County officials sworn in Monday

Written by Jerry Engler Tuesday, 15 January 2013 14:36

Tina Spencer was sworn in as county clerk to succeed Carol Maggard by District Court Judge Michael Powers Monday before onlookers in the courtroom.

Spencer is the only newly-elected county official among a group of re-elected incumbents that were sworn in prior to the regular meeting of the Marion County Board of Commissioners.

The incumbents included Commissioner Dan Holub, Commissioner Randy Dallke, Sheriff Rob Craft, County Attorney Susan Robson, County Treasurer Jeannine Bateman and Register of Deeds Jo Ottensmeier.

Dallke succeeded Holub for a one-year term as commission chairman with Commissioner Roger Fleming as vice-president.

The commissioners again named the Marion County Record as the county’s legal publication with...

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Nigerian comes to Kansas in search of right leadership

Written by Ron Wilson Tuesday, 15 January 2013 14:35

Yemi is looking for leadership—especially the kind of leadership which seeks the common good in society.

This is not a casual quest. In fact, in his search to learn about such leadership, he traveled all the way from Nigeria to Kansas.

Why would someone travel 27 hours to learn about civic leadership in Kansas? That’s the subject of this Kansas Profile.

Ed O’Malley is president and CEO of the Kansas Leadership Center in Wichita. Ed recently hosted a global gathering where Yemi and more than 50 other people learned about the Kansas Leadership Center and its work in civic leadership.

The Kansas Leadership Center was launched in 2007 with an initial $30 million grant from the Kansas Health Foundation. After extensive listening...

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County anti-poverty group ready to train volunteers

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 08 January 2013 15:53

The trainees are getting ready to become the trainers as Circles Marion County, a grassroots organization taking steps to end poverty, prepares to start local classes from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thurs­day, Jan. 10.

After more than a year of meetings, workshops and fundraising events, a core group is ready to begin, said Jackie Volbrecht, director.

“Circles has established a guiding coalition (Mad About Poverty),” Volbrecht said, “consisting of 25 members from Hillsboro, Marion and Burdick.”

This group, she said, plans to transition to Thursday night meetings for weekly get-togethers.

According to Volbrecht, the coalition has five teams to include the resource team, big view team, recruitment team, economic stability team and...

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Marion council OKs purchase of two used squad cars

Written by Patty Decker Tuesday, 08 January 2013 15:52

Marion City Police Chief Tyler Mermis asked the city council at its Monday meeting for an additional $16,500 to buy two used Dodge Chargers instead of one new vehicle as first requested in the 2013 budget.

By a unanimous vote, the council approved the proposal.

In explaining why there is a need for two vehicles rather than one, Mermis said there are now five officers.

“We are now full staffed,” he said.

Originally, Mermis was asking for $24,000 to buy one new Dodge Charger in 2013.

However after looking at the options, Mermis said he and Assistant Chief Clinton Jeffrey discovered it would be cheaper to buy two Dodge Chargers.

“One of the Chargers is a 2011 model with 30,918 miles at $21,999 and the other is a 2009 model with...

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