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Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - Wamego Kansas

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OBITUARY POLICY The Smoke Signal is endeavoring to keep obituaries free as a public service to our community. Our policy for free obituaries, is to include the following: Deceased name and age; date and place of birth and death; parents; education and military service; employment and organizational memberships; marriage and children, sur-vivors and pre-deceased, date and place of services and burial, condolences. If received in time, we will also add viewing information. A thumbnail photo may be included if provided. Military service, if listed, will be honored with our flag art. The decedent must have ties to our circulation area evi-dent in the obituary. If additional information is requested, the obituary be-comes an advertisement. We do offer a 25 percent discount off of our normal rate for obituaries.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 Wamego, Kansas

At Stewart Funeral Home, we strive to provide all families with dignified, caring

services, matched with the best value and costs, guaranteed.

Bart and Jenny Stewart George Doll

TEWART FUNERAL HOME

Wamego - Westmoreland - Alma 785-456-2233

“A Community Friend and Leader.” The name that your family has trusted for

more than a century … Since 1897.

Obituaries

Dorothy Duncan

Dorothy Duncan, 80, formerly of Olivet, Kan., passed away on Monday, March 4, 2013 at Westy Care Home in Westmoreland. She was

born on Aug. 14, 1932 in Pryor, Okla., the daughter of Rudolph and Emily Vaughn Huffman.

Dorothy had lived on a farm near Olivet for many years until moving to Westmoreland 6 years ago.

She had worked for the Osage County Extension Council and the Osage County Clerk of the District Court.

On Jan. 18, 1953, Dorothy was married to Don Dun-can in Kansas City, MO.

She was preceded in death by her husband Don, her daughter, Bambi Boeckenstedt , two brothers, Troy Huffman and Ray Huffman, and two sisters, Lottie Davis and Annie Safely.

Dorothy is survived by her son, Stewart Duncan (Erin) of Westmoreland; a brother, Earl Huffman of Hemet, Cali.; a sister, Kathern Bradshaw of Forsyth, MO.; six grandchildren, Bryan Tyson, Amanda Haimowitz, Myra Boeckenstedt, Anna Boeckenstedt, Amos Duncan and Colin Duncan; and four great-grandchildren; 29 nieces and nephews

Dorothy was cremated and memorial services will be announced at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Melvern United Methodist Church or the Olivet Community Building and sent in care of Feltner Funeral Home, 818 Topeka Ave., Lyndon, KS. 66451.

Patricia “Patti” Jeanne Nelson

Patricia Jeanne Nelson, 52, of Wamego, passed away Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013 at her home.

Patti was born March 14, 1960 in Oceanside, Cali. on the base at Camp Pendleton. She was the daughter of William E. and Mary E. (Whitfield) Nelson. She moved to Wamego in 2007 coming from Michi-gan. Patti was a jack of all trades working in the factory and retail and also driving a tow truck. After becoming disabled she most recently was taking classes to pursue her col-lege degree.

Patti is survived by her parents: William and Mary Lou Nelson of Wamego; three daugh-ters: ChrisAnn Kuebler of Maryland, Melissa Keaton and husband John of West Virginia and Kathleen Hood and finance Leland Adams of Tx; two sons: Jason Mary-gold and wife Mary and Larry Angulo and wife Lindsay both of Michigan; one adopted daughter: Natasha Young of Tx; three brothers: Thomas McLees and his signifi-cant other Wendy Hotzel of Wamego, Dan McLees and wife Raga of Montana and Pete Waroff and wife Emma of California; two sisters: Alyce Hogan and husband Rick and Monya Waroff both of Washington; numerous grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her mother: Mary Whitfield.

Patti’s wishes were to be cremated. Private family services for Patti will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Patricia Nelson Memorial Fund and may be left in care of the Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego, KS, PO Box 48, 66547. Online condolences may be left at www.stewartfuneral-homes.com.

Patricia NelsoN

Paul Bernard Menhusen

Paul Bernard Menhusen, 82, of Wamego, died Monday, March 4, 2013, at Mercy Regional Health Center in Manhattan.

He has been a resident of the com-munity since 1953.

Paul was born March 30, 1930, in Jewell, Kan., the son of Bernard B. and Ruth Hitz Menhusen. He attend-ed local schools and Jewell High School. He then served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1953. He achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant while stationed in Alaska.

Paul worked in the metal working industry. He was a welder and fitter at Balderson’s for 26 years. He also worked for Jeffrey Energy Center. When he moved to Wamego, Paul worked helping construct Tuttle Creek Dam.

Paul married LeDean Van Wey on Dec. 20, 1954. She survives.

Paul is also survived by his daughter, Teresa Whitlock and her husband, RJ, Manhattan; his sons, Richard Menhusen and his wife, Sue, Otho, Iowa, Bernard Men-husen and his wife, Clara, Silver Lake and Rodney Menhusen and his wife, Tonya, Louisville; brothers, Junior Menhusen, and his wife, Carol, Beloit, Albert Menhusen and his wife, Connie, Wamego, Ronald Men-husen and his wife, Linda, and Merlyn Menhusen, both of Jewell; eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchil-dren. He was preceded in death by his grandson, Eric Bernard Menhusen, his sister, Thelda Yapp and brother, Gorden Menhusen.

Funeral services were held Friday, March 8, 2013, at Campanella-Evans Mortuary in Wamego. Burial with military honors followed at Wamego City Cemetery. They suggest memorial contributions to Valley Vista Good Samaritan Center, and those may be sent in care of the mortuary. Online condolences may be made at www.campanellafuneral.com.

Paul MeNhuseN

Patrick Joseph O’Shea

Patrick Joseph O’Shea, 85, of Blaine, died Saturday, March 2, 2013, at his home. He was a life-long resident of the community.

Pat was born March 26, 1927, in rural Blaine, the son of John and Lenora Farrell O’Shea. He attended local schools and graduated from Blaine High School in 1945. He then briefly attended Kansas University. He served as a clerk in the United States Army during WWII while sta-tioned in Italy.

Pat spent his entire life as a farmer and stockman on the family farm north of Blaine. He also worked con-struction for a few years and helped build the present Onaga Community Hospital. Pat was a steward of the land and proud of his Irish heritage.

Pat married Joetta “Dottie” Umscheid on June 21, 1951, in Flush. She survives at their home.

He is also survived by his son, Stephen (Kellie) O’Shea, Blaine; his daughters, Patricia (Steven) Camp-bell, Westmoreland, Debra O’Shea, Westmoreland, Lisa (Mike) McAdams, Manhattan, Vicky (Russell) Geyer, Flush, and Colleen (Dan) Janatello, Shawnee; son-in-law, Greg Parsons, Auburn; brothers, Raymond O’Shea, Highland Park, Colo. and Robert O’Shea, Oskaloosa; sixteen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Pat was preceded in death by a daughter, Laurie Parsons and three brothers, Norbert, Gilbert and John O’Shea.

Mass of Christian Burial was held Thursday, March 7, 2013, at St. Columbkille’s Catholic Church in Blaine. Burial with military honors followed at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery. They suggest memorial contributions to St. Columbkille’s Catholic Church or American Legion Post 1081, and those may be sent in care of Kufahl Funeral Home in Wheaton. Online condolences may be made at www.campanellafuneral.com.

Patrick o’shea

Steve Releford

Steve Releford, age 56, of Manhattan died Tuesday March 5, 2013 at the Stormont-Vail Health Center, Topeka.

He was born on Dec. 13, 1956 in Manhattan the son of William H. & Marjorie M. (Simon) Releford. He attended Manhattan public schools and graduated from Manhattan High. Steve worked at Kansas State Univer-sity in facilities for over 35 years.

He was preceded in death by his parents. Survivors include 2 brothers: Douglas Releford and his wife Sarah of Wamego and Richard Releford of Derby; 2 sisters: Patty Porter and her husband Bill of Manhattan and Glenda Burdette of Wichita. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews and many friends.

Cremation with graveside services were held on Mon-day, March 11, 2013 at the Randolph/Fancy Creek Cem-etery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or to Autism Meets Optimism in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Lond-een Funeral Home 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, Kansas 66502. Online condolences may be left for the family through the funeral home website at: www.yml-funeralhome.com.

steve releford

Property valuation notic-es for 2013 were in the mail around March 1. In all classes of property, values for 2013 will show an overall county wide increase by an average of 4.37% in comparison to the 3.03% increase in 2012. All new construction picked up during the 2012 calendar year is included in this percentage. The countywide number of sales in all classes has increased from 2011 at 529 sales in comparison to 671 sales for 2012.

Guidelines that the State Property Valuation Depart-ment sets for our county sales ratio compliance is in a range of 90% to 110%. A median ratio of 100% is evidence that properties are appraised at their fair market value. Ratios below 100% mean that the values of property are being appraised below what they are selling for.

The residential market is stable with no indication of an upward or downward trend. The overall county-wide average valuation for residential property has increased by approximate-ly 2.9%. This percentage also includes all new con-struction picked up during the 2012 calendar year. On residential property excluding new construc-tion there was not an indi-cation of any percentage of increase or decrease in appraised values. Rural residential properties with small acreages are still showing active market sale prices in comparison to urban residential proper-ties. Of all valid residential sales that occurred in our county which included 274 sales, 83% were located along the Highway 24 cor-ridor from St. Marys to Manhattan. 74% of those sales were located from Wamego to Manhattan which is by far the most active part of the market area located in Pottawato-mie County. The average sale price for a residential dwelling in Pottawatomie County is $181,342. The median sale price is $175,000.

The overall average for agricultural land values is showing mixed trends in value. Dryland and irrigat-ed cropland is showing an overall average increase of

16%, tame grass and native grassland showed no over-all increase/decrease for 2013. The short answer to the higher percentage for cropland is the increase in commodities and increas-ing cropland values throughout the state and region for both dry and irrigated land. As usual, as far as agricultural land is concerned, the State of Kansas Property Valuation Department sets the “use value” or the value based on its income or productiv-ity. The only thing the Appraiser’s Office is responsible for is deter-mining what that use is (row crop, native grass, and tame grass). If the property owner has seeded cropland to brome or native grass within the last year, it would benefit you to contact our office and let us know of these changes. If you have entered into the CRP program, the use of the acres will still be as cropland as long as you are in the CRP program.

Again this year the Appraiser’s Office is offer-ing the feature of free internet access for all par-cel and sales information for 30 days. Any person wishing to examine parcel information will be able to do that free of charge dur-ing the appeal process time of March 1st thru April 1st. To access the information go to the county website www.pottcounty.org and click the link located on the main page of the Coun-ty website. After the April 1st date, the public link will only give the current and previous appraised values for free. To access other information you will need to be a registered user for a fee. To learn more about that process, please feel free to contact the Appraiser’s Office at 785-457-3500.

Property owners that have questions or want to appeal the value of their property need to contact the Appraiser’s Office at 785-457-3500 to set up an appointment after they receive their valuation notice. You have 30 days to appeal the value from the date of your notice. Or you may file a payment under protest application at the time you pay your first half of taxes in December. We will then set an infor-mal hearing appeal for you at that time.

lois e. schlegel, rMaPt. Co. Appraiser

2013 Property Valuation Notices