California imposes water cuts amid drought See A6
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Easter fun ahead
Iola Kiwanis’ annual Easter Egg Hunt returns to the Allen County Courthouse lawn at noon Saturday. Hundreds of pieces of candy will be scattered across the lawn south and west of the building, where children will be segregated by age prior to the hunt. The hunt begins as the clock strikes 12 on the nearby courthouse clock. WINDSOR Place residents will get into the act at 10 a.m. Saturday, with youngsters and the young-at-heart participating in an Easter Parade. The public is invited to both events.
Deadline for advance voting ballots nears Time is running short for those voting ahead of Tuesday’s city and school elections. Advance voting is available through the mail, or in the Allen County clerk’s office in the courthouse. No ballots will be mailed
to voters after Friday. The deadline to vote in County Clerk Sherrie Riebel’s office is noon Monday. All ballots must be returned, including those by mail, to the clerk’s office by 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Kansans rally for repeal By JIM MCLEAN KHI News Service
About 100 people rallied Wednesday within earshot of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s office to demand the repeal of income tax cuts they say are crippling the state. The Rev Up Kansas coalition staged the event to call attention to the state’s ongoing budget problems, which organizers said are the result of tax cuts that Brownback championed in the mistaken belief that they would jumpstart the Kansas economy. Shannon Cotsoradis, president of Kansas Action for
Children, said the steep drop in revenue is forcing cuts in programs that are essential to low-income children and their families. “I simply don’t believe that Kansans want tax policies that short-circuit investments in the next generation,” Cotsoradis said. “Let’s reverse course before it’s too late for an entire generation of Kansas children.” News of additional revenue shortfalls added urgency to the rally. Late Tuesday, the Kansas Department of Revenue reported that the state had colSee REPEAL | Page A5
Iolan Chardel Hastings is the new administrator of the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
Familiar face returns to Health Dept. By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
Chardel Hasting’s new position with the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department is a homecoming of sorts. Hastings previously worked
13 years as a nurse for the department, but left to assume other duties, most recently at the local hospital. When word came of the administrator vacancy Hastings returned to her old stomping grounds to visit with employees.
“When I walked in the door it felt like I was coming home again,” she said. “It felt so right this is where I landed.” On March 16, she took over the reins as administrator of SEKMCD whose headquarters See SEKMHD | Page A5
State targets rising tuition By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State universities in Kansas would not be allowed to increase tuition for two years under a proposal drafted Wednesday by legislators, who also ad-
vanced a bill authorizing $1 billion in bonds to help shore up the state’s public pension system. The proposed tuition freeze emerged from budget talks between the House and Senate, during which negotiators settled differences over
a $15.5 billion spending plan. On higher education, a major sticking point, the lawmakers agreed to keep state funding for higher education relatively flat despite a projected budget shortfall of nearly $600 See STATE | Page A5
TWO INJURED
GRAPHIC BY THE NATIONAL POST
Lunar eclipse Saturday A traffic accident south of Humboldt sent two Chanute women to the hospital Wednesday. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Rose Stierwalt, 72, Chanute, was entering the northbound lane of U.S. 169 from the 1150 Street onramp, when her car was struck by a northbound tractor-trailer driven by Patrick J. Sammon, 55, St. Joseph, Mo. Stierwalt was flown from the scene to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. A passenger, Darlene Topman, 74, Chanute, was transported via ambulance to Labette County Health in Parsons. Scammon was not injured. At top, emergency crews treat the injured. At left, the crews look over the wreckage. Emergency crews from Humboldt, Iola and Chanute were called to the scene. REGISTER/ RICHARD LUKEN
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 106
“All adventure is now reactionary.”
For the third time in less than a year sky watchers in the Americas will be able to watch a total eclipse of the Moon. But do not blink, because if you do, you might miss this one. And you will have to be an early riser Saturday morning to see it. Lunar eclipses happen when the Moon slips in to the shadow of the Earth, and because we are watching the Moon, and not the sun, no special glasses or eye protection is needed. A pair of binoculars will actually improve the views. At 5:16 a.m. Saturday the Moon will begin to enter the Earth’s shadow. The Moon
— William F. Buckley, American journalist 75 Cents
will slowly slip deeper in to the Earth’s shadow until 6:58. At that time the Moon will be completely covered by the Earth’s shadow. But this is about all we will be able to see. At 7:03 the Moon will begin to leave the Earth’s shadow, 4 scant minutes before setting in the western sky. The rising sun — also at 7:03 — will interfere with the viewing as well. All this means is that we will be able to watch the Moon slip in to the shadow of the Earth but the eclipse will be taking place beyond See ECLIPSE | Page A5
Hi: 77 Lo: 49 Iola, KS