gave Emporia the fairgrounds folks, where would we be without it. Some suggestions would be to take down one quonset hut and build newer decent bathrooms with more stalls. During fair times the lines are clear down the road. Also take a few of the quonset huts and paint murals on them say, a cattle scene on one, and cowboy's riding horses, remember what the fair grounds are mainly used for. Replace the cement floors if needed. Another thought you could also move them to the southeast corner of the property and fix the drainage problem making room for the new building along with paved parking. Also take out the grassy area between the Anderson building and the quonset huts and put in paved parking which is handicap accessible, there are way to few current parking stalls. We tend to forget that elderly people like to enjoy the fairgrounds also and have to walk since paved parking is not adequate. There are plenty of ideas out there and most likely other organizations who might consider funding if approached since everyone seems to have the best interest of the children of Lyon Cty. in mind. Folks there is a way that everyone would come out a winner including Mr. Anderson, the Clint Bowyer Foundation, and Lyon Countians.
October 12, 2010 at 4:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rabblerouser (anonymous) says...
Yes, Compromise. They could leave the East three huts that were built together and take down the far West one. The east three are fairly close together, but there is a lot of wasted space between the west one and the other three. Then update the remaining three huts.
October 12, 2010 at 6:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
vankamp (anonymous) says...
If you want to keep them at least move them away from the entrance to the city. I'm sure they are useful but like a shed, they should not detract from the main house.
October 12, 2010 at 7:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nks (anonymous) says...
If they were so "historical", why were they allowed to disentagrate all of these years. They are an eyesore, and have served their time. Let them come down and use the money recovered in recycling the metal for a project for the children of Emporia.
October 12, 2010 at 9:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
REWBA (anonymous) says...
I think they would look great with a native limestone veneer storefront and an appropriate accent color that blends well with stone. Better yet, have a design contest. Using only the materials available on sight of where the Quonset Huts currently sit, design a structure that is safe, functional, and cool looking. Think about it. There is enough structural steel in those four buildings to make one heck of a structure. Figure out a way to keep it "off grid" and it would be a true "green" project. Any government cheese for that?
October 12, 2010 at 9:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justaflushaway (anonymous) says...
Just move the damn things over behind the old John Deere building, there is plenty of room for the there, just place them side by side, Not with the gap that is between them now, problem solved, thank you very much, oh I won't charge a few for that professional advice..
October 12, 2010 at 11:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jimbo (anonymous) says...
im not sure how everyone else that reads these posts feels but I am pretty tired of reading on how stupid, useless, trashy and down right stupid Emporia, its people and its leaders are from "enry" Thank you Henry. All of your posts are hateful and demeaning to what they are about. Granted the huts are not the greatest looking, but they are useful and do serve a purpose. They were "GIVEN" to the city as a gift, and it should not be up to people like you who want the entire city torn down. If you dont like it move, and stop making hateful posts about everything. You didnt give the buildings to Emporia and neither did I, but I dont want to trash them and throw that gift in the Andersons face.
October 13, 2010 at 1:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nutsaboutools (anonymous) says...
TRYSA is interested in 1 or 2 of them. They would make a great shelter for our equipment that otherwise gets left out in the elements (and always in need of repairs as a result).
October 13, 2010 at 2:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Why can't we paint murals on them depicting fair scenes? You know ferris wheels, and little boys and girls clutching cotton candy, carousels and the like. This would make them interesting.
October 13, 2010 at 7:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
genxer (anonymous) says...
I would assume that the people advocating tearing these down because they are alleged eye sores are not the same people who were crying about moving the fair grounds outside the city limits.
Yes, lets tear them down. Then next year sometime, before or after the fair, someone will come forward asking for money to build some new structures because there isn't/wasn't enough space for all of the exhibits without those structures there.
I already have an idea for how to pay for the new structures that I think all of the humans in town will agree with.
I propose a new county wide 1/2 cent sales tax on ALL alcohol and cigarette sales!!!
We let those despicable smokers and drinkers pay for something for the rest of us! Problem solved! Brilliant!!!
Now, I know some people may not agree with this idea but I don't drink and I don't smoke so it doesn't effect me. Heck, it doesn't even affect me!
October 13, 2010 at 8:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Yea....let's let any body pay for it but you right genxer.....I mean you are taxed enough all ready huh.
October 13, 2010 at 8:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Oh, and by the way.....I don't smoke or drink either...so don't waste your time going there.
October 13, 2010 at 8:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Hold on there biscuitboy,
genxer may be on to something.
What's another 1/2 cent going to hurt?
Hell, let's make it a full cent.
Smokers and drinkers, have never really pulled their share of the load.
I mean Emporia shoppers pay less tax now at the liquor store than they do at the grocery store. make those heathens pay 10% tax, that will show them.
Oh, wait, the tax at liquor stores doesn't come back to the city.
Oh well, never mind.
October 13, 2010 at 8:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
genxer (anonymous) says...
BB, I was being facetious. And I have no problem paying my fair share of taxes, unless of course my fair share is determined by you.
I simply wanted to everyone see Mr. Corbin's reaction when his income was threatened. I guess Steve would at least agree that sales taxes have a negative impact on spending.
Thanks guys.
He shoots, he scores!
October 13, 2010 at 9:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
keasha (anonymous) says...
According to last nights article the Quonset huts due bring in revenue to the fair board. Do you really want to loose this? Granted this is considered a small amount but over say 5-10 years it amounts to a lot of money. The new building Clint has proposed will definitely be benefical to the fair grounds. Most Lyon countians agree that people will not take business away from the Civic Auditorium, or the new Granada Theater, such as Weddings, and other events to use this facility. As in the article also the square footage is considerably smaller. Don't get me wrong everyone does agree Emporia is very thankful for anything Clint Bowyer wants to help with when funding is tight already. Adding additional taxes to a very taxed county is not the solution. Today most individuals are cutting back on what they spend to keep more of their hard earned money themselves. Compromise is always the best solution. Murals on the Quonset Huts would be the best solution along with new windows. Let Mr. Anderson take pride in helping fix them up. Who's responsibililty has it been to keep them up until now???? I don't believe his.
October 13, 2010 at 9:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
genxer
Mark one up for your team.....but I did remain true to principle. I am no more willing to have my tax load dumped onto smokers and drinkers (which I do neither) than I am any other entity just to avoid paying my share.
October 13, 2010 at 10:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
genxer
I however am shocked, and mortified also, that you would suggest I would be anything less than fair in assessing your tax burden. Trust me....Please..... :-)
October 13, 2010 at 10:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Well I am glad we all feel we should pay our fair share. But like genxer said, who decides what a fair share is?
Back to the quonset huts.
Was the Bowyer gift contingent on the quonsets being torn down?
October 13, 2010 at 10:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
I don't know Steve. I asked that question a long time ago and never received any answer.
October 13, 2010 at 10:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
maximus21 (anonymous) says...
I say leave the quonset huts alone and tear down those stupid rocks on the corner.
October 13, 2010 at 11:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alfalfa (anonymous) says...
I like what jimbo says. When I look at the quonsets, I see fairground buildings in a rural Kansas county. They are paid for, and serve a purpose. I think it has already been pointed out and predicted undoubtedly what will happen is the quonsets be torn down, then someone will start crying for more indoor space and more money to build another building. I see no reason why the fairgrounds can't be home to the new building and the quonset huts.
I think it is also a little bit arrogant that so many seem to forget the fairgrounds and quonsets were a gift to begin with, and a valuable gift at that. The family of the original gift givers ought to have just a tiny bit more say in the future of the fairgrounds than the general public, at least that is my opinion.
October 13, 2010 at 11:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
REWBA (anonymous) says...
The Quonset Huts provide lots of functional indoor space. As long as they are structurally sound they should be left alone. A fresh coat of paint and some TLC would be nice too. E.T. Anderson's offer to fund a project to spruce the huts up and make them more attractive is awesome!
October 14, 2010 at 12:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
I didn't start out here but I have come around.......I believe alfalfa said it best.....
October 14, 2010 at 4:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
But, the quonset huts are a thing of the past and according to some people things such as the " huts " are keeping Emporia and Lyon County from moving into/toward the future or people who want to keep them are destroying Emporia !
I am wondering how long it will be before anything, person, property, building or anything that is past a certain age or has been deemed by these certain people as keeping Emporia and Lyon county from " progessing or moving into/toward the what they percieve as " Their " future will be eliminate, gotten rid of , or just flat torn down, to make way for " Their " percieved future !
October 14, 2010 at 9:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Aren' t there some businesses in Emporia that rent some of the Quonset Huts as sort of storage " Warehouses " ?
October 14, 2010 at 9:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
HenryVIII (anonymous) says...
Ready to haul 'em away!
http://tinyurl.com/2eyoh78
'enry
October 14, 2010 at 11:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oops (anonymous) says...
I have just always thought it was funny that Emporia clings to the past while the rest of the world passes them by. Then they try playing catch up, and they start with hiring consultants at taxpayer expense to tell them how far behind the times they are. Those dumb rocks on the corner need to be removed first. I have yet to have any friends or family that visit say anything except for how wierd they are.
October 14, 2010 at 1:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jimbo (anonymous) says...
Funny about the "rocks", i live out of the state now and I hear people that only know of emporia because of those "rocks". Why dont we be more futuristic and tear down the granda theater. it has served its purpose and its old. we could build a new building there. Why not tear down the Cross house or the William A White house or all of Emporias "old" buildings. You can go to the emporia state campus and look at all kinds of pictures from what emporias main street used to look like. When architecture had more character than square walls. Sure would be nice to go to the old Mitway hotel, oh wait its been torn down too. Does anyone find it surprising that I, a 25 year old knows what the Mitway is and who actually owned the buildings and what it was. Well lets go ahead and take a vote and tear down everything that looks old in the city. Parts of ESU, parts of all the schools, the huts, the "rocks", crappy houses, and just build little Chicago like a lot of you want. We are a small town, and its ok to be a small town, with small town things. Tear down history to build more? I think not.
October 15, 2010 at 1:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Outstanding post jimbo and I am surprised you know about the old Mitway Hotel. The very first paying job I had in my life was there. I worked for two hours on Sundays right after church, as a busboy, in the old dining room (not the cafe which came later).
I made fifty cents and was given a free lunch when I was through working...I was also twelve years old. This was back before child labor laws taught kids they didn't have to work.
The past is us and we are the past....I don't know why every body is always in such a big rush to hide it.
October 15, 2010 at 5:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
"A generation that ignores history has no past--and no future."
October 15, 2010 at 5:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Everyone has an idea on what they would do to improve the fairgrounds. Get rid of the huts, no keep the huts and fix them up. Get rid of the stones, no keep the stones. Replace the damaged metal arch, no, go with something different.
One solid positive idea is Clint Bowyer's generous donation of a new building to the fairgrounds. It is a positive start to the rebuilding of the grounds. It has rekindled interest in the whole subject and that is a good thing. But let's slow down just a tad, please?
I just hope that the powers that be, (county commission and fair board) do not take the interest in these improvements as a sign that the people of Lyon County would be willing to shoulder a continued tax, (as in the courthouse bonds), to finance those improvements.
The land was donated, the huts were donated, the Bowyer building is being donated, heck the rocks were even donated. Let's keep the LYON COUNTY FREE FAIR, free.
Maybe the Gazette or KVOE could do an opinion poll on this question:
Would you vote to extend the courthouse tax for 5 years to fund improvements to the fairgrounds?
October 15, 2010 at 6:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Quack (anonymous) says...
Do not care for the rock-henge on the fairgrounds, but I think that site would also be a poor choice to locate the Bowyer building. If the building has an outside concert stage, which I think it does, why would you put something like that in the SW corner of the fairgrounds with all the noise generated by traffic at the intersection of Hiway 50 and Industrial? We already have the City Band playing next to train horns, why create a similar noise issue. A better place on the property needs to be thought out based on the functions of the building.
October 15, 2010 at 7:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alfalfa (anonymous) says...
Jimbo shows an enormous amount of common sense, I was surprised to learn he was only 25 years old. It is this areas loss he lives out of state now.
To add to a little of what his latest post says, it has seemed to me for years a certain segment of the Emporia population wants Emporia to be something it is not. The chief problem with that is what they want to do usually costs a lot of money, and they want everyone to help pay for their ideas, whether we like them or not.
I have never given the quonsets a bit of thought, maybe because they have always been there. I do cuss things like the round about, and obscenely expensive courthouse. If people in Emporia want to worry about what type of leadership is holding the town back, think about things like the thought process that lost Fanestils(apparently), not whether or not there are 4 perfectly decent and useable old buildings on the fairgrounds. Like it or not, Emporia is a farming community, you see old buildings like the quonsets in a farming community. If Emporia doesn't want to be a farming community, maybe those of us "hick" country types who think more about the utility of a building rather than the image it portrays(after all, how many taxes and bills get paid by image?) ought to do a two week boycott of Emporia to remind the powers that be even us hicks have a little spending power.
I am really not in love with the quonsets, it just irritates me how most of this debate centers around the image they portray. Whats next, a ban on bib overalls in the city limits?
October 15, 2010 at 7:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
biscuit, jimbo, you are exactly right, If it were not for " History, Our History " and remembering and preserving at least some or part of that history, we would not be us, who we are or that we could become a better " Us " by remembering our past history and learning from the mistakes made in the our Past/History.
And jimbo, I must admit that I did find it a little suprising that a 25 year old does/would know as much as you do about the Mitway and who owned the building. Here is something you may or may not have know about the Mitway , there was also a small shoe " Shine " area at the Mitway location also that gave " Shoe Shines " on the side walk and inside the small " Shine Shop " .
I can" t help but think Emporia was a much better place in those days !
As neighbors were not just neighbors, but friends, with the attitude of live and let live and not so much an attitude of " I want this or that no matter who it may hurt or what it will cost me or my neighbor/fellow Emporian !
October 15, 2010 at 7:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
alfalfa
You are also exactly on the money . Emporia has been a farming community much longer than it will ever be the " Cultural Jewel of the Plains " that the certain segment you mentioned can ever " make Emporia, into " . There are more of us in Emporia that have " farming " roots, rather than " Aristocratic " roots . I have relatives that are older than I am, that were born farmers and are still farmers, are proud to be farmers and I am also proud of them .
I guess that segment of Emporia you mentioned, does not realize or know that the piece of fancy real estate they now own and are living in/on was once a piece of farm land that some farmer once worked to provide an existance for himself, his family and possibly provide food, etc., for others as well !
October 15, 2010 at 8:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
REWBA (anonymous) says...
Has anyone else noticed how those who demand change the loudest seem to be people who immigrated to Emporia from somewhere else? Anytime Emporia has a job opening or a career opportunity, our immigrant city management chooses in an outsider. Why don't they go back to the rat race towns that they came from? Could it be that they are no longer welcome there either? Why did they decide to move to such a crappy place? Do they hate us so bad that they prefer to tax us to death? Places like Kansas City metropolitan area have a population base that can support expensive projects. Take a dollar from each resident and you have a million dollars. If everyone in Emporia pitches in a buck we only have about 30K.
I say the next time they decide to paint those Quonset Huts, have the paint salesman add some color to the paint. jmo
October 15, 2010 at 8:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wirewatt (Ken Bazil) says...
The county has an election coming in a few weeks. I would like to see it put on the ballot. Everyone could vote on whether to leave the huts or remove them, case solved.
October 15, 2010 at 9 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
wirewatt
When only about 1% of the regestered voters get out and vote on anyting, putting something on a vote ballot will basically, solve nothing. If you don' t get out and vote to uphold your convictions, nothing is " Solved " .
October 15, 2010 at 9:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
methusla
That small turnout is always used by the losers of any given issue as proof that it didn't really represent the will of the people. Ironically...the winners will take that small percentage turnout and claim their victory represents a mandate from the people to do as they please.
October 15, 2010 at 11:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jimbo (anonymous) says...
It is extremely thoughtful and great for the community that Clint Bowyer wants to donate this incredible building. But what hasnt really been discussed yet is where its going to go. In reality there isnt a lot of room that isnt used for something already on the fairgrounds. So do we tear everything down to build this new building or do we leave it all up and take away all the parking spaces. If this happens we will be at the same crossroads again. No parking, "ugly" buildings and a beautiful new venue. Maybe considering expanding the fairgrounds a little would help. THe old John Deere building "not the extension office" is vacant and could be considered an eyesore. Surely the city could take it over....eminent domain style..... and Bowyers building could go there. The last thing we need to do is to show Clint Bowyer is that after his nice new building is 20 years old we dont need it anymore and we are going to tear it down. Not a good message to send. "Why dont we raise taxes, hire a landscape and building architect and have them tell us how to revamp the fairgrounds." Tear everything down and ask Clint to pay for everything. Or we could be very satisfied with the always used buildings on the fairgrounds, and be even more grateful that we are getting a gift like this. Then if everyone in the city is concerend about the older buildings looks we should have a day when all the volunteers from the area come in and give em a good ole once over. Clean, paint, maybe renovate a little. We can do this as a community and put even more history into the fairgrounds instead of into the landfill.
October 15, 2010 at 6:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
b3bill (anonymous) says...
Whatever the Fair Board does with the Fairgrounds, it all needs to be self-supporting and not require more tax money. Anyone who feels the Fairgrounds needs additional financial support can donate as much as they want and as often as they want directly to them. The Fair Board could get busy and come up with all kinds of fund raising activities (excluding raising taxes), just like other groups have to do that have bigger ideas than they have cash available.
I do not want to be paying one penny more in taxes for anything, including the Fairgrounds. It is nice that Clint Boyer wants to finance a new building, and all the donations/gifts made by the Anderson Family in years past, and E.T. Anderson's offer to spruce up the Quonsets. However, that doesn't mean I want to spend more in taxes to support whatever may exceed funds available at the Fairgrounds. The whole Fairgrounds needs to be self supporting for everything they want to do.
I also want my taxes lowered when the Lyon County Court House Monstrosity is paid off, not a continuation of a tax just because it's already being paid. We have too high of taxes here, and it's time they go down.
October 15, 2010 at 10:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justaflushaway (anonymous) says...
jimbo, do you even have a slight clue to what the hell your trying to talk about?
didnt think so, start over at the top of the article, and read slowly.
its called the lyon county fairgrounds, NOT the city of emporia fairgrounds...and there is a reason for that...
the extension office IS where the old john deere building use to be, and there was a Honda motorcycle dealer there before that..
you sure use WE a lot........
October 16, 2010 at 10:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Isn't the courthouse already paid off? Didn't it get paid off earlier than expected? Wasn't it paid for by sales tax to begin with?
I'd like to see real property and personal property taxes go down.
I'd also like to see all that grass that is trailing into the roadways along the fairgrounds get trimmed when they mow. Just neaten it up, that's all. It looks sloppy the way it is now. A farming community doesn't have to look sloppy. Those Mennonite farms around Yoder and Hutch sure look neat. Even the grass around fence posts is trimmed.
October 17, 2010 at 9:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
I was wondering the same thing myself create. If that sales tax money that was being earmarked for the courthouse.....money that we are already used to paying...money that would not be an additional burden.....could be switched to cover some much needed sprucing up of the old fairgrounds.
It hasn't been all that long ago that the battle cry that was all the rage was "Save the fairgrounds.....move the courthouse." Well if we are going to leave the fairgrounds where they are (which I support) then we need to start paying a little more attention to how they appear. Especially considering their location right in the business and retail heart of the city.
And I don't mean by that to get rid of the Quonset huts. The Quonset huts are fine. In fact maybe we should use them to celebrate the role they played in our nation's military history in conjunction somehow with The All-Veteran's Park.
But, putting up one new building will not magically make the old girl young again. What she really needs right now is a little tender loving care. But today she is in tatters.
October 17, 2010 at 10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Blue_Dog (anonymous) says...
create and bicsuitboy,
courthouse isn't paid off yet will be 1st quarter of next year. then sales tax will stop. (required and cannot be extended for any reason)
October 17, 2010 at 7:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
b3bill (anonymous) says...
I knew the Lyon County Court House was nearing payoff, and I'm looking forward to the lesser tax as a result. I'm glad that tax cannot be extended for any reason.
Whether I spend a dollar in sales tax or in property tax, it's still a dollar out of my pocket that I don't get to use as I want. I'm tired of the taxes around here going up. Every outfit from local level to state level has some kind of a cry story that equates to wanting me to spend more in taxes ASAP.
I am against being taxed more to support whatever may be thought up to do at the Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds needs to be self-supporting.
October 17, 2010 at 8:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
I must agree with b3bill ... the people need a tax break instead of an overhaul of the current fairgrounds or a new fairground !
Everything has a place and time . And the time for a " peoples " tax break will be when the " White Elephant Courthouse sales tax " will expire, and letting it expire will benefit those who need the tax break the most, " THE PEOPLE OF EMPORIA AND LYON COUNTY " .
If there is a need for money to " spruce up the fairgrounds " , then take some of the extended sales tax money that is " ear marked " for the RDA and use that to " spruce up the fair grounds " and call it " Funding Development " ! Or there could be a public donation fund drive for funds to " spruce up the fair grounds " !
I would like to know why the money that was spent for the " fairgrounds Stonehenge " was not used to spruce up the fairgrounds instead ?
October 17, 2010 at 10:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Thanks for the info Blue_Dog.
b3bill and methusla
I wasn't married to the idea...it was just a thought...and maybe not a very good one. But I do believe the fairgrounds are starting to look tacky. Now if they were located out in the boonies somewhere that might be acceptable. But they arguably lie at one of the highest traffic intersections in all of Emporia and certainly one of the most memorable ones for visitors. Whomever picks up the tab, it is in our self interest to keep them looking like something more than a third rate rodeo arena.....JMO
October 18, 2010 at 4:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Stonehenge....What up with that?
It certainly is a lightning rod for public opinion. Much of it (on these boards at least) appears to be quite negative. And yet, I am under the impression that it was largely donated to the city. If that is true, I feel bad for the artist whose work draws such uninspiring comments on these boards.
What I would like to hear is a better understanding of the history and background of this sculpture. If anybody can fill me in I would certainly appreciate it. I was living in Arkansas at the time of its arrival, and all I've ever gotten is disconnected bits and pieces. I could look it up myself but the info would probably be interesting to others also....At least that's my excuse! :-)
October 18, 2010 at 4:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
If the fairgrounds were nothing more than a third rate rodeo arena they would already be located out in the boonies somewhere and nobody would care what they looked like. Then we wold have another half empty strip mall setting on that corner for all to be proud of.
October 18, 2010 at 4:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
biscuit,
The official name of that sculpture is "Prairie Passage Stone Sculpture Garden." The chamber of commerce has only one sentence to describe it. "Massive limestone sculptures depicting Lyon County history." No name of artist, no nothing. Too bad. You'd think the chamber of commerce would have more info than that on their website. Maybe the artist is not a member of the chamber. I understand that can be a problem.
October 18, 2010 at 7:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
All I remember hearing....(which may or may not be accurate).....was that some fellow who was in the stone cutting business had carved the stones and donated them to the city. What I have never heard is how they came to stand where they do or who paid to put them there. It seems he may have actually lived and worked in Chase County but again I could be totally wrong about all of this.
October 18, 2010 at 7:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
All I found was that they were designed by Emporian Richard Stouffer and sculpted by a "team effort" from limestone quarried in Chase County. No info on who paid for them or their installation.
I only found that after you provided the real name of the work create....Thank You. Stonehenge just wasn't working for me...smile, smile....wink, wink.....
It is listed as being on the fairgrounds so I presume it is officially part of fairgrounds property.
October 18, 2010 at 8:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
marko (anonymous) says...
in your search did you find who designed and built the real stonehenge?
October 18, 2010 at 1:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
marko
It was some real old timey guys that lived a long time ago...or maybe space aliens.....or maybe some farmers in 1746 kinda as a joke...or something like that.
October 18, 2010 at 2:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mslater (Matt Slater) says...
The bad part about this is there are probably about 50 people who would be really pissed if these buildings were torn down, about 50 people who would be really pissed if they stayed up, and 19,900 people who really couldn't care less.
October 18, 2010 at 2:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
uranidiot (anonymous) says...
Down with huts, up with Butts. I don't support huts but I do support smoking in bars.
October 18, 2010 at 4:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
marko (anonymous) says...
wonders if the locals near the original stonehenge were as happy to have it at Emporians are with theirs....
October 18, 2010 at 4:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
I would hope they were happier. If not, the builders probably kinda wished they would have just called in that day or something.
October 18, 2010 at 4:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthefacts (anonymous) says...
Could be worse, it could be Carhenge See link
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/roadsi...
October 18, 2010 at 5:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
marko (anonymous) says...
Carhenge attracts thousands of visitors each year...... or so the article in that link says....I am guessing that the nice stones at the fairgrounds attract a few rabbits... that aside, I kind of like those stones.
October 18, 2010 at 7:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
HenryVIII (anonymous) says...
uranidiot (or urineidiot),
You're an idiot. Smoking is bad.
'enry
October 20, 2010 at 8:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )