BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Rick and Gina Mounts’ home in Lehigh was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours Thursday. Family members lost most of their belongings. Anyone wishing to help can contact Ida French at Zimmerman’s Deli, 125 E. Main St., Marion, or call (620) 382-8860.
Members of USD 398 board of education attended the Marion County Special Education Cooperative board meeting Monday night as a united front with one mission — they want out of the county cooperative. School board members said they know it’s going to cost more to provide services to special needs students but it’s not about money. It’s about providing the best possible services to its students.
Peabody Main Street members are on the hunt for Peabody memorabilia, one-of-a-kind original works by local or hometown artisans, and possibly an array of “to-die-for” desserts from some of Peabody’s best cooks. The organization will host another benefit auction to support the program. The auction will be at the American Legion Hall on March 6.
Tresa Jones of Seneca will be a featured speaker at a Prairie Pastimes Program Jan. 31. She will explain how historians date quilts using clues in the fabric, design, and stitches. Jones will be at Peabody Carnegie Library from midmorning until the event concludes. She will present a program on quilts, “Unspoken Clues” in the afternoon.
Peabody area farmer and rancher Eldon Andres was re-elected to serve a three-year term on the Marion County Farm Service Agency Committee. Andres received 121 of the 136 votes cast in the local administrative area election that represents producers residing in the Marion, Peabody, Florence, and Burns areas.
As bullying keeps pace with improvements in communication technology, area schools try to protect their students. But underreporting makes it difficult to stop the spread of threats and insults via cell phones and the Internet — a phenomenon called cyberbullying. Administrators seldom hear about incidents of cyberbullying, but they deal with results — like yelling and fighting — Marion High School Principal Brenda Odgers said.
What was Peabody really like in the 1880s when the weather was cold and dreary? Old Peabody Gazettes have articles about new entertainment coming to town weekly. Orchestra performances, lectures, Swiss bell ringers, many singers, and variety shows. Medicine men and helpers provided their own entertainment. Many performances were held in the GAR Hall. Hopefully by next week the location of that old building can be verified. The library was open every afternoon and evening except Sunday and Butler Hall provided a skating rink in the 1890s. Oyster suppers, soup suppers, and dances kept the citizens busy. The library held a dance in 1876 and there was a supper that same year in Mr. Butler’s new barn. Some events raised money for the library and a popular lecture series at the Lutheran church each week was a money raiser for the library with a 15-cent admission.
Charles D. “Charlie” Swarts, 76, of Hope, died Jan. 16 at Memorial Hospital, Abilene. Born Sept. 1, 1933, at Peabody, to Clarence E. Sr. and Minnie M. (Ubben) Swarts, he was a foreman of C.E. Company in Enterprise, retiring in 1993. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
Theodore “Ted” H. Gfeller, 88, retired farmer and accountant, died Jan. 6. He was born near Burns on Nov. 12, 1921, to Herman and Mary Gfeller. They preceded him in death, as did two brothers and two sisters.
Erma Hoffner, 80, of Peabody, died Jan. 17 after a short fight with cancer. She was born in Council Grove on Dec. 29, 1929, to Harry Sr. and Bertha Nigh.
A bond attorney will discuss a modified proposal for financing a new jail, sheriff’s office, and communications center with representatives from the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. David Arteberry of bond firm George K. Baum & Co. and attorney Jon Small conferred with Marion County Commissioners and County Attorney Susan Robson via conference call Monday to discuss the matter. Several members of Marion County Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee attended the meeting, as did other county residents.
Marion County Commissioners delayed a decision Monday whether to continue a countywide recycling program. County residents Margaret Wilson and Eileen Sieger attended the meeting in support of recycling. Weighing the benefits of recycling against the cost is a challenge, Commission Chairman Randy Dallke said. If someone could prove to him that recycling would be no more expensive on a per-ton basis than sending waste to a landfill, he would support it wholeheartedly, he said.
I hope all of you noted the picture in last week’s newspaper of sixth-grader Katie Benson shaking hands with board of education member Bruce Burke. The school board and administration honored Katie and 58 other district students at a special assembly Jan. 11. The students were recognized for ranking in the highest tier of scores on the 2009 state assessment tests. Katie’s certificate was for excellence in reading. Other students recognized for scoring among the state’s best scholars did so with exemplary scores in math, science, or writing. There were 85 exemplary certificates distributed to 59 Peabody-Burns students.
Watching the television accounts and reading newspaper stories about the earthquake in Haiti makes a person want to hop on a plane, go over there, and help those poor people. The U.S. is sending more than $100 million in aid to the country, which is admirable.
As if newspapers don’t have enough problems with keeping their doors open another year — or day, for that matter — the U.S. Postal Service now wants to penalize lightweight newspapers that fail to pass a new “droop” test. Currently, periodicals that droop less than 4 inches when tested by dangling off a flat surface are permitted to be mailed in the current standard mail category. The fewer number of pages, the more the periodical will sag or droop. If the new rule were implemented, only 3 inches of droop would be allowed.
“One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.” This phrase from the pages of our history books is used in commercial after commercial, and takes many back to the day they first heard these empowering words during astronaut Neil Armstrong’s epic journey to the moon in 1969. This phrase obviously had an immense effect on our society and it’s about to make a comeback.
A fire destroyed a garage and the back part of the house of Tim and Carol Peterson at 10:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at 512 Maple Street. Nick Conquest was selected as the junior science student for the month of December.
(Editors note: This is the second in a series leading to Easter.) By LARRY TIMM Pastor of Peabody Bible Church Noise drifted from the city, and the soldier tilted his head. The death walk had begun and would soon end where he stood. He looked down at the three vertical beams that awaited the men being driven out of the city and up the hill. Three large nails were beside each rough timber. A smile spread across his weathered face as he imagined the condemned men staggering up the hill with their own crossbeams on their backs.
CORRESPONDENTS:
Ammeter,
Milton,
WonsevuBIRTHS:
Grady Frederickson
Two road games for the PBHS Warriors last week produced one win and one loss. The PBHS Warriors defeated Goessel, 53-35, Jan. 12 but lost to Moundridge on Friday, 70-55. The team is 8-2 for the season and will be in action in Burrton. They will open against Central Christian in the first round of the Burrton Tournament. PBHS opened an 11-point lead in the first quarter before the Bluebirds got on the scoreboard. With less than a minute to play, Goessel offense put up six points, including a 3-point basket at the buzzer. PBHS led 13-6 at the end of the first period.
Peabody-Burns Lady Warriors lost to Goessel, 38-28, on Jan. 12, and suffered a loss Friday to Moundridge. The team has two wins and eight losses this season and will take the week off to prepare for the upcoming Eli J. Walter Girls Basketball Tournament Monday through Jan. 30 at Berean Academy.
The PBHS bowlers competed in two home meets last week. On Jan. 11, Cheney defeated PBHS, 2382-1902. Cameron Qualls from Cheney scored a 708 for the three-game series. Kristen McGonigal had the high score for the PBHS team at 485.
