On May 18, 2023, at 6:05pm an organized group of Tanglewood Lakes residents (approximately 45 persons or more) gathered at the gates of Tanglewood Lakes and removed the gates from the entrances as a protest.
Two Deputies arrived at 6:27pm to find multiple individuals at each gate removing the components of the gate. The crowd at the gates were upset with the Tanglewood Lakes Management for disallowing them to enter and exit the gates freely. Deputies were grossly outnumbered in the situation and all of the gates had already suffered damages or were removed. Deputies attempted to communicate with the subjects and their requests were denied. The protest was peaceful yet damaging. It is the belief of the Deputies that aggressive action would have resulted in violence or injury to citizens or themselves.
Deputies identified many of the subjects at the event. Reports will be sent to the Linn County Attorney to determine the charges in the case. There were no threats nor violent actions on behalf of the persons removing the gates.
Last night, we stationed a Deputy in the area of Tanglewood Lakes to attempt to deal with any further fall out regarding the situation, there was none.
Apparently there have been videos released on social media by the persons who removed the gates, in these videos the presenter would suggest that the Sheriff’s Office was on their side, and we were warned of the incident. We do not take sides and the presenter in the video did send me a text message at 5:28pm telling me that the gates would be removed. I did not see this text message until 6:22pm when I received a phone call from my dispatcher telling me of the events ongoing at Tanglewood. My Office was not notified of upcoming events through any proper channels, such as calling Communications to make a report of the event.
Since the event at Tanglewood, Deputies have prepared reports for the Linn County Attorney’s review. The Linn County Attorney will be the responsible party to bring charges in the event, as with all cases. We will expect warrants or summons from the Office of the Linn County Attorney to further the case.
Several callers this morning would suggest to the Sheriff’s Office that we should have stopped the incident at any cost. My response to this is that the incident was nearly complete upon our arrival. We have collected evidence and identified many people involved. If we would have taken aggressive measures to stop the incident, injury would have certainly occurred. In todays society we have trained to de-escalate situations without blood shed or injury to the citizens that we serve.
Moving forward we will be presenting reports to the Linn County Attorney for prosecution as discussed above.
Kevin J. Friend
Linn County Sheriff
EDITORS NOTE: Staff at the Linn County News are working on this story as it develops and plan to have a full article in next week's edition.
NEWS
Former Zoning Administrator explains KORA requests

During the weekly meeting on Monday, Oct. 20, the Linn County Commissioners heard from former county employee Darin Wilson who served previously as the Planning and Zoning Administrator. Wilson told commissioners that the KORA (Kansas Open Records Act) requests he had made were... [More]
Pleasanton Council overrides mayor veto on firefighter appointments

The Pleasanton Council met at their regularly scheduled meeting Monday and Councilman Aaron Portmann immediately read a prepared statement concerning Ordinance 2065 that Mayor Mathew Young vetoed that tried to take appointment of firefighters from the mayor and put it on the... [More]
Snyder appointed Linn County Register of Deeds

Following the retirement of long-time Linn County Register of Deeds Kristy Schmitz, the Linn County Republican Central Committee held a convention Sunday to appoint a new Register of Deeds. Central Committee Chair Becky Johnson held the role call of committee people and 20... [More]
More News
- Blue Mound to apply for KDHE loan for sewer project
- Souza resigns county clerk post
- Farmers State Bank under new ownership
- Linn Valley council updated on water, lagoon projects
- Suit filed in Sunshine Meadows building permit case
- Pleasanton demos asphalt zipper for street repair
- La Cygne awards lift station bid
- Appraiser’s office announces completion of review
SPORTS
Prairie View football stays on top of their district with big win over Girard

The Prairie View Buffalos are in 3A District 2 and currently hold the number one seed in that district. The Buffalos 49-20 win over Girard gave them a great chance to be District champions. This week the Buffalos travel to Iola for their final district game and will seal the... [More]
Prairie View volleyball finishes season at Girard

The Prairie View volleyball team finished their regular season games at Iola this past week as they had a Pioneer League triangular against Iola and Osawatomie. They were in the 3A Regional quad at Girard on Oct. 20 and finished their season there going 1-2. To see the full... [More]
Jays lock in league runner up spot at Uniontown

Just as the week before, Pleasanton turned first-half takeaways into touchdowns and won at Uniontown last Friday night, 45-12, in a Three Rivers League and Class 1-A, District 1 matchup. The win assures the Blu-Jays of at least their third consecutive second-place finish in... [More]
More Sports
- Jayhawk football routs Southeast Cherokee
- Pleasanton volleyball goes 2-2 in final week of the regular season
- Schneider makes State for Hawks in girls’ golf
- Wade and Britz advance to State for the Buffalos
- Blu-Jays convert takeaways into Homecoming win
- Lady Jays host league triangular and competes at Uniontown
- Jayhawk volleyball has a busy successful week
- Jayhawk football wins thriller over Pleasanton on Homecoming
COMMUNITY
Mound City Community Garden

A new community garden is growing in Mound City. Located directly west of Food Fair on Main Street and christened the Cultivate Kindness Garden, it has taken root thanks to the hard work of several local residents. Headed by Shayna Lamb with the help of Sue Vicory, along... [More]
Kelley honored - Instructor of the Year

Shelly Kelley is honored as the ACMHCK Mental Health First Aid Trainer of the Year! This recognition highlights the significant impact that Shelly and the MHFA team are having by equipping our communities with essential tools to support mental health and save lives. “Receiving... [More]
A few things to know about football

What do rugby and soccer have in common? They are the two sports that American Football originated from. The first football game was played between Rutgers and Princeton Universities in New Brunswick, New Jersey on Nov. 6, 1869. But the game looked much different than the football... [More]
More Community
- First Aid: your safety toolkit
- Hydroponic towers provide fresh produce for lunches at JES
- General Pleasonton Days set for Oct 4-5
- Mine Creek Heritage Day this Saturday
- Blood Drive: The Battle of the Badges
- Parker Days set for Sept. 20
- Pleasanton Chamber Business Expo Thursday, Sept. 4
- MCHP seeks quilts for Fall Festival and Quilt Show