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Another great edition of the Montgomery County Chronicle is on the local newsstands. The Aug. 14 issue — which is a 30-p...
08/15/2025

Another great edition of the Montgomery County Chronicle is on the local newsstands. The Aug. 14 issue — which is a 30-page edition — contains the second printing of the Montgomery County Delinquent Property Tax List.

Be sure to buy a copy today! See link in the comments for store locations. Or, go to www.taylornews.org to subscribe.

A pertinent commentary about a momentous day in U.S. history — 80 years ago this week.
08/15/2025

A pertinent commentary about a momentous day in U.S. history — 80 years ago this week.

Among the joys of attending the bean feed and watermelon feed at the Coffeyville Inter-State Fair and Rodeo on Wednesday...
08/14/2025

Among the joys of attending the bean feed and watermelon feed at the Coffeyville Inter-State Fair and Rodeo on Wednesday was seeing our good friend, James Copeland of KGGF radio, don his garage-built, portable broadcast backpack. In today's radio world, a simple cell phone does the job for most remote radio broadcasts. But, Copeland is a true radio gadget guy . . . and loves to cobble together pieces of old equipment. For his portable backpack, he placed a portable power pack atop an early-generation radio transmitter, attached it to a backpack frame, aligned it to a small antennae (adorned with an antique KGGF plate at top), which allowed him to walk the grounds of Walter Johnson Park and do live interviews. It's the type of stuff that you would see radio and TV reporters carry on the floor of national political conventions . . . in 1956. But, the old gadgetry still works in 2025 for Copeland and KGGF.

It's a hot afternoon in Coffeyville, but one that still carries the color and fun of the Coffeyville Inter-State Fair an...
08/13/2025

It's a hot afternoon in Coffeyville, but one that still carries the color and fun of the Coffeyville Inter-State Fair and Rodeo Parade. Activities continue tonight at Walter Johnson Park with PRCA Rodeo.

STANDING-ROOM-ONLY CROWD SHOWS SUPPORT FOR MAINTAINING, ENHANCING FIELD KINDLEY POOLCOFFEYVILLE — Plans to close the Fie...
08/12/2025

STANDING-ROOM-ONLY CROWD SHOWS SUPPORT FOR MAINTAINING, ENHANCING FIELD KINDLEY POOL

COFFEYVILLE — Plans to close the Field Kindley High School indoor pool will not happen . . . at least for now.

And, if a group of community members has its way, the pool never will be closed.

A standing-room-only crowd at Monday’s USD 445 Board of Education meeting pleaded with the board to not close the Charlesworth Natatorium at Field Kindley and, instead, use a collaborative approach with community members to mix private funds with school dollars to save it.

The board heard the appeals.

Originally planning to vote on a motion to permanently close the natatorium, the board changed its mind prior to Monday’s meeting and took the closure option off the table.

In its place, the board — after listening to more than 90 minutes of appeals from several dozen patrons and graduates — voted to seek demolition bids and renovation bids so that a cost comparison can be determined.

Once the bids for demolition and renovation are received, the board will determine its next course of action, which, the board indicated, would likely involve working with community members to develop a fund drive for the pool's rehabilitation and structural repairs.

But, the decision to create a fund drive will be formally voted upon after the bids are received and the anticipated costs (demolition versus rehabilitation) are determined.

The pool has been under the radar for the past year and a half after contractors found the roof trusses to be largely corroded due to years of a deteriorating mix of heat, humidity and pool chemical fumes.

The roof trusses were found to be structurally unsafe after they were unable to hold the weight of an HVAC unit that was being installed atop the natatorium roof.

The pool has been closed to the public since the discovery of the roof issues.

This is an abbreviated version of the report from Monday’s board meeting. A complete story about Monday’s board meeting will be printed in the Aug. 14 issue of the Montgomery County Chronicle.

To subscribe, go to www.taylornews.org and click on “Subscribe.”

08/11/2025

BREAKING NEWS: PROPOSAL TO PERMANENTLY CLOSE FIELD KINDLEY HIGH SCHOOL'S INDOOR POOL IS TAKEN OFF MEETING AGENDA

COFFEYVILLE — A possible decision to permanently close the Field Kindley High indoor pool has been removed from the agenda at tonight’s USD 445 Board of Education meeting.

The original agenda for this afternoon’s meeting showed the board considering a motion to permanently close the Charlesworth Natatorium at Field Kindley due to structural deterioration issues.

However, a revised agenda that was issued this afternoon showed that item as having been removed from the agenda.

In its place is the board's consideration to approve the superintendent’s recommendation to seek a Request For Proposal, or RFP, for demolition costs of the pool facility and an RFP originally approved for the renovation of the pool facility.

The board meeting will take place at 4 p.m., at the District Office.

A GLIMPSE AT THE 9TH ANNUAL VAUDE IN THE 'VILLE VARIETY SHOW IN COFFEYVILLE ON SATURDAY NIGHT
08/10/2025

A GLIMPSE AT THE 9TH ANNUAL VAUDE IN THE 'VILLE VARIETY SHOW IN COFFEYVILLE ON SATURDAY NIGHT

USD 445 BOARD TO CONSIDER CLOSURE, DEMOLITION OF FIELD KINDLEY INDOOR POOL(UPDATE, 10 a.m. SUNDAY: Dr. Craig Correll, US...
08/09/2025

USD 445 BOARD TO CONSIDER CLOSURE, DEMOLITION OF FIELD KINDLEY INDOOR POOL

(UPDATE, 10 a.m. SUNDAY: Dr. Craig Correll, USD 445 superintendent, confirmed that even if the indoor pool is demolished, the Field Kindley High School swim teams will continue to exist as a coop program with Independence High School, just as the two schools did in the 2024-25 school year.

* * * * *

COFFEYVILLE — USD 445 Board of Education members on Monday will consider whether to demolish the structurally-plagued Field Kindley High School indoor pool, also known as the Charlesworth Natatorium.

The board will consider the measure at its monthly meeting at 4 p.m., Monday, Aug. 11 at the USD 445 Service Center.

According to the board agenda, which was released on Friday, the board will consider a motion close the pool and also seek requests for contractors to demolish the structure.

The issue arose after the board heard a presentation in June from assistant super indent Michael Speer regarding the natatorium’s condition.

Plaguing the structure is the condition of the roof which has been determined to be structurally inferior due to decades of erosion and rust caused by the combination of pool chemicals, humidity, heat and steel.

The roof’s condition came to the board’s attention in 2024 when a contractor attempted to install an HVAC unit atop the roof. The contractor noticed that the roof supports were unable to hold the unit. Further inspection revealed that the roof trusses had corroded joints that made it susceptible to load failure.

At that point, the pool was drained and closed to the public.

An engineering firm estimated that the cost to replace the roof would be about $2.2 million. Additional expenses would be needed to bring the pool into operational standard, meaning the total cost would likely be about $2.35 million.

Dr. Craig Correll, USD 445 superintendent, and Michael Speer, assistant superintendent, did not present details about the cost to build a new pool, considering that they realized that the construction and site preparation costs would easily exceed the cost to replace the roof and recondition the existing pool.

The cost to demolish the natatorium would likely exceed $1 million, the board was told at its June meeting.

The Charlesworth Natatorium is home to the Field Kindley boys’ and girls’ swim teams. Additionally, the pool is used by two physical education classes at Field Kindley. The Coffeyville Recreation Commission, Coffeyville Regional Medical Center, and Coffeyville Community College also has had access to the pool in recent years.

Speer told the board in June that if the board wanted to pursue replacement of the roof and the reconditioning of the pool, it would delay or defer other maintenance projects and upgrades to school facilities.

* * * * * *

The Montgomery County Chronicle issue of June 12 contained a story that detailed the USD 445 administration's presentation about the pool at its June 9 meeting. That story is shown in its entirety on the attached three pages.

SPLISH, SPLASH AT THE BACK TO SCHOOL BASHA temporary splash park was created at the Independence Goes Back to School Bas...
08/09/2025

SPLISH, SPLASH AT THE BACK TO SCHOOL BASH

A temporary splash park was created at the Independence Goes Back to School Bash at Riverside Park on Thursday night. The Independence Fire Department brought its large ladder truck to the park oval, where a sq**rt from the hose allowed youngsters to prance and splash on the oval ground. A byproduct of the event was a rainbow, although the only pot of gold found was the enjoyment of cool water raining down from the firetruck hose.

VAUDE IN THE 'VILLE VARIETY SHOWS COME TO COFFEYVILLE STAGE ON SATURDAYCOFFEYVILLE — Vaude in the ‘Ville returns to Coff...
08/08/2025

VAUDE IN THE 'VILLE VARIETY SHOWS COME TO COFFEYVILLE STAGE ON SATURDAY

COFFEYVILLE — Vaude in the ‘Ville returns to Coffeyville on Saturday, August 9 as the annual fundraiser for the Midland Theater restoration project.

The event begins at 7 p.m., at the Spencer-Rounds Theater on the Coffeyville Community College main campus.

Now in its ninth year, Vaude in the ‘Ville is a one-night-only variety show featuring hometown talent, comedic moments and toe-tapping performances.

Among the performers are Mark Mayfield, a Caney native and nationally-recognized speaker; Luke an Torey (Smart) DeWitt; Pearl’s Girls; the Oyler family; Brad Gray and more.

Serving are co-emcees are Brad Gray and Lindsay (Oyler) Goldapp.

Tickets are available at https://app.promotix.com/.../Vaude-in-the--Ville-2025...

THE AUGUST 7 ISSUE: A 40-PAGE MUST READGet a copy of the Montgomery County Chronicle's August 7 issue . . . because it's...
08/07/2025

THE AUGUST 7 ISSUE: A 40-PAGE MUST READ

Get a copy of the Montgomery County Chronicle's August 7 issue . . . because it's a darn-good issue at 40 pages.

It includes the Montgomery County 4-H Fair Scrapbook, plus the Montgomery County Delinquent Property Tax List.

Want to subscribe? Take advantage of subscription offer in each issue . . . or go to www.taylornews.org and click on "Subscribe."

08/07/2025

MONTGOMERY COUNTY DELINQUENT PROPERTY TAX LIST INCLUDED IN AUGUST 7 ISSUE

LIST SHOWS MORE THAN $3.2 MILLION IN UNPAID PROPERTY TAXES FROM 2024

Montgomery County property owners owe more than $3.25 million in unpaid taxes, according to the Delinquent Property Tax List that begins the first of a three-week printing in this issue of the Montgomery County Chronicle.

Per state law, county treasurers in Kansas are required to publish the names of those property owners who have not paid their property taxes for 2024.

If property owners do not pay their unpaid taxes, then their properties will be forwarded to a public auction under the guidance of the county sheriff (also known as a sheriff’s sale), which will be held at a later date.

Persons who see their names on the delinquent property tax list should render full payment at the Montgomery County Treasurer’s Office.

A $16 publication fee will be assessed for each individual property that is listed.

When people read the list for the first time, they will see that properties are categorized based on their location: either in a city or township. An index on the front page of the tax list will help you locate the city or township in which the property is located. The list is then broken down alphabetically. The name of the property owner (or the legal name of the business) is shown, followed by the legal address of that particular property, and then the unpaid amount of taxes.

And, what is the total sum of unpaid property taxes from the 2024 tax cycle?

More than $3.25 million, according to the Montgomery County Treasurer’s Office.

That means local governing bodies, such as cities, county, school boards, college boards, have to adjust their budgets in the following tax cycles to compensate for the amount of taxes that remain uncollected.

A breakdown of those unpaid taxes by city and township is shown below.

_________________

Cities:

Caney City: $289,017.58

Cherryvale City: $253,006.08

Coffeyville City: $1,036,369.32

Dearing City: $23,917.10

Elk City: $31,026.19

Havana City: $17,145.17

Independence City: $790,791.96

Liberty City: $7,109.53

Tyro City: $15,932.83

_____________________

Townships:

Caney: $138,656.85

Cherokee: $74,740.00

Cherry: $17,142.37

Drum Creek: $33,025.66

Fawn Creek: $98,172.27

Independence: $155,689.62

Liberty: $21,286.46

Louisburg: $31,038.05

Parker: $77,521.69

Rutland: $43,701.94

Sycamore: $78,448.11

West Cherry: $16,482.23

TOTAL: $3,250,221.01

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Independence, KS

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