BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
The first official report to the court from the receiver managing Hillsboro Community Hospital shows numerous problems at the facility.
Cohesive Healthcare Management + Consulting filed its report to the court Friday.
There will be a planned water outage all day Monday from W. Grand to W. D Sts. in Hillsboro.
The water department will be doing a valve shut-off as part of ongoing water line replacement project.
After a decade of being Peabody’s mayor, Larry Larsen will open the Jan. 28 city council meeting, then pass the gavel to Tom Spencer, who will assume mayoral duties Jan. 28.
Larsen turned in his resignation Jan. 14 as he and his wife will be moving outside city limits.
With the city council split, Florence’s discussion on 2019’s water and sewer rates Monday came down to the decision of mayor Bob Gayle.
He voted to keep water rates as they are, but he also expressed concern that the city’s water and sewer expenses will increase in the next few years due to aging equipment.
Discussion of road conditions and planning for roadwork drew 11 members of the public to Tuesday’s county commission meeting.
Before comments began, commission chairman Kent Becker issued a warning to people assembled for the discussion.
Democrats and Republicans alike met Saturday to choose their candidates for two newly created county commission districts.
The county Republican Party elected David Crofoot as its District 4 candidate after hearing from Crofoot, former commissioner Dan Holub, and Dick McLinden.
The Republican Party cast a narrow vote Saturday to appoint a Salina public defender as county attorney, passing over former county attorney Susan Robson.
The appointment is to fill the vacant seat of Courtney Boehm, whose last day on the job was Tuesday. She is now a district judge.
Peabody Community Foundation will have its annual pancake day 7 to 11 a.m. Feb. 2 at Peabody Senior Center.
Breakfast, served by donation, will feature local sausage and pancakes.
A blood drive will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the Wohlgemuth Building, 400 S. Jefferson, Hillsboro.
Appointments can be made by calling (800) 733-2767 or visiting redcrossblood.org.
The Harvey-Marion County Community Developmental Disability Organization will meet at 4 p.m. Monday in the meeting room at 500 N. Main, Suite 204, in Newton.
The 2018 independent audit report will be presented. There will be a public forum at the beginning of the meeting.
Temporary administrators for Hillsboro Community Hospital are going through records and shaking their heads, Hillsboro city administrator Larry Paine said Tuesday.
A Friday court ruling put the hospital under management of Shawnee, Oklahoma-based Cohesive Healthcare Management + Consulting.
Services for Louise J. Shumate, 92, of Strong City, formerly of Cedar Point, who died last Thursday, at Chase County Care and Rehabilitation Center will be 1 p.m. Thursday at Brown-Bennett-Alexander Funeral Home, Cottonwood Falls. Interment will follow in Cedar Point Cemetery.
Visitation will be 6 to 7:30 tonight at Brown-Bennett-Alexander Funeral Home.
IN MEMORIAM:
John Garrard
After two weeks of silence at Marion Farm Service Agency, the office reopened, though just for Thursday, Friday, and Tuesday, before closing again.
The shutdown has been strenuous for those involved with the federal farm programs, FSA Kansas executive director Derek Schemm said.
Cattlemen are in survival mode these days as they battle wind, rain, snow, and mud to keep livestock fed and watered.
Sarah Stuchlik of rural Lost Springs was a city girl. She said the biggest challenge her husband, Monte, and sons Ross and Daniel face is anticipating what is coming weather-wise and being prepared for it.
Beef cattle industry leaders are reporting that beef demand remains strong, led by the loin and ground beef.
Economic analysis confirms consumers responding positively to the higher quality beef supply available in the marketplace.
Something’s very wrong with democracy in Marion County, and contrary to popular belief it has nothing to do with any of the people involved. It has to do with a system that, over time, has been transformed into something it never was intended to be.
As much as we worry about who gets elected to various positions, most of the positions we fill by election have little if any latitude to actually impact lives.
CALENDAR:
Calendar of events
Marion County Department on Aging will be assisting with the homestead claim and Low Income Energy Assistance Program at sites across the county starting next week. Tax assistance will start Feb. 4.
Department director Gayla Ratzlaff will be at Hillsboro Senior Center on Jan. 25 and Peabody Senior Center on Jan. 29 to assist with the homestead and energy assistance applications. Appointments are being accepted at (620) 947-2304 in Hillsboro and (620) 983-2226 in Peabody.
Older Kansans interested in politics and public policy can register to become candidates for the Kansas Silver Haired Legislature.
KSHL gives seniors an educational experience in state politics and an opportunity to identify policy issues important for older Kansans and caregivers. Each year, members of KSHL meet to identify issues, develop and discuss bills and resolutions, and present KSHL bills to members of the legislature.
Descendants of Henry and Ethel Collett gathered Jan. 20 to celebrate January birthdays of 13 family members.
Especially noted were birthdays of Howard Collett (90) and Anita Collett Sly (84). Other birthdays were those of Mark Collett, Lyle Erickson, Anne Collett, Joan Erickson, Liz Burton, Campbell Parazin, Sara Nelson Collett, Gina Marx, Mary Beth Bowers, and Josh Bunnell.
WONSEVU:
This and that
Victories weren’t possible during the Peabody-Burns basketball teams’ run in Centre’s Cougar Classic.
The two went winless, wrapping up the tournament Thursday in eighth place.
Peabody-Burns students won’t go hungry because of the federal shutdown, superintendent Ron Traxson said at the Jan. 9 school board meeting.
“We received a letter from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services that our school meals will have no interruptions well into March,” he said. “After that, it’s uncertain what will happen.”
Peabody-Burns freshman softball player Skylre Stucky’s family is having a fundraiser beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Peabody Legion for her upcoming Dominican Republic trip.
She was selected to compete with America’s Team in a series of softball games designed to promote and enhance the sport and promote goodwill between American and foreign student-athletes.