Saturday, February 8, 2020
Locally owned since 1867
iolaregister.com
Bringing their vision to the community
Allen Community College President John Masterson shares his vision for a new community activities center with Iola Rotarians. REGIS-
Utilities policy under scrutiny By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
TER/TREVOR HOAG
College to host public forum on activities building proposal By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
Mark your calendars for 6 p.m. Feb. 17 to join in the conversation about a proposed activities center at Allen Community College. ACC President John Masterson recommended that anyone who’s interested in the project should plan to attend. In preparation for the meeting, the Register sat
down with Masterson to learn more about where things stand with the new center, and to provide a better understanding of how the center would benefit Iola and surrounding areas. Masterson also recently presented his pitch for the center to the local Rotary Club. “I think it’s important for a community to have a recreation facility,� he said, and
mentioned how people currently come to walk and lift weights at the existing facility, but due to sports practices by ACC athletes, public use is more limited than it would be with a larger, more versatile center. Masterson sees the new center as helping recruit students to ACC, providing better facilities for physical education courses, giving Allen County residents more rec-
reational and healthy living opportunities and making Allen County more attractive to potential residents. “We’re a community college, and I want to be able to share what we have,� he emphasized. The college’s “wish list� for the center includes: a 200 meter indoor track with a sports field enclosed in it, See ACC | Page A4
Interns take center stage By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
IHS seniors are finding internships at area businesses can help them chart their futures. They also find the realworld work environment helps them develop a healthy work ethic and better understand the expectations of a job long before they enter the workforce. Those were the messages Iola High School interns re-
peated at a state education conference earlier this week. Eight of the school’s 22 senior interns traveled to the Kansas Career and Technical Education Conference Tuesday in Manhattan, where they spoke before a standing-room only crowd of about 100 school administrators and teachers from across the state. Their presentation was See INTERNS | Page A5
Iola High School senior Mayte Breithaupt listens to Haley Carlin speak about their internship experiences at the Kansas Career and Technical Education conference Tuesday in Manhattan. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS
Humanity House, an organization that assists financially struggling families in Allen County, is appealing to the Iola City Council to change its utility payment policies for past-due bills. Representatives will be on hand at Monday’s Council meeting to discuss specifics, including: — Accepting payment plans to recover from exceptionally large bills or personal crises. — Allowing customers to set up a deferred payment place up to twice a year if unforeseen events, such as illness, personal crisis or job loss occurs. In those cases, a customer would be given up to two additional weeks to make a utility payment before late fees and delinquent notices are sent. — Reducing late and reconnect fees, and eliminating “disconnect fees� from utilities that were never disconnected. — Allowing customers to change the dates their bills are due. Tracy Keagle, director of Humanity House, gathered with a small group of supporters this week to detail her rationale. The payment plan is the key component of the policy change, Keagle noted, and would allow customers to pay off their past-due bills over the course of three to 12 months depending on the See IOLA | Page A7
Mentzer files for County Commission By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Iolan Craig Mentzer is seeking a seat on the Allen County Commission. Mentzer, who farms northwest of Iola, filed for the seat this week with the County Clerk’s office. He’s the first candidate to file for District 2, which covers much of the northern half of Allen County, including the communities of Gas, LaHarpe and Mildred. Bill King holds the seat, but has not announced whether he will seek a full term. King was appointed in 2018 to fill the unexpired Vol. 121, No. 327 Iola, KS 75 Cents
term of Tom Will i a m s , who relinquished his seat to take a job with the Craig A t t o r n e y Mentzer General’s office in Topeka. He’s served in elective offices in the past, on boards with the Le Roy Farmers Cooperative and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He and wife Denise also serve as Republican Committee precinct chairpersons for Geneva Township. “I don’t have any axes to grind,� Mentzer said in a telephone interview. “I just hope I can
contribute something to the county.� Mentzer is the third generation of his family to farm the same land in the northwestern regions of Allen County. “I’d been kicking this idea around for a while,� he said. “I’d been encouraged before to run.� Having son Nathan return home recently to assist on the farm has freed up Mentzer to focus on other ventures, calling his bid for a county commission seat “a new challenge.� “Hopefully, I can do a good job,� he said. The filing deadline for those seeking county offices is at noon June 1.
Royalty Iola High School’s Kelsey Morrison was crowned 2020 Winter Homecoming Queen and Adryan Nading the Homecoming King during postgame festivities Friday, following Iola’s basketball games against Burlington. The dance and other festivities are tonight. REGISTER/ERICK MITCHELL
• • •••• •• ••• • • •••• •
 Â?Â?Â? Â? Â?  Â€ ‚ƒ„ ‚ „ƒ Â… † ‡ Â… ˆ Â? ‰ Š
ˆ ‹� ‚ ‰  ˆ ‹ ‚