BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
A meet and greet reception for Dr. Tim McVay will be 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at St. Luke Medical Clinic, 537 S. Freeborn St., Marion.
An ad announcing the reception incorrectly indicated the day for the reception as Saturday.
A blue-green algae warning for Marion Reservoir went into effect Thursday, the first such warning of the season.
Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued the warning based on sampling of the lake conducted June 7 which
Closure of US-56/77/K-150 for construction of a roundabout has been delayed until next week, Mervin Lare of KDOT said Wednesday.
“We had some contractor issues and some utility issues that popped up, so we won’t be closing the road until next week,” he said.
Staff photos from Chingawassa Dyas 2015.
For those who detest serpents, two new champions have emerged in the fight against snakes.
Marion residents Sarah Tolessa and Alicia Nienstedt kill the legless reptiles with very little hesitation. The two have sent almost 30 snakes to their doom.
They had walked about 45 miles in two days, and as the sun rose Sunday at Aulne Methodist Church, about 180 walkers in the annual pilgrimage for Army chaplain Father Emil Kapaun woke to prepare for the final 15-mile leg to Pilsen.
Scattered throughout the church lawn, some shook off the accumulated toll of miles, heat, and humidity by stretching, while others bandaged blistered feet. Many who started with them in Wichita hadn’t made it to Aulne.
A chorus of red-eyed and orange-winged minstrels is singing in the verdant trees near Florence.
Brood No. 4, the Kansas brood, of 17-year cicadas recently emerged after spending 17 years underground, awaiting the right moment to break into song.
Marion Chamber of Commerce just had a near-death experience.
Recent changes could have stripped the chamber of its only paid employee and its office, and left it with nothing other than monthly lunch meetings to prove its existence. There’s no guarantee the chamber would have dissolved, but the adversity would have been unprecedented.
Tension between Victor Buckner and his neighbor, Marion Country Club, is palpable.
Club president Don Noller described Buckner’s property as an “eyesore,” a sentiment that has been endorsed in this newspaper’s editorial pages.
A Herington woman was pronounced dead after her vehicle veered off Limestone Rd. and overturned around 7:40 a.m. Sunday south of Tampa.
Lisa L. Gable, 50, was the driver and sole occupant of a 2000 Jeep that was northbound on Limestone Rd. near 310th Rd. when it veered right and off the road, coming to rest on the passenger side against a tree, according to sheriff’s deputy Derek Fetrow, who arrived at the scene at 7:50 a.m.
Hedge rows ripped apart, and roads ripped up have left 14 West Branch families living on Chisholm Trail Rd. between 90th and 120th Rds. ready to rip into county officials.
“It looked like a tornado had gone down the road,” resident Dana Gleason told county commissioners Monday. “Culverts are smashed in so that water won’t go through them. They literally tore that road to pieces.”
Baseball and rainy weather don’t mix.
With Cottonwood Valley League recreational baseball in full swing, teams are making use of Marion’s baseball/softball complex for games and practices — just not always when they should be.
Super Mario could be the next mascot for Marion. The names match. Or maybe the mascot could be Pete the Rhino, sporting a red hard hat.
The city council on Monday approved an art project that would give all Marion fire hydrants a makeover. Marion Pride proposed the project, which will likely take the form of a contest, open to local artists.
City administrator Roger Holter and Mayor Todd Heitschmidt presented the city’s tentative recreation plan to USD 408 at its Monday night board meeting.
Holter first went through the presentation with city council members at their meeting then headed to district offices with Heitschmidt to address the board of education.
As the Kansas Legislature struggled to deal with budgets, taxes, and economic stimulus, so too were two Marion High School students.
The two boys — Austin Molleker, son of Robin Brooks and Don Molleker, and John Lind, son of Doug and Virginia Lind — attended Boys State last week at Kansas State University.
St. Luke Hospital and Auxiliary awarded $1,000 scholarships Thursday to two college students who said their dreams of medical careers trace back to experiences they had as high schoolers at the hospital.
Bryanna Svoboda of Ramona and Isaac Baldwin of Marion received the awards at the Auxiliary’s annual scholarship luncheon at St. Luke. Svoboda plans to be a physical therapist, while Baldwin wants to be a doctor.
Marion County hasn’t hired a new groundskeeper for the courthouse. New flowerbeds on its northwest side are the work of County Clerk Tina Spencer and her family.
“A couple years ago, a Girl Scout, Nicole Sanders from Peabody, came to plant flowers for a project,” Spencer said. Nicole had to go before the commission in order to get permission for the project.
Symphony in the Flint Hills will be celebrating its 10th anniversary Saturday at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Chase County. The signature event debuted at the preserve in 2006.
Following the theme “Grasslands of the World,” the Kansas City Symphony, special speakers, and educational booths will present music from and information about major grasslands around the world, as well as the Kansas Flint Hills.
Former Hillsboro resident Dora L. Kriegsman, 78, died Tuesday at Asbury Park in Newton.
A graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Hillsboro Lutheran Cemetery.
Former Kingfisher’s Inn waitress Laquetta R. “Luke” Siebert, 77, died Saturday at Bethesda Home, Goessel.
No visitation or services are planned. A family inurnment will be scheduled at Marion Cemetery.
IN MEMORIAM:
Mike Hodges,
Betty Kyle,
Anne Yoder
Recent rain had a mixed effect on Marion County crops in May. Wheat yields are likely to be above average. Corn is a different story.
Moisture and extended cool temperatures have had a detrimental influence.
When a farm wife loses her husband, she can sell the farm, rent it to others, or keep it in the family and help keep it going.
From mail carrier to farm manager
Are Gary and Marilyn Jones farmers? They’re split on the issue. Gary, a retired vocational agriculture teacher, says “not really.” Marilyn would say so. After all, they had a lot of sheep at one time.
They’re definitely not traditional Marion County farmers. Their land spans about 100 acres, less than one-sixth the average farm size in the county. It was 10 when they bought it. Through neighbors moving away or dying, they’ve grown their land, piece by piece.
Mark Whitney is a busy guy. He and his wife, Ginger, own and operate Peabody Hardware and Lumber.
They have just about finished remodeling a home on Maple St. The hardware store has a second story full of architectural salvage he sells to others interested in building or remodeling. He also has a shop in the lumberyard building behind the store where he does repair work or small building projects for others.
About two years ago, he found a pile of rusty old pedal tractor parts in a friend’s yard that piqued his interest. The friend gave the parts to Whitney, and that was the beginning of yet another hobby for the Peabody merchant — finding and restoring old pedal tractors.
“I didn’t know much about pedal tractors or cars when I started on that one,” he said. “I did a lot of looking online and started rebuilding the tractor. Eventually I found I liked the hunt for parts and liked the process of restoring something that probably provided a great deal of joy for a child years ago.”
Taylor Harms of Lincolnville apparently has yet to meet a learning opportunity she doesn’t like.
One would think the 2012 Marion High School graduate had enough on her plate, majoring in family studies and human services at Kansas State University, with animal sciences and industry and leadership studies as minor concentrations.
Ah, the joys of coming home each summer: Chingawassa Days. Witnessing my cat complete her elaborate training of my mother. Watching baby deer try to cross US-56 near Ace Hardware, a store that even without deer is plenty impressive.
The most coveted joy, however, is none of the above. It’s my annual trek across the street to the courthouse to time just how long it takes before the first conversation of the summer with our favorite 2nd District county commissioner turns into a lament about tax exemptions for a particular pipeline that crosses the county.
We all have times when we get into something that is much larger and more complex than we ever dreamed.
Such was the case Sunday when I embedded with the pilgrimage for Father Emil Kapaun for the final leg of the three-day trek, a seemingly doable walk from Aulne to Pilsen.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
Becoming matriarchalLETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Band drowned out
The children of former Marion resident Dorothy Helmer are organizing a card shower to honor her 90th birthday, which was Sunday.
Dorothy and John Helmer were married and lived in Marion. Her children are Donna Robertson of Kingsport, Tennessee; Verna Rowe of Newton; Roxann Colborn of Abilene; and Doreen Hartzler of Wichita.
A jam session Friday night, a banjo clinic and fiddle workshop Saturday, a Victorian dance Saturday night, and historical craft demonstrations Sunday are planned this weekend in downtown Cottonwood Falls.
The main event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in the free, 17th annual Flint Hills Folk Life Festival will be presenters in period dress demonstrating skills necessary for life on the prairie in the 1860s.
MARION SENIOR CENTER:
Lunch Bunch visitsMEMORIES:
10,
25,
35,
50,
60,
100,
125 years ago
All USD 408 employees will receive a 15-cent hourly or $250 annual raise in pay, the board of education decided Monday.
Increments for seniority and advancement also were increased.
The Centre school board agreed Monday to delay discussion on establishing a preschool until next spring.
Superintendent Brian Smith said he had interviewed potential preschool teachers and conducted a survey of parents with preschool children, but the district cannot afford a new teacher position given state budget uncertainties.
Several colleges and universities have announced degrees and honors received by Marion County students.
FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY
Dean’s honor roll (3.6 to 4.0 semester GPA)
Goessel — Physics major Aidan Winblad.
Hillsboro — Elementary education major Andrea Fish
HUTCHINSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Associate degree in nursing pins
Lincolnville — Melissa Combs.
Marion — Victoria Schmidt and Emalee Versch.
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Semester honors (3.75 to 4.00 GPA)
Canton —Hannah Franzen.
Florence —Alicia Maloney.
Hillsboro —Bailey Kaufman and Aaron Klassen.
Lincolnville —Carrie Carlson and Taylor Harms.
Marion — Megan Davies, Kathryn Ehrlich, Erika Just, Lauren McLinden, Zachary Robson, and Derek Stuchlik.
Peabody — Emily Harris, Broderick Kyle, Wesley Shaw, and Derrick Till.
Tampa — Morganne Hamm, Nicholas Meyer, and Grant Srajer.
McPHERSON COLLEGE
Honor roll (3.55 to 4.00 GPA)
Hillsboro — Maci Schlehuber.
Keegan, Ryan, and Devin August and Isabel Rziha gave talks at the Tampa Triple T’s 4-H club meeting May 10.
Eleven members answered roll. Three leaders, six parents, and one guest also were present.