Is It Time for Outhouses Again?
After-all, A Neighboring Village Celebrates Them Every Year
Longton's sewer system is roughly fifty years old. As some of you undoubtedly know, it is broken to the point of needing replacement or extensive repairs. I encourage everyone in town to read the coming posts, and have an opinion about what to do. Then let the City know what you want.
Our town's sewer system criss-crosses town to the tune of approximately 29,400 feet, or 5.5 miles. It has four pump stations to pump waste water against grade, while the majority of the eight-inch diameter tile pipe gravity feeds into settling/treatment ponds in the northeast corner of town.
With larger rainstorms, cracks and cave-in's allow ground water in the lines, mixing with waste water, and causing pipes to overflow, bringing human waste to the surface of some rights-of-way, and possibly challenging the capacity of the sewer ponds.
A regional engineering firm did a quick, pro bono, preliminary estimate of the cost to reline the system, and identified $4,000,000.00 worth of expenses. OUCH! The estimate did not speak to other options, such as replacing the existing sewer line with a new one, or with septic tanks and drain fields at each residence. Neither did it say that relining the existing sewer was the most cost efficient alternative.
Look for several additional posts several weeks from now, where design and construction options are discussed, along with their associated costs.
The City applied for a grant to hire an engineer to assist in the decision making. The State denied the grant without saying why. The comment was, "Try again next year". More than likely, we are small fish in a big pond to the State.
So, the big deal here is to have public involvement in the decision making. Four million is too much dough for our City Council to decide upon without extensive resident input, including the possibility of a special election to approve some version of a new system to treat household waste. To wit, our rather laggard council seems to want to approve bills and minutes, then go home. They approved a water bill last fall without officially questioning why it was not discounted when the water district failed in its obligation to provide us potable water for three weeks. The town residents need to be involved, and we deserve better representation from Council.
The Challenge Before Longton Residents
Historians remark that Ron Reagan once said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children's children, what it was once like in the United States where men were free."
I will add to his thought in this way; today the fight is not with a foreign country, nor a foreign people, as the powers that be want you to [forever] believe. Today, our fight is against domestic tyranny. It is against U.S., State, County, and local governments that choose self-interest over serving the needs of the people.
That point will be proven by the forthcoming sewer system project that Longton is facing. The only obstacle for governments is us, is our public questioning, criticism, and demands we make on them. That is why I repeat from my first post the need for public involvement regarding what 'our' sewer system repair or upgrade should entail. Notice the word OUR. Remember that system belongs to the residents of the town, not to the State of Kansas, Incorporated. It should become what we want, it should be done how we want, and need, it done.
Here is a case in point, as the saying goes. There are construction activities of the sewer project that local labor is capable of doing, and that local equipment can do. There are even more construction activities of the alternative sewer project that I have in mind, that local equipment and labor can successfully do. Unfortunately, I can promise you that the use of local labor and equipment is very unlikely . . ah, give it less than a one half of one percent chance, even if we scream loudly, precisely, and persistently.
Why is that? The fine print legalese of the State-issued permit will require that ALL construction work [as well as design work] be completed by licensed and bonded contractors. Thank an Attorney for that! The professional engineering firm, who has been assisting City Hall, preliminarily estimated a $4,000,000.00 project as of September 2024. Since then [about 8 months] inflation has increased those costs by roughly 5%, thanks to the deficit-spending legislators and executives we vote for. Make that a $4,204,106.00 preliminary budget today . . and increasing monthly. By the time preliminary design, permit review, final design, permit review, a bid period, and the construction window have been completed that $4,000,000 estimate will be $5,000,000+ just from inflation alone, not including any design changes and/or construction obstacles and delays.
We are the fifth poorest County in Kansas. And look how the State permits will spend five million dollars on an Elk County project, AND direct 90+% of the money to leave our county for the State's licensed and bonded Corporate buddies in places like Wichita or Kansas City or Topeka. And that buddy-system means the poor counties stay poor. That is by design, not coincidence. They take our dollars of wealth and return us pennies of debt.
There is the 21st century version of the fight Ron Reagan spoke to. And not a Legislator, State regulatory bureaucrat, or a County Commissioner will side with our right to choose, and our need to participate in the design considerations and the construction. All they want is to rubber stamp the State's standard permit. Will our Mayor [regardless of who is] or our Council members [regardless of who are] speak out? Unlikely. My next post will be alternatives to that rubber stamp State permit that should receive consideration by designers and regulators.
Remember Telling Campfire Circle Stories?
Lean to your right and tell the person next to you a short story, even a rumor. By the time it goes from ear to mouth to ear around the circle and comes back you may not recognize it. No telling how much it has changed.
So here I am, leaning to my right and starting a rumor that will no doubt spread through Longton in many forms.
Longton Is Going To Have A Cathouse!!
The newest Cathouse will be located at 301 Montgomery. Several of Longton's finest will be approaching the inheritor of Ron's estate, and ask that the currently abandoned property be donated for the cause.
Three questions immediately come to mind:
- What hours will the Cathouse operate?
- Will it have off-street parking?
- Who will be the Madame of the establishment?
I'm sure whomever becomes the Madame, or Manager, there will be assurances to the community of mandatory neutering and mandatory vaccinations. It could become 2020 all over again. I hope there will be assurances of some sort to control the air quality. That may best be achieved by setting limits on how many Cats are served, or placing a limit on the time a stray can stay.
Another few questions have come up. If the Cathouse organizes as a charity, will it stand to gain State or Federal subsidies? Or will it appeal for a small take of our property taxes? Maybe it could retain a Grant writer!
Will a political maelstrom occur over the fact that the homeless will be given resident status, free food, and free medical care. No . . I doubt that sex change will be an issue. But maybe euthanasia will become an issue. Our new Cathouse might even influence election year politics!
But listen up all you fellers who trap stray Cats on your property. There will no longer be a need to transport them out into the County for 'release'. Just drive by 301 Montgomery, and leave them on the porch. They'll be in the hands of folks who love them.
Three last questions. Given Cat fecundity plus a local encampment for Cat congregation, how long will it be before the population of the Cathouse is greater than Longton's human population? Will Longton be controlling Cats, or will the Cathouse eventually be out of control?
Keep your ears open to hear what Cathouse stories come from the Longton rumor circle.
The Essence of Longton's Demise & Elk County's Poverty
https://www.zerohedge.com/food/weve-become-serfs-our-own-land-usda-trap-foreign-land-sales-and-collapse-american-farming
What else would it be, but government interference in land ownership and the marketplace. If you 'get' this, you will also 'get' where change has to start. And wrong, it does NOT start with more subsidies.
August '25 Election Results
Adieu to Jennifer and Rob. Hard to believe the apparent pallor cast toward Jennifer because of her husband's legal response to the SO's and DA's abridgment of his, and all of our, Rights. In my 14 years of observation she has consistently been a steward of the taxpayers' money, looking only to spend when and where spending was necessary. Taxpayers will miss her voice, and Rob's as well.
So what about a new city council in 5 months with two returning big spenders! Imagine the consequence if you can. I'm assuming here that the top two finishers in this primary will also be the top two in November. I'll eat my words if that isn't so, but I wonder how the City can justify funding two election cycles for council seats. Just line them all up in November, save some money, and have the same outcome.
Beware of big spending come January. That is the consequence. We will see spending approved unanimously. How long ago was a million bucks approved by Council to chip seal our town's roads? How much of town was done, maybe half? How long before the chip seal started breaking up, maybe 2 years? Who sat on City Council then? Oh . . . Stand by for more spending, stand by for increased City budgets, stand by for increases in property taxes, stand by for more attempts to solicit other people's money in terms of grants and subsidies.
And stand by for a 5 million dollar sewer system lining that will last less than 5 years before it begins to crack and leak again, and will be more expensive to patch than our current 50-year old system. And stand by to have the explanation that it is a deal because 80% of the costs can be granted or subsidized away!! Yippee!
But it doesn't work that way does it?! Nothing is free. Somebody always pays the invoice. Taxpayers will ultimately pay the grant and subsidy money. Just not taxpayers solely in Longton. I hope that is not okay with everyone in Longton. That is the way big business and big government work to extract our wealth and leave poor Americans debt riddled. That is why main street Longton is vacant and/or torn down.
Good luck Longtonites, you elected the Council, you get to enjoy the indebtedness.
Farewell Jennifer. May the next County and the next City treat you with the same honor you gave us.
What Was That?? What Did You Say??
I Said Modern Farming Is Destroying Small Communities
Read this link: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/death-small-farm-death-rural-america
This is exactly what the hands-out-for-subsidy-folks cannot grasp. The wealth leaves our County with government programs that subsidize, set quotas, and over control the marketplace. This article explains it, and offers a solution. The City's sewer project will do the same, as I've mentioned.
What used to be 20 or 30 small farms—each with a household and family that supported the local restaurant, gas station, feed store, [the grocery store, the hardware store, the farmers' markets], and the veterinarian who served a few counties—is now replaced by a single sprawling operation with no animals, no neighbors, and no community.
Small farms matter because they produce food where it's eaten, keeping supply chains short and resilient. They're often the ones growing the vegetables at your farmers market, the eggs from down the road, the beef from a rancher you know by name. They support biodiversity, employ more people per acre, and keep profits circulating locally. Dismissing them as outdated isn't just wrong—it's dangerous to our food security.
Is It Rumor . . Or Do "They" Begin To Arrive?
Received this email late Friday; "�Some guy just moved into the old bank in Longton. He is from New York, just got out of jail, he is dressed in black, no transportation. He said if he didn't get that place he was going to kill himself. He came with nothing I think.
Could be a not good guy or really needed to get out of New York. Please be careful."
[Hey, ECF Moderator, where did the weird diamond/question mark come from?]
The sender of that is not a member of the town rumor mill. In fact, the rumor mill usually irritates the sender. So I take the email seriously, and think folks in town should be aware.
As you know, the old bank is at 502 Kansas, the brick carcass with a wooden addition, on the corner with 5th. Only the wooden addition has a roof, and there are no utilities. The property has been for sale, realtor.com says 'sale pending', but I heard the property has been sold.
How should Longton's Welcome Wagon respond? Could the person "in black" be the new owner, be homeless, be the newest thief in town, be in need of emotional/mental support, be an advance scout for a horde of city escapees to follow?
1) Will flowers, candles, welcome cards, and food gifts soften what the rumor mill suggests could be a hard heart?
2) Should Baptist Pastor, Methodist Minister and Christian Preacher invite the person "in black" to services, bible studies, and dinners; risking a welcoming invitation to prey on the local religious, as has happened before?
3) Should the Sheriff act dutifully to protect county residents, and clear the old bank?
4) Should a few residents head over to exercise Castle Law with automatic weapons at hand?
May as well think over the situation and responses now, regardless of "in black's" intentions . . . we can all expect more of the same as society further fractures.
Sewer System Schedule: The Cart Before The Horse
The following was sent to Longton's council members on 28Sep25.
I received the following September 24th, in response to a query I made to Lamp Rynearson regarding a source for quantitative soil moisture guidelines to implement smoke testing of the City's sewer system.
Thank you for reaching out and for the detailed background on your community's soils and groundwater conditions. You're asking a great question—smoke testing is most reliable when groundwater is at its lowest and soils are as dry as possible. If the soil is saturated or the lines are under groundwater pressure, the smoke can't escape through defects as intended, which may lead to false negatives.
Unfortunately, there aren't published "quantitative soil moisture guidelines" for smoke testing. Industry best practice is to schedule testing during the driest time of year—typically July and August in Kansas—when hot weather, low rainfall, and plant transpiration combine to reduce soil moisture and lower the water table. Ideally, there should be at least 30 days of relatively dry weather prior to testing.
For your community, I'd recommend:
- Avoiding winter months since groundwater tends to rise and vegetation isn't pulling moisture from the soil.
- Targeting late summer when conditions are hottest and driest, even if that means delaying the test to ensure accuracy.
- Discussing with your testing provider whether sections of line that remain in groundwater year-round are likely to produce reliable results, or if alternative inspection methods (like CCTV) may be better suited. (suited to the 'in groundwater' areas).
I hope this helps give you and your community some direction as you plan. While our team won't be directly involved in this project, we're glad to point you toward best practices so you can get meaningful results.
FYI, the Lamp Rynearson team has experience with smoke testing, manhole inspections, CCTV review and analysis, and construction administration for sewer rehab projects.
I hope the collective IQ of the Council realizes from this information that the Smoke Test, at this point, should be scheduled for the late summer of 2026. I doubt the Mayor has a clue, or cares at this point.
Until the Smoke Test can be reliably completed, there is no need for any additional pre-planning, design work, or sourcing funding at this time. The Smoke test is essential, augmented by CCTV footage (not replaced with it) to determine the scope of work needed. Once a Scope has been defined from, funding and initial planning should follow. To do otherwise is to put the cart before the horse, and waste taxpayers monies.
Fixin' What's Wrong Post One; What The Election Won't Change
I've posed most of these suggestions to three folks in town, who have all lived here over 40 years. They agreed with the assessments, and said they would like to see these changes made. Then they added, "But most people in town don't give a sh!te, don't waste your breath trying, no one cares." I'm learning the truth to that, unfortunately, not enough care.
Nonetheless, residents have the Right to manage their own town and their own property as they choose. In that vein, here are seven suggestions in three posts that the residents of our dying town in the fifth poorest County in the State might consider doing to improve their lives.
1) Merge the City fire department with the County fire department, AND eliminate the ridiculous duplicity that costs residents money they do not have. Funnel those savings into reduced taxation.
2) If lawyers and government authorities tell you laws require both City and County jurisdictions to have fire departments, then look seriously into disincorporation now. In light of all the bankruptcies, lay-offs, closing businesses, government debt, and price inflation mixed with our town's vacant business district, disincorporation is probably the town's fate. America's destiny is now a third world country. Two hundred and eighty town folks cannot change the latter. But we can be proactive, disincorporating to simplify life significantly, reduce taxes, and place more choice and control in the hands of landowners. BUT, it needs to be done before it is no longer allowed.
3) Organize a city-wide volunteer transportation system to take sick neighbors to the hospital when it is urgently needed. A ambulance located 19 miles away is never the first responder, a neighbor is. The ambulance is 25 to 30 minutes away, then another 20 minutes to a hospital. A neighbor can take a sick neighbor to the hospital from our town in 20 minutes, with less delay and less bureaucracy.
This would require a voluntary commitment of a dozen adults, licensed to drive, and a registered private vehicle to use. It might work like this; two drivers on call 24/7 for 5 days, followed by 2 more drivers for another 5 days, etc. That would mean being on call every 30 days. Volunteer drivers would not be paid for their time. The sick neighbor would have to sit like a normal passenger. If sick neighbors needed oxygen, they would need to transport it and use it themselves. The driver could not perform anything resembling a medical or nursing procedure.
When this all-volunteer system is functioning, it would be time to lean real hard on the County Commissioners to reduce funding of the EMS, and reduce property taxes for all residents. Replace the Commissioners if they are not co-operative. Their sworn duty is to serve the public. And that means that they are our servants, not the masters they act like. The goal is two-fold, improve transportation of sick neighbors needing medical care, AND reduce taxation.
4) Regardless of the outcome of the fire department's duplicity, the town's fire department needs to do this, and this will cost some taxpayer money. It is well spent, however. Once again the fire department(s), like the EMS, is/are not the first responder(s) to a fire. The home owner, if at home, is. And a neighbor could very well also be. This is especially true where volunteer fire fighters must come from home to the fire station before reaching the fire. It is a critical issue of timing to catch fires before they spread.
The fire department needs to purchase a fire extinguisher for every occupied home and apartment in town, and two for larger, multi-story homes with larger families. Once a year the fire department needs to offer a week of open-house when residents come with their extinguishers, have them checked and recharged as necessary, and have lessons in using them properly. Other than servicing our water line, this is the best bang for the buck that our City's so-called public funds can be spent for. As a side, it may also develop additional interest in becoming volunteer firemen and firewomen.
Fixin' What's Wrong Post Two; What The Election Won't Change
5) I think most town folks know we have a new owner of the old bank building. His intention appears to be to make something of it. I admit to being worried when I heard someone was squatting in the old building. That changed when I learned someone had invested their wealth in the building and intends on living there. The squatter is the owner. I say now, 'more power to him'. And here is the classical example of why the City's off-again, on-again urge to remove old buildings is so ridiculous. Demolition is a cost to the taxpayer, it is a loss of salvageable, reusable materials, and it is a loss of opportunity for prospective land owners. The City needs more opportunity than it needs additional fiscal liability.
Look at this development, and consider the waste of money the City wants to spend on a $3,000.00 or so grapple for its Skidster to help demolish old buildings. Consider the opportunity that is lost when old structures are demolished. See the positive side of old buildings, see the opportunity. Do not spend taxpayer money frivolously.
I heard two years ago that the brick walls of the old bank building were not stable enough to support a roof structure. The intention back then was to construct weight-bearing walls immediately inside the brick walls, and support a new roof on the new walls. Then the brick walls would somehow be anchored to the new walls to stabilize the brick.
That sounds relatively expensive. Here is a less expensive option, without even knowing what the new owner may, or may not, want. This town must have six or so people who know how to work with brick and mortar. Voluntary help was a force behind the growth of this country from the 1780's through the 1850's, maybe into the 1890's. Six people, with the experience, could voluntarily disassemble those old brick walls, clean the brick, and rebuild the walls. That would be the maximum use of the resource at hand, the minimum cost to the landowner, and no cost to taxpayers. It is win-win-win, and it reflects the folly of subsidies and public funds. This is how Americans built our culture. It is the only way our town might recover.
6) About 2012 I looked for and found a listing for a Small Business Incubator in Elk County. I found a phone number and called one evening. The man on the other end did not want to talk about the business incubator. The group of people directing its efforts were at a cross road and were no longer meeting, according to a less than two minute conversation I had.
What a shame. This is another area where public funds may be wisely spent. I had just moved here from another State, from a rural County of 30,000 folks with a County seat of 5,500. There, the small business incubator was busy every day of the year. Space for some activities were reserved two to three weeks ahead. Evening seminars about business opportunities, new products, marketing techniques, and government requirements for retailing were held monthly. It had a kitchen busy with canned and baked products for the regional retail market. It provided catalog resources for equipment a family may need for a start-up. And it provided contacts to lending institutions to assist start-ups. It was wildly successful and the small business growth in the county easily paid for the public funding, in this case.
The demographics there were much different than here. On demographics alone, an incubator may be too expensive to develop and operate as a City entity. It may need to cover four or five counties. But finding a small business incubator nearby, and having someone from it visit us to discuss how it works and who benefits may be fruitful.
There is one other source of potential help/advice on how to aid our community. Winfield has a several block area of its downtown being developed by "Farm to Table" businesses. Take a drive to see what is going on, talk to the people taking responsibility with their own investments. Maybe some of them would like to visit our town and lay out some steps that would add business opportunity.
Fixin' What's Wrong Post Three; What The Election Won't Change
7) Here we are, mid-October 2025, with talk of a new sewer fee rising from $26.00 a month to $50.00, or potentially $100.00 a month, to help pay for a high-priced, inflation-driven $5,000,000 sewer repair that will develop problems within half a dozen years after it is completed. Just like the million dollar chip seal on half our roads a few years back. You know, the chip seal that started deteriorating in its third year.
Yes, we have an opportunity to save half that five million dollars, maybe more, and still meet State standards for effluent collection and treatment. Shouldn't we find the least cost alternative that meets State standards, instead of accepting the spoon-fed option the State and Industry want us to eat?
Hopefully the planning phase will acknowledge that three lift stations can economically be eliminated with the users of those lift stations converted to septic tanks and drain fields. That can save $450,000+. Hopefully planning will also identify the 1150 feet of sewer on 5th, west of Douglas, that should be abandoned, and have three properties convert to septic and drain fields. That can save $150,000+. And there may be three or four other ares where similar actions can be taken. Planning phase must be encouraged to complete an Alternatives Analyses. Just those options I mentioned would save $600,000+ of the projected $5,000,000 project.
But the biggest savings would be to abandon the sewer system entirely, and install septic tanks and drain fields for all 155 current users. Septic tanks and drain fields would run about $7500 for a family of four. Septic tanks and mounded drain fields for soils that will not 'perc' would run about $14,000 each. Given the extent of clayey soils with poor drainage we will need mounded drain fields in many areas. As a worst case, assume we require a mound system for everyone in town; that would cost $2.17 million. That is significantly less than half the project the State wants to feed us. It is a lowest cost, practical alternative. AND, IF 1/5 of our residents (for example) do not need a mounded drain field the cost falls to ((155*.2)*7500)+((155*.8)*14000) = $1.97 million as the least case alternative. (ASK CASCITY why a smiley face with shades replaces a point eight!!) Isn't that a significant enough savings to fight for?
The debt pay-off reality is that our socialist government will write off 75% of the costs to us, and charge that 75% amount to other taxpayers. That seems like a big freebie to locals with their hands out to do as little as possible, falsely believing things are free.
That 75% cost diversion would mean a $1.25 million liability for our residents for the full blown repair project. BUT, it would mean only a $500,000+/- liability for the lowest cost alternative of septic tanks and drain fields. Which would you prefer as a basis for monthly sewage payments; a $500,000 debt, or a $1.25 million debt?
Oh, remember at $1.25 million, the repaired and lined sewer system will still require an additional monthly charge for continued maintenance of it. The conversion to septic tanks and drain fields will not have a monthly maintenance charge because there will not be a need for city maintenance of them, they become landowner responsibility.
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