40 years ago

february 11, 1981

Three Marion County men, all employees of Beech Aircraft Corp., were killed Feb. 4 in a head-on collision with a large tractor-trailer truck on the Whitewater River bridge at Whitewater.

James Smith, 45, of Marion, Larry J Schwind, 38, of Hillsboro, and James D. Crawford, 57, of Peabody were on their way home from work.

Lonnie Smith, father of James Smith, shocked by the tragic news, suffered an apparent heart attack upon hearing the news. He was rushed to St. Luke Hospital, but was dead on arrival.

Girl Staters who will represent Marion’s American Legion Auxiliary, Kiwanis Club, and banks this spring are delegates Mickey Costello and Loraine and Loreen Wiens. Alternates are Margi Dyck, Debbi Kreutzman, and Melissa Robinson. All are juniors at Marion High School.

Charles Schmidtberger, state fish and game protector, released five adult tom turkeys Thursday evening north of Marion in the Clear Creek area. The release site is the same one used last November where nine hen turkeys were released.

Marion County Appraiser Max Hayen is the subject of this week’s “Personality Profile” by special features writer Ruth Meyer.

Al’s Café in Lost Springs has undergone extensive remodeling and re-opened for business Jan. 29 after being closed for several years. Delora Alvarez and her daughters, Audrey and Theresa, operate the café which features Mexican food.

Many ribbons have been earned by the Marion and Hillsboro PRIDE committees. Hillsboro has now been approved in 12 of 22 areas on its way to Pacemaker II community of Kansas. Marion has now been approved in 16 or 23 areas on its way to Pacemaker II status. Only two other communities have received this distinction. They are Newton and Oberlin.