Sports: Chiefs training camp opens See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Serving others, one step at a time By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Glenn Koster wanted to take steps to live a healthier lifestyle and aid some charitable organizations to boot. So he’s taking 450 miles worth of steps. Koster passed through Iola Monday morning as part of his Charity Steps campaign. His goal is to make it from Eve, Mo. — he departed Saturday morning — to Holly, Colo., on Aug. 22. The Aug. 22 deadline also marks Koster’s 60th birthday. He also aims to visit with townspeople along the way, with the hopes of finding local volunteers to walk alongside each day. “I’ve got a few blisters on my feet, but it’s not too bad,” he said during a rest stop between Iola and Piqua. “You’re going to get some aches and pains. You just know that there is an end to the day, and knowing that I’m trying to do this for a bigger purpose.” The trek is the culmination of a major lifestyle change for Koster which began in 2011, when he shed more than 60 pounds — roughly 25 percent of his total body weight — and took up walking. Realizing his 60th birthday was rapidly approaching, Koster decided in 2012 he wanted to walk across the state. He decided to test him-
Glenn Koster Sr. and his son, Glenn Jr., stop to rest along U.S. 54 west of Iola Monday. Glenn Sr. is walking across the state for his Charity Steps campaign. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
See STEPS | Page A3
HUMBOLDT
Council looks at tax hike By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
HUMBOLDT — Though couched in a bit of reluctance, Humboldt council members Monday evening approved for publication a 2016 budget that includes a levy increase of 2 mills, compared to this year. Saying she was concerned about raising the levy, with fear it would be a deterrent for people who might consider moving to Humboldt, Vada Aikins allowed, “but we have to keep the town up and going.” She encouraged City Administrator Cole Herder to “try to hold expenses to less than is budgeted, so we can put money in reserves, which we desperately need to do.” Herder said he visited regularly with department heads about keeping expenses to a minimum and had put some upgrades in an elective category, even held off on some. The levy stands at 85.519 mills, exactly 2 more than 2015’s. A public hearing will be Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. in city hall. The budget’s projected expenses and levy could be altered then. Herder did the math to show what the increase meant to typical homeownSee HUMBOLDT | Page A3
Water outage prompts LaHarpe boil order LAHARPE — A broken water main cut water service to LaHarpe for several hours Monday and prompted an ongoing boil order from the city. The water main, near the intersection of Sixth and Jefferson streets, was repaired and service restored by 5 p.m. However, the boil order remains in effect.
The Allen County Emergency Management Department recommends residents bring the water to a rolling boil for at least a minute. Water should be boiled prior to any human consumption, including for cooking, hand washing, brushing teeth, etc. For more information, call 365-1477.
MORAN
City OKs electric rate hike By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
MORAN — Moran residents will pay more, slightly, in property taxes and utility bills. City Council members on Monday approved Moran’s 2016 budget, which is supported in part with an ad valorem tax levy of 34.184 mills. The levy is seven-tenths of a mill higher than was spent for this year. That means the owner of a $50,000 home will spend a little more than $197 in prop-
erty taxes to support the city, about $4 more than this year. (This figure does not include property taxes for the county, Allen Community College or USD 256). Meanwhile, Council members also took a look at the city’s electric reserve fund, which remains in the black, but is losing money by the month because of higher electric rates charged to the city. A looming rate increase proposed by Westar may cut See MORAN | Page A3
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 189
Gage Trabun, 3, from left, Shiloh Trabun, 10 months, Christy Trabun and Coen Trabun, 10 months, play with a toy train set in their Dallas home Wednesday. The Trabuns used a national program called Snowflake to “adopt” unused embryos of an Oregon couple who had conceived children through in-vitro fertilization. Cade Trabun, 4, Coen and Shiloh were conceived as a result of the donated embryos. ASHLEY LANDIS/DALLAS MORNING NEWS/TNS
Another way to raise a family Couples turn to embryo adoption By MARK RAMIREZ The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — First they made a commitment to serve their country, and then they made a commitment to each other. But when Christy and Mike Trabun, who married in the fall of 2005, had dif-
ficulty conceiving a child, they pursued a commitment of a different kind: They “adopted” embryos donated by another couple that had been produced through in-vitro fertilization. “We had never heard of anything like that,” said Christy, who learned about the possibility on a radio
“Perhaps I am stronger than I think.”
— Thomas Merton, American author 75 Cents
show. “We thought, ‘That’s a really cool way to go about building a family.’” It’s been 37 years since the first baby conceived through in-vitro fertilization was born. Pregnancies achieved through assisted reproductive technologies now account for 1.5 percent of U.S. births. See FAMILIES | Page A6
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