BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
For the first time in four weeks, Marion Reservoir is not under a warning for toxic blue-green algae. Kansas Department of Health and Environment downgraded its warning to an advisory Thursday. The advisory was based on tests performed Monday.
Ashley Weems, 17, of Peabody, loves her 4-H project dog, Rex. The blue heeler, border collie, Australian shepherd mix is solely devoted to her, and he didn’t get that way by accident. “When I first got him as a puppy two years ago, I did no- contact training for the first 30 days,” Weems said. “Now he is really loyal to me, he is very attentive and always makes sure I am OK.”
More than $400 was stolen when TC’s What Not Shop in Marion was burglarized between 6 p.m. July 18 and 9:45 a.m. Thursday, police said. The thief or thieves broke into the antique shop using a crowbar, damaging the shop’s door around the lock.
Tristan Armstrong of Marion handed the cell phone he was carrying to his father, Jeremy, and bent over to stick his head between some low branches and a large rock at Marion County Lake. “It’s not here,” Tristan exclaimed. He kept searching around the rock.
A wellness class for people with diabetes, lung or heart disease, arthritis, or chronic pain will meet for the next six weeks from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays at Indian Guide Terrace activity room in Peabody. Cost is $6. Registrations are being accepted through Monday by Marion County Department on Aging at (620) 382-3580.
A leak at the Florence water plant lost thousands of gallons of water, Florence superintendent Phil Baldwin said. The leak from a valve at the plant wet well was discovered Friday when water was seen bubbling out of the ground. It took Florence city workers four hours to stop the leak. Baldwin said the leak could have been active for two to three days up to a week while city workers fixed other leaks.
Marion County and all adjacent counties are part of a drought disaster declaration by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers and ranchers will be eligible for disaster assistance programs. Marion County isn’t part of the primary disaster area but is part one of the 16 contiguous counties in a secondary disaster area. Of adjacent counties, Butler, Harvey, and McPherson are in the primary area. Chase, Dickinson, and Morris counties are in the secondary area.
Retired crop insurance office manager Audrey Berg, 100, of Hillsboro died Monday at Parkside Home in Hillsboro. She was born Dec. 15, 1911, in Clyde to Aruther and Edith (Maxon) Heal and married Peter Berg on Jan. 1, 1933, in Canton. He preceded her in death in 1990. She also was preceded in death by three brothers, Charles, Viv, and Louis Heal.
Rosalie Heath, 90, died Thursday at her home near Burns. She was born Dec. 9, 1921, at Burns, to Olen and Maggie (Freeman) McIntosh. She married Frank Heath on Feb. 28, 1940, at Cottonwood Falls, and they made their home in the Burns community.
Retired farmer Allen Nuss, 87, of rural Newton died Sunday at Schowalter Villa, Hesston. Born Dec. 14, 1924, in Hillsboro to Carl and Anna (Matz) Nuss, he married Virginia Mae Jost on June 12, 1949, in Hillsboro.
Joseph O. Moffett, 86, died on Tuesday, July 17, 2012, in Stillwater, Okla. His funeral service was Saturday, July 21, 2012, at Strode Funeral Home Chapel in Stillwater. Interment followed at Harrell Cemetery near Cushing, Okla. Strode Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. He was born Jan. 9, 1926, to Joseph Orr Moffett Jr. and Myrtle Ester (Mathoit) Moffett in Peabody. He married Lucy Arlene Hodges on Nov. 13, 1944, in Reidsville, N.C. They had seven children and were married for 64 years until her death in 2007.
Erin Carr wanted to be a social worker, but finding the time to attend college classes for the degree she needed was challenging. “Being a single mom, I knew I would need to work full-time,” Carr said. “My only option to go to school with more than one class a semester was online.”
For students interested in nursing in both Hillsboro and Marion, Butler has made getting the certified nursing aide course more convenient. This fall the Marion campus of Butler County Community College is offering a zero-hour CNA class to be taught concurrently in Marion and Hillsboro at 7:30 a.m. every day. Classroom learning will originate from in the Interactive Digital Learning room at Marion High School. Clinical classes will be in Hillsboro. The course entails 104 hours of classroom learning and more than 30 hours of clinical training.
Each college considers applications differently, but years of evaluating thousands of applications at a selective university yield advice that applies to other schools as well: Test scores and grade-point averages are not magic numbers.
Marion County Commission approved a burn ban Monday that will stay in effect until this coming Tuesday. Marion County Emergency Management Director Dan D’Albini said Marion County Fire Chiefs had reached an agreement about the dry and hot conditions requiring a ban on burning in the County.
Skiing, swimming, and wading continue to be banned at Marion Reservoir because of toxic blue-green algae. Kansas Department of Health and Environment renewed its warning Thursday on the basis of tests performed Monday.
Planning and zoning board members accused Administrator Doug Kjellin of procedural violations Monday in allowing construction of an emergency communications tower at the new jail, while a zoning consultant vigorously defended Kjellin’s action. Ruth Herbel, a member of Marion’s Planning Commission, alleged Kjellin violated zoning regulations and state law when he modified a conditional use permit to approve the tower.
It’s the time of year that government bodies publish their proposed budgets for the coming year for public review before final approval, but for someone who isn’t familiar with the system, reading the notices can be confusing. Marion County Clerk Carol Maggard said there are three numbers that matter the most in published budgets: ad valorem tax, assessed valuation, and estimated tax rate. The ad valorem tax is the number the governing body actually sets in its budget, and they find that number by subtracting estimated revenue from proposed expenditures — if a body plans to spend $100,000 and expects $25,000 from other revenue sources, it needs to collect $75,000 of property taxes.
Marion county farmers who suffered crop or livestock losses due to drought, beginning Jan. 1, 2012, and continuing, may apply for FAS emergency loans. The FSA office will accept applications for assistance until March 12. FSA loans covering physical losses may be used to replace installations, equipment, livestock, or buildings lost through disaster. Loans covering production losses may be used to buy feed, seed, fertilizer, livestock, or to make payments on real estate and chattel debts.
If you missed the Jason Callahan Benefit Saturday night at the Peabody American Legion, you missed a truly heartwarming event for a popular young man from our area. Jason has begun a powerful series of chemotherapy treatments in his battle against cancer. The money raised will help him and his family live as normally as possible while he undergoes the treatment. I am not one of the organizers of the event, so I don’t feel as though it is my place to announce the amount of money raised, but I assure you that it was significant. There was some talk of matching dollars from a Wichita car dealership and if that pans out, the amount of money raised will be tremendous.
HOPE IN THE HEARTLAND:
Looking for doorsLETTERS:
Brookens supports Lindahl
Fair-goers attending will have easier access to concessions this week, thanks to Hillsboro Lions Club. “Our other concessions stand was shot,” said Ken Kohlenberg, Lions Club member and fair prep volunteer. “Now we will have three places to serve customers.”
Mothers of Preschoolers of Marion’s fourth annual Run For Your Momma races will be Aug. 11 at Marion County Park and Lake. A half marathon and half marathon relay will start simultaneously at 6:30 a.m. A 5-kilometer fun run/walk will start at 8 a.m. A post-race breakfast also will start at 8 a.m.
Because of drought conditions, U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved emergency haying and grazing of land in the Conservation Reserve Program in 91 counties, including Marion and all the surrounding counties. Producers first must request permission from the local Farm Service Agency. Acres subject to emergency haying or grazing will have a 10 percent reduction in the rental payment for 2012.
The June meeting of Peabody Achievers 4-H club was June 24 at Peabody Municipal Swimming Pool. The June swim meet concessions stand was successful. A float was discussed for the Peabody July Fourth parade. Swimming was the program for the meeting and concessions were served as refreshments.
The words printed on the back of T-shirts sold by friends of recently deceased Dave Sebring said it all: Supporting the fighters, admiring the survivors, honoring the taken, and never, ever giving up hope. Friends, relatives, and others from the area gathered Saturday afternoon at the Goessel Elementary School to pass out T-shirts that also had a purple bow and the words “In memory of Dave Sebring” on the front. They mounted motorcycles and cars to visit to the Goessel Cemetery where a new headstone stood over Sebring’s resting place, and then they rode to several stopping points in the surrounding area where Sebring used to enjoy meeting with friends. Approximately seven motorcycles joined the cavalcade.
U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp is accepting applications for fall 2012 interns for his Washington, Salina, Dodge City, and Hutchinson offices. Unpaid interns do a variety of tasks, including answering phones, writing letters, assisting with constituent casework, and attending events.
Ashley Weems was crowned the 2012 Newton Saddle Club queen June 9. The queen contest centered on club involvement, an interview with a panel of judges, and a series of judged horsemanship riding events. Weems, 17, will be a senior at Peabody-Burns High School. She is an active member of the Newton Saddle Club, FFA, KSHA Jr. Member, 4-H, Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America, Student Council Leadership Board, and National Honor Society.
A potluck dinner was held at Burns Community Center July 10 for 21 members and friends of Burns Senior Citizens. Robert Carlton of Newton Central Homecare and Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice presented a program on “Five Wishes,” a person’s end of life wishes.
Members are being asked to wear a cowboy hat for National Day of the Cowboy and bring liquid dish detergent for Marion County Food Bank when Marion County Democratic Women meet at noon Friday at Marion Senior Center.
The 26th Ed and Bertha (Hill) Hamm family reunion was July 8 at the Scout House in Hillsboro. The Ted Hamm family served as hosts this year and the Art Hamm family will host the event in 2013.
Members of the Gooding family gathered for a reunion July 15 at the Marion County Lake hall. After a potluck dinner, a special cake was served to celebrate Al and Lila Gooding’s 60th anniversary. The Goodings are from Topeka. Pictures of their wedding and other family pictures were displayed.
Descendents of the Nees Louis and Cora Penland Olsen family met July 15 at Marion Senior Center for their biennial reunion. There were 62 in attendance. Special guests for the afternoon representing the Larson side of the family were Phyllis Larsen Ericson of Lincoln, Neb., and her father, Clyde Larson of Garnett.
BIRTH:
Luke IdlemanCORRESPONDENTS:
Ammeter,
Burns
