Marion County RECORD

Many win prizes at Chingawassa Days

What would Chingawassa Days be without competitions and contests? Competitive activities have always been a key part of the festivities, and this year was no different. contest winners Adult karaoke: 1. JayDee Schafers of Marion; 2. Yvonne Cushenberry of Tampa; 3. Mel Druse of Marion. Horseshoes: 1. Jim Theas of Americus and Allen Blosoer of Council Grove; 2. Bob and Michelle Hartnagel; 3. Greg Avant of Gardner and David Darrow of Olathe. Preschool and kindergarten bicycle races: 1. Britany Buchanan; 2. Kaelynn Metro. First- and second-grade bicycle races: 1. Trevor Schafers; 2. Grace Hett. Third- and fourth-grade bicycle races: 1. Mitch Norris; T2. Hannah May; T2. Miles Olson. Fifth- and sixth-grade bicycle races: 1. Peyton Ensey. Bicycle decorating contest: 1. Charlotte James; 2. Kaitlynn Schmidt. Fifth- and sixth-grade three-on-three basketball tournament: 1. Luke Lanning, Seth Lanning, Todd Palic, and Bryce Mermis; 2. Hunter Helmer, Colton Mercer, and Gunner Brown. Seventh- and eighth-grade girls’ three-on-three basketball tournament: 1. Emmy Hess, Drew Helmer, and Corrina Crabb; 2. Rebecca Sawyer, Briona Jensen, and Alissa Adame. Men’s three-on-three basketball tournament: 1. Dale Vogel, Zac Clark, and Ray Taylor; 2. Joel Wright, Jacob Harper, Cole Lewman, and Grif Case. Rock, paper, scissors tournament: 1. Gail Makovec; 2. Joey Nickel; 3. Skylar King; 4. Cassie Legg. Hot dog eating contest: 1. Steve Larson of Park City. Dinky Duck Race: Prize winners included Linda Allison x2, Sally Andrews, Paula Berg, Josh Boehm, Greg Carlson, Ann Carr, Janice Case, Matt Classen, Virginia Downing, Mary Eckert, Peni Ens, Sharon Ewing, Roger Fleming, Mary Griffith, Donna Hajek, Jerome Hajek, Roger Hannaford, Kylie Hardey, Jim Herzet, Margaret Hett x2, Michael Just, Chris Kerns, Lori Kirkpatrick, Sam Kliewer, Robyn Kukuk, Jack Lanning, Luke Lanning, Seth Lanning, Mike Norris, K. Anne Phyfer, Judy Reno x4, Toni Stephens, Ken Vinduska, and Gene Winkler x2. Rhino Run 5-kilometer division Men’s 12 and younger: Seth Lanning; men’s 13-20, Austin Neufeld; men’s 21-30, Aaron Yoder; men’s 31-50, Scott Hannaford; men’s 51 and older, Evan Yoder; women’s 13-20, Hannah Robinson; women’s 21-30, Rylee Yoder; women’s 31-50, Melissa Mermis; women’s 51 and older, Tree Perky. 2-mile division Twelve and younger, Jack Lanning; 13-20, Nicholas Davies.

Butler terminates Bown-Corby lease

Butler Community College gave its notice to the city of Marion last week that it will terminate its lease of the historic Bown-Corby Building on N. Second St. effective Aug. 1. In a letter to city administrator Roger Holter dated June 2, college President Kim Krull said the college was moving out because of the expense of staying in Bown-Corby. The city leases the building to Butler for only $25 a year, but the college is concerned about the cost of high-speed Internet service and maintenance of the building. On Monday, Krull said the college expected to save $55,000 to $60,000 a year by moving out of the building. Internet and telephone bills alone were $16,000, Krull said.

Proposed chicken ban ruffles feathers

Several residents spoke at Monday’s Marion City Council meeting about concerns about where to keep their chickens if the council passes a new code that would ban raising any fowl within the city limits for consumption. “I’m here in support of chicken’s rights,” Caroline Kelly said.

Storms leave hundreds in dark

Winds from severe storms Thursday morning may have only lasted a few minutes, but some residents will be cleaning up the damage they left behind for weeks. Several power lines were blown down near Durham and Tampa. The majority of Durham residents lost power, but it was restored by 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, and nearly 486 residents did not have power restored until Friday evening, said Leonard Allen, communications representative for Westar Energy.

Leak damages popular library books

Water coming from a leak in the roof of Marion City Library soaked about 120 books in the fiction section during a rainstorm Thursday morning. “The hard thing is that they were all good books,” Librarian Janet Marler said. “They weren’t just books that nobody reads. So we are definitely going to replace them.”

Health department to charge for day care licensing

County health administrator Diedre Serene told county commissioners Monday the health department would begin charging fees for child care licensing, effective July 1. From now on, orientation for new day care providers is $25, licensed and group day care home visits cost up to $85, compliance checks, $35; Kansas Department of Health compliance check, $45; and substantiated complaints, $45.

New insurance mailing don't have city endorsement

The mailing from Service Line Warranties of America caused some confusion around town last month after being printed on city letter head, but city administrator Roger Holter said other utility line companies are also sending information to residents without the city’s endorsement. Service Line Warranties is a company with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and is the only utility line insurance company endorsed by the city.

That e-mail that says it's a court summons isn't

A court scam that has been sweeping the country has reached Marion County. Residents have been receiving emails stating they must appear to a hearing before a judge. The email directs residents to bring the information in the attached letter to court. When the attachment is opened it infects the recipients computer with a virus.

Council declines to reimburse senior center for repair

At a previous Marion City Council meeting, Norma Kline asked the city to pay a $112 bill to Flaming’s after the kitchen air conditioner went out at Marion Senior Center. The air conditioner began working again after city crews replaced a transformer on the pole that supplies power to the center across the street. Council members voted Monday to not reimburse the senior center for that bill, although Kline said the bill was only incurred because the city’s power lines were faulty.

Summer information comes with breakfast

Council weighs in on city spending

Three Marion City Council members shared ideas and opinions about what should be in the 2015 budget during a work session Thursday. This was the first step in creating next year’s budget. City administrator Roger Holter asked council members about their feelings on raising property taxes, utility rates, and sales taxes to get revenue. He also asked which departments members think should have the biggest budget.

Fundraiser started to help with cancer treatment for Steve Janzen

Marion resident Jeannie Wildin recently started a fundraising website to assist Steve and Phoebe Janzen with medical expenses related to Steve’s precision oncology treatments. Steve has metastatic pancreatic cancer. His cancer has responded to chemotherapy treatments but he has had severe reactions to it that have resulted in emergency room visits and hospital stays.

Students test journalism waters at summer school

The theme of last week’s session of Foundation for the Future summer school in Marion was journalism, and students wrote news and feature articles about local people and events. They chose their story topics, interviewed the people involved, and wrote their stories. Coordinator Charlene Metcalf said some of the students, who were in fifth through eighth grades the past school year, are considering becoming journalists as adults.

Centre board approves $75K tech purchase

At its Monday meeting, the Centre school board approved the purchase of 150 iPads at a cost of $75,450. After an offset of $18,374 from a REAP grant, the net cost to the district is $57,076. The purchase includes 10 iPad Minis for students in kindergarten through second grade and 140 iPad Airs for students in grades three through 12. The board discussed the funds remaining in the school budget. Superintendent Brian Smith reported an ending balance of $612,000 on May 31. After discussion, the board authorized the clerk to put remaining money into the contingency fund after paying June bills and making year-end transfers.

Marion board will discuss administrator salaries

The USD 408 school board did not meet at its usual time Monday. Instead, the meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. this coming Monday. Superintendent Lee Leiker said Thursday that topics of discussion will include classified and administrative salaries, changes to school handbooks, and appointment of a representative to the special education cooperative board.

2 announce commission write-in campaigns

Lori Lalouette-Crawford of Hillsboro announced Tuesday morning that she will run a write-in campaign for county commission in the District 1 Republican primary Aug. 5. District 1 Commissioner Roger Fleming decided not to run for re-election after one term, and the deadline to file to appear on the ballot passed on June 2.

Pastor gives back to hometown

Pastor John Branson returned to Florence from Wichita Saturday morning seeking to give back to the community he grew up in by offering free guitar lessons at the public library. “Music brings people together,” he said. “Ali Johnson has graciously opened the library up to me. We’ll just see where this thing takes us.”

Isaac Leppke

Isaac Floyd “Ike” Leppke, 86, of Pueblo, Colorado, died in his sleep Feb. 1 in Penrose, Colorado. He was born June 8, 1927, to Martha and David Leppke on the family farm near Hillsboro. He attended the Ebenfeld grade school. He married Lorraine Pientka on Sept. 2, 1945. They had three children, Floyd, Glenn, and Cindy. They later divorced.

IN MEMORIAM:

Accidents reported

Civil division cases

County Jail arrests and bookings

Criminal division cases

Deeds recorded

Emergency dispatches

Marriage licenses issued

Offenses reported

Peabody Municipal court

Police incident report

Traffic division cases

Cold winter, dry spring hurt wheat

With the wheat harvest expected to begin within the next week, crops are in need of sunlight to provide drying action, said Dick Tippin of Cooperative Grain and Supply. “The rains here have kind of delayed harvest,” he said. “It’s good for corn, milo, and soybeans in the fall harvest, though.”

FSA county election nominations accepted beginning Monday

The nomination period for local Farm Service Agency county committees begins Monday and continues through Aug. 1. Committee members assist the FSA with opinions, recommendations, and ideas for new programs or changes to existing ones.

The making of a farmer, Agriculture was in his blood

When I was 4 or 5, I remember having many small implements. I would always play with these toys. No matter where I went or how long I would be there, I had my implements. I always kept my implements in top condition. I kept them stored in a safe place and kept a close eye on them in case one might decide to disappear. I had two or three tractors, several semis and trucks, and all the necessary field equipment to prepare the crop land for planting and sowing. I also had all the haying equipment to harvest the hay fields. I would say I had at least 25 or 30 implements total.

June declared dairy month in Kansas

Marion County has several dairy farmers including Jason Wiebe Dairy near Durham that produces cheese, this month was declared national dairy month to honor dairy farmers like Wiebe for their hard work. According to the Kansas Department of Agriculture, the Kansas dairy industry is experience one of the fastest growth rates in the nation in 2013 and produces more than $592 million dollars worth of product.

USDA program signup began Monday

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced programs that will help producers conserve sensitive land and newer farmers to get their start in agriculture. The Conservation Reserve Program provides incentives, such as monetary compensation, to producers that conserve environmentally sensitive land through certain methods. Cover crops are an example.

A lesson in communication

Before facing the fate of other schools in the county that sit empty while decaying and crumbling, the Bown-Corby School has a final lesson for Marion residents. Butler Community College is abandoning the historic school that once played a vital role in a vital community not because of utility costs of an older building but because Internet access here is too slow and too expensive — about $16,000 a year, according to Butler’s president. It’s so bad that Butler’s trustees decided to close the Bown-Corby campus without seeking concessions from its landlords at city hall. Butler’s bosses need to learn that in small towns, people try to work out their differences before giving up on their neighbors. But the city fathers aren’t blameless. They need to learn that there is more to economic development than planting flowers and building Main Street roundabouts.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

TEEN meeting is June 18

The Technology Excellence in Education Network meeting is at 6 p.m. June 18 at the USD 408 district office in Marion.

Summervills celebrate 50th anniversary

Mick and Marge (Gardner) Summervill will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary Saturday. They were married June 14, 1964 at the First Baptist Church in Louisburg. The Summervills have three children: Robin Totten of Gresham, Oregon; Tim Summervill of Marion; and Kay Lynn Mead of Manhattan.

Organization donates $500 prize money for bluegrass

Friends of Marion County Lake Association voted Memorial Day weekend to donate $500 to Bluegrass at the Lake for prizes for the top three performers on the open stage. Bluegrass at the Lake will be June 21 from 4 to 10 p.m., with open stage from 4 to 6 p.m.

MOPS coordinator speaks to Kiwanians

Lisa Wesner, coordinator of Mothers of Preschoolers in Marion, spoke at Marion Kiwanis Club’s meeting Tuesday. She said the organization started as a play group for mothers with young children before joining the national Mothers of Preschoolers organization. The group had about 25 members this year, meeting once or twice each month. Wesner said the group has child care available during meetings. They have activities and often have speakers at the meetings.

Janzens celebrate 50 years

Ralph and Charlene (Stinchcomb) Janzen wish to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a card shower. The Rev. G. Carol Gilbert married them on June 14, 1964, at the Evangelical United Brethren Church in Marion.

Chat and Dine Club to have potluck

Marion County Lake Chat and Dine Club will have a potluck dinner at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lake Hall. Larry and Barb Smith will give a presentation about the Panama Canal and their recent visit to it. Everyone is invited to attend.

BIRTHS:

MEMORIES:

Softball team to compete in tournaments

Marion softball players are preparing to play in three summer tournaments. The first is this weekend in Wichita; the final two tournaments will be June 28 and 29 and July 12 through 14 in Salina. The summer roster includes Sydnee Baldwin, Bailey Robson, Elizabeth Meyer, Katelyn Christensen, Katie Marler, Baylie Blouin, Emily Knight, Jadah Moore, Emily Davies, Shyla Harris, Kayla Kroupa, Lindsey Sigel, Kaylie Waner, and McKenzee Remmers.

Centre students plant fruit trees

Centre High School agriculture students and FFA members planted 14 fruit trees Friday. There were three each of cherry, pear, peach, and plum trees, planted south of the metals shop. Only two of the three apple trees ordered were shipped. At the end of the school year, the horticulture class researched which fruit trees would be best suited to the area and what fruit tree diseases are common to Kansas. They selected varieties for disease resistance and self-pollination. All of the trees are semi-dwarf trees.

Free child development screening will be June 24

A free screening for children birth through 5 years old will be from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 24 at Marion Presbyterian Church. At the screening, development will be checked in the learning, motor, language, and social areas. Vision and hearing will also be screened. This process usually takes about one hour.

Science is theme of library's summer reading program

“Fizz, Boom, and Read” will be the theme of this year’s summer reading program at Marion City Library. The program is for children who were in kindergarten through eighth grade the past school year. There will also be a “read to me” level for children ages 3 through 5.

Marion High School honor roll

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