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SRS closing prompts two resignations

By ROWENA PLETT

Staff reporter

Two longtime employees who work out of the Marion office of Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) are retiring soon due to the closure of the office at the end of this month.

Joan Davis is retiring after almost 40 years in public service, and LaDonna Sherbert is retiring after more than 25 years.

A reception will be held in their honor from 2 to 4 p.m. Aug. 27 at St. Mark's Activity Center, 415 N. Cedar, in Marion.

Joan Davis

A Herington resident, Jones is a registered nurse and served as public health nurse for Saline County from 1965 to 1970.

She then was employed by the Dickinson County Welfare Office and worked out of Herington and Abilene. At that time, welfare programs were administered by counties, supported by property taxes, and supervised by county commissioners.

In 1973, Gov. Tom Docking issued a proclamation calling for the re-organization of welfare programs. A new state agency, the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, was launched Jan. 1, 1975. District offices were established, including one in Marion, to administer its programs.

Davis worked with AFDC, the program which provides aid to families and dependent children.

When the Herington office closed in 1988, Davis was assigned to the Marion office. She is adult protective services supervisor for 11 counties and spends a lot of time on the road.

"We do a lot for the forgotten elderly," she said.

Assistance is provided for people ages 18 and over. Davis has supervised as many as 15 social service and support workers.

Many district offices are closing and being consolidated into six or seven regional offices.

"I have gone from one re-organization in 1973 to the final re-organization in 2004 with the closure of the Marion office," Davis said.

She could keep her job if she would be willing to work out of the El Dorado office, but she chose to retire.

Her last day on the job is Sept. 13. Because the Marion office will close before then, she will spend the remaining days at the Council Grove office.

She and her husband, Jerry, have four children. Daughter Janel is married to Ed Silhan Jr. of Pilsen. Three sons include Joe of Wichita, Jeff of Parkville, Mo., and Jay of Topeka.

The Davises have two grandchildren and two on the way. Davis looks forward to helping with the grandchildren and engaging in various volunteer activities.

LaDonna Sherbert

Rather than travel to the Newton SRS office every day, LaDonna Sherbert of Marion has decided to retire from her position as office assistant.

She joined the Marion office staff in May 1979 and has since acquired a thorough knowledge of the various services provided by the office. Her job includes registering applications for assistance, taking phone calls, making referrals, and scheduling appointments.

"There have been a lot of changes since I came," she said. "SRS still provides basic services for children and families and also for the disabled and elderly, but the ways we provide the services have changed."

She and her husband, Bill, made Marion their home in the summer of 1964. He was employed by Riddle Quarries. In 1980, he began working at Marion Manufacturing and retired this spring.

The couple purchased the Marion bowling alley in November, naming it SherBowl Lanes.

Sherbert is looking forward to having more time to assist her husband in operating their new enterprise.

They have two children — Donna Funk and husband Ron of Hillsboro and Danny of Marion — and five grandchildren.

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