BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Thursday that levels of blue-green algae at Marion County Lake are still too high for direct contact with the water. An advisory issued by KDHE earlier this summer remains in effect following the most recent testing of water samples from the lake.
Marion County Road and Bridge Department experienced a shake-up at the top Monday. The county commission hired a new road and bridge superintendent minutes after the interim superintendent resigned. The commission met in closed session for 60 minutes to review applicants for the position. They then met in closed session with interim superintendent John Summerville for 10 minutes. Upon return to open session, Summerville announced his immediate resignation from all duties, which the commission accepted.
College admissions exam average scores at both Marion and Centre high schools were above the national average and improved from 2010 to 2011. The average composite score on the ACT exam was 22.1 at MHS and 21.2 at CHS, according to data released by the schools. The average score at MHS improved from 21.1 to 22.1. The average score at CHS improved from 20.4 in 2010 to 21.2 in 2011.
The theme picked this year for the annual Florence Labor Day celebration is “Celebrating 150 Years of Kansas History” in honor of the Kansas Sesquicentennial. The three-day event starts Saturday with a citywide garage sale at 8 a.m.
Sentencing for Terry Bowen, Lora Gay, and Ken Frederick was postponed Monday morning to Oct. 13, to give attorneys for the trio more time to prepare defense motions. The three appeared before 8th Judicial District Court Judge Michael Powers. Each has been charged and convicted of crimes committed against a 14-year-old Peabody girl in June of 2010.
Child poverty and a high rate of infant deaths have caused Kansas to tumble down the state rankings of child well-being, and data suggests Marion County faces those same challenges. Linda Ogden with Families and Communities Together Inc. indicated Marion County’s challenges may not be resolved soon.
A new proposal by the Federal Communications Commission to reform the way rural telecommunications services are supported has small rural telephone companies like Tri-County Telephone Association, Council Grove, concerned about the future of telecommunications services in their areas. Under proposed changes, rural telephone companies would receive less funding, and large companies would receive more.
Marion Kiwanis Club has announced that the theme for this year’s Old Settler’s Day parade will be “Marion — 150 years of Progress — and Counting.” The parade will be 11 a.m. Sept. 24, downtown Marion.
Velma Addison Hulstine, 90, of Hillsboro, died Friday at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro. Born Dec. 6, 1920, to Vernon and Jacy (Dillinger) Trexler in Bloom, she was an elementary school teacher.
Linda Sue McLain, 61, formerly of Marion, died Monday at Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis in Wichita. Visitation is from 7 to 8 p.m. today at Zeiner Funeral Home. Marion. A funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Marion Christian Church.
Maxine I. Mueller, 90, of Tampa, died Thursday at Hillsboro Community Hospital. Born Feb. 20, 1921, at Abilene, to Frank and Wauneita Medley Haynes, she was a graduate of Tampa High School.
Seth Michael Nunn, 26, a former Pratt resident, died Aug. 22 at Hospice House in Rapid City, S.D. He was born April 27, 1985, in Pratt. He attended Skyline School and Flint Hills Jobs Corps Center in Manhattan.
Saundra (Cricket) Ruthloff, 65, died Aug. 24 in Wichita. Born Oct. 23, 1945, in Jacksonville, Fla., to Wallace and Jean (Buchanan) Collins, she had been a Florence resident for 20 years.
Corn harvest has begun in Marion County. Much of the crop has been subjected to severe drought stress during a large part of the growing season. Farmers who have corn to harvest may consider themselves lucky as many have had to write it off as a total loss. A lot of corn has been chopped for silage feed.
The landmark 1887 J. Bowron building, one of the few remaining examples of prairie-style Victorian limestone architecture in Marion, took a called Strike Two last week from the fastball pitchers on the County Commission. After a month ago removing from the budget money that could have been used to repair the landmark, the commissioners talked about creating new office space on its second floor — at a cost of “as much as” $500,000 — or building a whole new building, undoubtedly without any of the original’s charm, for $750,000 to $1 million.
I’ve decided that asking for help is the most difficult thing for me to do. Having always prided myself in independence, initiative, and foresight, seldom have I found myself in need of asking for help. Sure there are things I can’t do like fixing the car (or even fixing a flat, for that matter), repairing the lawnmower or building something; but those are the kinds of things that one naturally seeks out an expert and asks for help. You give them money. They give you their expertise.
Every Wednesday evening during the school year, Tabor College students in Hillsboro meet for worship and prayer in the historic Mennonite Brethren Church located on the college campus. The building is thought to be the oldest Mennonite Brethren church building in America still being used for worship.
Katherine Penner, of Hillsboro, will be 99 on Sept. 9. Katherine “Katie” Nickel was born the youngest of 12 children Sept. 9, 1912, in Washita County near Clinton, Okla.
A reunion of the Kerbs family was held Aug. 14 at the Friendship Center in Salina. Those present included Lucille Kerbs, Tampa; Doug and Connie Thompson, Abilene; Tim and Marchell Kerbs, Raymond Deiser, Molly Kerbs, Deloris Kerbs, and Ron and Donita Michaelson, all of Salina; Mark and April Riedy, Josh, and Cierra, Manhattan; Judy Holeman, Reuben II and Christy Kerbs, Charlotte and Reuben III, Don Kerbs and Betty Hayes, Gloria Wolf, Sarah, Gabriel, and Lauren Jackson, all of Wichita; Eloise Kerbs, Lawrence; Clayton and Leah Kerbs, and Tagen Wallace, all of Topeka; Glenn Kerbs, Dodge City; Janet Pinnegar, Ponca City, Okla.; Dayna Croisant, Bellevue, Neb.; David Kerbs, Amarillo, Texas;.
When Kathleen Ludwig received a call from Mary Jane Grimmett asking whether she and her husband, Ron “Bunk” Ludwig, would be grand marshals of the Florence Labor Day parade, she asked why. Grimmett told her it was because they had a business in Florence for more than 40 years and have been very active in the community. Ron joked Monday that it was a good sign they are getting old.
Boy Scout Justin Barr of Marion spent a couple of years trying to find just the right project for his Eagle Scout service project. Many ideas came to him, but none of them were what he was looking for: a project with personal meaning to him.
Dale Miller is a walking tall tale in Florence. “He’s the kind of man other men wish they were,” Miller’s friend John Swarm said.
BIRTHS:
Grayson HettCORRESPONDENTS:
Tampa,
Marion Senior Center,
AmmeterMEMORIES:
10,
25,
35,
50,
60,
100,
125
High school students rarely exude excitement over the start of a new school year, but most of the 176 returning USD 408 students welcome falling back into familiar routines and environs with friends they’ve known for years. However, MHS seniors Michael Beeler and Andi Marshall, junior Bailey Brown, sophomores Bree Fryman and Dylan Cochran, and freshmen Justin Terrel, Brandon Hiebert, Brian Hiebert, and Kyle Wegner will have a somewhat different experience.