Crop Walk planned for Oct. 7

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 18 September 2012 14:39

The 2012 Marion County Crop Walk will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7, at Marion County Lake with a brief devotional prior to the start.

Participants should be in the area west of the lake office. The purpose of the event is to “have a nice scenic walk around the lake and doing what is necessary to help those in need,” according to Donna Kreutziger of Marion, one of the coordinators.

Crop Walks help to support the ministry of Church World Service, especially the grassroots, hunger-fighting development efforts of partner agencies in more than 80 countries.

The money raised provides tools that empower people to meet their own needs—from seeds and tools, to wells and water systems, to nutrition-enhancing Moringa trees, to technical...

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Parkside people organize to stop shaken baby syndrome

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 11 September 2012 15:55

Before packing up more than 300 baby caps for the Click For Babies: Purple Crying Caps in Wichita, Penni Funk (kneeling), life enrichment coordinator, along with Billie Goossen (left) and Linda Jantz, wanted to show the knitted and crocheted items on display at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro. In an effort to spread awareness about normal infant crying, some Marion County residents are participating in a nationwide campaign by knitting or crocheting purple baby caps that will be distributed to parents of newborns.

“Click for Babies: Period of Purple Crying Caps,” is a grassroots effort to remind parents about the dangers of shaken baby syndrome, a form of child abuse affecting infants younger than 1 year old, according to Anne Auld, Kansas Children’s Service League, Wichita.

Penni Funk, Parkside Homes life enrichment coordinator, and Betty Norman, a Parkside resident, organized the effort.

Norman said she cannot knit or crochet, but she thought she could be helpful by talking about her experiences. Her...

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USDA offers information for minority farmers, ranchers

Written by Bill Harmon Tuesday, 11 September 2012 15:54

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency is inviting minority farmers and ranchers in Marion County and across the nation to voluntarily join the USDA Minority Farm Register to receive information and opportunities from USDA agencies.

The new Minority Farm Register is an outreach tool designed to connect with underserved farmers and ranchers who are not currently enrolled in USDA loan, farm or conservation programs.

By joining the Register, minority producers may receive outreach materials, newsletters and program announcements from USDA agencies. They may also receive information and assistance from other USDA approved outreach partners. USDA will carefully control access on the use of the Register.

Individuals...

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County 4-Hers rate well at state livestock judging

Written by Rickey Roberts Tuesday, 04 September 2012 14:03

Nick Meyer and Lauren Geis hold the ribbons they earned during the Kansas Livestock Sweepstakes in Manhattan Aug. 26. The team, which also included Karl Riffel, Ethan Oborny, Mikayla Stika, Lisa Geis and Bryce Roberts, qualified for national competition in Denver in January. A team of 4-H members from Marion County qualified to compete at a national livestock judging contest by placing fourth at the Kansas Livestock Sweep­stakes Aug. 25-26 in Manhattan.

Participating in the Sweep­stakes were Lauren Geis, Nicholas Meyer, Karl Riffel, Bryce Roberts. Micayla Stika, Ethan Oborney and Lisa Geis.

About eight classes of livestock were judged and placed by participants. Students were divided into groups that rotated through each class of four animals. Students placed the livestock in the class 1 through 4, and took notes to later present four sets of oral reasons to officials.

Lauren Geis finished as the top individual, outscoring 184 other contestants based on a combined score from the four divisions: sheep...

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