HEADLINES

  • Zoning board strikes new radio tower

    The Marion Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday revoked a July administrative decision giving the county the go-ahead to construct an emergency communications tower at the new jail. The board concluded that City Administrator Doug Kjellin exceeded his authority by unilaterally approving the alteration of the conditional use permit. The board did not discuss the matter in open public session, restricting their deliberations to two executive sessions. As a quasi-judicial entity, the board is exempt from the Kansas Open Meetings Act, according to Kansas statute.

  • Treatment uses old principles

    The fourth day of deer hunting season last fall was good to Don Vinduska of Lincolnville and his hunting partners. “For some reason, everybody shot a deer that evening,” Vinduska said.

  • Illegal dumping causes eyesores

    Marion County Sheriff Robert Craft does not think trash dumping in the county is a problem. However, considering it took more than three weeks to get information from a reported illegal trash-dumping incident reported by a property owner at Eagle Road and 170th, that is not surprising. On Aug. 20, Marion County property owner Daniel Tucker of Junction City reported that someone dumped a load of trash on his property southwest of Hillsboro.

  • Circles of Hope grad gives back with music

    If life were a song, Sherie Klassen formerly of rural Goessel, would have no trouble reading the notes and making beautiful music. The talented 34-year-old musician has been doing that since she was old enough to walk, often performing flute and piano pieces at church and social functions. Life is not a song to be played however, and two years ago Klassen found herself struggling to deal with a disability, overburdened with debt, and alone. Circles of Hope of Harvey County gave her a way up and out of the cycle of poverty that had become her constant companion.

  • Survey to begin for roundabout

    Kansas Department of Transportation will begin conducting surveys around the intersection of U.S. 77, U.S. 56, and K-150 today to gather information needed for the detailed design of a proposed roundabout. Bill Haverkamp of Topeka will head the survey crew, of about four people, which will measure both roadways and the surrounding topography to find out if earth needs to be added or subtracted for the truck lanes planned around the roundabout. Utilities and residences will also be recorded and included in the detailed drawings to be sent to engineers, KDOT engineer Joe Palic said. Palic added that the crew will conduct a complete survey for the highways about a mile in each direction.

  • Trombonist plays Taps in memory of 9/11

    The low murmur of approximately 200 voices stilled as someone whistled for attention, and a palpable wave of admiration, respect, and awe swept through the crowd of teachers and students Tuesday morning. All eyes were on Larry Cushenbery, retired Wichita Fire Department Honor Guard bugler as he marched crisply into place near the half-mast U.S. flag in front of the Hillsboro High School. With precise movements, Cushenbery brought a gleaming bronze trombone to his lips. It was a moment in time, a time to remember, a ceremony to memorialize the day 11 years ago that thousands of American citizens lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of 9/11. In the silence, Cushenbery took several deep breaths and began to play the somber melodious notes that sent shivers deep into the souls of those listening.

DEATHS

  • Marvin Paul Bezdek

    Marvin Paul Bezdek, 63, Ponca City, Okla., passed away Tuesday, August 14, 2012, at the V.A. Care Facility in Clinton, Okla. He was born Dec. 30, 1948, in Marion, Kan., the son of Valerian “Jerry” Bezdek and Margaret (Pientka) Bezdek. They preceded him in death. Marvin served in the U.S. Navy from May 20, 1968, until his honorable discharge on July 2, 1975, aboard the submarine USS Will Rogers SSBN 659 as a missile technician. His decorations and medals included the National Defense Service Medal and First Good Conduct Award for period ending April 21, 1975.

  • James A. Goddard

    James A. “Jim” Goddard, son of Otto O. and Irene (Poland) Goddard, was born May 21, 1945, in Marion, Kan. He passed from his earthly life on Saturday Sept. 1, 2012, at the age of 67 in the Via Christi St. Francis Hospital Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice Inpatient Unit. in Wichita, Kan. He married Belita A. Winchester on Nov. 15, 1964, in Maize, Kan. Jim was a retired police officer for the city of Peabody, Kan.

  • Gerald Hurt

    Gerald Hurt, 80, of Florence died Monday at his home. He was born Nov. 1, 1931, in Council Grove to Harold and Mamie Smith Hurt. He was a U.S. Navy veteran and a retired electrical engineer. He had lived in Florence since 1992.

  • F. Glenn Phinney

    F. Glenn Phinney, 83, of Overland Park died Sept. 4 in Merriam. He was born Nov. 23, 1928, in Belleville to Eugene and Beulah (Stephens) Phinney. Glenn graduated from Hutchinson High School. He worked for Kansas Department of Transportation for more than 50 years at Hutchinson, Salina, Marion, and Olathe. He was the longest-tenured employee in the history of the state of Kansas at the time of his retirement in 1994.

  • Mary Carolyn Wheeler Schuh

    Mary Carolyn Wheeler Schuh, 77, of Tucson, Ariz., known to most as Mary Schuh, a well-known “Watch Dog” on public spending of taxes passed away on Aug. 25, 2012. Her death has been a shock to a wide circle of friends and the community she was so active and interested in. Mary C. Wheeler was born Aug. 30, 1934, in Newton, the daughter to Dr. James Albert and Elizabeth Maxson Wheeler. Mary was raised with her brother James in the Newton area where she became an accomplished horse rider and competitive expert marksman with the .22 rifle.

DOCKET

EXPLORE

  • More to pottery than imagined

    When most people think of making pottery, the first thing they think of is a potter’s wheel, but there is so much more to it than that. “I like working with the clay itself, but the throwing is just a tiny fraction of what I do,” said potter Paula Barta of rural Marion.

  • Artist turns clay into castles

    Ideally, Lynn Unruh would spend all day, every day in her home studio, turning clay into creative castles, fairy houses, or toad abodes. As it is, she is grateful for just a few hours here and there to spend crafting, time stolen away from running errands and taking care of the guest house she and husband Charlie operate near the north shore of Marion Reservoir. “I love gardening too,” Unruh said. “But I needed some garden art to fill the weak spots. I started making toad houses, then moved into fairy houses, and eventually castles.”

  • Artist polishes passion for jewelry

    Painting watercolors and sewing have been lifelong pursuits for Emma Ehart of Hillsboro. “I’ve always done art most of my life,” she said Sunday.

  • Class reunions revitalize Old Settlers' Day

    This year’s Old Settlers’ Day, Sept. 29 in Marion, will be the 101st iteration of the event. Any event with that long of a life has times when it waxes and wanes, and Casey Case of Marion Kiwanis — organizers of Old Setters’ Day — remembers a time when Old Settlers’ Day got an infusion of new energy. Case estimated it was in the 1980s. Old Settlers’ Day wasn’t yet the day when all of the Marion High School graduating classes had their reunions; there were usually just a couple of class reunions that weekend. But then a push began to have all classes have reunions the weekend of Old Settlers’ Day. Case said the person most responsible for that push was Bill Meyer, longtime editor of the Marion County Record.

  • Big events take hard work

    Events as large as Hillsboro Arts and Crafts Fair don’t just happen overnight. Part-time workers have put in between 300 and 400 hours throughout the year in preparation for this year’s fair, director Penni Schroeder said. Another 100 hours will be put in by volunteers Friday and Saturday, not including help from Hillsboro High School music students who clean up trash all day and 4-H volunteers who help clean up after the fair, Schroeder said.

GOVERNMENT

  • Commission learns of FACT grant

    Families and Communities Together Director Ashlee Gann and former director Linda Ogden informed Marion County Commission on Monday that the organization is going to receive a large federal grant. FACT will receive a Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Grant for $28,773 a year for five years. The grant comes from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration. It will be used to start Students Against Destructive Decision groups, go to other Marion County organizations designed to curb underage drinking, and pay for FACT’s administrative costs, Ogden said.

  • Minority farmers encouraged to register

    U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency invites minority farmers and ranchers in Marion County and across the nation to voluntarily join the USDA Minority Farm Register to receive information about opportunities from USDA agencies. The Minority Farm Register is an outreach tool designed to connect with underserved farmers and ranchers who are not currently enrolled in USDA loan, farm, or conservation programs. The register is a shared list that will help USDA, community-based organizations, and minority serving educational institutions to communicate with minority farmers and ranchers.

OPINION

  • Haste makes waste

    Marion’s Board of Zoning Appeals last week rejected City Administrator Doug Kjellin’s decision to amend a permit to allow construction of a communications tower at the new county jail. They did so after deliberating behind closed doors, which because they were considering an appeal wasn’t a violation of the Kansas Open Meetings Act, according to an attorney general’s opinion. I’ve written in this space recently about going above and beyond the dictates of the open meetings act to provide sincerely transparent government, so I won’t revisit that discussion.

  • 1st taste of Marion was a good one

    This is always a special time of year for our family. It was seven years ago that the phone interview process was just about to culminate in our first trip from Monrovia, Calif., to Marion. Dani and I were excitedly preparing for our face-to-face meeting with the members of the Pastor Nominating Committee and our first experience in small town, rural America. Bill Darrow had taken measures to make sure that we knew we were not coming to a place like Southern California. For that we were grateful. The nominating committee had strategically planned for our visit to coincide with Art in the Park. We stayed at the Outdoors Inn at the lake, and Saturday morning we went to the church and then walked down to the park. Members of the Christian Church were giving out water to people walking by. Coming from SoCal, we weren’t used to seeing A) free parking and B) free water. The park was packed and the crafts were fun to see.

  • ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

    Does your town have a theme?

OTHER NEWS

  • Child screening Oct. 9 in Marion

    A free vision, hearing and speech, and developmental skills screening for children, birth to age 5, is available each month from Marion County Early Intervention Services. The screenings occur from 12:30 to 3 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month. The locations of the screenings move around the county each month. The Oct. 9 screening is in Marion, the Nov. 13 screening is in Goessel, the Dec. 11 screening is in Florence, the Jan. 8 screening is in Hillsboro, the Feb. 12 screening is in Peabody, the March 12 screening is in Marion, the April 9 screening is in Lincolnville, the May 14 screening is in Hillsboro, and the June 25 screening is from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Marion.

  • Shuttle to relieve weekend traffic

    Art in the Park will be Saturday in Central Park in Marion, bringing many visitors to town. To help relieve traffic congestion, shuttles will take people between the park and the Marion baseball complex on Eisenhower Drive and Marion Die and Fixture, 421 W. Main St.

  • Family visits Ethiopia

    Sarah Tolessa of Marion took her two sons, Hap and Anderson Waddell, to Ethiopia for a month during the summer. To hear Hap and Anderson talk about the trip, it sounds like one big safari. But Tolessa had other reasons for making the trip. How many elementary school teachers get a chance to present in front of an international audience? It was her third trip to Ethiopia in a little over a year. She went to the country in eastern Africa in the summer of 2011, at the invitation of a friend, to volunteer with Ethiopia Reads, a charity that trains librarians, teachers, and school administrators on how to get more use from books in schools.

  • Alpaca Farm Day is Saturday

    The Kansas Alpaca Association will have its annual Alpaca Farm Day Saturday at the Marion County Fairgrounds 4-H Building, 213 West D St. in Hillsboro. Exhibits will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature live Alpacas and many kinds of Alpaca products. Owners will demonstrate carding and spinning the animal fleece.

  • BBB tells of 'prize' scam

    After a Peabody woman was nearly swindled out of $2,000 by someone falsely claiming she won a prize, the Better Business Bureau of Kansas offered several warning signs that a “prize” might be a scam. Roberta Namee, director of media and investigations for the Better Business Bureau, said legitimate sweepstakes companies don’t call out of the blue, and they never require payment to give someone a prize they’ve won.

  • Sheriff talkes to senior citizens about scams

    The board of directors of Senior Citizens of Marion County met Aug. 17 in Marion. Marion County Sheriff Robert Craft spoke to the board about seniors being the target of scams.

  • TEEN group to meet Sept. 19

    Technology Excellence in Education Network will hold its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Sept. 19 via phone conference. The meeting will originate at the Marion-Florence USD 408 office at 101 N. Thorp, Marion.

  • 20th Century Club meets

    The 20th Century Club began its 2012 year Sept. 4 with a salad and dessert supper at the Marion City Building. Nineteen members were present.

  • Harms owns top bull

    Harms Plainview Ranch, Lincolnville, owns one bull listed in the 2012 Fall Sire Evaluation Report published by the American Angus Association. The issue features 6,067 sires. The report includes a full suite of expected progeny differences for production, maternal, and carcass traits. Available decision-making tools also include the bio-economic indexes designed to assist commercial producers in simplifying genetic selection process.

  • MCC ride is Saturday

    The Mennonite Central Committee will have its 16th Flatlander Bike Ride on Saturday in North Newton. There will be 8-, 16-, 35-, 45-, and 65-mile rides, all starting at the MCC Warehouse off K-15 near 30th Street in North Newton. Registration will be 7 to 8 a.m. Saturday with a mass start at 8. Participants should bring a bicycle, helmet, extra tire tube, and water bottle. Helmets are mandatory. The terrain is mostly flat with some rolling hills.

  • VFW sponsors essay contests

    Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6958 of Marion and its Ladies Auxiliary are sponsoring two patriotic essay contests, Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democrary Patriot’s Pen is an essay contest for students in grades six through eight. Participants write a 300- to 400-word essay about a topic that changes annually. This year’s topic is “What I would tell America’s founding fathers.” Winners will receive U.S. savings bonds. Students must enter by Nov. 2.

  • Group warns of grandparent scam

    The Better Business Bureau of Kansas alerts consumers about the grandparent scam. The scam involves a person calling an elderly person, posing as their grandchild, and asking for financial assistance to get out of some kind of trouble. The grandparent is asked to wire money to the supposed grandchild, usually in a foreign country or outside a particular state.

PEOPLE

  • Steely to celebrate 90th birthday

    Glenn Steely will celebrate his 90th birthday Sept. 13 at the Airport Steakhouse in Hutchinson. The event will be attended by his wife, Florence, his nephew and wife, Wendell and Debbie Christner, and great-nieces, Amy and Heidi, and their families. Steely was born Sept. 13, 1922 to John and Ella Steely in Lost Springs. He attended grade school at West Slope and graduated from Burdick High School in 1940. On Oct. 3, 1948, Steely married Florence Herpich of White City in Herington.

  • St. Luke Auxiliary learns about clinic goals

    St. Luke Hospital Auxiliary met Thursday. Shirley Bowers and Judy Christensen were hostesses. St. Luke Clinic Coordinator Judy Jantz and the clinic’s new physician, Anne Phyfer, gave the program. They talked about their backgrounds and the clinic goals of teamwork and service to patients.

  • Mothers group plans party

    Mothers of Preschoolers of Marion will have a come-and-go kickoff party at Eastmoor United Methodist Church 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 24. MOPS is a group for mothers who have children from birth to age 5. Participants will receive a year’s free membership, and either a free package of diapers, sippy cup, wipes, or pull-ups.

  • Disability organization to meet Monday

    Harvey-Marion County Community Developmental Disability Organization board of directors will have its monthly meeting at 4 p.m. Monday at the organization’s office, 500 N. Main St., Suite 204, Newton. The meeting will be open to public comments.

  • Harms gets scholarship

    Marion High School graduate Taylor Harms received a Kansas State University Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship Sept. 1. The $1,000 scholarship was awarded because Harms is a relative of a K-State alumnus and a 2012-13 freshman. The scholarship is paid for with the K-State License Plate program.

  • MEMORIES:

    10, 25, 35, 50, 60, 100, 125 years ago
  • CORRESPONDENTS:

    Marion Senior Center, Tampa
  • ENGAGEMENT:

    Brent Cleeton, Symba Steele
  • WEDDING:

    Mueller, Richmond

SCHOOL

  • Online enrollment boosts Centre's head count

    Superintendent Jerri Kemble reported Monday that preliminary enrollment at Centre USD 397 did not meet expectations, but increased enrollment in the Kansas Online Learning Program makes up for the loss in brick-and-mortar students. She said the district expected an enrollment of 245 but so far, only 231 have enrolled for the 2012-13 school year. “That vision we had for maintaining the district is paying off,” she said.

  • FFA booth places at state fair

    Marion/Florence FFA Chapter organized and constructed a booth showcasing agriculture in Marion County for the Kansas State Fair county collective booth competition. Crops grasses, fruits, and vegetables were displayed in collective booths, which were scored according to the variety and quality of the commodities which were shown. The booth from Marion County displayed 60 different samples and placed fourth in the competition.

  • FCCLA students attend training

    Marion High School students Amber Austin, Noelle Gulick, Justin Terrel, Megan Davies, and Spencer Fugitt attended the Kansas Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America training conference Aug. 26 and 27. The state officers and peer education members participated in this training by presenting the national programs to the group. Peer education members taught them about career connections, families first, and student body.

SPORTS

  • Warriors refocus after Sedgwick loss

    Friday night’s football game against Sedgwick at Warriors Stadium was a second wake-up call in as many games for Marion High School, as the Cardinals rolled to a 45-6 win over the Warriors. The game mirrored the 50-27 pasting the Warriors got from Ell-Saline the week before, giving up big plays for scores, falling behind early, and struggling to put points on the board.

  • Lady Warriors take 3rd at Centre

    When they came to the sideline Saturday after losing their first game 20-25 against Little River, the Marion High School volleyball team was one game away from elimination in the Centre volleyball tournament. “We said in the huddle, ‘Girls are you ready to go home? We have to win this one or we’re on the bus,’” Marion head coach Deanna Thierolf said.

  • Hett takes 4th at Hesston

    Marion High School senior Jordan Hett scored a fourth-place finish Thursday at Hesston. The Hesston Invitational, with 46 teams competing from all classifications, was the largest regular season meet in which Marion will compete.

  • Golfer hits 2nd hole-in-one

    Golfer Aaron Hett of Marion scored his second hole-in-one in less than 25 days of his first on Sept. 5. His first hole-in-one was Aug. 12. Both shots occurred on the ninth hole at Marion Country club. He used a seven iron to make the 160-yard shot on Sept. 5. It was a 162-yard shot with a four iron on Aug. 12. Witnesses of the hole-in-one Sept. 5 were Aaron’s son Travis Hett and Bill and Mickey Lundy.

  • Marion Chamber plans golf tournament Sept. 30

    The Marion Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament is 1 p.m. Sept. 30 at Marion Country Club. Anyone interested in competing should contact Don Noller at (620) 382-2109.

  • Wakefield overwhelms Cougars

    Centre High School football team managed just two touchdowns on the road Friday against Wakefield. They were defeated, 58-14. Quarterback Kyle Methvin scored the first Centre touchdown in the first quarter with a 1-yard run. Houston Svoboda caught a conversion pass from Methvin for 2 points to give Centre its only lead of the game, 8-6.

  • Centre volleyball finishes 4th

    The Centre High School volleyball team advanced out of pool play Saturday at its own tournament with a record of 2-1. They defeated Hope and Tescott in two games each, but were defeated by Berean Academy, also in two games.

MORE…

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