Basketball: Jayhawks trounce Texas Tech
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THE IOLA REGISTER Thursday, March 6, 2014
STATE
Legislature considers easing liquor laws By JOHN HANNA Associated Press
A NEW ‘LEASE’ ON LIFE By STEVEN SCHWARTZ The Iola Register
For many in Iola, the word “Cedarbrook” is a buzz word for the golf course, but to some seniors, it’s a fresh start. “A lot of people don’t know about us,” Property Manager Linda Close said, while she walked along a sidewalk lining the neighborhood’s street. Currently 24 homes and holdings are in the addition. Cedarbrook, north of Iola on Cottonwood Street, primarily is for senior citizens who meet strict income guidelines. The maximum gross annual income cannot exceed $23,220 for one person, or $26,520 for two. Close said 20 percent of her homes may be used for people younger than 55, under the new income guidelines. The remaining homes in the area are River Valley Homes, which provide low-income housing for
people of any age. Most Cedarbrook houses are around 1,000 square feet, have emergency alarm assistance and storm shelters built into storage rooms. Close said Cedarbrook Estates provides a valuable resource, especially for those of lower means. “They all look after each other, we’ve become a family,” she said. “You can tell I love this job.”
Seniors find respite in little-known resource
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Jim Smith, left, and Ruby Cook, above, are both residents at Cedarbrook Estates, north of Iola. The facility offers low-income housing for the elderly.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Proposals on tap for legislative committees would help Kansas hobbyists and small breweries and phase in grocery store sales of strong beer, wine and liquor, but it wasn’t clear Wednesday how far lawmakers would go in further repudiating the state’s dry history. The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee had a hearing Wednesday on a bill to ease restrictions on home brewers so that they’d be able to share their beer, wine and cider with friends and have them judged at competitions, rather than limiting home brews to personal or family consumption. The committee expects to vote on the bill next week, and the measure passed the House overwhelmingly last month. The Senate committee approved a bill last week to allow microbreweries to make 30,000 barrels of beer a year, doubling the current limit. The House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee had a hearing Wednesday on a bill that would go further, eliminating the production limit allowing microbreweries their own beer to restaurants, bars and liquor stores, instead of requiring them to go through distribution companies. However, the Kansas Beer Wholesalers Association opposes it. The House committee also See LIQUOR | Page A5
REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Death penalty bill disputed By JOHN MILBURN Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas death penalty opponents said Wednesday a bill that would shorten the appeals process amounts to a “leaky Band-Aid” on a broken system. At issue is a bill approved by the Senate last month that would set a limit of three and six months for the appeals to be prepared by attorneys, argued and decided by the seven-member Kansas Supreme Court. There is currently no time limit. Some legislators and the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty argued Wednesday that the changes would increase the chances an innocent person will be executed and that the cases are too complex to rush through the See BILL | Page A6
Le Roy lends a helping hand By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
LE ROY — Le Roy is the epitome of what is good about small-town life. Saturday morning the Le Roy Community Building will leap into action for an eight-hour come-and-go event to raise money for Brian True, 40, and his family. True, a Le Roy native, has had back problems nearly half his life, recently severe enough that he had to leave his job at Mid-American Machine, a small industry on the east side of town. He had two surgeries, 15 and three years ago, and now his insurance company is balking at paying for a third. True said the procedure would cost about $100,000, an amount beyond his and wife Heather’s finances without insurance support. They filed an appeal with the company and asked the Kansas Insurance Commission office to take a look. Meanwhile, when friends and neighbors learned of the
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No.90
A community event to raise money for the Brian True family is Saturday in Le Roy. The Trues, from left, are Brett, Heather, Brian and Dergan. Daughter Paiton is not pictured. COURTESY PHOTO
Trues’ problems, they went about finding ways to help. Members of St. John’s Lutheran Church in nearby Aliceville, where the Trues worship, jumped aboard. The Saturday event, in the
works for several weeks, is the outcome. It kicks off at 11 a.m. “WE’RE TOTALLY blown away by what people are doing for us,” said wife Heather.
“Middle age is when a guy keeps turning off lights for economical rather than romantic reasons.” —Lillian G. Carter 75 Cents
“I’m still in shock,” said Brian. While it would be presumptuous to expect the fundraiser to meet surgery costs, there are expenses the family has to deal with while waiting to find out if their insurance company will pull through. They were told the first appeal — they can pursue up to four — will take six weeks. Brian has been out of work since Dec. 12 and short-term disability benefits have expired. Heather works with outpatient records at the Coffey County hospital in Burlington. She grew up an Iolan, the daughter of Dick and Marsha Burris. When his back problems first surfaced, the cause was traced to herniated disks, which the “first operation 15 years ago helped a lot,” Brian said. About three years ago debilitating pain became severe enough a second surgery was performed. “They worked on every levSee TRUES | Page A6
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