Marisa Morgan Dallman

In 2009 there have only been four transactions at Town & Country Villas. One was the last brand new villa so only three re-sale homes have sold in 2009. Here is a summary of the resale activity in 2009:

2009 Re-Sales SOLD at Town and Country Villas
*indicates sold by Marisa

This information is also posted at http://www.villaskc.com/sold.html for your reference. I have also just listed a Monterey - 2 bedroom/2 bath/Sunroom at 23158 W 71^st Terrace. Enjoy the colorful fall and feel free to contact me anytime.

Best Wishes,

Marisa Morgan Dallman
"Your Town & Country Villas Real Estate Specialist"
Phone (913) 915-9151
http://www.VillasKC.com

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We started a new blog for Anderson County Kansas at http://www.AndersonCountyKansasLand.com

It's that time of year again for bird hunting. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) website - www.kdwp.state.ks.us has posted all of the rules and regulations and dates. The word around towns is that October is going to be a great month especially for turkey this year. Happy Hunting.

When I came across this today I was reminded how wonderful it is to be in the USA and especially Kansas where people care about and support their communities.

The Kansas Explorers Club at http://www.kansassampler.org/kansasexplorersclub/ has launched a campaign called Support Crabby Patty. A small town convenience store has been falling on hard times and Hazel, a member of the Dexter Economic Development Association went into action. She enlisted the help of the Kansas Explorers Club and asked the members to stop by the store and buy something to support it. People from all over are also sending in small donations of $5 and $10 to help the store.

To view their video story online go to http://smalltownusamovie.com/webisode07.html

This is a great idea and to me what rural living is all about - people coming together and helping others for the good of the community.

As Kansans we enjoy some fairly friendly property owner water rights. Colorado on the other hand is not so lucky. Recently, you may have heard that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that groundwater pumping in Colorado had diverted millions of gallons of water from the Arkansas watershed that rightfully belonged to Kansas. Colorado paid Kansas more than $34 million in damages. Wells were capped and crackdowns began. The Colorado Springs Gazzette recently reported that this in turn has caused a huge effort by the state to force property owners with existing ponds to either go to court and prove their water rights or be forced to drain their ponds. This is a great oversimplification but Colorado basically owns all the water rights in the state and individual property owners have to apply for the rights to use it. The decline in market value of any land that now has an ugly pit of drained ponds that in some cases had been there nearly a hundred years is obviously unthinkable. Pond water is not only has recreational uses but in some cases is the only way to water livestock in pastures.

In Kansas water permits are still required but the main exception is water used solely for domestic purposes - that is, water primarily used for the household, watering livestock on pasture, or watering up to two acres of lawn and gardens; for those uses no permit is needed. Local governments and municipalities have to apply for water rights and also large scale irrigation of farms. Over 85% of water use in Kansas goes to irrigation of farmland. The Water Appropriation Act affects all Kansans. If you are a farmer who uses irrigation to grow crops, it requires you to obtain a permit and to make yearly reports of the water you use. The right to use Kansas water is based on the principle of "first in time - first in right." In times of shortage, that means the earliest water right or permit holders have first rights to use the water. You should make sure that all of your water permits are in place now even though we have had an unusually wet season so that when the time comes you will know where you stand on your water rights. For land owners water rights are an important issue and we should be diligent in watching for any new proposals that would limit our rights as property owners. With that said - it reminds me of an anonymous quote I saw recently...... "No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session."

For more information on Kansas Water Rights please see the Kansas Water Resources brochure

http://www.ksda.gov/includes/document_center/dwr/Publications/KansasWaterResources.pdf