News

By JOSEPH HAND

It is said that family history builds a bridge from one generation to the next. While reading this past week’s edition of the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter, a Holyrood family now has an important link to its past. Evelyn Parker was surprised when she read her greatgrandmother’s name, Mary Jezek, and a story about the postcards she accumulated while working as a maid at the Ira E. Lloyd house in Ellsworth. Mrs. Parker, a longtime resident of Holyrood, and an amateur genealogist herself, said she had no idea the postcards existed until she read about them.

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By the I-R Staff

A long-time Kansas Highway Patrol trooper and Ellsworth resident will challenge incumbent Tracy Ploutz for Ellsworth County sheriff in the Aug. 2 primary. Murray Marston, 59, filed for the  sheriff ’s job April 22 by petition in the office of the Ellsworth County Clerk. The race will be decided in the primary because both candidates are Republicans. No Democrats have filed.

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The recent warm temperatures and rains have enabled both cultivated and wild flowers to bloom in Ellsworth County. These peonies typically are considered a Memorial Day flower.

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BY Mark McCoy

WILSON LAKE — Recent rains have helped droughtstricken Wilson Lake, raising the water level about eight inches. However, the reservoir still entered May 10 feet below the normal conservation pool level, causing problems for boaters and other recreation users. The rock facing of the dam, called rip rap, is almost completely exposed. Along the perimeter of the lake, sand bars and temporary islands jut out of the water where in previous years, water skiers and jet skis used to roam without concern.

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By Jennifer McDaniel

Scott Johnson remembers when the idea was hatched to host a small biker rally in Marquette. The hope was the event, catering to bikers and motorcycle enthusiasts, would bring attention to the local motorcycle museum. Twelve years later, the once fledgling rally has grown into an annual festival attracting tourists and day-trippers sightseers and families. Each May, bikers make their way to town. One after another, the line of deep, rumbling Harleys snake their way over hills and through valleys, signaling another Thunder on the Smoky.

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A benefit for Brandon Rogers is planned at 11 a.m. April 30 at Lindsborg’s Smoky Valley High School. Brandon is 32 years old, a Lindsborg resident who was raised in Marquette, and a graduate of Smoky Valley High School and Fort Hays State University.

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The Smoky Hills Charitable Foundation recently awarded $63,429 in grants to projects and organizations across Ellsworth County.

“We received many outstanding requests totaling over $120,000,” said board chairman Sara Soukup.

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