Local cyclist’s training pays off in a big way

Written by Janae Rempel Tuesday, 18 June 2013 13:26

Hillsboro resident Noah Collins recently joined the Kansas City-based Big D Cycling Team after placing second in a criterium race June 2 during Riverfest in Wichita. Change was one cycling race away for Hillsboro resident Noah Collins.

An avid road cyclist since high school, Collins participated in the SPECS Wichita Riverfest Criterium Race June 2—his first road race—as a way to help reach his goal of taking part in two cycling races this season.

In the end, it turned into an unexpected opportunity to race with a team.

Collins won the bonus lap and placed second in the 1.2 mile Category 5 criterium race—categories range from 5 to 1 with 5 being the lowest and 1 being semi-professional or professional, he said.

“I didn’t even know how I was going to do,” he said. “I was so nervous because when I’m training alone, you don’t really have anything relative to you, you don’t...

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One special Father’s Day

Written by Aleen Ratzlaff Tuesday, 18 June 2013 13:23

Adam Miller and son Owen, 5, spent time together Saturday evening on the teeter-totter and other play equipment in Hillsboro’s Memorial Park. The pair are becoming reacquainted after Adam learned that the court-mandated “no-contact order” with Owen no longer holds. “Ecstatic—that’s the word I’ve been using,” Adam Miller said about spending an extra special Father’s Day weekend with his 5-year-old son, Owen.

“I think it’s an apt word.”

Adam and Owen were reunited Friday after four years of angst and pain that began after Owen sustained an injury that resulted in Adam being convicted of felony child abuse and an order of no-contact with his son.

Owen’s parents sat at a picnic table Saturday evening in Memorial Park to share their saga that has resulted in reuniting father and son.

“I had asked for some official paperwork that would show that there was no longer a no-contact order between Adam and Owen,” said Debbie Darrow, Adam’s former wife.

Debbie, who lives in...

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Partnership forges bowling and youth center in Hillsboro

Written by Don Ratzlaff Tuesday, 11 June 2013 12:21

The old Trail Lanes in Hillsboro will be remodeled and renovated for bowling and as a gathering place for local youth under than name Tabor College Bluejay Lanes. The front two rooms on either side of the entrance will cater to youth, with video games on one side and a social area with WiFi on the other side. The project is estimated to cost $220,000 with participation from multiple funding partners, including one large private donation. With the participation of multiple partners, Hillsboro and Tabor College students are one huge step closer to having a place downtown to socialize and spend free time.

And the community as a whole will have a “new” facility for bowling.

Last month, the Hills­boro Development Corp. purchased the Trail Lanes Bowling Center from Betty Funk, concluding 52 years of family ownership.

The purchase was made possible with financial participation from three key sources, according to Clint Seibel, executive director of HDC and the city’s economic development director.

“An anonymous donor offered a significant amount of money to purchase Trail Lanes, providing it would include a youth center,” Seibel said.

A total of $130,000 was...

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Peabody farmer taps digital media to grow awareness

Written by Aleen Ratzlaff Tuesday, 11 June 2013 12:14

Derek Klingenberg stands in front of the video green screen he mounted on the interior wall of a Morton building that also houses machinery and the farm office. One of his videos, “Ranching Awesome,” has nearly 250,000 hits on YouTube. Today’s technology has changed the way 21st century farmers and ranchers stay informed and manage their operations.

“Anybody my age and younger probably doesn’t read newspapers or watch the news,” said Derek Klingen­berg, 34, of rural Peabody. “I get it all on Twitter.”

Klingenberg tweets about the family business, Klingen­berg Farms Inc., which also includes father Vernon and brothers Grant and Brett, who pastors a small Mennonite church in Beatrice, Neb.

Klingenberg also maintains an online presence with a farm blog as well as Facebook and YouTube homepages where he makes frequent photo and video posts.

The family homestead was first established by grandfather Willie Klingenberg, an immigrant from West Prussia, in...

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