By ERIC MEYER

Staff writer

More than a quarter of the record half-million dollars in unpaid property taxes disclosed this week are owed by the city of Hillsboro, Salem Hospital, and a Towanda physician, primarily on current and former hospital and related properties in Hillsboro.

A public notice, beginning on page 10 in this week’s paper, lists a total of $521,378 in delinquent taxes countrywide, up 31.4 percent from last year and 50.1 percent from two years ago.

More than a third of all the taxes owed — 35.3 percent — are owed on property in Hillsboro.

Peabody has the next highest delinquency total, accounting for 14.0 percent of the total. Marion is third with 13.5 percent; Florence, fourth with 6.4 percent.

A large portion of Hillsboro’s delinquencies are for property currently or formerly associated with Hillsboro Community Hospital:

• Hillsboro’s public building commission owes $116,942 on the new hospital building at 101 Industrial Rd.
• Salem Hospital Inc., in care of the hospital, owes $6,018 on Hillsboro clinic at 704 S. Main St.
• The city owes $357 on the Salem Homes, former HCH, building at 701 S. Main St.
• In addition, A. Randall Claassen, a physician from Towanda, owes $11,457 on the Prairie View Mental Health Center and former Greenhaw Pharmacy property near the old hospital.

Asked to comment on why Hillsboro had not paid its taxes, city administrator Larry Paine did not return a phone call Tuesday.

Other large tax bills countywide include:

• $8,481.06 owed by Shane and Shannon Rives on a farm at 810 Limestone Rd., northwest of Peabody.
• $7,457.23 owed by DLH Enterprises, a real estate holding company owned by Kurt Cogburn of Walsh, Colorado, on two duplexes in the 200 block of S. Lincoln St. and condominium common areas at 110 N. Main St. in Hillsboro.
• $6,857 owed by Nelson and Co. Properties Ltd. II, run by Jason Maddox of Clarkton, Missouri, on Birchwood Apartments in Hillsboro.
• $5,869.49 owed by Terry and Sherry Nelson on their farm at 2444 250th Rd., east of Lincolnville.
• $5,543.43 owed by Rexana Siebert for two farm parcels near 1667 190th Rd., midway between Marion and Hillsboro.

Five others owe between $4,000 and $5,000; three, between $3,000 and $4,000; 27, between $2,000 and $3,000; 99, between $1,000 and $2,000; and 258, less than $1,000.

Some owners are delinquent with multiple parcels. In all, 554 parcels are listed as being delinquent.

Businesses on the list include:

• The former Food Mart convenience store in Peabody, owned by O&J of Kansas, based in Goddard.
• Dirksen Construction of Goessel, owned by William Russell.
• Cibotech Labs, owned by Daniel and Sarah Madgwick of Marion.
• Mane Street Beautique and the Wringer, owned by Miles and Company of Wichita, in Peabody.
• Tatge Manufacturing, Ramona, owned by Bill Smith of Talmage.
• Peabody Farm Service in Peabody.
• Fetrow Machine Shop, owned by Bruce Fetrow, in Florence.
• Express Print and Signs’ building behind Western Associates in Marion.

Several Marion County restaurants also make the list. Among them are:

• Panda Kitchen (including the former Radio Shack building), owned by a Hesston corporation, in Hillsboro.
• Wagon Wheel Express, owned by Keith and Sherry Hess, in Marion.
• Cazadore’s, formerly known as La Hacienda and owned by an unregistered Emporia corporation, in Marion.
• FamLee Bakery, owned by members of Florence’s Lee family, in Marion.
• The former Cindy’s Family Café, owned by Cynthia Taylor, in Marion.
• The former McGregor’s Pub, owned by Joseph and Ethel Pickett, in Marion.

Prominent people on the list include former Marion city clerk Woody Crawshaw, defeated Hillsboro mayoral candidate Charlotte Kennedy Takaha, and noted Marion raconteur and quarry owner Rocky Hett.

Oddities include the Messiah’s Branch church parsonage, adjacent to and in care of Linda and Daniel Catlin’s home in Florence, and Ott-Compassion Ministries International, Larry Gene Ott overseer, of West Branch township.

Under state law, property owners on the list will have cost of publishing the list added to the tax they owe.