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Tuesday, June 8, 2021
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Details emerge in boating incident “What most people don’t understand is how much force flowing water has,” Jones said. And indeed, John Redmond has been running with outflows well above normal since heavy rainfall in late May, including a flow approaching 8,000 cubic feet.
By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
“It was pretty bad … very, very fast water,” said Burlington police chief Doug Jones, who was on-scene Saturday evening following a boating accident on the Neosho River that claimed the lives of three people near the Burlington City Dam in Coffey County. Maribel Moran, 42, Ezra Sharp, 5, and Mason Sharp, 3, all of Shawnee, died at the scene. Wesley Sharp, also of Shawnee, survived after being taken to Burlington Hospital, from where he has since been released. “The water was exceptionally high,” Jones said, noting that the Corps of Engineers
Maribel Moran COURTESY
Mason and Ezra Sharp COURTE-
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had not yet shut the flood gates at the John Redmond Reservoir. “At the time, the water was 2-3 feet over the top of the dam,” he said, “but by noon Sunday, the water was just next to nothing.”
Jones also elaborated on how “there was a tremendous riptow, a boil right there at the base of the dam.” “That’s what did all the damage,” he said. “In that boil there, the boat was just rolling like it’s in a blender.”
Music fest returns By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
MAJ. DAVID Simonetti of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), said that although certain details are known, “the investigation is really in its infancy.” He noted that KDWPT is currently trying to secure witness statements, as well as forensically assess damage done to the boat involved. In scene photos, it looks as
Plant roots, and see what grows. The Lehigh Roots Festival began seven years ago as a way to honor blues, folk and bluegrass music as well as enjoy the surroundings of Elks Lake. The event has grown to celebrate all types of music and as such has changed its name to the Lehigh Music Festival. The festival returns Friday and Saturday, with gates opening at 4 p.m. Friday. The first band takes the stage at 6 each night. There is a $10 admission fee, which is good for both days. Camping is avail-
See BOATING | Page A6
See MUSIC | Page A6
Iola pitcher competes in Georgia
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Utilities may use lobbying loophole PAGE A2
Allen County COVID-19 Case Count
Current cases ................. 4 Total cases* ................... 1,250 Deaths........................... 20 *Since the start of the pandemic Sources: Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Departments, Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Weather recovery The steel frame of the new Iola Elementary School began to emerge last week, as construction crews quickly catch up after a two-week rain delay on the project. The rapid progress in the past week or so has been dramatic. The school is taking shape, starting from the east side and building toward the west. The foundation and masonry work on the east end is well underway, with the steel framework starting in what will be the center of the building. Foundation work also began recently on the west end of the building. At left, welders connect steel beams. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS
Rural-urban CO2 reaches highest level in 4 million years gap in death rates triple By ERIC ROSTON Bloomberg News (TNS)
By CAREY GOLDBERG Bloomberg News (TNS)
The gap between the death rates of rural and urban U.S. residents tripled over the past two decades as city-dwellers enjoyed robust health improvement and drugs and disease pervaded the countryside. A study in the journal JAMA published Monday compares mortality rates in 1999 and 2019. It finds that death rates dropped See DEATHS | Page A3
Vol. 123 No. 151 Iola, KS 75 Cents
As surely as the rains fall and flowers blossom, the Northern Hemisphere awakens every June to another, less inspiring rite of spring — a new peak level for global atmospheric carbon dioxide. This year, that number is 419 carbon dioxide molecules for every million molecules of air, a.k.a. parts per million. Based on geological evidence collected over the six decades scientists have been tracking atmospheric CO2, this year’s peak appears to be the highest in as long as 4.5 million years. This continued accumulation of greenhouse gas is driving dangerous global heating around the world.
The atmosphere continues to heat up from the burning of fossil fuels. (DREAMSTIME/TNS) In 1958, when modern measurements began, atmospheric CO2 was at 316 ppm. Three centuries ago, before the be-
ginning of the industrial age, geological records show that number was 280 ppm. In other words, by burning fossil fuels
in generators and cars, humanity has increased concentrations of the most important greenhouse gas by 50%. Two organizations have kept the historical record over the past six decades. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography pioneered the practice when climate scientist Charles David Keeling set up his equipment on Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration followed in 1974. Pandemic-related economic disruptions that drastically reduced emissions had practically no effect on the trajectory of CO2, a finding researchers predicted as early as April 2020. The May average rose See EMISSIONS | Page A6