Sports: Kyra Moore signs with ACC volleyball See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
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Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Taliban storm Pakistani school, killing 126
Christmas tunes The IHS Singers perform during their high school winter choir and strings concert on Monday night at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center. They, along with their peers, sang and played Christmas tunes. REGISTER/KAYLA BANZET
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar today, killing 126 people, officials said, in the worst attack to hit the country in years. The overwhelming majority of the victims were students at the army public school, which has children and teenagers in grades 1-10. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the assault and rushed to Peshawar to show his support for the victims. The horrific attack, carried out by a relatively small number of militants
My son was in uniform in the morning. He is in a casket now. My son was my dream. My dream has been killed. — A Pakistani father
from the Tehreek-e-Taliban group, a Pakistani militant group trying to overthrow the government, also sent dozens of wounded flooding into local hospitals as terrified parents searched for their children. “My son was in uniform
See PAKISTAN | Page A6
Teaching music strikes a chord with Iola native By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
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Ben Olson has completed his final semester as a student-teacher for Iola High and Middle Schools. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
ood teachers are touched with an optimism that says each successive generation can be as good or better than the one that came before. By this standard Ben Olson will probably make a great teacher. In effect, he already is one. Olson, an Ottawa University senior, recently completed his final semester working as a student-teacher at Iola High School and Middle School under the direction of band director Matt Kleopfer (hereafter Mr. K). Olson speaks about the band students with a generosity unusual for someone who is not so very many years their
senior. He recalled a trip to a recent festival in northeastern Kansas: “When the middle school started playing, you could see jaws drop and heads turn — the people there couldn’t believe the sound that came out. For both the middle school and high school, you could tell they’d put the time in, and the practice, and that this is what they like to do. They like to play, and they like to play well. “I think that Iola is starting to get the recognition from other towns nearby for having a program in place that strives to get better all the time. Mr. K is really big on that. He tells his students every day: ‘Let’s get better today. Even 1 percent better is still better.’ And they work incredibly hard, all of them.” But then so did Olson when
he was in their place. A 2007 graduate of IHS, Olson traces the birth of his interest in musical education to the winter of his junior year. Iola’s band director at that time, Mike Miller, was forced into a leave of absence by a medical emergency three weeks before the Christmas concert. A replacement was found, but by then preparations were long underway. Olson, a trombonist, section leader, and drum major, was asked — along with a fellow drum major, Kelli Shay — to help direct the pep band. “That’s where I really got my foot in the door, and where I really said ‘I can do this. I would love to spend every day in front of a classroom, making music.’” After high school Olson atSee OLSON | Page A3
Property taxes due by Saturday Allen County Treasurer Darolyn Maley reminds all taxpayers their 2014 taxes are due. Taxpayers have until Saturday to pay without penalty. Taxes can be paid in half or in full by Saturday. If only the first half is paid, the second half is due May 10. Interest will be added to any taxes
paid after Saturday. Any oil, gas or personal property taxes that are not paid by the deadline must be paid in full; half payments will not be accepted. Maley noted the courthouse will close at noon Dec. 24 and remain closed the rest of the week for Christmas. Customers needing to re-
new their tags in December must do so by the end of the business day Dec. 30. The motor vehicle department will be closed Dec. 31, while the tax office will close at noon Dec. 31 for end-of-year auditing. Trailers and trucks that are registered with heavy tags will be renewable Jan. 1 through Feb. 28.
Stronger start for health law this year WASHINGTON (AP) — Sign-up season for President Barack Obama’s health care law is off to a stronger start this year. But it’s not perfect, and Americans remain skeptical that the government’s newest social program is right for the country. As one major enrollment deadline loomed Monday, officials granted a last-minute extension for some consumers facing long telephone hold times at the federal
call center. They were being asked to leave a number to get called back starting Tuesday. Public attitudes toward Obama’s signature law are only slightly less chilly than before the congressional midterm elections that saw Republicans, still clamoring for its repeal, win both chambers of Congress. An Associated Press-GfK poll earlier this month found an uptick for the Affordable Care Act, with 29 per-
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 37
cent saying they support it, compared with 25 percent in October. Opposition to “Obamacare” was stable at 41 percent, while the rest were on the fence. In most states, midnight Monday, was the deadline for new customers to pick a health plan to take effect Jan. 1. It was also the deadline for current enrollees to make changes that could reduce premium increases before See ACA | Page A6
Toy Shop Santa’s Toy Shop will be open 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 206 S. Jefferson. All children are welcome to pick out a toy in the shop.
“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” — Theodore Roosevelt 75 Cents
Hi: 37 Lo: 25 Iola, KS