HILLSBORO Star-Journal

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.

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.

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.

Movies to benefit splash pad project

Five family movies will be presented this month as a benefit for Hillsboro’s splash pad community plaza project. A series of four children’s movies, each shown at 1 p.m. on successive Mondays, will include:

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.

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.

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.

Water aerobics class planned

Six weeks of low-impact water aerobics classes focused on increasing muscle strength and improving posture, balance, and mobility and flexibility of joints will begin June 5 at Hillsboro Family Aquatic Center. The hour-long classes, costing $5 apiece, will meet at 9 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday night through July 12.

Colorado couple bought 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.

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.

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.

Accidents reported

County jail bookings

Criminal division cases

Deeds recorded

Domestic division cases

Emergency dispatches

Marriage licenses

Offenses reported

Police incident reports

Traffic division cases

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.

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:

Trips marks 60th anniversary

Bob and Betty Seibel of Hillsboro spent several days in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina in celebration of their 60th wedding anniversary. They were married April 7, 1958, in Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church.

SENIOR CENTER:

Goessel High School junior takes 10th

As the only competitor for the Goessel Bluebirds track team, junior Stephany Meyer closed out the year with a 10th place finish at the state track meet this weekend in Wichita. Meyer improved with every one of her long jumps, but a mere 2½ inches kept her from advancing to the final round.

College

Trojans' Shaw king of state shot put

Posting multiple state titles and records, both in boys and girls track, Mitchell County had been labeled by Kansas-Sports website as the throwing event’s mecca of Kansas. With state record-setters and former as well as current state champions in Casey Seyfert and Sydney Johnson, Beloit has been a force to be reckoned with in Kansas high school track.

Trojans' quartet excels at state track meet

It’s safe to say that the Hillsboro track and field team’s throwing events are in good hands with junior Wes Shaw and freshman Jessica Saunders. But two others gave the Trojans a huge boost with a solid farewell performance at the state meet in Wichita by senior Sienna Kaufman and junior long jumper Josiah Driggers.

Goessel honor roll

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