HEADLINES

  • School board offers retirement incentives

    Marion school board voted Monday to offer retirement incentives for teachers. The board approved offering $200 a month toward health insurance for a single plan or $300 for a family plan for any teacher who submits their retirement notice by 4 p.m. March 25. A person can only take the family plan if they already get a family insurance plan through the district.

  • Schools react to court's funding ruling

    The Kansas Supreme Court issued its ruling Friday morning on a lawsuit against the state filed in 2010 by several school districts, claiming the state did not adequately fund public schools. The long-awaited decision ruled against the state saying that certain school funding laws failed to provide equality in public education as required by the state constitution. The case was returned to Shawnee County District Court to enforce the court’s decision and to reconsider whether school funding laws provide adequacy in public education.

  • Life's work inspires children's books

    Lisa Clark of Burns loves horses, dogs, her grandchildren, and writing so she thought of a way to combine them. Clark has five series of children’s books that bear her name. For 29 years, she has written and illustrated the books. They tell of worlds both fantasy and non-fiction and are largely derived from her life.

  • Lake subdivision nears approval

    When county Planning and Zoning Director Tonya Richards and developer Garry Dunnegan showed commissioners a new draft of a plat for Saddle Creek Estates at the county lake, only one adjustment needed to be made. After discussing different roads in the plat, commissioners requested a specification that a road not be built over a 40-foot easement in the back row of houses. Commissioner Dan Holub said the easement looks like a road, but will not be used as one.

  • Barn quilts catching on in county

    Sandra Heyman of Burns has been an avid quilter for many years. She, Marion County Economic Development Director Teresa Huffman, and Marge Summervill of Marion have formed a committee to promote barn quilts in Marion County. They hope eventually to develop a brochure for a driving tour of quilts on display within the county. Marion County is one of a coalition of 22 counties involved in the Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail. The trail was formed a year ago to promote tourism and rural pride throughout the region. The quilt trail group promotes quilt art in the Flint Hills as well as the beauty and agricultural history of the Flint Hills region.

  • Crappie fishing derby is Saturday

    The seventh annual John Waner Memorial Crappie Fishing Derby will be Saturday at the county lake’s heated fishing dock. Registration is in advance at the lake office or starting at 6 a.m. Saturday. There is a $15 fee and registration is limited to the first 35.

  • MKC and Farmers Cooperative Association to merge

    Members of Farmers Cooperative Association approved a merger deal Thursday with Mid-Kansas Cooperative. The merger will take effect June 1 and will increase MKC to 41 co-ops throughout 14 counties. MKC has four locations in Marion County — Peabody, Florence, Goessel, and Burns.

  • Dying baitfish are feast for eagles

    Bald eagles have become a fixture in Marion County every winter, attracted by a surprisingly plentiful food source. Every winter, full-grown shad die and float to the surface of lakes in the winter, an easy meal for eagles. Shad are small fish, larger than minnows, commonly eaten by sport fish.

  • National Poison Prevention week focuses on medications

    More than 2 million poisonings are reported each year to the nation’s poison centers. The Kansas Poison Control Center received over 30,000 calls in 2013. Approximately three out of every four calls were for a child under the age of five.

DEATHS

  • Wilbur Hett

    Wilbur A. Hett, 90, died March 2 at Hillsboro Community Hospital. He was born Oct. 30, 1923, to Alfred J. and Mary (Schlotthauer) Hett in Marion. He graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1941 then went into farming. He married Marjorie Jean Larsen on June 6, 1946, at Strassburg Baptist Church. They had a son, Alvin, and adopted a daughter, Marilyn.

  • Ellen Lautt

    Ellen Lautt, 89, died March 4 in Shawnee. Interment was Thursday at Gnadenau Cemetery, rural Hillsboro. She was born June 17, 1924, in Bowden, N.D., to Gottlieb and Minnie (Baier) Witt. She married Ben J. Lautt on Sept. 20, 1942, in Fessenden, N.D.

  • Rosalie Smith

    Rosalie Ann (Brewer) Smith, 84, of Marion died Friday at Peabody Care Center. She was born May 28, 1929, near Burns to Marion Brewer and Alice Nonken. She was a homemaker and telephone operator.

  • Dorothy Yost

    Dorothy E. Yost, 82, of Galva died Thursday at her home. She was born Jan. 25, 1932, in Antelope to Archie Boyd and Helen (Loveless) Dody. She was a retired restaurauteur and had lived in Galva since 1983 when she moved from Hillsboro.

  • IN MEMORIAM:

    Beverly Goering

DOCKET

FARM

  • Students witness where milk comes from

    Instructor Callie Unruh and her bovine assistant Tiny visited Hillsboro Elementary School Monday morning with their mobile dairy classroom to show students where milk comes from and demonstrate how milk travels from a cow’s udder to a milk jug. “Tiny is just over 2 years old; that’s 24 years old in human years,” Unruh told students. “That means she ages the equivalent of one human year every month. At the age of 2, she had her very first calf. Mammals like Tiny have to have a baby first before they can start producing milk.”

  • Complete records can help farmers recover losses

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture requests farmers and ranchers to keep detailed records of any losses due to natural disasters. Losses include livestock and feed losses, crop losses, and any additional expenses that resulted from a natural disaster such as drought or flood.

  • USAD expands storage loan program

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has expanded the Farm Storage and Facility Loan program. The expansion includes 22 new categories of eligible equipment for fruit and vegetable producers, and makes the process easier for farmers and ranchers to receive low-interest financing.

  • Vinduska reelected to corn commission

    Terry Vinduska was recently reelected to the Kansas Corn Commission, representing District Five. He farms in northern Marion County and is a past officer of the U.S. Grains Council. He is also a member of the National Corn Growers Association, Kansas Corn Growers Association, and Kansas Farm Bureau. He has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Kansas State University.

  • Cow nutrition is critical to calf health

    Special conditions such as drought and extreme cold temperatures require that special attention be made to the nutritional needs of cows and calves. “Nutrition is the foundation of anyone’s health,” veterinarian Jessica Laurin of Animal Health Center said.

  • Farmer's daughter adds style to herd

    Tim Summervill is a fourth generation farmer. He knows what it is like as a child, watching your dad work on the farm. This year it was time for Summervill to have his own helper, his 3-year-old daughter, Shelby.

  • Hay permits available for highway right-of-ways

    Several changes have been made to Kansas Department of Transportation permits to harvest hay along state and federal roadways. Changes to the permits include:

OPINION

  • FACS should be a full-time program

    The Marion school district is advertising for a half-time family and consumer sciences teacher to half fill the void that will be left by Myrta Billings’ departure. The reasons are multiple, but they all boil down to money. The district’s enrollment — on which state funding is based — has been on the decline for several years at the same time that the state has been cutting per-student aid and other funding for small schools. Because of those financial hardships, the district needs to find places to cut the budget, raise taxes, or both, and it’s a lot less painful to trim in a spot where someone is retiring than to force a teacher out. With that said, reducing FACS programs is not in the best interest of Marion’s students.

  • A little label should make a big difference

    If you’re among our more observant readers, you may have noticed something different on this week’s front page — a tiny change we hope will lead to huge improvements in how quickly and accurately the Postal Service delivers your paper. At considerable expense, we’ve purchased and installed a new, top-of-the-line labeling system, designed to make maximal use of computerized mail sorting. Having a barcode on out-of-town subscribers’ mailing labels isn’t new. We’ve been using an older style barcode for years. We switched to a new style when the Postal Service did a few weeks ago. What’s different is that we’ve greatly improved the legibility of the labels and barcodes themselves — all in an effort to eliminate any and all excuses for anything other than prompt, reliable delivery.

  • ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

    Let there be light

PEOPLE

  • Wiens to present digital photography classes in Hillsboro

    Gerald Wiens will speak about the basics of digital photography from 7 to 8:30 p.m. March 24 and 31 at the Hillsboro City Building. Wiens has been photographing nature and wildlife for more than 35 years.

  • Library to have annual quilt show

    More than 25 quilts and wall hangings will be on display from Monday through March 29 in the new Santa Fe Room at Marion City Library during the annual quilt show. For more information, call (620) 382-2442.

  • Kiwanis gives to food bank

    Marion County Emergency Food Bank coordinator Janet Bryant spoke to Marion Kiwanis on Tuesday. At the end of her presentation, Kiwanis made a $175 donation to the food bank. The food bank was started in 1985 after the local Social and Rehabilitative Services office — there was one in Marion at the time — noticed a need but was prohibited from starting a food bank, Bryant said.

  • 13 attend World Day of Prayer

    Several gathered Friday at the Marion Presbyterian Church for World Day of Prayer. The Church Women United of Marion sponsored the event. Thirteen attended. Those who participated in the event program titled “I Will Lift Up Thine Eyes into the Hills,” were Janet Bryant, Mary Ford, Sue Clough, Keith Allison, Connie Fisher, Fan Helmer, and Ann Carr.

  • Jirak to marry in July

    Francis and Mary Jirak of Tampa announce the engagement of their daughter, Kristine Anne Jirak, to Mitchell Haig Simpson, son of Jim and Janice Simpson of Wichita. The bride-elect is a 2008 graduate of Centre High School and a 2011 graduate of Benedictine College in Atchison. She works as a graphic designer at Solutio Inc. in Colwich.

  • Ventriloquist Lynn Trefzger to perform at opera house

    Ventriloquist and comedian Lynn Trefzger will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday at the McPherson Opera House. The show will feature several of Trefzger’s puppet friends, including a drunken camel, grumpy old man, and feisty girl. Audience members will also participate.

  • BIRTHS:

    Camdyn Andrew Hajek
  • MARION SENIOR CENTER:

    Cooks celebrate birthdays
  • MEMORIES:

    10, 25, 35, 50, 60, 100, 125 years ago

SPORTS

  • Warriors earn all-league honors

    Five Marion High School basketball seniors gained recognition this week when the Heart of America League announced its all-league selections. On the boys’ side, senior guards Zach Robson and Taylor Heidebrecht made the all-league list while Timothy Knolla was an honorable mention selection.

  • Centre girls get third chance to win at state

    Is the third time a charm? The Centre High School girls’ basketball team surely hopes so. Saturday was an exciting day for seniors Makenzie Deines, Amy Makovec, Cacey Simons, and Bryanna Svoboda and their teammates. They defeated Lebo 58-27 in the championship game of the 1A Division 1 substate tournament at Hartford to win a trip to the state tournament for the third consecutive year. They defeated Hartford 68-27 Friday in the semifinals.

  • Warriors lose substate semifinals to Hesston, 49-35

    No one at Marion Sports and Aquatics Center was particularly surprised when undefeated Hesston took a 23-10 lead to the locker room at halftime Thursday against the Marion High School boys basketball team in substate semifinal action. The Swathers, ranked number one in Class 3A, had pummeled Sedgwick 71-40 in the first round, the sixth time in nine games Hesston had won by more than 30 points. Hesston had won 21 games with an average margin of victory of 22 points, and they appeared poised for another runaway win against the Warriors as the third quarter started.

  • Cougars end season in substate semi-finals

    Playing in the substate semifinals Thursday at Hartford, the first-seed Centre boys (11-9) fell to No. 5 Hartford (7-13), 78-66. The loss ended the high school basketball careers of seniors Kevin Lewis, Chad Mueller, Kyle Methvin, Tanner Peterson, Ty Simons, Grant Srajer, and Terren Thompson.

SCHOOL

  • Centre's insurance premiums to drop

    According to Blue Cross Blue Shield representative Bruce Schultz, Centre’s district health plan for May 1 through April 30, 2015 will see a decrease in premiums if the board votes to continue its current plan. The single premium will drop from $330 to $312 a month. Other plans will also see a decrease.

  • Marion students win welding contest

    Several Marion High School students competed in the NCKTC High School Invitational gas metal arc welding contest Friday. The team placed first, with six students placing individually: Clint Kroupa, second; Seth Snelling, fourth; Zac Lewman, fifth; Raleigh Kroupa, seventh; John Nordquist, 18th; and Sean Buchanan, 21st.

  • TEEN meeting is March 19

    The monthly Technology Excellence in Education Network meeting will be at 6 p.m. March 19 at the USD 408 district office in Marion. For more information contact Lena Kleiner at (620) 877-0237.

MORE…

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