BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
A blue-green algae warning for Marion County Lake was lifted Thursday after four weeks.
Kansas Department of Health and Environment gave the lake’s waters the all-clear after multiple tests by scientists, lake supervisor Isaac Hett said.
An apparent oversight in Marion’s city code and charter ordinances may mean city administrator Roger Holter is ineligible to hold his job.
That was one of the key warnings delivered Monday night by city council member Ruth Herbel, a frequent critic of Holter’s job performance.
A Marion woman was arrested after multiple reports of erratic behavior that capped with her taking a bath at a friend’s home during a break-in.
Rexana J. Siebert, 44, was arrested Friday on suspicion of trespassing.
County commissioner Jonah Gehring spent all day Tuesday watching road and bridge crews clean up a mess they made in one afternoon Friday.
He estimated the debacle cost the county up to $2,700.
Lake supervisor Isaac Hett has been working steadily to reopen a bait shop at Marion County Lake by Memorial Day weekend.
“By that weekend I can be up and running,” he said.
It took four members of Marion City Council less than 20 minutes Monday to unanimously approve, without a referendum, up to $4.2 million in borrowing to pay for efforts to stabilize Marion’s antiquated power grid.
If the city had issued its own bonds, the project might have required a referendum.
Organizers of an annual walk from Wichita to Pilsen to honor Father Emil Kapaun are preparing to greet a record number of pilgrims this year.
More than 400 have expressed interest in honoring the memory of the priest who died a hero as a prisoner of war.
After learning two weeks ago that Hillsboro’s sewer lagoon is in need of improvements, city council members bought the needed equipment Tuesday.
The sludge layer in the lagoon is 18 inches deep and the lagoon is in need of baffles and aeration, Alan Luttrell, with EBH Engineering, told council members at the May 4 meeting.
After pushing the issue of employee pay back and forth for weeks, county commissioners voted Monday to give employee raises of an undetermined size in July.
The decision follows weeks of discussion and came after commissioners spent months ignoring a pay study done three years ago.
Some students celebrated the end of the year at Tabor College by setting off fireworks and attempting to prank classmates with dead deer four days before final move-out.
Hillsboro residents reported loud pops near Tabor, but city officer David Funk said most who live nearby have grown somewhat used to end-of-the year shenanigans on the college’s campus.
Students in Mark Lockhart’s architecture, construction, and furniture fabrication classes at Marion High School are learning skills they can use in the work force after they graduate.
But Lockhart is concerned that, if the price of lumber continues to rise, students may be forced to start building models instead of the real things.
Not mowing the grass can get expensive in a hurry.
If the city of Hillsboro has to mow someone’s property, the city charges $200 for the job.
Longtime zoning board member and city recreation director Margo Yates was appointed Marion’s interim zoning administrator Monday.
She replaces Duane McCarty, who resigned the part-time position but will remain as a full-time police officer.
Kansas residents age 22 to 32 who have been involved in community programs are being urged to apply for next year’s Kansas Emerging Leaders class.
Nomination forms are available at http://LeadershipKansas.org/nominate-KEL.
Private services were Monday for Elsie Jane Phillips, 80, who died May 11 at Salem Home in Hillsboro.
She was born May 31, 1940, in Hillsboro to Solomon and Esther (Janzen) Funk.
IN MEMORIAM:
Richard Mellott
Jessi Dalke has earned plenty of A’s at Hillsboro High School.
The valedictorian is one of four Kansas Honor Scholars at the high school along with co-valedictorians Dillon Bolt, Charles Major, Jessica Saunders — chosen for being in the top 10% of their class.
Macy Sigel has been a star student-athlete for Marion High, but the honor student found her calling off the playing field.
One of six possible valedictorians, and four in the top 10% at the school, Sigel found her purpose not in the spotlight, acting as a shadow during a work-study at St. Luke.
Dillon Boldt has had many great teachers but says he learned the most from Lynn Just.
The Hillsboro High School choir teacher helped him discover that he, too, had a future as a music teacher.
Jessica Saunders’ run as a multi-sport star and top student shows no sign of slowing.
A standout for Hillsboro High volleyball, basketball, and track these past four years, Saunders has signed for multiple sports at Fort Hays State University.
Tristan Williams has dreamed of becoming a veterinarian since she was a child.
The Marion High valedictorian will be one step closer to that dream this fall when she starts Kansas State University as a pre-veterinary medicine major.
Todd Palic is keeping his eyes on the prize even as commencement nears.
The Marion High honor student was runner-up at state wrestling and a football All-League honoree, but there are still two key track and field meets left — regionals and state.
Honor student Jayden Spencer’s longtime passion for music was tested by a pandemic this past year.
She has been heavily involved in band at Marion High School as a flutist but dropped out when COVID-19 canceled competitions or moved others online.
Kyla Isaac loves God, science, and acts of service — and she dreams of harmonizing them into a mission that will help others and become her life’s work.
The Hillsboro valedictorian always has been good at science and math and doesn’t see them as competing with her faith.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH...:
Peabody-Burns valedictorian,
Goessel valedictorians
Catherine Blount Forsyth, who graduated from Marion High School along with her twin sister, Suzanne, in 1996, never thought she’d end up where she now is.
“Sometimes life takes you on a very odd path that you never wanted to be on, and you are very happy there,” Forsyth said. “Don’t discount the opportunities that come in front of you.”
Suzanne Blount Hubele pictured herself becoming a Marine after graduating from Marion High School in 1996. Life took her elsewhere.
Hubele was awarded a Marine ROTC scholarship up to $80,000.
Derek Stuchlik, 2011 graduate of Marion High School, is now the engineer he said he’d be.
The son of high school math and science teacher Gary Stuchlik, his interest in math and science came naturally.
Kathy Wiens can spot the silver lining of opportunity in the dark cloud of a pandemic that temporarily shuttered her practice.
Possibilities Healing Arts Studio, 331 E. Main St., Marion, was set to open to the public this past July, but COVID-19 scuttled those plans and forced her to see clients online.
Children 12 and over will now be able to get a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination by phoning the county health department to arrange one.
Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will continue to be given during regular vaccination clinics.
When COVID-19 virus took the world by storm in 2020, individuals already battling health problems, including 15 million Americans currently living with cancer, had many difficult decisions to make.
Health officials continue to urge people to take precautions when going out in public and to limit close contact with others outside of their family units.
A new nurse practitioner at St. Luke Clinic in Marion is already a familiar face.
Natalie Libordi did three clinical rotations at the hospital and the clinic during her schooling.
Blood donations will be accepted 1 to 5 p.m. June 7 at Goessel Mennonite Church, 109 S. Church St., Goessel.
Donation includes a test to determine whether the donor has developed COVID-19 antibodies.
It’s not just new graduates who are streaming out into the real world at the end of this school year. In what anecdotally seems to be surprising numbers, teachers are leaving as well.
Retirement provides many allures, of course. As public employees, most teachers have lucrative retirement options available to them. But there may be more to the current exodus from education than a mere cashing in on government largess.
Imagine you desperately need a roof — a necessity, not a luxury, particularly these rainy days.
You’re not looking to trade up to some fancy tile or metal variety. All you want is something that won’t leak and is sound enough that a home improvement guru won’t have a heart attack looking at it on some TV show.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
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Memories rekindledCORRECTIONS:
Ambulance service
Several area cemeteries are planning Memorial Day observances this year.
Hillsboro
Goessel Community Foundation gave six grants totaling $3,630 to nonprofit organizations May 1.
Bethesda Home received two grants totaling $1,180 to supplement expenses for the Friendship Meal Program.
Centre High School senior and FFA member Cailey Barney has made the finals in a state employability skills leadership development event.
After qualifying to compete in November, she worked at updating her resume, cover letter, application, and job description.
A bunch of longtime teachers are retiring from the Hillsboro school district this spring.
Debbie Dick has been teaching at Hillsboro Elementary School for 37 years, including 22 in first grade, eight in second grade, and seven in third grade.
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Garrett Alleven of Marion, a junior swimmer at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota, recently received the “Husky of the Year” award.
He was selected for the award by his swim team members as “the best representation of the male athlete,” meaning he is a good role model inside and outside the pool.
Centre’s Elias Jirak took fifth place at the regional golf meet. He will compete at state Monday and Tuesday in Emporia.