BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
A missing Wichita man whose truck was found Monday night in a pond near Marion Reservoir was found dead Wednesday morning by Sedgwick County deputies with cadaver dogs.
The body of 38-year-old James Lightfoot was found at 10:35 a.m. Wednesday. The Marion County sheriff's office did not release information about the discovery until Thursday afternoon and did not specify where the body was discovered.
To a standing ovation from more than 1,000 journalists at a banquet in Anaheim, California,
A former Peabody teacher and a Peabody native died in a head-on collision Thursday morning on a foggy section of US-50 west of Union Rd., between Peabody and Florence.
According to Kansas Highway Patrol, an eastbound 2017 GMC Acadia driven by Travis Flasschoen, 41, of Florence crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a westbound 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe driven by John M. Ireland, 71, Cottonwood Falls.
Storms caused so much damage to county roads June 18 to 19 that emergency manager Marcy Hostetler already has sent disaster declaration information to the state.
She and road and bridge superintendent Steve Hudson spoke to commissioners Monday about issuing a declaration.
Hillsboro police officer Duane McCarty was driving home after his Sunday shift when he ended up chasing a yellow dune buggy down Old Mill Rd.
McCarty was driving east on US-56 from Hillsboro toward his Marion home about 5:30 p.m., Hillsboro Assistant Police Chief Randy Brazil said.
County commissioners once again will talk about a resolution, pushed by commissioner Kent Becker, to prohibit a federal conservation program in Marion County.
Opponents of the so-called 30x30 Program call it “a land grab,” while landowners who want freedom to make decisions for themselves have urged commissioners to give the public ample opportunity to be heard before making a decision.
A Wichita man was taken by Hillsboro ambulance to Newton Medical Center Friday after he drove into the path of a semi north of Peabody.
According to an accident report, Richard W. Shoffner, 70, Wichita, was driving east on US-50 when he pulled his 2017 Ford Escape to the right side of the highway, then turned left in front of an eastbound 2015 Freightliner driven by Ernesto Aguirre, 52, El Paso, Texas.
After a thorough review at the Record’s request, the state’s senior official in charge of public water treatment provided definitive explanations Thursday for what had seemed to be confusing lapses in testing by Marion’s water plant.
For four consecutive months last summer, the plant failed to test for bromates, a potentially toxic byproduct of some treatment techniques. Those failures were reported as “major” violations in the plant’s Consumer Confidence Report for 2023.
The west end of Marion Cemetery’s wall along Denver St. awaits repair after it collapsed in late May or early June.
City clerk Janet Robinson said the damage was caused by moisture leaking into the top cap of the wall, then freezing and thawing over time.
Jenaya Plett, a 2024 Centre graduate, has received a $500 scholarship from Senior Citizens of Marion County.
The annual scholarship, established in 2010, is to encourage young people to pursue careers in age-related fields such as medicine, social work, nursing, psychology, etc.
It only happens once a year, but it always brings hungry supporters eager to help Florence’s Harvey House Museum. They flocked in Saturday to enjoy a meal and leave money to keep the museum going.
Florence city clerk Dana Gayle and Philip Baldwin cooked fish in hot oil fryers, and rural Florence resident Cheri Bentz breaded fish to prepare it for cooking.
Summer may be “when the living is easy,” but this summer’s forecast is calling for hotter temperatures than usual, especially later this week, when Friday’s forecast calls for heat indexes to exceed 100.
It’s possible to enjoy time outdoors in the heat, but precautions should be taken to avoid heat exhaustion and its more dangerous cousin, heat stroke.
Kansas Legal Services is seeking applications for a criminal record expungement drive Thursday and Friday at the Dickinson County Courthouse. The clinic aims to provide legal assistance to people seeking to clear their criminal records.
The free clinic will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Dickinson County Courthouse, Abilene. Filing fees may apply.
Services for Travis Alan Flasschoen, 41, who died Thursday in an auto accident not far from his Florence home, will be 10 a.m. Monday at First Baptist Church of Peabody.
Visitation will be 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Yazel-Megli Funeral Home, Marion. Burial will be in Prairie Lawn Cemetery, Peabody.
Services for retired Peabody-Burns educator John Michael Ireland, 71, who died Thursday in a traffic accident near Florence, will be 10 a.m. Thursday at Chase County Junior / Senior High School gymnasium, 600 Main St., Cottonwood Falls.
Born Dec. 10, 1952, in Strong City to Charles and Kathryn Ireland, he graduated from Kansas State University and worked in education for more than 30 years, including as an English teacher, coach, athletic director, and principal from 1976 to 1996 at Peabody-Burns High School.
Funeral Mass for Betty Louise Mintener, 93, who died Thursday at Salem Home in Hillsboro, was Tuesday at St. Mark’s Church, Marion. Burial will be today in Greeley County Cemetery.
She was born on Jan. 17, 1931, in Dillon to Walter J. Mintener and Mary E. (Weber) Mintener.
IN MEMORIAM:
Linda CampbellIN MEMORIAM:
Mark Krotz
This will be the 103rd edition of the longstanding fireworks display, originally begun by the chamber of commerce, 4th Fest committee chairman Jay Gfeller said.
Festivities will kick off July 3 with a dance and karaoke show at the American Legion to benefit the Alumni Association. A $5 cover charge goes toward a scholarship fund. The event will be from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Attendees must be 21 or older.
Aulne
Aulne Bible Church is arranging a music program at 7 p.m. July 5, to be followed by an ice cream social at 8 p.m. and a fireworks show at dark.
Florence
It’s close to home and close enough to town to get what you need, and it offers great fishing, he said.
“It’s a nice little fishing lake,” he said.
Marion City Library has planned several events for July.
The movie “Zombie Apocalypse” will be shown at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the library.
Money for fireworks is raised by an annual two-day Bluegrass at the Lake event and a chili cook-off and car show.
This year’s event will kick off with a parade around the lake at 7 p.m. Fireworks will begin about 9:45 p.m., lake director Isaac Hett said.
Besides 4-H projects being displayed and judged all week, plenty of other activities will bring fairgoers.
4-H concessions will be available from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. July 24 through 26 and a bounce house will be available from 4 to 10 p.m. those days. Food trucks will be available from 5 to 10 p.m.
This year’s Country Threshing Days, held at the Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum in Goessel, will feature displays of Hart-Parr, Oliver, and White Farm Equipment tractors and equipment, but all makes of equipment are welcome for display.
Events will kick off with a parade downtown at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 3.
In fact, lake director Isaac Hett said, it’s the biggest camping weekend of the year.
Nearly twice as many campers use sites with electrical service on Bluegrass weekend as on Memorial Day weekend, he said.
Those unique pieces, inspired by life in Kansas, were some of the earliest items Ern Hett created in his hilltop workshop in what was once a pasture in rural Marion County.
What began as a hobby soon became a business that still attracts customers today.
Mark’s parents are Eugene and Angie Vinduska.
Madison’s are Robin and John Dicks of Marion.
A $25,000 donation from Enel’s Diamond Vista Wind Farm to the Cottonwood Crossing chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association is being used to construct a new visitors’ site just off K-15 on 320th Rd., north of Durham.
Scully Estates donated a 0.3 acre parcel to the county for the site. It has been fenced off from an adjoining pasture, and a semi-circular drive has been rocked by the county. It is big enough for buses to enter and exit.
We keep hearing that we live in an information age, but it seems harder and harder to actually hear information we seek. It’s as if everyone is leaving “evil” out of the expression “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.” No one listens, notices, or tells anything, evil or otherwise.
Flying back from an award ceremony Saturday, I was scheduled to change planes in Phoenix. I rushed down seemingly endless corridors that felt as if they stretched halfway to Kansas. Thanks to an assortment of moving walkways that, unlike many of their neighbors, actually moved, I was able to reach my gate just in time.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
Giving thanksLETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Trumped by truth
Rusty Ballinger, an 8th grader at Marion Middle School, is competing in bareback steer competition this week in the 2024 National Junior High Finals Rodeo in Des Moines.
Roughly 1,200 contestants from 43 states, five Canadian provinces, Australia, and Mexico are competing for more than $80,000 in prizes, more than $200,000 in scholarships, and a chance to be named a world champion.
MEMORIES:
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145 years ago