HILLSBORO Star-Journal

State tax bill could increase local taxes

Marion County Commission signed a letter drafted to Kansas legislators J. Robert Brookens, Jay Emler, and Jeff Longbine asking them to vote against a bill for a tax exemption. House Bill 2501 would allow businesses to claim fixed machinery as personal property, exempt for businesses, instead of claiming it as part of a property, which is how it is currently taxed, County Appraiser Cindy Magill said.

Dirks raises questions at Hillsboro city meeting

Hillsboro City Council member Shelby Dirks raised questions about department spending practices and city worker time-schedules Tuesday at the council’s regular meeting. Prior to the approval of city vouchers for the month Dirks asked if departments were comparing prices and shopping locally for supplies and services as mandated.

Baker plans to open in June

With remodeling going smoothly in Hillsboro’s “red barn” on Main Street, Rachel Schmidt is optimistic that she will be able to open her Norel Farms Bakery the first week of June. Remodeling has taken a lot of work, Schmidt said. The exterior shell of the building is about the only thing that is the same as when she and her husband, Norman Schmidt, bought the building.

Collett named district judge in Dickinson County

Keith L. Collett, a partner in the Marion law firm of Brookens & Collett, has been appointed Dickinson County District Magistrate Judge for the 8th Judicial District, effective June 6. Collett will replace John E. Barker, who retired April 16 after serving 25 years in the position.

Court closures postponed

District court closures that were scheduled for April 27 and May 11 have been rescheduled to give time for the Kansas Legislature to consider appropriating extra funds for the courts to finish the fiscal year. The Kansas Supreme Court announced the rescheduling April 23. With the postponement, courts are now scheduled to be closed May 24 and 25 and June 7 and 8. Because May 24 and 25 precede the Memorial Day weekend, there will be a stretch of five consecutive days courts will be closed.

Wendell L. Gunter

Wendell L. Gunter, 73, of Woodbine died April 20, 2012, at his home with his family by his side. He was born Feb. 6, 1939, at the family farm near Woodbine to Milton W. and Margaret M. “Peggy” (Gugler) Gunter.

Francis Doc Hartke

Francis “Doc” Hartke, 88, of Herington died April 10, 2012, at his home. He was born March 1, 1924, near Lincolnville to Arthur H. “Pop” and Lydia A. (Pagenkopf) Hartke.

Deloris Ann James

Deloris Ann James, 63, died April 24, 2012, at Salem Home in Hillsboro. She moved to Hillsboro about one and one-half years ago from Goodland. She was a homemaker.

Bessie Lee Morris

Bessie Lee “Jackie” Morris, 95 died April 27, 2012, in Hugo, Okla. She was born July 21, 1916, in Soper, Okla., to Henry and Bessie (Smith) Bryan. She moved to Potwin in 1939 and lived there a few years before returning to Boswell, Okla. In 1944, she moved to Peabody, where she worked as a medication aid until retiring in 1981 and returning to Boswell.

Wilma Faye Peugh

Wilma Faye (Geer) Peugh, 85, of Peabody died April 30, 2012, at Newton Medical Center in Newton. She was born March 20, 1927, in Bethany, Mo., to Alva and Martha (Nichols) Geer. She worked in ticket sales for the Kansas City Royals baseball team.

Orlene Scrivner

Orlene Scrivner, 98, died April 26, 2012, at Peabody Care Center in Peabody. She was born June 18, 1913. She is survived by three daughters, Loretta Whipple, Harriett Woods, and Mary Beth Gaines; one brother, Leon Stout; five grandchildren; and l3 great grandchildren.

Bertha E. Wendlandt

Bertha E. Wendlandt, 91, of Herington died April 29, 2012, at the Medicalodges of Herington. She was born Jan. 12, 1921, in Lincolnville to Gottfried P. and Sadie Brunner. She owned and operated Bert’s Beauty Shop for many years. She was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church.

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Local teen copes with diabetes

Not quite two years ago Autumn Strecker of Hillsboro, now 13, was tired, grumpy, and always hungry. “I just thought it was because she was working so hard at volleyball practice,” her mother Jeri Strecker said. “She had just started school as a sixth grader in junior high at Goessel and was going through a lot of changes.”

Cyclist beats workout time crunch

Kenny Lundgren of Marion found a solution to the time-crunch problem that often plagues exercise enthusiasts. Lundgren rides his road bike from Marion to work at Golden Heritage Foods LLC in Hillsboro. Just the round trips five days a week adds up to 100 miles of riding. Occasionally, Lundren will add a detour down to Aulne for an extended workout. Also enjoying rides in his free time, Lundgren said he will bike about 280 miles some weeks.

Artist keeps memories alive with paint

With Mother’s Day around the corner, many people look for ways to remember their mothers. Darlene Schroeder of rural Goessel found a way to memorialize her own mother by painting memories in watercolor. Last Thursday, she displayed about 30 original watercolors at Hendrickson Chiropractic Center as a featured artist in Newton’s Downtown Art and Music Festival. Much of her work focuses on nature — especially flowers, country scenes, small animals and children, but her favorite paintings are those she made of her mother’s life.

On the subject of names

There is an issue that crops up occasionally at the newspaper office that has always annoyed me a little bit. It isn’t a big problem, but it gets on my nerves like a fly buzzing around my head when it comes up: what to call the residential area surrounding Marion County Park and Lake. Calling those neighborhoods Marion County Park and Lake doesn’t feel right. The people don’t live in the park; they aren’t campers. Saying someone is from Marion County Lake bothers me, too. Unless there are mer-people I don’t know about, nobody actually lives in the lake.

Host families enjoy exchange experiences

Several local families experienced cultural exposure without leaving home as part of a foreign exchange student program that placed more than a dozen students in Marion County this year. Mike and Mandi Brouillette of Hillsboro, Duane and Janna Duerksen of Goessel, and Lewis and Carrie Unruh of Peabody all said the benefits of hosting foreign students for a school year in their home was a rewarding experience. “It’s been a great year,” Mandi Brouillette, host parent of Laura Angresius, a German girl attending Hillsboro High School, said. “We have all enjoyed learning about the German culture and it makes us take a closer look at why we do what we do.”

Aging department warns of new scams

Marion County Department on Aging recently received information from two individuals who received phone calls about a medical card to use with Medicare, Department on Aging Director Gayla Ratzlaff announced in a press release last week. The callers wanted to verify the person’s address and phone number. The salesmen then asked about their banking account routing numbers. When both of these individuals refused to give this information, the salesmen hung up, Ratzlaff said.

Farmers market vouchers available for seniors

Marion County Department on Aging is offering vouchers to local farmers markets in the county beginning May 7. To qualify for the program, a person must be 60 or older and meet income guidelines. A single-person household can have a gross monthly income of $1,723 or less. The income threshold increases with household size: two people, $2,333; three, $2,944; four, $3,554; five, $4,165; and six, $4,775.

Business consultant available May 16

A small business consultant from the Emporia State University Kansas Small Business Development Center will be in Marion from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 16 for one-on-one meetings at the Butler Community College, Marion campus, at 412 N. Second St. To discuss issues concerning an existing business or starting a new business, appointments may be made by contacting Butler Community College at (316) 218-6311.

Reimer to receive nursing degree

Caitlin Reimer of Hillsboro is one of 67 baccalaureate students of the Washburn University School of Nursing who will be honored during a recognition and pinning ceremony at 5:30 p.m. May 12 at White Concert Hall on the university’s Topeka campus. Commencement is at 3:30 p.m. the same day in Lee Arena, Petro Allied Health Center. Reimer is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and Alpha Lambda Delta national honor society.

Panzer conquers ultra marathon

Everyone deserves awards for an accomplishment. What were Kodi Panzer’s gifts to herself after completing the Cedro Peak Ultra Marathon April 7 in Tijeras, N.M.? She bought:

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Hillsboro students display artwork in McPherson

More than 275 works of art by 100 high school students were displayed at the Central Kansas Art League Festival on April 25 at McPherson College. Hillsboro High School students Erin Wiebe, Meredith Lamkin, and Amy Bartel had pieces of art judged and displayed. Lamkin won gold for her piece “Faces of Society.” Wiebe and Bartel were honorable mentions for untitled colored pencil drawings.

Coordinator outlines grant accomplishments

Because of the generosity of donors and the insight of the Hillsboro Community Foundation, many students at Hillsboro Elementary School have been able to participate in extracurricular activities they couldn’t have otherwise afforded, after-school program coordinator Mike Moran said recently. HES’ after-school program was one of 10 organizations that received grants in February from the Hillsboro Area Impact Fund. The $1,000 grant has helped 11 students participate in JAM basketball and other activities, Moran said.

Lion's Club donates trees to fourth graders

Arbor Day was Friday and 95 Marion County fourth graders rolled up their sleeves and planted a tree. The students will become members of Fourth Grade Foresters. Fourth Graders from Centre, Hillsboro, and Marion elementary schools will each receive a Norwegian spruce tree to plant and care for where they choose. Centre fourth graders are choosing to plant trees in the new Tampa playground area. The two classes in Marion and Hillsboro have not decided on specific plans for the seedlings.

Sechrist sets meet records

Hillsboro High School runner Emily Sechrist broke two meet records Friday at the James Thomas Invitational track meet in Hillsboro. She won the 3,200-meter run with a time of 12 minutes, .01 seconds, destroying the previous record by nearly 18 seconds. She had lapped a competitor half way through the race.

Shewey, Faber win for HHS tennis

Hillsboro High School tennis No. 1 singles player Grant Shewey went 2-2 April 24 at the Hesston Tournament to finish fourth. He defeated Jacob Penner of Hesston, 8-4, and Ross Rasmussen of Conway Springs, 8-3. He lost in the semifinals to Keegan LeFevre of Hesston, 8-1, and Collin Martin of Hesston in the third place match, 8-1.

Dick, Borg finish top ten in golf

The Hillsboro High School golf team scored two top 10 finishes in the Sacred Heart Invitational on Friday at Salina Municipal Golf Course. Devin Dick shot an 86 for a fourth-place finish. Evan Ollenburger shot a 91 for a 10th-place finish.

Day, Mueller impressive for HHS track

There were two standouts pointed out by head coach Dennis Boldt for the Hillsboro High School boys track team Friday at the James Thomas Invitational meet in Hillsboro. The first was Mitchell Day. For the second consecutive meet, Day set a personal best in the 100-meter dash. He ran a time of 10.8 in preliminaries before he easily won the event with a time of 11.12 in the final.

Goessel track teams continue improvement

The Bluebirds competed in the Berean track meet on a warm and breezy afternoon on April 25 in Marion. Goessel’s throwers dueled for points as Brian Hiebert claimed the best throw in shot put for the Bluebirds this season surpassing his previous best toss by 16 inches. Hiebert took third and Alex Schmidt earned fifth place. Nathan Czarnowsky extended his best leap in long jump by three inches and Heath Goertzen set his best distance in triple jump for the Bluebirds. Goessel boys scoring at Berean Shot Put: 3. Brian Hiebert, 37 feet, 9. 5 inches; Alex Schmidt, 36-10. Long Jump: 4. Nathan Czarnowsky, 18-6.25. Triple Jump: 3. Davis Cook, 37-11.25. 4. Heath Goertzen, 37-6.50. 3200: 4. Goertzen, 12 minutes, 10 seconds. 4x800 Relay: 4. Aaron Woelk, Daniel Kristofferson, Grant Flaming, Jake Herrel, 10:39.00.

GHS golfers hit their stride

Goessel High School golfer Shane Goerzen shot a 79 Thursday at a meet hosted by Sedgwick at North Newton Public Golf Course. Stephen Goertzen shot a personal season best 87. Braden Unruh worked his scores down from the upper 90s to middle 80s. Trey Schmidt hit in the 80s for the first time this season. “If we can all get those scores consistent, we have a great chance (at regionals),” head coach Chad Lindeman said.

HHS tennis players earn all-league honors

Hillsboro High School tennis players Grant Shewey and Harry Faber earned All-League honors by placing in the top three at the Central Kansas League tournament in Hillsboro. “(It) is quite an accomplishment as our league is outstanding in tennis,” Head coach Stuart Holmes said. “Hesston, Sterling, and Smoky Valley will all be in contention for a state trophy again.”

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