The Marion community sent off its high school Warrior girls’ basketball team to the Class 3A state championship game Saturday in Hutchinson with a motorcade escort down Main Street. It was the first time an MHS girls’ team was playing for a state basketball title, and its first trip to state since 1992.

Mary Olson A special meeting of the Marion City Council was called Friday morning to initiate an investigation into allegations of criminal misconduct by Marion Mayor Mary Olson.

According to a source outside of the meeting, the allegation concerns K.S.A. 21-4005, which addresses “maliciously circulating false rumors” about a local business “with intent to injure” its “financial standing or reputation.”

City Attorney Dan Baldwin said the action was prompted by information he became aware of involving Olson and Brad and Anita Seacat, owners of Seacat Do it Best, a building supply business in Marion.

Superintendent Steve Noble said he sees the educational value of athletic participation for a broad spectrum of students. “It’s probably our most effective at-risk program because we can tie so many policies that prevent at-risk type of behavior because (athletics) is not a property right of the student, it’s a privilege,” he said. Like most school districts across the state, Unified School District 410 is hoping for the best but preparing for the worst with the likelihood of another reduction in state aid for the 2010-11 school year.

At last Monday’s school board meeting, superintendent Steve Noble released a list of cuts that could be made if the district faces its worst-case scenario of a $475,000 reduction from the current year’s budget.

The list of cuts totaled $360,300, including the elimination of five high school sports programs—softball, baseball, golf, girls’ tennis and boys’ tennis—as well as middle school wrestling.

Representatives from charitable groups in four Marion County communities received checks totaling $12,300 Saturday from the sponsoring organizations of last month’s Marion County Toy Run. This year’s funds pushed the 16-year total over the $100,000 mark. Pictured from left are: Irvin McPheeters, Peabody Association of Churches; Gaylord Goertzen, Hillsboro Area Ministerial Alliance; Tom Koslowsky, Sons of the American Legion; Mike Brouillette, Goessel Ministerial Alliance; Gary Andrews, Sons of the American Legion; David Rafland, Peabody Association of Churches; Ken Johnson, Sons of the American Legion; Kiki Krause, Marion Community Christmas; Kim Abrahams, Route 56 Classic Car Club; Ron Funk, Sons of the American Legion; Angela Lange, Marion Community Christmas; and Mike Sechler, Abate District 9 of Kansas.

Courtney Weber prepares to swing at a pitch during the softball team’s first trip to state last spring. Softball is one of five athletic programs that may be cut for the 2010-11 school year. Superintendent Steve Noble said he’s not personally in favor of eliminating athletic programs from the USD 410 program, but he defends the appropriateness of considering the move in challenging financial times.

“We said at the start that everything is on the table,” Noble said of the process undertaken to identify more than $360,000 in potential cuts. “The leadership team said it’s time we put sports on the table, and I applaud them for that.”