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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
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Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Bridge project proceeds By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Jack Koehn, USD 257 superintendent of schools, hugs Iolan Donna Houser at Monday’s school board meeting. Houser presented a check of more than $10,000 to help fund improvements at the football stadium at Riverside Park. REGISTER/
SUSAN LYNN
‘Egregious’ bill worries 257 board By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
Usually, Jack Koehn, Superintendent of USD 257 Schools, maintains an even keel as he handles setback after setback when it comes to state funding for education. But Monday night, his boat of equilibrium sprung a leak. At issue is yet another school funding plan as proposed in House Bill 2741 in which virtually every area of education would suffer drastic cuts. The legislation would, among other things: l eliminate state funding for extra-curricular activities including all sports and cheerleading programs, and clubs such as drama, forensics, National Honor Society, Student Council, yearbook, marching and pep band. l greatly reduce per pu-
pil funding so there will be less money to buy learning materials and keep facilities repaired; l greatly reduce transportation aid, hitting rural districts particularly hard; l prohibit any state funds to be used for food service; l eliminate state funds for any facilities that concern athletics, school administration or support; and, l require all health insurance policies be highdeductible, pushing more of the costs onto employees. And as bad as all those cuts are, what’s “truly egregious,” in Koehn’s perspective, are the state funds that will go to private schools and those who home-school their children. For these students “freedom accounts” would be created that would allot parents See 257 | Page A3
A bridge that would span Elm Creek along South Washington Avenue took another step closer to reality Monday. Iola City Council members approved the hiring of Schwab Eaton as engineers to design a single truss, steel span pedestrian bridge. Meanwhile, Thrive Allen County — which already obtained grant funding on the city’s behalf to pay the engineering costs — will continue to seek out other grants to pay for the $256,000 span. Council members voted 8-0 to hire the engineering firm, which has worked with the city on past bridge projects, Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock explained. The city does not have to fork over any money for the design — or the bridge itself, for that matter. Thrive’s plans are to use grants from a number of resources, explained Damaris Kunkler, Thrive’s program director. Engineering costs came from a $59,000 grant from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. Thrive also is applying for an additional $55,000 grant from the Sunflower Foundation, and another Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks grant. While both require matching funds, the grants separately could be used as the local match for the other. That means the city is not obligating funds out of its budget, Kunkler concluded. “What if we don’t get the grants?” asked Councilman Aaron Franklin. “What’s the worst-case scenario?” “The worst-case scenario is the city says ‘we don’t accept the original grant funds,’” responded David Toland, Thrive’s executive director. “You walk away, no harm, no foul.” Nevertheless, Kunkler said See BRIDGE | Page A3
Sewer problems plague Humboldt By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
HUMBOLDT — Total upgrade of the city’s sewer system will cost about $6.7 million, Humboldt council members learned Monday night. Bruce Boettcher, an engineer with B&G Consultants, Emporia, said a sewer evaluation survey, including video inspection of mains, showed most of the city’s 330 manholes need attention and its nearly 20 miles of mains suffer from extensive cracks and breaks. Heavy rains, particularly, overwhelm the system, he said. Also, homeowners frequently complain of sewage backing up in service lines. Finally, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has put the city on notice to deal with its sewer problems.
If the mains are improved, they could be expected to last another 100 years, Boettcher said, while mechanical improvements, such as lift pumps, have life expectancy of about 40 years. Council members instructed Boettcher to look into funding sources, including a KDHE loan, in addition to one now being paid off for work done to the sewerage treatment plant. He also said a U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, grant and Community Development Block Grant could provide financing. Although council members will decide later specifically what to do, Boettcher said he doubted monthly rate increases for the town’s 890 users would be more than 10 percent. members expenditure
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An engineer firm will design a pedestrian bridge to cross Elm Creek along Washington Avenue in south Iola. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
City Council approves electric, water rate hikes By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
After months of haggling — and after another lengthy discussion about finances and philosophies about spending and saving — Iola City Council members agreed water and electric rates need to be hiked. Council members on Monday approved unanimously a 3 percent increase in water rates. A subsequent 3 percent increase in electric rates wasn’t unanimous — members Aaron Franklin and Bob Shaughnessy were opposed in the 6-2 vote — but passed nonetheless. Both rate increases were necessary, City Administrator Carl Slaugh explained, to ensure their long-term solvency. The water fund has been
Scouts target sunscreen: See related Iola Council story on Page B2 in dire straits for more than a decade, Slaugh noted, after the new water plant was built in 2005, without much of an increase in rates. That meant the city had little added revenue to cover the $600,000-plus annual payments to retire the bonds issued to build the water plant. Part of the rationale, Slaugh elaborated, was because the city had anticipated building the plant and See RATES | Page A3
Johnson Field plans evolve
$30,000 for an oil distributor, rubber wheel roller and chip spreader, which will give Humboldt all the equipment it needs to make full-fledged improvements to its streets. It earlier purchased a Zipper, a device that chews up asphalt and chip-sealed streets in preparation for rebuild. Council members gave the thumbs up for the city to rebuild the entrance road into Mt. Hope Cemetery, just northeast of town. The city and Humboldt Township cooperate on maintenance of the cemetery. Ron Moore, a township representative, said the township would stand cost of oil at $2,500, to offset city costs for labor and equipment. Allen County will provide crushed rock. IN OTHER NEWS, council See HUMBOLDT | Page A6
By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
HUMBOLDT — When it comes to the district-owned Walter Johnson Athletic Field in Humboldt, the feeling at Monday’s school board meeting was that the future of the landmark property is now in good hands. Gary Larson, the director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for southeast Kansas — and a Humboldt native — apprised the board of his burgeoning plans to return the moribund complex to a vibrant sports and recreational center that would both serve locals and attract tourists. FCA is also looking for a new regional home base, explained Larson, for which the Walter Johnson grounds may offer the ideal site. Larson’s plan, floated two
“Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson 75 Cents
months ago in a district planning session, has, in the interceding weeks, acquired some heft. He is working closely with the Small Business Development Center at Pittsburg State University — who is helping the FCA leader hammer out the details of a plan he hopes to present to the board in the coming months. And he’s inspired, too, the assistance of Thrive Allen County, whose executive director, David Toland, was on hand at Monday’s meeting to enunciate his support for Larson’s push: “[Thrive] wants to do everything we can to support this — from a health and wellness perspective but also as an economic development tool. We see this as an opportunity to bring people to HumSee 258 | Page A2
Hi: 65 Lo: 40 Iola, KS