Golf: Iola wins league title
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THE IOLA REGISTER Wednesday, May 14, 2014
ALLEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
State slashes Allen adult education funding
By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
The opportunity to get a GED diploma in Allen County has been drastically reduced. Trustees at Allen Community College learned Tuesday night funding for the college’s GED program had been cut by 83 percent by the state for next year. The adult ed program is funded by a State of Kansas
grant that assists in preparing interested adults to take the GED examination to earn a high school equivalent diploma. The program was not meeting the state’s enrollment goals. For 2014, Allen had 53 students enrolled, down from 104 students in 2011. The state-mandated enrollment goal is 80. Next year the goal is 104. Jon Marshall, vice president for academic af-
We can’t make people want services. We can’t force people to be educated. — Jon Marshall, vice president for academic affairs
fairs, said he was unsure how the goals were set for the college and met with Susan Fish, state director of adult educa-
tion with the Kansas Board of Regents. Fish had said when she took her position the enrollment in adult edu-
cation across the state was in decline. It was a goal to raise the numbers back to its original glory. Fish also said although the counties Allen serves might be losing census, data shows people without a diploma is rising. “We can’t make people want services,” Marshall told the trustees. “We can’t force people to be educated.” Because the enrollment See ACC | Page A6
COUNTY COMMISSION
Ambulance finances are trending upward By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Iola’s ambulance service financial trend is looking better, City Administrator Carl Slaugh told Allen County commissioners Tuesday. Latest projections suggest the countywide service will have a deficit of $190,000 by year’s end, Slaugh said. That’s much better than a month ago when it appeared funding would fall short by $400,000. Another bouquet Slaugh handed out was that combining Iola’s and the county’s services would result in a savings of $705,000. With combined service, Slaugh said expenditures should be $1.985 million, with Iola’s fire department a part of the mix. In 2013, Iola and the county spent $2.689 million, when both operated ambulances.
Meanwhile, Allen County included a levy of about 3.7 mills for ambulance service in its 2014 budget, when it was put together last July. That will generate about $350,000, which will remain in reserve in case something unforeseen occurred and the county had to resume ambulance service. With Iola settling into countywide ambulance provision, Commissioner Dick Works said he saw no reason why the county couldn’t reduce, perhaps even remove altogether, the ambulance levy for the 2015 budget and those of years ahead. That would be a property tax savings for all in the county, including Iolans. Slaugh suggested that commissioners take into consideration when figuring their upcoming budget the pendSee COUNTY | Page A6
States claim right to require documents WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas and Arizona argued Tuesday they have a sovereign right to require proof of citizenship for voters in their states, even for federal elections. The two states urged the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in a filing to lift the emergency suspension of a ruling from U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren that orders the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to modify its federal voter registration form to add special instructions for Arizona and Kansas residents about those states’ documentation requirements. Circuit Judges Carlos Lucero and Jerome Holmes granted on Thursday the temporary halt sought by the commission and voting rights groups, a day after Melgren rejected a similar request to suspend his ruling during the appeal. Melgren had ordered the commis-
sion to carry out “without further delay” his March 19 directive. Opponents of proof-ofcitizenship requirements contend that the added documentation burdens result in an overall decrease in registration of eligible citizens, undermining the purpose of the National Voter Registration Act. The states argue the requirement protects the integrity of their elections by ensuring noncitizens aren’t voting. In addition to arguing against a stay of Melgren’s order, both states also opposed in their latest filing the election commission’s request for expedited hearing by the 10th Circuit as soon as this summer on the merits of the case. “The efficient administration of the election in 2014 demands that the district court’s correct decision remain in place and that adSee VOTE | Page A6
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 140
From left, the Rev. Trudy Kenyon-Anderson, pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church, Mary Kay Heard, Gerry Uphoff and Flo Haynes are among Iolans who will leave next week for a 10day tour of the Holy Land. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
Holy Land on the horizon By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Several Iolans will check off another item on their bucket lists next week. On Tuesday, 18 pilgrims, as the Rev. Trudy KenyonAnderson likes to call them, will journey to Israel for a 10-day visit. Kenyon-Anderson, pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church, and her husband, Russ Anderson, will serve as hosts. The couple were in Israel last year as a spiritual retreat.
When they returned, congregants were enchanted by their stories and requested them to go back — with them in tow. The local entourage of 18 includes eight members from Wesley United. They will be joined by nine Lutherans from Washington state and a couple from Georgia. Other than their hosts, none of the local group has been to Israel. Three who sat for an interview with the Register, along with KenyonAnderson, all said they were
excited at the prospect of seeing first-hand many places they had read about for years in Bible study. Touring the many landmarks in the Holy Land “brings the Scriptures to life and lets you visualize them more,” Kenyon-Anderson said. “It gives you a new perspective, connects you to the Bible in a different way.” Mary Kay Heard thinks it will be “an experience of the heart, something that I will feel and will stay with me the rest of my life.” See ISRAEL | Page A4
GAS
School upgrade in focus By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
GAS — Gas council members will meet in special session next Tuesday to discuss how to proceed with upgrade of the old Gas School as a community center. They reviewed recommendations from Shoeb Uddin, an engineer with Sunflower Design, Topeka, Tuesday night, but found estimated cost beyond their means. Shoeb outlined in an email estimated improvements would cost $252,100, and suggested the city seek a Community Development Block Grant to pay half. “We don’t have the mon-
ey to pay half,” if Gas were successful in attracting a CDBG, said Mayor Darrell Catron. Councilman Larry Robertson suggested putting $15,000 in the 2015 budget, which will be put together in the next month or so, and “do one item at a time.” At the top of Uddin’s list was a new roof at a minimum of $56,000. Others were wheelchair lift and bathroom remodeling, $45,000; sidewalk, roof drainage and grading, $40,000; miscellaneous items, $16,000. Completing project costs were $12,900 for construction management and inspection, and $20,000 for grant administration.
“If there is no struggle there is no progress.”
— Frederick Douglass, African-American social reformer 75 Cents
Gas obtained the school for a token payment of $1 after it was abandoned by USD 257 a year ago. Plans have centered on making it a community center, with a small library, and a place for senior citizens to gather. Some talk of moving City Hall there has surfaced. Among things Uddin will be asked next week is whether in-kind services — labor and equipment on the city’s part— might be counted as its share of a grant match. Also council members wondered about the possibility of upgrades being done by the city and volunteers. Catron said he would approach Allen County comSee GAS | Page A4
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