By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
COLUMBUS, Kan. — The Cherokee County commissioners on Monday expressed disappointment that none of the planned Mother Road Marathon in the county would be on sections of the original Route 66.
They nonetheless said they support the project, which is expected to attract tourism.
Vince Lindstrom, director of the Joplin (Mo.) Convention and Visitors Bureau, presented information about the marathon being planned for October 2010 from Miami, Okla., to Joplin.
Lindstrom said half of the marathon would be through Cherokee County, but it would bypass sections of old Route 66 between Baxter Springs and Riverton and from Galena to the Missouri state line.
“We’re really hoping to have an international event,” Lindstrom said. “We will need your cooperation. Your blessing is really going to help.”
Commissioner Pat Collins was the first to express disappointment.
“I’m just curious as to why you’re not using the old road.” Collins said. “I can’t believe you’re not using the old highway.”
Lindstrom and Bill Hoover, who is on the marathon planning committee, said that in order for the route to be exactly 26.2 miles, and start in Miami and end at the Joplin Athletic Complex, the route had to stick primarily to the main highways.
They said the marathon would be entirely on the old route, until it arrives in Kansas.
Commissioner Jack Garner said the historic Rainbow Bridge, along old Route 66 north of Baxter Springs, would be ideal for the marathon route.
“I figured the bridge would be highlighted,” Garner said.
Collins said that despite the panel’s disappointment, the route doesn’t create a deal-breaker for the commission.
“We’ll look forward to seeing it take place,” Collins said. “I’d sure like to see it run down the old road. I think this is the beginning of something big.”
Jim Hall, director of the Baxter Springs Chamber of Commerce, said Baxter Springs and Galena are both planning festivals to coincide with the marathon.
“The general approach is we can’t afford not to support them,” Hall said.
Collins apparently didn’t initially realize that the marathon route also wouldn’t travel along Main Street in Galena and east toward Joplin along a well-preserved section of the old highway. Instead, it would follow Kansas Highway 66 in Kansas and Missouri Highway 66 into Joplin.
“I am really upset now,” Collins said after Lindstrom and Hoover left. “I’m crushed.”
Commissioner Richard Hilderbrand said he wonders what the marathon runners will think when they discover that they won’t be running on old Route 66 in Kansas.
In other discussion Monday, Carl Hayes, with the Cherokee County Health Department, said he confirmed with Republic Services that the company would close its landfill north of Columbus by the end of the year. The commissioners met behind closed doors with County Counselor Kevin Cure for 25 minutes to discuss the landfill issue.
Contract
The Cherokee County commissioners on Monday gave the go-ahead to Sheriff David Groves to enter into a new jail commissary contract with Swanson Services Corp., Denver, Colo. Groves said the contract would provide the county with a higher percentage from inmate purchases and would eliminate the need for Sheriff’s Department employees to handle money.
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