HILLSBORO Star-Journal

Hillsboro renews engineering contract

Hillsboro City Council affirmed an agreement with Evans, Bierly, Hutchinson, and Associates Engineering Firm for upcoming street projects. The city has a community development block grant worth $400,000 that it plans to use on six blocks of Date, Birch, and Cedar streets.

Weber takes 5th at state tennis

Hillsboro High School sophomore Allison Weber placed fifth in state Class 3-2-1A tennis Monday in Hutchinson, two days after the tournament was scheduled to finish. She placed second at regional tennis, so she earned a first-round bye in the 24-player bracket on Friday. In the second-round, she played Omelia Thomas of Ellinwood in a match that was on pace to take all weekend even before rain interrupted it. Weber and Thomas played many long points with dozens of shots, and several early games went to deuce.

Goessel volleyball wins league

At the Wheat State League tournament Saturday in Peabody, Goessel prevailed as the tournament champions accompanying their regular season title. The Bluebirds won their first match against White City, 25-10 and 25-16. Elyria Christian put up a fight in the first set, 25-20, but the Bluebirds dominated the second set to win, 25-10.

Helene Brunner

Helene E. Brunner, 93, of Herington, formerly of rural Burdick, died Saturday at home. She was born Oct. 2, 1919, in Wichita to Ernst and Minna (Pigorsch) Domann. She was a homemaker and a telephone operator at the Burdick Switchboard Office and later retired from Helen’s Christian Bookstore, Herington. She was a member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Herington.

John D. Ellis

John D. “Dan” Ellis, 65, of Peabody died Oct. 9 at Peabody Care Center. He was born April 28, 1947, in San Antonio, Texas, to Theodore and Lillian Maltbie Ellis.

Julie Ann Lake

Julie Ann Lake, 62, of Flower Mound, Texas, passed away Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, following a courageous battle with cancer. Julie was born Oct. 4, 1950, in Hillsboro, Kan., to Walter and Lois Lake. She worked for Boeing/Labinal as an assembly technician for 15 years. Growing up Julie enjoyed camping, water skiing and playing lots of softball. Julie graduated from Peabody High School, Peabody, Kan., in 1968 and attended Brown Mackie Business College in Salina, Kan. She started her working career in Wichita, Kan., for the CPA firm Elmer Fox. She even tried her hand with an art and framing business in Newton, Kan. She biked across Kansas the summer of 1979. Julie and Geri moved to Flower Mound in April 1995 from Wichita.

Troy Scott Watts

Troy Scott Watts, 41, died Oct. 8 at Via Christi-St. Francis Medical Center in Wichita. He was born Sept. 4, 1971, to Larry Watts and Sandra Sebree Watts in Newton. He worked as a carpenter.

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Commission amends zoning rule suggestions

Marion County Planning and Zoning Director Tonya Richards brought the county commission recommended zoning regulation changes on Monday. There were two changes suggested by the Planning and Zoning Board. The first was to allow existing parcels to be landlocked between properties owned by other owners as long as there is an easement that provides utility and road access to a residence.

FSA offers drought assistance

A serious lack of moisture that extended over the summer season has caused producers in Marion County to suffer from the effects of exceptional drought conditions. Farms and ranches experiencing these conditions may be eligible for cost-share financial assistance under U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Conservation Program — Drought Measures provision. This special disaster support program is administered by the Farm Service Agency and will provide benefit payments if damages are so severe that water available for livestock, orchards, or vineyards has been reduced below normal to the extent that neither can survive without additional water. Producers may file an application from Monday through Nov. 15 at their local the USDA Farm Service Agency office at 301 Eisenhower Drive, Marion. Damages incurred by producers must be of such a magnitude that it would be too costly to rehabilitate without federal assistance.

County decides against buying asphalt recycler

After an hour-long discussion, Marion County Commission decided against purchasing the 2008 Van Keppel asphalt recycler that the Road and Bridge Department previously rented. With the 2013 budget already approved, commissioners said that there was no way the county could start payments until the beginning of next year. The bid from Van Keppel was $4,432 a month over four years of payments or $3,588 a month over five years of payments. The cost to purchase the machine was about $200,000.

Cities agree to local control of incentive funds

The Kansas Department of Commerce announced Monday that the department has agreed with state Main Street cities to transition the Kansas Main Street program to local control. This agreement comes on the heels of an announcement Sept. 20 by the Department of Commerce that it was ending the Main Street program at the state level because of expected smaller state and federal budgets moving forward.

Ensey continues health care legacy

When St. Luke Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Jeremy Ensey slipped into the chair behind his desk on the first day of his job Oct. 10, it’s understandable if the sense of coming full-circle hit him not once, but twice. “He was born here at St. Luke,” said retired Marion doctor T.C. Ensey, Jeremy’s grandfather. “His mother, I delivered her and her two sisters, and I delivered three of my grandsons she produced.”

Family stakes health on raw milk

There are two reasons why Betsy Walker and her family of rural Hillsboro like to drink raw milk. First, they believe it is healthier; and second, at $2.50 per gallon locally, it is an economical choice for their food budget. “We like to eat and drink things that are as close to their original state as possible,” Walker said. “That is how God designed it for us and it is best for our bodies that way.”

St. Luke Foundation to host dinner

The St. Luke Foundation will have a benefit dinner starting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Marion Community Center. The “Autumn Evening Benefit” is a dinner by donation with entertainment by the Sisters of Hope and a silent auction.

Blood donors give for different reasons

Aldina Franz and Shirley Kasper of Hillsboro are good friends. They see each other often at church and community functions. They also see each other at almost every blood drive that comes to town, and both were on hand Thursday to help the American Red Cross reach a goal of 50 donors at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church. “I try to donate every 56 days, or whenever they come to Hillsboro,” Franz said. “I feel like it’s my opportunity to help someone.”

Eyes can be cues for health problems

It can be easy at times to overlook vision problems, but nobody should ignore a change in their vision, especially a sudden change, optometrist Zach Unruh of Mid Kansas Eyecare in Hillsboro said. “The danger in vision problems is ignoring them, because they can indicate systemic problems that can be taken care of if you don’t ignore them,” Unruh said.

Pihl to offer Medicare assistance

Nancy Pihl, county extension agent and counselor with Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas, is offering assistance in reviewing and enrolling senior citizens in a Medicare part D plan for 2013. People interested may call (620) 382-2325 to schedule an appointment. People will need to bring their Medicare cards and lists of current medications, dosages, and times taken per day.

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Donation paid for fairground improvements

Several businesses recently made a cooperative donation of $4,000 to the Marion County Fair Association, and fair association president Chuck McLinden said the money went to good use. “What we did was use that money to pay for improvements in the rabbit and poultry barn,” McLinden said. “Specifically we put vents in the roof to allow the air to flow through better.”

Jugglers coming to McPherson

“The Passing Zone” with John Wee and Owen Morse is coming to the McPherson Opera House 7:30 p.m. Friday. “The Passing Zone” has been awarded five Guinness World Records and 18 gold medals from the International Juggler’s Association. They recently were presented with that organization’s Award of Excellence, the most prestigious award in juggling. The award has been given to only 13 acts worldwide since the organization’s inception.

KSU marathon club to run across state

The Kansas State University Marathon Club is running a relay in marathon-sized segments Friday through Sunday across Kansas, starting at the Nebraska border and running south to the Oklahoma border. Nine runners will each run 26 miles to complete the total of 232-mile journey. The route includes running through Washington, Clay Center, Abilene, Newton, Wichita, Haysville, and Wellington.

Stucky to discuss settlements

Local historian, tour guide, and Goessel schoolteacher Brian Stucky will share his research and recent findings on American Indians, early settlers, and Marion County trails Friday at Lifelong Learning. The session will be at 9:45 a.m. in the Tabor College Wolgemuth Music Education Center in Hillsboro. During the summer of 2010, Stucky hosted a workshop on early trails running through Marion County, funded by the National Park Service and the Oregon California Trail Association.

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Hillsboro FCCLA places 2nd in contest

Hillsboro High School Family Career Community Leaders of America attended the District G fall leadership conference Monday at Southeast of Saline. “Destination Excellence” was the theme. Hillsboro placed second in the poster contest. Step One, Power of One, Community Service, and Outstanding Member awards were presented. Those attending included Devin Lamkin, Matt Wintermote, Clay Etheridge, Leticia Solorio Cisneros, Mary Leihy, Maddi Brown, Kendra Saenz, and Abby Shope.

Goessel football loses 1st game in district

After winning three consecutive district games, the Bluebirds were in a fog with a loss on Friday. Goessel’s passing game was silent and turnovers plagued the Bluebirds. Two key players on offense, Nick Buller and Mark Schmidt, were sidelined due to injury. Chase took two minutes to march down field for their first score and their defense held, forcing Goessel to punt. The Cats went 71 yards on the next play to score again. Chase recovered an on-side kick and took that possession in for another touchdown. The score at the end of the first quarter was a stunning, 22-0.

4 Trojan runners named all-league

Hillsboro High School cross-country had four runners earn all-league honors at the Central Kansas League meet Thursday at Lindsborg. The top 15 runners in the varsity races were the all-league selections. Sophomore Emily Sechrist won the girls’ 4-kilometer race with a time of 15 minutes, 53.10 seconds — 17 seconds ahead of second place. Sophomore Karyn Leihy joined her in the top 10 with an eighth-place time of 17:41.89.

Consistent play led to Trojan volleyball win

The Hillsboro High School volleyball team won its home tournament, the Trojan Invitational, Saturday. It was the first championship for Hillsboro in the tournament in over four years. “It’s been a while since we’ve won this thing,” head coach Sandy Arnold said.

Hillsboro dominates Moundridge

Part of what has made the Hillsboro High School football team dominant this season has been a change in expectations. On Friday, the Trojans expected to shut out Moundridge. Senior lineman Dylan Jirak said any Moundridge points on the board were unacceptable.

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