Marion County RECORD

HEADLINES

Vandal redirects Marion's website
People who went to the city of Marion’s website by means of a Google or Bing search Wednesday through midday Tuesday found themselves where they didn’t intend to go. Instead of Marion’s homepage, a website for an online pharmacy that sold drugs to treat erectile dysfunction came up.
Inmate cuts wrist
Tanner Jasper, 21, a county jail inmate, was taken to St. Luke Hospital at 8:43 p.m. Monday after he cut his wrist with a piece of metal in his cell. The injury was not life threatening or serious, but did require stitches, sheriff Rob Craft said.
Taxpayer blasts county
Lloyd Meier minced no words when he gave two county commissioners a piece of his mind Monday. On his list of irritations were road repair money owed to the county by Diamond Vista wind farm in the northern portion of the county and money lost on a covered fishing dock at the county lake.
Camper dies at reservoir
A woman found not breathing at 12:24 p.m. Sunday at Marion Reservoir near a campsite was pronounced dead at St. Luke Hospital after being transported there by Marion ambulance. At deadline Tuesday, the coroner, sheriff’s department, and emergency crews still were refusing to release the woman’s name, but did say she was not from Marion County.
Harvest (and young farmer) get under way
Alan Vogel’s family spent Fathers Day weekend working together as wheat harvest kicked off in the county. His four children — Allyson, 10, Kelsey, 8, and twins Landon and Justin, 5 — waited their turn to ride with him in the shade of a harvest truck.
Likely drunken driver plunges car into lake ravine
A possibly intoxicated woman in her 40s drove her car off Lakeshore Dr. and into a steep ravine east of the Marion County lake dam at 6:27 p.m. Monday. Although the vehicle was partially overturned midway down a steep embankment, rescue squad members dispatched to the scene were not needed to free her.

OTHER NEWS

Towns could reap $1.16 million
Another round of federal coronavirus relief money available could bring a total of $1.16 million to Marion County — if cities ask for it. The American Rescue Plan Act targets strategic investments intended to build better, resilient, and more inclusive local economies.
Prosecutor to investigate Burns
County attorney Joel Ensey is investigating possible violations of the state open meetings law by the Burns city council. Ruckuses at recent meetings have had a sheriff’s deputy summoned and the city police chief clear the room.
Algae warnings issued for lakes
Blue-green algae warnings were issued Thursday for both Marion Reservoir and Marion County Lake. The reservoir had been under an algae warning and the lake under a less serious algae watch.
Man accused of fondling 2 kids
A 30-year-old Peabody man was charged Thursday with two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. The charges involve two children and are filed as separate cases.
Thouvenell trial set to begin
Trial is scheduled to begin today for an adoptive grandfather charged in 2017 with 12 counts of aggravated indecent liberties with children and one count of battery. In a case prosecuted by the attorney general’s office, Jerry Thouvenell was charged in February 2017 for alleged offenses involving three victims between Jan. 1, 2012, and Aug. 8, 2016.
Cat goes down the drain
Marion police were met June 14 with an unusual sight of two young girls crouched down by a storm drain on the west side of 5th St. in Marion. A witness called officers out of fear that the girls would fall down the drain, but it turned out that the girls merely were trying to lure their housecat out of the storm sewer a block from their home.

AUTO

Museum shows history on wheels
Despite heat and harvest, Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum’s 14th annual car show attracted nearly two dozen historical vehicles. “We get to see classic cars and trucks, and the people get to sit and visit,” Fern Bartel, museum director, said. “It’s a wonderful time.”
Freshman finds way from field to freeway
Most kids from urban areas are afraid of driving in the country, with looming threats from deer and rough roads. Colby Nafzinger is more intimidated by the city. “Driving in downtown Newton wasn’t fun,” Colby said about his experience in driver’s ed. “I don’t have a lot of driving experience in towns.”

DEATHS

Marvin Koehn
Services for carpenter Marvin Koehn, 92, who died Thursday at his residence in Hillsboro, were Monday at Alexanderfeld Mennonite Church, rural Hillsboro. Burial was in the church cemetery. Born May 18, 1929, to Mano and Eva (Jantz) Koehn in Isabella, Oklahoma, he married Erma Smith on March 8, 1953, in DeRidder, Louisiana.
David Sheppard
Services for David Sheppard, 68, former director of the Marion County Special Ed Co-Op, will be 3 p.m. Saturday at Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church, Hillsboro. He died April 28, 2021, at his home in Hillsboro. Born March 5, 1953, in Smith Center to R.G. and Eda Sheppard, he married Marla Pruitt on Dec. 20, 1997, in Lawrence.
Wilmer Thiessen
Services for Wilmer Henry Thiessen, 89, who passed away from this life on earth to his heavenly home on Dec. 19 in Wichita, will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Parkview Church, Hillsboro. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Hildegard; his brother, Virgil Thiessen; his children, Charlene Thiessen, Lynette Roth, Shaun Thiessen, and Vonda Kinser; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
IN MEMORIAM:
Miny Swigart
IN MEMORIAM:
Dale Honeck

DOCKET

FEATURES

Microfilm preserves fallen soldiers
Marion City Library’s microfilm viewer is 18 years old, no longer prints images, is out of focus, has sticking buttons, and is Melissa Methvin’s best source for soldier obituaries not available anywhere else. Methvin is a volunteer for Story Behind the Stars, a project in which volunteers write life sketches of World War II soldiers. It is associated with Fold3, a military records website that works in tandem with Ancestry.com.
Riding to the desert on a horse with no name
Oliver McCloskey created quite a stir Monday and Tuesday when he rode his haflinger and quarter horse paint mare down Marion’s Main St. and stopped overnight in Central Park. A mountain man who looks the part wearing handmade buckskin clothes and carrying a black powder rifle, he was traveling from Fort Scott to Santa Fe, New Mexico, roughly along the route of the 200-year-old Santa Fe Trail.
Seeing the USA, just not in a Chevrolet
When he set out from Montrose, Colorado, three weeks ago, Tyler Jones didn’t think he would be riding into a furnace. As he pedaled through Marion on Sunday, the temperature was over 100 degrees.
Community is sold on idea of garage sales
Both sides of a garage sale find a thrill in haggling for items. “Are you sure you only want one?” a seller asks as a buyer approaches with half of a pair of miniature shopping carts. “Those two have been together forever. I’ll take $2 off if you take both.”

OPINION

A serious game of hacky sack
This week’s editorial will focus on — We interrupt for a message from somewhere deep in the sub-sub-basement of the Kremlin:
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
Getting back to normal
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Chiming in, Thankless jobs

PEOPLE

4-H fundraiser doles out donuts
Marion County may have many things, but it lacks a Krispy Kreme Donuts location. The Goessel Goal-Getters 4-H club rectified this with a recent fundraiser, partnering with a Krispy Kreme location in Wichita to sell donuts and coffee. The club more frequently does bake sales and sells baseball concessions to raise money for local organizations, camp scholarships, and its own activities.
Publisher honored
Record publisher Eric Meyer was notified this week that he has been included for the 25th time on a list of instructors rated as excellent by their students in his full-time job as a tenured journalism professor at the University of Illinois. The honor is based on student evaluations of his spring semester classes.
Insurance agent honored
Hillsboro insurance agent Jayson Hanschu was notified this week that he has been named an all-American agent by American Family Insurance. The award honors agents for their commitment to customers.
Calendar of events
Meatloaf a favorite for seniors
You can’t please everyone, but Kathy Bernhardt, the cook at Marion Senior Center, does her best. “They just did a survey for favorite meals, and our meatloaf took No. 1” Bernhardt said. “Fried chicken and country fried steaks were runners-up.”
Senior center menus
MEMORIES:
10, 25, 40, 55, 70, 100, 140 years ago

SCHOOL

College degrees and honors

MORE…

HOVER OVER IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT

One of Marion farmer Alan Vogel's twin boys joins him in the cab of his combine Saturday during wheat harvest. The family spent Fathers Day weekend harvesting.

Addie Edmundson, 8, reads to Sissy as library employee Sarah Stauffer looks on.

Oliver McCloskey rides his horse in Marion's Central Park, where he spent Monday night

Car hoods crisscross in front of Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum's main building for its 14th annual car show Saturday.

Marion County RECORD

People who went to the city of Marion’s website by means of a Google or Bing search Wednesday through midday Tuesday found themselves where they didn’t intend to go. Instead of Marion’s homepage, a website for an online pharmacy that sold drugs to treat erectile dysfunction came up.

Tanner Jasper, 21, a county jail inmate, was taken to St. Luke Hospital at 8:43 p.m. Monday after he cut his wrist with a piece of metal in his cell. The injury was not life threatening or serious, but did require stitches, sheriff Rob Craft said.

Lloyd Meier minced no words when he gave two county commissioners a piece of his mind Monday. On his list of irritations were road repair money owed to the county by Diamond Vista wind farm in the northern portion of the county and money lost on a covered fishing dock at the county lake.

Alan Vogel’s family spent Fathers Day weekend working together as wheat harvest kicked off in the county. His four children — Allyson, 10, Kelsey, 8, and twins Landon and Justin, 5 — waited their turn to ride with him in the shade of a harvest truck.

Another round of federal coronavirus relief money available could bring a total of $1.16 million to Marion County — if cities ask for it. The American Rescue Plan Act targets strategic investments intended to build better, resilient, and more inclusive local economies.

County attorney Joel Ensey is investigating possible violations of the state open meetings law by the Burns city council. Ruckuses at recent meetings have had a sheriff’s deputy summoned and the city police chief clear the room.

Blue-green algae warnings were issued Thursday for both Marion Reservoir and Marion County Lake. The reservoir had been under an algae warning and the lake under a less serious algae watch.

A 30-year-old Peabody man was charged Thursday with two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. The charges involve two children and are filed as separate cases.

Despite heat and harvest, Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum’s 14th annual car show attracted nearly two dozen historical vehicles. “We get to see classic cars and trucks, and the people get to sit and visit,” Fern Bartel, museum director, said. “It’s a wonderful time.”

IN MEMORIAM:

IN MEMORIAM:

When he set out from Montrose, Colorado, three weeks ago, Tyler Jones didn’t think he would be riding into a furnace. As he pedaled through Marion on Sunday, the temperature was over 100 degrees.

Both sides of a garage sale find a thrill in haggling for items. “Are you sure you only want one?” a seller asks as a buyer approaches with half of a pair of miniature shopping carts. “Those two have been together forever. I’ll take $2 off if you take both.”

This week’s editorial will focus on — We interrupt for a message from somewhere deep in the sub-sub-basement of the Kremlin:

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

Hillsboro insurance agent Jayson Hanschu was notified this week that he has been named an all-American agent by American Family Insurance. The award honors agents for their commitment to customers.

You can’t please everyone, but Kathy Bernhardt, the cook at Marion Senior Center, does her best. “They just did a survey for favorite meals, and our meatloaf took No. 1” Bernhardt said. “Fried chicken and country fried steaks were runners-up.”

MEMORIES: