Marion County RECORD

HEADLINES

Marion, Hillsboro accused of violating secrecy laws in atrazine case
The Cities of Marion and Hillsboro are being taken to task by the Kansas Corn Growers and Grain Sorghum Producers Associations regarding legal action over alleged atrazine pollution. Executive Director Jere White formally asked Marion County Attorney Susan Robson on Monday to investigate alleged violations of the state’s open records and open meetings laws by the two cities.
Fair draws Bucky Covington
A fund-raiser to benefit Marion County Fire Chiefs’ Association will include three nights of concerts, in conjunction with Marion County Fair, featuring country music recording artists. Bucky Covington, T. Graham Brown, and Kebo Cyrus will perform during the county fair, July 29-31.
County approves feedlot
Marion County Commission approved a conditional use permit (CUP) Monday to Mike Beneke for a commercial feedlot. Commissioners chose to grant a temporary CUP until Marion County Planning Commission reviews a rule requiring an environmental impact statement.
District adds coach bus to fleet
Marion-Florence USD 408 purchased an activity coach bus Thursday for the school district. The bus, a 1998 Bluebird Motor Coach, will replace a 19-year-old yellow activity bus in need of repairs that had just one year of operation remaining, according to state law.
Moran to run Boston Marathon
Mike Moran of rural Marion will run in the Boston Marathon Monday. Moran, counselor at Hillsboro Elementary School, has always been a runner.
More than looks: Tabor student to compete for Miss Kansas
It takes a lot of guts to stand in front of a roomful of people in a bathing suit. “It’s more than looks,” said Mandelyn “Mandi” Phillips, a Tabor College freshman.
Celebrating more than a century: Another year, another milestone
Norma Hannaford is synonymous with Marion. She has seen many changes in her 105 years on this earth, most of them in Marion, and Norma has been a part of many of those changes.
Inspired to break through perceptions
She was inspired when former Marion resident Amanda Steiner competed for and was selected in 2008 as Ms. Wheelchair Kansas. Seeing what Amanda could did was enough for former Marion resident Teresa (Hett) Higgins to do something she had never considered.
District purchases lot for construction class
Marion-Florence USD 408 will purchase two lots east of Marion Elementary School in Rocky Meadow Addition to use as part of the curriculum for Marion High School’s construction technology class. Currently instructor Lucas King and his students are building a house at Marion County Park and Lake for an individual.
Alumnus hired to teach ag education at Centre
The board of education of Centre USD 397 voted Monday to employ Laura Klenda as ag education instructor at Centre High School. The action came after a 15-minute executive session to discuss personnel. Included were Superintendent Jerri Kemble, Principal Nadine Smith, and ag instructor Cary Granzow. Board member Julie Klenda excused herself, citing a conflict of interest.

DEATHS

Donald Hess
Donald G. Hess, 69, of Marion, died April 9, 2009, at HCA Wesley Medical Center, Wichita. He was a carpenter and had retired from the City of Marion as park superintendent.
Alton Matz
Alton W. Matz, 81, of Lincolnville, died April 13, 2009, at his home. Services are at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Valley United Methodist Church, Marion.
David Rittgers
David R. Rittgers, 50, former Marion resident, died April 1, 2009, in a fire at his residence in Holcomb. Born Feb. 10, 1959, in Gardner, he was the son of Donald and Della (Nickel) Rittgers, who preceded him in death.
Charlene Stenzel
Charlene Kay Stenzel, 73, of Wichita, died April 9, 2009, in Wichita. She was a homemaker.
Henry Jones
Graveside services for Henry Leon Jones, 62, of Marion, who died March 19, 2009, will be 1 p.m. Saturday at Marion Cemetery. A luncheon will follow at Marion County Lake Hall.

DOCKET

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Hidden treasure: Family preserves historic home
It is an interesting and tangled tale of a man named A.N. Allison who ended up near Florence, and in 1873 built a two-story home. Each stone was hand-carved, laid ever so carefully with tools of the day.
Home improvement: Rita gets a new kitchen
When Jesse and Rita Brunner of Tampa decide to do something, they go all out. During the past year, they built an addition to their two-story colonial house at 3490 Indigo, making room for a larger kitchen, a utility room with an adjacent bathroom, and a large bedroom with a bath.
Garage is styled after: 1887 carriage house
Several years ago, Tom Schmidt of Peabody was searching for information about the town in archives at Wichita Public Library. There he found in an 1887 Kansas Atlas, a line drawing of the house at 611 N. Sycamore, Peabody. The picture also included a carriage house behind the residence. Schmidt gave a copy of the picture to Mike and Cheryl Berger, the current occupants of the house. They posted it on their refrigerator.

OPINION

It's time to end government secrecy
Whether the Cities of Marion and Hillsboro broke state law regarding open meetings or saw so many dollar signs they were willing to target local farmers by joining a lawsuit against atrazine misses the most important question. If atrazine is a sufficient threat to public health that the cities needed to join a lawsuit against it, why were discussions of the issue conducted primarily behind closed doors?
Our choice, for now
An interesting story emerged from the Kansas City Star reporter David Klepper who reported that even though Kansas school districts appear to have dodged the chopping block this time around, the hatchet remains in the hands of legislators if there is another storm in the economic forecast. Lawmakers will get a look at those predictions Friday. If the news is bad, more cuts probably are on the way when legislators return to session April 29 after a three-week break.
Our voice in Topeka
You may recall I had mentioned statistics and other information we receive in legislative committee hearings are many and often, making it difficult to comprehend them all. For instance, it was surprising to learn that more than 7,000 people are injured or killed every year on Kansas roads because of crashes involving a teen driver. We had the opportunity to combat these numbers by modifying our state’s driver’s licensing system. States that have already implemented similar updates have seen their number of teen crashes cut in half. We had legislators’ children lobbying their parents to leave the law alone, but the testimony in support of these changes was overwhelming, and the bill (HB 2143) passed by a huge margin.
Random Thoughts
O.K. Get ready! I shall now tell you about everything that has happened between 1904 and 2009! On the other hand, perhaps I won’t. All of my family might want to argue about some of my remarks. After all, I did rock everyone in the family rocking chair; I think I could out argue any of them. What a birthday! Some of my family came from Arizona, California, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, and of course, Kansas. A dinner at the Roger Hannafords’ Wednesday, a dinner in my home Thursday, and a party at my granddaughter and husband’s home in McPherson. Such a cute party with a circus theme. Balloons, popcorn, clowns, and a band. The only thing missing was the elephant.

PEOPLE

CORRESPONDENTS:
St. Luke, Senior Center, Tampa
BIRTHS:
Ella Constance Grace
ENGAGEMENTS:
James Cyr, Dainne Shipman announce engagement
MEMORIES:
10, 25, 35, 50, 60, 100 years ago

SCHOOL

MMS seventh grade is MCAA scholars' bowl champions
Marion Middle School seventh grade scholars’ bowl team posted a 7-1 overall record April 7 at Halstead Middle School to take the MCAA League championship. In pool play, Marion defeated Hillsboro 80-45, Sterling 65-35, Halstead 60-40, and Lyons 70-25, before losing to Collegiate 60-50.
CHS livestock team takes first at Aggie Days at Hutchison
A Centre FFA team of Tanner Brunner, Nathan Barney, and Alex Hajek finished in first place in livestock management April 1 at Aggie Days in Hutchinson. Brunner finished first individually and Barney third. With the addition of Cole Svoboda, the team also competed in senior livestock judging. They finished fifth in district competition and ninth in the invitational.
Seventh grade boys lead Centre at Council Grove Invitational
The Centre Junior High School seventh grade boys’ track team finished second Thursday in the Council Grove Invitational. Teams from eight schools participated. Kyle Methvin earned first place in the 200-meter dash and second in the 400m dash. Ty Simons won the triple jump.

SPORTS

Gordon continues domination with two championships
Not even rain and high winds could stop him. Marion senior Luke Gordon braved wet weather Friday at Hillsboro Municipal Golf course to shoot a 35 and win the shortened, nine-hole tournament.
Slow start for MHS baseball team
After dropping its season opener April 3 at home, Marion fell to 0-4 April 7 after two, run-rule losses at Wichita Collegiate. In the losses, the Warriors managed just one hit, a single from third baseman Brian Fruechting, and were outscored 25-0.
Zeiner breaks school record at Centre CKTL
Julia Zeiner led a host of successful Marion athletes in the school’s first track meet of the season. The junior took first in all three of her events April 7 at the Centre Central Kansas Track League (CKTL) in Marion, breaking a school record in the process.

Marion County RECORD

A fund-raiser to benefit Marion County Fire Chiefs’ Association will include three nights of concerts, in conjunction with Marion County Fair, featuring country music recording artists. Bucky Covington, T. Graham Brown, and Kebo Cyrus will perform during the county fair, July 29-31.

Marion County Commission approved a conditional use permit (CUP) Monday to Mike Beneke for a commercial feedlot. Commissioners chose to grant a temporary CUP until Marion County Planning Commission reviews a rule requiring an environmental impact statement.

Marion-Florence USD 408 purchased an activity coach bus Thursday for the school district. The bus, a 1998 Bluebird Motor Coach, will replace a 19-year-old yellow activity bus in need of repairs that had just one year of operation remaining, according to state law.

Mike Moran of rural Marion will run in the Boston Marathon Monday. Moran, counselor at Hillsboro Elementary School, has always been a runner.

It takes a lot of guts to stand in front of a roomful of people in a bathing suit. “It’s more than looks,” said Mandelyn “Mandi” Phillips, a Tabor College freshman.

Norma Hannaford is synonymous with Marion. She has seen many changes in her 105 years on this earth, most of them in Marion, and Norma has been a part of many of those changes.

She was inspired when former Marion resident Amanda Steiner competed for and was selected in 2008 as Ms. Wheelchair Kansas. Seeing what Amanda could did was enough for former Marion resident Teresa (Hett) Higgins to do something she had never considered.

Donald G. Hess, 69, of Marion, died April 9, 2009, at HCA Wesley Medical Center, Wichita. He was a carpenter and had retired from the City of Marion as park superintendent.

Alton W. Matz, 81, of Lincolnville, died April 13, 2009, at his home. Services are at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Valley United Methodist Church, Marion.

David R. Rittgers, 50, former Marion resident, died April 1, 2009, in a fire at his residence in Holcomb. Born Feb. 10, 1959, in Gardner, he was the son of Donald and Della (Nickel) Rittgers, who preceded him in death.

Charlene Kay Stenzel, 73, of Wichita, died April 9, 2009, in Wichita. She was a homemaker.

Graveside services for Henry Leon Jones, 62, of Marion, who died March 19, 2009, will be 1 p.m. Saturday at Marion Cemetery. A luncheon will follow at Marion County Lake Hall.

It is an interesting and tangled tale of a man named A.N. Allison who ended up near Florence, and in 1873 built a two-story home. Each stone was hand-carved, laid ever so carefully with tools of the day.

When Jesse and Rita Brunner of Tampa decide to do something, they go all out. During the past year, they built an addition to their two-story colonial house at 3490 Indigo, making room for a larger kitchen, a utility room with an adjacent bathroom, and a large bedroom with a bath.

CORRESPONDENTS:

BIRTHS:

ENGAGEMENTS:

MEMORIES:

Marion Middle School seventh grade scholars’ bowl team posted a 7-1 overall record April 7 at Halstead Middle School to take the MCAA League championship. In pool play, Marion defeated Hillsboro 80-45, Sterling 65-35, Halstead 60-40, and Lyons 70-25, before losing to Collegiate 60-50.

The Centre Junior High School seventh grade boys’ track team finished second Thursday in the Council Grove Invitational. Teams from eight schools participated. Kyle Methvin earned first place in the 200-meter dash and second in the 400m dash. Ty Simons won the triple jump.

Not even rain and high winds could stop him. Marion senior Luke Gordon braved wet weather Friday at Hillsboro Municipal Golf course to shoot a 35 and win the shortened, nine-hole tournament.

After dropping its season opener April 3 at home, Marion fell to 0-4 April 7 after two, run-rule losses at Wichita Collegiate. In the losses, the Warriors managed just one hit, a single from third baseman Brian Fruechting, and were outscored 25-0.

Julia Zeiner led a host of successful Marion athletes in the school’s first track meet of the season. The junior took first in all three of her events April 7 at the Centre Central Kansas Track League (CKTL) in Marion, breaking a school record in the process.