Marion City Council raises fee for some permits

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 28 February 2012 16:21

After reviewing what other cities charge for conditional-use, variances and rezoning permits, the Marion City Council Feb. 20 approved raising its fees from $16 to $75 for each kind of permit.

“The fee of $16 is too little, but $75 is regionally responsible,” said City Administrator Doug Kjellin, who provided council members with a breakdown of permit charges in use by nine cities similar in size to Marion.

Fredonia, Westmoreland, Hiawatha, Cherryvale, Kechi, Solomon, Blue Valley, Neodesha and Bennington were included in the comparison.

The research showed that Neodesha has no fee for the three permits in question.

Blue Valley charges $25 for all three. At the high end was Kechi, which charges $300 for conditional-use, $175 for a...

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Awarded for service

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 21 February 2012 16:49

Dawn and Joel Suderman hold the plaque Joel received at the annual meeting for his one term on the Marion County Conservation District board and his work as treasurer. Steve Bartel received a service award for his nine years of board membership, including several as chairman.

Meterologist says Marion County near the end of its drought status

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 21 February 2012 16:48

Meterologist Chance Hayes told his audience that the average temperature in 2011 was actually close to the 30-year average. Chance Hayes, meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Wichita, was the guest speaker at Saturday’s 66th annual Marion County Conservation District dinner.

For those attending the dinner who might have thought this year’s warmer temperatures are not normal, Hayes offered statistics to show that this year is close to 30-year average from 1982 through 2012.

“In 1991, the average temperature was 56.5 degrees, which is 13 degrees higher than it is now,” he said.

Hayes also compared temperatures from last year to this year.

“Last year’s average low was 30.8 degrees compared to this year’s low of 43.1, making it 8.6 degrees lower last year,” he said.

He also talked about some of the highest temperatures...

Read more: Meterologist says Marion County near the end of its drought status

Kirkpatrick foresees farming in his future

Written by Jerry Engler Tuesday, 21 February 2012 16:47

Matthew Kirkpatrick’s plan is to work in agri-business for three years before coming home to farm. This year’s Young Conser­va­tion Farmer Award winner for the Marion County Natural Resources and Conservation Services District seems to be able to stand the world on its head.

Matthew Kirkpatrick is beginning his farming career from a different perspective than many of his predecessors.

He is 23, and is months away from finishing his degree in production agronomy at Kansas State University.

Yet, he is still working for Monsanto in Manhattan during the school year, planning to work for Pioneer Seeds at Garden City during the summer before returning home to Marion County to farm with his father, Duane, permanently—if he carries through on plans to work in agri-business for only three years.

Add to this the fact that he has...

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