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Affiant states that in his opinion these ditches are permanent, and it would be impossible to restore this land to the same condition that it was before the landing field was constructed, and this would greatly effect the salability of the farm if it was put on the market; therefore, from the facts set out above, I consider that great damage has been done to the Armstrong land by reason of the ditches, erosion, inconvenience in farming, and general effect on the salability of the farm. In my opinion the value of the Armstrong 160 acres has been depreciated and damaged at least $25 per acre.

Further affiant sayeth not.

Subscribed and sworn to before me April 29, 1939. [SEAL]

My commission expires May 1, 1939.

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L. B. Harden, of lawful age, being first duly sworn on oath states: That his place of residence is Olathe, Johnson County, Kans.; that his occupation is county agricultural agent of Johnson County, Kans., and that he has been employed in that capacity by Johnson County for a little longer than 41⁄2 years. That in his business he travels over Johnson County, examining farms, advising crop rotation, soil, and water erosion problems. That during the time he has been employed by said county, he has traveled over most of the county and is familiar with the lay of the land and condition of the soil in Johnson County.

That he has examined the following-described land, situated in the county of Johnson and State of Kansas, to wit: W1⁄2SE, E1⁄2SW, sec. 22, T. 14, R. 22, which is owned by E. E. Armstrong of Gardner, Kans. That this land adjoins on the north land owned by the United States Government and used as an emergency landing field for airplanes. That he has personally examined the land owned by Mr. Armstrong and the land owned by the United States Government, which is used as a landing field. From his examination of said land, there has been a permanent damage to the land owned by Mr. Armstrong by reason of the water having been diverted from its natural drainage course by reason of the construction of this landing field, there having been diversion ditches constructed on emergency landing field to divert drainage to adjoining land. The landing field is located in sec. 27, T. 14, R. 22. This diversion ditch intercepts water from adjoining land on the west, thus giving it both increased volume and speed at the time it enters the land owned by Mr. Armstrong and this diversion ditch not only intercepts water from the natural direction of drainage but also intercepts and diverts water which normally drained in a southeasterly direction.

From my examination of the land owned by Mr. Armstrong above described, I find that by reason of the water having been diverted from its natural course, which in turn increased the volume and speed, has caused serious erosion on Mr. Armstrong's land. During the period since the diversion ditch was constructed, the water has cut two ditches through the land owned by Mr. Armstrong. These ditches range in depth from 2 to 6 feet and from 10 to approximately 20 feet in width This has made it necessary to divide the farm land into several fields due to the inability of crossing with farm machinery.

In addition to the diversion ditch on the west side, there was also constructed a diversion ditch on the south and east sides of the landing field which deposited water with increased speed and volume on land owned by W. B. Timberlake, where it flowed diagonally across, entering Mr. Armstrong's land on the east and flowing in a northwesterly direction, joining with the water coming from the southwest diversion ditch. As a result of the diversion of this water, permanent damage has been caused Mr. Armstrong's land, which in my opinion can never be restored. As a result also, the valuation of this land was decreased and the land of Mr. Armstrong, in my opinion, has been injured permanently.

Even though, during the fall of 1938, the diversion ditching system was corrected to a certain extent on the landing field, which will in the future return some of the drainage to its natural course, there will be in my opinion certain future damages due to the fact that the water is diverted from its natural course and enters Mr.

Armstrong's land at a different point than it would naturally go and through a channel, which will give it greater speed and volume.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 10th day of April 1939. [SEAL]

L. B. HARDEN.

V. T. NICHOLSON, Notary Public, Johnson County, Kans.

My commission expires June 27, 1939.

AFFIDAVIT

STATE OF KANSAS,

Johnson County, ss:

Hayes Frakes, of lawful age, being first duly sworn, on oath, states: That his place of residence is Gardner, Johnson County, Kans. That he is 62 years of age. That he is a farmer by occupation; and that he has been a resident of Johnson County, Kans., since the year 1907.

That he is personally and well acquainted with E. E. Armstrong, of Gardner, Kans., who is the owner of the following-described real property, situated in the county of Johnson and State of Kansas, to wit: W1⁄2SE and ESW, sec. 22, T. 14, R. 22, containing 160 acres, and which described real property adjoins on the north the land owned by the United States Government used as an emergency landing field for airplanes.

That he was a tenant upon the land above-described, owned by Mr. Armstrong, from the year 1908 until the spring of 1937; and that he lived upon said land and farmed the same. That he is familiar with the lay of the land in that community and also familiar with the lay of the land owned by the United States Government used as a landing field for airplanes, which adjoins the land of Mr. Armstrong on the south.

That during the time he was tenant upon said land, up until the landing field was established, there were no ditches or ravines upon the above described land owned by Mr. Armstrong and that he could farm all of said quarter section of land and go back and forth across same with teams and farm machinery upon said 160 acres of land, there being no ditches but only a slight swale. The land is slightly rolling and drains to the north.

That while he was occupying said land as tenant, said landing field was constructed and after said landing field was constructed, by reason of the water having been diverted from its natural drainage course by reason of the construction of the landing field, to divert drainage to adjoining land, it caused both an increase in speed and volume at the time the water entered the land owned by Mr. Armstrong and these diversion ditches intercepted the water from the natural direction of the drainage and it also intercepted and diverted the water which normally drained in a southeasterly direction. That by reason of the water having been diverted from its natural course, it increased the volume and speed and has caused serious erosion to Mr. Armstrong's land. Since these drainage ditches were constructed, the water has cut two ditches through the land owned by Mr. Armstrong, these ditches ranging in depth from 2 to 6 feet and from 10 to approximately 20 feet in width and it caused the water to spread over the land and wash away land and caused the soil to deteriorate in places on this land. That it made it necessary to divide the farm land into several fields due to the inability to cross these ditches with farm machinery and teams.

Prior to the time the landing field was constructed, he was farming this land and he could go across this land at any place with teams and farm machinery but since this landing field was constructed, by reason of the water having been diverted across this land, it washed the ditches upon this land so it is impossible to go across with teams and farm machinery and it became necessary to divide the land into separate tracts to be farmed.

That there was diversion ditches constructed along the west side of the landing field when it was established and also diversion ditches were constructed upon the south and east sides of the landing field, which deposited water with increased speed and volume upon the land owned by Timberlake where it flowed diagonally across, entering Mr. Armstrong's land on the east and flowing northwesterly, joining with the water coming from the southwest diversion ditch. As a result of this diversion of water, permanent damage has been caused Mr. Armstrong's land and which damage, in my opinion, can never be restored. It is not possible, in my opinion, that this land could be put back in the same condition

as it was before the landing field was constructed and these ditches made as aforesaid.

The valuation of this land has been decreased and in my opinion has been injured permanently. In my opinion it has caused a depreciation in the value of the land from $25 to $30 an acre. That he is familiar with the land in Gardner Township and in the vicinity of land owned by Mr. Armstrong and where the landing field is located.

The land where the landing field is constructed is comparatively level and flat and water from adjoining land on the west and on the east flow down gradually and spread over the ground where the landing field was constructed and part of the water flowed to the south and part to the north, but it did not flow upon Mr. Armstrong's land with sufficient force, volume and speed to injure and damage the land in any way and not until after the landing field and diversion ditches above referred to were constructed did the water flow with sufficient volume and speed upon the land of Mr. Armstrong as to damage it in any way and by reason of the construction of the ditches on the west side of the landing field they diverted water to the north that naturally would flow to the south and they also, by reason of the construction of the ditch on the south and east side of this landing field, diverted water which flowed to the south to the north.

HAYES FRakes.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 12th day of April 1939.
[SEAL]

My commission expires June 27, 1939.

V. T. NICHOLSON, Notary Public, Johnson County, Kans.

AFFIDAVIT

STATE OF KANSAS,

Johnson County, ss:

C. W. Marshall, of lawful age, being first duly sworn on oath states: That his place of residence is Gardner, Johnson County, Kans. That he has been a resident of said county since the year 1872.

That his occupation is that of a farmer, which occupation he has followed all his life. That he is familiar with the following described real property, situated in the county of Johnson and State of Kansas, to wit: W2S and E2SW sec. 22, T. 14, R. 22, containing 160 acres, which is owned by E. E. Armstrong of Gardner, Kans., which land adjoins on the north the land owned by the United States Government used as an emergency landing field for airplanes. That he owns the land located one-quarter mile west of the land owned by Mr. Armstrong and he has owned said land for a good many years. That he is familiar with land and land values in that vicinity.

That he knows the condition of the land above described, owned by Mr. Armstrong, before the landing field was established and knows the condition of the land at the present time. That from his examination of this land, there has been

a ermanent damage done to the land owned by Mr. Armstrong by reason of the water having been diverted from its natural drainage course by reason of the construction of said landing field and diversion ditches having been constructed on said landing field to divert the drainage to the adjoining land. That the landing field is located in sec. 27, T. 14, R. 22.

When the landing field was established, diversion ditches were constructed, which intercepted the water from the adjoining lands on the west of the landing field and by reason thereof it increased the volume, and speed at the time it entered the land owned by Mr. Armstrong. This diversion ditch not only intercepted water from its natural direction of drainage but it also intercepted and diverted water which normally drained to the southeast and from examination of the land owned by Mr. Armstrong, above described, I find that by reason of the water having been diverted from its natural course, which increased the volume and speed, it has caused serious erosion to Mr. Armstrong's land, and since the diversion ditches were constructed the water has cut two ditches through the land owned by Mr. Armstrong. These ditches range in depth from 2 to 6 feet and from 10 to approximately 20 feet in width. This made it necessary to divide the land into several fields due to the inability to cross these ditches with teams and farm machinery. That prior to the time the landing field was constructed, there were no ditches upon the land of Mr. Armstrong, only a slight swale, which could be crossed with teams and machinery at any place on this land.

That in addition to the diversion ditches on the west side there was constructed a diversion ditch on the south and east side of the landing field, which deposited water with increased volume and speed on the land owned by W. B. Timberlake, where it flowed diagonally across, entering Mr. Armstrong's land on the east, and flows in a northwesterly direction joining with the water coming from the southwest diversion ditch of the landing field. As a result of the diversion of this water,

in my opinion, it has caused permanent damage to the above-described land of Mr. Armstrong, which, in my opinion, can never be restored. As a result of this damage and injury to the land, which in my opinion is permanent, the valuation of the land has depreciated from $25 to $30 per acre.

The land where the landing field is constructed was comparatively level and flat and water from adjoining land on the west and on the east flow down gradually and spread over the ground where the landing field was constructed, and part of the water flowed to the south and part to the north but it did not flow upon Mr. Armstrong's land with sufficient force, volume, and speed to injure and damage the land in any way and not until after the landing field and diversion ditches above referred to were constructed did the water flow with sufficient volume and speed and upon the land of Mr. Armstrong as to damage it in any way and by reason of the construction of the ditches on the west side of the landing field they diverted water to the north that naturally would flow to the south and they also, by reason of the construction of the ditch on the south and east side of this landing field, diverted water which flowed to the south to the north.

C. W. MARSHALL.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 12th day of April 1939. [SEAL]

My commission expires June 27, 1939.

V. T. NICHOLSON, Notary Public, Johnson County, Kans.

AFFIDAVIT

STATE OF KANSAS,

Johnson County, 88:

H. O. Craig, of lawful age, being first duly sworn on oath states: That his place of residence is Gardner, Johnson County, Kans. That he is past 57 years of age and that he has been a resident of Gardner Township, in Johnson County, Kans., for more than 30 years last past. That his place of residence at the present time is one-quarter mile south of the United States Government emergency landing field for airplanes, located in Gardner Township, Johnson County, Kans. That he is familiar with the land in that vicinity and the lay of the land in the vicinity of the landing field, which is located in sec. 27, T. 14, R. 22, in said county and State. That H. C. Bigelow, of Gardner, Kans., and this affiant were the owners E2NW sec. 27, T. 14, R. 22, in said county and State and sold 72 acres of said land to the United States Government, which is a part of said landing field. That this land was quite flat and drained gradually to the north and south.

In the construction of the landing field, diversion ditch was made along the west side of all the property purchased by the Government for landing-field purposes, and by reason of the construction of this ditch all the water from the adjacent land lying west of the landing field was taken up and turned north onto the following-described real property, situated in the county of Johnson and State of Kansas, to wit: WSE1⁄4 sec. 22, and E2SW sec. 22, T. 14, R. 22, containing 160 acres, owned by Mr. E. E. Armstrong, of Gardner, Kans., which land of Mr. Armstrong joins on the north the land owned by the United States Government used as an emergency landing field, although, that for over one-half of the distance of the aforesaid ditch the natural flow of the water was to the southeast or in opposite direction entirely, thus no water from the adjacent land drained into and spread over what is now the landing field.

The same ditch construction was made on the east and south sides of the landing field, carrying water from those sides onto Mr. Armstrong's land. The water from the west-side ditch enters Mr. Armstrong's land in the southwest corner and flows in a northeasterly direction entirely across the farm of 160 acres. The water from the east-side ditch enters Mr. Armstrong's land on the east side a short distance north of the south boundary line of his farm and flows northwesterly, joining with the water flowing from the west-side ditch.

That he was well acquainted with Mr. Armstrong's land before the construction of the landing field and there was a natural depression in the land to take care of the excess water but there were no ditches, and all the land was under cultivation. Now, on account of the volume and speed of the water from the landing field, which by reason of the construction of the ditches, it has caused ditches upon the land of Mr. Armstrong from 2 to 6 feet in depth and from 10 to 20 feet in width and has washed away the topsoil for a greater distance than the width of the ditches. This has made a very irregular field on the farm and makes cultivation of the farm very difficult. Since the construction of the landing field, by reason of the ditches caused by the increased volume of the water upon his property, it has made it necessary to divide the land into separate tracts to be farmed by reason of the fact that it is impossible to cross over the ditches, on account of their depth and width, with teams and farm machinery.

It is my opinion, that, by reason of the increased overflow of the water upon Mr. Armstrong's land, since the construction of the landing field, that his land has been damaged and has greatly depreciated in value and that the land is worth at the present time $25 to $30 an acre less than it was before these ditches were made. That the damage to this land by reason of these ditches is permanent and that it would be impossible to restore this land to the same condition that it was before the landing field was constructed.

H. O. CRAIG.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 13th day of April, 1939. [SEAL]

My commission expires May 1, 1941.

R. K. STOCKMYER, Notary Public, Johnson County, Kans.

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