Patriots all
Volleyball: Area athletes earn postseason honors See B1
Coming Monday, a profile of Vietnam veteran Dick Perkins (right). Today, take in Veterans Day activities in downtown Iola, starting at 11 a.m.
The Weekender Saturday, November 9, 2013
Pipeline on schedule Major project will be done by next summer
FALL FRAMES IN ALLEN COUNTY
NATIONAL
Panel looks into safety in schools By JOHN MILBURN Associated Press
By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas schools are becoming better prepared to respond to natural and man-made disasters, a state official said, but they need additional resources to keep improving. Bob Hull, director of the Kansas Center for Safe and Prepared Schools, told a legislative committee that shrinking federal grants have limited the state’s ability to help schools prepare for tornadoes or violent intruders. Hull said that schools are conducting more drills and risk assessments in the wake of the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and the tornado that struck Moore, Okla., injuring several elementary school students. However, he said more training was necessary, as well as building safe rooms to protect students and staff. “We need to be doing more,” said Hull, a former school administrator. “Things are happening in schools but they aren’t a reflection of schools. Schools are a reflection of society.” Hull made the remarks to the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Kansas Security. Chairman Sen. Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican, said the center has enough funding to get through the next calendar year, but funding beyond that is uncertain. The center, which was created in 2009, receives $50,000 annually to assist with training and emergency plan development. The rest comes from federal grants, which have declined by nearly 70 percent over the past three years. Oklahoma passed four bills in response to the Moore tornado, including installation of safe rooms, which could cost as much as $1 billion. Kansas has 286 school districts and more than 1,500 buildings.
The Enbridge pipeline designed to transport more than 4 million barrels of crude oil a week from Flanagan, Ill., to Cushing, Okla., will be completed sometime next summer. Zach Stephan, an Enbridge engineer, said construction was on schedule and even rocky terrain in eastern Kansas hadn’t slowed U.S. Pipeline crews. U.S. Pipeline is the project’s contractor, with Enbridge engineers overseeing the work. The pipeline is 36 inches in diameter and every effort is being made to lay it in a safe manner conducive to local concerns, said A. J. Wilson, a former Kansas legislator and now a public relations specialist with Enbridge. “It’s a team effort,” said Wilson, with cities, counties, property owners and agencies, such as Kansas Wildlife and Parks, having been involved in planning and construction since day one. “We’ve had a great reception (in southeast Kansas).” The pipeline will cover 600 miles and have seven pump stations, plus innumerable valves, along the way. One pump station is being constructed on 40 acres about two miles southeast of Humboldt, and is “quite an engineering feat,” Stephan said. The station will ensure that oil — collected from projects in Canada and North Dakota — flows through the line at the rate of 600,000 barrels a day, or a touch over 25 million gallons. A barrel of oil contains 42 gallons. The pipeline closely follows the route of the 62-year-old, 24inch Spearhead pipeline that can carry about 200,000 barrels a day. Responding to a question, Stephan said there was no truth See PIPELINE | Page A7 REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
See SAFETY | Page A7
County preps to battle dreaded flu By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
Multiple signs herald the arrival of fall’s chilly weather in Allen County. Leaves are changing to brilliant color, short-sleeve shirts are being exchanged for bulky sweaters, and influenza has made an unwelcome arrival. Sore throats, runny noses and body aches are a few familiar symptoms of the dreaded illness. Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness that spreads like wildfire through classrooms and offices this time of year. Once caught and symptoms surface others avoid you like the plague. According to the centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with the flu can spread it to others up to six feet away.
Experts think flu viruses are spread mainly by droplets made when people with the illness cough, sneeze or talk. Catching influenza can be avoided by preparing ahead with the influenza vaccine. The SEK-Multi County Health Department in Iola already has seen a large number of people this year and encourages more to drop by. “We’ve had about 30 clinics this year,” said DeeDee Martin, SEK Multi County Health Department administrator. “We’ve given around 500 shots,” and October’s numbers are yet to be tabulated. The department offers a variety of ways to distribute vaccines. It schedules appointments with businesses or those interested in having See FLU | Page A7
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 11
Vicki Howard, from left, Healthy Start home visitor; Sara Frederick, chief financial officer; DeeDee Martin, chief nursing officer/Allen RN; Ruby Gulick, administrative assistant; Christie Joyce, RN, stand outside the SEK Multi County Health Department, 221 S. Jefferson. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
“Autumn wins you best by this its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay.” — Robert Browning, English poet 75 Cents
Hi: 66 Lo: 40 Iola, KS