BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
Marion Reservoir beaches, closed since June 12, will remain closed until July 31 because of toxic blue-green algae, state health officials announced Thursday.
Fishing and boating are still safe. It also is safe to eat fish caught from the reservoir. However, extra precaution should be taken to make sure fish are rinsed of any reservoir water.
A new commercial kitchen at 301 N. Cedar in Hillsboro is an outgrowth of a favorite family recipe that now has devotees nationwide.
Lydia Hein always made mustard in her kitchen in Hillsboro. In 1990, she turned her family recipe into a business, with the help of her son, Eugene Hein, and his wife, Rita.
Craig Dodd, owner of Chisholm Trail Outfitters, Hillsboro, has been certified to appear on the Nov. 4 ballot as an independent for county commission.
Clerk Tina Spencer told commissioners Monday that Dodd’s nominating petitions had been accepted and ruled sufficient.
Palmer amaranth, otherwise known as “Palmer pigweed,” has become a problem to many farmers in central and western parts of Kansas.
Palmer amaranth is an aggressive and invasive weed that used to be controlled by a popular herbicide called glyphosate.
Goessel school district taxpayers could see a 6.6 mill decrease in their tax rates, according to a budget proposed Monday by the USD 411 school board.
Superintendent John Fast said the decrease could equate to a $45 savings on a $75,000 home.
Department of Transportation crews began testing pavement Monday on K-15 between US-56 near Hillsboro and US-50 near Newton. Flaggers and pilot cars will conduct traffic through work zones. Testing is scheduled to be completed by Friday.
With property value rising by the equivalent of 2.882 mills, Marion County hopes to raise taxes without increasing tax rates next year.
In the process, commissioners are trying to assemble a contingency fund, set to approach $1 million by next year, that could be used to move out of a historic Marion building, relocate some operations out of Marion, and perhaps eventually replace the courthouse.
The local economy will get a boost in August from Union Pacific Railroad, which will use Marion as its base of operations for track maintenance from Herington to Whitewater.
“It’s huge,” Union Pacific safety captain Lindal Peace said. “A lot of cities just don’t realize what income we bring in. We’ve got like 90 to 120 guys, and they’ve been having to travel. Most of them are staying in Junction City right now.”
Danny Maddox of Marion has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and he’s not alone.
On average, one out of every 28 adults in Marion County can legally carry a concealed weapon, according to data released Monday by the Kansas attorney general’s office.
The largest marijuana bust Robert Craft has encountered as sheriff continued to be under investigation Tuesday as Craft declined to reveal details of an ongoing investigation into who may have been cultivating 2,429 marijuana plants found July 15 in southern Marion County.
Craft would not say exactly where the plants were found, whether the landowner was aware of them, or whether a suspect has been identified.
Two women were hospitalized after their car was run over by a tractor Monday at 110th and Jade Rds.
The accident happened around 2 p.m. when a 1994 Mercury Sable driven by Dianna Howell of Hillsboro collided with a John Deere tractor pulling a hay rake. The tractor was operated by Sheldon Weims of rural Hillsboro.
Mary Steadman always wanted a piece of her father’s military history but never thought she would get it. So, when her aunt, Patty Finley, found a footlocker that once belonged to him at an antique store in Park City, she jumped at the chance to bring it home.
“She took a picture and texted it to us,” Steadman said. “It was along the lines of, ‘look what I found.”’
Campers soon will be able to pitch tents in portions of the Cottonwood Point expansion at Marion Reservoir.
Camping loops E and F will open around Aug. 1. The areas include 23 campsites with bathrooms and showers.
Fair organizers aren’t the only ones busy with fair preparations this week. The first real event of the fair, a 4-H dog show, took place Saturday, even though the first official day of the fair is today.
Happy Hustler member Tristan Williams had a busy day Monday preparing for the fair’s horse show Monday evening and her other fair projects.
County fair time is chicken flipping time for Jessica Laurin, Marion veterinarian.
Each chicken entered in the county fair has to have a blood test for salmonella, and Laurin flipped 83 chickens last week to perform the tests.
Department heads appear to have kept their promise not to have busted their budgets by shoehorning in pay raises averaging 8.7 percent for 56 county employees.
However, accommodating the raises, awarded in response to a study of wages paid for similar positions in other counties, appears to be posing some difficulties.
Federal requirement for new, more reflective road signs could cost Marion County hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“We have 600 stops signs alone,” road and bridges supervisor Jesse Hamm told county commissioners Monday. “It would cost $97,000 just to replace them in one year.”
Nearly 28 percent of all county ambulance calls last month resulted in no patient being transported to a hospital, according to data released Monday by interim ambulance director JoAnn Knak.
A total of 24 patients for whom ambulances were summoned declined transport, thereby saving themselves ambulance fees.
Standing in the living room of Randy and Rachel Collett’s remodeled downtown Marion apartment, it is hard to tell that the space in the C.B. Wheeler building ever housed a hospital, office building, or anything else.
The Colletts bought the space from Bruce and Belinda Skiles about two years ago and started remodeling in the spring.
In August, plant lover Lenore Dieter of Marion is looking forward to making margaritas with a home grown twist, using fruit from her own lime trees.
“I have two trees; one is indoors in a pot and one is outside in my perennial bed,” Dieter said. “They’re not huge but the one inside has three limes on it.”
A homeowner with a piece of siding to be painted or an expectant mother wanting to match the nursery walls to a color in a quilt don’t have to grab handfuls of paint chips and trust their eyes to find the right color anymore.
Marion County paint dealers have computerized color matching scanning systems that take guessing out of the equation.
A community hymn sing directed by Tim Cassidy will be at 7 p.m. Sunday at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church.
The family of Dan Franzen will celebrate his 90th birthday with an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. August 3 at Goessel City Building, 101 S. Cedar St.
Those who would like to send him well wishes can send cards may address them to Franzen at 600 E. Marion Ave., Goessel, KS 67053.
Hillsboro High School graduated Lisa Enns received a master’s degree in urban planning June 14 from the University of Washington in Seattle.
She is working with a design group in Seattle creating pedestrian and bicycle plans for larger cities.
Fourteen of 16 varsity athletic teams at Tabor College received awards for their academic efforts from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Awards were to teams whose members had cumulative grade point averages of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
WEDDINGS:
Grosse-RichmondREUNIONS:
Olsen cousinsROUND THE TOWN:
Round the Town: Residents attend quilt showNORTHWEST OF DURHAM:
Northwest of Durham: Rain slows harvest
