On Monday, I was in Chase County to observe government at its most fundamental level. Your neighborhood may not resemble Chase County — I know mine on Constitution Street doesn’t — but that’s OK. There are 2,572 people in Chase County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and 88% of them are white. Unlike other county officers, the term for Kansas county treasurers begins on the second Tuesday in October following the election. As Kansans, we like to imagine that we are part of an unchanging frontier heritage, and the Chase County Courthouse is part of that gospel.