Soccer: Allen women hopes streak becomes tradition.
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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
City considers Meadowbrook land swap By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Iola City Council members were noncommittal Monday, but agreed to consider a proposal to trade a portion of Meadowbrook Park to Iola’s First Baptist Church for land adjacent to the city’s disc golf course. Church members requested the trade, giving First Baptist the 2.4-acre parcel of the park that sits south of Meadowbrook Road. Doing so would allow the church to add onto its building, church member Terry Sparks explained. “This is something we’ve recognized for some time,” Sparks said. “Basically, we’re landlocked.” A new children’s ministry within First Baptist has been well received, Sparks said, to the point that 40 children or more are served in two classrooms on the north side of the church. “Forty children in that area is a bit crowded,” he said. Sparks said the church has See SWAP | Page A3
Iola City Council members will discuss trading this portion of Meadowbrook Park to First Baptist Church in exchange for ground near the city’s disc golf course in south Iola. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Lower speed limits for Miller, Cottonwood By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
The speed limit on North Cottonwood Street and Miller Road will drop to 30 mph in order to accommodate the use of golf carts on the busy thoroughfares.
Iola City Council members approved the new limit at their meeting Monday night, along with a slew of other codes and ordinances
State law dictates that any street accessible by such vehicles have a 30 mph speed limit or lower, City Administrator Carl Slaugh said. The speed limit for both thoroughfares had been pegged at 35 mph. The golf carts were ap-
proved by the Council earlier this summer. THE COUNCIL voted, 4-1, to ratify the city’s 2017 budget, with Councilwoman Beverly Franklin opposed and See SPEED | Page A3
USD 257 spending plan stays on even keel By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
After a lengthy tutorial on the state of school finance, including charts and graphs, USD 257 board members approved a $22 million budget for the 2016-17 school year at their meeting Monday night, which keeps funding about on par with the previous year. “There’s very little wiggle room,” said Jack Koehn, superintendent of schools, in the lengthy discussion on the budget.
K o e h n walked board m e m b e r s through the district’s various funding mechanisms including mill levies Jack Koehn and general state aid, and how they have changed according to the whims of state legislators. Longtime board member Buck Quincy credited Koehn on the in-depth lesson. “That’s the best budget report I’ve ever heard,” he
said. On paper, the budget is about $2 million less than last year’s due to a “different set of rules mandated by Topeka,” Koehn said. “It’s all a shell game.” About 80 percent of the budget is allocated toward salaries; another 10 percent is a “pass-through” to KPERS, the state’s retirement program, and special education. “We don’t touch that money, it just blows through,” the district’s coffers onto the state’s general ledger, Koehn said.
Koehn reminded board members that funding for public schools is still “frozen” at a set amount determined by legislators in 2015. “Hopefully, with next year’s Legislature we’ll return to funding schools determined by the number of students enrolled and their needs,” he said, referring to the state’s long-held method of funding K-12 schools. In 2014, legislators voted to reduce funding to schools and then freeze those cuts in See SPENDING | Page A3
Effort pays off for rodeo champ By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Lexy Slaughter knows a thing or two about success on horseback. The 14-year-old granddaughter of Iolans Jack and Beverly Franklin has qualified for the World Finals for the National Youth Cutting Horse Association for the past five years. But for all her success, Slaughter was almost certain her ultimate quest — a world championship — was going to be derailed almost as soon as it started. That’s because Slaughter’s “partner,” Jay Bird (her horse’s nickname) was injured shortly after the 201516 season started last summer. “She was devastated,” her
Lexy Slaughter is the National Youth Cutting Horse Association junior world champion. She’s the daughter of former Iolan Jeanine Slaughter and granddaughter of Iolans Jack and Beverly Franklin. COURTESY PHOTO
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 198
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“Information is not knowledge.”
— Albert Einstein 75 Cents
Kay Lewis
Board readies tax hike for Humboldt-258 By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
HUMBOLDT — Waiving any discussion of the subject, the USD 258 board of education unanimously approved for publication its 2016-2017 budget. According to Superintendent of Schools Kay Lewis, the budget calls for a 3-mill increase on property tax levies. The increase is a result of the latest statewide school funding formula, which judged Humboldt a “richer” district than most of its nearest neighboring districts, and thus less necessitous of state aid. “Our valuation” — enhanced in recent years by the presence of the Enbridge oil pipeline — “didn’t drop as much as what the state thought it would drop,” sighed Lewis. “In fact, it only dropped by 2 percent.” The district will publish the details of the plan on Thursday, at which time the Register will provide full See TAX HIKE | Page A6
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