Marion County RECORD

HEADLINES

89-year-old seriously hurt in ATV crash
A Hillsboro man was so badly injured Saturday in an accident on Indigo Rd. that he was airlifted to a Wichita hospital. Lloyd Funk, 89, was driving northbound on Indigo Rd. when he attempted to turn left into a field entrance on the west side of the road.
Dealer car stolen with keys inside crashes 1.5 hours later
Hillsboro police are reviewing business and home security videos from 3:10 to 4:30 a.m. Aug. 5 in an attempt to find out who stole a car from a dealership parking lot before crashing it into a utility pole. A 2023 Ford Edge that had been parked unlocked with its key inside Aug. 2 was stolen from the front parking area at Hillsboro Ford.
Fire guts unoccupied home in Lehigh
Lehigh, Hillsboro, Durham, and Goessel firefighters spent 3½ hours early Saturday battling a blaze that destroyed an unoccupied Lehigh house. Hillsboro, Durham, and Goessel firefighters were released at 4:30 a.m. Lehigh firefighters continued fighting the fire another 6½ hours.
Sky blue waves: Inside Marion's water plant
Built in 1964, Marion’s odd-looking water plant is still going strong. Blocky, made of large bricks, and painted a stark light blue by a former operator in the early ’80s, it strongly resembles a giant ice cube.
Contest winner has forecasting in her bones
Kim Frantz of Tampa won the Frantz made her prediction on July 9, just a day after the contest opened.

OTHER NEWS

County likely violates open meetings law
County commissions met behind closed doors Monday in what almost certainly was a violation of the Kansas Open Meetings Act. The
Marion debates solar policy that would pay less than it charges
Marion City Council members reviewed a proposed ordinance Monday that would set standards for customers with renewable energy systems. The ordinance says the city would pay for excess energy produced by a customer’s generator, but it doesn’t specify the rate. Instead, the customer would be paid the average monthly cost of electricity the city purchased wholesale from Kansas Power Pool.
Peabody begins replacing pipes
New PVC pipes soon will replace Peabody’s antiquated cast-iron mains, improving water quality significantly, Darin Neufeld, vice president of EBH Engineering, told city council members Monday. “We’ve got problems in parts of town with chlorine residual and color,” Neufeld said.
Santa Fe Trail surveyed 200 years ago this week
In 1825, the federal government authorized the marking out and surveying of a road from the western frontier of Missouri to the Mexican settlements in the present state of New Mexico. The purpose was to aid and promote Santa Fe trade.
Event will explore history of Peabody POW camp
Author and Olpe native Daniel Markowitz will speak Sept. 7 about his novel “The Spoils Of Victory,” published this June. The novel is historical fiction in which a German soldier is captured in Tunisia and sent to a POW camp in Peabody.
Festival to aid Coneburg
A three-day festival Aug. 22 to 24 in Peabody will bring back a bit of the past and raise money to rebuild the Coneburg Inn, destroyed last year in a fire. The Coneburg Revival will include live music on three stages, food trucks, and camaraderie. A Saturday night street dance at the Coneburg will feature DJ BEERd.
Cottonwood Falls Democrat launches Senate campaign
For the second meeting in a row, Marion County Democrats flexed their political muscle by drawing in a speaker in demand across the state. Last month, 60 people gathered to listen to gubernatorial candidate Cindy Holscher.

DEATHS

IN MEMORIAM:
Bennett Franta
IN MEMORIAM:
Katherine Lenz
IN MEMORIAM:
Susan Marshall
IN MEMORIAM:
Elizabeth Navrat
IN MEMORIAM:
'Otts' Waltner

EDUCATION

Donations help teachers pay for class supplies
Paying for classroom supplies out of pocket is common for schoolteachers. The National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union in the U.S., reported in 2022 that more than 90% of teachers spend personal money on classroom supplies like decorations, pencils, and books.
Church makes back-to-school splash
As Marion’s first day of school loomed, Eastmoor United Methodist Church sponsored a Sunday evening swimming party and ice cream and watermelon social. Students swam at the Sports and Aquatics Center pool, played in its splash pad, and dived off the diving board as parents kept an eye on the activity and visited with one another on pool bleachers during the school’s Summer Splash event.

FOR THE RECORD

OPINION

Seize the moment to celebrate not being silenced
As the I have absolutely no idea what any of that means. Most days, if I were to look out my window and see a drone flying toward me, I’d duck, thinking it was an aggrieved politician making a strafing run.
'Six regular readers' can save a community
Her words last graced what at the time was a separate Peabody version of this page nine years ago, when she bade farewell to her “six regular readers” by offering a final column of well-grounded personal advice. Her death this week leaves a void that desperately needs to be filled.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
Let me entertain you

PEOPLE

Marion's new city administrator is settling in
Moving from Florida to a small town in Kansas has been a change for Marion’s new city administrator and his wife. Although he moved here after working in Colorado and Florida as a transportation director, Bryan Wells is no stranger to Kansas. He was born in Emporia and grew up in Olathe.
Senior center menus
4-H CLUB NOTES:
Happy Hustlers
MEMORIES:
15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 110, 145 years ago

MORE…

HOVER OVER IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT

Recently married Shay (left) and Dillon Callaway enjoy the dog days of summer, fishing as the sun set Aug. 6 at a pond in Hillsboro's business park.

Hillsboro United Methodist Church member Lindy Wiens organized school supplies for Hillsboro Elementary School teachers. Donors choose what to contribute by selecting paper apples clipped to Christmas trees.

Hazel Pilolla flies through the air with her hair straight up as she drops toward the water Sunday at Eastmoor United Methodist Church's back-to-school Summer Splash.

A stray cat stands next to a hole Monday on Walnut St. in Peabody. Many similar holes have been dug as Peabody begins a project that will see 60 blocks of water lines replaced.

Marion County RECORD

A Hillsboro man was so badly injured Saturday in an accident on Indigo Rd. that he was airlifted to a Wichita hospital. Lloyd Funk, 89, was driving northbound on Indigo Rd. when he attempted to turn left into a field entrance on the west side of the road.

Lehigh, Hillsboro, Durham, and Goessel firefighters spent 3½ hours early Saturday battling a blaze that destroyed an unoccupied Lehigh house. Hillsboro, Durham, and Goessel firefighters were released at 4:30 a.m. Lehigh firefighters continued fighting the fire another 6½ hours.

Built in 1964, Marion’s odd-looking water plant is still going strong. Blocky, made of large bricks, and painted a stark light blue by a former operator in the early ’80s, it strongly resembles a giant ice cube.

Kim Frantz of Tampa won the Frantz made her prediction on July 9, just a day after the contest opened.

County commissions met behind closed doors Monday in what almost certainly was a violation of the Kansas Open Meetings Act. The

New PVC pipes soon will replace Peabody’s antiquated cast-iron mains, improving water quality significantly, Darin Neufeld, vice president of EBH Engineering, told city council members Monday. “We’ve got problems in parts of town with chlorine residual and color,” Neufeld said.

In 1825, the federal government authorized the marking out and surveying of a road from the western frontier of Missouri to the Mexican settlements in the present state of New Mexico. The purpose was to aid and promote Santa Fe trade.

Author and Olpe native Daniel Markowitz will speak Sept. 7 about his novel “The Spoils Of Victory,” published this June. The novel is historical fiction in which a German soldier is captured in Tunisia and sent to a POW camp in Peabody.

For the second meeting in a row, Marion County Democrats flexed their political muscle by drawing in a speaker in demand across the state. Last month, 60 people gathered to listen to gubernatorial candidate Cindy Holscher.

IN MEMORIAM:

IN MEMORIAM:

IN MEMORIAM:

IN MEMORIAM:

IN MEMORIAM:

Paying for classroom supplies out of pocket is common for schoolteachers. The National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union in the U.S., reported in 2022 that more than 90% of teachers spend personal money on classroom supplies like decorations, pencils, and books.

As the I have absolutely no idea what any of that means. Most days, if I were to look out my window and see a drone flying toward me, I’d duck, thinking it was an aggrieved politician making a strafing run.

Her words last graced what at the time was a separate Peabody version of this page nine years ago, when she bade farewell to her “six regular readers” by offering a final column of well-grounded personal advice. Her death this week leaves a void that desperately needs to be filled.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

Moving from Florida to a small town in Kansas has been a change for Marion’s new city administrator and his wife. Although he moved here after working in Colorado and Florida as a transportation director, Bryan Wells is no stranger to Kansas. He was born in Emporia and grew up in Olathe.

4-H CLUB NOTES:

MEMORIES: