Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Locally owned since 1867
Iola thumps Central Heights
Treasurer’s office still shuttered By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
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Stimulus talks stall — again
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Wichita proprietors balk at restrictions PAGE A5
iolaregister.com
The Allen County Treasurer’s Office remains closed to the public at this time due to COVID-19. According to treasurer Darolyn “Crickett” Maley, the staff continues to process online tax payments and vehicle registration renewals, along with conducting other daily business. Registration decals will be mailed, and printed receipts are available for tax payments upon request. It’s possible to make vehicle renewals and pay real estate taxes by following the link at: allencounty.org/treasurer. New drop boxes have been
On the second floor of the courthouse, outside the Treasurer’s Office, is now located a dropbox for leaving payments and forms. REGISTER/TREVOR HOAG set up outside the Treasurer’s Office for those interested in depositing forms and payments safely and securely.
Maley added that, as per usual, “of course you can mail any of the [above] payments to our office to be processed.”
When sending payments, please include a phone number and double-check your mailing addresses. Please call with any questions to 620-365-1409. Maley apologized for any convenience brought about by the closure, and said she hopes the office will reopen on Dec. 21. Following COVID-19 cases connected to the Treasurer’s Office, commissioner Bill King said Tuesday he’d received correspondence suggesting the entire courthouse should close, but didn’t think such a measure was necessary. King did say, however, that
Grants to help childcare centers By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Allen County preschools will benefit from hundreds of thousands of dollars in training, equipment and programs over the next three years. Two organizations in the county received “All in for Kansas Kids” grants from the state of Kansas. The grants are part of a federal preschool program to target early childhood development. Kansas awarded a total of $2.1 million to 59 organizations. The Growing Place Childcare Center & Preschool in Humboldt received $88,137.50, renewable for three years for a total of more than $264,000. Thrive Allen County received a grant for $100,000 See GRANTS | Page A3
SCOTUS rejects GOP’s bid to halt Biden win By MARK SHERMAN and MARC LEVY The Associated Press
pointed one of its teachers, Nicole Lucke, to serve as an outreach coordinator. She will work with daycares to determine what items work best with their children, and will pack a tote filled with various learning materials and games. These “Totes for
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Republicans’ last-gasp bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the electoral battleground. The court without comment refused to call into question the certification Joe Biden process in Pennsylvania. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf already has certified Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump and the state’s 20 electors are to meet on Dec. 14 to cast their votes for Biden. In any case, Biden won 306 electoral votes, so even if Pennsylvania’s results had been in doubt, he still would have more than the 270 electoral votes needed to become president. The court’s decision not to intervene came in a lawsuit led by Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly of northeastern Pennsylvania and GOP congressional candidate and Trump favorite Sean Parnell, who lost to Pittsburgh-area U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, a Democrat. “Even Trump appointees & Republicans saw this for what it was: a charade,” Lamb said on Twitter. In court filings, lawyers for Pennsylvania and Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, had called the lawsuit’s claims “fundamentally frivolous” and its request “one of the most dramatic, disruptive invocations of judicial power in the history of the Republic.” “No court has ever issued
See GROWING | Page A3
See ELECTION | Page A3
Nicole Lucke will serve as outreach coordinator for The Growing Place in Humboldt. The Growing Place received a grant they will use, in part, to develop a cooperative program with other daycare providers in Humboldt. The plan includes purchasing and sharing educational materials among all providers. COURTESY PHOTO
Thrive Allen County Thrive officials met earlier this fall with representatives from local daycares, schools and industries to determine the greatest needs for child care in Allen County. Thrive has always focused on health care, Thrive CEO Lisse Regher and Thompson said. It made sense to target health issues at the early childhood level. “So much of what we do with health and wellness come from habits we develop at an early age,” Regher said. It’s not only important for those who care for young children to be properly trained and qualified, but also have adequate resources, including personal access to health care, Regher said. Thompson wrote the grants with that in mind. By far, they identified access to health insurance as a top priority for childcare workers. Daycares and preschools often do not provide
See COUNTY | Page 5
such insurance. “It’s such a huge need, especially since this pandemic,” Regher said. “These are essential workers.” The $100,000 grant will be used to provide stipends to childcare providers to use to help pay health insurance costs. Individuals will receive $250 per month or $3,000 a year. Thrive will offer the benefit to a small number of providers to start, with plans to expand over the next three years. Next, the grant will be used to reimburse preschools and day care providers with the costs associated with bringing a new employee on board. That could include such things as background checks, first aid and CPR training, tests for infectious diseases and more. Finally, the grant will be used to develop an early childhood education pathway in USD 257. Thrive is working with officials in the school district to add such See THRIVE | Page A3
The Growing Place A three-pronged approach will expand preschool opportunities for families in Humboldt. The grant will provide for a new cooperative program with private daycare providers, equipment and staff development, Janie Works, The Growing Place administrator, said. The cooperative program will share learning materials and equipment with other local providers, offering a large pool of items that can be checked out as needed. Because The Growing Place is one of the largest local preschools, and because of this grant, it has access to a greater variety of educational material. “That’s the part we’re really excited about,” Works said. “It’s a way to work together with the other providers, and they won’t have to make those kinds of expenditures. Everyone can have a better program, including us.” The Growing Place has ap-
Cheyenne Gloshen and Kenzi Myers clean up after lunch at The Growing Place this past summer. FILE PHOTO
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