BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Marion Reservoir swimming beaches, closed since June 12, will be closed again this week because of toxic blue-green algae.
Fishing and boating are still safe. It also is safe to eat fish caught from the reservoir. However extra precaution should be taken to make sure the fish is rinsed of any reservoir water.
Employees of the Burns City Library didn’t expect to look over their desk and see two naked toddlers standing before them.
Just after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies received a call saying two children had wandered into the library minus clothes and parents.
It did not take long before a border collie-looking dog walking along highway ditches caught animal lover Eileen Sieger’s eye six to eight weeks ago and it is not because of lack of trying that Sieger and several other county residents have not caught the dog.
After more than a month of roaming from US-50 near Florence to K-150 east of Marion, the dog has settled in a building in Grant Cemetery just off K-150. It is there that Sieger and several others have been bringing food, water, and other items for the past two weeks. The dog’s chosen home has sparked its name, Grantly.
Woodrow Crawshaw has had enough.
Appointed April 14, he submitted his resignation as Marion city clerk Monday, effective Aug. 15.
A list of Kansas Department of Transportation grants published Tuesday once again did not include Marion.
Since 2011, PRIDE has been applying for a grant to beautify downtown. Grants have included plans to bury electric cables, to develop a lot between Zimmerman’s and St. Luke Auxiliary Shoppe into a park or paint murals on the sides of buildings, to replace downtown lighting, to redo sidewalks to include bricks or brick stamping, and to perform other improvements.
Eight ragtag teams of county luminaries will butt heads at Marion County Fair, starting July 26, by attempting to fill buckets with as much goat’s milk as the tribe will allow.
Event coordinator Kelli Olson wished she had a tape recording of all the phone conversations she has had with contestants.
A woman parks her car on the lawn to unload groceries on a hot day and leaves it there. A resident with a one-car driveway parks a car beside the driveway to not block a family member, who has to leave early for work. A resident owns four cars and parks them in the front lawn for months on end. Are these problems?
Many Marion residents think yes.
Recent dog-related disturbances at Marion County Park could lead to passage of a leash law, Superintendent Steve Hudson said Monday.
Hudson told county commissioners there have been issues with dogs coming from the lake to the park, where he witnessed a fight, and another dog owned by a lake resident has bitten multiple people.
Tanner Brunner of Ramona is used to the dust and grime of road life. However, despite the constant movement and a horse as a roommate, Brunner said he wouldn’t give up rodeo life.
“I’ve been rodeoing since I could ride from a very young age and I love it,” Brunner said. “After one steer is down I’m always looking on to the next one.”
His step is slower than when he walked the halls of the U.S. Capitol, but the legendary wit and wisdom of former Sen. Bob Dole was as sharp as ever Monday in Marion.
A crowd of about 50 at Marion Community Center paid their respects to the longtime legislator and listened as Dole talked about his career and views about current events.
An advance screening of “God’s Not Dead” will be at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Performing Arts Center in Marion.
The screening will be sponsored by Marion Ministerial Alliance and serve as a fundraiser for the Helping Hands program.
Those driving by the community garden in Florence Wednesday might have noticed several cameras, including one with wings flying around.
A camera crew from Scenic Road Productions was there to film a documentary for the Kansas Health Foundation, from which the Florence Community Garden has received several grants.
Peabody native Ethan Schmidt has spent five years researching and writing a book about a topic in American history never before so completely covered.
Native Americans in the American Revolution looks at the history of Native American tribes and their part in a war most people thought involved only white settlers fighting for freedom from Europe.
Young professionals are invited to an informal mixer to kick off the formation of the Marion Power-Ups chapter at 6 p.m. July 26 at Willy J’s 9th Lane Sports Bar and Arcade.
The purpose of the meeting is to introduce county residents ages 21 to 39 to each other to promote networking.
Old photos unexpectedly pop up everywhere — stashed in boxes in dark closets, slipped between pages of an old yearbook, pasted in long-lost family scrapbooks.
Once the excitement of finding them passes, the finder has to decide what to do with them.
Brothers Randy and Terry Hagen will receive a plaque from Ford on Thursday commemorating 50 years of service and sales at their dealership location in Hillsboro.
Although they haven’t been selling cars for that long, they grew up immersed in automobiles. It’s in their blood.
From a routine oil change to replacing blown transmissions, mechanics periodically diagnose and repair vehicles with any number of problems, some of which can make even the most experienced motorist shiver at the thought.
Brute strength
Taking steps to conserve fuel is a good way for drivers to save money and benefit the environment, but misconceptions abound about how to achieve fuel efficiency.
Drivers and automotive professionals alike share common myths about fuel efficiency that don’t work. The following are some of the more widely held myths about fuel efficiency.
Retired industrial parts salesman David Cowley, 73, of Florence died July 10 at Newton Medical Center.
Services were Monday at Hillcrest Cemetery in Florence.
Harold Jay Keazer, 96, a retired postmaster, retail manager, and for 15 years vice president and district director of the Kansas Babe Ruth baseball league, died Friday at St. Luke Living Center in Marion.
Services were Tuesday at Eastmoor United Methodist Church. Pastor Dan Ferguson officiated.
Former Marion resident John Newcomer died July 8 in Littleton, Colorado.
Services are at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Littleton United Methodist Church, 5894 S. Datura St., Littleton.
Retired police captain and municipal judge Jack Summerville, 89, of Marion died July 10 at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro.
Services were Monday at Valley United Methodist Church. Interment was in Marion Cemetery.
Former Ramona City Council member Alfred Sondergard, 91, died July 13 at Medicalodges of Herington.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ramona. Visitation will be from 7 to 8 tonight at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home in Herington.
IN MEMORIAM:
Frank Stika
Marion’s new reach-for-the-stars city administration may not be off to the most auspicious start, but it’s not yet time to turn their quest for positives into recriminations over negatives.
True, Woody Crawshaw’s resignation means Marion soon will be hiring its seventh city clerk — to go along with three administrators and three development directors — in four years.
It’s odd how you can know little about the details of someone’s life yet feel as if you know them well.
One of my older friends, Jack Summerville, 89, died Thursday. I spent far more time with other men in my parents’ circle of friends than I did with Jack. We played a few rounds of golf together and shared delightful chats at social events when I’d come home during my years away from Marion, but that’s about the sum of our interactions.
The 9/11 memorial mural in Liberty Park is finally getting a long-neglected facelift, thanks to a woman from Durham who volunteered to do it.
KWCH followed up on our story about her Saturday, and the first comment underneath the video on the station’s website was a question about why a Durham woman was fixing a Marion mural: “Where are the Marion citizens?”
I don’t like writing about myself too often. I like to keep my values and ideas inside, because many times personal thoughts and insights mean the most to one individual.
In this case, I feel this best explains why I am leaving. I’m not a journalist.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
Meeting something new
On Tuesday, Dee Duggan of Tampa will turn 80. Her daughters request family and friends shower her with cards in celebration of the event.
Dee and Tom Duggan are long time residents of Tampa and have two daughters, Deb and Darla, and two grandchildren.
The children of Ronald and Delores (Yoakem) VanBuren of Burns request a card shower to honor their 60th wedding anniversary.
Ronald and Delores were married July 3, 1954, in Marion. Together they have four children, Rick of Lawrence, Pam Blackwell of Altamont, Mark VanBuren of El Dorado, and Debbie Ensz of Potwin; 11 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
The 12th bi-annual family reunion of the Frank and Rebecca McHenry Burkholder family was held July 4th and 5th at the home of John and Penny Antoszyk in Marion.
Festivities began July 4th with a barbecue, yard games and fireworks. A meal of pulled pork, baked beans, and desserts was shared on Saturday. Guests reminisced over old photos and remembered relatives past, as well as caught up on current events.
The 85th birthday of Marge Regnier of Marion June 23 will be celebrated with a family dinner on July 20 and a card shower.
Marge and her late husband, Jack, and family moved to Marion from Concordia in 1961 and opened Marion Auto Supply downtown.
A public forum will begin the monthly board meeting of Harvey-Marion County Community Developmental Disability Organization at 4 p.m. Monday at 500 N. Main St., Suite 204, in Newton.
Randy Pankratz of Adrian and Pankratz Law Firm learned the ins and outs of estate, tax, and business planning during a class June 12 and 13 in Indianapolis. Pankratz has been with the firm since 1984, which serves residents in Marion County.
MARION SENIOR CENTER:
Seniors celebrate July FourthMEMORIES:
10,
25,
35,
50,
60,
100,
125 years ago
Six Marion County students were named to the honor roll at the University of Kansas this spring.
They included Jeconiah Spangler of Florence, pharmacy; Taylor Hagen of Hillsboro, liberal arts and sciences; Caroline Collett of Marion, arts; Ernest Nelson of Marion, architecture, design and planning; Alicen Whitaker of Marion, education; and Paige Lewis of Peabody, liberal arts and sciences.
The monthly meeting of Technology Excellence in Education Network is at 6 p.m. July 23 at the USD 408 district office at 101 N. Thorp, Marion.
Members of Tampa Triple T’s will meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Tampa Senior Center to serve a meal for the Tampa Farmer’s Market. A meeting will follow the meal, and members are asked to bring any finished fair projects to display.
Tabor College received a $190,000 fundraising boost Monday in the form of tax credits for donors to the new Center for the Arts.
“Tax credits allow a person or a business to make a contribution to a charity, and by doing so receive credits that reduce their tax liability to the state,” vice president of advancement Ron Braun said.
Hillsboro Swim Team’s first place finish Saturday in the Mid-Kansas League meet marked the first time the team won league in 15 years, coach Stephanie Moss said.
“There’s a new kid on the block, and it’s Hillsboro Swim Team,” she said.
