Sports: Ponies split against Royster See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
B&W stays ahead of the curve Iolan: Local work
force is ‘saturated’
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
HUMBOLDT — Sheila English worked for 20 years at Iola’s Haldex brake plant when company officials announced in the summer of 2010 the manufacturer was relocating its Iola production to Monterrey, Mexico. Soon-to-be displaced workers were given a choice: find work elsewhere immediately, or stay until the company closed its doors and receive a severance package. Those who left early received no such severance. “I didn’t wait around,” English told the Register. “As soon as I found out, I started looking.” She found a job almost immediately at Humboldt’s B&W Trailer Hitches. Despite the emotional turmoil of losing her job and not knowing what tomorrow may bring, English said the move to B&W turned out better than
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Howard Wright of B&W Trailer Hitches grinds away on pieces of metal recently. B&W officials have developed strategies to attract employees of all ages and experience levels. REGISTER/RICH-
ARD LUKEN
she ever could have imagined. B&W “is lots better than Haldex ever was,” English said. “Everybody here is more personable, and it starts with (owner) Joe Works. He cares about all of us. He may not know everybody’s name or exactly what everybody does,
CITY COUNCIL
ACA costs lower than predicted By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Iola will not have to dig as deep into its pocketbooks as previously thought to help support a mandate for the Affordable Care Act. Two weeks after being told Iola would have to pay more than $127,000 to “help subsidize premiums” on the indiviudal market — one of the central tenets of ACA — Iola Administrator Carl Slaugh told Council members Monday that number was greatly exaggerated. Instead, the city’s share will be $13,986.
The much lower fee was determined after the city was notified of a change in how it was calculated. The fee is set by taking the number of individuals receiving health insurance coverage, including employees and their insured dependents. Using figures provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas for January, April and July, Iola had an average of 222 recipients per month. The stabilization fee was calculated by taking 222 times $63, or $13,986. The city must pay the fee See ACA | Page A6
but he cares.” English and several other employees spoke to the Register about B&W, which, like other local industries, continues to seek out ways to expand in an area that’s losing population. See B&W | Page A6
Lonnie Larson has had his finger on the pulse of Iola’s workforce for more than 30 years. He worked at Gates Corporation for more than 17 years, including 13 as human resources manager and another 10-plus at Russell Stover Candies as assistant plant manager and then plant manager. For the past four years, he’s served as Sonic Equipment Company’s director of quality assurance. He’s seen employees come and go. He also has a grasp of the issues local employers face as they work to get a handhold in today’s tumultuous economy. First the good news:
An in-depth series looking at Iola and Allen County’s workforce environment. “Iola has a good workforce,” Larson said. “People here are steady and come to work every day. And we’re fortunate to have the companies we have here.” Labor figures back up Larson’s assessment. See HIRING | Page A3
CITY COUNCIL
Councilman decries housing trend By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Bob Shaughnessy will demolish a house at 417 S. Cottonwood St., but he’s not happy about it. The Iola City Councilman spoke Monday as the Council discussed the planned removal of the dilapidated home. The city had ordered the house be improved in January 2011, and when none occurred, ordered it be demolished in February 2012. Shaughnessy, a local contractor, acquired the home, with the hopes of improving it, “but I can only work eight days a week,” he quipped. As the months have passed, and he remains busy as ever,
HUMBOLDT COUNCIL
Bob Shaughnessy Shaugnessy has decided to cut bait and tear down the home. He will retain the property with the hopes of building a new home there eventually.
“But we’re starting a trend we’re going to be sorry to see,” he said. “If we keep doing what we’re doing, there aren’t going to be any houses left.” Shaughnessy counted 35 homes during a recent drive around town he considered in worse shape than the house in question. “And those homes have people still living in them,” he said. Shaughnessy touched on the lack of affordable housing. If homes like the one in question could be renovated, rent likely would be cheaper. “If I build a new home, the rent’s going to be $650 to $800 a month,” he predicted, and out See HOUSE | Page A2
USD 257
City to see technology update Iola will stall on
By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
HUMBOLDT — Humboldt council members agreed to spend $33,000 for new computer software to support operations at City Hall. Cole Herder, city administrator, recommended Computer Information Concepts, Greeley, Colo., for the software deal, noting its bid was midrange of several and the most compatible. Humboldt will pay $2,450 a year for off-site data storage and backup, and $6,580 each year for software support; it had been paying $7,000 annually for support of computer operations. At their Monday night meeting Council members also approved purchase of a new police vehicle, with its order deferred to January for
budgetary purposes. Cost is expected to be about $24,000; support equipment will be transferred from a former Kansas Highway Patrol cruiser that “has given us a lot of trouble lately,” Chief of Police Brian Dillow observed. The patrol car’s engine recently malfunctioned and will be replaced by a used engine purchased in Canada, found after an extensive search. Dillow said several other problems had cropped up lately, and that the vehicle had 100,000 miles on its odometer. Once the older car is back in operation, Dillow said he would advertise it on the Purple Wave auction site with a reserve bid of $5,000, enough to cover recent repairs. Advantage for Humboldt is its police package of equipment is transferable to a new unit.
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 33
Chris Butts complimented council members on their support for Humboldt’s PRIDE Committee, as well as their efforts to keep the city spruced up and inviting. He said new restrooms at Neosho River Park, a PRIDE project, should be in use within a month or so.
HERDER reported city employees’ health insurance premiums, through Blue Cross Blue Shield, would be about 6 percent less in 2015, which would save the city $8,000. Dave Dillon, the city’s agent, said Humboldt’s premium reduction was the largest in his eight-county area. Herder noted several employee changes: Jeremy Bulk officially has been promoted to public works director/code See HUMBOLDT | Page A6
high school soccer
By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
USD 257 will take a timeout on pursuing a soccer program for Iola High School. Board of education members continued their discussion of adding the program at their Monday night meeting. The members said the soccer presentation from Brek Ulrich at their previous board meeting was informational and noted the support by soccer players and their parents. “We have a couple of options with the soccer discussion,” Jack Koehn, superintendent of schools, said. “We
“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” — Nelson Mandela 75 Cents
can continue to pursue it or take a wait and see.” Paying for the program was a main concern. “When we’ve put in a program in the past we’ve done it first class and if we are going to do this program we need to do it right,” board member Buck Quincy said. Quincy also noted finances for schools remain limited. During the soccer presentation Ulrich suggested having community members and businesses financially support the program. Koehn said this method is unstable and could cause problems down the road if the money stopped coming in. See USD 257 | Page A6
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