|
At the general election of 1883 these special officers were re-elected with the following exceptions:
Clerk, B. H. McGrew J. F. Burns was appointed county attorney at a salary of $100 per year. In June it was found that the assessed valuation of the entire county (now three counties) was but $649,195.75, of which the railroad and telegraph companies was $240,115. A levy for taxation was made of 9 mills general, 4 bridges and 2 roads. The new county was now in fairly good running order. The usual perplexing problems came up to annoy and create factions. The bridge question seems to have been quite satisfactorily handled. The bridges over the Pine, Plum and Bone Creeks, in addition to those over the Niobrara, were among the early under takings. The care of prisoners occupied much attention, and consumed not a little of the county funds, as it was necessary at first to send them to other counties to be kept. In June, 1883, Mrs. N. J. Osborn gave to the county a small building to be used as, a jail, which by installing steel cells and being remodeled met the needs of the county until 1889, when $1,000 was set aside to build a jail and sheriff's residence; $600 was added to this sum later for the completion of the building. Establishing roads was another problem on which many citizens were busy, also the changing of precinct boundaries and establishing new precincts. The county commissioners were besieged with petitions on these subjects at almost every session. One of the first precinct divisions made was that of Keya Paha (the entire county) into Burton and Keya Paha precincts. The care of the insane and the poor, the soldiers' relief work, the county printing, the claims of the rival agricultural societies at Ainsworth and Loner Pine, the salaries of the minor county officers, such as the superintendent of schools, county attorney and the county physician were some of the questions the commissioners had to deal with at that early date.
|
|
