PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin

Peabody council weighs request to block off downtown

A request by Peabody’s Come Home for Christmas committee to block off Peabody’s downtown all day for the Dec. 7 event concerned city councilmen. “We need to gather more information from them as to what exactly they have going on that requires the downtown district blocked off for a whole day,” councilman Jay Gfeller said.

County's windfall possibly blown on consultant's fees

Construction of the Diamond Vista wind farm in northern Marion County is almost complete, but consulting fees could take a large bite of the windfall the county expects to receive from the project. County clerk Tina Spencer said that so far the county has paid Kirkham Michael, a consulting engineering firm hired to oversee construction, $688,971.33.

Agreement discussed behind closed doors

A discussion relating to a payment in lieu of taxes agreement being worked on between the county and a wind farm developer was held behind closed doors Friday on the grounds that financial records of Expedition Wind would be revealed to commissioners. Commission chairman Kent Becker initially said the reason for an executive session was for “attorney/client privilege,” but county counsel Brad Jantz corrected him to say the exception to the state’s open meeting law was on grounds of proprietary business matters and that Expedition would disclose financial data

Three emerge from SUV rollover wreck

The driver of an SUV that overturned at the intersection of US-256 and US-77 at 2:20 p.m. Tuesday afternoon suffered only minor injuries. Driver Cassie Jones, Florence, was taken to St. Luke Hospital by ambulance. Passengers Micah Bailey and Daniel Bowes, both of Florence, did not report injury, EMS director Travis Parmley said.

Not forgotten: Years-long effort helps preserve county's history

Not long ago, many of the county’s citizens worried that its history was being lost. Old cemeteries and burial sites were plowed over to make way for farms. Records of the area’s early settlers were often lost, destroyed, or simply nonexistent.

Halloween events planned

Peabody Main Street Association is sponsoring Trunk-or-Treat from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday in downtown Peabody. Participants are asked to decorate a truck bed, car trunk, or lawn chair and pass out goodies to children.

Lake property owner barred from building house, shed

County commissioners got an earful Monday when Junette Bealby complained that she couldn’t build a house or a shed for her horse on property she bought at Marion County Lake, even though she knew about the problems when she bought the property. She is now angry that the county isn’t moving fast enough to resolve the problems.

Planning board approves zoning amendment

The county planning and zoning board last Thursday voted to recommend an amendment to zoning regulations after lengthy debate over whether the wording of two different sections of zoning policy are in conflict. Russ Ewy, the county’s consultant for planning and zoning matters, recommended to board members that a portion of text containing the words “electric transmission lines” be struck from Article 19-105. Ewy said striking the words would make the rules consistent instead of having one section that specifies the county regulates transmission lines and another that says the county does not.

Sitting still: Malfunction shuts down wind turbines

Like birds poised for flight, the blades of many wind turbines at Diamond Vista Wind Farm in northern Marion County have not been turning for a while. A transformer malfunction shut down eight of the farm’s 12 circuits on Oct. 6. Four circuits at the west end of the wind farm are still functioning.

Commissioners butt heads over their choice of attorney

Marion county commissioner locked horns during a special meeting Friday to consider which lawyer to hire to help the county work out a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with Expedition Wind. Expedition Wind is the company working to develop a wind farm in the southern portion of the county.

Mail carrier says roads fixed by wind farm speed his route

Steve Jirak lives just outside Diamond Vista Wind Farm’s boundaries, but he is the mail carrier there and his route runs all the way to the county line. Jirak said the roads used by the wind farm company, Enel Green Power, during the project’s construction are “exquisite,” but a couple of spots west of Indigo Rd. are bad.

Eunice Matz

Services for Eunice Matz, 92, who died Oct. 23 at Salem Home in Hillsboro, were 11 a.m. Monday. She was born Sept. 27, 1927, to Gustav and Emma Voth Janzen in Goessel.

IN MEMORIAM:

IN MEMORIAM:

Accidents reported

County jail arrests and bookings

Civil division cases

Criminal division cases

Deeds reported

Divorces granted

Emergency dispatches

Marriage licenses granted

Offenses resported

Police incident reports

Insider tips on applying for college

The next few weeks will be crucial in helping determine the long-term success of many high school seniors. Application deadlines for college typically come in the first two weeks of November.

PILOTing with our eyes forcibly shut

Imagine there’s some sort of controversial project going on. You know, something like, say, a wind farm. If it’s not too much of a stretch, imagine that a bunch of people are riled up about it, and that the project requires special governmental approval.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

Marion County health fair set for Saturday

This year’s Marion County Health Fair will offer entertainment for children, prizes, flu shots, and low-priced health tests. Regular flu shots, available through the health department, will cost $40. Flublock vaccine, for people 50 to 64, will be $76. High dose flu shots, for people 65 and older, will cost $79. The health department will bill most insurance companies but will take cash and checks.

County residents win state fair awards

State fair results were announced last week, and county residents took home 38 awards between 17 contestants, including nine first-place awards. A majority of the recognition came in livestock categories, with 11 competitors being awarded 22 awards for their work.

Ladies' night out to be in Burns

A Ladies Day Out will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Burns Community Center. Several new vendors and old favorites will be selling their wares.

Auxiliary sets meeting

St. Luke Auxiliary’s November meeting will begin 10 a.m. Nov. 7, followed by a presentation from St. Luke surgical nurse Lisa Hurst. Coffee and refreshments will be served at 9:30 a.m.

Democrat group notes primary polling site

Marion County’s Democrats noted during their meeting Saturday at Marion Community Center that the polling site for the 2020 presidential primary May 2 will be Marion’s Senior Center. A constitutional amendment also is on the Nov. 5 ballot to consider whether to include state residents, who are temporarily out of state, in the state’s census count.

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