Marion County RECORD

HEADLINES

City, county scolded over ethics codes
Citizens took two governmental bodies to task Monday over conflict-of-interest questions. Marion City Council was challenged about a council member’s relation to a recently adopted ordinance.
AI to look for guns at Goessel schools
As classes start this week, Goessel schools have deployed an artificial-intelligence gun-detection system. The new security, purchased through a state grant monitors the district’s 35 security cameras for any visible signs of guns, superintendent Scott Boden said.
Little Florence wins big bucks
Florence won $1.275 million for downtown streetscape and pedestrian safety improvements, an unusually large grant for the small Marion County community. The award was among $37.2 million in federal funding announced Monday by Governor Laura Kelly for 33 projects across the state.
Poaching suspects face new felonies
A Hillsboro man and three others accused in a sprawling trophy-deer poaching investigation near the Marion County line now face at least 16 felony charges apiece in Morris County. Morris County Attorney Michelle Brown, who also serves as Marion County attorney, has filed amended complaints Aug. 6 against Hillsboro resident Tyler Dickerson, Michael Bockman, Brody Harrison, and Spencer Harshman.
His ancestors fled Latvia; now he represents it
It instead began with two boxes carried out of Latvia in the middle of the night when the Soviet Army threatened his family’s future. Decades later, that legacy would carry Jirgens from a childhood in rural Marion County to dropping out of Fort Hays State University to finding direction in the Navy, and eventually becoming a dual citizen.

OTHER NEWS

Cancer support group casts about for anglers
A crisp breeze caressed Gregg Armstrong’s face on a quiet mid-October day in 2023 while on the White River near Flippin, Arkansas. “My fishing buddy told me, ‘Trout don’t grow in ugly places,’” he recalled, a rod and reel in his hand.
Medic pensions put Peabody station in limbo
A proposed Peabody ambulance station remains in limbo as county commissioners wrestle with how to pay for and staff it. County administrator Tina Spencer reduced her recommendation for 2027 spending on ambulance personnel because the county is unlikely to have the Peabody station operating next year.
Proposed fire station drives 10.2% tax hike in Hillsboro
Hillsboro property taxes would rise 10.2% next year under a proposed 2027 budget. Nearly all the increase would go toward financing a new fire station. Council members Tuesday set a Sept. 1 hearing on a proposed 40.990-mill city tax rate, up from 38.935 mills this year. The city’s revenue-neutral rate, which would raise the same amount of property tax as this year, is 37.189 mills.
Hillsboro to publish newsletter
Hillsboro will begin publishing its own newsletter next month. The city-produced Hillsboro Happenings will include city reports, notices, events, reminders, a community calendar, and features on city employees and council members; all presumably elected city employees.
Hillsboro housing complex to celebrate opening
A $9.2 million housing development years in the making will celebrate its grand opening Friday in Hillsboro. Mennonite Housing Rehabilitation Services will have a ribbon cutting for its 24-unit Orchard Ridge development at 10 a.m. at 815 Orchard Grove.

DEATHS

Donald Frick
Mass for former Tampa resident Donald Dean Frick, 87, Topeka, who died July 23 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Mater Dei Holy Name Catholic Church, Topeka. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. and Rosary at 10:30 a.m. at the church. Private inurnment will be later at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Tampa.
Cathy Henderson
A memorial service for Cathy Kay Franklin Henderson, 84, Marion, who died Aug. 3 at Newton Medical Center, will be 1 p.m. Aug. 29 at Marion Presbyterian Church. Born Jan. 11, 1942, in Sterling, Colorado, to Gerald and Golda (Fowler) Franklin, she grew up in Nebraska, graduated from Syracuse High School in Kansas in 1960 and from Wesley School of Nursing in 1963. She completed a credential of advanced studies in patient care administration in 1981 from the University of Minnesota, and received a bachelor of science in nursing from Saint Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City in 1985.
IN MEMORIAM:
Michael O'Dell
IN MEMORIAM:
'Tillie' Schafers

FOR THE RECORD

OPINION

A democracy without news is no democracy at all
Initials often initiate conversations. Think IRS, FBI, even acronyms like ICE and NASA. Many resulting conversations are OK. Some are pure BS. But no initials may be as divisive as one particular set: NPR. National Public Radio is dear to many and derided by others. Many regard it among the best, least biased, in-depth news sources in the country — America’s equivalent of BBC. Others think it spews “fake news,” even though many of its liberal supporters occasionally regard it as giving too much credibility to conservative views.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
Happy birthday, patwick!
AMERICA AT 250:
Maintaining dignity and principles through defeat

PEOPLE

Medicare session coming to Marion
If you or a loved one has thought about applying for Medicare, an information session soon will come to Marion. Through the Kansas State Extension Office, Rodney Denholm will answer questions and provide information from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at Marion’s Chisholm Trail Extension District office at 1116 E Main St. Marion County Department of Aging Director Luretta Turk also will speak.
Senior Center menus
MEMORIES:
10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 110, 150 years ago

MORE…

HOVER OVER IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT

Noah Jirgens from Lehigh concentrates on a throw during the Latvian Track and Field Championships in July. His throw of 61.65 meters earned him a gold medal during his first year of competition as a dual citizen.

Regulars at the Marion Senior Center puzzle table George Schutte, 82, who says he's a retired "stinking old farmer" and Clarita Caudill, 84, a retired hair stylist, came Tuesday morning for the mental challenge. And, added Schutie, "for the visitin'" -- which he said "does more good than the food, but the food's good, too." The two were standing for a good long time trying to complete the outer edge of a puzzle.

Participants of Reel Recovery trips are paired with a guide called a "fishing buddy." Gregg Armstrong (back) went on one in 2023 and has now brought the organization to Kansas. "It's hard to imagine how much difference two and a half days of this event can make on you," he said.

A herd of cattle stampedes from their resting spot under a tree at 250th and Diamond Rds. near Lehigh toward the camera. Around 30 cows trotted from their resting spot under a tree in the early-August heat. U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2024 inventory survey estimated there were 60,000 cows in Marion County.

Marion County RECORD

Citizens took two governmental bodies to task Monday over conflict-of-interest questions. Marion City Council was challenged about a council member’s relation to a recently adopted ordinance.

As classes start this week, Goessel schools have deployed an artificial-intelligence gun-detection system. The new security, purchased through a state grant monitors the district’s 35 security cameras for any visible signs of guns, superintendent Scott Boden said.

Florence won $1.275 million for downtown streetscape and pedestrian safety improvements, an unusually large grant for the small Marion County community. The award was among $37.2 million in federal funding announced Monday by Governor Laura Kelly for 33 projects across the state.

A crisp breeze caressed Gregg Armstrong’s face on a quiet mid-October day in 2023 while on the White River near Flippin, Arkansas. “My fishing buddy told me, ‘Trout don’t grow in ugly places,’” he recalled, a rod and reel in his hand.

Hillsboro will begin publishing its own newsletter next month. The city-produced Hillsboro Happenings will include city reports, notices, events, reminders, a community calendar, and features on city employees and council members; all presumably elected city employees.

A $9.2 million housing development years in the making will celebrate its grand opening Friday in Hillsboro. Mennonite Housing Rehabilitation Services will have a ribbon cutting for its 24-unit Orchard Ridge development at 10 a.m. at 815 Orchard Grove.

IN MEMORIAM:

IN MEMORIAM:

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

AMERICA AT 250:

MEMORIES: