Hillsboro rolls out
a Gutter Ball of a name
Staff writer
Bluejay Lanes was officially renamed “Gutter Ball” and the city’s snow removal code was tweaked when Hillsboro City Council met for a weather-postponed meeting Feb. 19.
David Ediger, the city’s director of parks and recreation, announced that a bowling alley naming contest had received over 160 entries.
Ediger’s team whittled the entries down to two: Spare Time Lanes and Gutter Balls.
“Tin Pin Tavern was a cool name, but it’s not a tavern,” Ediger said.
Councilmembers conducted an informal vote. Gutter Balls won out.
They agreed that the name should be shortened to “Gutter Ball.”
“I said every name as if I was on the phone,” bowling alley manager Jackie Gage said. “It needs to roll off the tongue.”
Other proposed names included Trail Lanes, the original name of the alley; Bowlarama, after “The Simpsons”; and Hills-Bowl-O.
The city will give year-long bowling memberships to those who suggested the two finalists.
Gutter Ball was suggested by Kerry Hein and Trent Jones.
Spare Time Lanes was suggested by Becky Gage, Dominic Cardinell, and Jeff Haslett.
In other recreation-related action, the city golf course is looking to hire another full-time worker after employee Carolyn Ray died Jan. 15.
Ediger also said he would like to introduce some “very simple” food to the golf course.
Nachos, hot dogs, and deli sandwiches may be sold in future if the course can acquire the equipment.
Ediger also said the municipal pool had had issues with its foundation, which he is calling a contractor to fix.
“I’m just waiting to see when they’ll get here and get that sorted out,” he said.
The pool should be ready to open on Memorial Day as usual.
Another type of pool arose as the council discussed changing Hillsboro’s insurance provider.
Kansas County Association Multiline Pool would see the city move away from a traditional provider and join a municipal collective.
The municipalities pool money to put towards accidents, lawsuits, property damage, and other claims.
“It’s really the norm for entities like you,” pool CEO David Luke told the council.
The pool has 113 members, with 81 of 105 Kansas counties represented, according to its website.
The pool has $23 million in equity.
“We’re really retaining a lot of risk,” he said. “It’s not as risky a business as people think.”
Mayor Lou Thurston advocated for the insurance pool.
“This is not a foreign concept to us,” Thurston said. “We’ve been pool members for many, many years to our benefit.”
Joining the pool would come with interesting financial perks, such as tuition reimbursement for any Rhodes Scholar hailing from a member city.
Marion County has never had a Rhodes Scholar, although according to Marion County Record archives, Edward W. Colburn of Marion was nominated in 1947.
On another matter, changes are coming to Hillsboro’s snow and ice removal code after the council approved a rewritten version of it.
Previously, only “certain businesses” were required to clear ice and snow from their walkways within 24 hours. That rule now applies to all businesses.
Property owners who ignore sidewalk cleaning responsibilities may be fined $100.
After a city worker injured himself trying to collect trash from an icy Dumpster, businesses also will be required to clear any snow and ice blocking their Dumpsters.
There now is an automatic trigger for the city to declare a winter storm warning after it receives three or more inches of snowfall.
Previously, declaring a warning was entirely up to the police chief.