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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Monday, August 7, 2017
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Kansas prisons, such as in El Dorado and Lansing, shown above, are plagued with high turnover and increasing inmate populations. KANSAS
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS PHOTO
Prison staffing issues persist By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas prisons face high staff turnover and potential inmate unrest at a time when state officials expect the population behind bars to continue growing steadily well into the future, potentially making current problems worse. Corrections Secretary Joe Norwood told legislators recently that he’s worried that high turnover — including 46 percent turnover at the maximum-security prison in El Dorado — is creating an inexperienced workforce. He blames low pay, starting at $13.95 an hour, for keeping open one in every five jobs for uniformed officers. Legislators and the union representing the officers increasingly see a link between inmate unrest and staffing shortages and long hours for remaining employees. The El Dorado prison has seen multiple disturbances in recent months. Kansas is certain to have more offenders in its custody over time. The inmate population has nearly doubled over the past generation See PRISONS | Page A4
A dreary, rainy morning made for pristine racing conditions for the Allen County Fair Mud Run at the Wide Open Speed Park south of Iola. At top, Speed Hoepker barrels through the mud aboard an all-terrain cycle. At bottom right, Lance Keazer, Newton, in his pickup. At bottom left, the water-logged mud pit proved too inviting to resist for a small dog during a lull in the action. Saturday’s mud run was the final event of the 2017 Allen County Fair. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Nations press on with North Korea sanctions By HYUNG-JIN KIM The Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Armed with extraordinary new U.N. sanctions, nations raced today to ensure that North Korea’s biggest trading partners actually carry them out, an elusive task that has undercut past attempts to strong-arm Pyongyang into abandoning its nuclear weapons.
North Korea reacted angrily, vowing to bolster its nuclear a r s e n a l and launch “thousandsfold” revenge Rex Tillerson against the United States. In a statement carried by state media, Kim Jong Un’s government called the sanctions a “violent in-
fringement of its sovereignty” caused by a “heinous U.S. plot to isolate and stifle” North Korea. As President Donald Trump demanded full and speedy implementation of the new penalties, his top diplomat laid out a narrow path for the North to return to negotiations that could ultimately see sanctions lifted. Stop testing missiles for an “extended period,” Secre-
tary of State Rex Tillerson said, and the U.S. might deem North Korea ready to talk. “We’ll know it when we see it,” Tillerson said. “This is not a ‘give me 30 days and we are ready to talk.’ It’s not quite that simple. So it is all about how we see their attitude towards approaching a dialogue with us.” Even as they celebrate a See KOREA | Page A4
New schools oversight system nearly in place
Happy birthday! Friends and family streamed into Donna Houser’s home Saturday afternoon to help her celebrate her 80th birthday. Pictured with Donna, left, was Jamie Webb, a close friend from Donna’s teenage years in El Dorado. Webb and her husband drove from Topeka. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
Quote of the day Vol. 119, No. 197
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas State Board of Education is set to take the first official step toward enacting sweeping changes in the way the state’s public schools are accredited and held accountable. The 10-member board is expected to receive a set of new regulations Tuesday that represent the first overhaul of an accreditation system that has been in place since 1992, the Lawrence Journal-World reports . The system, known as Quality Performance and Accreditation, grew out of a movement in the 1970s and 1980s known as outcomes-
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” — Martin Luther King Jr. 75 Cents
based education, in which individual schools were held accountable for the results they produced. The new Kan- Brad Neuenswander sas Education System Accreditation represents a massive change, in part by accrediting whole districts instead of individual schools. “Since 1992 we’ve always accredited buildings,” said Brad Neuenswander, the state’s deputy education See SCHOOLS | Page A4
Hi: 81 Lo: 62 Iola, KS