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News Blue Rapids Free Press - Thursday, January 24, 2013
Conservatives Aim To Rein-In Ethics Commission
KS: Conservatives aim to
rein-in ethics commission
By Travis Perry │ Kansas
Watchdog
OSAWATOMIE — On the
cusp of the 2013 legislative
session, some conservative legislators
are setting their sights
on the Kansas Governmental
Ethics Commission, with the
goal of leaving it powerless.
Victor R. Nordhus
Victor “Vic” R. Nordhus, 89,
of Marysville, KS, died
Sunday, January 20, 2013 at
Community Memorial
Healthcare in Marysville.
Visitation will be
Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
at Kinsley Mortuary.
A rosary service will be held
at 8 p.m., Wednesday, January
23, at St. Gregory’s Catholic
Church, Marysville.
Mass of Christian Burial will
be held at 10:30 a.m.,
Thursday, January 24, at St.
Gregory’s. Father Jim
Shaughnessy will officiate.
The pallbearers will be his
nephews, Dick Nordhus, Steve
Nordhus, Marty Nordhus, Dave
Nordhus, Mike Nordhus, Jim
Roland S. Weaver, Jr
Roland S. Weaver, Jr., 87,
formerly of the Beattie, KS,
area, died January 16, 2013 at
Clarinda, IA.
Visitation was Sunday,
January 20, noon until 9 p.m.,
at Kinsley Mortuary.
A funeral service was held at
10 a.m., Monday, January 21,
at Kinsley Mortuary. Rev.
Susan Montgomery officiated.
Jane Sedlacek was the organist.
Music inlcuded “Old
Rugged Cross” and “Amazing
Grace”.
June O. Claeys
June O. Claeys, 88, of
Marysville, KS, died Tuesday,
January 15, 2013 at Cambridge
Place. Visitation was Friday,
January 18, 10 a.m. until 5
p.m., at Kinsley Mortuary.
A rosary service was held at
7 p.m., Friday, at St. Gregory’s
Catholic Church.
Mass of Christian Burial was
held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday,
January 19, at St. Gregory’s.
Father Jim Shaughnessy officiated.
Maybelle Circle played the
organ while Saundra Haas
sang. Music included “Be Not
Afraid”, “In the Garden”, “On
John Frederick Simons, 84,
died Monday, January 21, 2013
at the Centennial Homestead
Nursing Home, Washington.
John was born on April 29,
1928, the oldest son of
Frederick Linzy and Olive
(Valentine) Simons in rural
Rooks County, Kansas in the
Survay community. When he
was six, the family moved to a
farm one mile north of Cawker
City, KS. At the age of ten, he
was baptized in the First
Baptist Church of Cawker City.
The Associated Press reported
earlier this week a number
of Republican lawmakers have
voiced frustration over the
politically appointed commission’s
perceived bias against
staunch conservatives.
“Whether or not that’s a reality,
you can’t get to that
because the perception is so
bad,” said Rep. Scott Schwab,
Nordhus, Phil Nordhus, Matt
Nordhus and John Francis
Herbin.
Burial will be in St.
Gregory’s Catholic Cemetery
with Military Funeral Honors
provided by American Legion
Smnr Post 163.
Victor was born September
23, 1923 at Seneca, KS, son of
Francis and Josepha J.
(Dwerlkotte) Nordhus. He
attended St. Gregory’s Catholic
School and graduated from
Marysville High School in
1941.
Victor served in the U.S.
Army and was stationed at Ft.
Riley. After his honorable discharge
he returned to
Marysville and began working
The pallbearers were Stan
Weaver, Jacob Weaver, Jordan
Weaver and Scott Van Raden.
Burial was in Beattie Union
Cemetery.
Roland was born September
2, 1925, in the family home
near Beattie. His parents were
Roland Stanley Weaver, Sr.,
and Clara Mary Amelia Scholz
Weaver.
He grew up on the family
farm near Beattie and went to
Axtell High School.
In 1950, Roland married
Eagle’s Wings”, “Amazing
Grace” and “The Little Brown
Church in the Vale.”
The pallbearers were Scott
Keller, Marcus Haas, Sheldon
Voet, Jerard Haas, Chris Claeys
and John Borgerding.
The honorary pallbearers
were Michael Menard, Lukas
Byrd, Nickolas Mudd,
Mercedes Menard, Joe Hozjan
and McKenzie Menard.
Burial was in the Marysville
City Cemetery.
June was born June 13, 1924
at Missoula, MT, daughter of
William and Olive (Fletcher)
Bolson.
John Frederick Simons
When he was 16, the family
moved to Lovewell, KS, where
John graduated from high
school.
The family moved to
Hebron, NE, and John worked
at the local sale barn, until he
was called to the Army. He
retired from the Army in 1974,
after serving in both Korea and
Vietnam. He was also stationed
in France, Germany, Colorado,
Missouri, Kansas and
Nebraska.
On July 19, 1952, he and
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A Div. of Blue Valley Insurance Agencies, Inc.
R-District 49, chair of the
House Elections Committee,
citing instances in which conservative
candidates have gone
before the commission — and
into the headlines — over $1
fines for relatively minor fiscal
missteps.
But Carol Williams, executive
director of the ethics commission,
said such hearings are
as a car salesman at Nordhus
Motors where he sold Kaiser
Frazer, Buick and later
Oldsmobile automobiles. He
continued to work there until
his death.
He was a member of St.
Gregory’s Catholic Church and
Knights of Columbus. He was a
Fourth Degree Knight and Past
Grand Knight. Victor had a
deep respect for his religion
and enjoyed attending daily
mass and helping as an usher.
Victor also enjoyed playing
golf, bowling and traveling.
When he was young he played
baseball as a member of the
neighborhood team “Carden
Wildcats” and was known as
“Casey”.
Della Maye Ryan/Spradley.
In 1951, he graduated from
Kansas State University with a
B.A. degree in Agricultural
Economics. He worked in sales
for a pharmaceutical company,
Goodyear, Boeing, Beechcraft,
Cessna, a John Deere dealership
in Cadwell, KS, several
years with custom combining
crews, was a handyman in the
Topeka area and was an all
around mechanical genius.
He was preceded in death by
his parents; and five sisters, Joy
She married Victor Claeys at
Yakima, WA. They later
divorced.
June worked in housekeeping
at a hospital in Yakima and
for a jean manufacturing company.
In Kansas, she worked as
a cook for Kansas State
University, the Helvering
Center and Marysville Schools.
June enjoyed flowers and
cooking for her family. She was
a member of St. Gregory’s
Catholic Church and the Altar
Society. She belonged to the
American Legion Auxiliary,
VFW and Moose Club.
She was preceded in death
Alta M. Lovewell were united
in marriage at Junction City,
KS. To this union nine children
were born.
After retiring from the Army,
John found pleasure in farming
and gardening until his health
started to fail. Preceding him in
death were his parents; sons,
Thomas Cecil Simons,
Frederick Stephen Simons;
daughter, Rosalie Renee
Simons; brother Cecil Simons;
and grandsons, Jeffrey Wayne
Bjork and Brian Scott Simons.
Kenneth L. Sells, Agent
often automatic and mandated
by state statute. Because conservatives
comprise a heavy
majority in the state’s political
arena, she said, they also make
up a large number of those
called before the commission.
“It is not the commission’s
fault that those people who
have been solicited over the
last few years have been
He was preceded in death by
his parents; brother, Norbert
Nordhus; sister, Betty Dam;
brother-in-law, Lee Dam; and
sister-in-law, Anne Nordhus.
Survivors include three
brothers, Francis Nordhus,
James (Mary) Nordhus
, all of Marysville, and
Gerald (Jean) Nordhus,
Shawnee Mission, KS; sister,
Edith (John) Herbin,
Jamestown, KS; sister-in-law,
Barbara Nordhus, Marysville;
nieces and nephews.
A memorial fund has been
established to St. Gregory’s
Catholic School. Contributions
may be sent in care of Kinsley
Mortuary.
Chesnee, Edna Eileen Kinney,
Mary Anna Weir, Maxine
Kewley and Caryl Jones.
Survivors include one brother,
Raymond Louis (Donna)
Weaver; brother-in-law, Don
Jones (Caryl); son Roland S.
Weaver III (Pam); three grandchildren,
Jacob Aaron
(Kimberly), Jordan Adam and
Jaclyn Annette (Scott) Van
Raden; thirteen nieces and
nephews.
Kinsley Mortuary was in
charge of arrangements.
by her parents; and three brothers,
William Bolson, Robert
Bolson and Walter Bolson.
Survivors include three children,
Janice (Greg) Haas,
Marysville, Jim Claeys,
Marysville, and Jerry Claeys,
Yakima, WA; ten grandchildren,
ten great-grandchildren,
three great-great grandchildren,
and one step-great-grandson.
A memorial fund has been
established and will be designated
at a later date.
Contributions may be sent in
care of Kinsley Mortuary.
Surviving him is wife, Mary
of Washington; children, Dale
Ann Bjork of Marysville,
Glenn Allen (Rozanne) Simons
of Independence, MO, Happy
John Simons, of Washington,
Rose (Jim) Applegarth of
Morrowville, Kathy Simons of
Washington, Joni (Shannon)
Meier of Mankato; brother,
Robert Keith (Ada Rae)
Simons of Belen, NM; and thirteen
grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held
at a later date.
Mustang Construction
William D. Ralph, Owner
1393 Tumbleweek Rd
Blue Rapids, Ks 66411
Phone: (785) 556-0884
785-629-0050
Kenneth.Sells @fbfs.com
1019 Broadway, P.O. Box 267
Marysville, Ks 66508-0267
Registered Repersentative/Securities & Services offered
through EqullTrust Marketing Services, LLC. 5400
University Ave, West Des Moines, Ia 50266, 877860
Jill L. Gray, D.D.S., P.A.
Family Dentistry
107 South 8th Street
Marysville, Ks 66508
Office: (785 562-5323
Cell: (785 556-1487
Republicans,” Williams said.
“That’s just how the chips fall.”
Proposals circulating among
House Republicans include
instituting term limits for commission
appointees, as well as a
controversial suggestion to
transfer enforcement authority
to county attorneys and the
state attorney general, themselves
elected officials.
Would that be a conflict of
interest?
“To a degree, yes, and that’s
part of the conversation we
need to have,” Schwab said.
“How do you handle who
polices the police? I don’t
know how we do it, that’s part
of the conversation we need to
have.”
But it’s a conversation that
has become increasingly difficult
to spark, said Sen. Dennis
Pyle, R-District 1, Schwab’s
counterpart on the Senate
Ethics and Elections
Committee.
“I don’t want people to think
we’re trying to get rid of ethics
and go back to the Nixon
days,” Pyle said. “We haven’t
had the conversation; it’s
almost like we’re afraid to have
the conversation because we’re
2A
afraid of being called unethical.”
Neither Schwab nor Pyle
said they were aware of any
pre-filed legislation, but they
expected it to be a topic on
which to focus during the
upcoming legislative session.
For now, Williams isn’t worried.
“Until we see actual legislation
and what is being proposed,
until we’re at that point,
it’s kind of esoteric,” said
Williams.
Pyle said it’s the duty of state
lawmakers to remain skeptical
of entities such as the ethics
commission, as well as its
opponents.
“There are always going to
be those that believe they’ve
been mistreated. Our job as legislators
is to find out if that’s
true, and if that means reforming,
changing the dynamics of
the commission, we’ll definitely
be interested in looking at
that,” Pyle said.
Regarding the rumbling of
dissent against the commission,
Pyle said, “I do know that when
you hear thunder, you’re supposed
to be careful, you might
be struck by lightning.”
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Phone (785) 363-2723
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Darrell E. Spain
Attorney at Law
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