Inside: Pastor reflects on 40 years of marriage See A8
Sports: Middleton makes her mark at Bridgeport See B1
2017 1867
The Weekender Saturday, August 12, 2017
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Wind farm construction draws near By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
MORAN — Construction of a wind farm north and west of Moran is expected to begin come spring 2018. Rorik Peterson, EDP Renewables associate development director, confirmed at a come-and-go session here Tuesday evening sufficient land had been committed and “we’re working on the development plan.” The wind farm will occu-
Jerry Wallis looks over information about wind farms during an open house Tuesday in Moran. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
Youths speak out on healthy lifestyles By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
A group of students whose aim is to discourage alcohol and tobacco use and other unhealthy practices gave Iola Rotarians a first-hand look Thursday at some of their goals. The youths are assembled as the ACMAT Youth Action Team. ACMAT is an acronym for Allen County Multi-Agency Team, a consortium of several agencies that deal with physical and mental issues and other things to the good of the county. The young folks did an ecological survey to help determine where they should focus their efforts. They found a cigarette disposal container next to a door at Iola High School; cigarette butts and other evidence of tobacco use, See YOUTH | Page A6
py parcels scattered among 15,000 acres and be capable of generating 200 megawatts of power through 60 or fewer turbines. Peterson, who works from the company’s Overland Park office, said EDP officials will share the development plan with Alan Weber, Allen County counselor, before they seek approval for a special use permit from the county’s planning commission. Another component is a permit to construct a substa-
tion at the east edge of Allen County, so power generated by the wind-driven turbines can be directed into the electrical grid. At the start, EDP talked often about acquiring construction rights on 20,000 acres, but as the project has evolved, and projected turbine size has increased, fewer acres were deemed necessary. EDP anticipates erecting 55 to 60 turbines, each capable See WIND FARM | Page A3
GOV. HOPEFUL TALKS HEALTH CARE By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
CHANUTE — The summer has hardly reached its downcurve and already a string of Kansas politicians are launching themselves across this imperfect rectangle in their 2018 run for governor. Topeka physician and former state senator Jim Barnett met with local residents and healthcare professionals at the Neosho Regional Medical Center in Chanute on Thursday. Barnett, who kicked off his gubernatorial campaign in June on the promise of uniting Kansans and repairing the “dismal results” wrought by the current administration’s experiment in radical tax cuts, has taken a run at this office before. He was the GOP’s nominee in 2006 but lost to incumbent Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. In 2010, Barnett, then in his ninth year as a state senator from an Emporia-centered district, tried but failed to beat back conservative firebrand Tim Huelskamp in the primary race for Kansas’s 1st Congressional District. Since 2010, Barnett, who began his life in public service as a school board member in
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jim Barnett, left, speaks with Neosho Regional Medical Center CEO Dennis Franks after an hourlong forum in Chanute Thursday. The visit was part of the listening tour Barnett is conducting in advance of the 2018 governor’s race. REGISTER/RICK DANLEY Emporia, has not aspired to another job in politics until now. Kansas’s most recent election, however — which swept a raft of new GOP moderates
into the legislature last August — gave Barnett some indication that voters’ sympathies were returning to the political middle. Still, the Republican prima-
ry field is a crowded one, and Barnett’s fiercest challenge will come from the right. Currently, at least five candidates See BARNETT | Page A6
Prank closes swimming pool
Come and get it! With USD 257’s summer meals program concluded, but with classes not starting until Wednesday, Humanity House offered up free breakfast burritos and sack lunches to any child under 18 who showed up at the Recreation Community Building at Riverside Park Friday. At left, Leah Stout, left, and Tracy Keagle prepare a batch of the burritos. Other volunteers were, above from left, Leslie Neighbors, Alexis McCullough, Heather McCullough, Zach Gazer, William McCulley and Jonathan McCullough. The free food will be handed out again Monday and Tuesday mornings from 8 to 10. Others helping with the project are Sonic Drive-In, Angelique Kaufman, John Harris, Opaa! Food Management, Georgia Masterson, Bolling’s Meat Market and the City of Iola. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN Vol. 119, No. 201 Iola, KS 75 Cents
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EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) — El Dorado officials are investigating an unusual vandalism case at the city’s pool. El Dorado police say officers were called to the pool Sunday after the water was dyed a reddish-purple color. The vandalism caused officials to shut down the pool on Sunday and Monday. A note was left behind saying the dye wasn’t toxic, would not stain and should eventually filter out.
The El Dorado swimming pool had a reddish purple hue this week. EL DORADO CRIME STOPPERS