HEADLINES

  • Wind farm brings 100s to county

    Hundreds of workers have converged on the county to build the Diamond Vista wind farm project along 330th Rd. west of Tampa. Road construction and dirt work crews are bolstering roads for hauling of heavy wind turbine parts and making foundations for turbines.

  • Shorty the cow is long on surprises

    Much like Lassie, the movie and TV dog, who was determined to find her way home after being taken away, Shorty the cow didn’t like it in the city and tried to find her way back to the herd on the Larry Ensey ranch at Marion. Shorty was deformed when she was born on the ranch 3½ years ago. Melanie Ensey said the calf weighed three pounds at birth and never grew much; thus the name, Shorty.

  • Wheat coming up short this year

    An unusually dry spring has area farmers expecting to harvest a shorter than usual wheat crop with below-average yields. Galen Penner farms two miles north of Hillsboro on K-15. He has 240 acres of conventionally tilled wheat.

  • Outhouse becomes smokehouse

    A Sunday call to Marion firefighters for an outhouse fire at the county lake may have had some wondering what time of year it was. “The last one I knew was Halloween on Main St.,” fire chief Mike Regnier said.

  • Couple spots mountain lion in garden

    Joel Hayes of Florence may have to settle for store-bought vegetables from now on. His wife, Alice, has sworn off gardening after the couple spotted a cougar strolling through their back yard. The Hayeses live just east of Florence on US-50, and about three weeks ago they were enjoying their typical morning routine.

OTHER HEADLINES

  • Colorado couple bought their house sight unseen

    The house is air-conditioned, but with towel in hand, Sheila Kelley wipes sweat from her forehead. “I haven’t adjusted to the humidity here yet,” she said.

  • Internet problem fouls phone service to city offices

    Callers to the City of Marion may have been tripped up Tuesday by a technological snafu that repeatedly redirected them to voicemail rather than a person. The city switched its office phones in August to a voice-over IP system using the Internet. If the system failed, calls would be redirected to employee cell phones.

  • Florence gym's future precarious after pipe break

    Of all the uses Florence Mayor Bob Gayle has envisioned for the former school gymnasium at 7th and Dean Sts., wading pool isn’t one of them. However, that’s what he had on his hands when a water leak went undetected for up to two weeks and covered the 5,600-square-foot gym floor with up to two inches of water.

  • AmeriCorps members work on Marion housing

    AmeriCorps volunteers spent a week helping revamp apartments at Homestead Senior Living residences in Marion. Reasons for joining the volunteer group as team members are as different as there are team members.

  • Graffiti proves eco-friendly

    A recently dormant tradition of Marion High School graduating classes leaving their marks on the water tower south of the Hill Building was renewed with a twist Thursday night when a bright orange ’18 in block numerals appeared on the tower’s east side. Past artists used spray paint, a costly and time-consuming material to remove.

  • Keeping the workers fed

    Wind farm construction project created a perfect opportunity for a former Marion County man to return to the place he loves. Russ Stenseng lives in El Dorado but used to operate the Hillsboro Star-Journal and later went into the food service business, owning and operating Big Scoop in Marion, then a grill in El Dorado, and working as a director of dining at two assisted living facilities in El Dorado.

  • Pulling in wrong driveway sends 3 to jail

    Pulling into someone else’s driveway proved a costly error for three people arrested on drug, weapons, and other charges last week. Officer John Huebert detained a 1990 Honda Accord at 8:32 p.m. May 22 after it was seen in a driveway in the 100 block of S. Elm St. and a check determined that its license plate was invalid.

  • Would-be amateur archeologists sought

    Members of the public can learn about archeology while working alongside experienced archeologists next month at the historic Kaw Mission at Council Grove. The mission, completed in 1853, was designed to house 50 students, ages 6 to 17, from the Kaw nation. They were to study academic topics, farming, and Christianity, but the mission closed a year later, and the building was used for other purposes.

DEATHS

  • Bradley Carlson

    Services for lifelong Marion resident Brad A. Carlson, 55, who died May 15, were Thursday at Eastmoor United Methodist Church, Marion. Interment was at Marion Cemetery. Born Aug. 29, 1962, to Gary and Shirley (Walker) Carlson in Marion, he worked at Quality Food Market while attending Marion High School. After graduation, he worked as a welder for Rex Siebert’s Diamond X Ranch. He worked at Marion Tool and Die, Circle D, Marion Housing Authority, and Pfizer. He also worked with his father’s business, Carlson’s TV and Satellite, including assisting with sound systems for community events.

  • Carol Robbins

    A memorial service for retired registered nurse Carol Snowball Bell Robbins, 73, who died April 23 at Parkside Homes, will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Holiday Inn Express, Salina. A meal will be served at noon. Born Nov. 28, 1944, in Ellsworth to Ralph and Florence (Neuschafer) Snowball, she is survived by son Creigh Bell of Hillsboro, daughter Stacey Gingell of Delphos, and four grandchildren.

  • Donna Coxen

    Private family services are planned for Marion resident Donna J. Coxen, who died Monday at home. Born Aug. 20, 1933, to Arthur and Lucile George Dyck in McPherson, she graduated from McPherson High School. She married Alan Coxen on July 7, 1954. The Coxens moved to Marion in 1989.

DOCKET

EXPLORE

  • And the band plays on

    It’s been almost nine months since Gentry died in a helicopter crash, but the band he built with partner Eddie Montgomery has done what any close family does when met with tragedy — carry on. “Troy is such a part of of it still,” keyboardist and tour manager Eddie Kilgallon said. “He’s there. He’s there every time you turn around. You see things; you remember things. That’s what he’d want us to do.”

  • Full slate on tap for Chingawassa Days

    Festivities kick off Friday with a community barbecue and ice cream social at 5:30 p.m., followed by performances by Christian artists Jason Gray and Unspoken, at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., and a taste of country music and cool brew with Silver Bullet playing in the beer garden at 10 p.m. Saturday will start early with a pancake feed at 7 a.m. A two-mile color run at 8 a.m. will be followed by bed races on Main St. at 9 a.m.

  • Lake prepares for bluegrass

    This is the 11th year for the festival, but the first for which there will be a cover charge of $5 for anyone 13 years of age and older. “We wanted to make it more self-sustaining so we didn’t have to rely as heavily on sponsor money next year,” lake superintendent Isaac Hett said.

  • Out-of-town angler hooked on county lake

    “This is the first time I’ve been to this lake, but I can see why people would want to come back here,” Trammell said. “It’s a lot bigger than I thought.” His large family group from Hutchinson, Buhler, Canton, and McPherson brought a passel of children and five dogs, setting up camp on the south shore of the lake near a fishing dock.

  • Lakes' campgrounds are popular destinations

    A sign on a Cottonwood Point campground gatehouse Sunday declared what a quick spin around the expanded facility revealed: Every slot was filled, mostly with recreational vehicles and fifth wheels, with a few tents scattered about. The story was the same at Hillsboro Cove, while a couple of spots off the shoreline at French Creek Cove remained vacant. At Durham Cove, where small tent cities are common on holidays, there was just one Monday morning.

  • Heat brings swimmers to pools

    “It’s crazy chaos,” pool manager Marci Cain said. “It’s perfect weather for opening day. It’s very busy.” Poolgoers found relief from the heat under new picnic table umbrellas, but otherwise the facilities and routines are familiar.

  • From camel teeth to glass eyes, store sells it all

    As soft music fills the air, people from near and far peruse a store that has a niche for oddities. Because there’s such a variety of eclectic vintage merchandise, almost any personality can discover something that catches their eye.

  • Hopes for priest's canonization kept alive on Father Kapaun Day

    An annual pilgrimage to Pilsen will begin Thursday in Wichita after a morning Mass and will end at Pilsen in time for a 11 a.m. service Sunday, Father Kapaun Day. Harriet Bina of Marion said the pilgrimage had been expanded to four days to provide time for hourly stops and sharing of stories at each stop. The group will camp at the Alvin Kroupa farm on K-256/Remington Rd. on Saturday night.

  • Motorcycles, classic cars, hot rods entertain

    Peabody’s monthly Sunday Cruise isn’t the only car and motorcycle event in the county. June 9 will mark the 20th annual Route 56 Classic Cruisers car show at Memorial Park in Hillsboro.

  • Planning makes travel easier with kids

    “Break the trip up and don’t be in a big rush to get there,” said Kim Whiteman, a Marion mother of four, whose family recently made trips to Indiana and New Mexico. “Stop and eat. Make the trip part of the vacation. We stop and pick up sandwiches and eat at a park along the way. Be able to let them get out, actually let them stretch their legs, find a small park that they can play in.” Whiteman takes along interactive, audio, and dry erase books.

  • Raised on historic trail, he's now retiring there

    Unruh was just a kid when his grandfather, Isaac Lorenz, and his father, Norman Unruh, told him about the trail and showed him the ruts. “I didn’t think much about it,” he said of the trail that, 150 years ago, brought cattle from Texas to Abilene, where they were loaded on train cars and shipped east to be processed for beef.

  • Exhibit to focus on trail

    A free interactive musical exploration of the Chisholm Trail, along with video and audio clips and artistically rendered life-size longhorn cattle, will be on display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through July 24 in the ballroom at the Elgin Hotel. The story of the Chisholm Trail is told through the eyes of Flint Hills Designs, Inc., which has incorporated wood, metal, and leather items commonly associated with the time.

  • Small town embodies larger-than-life patriotism

    A brightly colored mural, painted by Barbara Chavez, spans as a backdrop to the park, and a quiet family picnic. A shelter house offers a break from weather with a walkway of memorial bricks in front. The bricks have names of local veterans and have been purchased by family members to honor loved ones, past and present.

OPINION

  • It's quarter to three

    “No one in the place, except you and me.” Some of you will recognize those words as the opening lines of a classic Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer song, “One for My Baby,” a scrumptious melancholy tune recorded by artists from Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett to Willie Nelson and Iggy Pop.

  • ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

    Getting coffee and memories

PEOPLE

SCHOOL/SPORTS

  • Palic shines in final meet

    A week ago, Marion senior throwing sensation and defending Class 2A state discus champion Tyler Palic was taking a backseat at regionals to the biggest threat to unseat him, Hillsboro’s Wes Shaw. It was the first time this year anyone not named Patrick Larrison or Nick Phelps had beaten Palic in discus.

  • Warriors salvage 3rd in Class 3A

    Throughout the season, the Warrior baseball team has faced tough games as well as tough teams. Just a year ago, it was the title game of the Class 3A state championship in Manhattan at K-State’s Tointon Stadium.

  • 17 Warriors named all-league

    Eleven members of Marion High School’s baseball team and six members of its softball team earned all-league honors this week. Named to the Heart of America first team for baseball were pitcher Chase Stringer, first baseman Evann Heidebrecht, shortstop Corbin Wheeler, third baseman Sam Zinn, outfielder Cole Srajer, and designated hitter Luke Lanning.

  • Espinoza leads Cougars

    Out of a trio of Centre Cougar qualifiers at the state track meet in Wichita, Xavier Espinosa had the best luck, capturing a sixth-place medal in the 100. Espinosa’s 11.53 second time marked the first time since Trevor Troutt captured fourth place in discus in 2010 that the Cougar boys’ team medaled at state.

  • College degrees and honors

  • HONOR ROLL:

    Marion Middle School

MORE…

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