Sports: Iolan does double duty See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Gates-Iola announces expansion By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
After months of negotiations, and then holding their collective breaths, Iola officials got word Monday their work had come to fruition. Gates Corporation is expanding its Iola plant. Gates Corporation manufactures industrial and automotive products — hoses and belts foremost among them. The expansion will accommodate its new line of oil and gas hose products. The 82,000-square-foot expansion will increase the size of the plant to more than
500,000 square feet. The Iola plant manufactures hydraulic and other industrial hose products. Construction is expected to begin in the summer and will take approximately 18 months to complete including equipment installation. “We are very excited about this expansion of our Iola manufacturing facility,” Scott Strycker, Gates Iola plant manager, said in a press release. “Selecting Iola as the site for this new facility speaks to the quality of the people and products manufactured out of the Iola plant,” added Ken
Friedman, Gates’ Americas Regional president. Iola City Administrator Carl Slaugh said he enjoyed hearing the news. “It’s always a good sign when a company expands. It shows they’re committed to protecting the jobs we have here,” Slaugh said. The expansion will be used to produce specialized hoses for the oil drilling industry, Slaugh said. Slaugh said the $17 million expansion includes equipment imported from Italy, and $4.6 million for the building itself. Initial estimates put the ex-
Gates Corporation will expand its Iola manufacturing facility. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
pansion as creating an additional 25 or so jobs to the Iola
plant, although Gates officials See GATES | Page A3
Hours at Moran post office reduced By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Above, Don Settlemyer, left, and Ryan Sparks show off one of the apartments they have been working on at 1 N. Jefferson Ave. Settlemyer is an Iola contractor. Sparks is renovating apartments at 1 N. Jefferson Ave. The apartments required a full-scale remodel: clearing plaster-covered walls to the wooden studs, replacing all of the wiring and plumbing. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Building sparks Iolan’s interest By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
I
olans likely have passed by the old Dr. Garlinghouse building countless times, giving little thought to the long-abandoned upstairs apartments that have sat vacant for a half century or longer. Ryan Sparks sees something else. “When I see this building, I see potential,” Sparks said. Sparks is nearing the end of an ambitious remodel project, converting the empty, dusty, junk-filled rooms in the up-
stairs portion of the building at 1 N. Jefferson Ave., into a pair of appealing living quarters for young families. Sparks, 33, estimates the two 700-square-foot apartments should be complete within the next two months. “I admit I’m always antsy, excited to get this done, but we’re taking our time,” Sparks said. “We’re not pushing this.” While structurally sound, the apartments’ age required a full-scale remodel: clearing plaster-covered walls to the wooden studs, replacing all of the wiring and plumbing and installing new heating and
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air-conditioning systems. Iola contractor Don Settlemyer — he’s doing everything but the mechanical systems — also replaced 27 windows. “We’re actually pretty close,” Sparks said while showing off the apartments Monday to a visitor. “These will be modern apartments, but we’re trying to save as much as we can.” The original wooden trim, for example, would be practically impossible to replicate. That will be saved. Sparks also hoped to reuse the original wooden doors See BUILDING | Page A6
MORAN — A change in hours for the Moran post office may affect utility bill collections. City Clerk Lori Evans noted the post office would close at 2:15 p.m. instead of 4 p.m. each day in a cost-savings move. City leaders worry the earlier closing time would affect residents’ ability to post their utility bills in time. An outside box will be emptied by a rural carrier at 4 p.m., but the understanding is that mail won’t be handled in Moran until the next morning. Monday night council members chatted about perhaps redoing the deadline, but decided, on prompting by Mayor Phillip Merkel, to
IN OTHER NEWS, council members: — Learned that LaHarpe Communications hasn’t made monthly payments of $60 since October under a contract for it to have Internet relay equipment See MORAN | Page A6
House panel approves measure to balance budget TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas would eliminate a deficit in its current budget mostly by diverting highway funds and shifting other funds around to patch holes in the funding for general government programs under a bill approved Monday by a state House committee. The measure clearing the Appropriations Committee on a voice vote follows Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s approach of making only limited spending cuts in the current budget to eliminate a projected shortfall exceeding $330 million — or about 5 percent. The deficit is in the state’s main bank account, and the state can avoid it largely by
“It is like the seed put in the soil — the more one sows, the greater the harvest.” — Orison Swett Marden 75 Cents
“see how it plays out.” Council members also put on the back burner what to place under playground equipment in the city park. Last fall they discussed putting down some kind of mulch. Merkel suggested they consider small-diameter rock. City staff will check on costs before a decision is made. Merkel allowed rock if were tried and didn’t work out soft mulch, such as that from ground rubber, could be added.
diverting funds into that account from highway projects and other special funds. The full House was expected to debate the measure today. The state’s budget problems arose after lawmakers aggressively cut personal income taxes at Brownback’s urging in 2012 and 2013 to stimulate the economy. The state dropped its top rate by 29 percent and exempted the owners of 191,000 businesses altogether. The current budget runs through June, and Brownback’s budget director has said lawmakers need to approve adjustments by Feb. 13 for the state to continue paying its bills on time. See BUDGET | Page A3
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