BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Marion County Lake remains under a blue-green algae warning for a third consecutive week, but it was better news Thursday for Marion Reservoir, which got an all-clear for the first time in 10 weeks.
“It’s been a long run,” reservoir manager Kevin McCoy said. “We’ve been removing signs and barriers today. This is a welcome break.”
At a meeting hastily called last week by Dianne Novak, county commissioners reluctantly eliminated half a mill of a proposed two-mill overall property tax increase by reducing the amount budgeted to pay for full-time ambulance attendants.
The proposed budget, published in this week’s issue, calls for an overall increase of $17.50 in property taxes on a typical residence with a market value of $100,000.
When commissioners opened Monday’s meeting for public comment, they probably didn’t know what they were opening themselves up to.
Former road and bridge supervisor and ex-county employee Larry Cushenbery had plenty to say about his discontent with hiring decisions in the department.
It’s not unusual to see helicopters from Fort Riley or medical helicopters taking patients from one hospital to another, but a chopper with a dangling string of whirling saws suspended from it is what people along Union Pacific railroad tracks saw Thursday and Friday.
A pilot and ground crew for Rotor Blade, a South Carolina company that does aerial sidewall trimming for railroads, utility companies, and pipelines, was trimming a section of trees in railroad right of way.
Landowners curious about the county’s plans for 330th Rd. west of K-15 packed Durham Community Center and peppered officials with questions Thursday, but commissioners still were searching for timelines and solutions Monday.
Often referred to as the Roxbury road, the eight-mile stretch from K-15 to the McPherson County line was gravel from 2007 to 2012, when a 2” asphalt overlay was put down. It has deteriorated badly since then.
As beach towels turn to backpacks, the cost of starting a new school year does not come cheap.
To ensure students’ backpacks are filled with the proper supplies on the first day of class, Hillsboro Elementary School provides a list of required supplies for both individual and classroom use, which range from $31.95 to $50.05 for the different grade levels when shopping at a local retailer.
Homemade, homegrown, and home-baked goods are rarities at the weekly Hillsboro Farmers’ Market — so much so that the Chamber of Commerce has now declared every farmers’ market “Sell Anything Night” with hopes to encourage more people to sell and purchase goods.
But when Thursday’s farmers’ market filled Memorial Park with customers, it wasn’t for new offerings like Tupperware or garage sale odds and ends. It was for the food, just not homegrown tomatoes or homemade breads.
People driving on Nighthawk Rd. between Peabody and 190th Rd. have been wondering what’s going on with large patches of gravel along the mid-county corridor.
Road and bridge superintendent Jesse Hamm said his department is trying to deal with asphalt problems that have been cropping up.
Services for Neva M. Applegate, 90, who died Tuesday at St. Luke Living Center in Marion, were Saturday at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Marion. Burial was at Lewis Cemetery in Ramona.
Born Oct. 14, 1926, to Solomon and Hanna (Longhofer) Brunner in Hope, she married Jack M. Applegate in 1948 at Ramona. They moved to Marion in 1965.
A private memorial service for former Marion resident James Weston Cowan, 41, of Clearwater, Florida, who died June 10, will be at Prairie Lawn Cemetery in Peabody.
He was born Jan. 22, 1976, in Albany, Georgia. He served in the Marine Corps.
A service for retired public school employee and Army veteran Lee Roy Palmer, who died Aug. 1, was Sunday at Community of Christ Church, Chapel for Peace, Springfield, Missouri.
Burial will be later in Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Springfield.
IN MEMORIAM:
Iris Bayes,
Betty Seibel,
Carl Walter
Leonardville farmer and antique tractor enthusiast Charles Dugan, who farms 1,200 acres of cropland, brought his two yellow John Deere industrial tractors to Goessel’s Country Threshing Days over the weekend.
As a farmer, he’s accustomed to using modern equipment, but still loves having the old equipment around.
With last year’s corn still piled on the ground and another harvest looming, producers and sellers are looking for ways to move the surplus into markets.
Two solutions could be increasing grain and ethanol exports.
There are two relatively new faces at the Kansas State University/Marion County Extension Office. Tristen Cope and Jana Miller have joined 16-year veteran Rickey Roberts in running the department.
“The transition is going good,” Roberts said. “My board hired good people, and that made the transition smooth.”
Mild weather to start August could lead to a bountiful harvest, as long as rains follow.
“If we think about what mild temperatures do, things maybe aren’t burning up out there and we’re not losing as much moisture,” said county extension agent Rickey Roberts. “When we think about its impact upon the agriculture, certainly we’re going to call it a positive.”
A “Women in Agriculture” event will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Marion City Library.
Sarah Moore and Eric Gunther of Marion Farm Service Agency will talk about farm service and loan programs.
Thanks to concerted efforts of Chat and Dine Club members, Marion County Park and Lake will soon have new bench seats for its concrete and stone picnic tables. Movable picnic tables and a merry-go-round also will have some boards replaced.
Club members have raised $1,800 to put into the project, and club president Donna Kaiser secured an additional $1,000 from county commissioners Monday to cover the balance of the costs. Kaiser said the club hopes to have the work completed for Labor Day weekend lake patrons to enjoy. Kudos, indeed, to them.
After a thousand miles separated us over the summer — Kaitlyn in Wichita and Jason in Washington, District of Columbia, one of the first items on our to-do list was to watch a sunset in Marion County.
We chose Marion Reservoir for our first sunset together in two months. The trees, water, and open land provided a stark contrast to sky-blocking skyscrapers, mountainous monuments, and hordes of busybody people.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
Immigration in the news again
Josh Funk, a junior at Tabor College, received a Kansas Teacher Service Scholarship for his plans to teach special education classes after he graduates.
The scholarship, which the Kansas Board of Regents awards, provides financial assistance to students who plan to pursue hard-to-fill teaching positions, including math, science, and special education.
The family of Harold and Edith Johnson request a card shower in honor of the couple’s 75th wedding anniversary Aug. 28.
Harold is a former Peabody mail carrier and handyman. Their children are Harold Johnson Jr., Carolyn Johnson, Fred Johnson, and Alan Johnson.
The family of Joseph G. and JoAnn (Svoboda) Nowak of Pilsen request a card shower in honor of the couple’s 60th wedding anniversary Aug. 20.
The Nowaks met at a public polka dance at the Starlight Dance Hall in Pilsen when Joe, a native of Muscoda, Wisconsin, was stationed at Schilling Air Force Base in Salina.
The family of former Marion teacher Patsy Waner requests a card shower for her 85th birthday Saturday.
Cards can be sent to 3947 N. Kickapoo Ave., Apt. 117, Shawnee OK 74804.
NORTHWEST OF DURHAM:
Wiebes welcome new grandchild
Runners from throughout central Kansas will flock to Marion County Park and Lake on Saturday for the ninth annual Mothers of Preschoolers Run for Your Momma.
The half-marathon, half marathon relay, and 5k run/walk follow a course of pavement and gravel roads through hills and flat lands, passing through Marion, by Marion County Lake, and with prairie, tilled fields, and grazing cattle in between.
Technology Excellence in Education Network (TEEN) will meet at 6 p.m. Aug. 16 at the Marion-Florence school district office, 101 N. Thorp St., Marion.
Lake repairs, school supplies, and games will share the agenda at a Marion County Lake Chat and Dine Club meeting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the north shelter house.
Attendees should bring a sack meal and school supplies for children in need. Drinks will be provided. Kathy Berry will serve as host.
CALENDAR
OF EVENTS