HILLSBORO Star-Journal

BREAKING NEWS

UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE

Embattled cop loses job, license revoked
Embattled officer Eric Watts, whom a Nevada sheriff has accused of attempting to purchase painkillers and solicit sexual favors from a former inmate in 2021, no longer is employed by Peabody, and his provisional certification as a Kansas law enforcement officer has been revoked, a spokesman for Kansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training confirmed Friday. “Because he separated from employment, we will revoke his license,” a CPOST spokesman said. “The separation reason is not a public record.... Peabody might tell you.”

HEADLINES

Florence loses Wildcat mascot at middle school
Deciding that past promises shouldn’t drive the school district in moving forward, school board members cast a split vote Monday that Warriors will be the district-wide mascot. The question of whether to leave the middle school mascot as Wildcats and the high school and elementary mascot as Warriors has been bandied around since December.
She's completely batty . . . in the best way possible
Natalie McLinden sat at the dinner table in her in-laws’ home on Yarrow Rd. in rural Marion. In one hand she brandished a silver, boxy device — a bat detector.
Drivers run a-fowl of a new roadside peril
Venison isn’t the only game being gobbled up — or, more accurately, clobbered — by vehicles on roadways in the county. Sheriff’s deputies are accustomed to dealing with deer strikes each week.
Marion council seeks to reassert its role
Marion City Council took initial steps at a work session Monday to reassert its role in two areas that increasingly have been left to city staff. For the past two years, the council barely discussed budgeting until immediately before tax levies had to be established.
Record again honored for state's best news, investigations
The

OTHER NEWS

County hears wind farm rebuttal
Contradicting planning and zoning consultant Russ Ewy, Goessel resident Brian Stucky presented alternative answers Monday to five questions county commissioners had asked in September about wind farm plans. Earlier this month, planners submitted Ewy’s answers to five questions commissioners sent to them in September.
Properties to be sold at tax auction
Mineral rights to a section of property and 16 houses and lots with taxes delinquent since 2019 and earlier will be sold at 10 a.m. Thursday at the county lake hall. Advance registration for the auction is recommended but not required. Registrations are being accepted at the county treasurer’s office at (620) 382-2180.
Resident talks council out of sidewalk
A Hillsboro man who does not want sidewalks added to his side of the street took an opportunity Tuesday to tell city council members how he felt. “I come to the council to protest any plan by the city council to put in a sidewalk on the west side of the 500 block of S. Wilson St.,” said Dustin Dalke, who lives at 505 S. Wilson St.
Administrative consultant hired
Bradley Harris, the city administrator of North Newton, has been hired by Peabody as a consultant providing city management-related services. These services include organization development, project management, and unspecified duties as directed by city council.
Centre celebrates new addition
As often, the landscape changes as progress is being made. That’s true at Centre schools, as well. What once was a school garden has been replaced with a cemented circular drive that is used to drop off and pick up children from a new addition that includes two day care rooms, a kindergarten room, and a pre-kindergarten room.
Kids will scramble for eggs
Grab your baskets, get ready, go! Friday

DEATHS

Ervin Ediger
Services for Ervin D. Ediger, 89, Hillsboro, who died this past Tuesday, will be 11 a.m. this coming Tuesday at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church. Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. Monday in the Hearth Room of the church. Burial will be an hour before the service at the MB Cemetery.
IN MEMORIAM:
Dorothy Beltz
IN MEMORIAM:
Roma Skaggs

FOR THE RECORD

OPINION

Laying down the law on gypsies, tramps, and thieves
They’re called “gypsy cops” — an unfortunate term that is at once an ethnic slur on the Romani people and a wrongful limitation of the term’s applicability only to police officers. Nationwide, overstated concerns about personal privacy and lack of due diligence in checking references have led to people escaping checkered pasts and ending up in sensitive positions of public trust in unwitting communities, especially smaller ones like ours.
No victory for the Wildcat
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
A lucky duck
LETTERS:
Politicizing courts

PEOPLE

Hillsboro impresses new hospital administrator
Josh Gant has found Hillsboro a kind and welcoming community in his short time as chief executive at Hillsboro Community Hospital. He began his duties at the eight bed hospital Thursday after the departure of Mark Rooker, who now is chief executive at Lindsborg Community Hospital.
Former chief now in Lindsborg
Mark Rooker, chief executive at Hillsboro Community Hospital from Jan. 20, 2020, until Feb. 3, is now chief executive at Lindsborg Community Hospital. Rooker’s ties to Hillsboro remain deep, he said, and he and his wife will maintain the home they built there to be their retirement home.
Hospital firm targets Herington
The company that owns Hillsboro Community Hospital plans to build a rural emergency hospital in Herington to fill a void left by the closure in October, 2023, of Herington Municipal Hospital. The closure was a result of a $1.9 million suit Emprise Bank filed against the Herington hospital and clinics it operated in Hillsboro and Junction City.
Reception to celebrate 80th birthday
A reception 2 to 4 p.m. April 26 at Marion County Lake hall will celebrate the 80th birthday of long-time Marion resident and retired teacher Helen Reznicek. Organizers are requesting that no gifts be given at the reception.
Student receives ag scholarship
Karsen Kroupa, a plant and soil sciences major from Marion, this month received the Doug McMurtrey Memorial Continuing Endowed Scholarship at Oklahoma State University.
Local student receives bike
The Salina Breakfast Bandits, a chapter of Ambucs, gave a bike to Centre kindergartener Matthew Haney Tuesday. Ambucs’s mission statement is “inspiring mobility and independence.”
Senior center menus
MEMORIES:
15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 110, 145 years ago

SENIORS

Color them happy, Activities are egg-actly what seniors need
Shopping, taking a cruise around town, going to community events, and listening to children sing are things that keep Salem Home residents happy and engaged. Marketing director Lisa Donahue said residents enjoy getting out for a ride in the facility’s van, whether it involves going to a specific destination or just going out for what used to be called a Sunday drive.
Seniors stoic about Social Security
Since the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, rumors have swirled about changes to Social Security. President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would not cut funding to the program. A White House press release in March reiterated the promise.

SPORTS

Relays renamed to honor longtime coaches
During Friday’s track meet in Marion, high school staff and students paid tribute to longtime coaches Rex Wilson, Grant Thierolf, and Deanna Thierolf. Wilson died Feb. 1. His wife, Margaret, attended the ceremony in his stead.
Marion girls 1st, boys 2nd at relays
The Warriors girls took first place as a team and the boys took second as a team Friday when Marion was host for its annual relays. Three other county schools — Goessel, Centre, and Peabody-Burns — also competing.
Hillsboro golfers take bronze at invitational
The Trojans placed third out of seven as a team Friday in their home invitational. The other county school involved, Goessel, placed fourth.
Ball teams recover for tough Friday games
All three county baseball and softball teams had difficulties Friday, but they rebounded Tuesday night with Marion baseball, Hillsboro baseball, and Hillsboro softball all enjoying big victories. Marion

HILLSBORO Star-Journal

BREAKING NEWS

Natalie McLinden sat at the dinner table in her in-laws’ home on Yarrow Rd. in rural Marion. In one hand she brandished a silver, boxy device — a bat detector.

Venison isn’t the only game being gobbled up — or, more accurately, clobbered — by vehicles on roadways in the county. Sheriff’s deputies are accustomed to dealing with deer strikes each week.

Marion City Council took initial steps at a work session Monday to reassert its role in two areas that increasingly have been left to city staff. For the past two years, the council barely discussed budgeting until immediately before tax levies had to be established.

The

Bradley Harris, the city administrator of North Newton, has been hired by Peabody as a consultant providing city management-related services. These services include organization development, project management, and unspecified duties as directed by city council.

Grab your baskets, get ready, go! Friday

Services for Ervin D. Ediger, 89, Hillsboro, who died this past Tuesday, will be 11 a.m. this coming Tuesday at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church. Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. Monday in the Hearth Room of the church. Burial will be an hour before the service at the MB Cemetery.

IN MEMORIAM:

IN MEMORIAM:

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

LETTERS:

Josh Gant has found Hillsboro a kind and welcoming community in his short time as chief executive at Hillsboro Community Hospital. He began his duties at the eight bed hospital Thursday after the departure of Mark Rooker, who now is chief executive at Lindsborg Community Hospital.

Mark Rooker, chief executive at Hillsboro Community Hospital from Jan. 20, 2020, until Feb. 3, is now chief executive at Lindsborg Community Hospital. Rooker’s ties to Hillsboro remain deep, he said, and he and his wife will maintain the home they built there to be their retirement home.

A reception 2 to 4 p.m. April 26 at Marion County Lake hall will celebrate the 80th birthday of long-time Marion resident and retired teacher Helen Reznicek. Organizers are requesting that no gifts be given at the reception.

Karsen Kroupa, a plant and soil sciences major from Marion, this month received the Doug McMurtrey Memorial Continuing Endowed Scholarship at Oklahoma State University.

The Salina Breakfast Bandits, a chapter of Ambucs, gave a bike to Centre kindergartener Matthew Haney Tuesday. Ambucs’s mission statement is “inspiring mobility and independence.”

MEMORIES:

During Friday’s track meet in Marion, high school staff and students paid tribute to longtime coaches Rex Wilson, Grant Thierolf, and Deanna Thierolf. Wilson died Feb. 1. His wife, Margaret, attended the ceremony in his stead.

The Warriors girls took first place as a team and the boys took second as a team Friday when Marion was host for its annual relays. Three other county schools — Goessel, Centre, and Peabody-Burns — also competing.

The Trojans placed third out of seven as a team Friday in their home invitational. The other county school involved, Goessel, placed fourth.

All three county baseball and softball teams had difficulties Friday, but they rebounded Tuesday night with Marion baseball, Hillsboro baseball, and Hillsboro softball all enjoying big victories. Marion