County gives quail group green light to till up grass to attract wildlife

Written by Jerry Engler Tuesday, 16 April 2013 12:28

Dale Ehlers, representing the county chapter of Quail Forever, received the permission of the Marion County commissioner Monday to till up grass at more than 100 feet from the county landfill southwest of Marion to plant grain crops for wildlife.

The commissioners told Ehlers that for additional crop area, his group could also remove trees that were killed or injured by spraying in the attempt to eradicate a state designated noxious weed, sericea lespedeza.

Ehlers said tillage could help further eliminate the lespedeza.

Commissioner Dan Holub asked Ehlers see if the Quail Forever group would be interested in developing a shooting range for kids at the landfill area to help them learn proper use of shotguns, archery and BB...

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Marion County’s K-9 corps completes transition

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 16 April 2013 12:27

Officer Brad Richards of the Hillsboro Police Department (left) and Marion County deputy Travis Wilson introduce the newest members of the county’s K-9 corps, Remo and Cossta, respectively. Marion County retired two K-9 officers recently, but two new dogs have replaced them—one at the police department in Hillsboro and the other at the sheriff’s office in Marion.

K-9 Deputy Travis Wilson said his new partner, Cossta, 3, is a 52-pound Belgian Malinoise.

Wilson’s former partner, Dax, 7, was retired because of cataracts and arthritis, but he kept him on as part of his family.

“Dax is very social and he loves being around our children,” he said.

Officer/K-9 Unit Brad Richards, said Rico, 13, was also retired because the veterinarian detected arthritis at his recent checkup.

Richards, like Wilson, said he too is keeping his former partner. His is new partner, Remo, is an 80-pound Dutch Shepherd.

As with any new...

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Anticipation growing for Kapaun medal presentation

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 09 April 2013 13:04

Father Emil Kapaun Sixty-two years after his death, Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun will be receiving the nation’s highest military award for valor, the Medal of Honor, on Thursday, April 11, by Presi­dent Barack Obama.

The White House ceremony, said Father John Hotze, judicial vicar for the Wichita Diocese, will be at 1:10 p.m. and the Pentagon ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m on Friday, April 12.

“I have also been told that there will be live feeds at the White House website by going to www.whitehouse.gov/ for the ceremony on Thursday and at www.pentagon.mil/ for the induction into the hall of heroes at the Pentagon on Friday,” he said.

During the ceremony with Obama, Kapaun’s family, according to a recent press release, plans to give the Medal of...

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Commissioners support ‘fishing lottery’ at county lake

Written by Jerry Engler Tuesday, 09 April 2013 12:49

Fishermen at Marion County Lake this summer may be able to win a fishing lottery conducted by Lake Superintendent Steve Hudson in cooperation with the Kansas Division of Wildlife.

The Marion County Commis­sion Monday approved Hudson developing the game by tagging prize fish this spring while KDW has them stunned for population study.

Varieties to be tagged for the contest, Hudson said, would include crappie, bluegill, catfish and black bass.

The exact number of fish to be tagged and the percentage of ticket money paid for prize are still to be determined, he said.

Hudson said one idea would be to have 75 percent of tickets sold going to the county lake for further fishing and recreation development while 25 percent would be...

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