BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Special prosecutors Monday cleared the newspaper of any wrongdoing and announced they would be filing obstruction of judicial process charges against Gideon Cody, the police chief who led raids on the
Their 124-page report is available here (6MB PDF).
The magistrate who authorized last year’s police raid on the Magistrate Judge Laura Viar’s secret explanation, obtained by Kansas Reflector, adds a new layer of confusion and mystery to how law enforcement were able to carry out the search and seizure of journalists’ computers and cellphones without regard for state and federal laws that prohibit such police action. It also raises concerns about the low standards set for judges by the Kansas Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Despite some officials’ claims that exceeding revenue-neutral rates will cost taxpayers as little as $1, the impact could be much larger.
For a taxpayer who owns a home appraised at $100,000, here’s how much annual taxes would increase in jurisdictions that have said they plan to ignore revenue neutrality:
CITIES
Burns $134.84
Hillsboro 50.12
Lincolnville 48.13
Marion 76.46
Peabody 61.48
Tampa 36.52
SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Centre $25.50
Durham-Hillsboro-Lehigh 11.80
Marion-Florence 21.69
Peabody-Burns 6.65
TOWNSHIPS
Risley $ 5.89
FIRE DISTRICTS
Clear Creek $ 26.00
Peabody 2.36
West Branch 2.73
IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS
County lake $ 4.69
RECREATION COMMISSIONS
Hillsboro $ 0.90
Marion-Florence 0.62
Peabody-Burns 3.48
HOSPITAL DISTRICTS
St. Luke $ 3.42
St. Luke Hospital didn’t fare well in an audit of its 340B drug program.
The program is intended to support hospitals that serve low-income patients.
Friday was the final day of Marion County Fair’s annual animal showcases, and as swine and meat goats were paraded around, some seemed to realize it might also be the final day of their lives.
As the animals strained their necks and oinked and bleated from the center of a mulch ring, young showmen stood alongside them, looking sometimes patiently, sometimes angrily, down at their beasts.
Arguably the favorite part of the county fair is the Saturday evening wrap-up demolition derby.
Stands were packed with watchers eager to see cars ram into each other until a victor emerged still able to drive his car.
Lake supervisor Isaac Hett’s house and office were shaken by a shockwave from a Sunday morning lightning strike on a camper at the county lake.
The lightning strike happened at 8 a.m., he said.
It blew out a Newton family’s power cord port, knocked their camper’s breaker panel to the floor, and briefly caused a lot of smoke, Hett said.
A minor accident two weeks ago is focusing attention on not-so-minor problems with visibility at downtown intersections in Marion.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if there were a bunch of near accidents downtown because of the ‘new’ sidewalks / intersections,” interim Police Chief Zach Hudlin said Monday.
As many as 32 properties in the county could be sold at auction for unpaid taxes.
Most of the tax bills that gave rise to a suit filed Thursday by Marion County are property taxes, but one is for unpaid mineral taxes.
A free program honoring the memory of Joan Meyer and observing the first anniversary of police raids on the
The Sunday program will include a screening of the award-winning Wichita Eagle documentary, “Unwarranted: The Senseless Death of Journalist Joan Meyer.”
A $900,000 state grant awarded Friday will help finance a 40-mile fiber network that will provide broadband Internet to 600 residents and businesses in and around Burns, Elbing, and Whitewater.
IdeaTek, based in Buhler, will install the network. It was one of 12 recipients of the first round of $10 million in state funding for broadband access in rural areas.
A week of sizzling temperatures will end with a weekend of sizzling events — Bluegrass at the Lake and Threshing Days in Goessel.
Bluegrass at the Lake
Services for Vicki Jean Hiebert, 72, who died July 21 at Ascension Via Christi St Francis Hospital in Wichita, will be 11 a.m. Saturday at the American Legion ballroom in Hillsboro.
Born Jan. 14, 1952, in Lamar, Colorado, to Calvin and Dorothy (Dody) Kelley, she grew up in Hillsboro and graduated from Hillsboro High School and Sidney’s School of Cosmetology.
IN MEMORIAM:
Gerald DuerksenIN MEMORIAM:
JoAnn Goss
We at the newspaper hope you will join us a week from Sunday at Marion Senior Center to honor the memory of Joan Meyer and observe the first anniversary of police raids on our office, her home, and the home of Ruth Herbel.
We debated long and hard about whether to schedule an event featuring the Wichita Eagle’s powerful documentary, singer-songwriter Emily Judson’s moving musical tribute, and a panel of experts talking about implications of the raid.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTY:
An artist's way of lifeLETTERS:
Gaming camping
The first Marion recreation program summer musical in 16 years will be presented Saturday and Sunday.
“Rock Around the Block” will be performed at 7 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday in the ballroom in Marion City Hall.
A book launch for Greg Peters’ “The Galloping Goose from Goessel: How My Father Broke the Legendary Glenn Cunningham’s Mile Record and Other Stories from a Life Well-Lived” will be 1 p.m. Thursday at Bethesda Home in Goessel.
Peters will be available at Bethesda Home for a meet and greet during which he will give a book presentation.
Aug. 15 will be the deadline for members of Marion High School’s Class of 1974 to register for the class’s 50th anniversary reunion planned for Old Settlers Day.
Class members will meet at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 28 and ride in the Old Settlers parade at 11 a.m.
MEMORIES:
15,
30,
45,
60,
75,
110,
145 years ago