Football: Chiefs improve to 5-0 with win
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THE IOLA REGISTER Monday, October 7, 2013
SEK hit hard by Medicaid limits
BIBLESTA AT ITS BEST
By SUSAN LYNN susan@iolaregister.com
It was hard news to deliver for such an avid advocate of the new health care law. Southeast Kansas, particularly, will be hit hard by the state’s decision to not expand its Medicaid program as provided by the federal government. “That decision, alone, will keep thousands of your citizens from enjoying health insurance for perhaps the first time in their lives,” said Sheldon Weisgrau. Weisgrau addressed an audience of about 60 on Thursday night at the Townhouse West assembly room. He is touring the state informing audiences about the ins and outs of the Affordable Care Act on behalf of six major health care organizations, including the Weisgrau REACH Healthcare Foundation and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, both of which have a presence in Allen County through their support of the Rural Health Institute, Thrive Allen County, SAFE BASE after-school program, Hope Unlimited, and others. The idea under the new Affordable Care Act was to make health insurance available to everyone. For those who lived below the federal poverty line — $11,500 for an individual and $23,550 for a family of four — they were to receive health insurance by being enrolled in a state’s Medicaid program, which is primarily for the poor and disabled. The government figured if a state expanded its Medicaid guidelines to accept people whose incomes came to within 138 percent of the federal poverty line (FPL), or $15,856 for an individual and $28,000 for a family of four — then that would cover the U.S. population. For those living at the FPL and up to 400 percent above, the Affordable Care Act pro-
HUMBODLT — Thousands of spectators flooded into Humboldt and crowded streets downtown Saturday to see the 56th annual Biblesta Parade in made-to-order fall weather. They weren’t disappointed. The “3” Rusty Nails — Lloyd Houk, Mike Farran and Ricky Yeager — set the stage for the day’s entertainment with an 11 a.m. reunion concert, ahead of rousing gospel music by The Missourians. The parade, nearly an hour long, depicted scenes from the Bible with floats that drew exclamations and spontaneous applause throughout its route. Dr. Arthur Carlson conceived the Christian celebration during a prayer meeting in 1957 and the grand prize winning float is named in his honor. This year St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Humboldt, had the winning entry with “The River of Life,” from Revelations 22:1-2. The float was replete with a tree, other foliage and a stream running its length over a bed of stones.
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By BOB JOHNSON bob@iolaregister.com
Humboldt United Methodist Church’s float, “The Lord is Exalted,” was recognized for its authenticity at Humboldt’s Biblesta Parade Saturday. The “3” Rusty Nails — Lloyd Houk, Ricky Yeager and Mike Farran — performed for the Christian celebration in a reunion concert. REGISTER/BOB
JOHNSON
STATE
Shutdown spawns vacuum of farm info By ROXANA HEGEMAN Associated Press
Gene Weatherbie surveys his hay maze, located at his farm north of LaHarpe. He has been building the mazes for 15 years. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
15 years of a‘maze’ment By STEVEN SCHWARTZ steven@iolaregister.com
LAHARPE — “I just start stacking it,” Gene Weatherbie said, standing next to his back porch, overlooking the 300-bale hay maze he has constructed for this year’s fall season. Weatherbie has been building hay mazes out of large, round bales every year for the past 15 years. He started the tradition after building
a maze for the flag-football team he coached. He lives north of LaHarpe, on Texas Road, and his 300-acre property is perfectly suited for the seasonal entertainment. This year’s maze is nothing short of incredible. The bales are intricately stacked end-to-end, creating narrow pathways for families to wander through. Weatherbie said the space in his backyard has been dedicated completely to the maze. There’s no doubt
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of that. An entryway where he takes tickets marks the beginning of a Halloween experience. In addition to the maze, there are campfires, wooded meadows, faux graveyards and dark tunnels, to name a few. When Weatherbie originally started building the mazes, they were constructed out of around 90 bales; now the size has tripled. He has anywhere See MAZE | Page A4
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — When Tim Peterson finished planting his 900 acres of winter wheat last week, the usually market-savvy Kansas farmer unexpectedly found himself struggling to make critical marketing decisions without being able to access to vital agricultural reports, casualties of the federal government shutdown. “We have no clue what is going on in the market,” said Peterson, who farms near Monument in northwest Kansas. He typically protects his investment in seed and fertilizer by “locking in” the price his wheat crop will fetch next July with a futures contract that shields farmers from market fluctuations by guaranteeing a price while the crop is in the ground. Farmers and livestock producers use the reports put out by the National Agriculture Statistics Service to make decisions — such as how to price crops, which commodities to grow and when to sell them — as well as track cattle auction prices. Not only has the NASS stopped put-
“In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” — Bertrand Russell 75 Cents
ting out new reports about demand and supply, exports and prices, but all websites with past information have been taken down. “It is causing a direct void in information that is immediate,” Peterson said. This worries him far more than his other problem: When will his $20,000 subsidy check from the government, which usually comes in October, arrive? Since the U.S. Agriculture Department’s local farm services offices also have been shuttered, farmers can’t apply for new loans, sign up acreages for government programs or receive government checks for programs they’re already enrolled in. And at a time when researchers who are seeking new wheat varieties and plant traits should be planting experimental plots, all work has ground to a halt. Kansas Farmer’s Union president Donn Teske, a grower in the northeast Kansas town of Wheaton, worried about payments he’s owed for idling some environmentally sensitive land See FARMS | Page A4
Hi: 75 Lo: 48 Iola, KS