BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Marion County will be divided between two Kansas House of Representative districts after a panel of three federal judges issued new legislative district maps late Thursday. The county was the population center of its legislative district, but it will not be the population center in either of the districts it has been split into. Previously the 70th District encompassed all of Marion and Chase counties and a northern portion of Butler County. With the new map, the 70th District will include all of Dickinson County, a small southwestern portion of Clay County, and roughly the northern half of Marion County, excluding Hillsboro. J. Robert Brookens of Marion is the incumbent in the district and has filed for reelection.
Three day-care providers are closing their doors in Marion. Teresa Cady has moved to Salina. After 13 years as a day-care provider, Mary Rogers is going to work in Salina in the legal field; her last day of day-care is June 18. She is putting her degree in legal administration into use. Rogers usually had about six children under her care at any given time. “It’s tough to leave the kids,” Rogers said. “I had some great parents and some great kids, but I decided to do something different.”
A potential Family Dollar store in Marion landed on a report that store district manager Chris Ammerman received this month. Once a location ends up on this report, he said Tuesday, it becomes likely Family Dollar will open a store there.
A wily, cantankerous bronco sent Ethan Wessel of Marion sprawling into the arena dirt Friday in the Flint Hills Rodeo in Strong City, frustratingly short of the eight seconds he needed for a score. Wessel got up, brushed himself off and walked out of the arena. It was an unremarkable scene that plays out multiple times at every rodeo.
As of May 31, both Marion County Lake and Marion Reservoir are under advisory from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for blue-green algae. Officials at both lakes are working to prevent cyanobacteria blooms in the future.
Weather changes do not keep wheat from moving in Marion County, it just moves in different ways. Hot, dry conditions inspired an early start to wheat harvest Memorial Day weekend, but several rainy days followed last week, shutting combines down in the fields but not trucks hauling grain out from elevators around the county. Cari Tippin, scale house worker at Cooperative Grain & Supply in Hillsboro, said on Friday that activity at the weigh station really slowed down when rain fell in the area.
Chingawassa Days 2012 was neither an enormous success nor anything approaching a failure financially, Chingawassa Days Committee Chairman Mike Powers said Monday. Final figures weren’t available because some bills were still coming, but it appeared to be a break-even year, he said.
They may have been old, most of them antiques, but 10 vintage tractors had enough get up and go Sunday to take their drivers from Brooker Central Park in Marion to Marion County Park and Lake and back again in the Great Kansas Antique Tractor Ride, the culminating event of Chingawassa Days. Greg Bowers got the idea for the event through a combination of reading and personal friendships.
Harold B. Jost, 97, of Hillsboro died May 30 at Salem Home in Hillsboro. He was born Oct. 30, 1914, in Hillsboro to John R. and Helena Baerg Jost. He was city clerk of Hillsboro.
Paul G. Reznicek was born July 22, 1920, in Irving, Kan., and departed May 22, 2012, in Littleton, Colo. He is survived by 5 children, 8 grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Paul was preceded in death his by wife of 59 years, Cecilia, and son, David. Paul was the son of Thomas Reznicek and Antonie Pallas Reznicek. He was the last survivor of their 12 children and their spouses. Paul served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and was interred at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver.
If Marion residents have noticed a smell from elevated chlorine levels in the city water supply as part of an annual maintenance “burnout” of the system, they haven’t been complaining to city hall. “We haven’t gotten any calls,” City Administrator Doug Kjellin said. “I haven’t heard much at all.”
With all of the architectural plans and with the jail about a month away from completion, the communications tower and antennas for Marion County Dispatchers was forgotten until Thursday. “The ball just got dropped,” Marion County Emergency Management Director Dan D’Albini said. “A piece of equipment was overlooked. I’m just the messenger.”
“How much are you willing to pay for our trash?” Marion County Commission Chairman Dan Holub asked Thrusday. The comment was only partially in jest because John Waltner and Roy Patton of Harvey County Waste Department brought a proposal to the commission to convert municipal solid waste into electricity.
Marion County government will be filled mostly with familiar faces in 2013 unless write-in candidates seek election. The deadline for candidates to file for county elected positions was noon Friday, and none of the races had more than one candidate file, and for all but one race, the incumbent was the only candidate.
Not since the heady days of the original Chingawasa Resort — the hot sulphur baths and narrow-gauge railway that brought droves of tourists 130 years ago — has Marion been better poised to become a recreational and artistic destination. This past weekend’s Chingawassa Days (with two S’s, instead of the original’s one) once again proved how a small but dedicated band of volunteers can create an annual event rivaling the best of what big cities offer while retaining the welcoming charm and peace of mind that only a small town can offer.
A reader — and subject of a recent story — informed the newspaper late last week that she had received a couple of phone solicitations trying to sell her a plaque with a copy of the article featuring her. It isn’t the first time I’ve heard of such a sales pitch — we’ve received a few e-mails at the newspaper making similar offers — but this is the first time I’ve heard of phone calls with the sales pitch. With third parties now using more aggressive methods to push their plaques, I want to clear the air: Hoch Publishing Company and this newspaper have not given permission to any company to sell plaques with our articles on them. No company has even asked for permission.
Life is good at 50. On a typical day, I would get up about 6 a.m., have morning coffee with my husband, and watch the morning news. I would then see my husband off to work, tidy up the house a bit, have a little breakfast, then head to my good friend Judy’s house for our morning coffee and girl talk. Sometime between 8:30 and 9, I would head into work. My husband and I enjoy walking each night, camping in our little travel trailer, bluegrass music, and relaxing. I like my little Sunday afternoon naps while my husband is watching racing or some classic western on television.
The Navajo United Methodist Center and New Beginnings work camp is Aug. 4 through 11 for sixth grade youth and adults. Eastmoor United Methodist Church in Marion is organizing a trip to Farmington, N.M. Fees are $150 per person per Work Camp week.
The Navajo United Methodist Center and New Beginnings work camp is Aug. 4 through 11 for sixth grade youth and adults. Eastmoor United Methodist Church in Marion is organizing a trip to Farmington, N.M. Fees are $150 per person per Work Camp week plus $150 for travel.
Marion Girl Scouts organizations will have summer camp Tuesday through June 14 at Marion County Park and Lake. For the Brownies and Daisies, camp will be from 3:30 to 9 p.m. each day, with the third-grade Brownies having an overnight campout the final night. Juniors, Cadettes, and Seniors will camp from 3:30 p.m. until about 8 a.m. the next morning.
Marion Senior Center will distribute U.S. Department of Agriculture food commodities from 12:30 to 4 p.m. June 15 and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday starting June 18. Commodities are available to people meeting income guidelines. The maximum income for a one-person household to receive commodities is $1,211 per month. That increases to $1,640 for a household of two, $2,069 for three, $2,498 for four, and by $429 for each additional family member.
Wichita priest Eric Weldon organized the first Father Emil Kapaun pilgrimage four years ago as a spiritual journey, a time for participants to reflect on their relationship with God. “You’re physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained. You ask the Lord to fill you up,” he said. “Life is a journey.”
A water quality test result in June 2011 in Marion showed unacceptable levels of coliform bacteria, but a subsequent test showed the original test was a false positive, Marion Utilities Superintendent Marty Fredrickson said Tuesday after the release of the city’s annual water testing report. The sample was taken from an outdoor spigot at Marion City Library, which likely hadn’t been used for quite a while before the test, Fredrickson said. A retest was done after the water lines around the spigot had the old water flushed out. The retest results came back clean, he said.
Marion PRIDE will have a public meeting to discuss a downtown beautification project the organization is undertaking in partnership with the City of Marion. The meeting will be at noon June 18 at the Marion City Library.
Jane Makovec of Marion will celebrate her 90th birthday with a brunch from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday at St. Mark’s Activity Center, 415 N. Cedar St., Marion, following 8:30 a.m. Mass. Her family and friends invite people unable to attend the brunch to send cards to her at 1500 E. Lawrence St. Apt. 2C, Marion, KS 66861.
The 116th Florence Alumni Banquet was May 26 at the Florence Gymnasium with 134 alumni, guests, and teachers attending. The banquet included guests all the way back to the class of 1943. Special recognition was given to the classes of 1947, 1952, 1957, and 1962, all seated at the head table, as well as 1967.
For the first time in seven years Holy Family Parish in Marion County will have a new priest. With the regular rotation of the Wichita diocese, Father Hien Nguyen will become the priest for St. Joseph Church in McPherson and St. Bridget of Sweden in Lindsborg.
A lot has changed in Rodney Williams’ life since he opened Williams Service in 1962. He married his wife, Twilah, started a family, moved the business, expanded it, then scaled back operations, all while semi truck technology has changed dramatically. One thing that has been steady for more than 40 of the 50 years he has been in business is his desk calculator. “It still adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides,” he said Monday.
BIRTH:
David Anton EnszCORRESPONDENTS:
Marion Assisted Living,
Marion Senior CenterMEMORIES:
10,
25,
35,
50,
60,
100,
125 years ago
Marion-Florence The Marion-Florence FFA chapter scored high ratings at the Kansas FFA Conference held May 30 to June 1 in Manhattan.
Jerry and Sheila Thouvenell felt there was no other option. They never had a second thought. The couple is in the process of adopting their three granddaughters. The girls, ages 9, 7, and 6 are affectionately known as the flower girls — their names are Lilly, Rose, and Daisy. Adoption has been a tedious process. Sheila said they are through the first stage; hopefully they will be the girls’ adoptive parents by this coming fall.
Rannie Schmidt, 80, of rural Goessel is a team player. From his basketball playing days at Goessel High School in the late 1940s to his current occupation as maintenance and custodial worker at Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church, Schmidt enjoys the team-concept in all aspects of his life. “I really enjoy my work here at the church,” Schmidt said. “I like to mow, and I like the camaraderie of working with Phyllis and Harold.”
Mid-America Youth Basketball’s Summer Kickoff tournament, based in Newton, is Friday through Sunday. The tournament will have its ninth- and 10th-grade boys division in Hillsboro and Marion. Games will be played at USD 408 Sports and Aquatics Center, Marion Elementary School, Hillsboro High School, and Tabor College.
Marion High School junior pitcher Ethan Hett and sophomore outfielder Taylor Heidebrecht were named to the Heart of American League first-team baseball team by league coaches. Six Warrior players earned all-league honors, including second-team members Grif Case, Austin Pederson, and Dylan Seacat, and honorable-mention recipient Cole Lewman.