PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin

USD 398 sees property tax decrease next year

At a time when other districts are trimming schedules and programs to cope with state budget cuts, Peabody-Burns school board is poised to reduce by 12 mills its local property tax levy for next year. Superintendent Ron Traxson said coupled with this year’s 4.5 mill decrease, an owner of a $100,000 home would see a $190 drop in their property tax bill from last year to next.

Local lead Governor's Turkey Hunt

At least four people from Marion County will participate this week in the 29th annual Kansas Governor’s One Shot Turkey Hunt. Its stated mission is “to provide hunting opportunity and youth education in the great Kansas outdoors.” Janet Post of Burns is the executive director. Her husband, Pat Post, Bill Shirley of Marion, and Derek Benson of Peabody will serve as guides.

Write-ins put Spencer on council

Rarely has a preliminary election vote tally had so many apparent winners with the same name: “Write-in” won 20 of the 70 positions up for grabs in the April 7 election. Peabody voters orchestrated a last-minute write-in campaign that elected Tom Spencer to the city council, beating out three candidates on the ballot.

Action missing at council meeting

Peabody City Council discussed a variety of topics Monday night, but conducted little business. Successful write-in candidate Tom Spencer, Megan Holt, and incumbent Travis Wilson will take their places on Peabody City Council at the next meeting April 27, along with re-elected Mayor Larry Larsen.

Annual Safe Kids Camp coming soon

Peabody emergency service departments will join with the Peabody-Burns Elementary School staff on April 29 to provide a day of lessons and hands-on experiences to keep youngsters safe. Police, fire, and ambulance employees and volunteers coordinate the day’s activities, held at PBES. All students are involved in the event and lunch is provided by the school. “We have a long list of presenters again this year,” said Travis Wilson, Marion County K-9 Deputy. “The smoke house will be here again to help the kids learn what to do in case of a house fire. A LifeTeam helicopter will land on the playground and the students will see how it and an ambulance are equipped. Kansas Highway Patrol officers will talk about vehicle safety. We cover railroad safety, water and weather safety, bike safety — anything we feel will help educate our children and help keep them safe.”

Food bank relocating, expanding

The Marion County Food Bank will be moving into the building that currently houses the Marion youth center and provide a wider range of services, City Administrator Roger Holter said. The food bank has been housed at Valley United Methodist Church in a small room in the building’s northwest corner. Organizers said accessibility, space, and resources were inhibiting its potential.

'Big box store' isn't so big, but its impact could be

Goliath is here, and he’s not so big after all. Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market store in Hillsboro opened for business Wednesday, met with large crowds — some happy to avoid a trip to a McPherson or Newton location, others going, they swear, out of mere curiosity.

Volunteers make thousands of verenika

When Lois Janzen of Goessel talks about ordering nearly 2,000 pounds of cottage cheese, she’s not plotting to corner the market for herself, It takes that much cottage cheese for Janzen and about 200 other volunteers to make 20,000 verenika, which they did Tuesday at the Marion County Fairgrounds for the Mennonite Relief Sale that begins Friday in Hutchinson.

Hillsboro resident is 'the man in the hippie van'

In all likelihood, fewer people know Tanner Lacy than know his van. Its brightly colored exterior, a mural of a scenic landscape, has led some Hillsboro residents to dub it the “hippie van.” “Everybody in town seems to know my van,” Lacy said. “When people ask where I live, I say by the hippie van.”

Town hall meeting turns into lake forum

If a tree falls in a lake and no commissioner is there to see it, is it really there? Marion County Lake property owners made certain Saturday that County Commissioner Dan Holub knew about fallen trees they believe detract from the lake’s appearance, as well as other maintenance issues.

County gives nod to coop road fix

Burns streets will be relieved of increased truck traffic through an agreement Monday by the county commission to make improvements to 10th Ave. to accommodate Mid Kansas Coop traffic. Erik Lange of Mid Kansas Coop told commissioners business has picked up at the Burns facility since new storage bins were installed four years ago.

Accused to foot bill for Marion jail stays

Citizens taken to jail will now pay their own way in Marion, according to a resolution passed by city council Monday. “The purpose of this ordinance is to take everything off the taxpayer that’s paying for the person to be in jail, and putting it back on to that person that’s incarcerated,” Police Chief Tyler Mermis said. Mermis said the resolution was modeled after a similar one in Peabody.

Dwain Gill

Father of rural Marion resident Carol Vogel, Dwain G. Gill, 84, died April 3 at Stafford County Hospital. His son, Pastor Steve Gill, officiated a memorial service April 6 at Minnis Chapel.

IN MEMORIAM:

Accidents reported

Civil division

County jail

Criminal division

Deeds recorded

Emergency dispatches

Marriage licenses

Offenses reported

Police reports

Traffic division

Time to remember that ordinance again

It seems it is time to remind everyone of the city ordinance that says “thou shall not blow your grass clippings into the gutter or street.” We’ve been blessed with a few April showers and the grass and weeds have begun to shoot up. If you blow your lawn clippings into the street, you are compounding a problem the city has with its storm drains — the apparatus that carries away the water when we have a true gully washer.

Days of yore

Noble M. Patton, 86, of Morganville, was killed in a wreck at the intersection of 190th and Nighthawk Rds. He was the father of Nelson Patton of Peabody. Susie Schmidt gave a program on quilts of the Underground Railroad for the Sorosis Beta Club.

Snelling, Cope to wed in June

Tristen Snelling and Adam Cope, together with their parents, Tammy and Danny Snelling of Marion, and Sarah and Clint Cope of Florence, announce their engagement and upcoming wedding. Tristen is a 2011 graduate of Marion High School and a 2014 graduate of Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in family studies and human services with an emphasis in early childhood education.

Strodas celebrate 60th anniversary

Ralph and Betty (Holub) Stroda will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary with an open house from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at St. John’s Catholic Parish Hall in Herington. Their children David, Scott, Mary, and Margie and their families will host the party.

BURNS NEWS:

Peabody Achievers ponder $100

Peabody Achievers 4-H Club met April 6 in the Peabody-Burns Elementary School music room. President Brandon Entz called the meeting to order with a roll call question, “What would you do with $100?”

The Shady Ladies ride again

Delores “Dee” Duggan, ringleader of a group of Red Hat Society defectors that calls itself “The Shady Ladies” cares more about friendship and shared experience than paying membership dues. Duggan and The Shady Ladies once made up a small local chapter in the Red Hat Society, a national social club in which members traditionally met for tea parties donning elaborately decorated red hats, purple attire, and other attention-grabbing accessories.

Board provides social, informational hub

More than anything, Lila Unruh of Durham said, it’s the fellowship in which the value lies. Unruh is the Chairman of Senior Citizens of Marion County, Inc., an organization composed of an amalgam of representatives from various committees and boards. The group meets monthly in different towns around the county and brings the fellowship — and information on resources for seniors — with them.

Hillsboro pool game decades old

On any given afternoon, the crack of pool balls can be heard emanating from the walls of the Hillsboro Senior Center. The noise has been heard there for decades. “I got here in ’86,” Wilbur Hanneman said, “and they were already playing here. I came up from Peabody to deliver Meals on Wheels, and I’d come early and started to play. I don’t know when they started — maybe ’81?”

Banquet to honor athletes

Peabody-Burns Athletic Director Ray Savage has announced the athletic banquet honoring athletes participating in winter and spring sports will be 7 p.m. April 24 in Brown Gymnasium. The banquet will honor high school students in who participated in basketball, cheerleading, track, and golf.

Warriors take 3rd at home golf meet

The Warriors, a hybrid team of golfers from USD 408 and USD 398, came in third of four teams with a score of 442 on Tuesday at home tournament at Marion Country Club. The Warriors missed second place by 21 strokes to Sedgwick, who shot a 421, and first place by 38 strokes to Goessel who shot a 404.

Goessel CKTL track meet results

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