Council urges officials to save tax-exempt bonds

Written by Don Ratzlaff Monday, 24 December 2012 14:45

The Hillsboro City Council passed a resolution at its Dec. 18 meeting urging the state’s congressional delegation to resist efforts in Washington to eliminate tax-exempt bond financing for cities.

City Administrator Larry Paine said the proposal to eliminate the bonds is part of the “fiscal cliff” negotiations under way in the nation’s capital.

If the measure passes, cities would lose a fundamental tool for financing infrastructure improvements. Paine said small cities will be hit...

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Hiker, blogger researching the Keystone trail

Written by Don Ratzlaff Monday, 24 December 2012 14:44

Ken Ilgunas stopped for night in Marion Friday evening. He was planning to visit with County Commissioner Dan Holub about the Keystone Pipeline. Ilgunas is walking the 1,700-mile route of the proposed Keystone XL as a journalist and blogger. Ken Ilgunas had reached a point in his life when he was searching for adventure. He found it with the Keystone XL.

The Niagara Falls, N.Y., native is walking the 1,700-mile proposed route for the extension to the Keystone Pipeline that was built in 2010. The extension will begin at Hardesty, Alberta, and end at Cushing, Okla., if Presi­dent Obama approves the project.

“I’m very concerned about climate change,” said Ilgunas, a freelance writer who is blogging his trip at...

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Secret Santas strike again

Written by Patty Decker Monday, 24 December 2012 14:41

Beth Nesser, Alco’s operations group manager, said she been amazed by the generosity of local residents who came in anonymously to pay the layaway bill of other families. “I think it says a lot about our community,” she said. Seventeen Marion County families are having a merrier Christmas thanks to the generosity of five anonymous donors who paid off their layaway accounts at the Hillsboro Alco store.

Beth Nesser, operations group manager, said one of the donors paid off a layaway account in late November while the other four came in during a 24-hour period last Thursday.

“I think this says a lot about our community,” Nesser said about Santa’s helpers.

The total amount of money anonymously given was...

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Preparation complete as Christmas nears

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 18 December 2012 14:15

This festive tree ornament symbolizes the preparation families have pursued for this Christmas season. The actual holiday falls on a Tuesday for the first time since 2007. Bargain hunters and procrastinators can check out the Free Press Gift Guide on pages 6A and

7A for gift ideas in local shops and stores.

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Holub: Pipeline tax benefit a pipe dream?

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 18 December 2012 14:15

As 2012 comes to a close, Dan Holub, Marion County Commission chairman, is focusing his attention on state-approved tax exemptions and how those exemptions will affect local taxpayers.

For one, a 2006 tax exemption given to businesses for certain personal property items, such as store furnishings, Holub said in a recent interview. The second is the Trans­Canada Keystone Pipe­line and a 10-year exemption on the pipeline itself.

“Every time a large tax exemption is granted, the lost...

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