Ellsworth County residents, shoppers will influence results

We often think of Ellsworth County as an experiment within an experiment. From a state perspective, our county is one of 105 that Gov. Sam Brownback and his followers have converted into a petri dish for their relentless “march to zero” on income taxes. The question, especially in Ellsworth and other rural regions of the state, is — How do we hold the line on property taxes and still maintain necessary services? — as Brownback and company abandon their obligations and push more responsibility to local units of government. Ellsworth’s other, closer-to-home experiment is taking place at the intersection of Kansas Highways 140 and 156. Retail giant Walmart several months ago opened a neighborhood market, a much smaller version of its superstores at Salina and Great Bend. The store here carries groceries and gasoline and also features a pharmacy. The question: Can a sparsely populated county of 6,500 support a Walmart — never mind the size — and the established businesses that have been here in many cases for generations?

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