BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
As of 1 p.m. Friday, Hillsboro Community Hospital is under management of Shawnee, Oklahoma-based Cohesive Healthcare Management + Consulting.
Geary County district judge Ryan Rosauer’s late Friday morning ruling appointed Cohesive temporary manager of the hospital after an ex-parte hearing with lawyers for Bank of Hays and the City of Hillsboro. Both parties filed a joint motion late Thursday afternoon asking that Cohesive be appointed receiver.
Monday’s county commission meeting started and ended with drama.
Before the gavel was struck to begin the meeting, someone —apparently by accident — triggered a panic button in the courthouse security system. In response, sheriff Rob Craft and deputy James Philpott scurried to the commission room to check out what was going on and ensure everything was OK.
Although Hillsboro Community Hospital’s utility service was scheduled to be shut off at noon Friday because of $28,644.31 in unpaid bills, someone averted shutoff that morning by paying about half the balance due.
The city was paid $16,664.31 Friday morning, according to a press release sent out by city administrator Larry Paine. Paine declined to say who had made the payment.
Marion board of education approved several new hires at its meeting Monday, including a pair of music directors.
Ruth Springer was hired as vocal music director for therest of the current school year, with Steven Glover hired as instrumental music director for the 2019-2020 school year.
The first grain elevator in Lincolnville, built in the 1890s, burned down. The second elevator, built in 1906 and 1907 on the same site, experienced the same fate, but this time, it was planned.
The elevator was taken down in the past two weeks, with metal parts set aside and lumber piled up and burned.
Maintaining an online presence is increasingly important, but trips to some of Marion County’s city websites show pages that are behind the times.
Goessel is among the municipalities feeling the struggle.
A planned power outage to make substation and switchgear upgrades and repairs in Marion has been rescheduled to Jan. 29-30.
“We rely on the engineering firm to have qualified people on site for their expertise and everyone’s safety,” city administrator Roger Holter said. “They notified us they had a conflict on Jan. 15 and 16, and asked to reschedule to the later date.”
US-50 highway began as local stretches of trail roads before being linked together into a transcontinental route running from New York to Los Angeles. In Kansas, it runs from Kansas City to the Colorado line west of Syracuse.
In Marion County, the original touring route zigzagged through the county on trails that took numerous turns, roughly following the present US-50.
Hillsboro Police Department recently received new preliminary breath testers that Families and Communities Together purchased using Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition funds.
The new PBTs were approved for Hillsboro because its instruments were the oldest, FACT executive director Ashlee Gann said.
With December clothing expenses of $664.07, including $18.75 in dry cleaning, it would seem the Marion County Sheriff’s Department are the best dressed in the county.
But when looking at cash expenditures independently, the expenses make sense.
Evan Stout, 67, Emporia, was seriously injured Monday when a semi headed north on K-15 crashed into his truck headed east on US-56 at 8:35 p.m.
Jonathan Hewitt, 37, Wichita, failed to stop his 2007 International semi at a stop sign due to dense fog, crashing into Stout’s 2018 Chevrolet Silverado. Hewitt had no apparent injuries, but Stout required assistance to be extricated from his vehicle. Stout was taken to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita by Marion ambulance.
A farewell reception will be held for county attorney Courtney Boehm 10:30 a.m. to noon Jan. 22 in the hallway of Marion County Courthouse’s top floor. Refreshments, including cookies and coffee, will be available.
Boehm leaves her position in late January to become a district judge in Geary County.
Game warden Evan Deneke has been assigned to work in Marion County by Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism.
Deneke will also work in McPherson County, game warden Hal Kaina who works in McPherson and Rice Counties said.
A fun, relaxing movie kicked off the new year for 20th Century Club members who met Jan. 7 at the home of Jami Mayfield.
Hosts were Carol Laue and Marge Summervill.
A Bank of Hays petition for mortgage foreclosure against Hillsboro Community Hospital is likely to be a drawn-out process because of the number of defendants who have interests in the matter.
Bank of Hays seeks a court order that the sheriff sell the hospital building and its contents, then distribute the proceeds first to Marion County to cover $322,322 in unpaid property taxes, and next to Bank of Hays toward more than $9.8 million owed on the mortgage, interest, and costs of the lawsuit.
The consensus among car enthusiasts is that when the cold wind blows, the classic cars are stowed away until the spring. Roger Kaiser and his 1934 Ford sedan are bucking that trend.
“I get out and drive it every two or three weeks, I don’t put it in storage,” he said. “It’s the best thing for it.”
Keeping vehicles in good condition is important all year, but consequences change during the winter.
Not being prepared can leave drivers on the side of the road, unfit to take on the elements.
It’s not uncommon for vehicle owners to check their tires or batteries, but how about the headlights?
Most headlight covers are made of plastic, and exposure to sunlight breaks down the plastic coating, producing discoloration that obscures the amount of light put out.
Services for former carpenter and barber John Phillip McClaskey, 82, of Marion, will be 9 a.m. Saturday at Glidden-Ediger Chapel, McPherson. He died Jan. 10 at St. Luke Living Center, Marion.
Burial will be 10:30 a.m. in McPherson Cemetery.
Services for Vivian Mueller, 88, who died Jan. 12, will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro.
Burial will be in Marion Cemetery at 10 a.m. prior to services. Visitation will be 7-8 p.m. Friday at Zeiner Funeral Home, Marion.
Mark F. Coitrone, 27, Marion, jailed since Aug. 31.
Johnny A. Dolph, 46, Florence, since Oct. 22.
I’d love nothing more than to regale you this week with the latest achievements of my multi- talented cat, who as a grand-pet for the past month learned numerous new begging techniques from her grand-mistress.
Or I could seek your sympathy for having torn the front and rear bumpers off my car by striking debris from a semi blowout this weekend while driving back to Illinois, where I found that a coolant leak in the ceiling of my office at the university had sprayed my office equipment and furnishings with a toxic chemical.
ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:
A winter wonderlandCALENDAR:
Calendar of events
There was a time when foot pedal sewing machines were all the rage; but no more.
Since these machines are what sisters Carol Riggs and Paula Perry of Marion’s Sew What Quilt Shop know from childhood, the oldies but goodies have a special place in their hearts and store.
Jackie Klenda and James Riddel announce their upcoming wedding Feb. 2 at St. John Catholic Church in Pilsen.
Parents of the bride-elect are Val and Julie Klenda of Lincolnville. The groom’s parents are John and Donna Riddel of Wichita.
A new drop-off location is available for food donations to Marion County Food Bank and Resource Center.
County Seat Decorating Center, 130 E Main St., will be a permanent collection center because the food bank only accepts donations when it is open Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons.
The family of Pauline Kristek requests a card shower for her 85th birthday. Cards can be sent to her at 2043 Marc, Salina KS 67401.
Marion Casey’s hours took a change for the shorter Sunday after 1½ years of being open 24/7.
The store’s new hours are 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. According to Mike Richardson, vice president of marketing, there is no reduction in the number of employees.
What was life like hundreds of years ago for the Osage and other local native tribes? Where are they now?
Annie Wilson of Elmdale, along with Osage tribal elders, cultural experts, artists, land managers, and educators, has developed 60 online lessons on native people of the Flint Hills.
After a year of business in Marion, owners Diane and Terry Stubblefield officially closed War Bird Pizza.
The business took too much time from Diane’s work schedule and was a strain on her husband’s health, she said. They have converted the 800-sq. ft. space into a two bedroom, one bathroom house for personal use.
SENIOR CENTER:
Seniors learn about origin of casserole recipe,
Marion Senior Center menuMEMORIES:
10,
25,
40,
55,
70,
110,
140 years agoMEMORIES IN FOCUS:
When politics really were rough and tumble
Alcohol and a Herington location were two issues of concern Monday when Centre board members learned about a major fundraiser being planned by Centre Parents and Teachers Organization.
A March 30 adult-only Centre Pride Night will include a meal and raffle. Participants can purchase a ticket for an adult beverage along with a ticket for the meal.
The Marion Warriors fell hard Friday against Hutchinson Trinity, with the boys and girls teams each taking a 28-point loss.
The girls posted a respectable mark on defense, holding the Hutch Trinity under 50 points. It was scoring that proved to be the difficult task, as they lost 45-17, which dropped them to 1-9.
After consecutive victories against Herington and Peabody-Burns by both Centre girls and boys teams, Little River came to town Friday and defeated them. The boys lost, 70-58; the girls, 54-40.
Boys
The Cougars had a great first half against the state-ranked Redskins. Jensen Riffel, Xavier Espinoza, and Jacob Hird led the way to an 18-16 lead after one quarter.
Because of forecasted inclement weather Friday and Saturday, the last two days of the Cougar Classic have been moved forward two days.
Games scheduled for Friday are being played today, and those scheduled for Saturday will be played Thursday.
Mini-doughnuts are a unique feature this week at Centre High School’s Cougar Classic.
Marion graduate Rebecca Alstatt and her husband, Brett, have a franchise with The Dapper Donut, a company based in Las Vegas.
While the Marion wrestling team is down in numbers with only five healthy competitors, quality over quantity has been a factor.
The Warriors snagged 14th place out of 21 schools at the Halstead Invitational Friday and Saturday with 51 points.
8th grade — Brooklyn Smith
7th grade — Jenna Bittle, Leah Brunner, Kindleigh Clark, Sarah David, Riley Janow, Karsen Kroupa, Isabel Rziha, Elizabeth Smith, Kenide Steiner, Alexandria Stuchlik, Payton Svitak.
Honors