Sports: Iola takes second at state tourney See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
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Monday, August 3, 2015
Hospital CEO eager to embrace future Swim By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
party planned Saturday
T
ony Thompson looks out his office window to see endless rows of corn leading up to the massive Strickler Dairy complex at the northeast corner of Iola. The sight brings a broad smile. Thompson grew up in Batesville, in north-central Arkansas, where his father worked for years at a dairy farm. Young Tony took his first job on that dairy. “This is very familiar to me, to look out the window and see a dairy out there,” he continued. “It’s very near and dear to my heart.” Thompson, 58, became Allen County Regional Hospital’s new chief executive officer earlier this month. “It’s a great organization with great folks who work here,” he said. “I feel enriched just being here.” With the hospital’s move from downtown Iola to the sprawling, $30 million complex along North Kentucky Street in December 2013, a number of routine — yet vital — organizational steps were necessary. The hospital had to recertify to ensure ACRH could continue to receive Medicare funding, Thompson explained — “no small feat,” he declared. With that transition effectively in the books, the focus heads to the future. The hospital’s board of trustees will
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Tony Thompson, left, Allen County Regional Hospital’s new chief executive officer, visits with hospital volunteer Mary LaCrone last week. Thompson assumed office at ACRH July 20. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
work in league with Thompson to develop a strategic mission and vision for ACRH. “That will be our guiding principal our management team will use,” Thompson said. “It’s really the best for a new CEO like myself that this is happening now. They should be able to articulate my marching orders, so to speak.” And with Thompson on board as the strategic vision takes shape, the board will be able to develop a clear, con-
Back-to-school plans take center stage here As the days of summer dwindle to the precious few, students will return their thoughts to homework and schoolbooks starting this week. Enrollment at Iola-USD 257 begins Wednesday morning in the Iola High School commons area. Enrollment runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. Classes begin Aug. 26. Students who are unable to enroll this week must do
so afterward at their respective attendance center before school starts. This year is the first for district-wide, grade-level attendance centers in Iola. A district-wide open house is planned for Aug. 25. HUMBOLDT-USD 258 and Marmaton Valley-USD 256 students both will enroll for the 2015-16 school campaign on Wednesday and Thursday. See SCHOOL | Page A4
Russian lander serves up big surprises on comet By AMINA KHAN Los Angeles Times
Scientists with the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission may have had a scare when the Philae lander bounced off of the surface of comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko, but the bumpy touchdown actually had a silver lining: It allowed them to take measurements in two
separate spots instead of one. Now, in a suite of papers published in the journal Science, Philae researchers have started to sketch out the comet’s physical and chemical profile — that one spot is covered in fluffy, clumpy sediments while another is caked in a hard crust; that the comet’s head is porous but fairly uniform in composition; and that See COMET | Page A4
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 188
cise message to hospital administrators and staff. “Communication is essential,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about putting on a Super Bowl or a Christmas parade, or if you’re leading an organization. We’re a group of individuals, but we’re working as one. Our strategic planning will be very inclusive. “We’re all creatures of habit,” he continued. “I drive the same way to work, East on Broadway and North on
Kentucky. Now, think about staff that has worked for 40 years at a location. Now we’re in this new environment. We need to make sure people develop new habits and become comfortable that we’re not in the old place. “We’re in the new place,” he said, “and this is a good place to be.” Thompson comes to Allen County from Goodland Regional Medical Center in
A chicken dance, a few cannonballs and of course plenty of swimming are in store for youngsters Saturday evening at the Iola Municipal Pool. Retired USD 257 art instructor Steve Orcutt is being joined by former Jefferson Elementary School teacher Lyle Kern in sponsoring the seventh annual Moonlight Splash. The “rockin’ swim fest” is open to all USD 257 students from kindergarten through the sixth grade. Several familiar characters will be on hand to help ring in the school year. Milo “Drumsticks” Combs will teach youngsters and the young at heart the intricacies of the chicken dance. Prizes will be awarded to the best dancers. After retiring from his teaching position, Orcutt began sponsoring the annual swim parties as an offering so youngsters can close See SWIM | Page A4
See THOMPSON | Page A4
Lucky breaks with federal funds aid state TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s latest efforts to prevent a state budget deficit were assisted by a well-timed decision on health care funding from federal officials and better-than-expected news about teacher pensions. The Republican governor’s administration outlined $63 million in budget adjustments last week. The changes capture savings from lowerthan-anticipated spending, book favorable revisions in cost estimates, shift fee dollars into the state’s main bank account and tap additional federal dollars. Brownback told The Associated Press that he sought to bolster the budget in ways that Kansas residents wouldn’t much notice. However, he’s facing some skepticism from a leading advocate of children’s programs and supporters of highway projects. A look at the changes imposed by Brownback in the $15.4 billion budget for the fiscal year that began last month. LAWMAKERS EXPECTED CUTS
The GOP-dominated Legislature counted on Brownback trimming $50 million as part of a larger plan to keep the budget balanced through June 2016, and they
John Hanna An AP news analysis
were pleased by his moves last week. The plan also included sales and cigarette tax increases that took effect last month. The state’s budget problems arose after Republican legislators slashed personal income taxes at Brownback’s urging in an effort to stimulate the economy. GOP lawmakers preserved past cuts in income tax rates and most of an income tax exemption granted in 2012 to 281,000 business owners and 53,000 farmers. RESCUED BY ‘OBAMACARE’?
The biggest change to the budget is tied an additional $18 million in federal funds to cover health care for children in working class families. The state is using the federal dollars to cut its own spending. “The timing of this was pretty fortunate in that we were notified in the last couple of days of June,” Sullivan told reporters during a Statehouse news conference.
“Courage is grace under pressure.”
— Ernest Hemingway 75 Cents
The increase in federal funding was authorized by the 2010 federal law overhauling health care championed by President Barack Obama, though Congress provided the dollars only this year. The increase in federal funding was authorized by the 2010 federal law overhauling health care championed by President Barack Obama, though Congress provided the dollars only this year. Brownback and other Republicans are strong critics of what they call “Obamacare,” and GOP conservatives have increased their political power in Kansas by running against the Democratic president. “It’s ironic,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, adding that Brownback has “spent the past five years blaming President Obama for everything.” ADVOCACY GROUP UPSET
The advocacy group KanSee BUDGET | Page A4
Hi: 96 Lo: 72 Iola, KS