Wrestling: Iola takes second at Caney tourney See B1
Inside: Kennedy Center honors wide spectrum See B2
THE IOLA REGISTER Monday, December 9, 2013
Allen County Regional Hospital opening Tuesday
THE FINISHING TOUCHES At left, Lisa Michael, front, and Rhonda Wolfe, both nurses in Allen County Regional Hospital’s surgery department, prepare their equipment at the new building. The old hospital will close at approximately 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, with the new building opening immediately afterward. Above, Lisa Griffith, director of the emergency department, mounts pieces on the emergency room’s latitudes machine. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Classy Attic closing Infant mortality rates high in Kan. after nearly 20 years STATE
By KELSEY RYAN The Wichita Eagle
In May 2011, Maxton was at his second day at a home day care. Though the sitter had done everything right - he was on his back, WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Brightly colored alone in a crib - when she checked on him, he chalk covers the sidewalk outside the Bur- was blue. keys’ home in west Emergency reWichita. sponders were able There are ABCs to resuscitate him. We need healthy women to have healthy But nine days later, and names: Mama, Daddy, Kamben and babies. We need to have healthy young girls the Burkeys made the Maxton. to become healthy young women to have painful decision to Kamben is a tod- healthy babies. remove him from life dling 19-month-old. support. — Christy Schunn, Kansas Infant Death and SIDS Network He likes “Thomas “The only brain acthe Tank Engine” tivity he had were seiand “SpongeBob zures,” Kelci Burkey SquarePants.” said. “He didn’t do any of the normal things. But Maxton will forever be 7 weeks old to He didn’t have the pupil response or show any his parents, Kelci and Kevin. perception to pain. He didn’t have any of that. On May 17, 2011, Maxton stopped breath- . ing. “It was really hard for us, and that is not He was one of 247 Kansas infants who died an easy decision that any parent should have that year - and continue to die each year, as to make. But as parents, we knew that that the state’s infant death rates exceed the na- wasn’t Max,” she said. “Max was - he never tional average. See INFANTS | Page A4
By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
After 19½ years of business Classy Attic is saying farewell to Iola. The shop at 15 E. Madison Ave. will close its doors for the last time on Dec. 31. “The economy is just not profitable,” owner Sherry Hart said. “It’s the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Harder than childbirth, leaving my job at the bank after 17 years and divorce after 40 years of marriage.” Hart said she has held on as long as she could but knows it’s time to close. She sat down before Thanksgiving, “put pen to paper” and made the decision. “I’m not ready to give it up,” she said. “Financially, I can see the writing on the wall. I was hoping it would grow but it hasn’t.” Hart started the business with friends Mary Smith and Marsha Burris in July 1994. They bought Old Country from Kim Strickler. Burris left the business in 1995 and in 2004 they moved See CLASSY ATTIC | Page A4
NATIONAL
East coast hit by heavy winter storms PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A plodding storm that dumped heavy snow on the unsuspecting Mid-Atlantic region left roads slippery and slushy in the Northeast for Monday’s commute while travel disruptions continued rippling across the country days after the same system first began wreaking havoc in the skies. The storm that coated parts of Texas in ice struck with unexpected force Sunday on the East Coast, blanketing some spots in a foot of snow, grinding highways to a halt, causing power outages, and closing schools or delaying start times. The federal government was allowing workers to arrive up to two hours later than normal Monday or take unscheduled leave as freezing rain fell. “Getting snow and ice off the car was the hardest thing,” said Brian Holmes, 63, of Alexandria, Va. “I couldn’t find my scraper. I had to improvise with my broken snow shovel.”
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 31
In Washington, cab driver Mahdi Abdi said he had been driving since around midnight and the main roads were clear. But side streets were a different story. “The small streets, a lot of them are icy,” said Abdi, 52. “I don’t even go in.” The storm canceled more than 2,800 flights Sunday and delayed thousands more, according to estimates from the website Flightaware.com. More than 1,200 flights Monday were already canceled, the greatest share from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which was still reeling from the effects of the ice storm that brought North Texas to a standstill. About 650 people were stranded there Sunday night, down from Friday night when about 4,000 travelers were stranded, airport spokesman David Magana said. The forecast for Monday remained up in the air for the Northeast, depending on how See STORMS | Page A4
Classy Attic owner Sherry Hart, left, and employee Judie Laver will close their doors Dec. 31. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
“Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese.” — Luis Bunuel, Spanish filmmaker 75 Cents
Hi: 24 Lo: 15 Iola, KS