Choice to ‘zip’ turned out fine

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 14 June 2011 16:15

Every now and then, one has to do something one wouldn’t normally do.

I had that chance at the Wichita River Fest­ival last Tuesday evening. I saw on TV the zip line that went across the river at the Douglas Street bridge west of Century II and also read about it in the Eagle. I’m glad I did it.

A group from Butler Com­mun­ity College was running the event with the help of Westar Energy, which put up the poles and ran the cable. I asked the BCC folks if they got to keep most of the money, but no one seemed to know.

It defies all logic that one would wait in line for nearly two hours in 100-degree heat for a 20-second ride across the river. But then not everything is logical.

And the price was right, just $5 with a festival...

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How do you count the years?

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 07 June 2011 13:31

Is a business 13 years old when it starts its 13th year or when the 13th year is complete? However you figure it, we at the Free Press will complete 13 years when we reach the second issue of August.

The neat thing about owning and running a business is that you can cook up ideas and then try them out to see if they work.

I’ll have to say that not everything we have tried has worked. The concept of a free newspaper, however, has worked because of our many loyal advertisers and readers, and due to the efforts of our great staff, past and present.

Like all business anniversary milestones, it seems to spark the impetus to try more stuff. So be watching for new things beginning in the first part of our 14th year in business.

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Aired up tires make a difference

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 31 May 2011 17:06

I haven’t ridden my bicycle much yet this year. In fact, the first time I rode it was last week. When I rolled it out, it appeared that the tires were OK.

I was planning a trip to Hills­boro Heights—which is downhill, by the way—to pick up my van. By the time I reached the corner of Ash and Grand, I was already huffing and puffing. I thought I was just getting old.

A bit further and I peeked down at the back tire and it looked low. So I plodded onward. By this time I was at the corner of Ash and First streets. At that point I stopped and looked. In reality, both tires were flat. So I had to make a decision. Would I go back home or keep going?

I decided to keep going since the tires were probably ruined already, and if they were...

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Some folks here do great things

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 24 May 2011 14:53

You often read about people who do great things and I think most people think it has to occur some place else. I am here to tell you that people do noteworthy things right here in Hillsboro

We have been designing and printing the Christian Leader ever since we started this company in 1998. Shelley Plett, our graphic designer, was asked by CL editor, Connie Faber, to redesign the magazine and take it from a black-and-white publication to a full-color magazine on gloss paper.

Their collaboration did not go unnoticed with the Leader garnering the Award of Excellence for most-improved publication in 2010 at the Evan­gelical Press Association annual meeting in Chicago last month. I couldn’t agree more with the judge’s assessment of...

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