UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
  • Reservoir, county lake cleared from algae alerts

    Kansas Department of Health and Environment canceled both a blue-green algae warning for Marion County Lake and less-serious watch for Marion Reservoir on Thursday. Swimmers, boaters, and anglers can engage in those activities without having to take precautions that earlier warnings and watches imposed.

HEADLINES

  • Cuts target seniors trying to live at home

    Mary Hoffner has been able to stay in her home instead of going to a nursing home because she gets 10 hours a week of help. Hoffner, 77, has suffered a heart attack and has COPD. She uses oxygen and needs a wheelchair or a walker to get around. Because of vision problems, she can’t be sure dishes are clean or the floor is thoroughly vacuumed. Having someone to come in a few hours a week helps with things like that.

  • Leniency for rapist of 9-year-old girl

    A 55-year-old Marion man convicted of raping a 9-year-old was sentenced Thursday to less than nine years in prison after successfully pleading that he didn’t deserve the normally required sentence of life in prison with no chance for parole for 25 years. According to a state offender registry, the defendant Gary Dwain Williams, 55, lived at 202 Garfield St. in Jex Addition in 2011 at the time of the offense.

  • Bidding for outdoorsman's legacy at auction

    As prospective buyers started bidding on a cache of 49 rifles, shotguns, revolvers, and air guns at Steve Hett’s estate sale Saturday, none knew that there was one gun they had no chance of getting. Hett, who died in April, had a collection of outdoor gear and taxidermy so vast that it needed its own auctioneer for nearly five hours, while another sold everything else at his farm northwest of Florence.

  • Welcome to the worm room: Entrepreneur turns droppings into organic compost

    Lincolnville entrepreneur Letizia “Tish” Vinduska harnessing the power of African Nightcrawlers’ digestive systems turning worm poop into profit as “Letizia Ann’s All Natural Soil Enhancer.” “I’ve seen what these worms can do,” Vinduska said. “I’d like to make this a legit business, move it to a bigger building, get some employees, and help put Marion County on the map.”

  • Snakebit: Once-in-a-lifetime trip almost leads to tragedy

    Erik Barnes thought he had come up with a great father-daughter project several months ago. “I told Paige and Rayna that, at our age and our comfort level with outdoor activities, we ought to plan a trip for each of them — do something unusual before they are wives and moms and I am too old to go along,” he said. “I thought the timing was just right.”

  • New bakery features bierocks, bolsos

    Little did Rachel Collett know when she and husband Randy moved into the second floor of the Wheeler building in downtown Marion that one day it would take just a few steps for her to get to work. Her bakery, CB Baked Goods, opened Tuesday on the building’s first floor, featuring “Bierocks, bolsos, and more.”

  • Some mail saved from carrier's charred Jeep

    A fire that engulfed mail carrier Pat Ash’s Jeep Wrangler last week also destroyed some but not all of the mail inside. Marion firefighter Jim Davis discovered the mail.

OTHER HEADLINES

  • Boehms open Hillsboro law office

    An astute visitor at Tuesday’s ribbon cutting for Joshua and Courtney Boehm’s new Cottonwood Law Group office in Hillsboro would have noticed three desks, not two. Courtney’s desk is in the main entry area, but as she is running unopposed for county attorney, she’ll be spending most of her time at the courthouse come January. A legal secretary may take over that spot.

  • Lake resident helping victims of tornado

    A Salvation Army officer from Marion is among many relief workers helping Eureka residents in the aftermath of Thursday night’s EF-2 tornado, with winds 111 to 135 mph. Major Richard Forney and his wife, Judy, who retired to Marion County Lake, are interim ministers for El Dorado’s Salvation Army Corps. Since the tornado, he has been driving between Marion and Eureka On Saturday, he drove the El Dorado Corps canteen – a mobile feeding and hydration unit – to Eureka to help displaced Eureka residents and relief workers.

  • 6 possibly injured in 2 rollovers

    Six people sustained possible injuries Friday in rollover accidents south and west of Marion. Sarah Hendrix, 16, of Marion and four passengers were in a southbound 1996 GMC Yukon that had just crossed the city limit where Coble St. turns into Sumac Rd. when the vehicle skidded on gravel and rolled into a soybean field, coming to rest on the driver’s side.

  • Peabody State Bank to be sold

    Vintage Bank Kansas has agreed to purchase Peabody State Bank. The local bank will join three others owned by Vintage Bank Kansas principals Wink and Libba Hartman and Steve Worrell in Leon, Conway Springs, and Wichita.

  • Advance voting begins

    Advance voting in the Aug. 2 primary election begins today. Voters can cast early votes at the courthouse. Hours also have been extended to make it easier for voters who can’t make it to the courthouse during regular business hours, county clerk Tina Spencer said.

AUTO

  • Custom rod is too hot to handle

    As Billy Alcorn watched 250 drag racers square off at Herington airport in April, he knew his 1923 Ford Model T replica hot rod had more than enough horsepower to compete. The 71-year-old Ramona man also knew enough not to try.

  • Summer can be especially hard on cars

    Tire trouble, engine overheating, failing air conditioning — summer brings its own set of woes for drivers. When a car overheats, the problem often isn’t the coolant level, but rather is an issue with the radiator condenser, said Kurt Funk, service adviser at Midway Motors in Hillsboro.

DEATHS

  • Ethel Abrahams

    Hillsboro native and Mennonite folk art author Ethel Abrahams, 92, of Hesston died July 5. Born Aug. 3, 1923, to Gerhard and Helena (Peters) Ewert, she received a bachelor’s degree in art Bethel College and a master’s from Wichita State University.

  • Paul Ediger

    Paul Ediger, 96, died July 6 at Hillsboro Community Hospital. Born July 12, 1919, to David and Sara (Flaming) Ediger at Dubois, Idaho, he married Marcella Buller on Aug. 12, 1947, in Newton.

  • Ruth Ratzlaff

    Hillsboro homemaker Ruth E. Ratzlaff, 94, died July 6 at Wesley Medical Center, Wichita. Born Nov. 7, 1921, to Henry K. and Margaret (Harms) Warkentin in Reedley, California, she married Kermit Ratzlaff on Aug. 11, 1944, in Los Angeles.

  • Rodger Sidener

    Burns farmer and stockman Rodger L. Sidener, 65, died Saturday at Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis, Wichita. Born March 7, 1951, in Newton to Lee and Evelyn (Kirkpatrick) Sidener, he graduated from Chase County High School.

  • John Wilson

    Services for John Douglas Wilson, 43, who died July 3 at his residence in Marion, will be Friday at Jost Funeral Home, Hillsboro, which also is accepting contributions to his memorial fund. Born Feb. 2, 1973, in West Covina, California, to Malcom and Nola (Madera) Wilson, he married Sondra Bezdek on April 18, 2012, in Marion.

  • IN MEMORIAM:

    Doris Penner

DOCKET

GOVERNMENT

  • $50,000 sought for rescue boats

    Hillsboro fire chief Ben Steketee wants Marion County to spend around $50,000 to improve water rescue capabilities. His plan involves buying two specialized water rescue boats, two boat motors, and a boat trailer, and establishing a properly trained water rescue team that would respond across the county.

  • Drones coming to county skies

    Unmanned flying cameras — commonly called drones — are coming to Marion County. Commissioners voted Monday to participate in Property Drone Consortium, which will provide a drone for use taking topography photos that can record storm damage, locate buildings, and assist in searches and.

  • City trims budget, proposes slight tax cut

    After snipping and trimming line items from a first draft, Marion City Council voted Monday to propose a 2017 budget close to its 2016 budget. The first draft would have meant an 11 percent property tax increase, taking taxes from 71.152 mills to 79.343 mills, pending equalization.

  • Firefighter relief group gets $76,975

    Firefighters in Marion County are getting $76,975 from the Kansas Insurance Department to purchase insurance to protect firefighters. Firefighter relief associations, based on fire districts, will receive these totals:

OPINION

  • G.R.A.S.S.

    In the spirit of that obscure alphabetized Mother’s Day ditty that begins with “M is for the million things she gave me,” we’ll take a lead from this week’s cartoon. G is for the things that leave us guessing, like why it seems so easy for the school district to find money for some things and not others.

  • ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

    People will be people

PEOPLE

  • Golden anniversary celebrated by Tajchmans

    Marion County Lake residents Joe and Barbara Tajchman celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Saturday and plan a family lunch July 24 at the lake hall before flying to Alaska in August for a rail and bus tour. Joe Tajchman and Barbara Bolte were married July 9, 1966, at St. John Nepomucene

  • 2 new employees join Hoch Publishing

    Hoch Publishing welcomes two new employees this week. Karlene Lovelady, most recently office assistant at Brookens Law, has been a Marion resident for 15 years.

  • Yoga helps kids and care providers

    When Headstart teacher Lesli Beery was trying to come up with a lesson featuring things that started with each letter of the alphabet, she could not find anything to start with Y. “Y didn’t really have any good thing to go with it,” Beery said, “so I brought in (former yoga instructor) Amber Monson, and she did a yoga session with the little ones.”

  • Bowling team places at state

    A Sherbowl Lanes bowling team sponsored by Tampa State Bank finished 14th out of 279 teams statewide in a five-weekend handicap tournament in Wichita. Regular team members Barry Allen, Doug Marler, Mike Woodward, and Jim Wyatt were joined by Mike Carroll. Carroll bowled for a different team in the Monday night league at Sherbowl but filled in when a regular member was unable to bowl in Wichita.

  • MEMORIES:

    10, 25, 35, 50, 60, 100, 125 years ago, Clarification
  • SENIOR CENTER:

    Newlyweds visit center, Menu

SCHOOL

  • School funding fix could cut taxes

    A recent court-required change to school funding won’t give Marion-Florence schools a bigger budget, but should cut local property taxes. Superintendent Lee Leiker gave board members a preliminary overview Monday of what June’s special legislative session and Supreme Court ruling on school finance means.

  • Transportation a concern at Centre

    A shortage of bus drivers may mean some Centre students have to spend a total of 1 hour 10 minutes or more on buses each day this fall. Covering 250 square miles with just three routes might be possible but would result in the increased ride time, Centre transportation director Bob Mueller told the school board Monday.

  • Hillsboro eliminates band fees

    Hillsboro band students will no longer need to pay to rent school instruments thanks to a unanimous vote Monday by the USD 410 school board. The board agreed that eliminating fees could increase interest among students.

  • FFA leaders meet at state conference

    Area FFA members attended a state conference for chapter leaders last week at Rock Springs 4-H campgrounds south of Junction City. State FFA president Elizabeth Meyer of Marion High School and other state officers compared being a local chapter leader to the Olympics and advanced a conference theme, “Carrying the FFA Torch.”

  • Clothing sale to raise money for schools

    Marion County residents will not have to travel far to find clothing for their children to wear on the first day of school. Krista Matlock of Hillsboro has organized a back to school gala from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Historic Church at Tabor.

  • College degrees and honors

UPCOMING

  • Calendar of events

  • Free movie planned at lake

    The first of a series of free outdoor movies will be shown at dusk Saturday at the beach area of Marion County Park and Lake. This month’s movie has not yet been selected, but a similar showing the third Saturday in August will feature “Jaws” shown on a floating screen, with moviegoers asked to jump in the lake whenever the movie’s shark appears.

  • MB foundation to break ground

    Groundbreaking for the new Mennonite Brethren Foundation building at 200 E. D St. will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The foundation plans a new 8,800-square-foot office building, replacing a 5,500-square-foot building on Lincoln St. that has become too small for its 13 employees.

  • Pool plans twilight swim

    A twilight swim from 9 p.m. to midnight Friday at Hillsboro Family Aquatic Center will benefit Main Street Ministries. Cost is $4 or three non-perishable food items.

  • 5K run to benefit team

    A 5-kilometer run benefiting Goessel’s crosscountry team is planned for this year’s Threshing Days in Goessel. A $25 entry fee includes a T-shirt and prizes for division winners.

  • Disability group to meet

    A public forum will being the monthly meeting of Harvey-Marion County Community Developmental Disability Organization at 4 p.m. Monday at 500 N. Main St., Suite 204, Newton.

  • Waste board to meet

    Central Kansas Regional Solid Waste Authority will meet at 7 p.m. July 20 at McPherson County transfer station, 1431 17th Ave, McPherson.

  • TEEN to meet

    Technology Excellence in Education Network will meet at 6 p.m. July 20, 2016, in the USD 408 district office, 101 N. Thorp St., Marion.

MORE…

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