Sports: ACC takes 16th at NJCAA indoor track See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
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Thursday, March 12, 2015
Fire depts. respond to 16 calls 2 officers shot outside Ferguson police station
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Area firefighters were kept on the go Wednesday, with a steady barrage of calls. Sheriff Bryan Murphy told the Register that most of the 16 fire calls were from controlled burns that got away from area landowners, although some were unattended and are under investigation. Dry weather has also accounted for the uptick in fire calls, the sheriff said. Of those calls, two were for duplicate calls, while fire crews responding to one returned to their station after it became evident the fire was in Woodson County, not Allen, reported Angela Murphy, 911 director. The fire locations:
LaHarpe PRIDE hosts candidate forum Monday LAHARPE — With five candidates seeking two City Council seats, and three running for mayor, LaHarpe residents will have plenty to decide in the April 7 general election. The LaHarpe PRIDE Committee is hosting a candidate forum at 7 p.m. Monday at the LaHarpe Senior Center to discuss their views on a number of issues. LaHarpe Mayor Cindy Carr will be opposed by former mayor Lloyd Wayne Turner and City Councilwoman EllaMae Crowell. Crowell’s seat is one of two council openings. Incumbent Savannah Heard’s is the other. Heard has filed for re-election, and is being challenged by Don Gay, Ronald Knavel Sr., David Lee and Danny Ware Jr. The forum is open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
— 2200 Street and U.S. 54 — 1800 Nebraska Rd. — 2800 Street and West Vir-
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Two officers were shot in front of the Ferguson Police Department early this morning, authorities said, as demonstrators gathered after the city’s police chief resigned in the wake of a scathing Justice Department report alleging bias in the police department and court. A 32-year-old officer from nearby Webster Groves was shot in the face and a 41-yearold officer from St. Louis County was shot in the shoulder, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a news conference. Both were taken to a hospital, where Belmar said they were conscious.
ginia Road — 900 Street and Hawaii Road See FIRES | Page A5
He said he did not have further details about their conditions but described their injuries as “serious.” “I don’t know who did the shooting, to be honest with you,” Belmar said, adding that he could not provide a description of the suspect or gun. He said he assumed, based on where the officers were standing and the trajectory of the bullets, that “these shots were directed exactly at my officers.” The shots were fired shortly after midnight as protesters gathered following the resignation of embattled Ferguson See FERGUSON | Page A5
Funding cuts hammer Tri-Valley By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
CHANUTE — Tri-Valley Developmental Services has for years endured the type of state funding cuts now being levied on a number of Kansas agencies, but these cuts, claims Tri-Valley’s executive director Tim Cunningham, were just a warm-up. “Next year is when they’re really going to start hammering us.” Through a combination of partisan social policy and “complete bureaucratic incompetence” the state, according to Cunningham, has reduced his agency’s operations “to a bare bones level — and [Brownback’s] not done axing.” The three-part mechanism by which Tri-Valley was
funded for much of its early history — state grant funds, state aid, and home and community-based service (HCBS) Medicaid — has altered considerably since Cunningham assumed his role as the head of the non-profit nearly eight years ago. The grant program has been eliminated; state aid has fallen annually — Tri-Valley, which provides residential- and employment-based services to developmentally disabled adults, currently receives $102,985, down from approximately $120,000 two years ago; and the Community Developmental Disability Organization (CDDO) budget has gone from $220,118 in 2007 to $163,371 last year. But it is the impending changes to the criteria by which clients of Tri-Valley are judged eligible for subsi-
We’re not talking about people who get cured and make progress. You know, our clients may make incremental progress, but they’re not cured. And do you know what? It is the state’s responsibility to take care of them and the state doesn’t want to do that. — Tim Cunningham, Tri-Valley executive director
dized services that has Cunningham grinding his molars of late. “They’re changing our assessments to make it a lot more stringent, to where, before, someone who may have been getting a lot of services is now getting very little….
And so even though it’s not a cut up front, they’re going to cut our funding by changing the assessments. It’s a way for them to save money. “And do you know who’s reaping the money?” asked See TRI-VALLEY | Page A5
Town’s playground sets deemed safety hazard By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
LAHARPE — The city needs no longer worry about whether playground equipment around City Hall is better suited in its current location, or whether it should be moved to the LaHarpe City Park. That’s because it all needs to be removed. The declaration came on the heels of an inspection by the city’s insurance carrier, said Councilwoman Sara’Nicole Prock at Wednesday night’s meeting. Aging play sets with rusted metal, exposed bolts and other issues put the city in danger of a lawsuit if a user is injured, Prock said. The city is setting aside $5,000 annually for play-
ground equipment purchases, while the LaHarpe PRIDE Committee has some funding available for park improvements. Prock said she would visit PRIDE members to help find new equipment within the city’s, and PRIDE’s, respective budgets. COUNCIL members voted, 5-0, to offer Shawn Atwood the job of city superintendent. He was one of three finalists to replace Carol Buzbee, who resigned in January. City Clerk Michelle Altis told council members the city’s annual dog vaccination clinic will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 28 at City Hall. Dog tags for 2015 also will be sold that day.
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 91
Fuzzy friends The Allen Community College library hosted “Fuzzy Friends,” as part of its Library Cultural Series Wednesday afternoon. The puppet show was performed by Paul Santos and Cody Kiser. The two men perform their show for a variety of audiences around Kansas City. They structured this particular show for the ACC audience. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
“To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance.” — Buddha 75 Cents
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