Spectacular celestial sight Nearby thunderstorms filled the skies over northern Allen County with a series of brilliant lightning flashes Wednesday. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
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Thursday, October 2, 2014
Former Iolan seriously injured Former Iolan Stephen Moyer, 62, remains in serious condition with what family members called a traumatic spine injury at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Mo., following a motorcycle accident last Thursday near Rogers, Ark. Moyer had been living in Lebo. The accident, which resulted in the death of another motorcyclist, Floyd B. White Jr., also 62, of Seagoville, Texas, occurred about five miles east of Rogers, Ark., near Beaver Lake. According to Arkansas State Police officers, the two motorcycles collided when Moyer failed to negotiate a
Roy Anderson, from left, Colton Schubert, Heather Kropf and Jordan Garcia are the main characters of the Allen Community College rendition of “Shrek: The Musical.” REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
‘Shrek’ to take Bowlus stage By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
The famous green ogre, Shrek, will make his debut on the Bowlus Fine Arts Center stage when The Allen Community College Theatre presents “Shrek: The Musical,” Oct. 9-11. This is the first show of the ACC drama season. Director
Tony Piazza said he wants to start the season off with a bang. “I’m happy to come here and give the students the big stage experience,” Piazza said. “I wanted to do a big, popular show for the 50th (anniversary). It’s new and people know about it.” The college uses the Bowlus stage at least once a year for one of its productions.
right-hand curve. White died at the scene; his wife, Tempa White, 61, was injured. A Facebook page, MoyerStrong, set up to keep friends in- Stephen Moyer formed and as a forum for encouraging messages, noted Moyer had surgery Tuesday morning and that therapy had started. The therapy was characterized as being “a very strenuous process and taking great amounts of energy See MOYER | Page A5
Public Forum 7 o’clock tonight Old Gas Grade School USD 257 officials will discuss plans to build new elementary and high schools in Iola
The musical follows the plot of the first “Shrek” movie. Shrek’s isolated life becomes interrupted when Lord Farquaad exiles fairy tale characters to his swamp. With the help of a talking donkey named, Donkey, Shrek finds his way to Duloc to ask Farquaad to take the characters back. See SHREK | Page A4
Amazon closing distribution plant in Coffeyville WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Amazon.com plans to close a distribution center in southeast Kansas in February, a move that will affect hundreds of workers in this rural area, the online retailer said Wednesday. The Seattle-based company said it regularly evaluates its network to ensure the business is placing fulfillment centers as close to customers as possible. “This is not a decision we made lightly and we are committed to supporting our em-
ployees through this transition,” Amazon spokeswoman Ashley Robinson said in an email. Amazon said it employs hundreds of workers in Coffeyville, but gave no specific numbers. Employees were notified Tuesday afternoon. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said the retailer has reached deals with California, Texas, Pennsylvania and New York in which it would receive a holiday for a limited period of time on collection of sales taxes in
exchange for building distribution centers and employing people in those states. They are among the most populous
states in the country. Another factor behind the move to the more populous states is Amazon’s Prime service, which offers a guaranteed two-day delivery, Pachter said. The company was finding it inconvenient to ship to out-of-the-way distribution centers in places such as Kansas and then transport those packages hundreds of miles to the customers, he said. Having a distribution center in Kansas was beneficial when the company was trying to avoid collecting sales taxes
in those more populous states. But now that it has tax deals with those states, it is setting up centers closer to customers, which will save time and money for shipping. “Locating a distribution center in Kansas didn’t make sense from a business perspective because you have a low population, but it made sense from a tax perspective,” Pachter said. “Once you neutralize the tax law, they didn’t need to be there anymore — that is what happened.” See AMAZON | Page A5
Delayed fishing derby Democrats don’t need nominee hooks onto new date After twice being delayed due to rainy weather, the 19th annual Hooked On Fishing, Not On Drugs fishing derby is a go. Organizer Mike Ford said the truncated derby will cast off at 1 p.m. Sunday at Abbott’s Pond on North Cottonwood Street. The derby, sponsored by the Iola Fire Department and other businesses and organizations, was rained out twice in June, prompting Ford to postpone it indefinitely. Participants are encouraged to bring their own bait, poles, fishing supplies and a drink for during the tourna-
ment. The fishing lasts until 4 o’clock. In a departure from past HOFNOD derbies, no lunch will be provided. Awards and trophies will go to the top three in three ages groups — 2-8, 9-12 and 13-17 — who catch the most fish in terms of weight. Overall prizes will be given for the most fish, the largest single fish and the smallest fish. Each participant will be given another prize, Ford said. Participants may park at the Lutheran Church, 117 E. Miller Rd.
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 238
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Democrats are not required to field a candidate this fall against Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, a state court decided Wednesday in a boost for independent Greg Orman and a blow to the GOP’s hopes of capturing a majority. A panel of three Shawnee County District Court judges ruled in a suit filed after Democratic candidate Chad Taylor dropped out of the race — a development Republicans resisted. The judges also said the disgruntled voter who sued the state Democratic Party failed “to provide evidence to sustain it” by refusing to participate in the only hearing in the case Monday.
The voter did not plan to appeal, and Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican and strong Roberts supporter, directed counties to begin printing ballots in Kris Kobach time for the start of advance voting on Oct. 15. State Democratic Party Chairwoman Joan Wagnon declared during a news conference, “It’s done.” Some Democrats pushed Taylor out of the race because they saw Orman, a 45-year-old Kansas City-area businessman, as the stronger rival for the 78-year-old
“I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.” — Woodrow Wilson 75 Cents
Roberts and didn’t want to split the anti-Roberts vote. Many Republicans hoped Democrats would be forced to replace Taylor, to siphon votes from Orman and help Roberts. The Kansas Supreme Court allowed Taylor, the 40-year-old Topeka-area district attorney, to remove his name from the Nov. 4 ballot last month, but the voter, David Orel, 57, of Kansas City, Kansas, immediately sued the Democratic Party and three of its top officials. “There’s not enough time for an appeal,” said Tom Haney, his attorney. Kobach had told the judges that counties would need to See SENATE | Page A4
Hi: 77 Lo: 55 Iola, KS