F&C Breaks Ground On New Bank

F&C Bank management and board of directors broke ground on their new main facility in east Holden on Tuesday afternoon. According to Bob Mickey, president of the bank, the 13,224 square foot building is scheduled to be completed in nine months to a year.

The new bank was designed and is being built by NEWGROUND of Chesterfield, MO, a company that specializes in the construction of financial facilities. Mickey added, however, he was pleased that a number of local subcontractors will be used in the construction process.

“We’re really excited to get started,” said Mickey. “It’s involved well over a year of planning and we look forward to serving our customers better.”

Mickey says the new facility will house all the bank’s Holden employees except for those working in the downtown branch which will serve as a retail and drive thru operation. The current east branch will close when construction is finished.

“The new bank will be more convenient, offer more parking, more drive thru lanes and a drive thru ATM machine. It will also satisfy our space needs and account for future growth in the next 10 years.”

The one-story building will also have a 1,600 square foot basement for storage and a storm shelter area. It is being built on the east side of the entrance to the Eagle Crest housing development on a three-acre site.

The new bank, Mickey says, is a sign of a long term commitment to the Holden area.

“We plan to be here as a locally-owned community bank for many more years and want to be able to continue to grow with the community.”

Marilyn Mickey-Clay, chairman of the board, said the close relationship the bank maintains with the community and its residents makes the decision to build an easy one.

“I want to thank the community and surrounding area for their support over the years. We believe the new main office building is something the entire community can benefit from.”

Terri Vinck of the Holden Image was named best humourous columnist in the state at the 140th Annual Missouri Press Association Awards Banquet held Saturday at the Lodge of the Four Seasons. Vinck competed against columnists throughout the state in the weekly newspaper division.

During the awards presentation, the Holden Image also received an honorable mention award for best weekly newspaper, placing in the top five in their division. First place was awarded to the Nixa News-Enterprise; second, Cabool Enterprise and third, Vandalia Leader. The Webster County Citizen also received an honorable mention award.

Vinck is now in her second year of writing for the Image and according to Rusty Hartwell, publisher, has been a welcome addition to the newspaper.

“I am very happy for Terri and hope this helps her in her desire to have her column syndicated. She is a talented writer and we are fortunate to have her as part of our staff.”

Vinck says she has been a writer for as long as she can remember.

“Being the youngest with two older brothers, I found fabrication of events to be a useful survival tool. When I started reading books, it became clear you could make up stories and it was okay. I started writing them down and later on, I learned people paid money for these tales. Along about fourth grade, I also discovered if you were funny and kept people laughing, you could fit in to the social group, no matter how red yur hair was or how many freckles you had and glasses didn’t even matter. Just keep them laughing and somebody would sit with you at lunch.”

Terri says she got serious about writing when she met Rod Sterling at the Plaza Hotel in New York when she was 17.

“In his hotel room, I have him a script I had written. He gave me my very first vodka martini. I was a naive kid and he was a perfect gentleman. We corresponded for some time and he told me I was ‘a helluav writer’. He was the first person who told me I could do something special.”

Prior to penning her column for the Image, Terri sent samples to the Kansas City Star and the Examiner when they lived in Independence but says the timing must not have been right because neither showed interest. She also sent columns to Universal Press but was rejected as well.

“I kind of gave up but I did keep writing because I enjoyed the process. I especially enjoyed the column format because you could take on a small incident and highlight it. Writer Anna Quinlan once said, ‘life is in the dishes’. It is, it’s in the little things that happen to us all. There are commonalities we all share no matter what religion or culture or country. That’s what I wanted to write about.”

Terri says when she and her family moved to Holden, she read the local newspaper and liked the community focus. She sent a couple of columns via e-mail and the rest is history.

“Being new to the community, I was happy to have the opportunity to contribute to my new home in my own way.”

As far as coming up with ideas for her weekly columns, Terri says they come from everywhere. Her topics have ranged from saving a stray cat at work, to chasing down Tiger Jack for his perfect ribs for a birthday dinner to something as simple as cleaning out the junk door.

“When I first read one of Terri’s columns I could relate to what she was talking about and found it quite humourous at the same time. She wrote an entire column dealing with her attempts to rid her kitchen of a ‘junk’ drawer. However, no matter how determined she became or how many times she cleaned it out and re-distributed its contents to her family, the same items always found their way back to the drawer. She has an Erma Bombeck quality and I hear positive comments about her column on a regular basis,” said Hartwell.

Terri says the column allows her to become part of the community because other people have had the same experiences and adds it’s the sharing of them that makes the column interesting to read.

“Any writer will tell you the best thing about writing is having written,” says Terri. “I’ve written a 75,000 word novel and I was just as happy when I finished it as I am when I write a 750 word column. The second best thing about writing is when I’m actually writing. I am totally engaged, completely in the momen and at a loss to explain where it comes from. It’s a joy to see a column take shape from a fleeting idea like the engine light on my car’s dashboard. It bothers me, it doesn’t concern my husband. That’s a whole column right there. I enjoy the continuity of the column and I hope I can communicate to everyone who is dealing with multigenerational family dynamics that they’re not in this boat alone. Many families are dealing with the same circumstances. It can be a difficult time but it can be an opportunity to find connections you never knew were there before.”

Terri says she was surprised when notified of the award but pleased that it shows her she is going in the right direction with the development of her column.

“I like the community spirit of the small circulation weekly newspaper. I’m hoping this award will serve as a selling point of interest in my solicitation package to prospective newspapers.”

Terri is employed at Truman Medical Center in Lakewood as a telephone operator. She and her husband, Rob who works at Swisher in Warrensburg and is a paramedic and retired chief navy hospital corpsman, live just west of Holden in rural Johnson County. They have three children, Kristin who lives in Prairie Village, KS; Meaghan, who lives at home and Adam who is a junior at Central Missouri State University. And of course, you can’t leave out “wonder baby” who is the topic of many of grandma’s columns - Aidan James Seek.

Because of the possibility of paying 23 to 25 percent more for health insurance premiums, the Holden City Council voted to have Mayor Mike Wakeman seek alternate plans to save money at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Holden City Council held last Tuesday at City Hall..

As part of this endeavor, the city will apply through Employers Committed to Control Health Insurance Costs (ECCHIC) of St. Louis in an effort to lower their major medical portion of the insurance.  ECCHIC is a cost management company which works much like a broker to find the best plans for their clients.

With the plan, much of the expense of standard policies for doctor’s visits which may never happen wouldn’t be paid up front.  Charges for these routine services would be paid only when actually used.

In other business, Mayor Wakeman told the council that effective immediately, fire chief Larry Miller has resigned.  There will not be an interim appointed at this time.

Speaking for the First United Methodist Church, Jim Nipko requested a variance be granted on the installation of a sprinkler system on the new church building to be located between Williams Funeral Chapel and Rawlins Drive.  Because of the expense, he provided the city with alternatives including hooded stoves, fire extinguishes, smoke detectors and an audible fire alarm. 

It was decided to table the issue until further information can be gathered from the fire department and the water department.

In another matter, Carolyn Corson of Administration Enterprises of Warrensburg, presented information on a water and parks recreation grant from the Department of Natural Resources.  Mayor Wakeman told her the city’s major focus would be on the park and suggested she attend the meeting of the economic development committee and the planning and zoning board held last week.  She also distributed out her consultant fee schedule which includes a charge of $250 per month not to exceed $700 for any one project.

The council granted liquor licenses to the Jaycees to sell five percent beer on September 30 at 300 S. Market.  Other licenses approved were for wedding receptions for Jamie Warren and Kendra Kirby.
In other council business:

Oren Henry was appointed to the Merit Board.

Burn permits are required for any burning in the city limits of Holden.  Permits can be obtained from the police department or city hall.

The city will sponsor a Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours program on October 2.

A date for a public hearing about contracting Integrity Correctional Center was tabled to be revisited in the future.

Mayor Wakeman reported they had sold the old police truck for $350 to Justin Parsons, the highest bidder.

The Council approved a resolution to enter into an agreement with the Holden R-III School District for a School Resource Officer (SRO).  The district would pay two-thirds of the salary and the officer would be at the school full time monday through friday and attend all sports activities and extra-curricular activities.

The council voted to raise the liquor consumption fee from $5 to $35 effective January 1, 2007.