Saturday, January 22, 2022
Locally owned since 1867
Darn near done diggin’
Cases since 1/19......136 Total cases*............3,449 Deaths...................30
Iola girls prevail in defensive battle
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Senator scoffs at redistricting crisis
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By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
The end is in sight for a yearslong soil cleanup effort in Iola. Workers from Veterans Worldwide are expected to finish the 300 or so remaining properties containing lead-tainted soil by the end of 2022. Lester Johnson, owner of Veterans Worldwide, the company charged with the cleanup, said the work may extend past the scheduled finish in September, but will be done by the end of the year. An extraordinarily wet first half of 2021, coupled with workforce shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, slowed work a bit, Johnson noted. However, crews have largely been able to work through the winter on vacant land through the winter months. As per the company’s contract, residential property cleanup won’t resume until March, Johnson noted. For the past several weeks, work has been centered on land adjoining the Prairie Spirit Trail south of U.S. 54 and north of Riverside Park. By the time Veterans WorldSee DIRT | Page A8
iolaregister.com
Company seeks city’s help with fiber optics By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Crews with Veterans Worldwide dig soil near the Prairie Spirit Trail south of U.S. 54 and north of Riverside Park. REGISTER/RICHARD
Iola City Council members will hear a request Monday from KwiKom Communications to help the company expand its fiber-optic service in Iola. KwiKom already provides such service to portions of Iola, primarily north of U.S. 54. It would cost roughly $640,000 to cover much of the rest of Iola, the company noted. It is hoping the city would pay up to half — $320,000 — to extend the private company’s reach to an additional 1,700 residences and 100 businesses The funds would be repaid through a franchise fee payment of $37,500 annually, plus another $7,000 to $10,000 for pole rental to hang fiber-optic cable on city poles. KwiKom also would connect city offices at no charge with an “L2” data link, and add public-acSee COUNCIL | Page A3
The omicron surge is undermining care for other health problems By BEN FINLEY and KATE BRUMBACK The Associated Press
The former Countryside Funeral Home building at 908 Central St. in Humboldt will become a new senior center. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS
Humboldt to get new senior center By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
HUMBOLDT — A remodel is underway at the former Countryside Funeral Home at 908 Central St. to convert it into a new Humboldt Senior Center. Cindy Scovill, site manager, said the new location will solve numerous problems that have plagued the current center at 718 Bridge St., including structural and flooring issues. It also isn’t convenient for those who are handicapped, as it has steps and parking for the handicapped is located in the back of the building. Parking also can be a problem, as it requires drivers to back onto busy Bridge Street. “It’s hard for folks to get in and out where we are now,” Scovill said. “This is going to be so much nicer. It’s all on one floor,
Vol. 124, No. 78 Iola, KS 75 Cents
Allen County maintenance worker Rick Aiello sands a wall in preparation for paint at the new location for the Humboldt Senior Center. which makes it real nice for them to come into the building.” The new building includes a small kitchen, two handicapped-accessible restrooms, an office and a large, open area that can be used as a community meeting room.
The property also includes a large, dedicated parking lot just feet from the building. The new site is expected to open sometime around lateMarch. THE COUNTY paid $95,000 See CENTER | Page A7
Roger Strukhoff was being treated for intestinal bleeding at a hospital outside Chicago this month when he suffered a mild heart attack. Normally, the 67-year-old would have been sent to the intensive care unit. But Strukhoff said it was overrun with COVID-19 patients, and the staff instead had to wheel a heart monitor into his room and quickly administer nitroglycerin and morphine. “A doctor I know pretty well said, ‘Roger, we’re going to have to improvise right here,’” said Strukhoff, who lives in DeKalb, Illinois. The omicron surge this winter has not only swamped U.S. hospitals with record numbers of patients with COVID-19, it has also caused frightening moments and major headaches for people trying to get treatment for other ailments. Less-urgent procedures have been put on hold around the country, such as cochlear implant surgeries and steroid injections for rheumatoid arthritis. And people with all sorts of medical complaints have had to
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A surge of omicron patients is filling hospitals and making it difficult to treat nonCOVID cases. PIXABAY.COM wait in emergency rooms for hours longer than usual. Mat Gleason said he wheeled his 92-year-old father, Eugene Gleason, into a Los Angeles-area emergency room last week for a transfusion to treat a blood disorder. It should have taken about seven to 10 hours, Gleason said, but his dad was there for 48 hours. He said his father called him after 10 hours, asking for a blanket. “He told me later, ‘I just assumed they forgot about me,” said Gleason, 57, who works as an art critic. “And yet he wasn’t the only perSee HOSPITALS | Page A7
To the Staff of Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center for being recognized as the 2021 Health Quality Innovator of the Year population health category – runner up for Community of Immunity Initiative. 629 S. Plummer • Chanute, KS • 620-431-4000 www.neoshomemorial.com