Sports: Mustang baseball vies for league title See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
USD 257 BOE
IN THE MOOD
Board OKs virtual learning program
HUMBOLDT
City delays spraying By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
Iola High School will have a virtual learning program for the 2015-16 school year. The board approved a one-year contract with the Greenbush Virtual School Program. Greenbush is an education service center based in Girard. USD 257 currently has an alternative school, Crossroads, an on-site facility from which students can earn a high school diploma. “We have been losing kids to schools that have other virtual programs,” Superintendent of Schools Jack Koehn said Monday night at the USD 257 board meeting. Virtual learning allows 50 percent of class work to be completed off site, allowing for a more flexible schedule for students. The program is for grades 9-12 and could be offered to adults. Students would still be able to earn their high school diploma through Iola. Greenbush will provide the computers and train the teachers. The district will provide the administrator and site. Cost is $3,500 a student. State funding is $5,000 per student for such programs. See BOE | Page A3
HUMBOLDT — Humboldt council members said Monday night they would depend on residents to tell them when to spray for mosquitoes this year. In discussion that tended toward shying from spraying, Councilwoman Vada Aikins put a cap on it with a motion that, in part, said “leave spraying up to the community.” The action came on the heels of Mayor Nobby Davis proposing that mosquito activity and numbers be monitored and to “spray only if we really need to.” In the past city crews have sprayed each week, much as to their counterparts in Iola. However, some concerns about the spray being harmful to the environment and children — Ellery Robertson’s comments early in the meeting — won the day. City Administrator Cole Herder said he had two negative calls about spraying — one from Robertson. He suggested giving residents a greater role in mosquito control, by encouraging them
The Iola Middle School jazz band capped an evening of entertainment by IMS band students on the Iola square. On the saxophone, from left, are Katie Weide, Kassy Shelby, Michael Price, Blake Ashmore and Jaxson Wiltse. Altogether, there were six performances including choir, strings, and different levels of band. Directors included Greta Adams, choir and strings, Matt Kleopfer, band director, and Ben Olson, assistant band director. The band program has grown considerably in the three years Kleopfer has been here. This summer’s band program has more than 200 students enrolled. In 2012, the summer camp had 33 students. Iola High School band students perform at 7:30 tonight at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center. REGISTER/SUSAN LYNN
IOLA CITY COUNCIL
City sets sights on south Iola Iola will take a closer look at improving curbs and gutters throughout much of south Iola, water drainage along North State Street and push the Environmental Protection Agency to move faster on soil cleanup throughout town. Those were among the big ticket items City Council members favored Monday during a discussion of the city’s capital projects, priorities and funding sources. As City Administrator Carl Slaugh explained, to kickstart the discussion, the Council has developed
Councilman eyes old ACH site proposals
several potential projects over the past several years, both in and out of strategic planning sessions. From there, those items are prioritized as funding mechanisms are determined. The final step is seeking outside funding sources — through state or federal grants, for example — and incorporating the city’s costs into its budget-planning process each summer. The city should focus on infrastructure improvements, council members agreed.
Iola should take steps to ensure the city would not at some point be responsible for the old Allen County Hospital, a city councilman said Monday. City Councilman Donald Becker pointed to recent developments about potential use of the old hospital.
See IOLA | Page A8
See ACH | Page A3
See SPRAY | Page A3
Love of learning spurs on Bauer
Work ethic puts Thompson at top
By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
Alex Bauer recently added an additional honor to his status as Iola High School 2015 class valedictorian: the Governor’s Scholars Award. The award recognizes students in the top 1 percent of Kansas high school seniors. Bauer was the only Iolan invited to attend the ceremony, where he received a certificate and personal congratulations from the governor. He is also the recipient of the Chancellor Scholarship, the largest award handed out by the University of Kansas, where Bauer will begin his college career this fall. But Bauer wears his laurels lightly. He’s thoughtful in conversation, easy to smile, with a dry wit. And anyone who attended Iola’s prom this year — where Bauer, in a powder blue suit and top hat, and
If genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration, then Baylea Thompson is on her way to success. At 18, the IHS senior has developed an admirable work ethic in order to maintain a perfect 4.0 throughout high school. Long after most of her classmates have said goodnight, Baylea is burning the midnight oil studying for either high school or college classes. Since her s o p h o more year she has also taken classes at Allen Community College. She also pitches for the IHS softball team. “It’s been rough with softball,” the soft-spoken teen said. “Sometimes I don’t get home from a game until 10 o’clock. I’ll still be studying until 2
Alex Bauer his friend Kaden Macha, in clashing orange, chauffeured their dates to the dance in a car outfitted to look like a dog — knows that the senior’s seriousness as a student is leavened by his sense of fun. Lawrence will be a natural fit for the firstborn son of Jim and Shelby Bauer. According to Bauer, the college town, which his family visits frequently, has for many years felt to him “like a second home.”
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 133
Bauer grew up att e n d ing KU sporting events, a n d passes the only test of true fandom by dedicating himself as passionately to the school’s struggling football team — “these fans are rare” — as he See BAUER| Page A2
“We fear the thing we want the most.”
Baylea Thompson or 3 in the morning.” Math, particularly, is a challenge, she said. She credits IHS math teacher Dianne Kauth for encouraging her to stick it out, “but it still doesn’t make sense to me,” she said. Baylee is currently tackling college algebra and plane trigonometry at ACC. And yes, despite the hurdles, she expects to ace the courses. That’s the perfectionist in her personality, which she realizes is both a blessing and a curse.
— Robert Anthony, author 75 Cents
“Most of my friends make good grades, but are not as meticulous as I am,” she said. It wasn’t until her senior year came into sight that Baylea zeroed in on maintaining perfect grades. “I didn’t want to give it up after working so hard,” she said. Holding herself to such high standards can “stress me out,” Baylea admitted. One coping mechanism is “making lots of lists” to help give her a sense of organization. And lest you think she’s Little Miss Perfect, you’ll be glad to know “my room and my car are a mess.” AFTER graduation, Baylea’s first goal is to find a full-time job and then continue at ACC in the fall. Gates Manufacturing had been her default until she recently learned it has been experiencing layoffs. Her father, Breck, is See WORK | Page A8
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