Humboldt racing: Familiar face nabs checkered flag.
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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Allen Co. voters stick with incumbents ‘Mod squad’ hits it big
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
The anti-incumbent fervor that swept across the state in Tuesday’s primary elections did not extend into Allen County. Allen County Republicans had three locally contested races — for sheriff, county commission and county attorney — and current of- Tom Williams fice-holders prevailed in all three. A l l e n County Commissioner Tom Williams had the “easiest” night of the Bryan Murphy incumbents, garnering more than 62 percent of the vote against challenger, Ron Ballard (460 votes to 272). “I am Jerry humbled and Hathaway moved by the confidence the voters have given me,” Williams said after the results were announced. “I am grateful to have the opportunity again to serve the community
By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
Shannon Patterson of the Allen County clerk’s office feeds ballots into a voting machine Tuesday evening from the primary election. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON which has given so much to me and my family. I look forward to our continued progress and growth.” Allen County Attorney Jerry Hathaway, meanwhile,
fended off a spirited challenge from Neosho County Attorney Linus Thuston. Hathaway received 987 votes to Thuston’s See ELECTION | Page A4
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A top Senate leader and at least 10 other conservative Kansas legislators have lost their seats as moderate Republicans made GOP primary races a referendum on education funding and the state’s persistent budget woes. Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce was among the lawmakers ousted amid a backlash against Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and his allies. The voting occurred against the backdrop not only of the state’s fiscal woes but ongoing legal and political disputes over funding for public schools. The state Supreme Court could rule by the end of the year on whether the Legislature is shorting schools on their state aid by hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Kansas has struggled to balance its budget since the GOP-dominated Legislature slashed personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging to stimulate the economy. That’s created concerns among educators about future spending on schools, even as many Republicans see the $4 billion-plus a
Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce was among the GOP lawmakers voted out of office in Tuesday’s primary elections. year the state now spends as generous. Bruce, from Nickerson, fell in his south-central Kansas district to Ed Berger, former president of Hutchinson Community College. Bruce was a particular target because of his visibility as the Senate’s No. 2 leader. He also had disagreements with the Senate’s top leader, President Susan Wagle, of Wichita. Bruce is closer to Brownback than Wagle is. See STATE | Page A4
An opening for wind farms By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Allen County’s Planning Commission will decide whether to recommend a change in rural zoning ordinances Aug. 25 that might permit power-g enerating wind turbines to be placed on farmland, commissioners decided Tuesday. The change would affect all agricultural land in the county, said County Counselor Alan Weber. The enabling feature would be to give developers opportunity to ask for a conditional use permit. Turbines are operating in Coffey County, and a Texas company has indicated it wants to explore putting a wind farm in the northeast part of Allen County. The company in Coffey County doesn’t pay property taxes, Weber said, but it does make a payment in lieu of taxes, “of half a million See WIND | Page A2
Fair fun for all Eliana Higginbotham, left, and Bailey Sparks, of Supernova Dance Authority, performed a ballet duet at the Allen County Fair’s evening show Tuesday. Prior to the Supernova extravaganza, children aged 4 to 12 braved 300-degree heat to test their lower limbs at the Pedal Pull. Lee Wanker, grinding it out at right, won his age bracket by a tidy margin, qualifying him for the state competition at the Kansas State Fair, in Hutchinson, come September. Dozens of children turned out Tuesday morning to watch their peers compete in the annual Best Dressed Pet contest. T.J. Taylor, top right, shows off a begoggled PupPup and Lindsey Moore presents her hot-doggy, a long-haired dachshund named Charlie. Other photos from Tuesday are on the Register’s Facebook page. REGISTER/RICK DANLEY
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 193
“Very few of us are what we seem.” —Agatha Christie 75 Cents
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