HILLSBORO Star-Journal

USD 410 may issue ID badges

In wake of the Newtown, Conn. school shooting, Hillsboro USD 410 is updating its emergency operations plan to include an identification badge policy. “It’s important for all of the students to know who is supposed to be here and who isn’t,” Superintendent Steve Noble said. “The badge says I’m supposed to be here and you can trust me.”

Concerns for school safety

With national school shootings on his mind, USD 411 Board of Education president Dan Miller said Monday that he felt security was an issue the board needed to address. “We live in a world of risk, but no one wants to see even one soul lost if we can prevent it,” Miller said. “I feel in my heart that we need to be more proactive. We should be more interactive with the community and people who are on the lookout for suspicious activity, so we can assist each other.”

K-State player returns

On the football field, Weston Hiebert, Kansas State University safety and special teams’ player, likes to lay bone-crushing hits on his opponents. Sometimes he ends up on the bottom of the pile. Sometimes people fall on top of him, and sometimes he is a little sore the day after a game. However, Goessel Elementary School students learned from Hiebert on Thursday, that players, who seem mean on the field, are really nice people off the field and they care about others. “Our coach (Bill Snyder) wants us to be good people,” Hiebert said. “We do a lot of stuff for others throughout the year, like distributing food for food pantries, reading to students, and mentoring kids who might have trouble with bullying and even going to recess with them. We also help with Special Olympics, visit children in hospitals, and spend time with shut-ins or elderly who are lonely in nursing homes around Manhattan.”

Train speed doubles

In an effort to be more efficient, Union Pacific Railroad trains will almost double their speed through Marion, starting Friday. “Right now, the trains have to slow way down while they are in Marion,” said William R. Fitzgerald, a Union Pacific locomotive engineer. “If we maintain a 49 mph speed limit all the way down the line, we can save on the constant wear on our brakes.”

Michael J. Childs Jr.

Memorial services for Michael J. Childs Jr., who died Jan. 2, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at AGCO Communications Center, 420 W. Lincoln Blvd., Hesston. A memorial fund has been established for Caring Hands Humane Society.

Carol Yvonne (Tambke) Schmidt

Born on Oct. 15, 1940, in Deshler, Neb., to Arnold and Eula (Hill) Tambke, Carol Yvonne (Tambke) Schmidt passed away in her home in Peabody, Kan., on Jan. 8, 2013, surrounded by family. She was baptized on
Nov. 3, 1940, and confirmed in the Christian faith on April 11, 1954, at Grace Lutheran Church in Hebron, Neb.

Accidents reported

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Deeds

Emergency dispatches

Hillsboro police

Offenses

Peabody municipal court

Peabody police

Traffic

Raising Watusi cattle

The big horns are attractive and the multicolored hides are interesting, but Bryce Woelk of rural Hillsboro said Watusi were his cattle of choice because of calving ease and survivability. “The calves are born very small,” Woelk said. “It’s one of the main reasons I like the breed — we seldom have any trouble calving.”

Farmer deals with drought

Terrance Vinduska of Marion wakes up each morning, eager to tend to his crops — even in a drought. “I couldn’t be in this business if I wasn’t optimistic by nature,” he said. “I won’t pull a cover over my head and say that there is nothing I can do about the hot and dry weather. There’s plenty I can do to keep my plants alive.”

4-H'ers win national awards

The National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo. is a big deal to livestock breeders, agriculture industry leaders, and now to four Marion County 4-H club members. This past weekend, 24 states and Canada sent top qualifying 4-H livestock judging teams to the national livestock judging contest, part of the national stock show.

Microloans to help farmers

New seed-cleaning plant

Agri Producers Inc. is building a new seed-cleaning plant in Lincolnville. It will replace an aging plant at the Herington facility. According to Perry Gutsch, manager of the Lincolnville elevator, the plant will have a seed-treatment component. The facility is expected to be completed in time this spring to treat bean seed. The treatment protects against damage from certain plant diseases and insects.

Council evens trash fees

Most Durham businesses and citizens pay the city trash pickup fees, but Main Street Cafe’ owner Wendell Wedel pays Waste Connections directly. It costs him more that way and he does not like the discrepancy of charges. Durham City Council members, at their Jan. 8 meeting, indicated they were not sure why the cafe’ has been billed separately but were willing to assist Wedel in fixing the problem.

Principles vs. politics

All too often, we see elected officials choose political expediency over sticking to their principles. So, as far as that goes, it has been refreshing to see Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Fowler) continue to stand up for spending cuts and against tax hikes and executive power. However, by being vocal, Huelskamp has cost himself — and by extension, the 1st District — a lot of influence in the halls of power. As a freshman representative, Huelskamp served on the House of Representatives committees on the budget, agriculture, and veterans’ affairs. The budget committee is tremendously important for the entire country, and the 1st District is one of the most agricultural congressional districts. He butted heads with House Republican leadership enough that Speaker John Boehner told him to keep quiet or lose committee memberships, Huelskamp recently told a town hall in Hillsboro. It came to a head in December, when Huelskamp did lose his seats on the budget and ag committees. In their place, he was assigned to the small business committee.

A foolish proposal

Marion County Commission on Monday discussed doing something that they should find out pretty quickly is illegal. Commissioner Dan Holub proposed publishing only summaries of ordinances in the county’s official newspaper for legal publications — the Marion County Record — and posting full text on the county website, which would theoretically save the county money. But in Kansas, only cities have the authority to publish ordinance summaries, and they can only do so under specific circumstances. Even then, it isn’t a particularly good idea, as the City of Marion may find out if anyone challenges the zoning regulations revised in June.

LETTERS:

Author speaks

Glen Ediger, author of “Leave No Threshing Stone Unturned,” will be a presenter at Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum’s annual meeting 1:30 p.m. Jan. 20 at Goessel Mennonite Church, 109 S. Church St. in Goessel. Ediger, a resident of North Newton, is an authority on the threshing stone, a primitive farming tool used for a short time by Mennonites in Kansas following their immigration from Russia in the mid-1870s. The event is free.

Free throw contest

Children between ages 10 and 14 are invited to participate in the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship at 2 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Marion Middle School gym. Registration is between 1:30 and 2 p.m. The Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship is sponsored annually, with winners progressing through local, district, and state competitions. There will divisions based on age and gender.

Hymn sing

A monthly community hymn sing will begin at 7 p.m. Sunday at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church, 300 Prairie Pointe, Hillsboro. The gathering will include singing, scripture reading, and prayer. Those attending will have the opportunity to select favorite hymns. Steve Vincent will lead the hymn sing. The theme will be “Be Careful to Whom You Listen.” Paul Epp will be the trumpet soloist.

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Cheerleaders offer clinic

The Hillsboro High School cheerleading squad is offering a clinic for boys and girls grades kindergarten through sixth on Jan. 28, 29, and 30 at the Hillsboro Elementary School gymnasium. Participants will learn cheerleading basics, a dance routine, and receive an official clinic T-shirt. Participants also will be a part of a halftime performance of the HHS boys’ basketball game against Lyons on Feb. 1.

Manche wins award

Zana Manche, Agricultural Education Teacher for Goessel High School, has been selected as a recipient of the 2014 Kansas Cable Telecommunications Horizon Award. She is one of 32 winners. The award was created to recognize outstanding first-year teachers.

Students named to honor roll

Junior Matthew Richards of Goessel, junior Karis Janzen of Hillsboro, and senior Ashley Evans of Marion were recognized as McPherson College honor roll students. Senior Tiffany Rooker of Hillsboro was named an honorable mention on the honor roll. To qualify for honor roll, students must be a full-time student and earn a grade-point average of 3.55 or higher during the previous term. Honorable mention requires a GPA between 3.25 and 3.54.

HHS honor roll

HMS honor roll

Boys win two games

The Goessel boys used stifling defense to win their third league game this season as they allowed Elyria Christian players to score only four points in the first quarter. Goessel center Davis Cook was able to rebound effectively at both ends of the court. Cook scored nine points in the first period. Trey Schmidt hit a trey at the buzzer adding to Goessel’s 15-4 lead.

Girls go cold at Elyria

With a tough stretch of basketball games on the Goessel schedule, the Bluebird girls lost two away games this week at the hands of Argonia and Elyria Christian. Friday’s game at Elyria produced one of the coldest nights of shooting the Bluebirds have had all season. Although the game was tied 7-7 after one quarter, fouls began to haunt key players on both teams. Page Hiebert’s basket to begin the second quarter gave Goessel a 9-7 lead. However, her team failed to hit any field goals the rest of the quarter. Fortunately, Elyria led by only three at halftime, 14-11.

Trojans lose heartbreaker

It just came down to which team made more shots. That particular team in the boys’ game of Hillsboro vs. Republic County on Tuesday in Hillsboro was Republic County.

Trojans blow out

It was like a cat toying with a mouse. With 3 minutes, 54 seconds left on the clock in the second quarter, Hays-Thomas More Prep only trailed the Hillsboro girls’ team 19-8. Two layups each from Addie Lackey and Maci Schlehuber helped Hillsboro increase that margin to 30-15 at halftime.

Trojans girls dominate

Poor Nickerson. The Panthers were victims of a hyper-focused Hillsboro girls’ basketball team on Friday. The Trojans were looking to make up for a loss to Sterling, 48-43, on Jan. 8. The Trojans sliced through Nickerson like a buzz saw, 61-16.

Wiebe shine in win

Good things happened for Hillsboro when center Josh Wiebe touched the ball Friday against Nickerson, a 38-30 Hillsboro victory. Wiebe did his best work in the second half. In the third quarter, he had a bounce-pass assist to Micah Allen. He hit a hook shot on a post up. He forced a foul at the top of the key. He then hit another post-up hook shot, this time spinning to his right up over the defender.

Trojans win titles

Hillsboro High School Trojans wrestlers won two championships Friday and Saturday at the Halstead Invitational, and the Trojans placed sixth out of 21 teams. Senior Tyrell Thiessen won the 285-pound division, defeating Billy Mersereau of Cherryvale in the finals, and freshman Austin Cross won at 145 pounds, defeating Nic Johnson of Halstead.

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