BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Camping, boating, and fishing restrictions were lifted today at Marion Reservoir, but swimming remains prohibited under a blue-green algae warning issue by Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
“All camping sites are available, even along shorelines,” lake manager Kevin McCoy said. “Boat ramps are open, but swim beaches remain closed.”
Heated meetings have left the county commission divided and the county just two weeks away from having no superintendent at the lake.
Citing family reasons and with his wife, Jill, at his side, superintendent Steve Hudson on Monday gave two weeks’ notice of resignation, after the conclusion of the Bluegrass at the Lake festival he started.
County commissioners got a surprise Monday — a $900 bill for what they thought was going to be free housing for emergency medical technicians in Hillsboro. Or, at least, two commissioners were surprised.
Hillsboro mayor Delores Dalke told the county on March 13 that Hillsboro was willing to pay for housing and meals if the county would commit to hiring full-time crew members to be stationed at Hillsboro.
Technology that only a thief could love has hit the county with the recent discovery of a credit card skimmer installed on a gas pump at Johnson’s General Store in Florence.
Skimmers are devices installed on or inside ATM machines, gas pumps, and other point-of-service card readers that steal a card’s information from its magnetic strip. Thieves then use the information to make fraudulent purchases, leaving cardholders, vendors, and banks to cope with the bills.
Linda Wetta looked up at the three dwarf cherry trees in her yard, branches heavy with fruit, and shook her head.
“I’ve already picked a half a dozen buckets full,” she said.
After walking 59 miles in four days, Bernadette Stuhlsatz could see that the trek had taken its toll on her sister, Natalie. She was struggling with sore feet, and her back, afflicted with scoliosis, was hurting. A final mile lay ahead, one to be walked in silent reflection.
“There was a moment where I didn’t have to say anything,” Bernadette said. “I just looked at her, and she grabbed my hand, and we held them for the entire mile to the church. She said when we got done it encouraged her to finish.”
Steve Hudson’s resignation as lake superintendent wasn’t the only divisive lake topic to dominate discussion at county commission meetings Monday and last Wednesday.
Heated debate, both pro and con, surrounded a request for a driveway easement from developer Garry Dunnegan, who last year installed a controversial dock in apparent contravention of previous lake rules.
State health officials closed Marion Reservoir last week because of high levels of blue-green algae toxins. Some recreational areas could remain closed even if an all clear is issued tomorrow.
Campsites within 100 feet of the water were closed, but because the water level is 1½ feet above normal, more sites have been affected, Corp of Engineeers lake manager Kevin McCoy said.
Services for Vera David-Beach, 87, who died Monday at Parkside Homes, will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church.
Born Sept. 12, 1929, in rural Tampa to Otto and Miriam (Reuscher) David, she married Raymond Beach on June 4, 1994, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He died in 2013.
Graveside services for Artis Mildred Dean, 90, who died Sunday at Kansas Christian Home, will be 2 p.m. Friday at Greenwood Cemetery, Newton.
Visitation will be 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Petersen Funeral Home, Newton. Relatives will receive friends from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Services for Joan Hope, 90, who died Saturday at Salem Home, will be 11 a.m. Thursday, at Hillsboro United Methodist Church.
Visitation will be 6 to 8 tonight at Jost Funeral Home, Hillsboro.
Services for lifelong Marion resident Larry Earl “Farmer” Olsen, 77, who died May 30, were Monday at Aulne. Burial was in Marion Cemetery.
Born Jan. 3, 1940, to Earl F. and Tena “Lucille” (Rempel) Olsen, he was the third generation to live on the family farm west of Marion. He also worked as a builder and raised miniature horses.
Private services are planned for Wade Smith, 56, who died May 30 at Hillsboro Community Hospital.
Born Aug. 29, 1960, in Salina to Kenneth and Irene (Harper) Smith, he is survived by his companion, Mary Klenda of Hillsboro; daughter, Brianna Smith of Overland Park; five brothers; seven sisters; and a grandchild.
Technology has changed the landscape of farm implement repair.
“When I first started doing this in the late ‘70s, I never dreamed I’d be using a computer to do this,” Todd Carpenter, field service technician for Prairieland Partners, said. “Now it’s the first tool out of my tool box.”
Agriculture is big business these days. Farmers have many more services available to them than a few decades ago.
Farm co-ops employ agronomists, seed salesmen, feed specialists, and others to assist producers in various ways.
Big changes in soybean and corn genetics in the past 20 years have made it easier to produce successful crops.
Specific traits implanted in seed make it possible for Roundup herbicide to be sprayed directly on crops for weed control.
Despite a downturn in prices that farmers have received in recent years, cattle production continues unabated.
Kansas cattle have increased from 6.25 million in January 2016 to 6.4 million this January, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Nearby fire districts are cooperating to create a new rescue service designed to free victims who have become trapped in grain bins.
A grain engulfment trailer and a team specially trained to use it will be available for mutual aid in McPherson County and surrounding counties.
More than 125 alumni, guests and teachers, representing classes from 1943 to 2017, attended Florence’s 121st annual alumni banquet May 27 at Florence Gymnasium.
The group is thought to be the state’s oldest continuously meeting alumni group.
Skip and Eileen Sieger will celebrate their 50th anniversary next week.
They were married June 16, 1967, at the Evangelical United Brethren Church, now Eastmoor United Methodist Church, in Marion.
Dan and Donna (Delk) Dalke will celebrate this 50th wedding anniversary with a family trip to Colorado in July.
They were married June 10, 1967, at Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church near Hillsboro.
Tabor College senior Molly Wiebe Faber of Hillsboro won $300 from the Harms Anabaptism Contest for her first-place paper, “Brecht: A Model for Christians in Theater,” presented last month at Tabor.
Chat and Dine Club will meet for a potluck dinner at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Marion County Lake hall. Superintendent Steve Hudson will talk about the lake’s disc golf course.
Les and Colleen Greenemeyer, Roger and Donna Kaiser, and Sharon Williams will be hosts. Present and former lake residents and guests are welcome. Attendees should bring table service and a dish to share.