CARTHAGE, Mo. —
East Opolis shifted north Tuesday, and there wasn’t even an earthquake.
In all, seven houses shifted to the north, but the change took place only on paper.
According to an original county plat, Kim Scripsick’s house was in the 80-foot right of way for Thatch Lane in the tiny unincorporated community that is adjacent to Opolis, Kan., on the Missouri side of the state line.
Scripsick said she and her husband wanted to sell their property, but an official survey was required for the new buyer to get approval for a loan underwritten by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“We found that part of the house was in the street right of way and part of our neighbor’s house and garage was on our property,” Scripsick said, referring to the original plat.
She said all seven properties near the Missouri-Kansas line were incorrectly platted in 1881, and the boundaries on paper were off by about 14 feet.
Scripsick said she and her husband have owned the property, which is a rental home, since 2010, and no one had ever noticed the error before.
After the problem was discovered, the couple met with Jim Honey, Jasper County Eastern District associate commissioner. Honey and the other commissioners on Tuesday decided the only solution was to have a new plat map drawn up of the entire neighborhood.
Scripsick was the only landowner at a meeting Tuesday when county commissioners held a public hearing on the plan.
Marjorie Miller, a longtime resident of East Opolis, did not attend but said later Tuesday that she supports the effort to straighten out a 131-year-old error. Miller said she and her husband have owned their home for 25 years and were “very much surprised” when the error was discovered.
“We didn’t need a survey when we bought our home but we wanted to get it right, especially if it’s something that’s been messed up for 130 years,” she said. “We didn’t want it to be something our kids would have to deal with after we were gone.”
With the replatting, all the property boundaries were moved to the north.
“Nobody lost anything or gained anything; this just moved the lines a little,” Scripsick said. “It just makes it correct on paper.”
Official move
The new boundaries become official once they are recorded by the Jasper County Recorder’s office.
Local News
Jasper County straightens out boundary error dating to 1881
- Local News
-
-
PSU approves 7.4 percent tuition increase
Pittsburg State University will raise tuition by 7.4 percent, or $162 per semester for a full-time, instate undergraduate beginning this fall.
-
City Manager: CID owes Neosho $158,257
The Big Spring Plaza Community Improvement District owes Neosho $158,257, City Manager Troy Royer told the Neosho City Council on Tuesday.
-
Proposal would reduce 20th Street to two lanes
A design proposal that would convert much of 20th Street into two lanes instead of four from Main Street to Campbell Parkway to make room for streetscape and green features did not draw much public support on Tuesday.
-
Local runners show support for Boston in cross-country relay
After completing the Boston Marathon on April 15, Ashleigh Beyersdorfer made her way through the throngs of runners to retrieve the bag she had checked in and was on her way to meet up with her family when she heard the explosions.
-
MSSU board to complete terms of president’s departure
The Board of Governors of Missouri Southern State University will meet Wednesday to complete the terms of the agreement that terminated President Bruce Speck’s contract, board Chairwoman Sherry Buchanan said.
-
State’s key witness testifies in murder trial
The fate of Dustin Boggs may ultimately depend on the credibility of Arturo Council. If jurors believe Council, then Boggs, 25, could be convicted of first-degree murder in the 2012 stabbing and shooting death of his ex-girlfriend, Danyel Borden, 21, at his trial this week in Ottawa County District Court.
-
Swimmers attempt to set world record
Even before the instructor had finished giving his direction to the class of young swimmers, 4-year-old Alexa DeBerry had dunked herself underwater and had come up giggling.
-
Jasper County to start enforcing newly adopted nuisance ordinance
Jasper County has received 15 complaints based on a new nuisance ordinance adopted earlier this spring, members of the County Commission said Tuesday. John Bartosh, presiding commissioner, said he and the other commissioners reviewed the complaints during a meeting last week with workers at the Jasper County Health Department.
-
Neosho School Board votes to boost custodians’ salaries
Action taken Monday night by the Neosho Board of Education on salaries was designed partly to retain custodians. The measure approved by the board gives custodians, with a starting salary of $8.77 an hour, a 10 percent raise.
-
Mike Pound: Carthage holding parties for a good cause
When my wife told me that we were going to host a party, I had only one question: Why? My wife might be the party-hosting sort of person, but I am not. She said this party was for a good cause. She also told me that our friends Lana and Bill, Lee Ann and Rob, and Amy and Jimmy were going to help host it.
- More Local News Headlines
-
PSU approves 7.4 percent tuition increase
