Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 11 September 2012 15:48

I took the tour of the new Marion County Jail this past Friday. From what I saw it was a nice place to visit—I just wouldn’t want to live there.

While it is new and shiny, it doesn’t look like anywhere one would want to spend time on purpose.

I credit our county commissioners and officials who have delivered a spartan facility that will get the job done for many years and at a price that is manageable compared with where it started. Something did have to be done and now it’s almost ready to fulfill its mission.

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I don’t know if everyone has noticed the huge flocks of black birds that have been swarming around town the past few mornings about daybreak.

They cover the sky for at least a block in length and a half block...

Read more: Jail is OK to visit, but not stay

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 04 September 2012 13:59

On a recent trip to Dallas with Nancy for apparel market, we stopped in Norman, Okla., and had lunch with one of my favorite authors, Molly Griffis. Molly is best friends with Billie Letts, the author of “Where the Heart Is,” which was made into a movie with Ashley Judd several years ago.

Molly had a store in Norman named “Levite of Apache” and sold books and Pendleton blankets. She has since retired from the store, but is still very active in the book business.

She was telling us about a movie that is going to be made about Whizbang, Okla., an oil boom town in the 1920s that grew to 10,000 people practically overnight. The movie is about the Letts family, based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play by Billie’s son Tracy. It...

Read more: New movie will feature Okla. town

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 28 August 2012 13:02

Relay for Life, the indoor version, didn’t disappoint this past Saturday night. The event was at Marion’s Sports and Aquatic Center for the first time, which is a perfect place. With the rain, the decision was perfect.

It appeared to me that the size of the crowd was a bit down, but there were many potentially conflicting events going on this past weekend.

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This was my first close look at the Sports and Aquatic Center. In my view the planners got everything right. This is a fantastic facility.

I missed the first two basketball games with Marion because of illness and being out of town, so I hadn’t gotten a close look before. The setup is awesome with the indoor track for walking. Shouldn’t be any reason not to be healthy...

Read more: Relay for Life did not disappoint

Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 21 August 2012 13:11

I know many people are aware of our interest in better Internet options for Hills­boro. This past November we hosted a meeting at the Scout House to discuss the topic. About 30-40 people showed up to learn about what could be done.

We were interested in fiber for the whole town—including each residence—and pursued it aggressively for about six months. At this point, we have not found the answers we were looking for but there are some positive signs of future developments. The “we” is the Hillsboro Development Corp. executive director and me.

We have been meeting with Dennis Weese of Eagle Com­muni­cations to see what they will do to improve our Internet services. He is planning to explain what EagleCom’s plans are for...

Read more: New ideas in store for Internet