By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

New county park and lake director Isaac Hett has several items on his “to do before summer” list.

A Marion native, Hett is the son of Jerry and Loreen Hett.

His first priority is to learn the basics of running the office at the lake.

“Pretty much the next big thing is getting ready for the summer months,” Hett said. “I have a lot of cleaning up and getting everything ready for the fishers.”

Hett said he is looking forward to hearing a coming report from a group of Kansas State University students doing testing and working on a study of the lake.

“It has potential to be really helpful out here,” Hett said.

He also plans to get needed work done on the heated dock and looks forward to annual events.

“I graduated high school in 2010 and then KSU where I majored in wildlife outdoor enterprise management,” Hett said.

After his 2015 graduation from KSU, Hett worked in Alaska for three years.

“I was a manager at a fishing lodge there that was open from May to September,” he said. “I spent one winter there with my boss and kept up with the bookkeeping and helped with sales. After that I decided one winter was good.”

His coworkers liked to travel in the off-season and escape Alaska winters, so the next two winters he went to Belize for ocean fishing and Thailand for a month of tourism.

He returned to Marion in October. When the lake director position opened up, he applied.

Hett said he’s already had visits from a couple of lake residents.

“I am excited and if anybody has any ideas or suggestions, I’d be glad to talk to them,” Hett said.

Lake fish to have new management

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

County commissioners voted Wednesday to place the county park and lake into the Community Fisheries Assistance Program operated by Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism.

KDWPT chief information officer Mike Miller said a fisheries biologist will manage stocking of the lake with a goal of optimal fish population balance.

The program helps with maintaining the lake, Miller said.

“Taking care of that fishing program is a priority,” Miller said.

The biologist also will create better fish habitat for desired species.

The program also might reduce blue-green algae issues that have plagued the lake the past two years, Miller said.

“As much as the program can, it will address blue-green algae,” Miller said. “Some of it is triggered by what runs in after a rain. They will be there to handle that, but I’m not sure we have an answer to blue-green algae.”