“When I heard the store was for sale, the wheels started turning—well, that might be an opportunity,” said Catherine Gilley, the new owner of the Peabody Market. Thanks to a local entrepreneur looking for a career change, plus a unique arrangement for financial support, residents of Peabody will be able to keep buying their groceries in their hometown store. Catherine […]

This farmer south of Hillsboro was cutting a small field of wheat adjacent to a pasture along Indigo on Monday. The 2018 harvest has had mixed results, depending on moisture during the growing season. Busheling has ranged from 20 to 60 per acre as the fields diminish. Don Ratzlaff With dire expectations heading into this year’s wheat harvest due to […]

Marion County residents will soon be paying more to dump trash. Beginning next year, residents will be charged $100 per year to use the county transfer station for waste disposal. This is an increase of $19 annually per household, or $1.58 per month, from last year’s fee of $81. The Marion County Board of Commissioners, at their June 18 meeting, […]

by Becki Yoder Special to The Free Press Memorial Day Weekend is the traditional splash off into summer. School is out. The Kansas summer quickly heats up as the thermometer rises to hot, humid and unbearable. With the heat of the sun’s rays beating down, who doesn’t long for a refreshing, quenching dip in a cool swimming pool or lake. […]

Patty Decker photoThis year’s car show drew 105 cars and three motorcycles to Memorial Park’s circle drive in Hillsboro. The 20th annual Route 56 Classic Cruisers Car Show on Saturday in Hillsboro’s Memorial Park was considered by organizers as one of the best yet. Kim Abrahams of Hillsboro, who’s been organizing the show since the beginning, said 105 cars and […]

Less than half of Marion County residents who would benefit from mental health care are receiving treatment. That’s what Jessie Kaye, president and CEO of Prairie View Mental Health Center, told Marion County commissioners Monday. Kaye, who has worked with Prairie View for 13 years, said 20 percent of people in Kansas suffer from some form of mental illness. Prairie […]

“I’ve found over the years that some of these kids really enjoy getting out in the shop and doing things,” Norm Winter says. “So I decided we’re going to make projects.” Norman Winter tells of the time some 25 years ago when he received a free jig from Maynard Hefley, long-time owner and manager of The Lumberyard that recently closed […]

Montgomery Gentry, headline act of the weekend, performed Saturday on the main stage for a 9:30 p.m. concert. This year’s Chingawassa Days got off to a hot start, literally, with temperatures in the 90s and high humidity. In spite of the heat, Adam Heerey, a member of the festival planning committee, said attendance was strong with an estimated 1,500 to […]

Marion County roads need to be fixed. That was the consensus Thursday among the Marion County Board of Commis­sioners. “This is the No. 1 thing on everybody’s minds: the roads,” said Dianne Novak, chair of the board. “People are really on me about these roads.” The solution, Novak said, “is to provide more money so we can do the things […]

Courtesy photo“Title 1 are kids that need some help in reading and/or math,” Gloria Winter says. “They’re just not quite up to speed. They haven’t been diagnosed with a disability.” Gloria Winter completed her 47th year of teaching public schools this May, and for all those years, she said her personal schedule has been wrapped around the school calendar. But […]