LARNED — The lights were on and the open sign was lit at Tabler Furniture Thursday morning. This, a week after the business was shuttered and a seizure sign posted by the Kansas Department of Revenue declared it was closed temporarily for nonpayment of withholding and payroll taxes.
     A press release Thursday announced the business reopened after reaching a payment arrangement with the Kansas Department of Revenue.

     Kevin Holt, the owner of the Larned store, told the Great Bend Tribune his company is completely caught up with the state and he’s ready to begin catching up on projects that had been put on hold for the past week.
     He also spoke of the tremendous outpouring of support received from the Larned community and from friends and customers throughout the area after the news of his predicament was first reported.
     “No one likes to see a small town lose another business,” he said. “We’ve received amazing levels of support and we’re in such a better place than we were in a week ago.”

     It was a heartening surprise for the Holt family. No one, he said, was happy about what happened last week. That included representatives of the Department of Revenue and the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Office, both of which handled everything both somberly and professionally.
     “We fell behind, we needed to get caught up, and we are now,” he said. “It’s not just a band-aid fix, but a real fix.”
     As the store opened Thursday morning, Holt said he was inundated with calls from people expressing their relief that he is back in business. He said he will personally contact customers to assure them that promises and services will be handled in a timely and professional manner.
     There will be bumps in the road, he said, but the company intends to handle them responsibly.
     “It’s time now for us to observe the Golden Rule.”