Marion County RECORD

A new look for Central Park?

Nighttime motorists in downtown Marion may have noticed that Central Park recently took on a new aura. The park lights’ red, white, and blue patriotic glow is the brainchild of city streets superintendent Marty Fredrickson and city electrical superintendent Christian Pedersen.

Loved ones' ashes become jewelry to soothe grief

Florence relief postmaster Suzan “Lynn” Stroup understands just how devastating the loss of a loved one can be, but she found something as small as pinch of ashes contained within a special necklace helped ease her sorrow and soothe her grief. Stroup lost her mother, Hildegard Price, to breast cancer in 2002. A decade later, she lost her dad, Lenard. Before that, in 1986, her first husband was killed in a car wreck leaving her a widow with children at 23.

Just 29% recycle in 1st week

Recycling in Marion has officially begun, and the result is as expected — recyclers are a minority. In the city’s first day of recycling pickup, refuse truck operator Rick Burcky’s tally had 235 homes set out recycling, while 575 homes either set out trash or didn’t set out anything at all.

County slows roll on independent rockers

The county backpedaled Monday on reimbursing individuals who rock roads, only one week after a precedent was set. After handing over more than $2,000 to Gary Diepenbrock of Lincolnville as reimbursement for putting rock on his own road, the county rebuffed a similar proposal from county resident Ed Vinduska, even though Vinduska complied with the county’s guideline of seeking prior approval.

Bracing for Wal-Mart

Businesses in Hillsboro and Marion are concerned what impact Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market will have on them, and last week a handful of establishments met with an expert to sharpen up their customer service practices. Tim Smith, one of the main speakers at last week’s “Thinking Outside of the Big Box” forum, met with a variety of local business owners in both Hillsboro and Marion. Businesses signed up to meet with Smith, who owns his own management and workplace training organization in Allentown, Penn.

Schools don't bite on invoice scam

When Centre School District board clerk Traci Alt received a $647.50 faxed invoice for textbooks last semester from Scholastic School Supply of Franklinville, New Jersey, she had her doubts. “It seemed a little fishy,” Alt said. “Most invoices are mailed.”

Filing deadline is Jan. 27

A lot of people will be vying for city and county offices in the April 7 elections. Nine mayor positions, 37 city council positions, and 20 school board positions are open. County clerk Tina Spencer set noon Jan. 27 as the filing deadline. Positions available are listed below.

Burns — Mayor and two council positions.

Durham — Mayor and five council..

Florence — Mayor and 2 council.

Goessel — 3 council.

Hillsboro — Mayor and 2 council.

Lehigh — Mayor and 5 council.

Lincolnville — 3 council.

Lost Springs — Mayor and 5 council.

Peabody — Mayor and 3 council.

Ramona — Mayor and 5 council.

Tampa — Mayor and 2 council.

USD 397 —4 districts seats.

USD 398 — 4 at-ll at-large).

USD 408 — 4 districts seats..

USD 410 — 5 at-large seats).

USD 411 — 4 district seats,

Cottonwood Valley Drainage — 3 directors.

On call for 40 years: Regnier honored for service

Mike Regnier has been at this a long time. He sits in the office of Marion Auto Supply, his full-time day job. Scanner chatter crackles in the background, and his focus diverts. Volunteer firefighter doesn’t constitute a career. It’s more of a lifestyle. Regnier has spent 40 years now living a fairly ordinary life. Only, he has to be constantly ready for the most extraordinary situations.

Officials bristle at idea of school consolidation

Board of education presidents in Marion and Hillsboro reacted strongly to the recent proposal to consolidate nearly 300 Kansas school districts into seven. Republican Rep. Steven Brunk of Wichita earlier this month floated the idea of drastically reducing the number of school districts in order to help shore up a $710 million budget shortfall.

Florence chamber seeks ideas to keep gym open

Solutions to keep the Florence gymnasium operating were the focus of discussion Thursday at a Florence Chamber of Commerce meeting. Bob Gayle said a group of volunteers is interested in donating labor and raising funds to repair immediate problems with the building, such as flooring and flashing around the roof, and provide ongoing maintenance. They would also prepare rules and set rental fees.

Permits for new homes increase

Fifteen new house permits were issued by the county in 2014, compared with 12 in 2013 and 8 in 2012. According to Marion County Planning and Zoning Director Tonya Richards, applicants have one year from the time the permit is granted to finish the project. An extension may be granted upon request.

Kenneth Klein

Former transportation worker Kenneth K. Klein, 72, of Tampa died Thursday at St. Luke Hospital in Marion. He was born Dec. 20, 1942, to Manuel and Frieda (Schmidt) Klein in Tampa. He worked for the Kansas Dept. of Transportation of Marion.

Dale Hasenbank

Former farmer and truck driver Dale Ray Hasenbank, 64, of Marion, died Saturday at his home. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Campanella-Evans Mortuary in Wamego. Burial with military honors will follow at St. George Cemetery.Visitation will be at 2 p.m. Friday. at the mortuary. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m.The Dale Hasenbank Memorial Fund has been established in care of the mortuary.

Virginia Shields

Virginia L. Shields, 93, of Lincolnville, died Thursday at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro. The funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Friday at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Lincolnville. Burial will follow at Lewis Cemetery, Ramona.

Accidents reported

Civil division

County jail

Criminal division

Deeds recorded

Emergency dispatches

Offenses reported

Police reports

Traffic division

Cold takes toll on cattle, ranchers

With the temperature hovering around 18 Thursday, Van Peters chopped ice on his pond so his cows could drink water. It’s a yearly ritual for ranchers: The weather gets cold, and the animals still need to drink. They also need more feed as they burn more calories staying warm.

Welder makes art out of horseshoes

Kevin Bartel of Hillsboro is a welder by trade but an artist by chance. One weekend, while home from his job as a millwright, he was looking for something to do. He spotted a few horseshoes lying around his garage and got the idea of using them to make letters and words.

Daily grind

There is a website named Rotogrinders where members play fantasy sports. But the real roto-grinders are the ones farmers use to grind big round bales of roughage into fine feed for their cattle. Some cattle feeders own their own tub grinders, but many rely on custom operators who come to their farms and grind the hay as needed.

Farmers need to become part fortune-tellers

Marion County farmers may want to moonlight as weather forecasters or economists if they can figure out the right choice for insuring their crops through the federal farm bill programs. It’s an exercise in predicting the unpredictable. Farmers have to look five years ahead to guess what their crop yields will be, which depends in part on the weather, and what prices they’ll get.

What color are your lights?

Long before events like Chingawassa Days made Marion’s Central Park the semi-retirement home to once wildly popular acts like Three Dog Night (which was a great concert here, by the way), Marion came close to being on the other side of the ladder of musical success when, 55 years ago, it turned down a request from a substance-abusing, has-been country artist to perform, basically for free, as part of his supposed comeback. Had that powers that controlled Central Park scheduling at that time given more than five minutes of consideration to the request, relayed by a former resident turned drinking buddy of the down-but-not-yet-completely-out star, one of music’s classic ballads might have featured Marion County Jail instead of Folsom Prison in its title. Although he never ended up performing here, Johnny Cash was indeed considered — and rejected — as a potential Central Park performer.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

Legion honors Chaputs, finds history

Members of James William Miesse American Legion Post had kept Gary and Karen Chaput in the dark about a surprise farewell for them last week. What they didn’t know was a second surprise loomed even bigger. The Chaputs were instrumental in re-establishing the post in 2007, after it had gone dormant due to low membership. Gary has served as post adjutant since the post re-activated, and Karen served as auxiliary president for the first two.

Card shower to mark Carlsons' 40th anniversary

The family of Duane and Karen (Heinbuch) Carlson of Lincolnville is celebrating the couple’s 40th wedding anniversary with a card shower. The Carlsons were married Jan. 4, 1975, in Accokeek, Maryland. Duane is a farmer/rancher and Karen is a homemaker.

Screening to raise money for mission trip

Marion Christian Church will screen the 2014 film “Left Behind,” starring Nicolas Cage, at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, to help Marion High School alumnus Isaac Baldwin raise $2,000 for a May mission trip to Puerto Penasco, Mexico. “We will be serving the people of the city by providing a variety of types of medical care, and spreading the Gospel,” Baldwin wrote. “This opportunity is really an answer to a prayer. I believe that God has called me to a life in ministry through medical mission work.”

Neo-Century Club plays Spinner

After a business meeting Jan. 5 at Hilltop Manor, 10 members of Neo-Century club gathered at two tables to play the original 1983 Texas Wild domino game called Spinner. Hostesses were Shirley Carlson, Donna Fruechting, and Lou Roberts. Finger food, cookies, hot chocolate, and coffee were served.

MARION SENIOR CENTER:

MEMORIES:

USD 408 extends Leiker's contract

USD 408 Superintendent Lee Leiker’s contract was extended through the 2016-17 school year at Monday’s board of education meeting. The school board reached the decision after an executive session that lasted 45 minutes and included personnel decisions as to who would handle negotiations over teacher contracts.

Centre board approves purchase of basketball shooting machine

The Centre board of education approved purchase Monday of a shooting machine for the junior high and high school basketball programs for $4,550. According to the company website, the Gun 6000 is an automatic rebounder, producing a direct return pass for another shot. A timing device determines the distance and speed of return passes. The machine can fire up to 1,800 shots per hour.

Grandson graduates from officer school

Second Lieutenant Chase Bureman, USMC, recently graduated from the Basic School for Marine Officers in Quantico, Virginia. Bureman was on the commanding general honor roll for placing in the top 10 percent of the class, and received the Major General Merrit A. Edson Marksmanship Award for the best combined marksmanship for rifle and pistol.

Marion Middle School honors

Legion ball to return after 40 years

After more than 40 years in the offseason, American Legion Baseball will again answer the call to “play ball” this summer. “There was a Legion team in Marion before we moved here in 1973, but I don’t recall when the last time they played was,” former president of Marion Athletic Association David Branson said. “There’s been Cal Ripken ball and Babe Ruth ball, but since I’ve been here, there hasn’t been a Legion team.”

MHS starts hot, loses to Hutch, then Berean

For a while Friday, it looked like Kelly Robson’s team had turned the corner. Playing against what he’s tabbed as one of the best two teams in the league, the Marion girls’ basketball team jumped to a 10-1 first quarter advantage.

Hutch Trinity, Berean too much for Marion boys

Marion lost to Hutch Trinity on Friday night 48-35. It was a straightforward game. There wasn’t a concrete turning point, or a distinct tactical advantage the Celtics had.

Wrestlers take 4th at Norton

With three wrestlers placing in the top three individually, the Marion Warriors placed fourth out of 17 teams who grappled Saturday at a tournament in Norton. “We went there to wrestle a lot of good matches against a lot of good wrestlers,” coach Chad Adkins said Monday.

Palic to play in Kansas Shrine Bowl

Marion High School senior Kyle Palic was recently selected to play in the 2015 Kansas Shrine Bowl all-star football game by a mail ballot of sports media professionals and this year’s event coaching staff. Palic was one of 68 students throughout the state invited to play in this year’s game, which will be July 25 at Ft. Hays State University in Hays.

Centre girls defeat Peabody, lose to Goessel

Centre exchange student Lotti Benning controlled the boards Friday in a no-contest game at Peabody-Burns. She had 16 rebounds. Coach Alan Stahlecker was pleased with the team’s overall defensive effort. They out-rebounded Peabody, 44-23, with 9 rebounds by Brenna Shields and 7 by Summer Espinoza. Shelby Makovec had 4 assists, Shields had 3, and each had 4 steals.

Centre boys fall to both Peabody, Goessel

A poor showing in the first half Friday at Peabody-Burns left the Centre Cougars in the dust, 43-15. They improved in the second half, scoring 17 points in the third quarter and outscoring Peabody 15-9 in the last quarter. The final score was 72-47.

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