BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
The highest water in 14 years has forced Marion Reservoir to close 77 campsites.
The entire Cottonwood Point North campground, with 46 campsites, was closed after floodwaters washed out a culvert on a road to the campground. Another 15 campsites at Cottonwood Point and 16 at Hillsboro Cove were closed because they were entirely or partially underwater because of high water in the reservoir.
Hillsboro City Council approved a budget of $9,240,387 Tuesday for 2014, which included a 3-percent raise for city employees.
Of that, $649,583 will be levied for taxes, based on assessment value.
High winds Friday night caused $9,000 to $15,000 damage to Hillsboro Family Aquatic Center.
Three of five large shade umbrellas were damaged beyond repair.
Marion County Commissioners proposed a budget Monday of $8,026,767 for 2014.
Final adoption of a budget and tax levy will be Aug. 19, after a public hearing at 9 a.m. publicized in an official budget notice in this week’s newspaper.
Eighty-year-old Rosemary Ritter of Marion was preparing to go shopping with her daughter last week when she became the latest example in a worrisome trend regarding Marion County ambulance use.
Like 33 others in the past two months, Ritter — whom her daughter, Jean Buller, describes as stubborn — refused to go to a hospital despite urgings of the ambulance crew that Buller had called after Ritter fell in the dark.
To sit in on a class with yoga instructor Shannon Hoffer is to wade into a positive, soothing atmosphere, one designed to melt away stress and work up a sweat.
“We are constantly under slow chronic stress,” Hoffer said. “Yoga teaches us ways to alleviate that day-to-day stress and anxiety.”
Edward and Margaret (Ruby) Hein of Hillsboro will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary by going on a trip with their three children and their children’s spouses.
The Heins married Aug. 10, 1948, at Marion Evangelical United Brethren Church, now Eastmoor United Methodist Church.
Courtney Geis and Kyle Klassen, both of Wichita, announce their engagement and forthcoming marriage.
Courtney is the daughter of Shawn Geis of Marion and Dale Geis of Lamont, Okla. Her grandparents are Marilyn Geis of Marion and the late Bob Geis and Terrie Todd of Whitewater. John and Lola Savoia of Hillsboro are her great-grandparents.
Supper guests July 26 in the home of Clayton and Betty Wiebe were Martin and Sue Toews and Shyanna of Heart Valley, Alberta; Mitch and Carol Unruh and family; Travis and Sharon Koehn and family; Nelson and Bev Wiebe and family; Calvin and Janene Wiebe and family; and Wayne and Loralee Wiebe and family. Carol and Loralee are Martin’s sisters.
Ransom and Lillian Wiebe had supper July 26 at Durham Café with Kenneth and Ruth Smith of Halstead.
The Gound family has signed over the former Duckwall store to St. Luke Hospital Foundation, but quite a bit of work is needed before the hospital auxiliary shop can move.
President Janet Herzet said the group was gathering bids for roofing. A pair of early bids were substantially different from each other, she said.
Leann Toews fared better than her husband did last weekend during a rainy Threshing Days in Goessel.
“My husband has a lot of prairie tractors, but the rain has kept him from bringing them out,” she said.
The Cottonwood Valley League All-Stars missed their chance at the 12-and-under Cal Ripken World Series Friday, but gained valuable experiences in the process.
“We developed some real friendships during the last month, and created some memories that will last a lifetime,” manager Jayson Hanschu said.
A graveside service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Prairie Lawn Cemetery, Peabody, for Paul E. Baker Jr., 86, who died May 26 in Pensacola, Fla.
He graduated from Peabody High School in 1944, was vice president of Texaco in New York City, and after retirement moved to Florida.
A memorial dinner and services for Loren David “Unkie” Goddard, 54, of Marion who died July 16, will be Sunday at Aulne United Methodist Church. The dinner will be at 5:30 p.m., and services will be at 7.
He was born Feb. 5, 1959, in Marion. He attended school in Oregon and worked at Cindy’s Family Café in Marion.
Bert Jost, 87, died Monday at Parkside Home in Hillsboro.
He was born Sept. 2, 1925, in Saskatchewan, Canada, to Henry S. and Anna (Klassen) Jost. He was a farmer. He married Alice Hodel on June 3, 1949, in Hillsboro.
Michael David Wheeler, 44, of Marion died July 31 in Marion.
A graveside memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Marion Cemetery.
IN MEMORIAM:
Frank Bowen
Nursing home administrators are frustrated over the state’s new KanCare Medicaid system, which went into effect Jan. 1.
“We haven’t seen anything but delays in services,” said Melissa Parmley, administrator at Peabody Care Center. “It’s been a giant headache.”
Hillsboro Community Hospital will add a weekly wound clinic beginning Aug. 20. The clinic will focus on treating wounds that are slow to heal.
Several factors can make a wound slow to heal, chief nursing officer Gail Boaldin said. Pressure, poor circulation, infection, diabetes, and poor nutrition can contribute.
Kindergarten through 12th grade students are required to be current on immunizations before attending school. A list of shots required is at http://www.kdheks.gov/immunize/.
“With so many kids traveling all over for things like sports or band, it’s easy for children to pick up an illness and have no idea where it came from,” said Cindy Reech, Marion County immunization nurse.
Free screenings for motor, language, and social development, as well as vision and hearing will be offered for children age 5 and younger from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Aug. 20 at Hillsboro United Methodist Church. Appointments are available by calling (620) 382-2858.
Marion Senior Center, Peabody Senior Center, and Main Street Ministries in Hillsboro will distribute U.S. Department of Agriculture food commodities to families meeting income guidelines.
Marion Senior Center will distribute them from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 16; Peabody Senior Center, 9 to 11 a.m. Aug. 16; and Main Street Ministries, 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 17. The maximum income for a single-person household to be eligible is $1,245 a month. The cap increases $436 a month for each additional family member. Call the county Department on Aging at (620) 382-3580 for more information.
Businesses with questions about the Affordable Health Care Act which will begin taking effect in stages starting Oct. 1 may visit http://business.usa.gov/healthcare#wizard-step-id-1 for information. The act gives businesses a new way to shop for private health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace and Business Health Option Program.