PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin

Scott to fill Peabody council vacancy

Peabody Mayor Larry Larsen exercised his option Monday night to appoint a replacement to the city council seat vacated by Jim Philpott in December. Legacy Park Administrator David Scott was Larsen’s choice. Scott was sworn in and took his seat at the council table.

Ambulance calls for 2009 surpass 1,100

Marion County Emergency Medical Services responded to 1,102 ambulance calls in 2009, Director Steve Smith said Monday in a meeting with Marion County Commission. The agency was on-pace for much of the year to surpass 2008’s record-setting 1,151 calls, but ambulance calls dipped beginning in October.

Rec Commission announces schedule

Anyone interested in playing basketball, watching the Wichita State Shockers play Indiana State, or claiming bragging rights as a champion pheasant hunter may be interested in activities planned in 2010. Peabody-Burns Recreation Commission has mailed to district patrons a schedule of events and activities for the 2010 winter season. There is still time to sign up for many of the activities and events the rec commission has planned.

Community foundation grant deadline approaches

Friday is the deadline for completing applications for a grant from Peabody Community Foundation. The applications should be returned to Sharlene Brooks at USD 398 central office by the end of the business day. The grant amount will be at least $300 although the amount requested and the types of projects selected will determine whether one or more grants are funded.

Moran seeks summer interns

Congressman Jerry Moran announced Monday that he is accepting applications for paid congressional internships in his Washington, D.C., and Kansas offices for the summer 2010 term. Interns working in Moran’s offices will gain a better understanding of the legislative process, develop writing and communication skills, and become better acquainted with Kansas leaders and organizations.

Women’s ag conference scheduled for Feb.

Partners in agriculture, business managers, producers, farm homemakers, absentee landlords, and helpers are encouraged to attend the Women Managing the Farm Conference Feb. 5-6 in Wichita. Kristy Archuleta, Kansas State University faculty member, financial educator, and conference coordinator said the conference is intended for women who are involved in agriculture.

Census count determines federal funding

Responding to the U.S. Census is important because more than $400 billion of federal funds are apportioned each year based on population, Topeka Local Census Office Manager Nancee Torkelson said Thursday. Food programs, adult education, and social services are among the programs funded based on population, she said.

Intangibles tax return due April 15

Marion County voters ended the countywide intangibles tax in a November 2008 election, and the change goes into effect this year. Intangibles tax is collected on gross earnings from savings accounts, stocks, bonds, accounts receivable, and mortgages, according to a mailing from Kansas Department of Revenue.

New IRS tax rules are a benefit for local taxpayers

More workers and working families are eligible for the earned income tax credit. In particular, expanded benefits are now available for those with three or more qualifying children and married couples. The EITC helps taxpayers whose incomes are below certain income thresholds, which in 2009 rise to $48,279 for families with three or more qualifying children, $45,295 for those with two or more children, $40,463 for people with one child, and $18,440 for those with no children.

IRAs help delay tax payments

The Internal Revenue Service is encouraging taxpayers to invest in retirement accounts by giving tax breaks to those who do. The tax bill due on retirement savings can be significantly less with individual retirement accounts or IRAs.

Accidents

Civil division

County jail

Criminal division

Deeds reported

Domestic divsion

Hillsboro police report

Marion incident reports

Marion police report

Sheriff report

Small claims

Traffic report

Robert Johnson

Robert W. “Bobby” Johnson, 71, of Florence, died Jan. 7 at Mercy Hospital, Moundridge. Born June 20, 1938, in Querida, Colo., to Lee and Opal (Jones) Johnson, he was a retired machinist.

Ola Kottwitz

Ola Frances Kottwitz, formerly of Peabody, died Monday, January 11, 2010, at the St. Luke Living Center. She was 91 years old. She was a retired nurse aid having worked at Bethel Deaconess Hospital in Newton and the Peabody Memorial Nursing Home.

County can’t break even on recycling

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Serving you behind the scenes

Thanks to those of you who went out of your way this past week to wish us a happy anniversary as Janet Post and I enter our ninth year in the newspaper world. In re-reading my opinion column, I realized I made it sound as though Janet and I do this job every week on our own, which, of course is nowhere near the truth! Many of you may not know that we are lucky to have a good support staff both here in Peabody and at Hoch Publishing in Marion who make a major contribution to your local newspaper. We cover the local items, clubs, families, and school news. We type up some of the correspondents’ columns, letters to the editor, births, the calendar of events, and other odds and ends. We jot down ads on napkins at Sharon’s Korner Kitchen or on a deposit slip from our checkbook when we are at the grocery store.

Stop the exemption

The 2010 Kansas Legislative session began Monday. Citizens of Marion, Butler, Clay, Cowley, Dickinson, and Washington counties need to contact their state representatives and state senators regarding one of the most important legislative sessions in recent history — an exemption from local property taxes for the Keystone/TransCanada pipeline. The construction of the pipeline is slated for 2010 and the counties in the pipeline corridor wil llose out on tax revenue of approximately $8.5 million per year for 10 years.

Gotta love Kansas weather

What a difference a day or a week makes. Remember this time last week? We were still digging out from snowstorms that seemed endless in temperatures that were beyond cold. Most of us tried to keep close to home, praying water pipes would hold up and the wind wouldn’t snap electrical lines and poles as it had done in the past. Basketball games were postponed in anticipation of more winter weather and dangerously frigid wind chills.

Our voice in Topeka

The 2010 session began Monday and Governor Parkinson delivered the State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate. My column deadline is Monday a.m., so I cannot share with you the Governor’s thoughts. I hope you listened to the address or can find it on the Internet after the fact, if you have that available. As you might suspect, the budget will again be the big cloud looming over us all throughout the session. There will be those who intend to simply cut more from the state budget to balance it; some who believe a spending increase is not only warranted, but essential; and some of us who believe the taxing mechanism of Kansas is out of balance and desperately needs re-aligning, which could raise taxes for some and lower or not touch others. If taxes are raised, I predict not a property tax raise, but possibly one on specific items, such as cigarettes and beer; and I’d predict some currently authorized tax cuts, exemptions on credits being frozen or rolled back until we are out of these tough economic times. If we only cut the current budget, what do you intend we cut? In the upcoming weeks, I will expound on some of the major financial conflicts we have.

LETTERS:

Days of Yore

Elma Koslowsky died Jan. 11 at Peabody Community Living Center. She was born on Jan. 16, 1905. Ruth Topham of Peabody is the winner of a beautiful quilt raffled by the senior center. Raffle tickets were sold to the sum of $235.

Hope in the Heartland

(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series leading to Easter.) By LARRY TIMM Pastor of Peabody Bible Church He kicked a pebble with the toe of his sandal and started to pace back and forth, tapping his spear on the ground with each step.

CORRESPONDENTS:

Area schools battle state funding crisis

Kansas has decided to delay payment to public schools for another month. The state has been late with payments several months last year and the scarcity of state funds has had an adverse effect on the five Marion County school districts. Over the last three years, USD 398 has taken the most drastic measures to stay economically viable. They have cut 10 days off the end of their school year, six jobs, and three bus routes, USD 398 Superintendent Rex Watson said. USD 398 also changed from a block schedule to seven classes per day. Peabody is also attempting to withdraw from the Marion County Special Education Cooperative to avoid paying approximately $168,000 to the co-op.

Warriors continue winning ways

Warrior basketball continues to thrive with two more victories this past week. Peabody-Burns High School Warriors defeated Remington, 59-41, Jan. 5 and then went on to defeat Bennington, 54-45, on Friday.

Lady Warriors split two games

The Peabody-Burns Lady Warriors added one loss and one win in basketball competition this past week. The PBHS squad was defeated Jan. 5 at Remington, 48-21.

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