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Former Marion resident and U.S. Army Pfc. Ryan Grady, 25, of West Burke, Vt., was killed Friday when his patrol vehicle struck a roadside bomb outside Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Four others were seriously wounded. The Grady family — James and Debbie, along with sons James, Kevin, and Ryan — lived in Marion until the late 1990s, with Ryan being born in Marion in 1985.
Donors to the St. Luke Hospital renovation project have an added incentive. Kansas Department of Commerce has awarded $250,000 to St. Luke Hospital Foundation in tax credits for expansion of the physical therapy facilities and associated services.
Sometimes you ask for a little but get a lot. Randy Svitak, of rural Marion, had been hoping for two inches of rain; his soybeans, milo, and corn were starting to get pretty dry.
Charles Unruh, of rural Peabody, remembers a flood that struck the Doyle Creek watershed in 1965. After years of flooding, he and several other farmers decided they had seen enough. “We had terrible flood damage, and we wanted to see what we could do,” Unruh said.
The 80th annual Marion County Fair will be July 28 through 31 at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro. “Apple Pies and Family Ties” is this year’s theme.
A day that threatened rain turned partly cloudy Saturday as people gathered at the Lost Spring Station site west of Lost Springs on 240th Road. The crowd gathered to witness the unveiling of an interpretive plaque approved by the National Park Service. The sign tells the story of the Santa Fe Trail in the vicinity of the Lost Spring Station, a convenience store that operated on the trail from 1859 to 1866.
With long, careful cuts, sculptor Richard Sardou of Marion carved a tree stump into the shape of an old-fashioned Pepsi bottle in the yard of retired Pepsi employee Dean Staver’s vacation home Thursday at Marion County Park and Lake. “Every piece offers a new challenge,” Sardou said. “I’d never done a Pepsi bottle.”
Celia Diane Byer, 58, of Marion, died June 28 at Wesley Medical Center, Wichita. Born Nov. 9, 1951, in McPherson to Harold and Celia Hamilton, she graduated from McPherson High School and Bethany College. During the 1970s, she taught art classes at Hillsboro High School, Tabor College, McPherson College, and taught summer art classes to children in Marion.
John Leo Brose Jr., retired owner of Brose Liquor Store in Marion, passed away Tuesday, June 29, 2010, at Salem Home in Hillsboro, at the age of 82. Born in Marion on Aug. 27, 1927, he was the son of John Leo Brose and Ruth (O’Brien) Brose.
Rikki D’Ann Doll, 41, of Topeka, died June 29 in Topeka. Born July 30, 1968, to Ken and Donna (Brower) Novak, she was employed by AT&T as a sales representative and was attending B Street School of Cosmetology.
Mary Deane Peterson, 78, lifelong Burdick resident, died June 28 at Herington Municipal Hospital. Born Sept. 17, 1931, to Walter I. and M. Lucille (Burdette) Burns, she graduated in 1949 from Diamond Valley High School.
State legislators will need courage in the next two years to cut funding for programs that are unnecessary or ineffective, state Rep. J. Robert Brookens, R-Marion, said June 30. The legislature will certainly face other issues, but none will approach the importance of the budget, he said.
Congressional candidate Tracey Mann, R-Salina, doesn’t have anything against his opponents in the Kansas 1st District primary, but he doesn’t favor electing career politicians, he told 13 people at a campaign stop Thursday in Hillsboro. “I feel like we can’t keep promoting politicians,” he said. “I’m tired of hearing the rhetoric and hearing the same solutions to the same problems.”
Everyone seems to be in a “funk” right now — a kind of blah. Some of this is typical summertime behavior with our usual routines being disrupted by vacations, hot weather, kids being out of school, and other distractions.
How many times in life do you work really hard on something and it all falls flat? Not real often. Even farmers who live by the whim of the weather guess the odds at just how often it is going to rain on the hay, drown out the corn, or lay down the wheat. The rain is always a two-edged sword — good for some, terrible for others.
Memories of his father and his father’s house rose up in his mind, as though resurrected from a deep, dark grave. He remembered the comfort he had rejected, the love he had shunned, and the father he had forsaken. He wondered if his father could ever forgive him. Resentment tried to prod him into questioning his father’s love — “If he loves you, why doesn’t he come looking for you or send his servants to bring you home?” But he knew why no one had come and why no one would: even had they forced his body to return home, his rebellious will and wayward heart would have gone farther away. Grief squeezed his heart as more memories of his home emerged from the shadowy corners of his mind.
Well! If this isn’t a kettle of fish! All at once, I have moved! Sometime, maybe, but I hadn’t planned this so soon. They say, “Seize the moment,” so I do. I feel like I’m in a completely different town. I’m in St. Luke Living Center. I do know a lot of the employees and many residents; so that helps.
Eliza Bennett graduated June 25 from the University of Wisconsin Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology residency program in Madison, Wis. She received the Academy of Gynecologic Laparoscopists’ Special Resident in Minimally Invasive Gynecology Award for exceptional laparoscopic surgical skills. Bennett accepted a position as associate professor with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, working in the obstetrics and gynecology residency program. She also will provide comprehensive gynecological and reproductive care including basic health care during pregnancy, family planning and counseling, routine exams, and specialized gynecological care and surgery.
Most of us have heard of buckeyes, but few Kansans have actually seen a buckeye. Even though the Texas buckeye tree is native to parts of Kansas, it is relatively uncommon in Marion County.
CORRESPONDENTS:
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Donahue-HeiserMEMORIES:
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The USD 408 Board of Education approved its payment of claims and all classified contracts in a year-end meeting June 30. The board approved a budgeted transfer of $252,315 to the special education fund. The combination of funds from the general fund and supplemental general fund created an end balance of $294,000 in the special education fund.
Marion High School students Tim Costello, Brandon Meierhoff, Dane Purkeypile, and Derek Stuchlik got practical lessons in government by participating in a weeklong mock government at Boys State, June 7 through 11 on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan. Each year, two representatives from each Boys State event go on to participate in Boys Nation, a national mock government experience held in Washington, D.C.
A group of Centre High School students is spending part of their summer vacation tending a school garden. Many of these students are already busy with other activities and obligations, but they have volunteered twice a week to help with the project. Whether planting, harvesting, or just maintaining the garden spot, students enjoy the work.
Think about the differences between an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old; the differences between a sixth-grader and a freshman in high school. In Garrett Alleven’s case, he is outmatched in height and strength at swim meets every weekend. No matter, Alleven won six first-place medals last weekend in Hesston.
It wasn’t from a lack of trying but in the end, the Marion Senior Babe Ruth team lost to Hillsboro Thursday in Marion, 19-12 and 11-9. The Warriors started the first game on a roll. Wil Case and Marshall Ragland each had RBI singles in the first inning to lead Marion to an early 5-0 advantage.
Members of the Tampa men’s softball team are sporting special T-shirts this season to honor the late Jim Clemmer, longtime mayor of Tampa. Clemmer died Nov. 2. Members of the team attended the funeral wearing their ball shirts.
Four Marion County high school athletes were nominated for the annual Catchy Awards by catchitkansas.com. Peabody-Burns High School senior Lauren Pickens was nominated for the second year in a row for best female track and field athlete. She won the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter dash state titles, and beat her own record in the 400 in preliminaries, and the PBHS girls team placed fifth although Pickens was the team’s only participant.