BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
The Marion High School girls basketball team will play Neodesha at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at USD 408 Sports and Aquatic Center, Marion. The game is a first-round sub-state tournament game. The game was scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff, but Neodesha requested an early start to accommodate the long return trip.
Icy roads were blamed for numerous crashes in the area Saturday including two in Marion County. Two Goddard residents died following a collision on an icy bridge, west of Marion.
Jim Herzet was hired to return as Marion County Road and Bridge Superintendent Thursday during a special Marion County Commission meeting. After 31 years in the department, Herzet became acting road and bridge superintendent July 12, 2004. He officially took the job July 18, 2005. When he resigned June 29, 2007, he was earning $37,585.
Legacy is an idea that is bigger than one person. It’s an idea that can influence family members to carry on a life’s work. Ernie Hett was the mastermind of countless metalworking creations at the Copper Shed on 140th Road southwest of Marion. Hett would routinely mold household items into works of art.
Every week on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, the 400 block of Marion’s Main Street and surrounding streets are lined with vehicles as people flock to the St. Luke Hospital Auxiliary Shoppe to browse the thousands of items available for sale. Now in its fifth year, the future of the nonprofit business is uncertain. The building currently housing the store is in foreclosure and will be auctioned at 2 p.m. March 11 in a sheriff’s sale at the courthouse.
A public hearing will be at 7 p.m. March 8 in the Centre High School gymnasium regarding the proposal approved by USD 397 Board of Education to temporarily close the elementary school building in Lost Springs. Board members said the closure of the elementary school building would be termed “temporary,” so that the building could be re-opened if student enrollment increased enough to justify the action.
When Kansans complete their state income tax returns, they have an opportunity to help ensure their elderly neighbors continue to receive warm, nutritious meals through Meals on Wheels programs. In 2009, nearly $138,000 was donated to the Kansas Meals on Wheels Fund through the income tax check-off option. Kansas Department of Aging distributed funds to local senior nutrition programs depending on the number of meals served by each program.
Money, money, money. It all comes down to money when discussing improvements at Marion Reservoir.
Betty Jo-Ann (Knackstedt) Slusser was born July 22, 1925, to Fred and Lena (Gruner) Knackstedt. Betty lived most of her life in Marion and graduated from Marion High School in 1943. She met the love of her life, Alden Slusser, outside the Marion post office. They were married Dec. 8, 1946, in Wichita. Their attendants were Ellen and Dale Boyd.
Bill Finke, 56, of Ellsworth died, Feb. 21, 2010, in Hutchinson. He was born Jan. 25, 1954, in Newton, to William and Mary Ann (Ratzlaff) Finke.
Harold Just, 83, of Hillsboro, died Feb. 18, at Memorial Home, Moundridge. Born Dec. 12, 1926, in Boyd, Okla., to Fred F. and Susie (Wedel) Just, he was a farmer.
Vera A. Lucas, 89, of Derby, died Feb. 12. Born and raised on a farm west of Marion, her parents were Roy and Ruby Penland of Marion.
Despite concerns that a $2-million bond might not be enough to repair damage to county roads, Marion County Commissioners approved an agreement Monday with TransCanada for the Keystone Pipeline to go through the county. County residents told Commissioner Bob Hein the bond wouldn’t be enough to repair damage caused by heavy equipment used in the pipeline project, Hein said. Commissioner Dan Holub arrived late at the meeting, but he left a note with a similar concern.
Marion City Council made two significant decisions Monday evening. The first was exploring the possibility of purchasing the Marion County Special Education Cooperative building and leasing it back to the co-op.
“Accountability.” That’s what Todd Heitschmidt of Marion said he wanted from Marion City Council regarding the enforcement of the city’s nuisance properties ordinance.
Even though the City of Marion’s contract with Westar Energy doesn’t expire until July 1, the city council needs to make a decision by April 30 regarding a new contract with Westar or Kansas Power Pool. Westar Energy officials presented information Monday to the Marion City Council regarding services and projected costs for the coming year.
An effort is being made by community leaders to improve the appearance of Marion. The intent of this project is not to embarrass or discredit any property owner but merely to assist him or her in cleaning up their property. We know how it is — people get busy, people get sick, or sometimes people just don’t think it is that big of a deal.
Good news from Goessel Senior Center. The center’s meal program will remain open — at least for now. More meals are being served at the center, making it more viable.
LAST TIME we were in our favorite local market, we picked up a great bunch of grapes — firm, succulent and oh, so sweet. We don’t know where Hillsboro Free Press publisher Joel Klaassen got his last bunch of grapes. Wherever he got them, they sure must have been sour.
Sometimes bad things happen to us, and we can overlook our good fortune. Saturday was such a time for me. I was driving from Hillsboro to Marion around 5:30 p.m. when I reached the bridge on the west edge of Marion. I saw a sheriff’s department car coming from the other direction with its lights on, so I attempted to slow down and pull over — emphasis on attempted.
Did you ever grieve over something you really had no connection with? I have grieved over that house in Burns that recently burned. Such a beautiful house. I remember that several years ago it opened as an uptown café. Several of us women went to try it out. It was just a great place and I planned to go again but never did. I don’t think it stayed open very long. I always wanted to go look. What a loss to the community. Another thing that remains a pleasant memory is the movie “Love Story.” What a lovely story of two young college people deeply in love. Maybe it made such an impression because it had a sad ending. I remember I cried a lot. The actress was so appealing and played her part well. A depth of feeling came through. Recently I read an article about her. Someone else liked her too. She said, “Every life experience makes us who we are.” Ali MacGraw was the actress. I wish she would make a movie like several of the older ones are doing now.
(Editor’s note: This is seventh in a series leading to Easter.) By LARRY TIMM Pastor of Peabody Bible Church The soldier noticed that many travelers to and from Jerusalem stopped to hurl words of contempt at Jesus. And he laughed when he realized that even the other crucified men were insulting Jesus.
By now, you should have received my survey. There was a glitch in sending them out to eastern and southern Marion County, as well as Chase County, which delayed many of them to Tuesday. I have received many surveys back from you and I look forward to more. I spent a good chunk of my weekend tallying the responses. Thank you to those who have already returned them. Even though I’ve not tallied all the responses, I am already getting a better feel of your thoughts on the subjects on the survey.
LETTERS:
Employees' training pays off,
Thanks for the support
Fixing meals for entertainers at the Kansas State Fair gave Valera Morgan, of Marion, a chance to see a different side of the stars than the public normally sees. Performers’ managers often blustered and bellowed that their clients should receive special treatment, but the stars were universally normal, Morgan said. For 19 years, she managed a kitchen that catered to musicians the state fair brought in for concerts.
During Greg Brenzikofer’s short speech between Marion vs. Hillsboro basketball games Thursday, he had all of the cancer survivors in the Marion audience stand up. There were only a few people scattered across the crowd, but he continued by asking the people who knew someone who had cancer to standup. With that, the entire crowd was on its feet. “We want as many survivors as possible to be recognized,” he said. “It gives people in treatment hope.”
BIRTHS:
Avery KaluaCORRESPONDENTS:
Burdick,
Tampa,
Marion Senior Center,
Another Day in the CountryMEMORIES:
10,
25,
35,
50,
60,
100,
125
Cory Hills used a table of percussion instruments to illustrate his story of “The Lost Bicycle” to the kindergarten and second-grade classes at Marion Elementary School Friday for Fine Arts Day. Cowbells, ox bells from India, wood blocks, cymbals, gongs, and shakers were all subject to his drumming. Hills also produced sounds from odd combinations of objects: he poured water into a bowl to simulate a river, rubbed a violin bow against a cymbal to create a “storm,” and used a thunder tube to evoke thunder.
Marion High School forensics team members Tim Costello, Brady Hudson, E.J. Obermeyer, and Annie Whitaker qualified Monday at the Hillsboro High School tournament for state forensics championships.Isaac Baldwin, Emily Meador, and Ryan Nelson qualified for state forensics festival. Costello placed first in prose; Hudson, first in solo humorous acting; Obermeyer, third in poetry; and Whitaker, second in prose.
The visitors to the Marion High School office are drawn to a sculpture of a Warrior head with a head dress constructed of keys. Former MHS basketball coach, Physical Education teacher, and athletic director Marion Ogden said that he came up with the idea for the sculpture after the high school replaced all of the locks on lockers in the early 1980s. Ogden asked for the keys already with the idea of a head dress firmly in mind.
The Marion High School wrestling team won its regional meet Saturday at Marion, scoring 143 total team points. It is the first regional win in the 11-year history of the Marion wrestling program. As a tangible mark of this accomplishment, Marion Head Coach Chad Adkins was named, as voted by the coaches at the tournament, as the regional coach of the year
Marion High School boys basketball team defeated Council Grove, 55-49, Monday at Council Grove. Isaac Hett led the Warriors with 22 points, six rebounds, and four steals. Wil Case and Eric Vogel were also in double figures with 15 and 9 points respectively.
The Marion High School girls basketball team defeated Council Grove, 67-33, Monday at Council Grove. Julia Zeiner scored 25 points on her birthday and added five rebounds and four assists.
CENTRE:
Cougars lose in overtime,
Lady Cougars win final league game,
Centre boys lose 1, win 1 in final week of regular season