The
IOLA REGISTER
BASEBALL Iola standout ready for state, See B1
Monday, July 29, 2013
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Allen County Fair begins week of festivities
JUST GETTING WARMED UP...
Dodges were front and center at the Neil Westervelt Memorial Iola Rotary Club Car Show Saturday in Riverside Park, to start the Allen County Fair. The 1974 Dodge Dart Swinger was rebuilt by Westervelt, while the 1937 Dodge pickup truck was Richard Sigg’s pride and joy. Below, Don White was the voice of the car show from early morning until its conclusion at mid-afternoon.
Photos by Bob Johnson/Steven Schwartz
Cars, fans flock to fair car show By BOB JOHNSON bob@iolaregister.com
Top, a queue of horses awaits a turn during the horse pull Sunday evening at the Allen County Fair. Above, Doug Gray, Miami, Okla., encourages his horses, Dick and Sonny, to pull the weighted sled to the finish line. In this round, the animals hauled 3,600 pounds 15 feet. Rex Ellis, Iola, won the competition, followed by Terry Ellis, Iola, in second, Pam Gray, Miami, Okla., in third and Doug Gray, Miami, Okla., in fourth.
STATE
Weather as pleasant as if it were scripted and as large a field of participants as the show ever has drawn made Saturday’s Neil Westervelt Memorial Iola Rotary Club Car Show an event to remember. All told 85 vehicles — cars, trucks and motorcycles — were registered by late morning. Westervelt, who was Rotary president of the just completed year, originated the show. He died earlier this year. His 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger and a 1937 Dodge pickup truck, refitted to show status by Richard Sigg, who also died earlier this year in a traffic accident, were parked at the north end of several rows of participating vehicles. A large crowd of spectators — its numbers never dwindled
— meandered through the upscale vehicles. Comments of amazement came often and owners were deluged with congratulations for the work they had done. Rotarian Judy Brigham and the club’s president, Karen Gilpin, thanked all who attended and lauded Westervelt and Sigg for the positive influences they had, both on the car show and the community. Raymond Sutterby, who was riding with Sigg when the fatal accident occurred and is recovering from injuries, paid tribute to Sigg. “Richard could rebuild a car, paint it, and then build a garage to house it,” Sutterby said, with each step being exacting and well done. BEST OF SHOW trophy went to Gene and Patty WeavSee CARS | Page A4
National
Common Core costs tested Peace talks resume LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas education officials believe the cost of testing students on the new Common Core standards will be less than national estimates but more than what the state has currently been paying. Kansas schools will start testing students on the Common Core reading and math standards in 2015. The standards were developed by a national consortium of states and other educational interests and adopted by Kansas in 2010. The state spends about $4.6 million annually to give the current battery of tests to
about 250,000 students a year. Kansas Department of Education Commissioner Diane DeBacker told the Lawrence Journal-World the cost of the Common Core-based tests will be below the national estimate of $11.2 million to $13.4 million because Kansas won’t use all the services offered by test developers. “We’re expecting it to be more than what we’re paying now because we’re asking the assessment to do more,” DeBacker said. Kansas has contracted with the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation at the University of Kansas, and those tests have always been multiple-choice exams graded by machines. The new Vol. 115, No. 193
Common Core process asks states to use complex testing that includes more writing by students. “We’ve said for many years (the current test format) doesn’t tell us what students know and can do,” DeBacker said. “It’s just regurgitation of information. When you enhance a test or want to make it more relevant and informative, then you have to look at constructive responses. ... That’s going to cost more money.” The State Board of Education has yet to decide what test will be used in 2015. Critics of the Common Core who have urged the board to back out of using those stanSee COSTS | Page A4
By IAN DEITCH and KARIN LAUB Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli and Palestinian teams flew to Washington today to end five years of diplomatic stalemate and prepare for a new round of Mideast peace talks, though optimism was in short supply after two decades of failed attempts to reach a deal. The resumption of talks was made possible by a decision by Israel’s Cabinet on Sunday to free 104 long-held Palestinian prisoners in four stages, linked to progress in talks. The release was part of an agreement brokered early this month by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to bring 75 Cents
the sides back to the negotiating table. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been reluctant to negotiate with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fearing the hard-line Israeli leader will reject what the Palestinians consider minimal territorial demands. The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in 1967, but have accepted the principle of limited land swaps to allow Israel to annex some of the dozens of settlements it has built on war-won lands. Abbas had repeatedly said he will only go to talks if IsSee PEACE | Page A4
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