The Wichita Sweet Adeline Chorus will present a concert at 4 p.m., Monday, Sept. 1, during the 71st annual Florence Labor Day Celebration.
The Wichita Sweet Adeline Chorus is a member of the Sweet Adelines International, which is a worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performance.
The Wichita Sweet Adeline Chorus rehearses on a weekly basis, provides public engagements and competes against other Sweet Adeline groups at both state and international levels.
They will be the closing act for the Labor Day festival. A community ice cream social will follow the concert.
Admission to the concert is a $4 Labor Day button. Buttons are available for sale through Friday, Aug. 29, at the following locations in Florence: Chuck Wagon Cafe, Cottonwood Valley Bank, Johnson’s General Store and Shear Success.
In Marion, buttons can be purchased at the Marion County Record, Marion Dry Cleaning/Laundry, and in Peabody at Peabody Market.
After Friday, buttons will be available at the Labor Day Information Booth, located at 4th and Main streets, in Florence.
Advance tickets for the Michael Martin Murphey concert are $20 each through Saturday, Aug. 30. Tickets purchased the day of the show will be $25 each. A $4 Labor Day button is required for children 10 and under.
Tickets can be purchased at: Shear Success in Florence, Marion County Record and Marion Dry Cleaning in Marion, by e-mail at
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or by calling 620-878-4676 or 620-382-7112.
Discover, MasterCard and VISA credit cards will be accepted.
A Tampa woman was fatally injured Friday in a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of U.S. Highway 56 and Eisenhower Street near Marion.
Catherine Hajek, 79, was transported by Lifeteam Great Bend to St. Luke Hospital in Marion, where she was pronounced dead.
Hajek was riding in a 2000 Mercury GMQ driven by her husband, Martin, 84, when it was struck on the passenger side by a 1993 Oldsmobile 88 driven by Nancy Perrin, 61, of McPherson.
Martin Hajek was transported to St. Luke Hospital by Marion ambulance and Perrin was transported by Hillsboro ambulance to St. Luke Hospital.
Perrin was eastbound on U.S. Highway 56 and Hajek was westbound on the same highway.
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, Hajek turned south onto Eisenhower directly in front of Perrin.
Perrin reported she did not see a blinker indicating a left turn, and could not avoid hitting the Mercury.
Funeral arrangements for Catherine Hajek were made by Zeiner Funeral Home in Marion. Rosary was Aug. 25 and a funeral mass was Aug. 26, both at Holy Family Parish, Holy Redeemer Church of Tampa.
A lifetime resident of Tampa, Hajek was a member of Holy Family Parish, Holy Redeemer Church and was active in the Alter Society.
The Marion County Commission Monday approved the about $6.456 million in ad valorem taxes for the 2009 county budget with a four-mill increase of about $404,000.
County Clerk Carol Maggard said the amount could vary by $92,000 more, according to final valuation figures.
Although all three commissioners went through the budgeting process, commissioners Bob Hein and Randy Dallke approved the budget in the absence of Dan Holub.
Acting Road and Bridge Director John Summerville said he has been contacted by a landowner offering to cost-share for raising a road surface that has worn away over the years on a miniumum-maintenance road. Summerville said the road, on Alfalfa south of 280th, “will take lots of material,” and be expensive.
The Marion City Council Monday approved its 2009 budget of $568,439 with an increase of 2.9 mills to 60.293 mills.
Councilor Bill Holdeman was the lone dissenting voice in a 4-1 majority on the budget itself and an accompanying ordinance required by the state for increasing in tax revenue.
Holdeman said he thought the city should do “the same as everybody else with some belt tightening.”
City Administrator David Mayfield said the city had been looking at a larger increase, especially with oil prices, but had stayed as low as it did by cutting departmental budgets.
The Florence Labor Day Committee will sponsor a soap box derby competition called “King of the Hill” at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
This event is offered with the support of Wray Roofing in North Newton and assistance from the Florence Fire Department.
The race will be double elimination down Fifth Street hill with two classes of cars: open and stock.
Practice runs for both classes will begin at 10 a.m. and conclude by 1 p.m., with the event beginning at 1:30 p.m. Each participant is limited to two practice runs.
The stock class has four cars available that were built by the Florence Labor Day Committee and community volunteers. This race is for children ages 9 to 12 who weigh 120 pounds or less and are no taller than 5-foot, 3 inches.
All participants will be required to bring their own bicycle helmet and wear it during the competition. The race will be limited to the first 30 riders.
The open class will be for participants who bring their own cars. The same double-elimination format will be followed. There is no limit on participants for the open class.
The winners in the stock class will have their name engraved on a trophy to be displayed at the city of Florence office, and will receive a separate trophy and a Wii game station.
Trophies will be presented for both classes for first, second and third placements. All participants will receive dog tags engraved with the event’s name and date.
Registration and waiver forms should be completed and returned to the event coordinator prior to 1:30 p.m. The forms are available at the elementary schools in Marion, Hillsboro and Peabody-Burns.
For more information, contact John Swarm, 816-835-6800.
With a maintenance backlog of 32 miles projected to carry over to next year, it’s no surprise that roads and bridges rank as the No. 1 critical concern for Marion County, a consultant told the county commission Monday at its regular meeting.
Based on research and information gathered, Tom Brown of Savant Service in McPherson made a series of recommendations for the county’s strategic plan, due to the state by the end of September.
Some input had come from county residents at six town meetings, although according to Commissioner Dan Holub, only a total of 22 people attended countywide.
High on Brown’s list of recommendations is including a comprehensive roadway management program in the county’s strategic plan.
County Wide News 
