Locally owned since 1867
Rec department ready to resume
PAGE B1
La. police pursue a real mean chicken
PAGE A2
4-H events adapt to coronavirus crisis PAGE A5 FDA wants better antibody tests PAGE B3
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
iolaregister.com
Senator talks virus crisis By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
The nation must act — and act quickly — to get back to a new sense of normalcy amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, said U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran. Moran held a video conference Monday with a group of area leaders concerning how the virus has impacted local lives. The 90-minute, round-table discussion covered a plethora of areas, from the healthcare field to local governments and businesses. Moran kickstarted the meeting with general comments about the pandemic and the subsequent economic shutdown. The federal government has responded quickly to help sustain businesses and citizens through the shutdown, Moran said. But the model is unsustainable. “We can’t continue to be in
Healthcare
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran conducts a Zoom meeting with area leaders about the coronavirus crisis. ZOOM SCREENSHOT the position we’re in,” the senator said. “We do not have the money.” Because researchers are still several months — if not years — from developing a standard COVID-19 vaccine, the best course of action is through increased testing and isolating those afflicted with the coronavirus. Therein lies the problem,
he admitted. ”Testing is the thing that’s been so absent,” Moran said, which means everyone has been isolated to some extent. “The country was not prepared for this.” From there, Moran let the locals do much of the talking. Brief summations of their comments follow:
Patty McGuffin, chief nursing officer at Allen County Regional Hospital, said Allen County remains one of the dwindling number of counties in the state without a confirmed positive COVID-19 case. “We’re all knocking on wood,” she said. With Gov. Laura Kelly slowly reopening portions of the state for business, many are still leery about getting out into the public. The number of confirmed cases in Kansas had increased to 5,245 as of Monday morning, up from 3,328 a week prior, an increase of 58%. McGuffin noted ACRH was able to resume offering elective surgical procedures Monday, but only about half the customers with appointments showed up “for fear of wanting to come into a hospital.” In confirming Moran’s earSee SENATOR | Page A3
Home-grown doc gets cracking By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
Storm cleanup Mike Boeken (in loader) and Chad Beasley were among the Iola city crews retrieving piles of fallen limbs as part of a citywide cleanup effort following Sunday morning’s storm that caused extensive tree damage through town. The effort is made more difficult, Beasley noted, when residents stack brush piles on or near gas meters. “Luckily, he’s pretty good with the loader,” Beasley said. Crews hoped to clear all of the storm debris by the end of the day. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Moran Council delays utility question By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
MORAN — Moran City Council members put off for a month a question on what to do with past-due utility bills. Council members — meeting for the first time in two months because of the COVID-19 pandemic — discussed extensively Monday the statewide prohibition of utility disconnections, which began in mid-March and will run until the end of the month. With customers no longer under the gun to pay their utility bills, a small number has not paid anything since the order went into effect, City Clerk Lori Evans reported. That has led to some hefty Vol. 122, No. 133 Iola, KS 75 Cents
balances. Evans pointed to one account in arrears for more than $1,500; another owed $1,100. Mayor Jerry Wallis asked if the Council should consider giving customers a set time to catch up on their bills once the statewide order expires, noting Iola set a 15-day deadline. “This is something we’ve never run into before, and I hope we never do again,” Wallis said. Council members were hesitant to give customers an extended payback period, or allow a payment plan. “I don’t think we ought to be in the banking business,” Councilman Jim Mueller said. “I don’t know how we can give six months when they haven’t paid anything in three.”
Wallis noted two former customers racked up hefty utility bills, then moved out of town without paying. The city’s only recourse to collect on those accounts is through a state write-off system, in which the city would get dibs on any state income tax the former customers might otherwise receive. Councilman Bill Bigelow suggested the Council wait until its June 1 meeting to determine its preferred course, “so we know what we’re up against.” The others agreed, and will still consider setting up a deferred payment plan presented by Evans. In related matters, Council members discussed briefly whether to amend a city policy that permanently bans See UTILITIES | Page A2
Hometown girl Kendra Taiclet was excited to chase her dream of becoming a chiropractor, but now that she’s finished her doctorate, she’s eagerly come home to Iola. Taiclet earned her degree at Cleveland University in Overland Park. The accomplishment is a “huge relief.” It’s little wonder, as Taiclet said the worst part of chiropractic school was “spending millions of hours studying” over the course of almost four years, including taking around 250 exams. Now she’s just “ready to get to work and start helping people,” though she’s already spent significant time working with the public, families and students while amassing a noteworthy number of clinical hours — 640, for anyone who’s counting. During these intensive hours, Taiclet pointed out, “you kind of put your hand in everything so that you’re prepared for it.” Before heading to Cleveland U., Taiclet attended Pittsburg State University, where she finished summa cum laude with a major in exercise science and a minor in chemistry. Throughout the course of her academic training, Taiclet said her eyes had really been opened to everything it was possible to learn, and was impressed by “how much work ethic it takes” to complete both undergraduate and graduate school. Before college, Taiclet attended Iola High School, from which she graduated in 2012, and made a name for herself
Dr. Kendra Taiclet leans against the wall at Allen County Chiropractic. COURTESY PHOTO
playing volleyball, basketball and track. “I loved wearing the Iola Fillies uniform,” she said, and was happy to see so many familiar faces when she returned for the recent Fillies celebration night. She also played basketball for a season at Allen Community College. According to Taiclet, she “always knew in the back of her mind” that she’d return to Iola, and is “proud of where [she] came from.” “I’m excited to come back,” she emphasized. When asked why she wanted to return to Iola more specifically, Taiclet said she is “very close” to her family, and was confident that the “community would welcome [her] back.” And she was right; since after being back in the area for only a short time, “it was like I never left,” she said. This has been the case, especially, due to reuniting See RETURN | Page A6