Marion County RECORD

HEADLINES

Yields vary widely as wheat harvest begins
Wheat yields ranging from 10 to 50 bushels per acre are being reported across the county as harvest begins. Jason Kruse of Marion, combining wheat on Darryl Ehrlich’s land just west of Canada at 190th and Nighthawk Rds., said his crew had just started harvesting Monday.
Taking life one stroke at a time
She had never competed in her sport before arriving at college, but Marion graduate Kaelyn Thierolf has capped her career as a second-generation Division 1 student athlete with two more honors. Named rower of the year for her team at the University of Kansas and a national scholar-athlete, her picture will now hang in the university’s boathouse long after her graduation next spring.
Florence, Deforest family in water fight
For 98 years, clear and sparkling water has flowed from Crystal Springs to Florence taps. Whether that will remain the case in June 2019 is anyone’s guess after city council members on June 4 rejected a contract proposed by the family that owns the springs.
Biting remarks; Residents see red about chiggers
“OMG!” That’s what some people are saying about this year’s crop of chiggers.
Samaritans help strangers change tire
Ken and Paula Roper of Emporia were on their way home Sunday afternoon from Salina’s Smoky Hills River Festival when their car got a flat, and they got a sample of Marion hospitality. The Ropers were four miles west of Marion on US-56 when Ken heard a pop. Not sure of what happened, he was able to continue on and turn onto K-256. A dash light indicated low air pressure, and he found a low tire.

OTHER HEADLINES

Water advisory no big deal for Burns residents
A boil-water advisory issued by Kansas Department of Health and Environment for Burns more than two weeks ago was lifted Thursday. But the advisory wasn’t a big deal for many residents. “I didn’t boil the water,” Fritzie Hatfield said. “My neighbor is the city maintenance guy, and he kept checking the water and said he thought it was fine.”
St. Luke gets national honor
St. Luke Hospital in Marion has been named to a list of the nation’s top 20 “best practice” hospitals as announced by the National Rural Health Association. Hospital performance was rated based on rural-relevant process of care measures.
Probation in abuse case
Sheila Thouvenell, 51, who pleaded guilty in April to interference with law enforcement, was sentenced June 4 to one year probation. Charged a year ago with three counts of aggravated witness intimidation and two counts of aggravated child endangerment she struck a plea agreement resulting in dismissal of those charges.
Sales tax for new jail to expire July 1
Sales tax rates in the county will drop by half a percent July 1, when a five-year-old special tax imposed to build a $3.5 million jail expires. County Clerk Tina Spencer said the county would continue to collect revenue from the tax in July and August from sales occurring before July 1.
Entrepreneur shapes a new business
For people who want a cowboy hat that’s shaped a certain way, Johsie Reid of JR Hatters in Marion is the person to contact. Reid starts out with open crown hats with flat brims and soaks them in water, which makes them pliable for shaping. After they dry, the shape remains. She shapes crowns, brims, and brim fronts in whatever way customers want.
Explosives found, detonated
A call to the sheriff’s department ended with a bang after suspicious-looking devices in an old trash can turned out to be explosives. According to Sheriff Rob Craft, officers were summoned to a barn in the 2500 block of Unicorn Rd. at 3:30 p.m. June 6.
Bait machine coming to county lake
Bait and a limited supply of fishing tackle once again will be available at the county lake after county commissioners approved the purchase of a vending machine for outside the lake office. Lake superintendent Isaac Hett talked to commissioners Monday about a bait vending machine formerly at The Lumberyard in Hillsboro.
An early Father's Day present
Michael Hurst’s Father’s Day gift came early this year. Hurst was fishing with his son, Aiden, 9, last week at Marion County Lake, when his pole started bending big time.
Sign identifies Kapaun museum
The Kapaun Museum at Pilsen has a new sign. “We wanted to get a sign for a long time,” Harriet Bina said. “But things move slowly up here.”
Drunk camper falls into ditch
A dispute among intoxicated Marion Reservoir campers early Saturday led to an hour-long search of the Cottonwood Point area for a man who had fallen into a ditch after defying authorities to find him. Sheriff Rob Craft said officers were called after Armando Martinez, 37, got into a dispute with his girlfriend. The pair were on a camping trip with two companions at the time. Martinez left the campsite on foot shortly before 4 a.m.
Suspect flees into county before surrendering
TEEN to meet
Directors of Technology Excellence in Education Network will meet at 6 p.m. June 20 at the Marion-Florence district office, 101 N. Thorp St., Marion. More information is available at (620) 877-0237.

DEATHS

Donald Beisel
Services for Tampa resident Donald L. Beisel, 76, who died May 30, were June 5 in Herington. Born July 5, 1941, in Tampa, he was the second of eight children born to Fred and Anna Beisel.
Ella Fast
Services for former nursing instructor Ella Wiebe Fast, 89, who died June 6 at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro, were Tuesday with burial at rural Gnadenau Cemetery. Born Aug. 4, 1929, in North Newton to Edward and Bertha Voth, she married Arthur Wiebe in 1954. He died in 2008. She married David Fast in 2013. He died in 2016.
Thomas Smith
Army veteran and former Boeing engineer Thomas H. Smith, 64, Marion, died Saturday at Lake Wilson. No services are planned. Born Aug. 18, 1953, in Douglass to John and Delores Smith, he is survived by wife Candy of the home, brother John Smith, sisters Millard Bergstrom and Debra Gould, children John Boese, Samantha Hays, Lacy Westmoland, and Shawna Garten, and five grandchildren.
Shirley Slaymaker
Services for former Peabody resident Shirley Temple Slaymaker, 82, who died Thursday in Emporia, will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Granada Theater, 807 Commercial St., Emporia. Visitation will be 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the theater. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery, Emporia.

DOCKET

SENIOR LIVING

Cloth fades, but memories remain
As four widowed women and a couple, all residents of Parkside Homes, gathered in a small room preparing for Parkside’s annual wedding dress display June 21 through July 2, many differences are evident - - differences in styles, dates, churches, and stories. However, one theme rang true: Behind each vintage dress or photograph, love was ever present.
Not a bit gun-shy; 64-year-old protects herself with concealed weapon
Marion County had 315 people with concealed-carry permits in June 2017. One was Nanette Lowry of Marion. She had been teaching in Wichita when she became afraid for her safety and bought a gun.

OPINION

Headline to come
No, it’s not a mistake. We didn’t forget to put a headline on this week’s editorial. If we had intended to leave a spaceholder for a headline, we would have done it in classic journalistic shorthand: “HTK” or “hed to kum.” What we instead mean by this week’s headline is that we aren’t sure what the future holds — for our state and nation, for our community, even for the three community newspapers we publish.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
Looking at - and seeing - that bloomin' tree

PEOPLE

Free food available
Free food will be available at Marion County senior centers to families with monthly income of less than $1,316 for a single person plus $468 for each additional person. Marion Senior Center will start giving away surplus government commodities from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 21.
Litkes to celebrate 70th anniversary
Virgil and Phyllis (Wiens) Litke of rural Marion will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary with relatives. Married June 15, 1948, at Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church near Hillsboro, they farmed and traveled for more than 40 years with their Litke Products cutlery and statuary business.
Methodists getting new pastors
Both of Marion’s United Methodist churches will see departure of their ministers and arrival of new ones July 1. Husband-wife duo Amanda and Ross Baker have been at the helms of Valley and Eastmoor churches since July 1, 2015. Amanda has been a half-time minister at Valley and Ross a full-time minister at Eastmoor.
Kohls to turn 96
A card shower is planned for the 96th birthday Monday of former Marion resident Dorothy Kohls. Her address is Room 113, Holiday Resort, 2825 Resort Dr, Salina KS 67401.
Democrats to meet
Marion County Democrats will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday in Marion Community Center’s conference room, accessible by elevator from the ground floor.
Blood drive set
Blood donations will be accepted from 1 to 6 p.m. July 11 at Lincolnville Community Center, 213 W. 6th St. The drive is being sponsored by Centre FFA. Appointments are being accepted by Laura Klenda at lklenda@usd397.com and by the Red Cross.
Calvin Carlson
Charles and Virginia Heerey of Marion and Betty Williams of Florence have a new great-grandson. Calvin Tyler Carlson weighed 6 pounds 1.7 ounces and measured 18.5 inches when he was born April 24 in Wichita to Zach and Jenny Carlson.
SENIOR CENTER:
Seniors hear about new driver's licenses, Marion Senior Center menu
MEMORIES:
10, 25, 40, 55, 70, 110, 140 years ago

SCHOOL

Friends fish their way through college
Cramming for tests, making it to class on time, and figuring out which fishing lure would snag a largemouth bass were the unusual topics of concern for two local anglers who both competed on Kansas State University’s fishing team while college students. Aaron Barney, 32, graduated from K-state almost a decade ago. He passed his love for competitive fishing on to his friend, Grant Srajer, 22, and encouraged him to follow in his footsteps.
MHS grads receive St. Luke scholarships
Marion High School graduates Kourtney Hansen and Austin Neufeld each received $1,000 scholarships last week from St. Luke Hospital and the hospital auxiliary. St. Luke Foundation manager Roger Schroeder announced scholarship winners at an auxiliary luncheon Thursday at St. Luke Medical Clinic.
Mr. Waddell goes to Washington
If it’s considered an honor to be selected to attend Boys State, it must be an even greater honor to be selected to attend Boys Nation. Hap Waddell, who will be a senior this fall at Marion High School, was one of two delegates from the 2018 session of Boys State to be elected by peers to represent Kansas as senators at Boys Nation this summer.
2 of 3 teaching vacancies filled
Marion-Florence schools filled two of three teaching vacancies Monday night. Christian Cooper, a new graduate of Bethany College, will become instrumental music instructor this fall, replacing Dmitry Bucklin, who resigned last month.
Centre to get 'smart' boards
From blackboards to whiteboards to interactive boards, technology in classrooms at Centre schools will rise to a new level this fall with the addition of interactive boards. At its Monday meeting, the school board approved purchase of 22 Newline TruTouch UB panels for $80,995.
UPCOMING:
Calendar of events

MORE…

HOVER OVER IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT

Unlike some farms, when rain-starved wheat yielded at little as 10 bushels per acre, yields of closer to 40 bushels were recorded Monday when Jason Kruse began combining. This field is just west of Canada, northwest of the intersection of 190th and Nighthawk Rds.

Johsie Reid's JR Hatters, business of Marion provides custom-shaped hats for people. She has a website and also promotes her business at various shows in the area.

Parkside Homes resident Esther Pankratz holds up her wedding dress as Jane Makovec looks on. Parkside Homes residents are nostalgic of their love stories as they prepare for an annual wedding dress display.

What may have looked like a brightly colored, orange and red circus tent last week in the 400 block of E. Santa Fe St. in Marion, was actually a two story fumigation tent. Exterminators would not say exactly what type of pest they were attempting to eradicate, but took preventive steps to not allow the concentrated chemicals to escape.

Marion County RECORD

Wheat yields ranging from 10 to 50 bushels per acre are being reported across the county as harvest begins. Jason Kruse of Marion, combining wheat on Darryl Ehrlich’s land just west of Canada at 190th and Nighthawk Rds., said his crew had just started harvesting Monday.

For 98 years, clear and sparkling water has flowed from Crystal Springs to Florence taps. Whether that will remain the case in June 2019 is anyone’s guess after city council members on June 4 rejected a contract proposed by the family that owns the springs.

“OMG!” That’s what some people are saying about this year’s crop of chiggers.

St. Luke Hospital in Marion has been named to a list of the nation’s top 20 “best practice” hospitals as announced by the National Rural Health Association. Hospital performance was rated based on rural-relevant process of care measures.

Sales tax rates in the county will drop by half a percent July 1, when a five-year-old special tax imposed to build a $3.5 million jail expires. County Clerk Tina Spencer said the county would continue to collect revenue from the tax in July and August from sales occurring before July 1.

A call to the sheriff’s department ended with a bang after suspicious-looking devices in an old trash can turned out to be explosives. According to Sheriff Rob Craft, officers were summoned to a barn in the 2500 block of Unicorn Rd. at 3:30 p.m. June 6.

Michael Hurst’s Father’s Day gift came early this year. Hurst was fishing with his son, Aiden, 9, last week at Marion County Lake, when his pole started bending big time.

The Kapaun Museum at Pilsen has a new sign. “We wanted to get a sign for a long time,” Harriet Bina said. “But things move slowly up here.”

Directors of Technology Excellence in Education Network will meet at 6 p.m. June 20 at the Marion-Florence district office, 101 N. Thorp St., Marion. More information is available at (620) 877-0237.

Services for Tampa resident Donald L. Beisel, 76, who died May 30, were June 5 in Herington. Born July 5, 1941, in Tampa, he was the second of eight children born to Fred and Anna Beisel.

Services for former Peabody resident Shirley Temple Slaymaker, 82, who died Thursday in Emporia, will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Granada Theater, 807 Commercial St., Emporia. Visitation will be 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the theater. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery, Emporia.

Marion County had 315 people with concealed-carry permits in June 2017. One was Nanette Lowry of Marion. She had been teaching in Wichita when she became afraid for her safety and bought a gun.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

Free food will be available at Marion County senior centers to families with monthly income of less than $1,316 for a single person plus $468 for each additional person. Marion Senior Center will start giving away surplus government commodities from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 21.

Virgil and Phyllis (Wiens) Litke of rural Marion will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary with relatives. Married June 15, 1948, at Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church near Hillsboro, they farmed and traveled for more than 40 years with their Litke Products cutlery and statuary business.

A card shower is planned for the 96th birthday Monday of former Marion resident Dorothy Kohls. Her address is Room 113, Holiday Resort, 2825 Resort Dr, Salina KS 67401.

Marion County Democrats will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday in Marion Community Center’s conference room, accessible by elevator from the ground floor.

Blood donations will be accepted from 1 to 6 p.m. July 11 at Lincolnville Community Center, 213 W. 6th St. The drive is being sponsored by Centre FFA. Appointments are being accepted by Laura Klenda at lklenda@usd397.com and by the Red Cross.

Charles and Virginia Heerey of Marion and Betty Williams of Florence have a new great-grandson. Calvin Tyler Carlson weighed 6 pounds 1.7 ounces and measured 18.5 inches when he was born April 24 in Wichita to Zach and Jenny Carlson.

SENIOR CENTER:

MEMORIES:

Marion High School graduates Kourtney Hansen and Austin Neufeld each received $1,000 scholarships last week from St. Luke Hospital and the hospital auxiliary. St. Luke Foundation manager Roger Schroeder announced scholarship winners at an auxiliary luncheon Thursday at St. Luke Medical Clinic.

Marion-Florence schools filled two of three teaching vacancies Monday night. Christian Cooper, a new graduate of Bethany College, will become instrumental music instructor this fall, replacing Dmitry Bucklin, who resigned last month.

From blackboards to whiteboards to interactive boards, technology in classrooms at Centre schools will rise to a new level this fall with the addition of interactive boards. At its Monday meeting, the school board approved purchase of 22 Newline TruTouch UB panels for $80,995.

UPCOMING: