Marion County Commission Chair Bob Hein (left) listens to the perspective of veteran Hillsboro businessman Albert Reimer prior to the jail meeting in Hillsboro on Tuesday.

In Hillsboro: Resistance to sales tax hike for jail

Marion County Commis­sion­ers met with some resistance from con­stitu­­ents in Hillsboro on a proposed $8.5 million new jail complex during an informational meeting Tuesday designed to educate voters prior to the November election.

More than 75 people filled the Senior Center to hear from the three commissioners and Tony Rangel, Law/Kingdon Inc., representing the company handling the architectural-side of the project.

Rangel talked about the three-year process, starting in March 2005, which brought the commissioners to where they are today and why a new facility, funded by a 1-cent sales tax increase, is the county’s best option.

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Officials from Unified School District 410 said Friday the district may move ahead with the athletic stadium project in partnership with Tabor College if an Oct. 7 initial hearing in the appeal process goes as expected.

District Judge Steven Hornbaker ruled in a summary judgment Aug. 19 that the lawsuit filed by district patron Raymond Brandt to block the stadium project was found to have “no factual issues to be decided.”

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With his former college roommate shadowing one step behind him, Pete Richert makes his way over the 8-mile cross country course on Saturday, marking his return to collegiate competition since he lost his leg in Iraq. Andrew Ottoson / Free Press

For Hillsboro native and Kansas National Guard veteran Pete Richert, Saturday’s 8-kilometer cross-country race at Cottonwood Point was a big step in his proverbial thousand-mile journey.

“God has a certain path for each individual,” Richert said. “He gives each person certain talents, certain abilities.... He knows who can handle what, and who can’t.”

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Ron Hoffman (left) and Bill Brown, both of Newton, enjoy near perfect weekend weather at Marion Reservoir’s French Creek Cove. The two outdoors enthusiasts are among seven participants in this year’s muzzeloader deer hunt for hunters with disabilities. The event is in its 12th year. Don Ratzlaff.

Having completed its 12th year, the event is hardly new. Most of the handful of participants are there every year.

And yet the deep feelings of appreciation and gratitude are renewed every time.

That’s why the muzzleloader deer hunt for disabled hunters at Marion Reservoir will continue to be an annual event for the foreseeable future.

“It really is a fantastic deal,” said Bill Brown of Newton, who has been at every hunt since it started.

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