BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Peabody residents Terry Bowen, Lora Gay, and Kenneth Frederick II were all found guilty of two counts of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, and aggravated kidnapping of a then-14-year-old Peabody girl in June 2010. They were found not guilty of battery.
Swimming beaches at Marion Reservoir and Marion County Park and Lake were closed during the weekend because of toxic blue-green algae. Blue-green algae, not to be confused with normal and harmless green algae, release a neurotoxin when they die. Beaches closed Thursday at the reservoir and Friday at the county lake, but boating and fishing continued throughout the weekend.
(Editor’s note: Although they have been named elsewhere, this newspaper will not print the names of the victim or her family.) By SUSAN BERG Managing editor The fate of three Peabody residents, accused of kidnapping and raping a then-14-year-old Peabody teen last summer, is in the hands of a jury.
Marion County stands to lose out on about $1.38 million of property taxes if the Kansas Court of Tax Appeals approves a tax exemption for TransCanada’s Keystone Oil Pipeline, County Clerk Carol Maggard told County Commission on Monday. The state set the taxable value on the portion of the pipeline in Marion County at $21,171,668. Based on the 2011 property tax rate of 65.939 mills, the county would receive more than $1.38 million in additional tax revenue.
Ryan Newell of Marion pleaded guilty to two counts of impersonating an officer Thursday in Sedgwick County court. With the plea agreement, Newell will serve two years probation.
Marion County Emergency Services Director Steve Smith pledged June 22 that he and Shelly Hardey would meet before Hardey left on vacation in July. His goal is to resolve the emergency medical technician situation at Green Acres motocross racetrack near Marion. Smith is most concerned that the county emergency medical technician working privately for the racetrack was susceptible to lawsuit. Three injured riders June 19, including two with concussion symptoms, declined being transported by ambulance to St. Luke Hospital against the EMT’s advice.
Farmers around Peabody were finishing wheat harvest Friday with yields averaging between 40 and 45 bushels per acre, said Phil Timken, Peabody location manager for Mid-Kansas Cooperative Association. “Most farmers were pleasantly surprised with the yields and the quality,” Timken said.
There’s no doubt about it. When people meet Frank Buckman of rural Marion, who can be seen every Saturday morning in front of St. Luke Hospital Auxiliary Shoppe in Marion, they see someone who loves being around people and enjoys baking. He sits behind a table of homemade cookies and biscuits, waving as cars drive by, and speaking to all who walk past him.
Lillian Flom, 87, of Darien, Ill., died June 19. She was born April 25, 1924, in Pilsen, to Frank and Ludmilla (Svitak) Vinduska.
Don M. Heiser, 52, of McPherson, passed away June 25, 2011, at Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis Street in Wichita. He was born Nov. 13, 1958, at Herington, the son of Charles and Ruth (Skibbe) Heiser.
Rosemary Knak, 66, of Florence, died June 26 in Wichita. Born Nov. 22, 1944, to Clear and Elizbeth (Doddy) Munson in Heart, Mich.; she married Don Knak Dec. 19, 1981, in Hillsboro.
Former Marion resident Larry Dean Skinner, 56, of Wichita, died June 21. Survivors include his wife, Ginger, of Wichita; a son, Larry D. Jr. of Wichita; two daughters, Teresa Poston of Wichita and Marie Landwehr of Oklahoma; a brother, Jim Willingham of Hutchinson; two sisters, Ethel Adams of Wichita and Jeanine Kuramoto of Hawaii; and six grandchildren.
Gerald F. Svoboda, 82, died June 26 at Newton Medical Center. He was born April 13, 1929, in Lincolnville, to Frank and Christina (Reznicek) Svoboda.
Police chief Josh Whitwell presented a letter to Marion City Council on Monday regarding the work of city employees following a storm June 17. “Long after everyone went home, five employees continued to work,” Whitwell said Monday.
The Florence City Council reviewed ordinances to increase rates for solid waste and water services at a special meeting Thursday. They will decide on the ordinances at the next meeting July 5. The council voted to increase trash rates by approximately 30 percent across the board. The rate increase would give Florence an increased revenue of $20,000 to $25,000, which could be used to purchase a new trash truck or give nine city employees a 3 percent raise, council member Trayce Warner said.
There were numerous people in Marion this weekend from the Kansas City area, Wichita, Hesston, Halstead, Sedgwick, and, of course, from within the county to take in the garden tour. Attracting people to Marion for special events may seem like a trivial approach to economic development but actually, it can be quite effective.
Mary Ann Timm called the office Friday and told us about her experience as an employee of Marion Chamber of Commerce. It was 1943 when Mary Ann Barrett, then 19 years old, served as secretary under chamber president Ralph Melton, a local physician.
David fell to the ground before Saul. “My king,” David cried, “why have you believed lies about me? I have never sought to harm you. Here is proof that there is no evil or rebellion in my heart.”
Help is something that has always been tricky for me. On the one hand I am a firm believer we were never meant to do it all on our own, that we are creatures meant to live in community. On the other hand I am a pretty capable person and often don’t think to ask for help when I am in need — my natural inclination is to just try harder. I think, also, it’s hard for me to invite people into the messy places in my life, which is probably where I need them most.
LETTERS:
Marion proud of storm response,
Orphans' plight evokes memories
It’s an odd circumstance when young children are paired with an 80-pound dog and the dog is the nervous party. Bella, a French Mastiff, recently passed international therapy dog certification. While Bella’s owner, Terry Pierce of Hillsboro, waits for the actual certification to arrive, she decided to give her dog an early assignment — listen contently as four Hillsboro children read books Monday at Hillsboro library.
Jacob Jirak has always had different interests than his former Centre High School classmates. Northern Marion County has not been known as a haven for aspiring poets, but poetry is Jirak’s favorite artistic medium. His CHS English teacher Jennifer Montgommery said his poetry compares to that of E.E. Cummings. Jirak would like to evolve this craft at Columbia University this fall.
With her third child due in August, Marion High School cross-country coach Bethany Carlson planned to split the coaching duties with Marion Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Rebecca Hofer. After serious deliberation with her husband Eric, Carlson resigned from the position effective June 21 and Hofer will take over as coach.
Activities abound this weekend in Marion County in celebration of summer and Independence Day. Marion Sesquicentennial
Many parents and other supporters gathered at the Marion baseball fields for the final night of city recreation league games Friday. Christian Pedersen was one of the parents in attendance, watching while his son, 12-year-old Mason, played.
The Marion High School class of 2013 will have a fireworks stand in the Marion Youth Center, across from Amrpide in Marion. The booster club for Boy Scouts Troop 102 of Marion also is selling fireworks to help defray the cost of scouts to go camping this summer.
Tall Grass Big Band, a 17-piece band from Emporia, will perform music of the ’40s at an ice cream social at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on the Chase County courthouse lawn in Cottonwood Falls. Fireworks will follow at dark in Swope Park. The Fourth of July weekend in Chase County will begin with a Friday night jam session of tallgrass pickin’ at Emma Chase Cafe, Cottonwood Falls.
State health officials are warning swimmers and others about recreational water illness, which can be spread by swallowing, breathing in mists or aerosols of, or having contact with contaminated water in swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, water play areas, interactive fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans. Of particular concern are avoiding stagnant water, avoiding playing in or near masses of blue-green algae (see story, Page 1), and avoiding water during and after heavy rainfall, which can cause contamination in streams, rivers, and lakes.
With summer travel season in full swing, Kansas Department of Transportation offers planning and decision-making tools to assist travelers. The services are free and available anytime travelers need them.
Kansans will be able to view scheduled transportation work in their area on a new website by Kansas Department of Transportation: http://www.ksdot.org/tworkslaunched The website displays all highway, transit, rail, and aviation work scheduled under the state’s transportation program, T-WORKS.
“Old Glory — a tribute to the American Flag” will be the theme of the July Fourth parade in Peabody Monday afternoon as the daylong celebration winds down to the 90th annual fireworks extravaganza at the city park. “We hope people will decorate their floats, bikes, and cars with lots of red, white, and blue,” parade organizer Shane Marler said. “And, of course, flying Old Glory on their entry would fit right in with the theme.”
When the Ninnescah chapter of Good Sams camping club arrived at Hillsboro Cove on Thursday at Marion Reservoir, they were greeted by excellent camping conditions. “It’s pretty. It’s clean,” club member Janice Headgepath said. “The weather has been wonderful. We don’t always get that.”
It is not uncommon for people to keep a diary of their lives, but a diary of a dollhouse? That’s what Teeny Williams of Marion has written. Consisting of 18 typewritten pages, the document records the origin of every piece of a dollhouse created by Teeny and her husband, Pete, beginning in 1979.