HILLSBORO Star-Journal

Tabor athlete dies after altercation; suspect arrested

Tabor College football player Brandon Brown, 26, died late Saturday of injuries sustained in an altercation last weekend. McPherson police found him unconscious, lying in a street, when they responded to a noise complaint Sept. 16 in the 400 block of North Carrie Street in McPherson. He had been on life support since then at Via Christi-St. Francis Hospital in Wichita.

Cool weather prevails at craft fair

Clouds and cooler weather didn’t dampen the spirits of arts & crafts enthusiasts Saturday at the 43rd annual Hillsboro Arts and Crafts Fair. Fair director Penni Schroeder said more than 280 vendors sold their wares to estimated crowds of 40,000 to 45,000.

City works to update codes

Hillsboro Mayor Delores Dalke told City Council members Tuesday it was time to accept updated municipal codes or those building anything new next year would have to pay a 5 percent increase in insurance rates. “According to our recent building code enforcement report, we ranked 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best,” Dalke said. “We are way behind because we have not accepted new building code changes since 2006.”

Teams rally for accident victims

Goessel, Moundridge, and Sedgwick junior high and high school volleyball teams are rallying together to raise funds for recent accident victims Tamera Yutzy and Rylee Spears of Goessel. Classmates of Rylee, who would have started third grade at Goessel Elementary this year, as well as other community members continue to care and remember the pair. A single-vehicle rolloever accident near Goessel on Aug. 10 resulted in critical injuries for mother and daughter. Both are making recovery progress but remain hospitalized at St. Francis-Via Christi in Wichita. Tamera recently moved into the Via Christi Rehabilitation Hospital, while Rylee is a patient in the Burn Unit.

Cracked water line causes Goessel water woes

A cracked line started a chain reaction of water woes in Goessel last week that lasted several days, and reminded several residents what they were thankful for. “Late Sunday evening (Sept. 9) I got a call that we had a problem,” city maintenance director Karen Dalke said. “The first line cracked because of dry ground shifting, we think. There really is no way to know.”

Woman's identity an unsolved mystery

Editor’s note: Information for this article was compiled from the Marion County Record archives, and additional sources as cited. She stares straight ahead, expressionless and silent. She is an artist’s best guess in pencil, a sculptor’s conjecture in clay. No one knows how she smiled, how she laughed.

Trail sign dedication is Sunday

A ceremony to dedicate signs marking the Santa Fe Trail in Marion County will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Cottonwood Crossing Historic Interpretive Kiosk, 1.5 miles west of Durham on 290th Road. Dignitaries representing the National Park Service, Santa Fe Trail Association, and county government will take part in the ceremony to celebrate the placing of more than 100 signs.

POW/MIA Day is Friday

POW/MIA Recognition Day is Friday. There are still 1,660 missing soldiers from the Vietnam War, 25 from Kansas including Ronald Schultz of Hillsboro.

Lester E. Griffith

Lester E. Griffith, 89, of McPherson and formerly of Marion died Saturday at McPherson Hospital. He was a retired agricultural extension agent after working in Wilson and Marion counties. He was born Nov. 23, 1922, in Pawnee County to William and Katie (Tiday) Griffith. He graduated from Larned High School in 1940 and from Kansas State University in 1950. He was a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard and served during World War II.

Charles L. Jones

Charles L. Jones, 64, of Canton died unexpectedly Friday at Via Christi Regional Medical Center, St. Francis Campus, Wichita. He was born July 20, 1948 in Newton to George Calvin and Alice Mae (Lindgren) Jones. He was an I.T. engineer for Heartland Technology, Newton. He married Suzanne M. Nachtigal on May 31, 1969, in Inman.

Donald A. Klassen

Donald A. Klassen, 84, of Hillsboro died Tuesday at Schowalter Villa in Hesston. He was born Oct. 30, 1927, in Mountain Lake, Minn., to Abram and Elizabeth (Janzen) Klassen. He was a hospital administrator and farmer.

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Trail Stop gets beer license

Tampa City Council approved a cereal malt beverage license request from David Mueller for the Trail Stop on Sept. 10. The license will allow the store to sell beer, as long as it no more than 3.2 percent alcohol by weight. Marion County Commission Chairman Dan Holub told the council that the four miles of 330th Road west of Tampa will be finished with center and side stripes before winter. The four miles of Limestone Road south of Tampa will be chip-sealed in the spring.

County approves bridge inspections

Marion County Commission approved a bid from CFS Engineers for more than 300 bridge inspections in the county. The bid from CFS was not the lowest bid at $19,500. It was one of the most detailed. On the advice of Road and Bridge Superintendent Randy Crawford, and taking in account CFS’s record for thorough testing on bridges, the Commission decided to go with CFS instead of Elite Engineering Service at $17,405.

Woodworking therapy adds backyard beauty

Hidden behind a modest home on Falcon Road southwest of Hillsboro is an intriguing backyard with split-level brick and wood slat patios. Wood-backed displays made from windmill blades, old barbecue grills, wheelbarrows, and wagons treat the eye. Beautiful flowering begonias, luscious hostas, and a wide variety of hyacinths surround mansion-like bird feeders, birdhouses, and birdbaths.

Rock garden accommodates family trees

In more ways than one, a pair of decades-old pin oak trees were the reason why Dorothy Widler chose to put a rock garden in front of her home in Marion early this spring. “The ground was bare because the trees sucked all the water out of the ground,” Widler said.

Sing-along kicks off fall learning series

Tabor College’s Learning in Retirement series returns this fall with a new name, Lifelong Learning. The fall series will begin Sept. 28 with a nostalgic sing-along directed by Tabor Music Department Chairman Brad Vogel, accompanied by Phyllis Epp. During a break, Betty Seibel will talk about the stories behind songs. Recent graduate David Vogel will also sing.

Hymn sing is Sunday

A monthly community hymn sing will begin at 7 p.m. Sunday at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church, 300 Prairie Pointe. Singing, prayer, and scripture reading will be included in the hymn sing. Guests will be able to select favorite hymns to sing. Steve Vincent will lead the gathering, and the theme will be “Does God change his mind?” Lewis Hagen will play trumpet.

Big Truck Night is Thursday

Big Truck Night is 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Hillsboro Elementary School. There will be free refreshments and gifts for kids. There will be a car safety program, Ident-a-Kid fingerprinting, toy trucks in sand, and toddler truck riding.

Davidson inducted into nursing academy

Janice Unruh Davidson of Hillsboro, a graduate professor at Chamberlain College of Nursing, will be inducted into the National League for Nursing’s Academy of Nursing Education as a ‘fellow.’ She will be honored at its annual Education Summit on Friday in Anaheim, Calif. She joins 117 fellows representing nursing schools and programs throughout the United States.

Democratic women to meet Sept. 21

Marion County Democratic Women will meet for lunch Sept. 21 at Marion Senior Center. The group asks members to bring oleo for Marion County Emergency Food Bank.

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USD 411 opts for bond assistance

If a new teacher introduction, technology class innovations, and a positive budget review were not enough to energize the USD 411 Board of Education on Sept. 10 for the coming year, the introduction and presentation of school bond and building specialist Jim Cain got board members, particularly superintendent John Fast, going. After hearing an expected “numbers-as-usual” financial report from Goessel board treasurer Chet Roberts and a positive budget audit review from Dale Clark of Knudsen, Monroe, and Company, Fast noted the school’s current bond issue would be retired in 2015.

Trojans win over Nickerson, 28-6

Hillsboro High School head coach football coach Lance Sawyer described the 28-6 win over Nickerson as a statement victory. The statement was that Hillsboro has a good football team that can play with anyone. Nickerson was ranked in the top 5 in 4A coming into the game Friday in Hillsboro. They put up 50 points in the second half against Hesston the week before.

Richert on way to state goal

Hillsboro High School senior cross-country runner Josh Richert faced familiar opponents in Drew Hageman of Hesston and Jordan Hett of Marion on Thursday at the Peabody-Burns High School meet at Topham Farm. Although he finished third behind Hageman and Hett, the competition compelled Richert to run a personal best time of 17 minutes, 23.06 seconds, despite the rain-drenched conditions. It was 14 seconds better than his previous record and 57 seconds faster than he ran last year at Peabody.

Venue change doesn't stop Goessel power plays

The Wheat State League volleyball contest with Goessel, Peabody-Burns, and White City had to be moved from Goessel to Peabody because of a water line break in Goessel. It took a little while to get started, but with a 9-7 lead, the Bluebirds outscored the Huskies 14-2 to win by a comfortable margin in game one, 25-13. In the second game, Goessel pounded their way to a 11-2 lead. Alex Hiebert, Tia Goertzen, and Page Hiebert hit well along the front row. Johanna Hoffman kept many balls in play with her passing game, and Jessica Harvey set up her teammates for many of the kills. It was a kill from Erin Brubaker and then an Alex Hiebert smash that ended the match at 25-10.

Bluebird football claims first win

In Friday’s contest, the Goessel High School football team jumped out to a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and maintained the same margin with a 22-8 lead at halftime. The Bluebirds then found the end zone three times in the third period and coasted to a 50-22 win at Southern Cloud High School in Miltonvale. The Bluebirds found turnovers to be in their favor as they intercepted one pass and recovered five Southern Cloud fumbles. It was a more balanced attack by the Bluebirds than in previous games this season with Goessel gaining 150 yards on the ground and 242 yards passing.

Goessel runners improve in the rain

At the Peabody-Burns cross-country meet on Thursday, the runners experienced wet and cold conditions. Eight runners on the Goessel team posted their best times of this season. Top 20 finishers at the meet were Ali Buller at 12th in the girls’ varsity race. Heath Goertzen picked up 13th place and Davis Cook came in 19th in the boys’ varsity contest. In the junior varsity race, Jake Herrel (13th) and David Hess (15th) ran well to stay in the top half. Kylee Unruh competed in the girls’ junior varsity race and finished the course in 14th place.

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