The
IOLA REGISTER BASEBALL Ashmore a real boy of summer, see B1
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Locally owned since 1867
Enrollment steady for ACC’s fall
County crews work to restore roadways
Gov. slow to appoint judge
By STEVEN SCHWARTZ steven@iolaregister.com
Enrollment numbers are expected to hold steady for Allen Community College for the 2013-2014 school year, and Vice President of Student Affairs Cynthia Jacobson thinks that is right where the college needs to be. “We are on track to be where we were last year,” Jacobson said of enrollment. She and her staff Jacobson have been tracking student numbers throughout the summer. Fall 2012 enrollment for both the Burlingame and Iola campuses was 2,963 — 608 in Iola and 813 in Burlingame. Over half (1,661) of the ACC students took at least one online course, and of those students, 1,021 students took solely online courses. There are also 521 outreach students taking high school and ACC courses concurrently. Jacobson said the numbers are looking similar across the board for all courses, and no major changes are expected. This comes partly due to changes in state funding. Jacobson
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By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer
eral days of rain that included a downpour at the start of the weekend. Bill King, director of Public Works, figures it will take his crew most of this week to repair washouts and remove limbs and trees from driving lanes, chores employees have had a lot of practice with lately. Spring was wet and then a dry spell set in, which finally was broken with an inch of soaking rain at mid-July, followed by more intense precipitation later in July and early this month. “We’ve been busy,” King said, as he listened to one conversation after another about road problems over the department’s radio network. Some washouts have been repaired a couple of times the past two weeks, and if forecasts are accurate a third time may crop up soon.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback promised Monday to move “aggressively” to name a new Kansas Court of Appeals judge but wouldn’t pin down the date, even though a top Democratic legislator has called for the nomination to come this week. S t a t e law gives BrownBrownback back until Aug. 29 to nominate the new judge to the state’s second-highest court. The Republican-dominated Legislature is scheduled to start a special session Sept. 3, and the Senate will be legally required to consider the appointment after lawmakers convene. Brownback called the special session so lawmakers can rewrite a law that allows judges to sentence some convicted murderers to life in prison with no chance of parole for 50 years, rather than life with parole eligibility after 25 years. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in June raised questions about the Kansas statute’s constitutionality. The governor and GOP
See ROADS | Page A6
See JUDGE | Page A2
Register/Bob Johnson
Curt Drake uses his grader to shove a large limb off a low-water bridge in northwest Allen County. Below, he repairs a road’s surface rutted by rainwater.
WASHED OUT Rain leaves roads a mess By BOB JOHNSON bob@iolaregister.com
Curt Drake, maneuvering the blade on his grader with surgical skill, quickly removed a large, contrary limb from a low-water bridge in the
northwest part of Allen County Monday afternoon. It was just one of many instances of repairing and cleaning up the county’s 1,000 miles of roads, following sev-
See ACC | Page A6
Coming together for a friend Back-to-school In wake of prep in full swing tragedy, friends By KAYLA BANZET kayla@iolaregister.com
garner support By STEVEN SCHWARTZ steven@iolaregister.com
A tight-knit band of friends is coming together in a dark time, and is asking for the community’s help. Timothy Cole, Ron Harrington and Austin Martell stood on their front porch Monday afternoon, “still in shock” from events that transpired over their weekend. On Saturday afternoon Zane ForbisBurgardt — one of their closest friends and roommate — Forbis-Burgardt drowned in an accident on Elm Creek. Rescue workers recovered his body Sunday morning. Now, they are asking the community to support their friend’s family. He was raised by his grandmother, Diane Lyons and uncle, Chuck Allen. His friends want to help with the cost of funeral expenses. Cole’s mother, Christine Dunlap, has set up a website to gather funds for the expenses, and the group is working to arrange a benefit concert with local bands. “We are just trying to bring everyone together,” Harrington said.
Register/Steven Schwartz
From left are some of Zane Forbis-Burgardt’s closest friends, Ron Harrington, Austin Martell and Timothy Cole. When asked how the group of friends met, they all smiled for a brief moment. “That’s a long, long story,” Martell said. He and roommate Josh Stillwell went to high school with Forbis-Burgardt in Eureka; they began rooming together when some of the group came to Iola to attend Allen Community College. Cole and Harrington met Zane in Iola. “He was spot-on the best guy I have ever met,” Cole said Vol. 115, No. 199
of his friend. Martell met him in eighth grade. He said they loved to go fishing and swimming together. Prior to the accident, the group of friends started a plan to move to Pueblo, Colo., on Sept. 8. The plans are still set. “We can’t stop. We’ll do it for him,” Martell said. They said they loved to go hiking, fishing, hunting and camping — and Colorado See SUPPORT | Page A6
The time has come where students are soaking up the last drops of the fun summer brings and teachers are creating fall lesson plans. Summer break is quickly coming to a close. Local districts are preparing for students to arrive in school hallways this month. It’s inevitable that when students and parents switch gears from summer to the new school year a school supply list appears. This year Iola Walmart has introduced a company program, “Stuff the Bus,” to help students with school supplies Walmart contacted Scott Stanley, USD 257 director of maintenance and transportation, and asked if the district would permit use of a bus for a designated time period. The bus is the center for Walmart’s “Stuff the Bus.” “Customers can shop off the school supply list or they can donate whatever they would like,” said Jan Johnson, shift manager. Shoppers may purchase items such as glue sticks or paper and place them in a bin at the store. The bus is parked outside the Iola Walmart and is used as a way to let customers know about the program. “We will collect supplies up until the first week of school and then we will donate the supplies to the superintendent,” Johnson said. “The district can then 75 Cents
distribute the supplies the way it sees fit.” The Iola school district enrolled students last Thursday and Friday. School will start Aug. 15 and 16. On the 15th, preschool, kindergarten, sixth grade and freshman students will begin classes. This is to help the younger students become familiar with buildings. The next day other students will troop to classes.
AREA SCHOOLS are in the process of enrolling students. USD 479 (Crest) is enrolling students today, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Classes begin Aug. 16. USD 256 (Marmaton Valley) will have enrollment on Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. School will start on Aug. 22. USD 258 (Humboldt) also will have a two-day enrollment, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, both days at Humboldt Elementary. Classes begin Aug. 22. In Woodson county the Yates Center school district had enrollment today until 4 p.m. and Wednesday from 1 to 8 p.m. District officials suggest new students enroll on Thursday. Classes begin Aug. 14. At Southern Coffey County enrollment is Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Le Roy and Thursday at the same time in Gridley. School begins on Aug. 15.
Iola, KS