Ashcraft to retire from city

Earlier this year, Holton Water and Wastewater Superintendent Dennis Ashcraft marked 40 years of employment with the City of Holton, and since then, his priority has been making sure that Holton city customers, as well as customers of Public Wholesale Water Supply District 18, have safe drinking water.

At the Holton City Commission’s Monday, Dec. 16 meeting, commissioners learned that Ashcraft’s tenure with the city will come to an end on Jan. 1, 2025.

Holton City Manager Teresa Riley shared Ashcraft’s letter of resignation with commissioners during the meeting, and commissioners responded by saying that while they will be sorry to see him go, they appreciated his years of service to the city. Philip Oldehoeft will take over Ashcraft’s duties following his retirement, it was reported.

It was noted that the city will host a “come and go” reception for Ashcraft from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30 at Holton City Hall. The public is invited to attend the reception.

Ashcraft’s 40-year tenure with the City of Holton began on July 1, 1984, at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. He became superintendent of the city’s water and wastewater departments in 1997 following the retirement of water, wastewater and light plant supervisor Lyle Lee.

During his time as a Holton city water and wastewater employee, Ashcraft has been involved in several community improvement projects, including the 1986 swimming pool upgrade, the construction of new sewer plant lagoons in 1992, installation of a new, 750,000-gallon elevated water tower in 1995, construction of Banner Creek Reservoir in the mid-1990s and water plant upgrades in 1995 and 2018.

Ashcraft has also been involved with Public Wholesale Water Supply District Supply 18, which opened for business in 2002 and treats water from Banner Creek Reservoir for sale to customers in Holton and Jackson County Rural Water District 3.

“The City of Holton functions well as a team, and with a lot of forethought and determination, it has positioned itself well to move into the future,” Ashcraft said in his retirement letter. “My goal has always been to be able to look back and know that we as the city are in a much better place as I depart than we were when I began.”

In other business at the Dec. 16 meeting, commissioners met with Holton resident Diane Gruver, who requested that the city draft an ordinance on controlling stray cats within the city limits after a recent incident in which she had been bitten by a stray cat and a city animal control officer was not immediately available to handle the situation.

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