Dying town

Located less than one mile from the Missouri border, Arcadia was once a thriving community of more than 1,500 people. At one time, it boasted its own newspaper, bank and furniture store. Hunsaker’s family owned Dunton’s Furniture Store for generations, until the business folded in the 1980s. Neighbors said Hunsaker lived in the town for several years as a youth before moving south to Pittsburg and ultimately Hawaii.

Both the town’s fortunes and its population have fallen. A pair of donkeys grazed recently in the front yard of what was once Brick Mountain, a two-story brick building that served as the town’s elementary school, and later as an artists’ enclave and community center.

The town’s only remaining business is The Little Bearcat Cafe at 107 E. Arcadia St., owned by longtime resident Bill Bridgewater.

Bridgewater is among those who believe the town isn’t reaping any benefits from Hunsaker and Black’s patrols.

“Oh, no, if you need help you call the county (sheriff) anyway,” he said. “When they’re here anyway, you never see them around. They were here last week and drove through town once.”

According to Bob Moore, the city’s other part-time law officer and the custodian of police records, neither Hunsaker nor Black has issued a single citation nor made an arrest since they began serving.

“We’re a small town,” he said. “We probably haven’t made an arrest in over a year.”

‘Zero dollars’

The town’s former mayor, Jack Payne, who served from 2001 until 2007, when he lost to write-in candidate and current mayor Paul Starne, said he too is bothered by the presence of out-of-town law enforcement.

“One of my neighbors calls them ‘Hawaii Five-0’ and now they’re playing ‘Kansas Three-4,’” he said, referring to the fact that Kansas was the 34th state in the union. He said the whole thing is something of a joke.

“If he (Hunsaker) actually wrote a ticket, he couldn’t go to court unless he flew back over. It’s just silly,” Payne said.

“They (Hunsaker and Black) bought all the gear, and they dress up, they’ve even got their pictures up at City Hall,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re playing out some childhood fantasy or not. Nobody can figure it out.”

Starne contends the services provided by the two commuting cops are valuable.

“The cars that they purchased cost the city zero dollars,” he said.