Baseball: Allen earns split against Fort Scott
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THE IOLA REGISTER Monday, April 21, 2014
Mobile pantry aids local food banks By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
The Kansas Food Bank of Wichita pays close attention to communities across the state. If a community seems to be underserved in food resources, the Kansas Food Bank steps in. On May 2 the bank will bring a mobile pantry to the Chanute Recreation Commission Gym, 400 S. Highland. Debi Kreutzman, Kansas Food Bank community relations manager, said the pantry is for anyone who is in need of food assistance. “We limit one visit per
ON THE HUNT Area children sprint to find candy scattered across the Allen County Courthouse lawn at noon on Saturday. The Easter egg hunt was sponsored by Kiwanis. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
household and only allow people to pick up for one household,” Kreutzman said. When arriving to the pantry a person will only need to write down their name, address and number of people in the household. This is to help the food bank track zip codes to see where people are coming from so it can reach out to them. “We try to make it as barrier-free as possible,” she said. “It’s hard for people to ask for help. You see the desperation in peoples’ See PANTRY | Page A4
Kansas school funding measure awaits signature By JOHN MILBURN Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Thursday deadline is approaching for Gov. Sam Brownback to make a decision on whether he will sign a bill increasing spending for Kansas public schools. The Kansas Supreme Court issued a ruling March
7 giving legislators until July 1 to restore funding for two school finance provisions that give more state aid to poor districts. Legislators finished work on the bill April 6 then recessed until late April. The measure that would end teacher tenure and now faces building pressure from opponents and supporters,
increases spending by more than $129 million, funds separate programs at state colleges and universities and makes changes in education policy, including teacher employment rights. Mark Tallman, lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, said the bill appears to satisfy the initial court ruling on equalizing
aid payments and legislators won’t have to do more work on funding this session. “I would tend to think we are out of it. I think it is pretty clear that they satisfied the court order and did what had to be done,” Tallman said. Brownback, a Republican, said he wanted legislators to send him a bill that addressed the court’s concerns about
equal funding treatment for all districts. He wanted much of the money to get to the classroom, though $78 million will go to property tax relief for districts and $73 million will be new classroom spending. Television ads from Brownback’s supporters have been touting those figSee FUNDS | Page A4
Law restricts Medicaid expansion TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is not going to expand its Medicaid program anytime soon in line with the federal health care overhaul, but advocates aren’t giving up on the idea, despite a new law indefinitely blocking an expansion. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved still plans to pursue the issue. Spokeswoman Katrina McGivern said the group prepared to work on educating legislators about the benefits of expanding Medicaid, which provides health coverage for the poor and disabled.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and many GOP legislators are vocal critics of the 2010 federal health care law championed by Democratic President Barack Obama, viewing its requirements as burdensome and damaging to the economy. They’ve also publicly questioned whether the federal government will keep its promise to fund most of the expansion. Lawmakers last year included a ban on expanding Medicaid in budget legislation, but it expires in July 2015. The GOP-dominated Legislature passed a bill earlier this month extend-
ing the ban indefinitely, and Brownback signed it this week. The new law says that the state can’t expand Medicaid without further action by the Legislature — something that’s not going to happen with Republican critics of the federal health overhaul holding majorities in both chambers. Rep. John Rubin, a Shawnee Republican who supports the measure, said it doesn’t take a position on expanding Medicaid but makes sure that the people’s elected representatives make the deSee MEDICAID | Page A4
David-Paul Cavazos, director of imaging, is with Allen County Regional Hospital’s new 64-slice computerized tomography scanner. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
Hospital on cutting Everest disaster spurs boycott edge of technology KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Buddhist monks cremated the remains of Sherpa guides who were buried in the deadliest avalanche to hit Mount Everest, a disaster that has prompted calls for a climbing boycott by Nepal’s ethnic Sherpa community. A Sherpa boycott could critically disrupt the Everest climbing season, which is key to the livelihood of thousands of Nepali guides and porters. Everest climbers have long relied on Sherpas for everything from hauling gear to cooking food to highaltitude guiding.
At least 13 Sherpas were killed when a block of ice tore loose from the mountain and triggered a cascade that ripped through teams of guides hauling gear. Three Sherpas missing in Friday’s avalanche are presumed dead. “Right now, I can’t even think of going back to the mountain,” said Tashi Dorje, whose cousin was killed. “We have not just lost our family members, but it is a loss for the whole mountaineering community and the country.” Hundreds of people lined
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the streets of Nepal’s capital, Katmandu, today as the bodies of six of the victims were driven in open trucks decorated with Buddhist flags. During the cremation ceremony, dozens of nuns chanted for the victims’ souls to be released as the bodies were covered in pine branches. A daughter of one of the climbers fainted and was taken to the hospital. While the work on Everest is dangerous, it has also become the most sought-after work for many Sherpas. A See EVEREST | Page A4
By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Computerized tomography (CT) diagnoses took a giant leap forward when the Allen County Regional Hospital opened Dec. 10. Acquisition of a new 64-slice CT scanner was a big technological advance for the hospital and of substantial advantage for patients, David-Paul Cavazos told Iola Rotarians Thursday. Cavazos is director of imaging at the hospital. “We had a four-slice CT at the old hospital,” Cavazos said, explaining the differ-
“Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.” — Euripides, poet 75 Cents
ence by relating the “slicing” to a loaf of bread. Four slices from a loaf are thick, he said, but cut the same loaf into 64 slices and “you can see much better” each slice’s individual makeup. A 64-slice CT produces 64 views for each millimeter scanned. An inch contains 25.4 millimeters. A CT scan uses computerprocessed X-rays to produce virtual “slices” of whatever organ or body part is being scanned. When Cavazos began looking at new CTs for the hospital, prices for a 64-slice maSee CT | Page A4
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