Marion County RECORD

Reservoir warning lifted; lake warning remains

State health officials have sounded an “all clear” for blue-green algae at Marion Reservoir. The reservoir’s blue-green algae watch was lifted this week after being in either “watch” or “warning” status since June 10.

Unpaid taxes shoot to 3rd straight record

Spurred by mounting debt at bankrupt Hillsboro Community Hospital, delinquent taxes in Marion County have swelled to record levels for a third consecutive year. This week’s public notice of unpaid property taxes, officially printed in the Marion County Record, lists 616 properties as owing more than two-thirds of a million dollars — $683,066.93, up 31.0% from last year.

Delinquent taxes list

Council names city's new fire chief

Preston Williams was officially named Marion fire chief at Monday’s city council meeting. Williams has been with Marion fire department since March 2016 and was on the Ellsworth fire department three years prior to moving to Marion.

High-speed chase leads to arrest of 3

A high-speed chase early Tuesday morning led officers from five agencies through western Marion County and northeast Harvey County. Arrested were Kaitlyn J. Chadwick, 22, Olathe, Nathan C. Jones, 18, South Bend, Indiana, and Shelby Waddle, 27, Downing, Missouri.

Durham Cafe sells,will reopen after flood

A beloved Durham eatery, closed after July 4 flooding, has been sold to new owners who plan to have it open before the holidays. Wendell and Linda Wedel, who operated Main St. Café 24 years, decided it was not worth it to repair and reopen the café after nearly 32 inches of water filled the café at the height of flooding from a 7-inch rain.

Lightning strike, blaze destroys barn

The fire was so bright that Eldon
Wiens thought the sun had risen. He didn’t know his barn had been struck by lightning Thursday morning.

Government commodities at senior centers next week

Government surplus commodities will arrive at senior centers on Aug. 21. Each site will distribute them according to its own schedule and may not distribute on the same day.

Equity firm purchases Eagle

Eagle Communications, based in Hays and with customers throughout Marion County, has been bought by Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR. The acquisition will include Eagle’s Internet broadband services, in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, as well as several radio stations owned by Eagle.

Fundraiser for Eric Bartel is Aug. 24

First Mennonite Church and M.B. Foundation are sponsoring a fundraiser for Eric Bartel on his 35th birthday, Aug. 24. The event will be 4 to 9 p.m. at the church at Grand and Ash Sts. in Hillsboro. It will include a car cruise organized by Wichita Clear Bra, T-shirts for sale, and a smoked pork meal at 5 p.m. in the church’s fellowship hall. To-go meals will be available.

School supply drive has plenty of packs

There were no tears or disappointed faces this year in Marion Activity Center’s ballroom as 73 children collected brand-new backpacks filled with needed supplies. Thanks to the generosity of the effort’s many donors, organizers of Back to School with Backpacks had more than enough for every child Aug. 3 including 20 who showed up without filling out forms in advance, said Jeannie Wildin, a member of the charity’s committee.

TEEN set to meet Aug. 21

The Technology Excellence Education Network will meet at 6 p.m. Aug. 21 at the district office. More information is available by calling Lena Kleiner at 620-877-0237.

Pet rabbits possibly abandoned

A pair of black and white rabbits was reported loose to Marion police, but they might have been turned loose by the owner, police chief Clinton Jeffrey said. “Nobody reported them missing,” he said. “Sometimes, I think people don’t want them anymore and, instead of killing them, just let them go.”

Weatherization help offered to homeowners

A program providing weatherization assistance for low-income homeowners or renters is now being offered by the South Central Kansas Economic Development District. The program was previously administered for the county by a different agency, but has moved to SCKEDD, executive director Steven Wilkinson told county commissioners Monday.

Transfer station sales tax vote in question

A sales tax referendum planned for the ballot in November’s election is now in question. County commissioners learned Monday that the language in legislation to allow the county to collect extra sales tax is a problem.

Weather warnings include reservoir

An emergency notification service used in Marion County has begun issuing alerts when the Army Corps of Engineers lets water out of the dam at Marion Reservoir. Randy Frank, Marion County’s emergency management director, said he has been asked if additional information could be included in messages from the county’s Nixle Community Information Service in the aftermath of flooding that destroyed several Marion county homes.

Districts don't predict Gannon windfall

Although a Supreme Court ruling affirmed that Kansas must provide more money for public education, local school officials aren’t sure the money will make as large an impact as they thought.

Jay Jost

Jay Jost died July 31 at the Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the age of 73. Services will be 10 a.m. Aug. 31, at Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church rural Hillsboro. Jay was born Aug. 18, 1945, in Hillsboro, Kansas to Jake and Selma Jost.

Arthur Klassen

Arthur Klassen, 98, died Aug. 7 at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro. Services were Monday at Hillsboro United Methodist Church. He was born March 12, 1921, to Peter and Marie (Nightengale) Klassen of rural Tampa. He married Drusilla Parrish Oct. 25, 1948, in Marion.

Stella Weidenbener

Stella Ruth (Heath) Weidenbener, 70, died Aug. 5 at her home in Newton. She was born April 12, 1949, in Oklahoma.

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Accidents reported

Civil division cases

County jail arrests and bookings

Criminal division cases

Deeds reported

Domestic division cases

Emergency dispatches

Offenses reported

Police incident reports

Of raccoons and men

Right at sunset each day, my mother’s Alexa smart speaker sounds a brief but annoying tone before announcing: “We interrupt for a bulletin. A raccoon watch has been issued for your back yard. Be prepared by moving your peanuts and corn to a place of safety.” Skipping for a moment the marvels of how technology provides such a warning, the reason it does so is clear: A gaze of raccoons — yes, that’s what a gang of such critters is called — have been pillaging her squirrel feeder as regularly as the moon shines.

Gloating? Not us

You might think we would be gloating this week over the Hillsboro Free Press’s announcement that it no longer will be sent to anywhere near every mailbox in the county. The latest places to be cut off from getting the Free Press for free in the mail will be Burns, Florence, Lincolnville, and Peabody — the third, fifth, sixth, and seventh largest cities in the county (and some of our favorite places for gathering news).

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Three generations of Loewens visit Adobe House

Ten descendants of the builder of the Pioneer Adobe House in Hillsboro met there Friday to tour the 143-year-old home. It was built by Peter Loewen and his wife, Anna Wiebe Loewen, after they came to Kansas from Russia in 1876.

Conyers family has reunion

Fifty-three members of the James and Anna Conyers family recently had a reunion at Snow Mountain Ranch, Granby, Colorado. Attending from Marion were Dorothy Conyers, Keith and Mary Ann Conyers, Rodney and Diana Richmond, and one guest, Carolyn Jones, Metairie, Louisiana.

Hett-Gottstein engagement announced

Don and Dawn Hett of Marion announce the engagement of their son, Quinton Hett, to Jenny Gottstein of Lawrence. Steve and Terri Gottstein of Lawrence are her parents.

Prairie View employee promoted

Prairie View employee Amber Peterson was named office coordinator for the Hillsboro office Tuesday. Peterson has worked with the Prairie View since 2013 as a financial counselor and receptionist.

Democrats to meet

Marion County Democrats will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Hillsboro Scout House in the park. The speaker will be Sage TeBeest, chairman of 1st Congressional District Democrats. She will update the group on the Democratic presidential primary in May 2020.

Accounting firm named to top 200

For the fifth consecutive year, the public accounting firm Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball was named one of the top 200 in the U.S. according to INSIDE Public Accounting. Firms ranked between 101 and 200 are credited with generating $19.2 million to $39 million in revenue for 2019. ABBB, which has an office in Hillsboro, rose from 174 in 2018 to 165 out of 200 in 2019.

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Pair of rabbits provide comfort for seniors

Residents of Parkside Homes in Hillsboro have special critters to cuddle. The home has two rabbits, a mini Rex rabbit named Snickers, and a dwarf satin Rex named Brownie.

Senior centers serve up more than just meals

Senior centers serve noon meals to their clients, but they also provide social interaction and many special services that support good health. At Hillsboro, musicians have a jam session every second Thursday, and every third Thursday is a sing-along. Seniors play dominoes every Monday after lunch and Bingo every Wednesday after lunch.

Veteran finds new mission after service

John Siebert’s Navy Seals graduating class will celebrate its 50th anniversary by remembering old friends and celebrating a lifetime of service. “We’re going to have some remembrances for our teammates who didn’t make it back,” he said. “It’s going to be a party, but it’s more than that.”

Marion's new teachers look forward to year

Jason Hett always knew he wanted to return to Marion as an athletic director or teacher. “Getting into education, I always envisioned myself back in Marion,” he said. “I didn’t know it was going to be this soon, but I always envisioned teaching and coaching, and giving back to the community I grew up in.”

Centre schools welcome three teachers

Centre schools have three new teachers this year but just two new faces. Tim Vinduska Tim Vinduska has been involved in Centre schools since before he graduated from Centre High School in 2014.

Centre's school board reports preliminary enrollment figures

Preliminary 2019-20 enrollment numbers for Centre were reported as follows at Monday’s board meeting: preschool, 6; kindergarten, 12; first grade, 10; second grade, 6; third grade, 14; fourth grade, 9; fifth grade, 12; sixth grade, 15; seventh grade, 11; eighth grade, 26; freshmen, 10; sophomores, 15; juniors, 21; and seniors, 17, for a total of 184 students. Final numbers will be determined Sept. 20.

Centre's FFA instructor participates in Tallgrass Prairie Fireworks training

Centre FFA instructor Laura Klenda attended teacher training July 31 to Aug. 1 near Milford. She learned how to create lesson plans, student activities, and hands-on demonstrations for instilling fire education about prescribed burning in her agricultural education classroom.

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