HILLSBORO Star-Journal

Council holds special meeting

Hillsboro City Council had a special meeting Feb. 5 to complete a prior meeting scheduled for Feb. 4. Council members approved an ordinance to vacate a drainage easement in the industrial park so Barkman Honey could expand its plant.

USD 410 discusses open land, budget cuts

USD 410 Superintendent Steve Noble said Monday he wanted the district to at least make back $30,000 it spent to obtain land located on the southwest corner of Adams Street and U.S. 56 highway. The district purchased the plot, in November 2007, but has not yet found much use for it. It was originally bought for district office space, but there was never a need with the current building.

New subdivision at lake ready for development

Planning and Zoning Director Tonya Richards and developer Gary Dunnegan met Monday with commissioners, discussing the status of a future subdivision planned at the county lake. Richards said a plat for the area, to be called Saddle Creek Estates, had already been approved by the planning commission board.

Tabor students shovel snow for service day

About 100 Tabor College students, faculty, and staff bundled up and braved frigid winter temperatures to shovel snow for Hillsboro residents after president Jules Glanzer canceled classes due to snowfall and designated Feb. 5 as “Serve Day.” Glanzer said the purpose of giving students the day off was to encourage them to serve others and care for people in need

Changes made to Girl Scout cookie sales

Streets may be snow packed, but that did not stop Girl Scouts across the county from beginning their cookie sales over the weekend. County scouts sold 20,000 boxes of cookies last year and hope to match, if not surpass, that amount this year.

Special Olympics basketball players shoot for gold

Residents of Hillsboro will not have to travel to Sochi to see an Olympic athlete compete this weekend. A Special Olympics basketball tournament will be from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Tabor College’s gym and student activity center.

Tabor sets Lifelong Learning lineup

Tabor College has set its presentation lineup for the spring Lifelong Learning series, with eight programs. Lifelong Learning meets at 9:45 a.m. on Fridays in the Wohlgemuth Music Education Center on the Tabor campus. There will be no presentation March 21 during spring break or April 18 on Good Friday.

Chamber hears about possible housing expansions

Economic development director Clint Seibel compared Hillsboro’s housing and job market situation to the chicken and the egg Tuesday at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon. One has to precede the other to promote growth, but which one comes first? Because of interest from two companies — Vintage Construction and J. Van Sickle and Company — the city could have new housing developments sooner rather than later.

Willard Hett

Willard Wayne Hett of Marion died Feb. 3 at St. Luke Living Center. He was born May 1, 1939, in Hillsboro to Ron and Ruby (Just) Hett. He grew up on the family farm in rural Marion and attended Aulne United Methodist Church with his family. He graduated from Marion High School in 1957.

Lucille Olsen

Lucille A. Olsen, 71, of Lincolnville died Saturday at HCA Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. She was born April 19, 1942, in Marion to Joseph and Anna (Holub) Rudolph. She married Bill E. Olson on Oct. 6, 1962.

Linda Priddy

Linda Carol Priddy, 64, of Independence died Monday at her home. She was born Nov. 8, 1949, in Salina to Earl and Wanda (Christensen) Priddy. She was raised in Lincolnville and graduated from Centre High School. She attended Emporia State University and Brown Mackey College.

Shirley Rock

Shirley A. Rock, 80, of Herington died Feb. 4 at Salem Home in Hillsboro. She was born July 14, 1933, in Herington and raised by her mother, Helen (Reissig), and stepfather Francis D. Singleton. She was a homemaker. She was a member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Herington, where she was baptized, confirmed, and married. She graduated from Herington High School in 1951.

Allen Sangwin

Allen “Buck” Ray Sangwin, 73, died Monday at his home in White City. He was born April 19, 1940, in Council Grove to William “Bud” and Iva “Kate” Carr Sangwin. He grew up in White City and graduated high school in 1958. He married Joyce Nienstedt on May 27, 1967. They spent their early married life moving between White City, Herington, Abilene, Antelope, Marion, and Emporia before returning to White City in 1970.

A. Wayne Wiens

A. Wayne Wiens, emeritus professor of biology at Bethel College, died unexpectedly Feb. 6. He was born Oct. 31, 1936. He graduated from Hillsboro High School and received a bachelor’s degree in natural science at Bethel College, a master’s in zoology at Kansas State University, and a doctorate in biochemistry and cell biology at Northwestern University.

IN MEMORIAM:

Accidents reported

County Jail arrests and bookings

Criminal division cases

Deeds recorded

Emergency dispatches

Marriage licenses issued

Offenses reported

Police incident reports

Traffic division cases

Local YouTube sensation speaks to national beef conference

“Why do I make videos? Because I can,” Derek Klingenberg said during a presentation Thursday at the Butler County Conservation District Annual Meeting where he gave a talk similar to the one he gave Feb. 10 in Nashville. Klingenberg was invited to speak to a group of American National Cattlewomen before the Cattle Industry Annual Convention and NCBA Trade Show.

Snow keeps wheat safe

For winter wheat crop, snow helps with preservation, but not necessarily because of moisture. Extension Agent Rickey Roberts said when snowfall from the past week melts, the county may receive only three-quarters to half of an inch of moisture into the ground.

Conservation funds available

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has funding to assist Kansas farmers and ranchers renovating shelterbelts and restoring forested riparian buffers, state conservationist Eric B. Banks announced last week. Signup for the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative is due March 21. The USDA will provide $684,000 in assistance for projects in Kansas. Recipients also may receive services or resources from the state forestry agency.

Declining cattle herds lead to increased beef prices

Kansas is home to 5.8 million cattle, but that number is down 1 percent from last year. The decrease has increased beef prices in supermarkets across the state and country. This year the U.S. has 87.7 million head of cattle, the fewest since 1951.

Area cattlemen are industry leaders

Mark Harms of Lincolnville and Tracy Brunner of Ramona are friends, and both play leading roles in the cattle industry. Brunner was elected last week as the vice president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and Harms recently completed a one-year term as the president of the Kansas Livestock Association. KLA is an affiliate of NCBA.

Don't get caught up in TV hype

This week we received an e-mail from an in-county business group informing us that Wichita television stations were going to be here to sell advertising on their stations. “Hope to see as many of you there as we can!” the e-mail gushed. “This will be a great opportunity for our community!” This isn’t the first time I’ve seen local groups trip over themselves in a rush to say what a great deal Wichita TV advertising is. It would be almost comical if it wasn’t competing with local companies who specialize in business promotion.

GUEST COMMENTARY:

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:

After-prom going to Wichita

Hillsboro High School’s Trojan After-Prom Party will be at The Alley in Wichita after the prom on April 12. Activities will include bowling, go-karts, arcade games, and billiards. There will also be food and prizes provided by local businesses.

Senior center programs set

Hillsboro Senior Center will have a business meeting over lunch Tuesday. There will also be a hearing aid check that day. County emergency manager Randy Rank will speak at the center Feb. 21. Storm chasers Clyve Herbert and Jane ONeill, both originally from Australia, will give a presentation with pictures of fall and winter weather Feb. 25.

Goessel scholars win regional and league meets

The Goessel scholars’ bowl team will return to the state tournament after a dominating performance at 1A regionals on Thursday. The Bluebird team of Ben Wiens, Heath Goertzen, Mark Schmidt, Gentry Thiessen, Erin Brubaker, and Zach Wiens went 8-1 in the regional tournament to tie for first with Lebo. Goessel had defeated Lebo 70-20 in the first match of the day, so the Bluebirds won by tie-breaker.

Mildred Vogt to celebrate 90th birthday

Mildred Vogt, formerly of Hillsboro, was born March 1, 1924, on a wind-swept Nebraska homestead. She will celebrate her 90th birthday with a reception with friends and family from 1:30 to 4 p.m. March 2 at Kidron Bethel Village in North Newton. She attended Tabor College in the 1940s, and while there she met Vernon Vogt, who she married. In the 1950s, they and their children traveled to the Belgian Congo as missionaries. She taught childbirth and nutrition classes.

ROUND THE TOWN:

Trojans record wins

Trojans topple Smoky Valley By OLIVIA HASELWOOD Staff writer Hillsboro varsity boy’s basketball pulled off a fast-paced win against Smoky Valley Tuesday, defeating the Vikings 67-36.

Hillsboro wrestlers dual over the weekend

Hillsboro wrestlers had a busy week competing in duals both Thursday at Council Grove, and Saturday at Southeast of Saline. Council Grove defeated Hillsboro 51-30 after several forfeits put them down 30 points.

Lady Trojans split games

Hillsboro smokes Smoky Valley By OLIVIA HASELWOOD Staff writer Hillsboro varsity girls took a while to warm up, but once they did they never slowed down, defeating Smoky Valley 55-30 Tuesday.

Local students make WSU honor roll

Marion County had several representatives out of 2,200 students at Wichita State University make the Dean’s Honor Roll for the 2013 fall semester. Students at the least must earn a 3.5 grade point average and be enrolled in 12 credit hours to make the list. Hillsboro Kelsey E. Bartel, Clara M. Ens, Samantha J. Ens, Brandon R. McMillen, Carroll J. Perry, Benjamin J. Schaefer, and Jordan R. Woelk. Marion Colleen M. Tajchman. Peabody Rebecca J. Morris.

Goessel girls lose in overtime heartbreaker at Centre

Against the highly ranked Cougars at Centre, the Goessel Bluebird girls pushed the home team into overtime before falling 67-58. Goessel started the game attacking from the inside as Alicen Meysing hit from close range and Page Hiebert knocked in two field goals and two free throws. The Bluebirds trailed 11-8 at the end of the first quarter.

Goessel boys defeated at Centre

The Goessel boys fought hard but could not contain the hot hand of senior Ty Simons, who scored 41 points, on Centre’s homecoming game Friday. Goessel had a great flurry of points in the third period to cut a 10-point deficit to one point, though. Goessel traded points with Centre in the first quarter. Lawton Makovec and Ben Wiens, the Bluebirds’ leading scorers for the season, began the scoring for Goessel. But Friday’s contest found balanced scoring for Goessel as Brian Hiebert hit for four points and Kellen Froese notched four points. Goessel trailed 18-17 at the end of one quarter.

Centre's virtual program has growing pains

Vickie Jirak, coordinator of the Kansas Online Learning Program, and her assistants, Sheri Stahlecker and counselor Jill Day, appeared before the Centre school board Monday to ask for more help in administering the program. Jirak noted the program has grown from 21 to 180 enrollees in four years. Currently, nine student learning advocates oversee enrollees. She said the program could grow to 250 enrollees.

USD 411 approves project contractors

Goessel school board approved a lengthy list of contractors recommended by Seth Martin of Loyd Builders, Inc. on Monday that will allow work to begin on the school addition in early March. “There is no exact date set yet,” Superintendent John Fast said. “But work will begin on the west annex and storm shelter within the first two weeks of March.”

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