Baseball: Iola falls to Chanute
MLB: Royals top Seattle See B1
2017 1867
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THE IOLA REGISTER Thursday, July 6, 2017
Locally owned since 1867
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Trump, Putin to meet in Germany
By KEN THOMAS The Associated Press
Michelle Colvin, director of special education for Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, said services for disabled students wouldn’t decrease at her district if Medicaid reimbursements drop in Kansas. But the district might need to use other funds to provide those mandated services. CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Sounding the alarm Schools fear cuts to Medicaid By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSON Kansas News Service
On any given school day at Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, students with disabilities receive an array of medical and support services, from physical therapy to help from nurses. The services are meant to ensure access to education for all children, said Michelle Colvin, director of special education for the district. “All means all,” Colvin said. “It benefits us to include everyone in our education system.” Medicaid helps pay for such services — providing around $46 million for schools statewide, according to data from the Kansas
Department of Health and Environment. As Republicans in Congress work on an Obamacare repeal and replacement bill that would impose caps on Medicaid funding and give states more authority to decide who and what to cover, education advocates in Kansas are scrambling to determine how those changes would affect schools. Locally, ANW Cooperative depends on about $309,000 a year to provide services to the disabled. Iola schools receive about $150,000 a year; Moran, $10,200, and Humboldt, about $53,000. “We’re trying to get that nailed down,” said Mark Tallman, a lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, which has been urging its members to contact Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran with their concerns. “If federal aid goes down, that doesn’t change the cost to the districts,” he said, referring to federal statute that requires schools to meet the needs of children
with disabilities. Michelle Colvin, director of special education for Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, said services for disabled students wouldn’t decrease at her district if Medicaid reimbursements drop in Kansas. But the district might need to use other funds to provide those mandated services. A coalition of concerned groups — ranging from the National Disability Rights Network to the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to the American Psychological Association — are sounding the alarm, warning that proposed caps on federal Medicaid spending risk reducing financial support to schools or even crowding them out of the program. Such changes “could have devastating effects on our nation’s children,” the groups wrote in an open letter to House and Senate leaders. In May, the House passed a bill that would curb projected growth in Medicaid spending by $830 billion
over the next decade, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The Senate may soon vote on a version that slashes $770 billion. Kansas’ four House members voted for their chamber’s version. In the Senate, Moran has said he opposes the bill in its current form and Roberts has voiced support. Kansas GOP Congressman Kevin Yoder said in a recent emailed statement that the House bill prioritizes Medicaid spending on the elderly and people with disabilities. He noted that the bill cuts growth in spending, rather than reducing current funding levels. “The bottom line is we are protecting these children by prioritizing them in our reforms and ensuring the Medicaid program will not go insolvent,” Yoder said. The CBO estimates the House version would cut the federal deficit by about $120 See SCHOOLS | Page A5
Veggie giveaway inspires local cook
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Iola Municipal Band
By SHELLIE SMITLEY The Iola Register
Home-grown produce is giving a local family an introduction to Chinese cuisine. Barbara Branstetter has found a creative way to produce a low-cost meal for her family of four. As much as her family members enjoy egg rolls, finances do not allow the family to eat out often, she said. Instead, weekly distributed cabbage and carrots via the local Humanity House and an internet recipe have allowed the family to enjoy the Chinese-style cuisine at home for about $12 a meal.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — On the eve of his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump questioned the veracity of American intelligence about foreign meddling in the U.S. election, arguing today that Russia wasn’t the only country that may have interfered. “Nobody really knows for sure,” Trump said. As U.S. investig ations into Russia’s meddling forge ahead, Pres. Trump Trump is under intense scrutiny for how he handles his first face-toface session with Putin. U.S. intelligence officials say the unpredictable Russia leader ordered interference into the 2016 election that brought Trump to the White House. Trump and Putin plan to sit down on Friday in Hamburg, Germany, on the sidelines of an international summit. Loathe to cast a shadow on his election victory, Trump has avoided firmly blaming Moscow for campaign hacking in the past, and today, he was similarly elusive. He argued variably that it could have been Russia, probably was Russia and indeed was Russia, while insisting it could have been other countries, too, and adding: “I won’t be specific.” “A lot of people interfere. It’s been happening for a long time,” Trump said in Poland. Asked specifically whether he planned to discuss the issue with Putin, Trump demurred. The president sought to redirect scrutiny toward his predecessor, Barack Obama, accusing him of allowing Moscow to meddle on his watch. Though the Obama
— Since 1871 —
At the bandstand Jake Ard, director Thursday, July 6, 2017 8 p.m. PROGRAM
Star Spangled Banner....................................... (arr. J.P. Sousa) The Iowa Band Law.....................................................K.L. King I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing................. Sammy Nestico March Slav............................................................. Tchaikovsky Alexander’s Ragtime Band...................................Irving Berlin The Chimes of Liberty........................................ E.F. Goldman On Top of Old Smokey...........................................Hal Leonard Colossus of Columbia..................................Russell Alexander Silver Moon.................................................. Sigmund Romberg King Cotton................................................... John Philip Sousa
Barbara Branstetter, Iola. REGISTER/SHELLIE SMITLEY In addition to cost, Branstetter looks for recipes that cater to the special needs of her family. She has been diagnosed with diabetes, her
Quote of the day Vol. 119, No. 175
youngest daughter with hyperglycemia and her older daughter has allergies. The egg roll recipe that
Rained out concerts will be rescheduled for Friday evening.
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“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.
Hi: 92 Lo: 69
— Reba McEntire, country singer 75 Cents
Iola, KS