Sports: Mustangs pillage Vikings See B1
The Weekender Saturday, October 4, 2014
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Ten in contact with infected man
Ebola case in Dallas signals system lapse
DALLAS (MCT) — A man infected with the Ebola virus slipped through the cracks of a system designed to stop the disease from spreading, health officials conceded Wednesday as they isolated five schoolchildren who may have had contact with the ill man and rushed to identify others who spent time with him. The patient, a Liberian named Thomas Eric Duncan, was listed in serious condition at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas after being taken there by ambulance Sunday morning, two days after his first visit to the hospital’s ER ended with doctors sending him away with antibiotics. The children, who had been in the apartment where he was staying, were pulled from school, and a team of federal, state and local officials warned others who had spent time with Duncan to be on alert for fevers, body aches and other symptoms of Ebola. At a news conference, Texas Gov. Rick Perry joined health experts in trying to re-
assure the public that Ebola, which has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa, did not pose a danger to this nation. “Rest assured, our system is working as it should,” Perry said. “This is not West Africa. This is a very sophisticated city, a very sophisticated hospital,” said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. “The chances of it being spread are very, very small.” But the failure of a system created specifically to deal with a possible Ebola case was a frightening reminder of the ease with which viruses once confined to remote corners of the globe can leap from continent to continent if the simple steps in place to control them are not followed. “This has meant that nowhere in the entire world is safe; now it’s started to be a global pandemic,” Liberia’s assistant health minister, Tolbert Nyenswah, said in See EBOLA | Page A4
Tony Leavitt, USD 257 Board of Education president, speaks Thursday during a public forum in Gas regarding proposed construction of new elementary and high schools in Iola. A crowd of about 35 attended. At right, the audience listens to architect Kirk Horner of Hollis & Miller. REGISTER/RICHARD
LUKEN
Forum helps settle questions By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
GAS — Questions and commentary kept coming Thursday as USD 257 officials continued to state their case for new elementary and high schools in Iola. Roughly 35 people attended the public forum at the old Gas Grade School building,
where Supt. of Schools Jack Koehn, 257 Board of Education President Tony Leavitt and architect Kirk Horner of Hollis & Miller spelled out the need for new facilities. As with prior meetings, the first hour or so focused on the district’s needs and why school board members have decided to pursue new construction instead of renovating the old schools.
Voters in USD 257 will decide Nov. 4 whether to approve the $50 million bond issue that would increase property taxes a net sum of 9 mills over what is spent this year, while Iola voters also will decide on a half-cent sales tax proposal. Both must pass in order for the project to proceed. More than half of the projSee FORUM | Page A4
STATE AUDIT CITES POOR MANAGEMENT
Carnival time Second grader Elza Clift lines up to putt a golf ball for tickets at the Jefferson PTO carnival Friday night. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
IT problems jam motor vehicle dept. TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Revenue’s overhaul of the state’s computer operations was not managed properly by the state or the 3M Company hired to install it, resulting in a motor vehicle network plagued by technical problems and a delayed new driver’s license system, according to an audit. The Legislative Division of Post Audit’s findings released Thursday to a joint Legislative oversight committee reviewed the overhaul begun in 2009, which has cost the state $34 million so far, The Topeka Capital-Journal
reported. State revenue department staff did not properly oversee the project and 3M did not come close to delivering what was promised, said Laurel Murdie, who led the audit. The state ended its contract with 3M in May and withheld $2 million from the company, but it did pay 3M nearly $20 million before those steps were taken. The plan was to consolidate three information systems into a single network to process motor vehicle titles and registrations and track See AUDIT | Page A3
ROTARY
Stone tools point to Allen’s history
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
The Iola Register’s Bob Johnson, an avid collector of ancient stone tools and arrowheads from long-ago civilizations, spoke about Allen County’s earliest days Thursday for Iola Rotarians. Johnson spoke about his findings, noting artifacts reveal from which time period they were created. The earliest, the Paleo Period, typified nomadic tribes, consisting of hunters and
gatherers. The Archaic Period was characterized by a rise in population and advances in technology, leading to more sophisticated societies. With those advances came more advanced tools, such as cornernotched projectile points and throwing sticks. The Woodland Period saw the development of ceramic vessels, the bow and arrow and agriculture. The prototypical arrowhead should be considered the screwdriver of yesteryear,
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Johnson noted. While some may have been attached to spears or arrows as weaponry, many were just as apt to be used to pry, cut or scrape. Johnson estimates he has found between 1,200 and 1,500 pieces through the years. “I always wanted to be a cowboy,” he said. “Then I saw a movie about archaeologists.” The fascination took hold, especially after he found a stone axe head when he was about 10. See ROTARY | Page A6
Bob Johnson displays an arrowhead found locally.
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