Marion County RECORD

Tuesday is election filing deadline

Polling places will open April 5 for city and school district elections. The deadline for candidates to file is noon Tuesday. City candidates may file with their city clerk or at the Marion County clerk’s office. Board of education candidates must file with the county clerk. Primaries, if required, will be March 1. Primaries are required only if there are more than three times as many candidates as seats available. Under no circumstances is a primary required for Cottonwood Drainage District. Positions up for election City of Burns

Mayor: Incumbent Mark Brunhoeber.

City Council (2): Incumbents Roland Boesker and Fritzie Hatfield. City of Durham

Mayor: Incumbent Michael Sorensen

City Council (5): Incumbents Tom Harmon, Steven B. Miller, Arnold Sommerfeld, Verlin Sommerfeld, and Gary Unruh. City of Florence

Mayor: Incumbent Mary L. Shipman.

City Council Ward 1: Incumbent Daniel D. Ludwig.

City Council Ward 2: Incumbent Trayce E. Warner. City of Goessel

City Council (3): Incumbents Dallas Boese, Duane Duerksen, and James Wiens. City of Hillsboro

Mayor: Incumbent Delores Dalke.

City Council Ward 1: Incumbent Robert L. Watson.

City Council Ward 2: Incumbent Kevin Suderman. City of Lehigh

Mayor: Incumbent Mike Geiman.

City Council (5): Incumbents Galen Chizek, Brad Dies, Todd Jost, John Masson, and Fred Sheridan. City of Lincolnville

City Council (3): Incumbents Dawn M. Kaiser, Sherri Pankratz, and Joe Vinduska. City of Lost Springs

Mayor: Incumbent Blaine Gehrke.

City Council (5): Incumbents Dottie Gehrke, Connie Jenkins, Tish Keesling, Frank Wirtz, and Joseph A. Zinn. City of Peabody

Mayor: Incumbent Larry K. Larsen.

City Council (3): Incumbents Pam Lamborn, Stephen Rose, and David Scott. City of Ramona

Mayor: Incumbent Patricia Wick.

City Council (5): Incumbents Bill E. Alcorn, Jeanette (Jeannie) Goza, Kathy Matkins, Byron Noeth, and Arthur E. Stroda. City of Tampa

Mayor: Incumbent Timothy J. Svoboda.

City Council (2): Incumbents Russel Kerbs and Ty Peterson. Cottonwood Drainage District

Directors (3): Incumbents John R. (Rocky) Hett, Willard Hett, and Darvin Markley. Centre USD 397

Position 1: Incumbent Jesse E. Brunner.

Position 2: Incumbent Mark A. Heiser.

Position 3: Incumbent Terry Deines.

At-large: Incumbent Steven G. Jirak. Peabody-Burns USD 398

Position 1: Incumbent Bruce Burke.

Position 3: Incumbent Gary Jones.

Position 7: Incumbent Anthony Zappone. Marion/Florence USD 408

Position 1: Incumbent Christopher A. Sprowls.

Position 2: Incumbent Kathy Meierhoff.

Position 3: Incumbent Ronald Duane Kirkpatrick Jr.

At-large: Incumbent Sarah Cope. Hillsboro USD 410

Position 1: Incumbent Debra Geis.

Position 2: Incumbent Dale W. Klassen.

Position 3: Incumbent Mark Rooker.

Position 4: Incumbent Joe Sechrist.

At-large: Incumbent Roderick W. Koons. Goessel USD 411

Position 1: Incumbent Darla Meysing.

Position 2: Incumbent Maynard Knepp.

Position 3: Incumbent Dan Miller.

At-large: Incumbent Mary L. Rosfeld.

U.S. 50 to get asphalt overlay

The entire length of U.S. 50 in Marion County will receive a 3-inch asphalt overlay beginning in April. The project will go from the Harvey County line into Chase County, Kansas Department of Transportation Area Engineer Joe Palic said Friday. It is expected to take most of the summer to complete.

Jail reaches capacity during weekend

Marion County Jail reached its maximum capacity of 16 inmates during the weekend, Sheriff Rob Craft told county commissioners Tuesday. The Kansas State Fire Marshal ruled in 2010 that the upper floor of the jail may hold 20 people, including dispatchers and jailers, leaving room for 16 inmates.

Commission delays decision on Hillsboro TIF District

Marion County Commission delayed a decision on a tax increment financing district in Hillsboro until Monday. Commissioners met with City of Hillsboro bond counsel J.T. Klaus and Andrew Kovar of Triplett, Woolf & Garretson LLC of Wichita, City Administrator Larry Paine, and Mayor Delores Dalke Tuesday to discuss how to remedy the unintentional omission of Hillsboro Business Park from the TIF district.

Tax services available at Mid-Kansas CAP office

After being closed since October, the Marion office of the Mid-Kansas Community Action Program will re-open next week. Lesley Stansbury, who is replacing Lynn Unruh, will be available Thursdays and Fridays to provide tax services. Appointments may be made by calling (316) 283-3850.

Leiker to play at Carnegie Feb. 19

“You should live with this music. You should download it to your iPod,” were the words in a letter Marion High School senior Landon Leiker received for his Feb. 19 performance with the North American Honor Band in Carnegie Hall. Leiker received the music and followed the conductor’s directions, putting the music on his iPod. However, he has only listened to the songs once.

Sportsman beats winter blues

Recipe for a winter adventure: Ingredients:

Kenneth Schwendiman

Kenneth H. Schwendiman was born Aug. 14, 1923, in Marion, the son of Wesley and Pauline Schwendiman. He attended Canada Grade School and Marion schools. During World War II, he served with the United States Marine Corps and saw action in Guam and the Marianas Islands.

Accidents

Civil division

County jail

Criminal division

Deeds recorded

Domestic division

Peabody police

Sheriff incidents

Traffic division

Program equips new moms with knowledge

“Every pregnant girl wants to be a good mom,” Marion County Healthy Start coordinator Sondra Mayfield said. But it isn’t often that first-time mothers know all about their baby’s health and safety. So Mayfield works with expectant and new mothers to give them the knowledge they need and refer them to helpful services. Healthy Start is a program run by Marion County Health Department.

Active people are happy people

Exercise is important at any age but as a person ages, exercising the mind, body, and spirit becomes even more essential. Marion Assisted Living now has a full-time activity director to keep residents motivated and active.

Logo celebrates a century of health care

Marion High School senior Emily Hett designed the winning logo for St. Luke Hospital’s “100 Years of Health Care in Marion” logo contest. Participants were limited to middle and high school students in the hospital district, which included Marion, Centre, and Peabody-Burns school districts.

How badly do we want development?

It’s understandable that the county commission is concerned about diverting tax revenue from the county coffers. However, Hillsboro city had every intention of including the business park in the original tax increment finance district two years ago but basically a typographical error excluded it. The plan that the city has proposed to the county of allowing the original district as intended seems fair. The county would have the opportunity to review tax diversions for future development.

MEDI is poised for new business

MEDI is poised for new business Marion Economic Development Inc., a group of community leaders and investors, has purchased the remaining shelves and other fixtures in the former Duckwall’s building, downtown Marion, preparing for a retailer to step in where Duckwall’s left off. The next step is to find investors interested in replacing the variety store with another, similar retail business.

Politicians should walk a mile in our shoes

When Governor Brownback announced he supported more funding cuts for education, there was a collective moan heard across the state. Here we go again.

Seeds of something fine

I grew up in a musical family, so I’m thrilled that my daughter is beginning to show a deeper interest in and appreciation for music. Several times a day I’ll overhear her quietly practicing a song she’s just heard for the first time or making up one of her own. She particularly likes to re-tell everything she’s done in a day via song while we drive home from day care.

Legislative update

Governor Brownback gave his State of the State address Jan. 12 and on Thursday he unveiled his budget plan for the rest of the 2011 fiscal year (ending June 30) and for fiscal year 2012. I haven’t yet read the 400-page budget proposal; I have read the overview, however. Much of the budget will have no apparent effect on us, but some parts will have direct and immediate impact on the folks of this district. I appreciate the Governor leading with his own ideas, not simply placing budget decisions in the legislature’s lap. Time will tell what we think of those ideas, but they do give us a starting point. For one, it appears Governor Brownback intends to fund Medicaid at current levels while he and his secretary of Social and Rehabilitation Services determine changes to the program that he believes are appropriate. Also he proposes to keep funding for Corrections.

Hope in the Heartland

Recently in an area newspaper, a lawyer and human rights activist Saroop Ijaz wrote about a woman who brought water to some fellow farmhands but several of the men refused to drink it. The water was clean but, according to them, she wasn’t. In their eyes, she had become a wicked traitor. Words were exchanged, elevating to accusations and then an official complaint was filed — against her. Eventually she and her family were attacked inside their home by protesters. Therefore an investigations followed. However, the police investigated her. They arrested her and prosecuted her. Finally, they sentenced her to death by hanging.

LETTERS:

John Denver had Mennonite ancestors

John Denver was a popular singer who died an untimely death at age 53 when his private plane plunged into the Pacific Ocean off the cost of California on Oct. 12, 1997. He wrote many hit songs including “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” Sara Keckeisen, a librarian at Kansas State Historical Society, with assistance from Peggy Goertzen at the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies in Hillsboro, researched Denver’s ancestry and uncovered some interesting facts.

CORRESPONDENTS:

MEMORIES:

Teachers told in seminar to envision best day

It is easy to understand why anyone would want to have their best possible day every day. But to make each day the best, you need a vision of what the best day would be, keynote speaker Monte Selby told teachers and school administrators Monday at the Technology Excellence in Education Network Mash-Up in Marion.

MES students learn lessons on friendship from book

As a literacy project, Marion Elementary School students will study “Charlotte’s Web” for the next five weeks. Title 1 teachers Shannon Cooper and Cindy Vinduska organized the One Book, One School program, having the entire school participate.

Warriors win 2nd game of season Tuesday night

The Marion High School boys basketball team won its second game Tuesday against Elyria in the opening round of the Cougar Classic at Center, 57-47. “It feels great,” guard Mikael Antoszyk said of the win. “We’ve been on a losing streak for over a month now.”

Girls lose close contest to Hope

The Marion High School girls basketball team lost to Hope, 32-26, Tuesday in the opening round of the Centre Invitational. With her scoring confidence revitalized, Whitney Gordon submitted her third consecutive double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Warriors play well in defeat to Trinity

The Marion High School boys basketball team lost 52-40 to Hutchinson Trinity Friday in Marion. The Warriors were leading the game, 16-13, with 3 minutes, 59 seconds left in the second quarter, after scoring drives by Jacob Harper and Jordan Versch. Trinity guard Derek Racette answered with a 3-pointer to tie the contest, and on the next Trinity possession, Holden Thielen knocked down both free throws.

Warriors lose tight game to Trinity

The Marion High School girls basketball team lost 44-39 to Hutchinson Trinity Friday in Marion. Whitney Gordon capped off a season-high 20-point outburst with a one-step turnaround jump shot over her primary defender, Ashley Zrubek, who was playing underneath, just before a Trinity guard was approaching the Marion center for a double team. The score put the Warriors within 1 point, 40-39.

MHS wrestler Regnier, Slater take first at Halstead meet

The Marion High School wrestling team finished sixth Saturday at the Halstead Invitational, scoring 92 points as a team. “We scored 92 points with three places,” coach Chad Adkins said. “That’s a lot of scoring.”

CENTRE:

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