Marion County RECORD

Crop dusters turn heads upward

Gordon and Judy Pendergraft look up every time they hear a plane flying overhead. The couple, who lives near the airport runway at Marion County Park and Lake, has a special interest in planes as they are both retired from Beachcraft. Judy even used to pilot for the company. Lately, several yellow crop dusting planes have captured their interest with heightened activity from dawn to dusk at the airport. Flying for Ag Service out of rural Hillsboro, the yellow planes are spraying fungicide on area wheat fields to kill and prevent yield-lowering diseases.

Music, food will be highlight of Chingawassa

Concerts and meals are always the high points of Chingawassa Days in Marion, and this year will be no different. For the first time, Chingawassa will have two concerts with hit musical acts, starting June 7 with contemporary country star Joe Nichols and continuing June 8 with 1990s rock band FireHouse.

Morel mushrooms bigger than ever

Last year Sherry Hess of Marion felt lucky to find a few average to small size morel mushrooms during prime April and May fungi hunting season. This year, she and other fanciers are finding bigger than ever mushrooms, likely due to the extreme weather conditions experienced in the area. “We’ve found really big ones, tall ones this year,” Hess said. “Some were as tall as an adult hand.”

Refinancing is the plan for Arlie's building

Marion City Council approved a refinancing plan for 828 N. Roosevelt St., formerly Arlie’s Paint, Body, and Glass. The council chose the lease/purchase plan from Central National Bank on a 20-year amortization and an interest rate of 3.25 percent. The origination fees will be $3,000. The monthly payment on the project would be $1,339.

School drug policy considered

Marion/Florence school board members questioned the value of continuing middle school and high school drug testing, especially for nicotine. The district randomly tests a few students every week. This year about 200 students were tested, and 15 tested positive for nicotine — the active chemical in tobacco. Two students tested positive for marijuana.

Couple searches for way out of poverty

Richard and Amy McVey of Marion know they are living in poverty. They also want to get out of poverty. That is why they accepted the invitation to join the first leadership class organized by Circles of Marion County. They attended all 15 weekly sessions in which they shared with others in similar circumstances and learned ways of coping and improving their lives.

Eula L. Colle

Eula L. Colle was born Sept. 12, 1921, on a farm south of Valley Falls, Kan. Her parents were Walter and Pearl White Tosh. Eula was the second of four daughters; her sisters were Lora, Marjorie, and Wanda. When Eula was 5, her father died and Eula’s mother and the girls lived with their grandparents. Eula’s mother remarried to Melvin Irwin in 1930 and the family grew to 10 children.

Robert Finley

Robert Finley, 83, of Herington died May 8 at Medicalodges in Herington. He was born May 20 1929 at Brookings South Dakota the son of the Rev S. Ben and Fern B. (Judd) Finley.

Irvin D. Schroeder

Irvin D. Schroeder, 90, of Hillsboro died Tuesday at Parkside Home in Hillsboro. He was born July 23, 1922, to Peter D. and Katherine (Kim) Schroeder in rural Buhler. He is survived by a son, Bruce D. Schroeder of rural Hillsboro; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Theodore 'Ted' Allen Stutzman

Theodore “Ted” Allen Stutzman, 72, died May 12 in Peabody. He was born to Theo Grace (Allen) Lawler and Walter Jacob Stutzman on Feb. 17, 1941, in Peabody. He graduated from Newton High School in 1959 and served four years in the U.S. Air Force. He worked as a train dispatcher for the Santa Fe Railroad.

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Manufacturer asks county about tax breaks

Rolland Boesker of Burns asked county commissioners about possible tax breaks for a proposed manufacturing business. Ridder Industries wants to manufacture equipment to convert water into hydrogen gas, which has industrial uses and can be used as an alternative fuel. The company, based in Burns, is considering Burns and Florence as possible locations.

Tampa approves sewer pump

Jeff Enlow of Florence and Don Beisel attended the May 6 Tampa City Council meeting to propose an upgrade to the sewer lift station. Only one of two pumps is working. Council members agreed that parts of the lift station are old and may begin to break down. They approved the upgrade at a cost of $34,000.

Part 5 of serialization

Msgr. Arthur Tonne, a prolific author, came to St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church in Pilsen to write this 1954 biography of Father Emil Kapaun, who recently posthumously won the Congressional Medal of Honor and is under consideration for sainthood. Excerpts from “

Home parish presented struggles

“We the undersigned committee of the St. John Nepomucene Church in Pilsen humbly petition your Excellency for this favor: We would greatly appreciate and consider it a favor if your Excellency would leave Rev. E. J. Kapaun, our present administrator, as a permanent pastor of our parish unless your Excellency has already made a different assignment. There are peculiar circumstances and needs of our community which require proper handling of our people. We consider this appointment would redound to our parish’s good and to the service of the whole diocese. In the name and wish of our parish membership we have undertaken this step. “We assure your Excellency of our filial respect and obedience to whatever your decision may be.”

Time for tobacco testing to go

In recent years, state and national education policy-makers have placed too much emphasis on testing, testing, testing. Wisely, the USD 408 school board is considering cutting one type of testing that is under its control: random drug testing for nicotine. Make no mistake, tobacco use is a harmful, dangerous habit that we should discourage teenagers from picking up. Fortunately, for whatever reason — higher taxes on cigarettes, better education about the awareness of smoking, or some other reason — smoking among teenagers has been declining. A 2012 survey of 45,000 teenagers showed 10.6 percent were smokers, a record low.

A wonderful sight to see

A couple dozen volunteers showed up at the Marion post office Saturday morning to collect donations for the Marion County Emergency Food Bank. It was great to see so many people show up, and from so many different sources. I was joined by a few of my fellow Kiwanians. There were some Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. And there were some people who came simply because of community spirit. There were children, parents, and retirees in the group.

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Work to begin on U.S. 77

U.S. 77 will be overlaid between K-256 east of Marion all the way to the north city limit of El Dorado starting today. The highway will receive a .75 inch mill and 1.5 inch overlay. Flaggers and a pilot car will handle traffic control. There will be a 10-inch width restriction. The construction zone will be in effect during daylight hours. Delays up to 15 minutes may occur.

NEO meets in Burns

Fifteen members of the Neo-Century Club met May 6 at Arleeta Koehn’s restaurant in Burns for its annual dinner meeting. Suzanne Thole installed the following officers for 2013-14: Shirley Carlson, president; Val Morgan, vice president; Lenore Dieter, secretary-reporter; and Donna Fruechting, treasurer.

CDDO to meet Monday

The Board of Directors
of the Harvey-Marion County Community Development Disability Organization will hold its regular monthly meeting at 4 p.m. Monday. The meeting will be held in the office at 500 N. Main St., Suite 204, in Newton.

Sales kick-off library plans

Marion City Library’s book and plant sales last month kicked off fundraising efforts for the library’s new addition. While project plans haven’t been finalized, librarian Janet Marler said the $1,500 raised will help kick start the project.

Ceramics by Stultz part of exhibit

Functional and sculpted ceramics by Grady Stultz are part of the annual senior art exhibit at Bethel College May 3 to 19 in the Fine Arts Center Gallery. Items showcased by Stultz include a three-tiered relaxation fountain, and assorted bowls, plates, and cups.

County represented at sampler festival

Despite snow and cold, windy conditions during the setup week, the Kansas Sampler Festival weekend brought sunshine and 4,500 people to Liberal’s Light Park. More than 100 Kansas communities were represented through tourism booths, Kansas products, historic performers, musicians, and food vendors.

Girl sells plants to help family adopt

Ella Tracy of rural Goessel is a small girl with a big heart for others. At eight years of age, she has already made hundreds of bookmarks and sold them to raise money for a special project. Now she is selling extra strawberry plants to support family friends wanting to adopt an international child. “We have all these extra strawberry plants and I just wanted to do something with them,” she said. “At first I thought I would sell them for money for myself, but then I remembered this family from church that wants to adopt a child and I knew I wanted to give all the money I could make to help them get their boy home.”

Juniors headed to state competition

Marion High School juniors Amanda Stuchlik and Jared Hague will be going to Girls’ and Boys’ State at Washburn University in Topeka. Girls’ State is June 3 through 7. Boys’ state is June 9 through 15.

Former car dealer passes away

Irvin “Irv” Schroeder, former owner of Irv Schroeder County Motors, died Tuesday at Parkside Home in Hillsboro. Lyle Ediger, now general sales manager at Midway Motors, began working with Schroeder in 1978 and worked with him until his retirement more than a decade ago.

Card shower planned for Boese

The family of Ann Boese requests a card shower this week in honor of her 90th birthday. Please send cards to her at 203 N. Roosevelt, Marion, 66861.

Bernhardt to celebrate 90th birthday

Lucille Bernhardt of Lost Springs will celebrate her 90th birthday. She was born May 25, 1923, in Marion County to Henry and Esther (Yaekel) Schick. She married Ezra Bernhardt on Oct. 6, 1940, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ramona. They were married for more than 46 years. Her children are Patricia (Roger) Turner of Salina, Barbara (wife of the late Leland) Bernhardt of Lost Springs, Max (Kathy) Bernhardt of Jackson, Ga., and Judy (Steve) Kill of rural Lincolnville. She has several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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Centre school board hears about math

Centre Junior High School math teacher Angela Basore and three of her students — Grace Peterson, Cole Srajer, and Hannah Peterson — gave a presentation Monday to the Centre board of education on how Common Core standards are being applied to math instruction in their classroom. “Common Core is more challenging and requires critical thinking,” Basore said.

Gusts don't stop gusto for agriculture

Storm clouds and blowing winds put a damper on the annual FFA Ag Awareness Day activities last Wednesday, but did little to stop the members’ determination to inform elementary children about livestock, crops and machinery. Junior Caitlyn Maloney faced the full brunt of the weather conditions as she instructed groups of area third-grade students. She said she didn’t mind the weather and was pleased that the event didn’t get canceled — again.

Maag inducted into PTK

Kerry Maag of Marion has been inducted into the Alpha Phi Alpha Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at Butler Community College. The induction ceremony was Feb. 24. Maag was among 182 spring inductees. To be eligible, she was required to have a minimum 3.5 grade-point average.

Students sponsor food drive at Centre

Members of the Centre High School chapter of the National Honor Society sponsored a unique food drive May 8. Students were asked to bring non-perishable items to school and stack them in classroom doorways. If a doorway was completely blocked, students with classes in those rooms did not have class.

Centre students place at state forensics

Several Centre High School students received top ratings May 4 at the state forensics festival at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. Those receiving a I rating were: Kevin Lewis, humorous solo; Cassy Thompson, humorous solo; and Ally Basore, informative speaking.

Exchange students bring cultures to Centre

Three exchange students attended Centre High School this year. They brought exposure to a variety of cultures. Sueleha Mustafa

Ag communications team takes fourth at state

The Centre High School agricultural communication team placed fourth out of 24 teams at the Kansas State University Kansas FFA State Career Development Events. The team consisted of Ty Simons, Nellie Kassebaum, and Kevin Lewis. Simons also placed seventh individually in agricultural communications.

Centre students tour cadaver lab

Six Centre High School students recently toured Cloud County Community College’s cadaver lab and biology department in Concordia. Teacher Cindy Riedel accompanied students Timothy Stuchlik, Anna Weber, Ellie Miller, Bryanna Svoboda, Amy Makovec, and Sualeha Mustafa.

Goentzel is Governor's scholar

At a ceremony May 5 in Topeka, Governor Sam Brownback recognized Elizabeth Goentzel of Marion as a Governor’s Scholar. She is among the top academic one percent of Kansas high school seniors.

Resource center keeps people in homes

Need help to stay at home or return home from a care facility? Need help with learning skills to live independently, such as washing clothes, cooking, or budgeting money? Need help with using a computer, finding a house to rent, or obtaining transportation or medical equipment? Macy Gaines of the Resource Center for Independent Living can help.

Report abuse before it is too late

Small communities are more likely to have a higher rate of hidden elder abuse — a reality that makes Paul Shipp of Kansas Legal Services sit up and take notice. “It’s hard because they don’t want to report whoever is abusing them,” he said. “It’s usually a child or a spouse — someone they count on, someone that knows that they need them so they can remain independent.”

Service dogs extend partners

Eight years ago, Nanette Lowry of Marion had no interest in getting a service dog, despite a hip problem that occasionally sent her tumbling to the floor. She finally changed her mind after falling three times in a single day in front of her students. When she got Astro, a blockhead lab, and trained him, she was amazed by how much more she could do. “The independence, self-assurance that I can do it, that we can do it,” she said.

Simons leads Centre track team

Cacey Simons was the only Centre track team member to earn a first-place finish Friday at the league meet in Goessel. She won high jump by clearing the rod at 4 feet and 6 inches. Her twin brother, Ty, placed second in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 16.9 seconds.

Warriors turn tables on Halstead, advance to state

A week after being swept by Halstead, the Marion Warriors got revenge on the Dragons by defeating them 9-8 in the regional finals Tuesday at Hillsboro. The victory earned the team a trip to the state baseball tournament. It is the Warriors’ first regional baseball championship.

Warrior boys win league track meet

The Marion Warriors boys’ track and field team won the Heart of America League on Friday at Bethel College in North Newton. The throwers piled up points for the Warriors, contributing 47 of the team’s 131 points. Kyle Palic won discus and javelin with throws of 138 feet, 11 inches, and 155-7; he also placed fourth in shot put, 41-11.

Lovelady qualifies for state golf

Hogan Lovelady of Marion scored 87 points at the regional golf tournament Monday, qualifying him to go to the state competition. “(He) qualified for state by staying out of trouble and keeping the ball between the roughs and out of the water,” coach Thane Schwartz said.

Softball team meets goals

The Marion softball team didn’t get a hit in their regional first-round game Monday against Riley County, losing 11-0 to the lower-seeded Falcons. The start of the game was promising, with the team not allowing a hit in the first inning and Balee Shiplet leading off with a walk. But the Warriors never got a runner into scoring position, while the Falcons built an 8-0 lead after three innings.

62 score wins golf tournament

Thirteen teams and 52 players participated in the annual Marion High School Coaches Scholarship Program Golf Tournament on May 4. The scholarship program has awarded $14,250 in scholarships to Marion High School athletes. Tournament RESULTS First flight, first place — score of 62 Bill Lundy, Aaron Hett, Lindsay Hett, and Kevin Burkholder. First flight, second place — score of 65 Lois Smith, John Wilson, Tim Christensen, and Bernie Waner. First flight, third place — score of 66 Gerald Henderson, Tom Vernon, Don Hague, and Bill Sailor. Second flight, first place — score of 70 Jerry Smith, Shaun Craft, Brendan Kraus, and Lucas King. Second flight, second place — score of 70 Charlie Unruh, Dave Schrag, Bryan Hess, and Wayne Hoffman. Second flight, third place — score of 70 Chris Costello, Herschel Crainer, Don Bredemeier, and Jake Bredemeier. Special hole prizes Hole no. 1 longest drive — Lindsay Hett. Hole no. 2 closest to the marker — Gerald Henderson. Hole no. 3 closest to the pin — Lindsay Hett. Hole no. 8 longest putt — Charlie Pankratz. Hole no. 9 closest to the pin — Wayne Hoffman.

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