10 YEARS AGO

JUNE 15, 2011

A day of near 100-degree temperatures and 20 percent humidity sent farmers into fields Monday to do some test cutting of wheat. Fields were found to be a little wet and needing another day or two of sunshine to be ready for harvest.

Heidi Thurston of Marion is a busy, stay-at-home mom whose mother-in-law told her about cake on a stick — cake pops. These days Thurston is sharing her tasty desserts — cookies and cream and strawberry lemonade cake pops — with the town at the weekly Farm & Art Market each Wednesday at Marion’s Central Park.

Local heroes rescued two children from downing this past week in two separate instances. A 12-year-old boy from Newton was rescued at the Marion County Lake swimming beach and a 3-year-old Hillsboro girl at the Hillsboro Family Aquatic Center.

Gary Stuchlik, math and science teacher at Marion High School has been nominated for a Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching — highest award a math or science teacher in kindergarten through 12th grade may receive.

Bike riders — more than 900 in all — rode into Marion last Wednesday as part of a 450-mile Bike Across Kansas trek from west-to-east across the state. They rode into town beginning at 9 a.m., gathering at Central Park for water, rest, and food. Their next destination, Cottonwood Falls.

Cindy Taylor, cook at Downtown Eatery, 211 E. Main, Marion, is pictured as she prepares patty melts for an early supper crowd Friday on the restaurant’s opening day. It was a busier day than owners, Rich and Cindy Vogt expected.