The Iola Register Locally owned since 1867
Weekender Saturday, August 10, 2013
DRENCHED
Consistent rains soak Allen County
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Register/ Bob Johnson
Nine straight days of rain totaling more than 7 inches have left Allen County’s soil saturated and sent many small streams overflowing their banks and over county roads. Above right, water gushes down the Neosho River west of town, high enough that the dam no longer is visible. Above left, Coon Creek races through town. At top, a pasture north of Iola is flooded. Emergency crews responded to Nebraska Road and 2000 Street late Friday afternoon to rescue Sarilou Wilks, 74, rural Iola, from the roof of her car after the car became stalled on a flooded low-water bridge. She was not injured.
DANCIN’ TO THE TOP
Abby Works
Hayley Erbert dances during the competition.
ERBERT IN TOP 10 OF DANCE SHOW By STEVEN SCHWARTZ steven@iolaregister.com
Hayley Erbert, a young woman with Iola roots, has danced her way into the top 10 of one of America’s most popular competitions. Erbert, whose father, Jerry, lives in Iola, tried out for So You Think You Can Dance in November in Austin, Texas. She won a nod from judges and moved on to the next level of competition in Las Vegas. It seemed to be somewhat of a trend. Hayley impressed the judges enough to be selected for the top 34 competitors, who were flown to Hollywood, Calif. The FOX network flew all of the dancers each week for the competition, until 14 more dancers (seven men, and seven women) were eliminated from the show. Then, it was down to the top 20. Over the past several weeks, the competition has heated up, and now there are
only 10 remaining — Hayley is one of them. THE REGISTER caught up with Jerry for a quick update on her progress, and how they are dealing with the whirlwind of being on a nationallytelevised competition. “Last week was by far her best performance,” Jerry said of Hayley’s presentation on
Courtesy photos
Tuesday, which placed her in the top dancers. “That thing was awesome.” He has had the opportunity to visit with his daughter in California during the competition, but communication has been limited. “You really don’t have a lot of contact,” he said. “They are dancing 12 to 14 hours a day. It’s so hard to talk to her.” While in Los Angeles for filming, a kind security guard gave Jerry a memorable favor. He snuck his security pass to him so he could see his daughter while she was being interSee DANCE | Page A5
Register/Bob Johnson
Works shares life-changing journey south By BOB JOHNSON bob@ioalregister.com
A month-long trip to Paraguay and Brazil was a lifechanging experience, Abby Works told Iola Rotarians Thursday. Works, a student at Kansas State University majoring in food science and pre-pharmacy, is the daughter of Iolans Fred and Judy Works. Her journey to South America was made possible through a $5,000 Chapman Scholarship, established by Mark Chapman, a K-State alum, for summer study by KSU students in a major field. With her interest in food and pharmacy, Works said her career goal was “to figure out how I can somehow marry these two interests to provide better health care to
the medically underserved through the use of food products to treat chronic health conditions.” In her scholarships application, Works proposed she participate in a Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) clinic in Paraguay, “to see how a nongovernment organization delivers health care service to an underserved country.” The second part of her project, Works said, “has been to follow up and participate with (Iolan) Georgia Masterson in her Circles Out of Poverty program in Allen County,” which deals with poverty as a major factor in unhealthy lifestyle choices and limits health care access. See JOURNEY | Page A5
Iola AA Indians will play today Iola Indians will play at 1 p.m. today in the second round of the winners bracket of the American Legion Mid-States Regional Tournament in Pratt. After Iola defeated Viroqua, Wisc., 4-1 Vol. 115, No.202
75 Cents
late Thursday night, Friday’s games were canceled by persistent rain. Iola will face LaCrescent, Minn., which slipped past Grafton, N.D., 3-2 in the opening round. Iola, KS