Sports: American Legion wins tournament See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
Mad B
www.iolaregister.com
Monday, July 14, 2014
mber a hit
Damaris Kunkler, top left, performs for a crowd. Kids of all ages, middle left, ride their bikes during the Parade of Lights. Kenny Sue Miller, bottom left, hands Paul Upshaw a slice of watermelon at Harvest Baptist’s free watermelon booth. Brian Hu, (Charley’s Bombshell) bottom middle, Jamaal Dorsey( Miss Demeanor) and David Toland (Miss Bombshell) were the winners of the Drag Red Carpet Show. Drag racers, bottom right, prepare to take off in a dash. Brock Artis, top right, crosses the 5K finish line to win the race. Jamie Hunt, middle right, sprints during the drag race. Participants, middle top, start the Mad Bomber Run. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET AND SPENCER MICHELSON
Melvin run draws hundreds from across Midwest By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
Saturday night’s supermoon brought out some super — and strange — creatures for the sixth annual Charley Melvin Mad Bomber Run for Your Life. Over the years, the Charley Melvin has settled into a night that caters to the young, if not in years, then at heart.
Its signature 12:26 a.m. walk/run drew an estimated 750 participants. That’s 750 who otherwise would be presumably snug in their beds instead of parading Iola’s streets, some dressed in costumes to celebrate the festive occasion, others out to seriously compete. Brock Artis, star athlete at Allen Community College, won the 3.1-mile race in 17.04
ROTARY
Air ambulances called on often By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
On average, air ambulances operated by Air Medical Group respond to about 800 calls a day in 31 states. Eagle Med, the Kansas arm of the national company, answers calls from Pittsburg, Chanute and Wichita, with a helicopter in Chanute serving Allen County, Linda Guiot, company representative told Iola Rotarians Thursday. During spring and summer the Chanute helicopter answers as many as 60 requests a month for assistance to transport seriously injured or ill patients and about two-thirds that many in fall and winter. Guiot said the difference came from more people being out and about in warmer weather, resulting in more accidents.
Transfers often are made from hospitals, but occasionally the Chanute helicopter picks up a patient at the site of an accident. “We have 230 bases in the 31 states,” Guiot said, with fixed wing aircraft as well as helicopters being employed. Recently bases were opened in Pensacola, Fla., and Anchorage, Alaska. The area Eagle Med helicopter is stationed at Chanute’s airport, with four pilots and a crew of 15 providing 24-hour service seven days a week. An individual flight has a pilot, nurse and medic on board. “We can answer a call in three minutes or less,” Guiot observed, noting the only difference between life-saving capabilities of an Eagle Med helicopter and those found in an See ROTARY | Page A4
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 181
minutes. The Tulsa, Okla., native runs cross country and track at ACC. Most of the participants walked the shorter 1.8-mile distance. Some brought their four-legged friends; others had their babies in strollers. Building up to the signature event was the parade of lights and the drag race. Once the sun set, more than 100 children participated in
the parade of lights. Illuminated tiaras, necklaces and wristbands adorned the children while the spokes on their bicycles glittered with glow-in-the-dark sticks as they pedaled through the downtown square. Several illuminated floats anchored the parade. Men left their inhibitions on the curbside for the annual drag race. Dressed in feminine attire, about 15 men competed
in a relay in which they exchanged garters at the completion of each lap. Brian Hu, 19, a foreign exchange student from Taiwan, won the esteemed race earning the title of drag queen. OTHER ATTRACTIONS included food booths, inflatable slides, a makeup booth, carnival games, helicopter rides and live entertainment.
Marijuana seized at county airport By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Marijuana with a street value of between $600,000 and $1 million was seized from a small private passenger jet that landed at Allen County Airport Friday evening. “We got a tip from DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and the Highway Patrol that the plane might have landed here,” said Sheriff Bryan Murphy. The jet in question was taking on fuel when officials arrived at the airport.
“The jet was scheduled to land at Burlington, where DEA and KHP officers were waiting, but then was lost when it flew under radar and landed here,” Murphy said. The plane’s tail number verified it was the suspected craft carrying what turned out to be eight large parcels of marijuana. Murphy and Deputy Anthony Maness checked the pilot’s identification, and found he lacked a pilot license or medical card. A check with the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed he
could not legally fly without a license, which gave local officers reason to keep the airplane grounded. After officers arrived from Burlington, a drug dog from Wilson County was summoned. When walking around the plane the dog indicated it smelled drugs. A warrant signed by District Judge Dan Creitz permitted a search, which uncovered the marijuana. The pilot, Kenneth Weaver, 58, Denver, was arrested. See DRUGS | Page A4
Russell Stover has new owner GENEVA (AP) — Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli says it is buying U.S. manufacturer Russell Stover Candies, Inc., for an undisclosed sum. Lindt CEO Ernst Tanner said today that the purchase
provides “a unique opportunity for us to expand our North American chocolate business.” The company says the deal will make it the No. 3 chocolate manufacturer in North America. Russell Stover, which also
“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do but how much love we put in that action.” — Mother Teresa 75 Cents
owns the Whitman’s brand, is based in Kansas City, Mo., and has four factories — in Kansas, Texas and Colorado, including its Iola plant. It has about 2,700 employees and annual sales of around $500 million.
Hi: 89 Lo: 53 Iola, KS