Hillsboro Free Press

A new document filed in the lawsuit between the Bank of Hays and Hillsboro Community Hospital revealed that there are even bigger financials issues facing the hospital than just utility bills, making payroll and paying back a bank loan. The document lists a number of concerns, including the hospital lab being closed last month due to lack of supplies, ambulances being diverted from the hospital to other hospitals, employees losing benefits, missing financial records and more. This morning, the Bank of Hays filed a report in the Marion County District Court from the new management at the Hillsboro Community Hospital. This [...]

Hillsboro Community Hospital is temporarily under new management. This morning, the Marion County District Court approved the Bank of Hays and the City of Hillsboro’s joint request to remove HCH out from EmpowerHMS and appointed a new company to take over the management. As the Free Press previously reported, the Bank of Hays filed a foreclosure action against the current ownership group of the hospital, also known as EmpowerHMS. According to a press release issued early this afternoon by the City of Hillsboro, Cohesive Healthcare Management has been appointed by the court to take possession of the hospital and to operate, [...]

The Goessel city council met on October 15 and approved the emergency response plan that was put together by Phillip Fishburn of Midwest Assistance Program. MAP works with small rural communities on matters of disaster management, in addition to numerous other issues. The central office is in Missouri, but Fishburn’s office is in Haven. An emergency response plan is required in order to receive loan and grant money for the city’s sewer project. According to city clerk Jennifer Whitehead, the city needs a “Letter of Conditions.” This plan will satisfy that requirement. The document is about 200 pages long and includes [...]

The Marion County Commission debated on the issue of five members as opposed to three members, but this time Marion city officials also attended the Monday, Oct. 22 meeting. Mayor Todd Heitschmidt and city administrator Roger Holter provided some options related to dividing the county into five districts, along with what they have been hearing from constituents. (Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

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. Church said he was hired by Debesis in June 2017 to serve as a full-time paramedic in Hillsboro, adding he also is a registered nurse. After accepting the full-time position in Hillsboro, Church said he split his time at Via Christi Hospital St. Francis in Wichita, where he worked for 11 years, before taking an RN job at St. Luke Hospital in Marion. (Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

The Goessel city council met on September 17 and discussed the intersection of Church Street and the baseball diamonds. Because of safety issues, west-bound traffic will now have to stop. The council authorized a stop sign at that intersection. Turning their attention to another sign, the city discussed replacing the Goessel sign that is near the highway. The council expressed appreciation for the current sign, which was from the Goessel Lions Club, and has lasted many years. After all of those years, the sign is showing wear, and parts of it have fallen down from time to time and had to [...]

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 order to get employees where they should be on the pay schedule, it could mean a 3 to 4 percent increase until they are up to the regular salary schedule. (Read more: Hillsboro Free Press)

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. City administrator Roger Holter said Monday that it’s his understanding that if the silage isn’t removed, the city will do it at Beneke’s expense. “The city has attempted to administer the laws of the city in a fair and consistent manner,” he said. “Our goal has remained consistent throughout the process and remains unchanged.” At the first hearing Aug. 30, Holter said this was a safety [...]

“We met with three people,” Hillsboro Economic Development Director Anthony Roy said. “One was from Star Point, and they manage fiber optics and operate them. He was there over the phone. And we had a gentleman from Graybar, which distributes and sells fiber optic equipment. And then the other guy was a representative of potential investors that invest in fiber networks. We knew the guy out of Graybar because he is from Wichita, but the other two we just talked about next steps. So they are just now going to put together a proposal or plan for a fiber build. Definitely [...]

Representatives from the Marion County Community Economic Development Corp. spoke with commissioners Monday after learning last week that another candidate for the director’s job turned their offer down. In addition to losing a qualified candidate to lead the group, Clint Seibel, chairman, said that financial support from Hillsboro and Marion will not be forthcoming in 2019. “(The candidate) sent me an email that she took another position citing that the struggle to find financial support was the reason,” he said. The board was disappointed, and will again take criticism of “moving along and not getting anything done,” Seibel said. “We are [...]