BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Blue-green algae warnings were issued Thursday for both Marion Reservoir and Marion County Lake.
The reservoir had been under an algae warning and the lake under a less serious algae watch.
Unless it invokes special procedures, Marion County will have to reduce its property tax rate by 12.7% next year to comply with a new state law discouraging increased spending attributable to valuation windfalls.
Primarily because of the end of a 10-year exemption for the Keystone pipeline crossing the county, the county will be able to raise as much money for 2022 as it raised for 2021 by imposing a tax rate of just 66.412 mills instead of its current 76.048 mills, county clerk Tina Spencer said Monday.
Expedition Wind’s southern Marion County wind farm operations have been purchased by Orsted, a multinational energy company based in Denmark.
Orsted is the largest energy company in Denmark, with revenue of $8.56 billion in 2020.
Authorities are considering criminal damages after an inmate at the county jail threw a cup and hit fire sprinkler, setting it off.
Marion firefighters responded to a report of smoke coming from a cell, but there was no fire.
Burns mayor Ryan Johnson can’t believe his little town’s council meetings are getting media attention.
A ruckus during a meeting June 8 led to its abrupt adjournment. Johnson called the sheriff’s office, but contrary to initial reports, no one was arrested.
For nearly a decade, Mike Hurst has climbed three flights of narrow, wooden stairs at the county courthouse every week to keep its centuries-old clock chiming.
He visits a stuffy room that houses the clock’s mechanics and cranks a handle to wind it — ensuring that it will keep on ticking.
Thirty years ago, Morris County lawyer Michael Powers struggled with deciding whether to pursue a judgeship in Marion County.
“I had to move from Morris County with my wife,” he said.
If you are looking for a job, Tina Novak would be grateful to meet you.
The new manager at Marion’s Ampride is making do with only two employees — which is not nearly enough.
Marion officially transferred its baseball and softball complex to the school district Monday.
The city will maintain the complex and provide insurance through July. After that, the school district will be responsible for insurance, property taxes, utilities, maintenance, operation, and management.
Water service to portions of Marion’s south hill will be disrupted for an indeterminate period Thursday as part of the city’s water main replacement project.
“There will be a large water outage on Thursday,” project engineer Darin Neufeld of EBH Engineering told city council members Monday. “We were going to reuse the valve on Freeborn and Main Sts., but when we got in, we found the valve went to about 30 feet of patches,” he said.
A judge last week confirmed his earlier order that Florence resident and wind farm opponent Tom Britain must stay 100 feet away from county planning and zoning chief Sharon Omstead.
Omstead requested protection from stalking after a November incident at a Florence convenience store.
Terminal patient plans his farewell
By MADELINE REIDA
Staff writer
Celebrations of life are normally funerals, but Roger Ryder, 57, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018, hopes to be around for his.
Florence High School closed 50 years ago, but that hasn’t stopped it from having what alumni contend is the longest continuing alumni reunion in the state.
The group’s 124th alumni banquet drew an identical 124 reservations of alumni, guests, and teachers from Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia. Classes honored went all the way back to 1940.
Chisholm Trail Extension District is relocating it Marion County office south of the courthouse to the former Shawmar Oil and Gas office at 1116 E Main St., which it is buying with $51,000 from tax money it levied last year as a newly created taxing district.
“That facility is going to give us something we don’t have now — meeting space where we can have classes and do those things that we obviously don’t have room for here,” agent Rickey Roberts said.
Every nut and bolt on the Harley has been replaced, but Jim Hefley still rides it to honor the memory of a friend.
The 1953 Harley Davidson was late Tabor College professor Richard Wall’s pride and joy when he was a young man.
Carl Miller wants Hillsboro residents to know his staff is coming.
Every six years, the county appraises properties.
Organizers of a barbecue competition at the county fair will be able to open a beer garden at the event this July
Hillsboro’s city council unanimously signed off on the condition the beer consumption be limited to a roped off section of the fairgrounds.
The county health department on Tuesday reported only one new case of COVID-19 in this past week.
Two COVID patients remain in isolation and none are hospitalized. The county has had 1,096 cases since counting began in 2020.
No services are planned for Tom E. Buford, 82, who died Wednesday at St. Luke Living Center.
He was born Feb. 10, 1939, in Marion to Wes and Esther (Sampson) Buford.
Services for Lehigh native Joan Ruth Duerksen, 83, who died Saturday at her residence in Newton, will be 11 a.m. Friday at Grace Community Church in Newton.
Pastor Steve Friesen will officiate. Family members will receive visitors from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the church.
Services for retired middle school teacher Melvin Wayne Joy, 87, who died Dec. 12 at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro, will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Durham Baptist Church.
Born Jan. 23, 1933, in Amorita, Oklahoma, to John Joy and Alma (Hoff) Joy, he is survived by son Danny Joy of Corvallis, Oregon; daughter Lori Harding of Wichita; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Services for retired Peabody Sausage House owner Arlene Ruth (Penner) Unruh, 89, who died Nov. 24, will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Peabody United Methodist Church
Born June 21, 1931, in Hillsboro to Peter H. and Marie (Schroeder) Penner, she married Roy E. Unruh on Aug. 17, 1950, in Hillsboro. He preceded her in death.
IN MEMORIAM:
Dee DugganIN MEMORIAM:
John LangIN MEMORIAM:
MaryAnn McCallumIN MEMORIAM:
Gaylord Hamm
A lot of high school graduates move on to college or a trade school, but after spending two years at Kansas State University, Sienna Kaufman decided to come back home and help her father, Tim Kaufman, at their ranch in Durham.
“I couldn’t stand sitting in a dorm room studying,” Sienna said. “I would come home every weekend. If there was a day I could come home, I was home.”
Most assisted living residents at Bethesda Home in Goessel no longer drive, but still appreciate good vehicles.
Bethesda annually is host for a car show to celebrate Fathers Day. This year, that will include a motorcycle parade on Friday.
One of Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum’s stars for its 14th annual antique, classic car, truck, and motorcycle show this weekend will be a 1970 autumn gold Chevelle owned by Elroy Wiens, Goessel.
Wiens purchased the car Nov. 7, 1970, and it has been stored in a garage all its life. With the help of Kevin’s Body Shop, Lowell Heinrich and Romney Heinrichs restored the body and paint of the car while Wiens rebuilt the power train and restored the interior.
Find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.
The words are as true today as they were when first uttered by Confucius, Mark Twain, or some anonymous adage author too pleased with his occupation to remember to take credit.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
Too much stuff
For Jan Meisinger, 42 years in Hillsboro’s city offices has been more than just a job.
“Working for city government has been a very fulfilling career,” she said. “Working with a number of long-time employees gives you a real sense of ‘family.’ I am proud to have been a part of seeing positive changes for our city over the years.”
4-H:
Happy HustlersMEMORIES:
10,
25,
40,
55,
70,
100,
140 years ago
When Cheney High principal Ron Traxson, 65, arrived in Peabody in 2012 to take his first job as superintendent of schools, he didn’t think he would retire in the position nine years later.
“I didn’t know I would be here this many years when I came here,” Traxson said. “To be quite honest, it’s been a good run here.”
Hillsboro schools had additional needs for spending for the 2021-22 school year, so the school board is calling a special budget reissuing meeting.
“We had to spend more than the budget was,” said Jerry Hinerman, business manager for the district office, “and you can’t spend more than the budget in a school budget without reapproving it.”