35 Years Ago
March 1985
Robert Merrill, renowned baritone, will sing in concert with the Wichita Symphony March 17 at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
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Workers at the Allen County courthouse were evacuated yesterday afternoon when a briefcase thought to contain a bomb was left in the office of Detective Captain Steve Junkermann. The bomb scare ended when officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms cut open the briefcase and found it contained nothing dangerous, only papers, books, and office supplies. The briefcase had been left in the office by a woman who had been there previously in the day.
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Marjorie Norman, who has taught first grade in the same room every year at Jefferson Elementary School for the past 22 years, has been nominated for the 1985 Master Teacher Award sponsored by Emporia State University. Norman has been a teacher for 30 years and is the only USD 257 teacher sponsored for the award.
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MORAN — Tom Cannon isn’t old enough to vote in the April 2 election here, but he’s running for election to the City Council and if an opinion from Attorney General Robert Stephen is correct, Cannon’s candidacy is legitimate. Cannon, a 17-year-old senior who commutes to Iola High School for classes, is one of five candidates running for five slots on the Moran city council. Kansas law requires candidates to be at least 18 years old. His birthday is April 6, just four days after the election and a full month before the swearing-in ceremonies. Tom’s mother, Hallie Cannon, is already a member of the council having been appointed to fill a vacancy last year.
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Farmers in Allen County who lost at least 30 percent of their 1984 crops because of drought, early frost or heavy rain may be eligible to receive emergency loans from the Farmers Home Administration. Allen County has been designated a disaster area.
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Remodeling at the Iola TG&Y store is complete. Richard Strahl, manager of the store, said that 500 Preemie Cabbage Patch dolls have been obtained for the re-opening.
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Mary Asbury has been hired as director of Family Lifeline, Inc. and assumes her duties April 15 when the organization opens its office in the Chamber of Commerce Building. Family Lifeline is an organization that gives assistance to victims of family violence. Asbury was a psychiatric supervisor and aide for 10 years, has experience in administering and developing programs and is concerned about the problems of abuse, according to Noelle St. Clair, chairman of the board of Family Lifeline.
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The Iola Area Chamber of Commerce will sign documents Monday, April 1, completing arrangements for the $25,000 purchase of its office building at 208 W. Madison.
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The Farmers Home Administration office will be moved effective April 1 from 110 E. Madison to 1406 East St.
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Becky Ritter invites the public to the courthouse meeting room to see her slides of India that she took while there for four months as an International 4-H Youth exchange student.
