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THE IOLA REGISTER Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Art Deco grandeur Restoration is underway on Iola Theater By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Recapturing a piece of Iola’s former glory will help make it more of a cultural magnet than it already is. At least that’s the thinking of David Toland and Jim Smith, two of Iola’s more adventuresome investors. The two are busy restoring the Iola Theater to its original Art Deco style of the 1930s. Toland and Smith purchased the theater last spring. In addition to the physical labor, they are putting together a not-for-profit group to make the project eligible for private tax-deductible and grant funding. Support will be sought not only for returning the theater to its Art Deco glory of when it opened in 1931, but also in an endowment to ensure that it continues as a place
for entertainment and a multitude of others uses, such as wedding receptions, family gatherings and class reunions. “We’re in the process of becoming a 501(c) (non-profit status),” Toland said, but until that occurs financial support will be accepted through the Allen County Community Foundation. The theater closed as a movie venue in 2001 when the Sterling Six Cinema opened at the east edge of Iola. WHEN SMITH and Toland first purchased the theater in April from The One, an Iola religious group that used it for a time and then leased it to Fellowship Regional Church, they found immediate need was a new roof. “It had needed one for a long time,” Smith said, noting that water leaking into the building had See THEATER | Page A6
Extending jobless benefits on table By DAVID LIGHTMAN McClatchy Washingston
WASHINGTON — A threemonth extension of emergency unemployment benefits is gaining momentum. The Senate is scheduled to take a key procedural vote on that extension when it returns Jan. 6, and the plan has White House as well as some bipartisan support. The Republican-run House of Representatives has been more reluctant to go along. Democrats plan to spend the holidays pushing hard to
extension, which would be retroactive. “Providing a safety net for those in need is one of the most important functions of the federal government,” Heller said. His state and Reed’s have the greatest need for the extra help. Last month, Nevada and Rhode Island both had jobless rates of 9 percent, well above the national average of 7 percent. Some 4.1 million people have been out of work 26 or more weeks. A total of 10.9 million were unemployed last month.
City sidewalks, busy sidewalks Providing a safety net for those in need is one of the most important functions of the federal government.
Iola businesses saw many shoppers before Christmas. Shoppers, above, brave the cold weather to look around the Iola square. Theresa Ross, Funkie Monkey Bling owner, said many locals and people driving through town have stopped in her store for last-minute purchases. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
— Sen. Dean Heller
get an extension. While regular unemployment benefits will continue, emergency aid for 1.3 million long-term jobless will expire Dec. 28. In high-unemployment states, workers can get as many as 73 weeks of benefits. The cutoff is “particularly poignant and nearly devastating as we go into the Christmas holidays,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California told reporters Monday. Some Republicans agreed. Sens. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., are chief sponsors of the three-month
Other Republicans have two concerns. One is that the economy is improving and unemployment rates are dropping. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found 18 states had lower rates last month than the national average, while eight had “measurably higher rates” and 24 had rates “not appreciably different from that of the nation.” “The unemployment rate is coming down. These have been extraordinary extensions, and the Republican See JOBLESS | Page A3
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 42
Shoppers brave weather By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
It’s Christmas time in the city. Sheets of ice and snow flurries didn’t slow down the hustle and bustle in the Iola shops this past weekend. Last-minute Christmas shoppers plowed their way around the square to purchase lastminute gizmos and gadgets. “We had quite a few shoppers on Friday and Saturday,” Glenn Coffield, owner of Town and Country Western Wear said Monday morn-
ing. Coffield said they’ll see a lot of last-minute shoppers all the way up until closing time on Christmas Eve. “They usually know sizes for who they’re buying for, but we help guide them to what they need,” Coffield said. Items like boots, coats and camoflauge have been big sellers this year, Coffield said. Over at Funkie Monkey Bling, owner Theresa Ross said shoppers started to trickle out when the weather turned sour Saturday. Once
“He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.” — Thomas Carlyle, philosopher
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the weather cleared, business picked right back up. People driving through town on U.S. 54 have even stopped in to make some purchases. Men have been the most popular customers at Funkie Monkey. “It’s been very busy,” Ross said. “A lot of men come in and we help them put together outfits.” Men are stereotypically pegged as “last-minute shoppers” but Sophisticated Rose owner Jan Knewston said See STORES | Page A2
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