Saturday, September 12, 2020
Locally owned since 1867
Space Force flag unfurled downtown
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Kansas GOP blocks disaster extension
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iolaregister.com
Small grants make big impact By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
“That $7,500 is saving us right now,” said Jessica Quinhones, in reference to a recent CDBG-CV microbusiness grant awarded to Around the Corner coffee shop. Recent Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) were made possible by the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, as were new grants for nonprofits and small businesses born of the SPARK program, which are detailed in more depth below.
Quinhones said that her $7,500 in grant funds “means a couple months more of keeping our doors open,” and until business picks up during the holiday season. “It allows us to move forward. … get back on track.” Getting back on track has been difficult at the coffee shop lately, and things have been especially tough since people are no longer receiving government stimulus benefits, noted Quinhones. “We’re having more trouble See GRANTS | Page A5
Jessica Quinhones and Paige Olson take a break from serving customers at Around the Corner coffee shop. REGISTER/TREVOR HOAG
Bienvenido! Willkommen! Benvenuto! Iola welcomes international students By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Iola High School welcomes a record number of international students this year. Five students — three from Italy, one from Spain and one from Germany — have arrived in Iola as part of a study abroad program through the Pan Atlantic Program. The exchange students were required to spend two weeks in quarantine because of the coronavirus pandemic, under CDC guidelines. Only two of the students have been able to start classes; the others expect to begin Monday or later. All of them are athletes and are looking forward to participating in school sports. “We’re excited to get them See STUDENTS | Page A4
Jonathan Adams, Henrik Sieh and Dr. Dawny Barnhart.
Jenna Miller, Gaia Figus and Sharla Miller.
Henrik Sieh, Germany
Gaia Figus, Italy
Henrik Sieh, who lives in a small town in Germany, wants to learn how to play American football. He watched the Kansas City Chiefs play in the Super Bowl in February, although the time difference made it impossible for him to watch the entire game. It started at 2 a.m., so he watched part of it and found out the result later. In fact, all the American
football games he’s ever watched were Chiefs games. “Before I came to Kansas, I was a Chiefs fan,” he said. That was, perhaps, the first sign that he ended up in the right place. Since he arrived at the home of Jonathan Adams and Dr. Dawny Barnhart in Iola, Henrik has watched a few of Iola High School’s football practices. He’s never played before and doesn’t See HENRIK | Page A4
Gaia Figus, who lives in Italy on a small Mediterranean island, relies on Google Translate to help her communicate with her host family, the Millers. She types a question into her phone, which translates it to English. Gaia then reads the English words. Sharla Miller and her daughter, Jenna, respond. If Gaia doesn’t know the right words to use, she’ll consult
her phone. “There is a language barrier, but the translator has been wonderful,” Sharla said. “She has the most difficulty finding the right adjectives.” Gaia hopes to improve her English skills while she’s living with the Millers. She also wants to “have an experience.” That experience so far has been limited because of the See GAIA | Page A4
Veronica Agostini at the home of Mike and Nancy Ford.
Riccardo Barbarossa at the home of Mike and Erin Splechter.
Lucia Perez at the home of Daniel and Nicole Schowengerdt
Veronica Agostini, Italy
Riccardo Barbarossa, Italy
Lucia Perez, Spain
Veronica Agostini, who is from Italy, surprised her parents with a request to study abroad. They were a little hesitant to allow her to travel to another country to live with strangers for a year, especially during a global pandemic. Her father, who works in law enforcement, was especially protective. His fears were eased somewhat when he learned that Veronica would be living with the Ford family. Mike Ford works for the Iola Police Department. Nancy works for Allen Community College. Veronica is also interested in law enforcement. She wants to join the Army after she returns to
Finding a place to play soccer helped Riccardo Barbarossa, a student from Italy, feel at home in Iola. Fortunately, he didn’t need to go any farther than the spacious yard outside the home of his host family of Mike and Erin Splecter. In the absence of a school soccer program, Riccardo looks forward to trying his hand at basketball. His interest in sports already has allowed him to meet a couple of his peers. He’s already played a pickup game of basketball with two IHS students who live nearby.
Lucia Perez, who lives in Spain, has dreamed of traveling to the U.S. to study since she was 12. She studied English for years to prepare for her trip. “I want to learn a new culture,” she said. “I want to improve my English and meet lots of friends.” She had to convince her parents to let her go. Ultimately, they agreed. “They know it’s going to be a good experience for me,” Lucia said. Her sister, who is younger than Lucia by three years, was sad to see her leave but “she wants me to do this,” Lucia said. Lucia is staying with the Schowengert family,
See VERONICA | Page A5
See RICCARDO | Page A5
See LUCIA | Page A5
Vol. 122, No. 222 Iola, KS 75 Cents
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