1. Our 107th year/#27
2 sections
16 pages
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DEER FORECAST
Permit restrictions are intended to
help whitetail numbers stabilize after
liberal regulations and disease com-
bined to push deer numbers down.
Page 4A
WORLD CAFE
Columbia Public Schools will host an
event Wednesday seeking public input
on ways to improve the School District
and student achievement. Page 8A
CCUA GRANT
The grant, from State Farm Insurance,
would expand the Center for Urban
Agriculture’s outdoor classrooms to
five more schools. Page 8A
TODAY’S WEATHER
Today: Sunny.
Temp: 68°
Tonight: Clear.
Temp: 42°
Page 2A
INDEX
Abby 7A
Life Story 2A
Comics 7A
Lottery 2A
Opinion 5A
Sports 1B
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 n SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1908 n Join the conversation at ColumbiaMissourian.com n 50 cents
Republican Lisa Ballenger
embraces her country upbringing
and work ethic during campaign
By ALLISON GRAVES
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
O
n a normal workday at the Boone County
recorder of deeds office, it might be hard
to guess that deputy recorder Lisa Balleng-
er is a farm girl. Bracelets and earrings appear
carefully selected to match her business-casual
wardrobe.
Her necklace, though, offers a hint: a sterling sil-
ver horse pendant hangs from a black leather band,
displaying her love for horses.
Ballenger, a Republican who is campaigning to
replace 35-year incumbent Recorder of Deeds Bet-
tie Johnson, grew up on a ranch near Bethany in
northwest Missouri. She takes pride in the fact that
she and her sister were required to do the same
chores her three brothers did. Ballenger believes
the work ethic she’s developed on the farm and her
professional career with Walmart and the record-
er’s office have prepared her to succeed her boss.
“There’s a lot of things that happened on the
farm,” Ballenger said. “I’ve done everything on
there ... I have bailed hay, I have drove tractors,
I have ate many a meals on the back of a pickup
truck, and doing homework all out in the field
because that’s what our life was. I was still milking
cows when I was 18.”
Time on the farm wasn’t all hard work. On Sun-
days after church, her family would roast weenies,
ride horses or go swimming at Brooklyn Falls.
Ballenger graduated with a class of 16 at Ridge-
way High School in 1981. She said she loved the
one-on-one interactions she had with teachers in
small classes.
“You get a lot of hands on teaching and learning
because the classes were small, and you got more
individual attention,” Ballenger said. “I’m a farm
girl, so I kinda see a lot of the rural communities,
things that they do. Smaller schools, smaller com-
munities.”
After Ballenger graduated, her parents moved to
Hallsville, then Harrisburg and finally to Columbia
in search of better work. She has lived in Columbia
since 2001.
A public job
Ballenger’s first full-time job out of high school
was at the Walmart on Paris Road in Columbia.
Democrat Nora Dietzel combines
music and business in her run for
Boone County recorder of deeds
By ALLISON GRAVES
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
N
ora Dietzel found the confidence to run for
public office by participating in theater
and singing.
Dietzel, an 18-year veteran of the Boone County
recorder of deeds office, is the Democratic candi-
date seeking to replace her boss, Bettie Johnson.
Johnson decided against another campaign after
holding the office for 35 years.
Dietzel is soft-spoken but knows what she wants
to say and exudes confidence when talking in front
of a large group. She said her public speaking skills
are rooted in her musical upbringing.
Dietzel moved with her family to Columbia from
Belton, a suburb of Kansas City, when she was 10.
Her father worked for the University of Missouri
System and was transferred between the Kansas
City and Columbia campuses several times. Dietzel
was the fourth of five children, all of whom played
an instrument.
“We were musical,” Dietzel said. “Most of my
family plays musical instruments and sings, so that
was always something that came very naturally for
me.”
Dietzel’s two brothers played the guitar and band
instruments such as the trombone and cornet.
Her sisters played the trombone and flute. Dietzel
played the clarinet and would occasionally pick up
a guitar.
“We all would kinda get together every once and
while and jam,” Dietzel said.
Dietzel also took to the stage in junior high and
high school plays. Dietzel met her husband, Larry
Dietzel, while performing in “The Music Man.”
“I thought she was cute,” Larry Dietzel said. “We
actually first became friends, and we were friends
for four or five months, and then it just kind of
developed from there.”
After high school, Dietzel pursued a degree in
voice and music at William Woods College, now
William Woods University, in Fulton. She later
attended theater classes at MU.
Dietzel took a break from the stage when her
children were small but mustered up the courage to
audition for a local performance of “The Sound of
Music” after her kids entered grade school.
“That started an addiction, I guess.” Dietzel said.
Please see BALLENGER, page 6APlease see DIETZEL, page 6A
Race for recorder
Lauren Kastner/MISSOURIAN
Nora Dietzel, Boone County recorder of deeds candidate, speaks with guests at a
fundraising party hosted by neighbor Margie Sable on Oct. 12. Dietzel has worked in
the recorder of deed’s office for 17 years.
JIAYUE HUANG/Missourian
Lisa Ballenger, Boone County recorder of deeds candidate, campaigns while
spending time with her family at the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 11.
MU provost
candidate
to speak at
public forum
The forum is Thursday at
the MU Student Center
By CAITLIN HOLLAND
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
The first MU provost candidate,
Michele Wheatly, will participate in a
forum Thursday afternoon, according
to an email from the provost search
committee.
Students, staff and faculty are invit-
ed to the forum from 3:45 to 5 p.m. in
Room 1209 A and B of the MU Stu-
dent Center.
Wheatly was the provost and vice
president for academic affairs at West
Virginia University from 2009 to June
2014. Before that, she was dean of the
College of Science
and Mathematics at
Wright State Uni-
versity in Dayton,
Ohio, from 2002
to 2009, according
to her resume pro-
vided by the search
committee. She was
also the chair of the
biological scienc-
es department at
Wright State from
1994 to 2002.
In September,
Wheatly was one of
four candidates for president of Flor-
ida State University. Florida Repub-
lican Sen. John Thrasher was ulti-
mately chosen for that position.
Wheatly, 58, was born in London
and attended the University of Bir-
mingham, earning a bachelor’s
degree in biological sciences in 1977
and a doctorate in comparative physi-
ology in 1980.
20-year-old MU student, member of
Sigma Pi fraternity dies Sunday night
The candidates
Lisa Ballenger
Personal: Age 51. Married to Gary
Ballenger. They have two sons and
two daughters.
Party affiliation: Republican
On the Web: Campaign website,
Twitter, Facebook page
Occupation: Deputy recorder of
deeds for Boone County
Education: Graduated from
Ridgeway High School in 1981
Background: Member of Wood-
crest Chapel
Nora Dietzel
Personal: Age 49. Married to Larry
Dietzel. They have two sons.
Party affiliation: Democrat
On the Web: Campaign website,
Twitter and Facebook page
Occupation: Lead deputy recorder
for Boone County
Education: Attended Williams
Woods College and MU
Background: Member of Boone
County Suicide Prevention Coalition
and the Daughters of the American
Revolution; treasurer for Comocaba-
ret; board member for Columbia
Entertainment Co.; past president
and current board member of Talk-
ing Horse Theatre; and chair of the
Worship Committee and elder at
First Christian Church of Columbia.
She has also served on the United
Way, Holiday, Purchasing and
Employee Activities committees for
Boone County and as the continu-
ing education coordinator for the
International Association of Clerks,
Recorders, Election Officials and
Treasurers.
By KATHERINE KNOTT
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
A 20-year-old MU student died
Sunday night at Boone Hospital
Center.
Chris Nicklow was visiting
friends at 310 N. William St. when
he was found unresponsive, police
spokeswoman Bryana Maupin said.
Columbia police were dispatched
to the home at 7:32 p.m. Nicklow
was taken to the hospital, where he
was pronounced dead.
Maupin said no foul play is sus-
pected. An autopsy is pending.
The 20-year-old food science and
nutrition major from Medina, Min-
nesota, was a member of the Sigma
Pi fraternity. According to the
chapter’s Facebook page, a candle-
light vigil will be held for Nicklow
at 10 p.m. Tuesday on the Sigma Pi
lawn, 808 S. Providence Road.
Members of Sigma Pi could not be
reached. The chapter sent this mes-
sage from its Twitter account early
Monday morning:
“We love you Chris. Hopefully
you’re looking down on us with a
smile on your face seeing all the
people that love you and miss you.”
Supervising editor is Scott
Swafford: swaffords@missouri.edu,
884-5366.
COURTESY PHOTO
MICHELE WHEATLY
is a candidate for
MU provost.
Chris Nicklow was an MU
student and member of Sigma
Pi fraternity.
Please see PROVOST page 4A
City Council
votes no on
marijuana
cultivation
By ALLISON GRAVES
and GUIMEL SIBINGO
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
The Columbia City Council
declined Monday to decriminalize
growing marijuana. Council mem-
bers also voted to build a new land-
fill building and update facilities at
Columbia Regional Airport for peo-
ple with disabilities.
Marijuana
After more than two and a half
hours of discussion, council mem-
bers voted against decriminalizing
growing up to two marijuana plants
and possessing up to 35 grams of
marijuana.
Votes:
Mayor Bob McDavid, First Ward
Councilwoman Ginny Chadwick,
Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala
and Fifth Ward Councilwoman
Laura Nauser voted against the pro-
posal.
Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barba-
ra Hoppe, Second Ward Councilman
Michael Trapp and Fourth Ward
Councilman Ian Thomas voted for it.
Comment:
n Columbia Police Chief Ken Bur-
ton said the measure would put his
officers at odds with federal law in
a way the current ordinance, which
decriminalizes possessing but not
growing marijuana, does not.
n Steve Concannon, coordinator
of MU’s Student Legal Services, said
approving the measure would send
mixed messages to students. MU
police are state agents, he said, and
they don’t have to abide by the city’s
directions.
n Dan Viets, a Columbia-based
attorney, said there is nothing stop-
ping Columbia from establishing a
law that is different from federal
rules.
Please see COUNCIL page 4A