Donations boost playground fund

Written by Don Ratzlaff Tuesday, 25 January 2011 16:13

Roger Hofer holds up an oversized check for $10,000, which is the contribution for playground equipment the local Lions/Leo clubs made to the city of Hillsboro at the Jan. 18 city council meeting. Moments later, Richard Nickel (standing in the door way), made an identical donation to the city from the local Kiwanis Club. Council members are seated around the table and members of the two clubs are standing with Hofer and Nickel. The volunteer effort to bring new playground equipment to Memorial Park took a major step forward last Tuesday when representatives from the local Lions/Leo clubs and Kiwanis Club presented checks of $10,000 each to the city at the start of the Hills­boro City Council meeting.

More than a dozen members from the two groups were on hand to make the presentation. Roger Hofer presented an oversized check on behalf of the Lions and Leos, then Richard Nickel offered a normal-sized check on behalf of the Kiwanis group.

“I should have made ours for $10,001,” Nickel joked in reference to the friendly competition between the two civic groups.

The movement to replace some of the old play equipment began to take hold about a year ago when...

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Where there’s a hill and snow, sledding can’t be far behind

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 18 January 2011 16:10

Josh Hiebert of Marion enjoys a saucer ride down a snowy slope at Marion Reservoir Sunday. He and the two friends with him, Jonathan Vogel and Chris Cardenas, are juniors at Marion High School. Cardenas said this was the first year they were sledding at the reservoir. In previous years, most of their sledding was done in Marion. After taking a few rides downhill, the three started experimenting with a variety of conventional and unconventional sleds, including a tube, tray and shovel. Adding to the experience, the three teenagers built a ramp midway down the slope. They planned to fortify the ramp by pouring water over it, allowing it to harden overnight. If their idea worked, the plan was to return Monday for more sledding and...

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Guv’s budget could force $500,000 in cuts at USD 410

Written by Don Ratzlaff Tuesday, 18 January 2011 16:08

Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget plan for K-12 education would leave Unified School District 410 facing a $75,000 shortfall for the current school year and the need to cut around $500,000 from the budget for 2011-12.

That’s the assessment of Superintendent Steve Noble after hearing the governor’s plan last week to reduce base state aid per pupil from $4,102 to $3,780 for 2011-12 essentially to offset the loss of federal stimulus funding after this school year.

Brownback said his budget would actually increase state funding for K-12 education by $129 million from a year ago.

Noble said the governor’s claim is technically correct, but at the same time misleading.

“I wish he wouldn’t have used the political tactics to sugarcoat...

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As weather changes so does local crime, police chiefs say

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 18 January 2011 16:07

Kinning Police in Hillsboro and Marion may not have scientific evidence proving there’s a correlation between weather and crime, but they say the connection is hard to ignore.

Marion Police Chief Josh Whitwell said he isn’t a human behavioral specialist, but in his law-enforcement experience he has noticed trends in criminal activity during certain times of the year.

“In my opinion,” he said, “it seems weather change tends to affect people sometimes for better and sometimes for worse.”

Hillsboro Police Chief Dan Kinning agreed.

“Traditionally, crime goes up in the summer because tempers can flair,” Kinning said. “We see a lot more domestic-type incidents than at other times of the year.”

Whitwell said in the summer...

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