Incentives helped attract residents to land of ROZ

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 29 January 2013 13:32

Lee Waldron, with wife Sara Jo and daughter Lydia, checked the website to see if Marion County had joined the ROZ program. Two individuals from Marion County are taking advantage of the state’s Rural Opportunity Zone program, which provides a 100 percent state tax waiver up to five years and help in repaying outstanding student loans.

The two ROZ applicants accepted in Marion County include Lee Waldron, director of admissions at Tabor College, and Autumn Reece, school psychologist in Hillsboro and Goessel school districts.

Waldron said he graduated from Tabor College and his wife, Sara Jo, attended the college her freshman and sophomore years.

“God opened the door for us to return to Marion County based on a job offer at Tabor,” he said.

For Reece, a Kansas native and Ottawa University graduate, she said her focus was on rural school districts...

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How do you spell p-r-e-s-s-u-r-e?

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 29 January 2013 13:31

Students vie to represent their schools at Marion County spelling bee

These Hillsboro Elementary School students convey an array of emotions as they await their next word in the school spelling bee Thursday. Pictured from left are third-grader Isabelle Whorton, fifth-grader Bailey Keough, and second-graders Paige Gore and Katie Rempel.

Bailey and Sarah went on to place third and second, respectively. For more on school spelling bees in Hillsboro and Peabody-Burns this past week, see Schools, Page 9A.

 

 

 

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County will offer reward for tips on trash dumpers

Written by Jerry Engler Tuesday, 29 January 2013 13:30

Litterbugs and junk dumpers beware.

Marion County Attorney Susan Robson was asked by the county commission Monday to write a new county ordinance that would give reward money of up to $500, pending successful prosecution, to citizens who turn in persons illegally dumping trash along roads in the county instead of taking it to the transfer station or a landfill.

Commission Chairman Randy Dallke said the commissioners are in agreement to end the growing roadside trash problem.

Road and Bridge Director Randy Crawford has verified that his crews spend too much time picking up trash.

The only remaining question is to determine different consequences for persons who throw out paper litter or a garbage sack, and those who dump tires or...

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Marion receives $162,748 in atrazine suit settlement

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 22 January 2013 14:07

The Marion City Council learned more details about its share of the $105 million atrazine class action lawsuit.

City Administrator Doug Kjellin said as a result of the lawsuit, the city received $162,748 to help reimburse the costs of removing atrazine, a chemical used for weed control on corn and soybean crops, from its community water system.

According to information Kjellin presented to the council, a law firm in St. Louis, Mo., and another in Dallas, Texas, represented water providers nationwide against Syngenta, based in Switzerland, and the world’s largest atrazine manufacturer.

“The city of Marion was one of 1,085 water systems providing water to nearly 37 million people, to benefit from this settlement,” he said.

With...

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