HEADLINES

  • 33-mile chase hits 120 mph in county

    A man pulled over for speeding Tuesday morning on I-135 in McPherson County fled police for many miles — 33 of those miles through Marion County. Josh Huebach, who Undersheriff Larry Starkey said lived in Marion County at one time, fled through Marion County, including the City of Peabody, then Harvey County, then into Sedgwick County in an attempt to elude deputies and state troopers.

  • County looks to boost emergency employees' retirement

    County commissioners are considering upgrading sheriff’s office and emergency medical service employees’ retirement accounts to a more lucrative plan. The employees are now enrolled in Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.

  • Woman seriously hurt in camper blast

    Sheridan Hiebert, 45, whose camper exploded and burst into flames just after noon Friday on the edge of Burns was airlifted to a Wichita hospital. An ambulance and firefighters from Butler County, Marion ambulance, an EagleMed helicopter, and Burns and Potwin firefighters all responded to what was reported as a serious injury in a camper that exploded and burst into flames on the county line near 10th Rd. and Washington Ave. in Burns.

  • Spare the rod; County lake's heated dock is a natural home for the existential

    The dock is contoured by a thin balcony, which the local fishermen use mainly to smoke cigarettes and gaze out onto the murky water. They will fish out there if the weather is good and they need a breath of fresh air. The indoor area is boxy. Six red benches and a railing surround a bottomless center. A heater runs loudly during colder months. An empty coffee pot, a can of Folgers, and an empty sweet tea jug rests on a counter next to a speaker.

  • Illnesses hit county schools hard, force Centre to close

    A high rate of illness among students and staff caused Centre schools to cancel classes and student activities Friday. Superintendent Larry Geist said students and staff were afflicted with COVID-19, influenza types A and B, strep, stomach aches, and fevers.

OTHER NEWS

  • Locust, Elm Sts. to get repair

    Marion city council members signed a contract Monday to have repairs made to Locust and Elm just north of Main St. Vogts Parga Construction was awarded a $290,691.50 contract to have the repair completed by April 15.

  • Gym evacuated during game

    People attending a middle school basketball game Thursday at Peabody-Burns were evacuated because of a suspicious odor. An audience member noticed the odor, called the fire department, and notified Atmos Energy.

  • Preschool chefs take over Pizza Hut

    The trip was the culmination of a bread study begun weeks ago, teacher Lesli Beery said. The hands-on instruction began with a gingerbread man bakery and hunt. Students then ground wheat, made wheat bread, baked gingerbread men, made cornbread, created oatmeal cookies, and flipped pancakes.

  • Parents, employees to be contacted about data breach

    Parents and employees whose information may have been stolen in a cyberattack on a system Marion schools use soon will be notified whether their data was involved. PowerSchool, a software company used by the district, was hacked Dec. 2. The company didn’t notice it until Dec. 28. Marion schools were notified Jan. 8.

  • Defendant dismissed from suit

    One of three Hillsboro medical practitioners was dismissed Jan. 28 from a lawsuit filed a year ago that claimed the three were negligent in not providing proper care to a patent or getting her transferred to a larger hospital capable of caring for her before she died. Nicholas B. Ervin filed suit March 5, 2024, against physicians Justin S. Morgan and Stephen G. Grillot, and nurse practitioner Gail Boaldin seeking more than $75,000 for the death of his wife, Stephanie L. Ervin, on July 26, 2022, at Hillsboro Community Hospital.

  • Local author releases book about raid, other county history

    A Marion author’s new book touching on the 2023 raid of the Marion County Record and two homes is now available for purchase. Thane Schwartz’s eighth book, “Marion, the Media, and the Morons: Project 2025 Assault on Democracy,” can be ordered on Amazon now and should be in distribution Thursday.

  • Peabody flips out for annual Pancake Day

    It was bright but windy Saturday morning outside Peabody-Burns High School — tough conditions for pancake flipping. Nevertheless, the kids competing in the annual pancake race sprinted admirably around the track.

  • Hillsboro talks security cameras, rebates

    Two impactful proposals were accepted at a Hillsboro city council meeting Tuesday. The first was a resolution aiming to create a qualified low-income benefit program for a solar power facility expected to open next year.

DEATHS

  • Kendall Harding

    A celebration of life for Kendall Layne Harding, 29, Lost Springs, who died in a traffic accident Jan. 20, was Sunday at Herington Community Building. Born Aug. 23, 1995, in Emporia to Kelsey Leon and Lois Irene (Miser) Harding, he was baptized as an infant at Council Grove United Methodist Church and graduated from Centre High School in 2013.

  • Carolyn Ray

    Visitation and a celebration of life for Carolyn Sue Ray, 75, Hillsboro, who died Jan. 15 at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, Wichita, will be 1 p.m. Feb. 16 at Hillsboro American Legion post. Services also are planned for 11 p.m. Feb. 15 at Parkerville Baptist Church, White City.

  • Bob Vajnar

    Graveside services for Robert J. “Bob” Vajnar, 83, who died Jan. 25 at Peabody Health and Rehab, will be noon Saturday at St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, Tampa. Born June 29, 1941, in Hillsboro to Joe and Edna Vajnar, he was baptized as an infant and confirmed May 22, 1955, at St. John’s Lutheran Church.

  • IN MEMORIAM:

    Rex Wilson

FARM

  • Family farm shows it can pay to horse around

    In working at their family farm, Jon and Katy Christiansen are continuing a legacy stretching back four generations. They are also keeping an equestrian tradition alive, with six horses trotting around the place.

  • Sheep farmer dismisses feed suit

    Lincolnville sheep farmer Sherry Nelson, Countryside Feed in Hillsboro, and Valley View Milling in Bern have settled a lawsuit filed June 30 in which Nelson claimed tainted feed manufactured by Valley View and sold by Countryside wreaked havoc on her herd. Nelson claimed that feed she purchased at Countryside in 2021 was mislabeled, negligently manufactured, and unsafe for use.

FOR THE RECORD

OPINION

  • Are better pensions really a coin toss?

    Heads I win; tails you lose. If you think that’s no more than a trick your weird uncle tries to play on gullible nieces and nephews at family gatherings, you may not have been paying close enough attention to the news. A little more than a year ago, when the City of Marion was fretting about not being able to attract candidates for police positions, the police chief at the time argued that pay needed to be increased.

  • Squeaking silently

    Just when I thought last week’s editorial had put an end to the incredulous comments we regularly receive about how anyone could have voted for Donald Trump, I suffered a relapse of anti-Trump hammering while speaking last week at something called the Local News Summit in New Orleans. Leading journalists and foundation officials from all around the country kept coming up to me and earnestly seeking an explanation for why a state such as ours would support a candidate who even many of those who voted for him don’t particularly like.

  • ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

    Conversation with the ducks

  • LETTERS:

    No comment, no story?

PEOPLE

  • Grade schoolers celebrate state's birthday

    Students at Marion Elementary School, many of them dressed in western, prairie, and state sports team apparel, celebrated Kansas’ 164th birthday Jan. 29. Students went from learning station to learning station, sampled Kansas art projects, played sunflower-themed games, listened to a cowboy poet and songwriter, and got up close and personal with Kansas wildlife — in this case, a prairie kingsnake.

  • Lunch 'n' Learn to cover gardening

    Anyone tired of snow, ice, and cold air can shift their attention next Wednesday to sun and gardening. Marion City Library will offer gardening tips for vegetables and flowers from noon to 1 p.m. Feb. 12. Topics will include site selection, seed starting, compost, and fertilizing.

  • Scholarship to focus on aging

    A $500 scholarship is available for a Marion County high school senior who plans to pursue a college degree in an area related to aging. Applications for the scholarship, to be awarded by Senior Citizens of Marion County Inc., are available from high school counselors and the county department on aging, located at the Marion Senior Center. They are due April 7.

  • Free tax help available

    Taxpayers with disabilities, limited understanding of English, or household income of $65,000 or less may receive free help filing their taxes. Appointments for the program, sponsored by United Way, are being accepted by the county department on aging at (620) 382-3580.

  • Tabor receives challenge grant

    Tabor College’s efforts to raise $11 million to transform its 105-year-old Mary J. Regier Building into a business and entrepreneurship center received a boost last week with announcement of a $1.3 million challenge grant. To receive the money from the Mabee Foundation, Tabor must raise nearly $1.4 million in additional contributions. The project is more than halfway to its goal with total contributions of $6.7 million.

  • College degrees and honors

  • Senior center menus

  • MEMORIES:

    15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 110, 145 years ago

SPORTS

MORE…

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