Kickoff: Iola High opens season Friday at Chanute.
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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Schools plan would end local taxing authority By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas would strip its local school districts of their power to levy taxes and have the state raise offsetting revenues to ensure that education funding doesn’t favor wealthy areas under a plan outlined Wednesday by a
group of school administrators. The proposal represents a radical departure from the state’s long-standing policy of allowing local school districts to impose property taxes to supplement the state’s aid. Instead, Kansas would set a uniform statewide tax to fund schools, with those revenues and existing state dollars meant to cover
districts’ operating costs and provide extra funds for local initiatives. Kansas has been in and out of lawsuits over education funding for decades, and a key issue has been whether its school finance system allows poor districts to keep up with wealthier ones. The Republican-controlled Legislature expects to write a new
school funding formula next year. About 30 school administrators from across the state have been working on their plan for more than a year, and they unveiled its outlines during a forum sponsored by their state association and the Kansas See SCHOOLS | Page A5
Hopeful faces uphill climb By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
Carla Griffith is undaunted by the challenge of running as a write-in candidate against State Sen. Caryn Tyson for the 12th District. “I’ve overcome challenges before,” she said in what one soon learns is her unflappable manner. Griffith was in Iola Wednesday morning, including a stop at the Register. Not only will Griffith be facing a Republican incumbent, but also on the Nov. 8 ballot will be Chris Johnston’s name as the Democratic candidate. “I’m trying to get the word out that a vote for Chris will be a vote for Caryn because it won’t be a vote for me,” Griffith said. Griffith, who is currently registered as a Democrat, said she would “probably” change that status to “unaffiliated,” because “I need to eke out every possible vote I can get, and I don’t want a label to keep people from voting for me.” Griffith cast Tyson as a Brownback groupie especially in regards to education and state finance. Griffith said teachers and school administrators have complained to her of their
In a study published in Nature Wednesday, a team of Australian researchers suggest life on Earth could go back more than 3.7 billion years — less than a billion years after the planet was born. FOTOLIA/TAMAS ZSEBOK/TNS
New study suggests life got early start on Earth By DEBORAH NETBURN Los Angeles Times
How long has life flourished on our planet? A new study suggests it could go back more than 3.7 billion years. In a study published Wednesday in Nature, a team of Australian researchers describe small conical structures that may have been built by microorganisms less than a billion years after the planet was born. The work adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests life has flourished on Earth since its infancy.
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Carla Griffith
“If these really are the figurative tombstones of our earliest ancestors, the implications are staggering,” Abigail Allwood, a geologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, Calif., wrote in a commentary. The search for the earliest signs of life on our planet has taken many different forms. Some researchers scour ancient minerals for chemical signatures that likely have a biological origin. Others have looked for physical remnants left beSee FOSSILS | Page A5
Trees plague power lines LAHARPE — A recent spell of electrical disruptions in LaHarpe once again has city officials scrambling. LaHarpe City Council members gathered for a special meeting Wednesday to address electric rates, but that issue was pushed to the back burner following a recent engineer’s report that cited one of the causes of a series of outages, brown-outs and power surges — tree branches coming into contact with power lines. “It’s something we need to get taken care of quickly,” Mayor Mae Crowell said. City employees will be tasked with canvassing the city’s power lines to determine which are in close proximity to over-grown tree limbs. From there, the Council will decide whether trimming can be done locally, or if contractors will need to be hired. Councilman Danny Ware noted the disruptions have caused a number of headaches for local residents, who have had to replace appliances as a result. The electric rate discussion was tabled.
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 214
A view of snow-capped mountains, Lake Tahoe, and the historic Cal Neva Resort, Spa and Casino, once owned by Frank Sinatra. The White House Wednesday announced a series of new funding and environmental programs to address the deteriorating health of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding forests. LOS ANGELES TIMES/ALLEN J. SCHABEN/TNS
White House promises aid for Lake Tahoe STATELINE, Nev. (TNS) — The White House on Wednesday announced a series of new funding and environmental programs to address the deteriorating health of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding forests caused in
part by the increasing temperatures brought about by climate change. The announcement came just hours before President Barack Obama was scheduled to address the Lake Tahoe Summit, an annual
“Imagination rules the world.” — Napoleon Bonaparte 75 Cents
environmental conference that California and Nevada leaders began two decades ago because of concerns about the declining water clarity in the once crystalSee TAHOE | Page A5
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