Basketball: Jayhawks win at Iowa State
Inside: Snow dance at Lake Tahoe
See B1
See A3
THE IOLA REGISTER Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Colony
Rural clinic in the works COLONY — If all goes as planned, Colony will have a medical presence in town before long. Anderson County Hospital CEO Dennis A. Hachenberg confirmed to the Register the hospital plans to open a rural health clinic in Colony. “The clinic, Family Care Center South, will be in downtown Colony and will be staffed by providers from Anderson County Hospital Family Care Center in Garnett,” Hachenberg said. Start date for the clinic has not been set, but “we plan to have an official announcement in the near future,” he said. A mobile building has been situated in downtown Colony for the clinic. The hurdle of consequence is approval of an application for the clinic through Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Tommy Osborne practiced in Colony for many years and was succeeded by Dr. Frank Porter, who more recently joined The Family Physicians in Iola.
AN AFTERNOON STROLL... OR ROLL
HUMBOLDT COUNCIL
Generator a concern for city By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
With Zoe, left, and Buster in tow, Joyce Tarter rides down South Chestnut Street. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
Woman and her dogs enjoy exercise routine By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
A
pair of dogs with upbeat attitudes, Buster and Zoe, eagerly await an exercise period each day that has become a ritual for them and their owner, Joyce Tarter. “We come here every day,” said Tarter of Happy Tails, Iola’s popular dog park in the southwest part of town. She turns the dogs loose in the large part of the park and then rides her bicycle around, with the dogs scurrying along just inside the fence. That permits them to exer-
cise as they wish, without a leash to restrain their leaps and bounds. Once outside the park, Tarter attaches the dogs’ leashes to her bike, and they all go merrily down the street, although she has to keep a hand on the brake to keep the rambunctious canines in check. Tarter calls the dog park a wonderful asset for Iola. The park was created on ground vacated by the Flood of 2007 buy-out. A nice day typically brings out dogs and owners in droves. “Sunday there were at least 15 dogs here,” See STROLL | Page A3
HUMBOLDT — A generator that went on the fritz at the solid waste treatment plant is of immediate concern for council members here. Improvements are being made to the plant through assistance of BG Consultants, Manhattan, including upgrades to five lift stations that were completed last week. Generator problems were not expected. Though seldom used, the generator is crucial if a prolonged power outage were to occur. Without power, sewage could be processed only a matter of days, depending on the load, before the plant would be overwhelmed. Clifford Power, Tulsa, has reserved a generator at $1,800 a month, which could be brought to Humboldt and installed in a day’s time, as an interim measure. That’s where BG Consultants comes in. Karen Weathers, a BG engineer, said she would obtain a second bid for repairs See HUMBOLDT | Page A3
USD 257
Board OKs revitalization plan By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
After a lengthy discussion Monday night, USD 257 board members voted 4 to 2 to approve the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan revision to include all of Iola. Board member Mark Burris was absent. Areas in the plan receive a 10-year tax abatement for either new construction or improvements to their properties. They receive a 95 percent abatement for their taxes for the first six years
of the program. That is decreased by 20 percent every year for the remaining four years. Shonda Jefferies, code services officer, said the revision was brought to attention due to surrounding communities wanting to expand their plans. “We would like to expand, too,” Jefferies told the board members. Board member Darrel Catron saw the revision as a positive move. “It encourages more development in our area,” Catron said.
Jefferies will address the Allen Community College board of trustees tonight at their meeting. The board accepted a contract with Kansas Association of School Boards for a policy review. The service checks that district policies include recent changes in state and federal laws and regulations. “I don’t know how to get to where we need to be without it,” Jack Koehn, superintendent of schools said. See USD 257 | Page A3
Corinne Bannon, with Wichita State University, came before the council to recommend the college’s program for a strategic planning report. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
City takes hard look at strategic planning By STEVEN SCHWARTZ The Iola Register
USD 257 board members Darrel Catron, Buck Quincy, Tony Leavitt and Doug Dunlap weigh the pros and cons of approving the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan revision Monday night. REGISTER/KAYLA
BANZET
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 54
Iola City Council members are considering a new approach to their strategic planning procedures, while also considering a better way to implement those plans into the city’s future. Corinne Bannon, with the Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Affairs at Wichita State University, came before
“The man who says he is willing to meet you halfway is usually a poor judge of distance.” — Laurence J. Peter 75 Cents
the council to propose the school conduct a comprehensive strategic planning report for this year’s meetings, which are normally conducted in late January. “There are benefits to having an insider come in,” Bannon said while addressing the council. The cost of the report, which would be compiled over the course of three months, See PLANNING | Page A6
Hi: 46 Lo: 25 Iola, KS