BREAKING NEWS
UPDATED AFTER PRINT DEADLINE
In-person classes to resume after winter break
By PHYLLIS ZORN
Staff writer
Because a staff member at Centre school tested positive for COVID-19 and several students and staff are direct contacts, preschool through 5th grade classes were switched to online only through the Dec. 18 start of winter break.
Monday's 14-day COVID-19 positivity rate of 25.5% is the county's lowest since The Marion County Record began regularly tracking the statistic Nov. 2, though the rate still is significantly above levels regarded as safe.
Even a 14-day positivity rate of 20% is regarded as highly dangerous, and the state department of education recommends canceling face-to-face classes in public schools whenever a community's rate of positive tests exceeds 10%. See Centre preschool through fifth grade now remote for Thursday's update on changes to Centre schools.
Marion County had two pieces of good COVID-19 news this past week, that the recent surge in new cases continued to ebb Monday, and that there soon could be a vaccine available.
Despite the flow of cases slowing to its lowest point since Halloween, numbers remain at levels unprecedented before the surge began.
The county courthouse, locked down two weeks ago because of fast-rising COVID-19, is now open again.
Commissioners two weeks ago ordered courthouse doors locked. Only people with appointments who called inside were admitted.
Fewer people turned out for a Jingle Junk sale at Marion’s Community Center this year but Santa and Mrs. Santa were still stars Saturday during its Holly Jolly Christmas celebrations.
Gene Winkler, who provided music for the event, said it was well attended despite COVID-19 concerns.
County commissioners may be looking to cut bait after the park and lake supervisor told them a businessman hired a year ago to rebuild a heated boat dock has yet to get a performance bond for the job.
Lake supervisor Isaac Hett said he has been able to reach Ben Baxter, the owner of Ben’s Boat Docks in Kechi, hired a year ago to rebuild the dock after it was destroyed in a July 4, 2019, storm.
Marion city councilmen got an up-close look at two new charging stations for electric cars Monday.
The chargers, at the west edge of the Historic Elgin Hotel parking lot, have already been used for an electric car owned by Kansas Power Pool.
The audio was touch-and-go, but the experience of being interviewed by the “Today” show was still very exciting, Peabody Community Foundation director Becky Nickel said.
Having your town recognized nationally is stunning, she said.
The road to Peabody’s burn pit was so bad Linda Martinez didn’t try to get through on a recent trip to dump a load of brush. She opted to avoid maneuvering around deep holes filled with water.
“I didn’t dare drive through them because I didn’t know if I was going to get out of them,” she said. “I ended up driving around to the north side and literally dumping out into the grass field where I wouldn’t get stuck, as far out of the way as I could. I also had a lot of people ask me about it.”
Replacement of waterlines for a third of Marion will soon begin. Council members at Monday’s meeting accepted a $2.7 million bid from Ditch Diggers Inc. for the long discussed project.
Replacement of water pipes, many of which are 100 years old, has been discussed for years. City administrator Roger Holter said no starting date has been set.
Hillsboro will make minor amendments to its 2020 budget to avoid violations, but the changes have little financial impact.
Expenses traditionally paid from the general fund were shifted to the Special Highway fund in the spring, and the gas tax produced more revenue than expected.
Services for Alvena Bartel, 94, Hillsboro, who died Nov. 24, were Nov. 25 at Haven of Rest Cemetery in rural Hillsboro.
Born July 28, 1926, in Goessel to John and Florentine (Ratzlaff) Goossen, she married Wilbert Bartel Feb. 7, 1947, at First Mennonite Church in Hillsboro.
Private family services will be held for Georgia Alice Spohn, 101, Tampa, who died Nov. 30 at St. Luke Living Center in Marion.
Born Sept. 20, 1919, in Marion to George and Ruth (Beaston) Pankratz, she married Edward Spohn in 1940 in McPherson.
Services for Arlene Ruth Unruh, 89, Peabody, who died Nov. 24 at Peabody Health and Rehab, will be at a later date.
Private burial will be at Prairie Lawn Cemetery, Peabody.
IN MEMORIAM:
Dee Duggan
Christmas tree farming is a niche industry in Kansas, but for second-generation tree farmer Ardie Goering it’s, in part, about continuing a legacy.
Her parents started the Pine Creek Farm in the 1970s, and she and her husband took over the business in 2007.
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you. The challenge is in separating real conspiracies from fake ones.
Whether they come from insidious insinuations inserted by Russian hackers or initially well-meaning fears fanned by fringe commentators somehow profiting off them, we clearly have more than enough unfounded theories to choke a democracy on.
Well, the Duke is no more. He bit the bullet, and he’s gone to the great beyond. (If there is such a place for chickens. I mean, why not?) He’s pushing up daisies — although really, something ate him.
There were a few tail feathers by the little chicken hatch — that’s it. And it was a shame because he’d molted earlier and had just grown in those new feathers. He sacrificed himself for the greater good, in my book, since the hens are more useful.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
Calendar of events
Mark Rogers knew at a young age that his calling was to help others.
“I decided I wanted to serve people when I was in high school and I went to college with that in mind,” he said. “I wanted to serve people through my church, so I went to college with a mindset to know the Bible.”
MEMORIES:
10,
25,
55,
70,
100,
140 years ago
Sixteen players from county teams received all-league football honors this week, with 6 players from Hillsboro netting Central Kansas League honors, while 10 players were tabbed for Wheat State League honors between Goessel, Peabody-Burns, and Centre.
Hillsboro had three players make CKL’s first team, with junior Frank Wichert named at wide receiver, senior Austin Rempel at defensive line, and Matthew Potucek at defensive back. Potucek also received second-team honors at quarterback, as well as Rempel at offensive line, and senior Dillon Boldt at kicker. Boldt received honorable mention for his wide receiver play, as did junior Tristan Rathbone at linebacker, and Frank Wichert at defensive back.
Centre’s annual winter flower sale will be 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, with red and a few white poinsettias available.
The flowers were grown by horticulture students, who learned about plant anatomy, pest control, identification, and determining the best conditions to help their plants grow.
Tabor art professor Shin-hee Chin was named as “best in show” this past week for her quilt “Trees in late Autumn, 2020” at Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn, New York.
Chin’s work was selected from 70-plus entries by more than 50 fiber artists from around the world who competed in the annual juried quilt exhibition.
Tabor College’s annual live performance of Handel’s “Messiah” is canceled this year.
Instead, Tabor will broadcast its 2019 performance at 3 p.m. Dec. 6 online at tabor.edu/messiah2020.