Sports: Mustangs sign letters of intent See B1
The Weekender Saturday, February 6, 2016
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House honors former Iolan
TURNING LEARNING INTO EARNING
By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Kim Coates, an instructor at the Southeast Kansas Career and Technical Education Center in Pittsburg. REGISTER/RICK DANLEY
Tech ed center gives students leg up on joining workforce By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
PITTSBURG — Any discussion of the technical education center planned for Allen County is bound to contain mention of the successful operations at a similar facility up and running in Pittsburg. The Southeast Kansas Ca-
reer and Technical Education Center is a large, repurposed building on an isolated road in the northeast corner of town. Crouched in an industrial park a few miles’ distance from southeast Kansas’ only four-year university, the tech ed center offers high school and college-aged students, as well as adults, tradespecific training in masonry,
welding, carpentry and HVAC repair. In the far corner of the nearly 30,000 square-foot open-plan facility is the concrete and masonry lab. Student work stations, exhibiting projects in various stages of completion, form a group. Stacks of Monarch Cement bags line the walls. “One of the unique things
here,” points out Regena Lance, the dean of instruction at Fort Scott Community College, principal partner in the Pittsburg center, “is that when our instructor buys this clay, he knows it will last five years. [The students] can mix it, use it; then when they tear it down, they can reuse it. See TECH ED | Page A4
TOPEKA — Phyllis Bass, long a prominent Iolan, was honored by members of the Kansas House of Representatives Thursday. Phyllis was recognized for mentoring the young, drawing attention to black history, here and after she moved to Leavenworth and for generally being an exemplary citizen. Her husband, Wendell, filled many of the same roles in Iola before his death. Rep. Tony Barton, Leavenworth, used Black History Month, February, as a platform to recognize Bass. “Mrs. Phyllis Bass, whose life and achievements have reached across political lines as well as generations of men and women and children and she is deserving of both honor and recognition,” Barton said. She was born in Iola on Nov. 5, 1929, daughter of Vernon “Bus” Garner and Gladys Williams Garner. She and husband Wendell had three children, Wendell Jr., Elliott and Ralph. “Coming from some of the early black settlers of Kansas, she learned that See BASS | Page A3
Council takes look at economic development By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Iola City Council members spent more than two hours Thursday discussing longrange plans the city should consider. And while the discussion touched on several topics — everything from beefing up the city’s utility infrastructure to a possible archery range at Elks Lake — much of the talk focused on how the city should tackle economic incentives for new or existing businesses. City Administrator Carl Slaugh noted the city brings in a shade more than $30,000 annually for economic development, through a one-mill property tax levy. The fund has about $190,000 in the bank. “There are cases when we want to offer incentives,” Slaugh said. “But those incentives often have a cost. We need to understand where the funding comes from.”
Any incentives in excess of $190,000 would come from reserve funds, or elsewhere, through fees, sales or property tax increases, or utility rate hikes, Slaugh said. “If the Council says, we want to have an incentive, we need to know what’s in the incentive, and what’s in the return,” he said. The declaration drew a variety of responses. “I don’t know how comfortable I am statutorily tying our hands,” Councilman Jon Wells said. “We don’t know necessarily what projects may come up, what industries we may need. I wouldn’t want to be the person who doesn’t give the industries what they need.” IOLA banker and Iola Industries member Jim Gilpin stressed the importance of remaining flexible in economic development. One of Iola’s blessings its See IOLA | Page A3
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 68
IHS royalty
Iola High’s Brett Taylor, left, and Ashlie Shields were crowned 2016 Winter Homecoming King and Queen Friday. The Mustangs and Fillies shined on the court as well, sweeping past Central Heights in their respective varsity games. Read full details of the victories, starting on Page B1. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
“Life has its own hidden forces, which you can only discover by living.” — Soren Kirkegaard, Danish philosopher 75 Cents
Hi: 49 Lo: 33 Iola, KS