BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Challenger Roger K. Fleming won in a landslide over incumbent Marion County Commissioner Bob Hein in the Republican primary Tuesday, 879 to 249. Meanwhile, state Rep. J. Robert Brookens successfully defended his position against challenger Cheryl Green. “I appreciate all the voters who got out and showed who they want to represent them,” Fleming said after results were posted.
The state fire marshal’s office said Tuesday that it was investigating a complaint filed against Marion County Jail, currently so crowded inmates are sleeping on the floor. The jail has a capacity of 11 inmates. Monday, it was housing 15, and the sheriff’s office was adding three more Tuesday.
A 63-year-old convicted sex offender, a 37-year-old mother, and her 21-year-old son face gang-rape charges after a coordinated raid Thursday by Peabody and Marion police and sheriff’s deputies. Each of the three is accused of two counts of rape and single counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated kidnapping, and battery.
Sun glinting off his dark wraparound glasses, Ed Burlingame whirls from corner to corner of his latest beachhead like a general directing landing craft for invasion. “Watch that up there,” he chides a key lieutenant, one of two adopted sons under his command — this one carefully laying out installations and pathways with a rolling measuring wheel. “You can slide that one in over there.”
While a beach at Marion Reservoir closed because of E. coli in the water, Marion and Hillsboro decided this week to express concerns about a proposed feedlot expansion near the beach. The beach at Cottonwood Point has been closed since July 16 because of E. coli contamination, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Nate Herring said Tuesday.
Hospital district taxes should decrease next year even though work on a $6 million renovation St. Luke Hospital is scheduled to begin next week. At the St. Luke Hospital Board of Directors meeting Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Armstrong said that he will be accepting bids for ground work on the hospital construction project and electrical and engineering contracts Friday.
New Florence Police Chief Michael Stone wants to build a trusting relationship with the community, especially children. “If people trust you, they’ll come to you,” he said Friday.
Marion has a Pete the Rhino Facebook page, complete with videos of Pete the Rhino, and links to Facebook pages of other Marion businesses because of Derek Stuchlik. Although the project waited almost four years, there is a roof over one of the dugouts of baseball Field D because of Marshall and Mitchell Ragland.
Rita Alleven, 68 of Sioux Falls, S.D., passed away on Thursday, July 22, 2010, at the Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls after a battle with ovarian cancer. Survivors include a daughter, Anita Alleven, Sioux Falls; sons, Gary (Barbara) Alleven, Marion, and Michael (Teri) Alleven, Sioux Falls; brothers, Pete (Dawn) Dubbelde, Hartford, S.D.; John (Linda) Dubbelde, Salome, Ariz.; Ted (Jean) Dubbelde, Custer, S.D.; Jack (Faye) Dubbelde, Chancellor, S.D.; sisters, JoAnn (John) Fleming, Sioux Falls, and Barb (Charles) Jongeling, Lennox, S.D.; six grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.
Retired business executive Kenneth Gus Dieker, 85, formerly of Tampa, died July 20 in Modesto, Calif. Born Oct. 23, 1924, in Westphalia to Lawrence and Catherine Dieker, he graduated from Tampa Rural High School in 1942 and attended Wichita State University while working as an apprentice tool and die maker before he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943.
Retired Cedar Point ranch and farm wife Lora C. Hettenbach, 90, died Saturday at Parkside Homes, Hillsboro. Born Jan. 19, 1920, in Herington, to Wilhem and Anna (Lawrenz) Rohloff, she graduated from Woodbine High School and married Milton Hettenbach on Jan. 19, 1938.
Retired Cooperative Grain and Supply accountant Menno Lohrenz, 92, died Saturday in Hillsboro. He was born Nov. 10, 1917, to Gerhard and Mary (Penner) Lohrenz. He married Clara Wipf on Jan. 1, 1960, in Lincoln, Neb. She died in 2004.
Lawrence G. “Larry” McClure, 84, died June 20 at his home in Hutchinson. A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Aug. 6 at Prairie Lawn Cemetery, Peabody.
Theresa A. “Terri” Ruck, 51, of Pilsen died July 25 after a short battle with cancer. She was born Sept. 14, 1958, in Madison, Wis., to Thomas and Burlean (Gobin) Tantillo.
Services for Leona C. Widler, 105, were Friday at Zeiner Funeral Home, Florence. Burial was at Hillcrest Cemetery, Florence. She died July 19 at Legacy Park, Peabody. Born Sept. 13, 1904, in Florence to Henry and Mary (Bournout) Roberts, she graduated from Summit School and on Oct. 11, 1922, married Arthur Widler in Marion.
Thirty pieces of steel pipe were removed from an abandoned residence between 7 a.m. June 20 and noon July 12 on the 2000 block of 310th Road, Burdick. The loss was estimated at $1,000. An individual was texting and calling the victim from 3 p.m. July 15 to 9 a.m. July 16 while a protection from abuse order was in effect.
Republican candidates to represent the 70th District in the Kansas House of Representatives continued to make claims Monday about how the campaign has been funded and run. In a letter to district newspapers, challenger Cheryl Green, Rosalia, disputed claims that her campaign was funded and run by special interest groups.
Candidates for the Republican Nomination for the 70th District in the Kansas House of representatives have spent $18,768 campaigning since Jan. 1. Candidates filed their receipts and expenditures reports with the Kansas secretary of state’s office Monday.
Republicans and Democrats will vote Tuesday to select their candidates for numerous offices. In the race for Republican nomination to represent the 70th District in Topeka, incumbent J. Robert Brookens is challenged by Cheryl Green. There are no Democratic candidates for the seat.
With the county looking to reduce its $30,000 contribution to reservoir water quality, the City of Marion voted Monday to contribute $7,500 to help test reservoir water. The money is crucial because it amounts to the local matching funds for a $300,000 federal grant. The county also is asking Hillsboro to contribute, Marion County Commissioner Dan Holub said.
All the fuss leading up to Tuesday’s election has us wondering whether we’re still in Kansas anymore. The torrent of attacks and counterattacks — some of them all too personal — makes us wonder whether we are in the midst of a California mudslide. The only breath of fresh air has come from Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker, the most famous part-time resident of our circulation area and a retired leader of such courage and dignity that she merits all her last names.
The father ordered servants to bring a robe, sandals, and a ring for his son, and then joyfully escorted him into the house as servants prepared a celebration with the finest music and the choicest foods. The son had never seen his father happier. “My son was lost, but now he is found. My son is back.”
How many of you out there are tired of all the campaign advertising? And the general election is still two months away. Before I start a rather angry diatribe, I want to make two things clear.
LETTERS:
Kassebaum endorses,
Green would fight waste,
Penny tax was worth it,
Comments in error,
Why no endorsement?,
Brookens in touch,
Letter writer replies,
Commissioner thanks Marion
Marion County Early Childhood Task Force is presenting plaques to physicians, dentists, optometrists, and mental health care providers who work with low-income families. “Somebody needs to be there for the kids,” physician Don Hodson said Friday.
Rachel Davelaar, 25, is a new veterinarian at Animal Health Center in Marion. She started July 12. Davelaar learned of the position while working in Nebraska and was connected with Animal Health Center veterinarian Jessica Laurin.
When Matthew Mitros and Marion native Carrie Darrow decorated the lake hall Friday for their wedding reception, they did so with vases Mitros crafted. “I first learned to throw when I was 10, but I didn’t take it seriously until I was 20,” he said.
The poverty in Nairobi, Kenya, is staggering. The people of Mathare slum live in small tin houses, tightly packed together in rows. Some of them have electricity, but most don’t. “A lot of them live on like 80 cents a day,” Becca Erwin said.
Terry Vinduska has farmed his family land west of Pilsen since 1973, but he also fulfilled a promise to his parents that he would graduate from college and use that college education. Now Vinduska is the chairman of the U.S. Grains Council.
Rancher Mark Harms has spent most of his life raising beef, but it turns out he’s not bad at cooking it, too. Harms was part of a team of chefs that won best entree as a part of the annual Pasture to Plate Chef’s tour throughout south central Kansas.
Marion Boy Scouts Troop 102 members Justin Barr and Dylan Goebel are attending the 2010 Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Va. The 2010 jamboree celebrates the 100th anniversary of scouting in the United States. About 40,000 scouts were expected to attend.
Janie Peters felt it was her time to make a difference. “I finally got to this point in my life where I was ready to make something happen for the fair,” she said.
Dogs bounded over hurdles, climbed up walkways, and even walked across a seesaw Saturday at Marion County Fairgrounds. 4-H members and their dogs participated in an agility competition after showmanship and obedience demonstrations in a dog show, the first event of the fair.
BIRTHS:
Matilda SlagleCORRESPONDENTS:
Burdick,
Senior Center,
TampaENGAGEMENTS:
Erickson-ThorntonMEMORIES:
10,
25,
35,
50,
60,
100,
125 years ago
Deb Geis, chairman of Marion County Special Education Cooperative, offered the vacant east wing of the co-op’s building at 1500 E. Lawrence St., Marion, as a home for the county health department. The county has been considering whether the department should stay in its current building, move to an existing building, or a new building.
Amy Kjellin of rural Marion is the new director of Butler Community College’s Marion and Council Grove campuses. Kjellin took over July 12 for retiring director Pauline Holub. She previously worked at Hutchinson Community College’s McPherson campus and Tabor College in Hillsboro.
The Cottonwood Valley 11-and-under team’s season ended Sunday night in Marion with a 9-2 loss to Ottawa. Ottawa went undefeated through pool play. Cottonwood Valley was the only team Ottawa didn’t defeat by at least 10 runs.
The 9-and-under Cottonwood Valley League all-stars won their district with victories over Lyons and Council Grove, but lost in the state tournament in Paola. The 10-and-under CVL all-stars were the runner-up in District 4.
The Cottonwood Valley 14-and-under all-stars lost, 5-0, to Humboldt on Monday to end their season at the state tournament in Altamont. The tournament gave a most valuable player and WOW award to each team after each game.
It’s something that doesn’t happen: Two athletes from the same school playing in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association all-star game. Marion High School graduates Lindsay Hett and Julia Zeiner will compete in the KBCA all-star game 6 p.m. Aug. 5 at Lee Arena on the Washburn University campus in Topeka.