Dear Santa: All I want for Christmas is...
Basketball: Iola squads fall to Baldwin City See B1
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THE IOLA REGISTER Thursday, December 12, 2013
By STEVEN SCHWARTZ The Iola Register
ON THE BRINK OF EXPANSION
HUMBOLDT — B&W Trailer Hitches is on the brink of its largest expansion yet, and due to increases in production and employment, it is coming just in time. “We have outgrown our current plant,” Mike Mueller, plant manager, said bluntly during an interview Wednesday afternoon. Workers’ space has been limited in the plant, he said, and the new 106,000 square foot building just to the north will be just what they need. The current buildings have 260,000 square feet of space. Welding machines, laser cutters and storage space have filled up the floor of the plant slowly since Joe Works and See B&W | Page A5
B&W nears completion of 106,000 square-foot addition Above, Mike Mueller surveys the construction of B&W Trailer Hitches’ 106,000 square-foot expansion. At right, tight spaces in the factory are one of the main reasons for the new building. B&W employees more than 290 workers in their 260,000 square-foot facility. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Shop local with the Iola Block Party By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
’Tis the season to shop locally and the Third Annual Downtown Christmas Block Party is making it easier for shoppers. The block party is from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday. Twelve businesses have joined together to create the event.
Audacious Boutique owner Kelly Sigg said the process of the event is simple. A shopper can start at any of the participating businesses and pick up a punch card. As the shopper moves from store to store they can get the card punched. Once they are done looking through the stores and have a complete See SHOP | Page A2
NATIONAL
Bah-humbug for bipartisanship
Sandy Zornes’ home, at right, 409 E. Jackson Ave., is lit up for the holiday season with Christmas decorations, snowmen and thousands of lights. Lights on the Christmas trees flicker on and off, synchronized with music playing over speakers. REGISTER/STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Keeping the Christmas spirit alive By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
Twinkling lights, traditional Christmas tunes and smiling inflatable snowmen bring the Christmas spirit to Jackson Avenue. Terry and Sandy Zornes love to illuminate their home at 409 E. Jackson Ave. with dazzling Christmas decor. “I’m a kid at heart,” Sandy said. “My husband loves helping me decorate.” The Zorneses have embellished their home in holiday decor for nearly 23 years. They like to decorate for other holidays like Halloween, but Christmas is when they pull out all the stops.
“Christmas decorations are something I love to go all out for during the season,” she said. Sandy said she used to run a daycare and enjoyed having the kids see the sparkling lights. She would turn the lights on early in the morning for the kids so they could see them. Decorating the front yard brings back a lot of memories. Snow reminds her of sugar cookies. As a child she recalls outings with her family to see the Christmas lights at the plaza in Kansas City. In years past many of the neighbors used to participate by decorating their own homes but some of the extravagance has died down. Sometimes there would be lines of cars
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driving by to view the lights. “We try to keep it up at our location and keep the tradition going,” she said. Sandy recalled years ago seeing bright flashes of light outside her windows and thought it was lightning. When she investigated further, she saw families taking photos in front of their winter wonderland. “Many people stop by and take photos,” she said. “That makes us happy knowing they are making memories.” People still let the Zorneses know they enjoy driving by the home and they always receive compliments. Giving community members a “magical experience” is all Sandy hopes to do.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A budget agreement between key Republicans and Democrats. Even President Barack Obama was on board. All without anyone threatening to repeal this or shut down that. Gridlock, however briefly, took an early holiday in the bitterly polarized, Republican-run House. But across the Capitol, the high-minded Senate remains in the grip of some of the worst partisan warfare in its history after majority Democrats curbed the Republicans’ power. A round-the-clock talkathon is the result, putting no one in the mood for cooperation. Majority Leader Harry Reid
“The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.” — Robert M. Pirsig 75 Cents
threatened to shorten the Senate’s cherished Christmas vacation if need be. A Republican called his bluff. “What’s new about that? What’s even threatening about that?” challenged Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. Traditionally effective prods to action are often less so in the divided, crisis-managed Congress. Lawmakers have lurched from sequester to shutdown over spending, national health care and more in the two years since Republicans won control of the House with a sizable group of newcomers reluctant to compromise. Their approach proved costly — to the nation’s credit rating, to See GRIDLOCK | Page A5
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