BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
The football game between Tabor College and McPherson College scheduled for Oct. 20 in McPherson was canceled Thursday, said Scott Crawford, commissioner of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. In a written statement, Crawford said the decision was based on a desire to honor Brandon Brown, a Tabor College student and football player who was found beaten unconscious Sept. 16 in McPherson and died Sept. 22.
Russell and Jean Groves like the Hillsboro City Library. They come in often to enjoy the selection of books, magazines, and newspapers. It was only natural that they decided to make the library a beneficiary of their family art sales when the opportunity arose. “Libraries have always been real important to Jean and me,” Russell Groves said. “We felt this is something our parents would approve of because it benefits everyone in the community.”
Flu vaccines are available at the Marion County Health Department Office on Wednesdays, starting this week, according to health department nurse Deidre Serene. “We won’t have any shortage this year, but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t important to get vaccinated,” Serene said. “We have both the mist and the shots available.”
A second McPherson College student has been arrested in connection with the death of Tabor College junior and football player Brandon Brown. DeQuinte Oshea Flournoy was arrested Sept. 26 and charged with aiding and abetting murder in the second degree. Alton L. Franklin had previously been arrested Sept. 22 and was initially charged with aggravated battery. The charge was amended to aiding and abetting murder in the second degree after Brown died Sept. 22. The 19-year-old defendants are both from Dallas, Texas, and were on the 2011 McPherson College football team but not on the 2012 team. They remained McPherson College students until they were suspended after their arrests. If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to 493 months in prison and fined up to $300,000.
A stack of 10 new building codebooks for 2012 greeted Hillsboro City Council members from the back counter Tuesday at their regular meeting. “We ordered three sets that will cost a total of $3,000 to get us where we need to be,” City Administrator Larry Paine said. “It will be some heavy reading for someone. After Ben (Steketee) goes through them, we will have a review and come back to the council agenda for code adoption.”
Randall Burch, 83, of Roxbury died Friday. He was born Jan. 30, 1929, in Roxbury to Raymond and Jeannette Burch. He is survived by his wife, Delores; three daughters, Marsha Howe, Coleen Minns, and Sandra Brunsell; three sons, Kent, Ron, and Justin Burch; two brothers, Clifford Burch of Lockport, N.Y., and Wendell Burch of Gypsum; 11 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Luetta A. Enns, 84, of Hillsboro died Thursday at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro. She was born Nov. 8, 1927, in Goessel to C.R. and Martha (Funk) Duerksen. She was a homemaker. She married Lauren Enns on May 7, 1948, in Lehigh.
Bertha Goentzel, 94, of Hillsboro died Monday at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro. She was born Nov. 18, 1917, to Jacob Helena (Schmidt) Unruh in rural Durham. She was a housewife. She married Clarence Goentzel on Aug. 21, 1940, in rural Durham. He preceded her in death in 1989.
Pauline King died Sept. 29, 2012, at Asbury Park in Newton, Kan., at the age of 90. She was born in Perryton, Texas, on Dec. 20, 1921, the daughter of William H. and Edna Smith Stevens. For many years Pauline lived in Wichita where she worked as a beautician. She later moved to the Marion County Lake where she lived for 30 years. While living at the lake she enjoyed fishing, knitting, and making quilts.
William R. “Bill” Romain, 96, passed away Saturday, Sep. 22, 2012, at McPherson Hospital. Bill was born July 4, 1916, in South Orange, N.J., to Burchard and Mabel (Reid) Romain. Poor health plagued him until a corrective surgery repaired a chronic condition at the age of 53. With his newfound health, Bill was inspired to begin running, a passion that lasted for decades. In 1986, Bill moved to McPherson, a place he described as a wholesome, friendly, and a dynamic community.
Art Suderman, 80, formerly of Hillsboro died Sept. 26 at Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice in Wichita. He was born May 6, 1932, in Hillsboro to Dan M. and Edna (Harder) Suderman. He was a farmer all his life.
A 400-acre farm five miles south of Peabody has been in the Janzen family for 135 years and is a Farm Bureau Century Farm. Norm Oeding, the operator, lives in the farmhouse built in 1933. He was hired by the Janzen family in 2007 after Mark and Hennie Janzen decided to retire from farming and the family decided to transition to organic farming methods.
There are two sides to Ron Dies alpaca farm, Prairie Wind Alpacas, in Lehigh. In one way, raising 25 alpacas is serious business. Ron Dies said that he does not want the animals too tame, coming up and wanting attention all the time. The alpacas are livestock and they should be focused on one thing — breeding.
When Jim and the late Joan Donahue started the Donahue Corporation 50 years ago in Durham, they started with a single product, the Farm Implement Carrier. The company has broadened its product selection considerably since then, to include stock trailers, flatbed trailers, even hydraulically operated expanding trailers.
When Reno Penner of rural Hillsboro says the milo crop looks pretty dismal this year, he knows what he is talking about. He has grown milo and wheat for 59 years, starting at the age of 17 when his father passed away and he took over the family farm. A dry land farmer, he knows a bit about raising milo and wheat. “It looks worse this year than ever before, even worse than last year,” Penner said. “I think it was the heat more than the drought that really put the milo in bad shape.”
Lauren Geis of Durham won top honors in senior swine showmanship two weeks ago at the 80th Kansas Junior Livestock Show in Wichita. A total of 704 Kansas youth exhibited 1,453 head of livestock at the show sponsored by the Kansas Livestock Association, Kansas State University, and the Agri-Business Council of Wichita. Geis — who also won first place in two classes of dark market barrows and first in class 2Duroc gilt, as well as third in Chianina breeding heifers and seventh in class 2 speckled market lamb —was part of a 24-member contingent of young livestock exhibitors from Marion County. Other Results Cedar Point Cody Parmley: 10th in light crossbred market barrow. Corin Parmley: sixth in meat goat, eighth in meat goat, 10th in crossbred market lamb, and 13th in crossbred market lamb. Durham Lisa Geis: third in commercial breeding heifer and fifth in natural market lamb. Hillsboro Mesa Merrill: fifth in meat goat and 11th in meat goat. Bryce Roberts: first in crossbred market lamb, and third in crossbred market lamb. Landon Roberts: 13th in commercial ewe lamb. Sa Rae Roberts: eighth in crossbred market lamb and eighth in commercial ewe lamb. Lincolnville Callie Riffel: third in Duroc gilt and fourth in dark crossbred market barrow. Jensen Riffel: sixth in dark crossbred market barrow and seventh in dark crossbred market barrow. Kailyn Riffel: second in Yorkshire market barrow and third in light crossbred market barrow. Marion Cassidy Hill: first in commercial ewe lamb, first in Hampshire market lamb, and second in Dorset breeding ewe. Peabody Tyler Entz: fifth in dark AOB gilt. Devon Gaines: eighth in commercial breeding heifer. Morgan Gaines: second in commercial breeding heifer. Jack Parks: sixth in dark AOB gilt. Tanner Parks: fourth in Duroc gilt. Tampa Cailey Barney: eighth in natural market lamb. Jared Barney: second in crossbred market lamb. Elizabeth Meyer: eighth in natural market lamb. Nicholas Meyer: 14th in commercial ewe lamb. Kara Riffel: sixth in meat goat and eighth in commercial doe kid. Karl Riffel: fifth in Duroc gilt, sixth in AOB breeding heifer, and sixth in commercial doe kid. Kyle Riffel: second in commercial doe kid, fourth in Duroc market barrow, and eighth in meat goat.
Joyce Carlson of Lincolnville has been in the cattle-feeding business since he was a teenager. He helped his father feed cattle while growing up just one mile across the Marion County line in Morris County. When Carlson got married, he and his father partnered to buy a farm just two miles south of the home place in Marion County. He developed his own cattle-feeding operation there, where he and his wife, Ruth Ann, lived for 65 years.
Lightning skittered between the clouds, gusts of wind carried hints of the smell of rain, and gritty dust swirled up from the tractor tires into my teeth and eyes last Tuesday night as my husband and I planted wheat. The adrenaline of the moment erased earlier disasters of the day. Tuesday is my day to work late at the newspaper office and things were not coming together in an orderly fashion. My cell phone continued to jingle as my husband called about the myriad of things that were going wrong back at the farm.
Marion County Commission signed an agreement with Dickinson County for emergency medical services. The agreement states that ambulances will be dispatched by the closest county based on the corresponding cell phone call.
Marion County received a special recognition certificate from the Kansas Emergency Management Association at the organization’s annual conference recently.
After asking Marion Planning Commission member Ruth Herbel whether the plans for a tower met city zoning regulations, the Marion County Commission approved a 45-foot, monopole communications tower to be constructed near the new jail. The tower will cost the county $52,384. It will extend to 45-feet with the full length of the antennae. The commission originally wanted a 92-foot tower because it provided space for multiple antennas and to provide backup in case a repeater tower failed. TBS Communications Inc. representative Mark Graber said the tower should have no problem reaching or receiving from any of the repeaters in the county at the 45-foot height. The tower will be galvanized steel. It will be surrounded by a fence to separate it from adjacent properties.
Marion County Commission approved refinancing for two road graders for the Road and Bridge Department. The commission went with a bid from Cottonwood Valley Bank for 2.74 percent interest for five years. Road and Bridge Department has a maintenance agreement with Foley Equipment for the machines.
I have had some hard days recently. Blown out tires, dryer that went caput, children with injuries, unmanageable farm chores, and deadlines, deadlines, deadlines have all combined to make me feel plain worn out. However, I have a way of dealing with life’s misery. It involves thinking along the lines of a song, “My Favorite Things,” from the musical Sound of Music. Instead of thinking of “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,” I think about the good things happening in life right now. And it gives me the strength to go on.
Julianna Schrag, 11, of Goessel will play Mary Lennox in the Bethel College Fall Festival theater production of “The Secret Garden” next weekend. Schrag joins a cast of college students who will perform the musical by Francis Hodgson Burnett three times, 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 12, 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 13, and 2 p.m. on Oct. 14, at Krehbiel Auditorium in the Fine Arts Center.
Some were big, some were tall, some evenly colored orange all the way around, others had green shading through the ridges, and many of the pumpkins in front of Dale’s Supermarket in Hillsboro on Thursday had thick and healthy looking green stems. Lisa Schafer of Durham said she was looking for a pumpkin that was just perfect, big, but not so tall that it would fall over. There were all different sizes and shapes to choose from at Dale’s grocery store.
Goessel will have its annual Harvest Festival on Saturday. Events include a 5-kilometer run at 8 a.m. starting in front of Goessel High School, the firefighters’ pancake feed from 7 to 10 a.m. at the fire station, 214 E. Main St., free admission to the Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum from noon to 5 p.m., 4-H petting zoo from 2 to 5 p.m. north of the library, a bouncy house and inflatables from 2 to 6 p.m., and bluegrass and gospel music by Jammin’ Biscuits from 6 to 8 p.m. at the stage south of the Goessel station.
Marion County senior centers will distribute food commodities from U.S. Department of Agriculture starting on Oct. 11. Each site will set its own schedule. Commodities are available based on income eligibility. The maximum monthly gross income to be eligible is $1,211 for a single person, $1,640 for a household of two, and $429 more for each additional member of the household.
Retired pastors Mervin and Jane Dick will give the next presentation at Tabor College’s Lifelong Learning series at 9:45 a.m. Friday. Their presentation is “Traveling Without a Map,” about their life stories, including their battle with colorectal cancer. Both are Tabor College graduates and each holds a master of divinity degree — Mervin’s from Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary at Fresno, Calif., and Jane’s from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colo. They have served Mennonite Brethren churches in Kief, N.D., Weatherford and Edmond, Okla., and Fresno, Calif. They moved to Denver in 1984, and both were involved with inner-city relief work for 18 years there.
Callie and Cody Penner of Hillsboro are new members of the American Angus Association headquartered in St. Joseph, Mo. The American Angus Association is the largest beef breed association in the world with nearly 30,000 active adult and junior members.
Many people attended the Sept. 23 program and dedication of the Santa Fe Trail signs at Cottonwood Crossing. There were three attending from Santa Fe, N.M., and dignitaries representing the National Parks Service. Bruce and Cheryl Dirks invited Ransom and Lillian Wiebe, Mark and Kris Wiebe and family, and Darrin and Meri Kay Rhodes and family to be their supper guests Sept. 19.
Prairie Pals met Sept. 25 evening at the home of Iona Dietrich with Melissa Stuchlik assisting her mother as hostess. Others present included Mary Clemmer Eunice Steiner, Laveta Meyer, and Jane Vajnar. After a short business meeting and refreshments, the group painted pumpkins. Bill Fillmore of Cottonwood Falls visited Tillie Hein Sept. 26 morning.
Tabor College will be hosting a variety of activities during its homecoming celebration this weekend, including a fun run and Dutch lunch on Saturday. For those with young children, the education department will host activities from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for children in pre-school through sixth grade. Former Tabor College President Larry Nikkel will conduct a book signing outside Java Jays at 10:30 a.m. Saturday for his new book, “Leading and Following.”
Goessel High School seniors Tia Goertzen and Johanna Hoffman received recognition at the University of Kansas Honors Banquet in McPherson on Sept. 26 for being among the top 10 percent of seniors in USD 411. The event recognized the top academic seniors from all school districts in McPherson, Marion and Rice counties.
The Hillsboro High School volleyball team lost the second game of the championship match of the Canton-Galva Tournament, 17-25, Saturday to Hesston. The match was the fourth time this season the Trojans and Swathers met on the court. Although Hillsboro won the first three contests and the first game Saturday, 25-18, possible familiarity may have given Hesston clues to defeating the No. 1 volleyball team in the state.
There was no situation too dire for the Hillsboro High School football team’s defense Friday in the Trojans’ 20-0 victory over Smoky Valley. It was an effort, filled with big plays, worthy of the Trojans’ first shutout of the season. The Vikings picked up three first downs on their opening drive, running effectively to land first-and-goal at the 4-yard line. Scott Brazil came up with the first tackle on a run left. Tyrell Thiessen made the second tackle for no gain. Thiessen, Dylan Jirak, and Josh Wiebe all flew up the middle of the field to blow up a Smoky Valley run attempt to bring up fourth-and-goal at the 6-yard line. The Vikings went for the touchdown, but the pass to Cole Norberg fell harmlessly to the end-zone turf with good coverage from Hillsboro’s secondary.
Since the beginning of the Wheat State League three years ago, Goessel has won the regular season title each year. And for the third year in a row, the Bluebirds have gone 8-0 in league play. On Sept. 25, Hope took a lead 3-2 in the first set, but Goessel exploded for 13 consecutive points and won, 25-5. The second set was tied at 16 and again the Bluebirds finished strong winning, 25-19.
With an 82-50 win at Tescott on Friday, the Goessel High School Bluebirds football team improved to 3-0 in district play while the six other teams all have at least one loss. The Bluebirds jumped out to a 30-8 lead at the end of one quarter. Thoughts of another Goessel win by the 45-point rule were extinguished as Tescott scored 24 points in the second quarter and the halftime score registered 52-32. Goessel increased their lead to 66-38 by the end of the third quarter and then marched to a final score of 82-50.
Four Hillsboro High School cross-country runners set new personal records Thursday at Harvey County East Lake. Josh Richert finished seventh in the boys’ race with a time of 17 minutes, 6.7 seconds. Avery Franz placed 31st with a time of 18:36.8. Jordan Bezdek placed 39th with a time of 18:56.7. Morganne Hamm placed 19th in the junior varsity race with a time of 23:26.2.
Hillsboro High School girls’ tennis placed seventh out of nine teams at the Central Kansas League meet Saturday. Coach Bob Woelk shook up the lineup by playing two first-time pairings in doubles and a freshman in No. 1 singles.