BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
A blue-green algae warning for Marion Reservoir was extended Thursday for another week by Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
KDHE provided the following guidelines for blue-green algae warnings:
Four times in the last week, railroad crossing arms on W. Main St. have malfunctioned, with arms down, lights flashing, and no train approaching.
The city has been trying to get Union Pacific to make necessary repairs to the rough crossing for months. So has Kansas Department of Transportation.
Elizabeth Meyer realized a dream four years in the making Friday, emerging from a group of 17 candidates to be elected state FFA president at the group’s annual convention in Manhattan.
Saturday, she celebrated her birthday with her new state officer team.
No matter how you slice it, the pilgrimage route from Wichita to Pilsen commemorating Father Emil Kapaun’s prison camp march in the Korean War is 60 miles.
Organizers sliced it differently for the walk that concluded Sunday, adding a fourth day to make the latter stages more relaxed and allow for more in-depth learning about the former Pilsen priest who is on the path to canonization.
Chingawassa Day attendees were treated to a tie-dye fashion show Saturday, that included not only humans, but also their canine companions.
One canine hard to miss walking down the catwalk was Tank, a 3 ½ year old English Mastiff service dog for Marion resident Nanette Lowry.
Mostly clear days this week came as a welcome change for wheat farmers gearing up for harvest.
Dick Tippen, grain coordinator for Cooperative Grain and Supply, has gone out to look at fields in the southern part of the county and been satisfied with what he’s seen.
Balmy weather made it easy for hundreds to turn out for the 20th Chingawassa Days this weekend.
Parks and recreation director Margo Yates said she had heard many compliments about headliner Phil Vassar’s performance.
The cracks echoing through the night air in Hillsboro on June 17 won’t be from baseball bats of the boys of summer; instead, they’ll be coming from the helmets and pads of the boys of fall.
More than 60 former Hillsboro and Marion High School football players have been practicing for up to three months for a chance to do something most believed they would never do again — play in a full-contact game against a former rival.
Residents of Marion’s north hill should be taking precautions to ward off ugly outcomes of sewer cleaning.
Notes left on doors last week notified residents of this week’s sewer cleaning.
With the retirement of president Jim Hefley, senior vice president and cashier Don Noller was named president of Marion National Bank last week.
Noller, who has more than 40 years of experience as a community banker, joined the bank in September, 2003. He and his wife Judy live in Marion.
A house the city considers to be in poor condition might again be in the crosshairs for demolition after a year of ownership by a man who bought it shortly before demolition was to begin and hopes to renovate it.
Bryan Grosse, who bought the property at 432 Arbor from Bradford Harrington days before demolition was to begin, was granted 160 days to make needed repairs. After getting a letter dated May 10, Grosse came to Monday’s city council meeting to talk to council members during public forum.
A chance to see the sights of Kansas and meet some of its colorful people make Biking Across Kansas a favorite event for several Marion County residents.
Pedaling across the northmost tier of counties, riders will travel through St. Francis, Oberlin, Phillipsburg, Mankato, Belleville, Marysville, Sabetha, and Ellwood.
An Alta Vista man was injured Tuesday when a pickup he was driving ran into the back of a truck at 260th Rd. and US-56/77.
According to Kansas Highway Patrol, a 2014 Freightliner driven southbound on US-56/77 by Edgar Jackson, 61, Parsons, was turning west onto 360th Rd.
Fishing, camping, cooking over a campfire, and eating at picnic tables in the shade are far from unique at Marion County Lake, but one group that spent Friday night at the lake was unique. Most used a language not known to the majority: American Sign Language.
Pitching their tents at the lake were 15 members, ranging from children to adults, of Silent Bible Baptist Church in Wichita.
LaVerna “Vernie” Beaston, 87, died Monday in Manhattan.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Valley United Methodist Church.
James Criger, 69, formerly of Burns, died Monday at Emporia.
Born March 19, 1947, at Burns, to Joe and Alice (Beck) Criger, he attended Peabody High School, was a longtime employee of White Feeds in Burns and lived in Hartford since 2007.
Aulne native Elizabeth Ann Koegeboehn, 85, died June 1 at Diversicare, Council Grove.
Born Nov. 17, 1930, to Clee and Tressie (Blankley) Ford, she graduated from Marion High School and married Melvin Koegeboehn on April 8, 1951. Four years later, they moved from Marion to Council Grove, where she was active in Kiwanis and Calvary Lutheran Church.
E. Pauline Monnich, 80, died Saturday at Parkside Homes, Hillsboro.
Born Oct. 14, 1935, in New Hampton, Iowa, to E. Paul and Verna E. (Lange) Schott, she graduated from St. John’s College, Winfield, and moved to Herington in 1955 to teach primary grades at Our Redeemer Lutheran School.
Donald E. Parrish, 83, died May 20 at Schowalter Progressive Recovery Academy.
A funeral service was Monday at Schowalter Villa Chapel. Interment with military honors will follow at Burns City Cemetery.
Battling weeds is tough enough for corn farmers, but pending Environmental Protection Agency restrictions could strip them of one of their primary weapons.
Atrazine is one of the oldest and most-tested herbicides in the mix that corn growers use to control weeds and improve yields. It has been at the center of controversy for more than a decade.
Musk thistle is a familiar farm country paradox this time of year. Its intricate bright purple blooms are eye-catching and beautiful, but the prickly plant is a threat to overtake any pasture in which it gains a foothold.
“The musk thistle is coming on strong,” county noxious weed director Bud Druse said. “Last year there was quite a bit. With the mild winter, I’ve noticed a lot of bigger rosettes. I don’t know if that’s a sign of something to come or not.”
It’s been a while since we heard from regular reader William Payer, whose friends call him Bill.
A quiet sort, Bill typically comments rarely, most often only on the first Tuesday in November — and then quite often to the great surprise of elected officials who hadn’t bothered to chat with him previously.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
The semi-organic gardener
Jerry and Rowena Plett of Lincolnville celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend at The Barn Bed and Breakfast, Valley Falls.
They were married June 11, 1966, at Garden Park Mennonite Brethren Church in Denver.
Former Marion resident Ron Weber, son of Virgil and Anita Weber, retired this spring after 36 years as a teacher and coach.
Weber graduated from Marion High School in 1975 and received a bachelor’s degree in math, physical education, and health from Kansas Wesleyan University.
MEMORIES:
10,
25,
35,
50,
60,
100,
125 years ago
SENIOR CENTER:
Senior center receives produce,
Senior menu
Six Marion-Florence FFA members attended state FFA convention last week in Manhattan.
Newly electeed state president Elizabeth Meyer placed first in extemporaneous public speaking. She will represent Kansas in this event at the group’s national convention.
Centre FFA last week won third in the state for its chapter scrapbook, ranked in the Silver Division for a national chapter-of-the-year award, and was recognized for 10 years of contributions to a Kansas FFA Foundation program.
Chapter members attending this year’s state convention in Manhattan were Zach Barney, Raeanne Bryant, Becca Casey, Karoline Chizek, Dylan Deines, Payton Harms, Grace Knepp, Greg Oborny, Grace Peterson, Hannah Peterson, Carissa Shields, Max Svoboda, and Kristin Vinduska.
Alto saxophonist Carissa Shields from Centre and trombonist Aidan Cairns from Marion were among 28 FFA members selected to perform in the State FFA Band at last week’s convention in Manhattan.
Band members were required to submit audition tapes and recommendations from music instructors. They rehearsed for two days before the convention and performed at sessions both days.
Eight Marion County students have been named to the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association academic all-state list.
The all-state team include Whitney Gutsch and Allison Basore of Centre; Zach Wiens, Alicen Meysing, and Page Hiebert of Goessel; Marah Franz of Hillsboro; and Bailey Robson and Elizabeth Meyer of Marion.
Former Bethel College women’s basketball coach Mark Fox has been hired as assistant men’s basketball coach and sports information director at Tabor College.
Fox has nearly 30 years of experience in coaching, recruiting and teaching, including 11 seasons at Bethel and before that at Newman University in Wichita.
Requests for taxpayer money will top the agenda for a Senior Citizens of Marion County meeting at 9:30 a.m. June 17 at Hillsboro Senior Center. Hillsboro seniors will serve lunch.
Reservations are needed by June 15 and may be made by calling Brenda Moss at (620) 947-2304. Anyone who needs transportation may call the Department of Aging office by June 16 at (620) 382-3580.
Free Department of Agriculture commodities will be available from 1 to 4 p.m. June 22 at Lincolnville Community Building.
Antique cars and trucks will be on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 18 at Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum in Goessel.
Admission is free, but exhibitors pay an entry fee of $10 to be eligible for awards. Cars, trucks, and motorcycles manufacturered in 1980 or earlier are eligible.
Technology Excellence in Education Network, the TEEN network that local school districts use, will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Marion school district offices at 101 N. Thorp St.
A choir of orphaned children, ages 6 to 12, from India and Ethiopia will present a free concert at 7 p.m. June 15 at the Performing Arts Center.
The choir, visiting Marion for the fourth time, is part of His Little Feet, a non-profit founded in 2009 to serve orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide.