By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Just as juniors and seniors lined up on stairs to be tested for alcohol before they entered Marion’s Sports Aquatic Center for prom, the lights went out — not just in Marion but throughout the county.

Although the blackout made it a bit dangerous to climb up steps, it didn’t dampen spirits.Students also got a lesson in courtesy as they went through the door. Police chief Clinton Jeffrey told each student whether he or she passed or failed the alcohol screening, but if boys entered before the girls, Jeffrey opened the door and called out, “Hey, come back here.”

A boy would step back out to nervously look at Jeffrey, who would tell him, “Wait for her.”

No students had to be turned away for alcohol use. As music played inside, boys in suits and girls in fine, slinky, sparkling gowns clustered together on the dance floor to dance in groups.

Gina Penzig, manager of external communications for Evergy, said the cause of Saturday’s power failure was a thunderstorm. A transmission line that feeds the area failed.