Marion County RECORD

Florence seeks to seize springs

An ongoing water fight between Florence City Council members and owners of a spring that has supplied city water for 98 years has ratcheted up and is likely headed toward a court battle. Council members voted Monday to begin eminent domain proceedings to seize ownership of four acres owned by the DeForest family at Crystal Springs, where the city’s springhouse is situated. Council member Trayce Warner was the lone vote in opposition.

'Blatant' excess prompts review

County commissioners are so split on budgeting that they are summoning department heads back for a second round of hearings, scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. today. “Most of our department heads do a wonderful job. Some of them really have held the line,” chairman Dianne Novak said Monday. “But we do have a couple of departments that are blatantly, in my view, out of line.”

Economic panel still seeking direction

Five spectators who attended Tuesday’s meeting of Marion County Community Economic Development Corp. outnumbered board members. When the meeting began, just two board members were present — Merlyn Entz and Hannah Bourbon. They decided to go ahead with the meeting but make no decisions.

Lack of lake warnings puzzles experts

A welcome mystery is puzzling county, state, and federal officials this summer. As inexplicably as blue-green algae arrived 15 years ago at Marion Reservoir and Marion County Lake, they just as inexplicably have vanished.

A perfect topping, Ice cream social nets big donation

Marion senior center president Sue Clough was floored by an unexpected donation at the center’s ice cream social fundraiser Sunday. “We were so honored to receive a $5,000 gift from Harold and Peggy Van Buren,” Clough said. “It was such a surprise.”

Half of county workers 'underpaid'

A new, $17,997 study of whether the county pays its employees enough began last week with a consultant telling commissioners that 49 percent of county starting salaries were below the midpoint of minimums paid by 27 other organizations she had studied. But she declined to identify for commissioners or the public what those organizations were.

Legislator opposed tax lid

The state’s tax lid, championed by former Gov. Sam Brownback and now causing concerns as Marion County prepares its budget, was a bad idea, according to one of Marion County’s state legislators. “The tax lid is supposed to do exactly that, lower property taxes,” said State Rep. Don Schroeder, R-Hesston, who represents Hillsboro, Peabody, and the southern portion of Marion County.

Tit-for-tat leads to a bit of a snit

Tempers briefly flared during a nearly 20-minute discussion Monday of whether county and city of Peabody crews might be able to exchange work on two unrelated projects. The city and county jointly own a quarter-mile stretch of Old Mill Rd. south of Peabody’s new Dollar General store at US-50.

Tuning up for the opera

Jordan Bruce sweated and peered around the side of a Steinway baby grand piano he wheeled into Marion Community Center on Monday after hauling it from Crescent, Oklahoma. The piano belongs to Margaret Singer, musical director for Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills.

Native to return as guest artist

Marion native and internationally known coloratura soprano Beverly Hoch will make a visit to her hometown starting Friday. She’s coming to teach a master class at 3 p.m. Tuesday as part of Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills.

Marion home to be donated

Owners of a rental house at 135 N. Freeborn St. have donated it to the Marion City Land Bank to be sold to someone who will rehabilitate it. City administrator Roger Holter said Roger and Cynthia Fleming, Hillsboro, read about the land bank and called him about the house. They are ready to be done as landlords for it, he said.

Sitting high on the horse

“You have to live on a farm and own an animal to be in 4-H,” — a common misconception. Because of it, many youths don’t take advantage of the program. Marion’s Happy Hustler 4-H members Abree, 9, and Paige Ensey, 12, aren’t typical horse members. They live in town and, because of city ordinances, are not allowed to keep horses on their property.

Who let the dogs out?

It was a dog day morning Saturday at Marion County Fair in Hillsboro. Eight 4-H members competed in agility, showmanship and obedience trials.

How dream jobs evolve

Joining our staff this week is reporter Alex Simone from the State University of New York at Oswego. We asked him to introduce himself. By ALEXANDER SIMONE Staff writer What separates a career from a job? What differentiates the employment opportunity of a lifetime from the nine-to-five slog?

Kathryn Lunderman

Services for Kathryn Mae Lunderman, 93, who died Friday at Salina Regional Medical Center, were to have been today at Eastmoor United Methodist Church with burial at White Chapel Memorial Gardens, Wichita. Born May 1, 1925, in Quinter to John Tillman and Cora Bell (Boitnott) Webster, she worked as a riveter on B-29s at Boeing during World War II.

Freddie Mosiman

Services for former Peabody-area resident Fred Mosiman III, 63, who died July 11 at Botkin Care and Rehabilitation Center in Wellington, will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Baker Funeral Home Wichita chapel. Born Jan. 18, 1955, in Newton, to Freddie Mossiman Jr. and Ruth Mosiman, he grew up on a farm near Peabody.

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Accidents reported

Civil division cases

County jail arrests and bookings

Criminal division cases

Deeds recorded

Domestic division cases

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Marriage licenses

Offenses reported

Police incident reports

Traffic division cases

Lying, cheating, stealing is their game

They make their living lying, cheating, and stealing. They are college financial aid scammers. Anyone headed to college scrambles to find affordable ways to do so.

From Burdick to Boston: A new start at a new college

“I’m very scared,” she said. “It’s going to be a big change, but I’ve traveled a lot, so I think I can adjust easily.” Sattler, a Christian-based college is situated in two floors of a business building. Dorms take up two floors of a nearby apartment building.

An early start on post-secondary education

“I earned credits in freshman English and algebra,” she said. She sought out extra-curricular things to enhance her education, including a Duke Talent Identification program that allows gifted students to choose various summer experiences.

Future course wide open for Marion grad

He is living and working in Wichita while taking classes at the Andover campus of Butler Community College. “It’s a little scary thinking about becoming an adult,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s exciting to explore all my options and see what I can do.”

Grad sees future in counseling and firefighting

His counselor, Ken Parry, convinced him early in high school to change his path. “He helped me realize I am better with people than in building,” Bailey said.

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Cook has spent lifetime in kitchen

Once a cook, always a cook. Bobby Magathan, 70, has been a cook and baker all of his life.

Food truck makes its first visit

A Herington food truck made its first Marion appearance Friday. A Taste of Home, operated by Nino Roman and Melissa Mueller, opened in a parking lot behind Lanning Pharmacy. The truck served meat empanadas, bratwurst, hot dogs, and pork tacos along with wraps, sides, and drinks.

Kids' health to be screened

Children through five years of age will be screened for health issues from 9 to 11:30 a.m., Aug. 14 in Hillsboro. Cognitive, motor, speech and language, and social and emotional development will be checked along with vision and hearing.The process takes about one hour. Appointments are necessary and are being accepted at 620-382-2858.

Water tower 'leaks' recycled

If you’ve seen water draining from Marion’s water towers, relax. It’s not a leak. And it’s not a senseless waste of resources amid a drought, according to city administrator Roger Holter. Marion’s water is purified with ozone, but the state still requires that an old-fashioned purification chemical, chorine, be present — possibly to fight microorganisms lurking in pipes beyond the water plant.

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Moving ahead with running backward

Winning running medals was not uncommon for Aaron Yoder in high school, but doing it running backward is relatively new. The latest medals were won by him and his family earlier this month at the world championships in retro-running in Bologna, Italy. Yoder attended Peabody-Burns through fifth grade. He transferred to Hillsboro when his father became elementary principal there. He graduated from Hillsboro High School in 2004 after setting records in the regular 1500m, 800m, mile, and cross-country.

Women's scramble draws 20 teams

A scorecard playoff broke any ties..

Team finishes season at state

A local traveling team of 14-year-olds, Battle Baseball, finished its season July 13 and 14 at the National Baseball Congress state tournament in Hayes. Team players were from Hillsboro, Herington, Peabody, and Marion.

College degrees and honors

In with the new

Marion Country Club received an early Christmas present Thursday in the form of a new bridge at a creek crossing. When it became apparent an old, wooden bridge was no longer safe, member Gary Carpenter stepped up. He built a new metal bridge at his business, Kansas General Wire and Supply in Wichita, then donated it to the club.

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