Sports: Olympic hopeful reflects on Iola High School career See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
Cases to remain sealed
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
LENGTHY OVERPASS CLOSURE EXPECTED
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
The public will not get to see the probable cause affidavits that led to the arrests and first-degree murder charges against Amber Boeken and Joshua Knapp. Boeken and Knapp are charged with killing Iolan Shawn Cook in midMarch. In a ruling handed down Friday and provided to the media Monday, Magistrate Judge Thomas Saxton said the affidavitS should remained sealed and not subject to public disclosure. A probable cause affidavit is a sworn statement, typically provided by law enforcement, that outlines why a judge should consent to an arrest or search warrant, or why an arrest was made. “The court finds compelling reason to believe that release of the affidavit would substantially interfere with the criminal investigation and prosecution,” Saxton wrote. Allen County Attorney Jerry Hathaway told the Register Monday the investigation is continuing, but declined to say whether additional charges will be filed. The ruling came in response to a request from KOAM TV to release the affidavit. The next hearings for Knapp, 34, and Boeken, 24, are at 1:30 p.m. July 13.
An inspector surveys the damage this morning of the Georgia Road overpass crossing U.S. 169 east of Humboldt. The overpass is expected to remain closed for several months after it was damaged in a fatal truck accident June 13. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Repairs likely will take months, KDOT engineer says By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
HUMBOLDT — The Georgia Road overpass crossing U.S. 169 will remain closed “for months,” said Darrin Petrowsky, an engineer with the Kansas Department of Transportation. The overpass sustained damage in a fatality ac-
cident, when a semitruck blasted up the embankment and slammed into the support girders. Three of five prestressed concrete girders were damaged from the embankment to the first pier, Petrowsky said, and must be replaced. The deck over the girders also must be replaced.
“It will probably take a month just to get the girders made,” Petrowsky said. “It will be fairly lengthy.” In the interim, Petrowsky will meet with engineers to devise an emergency repair schedule. Petrowsky said no cost estimates have been provided, and declined to speculate. On Friday, KDOT an-
nounced a detour for eastbound motorists to get past the closed overpass, by heading south on Ninth Street (Old 169) through Humboldt, then east on Delaware Road, also known as Tank Farm Road, south again at 1250 St., returning to Delaware Road, and then north on 2200 Street. The detour will be marked soon.
Senators vote down gun control bills
LaHarpe swings for electric upgrade grant By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
LAHARPE — After narrowly missing out on a grant that would have helped fund upgrades to the city’s electric system, the LaHarpe City Council is putting its ducks in a row for another application. Council members gathered Monday for a special meeting to discuss additional information requested by the Kansas
Department of Commerce. Among the items the city needs to clarify: — The state has asked for “a basic understanding of the city’s ability to properly maintain electrical system if funded.” That means giving an account of all employees — in particular, their capabilities — and a full list of equipment. Mayor Mae CrowSee ELECTRIC | Page A3
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 166
WASHINGTON (AP) — Among the Senate’s most vulnerable Republicans, Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey stood firmly with the powerful National Rifle Association on the latest illfated attempts at gun control. So did Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson. Not so Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, who represents Chicago where so far this year, more than 1,780 people have been shot, leading to the vast majority of the city’s 294
homicides, according to police. Just over four months to the election, and facing pressure from their Democratic opponents, most Republican Senate incumbents opted for consistency despite the political frenzy days after the worst mass shooting in modern American history. A lone gunman, Omar Mateen, killed 49 peo-
ple and injured 53 at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, prompting fresh calls for tighter restrictions on weapons. Mateen had been the focus of two terror investigations that were dropped. Toomey, Portman and Johnson — as they did in December after shootings in San Bernardino, CaliSee GUNS | Page A3
Schools won’t ignore transgender law TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Dozens of central and western Kansas school superintendents say they have no intention of following U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp’s advice to disregard a recent transgender bathroom directive from President Barack Obama’s administration. The Topeka CapitalJournal reached out to 129 school superintendents who
were given the Republican congressman’s letter and received responses from 30 of them. Huelskamp said the directive that students should use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity “threatens the privacy
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” — John F. Kennedy 75 Cents
and safety of our children” and encouraged districts to “stand up to the Obama administration.” But none of the superintendents who responded said they would disobey the directive. Many district leaders dismissed debates over transgender students as irrelevant to their rural districts. Other leaders explained the See SCHOOLS | Page A3
Hi: 92 Lo: 72 Iola, KS