Tasia Johnson keeps an eye on her reptilian friend, Cherokee, a green iguana, during her holiday break from classes. The Tabor College junior is the caretaker for some 20-plus critters that have a home in the Loewen Natural Science Center. Jenny Terrell / Free Press
Surrounded by reptiles and loving every minute of it, Tasia Johnson is the caretaker of the animals living in the atrium of the science building at Tabor College.
Johnson, a junior from New Orleans majoring in biology, has been working as caretaker in the Solomon L. Loewen Natural Science Center since January 2008. She got the job when one of the science professors, Jeffrey Henderson, mentioned to another science prof, Karrie Rathbone, that Johnson could do it as a work study. Before then, Johnson just went in and did the job anyway.
Two of the building projects approved by voters this summer for Unified School District 410 schools should be under way within the month, according to Superintendent Doug Huxman.
The house along South Adams in Hilsboro exemplifies the beauty of exterior Christmas lighting that several communities are encouraging through incentives and prizes. Malinda Just / Free Press
Residential neighborhoods in various Marion County communities will be lit for Christmas—some with help from city incentives or decoration contests.
Both Hillsboro and Marion employ city incentives to encourage residents to decorate for the holidays.
In Hillsboro, residents who decorate with at least a double strand of outdoor lights will receive a $10 rebate off of their February utility bill.
Year after year, Lehigh has been in the dark when it came to having city Christmas lights during the holidays. But this year, Lehigh will shine, thanks to donations from other Kansas communities.
According to Ruth Coyle, a Lehigh resident and the one who contacted area communities, the city of Lehigh will receive used Christmas decorations from 12 Kansas communities—some as far away as Minneapolis and Marysville.
When the first big snowfall hits Hillsboro this season, downtown business owners will have a bit more motivation to get their sidewalks shoveled in a timely manner.
The Hillsboro City Council passed at its Nov. 20 meeting a change in the city’s snow-removal policy that would require business owners to clear their sidewalks within 24 hours after the snowfall ends.
