BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Child care centers, residences, Marion Senior Center, and Marion County Courthouse were evacuated for 2½ hours Thursday in response to a fire at the Cooperative Grain and Supply grain elevator in Marion.
Smoke was billowing from a drive-through bay at the elevator as Marion firefighters arrived about 10:30 a.m. Units from Hillsboro and Florence arrived a short time later, and Marion police blocked traffic on both ends of S. 3rd. St.
Sheriff’s deputy Mike Ottensmeier frequently appears in rearview mirrors as a flash of red and blue lights before he gets out of his patrol car on traffic stops.
However, he recently was pulled over by Hillsboro resident Charles Naerebout Jr. on US-56 near the old Alco building.
Marion city council doesn’t consider parked cars to be suitable lawn ornaments, and took the first step Monday toward banning parking vehicles in front yards.
City administrator Roger Holter said police have no power to have cars parked in front yards removed, even though the city has received numerous complaints.
A dilemma was waiting to unfold for new county EMS interim director Ed Debesis when he signed on Thursday:
Re-certifications for about a dozen EMS personnel were hung up in Topeka, and wouldn’t be updated by the time their certifications expired New Year’s Eve.
Everything that wasn’t nailed down vanished Sunday from the sanctuary at Aulne United Methodist Church, and it wasn’t a magician who made it happen.
About 70 members stayed after the service to move furnishings in the church in preparation for a makeover: New paint, new carpet, and a new ceiling.
By her own admission, Alex Holm-McDowell isn’t a golfer; nonetheless, Peabody Lakeside Golf Course holds special meaning for her.
“I grew up on the golf course,” she said. “One of my Mom’s favorite stories is when my Dad was still alive, that’s how we would spend time together. He’d put my car seat on the golf cart and I’d sleep while he played golf.”
Prairie View is accepting applications for housing assistance after receiving a $50,950 Tenant Based Rental Assistance grant from the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation.
Persons with severe and persistent mental illness who reside in Harvey, Marion or McPherson counties are eligible to apply for up to two years of rental subsidy assistance.
Nancy Mildred Aurell, Peabody, died Dec. 30 at Peabody Health and Rehab.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Baker Funeral Home, Peabody. A funeral service will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at Peabody United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at Prairie Lawn Cemetery, Peabody.
Treva O. Bogart, 90, died Friday at Asbury Park, Newton.
A graveside service will be 1 p.m. Saturday at Leon Cemetery, Leon.
Ralph E. Eickleberry, 73, former Marion resident, died Sunday at Rooks County Health Center in Plainville.
A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Zeiner Funeral Home, Marion. Inurnment will follow at Marion Cemetery.
IN MEMORIAM:
Donnie BrooksIN MEMORIAM:
Orlin ChizekIN MEMORIAM:
Ruth Wagner
Youth may be wasted on the youth, but that doesn’t mean their money should be wasted, too.
According to Chris Hernandez, financial adviser with Edward Jones in Marion, there is no time like the present to begin saving for retirement.
“A penny saved is a penny made.” That age-old saying is still true today, according to local bankers.
President Jim Hefley of Marion National Bank said he has seen the number of savings accounts increase in recent years.
Attorneys-by-day Bob Brookens and Susan Robson are not exactly superheroes by night, but their clients may consider them a saving grace during tax season, when both moonlight as tax preparers.
“It’s a community service,” Brookens said. “Yeah, we get paid for it, but it started off because attorneys have clients who don’t know where else to turn. Someone asked me if I would do their return, I said ‘Yeah, I will.’”
Not only can buying local firewood help you save money on transportation costs and help keep local businesses alive, but it can also help keep the health of the county’s trees going strong.
Kansas Department of Agriculture is encouraging those who use firewood to buy locally to help prevent spread of tree diseases and pests.
It’s that time in the annual cycle of days, when the calendar resets and a new year begins, that we look ahead with anticipation and set sail for new achievements and better days.
But it’s been said you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. Those resolutions you’ve been making to eat smarter and lose weight, to travel somewhere new, to track down lost friends, to drive on only county roads with good gravel, and all the rest, they flow from looking back. Smarter or lighter than what? Than what you’ve been.
I am wondering WHETHER anyone else noticed large groups of robins making an appearance this past weekend. I usually start to look for them in mid- to late-February, so it seems that a robin sighting just a couple of days into the new year is a bit early even for me.
As someone who experienced dreaded cold and snow in abundance from October until early May during my youth, I make a habit of denouncing winter weather. Seeing so many robins this early is pretty exciting. They appear to be fat and healthy and I am happy to have them in my yard.
Once upon a time, my husband and I moved to a farm northwest of Lincolnville on 300th Rd. To get to it requires traveling one mile on Upland Rd.
Although we have complained often, we’ve tolerated years of traversing that mile in wet muddy conditions, and it gets pretty dicey at times because of the lack of gravel and good drainage. But we put up with it because we like the farming lifestyle.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
Wishes for the new year
The Jackie Hett family held its 29th Christmas celebration Jan. 1 near Wichita.
Those who attended from Marion County included Melanie and Larry Ensey; Jeremy and Tammy Ensey, Peyton, Paige, and Abree; Jeff and Laura Ensey, Zeke, and Elizabeth; Travis and Kelley Schafers, Jay Dee, Emily, and Trevor; Steve Hett; and Jackie Hett.
A card shower will honor Marion native Elizabeth (Betty Ann Mersereau) Childs of Hutchinson, who will observe her 90th birthday Jan. 8.
Her children, Janice Brock and Steve Childs, were hosts for a family celebration Dec. 27 in Hutchinson. Six grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren attended.
SENIOR CENTER:
Tholes bring treats,
Senior Center menuMEMORIES:
10,
25,
35,
50,
60,
100,
125 years ago
When Marianne Kohman of Hope started her job Nov. 2 as the new Centre board clerk, it was sort of a homecoming. Kohman worked in the high school office for nine years and has a son who graduated from Centre.
She has had a variety of secretarial jobs in the 12 years she’s been gone.
The Centre school district has received $1,000 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation for programs and activities aimed at improving students’ health.
The Healthy Habits for Life grant was one of 159 distributed to schools in 66 counties.
Chef Rob Scott will be offering a second Asian-inspired cooking class from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Hillsboro Middle and High School teachers workroom.
Deadline to sign up is Thursday. The cost is $20. The class is limited to 15.
Hillsboro Rec Commission and Jill Utecht will be offering an Essential Oils 101 class at 7 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Hillsboro City Hall.
Topics that will be covered include how essential oils can be used for health and wellness, and how to use them for cleaning purposes.
Technology Excellence in Education Network will meet 6 p.m. Jan. 13 at USD 408 District Office in Marion.
More information is available by calling Lena Kleiner at (620) 877-0237.