Marion County RECORD

Council meeting ends with shouting match

Monday’s Marion city council meeting ended with an angry confrontation between resident Darvin Markley and mayor Todd Heitschmidt that was only broken up when police chief Clinton Jeffrey stepped between the two. The argument erupted after council members approved a lease agreement, subject to rewording by the city attorney, giving Verizon Wireless permission to mount an antenna atop a water tower west of the high school.

'Anyone But' rates among top write-ins

Write-in candidates up-ended ballot-listed candidates in three contested races and won several other contests for which no candidate had filed in this month’s election. But the most interesting write-ins — including “Anyone But” — were not necessarily winners.

County OKs wind farm agreement

After 3½ hours of discussion and pointed questions from county commissioner Dianne Novak Friday, county commissioners approved a development agreement for a wind farm project long the subject of contention. The agreement was approved by commissioners on a split vote, with Randy Dallke and Kent Becker voting in favor and Novak voting against letting the wind farm proceed.

Dry grass is fuel for fires

“The next four to six months could be crazy for grass fires,” said Marion fire chief Preston Williams. The warm, wet summer helped grasslands thrive and keep growing well into October, said Williams and Peabody fire chief Mark Penner.

Hillsboro Community Hospital sold to its onetime operators

A Wichita bankruptcy court judge Thursday approved the sale of Hillsboro Community Hospital after learning that no objections had been filed to the proposed sale and no qualifying competing bids had been made. The hospital was sold to a company with officers who formerly operated the hospital under the company name Rural Community

Doctor pushes to open county health centers

Health centers that are welcome and accessible would be a welcome prospect in rural Marion County, Peabody business owner Pandea Smith said. “Getting to the services is more difficult, so I imagine there would definitely be individuals who would seek out that care,” said the owner of Porcupine Tea Company.

Hospital bills can overwhelm patients

Many with good jobs priced out of coverage By PHYLLIS ZORN Staff writer Hillsboro resident Amanda Smith, who is self-employed, said her life was easier and her medical care better when she was covered under her husband’s employer-sponsored insurance.

New commissioners sworn into office

Two new county commissioners were sworn in Monday. Dave Crofoot was sworn in as 4th District commissioner and Jonah Gehring as 5th District commissioner.

Man arrested on suspicion of domestic battery, endangerment

Randy R. Carlson, 28, Marion, was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery, child endangerment, and intimidation of a witness at 5:41 p.m. Thursday in the 300 block of Fink St. Carlson was suspected of intimidation for trying to prevent the victim from reporting, according to police said.

Marion County residents meet to discuss teens, vaping

Residents from Marion County met Tuesday evening at Hillsboro High School’s auditorium to air concerns about an increase in vaping and e-cigarette use among students. Allowing parents and children to understand potential dangers of vaping starts with keeping them informed, said program speaker Crystal Dalmasso.

Concrete supplier sues contractors

A Newton concrete supplier filed a petition Nov. 12 against Cooperative Grain and Supply, Bucklin Builders, and Strongform seeking foreclosure of a mechanic’s lien. Bucklin Builders, based in Sisseton, South Dakota, and Strongform, based in Deer Creek, Minnesota, were hired to construct a grain storage facility just east of Hillsboro along US-56 for Cooperative Grain and Supply.

City OKs new hospital lease

Hillsboro city council members had some housekeeping to do before a court-approved sale of Hillsboro Community Hospital can be closed. Council members Tuesday approved a new property lease with the hospital. The city owns the land the hospital occupies.

City of Florence switches to user-friendly software

Florence City Council on Monday decided to invest $8,175 in gWorks SimpleCity software for all of its city employees. “I don’t have that much experience with it, but what I’m gathering from other cities and other clerks is that this is the way to go,” interim city clerk Heather Thiel said.

Memories of Marion linger with Texan

Muna Mitchell was 7 years old when she and her two older sisters came to Marion from Iraq with their mother, Donna (Newsom) Tabatabia, to spend the summer with their grandparents, florists Rendel and Gertrude Newsom. During that summer, Muna learned English from Maude Thompson, a retired, longtime teacher and administrator in the Marion school system.

Physician finishing house for tour

Randolph Whitely is busy getting his home ready for this year’s annual Christmas Home Tour to benefit Marion City Library. He has his work cut out for him. The family practitioner with an interest in carpentry has been renovating his house on Freeborn St. since he bought it a year and a half ago.

Marion library celebrates 80 years of Oz

Librarian Janet Marler is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz by displaying some pieces of her Wizard of Oz collection at Marion City Library. “I think I started it when the book came out about 15 years ago,” she said.

Marion merchants sponsor jolly holiday happiness

You can don an ugly sweater and run, eat pancakes, sell your old Christmas décor and ornaments, and much more Nov. 30 in Marion. The Holly Jolly Christmas celebration is an all-day, Christmas-themed festival planned for small business Saturday.

Hotel owner named to council

Suzan Barnes, owner of Grand Central Hotel in Cottonwood Falls, has been named to the state’s Council on Travel and Tourism. “The tourism industry is an essential part of our state’s economy,” Governor Laura Kelly said.

Winter wheat may get some relief

Frost may have hurt crop, but rain forecast this afternoon By ROWENA PLETT Staff writer A freeze of -6 degrees Nov. 11 and another cold night Nov. 12 may have caused damage to sprouting wheat in some fields in the county.

IN MEMORIAM:

Accidents reported

Civil division cases

County jail arrests and bookings

Criminal division cases

Deeds reported

Emergency dispatches

Marriage licenses

Municipal court cases

Offenses reported

Police incident reports

Let's get ready to rumble

We’d long been expecting a veritable sweeps week of entertainment from this week’s round of governmental meetings. After all, Curley Joe and Schemp were poised to join Larry, Moe, and Curley on the set of what’s usually the most hilarious meeting in town. What we didn’t expect was a special Monday night edition of “Smackdown!” to emerge as counterprogramming a few blocks away and a few hours later at Marion’s city council meeting.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

CORRECTIONS:

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

Trucking a family business for Kansas couples

Trucking is often regarded as a male-dominated industry, but for independent businesses like Marion’s Triple R Hauling it’s often a couple’s affair, co-owner Kim Ross said. “They have a lot of husband and wife teams in the state that are personally owned and not connected to some of the big companies,” she said.

Tunnel of lights to light up night sky at county lake

A tradition 13 years strong will take place Dec. 8 when Marion County Lake residents light up the night sky from 6 to 8 p.m. The intersection of Hill Rd. and Lakeshore Rd. will be the starting point for the tunnel of lights.

Nurse relates work experience

Lisa Hurst, operating room manager at St. Luke Hospital, discussed her family, education, and work experience during the Nov. 7 St. Luke Auxiliary program. Hurst assists the visiting ophthalmologist from Emporia, as well as the general surgeons who visit Tuesdays and Thursdays. She began at the hospital two years ago as a surgical nurse.

P.E.O. hears fundraiser reports

P.E.O. Chapter DB heard reports about the club’s lunch during the city’s Jingle and Mingle event and participation in the annual Alternative Gift Market to benefit the chapter’s high school scholarship when they met at Marion Presbyterian Church Nov. 11. Debbi Darrow and Belinda Skiles were hostesses.

Florence residents to meet, discuss drug concerns

Florence community members will be scheduling a meeting 6 p.m. Monday at Florence gymnasium to discuss the problem of meth labs in the area. Anyone interested in learning more can contact Darla Spencer at (620) 382-5116.

LINCOLNVILLE WIDE AWAKE:

SENIOR CENTER:

CALENDAR:

MEMORIES:

MEMORIES IN FOCUS:

Cougars runner up in sectional playoff

The Centre football team got a plaque Friday but probably not the one they were hoping for. Centre ended its season at 8-3 as runner-up in an Eight-man Division II sectional playoff. The 11th-ranked Cougars lost to 3rd-ranked Axtell on the road, 76-26.

Riffel tops end-of-season stats

Seniors Braxton Smith, Jacob Hird, Jensen Riffel, Aidan Svoboda, and Dalton Stika played their last game as football players for Centre High School in Friday’s game against Axtell. Riffel, a 210-pound, six-foot fullback, ended the season with 1,155 rushing yards, six receptions for 75 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 24 conversion points, for a total of 204 points. He also led on the defensive side, with 47 tackles and 60 assists.

Five Marion football players make all-league

Even with a rocky season where Marion won two football games, five Warriors received Heart of America all-league honors. Junior Braedon Mercer led the team with an all-first team selection as a returner.

Barney, Oborny receive American FFA Degrees

Centre FFA alumni Zach Barney and Greg Oborny earned American FFA degrees at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis on Nov. 2. The American FFA Degree is bestowed upon a select group of students in recognition of their years of academic and excellence and outstanding achievements in agricultural business or service programs.

Bowling league results

Return to current issue