Basketball: Allen squads double up on losses
Inside: Christie caught in traffic controversy
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THE IOLA REGISTER Thursday, January 9, 2014
THE FLU IS ON THE MOVE Activity levels
USD 257 looks to prevent spread Influenza is spreading through Kansas like wildfire. Reported cases are still on the rise across the state and the infection hasn’t reached its climax this season. So far, three flu deaths have been reported this season by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Jackie Chase, USD 257 district nurse, said the schools haven’t seen a lot of flu-related absences yet. She’s hoping it stays that way. Chase works at the high school and middle school while Kim Peterson, another nurse, works with the elementary schools. “We had a flu shot clinic
earlier this year for students to help prevent illness,” Chase said. The schools have hand santizer stations and encourage children to regularly wash their hands. When a student is sent to the nurse’s office Chase checks for the common symptoms: sore throat, muscle or body aches, cough and fever. “If a student has a temperature of 100 degrees or higher they are sent home and not allowed to return to school until they have been fever-free for 24 hours without fever reducing medication,” Chase said. Students aren’t the only ones who get sent home for a fever. Faculty have the same See FLU| Page A5
Medicaid expansion would help bottom line By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Dick Works encouraged legislators who will represent Allen County in the Kansas House to take “a hard look” at the state’s refusal to accept Medicaid support from the federal government. “We’re losing supplemental income,” at the new Allen County Regional Hospital with rejection of the federal revenue, “as well as expansion” of that revenue source, County Counselor Alan Weber said at Tuesday morning’s commission meeting. He estimated ACRH might lose as much as $500,000 a year “from its bottom line.” The legislators are Kent Thompson, Republican who will represent most of Allen County, and Adam Lusker, Frontenac Democrat, who will represent the eastern tier of the county. Both are filling unexpired terms and will stand for re-election in November. At Gov. Sam Brownback’s insistence, Kansas rejected the federal government’s offer to pay 100 percent of an Medicaid program for three years and 90 percent beyond that. Brownback’s rationale was his fear the federal government would renege on Medic-
aid funding and leave Kansas with the responsibility. In addition to Kansas, 23 other Republican-dominated states turned down the federal assistance. AN ANALYSIS written by Jim McLean of the editorially independent Kansas Health Institute New Service, pointed out many uninsured Kansans who Congress assumed would get coverage under the health reform law instead were falling Kent Thompson into what is being called the “Medicaid gap.” They make too much money or don’t meet other criteria to qualify for the state’s Medicaid program — KanCare — but don’t earn enough to be eligible for federal tax credits to offset the cost of private insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Those credits are available only to people with incomes between 100 percent and 400 percent of federal poverty guidelines, $11,490 a year for See MEDICAID | Page A5
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 51
Republicans show soft side
War on poverty marks 50th anniversary
Map courtesy of the CDC
By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
NATIONAL
USD 257 District Nurse Jackie Chase has yet to see a major impact of the flu in Iola. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
WASHINGTON (AP) — Faced with an empathy gap before the 2014 midterm elections, Republicans are trying to forge a new image as a party that helps the poor and lifts struggling workers into the middle class. GOP leaders are using the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty to offer a series of policy proposals that would shift anti-poverty programs to the states, promote job training and offer tax incentives for low-income workers. The effort aims to offer an alternative to President Barack Obama’s economic agenda and shed the baggage of Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential bid, which was hurt by his suggestion during a private fundraiser that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on government, view themselves as victims and won’t take responsibility for themselves. The new-year push comes as Obama is pressuring Republicans to extend unemployment insurance and preparing to highlight income inequality in his State of the Union address later this month. The president is expected to seek an increase in the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour and discuss ways to help the nearly 50 million Americans living in poverty. For Republicans, the challenge is to offer a better way. In a speech Wednesday in an ornate Capitol room named after Johnson, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said government anti-poverty programs are only a partial solution at best. “They help people deal with poverty, but they do not help them escape it,” said Rubio, a potential GOP presidential contender in 2016. Rubio said anti-poverty programs have been bogged down by federal bureaucracy and could be run better by the states. He called for replacing the earned income tax credit for low-income See POVERTY | Page A5
Gospel quartets coming to Bowlus The sweet sounds of southern gospel will come to the stage of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center Saturday. Brian Free and Assurance and the Tribute Quartet will play at 6 p.m. as part of the Southeast Kansas Christian Artist Series. Orchestra tickets are available at the door for $18 or $15 in advance; balcony tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Student tickets (balcony only) are $6. Brian Free has been a leading gospel singer with his band since 1993, known for their quartet format and live performances. The Tribute Quartet has its own unique blend of southern gospel as well.
Brian Free and Assurance, above, will be performing on the Bowlus stage along with the Tribute Quartet. COURTESY PHOTO
Davis raises $1 million for campaign TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic candidate Paul Davis raised a little more than $1 million in cash contributions in less than five months for his bid to unseat Republican incumbent Sam Brownback in the Kansas governor’s race, Davis’ campaign reported Wednesday. Davis’ team touted the fundraising as unprecedented for a challenger in the GOPleaning state, but close Brownback ally David Kensinger said he was unimpressed because the Republican’s re-election campaign had more than twice as much cash on hand at the end of 2013 as Davis did. The Democrat’s campaign filed a finance
report with the secretary of state’s office Wednesday showing it finished last year with nearly $771,000 in cash after raising its $1 million. Kensinger, who managed Brownback’s 2010 campaign, served as the governor’s chief of staff and is now acting informally as his re-election spokesman, confirmed Tuesday that Brownback ended 2013 with almost $2 million in campaign cash after raising more than $1.6 million during the year. Brownback’s campaign has not filed its report, but the deadline isn’t until Friday. Davis, from Lawrence, is the Kansas House
“God has two dwellings; one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart.” — Izaak Walton, English writer 75 Cents
See DAVIS | Page A3
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