Thursday, March 12, 2020
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ALLEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Trustees discuss scope of activity center By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
“I feel we at least need to get started. … I would like us to proceed with what our administration and coaches desire,” said ACC Trustees Board Chair Neal Barclay in reference to the college’s proposed new activities center. Barclay expressed concern that the cost of the project to construct a new facility featuring an indoor track and field was still uncertain and needed clarifying. “Some of [our] wants may have to disappear due to financial consideration,” Barclay added, and said that this was the case even without a pool entering into the equation, an item not included in ACC’s
Teen arrested on attempted murder charge By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
group to pursue that opportunity, said Masterson. He also said that there remained “some hope” on the part of the City of Iola for helping to make what he
Damien J. Warner, 18, Petrolia, has been arrested by Allen County sheriff ’s deputies for suspi- Damien J. Warner cion of two counts of attempted murder following a Tuesday night disturbance outside of Petrolia. Deputies said the incident involved two individuals from Chanute. The only
See FACILITY | Page A6
See CHARGE | Page A5
President John Masterson discusses ACC’s proposed new activities center with Board of Trustees Chair Neal Barclay and Vice President Brian Counsil. REGISTER/TREVOR HOAG original building plan. “We were looking at a project, and a swimming pool was not a part of it,” said ACC President John Masterson. “I hope people understand,” he said, but added “I think we could still look at that.”
For instance, Masterson mentioned how Thrive Allen County is forming a community action group to look at how construction of a pool as part of the activities center might yet be possible. “I’d be very pleased” were a
Virus fears suspend NBA season
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Iola FFA students excel at events
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Kansas colleges close campuses PAGE A3
LaHarpe sets new dates for utility bills By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
LAHARPE — LaHarpe residents will have a new timeline to follow when paying their utility bills. City Council members approved a plan Wednesday that bumps up when the bills are printed and sent out to customers. Doing so will allow the city to bump the due date to the 10th of each month before a 10% late fee is added. If bills are not paid by the 25th, the utilities then are subject to disconnection. Problems arose with the old policy, which offered a later due date on the 15th of each month, but also See LAHARPE | Page A5
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic from the Oval Office at the White House on Wednesday. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS)
Trump restricts travel from Europe to US WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking dramatic action, President Donald Trump announced he is sharply restricting passenger travel from 26 European nations to the U.S. and moving to ease the economic cost of a viral pandemic that is roiling global financial markets and disrupting the daily lives of Americans. Trump, in a rare Oval Of-
fice address to the nation, said Wednesday that the monthlong restriction on travel would begin late Friday, at midnight. After weeks of playing down the coronavirus threat, he blamed Europe for not acting quickly enough to address the “foreign virus” and claimed that U.S. clusters were “seeded” by European travelers. “We made a lifesaving move
with early action on China,” Trump said. “Now we must take the same action with Europe.” Trump said the restrictions won’t apply to the United Kingdom and there would be exemptions for “Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings.” He said the U.S. would monitor the situation to determine if travel could be reopened earlier.
The State Department followed Trump’s remarks by issuing an extraordinary global health advisory cautioning U.S. citizens to “reconsider travel abroad” due to the virus and associated quarantines and restrictions. Trump spoke after days of confusion in Washington and in the face of mounting calls on the Republican president See TRAVEL | Page A3
You’ve got mail. Don’t forget to reply … to the census By MICHAEL MACAGNONE CQ-Roll Call
WASHINGTON — By the end of this week, millions of households will have received an invitation to complete the 2020 census, the first one ever to rely on an online tool for most responses.
The majority of the country will get a postcard with an address-specific ID number needed to complete the questionnaire through an online portal that launches Thursday. Some households in internet-starved areas will get a paper questionnaire. The online option repre-
Vol. 122, No. 95 Iola, KS 75 Cents
sents the most public portion of a series of innovations for this year’s census. The federal government has invested more than $15 billion in the once-in-a-decade count, which has high stakes for the distribution of 435 congressional seats, $1.5 trillion in federal spending and countless pri-
vate business decisions. On Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose department oversees the Census Bureau, told Congress the agency is on budget and on time for the process, which will allow people to respond online, on paper or by phone. See CENSUS | Page A5
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