PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin

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.

City to install handicap-accessible sidewalk, gate at pool

Peabody City Council members heard a report from Councilman Bob Knapp about the plan to install a handicap-accessible gate at the municipal swimming pool. Knapp said that he and Interim Public Works Director Ronnie Harms had examined the area along the west fence line discussed by council members May 27 as a logical spot to install a wheelchair accessible gate and sidewalk. “After looking things over, we decided that a better position for the gate would be the east side just south of the baby pool,” Knapp said. “There is a water line and an electrical line along the west fence, but the east side is clear of obstructions.”

Kids save lost duckling from cat

Christopher Spencer was outside playing with his brother and sister last week when he saw the family cat, Bella, chasing something along the side of the house. “She (Bella) likes to catch things,” he said.

Son's birth changed a father's life

Some people may have thought of Daniel Huls as a problem child when he was growing up. He caused his teachers headaches and “did a lot of dumb things,” he said. He graduated from eighth grade and dropped out of school. He smoked and drank. Huls has learned a lot since then. He met his wife, Rehea, when she was 13 and he was 17. They worked at various jobs and barely got by.

Administrative jobs change

With the resignation of high school principal Tim Robertson, and Peabody-Burns Board of Education’s decision not to re-fill the position, some shuffling of duties was due between other administrators. After 17 minutes in executive session, it was decided that Ray Savage would take over as assistant principal for all grade levels and be director of all activities and athletics in the district. Savage’s pay will remain the same.

Police chief warns of rash of burglaries and thefts

“We have taken reports of five cases of burglary and theft from local residents since early May,” Peabody Police Chief Bruce Burke said Monday. He also noted that Peabody officers have taken more than the usual number of reports about suspicious behavior in several neighborhoods.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Summer information comes with breakfast

Party affiliation deadline for primary is July 1

A new law passed by the Kansas Legislature this year prohibits voters from changing party affiliation between the deadline to file for a primary and the date of the primary. However, the law isn’t effective until July 1, so voters can change their party affiliation for the remainder of June. After the law goes into effect, registered voters affiliated with a party may not change their affiliation between noon June 1 and the end of August. Anyone who files paperwork to change parties during that period will be asked to re-file after Sept. 1.

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.

Feedback about children on bikes

Several of you commented on my column in the past week’s paper about the young man on a bicycle I nearly hit as he flew through an intersection on Walnut St. right in front of me. I would like to thank you for your support and for your suggestions of how we as a community might fix this problem before we all have to deal with the death of a child. A couple of people suggested that I should have followed him, gotten his name and that of his parents, and then filed a complaint or at least talked to his folks. Others wondered if the Peabody-Burns Recreation Commission or Peabody Police Department offers bicycle safety classes to help kids learn the rules of operating a bike. Some thought there should be a local ordinance in place to punish the child and take away his bicycle privileges. Those are some interesting ideas.

Days of Yore

Chloe Mais, 13-year-old Peabody girl, has spent much of her summer the past two years preparing baked items and growing produce to sell at the weekly farmers’ market in downtown Peabody. Peggy Clark, 57-year-old daughter of former Peabody-Burns USD 398 Superintendent, died in Georgetown of ovarian cancer.

Librarian receives certification

Rodger Charles, Peabody Township Library director, has completed the Applied Public Library Education Course — ApPLE — conducted by the North Central Kansas Libraries System. ApPLE is a yearlong course for new library directors. The curriculum covered subjects from customer service and collection development to technology and facility maintenance. The classes were taught by professional librarians from Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska.

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.

Peabody Super Swimmers place 2nd at Council Grove

The Peabody swim team opened the 2014 swimming season June 7 at Council Grove. The team came in second behind Hesston. Swim team coach Tom Spencer praised the young people for training hard and performing well.

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.

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.

2 from area named to Pratt CC honor roll

Taylor Carlson of Hillsboro and Zachary Goodwin of Burns were among the students named to the dean’s honor roll at Pratt Community College. To be named to the dean’s honor roll, a student must take at least 12 credit hours and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Disability board to meet

The Harvey-Marion Community Developmental Disabilities Organization will have its monthly meeting at 4 p.m. Monday at 500 N. Main St., Suite 204, in Newton.

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