HILLSBORO Star-Journal

Frantz plays with flowers

Several years ago, Jan Frantz said she would never go into the flower business again. But with the biggest floral holiday of the year coming next week, and 600 roses scheduled for delivery by Saturday at her new shop, Jan’s Floral Design in Hillsboro, she knows there is truth to the old adage, “never say never”. “I keep coming back to the flowers,” Frantz said. “It is just part of who I am. The creative part of me just loves to play with them. This doesn’t feel like work, it’s just like playing.”

Quail Creek Road has problems

Jenni Svitak, Fern Leach, and Kimberly Kroupa nominated Quail Creek Road, between Ramona and 290th Road, for a closer look at the road’s condition. “Quail Creek from Ramona to (290th) is horrible,” Kroupa wrote. “I’m getting to the point that I prefer to drive on the rock and dirt roads more than the paved — which, when I use that term, would include all the roads we rock that are supposed to eventually get paved — roads.”

Hillsboro receives community grant

Birch, Cedar, and Date streets in Hillsboro will get a major facelift thanks to a $400,000 grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce, through the Community Development Block Grant program. The governor’s office notified Hillsboro Mayor Delores Dalke of the award last week.

10 groups get grants from fund

Ten Hillsboro organizations received Hillsboro Area Impact Fund grants from Hillsboro Community Foundation Tuesday at halftime of the Hillsboro High School boys basketball game. The Hillsboro Senior Center received $2,500. Funds from this grant will be applied to the replacement of the kitchen floor at the center.

Leland E. Chizek

Leland E. Chizek, 86, of Lincolnville died Feb. 7, 2012 in Wichita. He was born Nov. 27, 1925, in Agenda to Edward V. and Martha (Hajek) Chizek.

Ernest E. Harlan

Ernest E. Harlan, 90, died Feb. 4, 2012, at Holiday Resort in Emporia. He was born Jan. 11, 1922, on a farm north of Madison to Roy M. and Maggie Mae Claunch Harlan. He attended grade school at Rock Valley School and served in the U.S. Army during World War II, working on construction of the Alaskan Highway.

Gerald Megenity

Gerald Wayne “Jerry” Megenity, 64, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died Jan. 27, 2012, at Bay Pines VA Health care Center in Bay Pins, Fla. He was born Dec. 18, 1947, to Francis Sweeney and M. Irene (Ramsey) Megenity in Salina.

Lawrence V. Morgan

Lawrence V. “Larry” Morgan, 91, of Hope died Feb. 1, 2012, at Via Christi St. Francis Hospital in Wichita. He was born April 12, 1920, on the family farm near Hope to John F. and Clara E. (Buttel) Morgan.

Angela Thiessen

Angela C. Thiessen, 20, of Burns died in her sleep on Feb. 1, 2012. She was born May 2, 1991, to Gary and Monica Krehbiel Thiessen. She was a beautician at The Parlor in El Dorado.

Jerald Unruh

Jerald Dean Unruh, 69, of Hillsboro died Feb. 2, 2012 at Parkside Homes, Hillsboro. He was born Jan. 13, 1943, in Wichita to Walter and Marcella (Groening) Unruh. He was an auto mechanic and rancher.

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Meier figures taxes, helps friends

Wanda Meier of Meier Tax Service in Marion, 73, figures about 1,000 income tax returns each year. If she was considering retirement, which she is not, it is likely her friends and customers would not let her have a break, even after 51 years in the business. “Wanda is regular, like me,” longtime customer Bobbi Jo Linder said. “She listens to me and gives me advice on more than just taxes. But she understands if I need this back in a week, she will get it ready for me.”

Group organizes to defeat poverty

Marion County can be an isolated place, and sometimes residents feel like the location has immunity from negative parts of life. “We have blinders on,” Marion Presbyterian Church pastor Jeremiah Lange said. “We live our lives without being affected by people.”

Professor leaves esate gift to Tabor

The estate of former Tabor College chemistry professor William J. Johnson has made a $50,000 gift to the college. The estate gift will be used in three distinct areas to improve the capacity of chemistry studies at Tabor College and to encourage students in the field by providing scholarships. The funds will be used to purchase new and necessary equipment for the college’s chemistry department, further enrich the endowed Wm. J. Johnson Scholarship, and purchase new chemistry-related materials for the library.

Hillsboro sisters give $1M to Bethel

Dorothea Franzen and Ruth Franzen, sisters who grew up in Hillsboro and spent their lives involved in academia, made an estate gift of more than $1 million to Bethel College in North Newton, the college recently announced. A portion of the estate gifts is restricted to the sciences and will be used to establish a science equipment endowment.

Hillsboro council discusses skill sharing

Animated discussion took place during a work session of the Hillsboro City Council Tuesday, when members aired opinions about the sharing of skilled services between city and county government entities. “This all started with a phone call I got from county commissioner Dan Holub,” City Administrator Larry Paine said. “He requested the services of Ben (Steketee, city building inspector) to inspect mobile homes and rental properties at the county lake.”

Extension office plans seminars

Kansas State University Research and Extension will have an in-depth Sorghum School on Feb. 15 at the Burns Community Center. The one-day seminar will cover issues facing sorghum producers, including profit potential, weed control strategies, and planting, fertility, and insect and disease management. The seminar is sponsored by the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., and the program begins at 9:45 a.m. and will wrap up by mid-afternoon. Lunch is included.

County approves bond resolution

Marion County Commission approved two bond resolutions at its meeting Monday. The first was bonds for the jail project worth $3,510,000.

Huelskamp accepting interns

Kansas 1st congressional district Rep. Tim Huelskamp is accepting internships for summer 2012. Interested college-age students can apply to work in Huelskamp’s Dodge City, Hutchinson, Salina, and Washington, D.C., offices. In the Kansas offices, interns may be asked to do a variety of things, including day-to-day office work such as answering phones, writing letters and assisting with media clips. In addition, interns may be assigned to assist in various constituent casework or work on district-based projects of importance.

Everybody needs a Super Bowl

The Super Bowl came and went pretty fast this year. I am sure there was the usual hoopla and hysteria surrounding it, but life was busy, and I didn’t pay too much attention to the contenders until pre-game festivities started. Once I settled in to watch the game with my family, I realized how nice it was just to forget the rest of the world for a while and hang on to the suspense of the moment, play-by-play, living emotional extremes with the athletes in action.

Brookens comments on water rights

In this last week, the House passed a bill to eliminate “use-it-or-lose-it” for water rights in areas where water is in short supply and is closed to drilling new wells. Currently, a person must pump water for irrigation or other purposes at least every five years, whether the water is needed or not, or risk losing the right to use it later. We hope this change in policy will encourage conservation in dry parts of Kansas, particularly in the area using the Ogalallah Aquifer. It does not impact us in central Kansas; our water sufficiency did not indicate a need for this change, and we can watch how this bill works before considering other changes.

Huffman elected council president

Marion County Economic Development Director Teresa Huffman was elected to a two-year term as president of the Flint Hills Resource Conservation and Development Area Council by the group’s board of directors at its annual meeting Jan. 11. She replaces outgoing president Colleen Anderson of Morris County. Flint Hills RC&D is comprised of Marion, Butler, Chase, Dickinson, Geary, Greenwood, Lyon, Morris, and Wabaunsee counties. The group oversees five Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy water quality projects in the Melvern, Twin Lakes, Clarks Creek, Marion, and Fall River watersheds. With the approval and funding of Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the projects have been combined into a single program.

Storm spotter meeting Feb. 16

Marion County Emergency Management Department, in cooperation with the National Weather Service, will present “Storm Fury on the Plains” at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16 at USD 408 Performing Arts Center in Marion. The event will include a multimedia presentation, lecture, and question-and-answer session.

Hillsboro blood drive is Feb. 20

The American Red Cross will have a blood drive from 1 to 6 p.m. Feb. 20 at Parkview Mennonite Church, 610 S. Main St., Hillsboro. Winter is a difficult time to keep blood supplies at adequate levels because winter weather forces cancellation of numerous blood drives.

Northwest of Durham

The Durham Senior Citizens met Jan. 25 at the Community Building for their monthly meeting. There were 21 present to enjoy the potluck meal at noon. Lila Unruh hosted the meeting. Everyone enjoyed sharing interesting incidents that happened in their life, with some being quite humorous.

'Round the town

Gaylord and Valera Hamm of Durham, Jim, Merna, and Morgan Hamm of Tampa, Marcella Mohn, Tim and Donna Diener, and Arlene Pankratz of Hillsboro took supper to the home of Gus and Mildred Hamm in Hillsboro on Monday to celebrate Mildred’s birthday. Raymond Wiebe, John and Caryl Wiebe, and Don and Connie Isaac had breakfast at Tabor College Friday.

Goessel museum to host speaker

Craftsman, historian, taxidermist, and re-enactor Keven Hiebert of rural Newton will be the featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Mennonite Heritage & Agricultural Museum at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Tabor Mennonite Church, rural Newton. Hiebert’s presentation, “Bison Mercantile on the Hoof,” will follow the museum’s annual business meeting. Hiebert is also the proprietor of Bear Paw Traders.

Dieters find love

Stories of high school prom dates that blossom into romance and marriage aren’t unusual. One that took more than 40 years, and a garden half a continent wide to bloom, is special. In 1955, Marion High School juniors Jerry Dieter and Lenore Wheeler weren’t sweethearts, just familiar friends and neighbors who attended the same church. Dieter’s responsibilities on the family farm kept him too occupied for romance.

Tabor employs entrepreneur

Charlotte Kennedy Takahashi will be spending the spring semester at Tabor College in Hillsboro as Entrepreneur in Residence. The 1968 Tabor graduate is an international authority in the fields of entrepreneurship, international business, and business ethics. She will interact with and mentor students in the business department, teaching and leading entrepreneurship initiatives on campus and in the community.

Esau aids relief on break

Fort Hays State University junior Anthony Esau of Hillsboro was one of 16 FHSU students who traveled Jan. 8 through 14 in Austin, Texas, for the Tigers in Service Alternative Winter Break. The team served meals to more than 600 people and distributed food rations to an additional 200. They worked with the Capital Area Food Bank in Austin.

Goessel FCCLA sends 10 to state

Twenty students joined Goessel High School’s Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America club this year, 11 of them entered the district STAR competition Feb.1 at Marion, and 10 qualified for state level competition next month. “They put in a lot of extra hours working before and after school,” FCCLA adviser Gina Bergin said. “In October they picked their projects, but the majority of their work was done after the Christmas break.”

WSU confers degrees for local students

Five Wichita State University students from Marion County completed degrees in the fall semester. WSU recognizes three levels of honors at graduation, depending on the student’s grade point average. Undergraduate students who attain a GPA of 3.90 or better receive the summa cum laude award. Those with a GPA of 3.55 to 3.89 receive the magna cum laude award, and those with a GPA of 3.25 to 3.54 receive the cum laude award. Hillsboro

HHS boys win big over Sterling

The Hillsboro High School boys basketball team avenged a Dec. 21 loss at Sterling with a 79-63 win Tuesday at home. “We don’t like Sterling very much,” Hillsboro forward Josh Wiebe said.

Hillsboro girls lose basketball game

The Hillsboro High School girls’ basketball team lost to Sterling, 53-51, Tuesday in Hillsboro. Guard Danae Bina was the catalyst for the most important plays which brought the Trojans within two points with 1 minute, 22 seconds left in the game.

Trojan boys tame Lions

The Hillsboro High School boys’ basketball team defeated Lyons, 58-45, Friday in Lyons. With Evan Ollenburger in street clothes due to injury, Shaq Thiessen started for Hillsboro and did not disappoint. Thiessen scored 23 points, the most of any player in the game. He was also the team’s leading rebounder with 7 boards.

HHS girls win against Lyons

The Hillsboro High School girls basketball team’s 59-34 victory over Lyons Friday in Lyons was the beginning of a learning process. It was the first game the team played without leading scorer and rebounder Tena Loewen. Loewen suffered an ACL and slight MCL tear in the Trojans’ game against Hesston Jan. 31. Coach Nathan Hiebert said she will be out the remainder of the season and the entire spring sports season, with an expected return to competition in August.

Goessel's Kruger signs to play for Friends

Last week, D’Ambra Kruger, Goessel, signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Friends University in Wichita this fall. Kruger, a middle-hitter, was part of a Bluebird team that went 29-13 overall and 8-0 in their league. In addition to claiming the Wheat State League title, the Goessel High School girls’ volleyball team was 2011 Sub-State Champions and went to state under the direction of Coach Crysta Guhr.

Mueller to run for Tabor

Moore signs football letter with Greenville College

Rooker confirms plan to play for Tabor

Unruh scores 30 in Goessel win

In a Wheat State League game, Goessel High School senior basketball player Braden Unruh notched 30 points in a 65-56 win at Centre on Friday. Eighteen of those points came from the free-throw line to help Unruh to his best offensive performance of this season. Each team showed a strong desire to win and the game developed into a physical contest where 50 free throws were attempted. Goessel went on a 9-0 run in the first quarter. Six points in a row by Peter Voth and a 3-pointer by Nic Buller helped the visitors to a 12-7 lead. The fast-paced game saw the first quarter end with a Goessel 20-15 lead. Unruh scored 5 points in a row, but then sat on the bench for much of the second quarter after getting his second foul. The Bluebirds stretched their lead to 13 points before the Cougars narrowed the lead at halftime to 32-24.

Bluebird girls go cold in losses

The Goessel High School girls’ basketball team only managed to average 20 percent shooting from the field and lost two league games. On Jan. 31, Little River dominated the first half, holding the Bluebirds to 3 and 4 points respectively in the first two quarters. Johanna Hoffman got the Bluebirds started with a 3-pointer, but the Redskins led at halftime, 23-7.

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