Comments by AverageCitizen
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Posted on August 25 at 11:24 a.m.
I copied this information about Teterville from the following website: http://teterbrothers.home.comcast.net/~t...
What it fails to mention is that there is a herd of about 250-300 wild horses in the pasture at the bottom of the hill that Teter Rock sits atop. And that is their (the herd’s) land. They are there until they die. And the view! What a spectacular view. An ocean of grass, glacial till, native grass and Kansas wildflowers and weeds...beautiful. It is worth the trip and I highly recommend it. Not a hard place to find, it’s the last ¼ mile up to the rock (once you turn into the pasture), that makes you feel like you have really done something…getting there suddenly feels like an accomplishment. Also, drive slowly; there is more debris from the town in the tall grass than you would initially think. Anyways…here is the article:
Teterville Kansas, the Teter Oil Fields and Teter Rock
In 1798, Jacob Teter inherited land in Randolph County West Virginia from his father, George Teter Jr. He would later name the village, Teter and it still exists today. His son, James would spend his life in the Tygart Valley around Teter and marry Barbara Reger, one of the original founding families in the area. They would have several children, among them John Teter, born in Teter in 1825. He would marry and have several Teter children, including James Wesley Teter born in Teter in Dec. 1849. James married Matilda McCoy and around the 1880s, they decided to head out west to Kansas. At first, they settled on a small plot of land to raise cattle. In time, James Teter would acquire more land in the area.
In the 1920s, oil was discovered on his land and a boom took place. A small village grew up near the Teter Oil Fields called Teterville. While the town still exists today, it is a ghost town, with remnants of the oil business still remaining.
Additionally, James Teter would create a rock monument as a guidepost for homesteaders searching for the Cottonwood River. Teter Rock was at that time just a pile of local rocks. In the 1920s, to satisfy the construction needs of Teterville; the rocks were used to build several buildings. As these rocks had become a local landmark, the Greenwood County Historical Society would erect another more distinctive monument in the 1950s. This is the present day Teter Rock.
Greenwood County Kansas Historical Society:" .. An upended limestone monolith juts unexpectedly up into the endless blue sky of the Flint Hills. Located at the crest of the highest hill in the area, it's visible for miles in all directions. The view from the area of the rock is great! The stone which serves as Teter Rock today, however, is not the original. It was erected in the 1950s to replace the earlier one which had been used as building materials in the nearby oil-boom town of Teterville.
---to be continued---
Posted on August 25 at 8:46 a.m.
Unfortunately, there is a huge obstacle facing parents today when it comes to disciplining their children: the SRS. We still have the responsibility to raise the child; we just have absolutely no authority to do so.
I told my child that if she was going to live under my roof, she was going to live by my rules…and if she didn’t like it, she could pack her things and leave. My parents told me this at least once a month when I was growing up. I thought it was a statement of fact, not an actual choice. My 11-year-old turned me into the SRS who charged me with emotional abuse for daring to speak to her in such a way that would make her "insecure about her home environment". I told them to come and get the rest of her stuff.
This happened at the beginning of July and they still have her. They unsubstantiated the claim; which in laymen’s terms means that they declared that the charge of emotional abuse had no basis or merit. They still feel that she shouldn’t be returned to the home, but they haven’t provided a specific reason why. The real kicker is that the SRS investigator is under the age of 26 and has no children, but she is totally qualified to sit in judgment about a person's parenting skills; she read a book about it and did a report on it for school.
So nowadays, you cannot beat your children; and apparently, you cannot scold them either. It makes disciplining your children a somewhat difficult task. Take away the carrot, get a court date.
Posted on August 1 at 2:25 a.m.
I have been in a horrible accident where the vehicle rolled end over end 6 times before it came to rest in a field and if I did not have my seatbelt on, I would have been ejected from the car. If my daughter had not been in her car seat in the middle of the back seat, it is possible that she would have been seriously injured as well. Instead the car was completely totaled, I had a scratch on my arm and she was completely untouched. I am a huge supporter of the seatbelt laws and I do practice what I preach.
With that said, I know this family very well and I love them all very much. Several members in the family and myself have voiced concerns in the past about the kids not being buckled up and I enforce the law when they are in my vehicle. However, what no one in this thread has seemed to notice is that in this particular accident, only the person that was wearing a seatbelt was seriously injured. I have seen the Tahoe and I can't believe that they are even alive. Apparently, Danika thought that it was a 4-way stop instead of 2-way and did not continue to yield. At the time of impact, Brenda was thrown over the seat and landed on the boys. Her body shielded them. Alex got a single scratch, Rolando has a broken femur, and Brenda has some pretty gnarly scratches, more like hunks of missing flesh, from her elbows and knees. Poor Danika is finally breathing on her own again and comes in and out of consciousness. The Doctors said that the seatbelt kept her in place and it, (the seatbelt), forced her stomach up into her chest as the force of the semi concaved the body of the vehicle in on her. She also has 2 broken ribs and a broken collarbone. I wonder…if she had not been buckled up, would she have been thrown across the vehicle and away from the point of impact? Or would she have just been thrown from the vehicle and hurt even worse? Or…oh, there are so many scenarios that it is hard to speculate.
I still believe that seat belts should be worn at all times, but in this particular instance, I'm thankful that the 3 weren't. It seems as though that it actually was to their advantage and not their detriment, in this instance.
I am actually having a hard struggle with this whole issue, I usually prefer black/white, cut and dried choices, but this situation seems pretty gray and open to interpretation. I’m sure that if I was more removed from the situation and just heard the facts that were stated in the article I would be as impassioned about the issue as the rest of you, but this is definitely one that I'm going to have to think on.
Posted on March 7 at 8:44 p.m.
I agree with snake and siamesefred. I currently live within the city limits of Emporia, but I grew up on a cattle ranch/farm near Gridley; however, I don’t really feel that this is relevant to the issue. I just don’t understand the logic behind this task force study. Why on earth would they want to do away with the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department? Currently, the Emporia Police Department’s jurisdiction ends with the Emporia City limits while the Sheriff’s Department jurisdiction is throughout the entire county, including anything within the Emporia City limits. The Sheriff, Under-Sheriffs, Process Servers, Jailers and other support staff that maintain the County Jail are all employees of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department. If the Sheriff’s Department is already baring the brunt of the responsibilities why would you do away with their department and leave the other? Also, and I personally think that this is the true catalyst behind this particular task force and their study, the Sheriff is an ELECTED OFFICIAL, while the Chief of Police is an APPOINTED OFFICIAL. Does this not bother anyone else? Why are they trying to deny us, the citizens of Lyon County, the right to vote every four years on the person in charge of our safety and security? They want us to just give them the reins, and trust that they will act in our best interest? No thank you, that is why we have elected officials, if you don’t act accordingly, you are out of there. I don’t want to have to go through a whole long, drawn-out process of waiting for many individuals (commissioners, county attorney, etc.) to come up for re-election at differing times trying to build a Board that will actually work together and remove the Chief of Police if the needs of the citizens aren’t being met by him/her and their support staff. Sounds way too complicated for a simple person like me.
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Posted on August 25 at 11:24 a.m.
The original Teter Rock Monument was constructed by James Teter sometime in the late 1870s or 1880s as a guide for pioneers searching for the Cottonwood River, which drains all the land to the west of the marker. It seems that homesteaders passing through the area enroute to their claims on the Cottonwood often became lost in the rolling hills of the area. (This still happens to greenhorn tenderfoots--like the Flatlanders!) James Teter solved the problem with a simple pile of rocks which lasted until the 1920s. Today's Teter Rock was erected as a memorial to him by his descendants.
Just to the north of Teter Rock, the restless prairie wind blows through the scattered remains of a once bustling community, Teterville. Built during the oil boom of the 1920s, it once had a population of nearly 1000 with 2 General Stores, a Post Office, and an Elementary School. Typical of these oil boom towns, it contained mainly "shot-gun" houses which in many cases sprang up over night. In this case, "over-night" is not just a figure of speech. Lumber was sometimes stolen from nearby oil derricks, and this made carpentry by cover of darkness a necessity. Indoor plumbing was generally nonexistent and drinkable water had to be hauled in from Madison. Such primitive conditions were endured by the workers and their families in exchange for good paying jobs in the oil fields. The Flint Hills had never before, and have never since witness such a rapid influx of both people and wealth.
The wealth, jobs and the town of Teterville lasted only as long as there was oil to pump. Today, a oil heating tank rusts in repose; a silent reminder of busier days on this windswept hill. Where once children played and workmen worked, cows now graze disturbed only by the occasional visitor to Teter Rock ..."
From Cassoday Kansas, go east 12 miles on the county road, turn South at "Teterville" sign. The Teter Monument is located east 1 mile, then south 1-1/4 miles on the west side of the road. The Greenwood County Historical has some excellent tour guide pamphlets [316-583-6682].
On If I had my way