Sports: Djokovic takes Wimbledon trophy See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
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Monday, July 13, 2015
Living one beat at a time More Kansas man meets teachers leaving Area goals despite heart condition state, retiring By ROXANA HEGEMAN The Associated Press
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Classroom spending cuts, uncertain school financing, low pay and eroding tenure protections all play into a hostile climate in Kansas that teachers and school administrators say is spurring a surge of teacher departures and retirements. At least 3,720 Kansas teachers have left the state, retired or taken jobs outside of education after this past school year, a huge jump from the 2,150 who did so just a couple of years ago, according to a newly released data by Kansas State Department of Education. The teacher exodus comes as a panel of district judges declared last month that key parts of a new state law for funding public schools violate the state constitution. The panel ordered an immediate increase in funds, but the Kansas Supreme Court later stayed that order pending its review. But it is not just the financing problems fueling a perception education in Kansas is under attack. The GOP-dominated Legislature also tried to limit teachers’ bargaining power and sought unsuccessfully to pass a law that would allow teachers to be criminally
prosecuted for presenting material deemed harmful to minors. “Instead of funding our schools, (lawmakers) are vilifying our teachers,” said Mark Farr, a high school science teacher now serving as president of the Kansas National Education Association. State Rep. Ron Ryckman Jr., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee noted that the Legislature tried to provide schools with two years of financial stability in unstable times with its block grant financing plan, and that some of the more objectionable bills either were never passed or were negotiated into more acceptable versions. “We value our teachers and try to find the best way possible to get more money in the classrooms,” Ryckman said. Other outside factors are aggravating the defections. Many teachers who stayed put during the economic recession are now leaving for better paying jobs outside education. Demographics also play a role as baby boomers nearing retirement age are coping with new caps on how much outside income a retired teacher can earn while still drawSee EXODUS | Page A4
By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
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n the Thursday before Easter Dale Erb and his wife, Maria, were making a beeline for the Kansas Heart Hospital in Wichita. A few hours earlier, during a checkup with a visiting cardiologist at Allen County Regional Hospital, Erb learned that his heart — which an echocardiogram revealed working at only 20 percent capacity, and on the downslide — was in need of rapid medical attention. “Dr. Reusser left the room and my wife and I tried to compose ourselves. Out in the hallway, [he] stopped us and he looked at my wife and he said, ‘Is there any reason you can’t have Dale at the Heart Hospital tonight?’ ‘No,’ she said. But she asked, ‘Why tonight? Why not Tuesday?’” Erb was already marked down for a heart catheterization the next week. “His answer was: ‘I cannot guarantee that Dale will be alive on Tuesday.’” ERB HAD come down with a slight cough the previous fall — a cough that persisted well into winter. By March, indications were that it was more than a common cold. Erb was referred to a pulmonologist, who, finding fluid in the 59-year-old’s lungs, insisted that he meet with a cardiologist.
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 173
In 1997, Erb, who has a family history of heart trouble, underwent a triple bypass. “The surgeon that did that told me: ‘I will see you back on the table in five years.’ He said that is the average. That was 18 years ago. But, trust me, for the last six months of that five-year-plan, I was watching the calendar. ” And so, last spring, when Dr. Reusser described the grim read-out of his echo test,
ROELAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City police officer said he is amazed by the public response to actions he took this week while responding to a routine shoplifting call at a local retail store. Roeland Park, Kansas, police officer Mark Engravalle was sent July 6 to a a local Walmart after a woman and juvenile were caught shoplifting. Upon arrival, Engravalle was so touched by the homeless woman’s crying, dirty, barefoot children that he went into his own pocket to buy shoes for the kids and the diapers and baby wipes the widow had been caught trying to steal. “I didn’t give it a second thought,” Engravalle said. “I just wanted to do right by the children.” Engravalle, who has been a Roeland Park officer since late 2013, said such calls to the store are a daily occurrence. But this time, Sarah Robinson — who told the officer her husband had drowned several years ago and the family was living out of their car
Heat advisory in effect through Tuesday temperatures expected to reach the mid 90s today and Tuesday. When coupled with humidity, heat index readings of up to 110 are forecast. Temperatures are expected to exceed the 90-degree mark each day this week, with a slight chance of thun-
RICHARD LUKEN
Erb felt all his thoughts being swept back out to sea, “to the point where I was just like: ‘Is this real? Is this actually real?’” But he quickly buried the thought. ”The doctor wanted us at the Heart Hospital that night. So, you know, we processed it, and decided at that point in time: I’m not done. We are not giving up.” See ERB | Page A4
Police officer lauded in handling theft case
THE HEAT IS ON
While summer officially arrived more than three weeks ago, the first extended hot blast of weather has arrived this week. The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for Iola and Allen County until 6 p.m. Tuesday, with
Dale Erb discusses the wearable defibrillator, a Zoll Medical LifeVest, he must wear because of his chronic heart disease. REGISTER/
derstorms possible in the latter portions of the week. Health officials caution people working outdoors to take frequent breaks and remain hydrated. Pet health also is stressed, with animals requiring shade and fresh, cool water.
“Luck is believing you’re lucky.”
— Tennessee Williams 75 Cents
— and one of her daughters were caught trying to take diapers, wipes and shoes. The girls, ages 15, 12, 4 and 2-year-old twins, were crying. “They thought I was going to take their mother to jail,” Engravalle said. He asked Robinson if she had any money for the items and she said she didn’t. Looking at the dirty bare feet and legs of the younger girls, he asked if they had shoes. “She said no and started crying harder,” he said. Thinking of his own two children, Engravalle told the teen daughter to take her younger sisters and pick out some shoes. He also paid for the diapers and wipes. “By then there wasn’t a dry eye in the place, including mine,” he said, declining to reveal how much he spent. Roeland Park Police Chief John Morris said he was not surprised by what his officer did. A few months ago, Engravalle was one of four officers who received a life-saving award in a case involving a choking infant. “He’s a really good guy with a compassionate heart,” Morris said.
Hi: 97 Lo: 74 Iola, KS