ORIGINALLY WRITTEN
Reception to honor
Frances Skinner, 90
Frances Skinner will celebrate her 90th birthday with a reception from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 3 at the Peabody United Methodist Church, 401 Sycamore.
Those unable to attend may send cards to her at 302 Maple, Peabody, 66866.
Frances’ teaching career spanned four decades, including 20 years at Peabody Elementary. She would enjoy visiting with or hearing from former students.
Frances’ children are Virgina Skinner of Peabody, Donna Nelson of Lindsborg and Don Skinner and wife Connie Strand of Leawood.
Grandchildren and great-grandchildren are Jennifer and Chris Young, Mackenzie, Bryant, Philip and Alex of Peabody; Scott and Michelle Nelson, Sophie and Drew of Lindsborg; Craig and Kara Nelson and Lanie of Garden Plain; Darren Nelson of Duluth, Ga.; and Paul Wiseman of Leawood.
In place of gifts, guests are encouraged to bring photos or reminiscences of Frances.
Prieb to celebrate 80th birthday
Edna Prieb of Lehigh will celebrate her 80th birthday with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 24 at the Lehigh City Building, 110 E. Main.
All friends and relatives are invited. She requests no gifts.
Hosts will be her children and their spouses: Gary and Delores Prieb of Hesston, Judy Hill of Jamestown, Alan and Kathy Prieb of Canton, Glen and Sharon Prieb of Lehigh, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
She was born on April 14, 1925, to Karl and Marie Klatt in rural Canton. She was married in 1945 to Levi Prieb (deceased) and moved to Hillsboro. They moved to the farm in rural Lehigh in 1950 and retired, moving to Lehigh, in 1978.
Cards may be sent to her at P.O. Box 35, Lehigh, 67073.
Ella Leeds to celebrate 90th with card shower
Ella Leeds of Florence will celebrate her 90th birthday on April 3. All friends and relatives are invited to mark the occasion by sending cards to her at 102 E. 9th, Florence, 66851.
Her children and their spouses are Don and Charlotte Leeds of Riverdale, Neb., Phil and Sandy Parsons of Salina, Del and Darlene Leeds of Florence, and Kim and Kendy Herrick of North Platte, Neb. She has six grandchildren, including Tony and Tassie Leeds of Florence and John and Lori Bond of Wakefield; seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Tabor choir home
concert April 8
The Tabor College Concert Choir will perform its annual home concert Friday, April 8.
The concert will begin at 7 p.m. at Trinity Mennonite Church, Hillsboro.
The choir, which is touring Kansas, Colorado and California March 25 through March 31, will present its concert program, “Sounding Joy!,” featuring a repertoire spanning four centuries of psalms, old and new hymns and full-throated spiritual songs.
A special historical trilogy of hymns arranged by current director Bradley D. Vogel and past directors Herbert C. Richert and Jonah C. Kliewer will be performed.
The concert is open to the public.
Trinity Mennonite Church is located at 211 S. Elm.
Poet to address
CMBS annual dinner
The Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies will hold its annual spring dinner and meeting at 6:30 p.m., Friday, April 15, in the Tabor College Wohlgemuth Music Education Center.
Poet Jean Janzen, recipient of the Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, will be the featured speaker.
“It’s the opportunity for us to celebrate our Mennonite history through a different genre: poetry,” said Peggy Goertzen, director of CMBS.
Janzen’s presentation title is “Words from the Fire: Poems and Photos from the Russian Mennonite Experience.”
“She’s an incredibly talented woman,” said Goertzen. “Some people say she is the leading Mennonite poet, others say she is very well known. Whatever the case, she’s very high on the list.”
Janzen has six collections of published poems: “Piano in the Vineyard,” “Tasting the Dust,” “Words for the Silence,” “Three Mennonite Poets,” “The Upside-Down Tree” and “Snake in the Parsonage.”
Her works have also been included in anthologies and magazines.
Janzen, a resident of Fresno, Calif., was born in Saskatchewan, and grew up in the midwestern United States. She teaches poetry writing at Fresno Pacific University and Eastern Mennonite University.
A table will be available for the display of items donated to CMBS.
Those planning to donate artifacts should bring donor identification.
New and used historical books will also be available for purchase.
The public is invited to attend this event. Reservations for the dinner and program should be made by Monday, April 11. The cost is $11 and includes dinner.
For reservations or additional information, contact Goertzen at 947-3121, ext. 1211 or 1212.
Sisters to speak at
museum fund-raiser
The Mennonite Heritage Museum will host its Heritage Dinner at Cross Wind near Hesston at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, April 2.
The fund-raiser will start with a delicious meal followed by entertainment provided by the California Sisters of Ramona.
The sisters, Pat Wick and Jessica Gilbert, left their corporate California jobs behind and moved to Ramona (population 100) to pursue lifelong dreams on the Kansas Prairie.
They write, teach, photograph, have published two books and are working on a third one. They are artists, speakers and event planners.
Tickets are available for $50 from the Mennonite Heritage Museum board members-Fern Bartel, Howard Birky, Mary Ediger, Anton Epp, Aileen Esau, Mary Graber, Donavon A. Schmidt, John Schroeder, Mayleen Vinson, ElRoy Wiens-or at the museum before March 23.
Call 620-367-8200 for more information.
Canton Senior Center to host fish fry
Canton Senior Center will have a fish fry from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 1.
Fish, scalloped potatoes, green beans, cole slaw, cake, coffee and tea will be served.
A freewill donation will be taken.
Life Line Screening
to be at senior center
Life Line Screening will be at the Hillsboro Senior Center on April 5, with appointments starting at 9 a.m.
Life Line provides non-invasive and painless ultrasound screenings that assess the individual’s risk of having a stroke by scanning for potential health problems. Bone-density screenings will also be offered to assess risk for osteoporosis.
Each screening requires 10 minutes or less to complete. A complete vascular screening package, including the stroke/carotid artery, abdominal aortic aneurysm and ankle brachial index (hardening of the arteries) screenings, is $109. An osteoporosis screening can be added to the vascular paskage for a total of $129.
Life Line Screening was established in 1993 and has since become the nation’s leading provider of vascular screenings.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 1-800-697-9721. Pre-registration is required.
J.J. Jasper to headline ECS benefit event
Nationally known American Family Radio personality and Christian comedian J.J. Jasper and recording artist Ginger Millermon will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, April 1 at Elyria Christian School’s spring benefit in McPherson.
The performance will be held at Brown Auditorium on McPherson College campus, 1600 East Euclid.
The public is invited to attend. A freewill offering will be taken.
For more information, call Cindy Allen at 620-241-2994.
Make suncatchers
at Dyck Arboretum
A suncatchers workshop will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2 at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains, 177 West Hickory, Hesston.
Participants can create and take home two or three octagonal faux stained-glass suncatchers with nature patterns of their choice.
Materials furnished will be octagonal suncatcher blanks, lead lines, liquid lead and paints. Participants must bring scissors and a utility knife.
The cost is $20 for members of the Dyck Arboretum and $22.50 for non-members.
Maximum number of participants is 12. Call 620-327-8127 to make reservations.
Local senior awarded K-State scholarship
Nicholas Whitney, a senior at Peabody-Burns High School, was awarded Kansas State University’s Foundation Scholarship during ceremonies Feb. 28 at K-State.
Presenting the award was Pat Bosco, associate vice president for institutional advancement and dean of student life.
Whitney has also been accepted into the K-State College of Architecture, Planning and Design.
Goessel postmaster to receive reception
The public is invited to attend a reception for Sheryl Molzen, who will be retiring as postmaster from the Goessel Post Office.
The come-and-go reception will be held 8 a.m. to noon and 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 31 at the Goessel Post Office, 207 E. Main.
Molzen began her postal career in 1973 as clerk at the North Newton post office and came to Goessel as officer in charge in November 1974. In July 1975, Molzen was appointed postmaster and has served the Goessel community since that time.
Moran accepting academy applicants
Congressman Jerry Moran is accepting applications for nominations to the U.S. service academies.
The academies include the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.; the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.; the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.
Those selected will enter the academies in June 2006.
Selections are based on SAT or ACT scores, class rank, grade-point average, school records, extracurricular activities, leadership potential, motivation, recommendations and interview evaluations.
Applicants must be legal residents of Kansas, at least 17 years old but not past their 23rd birthday on July 1 of the year of admission. All must be citizens of the United States, unmarried, not pregnant, and without legal obligation to support children or other dependents.
If nominated by Moran, the applicants then must meet the individual admission requirements of each academy. The academies will make the final decision on who will receive an appointment of admission.
Due to limited placement, Moran encourages all interested candidates to apply also to the offices of U.S. senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts.
Moran’s application deadline is Oct 1. Interested applicants should send a letter requesting application materials to: Rep. Jerry Moran, Attn: Service Academy Selection, P.O. Box 1128, Hutchinson, KS 67504-1128.
Area athletes place
in Special Olympics
Six Marion County athletes participated in the Kansas Special Olympic State Basketball competition March 17-19 in Hays.
Jennifer Dies, Stan Funk, John Girrard, Clay Methvin, Brad Moon and Pam Vsetecka all placed in individual skills and team competitions in the tournament.
Out of 22 athletes, Dies took home gold in the individual skills competition, Girrard won bronze, Moon and Methvin each placed fourth and Vsetecka placed sixth.
Funk’s varsity basketball squad took silver in its division. Dies’ and Methvin’s JV squad and Girrard’s blue squad also won silver medals in their divisions.
In total, 42 athletes from the Harvey County Wildcats participated on the four basketball teams and three cheerleading squads.
The Special Olympic basketball tournament hosted by the Hillsboro Kiwanis and Tabor College in February provides teams the needed game experience to be able to succeed at this state competition.
Youth groups to hold
benefit auction
The Tabor-Goessel Youth Fellowship will hold a benefit auction starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 3 at the Goessel Elementary School, 500 E. Main.
Proceeds from the sae will help the youth group travel to Charlotte, N.C., this summer to attend the youth conference sessions on Mennonite Church USA.
Items in this sale will include small household goods, craft items, baked goods and other food, labor services by youth group members, an autographed Thirstborne CD, an autographed photo of Kansas City Chiefs’ Priest Holmes and autographed tradings cards from Chiefs’ fan “Weird Wolf.”
Spring Storytime
at Marion city library
The Marion City Library will have its Spring Storytime from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on Fridays in April, for children ages 3 to 6.
The session starts April 1 and will continue weekly until April 29.
The children will learn about their five senses, with each week featuring a different sense.
Call 620-382-2442 to reserve a space.
