Wrestling: Iola’s Misenhelter wins Burlington title
Inside: Jeff Colyer gives $500,000 to Brownback campaign
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THE IOLA REGISTER Monday, January 13, 2014
Law office welcomes new lawyer to Iola
TEAMBUILDING 101 McKinley Elementary School students cheer for fellow classmates at the second quarter assembly on Friday afternoon. Students were recognized for making honor roll, having perfect attendance and achieving reading goals. Photos of McKinley honor roll students are on page A2. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
Legislature opens annual session Convening amid school funding controversy By JOHN HANNA Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Uncertainty shadows the Kansas Legislature as it prepares to open its annual session today because lawmakers are waiting for a state Supreme Court decision on whether the state is spending enough money on its public schools. Leaders from both parties believe education funding will be the Republican-dominated Legislature’s most pressing issue once the high court issues its decision. The seven justices confounded speculation that they’d issue their opinion before senators and House members returned to the Statehouse for 90 scheduled days of law-making. Legislators also expect to wrestle with budget, pension and criminal justice issues. They anticipate debates about higher education and corrections spending, along with authorizing an expansion at the state’s maximum security prison outside El Dorado. Both Attorney General Derek Schmidt and some GOP legislators want to re-examine penalties for first-degree murder and attempted capital murder.
But lawmakers and Gov. Sam Brownback face the possibility that the Supreme Court will conclude, as a lower court did, that the state’s spending on schools is inadequate to meet a duty under the state constitution to provide a suitable education for every child. A three-judge panel in Shawnee County ruled a year ago that the state must boost annual
aid to school districts by at least $440 million, creating a threat to massive personal income tax cuts enacted at Brownback’s urging to stimulate the economy. Legislators also have felt pressure from educators to rewrite the formula that determines how education funds are spent to address
A small-town atmosphere may not be the stereotypical environment for a new lawyer to build his career, but according to Brandon Bieker, it’s better in almost every way. Bieker is the newest addition to the Johnson Law Office in Iola. He graduated from Washburn University School of Law in 2013, and passed his bar exam in short order afterward. “I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer,” Bieker, 27, said while sitting in his new office. He was raised in Colby, and attended high school in Hays, where he graduated in 2005. As a member of the Future Business Leaders of America while in high school, Bieker said he was always interested in the law aspect of the competitions, which led him to follow a career in law. He made his way to Washburn after receiving his bachelor’s degree in finance from Wichita State University. It’s the constant challenge that attracted him to his trade. “It’s kind of like a puzzle,” he said. “Once you figure it out, it’s fun to get from point A to point B.” As for working in a small town, the advantages abound. First, he said a rural setting lends itself to a much more diverse work portfolio, as opposed to working for a large firm “researching stuck in a closet.” “Every case is different, since it’s rural law we do a little bit of everything,” he said. Second, the small-town atmosphere almost guarantees that clients and colleagues will be easier to work with. “It doesn’t seem so adversarial,” Bieker said. “When people are reasonable it helps the case move more quickly.” Third, and perhaps most importantly for him, day one meant he was gaining experience in the courtroom — a luxury not often afforded See BIEKER | Page A4
See LEGISLATURE | Page A4
Five things to know TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators return today to the Statehouse to begin their 90-day, 2014 session. The session is scheduled to run through mid-May, with legislators taking a recess in April before returning to finish remaining business. Here are five things to know about the Kansas legislative session: SCHOOL FINANCE RULING: Legislators are waiting on a decision from the Kansas Supreme Court over school funding. Attorneys for the plaintiff parents and school districts say lawmakers failed to fulfill promises made in 2006 to adequately fund schools. The state says no actual harm has been done to students by education cuts and that the state did its best to fund schools in the wake of the Great Recession. A ruling either way will have significant consequences. If the plaintiffs prevail, the state may be forced to take money away from other programs or initiatives — such as income tax cuts — to pay for schools. Some Republican lawmakers say See FIVE THINGS | Page A4
Brandon Bieker is the newest addition to Johnson Law Office in iola. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Tramec acquires machining company By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Literally hundreds of highway transports pass through Iola each day, and it’s a good bet many of them are outfitted with components either made here by Tramec, LLC, or a company the Iola manufacturer recently acquired. Gary E. Sullo, president of Tramec, announced in a news release the company had acquired Crawford Machine, Inc., a leading producer of brass components and related air assemblies used throughout trailer and tractor markets in the United States, Mexico and Canada. CMI has 136 employees at
the Galion, Ohio, plant, and was founded in 2001 by Hank Hessey and his family. Manufacturing will continue in Ohio. CMI’s customers are North American tractor/trailer and chassis manufacturers, as well as industrial distribution companies serving industrial markets. “CMI significantly expands our manufacturer product capabilities to better serve the heavy duty and industrial market place,” Sullo said in the press release. “CMI’s excellent reputation and success is well-known.” Tramec acquired Sloan Transportation Products, Holland, Mich., in May 2013. Sloan
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manufactures air and electrical components for heavy duty trucks and trailers. Reporting to Sullo will be two co-presidents of the Tramec Sloan group of businesses, Thomas Bronz, responsible for the Iola and Holland, Mich., plants, and Kevin Hessey in Ohio. Tramec, LLC was formed in May 2008 with the merger of Tramec Corporation, Iola, founded in 1980 to service the heavy duty trailer and tractor markets, and Maclean Crewson, Buffalo, N.Y. Tramec, LLC companies are Tramec Continental-Aero, Tramec Hill Fastener, Tramec HDSS, Stemco Crewson and See TRAMEC | Page A4
Adam Shoate packages hose-end fittings at Iola’s Tramec plant. The fittings, manufactured at the rate of one every 3½ seconds, were the first product of Tramec when it opened here in 1980. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis 75 Cents
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