PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin

Mayor, councilman sworn in

Mayor Larry Larsen was sworn in for his third term Monday night at the Peabody City Council meeting, by Administrator Shane Marler. Marler then administered the oath of office to Councilman Tom Schmidt who was re-elected in April. Janice Woodruff, also re-elected in April, was out of state and will be sworn in when she returns.

Kansas Main Street will reorganize

Peabody Main Street executive director Shane Marler, was in Holton Wednesday through Friday to take part in a symposium for the reorganization of the Kansas Main Street program. About 50 people from the 26 Kansas Main Street cities were on hand for the meeting. A board of directors from the member cities had previously filed the articles of incorporation with the state. Kansas Main Street, Inc. has been recognized as the state agency by the National Main Street Center and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Schools brace for big cuts

USD 398 Superintendent Ron Traxson started the school board meeting Monday with a bombshell, even though members knew was going to drop. For the 2014-15 school year, the district will lose about $93,000 from the general fund in state financing because of declining enrollment. With rising health costs, set for institution in October 2014, the district will need to pay $58 on every single individual policy. Traxson figured that would raise the total losses for the district to about $102,000.

Crop dusters turn heads above Marion County

Gordon and Judy Pendergraft look up every time they hear a plane flying overhead. The couple, who lives near the airport runway at Marion County Park and Lake, has a special interest in planes as they are both retired from Beachcraft. Judy even used to pilot for the company. Lately, several yellow crop dusting planes have captured their interest with heightened activity from dawn to dusk at the airport. Flying for Ag Service out of rural Hillsboro, the yellow planes are spraying fungicide on area wheat fields to kill and prevent yield-lowering diseases.

Eula L. Colle

Eula L. Colle was born Sept. 12, 1921, on a farm south of Valley Falls, Kan. Her parents were Walter and Pearl White Tosh. Eula was the second of four daughters; her sisters were Lora, Marjorie, and Wanda. When Eula was 5, her father died and Eula’s mother and the girls lived with their grandparents. Eula’s mother remarried to Melvin Irwin in 1930 and the family grew to 10 children.

Robert Finley

Robert Finley, 83, of Herington died May 8 at Medicalodges in Herington. He was born May 20 1929 at Brookings South Dakota the son of the Rev S. Ben and Fern B. (Judd) Finley.

Irvin D. Schroeder

Irvin D. Schroeder, 90, of Hillsboro died Tuesday at Parkside Home in Hillsboro. He was born July 23, 1922, to Peter D. and Katherine (Kim) Schroeder in rural Buhler. He is survived by a son, Bruce D. Schroeder of rural Hillsboro; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Theodore 'Ted' Allen Stutzman

Theodore “Ted” Allen Stutzman, 72, died May 12 in Peabody. He was born to Theo Grace (Allen) Lawler and Walter Jacob Stutzman on Feb. 17, 1941, in Peabody. He graduated from Newton High School in 1959 and served four years in the U.S. Air Force. He worked as a train dispatcher for the Santa Fe Railroad.

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Manufacturer asks county about tax breaks

Rolland Boesker of Burns asked county commissioners about possible tax breaks for a proposed manufacturing business. Ridder Industries wants to manufacture equipment to convert water into hydrogen gas, which has industrial uses and can be used as an alternative fuel. The company, based in Burns, is considering Burns and Florence as possible locations.

A great project for volunteers

One of the most moving sights you will see in Peabody is the Avenue of Flags out at Prairie Lawn Cemetery every Memorial Day weekend. The Avenue of Flags, with its close proximity to U.S. 50, has gained a following amongst highway travelers, especially at night when the flags are lighted and blowing gently in the spring breeze. Several years ago on a trip to see my mother and sister in Colorado, I stopped at a gas station in Limon, Colo., to get gas and a fountain drink. I was wearing a t-shirt with the Peabody American Legion logo and a picture of the Avenue of Flags. As he took my money, the attendant at the travel plaza said to me, “Oh, I have seen that Avenue of Flags. Are you from that town?”

HOPE IN THE HEARTLAND:

Morel mushrooms popping up bigger than ever

Last year Sherry Hess of Marion felt lucky to find a few average to small size morel mushrooms during prime April and May fungi hunting season. This year, she and other fanciers are finding bigger than ever mushrooms, likely due to the extreme weather conditions experienced in the area. “We’ve found really big ones, tall ones this year,” Hess said. “Some were as tall as an adult hand.”

Club votes to go to homeless shelter

Devon Gaines moved the Peabody Achievers 4-H Club should go to the homeless shelter in Newton for the community service project. The club received a letter from Tri-County Fair. The fair is requesting junior superintendents. The deadline is May 23 for those that want to compete in the Fair Queen Contest.

Marion County represented at sampler festival

Despite snow and cold, windy conditions during the setup week, the Kansas Sampler Festival weekend brought sunshine and 4,500 people to Liberal’s Light Park. More than 100 Kansas communities were represented through tourism booths, Kansas products, historic performers, musicians, and food vendors.

Work to begin on U.S. 77

U.S. 77 will be overlaid between K-256 east of Marion all the way to the north city limit of El Dorado starting today. The highway will receive a .75 inch mill and 1.5 inch overlay. Flaggers and a pilot car will handle traffic control. There will be a 10-inch width restriction. The construction zone will be in effect during daylight hours. Delays up to 15 minutes may occur.

Music, food to highlight Chingawassa

Concerts and meals are always the high points of Chingawassa Days in Marion, and this year will be no different. For the first time, Chingawassa will have two concerts with hit musical acts, starting June 7 with contemporary country star Joe Nichols and continuing June 8 with 1990s rock band FireHouse.

KanCare to be addressed in Marion

The Kansas Health Coalition is sponsoring a KanCare informational meeting at 3 p.m. May 22 at Marion Senior Center, 309 S. Third St., Marion. Anna Lambertson will be on hand to hear concerns and field questions about the implementation of KanCare.

Baby shower held for Lapaille

Former Peabody resident Heather Lapaille was feted with a baby shower May 4 at the home of her mother, Beth Sprague in Peabody. Co-hostesses were Krystle Boatright of Derby and Allyssa Lapaille of Topeka. Guests who enjoyed the afternoon visiting and watching the honoree open her gifts were Josie Holm, Bobbie Harris, Susan Webb, Paula Harris, and Nancy McLeod, all of Peabody, Sarah Swain of Manhattan, Chelsea Demmitt of Roxbury, and Kelly Laramore of Kansas City, Mo.

Girls sells strawberries for adoption funds

Ella Tracy of rural Goessel is a small girl with a big heart for others. At eight years of age, she has already made hundreds of bookmarks and sold them to raise money for a special project. Now she is selling extra strawberry plants to support family friends wanting to adopt an international child. “We have all these extra strawberry plants and I just wanted to do something with them,” she said. “At first I thought I would sell them for money for myself, but then I remembered this family from church that wants to adopt a child and I knew I wanted to give all the money I could make to help them get their boy home.”

Koehn to begin public affairs internship

Ashlie Koehn of Burns has received a summer internship in public affairs with Park University and Coro Kansas City. Koehn attends the University of Kansas. She is a graduate of Remington High School.

Bartel to work with MB studies

Amanda Bartel, a history major at Bluffton College, is spending a month as an intern with the Mennonite Brethren Historical Commission, including a week at Tabor College’s Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies. Bartel is working with CMBS director Peggy Goertzen this week.

CORRESPONDENTS:

Tabor College hires development director

Charles Buller of Visalia, Calif., has been hired to fill the newly created West Coast development director for Tabor College. President Jules Glanzer said Buller’s hiring is part of a plan to spread out the college’s development team.

Resource center keeps people in homes

Need help to stay at home or return home from a care facility? Need help with learning skills to live independently, such as washing clothes, cooking, or budgeting money? Need help with using a computer, finding a house to rent, or obtaining transportation or medical equipment? Macy Gaines of the Resource Center for Independent Living can help.

Report abuse before it is too late

Small communities are more likely to have a higher rate of hidden elder abuse — a reality that makes Paul Shipp of Kansas Legal Services sit up and take notice. “It’s hard because they don’t want to report whoever is abusing them,” he said. “It’s usually a child or a spouse — someone they count on, someone that knows that they need them so they can remain independent.”

Service dogs extend partners

Eight years ago, Nanette Lowry of Marion had no interest in getting a service dog, despite a hip problem that occasionally sent her tumbling to the floor. She finally changed her mind after falling three times in a single day in front of her students. When she got Astro, a blockhead lab, and trained him, she was amazed by how much more she could do. “The independence, self-assurance that I can do it, that we can do it,” she said.

Boys score big points at league track

The Peabody-Burns boys scored more points as a team Thursday at the Wheat State League track meet in Goessel than since the creation of the league. “Seth Topham swept the hurdles and many athletes picked up unexpected points to give the team a chance at second place,” Coach Brian Lightner said. “The team scored 86 points to finish third, just two points behind second place.”

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