Football: Chiefs collapse against Indianapolis
Inside: GOP leader proposes dress code for legislative interns
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THE IOLA REGISTER Monday, January 6, 2014
STATE
Donor invests in childhood education WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — People who know Barry Downing say he tends to research things thoroughly. About 12 years ago, he began intensely researching child poverty from the top down. It was a subject he knew well from the bottom up. By that time he had money and wanted to contribute to Wichita because he’s fond of the place, The Wichita Eagle reports. At first he considered investing in several charities serving several community problems. And then he realized that he could attack sev-
A COLD SNAP
City crews worked to clear roadways inside the Iola city limits Sunday morning. Below, Rosie and Woody brave the cold to take a romp in the snow. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Cold, sure, but we’ve seen colder
There is a great deal of potential in young children. We need to quit looking at them like an expense. —Barry Downing
eral problems at once by investing in one thing. Two years later, in 2003, he opened the first of three early education schools in an organization he named the Opportunity Project, called TOP for short. He wanted early education to be done boldly. He wanted to model nationally how to inspire and educate kids who live in poverty. And he hired auditors to track every student after they left TOP to see how they fared in school, to see if what they were trying to accomplish was working, to see whether they were indeed providing an opSee DONOR | Page A4
‘Polar vortex’ pummels Midwest By KERRY LESTER and TAMMY WEBBER Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — A whirlpool of frigid, dense air known as a “polar vortex” descended today into much of the U.S., pummeling parts of the country with a dangerous cold that could break decades-old records with wind chill warnings stretching from Montana to Alabama. For a big chunk of the Midwest, the subzero temperatures were moving in behind another winter wallop: more than a foot of snow and high winds
that made traveling treacherous. Officials closed schools in cities including Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee and warned residents to stay indoors and avoid the frigid cold altogether. The forecast is extreme: 32 below zero in Fargo, N.D.; minus 21 in Madison, Wis.; and 15 below zero in Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Chicago. Wind chills — what it feels like outside when high winds are factored into the temperature — could drop into the minus 50s and 60s. “It’s just a dangerous cold,” said NaSee COLD | Page A4
The mercury bottomed out at 9 degrees below zero just before dawn today. That may have been a record low for a Jan. 6, but wasn’t an all-time low for Iola. At least eight times the low temperature has been in double digits locally, according to records The Register has maintained since 1906. The granddaddy of frigidity came on Jan. 13, 1912, when the overnight low fell to 16 degrees below zero. It was about as cold on Jan. 19, 1943, when the low was minus 15. Twice it hit 12 below, on Jan. 13, 1916, and Jan. 3, 1928, as well as minus-11 on Jan. 8, 1933. Other double-digit lows were minus-10 on Jan. 3, 1919, Jan. 5, 1924, and Jan. 19, 1940. More recent years have had readings below zero, but none of 10 degrees or more.
Tyson: ‘Tread lightly’ with education By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
Sen. Caryn Tyson visited Humboldt to address the Downtown Action Team Friday afternoon. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 48
Public education and its funding has been a cumbersome topic, said Kansas Sen. Caryn Tyson. Tyson, District 12, spoke with Humboldt community members on Friday about plans for Kansas education. Currently, a decision to request legislators to increase funding for preK and K-12 schools awaits in the Kansas Supreme Court. “We need to be very cautious and tread lightly when it comes to education,” Tyson said. On Jan. 13, the Kansas State Legislature will begin its annual session and school funding will be on the top of the to-do list. Tyson, who lives near Parker in rural Linn County, said the bigger districts and smaller districts should be equal when it comes to funding. “It’s not rural against urban districts,” she said. “All students deserve a quality education.” Tyson said she did not vote to increase K-12 funding last year. State funding for schools has dropped from $4,400 per pupil in 2009 to $3,838
in 2013. Tyson was critical of a school district “in my own backyard,” which recently spent more than $1 million on an athletic stadium. Although building the stadium established storm shelters for students, Tyson was critical of their decision to spend money on an athletic venue. “We need to spend that money wisely and get those funds to the classroom and to our teachers,” she said. Schools are restricted to spending their capital outlay funds on buildings, not on teacher and other staff salaries, which is the responsibility of the Legislature. The senator said she would like to focus more on where funds are going instead of adding more. “The question isn’t ‘Do we need more money?’ but ‘How are we spending the money we already have?’” Tyson said. An increase in funding to support career and technical education programs was approved last year. Tyson supported this increase.
“You grow up the day you have the first real laugh at yourself.” — Ethel Barrymore, American actress 75 Cents
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Hi: 14 Lo: 4 Iola, KS