High school football: Southern Coffey County rallies past Waverly.
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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Monday, September 12, 2016
Fifth murder suspect arrested By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Jessica Epting, one of five suspects accused of murdering Iolan Shawn Cook, was taken into custody Friday in Topeka. Iola Police Chief Jared Warner said Topeka police arrested Epting shortly after 6 p.m. Friday. They were working off of a tip gleaned by Iola police detectives, Warner said. “We passed the tip on to them, and they were able to do some surveillance, and spotted her,” Warner said. Epting has been held in Shawnee County since then.
War ner said an Iola officer was headed to Topeka today to transpor t E p t i n g back to Allen County. Jessica Epting Epting, 32, Mound City, was the last of the five to be arrested. She, Amber Boeken, Joshua Knapp, James Myers and Rhonda Jackson all face firstdegree murder charges related to Cook’s death March 13. All are being held on $1 million bond. The other four previously
search warrants in Iola and Gas. Boeken was arrested March 21 in Iola on unrelated drug charges; Knapp was arrested March 24 in Linn County, also on unrelated charges. Searchers found Cook’s body April 3 along the banks of the Neosho River, near the Woodson-Coffey county line. An autopsy indicated he had been stabbed. Allen County Attorney Jerry Hathaway filed first-degree murder charges against Boeken and Knapp April 28, and against Jackson, Myers and Epting on July 28, when Jackson and Myers were taken into custody.
have appeared in Allen County Magistrate Court. A preliminary hearing for Jackson was scheduled for Dec. 2. Preliminary hearings for the others have not yet been scheduled. COOK, 33, was last seen
by relatives on March 13. He lived with his aunt, Becky Reaves, in the 400 block of South Kentucky Street. When relatives did not hear from him over the next few days, they reported him missing March 17. A flurry of activity by Iola police, Allen County sheriff ’s deputies and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation followed, with the execution of
Boyd grabs gavel as Iola’s new judge By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
After graduating from the University of Nebraska law school in 1992, Patti Boyd scored a prestigious job with a large white-shoe law firm in Kansas City. It would have been the envy of any young lawyer, to launch their career from the heights of such a gilded perch. Plus, she was picked to work in the securities department at a time when the economy, still gorging itself on the excesses of the 1980s, was awash in public offerings. “It was fascinating, highlevel work,” remembered Boyd of her time at Watson Ess Marshall & Enggas. “I loved the job, loved my col-
in love with another young lawyer — her future husband — Mark Boyd. After much “soul-searching,” recalled Boyd, the pair decided to trade in their big-city lives for a future in Mark’s native rural Moran. It was their intention, at that time, to forge for themselves new careers, too. Mark became a history teacher, a course he’s charted without interruption at Iola Middle School for more than 20 years. He even allowed his law license to expire, said Boyd, and has never looked back. But the law exerted a more adhesive force on Boyd’s life. Soon after arriving in southeast Kansas, the Nebraska
Iola Municipal Court Judge Patti Boyd REGISTER/RICK DANLEY leagues and loved working in that environment.” And she was good at it. But the hours were long. The stakes were high. The pace was hectic. And the frantic demands of that sort of highlevel job precluded, in some
ways, the promise of a fuller life. “And so after a couple of years, I started to realize that you either did that or you had a life. You didn’t do both.” But while in Kansas City, the young lawyer met and fell
See BOYD | Page A4
Whoever finds the above FarmCity Days medallion will win $1,000.
Medallion hunt plans take shape A medallion hunt will once again kick off the upcoming Farm-City Days celebration, with an even larger cash prize awaiting the winner. The medallion will be hidden somewhere in Allen County, with Farm-City Days organizers releasing one clue daily pertaining to its whereabouts, starting in late September. As many as nine clues will be released, if necessary, each getting progressively easier to the medallion’s location. The first to find the medallion gets $1,000 — up from the $500 grand prize for last year’s winner — provided he has purchased a Farm-City Days button beforehand. The buttons also will be used for a second prize giveaway. On Oct. 8, a series of drawings will be held for other prizes, including a PlayStation 4 video game console, a Branson getaway and Bowlus Fine Arts Center family packs. The buttons cost $2 apiece, See HUNT | Page A4
Pedalfest About 150 cyclists participated in Saturday’s second annual Portland Alley Pedalfest that began in Iola’s Riverside Park and traveled a route of up to 100 miles — for those so inclined. Friday night rains dampened the turnout when would-be campers stayed away. The day was capped off with entertainment, food and activities back at Riverside. Above left, the riders begin their route along the Southwind Trail that winds from Iola to Humboldt. Above, Katrina Springer is loaded down with baby Declan snuggled against her chest and Moira, unseen, in back. With Springer is her mother Mary Ann Regehr. At left, Sam Holding, 12, has his face painted by Chelsea Cooper as part of the Pedalfest activities. REGISTER/SUSAN LYNN
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 220
“Truth exists; only lies are invented.”
— Georges Braque, French artist 75 Cents
Hi: 86 Lo: 62 Iola, KS