Baseball/Softball: Iola squads open season, weather permitting See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Thursday, March 27, 2014
Poverty takes toll on Kansas schools By MIKE SHIELDS KHI News Service
Saundra Shirley, a teacher at USD 501’s classroom in the Topeka Rescue Mission, works with Mar’Vontae’ Johnson, whose family has been living at the shelter for several weeks. Kansas school officials say the problems of poverty are a major concern in districts across the state. KHI/MIKE
SHIELDS
Sweet deal for Topeka By JOHN HANNA Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Americans aren’t losing their taste for chocolate. Need proof ? Look to Kansas, where candy giant Mars Inc. is opening its first new plant in 35 years to churn out millions of chocolate bars and other sweets every day. Company officials are throwing a grand opening today for the sprawling, $270 million chocolate plant — which they say exists mostly to meet U.S. demand for its M&M’s and Snickers-brand candy. The plant, built south of Topeka, will be able to produce 14 million bite-sized Snickers each day, as well as 39 million M&M’s, enough to fill 1.5 million fun-sized packs. “It’s just unbelievable, the production,” said Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast, who keeps a dispenser of peanut M&M’s on his desk at City Hall. It’s a sweet deal for state and local officials, too. The 500,000-square-foot facility is bringing about 200 jobs to the Topeka area, and the company plans to open a store downtown. Local officials, who will join the company at the grand opening, also are earning the right to brag that Topeka’s work force, central location and accessible site enabled the region to win the plant over several dozen other communities. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, who favors almond M&M’s, sees it as fitting that many Americans will get their favorite snacks from the Heartland. Matt Hudak, who follows the U.S. market for “impulse” foods as an analyst for market researcher Euromonitor International, said candy makers can expect to see annual growth in chocolate sales stay above 3 percent, making chocolate “a continual bright See CANDY | Page A5
TOPEKA — In the state that has proudly called itself the nation’s breadbasket, the problems of poverty — including hunger, homelessness and mental illness — reach farther into classrooms than many Kansans might expect or care to believe. In hundreds of public schools across the state, there are students that each Friday — or before holidays — are sent home with “backpacks” or “kits” of donated food put together by volunteers to be sure the children will have something to eat until they return to class the next school
day. That happens in Johnson County in suburban Shawnee Mission, which many would consider a rich school district, but also at schools as varied as Lincoln Elementary in Sumner County, the top wheat-producing area in a top wheat-producing state, and in Natoma, a burg of only 329 people in Osborne County. At least 175 students get the backpacks in Newton, the hometown of the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which will spend considerable time this legislative session studying the issue of state school spending, inSee POVERTY | Page A5
Coming to America
Foreign students study at ACC By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
It was a dream come true when Elvira Avdeyeva and Anna Mammedova were given the opportunity to study in America. The two friends met at the American Embassy in Turkmenistan while studying English. Turkmenistan is in Central Asia and is bordered by Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The two women, both 18, lived in Ashgabat, the country’s capital. The embassy had a free program, which permitted students to learn English and prepare for foreign exchange programs. They began learning English just three years ago. “Our country is very traditional,” Avdeyeva said. “It is very different here in America.” In the summer of 2012 Avdeyeva came to America for the first time through the Benjamin Franklin Summer Institute. She stayed with a host family in Virginia and studied at
Elvira Avdeyeva, left, and Anna Mammedova are students from Turkmenistan. They are studying at Allen Community College. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET George Mason University. After returning home she was determined to come back. “I was here only one month but I fell in love with it and wanted to go back,” she said. “That September I found Allen. It was a perfect match.” She wanted to study at a small school in a small town for her first few years. In December 2012 she came back to America with a scholarship and en-
rolled at Allen Community College. Mammedova traveled to Russia for her first exchange. After returning to Ashgabat, she traveled to Iola with a scholarship as well. While in Russia Mammedova read books on marketing, sales and promotions. She heard speakers at forums and knew she wanted to study marketing. See STUDENTS | Page A2
Bowlus presents music trio, artist
Brad Wilkinson’s artwork will be displayed at the Bowlus next week. Sonic Escape will play on Saturday.
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 106
The Bowlus Fine Arts Center is bringing a double feature to Iola in April, and covering a broad spectrum while doing it. The Mary L. Martin Art Gallery will exhibit work by artist Brad Wilkinson, in a show titled “Visualize It.” Then, at 7 p.m. April 5, a flute-violincello trio called Sonic Escape will take the stage in the Dale P. Creitz Recital Hall.
“The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterward.” — Arthur Koestler, British author 75 Cents
Wilkinson, who lives in Chanute, is an artist who draws from the elements Kansas has to offer. Originally raised in Nebraska, then on a farm in northwest Kansas, Wilkinson spent time observing natural environment. His works reflect it. The art being displayed at the Bowlus is equal parts realism and abstract, representing the duality of everyday life. Shawn Wyckoff, Maria Kaneko Millar and Nan-Cheng Chen are all Juilliard trained musicians, and make up the trio known as Sonic Escape. They have taken the stage across the globe, in venues such as See BOWLUS | Page A2
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