News

As a grade school student in Marquette, Kristen Hudson enjoyed spending time with her friends in the balcony at City Sundries. It also was the place to go in the summer for a soda or ice cream cone after a day at the Marquette Swimming Pool. 

All these years later, Hudson enjoys offering the experience she enjoyed as a youngster to the town’s younger residents.

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By Jennifer McDaniel

A blustery winter wind whips the brittle native grasses back and forth as Ellsworth rancher Dennis Katzenmeier makes his way across a sweeping pasture to check on his cattle herd. Traces of snow still cover the ground from a recent snowfall. Even in full sunlight, there’s little warmth, which only encourages the remnants to hold on. The job isn’t easy, especially during this time of year as temperatures — often well-below freezing — can test even the toughest cattleman.

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By Mark Gardner

Directors of the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce have decided to shift their resources to help support Ellsworth’s 150-year anniversary celebration, a decision that cancels the community’s annual Star Spangled Spectacular fireworks show — at least for this year. “This was a very difficult decision to make,” said Angela Schepmann, the chamber’s executive director.

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By Mark Gardner

Ellsworth County Sheriff Murray Marston was between a rock and a hard place Monday after contractors refused to bid on the removal of black mold in the basement of the jail due to the severity level. Marston was at the regular meeting of Ellsworth County commissioners for the third week in a row Monday morning to update officials on conditions at the jail and his efforts to make them better.

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By Mark Gardner

A Wilson teenager is expected to recover after an apparent accidental shooting the afternoon of Feb. 9 at a home across the street from Wilson School. The most recent update came Monday night from Wilson school administrator Ken Roy Wilson at a meeting of the Central Plains School District at Wilson. The administrator said the teen will need further surgery; however, the outlook is good and the boy is expected to survive.

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By Adreinne Danner

It’s no secret that opening a business in a small town can be a gamble. But for Rusty Tin Boutique and Rusty Bucket Liquor Store owner Becky Witte, the gamble did pay off. Since starting her boutique in 2011, the store has more than tripled in size. What once was only a storefront with a handful of antique vendors is now a full downstairs gallery complete with 10 antique vendors, clothing, shoes, jewelry, antiques, treasures and trinkets.

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By Mark Gardner

Ellsworth’s St. Bernard Catholic Church Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) group set out on a traditional mission for life by attending the “March for Life” in Washington D.C. This is the first time the youth group from Ellsworth/Kanopolis has gone in 20 plus years. CYO is a nation-wide organization for high schoolers.

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By Mark Gardner

Ellsworth’s Debra Haden stars in a new independent film, “Scumbag,” and is in The Netherlands for the premier. Debra lives in Los Angles.

The film is described as a “DIY, take-it-or-leave-it comedy with a musical pulse.” Haden plays “Christine,” who is the girlfriend of Phil, the film’s main character.

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By Mark Gardner

Advance voting on a 1/2-cent county-wide sales tax opens Wednesday in the courthouse office of the Ellsworth County clerk.

The special election is Tuesday, March 7.

At issue is the continuation of an existing tax that was implemented in 1997 to pay for maintenance and construction of the Ellsworth County Medical Center, which opened in 1999.

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By Mark Gardner

For the second week, conditions at the 37-year-old Ellsworth County Jail dominated discussion at the regular meeting of commissioners as Sheriff Murray Marston updated officials on his plans to begin the process of updating the county-owned facility.

Marston, who has been sheriff a little more than three weeks, presented a 12-page report from a plumbing contractor about issues with the ceiling and water leaking into the main hallway. Cause of the leak is the A/C unit condensation lines backing up because no maintenance has been done and the pumps that carry water from the outside units are not performing as they should, again because of improper maintenance, according to the report.

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