HEADLINES

  • Back burn halts 4-mile blaze

    Ramona chief Nathan Brunner fought fire with fire Monday by setting a back burn ahead of a grass fire that scorched nearly four miles near Tampa. Tampa, Durham, and Ramona departments were first on the scene to the blaze, which started as a ditch fire, but soon were joined by firefighters from Marion County’s task force, including nearly all county departments, plus Herington and Roxbury who struggled to battle the place in 55 mph winds.

  • Pigs shot after cemetery is desecrated

    A Florence man’s pigs have been shot by concerned neighbors after they got loose yet again and left nearby Summit Cemetery looking more like a bomb site than a place of rest. The pigs’ owner Stan C. Ammeter, has been hit with charges of criminal desecration and maintaining a public nuisance after his 14 pigs dug around headstones and rooted a mine field of craters in the soil.

  • County fails to tax new business

    The owners of Diamond H Fitness Center at 1222 E. Main are in for sticker shock when their next property tax bill arrives in the mail. The business has slipped through cracks since it was built in 2017 and been taxed $484.60 a year — the rate for an empty lot.

  • Decades later, Easter egg tree still delights

    For many decades, an Easter tree has blossomed at the corner of Locust and Denver Sts. in Marion. Debbi Darrow, who now owns the home and decorates the tree, keeps alive a tradition begun by Julia Mullen, the previous owner of the house at 225 Locust St.

  • Surprised buyers imagining what to do with old motel

    Paul Attwater had no intention of buying an out-of-business motel in Florence when he saw a real estate agent’s sign nearby and called to ask about a lot. He was looking for a place to build a storage facility.

OTHER NEWS

  • Effort to opt out early on mask mandate fails

    Although commissioner Kent Becker wanted to kill the county’s mask mandate early, his proposal ultimately got voted down at Monday’s county commission meeting. Becker contended that the number of COVID-19 cases is dropping and that the governor’s existing mask mandate will expire April 1 unless it is extended.

  • 3 houses, 1 lot sold in new addition

    A housing development in progress on the east side of Coble St. in Marion can be seen springing forth with homes. The addition now has one completed house, two under construction, a lot sold where no work has begun, and two lots in contract negotiation.

  • Residents can set vaccine appointments online

    As COVID-19 cases continue to decline, with only one new case reported during the past week, people who want to be vaccinated can now schedule their own appointments by clicking a link on the Marion County website. They also can call the health department at (620) 382-2550. Both Moderna two-dose vaccinations and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) one-dose vaccinations are available. Clinics for Moderna vaccinations will be 9 to 11:30 a.m. April 6, 13, and 20 in Marion. To set an appointment, click on the “Moderna Vaccine Appointment Calendar” on the county website.

  • Laughing to see a lamb in school

    “Mary had a little lamb; its fleece was white as snow. And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go. It followed her to school one day, which was against the rule. It made the children laugh and play to see a lamb at school.” This paraphrase of a familiar nursery rhyme became reality Thursday at Centre Elementary School, except that “Mary” was “Susan,” and the lamb was a “hair” lamb without fleece. Susan and her lamb were invited.

  • Charity auction a record-breaker

    Holy Family Parrish’s charity auction had netted almost $20,000 as of Monday, according to committee member Sam Oborny. She said more might be coming in. “It was a record-breaker,” Oborny said. “The online auction grew a different crowd.”

  • Horse dies in fall out of trailer

    A horse on its way to an Ottawa rescue facility died Monday when it fell out of the open gate of a trailer on US-50 at Union Rd. Fredrick Snow, who operates Lake Georgia-Sue, a horse rescue, rehabilitation, and placement organization, was driving the truck pulling the horse trailer.

  • Area code to be required

    Beginning April 24, callers in 620 and 785 area codes should use the area code when dialing local numbers. Three-digit numbers, such as 911, will remain the same. Linda Beery, spokesman for the Kansas Corporation Commission, said 10-digit dialing will begin April 24 and become mandatory Oct. 24 although telephone companies still will charge local call rates for local calls.

  • Activities will make somebunny happy

    Easter eggs, prizes, and more are planned for this weekend in Hillsboro, Peabody, and Marion. Hillsboro children can hunt Easter eggs at local retailers, collecting eggs with surprises — and some surprises for adults. Information is available at the Chamber of Commerce office today, Thursday, and Friday.

DEATHS

  • Violet Baxter

    Private graveside services will be held for Violet J. Baxter, 90, who died March 25 at St. Luke Living Center in Marion. She was born July 6, 1930, in rural Elyria to Oscar and Olga (Borth) Unruh.

  • Tootsie Schmidt

    Services for Hillsboro resident Mary “Tootsie” Schmidt, 74, who died March 18 at Hillsboro Community Hospital, were held Saturday at Zion Lutheran Church. She was born May 12, 1946, in Hillsboro to Charles and Bernice (Steiner) McDowell.

  • IN MEMORIAM:

    Ricky Boaldin
  • IN MEMORIAM:

    Anna Mae Goertz
  • IN MEMORIAM:

    Audie Magana

DOCKET

OPINION

  • Our number is up

    One of the joys of teaching — or being “in the academy,” as we haughtily are urged to say — is the opportunity it provides to regale college students from time to time with fanciful facts from the Jurassic era, when their professor was growing up. Back in a time when Mr. Peabody’s Way-Back Machine was going full-tilt, folks hereabouts — especially those who worked in downtown businesses — had phone numbers that consisted of just two or three digits.

  • Taxing all credulity

    For many years, one thing Marion County has spared no expense in purchasing products and services designed to detect whenever someone adds a shed, a carport, a swimming pool, or anything else that might increase taxes on any piece of property in the county. It seems all the county needed was a subscription to this newspaper — or a rule requiring employes to keep their eyes open.

  • ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

    Simple reciprocity
  • CORRECTIONS:

    Corrections and clarifications

PEOPLE

  • Student play to be streamed this weekend

    Three one-act plays presented by Hillsboro High School’s theater department can be viewed online this weekend. The show can be watched from 7 p.m. Saturday through 6:59 p.m. Sunday on the website Broadway on Demand.

  • Greenhand team finishes 1st

    A first-year team of Centre FFA members, known as Greenhands, placed first in a South Central District agronomy competition last week. Six individuals placed in the top 10: Leah Brunner, first; Karsen Kroupa, second; Gentri Holub and Allie Stuchlik, tied for fifth; Ellie Smith, seventh; and Payton Svitak, tied for ninth.

  • Honor roll

  • Senior center menus

  • MEMORIES:

    10, 25, 55, 70, 100, 140 years ago

SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

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