The Iola Register
Weekender Saturday, March 16, 2013
Locally owned since 1867
BASEBALL Iola sweeps Chanute See B1
www.iolaregister.com
Animal shelter struggles to keep afloat By ALLISON TINN
allison@iolaregister.com
Since the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility (ACARF) opened its doors roughly two and a half years ago business has been booming. If only that were a good thing. Truth is, almost since day one the animal shelter has been at capacity and can’t accommodate demand. Limited finances prevent expanding services. A poll recently conducted by The Register asked if local governments should fund ACARF. Eighty-two percent of community members answered “yes.” Out of 200 animal shelters in Kansas, only nine don’t receive county funding, including ACARF. To date, the shelter has served 815 dogs and 319 cats. ACARF is currently in a contract with the cities of Iola and Humboldt, which give $85 to ACARF for every animal that is brought in by a city worker. If the animal has offspring, the city will pay $50 for each pup or kitten’s care. ACARF receives nothing for animals brought in by community members. ACARF di-
rector Andi DePriest said they ask for donations in those instances. “Sometimes they give and sometimes they don’t. We don’t charge a fee though.” The $85 from the city doesn’t even come close to keeping ACARF on top, DePriest said. When an animal, sixmonths and up, is brought into the shelter it immediately gets its required shot, which cost $10. If it is a puppy it requires three shots. The animal will also require to be dewormed each month until its adopted, which is an additional $10 a month. DePriest said it costs $25 a day for labor, water, foot, etc. The hiccup comes if the animal, which more times than not, needs to be spayed or neutered. “You can almost guarantee the surgery will be above the $85,” DePriest said. Iola requires owners to pay $95 to the city to reclaim their pet if a city employee brought it to ACARF. If the animal is brought in by a community member the pet owner will be required to pay boarding fees, $15 for the first day and $10 for each consecutive day.
Register/Allison Tinn
Elisha Womelsdorf, ACARF vet tech, brings Tommy out. Tommy is a black lab, pointer mix and has been at ACARF for roughly a year.
See ACARF | Page A5
EXPO-sition
Register/Bob Johnson
Allen Community College agriculture students, from left, Trint Peine, Parker, Brandon Kerwin, Delia, and Jessica Lancaster, Jerome, Idaho, are among those learning about embryo transplants in cows at the college. This calf came from the process.
Above, Tarra Poffenbarger, from left, Crystal Atwood and Savannah Flory, its owner, spent Friday afternoon putting together TLC Garden Center’s booth for today’s 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. segment of the Iola area Business EXPO in Riverside Park’s Recreation Community Building. Left below, Mark Henry paused to take photos of his Copy Products booth. Right below, Marsha Burris, a Rodan+Fields skin care products consultant, puts finishing touches on her booth.
Senate passes revised income, sales tax bill By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Legislation cutting Kansas’ personal income tax rates cleared the state Senate on Thursday, but Republicans in both chambers remained split over GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to offset such reductions by canceling a promised decrease in the sales tax. The Senate’s 25-14 vote
sends the tax bill to the House, which is working on its own measure. Brownback hopes to follow up on massive income tax cuts enacted last year by cutting rates over four years, and many members of the GOP-dominated Legislature support his goal of eventually phasing out individual income taxes. To stabilize the budget, the Senate’s bill keeps the sales tax at its current rate, rather than letting it drop in July, as scheduled by state law. The measure also phases out most individual income Vol. 115, No.98
tax deductions as rates decline. Supporters of the bill believe that reducing personal income taxes will stimulate economic growth. But the governor also reiterated Thursday that he wants to protect the state’s “core missions,” including education, social services and public safety from potentially drastic budget cuts. “We’re glad to make a step forward,” Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan said after the See TAX | Page A7
Purebreds in ACC’s future By BOB JOHNSON
bob@iolaregister.com
Jessica Lancaster knows a thing or two about cattle, having grown up in a rural setting in southern Idaho. She has learned more since arriving in Iola last fall to attend Allen Community College, recruited to be on its livestock judging team. First-hand learning experiences come with “chores we do every day” on the college farm, about six miles north of town. It’s there she and other ACC ag students are learning how to put together a herd of purebred cows, and it’s coming about in a high tech way. “My first year (2006) we had 11 cows and nine calves on the farm,” said Jeff Nemecek, one of ACC’s ag instructors. The cows, crossbred and sometimes not the pick of the litter, knew which calves were theirs, but Nemecek had no idea. They weren’t tagged, and family resemblances don’t always tell the tale. All is changing. ACC is working with Schaake Farms, Manhattan, to develop purebred Simmental stock. “Our five- to 10-year goal is to build a herd where all the calves can be registered,” said Nemecek. “We’d like to reach the point where we have 40 to 50 Simmental calves each year.” Purchasing embryos from Schaake Farms — Dr. Scott Schaake is an animal sciences and industry professor at Kan75 Cents
sas State — was the surest way to improve the ACC herd, he said. In 2012 two calves came from Schaake embryos transplanted into ACC cows. A heifer was retained in the local herd. A bull was sold to Schaake, but didn’t pan out as a breeder and ended up at a sale barn.
“ Our five-to-10-year
goal is to build a herd where all the calves can be registered. We’d like to reach the point where we have 40 to 50 Simmental calves each year. — Jeff Nemecek, ACC ag instructor
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Register/Bob Johnson
This year, the first embryo calf was a heifer, a full sister to the 2009 Kansas State Fair supreme champion. The second, a bull, was born Monday and another calf is due about April 1. EMBRYO calves differ from those born naturally only in the process, in much the same way as in vitro babies do among humans. When a cow is bred, usually as many as 15 eggs are fertilized. Left in the womb, one generally attaches and grows See PUREBRED | Page A7
Iola, KS