Delicate ice appendages formed on tree limbs Thursday morning in Iola, brought about by heavy fog and below-freezing temperatures. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
Inside: Fillies topple the Trojans, 40-10 See B1
The Weekender Saturday, January 11, 2014
ACC helps ‘older’ students
The Affordable Care Act:
SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION
By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Phillip Beine, an employee at Microtronics, east of Gas, will not be affected by the Affordable Care Act for now, but owner Roger Jones is waiting to see if health care plans through the marketplace could be advantageous to his 17 employees. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Small business owner dealing with health care data By STEVEN SCHWARTZ The Iola Register
Roger Jones, along with many other small business owners, is confused by the sheer amount of information in the Affordable Care Act. Jones is the owner of Microtronics, a manufacturer of wireless controllers for construction equipment, in a plant east of Gas. Under the ACA guidelines, businesses with 50
or more employees must have health insurance for their employees by 2015. While Jones employs only 17, he wonders if the marketplace would be the most beneficial place for him to go to insure his employees. He was one of the dozens who attended Thursday night’s meeting held by H&R Block, to get more information on what See DATA | Page A5
Roger Jones
Large turnout for information session By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
Penalty — that can be a scary word for an employer when it comes to taxes and insurance. Questions still linger for business owners and individuals when the Affordable Care Act is brought up. Dozens of area residents swarmed to H&R Block’s Affordable Care Act seminar Thursday night to try to get a better understanding. Jocellyn Tumbleson went to the session looking for answers. She previously A large crowd Thursday evening filled the New Community Building at had insurance through Prudential and the Riverside Park. H&R Block sponsored the event to inform people about marketplace was very confusing to her.
the Affordable Care Act. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Julia Martin told Iola Rotarians Thursday the General Education Development (GED) program at Allen Community College had changed with the dawning of the new year. “It now is aligned with Common Core,” she said, which requires more preparation time for students to acquire knowledge needed to complete a GED test and be awarded the equivalent of a high school diploma. Common Core standards were developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The new standards focus on what students will use in life. Martin said GED inJulia Martin struction, as well as other adult ed programs at ACC, was meant to prepare students for lifetime employment, through instruction in traditional subjects, along with skills necessary for finding and keeping a job. They are tutored in how to develop a resume and interview for a job, as well as skills for maintaining a job with emphasis on such things as time management. The adult ed division also prepares students to succeed in college. Martin said that relates to both nontraditional students, those who have been out of high school for years, as well as high school graduates who need help before moving further up the educational ladder. She said when Haldex Brake closed, some employees who had been there 20 years or more were caught in the lurch. “They had planned to work there until they retired and all of a sudden they were out of a job,” Martin said. Those who decided to enroll at ACC found it a little difficult to “get back in the flow” of education. “We helped them get comfortable in the college atmosphere,” Martin said. ACC also is associated with KANSASWORKS, an exchange where people can look for employment and employers can advertise for workers. “We provide preparation and testing for KANSASWORKS certification,” she said. Yet another phase of Martin’s daily routine is helping people involved with Drug Court improve life and work skills. “We want to help empower them,” Martin said.
See SESSION | Page A5
See ACC | Page A5
Stunned farmer sees cat kill calf By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
The animal, big, black as coal and quick as the cat it was, darted from undergrowth near Duck Creek and sank its teeth into the throat of Norm Yoho’s prize bull calf. In less than a minute the week-old calf was dead, with blood seeping from deep wounds to its throat and its stomach ripped open. The attack caught Yoho, watching from 50 yards away, off guard. “It happened so fast,” he said. With nothing else at hand, Yoho grabbed a pitchfork from his truck and started toward the cat, which already was retreating, threatened itself by the calf ’s mother, and several other cows in the herd of 30. The event occurred last Saturday morning about five miles southwest of Le Roy, where Yoho had gone to feed hay, as he does each morning. The feeding station was near the creek and
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 47
timber, with undergrowth dense enough to encourage residence by wild animals of all sizes and descriptions. Yoho said the cat stood probably 2½ feet tall at its shoulders and had a tail as long as its body. “It’s not the first time I’ve seen big cats,” he said, meaning panthers, cougars or whatever. “And I’m not the only one.” He said hunters had told him about seeing large cats where the calf was killed, as well as elsewhere in the area. “This one was young,” he said of the calfkilling feline, a little smaller than some he has spotted before. After he settled down from the calf ’s killing — he had planned for it being a herd bull — Yoho called the Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. An agent came, looked around and allowed he didn’t see any sign of a cougar. See CALF | Page A5
Norm Yoho, rural Le Roy, watched a large black cat kill this calf near a feed bunk southwest of Le Roy last Saturday morning. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.” — Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian 75 Cents
Hi: 53 Lo: 36 Iola, KS