PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin

Shoppers flock to fall festival

Home businesses showed off their best offerings, and youth groups and others sold baked goods to shoppers who were entertained by area bands Saturday during Peabody’s Fall Festival. Vendors in booths that lined Walnut St. offered nearly everything visitors that perused them could want at a craft show including antiques, wood carvings, lemonade, hand woven bracelets, baked good, jewelry, art, Scentsy products, food, bath salts and sugar scrubs visitors made for themselves.

Council disappointed with attendance at city meeting

Peabody’s city council members were discouraged by the lack of residents present Monday for discussion of how to fund an upgrade of the city’s water lines. “I wish more people were here,” councilman Travis Wilson said. “I don’t want to push anything without a lot of peoples’ input. I’d like to see us send a letter in bright orange or green with the options we’re looking at.”

County website hit by hackers

Marion County’s website was hacked twice in early August, possibly by two different suspects, one of whom left an obscene message on the site. “It seems like this was trivial, but we’re taking steps to prevent it from happening again,” Spencer said.

Wind farm company blasts Novak's behavior in legal filing

County commissioner Dianne Novak was called out for her apparent collaboration with plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Aug. 14 against county commissioners. Wind farm developer Expedition Wind filed a motion to intervene in the case, originally filed by Peabody farmer Randy Eitzen and 72 other wind farm opponents. They claim the county’s approval of a conditional use permit for the wind farm “was unreasonable and therefore void.”

County's struggle with transfer station funding continues

County commissioners continue to search for ways to pay for a new transfer station or update the existing one. Commissioners initially planned to put a sales tax question on the ballot for the November election, but a blunder in the language of a bill passed by legislators forced commissioners to change their mind on putting the tax to a vote. Commissioners had asked for “up to ½% sales tax,” but learned in August the bill legislators approved was for ½% sales tax.

New treasurer sees position as career changing

Lori Pickens always had an affinity for numbers and working with people, so she thought accepting a post as Peabody’s new city treasurer could be her final career move. “I hope to stay here until I retire,” she said. “I’m hoping this is it. It’s neat working with the city council.”

Florence among Kansas' lowest-income cities

Florence was the eighth-lowest income city in Kansas from 2012 to 2017, with a median income of $25,365 per household, according to a recent study. “It’s probably tough on a lot of people around here,” mayor Bob Gayle said.

Bookstore owner talks rare books

Wichita resident Peggy Trabke doesn’t value her copy of “The Poetical Works of Edgar Allen Poe” any less after finding out its resale value would only be about $25. Its sentimental value is beyond measure. “My late mother-in-law gave it to me, and it was her mother’s,” Trabke said.

Fall brings prospect of fewer blue-green algae blooms

Fishermen or boaters who have been deterred by blue-green algae at Marion County Lake can look forward to better conditions this fall, according to lake manager Isaac Hett. Blooms will recede during fall and winter months the way animals go into hibernation, and return in the spring, Hett said.

Kapaun Museum given icon from Bosnian chapel named in his honor

After the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United States 1st Infantry Division was given the task of enforcing a peace agreement signed in December 1995. Camp McGovern was one of the army camps in Bosnia, and its chapel was named after Emil Kapaun, a Catholic chaplain who was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for his selfless actions as a prisoner of War in North Korea. He died in the camp in May 1951.

Watershed meeting set for Thursday

Marion County Commissioners may attend the Marion Reservoir Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy meeting at 11 a.m. Thursday at Marion City Library.

Church schedules Mexican dinner

Peabody Christian Church will hold a Mexican dinner 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 5, with donations going toward water-damage repairs. The menu will include burritos, taco salad, and nachos.

County, wind farm representatives disagree on flood damage to roads

Commissioners, Enel authorities question whose responsibility it is By PHYLLIS ZORN Staff writer A Friday county commission meeting to discuss road maintenance issues with Enel Green Power, the company developing Diamond Vista wind farm in the northern section of the county, and talk to Expedition Wind about future development of a wind farm in the southern portion of the county stayed civil despite a packed house.

Fall cleanup days set for Peabody

Peabody will have a hazardous waste trailer available for residents from 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 5 at 1st and Vine Sts. Fall cleanup will be Oct. 12. All loose items must be bundled, boxed, or bagged, and items such as tires, construction debris, and appliances with Freon will not be accepted.

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