HILLSBORO Star-Journal

Hillsboro residents fret over Wal-Mart

Two Hillsboro men took Hillsboro City Council to task Tuesday for what they alleged were inconsistencies between zoning regulations and the implementation of the proposed Wal-Mart, as well as issues they had with the conduct of the council. Mark Pankratz touted his experience as a zoning official in Kansas City as he delved point by point into discrepancies he said existed between Hillsboro zoning regulation and the execution of the Wal-Mart land sale. Saying he preferred the answers to his questions in writing by Friday, Pankratz rushed through his critique as the council largely listened.

Kamikaze hawk doesn't deter officer

It had just gotten dark when Hillsboro police officer Brad Richards responded to a domestic disturbance call on Sept. 24 and a rogue hawk slammed into the driver’s side of his police SUV near mile 292 close to Hillsboro. “I had my lights and sirens on and I was just getting up to speed,” Richards said. “I saw its wing span out of the corner of my eye before the hawk hit me.”

Dragons and hedgehogs and snakes - oh my!

Though there were no lions or tigers or bears in attendance, there were some “oh my” moments when an educator with the Sedgwick County Zoo visited Head Start students from Marion and Hillsboro Thursday at Marion Elementary School. Environmental educator Jan Brock showed a room full of fidgeting big-eyed students a bearded dragon, a hedgehog, and a Honduran milk snake, after reading “Edward the Emu,” a story about an emu who was sick of the zoo.

Activists hit the road for pro-life cause

Local motorists accustomed to seeing a solitary billboard as they round the curve on US-56 at the Hillsboro Cove turnoff at Marion Reservoir had 40 more signs to look at Sunday. Pro-life Marion and Hillsboro church members gathered at the corner to form what pro-life activist group Kansans for Life calls a “Life Chain.” Teen-agers, middle-agers, and senior citizens stood along the shoulder waving placards with pro-life messages at each car and truck that drove past.

Annual toy run will be held on Nov. 1

In effort to benefit county underprivileged children, the 21st annual Marion County Toy Run will begin at 1 p.m. Nov. 1 at Sher Bowl Lanes in Marion. Participants are asked to bring one new toy as an entry fee. After the run, toys will be collected for distribution at Hillsboro State Bank in Hillsboro.

After delay, ruling allows counties to print ballots

A ruling handed down by the Shawnee County District Court has allowed for county offices statewide to submit finished election ballots for printing, for which the normal deadline is Sept. 15. “We’ve been waiting quite a while for this ruling to come out,” Marion County Clerk Tina Spencer said.

Suspect bill turns out to be genuine

A $10 bill originally suspected to be a counterfeit by ALCO employees on Sept. 29 turned out to be a bona fide denomination of U.S. currency. Store manager Robert Berens said one of his cashiers alerted him that a pen used to detect counterfeit bills had indicated the bill was a fake.

Don't mess with Marion County

Despite an impassioned appeal from Marion resident Wayne Johnston, the edict from the county remained the same: Clean up your mess, or else. Johnston’s property at 20 Prairie Lane at Marion County Lake has been the target of complaints from area residents, and the county imposed a deadline of Oct. 31 upon Johnston to clean up his property.

'Gourdzilla' devours flower bed

It devoured an entire flowerbed, part of a lawn, and spawned 196 gourds at the home of Amy and Tim Richmond in the otherwise sleepy town of Marion. Although one may wonder if an enormous snarl of ornamental gourd plants dubbed “Gourdzilla” is the result of an atomic experiment gone wrong, the source of this monstrous growth was something far less sinister.

Chamber luncheon to honor Friesen

Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce will honor Cora Friesen at its Oct. luncheon Tuesday at noon in the Scout House. Friesen will be recognized for her 28 years of business with Quick Flick-Radio Shack.

Disappeared towns to be topic of presentation

Speaker M.J. Morgan will give a “Lost Kansas Communities” presentation at 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Marion City Library as part of a free Kansas Humanities series the library puts on each year. Kansas has nearly 9,000 disappeared towns and communities, caused by unusual and spectacularly fast settlement history. The variety of town types — from colony to end-of-line towns to rural communities — is as striking as the stories of failure and persistence left behind.

Chili cook-off serves up engagement

A large crowd at the Marion County Park and Lake chili cook-off Saturday kept Travis Schafer of Marion busy dishing out servings of his father Karl’s first-place chili, but he took a break from the serving line to surprise his girlfriend by dropping to a knee and offering a marriage proposal. “That’s the last thing I was thinking of,” Nicky May said, who accepted. “I was thinking how hot my mouth was from that chili I just ate. It was a complete surprise. I knew he had it in him, but I had no idea it would be today.”

Chamber to pass out Halloween candy

Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce is requesting donations of candy from local businesses to hand out during Trick or Treat Main Street on Oct. 31. Any business can bring items or money to the Chamber office. The goal is to have 450 to 500 bags of candy to pass out for the event, which will be from 5 to 7 p.m.

Delores Kerbs

Deloris May Kerbs, 83, of Salina, passed away Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. She was born Oct. 23, 1930, to Ed J. and Alvina (Beisel) Bartel in Marion, Kansas. Deloris graduated from Tampa High School. She enjoyed painting, gardening and reading.

Dolores Ottensmeier

Dolores M. Ottensmeier, 84, formerly of Marion, died Sept. 30 at Asbury Park in Newton. Graveside services were to be held Friday at Marion Cemetery.

Larry Funk

Former Funks Supply co-owner Larry Allen Funk, 68, died Sept. 29 at Asbury Park in Newton. He was born Feb. 5, 1946, to Allen J. and Leona (Wiens) Funk in Hillsboro. In addition to the supply business, he was an electronics and heating and air conditioning technician. He was predeceased by a brother, Delbert.

Darlene Unruh

Darlene L. Unruh, 86, died Sunday at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro. She was born Sept. 29, 1928, to Alfred and Susie (Jantz) Redger at Tampa.

Thomas Meade

Thomas Francis Meade, 81, died Saturday at Pine Village in Moundridge. A funeral service will be Dec. 13 in Virginia.

Civil division

County jail

Criminal division

Deeds recorded

Emergency dispatches

Police reports

Traffic division

It's the best of times for cattle producers

The law of gravity dictates that “what goes up must come down.” Whether it applies to the cattle industry is the question of the day. Cattlemen experience good times and bad times. Sometimes they lose money and sometimes they make money.

Record beef prices a boon for farmers, bane for shoppers

Jerry Hess has been working behind the meat counter at Carlsons’ Grocery Store for nearly 25 years, and he can’t recall seeing beef prices like the ones customers have seen in recent months. “Within the last year or two it’s really raised,” Hess said. “It’s kind of leveled out for now.”

Showing livestock a way of life for Geis

The daily goat run began shortly after 7 a.m. Lisa Geis would take her four goats, Slick, Spot, Sid, and Stela, down to the mailbox posted just beside the “Geis Farm” sign that stood over the mud and rock of 300th Rd. in the northwest reaches of Marion County. The four goats, who knew what all this meant — food — would be released from the ATV they had been loaded onto.

County 4-Hers to celebrate 4-H Week

Members of Marion County 4-H clubs will come together Sunday at the fairgrounds in Hillsboro to paint fences and clean up the grounds. It is their collective way of celebrating 4-H Week, an event that marks the beginning of a new 4-H year. Extension agent Ricky Roberts said, judging by the numbers, 4-H has a “healthy” presence in the county. He said about 200 young people were enrolled in county 4-H clubs in the 2013-14 year. He expects that number to remain steady.

ROUND THE TOWN:

NORTHWEST DURHAM:

Goessel wins league volleyball title

The Goessel volleyball team captured the Wheat State League title Sept. 30, capping an unblemished league record by defeating Wakefield. The Bluebirds grounded the Bombers in two sets 25-7, 25-7. Wakefield got on the scoreboard first, but Goessel rattled off 14 consecutive points to take command in the first set. In the second set, with Alyssa Booton serving, Goessel scored the first 9 points en route to its victory.

Last minute denial sinks Trojans, 21-20

A game filled with big defensive stands ended with the biggest, as Smoky Valley stopped Hillsboro’s Justus Hilliard inches shy of the goal line on a last-minute conversion attempt to preserve a 21-20 win Friday over the visiting Trojans. The play was a sour ending to a furious Trojan comeback in the game’s final seven minutes.

Team gives its 'best performance of the year'

Hillsboro cross country runners ran exceptional races Thursday at Berean Academy, according to coach Stuart Holmes. “Overall, it was the team’s best performance of the year,” Holmes said.

Goessel cross country competes in rain

Even in the rain and the cold, all three Goessel boys ran the 5 kilometer race in their fastest times of the season Thursday at the Berean Academy invitational cross-country meet at Harvey County East Park. In the girls division, Rachel Manis earned a 16th place medal in the varsity race, and Jen Meysing finished 19th out of 40 runners. Maxine Keyse finished eighth in the junior varsity race with her best time of the season, and Elna Wesener came in 15th.

Hillsboro tennis places 7th at league

Hillsboro’s tennis team placed seventh out of 11 teams competing at Lyons Saturday in the Central Kansas League tournament. After beating Jade Hoover, an opponent from Pratt, Hillsboro senior Allison Weber faced Bessa Bwalya of Hosington, who is one of the top players in the state, according to coach Bob Woelk.

Little River defeats Goessel

In the first district football game of the season Friday, Goessel was soundly defeated by Little River, 54-8. The loss dropped the Bluebirds’ record to 1-4.

Return to current issue