HILLSBORO Star-Journal

Wintery blast blankets Marion County

Classes were canceled for students in all Marion county school districts on Tuesday because of a wintery blast that accumulated approximately nine inches of snowfall by 7:30 p.m. Accordingly, school districts canceled Tuesday night basketball.

Emler's senate replacement is campaigning for insurance commissioner

Republican Precinct Committee members from the 35th Senate District elected Clark Shultz to replace Jay Emler in the state senate on Thursday in McPherson. Before being selected to fill the vacancy left by Emler’s appointment to the Kansas Corporation Commission, Shultz was the representative for the 73rd House District, which includes most of McPherson County. He has been in the state legislature since 1997.

Road work affects courthouse parking

County commissioners decided Friday to re-organize parking designations at the courthouse during road construction on 4th and Williams Sts. Until roadwork is completed, commissioners designated the entire west parking area at the courthouse for public use. Courthouse employees are to use the south lot or parking used by the sheriff’s department.

Tabor student wins theater competition

Tabor College junior Cheyenne Derksen won the National Critics Institute Region 5 competition part of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Derksen competed against seven students from across the Midwest. Each competitor participated Jan. 20 to 24 in Lincoln Neb., in theater activities including playwriting, acting, criticism, directing, and designing.

Tabor calls on students to help with snow

Tabor College President Jules Glanzer canceled today’s classes Tuesday evening and designated today as a service day for the college. Glanzer called on students, faculty, and staff to grab a snow shovel — made available by the college — and shovel out neighbors in Hillsboro.

Council holds public hearing, reschedules meeting

Hillsboro City Council had to reschedule its Tuesday meeting to today at 4 p.m. because council members Shelby Dirks and Marlene Fast were unavailable. However, the council still held a public hearing, during which Brent Barkman of Barkman Honey explained his company was expanding its warehouse and needed the city to vacate drainage easements in the industrial park for it. No members of the public were present.

HMS students ponder future

As a way to celebrate Kansas’s 153rd birthday, Hillsboro Middle School students spent the majority of Jan. 29 considering their distant yet imminent future and purpose in the world. After a presentation given by former USD 410 teacher James Robb, students spent the morning listening to Hillsboro alumni talk about what sort of education and training they had to acquire in order to achieve their occupations.

Rachel Epp

Rachel Epp, 91, died Thursday at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro. She was born Jan. 29, 1923, to George and Lena Koch. She attended school in Ramona, then received an associate’s degree from Tabor College in 1949. After college, she worked as a mail reader at Back to the Bible Broadcast in Lincoln, Neb.

Lowell Goering

Lowell Jay Goering, 75, died Monday at Showalter Villa in Hesston. He was born March 28, 1938, in Newton to Paul P. and Lydia Kaufman Goering. He graduated from Moundridge High School and attended Bethel College. He worked as a mechanical engineer for Hillsboro Industries for 30 years and at Hesston Corporation for 15 years. After retirement, he worked at the Et Cetera Shop in Hillsboro.

Accidents reported

Civil division cases

County Jail arrests and bookings

Criminal division cases

Deeds recorded

Emergency dispatches

Marriage licenses issued

Peabody municipal court

Police incident reports

Traffic division cases

Top priorities for refunds, pay debts, save for retirement

The Internal Revenue Service began processing income tax returns at the end of January, and some people may get substantial tax refunds. As far as financial adviser Tom Kimbrel of Marion is concerned, people receiving refunds should prioritize debt and savings. Kimbrel said people’s top priority should be paying off high-interest debts like credit cards.

Woman does taxes to help others

Taxes can be tricky, but Barbara Smith makes it easier for seniors and low-income Marion County residents to file. Smith began working on taxes after working at H&R Block.

Mail shouldn't be run like a business

The only thing more certain than death and taxes is the U.S. Postal Service asking for yet another rate increase. It’s high time Washington put a stamp of disapproval on our mail system’s continual whining and perhaps even rethink the whole idea of making the Postal Service “run like a business.” In this case, of course, the “business” would go broke in less time that it takes for a letter to get from Marion to Hillsboro. In fact, founding postmaster general Ben Franklin, not exactly a bashful type, would be red-faced with embarrassment to see how poorly his old post office has delivered on its promises and how miserably it has failed to heed one of his favorite adages: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

Some assembly required

“Some assembly required.” When I read that on the side of a package some time ago, I asked myself, “How much assembly are we talking? A few minutes? A couple of hours? A day?”

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:

Hymn sing is Sunday

A monthly community hymn sing will be at 7 p.m. Sunday at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church, 300 Prairie Pointe. The evening will include singing, scripture reading, and prayer. People attending will be able to select favorite hymns to sing.

Horse lover's art to be featured at state fair

Tristan Williams of the Happy Hustlers 4-H club has always loved animals and plans on becoming a vet someday. It was because of this love, especially for horses, that inspired her to become involved in 4-H and more recently to win a statewide competition. “Just for fun,” Tristan entered a statewide logo-design contest for the Kansas 4-H Horse Panorama in Manhattan, and won first place.

VFW contest winners announced

Marion VFW Post 6958 and its Ladies Auxiliary will present awards to the winners of the Patriots’ Pen and Voice of Democracy scholarship essay and speech contests at 3 p.m. Feb. 16 at the post home, 420 W. Santa Fe St., Marion. The Patriots’ Pen essay was divided into two divisions, sponsored by the post and auxiliary. Devin Hamm won first in the post’s division, followed by Payton Harms and Caleb Hett. Larry Zieammermann placed first in the auxiliary’s division, followed by Antone Vinduska and Madison Coleman. Zieammermann also placed third at the district level.

Group to share Valentine's Day love by song

Those looking to send a special kind of message to their Valentine can contact the Goessel High School Elbiata Singers. From 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, the choir group will show up at your valentine’s door or workplace in formal attire and deliver a sing-o-gram for a donation.

3 blood drives in county this month

The American Red Cross will have three blood drives in the county in a span of less than a week later this month. The first blood drive will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 19 at Centre High School. There will be two blood drives Feb. 24 — one from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hillsboro High School and another from 2 to 6 p.m. at Goessel Mennonite Church.

Knitting classes start Feb. 17

Beginning Feb. 17, aspiring needle workers will have the chance to learn the basics of knitting through a series of classes in the Hillsboro city building. Hillsboro Recreation Commission and Treena Lucero developed the knitting 101 class for beginning knitters or those who have learned, but lost their skills.

Senior center plans to replace old heating, cooling

Hillsboro Senior Center wants to replace a 21-year-old heating and air-conditioning system that heats and cools the center’s kitchen, bathrooms, and part of its dining room. The current system was installed in 1993. The air conditioning had a Freon line that went bad during the summer. The center had it patched to get through the summer, board member Ron Warkentine said.

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Students receive K-State semester honors

Students receive K-State semester honors Kansas State University recognized more than 3,500, including many from Marion County, for honors for the fall semester. To receive semester honors, a student must complete at least 12 hours with a 3.75 or higher grade point average. Semester honors Florence: Jaclyn Deforest. Goessel: Hannah Franzen. Hillsboro: Candace Jost, Bailey Kaufman, Aaron Klassen, and Taylor Nikkel. Lehigh: Neal Kaiser. Lincolnville: Carrie Carlson and Taylor Harms. Marion: Jacob Ehrlich, Samuel Ehrlich, Louis Holt, Evan Just, Tristen Snelling, Derek Stuchlik, Eric Vogel, and Julia Zeiner. Peabody: Brandee Burnett, Broderick Kyle, and Shelby Unruh. Ramona: Sheila Makovec. Tampa: Matthew Klenda and Nathan Unruh.

Students of the month chosen

Hillsboro High School students of the month for January are Emily Sechrist and Brett Weinbrenner. Sechrist is a member of Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Youth, Leos, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. She also competes in cross-country, track, and swims for the Newton Nitros club team in the off-season.

Hoffman on dean's list

Kristen Hoffman of Hillsboro was named to the fall dean’s list at Manchester University in North Manchester, Ind. Hoffman is a senior studying sociology. To be named to the dean’s list, a student must complete at least 12 hours with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

FFA students compete in ag contests

Hillsboro FFA members participated Friday in the South Central District ag communications and job interview event at Cowley County Community College. Hannah Bartel, Riley Loewen, and Jordyn Siebert placed sixth overall in ag communications. Presenting the topic of ethanol, Hannah wrote a feature story, Riley wrote a blog, and Jordyn designed a flyer. They also took a quiz on editing and communications.

Contest encourages college students to create new businesses

Wichita State University’s Center or Entrepreneurship is launching a statewide competition geared toward college students looking to create a new business. More than $25,000 is up for grabs for students who create the winning business plan with an increased chance for students looking to start the business their plan outlines.

Trojan wrestlers compete at Hoisington

Despite several injuries, coach Scott O’Hare said the Hillsboro wrestling team fought hard earning 70 team points and placing seventh out of eight teams at the Hoisington Cardinal Classic last weekend. “The team score and our finish are not a good indicator of how the guys performed,” he said.

Goessel girls 4th at Berean tourney

The Goessel girls’ basketball team went 1-2 in the Eli Walter Invitational Tournament at Berean Academy, defeating Sunrise Academy on Jan. 28, then losing to Douglass and Trinity Academy to place fourth. Sunrise Academy

Goessel boys lose to Moundridge

The Goessel boys played once last week in a Friday home game against Moundridge. The Wildcats got on the scoreboard first. Zach Showalter hit a 3-pointer for the Bluebirds followed by a Brian Hiebert finish underneath the bucket. Lawton Makovec layed in a stolen pass and the Bluebirds trailed 10-7. Moundridge finished the first quarter with eight consecutive points to lead 18-7 at the break.

Bluejays thrash Threshers

Both Tabor College basketball teams easily won matchups against Bethel College, but neither team improved its position within the conference much. The men’s team moved to 14-9 overall, with a 7-5 conference record Saturday after defeating the Threshers 99-75. Andrew Thomas led the Bluejays with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Couple to have 70th Valentine's Day

Several of Kermit Ratzlaff’s grandchildren have asked him for advice before their weddings. They have good reason to ask him, as Ratzlaff and his wife, Ruth, will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary in August. “We both went to Tabor, and that’s where we met,” Kermit said.

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