Royals flushed: Kansas City’s playoff hopes take hit in 16-3 loss to Oakland.
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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
City says no to park land swap By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Iola City Council members said no thanks to a proposed land swap that would have transferred a portion of Meadowbrook Park to the nearby First Baptist Church. Council members voted, 5-2, Monday to reject the swap, which would have involved the church acquiring about 3 acres of land near the city’s disc golf course and donating that to the city in exchange for the portion of Meadowbrook Park that lies south of Meadowbrook Road. First Baptist members proposed the swap earlier this year in an effort to accommodate a church expansion project. Even though the city rejected the proposed trade, Council members were hopeful to find ways to help the stressed church find ways to expand. The Council directed City Administrator Sid Fleming to approach church leaders with another proposal, involving land the city owns near the church on the other side of Cottonwood Street. Councilman Jon Wells suggested the city transfer that land to the church for See PARK | Page A5
Driver arrested in fatal hit-and-run Iola City Council members rebuffed a proposed land swap that would have given a portion of Meadowbrook Park to First Baptist Church. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Car buy sparks purchasing policy talk By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
with other companies. At issue Monday was the purchase of a Ford SUV Interceptor for the Iola Police Department. The Council voted, 4-3, to purchase the SUV from Twin Motors Ford in Iola at a price of $27,166, which was about 6 percent ($1,600) more expensive than the low bid from Beckman Mo-
Iola City Council members will take a closer look at the city’s purchasing policy to determine if a provision should be added to decide when they can do business with local businesses, even if it means being more expensive than
tors of Garnett. Council members Aaron Franklin, Beverly Franklin, Austin Sigg and Don Becker, voted to approve the Twin Motors bid. Nancy Ford, Sandy Zornes and Jon Wells were opposed. Councilman Bob Shaughnessy was absent. Council members have See POLICY | Page A5
The driver involved in a hit-and-run fatality truck accident near Chanute has been arrested. The Kansas Highway Patrol announced Monday the driver — later identified by the Chanute Tribune as Paul Anthony Abram, 53, Houston — was located in Kansas City, Kan., Saturday. The trucking company that owns the truck in question, Five Rivers Transport LLC out of Kansas City, contacted authorities following the accident, according to a KHP news release. Several others phoned in tips as well, the Tribune reported, including an Iola resident who had seen the damage to the truck and reported See CRASH | Page A2
B F A C
Humboldt sewer rates to double
T HE T H OMA S H . BOWL US F I N E A R T S C E N T E R
By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
257 BOE readies Bowlus petition By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
The wheels were set in motion Monday night for a judge to revisit the will of local benefactor Thomas H. Bowlus, whose estate was dedicated to create the Bowlus Fine Arts Center, and whose operation depends on the school district. USD 257 board of education members approved two changes to the petition at their meeting Monday night. From here it will be submitted to Allen County District Court. The changes include who will pay for the costs incurred by filing the petition. Wording in the previous petition read that the Bowlus estate would be asked to carry the load. New language asks that the Court consider costs according to how they pertain to the two parties: The school district and the Bowlus estate, which will most likely be represented by a See 257 | Page A6
HUMBOLDT — Residents here will see their sewer rates nearly double to accommodate needed changes to the city’s sewer system. The upgrade will cost $6.2 million, but debt service will be based on a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan that will total either $7 million or $7.3 million, including $1.6 million from loan principles to be paid from previous work. The difference will be whether USDA comes across with a grant of $280,000. Humboldt also will seek a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state Department
of Commerce. Annual loan repayment will be about $250,000 over 40 years. With the $280,000 USDA grant, the monthly rate increase would be $21.72, for an average individual payment of $45. If the USDA grant does not materialize, the rate increase would be $22.47 and push the average monthly
charge for residents to $45.75. Improvements will include repairs to water mains as well as up to 207 specific points in water lines that see significant infiltration by groundwater; 276 feet of manhole liners; 54,890 feet of liners for mains; 531 service tap connections and additional work at the sewer plant. BG Consultants, Emporia, will oversee the work, which is expected to start in the spring of 2018. KDOC will announce block grant funding on Jan. 23. Success will mean bids for the work will be opened in December 2017. If Humboldt misses out on the $500,000 block grant, one of three op-
tions may be exercised, said Bruce Boettcher of BG Consultants. Humboldt could seek additional revenue through its USDA loan, scale back the project or wait another a year and apply again for the CDBG funding. The work proposed has been ordered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, so dropping the project altogether is out of the question. IN OTHER NEWS, council members: — Closed out the town’s rental property rehabilitation program. During the past 29 months seven of nine See HUMBOLDT | Page A6
Ex-lawmakers sound off on taxes, government By STEPHEN KORANDA KHI News Service
Former Democratic Gov. John Carlin and former Republican House Speaker Mike O’Neal have starkly different views on the condition of Kansas government. That divergence was plain as the two met Thursday in Topeka for a discussion about the size of government recorded for KCUR’s Statehouse Blend podcast. O’Neal and Carlin agree on one thing — that they don’t know exactly what the “right size” of state government is. “It’s not about high or low,” said Carlin, but about finding the right tax level to get return on investment.
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O’Neal said the goal of the 2012 tax cuts, passed while he was Kansas House speaker, wasn’t shrinking state government, it was boosting the economy. He said government will shrink, at least temporarily, while waiting for the economic growth that tax cuts are aimed at boosting. “It’s not a shot of adrenaline, as I think we’ve found out,” said O’Neal. “In fact, it’s very hard for anyone to have predicted the stagnation nationally, because everybody thought they’d pull out of the recession quicker than they did.” Carlin said the results of the August primaries, where multiple incumbent conservatives lost to more moder-
Former Gov. John Carlin (left) and former Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal squaring off over the size of government at recording of Statehouse Blend. KHI NEWS SERVICE/SUSIE FAGAN ate challengers, were a referendum on the state’s tax policy and direction. “I think it’s an understanding of the people of Kansas that what we tried did not
“Either move or be moved.”
— Ezra Pound, American poet, 1885-1972 75 Cents
work,” Carlin said. O’Neal now heads the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, which had endorsed all the See SPAR | Page A2
Hi: 87 Lo: 68 Iola, KS