Sports: Highland leaves Devils feeling low See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
Summit eyes ways to keep students on top By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
PARSONS — It’s time to unhitch schools from the concept of “No Child Left Behind” and state assessment tests. Dr. Randy Watson, incoming Kansas education commissioner, noted both had served their purpose, to mixed results. Teachers were forced to spend an inordinate amount of time “teaching to the test,” Watson said, “which sent a mixed message.” The Kansas Board of Education is in the midst of developing a new strategic plan for Kansas schools in order to meet the needs of today’s changing society. And while educators of all stripes agree there are traits
a high school graduate must possess in order to become a productive member of society, the conversation gets trickier when finding new strategies. A group of more than 50 — almost all educators — gathered Wednesday evening at Parsons Middle School for a “Kansas Children, Kansas’ Future” summit, hosted by Watson and interim education commissioner Brad Neuenswander. The session was the 10th of 18 scheduled across the state this winter, and focused on three basic questions: — What are the characteristics, qualities, abilities and skills of a successful 24-yearold Kansan? — What is the role of K-12 education in achieving this See EDUCATION| Page A5
From Sicily to Iola
Giovanni Elezi, center, has opened Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant in Iola. Here, he’s with head server Gino Belucci, right, and Michelangelo Antonelli, who helps in the kitchen. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
New restaurant whets appetites By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
G
iovanni Elezi’s dream is to give Iolans a taste of his native Sicily. Elezi opened the doors last month to Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant, 2402 N. State St., in the building formerly home to Ken’s Pizza, and after that, Corleone’s. Offering authentic Italian fare is more than a family business for Elezi. It’s his passion. “The restaurant industry is great, but it’s also a tough business,” he said. “With restaurants, either you love it or
Dr. Randy Watson
Toland brings magic to town By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
Iola’s favorite mind reader, Mark Toland, will perform a free show at 7 p.m. on Feb. 13 in the Creitz Recital Hall. Toland was recently named the 2014 Best Variety Artist Nomination by Campus Activities Magazine Readers Choice Awards. Toland is a 2005 graduate of Iola High School. In 2014 he performed 157 shows in 20 states. He now lives in Chicago. He has performed at Disney World’s BoardWalk Resort, starred in his own WGN web series in Chicago and has spoken on the TEDx stage. He has made appearances at Kansas State University, University of Kansas, Harvard University, Wichita State University and many more. Toland’s show involves audience interaction and moves at a quick pace. For more information on the show contact the Bowlus office at 620-365-4765. Enter through the east or alley side doors the night of the show.
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Thursday, February 5, 2015
you don’t. And if you don’t love it, running a restaurant can be very unpleasant. Me, I love the restaurant business.” It’s been that way since he was a child. “I was born and raised in a big family, where cooking is a tradition. Every morning, every single day, our kitchen was always busy, similar to a restaurant.” That passion remained, even as Elezi left Sicily as an exchange student in college to study criminal justice at the University of Dallas. While attending college, Elezi worked almost daily at his uncle’s nearby restaurant. He eventually earned his
Vol. 117, No. 66
See GIOVANNI | Page A5
Prosecutor describes commune leader’s reign WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A self-proclaimed seer convinced young mothers to leave their families and join him in a communal lifestyle where they lived off the insurance payouts from its dead members, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday. Opening statements in the trial of Daniel U. Perez outlined the group’s wanderings over a 15-year span that crossed several states and even Mexico, marked by sexual violence and the deaths of six people. Perez, 55, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the 2003 drowning death of 26-year-old Patricia Hughes at Angels’ Landing, the group’s compound in the Wichita suburb of Valley Center. He also is charged with rape, sodomy, criminal threat, lying on life insurance applications, making false statements on credit applications and sexual exploitation
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degree, but by then, the food industry had him hooked. Elezi maintained his family ties, working extensively with his uncle, cousins and eventually brothers, as they opened Bella Roma restaurants in Fort Scott, Chanute and Neosho, Mo. A customer at the Chanute Bella Roma convinced Elezi to consider opening a similar restaurant in Iola. He found the old Corleone’s building, which had been recently remodeled by owner Ron Boren before closing in 2013. “Ron is a great guy. He has a great family,” Elezi said. “The
“If it weren’t for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television, we’d still be eating frozen radio dinners.” — Johnny Carson 75 Cents
of a child. Deputy District Attorney Kim Parker told jurors Perez convinced young mothers that he could see the future. He claimed he was 100 years old and had survived because of sexual relations with young girls. “These girls feared him and believed his stories about his age, his seer capabilities,” Parker said. “Because when in fact he said to them, ‘If I want somebody dead, they will be,’ — in their observations that is exactly what happened.” Perez is charged only in Hughes’ death, but prosecutors laid out a pattern of seemingly accidental deaths whenever the group — which lived a lavish communal lifestyle — was running low on funds. The dead members left large insurance policies naming others in the group as beneficiaries; Hughes had See COMMUNE | Page A5
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