Excerpted stories in Crawford County newspaper archives

100 years ago

May 26, 1926

Girard, May 26. - Pittsburg taxpayers came to Girard today en-masse. At noon, various estimates placed the number here at 750 to 1,000. Each carne to Girard to lay complaint before the county board of tax equalization concerning high and unfair realty assessments in Pittsburg. So large was the crowd that it became necessary to remove headquarters of the board to the division No. 1 district courtroom the capacity of which was taxed throughout the morning and this afternoon.

Suit for damages amounting to $25,000 by W. L. Stockton against the Domestic Fuel Company was on trial in division No. 1 of the district court here before Judge D. H. Woolley today. Mr. Stockton alleges he suffered extensive and permanent injuries when crushed beneath a falling tipple at the mine of the defendant company, one and one-half miles northwest of Liberal, June 30, 1925. The entire morning was taken up in court in examination of the jury panel by the opposing attorneys.

Pledging $1,150 of the necessary $4,000 with which to purchase the proposed site for a state fish and game recreation and preserve ground five miles north of Pittsburg, members of the local chapter of the Izaak Walton League last night demonstrated their support of the first organized movement to experiment in reclaiming strip pit land. The tract of land from which the coal has long ago been stripped, with a small exception, will be purchased through the efforts of Pittsburg Waltonians and presented to the state for development into a state park, it was decided last night.

50 years ago

May 26, 1976

Burglars stole well over an estimated $10,000 worth of jewelry after breaking into Bullock Jewelers and Gifts Inc. at the Mall around 2:48 a.m. Tuesday, Pittsburg Asst. Police Chief Ralph Shanks said. Police could determine no signs of forcible entry to the Mall itself, and the mode of entry remained a mystery Tuesday night. The burglars had shut off the electrical power of the store to kill the display case lights, and a clock above the display cabinets had registered the time at 2:48 when police spotted it during the investigation Tuesday.

A $75,000 building project capable of housing 12 juvenile boys is slated to begin soon at Crawford County's Children's Court Center, juvenile court judge Richard Loffswold said Tuesday. The building, now in the planning stage, will accommodate some of the center's older male juveniles, mainly 16 to 18 year olds, Loffswold told the Pittsburg Rotary Club. The additional facility should earn about $43,000 a year "over and above all expenses" for the center in residence fees.

A revised decision of the Pittsburg City Commission Tuesday gave Pete Monsour of Monsour Brothers, Inc., the go-ahead to expand his business over a sanitary sewer. Monsour's planned construction of a 7,000-square-foot warehouse, an addition to the company's main warehouse at 112 N. Elm, will be built over a city sanitary sewer. At the May 11 meeting of the city commission, a motion was passed allowing Monsour to build the addition in any way except over the sewer.

25 years ago

May 26, 2001

A Pittsburg man was arrested and an unidentified suspect led police on a chase Friday morning after they were approached by law officers about a stolen vehicle. It was later determined that the men had not taken the vehicle, but Quentin Boykin, 21, was taken into custody on a local warrant and for battery to a law officer after he allegedly initiated a scuffle with police officers. No one was hurt during the run-in. The second suspect was not apprehended Friday, although law officers conducted an extensive hunt that included the search of a home.

Artists Jim Reed and Holly Reed are currently exhibiting their work in the PAACA Art Gallery, Pittsburg Memorial Auditorium. Included are ceramic tile murals, pottery platters and pots, hand woven rugs, hats and wall hangings. "Holly and I have been working on this exhibit for the last few months," Jim Reed said. He said that he has recently been working with clay that he has dug up himself. "I've gotten clay from a neighbor's pond, and I've been working with various red clays and gold clay," he said.

GIRARD - Crawford County teens will have their day in court, thanks to a new program planned to start next school year. Crawford County commissioners Friday approved a grant application to fund a Teen Court which will allow youths between 14 and 18 years old committing minor offenses to be tried by other teens. "Teens involved in first-time minor offenses will have the option of going to regular juvenile court and having their offense go on their record, or going to Teen Court," Debbie Thomas, Restorative Justice Administration program coordinator, said.