Phyllis Luedke took this photo of a trio of pelicans relaxing at John Redmond Resevoir on Thursday.
THE IOLA REGISTER Wednesday, February 19, 2014
MEET THE DIRECTORS
COUNTY
Ambulance deficit a nagging concern By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Iola Administrator Carl Slaugh told Allen County commissioners Tuesday morning the city anticipates a $413,000 deficit in operation of countywide ambulance service. Also, Slaugh said the deficit would be an annual concern. Primary income for the service is $750,000, which the county guaranteed from charges for runs made in Iola, Humboldt and Moran. The guarantee was negotiated to ensure a definite source of income, without regard to how much is collected. If run income exceeds the guarantee — an outcome that has See DEFICIT | Page A4
WORLD
Violence escalates in Ukraine
MATTHEW WINN, a theater major, is directing “Who’s on Faust?” by Mark Saunders. With not
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Thick, dark smoke rose above the center of the Ukrainian capital amid the boom of police stun grenades today, as officers in riot gear sought to push demonstrators away from the city’s main square following deadly clashes between police and protesters that left at least 25 people dead and hundreds injured and raised fears of a civil war. After several hours of relative calm, confrontation flared up again this afternoon, with hundreds of police amassing on the edges of Independence Square, known as the Maidan, throwing stun grenades and using water cannons in a bid to disperse protesters. Thousands of activists armed with fire bombs and rocks held their ground, defending the
See DIRECTORS | Page A4
See UKRAINE | Page A3
Clockwise from top left are Sarah Price, Nick Thomsen, Matthew Winn and Debra Francis, the directors of this year’s one act plays at Allen Community College. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
ACC students take reins for one act plays By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
A
llen Community College students will take a seat in the director’s chair next week for the Student Directed One Acts. Five students have selected plays, student actors and scenes for their sets. Debra Francis, a student studying criminal justice, has selected “The Proposal,” by Stephen Bittrich. This isn’t Francis’ first rodeo. She directed a one act three years ago. “It was time to do a drama. I usually do a comedy,” said Francis. The play is about a man and a woman set in 1815 England. The man wants to marry the girl not because he loves her but because he wants her. She
likes someone else. He somehow blackmails her into marriage. Jeri Troyer and Colton Schubert are acting in the one act. “I have a great cast,” Francis said. “It’s been real fun working with them.” The setting for the play is in a garden so Francis has worked with set designers to create that environment. “I’ve always loved acting,” Francis said. “You can disappear into another character and another world. It’s nice being on the other side and creating the world.”
ALLEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
A peek into the past By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Alan Ard looked every bit the part of a historical figure when he ambled to the front to give a presentation at Allen County Historical Society’s winter meeting Tuesday night. Dressed in long coat with beadwork, a heavily decorated hat and full beard, Ard was one of several presenters in a show-and-tell session. He brought a 1935 telephone directory that contained names and numbers of people who then lived in and around Els-
more and Savonburg. Ard said he found names of people he knew as a youth. Ard also told about his father’s adventures working on the Al-Can highway, which linked Alaska to the United States and provided a route to supply troops there and on the Aleutian Islands. Animals in the Alaskan wilderness were unafraid of humans, Ard said. A particular fox became so chummy he hopped into a truck with Ard’s father, but went into a frenzy when the diesel engine thundered to life. Barbara Sherwood brought
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No.80
a trunk her father, Delmar, carried with him during four years of WWII service, including time in the Philippines. He was a member of the 97th Field Artillery. She recalled a story of her father being aboard a train carrying troops across the United States. Once the train slowed to a stop and one of the soldiers noticed his mother and two sisters near the tracks hanging up clothes. Secrecy was of utmost importance and no one was supposed to know the See ACHS | Page A4
Alan Ard, Elsmore, talked about a 1935 telephone directory listing residents of the Elsmore and Savonburg areas at Allen County Historical Society’s winter meeting. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” — George Bernard Shaw 75 Cents
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