Sports: Cardinals win; Royals washed out See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
MORAN COUNCIL
Higher sales tax rates hit the books
City delays action on electric rate hikes By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
A higher sales tax rate approved by state lawmakers — a centerpiece to balancing the state’s budget — brings Iola’s combined rate to 8.75 percent. The higher tax rate went into effect Wednesday. The state’s tax rate went from 6.15 percent to 6.5 percent. For Iolans, another 1.25 percent goes to the Allen County sales tax levy, and the final 1 percent goes to Iola city coffers. A wide variety of goods and services are subject to sales taxes, including groceries and food purchases, and utility and phone bills. For example, a $100 grocery bill means a customer will spend $108.75. A $10,000 car purchase will generate an added $875 in sales tax revenue. Here’s how Iola compares to other towns in Allen County and southeast Kansas. City Sales Tax Rate (Percent) Iola 8.75 Humboldt 9.0 LaHarpe 8.75 Moran 8.25 Gas 8.75 Chanute 8.75 Yates Center 9.25 Colony 8.0 Parsons 9.25 Pittsburg 9.25 Fort Scott 9.0 Le Roy 7.5 Burlington 8.5 Garnett 8.5
Wicked An approaching storm front filled the skies over Allen County with ominous clouds Monday evening. The storms dumped 1.71 inches of rain in Iola, with reports of more than 2 inches in surrounding areas. Rainy weather is expected to persist through Thursday before dry, warmer weather returns for the weekend. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Heavy storms blast Kansas City, Midwest KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Heavy storms swept through the Kansas City area during rush hour Monday, spawning at least one tornado and yanking down power lines and trees. No injuries were reported. The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings Monday evening for Clay and Jackson counties in Missouri, and Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties in neighboring Kansas. The weather service also issued flash flood warnings for the region after more than 3 inches of rain fell in a short period. The weather service said a tornado was located over Liberty, Mo., at about 5 p.m. Liberty police dispatch supervisor Jerry Clark said the storm damaged trees, but not much else. Walmart spokeswoman Erin Hofmann said about 300 people were evacuated from its Liberty-area store
because of a possible gas leak after the storm. Missouri Gas Energy said fire crews turned off the store’s gas meter but no leak was later found. Hofmann said the store was closed Monday night, and it was unclear when it would reopen. In nearby Eudora, Jillian Rodrigue, Douglas County’s assistant director for emergency management, said crews were still assessing damage there. “We have some reports of tree limbs and some damage in town,” she said. “We’re collecting all the information and first responders are out there.” About 9,300 customers were without power Monday night, according to KCP&L’s website. The Kansas City Royals also postponed their baseball game against Tampa Bay Rays because of the storms.
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 169
MORAN — Discussion on whether to raise electric rates reached no conclusion at Monday night’s meeting of Moran City Council. The city purchases power from Westar and then distributes it to residents. Income over the years has built substantial reserves. For 2016’s budget, $144,000, including $115,000 for the general fund, will be transferred from those reserves. However, the reserves are being eroded by revenue not keeping pace with expenses, by about $20,000 a year, Mayor Phillip Merkel pointed out. Also, Westar has filed for a rate increase, which won’t be decided until later this year, and could be made retroactive to the filing date. Merkel argued in favor of paring the difference with income and outgo — including transfers which in large measure keep city government afloat. The 2016 budget proposes a levy of 24.543 mills to raise $36,680 in ad valorem taxes. Altogether, general fund expenditures are anticipated at $1.366 million. Councilman Jim Mueller moved to increase the electric meter charge by $1 and add 2.5 cents to the per-kilowatt charge. On average that would See MORAN | Page A3
Death and dying: An emerging conversation By MIKE SHIELDS KHI News Service
Editor’s note: There is an emerging conversation about end-of-life issues and the policy changes needed to give people more control over what happens to them in their final days. This series of stories, and a video produced in partnership with Kansas City public television station KCPT, are about that conversation and the role that experts at two regional institutions are playing in it. In 1840, Sweden was home to the world’s longest-living people. There, average life expectancy for women was 45 years. That span is now surpassed in every country, no matter how blighted or war-torn. In the United States, which ranks 53rd globally, a person on average can expect to survive 78 years and several months, mostly thanks to vaccines, improved sanitation, antibiotics and other health advances. People over 90 now are the fastest-growing part of the U.S. population, and there is a new category — “supercentenarians” — open to any-
LaShawn Thompson, right, of the Visiting Nurses Hospice Care program in Douglas County, visits Lorita Pendleton at a nursing unit at Brandon Woods Retirement Community in Lawrence. Visiting Nurses, a nonprofit, works with other community providers, including Lawrence Memorial Hospital, and volunteers to give clients access to services they need as the end of life approaches. About a half dozen people currently are in the palliative care “bridge” program, which was launched a few years ago. KHI NEWS SERVICE/BILL SNEAD
one who makes it past 110. “Longevity is good in general. In the specifics, it becomes a very different picture,” said John Carney, head of the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City, Mo., a nonprofit group that among other things is attempting to catalyze pro-
“Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.” — Hermann Hesse 75 Cents
ductive discussions — at the individual and societal levels — about how to deal with the ethical, emotional and medical issues that complicate the final months, weeks and days or our lives. See DYING | Page A3
Hi: 71 Lo: 63 Iola, KS