by Patty Decker The Free Press In less than three weeks, Marion County voters will determine if the commission should be expanded from three members to five when they go to the polls on Nov. 6. Initially, Commission chairwoman Dianne Novak was circulating a petition, but early in September, Tina Spencer, county clerk, said a resolution could suffice if the […]

Whenever I hear an old song, or see somebody who looks similar to a friend I once knew, I begin reminiscing about other people who I’ve lost touch with, and who meant so much to me at different stages of my life. When I was growing up, my parents didn’t stay in one place too long. Born in Atchison, we […]

Hillsboro resident Kevin Bartel, 108 N. Cedar, spoke to the Hillsboro City Council Tuesday about a house in his area of town. “I was wanting to find out the status of what our neighborhood calls the Hein house on the corner of Cedar and Grand,” he said. “We are also wanting to know what we can expect to see in […]

Former Marion County economic development director Teresa Lynn Huffman, 68, was arrested late in the morning on Monday, Oct. 8., and charged with allegedly embezzling about $47,000. The complaint was filed Oct. 4 in the Marion County District Court by Courtney D. Boehm, county attorney, alleging that on or about May 1, 2018, Huffman misused public funds not authorized by […]

City officials from Marion, Peabody, Goessel and Burns attended Monday’s Marion County Commission meeting to talk about the connecting links fund related to roads and bridges. Roger Holter, Marion city administrator, posed a question to the commission about how the various governmental entities can team up and maintain 980 square miles of roadways and connecting links. “So I guess I […]

The Marion County Commission introduced Robert “Bob” Church as its interim EMS director during the Monday meeting, and following the resignation of Ed Debesis, who served about 18 months as the director. The commissioners also agreed to allow Church to expand the pool of part-time medical technicians from four to eight to ensure the schedule was covered 24 hours a […]

Mike Beneke, owner of Double B Cattle of Lincolnville, was granted a 30-day extension to remove about 8 million pounds of silage from his property at 601 W. Main St., at a hearing Sept. 16. Unlike the first hearing on Aug. 30 in which Beneke had 10 days to remove the silage, the verdict last week was 30 days, or […]

The Marion County Commission continued shoring up its policies by reviewing its plans ranging from revisiting who should have vehicles, tuition and con­ferences attended at its Monday meeting. In addition, representatives of the McGrath Human Resources Group, based in Wonder Lake, Ill., reviewed objectives, and talked about their progress and more recommendations. Malayna Halvorson Maes, senior consultant, said that in […]

Mike Beneke, who was ordered to remove 8 million pounds of silage from property he owned within city limits is now requesting an extension hearing at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 12, in council chambers. During the initial municipal court hearing on Aug. 30, Beneke and city officials testified, but the end result was an order to remove the silage (animal feed) […]

by Patty Decker Farmers in Liberty, Men­no and Lehigh townships are losing patience with the Marion County Commission because the dirt roads they need to access their properties haven’t been maintained for months. Marion Countian Linda Peters, and others, spoke about the road issues at Monday’s commission meeting. Peters, the Liberty Township trustee, chairperson of the county road and bridge […]