MARTIN LUTHER
KING
DAY
Locally owned since 1867
Monday, January 17, 2022
iolaregister.com
Nursing home change: ‘Big shoes to fill’ IMS staff, By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
A residential care facility isn’t about the rooms. It’s about the people who live there. But for former administrator Peggy Strong, each room reminds her of those who have lived there. Strong recently retired as executive director for Greystone Residential Care in Iola and Arrowood Lane in Humboldt. “I see a room and a specific resident sticks out, someone who lived there who I was particularly close to. Lots of memories,” she said. “It’s hard to go through the building at Tara Gardens. I see the rooms and remember all the residents I took care of over the years.” Strong started her administrative career at Tara Gardens in 1998. The facility was outdated, with cost-prohibitive maintenance needs. The owners, Dimensions in Senior Living of Gretna, Neb., purchased a newer fa-
Peggy Strong, left, recently retired as the executive director of Greystone Residential Care in Iola and Arrowood Lane in Humboldt. Tina Kelley, right, is the new director. COURTESY PHOTO cility, then-Fountain Villa, and changed the name to Greystone in 2015. All of the residents from Tara Gardens were moved to Greystone or Arrowood. “The owners of our two facilities are very dedicated to making sure employees
are taken care of as well as the residents,” Strong said. “That’s one of the main reasons I was with the industry as long as I was.” Strong said she believed in providing quality care that included “laughter, love and God.”
TINA KELLEY is the new administrator for the two facilities. Kelley started her career at Arrowood as a cook, and has served as director of health care since 2017. Kelley obtained her certified nursing assistant certificate while at Arrowood, and also worked in marketing. She then graduated from nursing school in 2015. Kelley left the company for a bit before returning as director of health care. She’s been training with Strong in anticipation of the director’s role for about a year. “Peg and I are a lot alike. We have the same beliefs, and I’m going to continue in her footsteps to give good quality of care to our residents,” Kelley said. Kelley took over on Jan. 1, See CHANGE | Page A4
Security training paid off in hostage standoff COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — U.S. and British authorities Monday continued an investigation into the weekend standoff at a Texas synagogue that ended with an armed British national dead and a rabbi crediting past security training for getting him and three members of his congregation out safely. Authorities identified the hostage-taker as a 44-yearold British national, Malik Faisal Akram, who was killed Saturday night after the last hostages ran out of Congregation Beth Israel around 9 p.m. The FBI said there was no early indication that anyone else was involved, but it had not provided a possible motive. The investigation stretched to England, where late Sunday police in Manchester announced that two teenagers were in custody in connection with the standoff. Greater Manchester Police tweeted
students to wear masks
“If you can bring laughter to residents, bring them some joy, that’s the best thing in the world to keep them young, motivated, content and happy,” she said.
that counter-terrorism officers had made the arrests but did not say whether the pair faced any charges. Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker said security training at his suburban Fort Worth congregation over the years is what allowed him and the other three hostages to make it through the 10-hour ordeal, which he described as traumatic. “In the last hour of our hostage crisis, the gunman became increasingly belligerent and threatening,” Cytron-Walker said in a statement. “Without the instruction we received, we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself.” Video of the standoff ’s end from Dallas TV station WFAA showed people running out a door of the synagogue, and then a man holding a gun opening the same door just seconds later before he
By the Register staff
The break is over. A week after reporting low cases of COVID-19 after students returned to class from winter break, Iola Middle School students will need to wear face masks because of a high number of infections. USD 257 announced on Sunday that students and staff at the middle school would need to wear masks for at least two weeks, until Jan. 30, because of a high number of COVID cases. The district has a policy to automatically trigger a mask mandate when at least 4% of students in a See CASES | Page A4
Allen County COVID-19 Case Count
Cases since 1/5........69 Total cases*............3,040 Deaths...................27 *Since the start of the pandemic Sources: Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Departments, Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Crest basketball sweeps Chetopa A law enforcement vehicle sits near the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on Sunday in Colleyville, Texas. All four people who were held hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue were safely released after more than 10 hours of being held captive by a gunman the day before. (BRANDON BELL/GETTY
PAGE B1
IMAGES/TNS)
turned around and closed it. Moments later, several shots and then an explosion could be heard. Authorities have declined to say who shot Akram, say-
ing it was still under investigation. Akram could be heard ranting on a Facebook livestream of the services and demandSee STANDOFF | Page A4
Former NFL player found dead in prison
PAGE A4
GOP race for Kansas AG focuses on fighting Biden, not crime By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The last time a Republican primary for Kansas attorney general was competitive, candidates argued over criminal sentencing laws and crowded prisons. That was 20 years ago. This year’s competitive primary race is focusing on fighting Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda and has almost nothing to do with fighting crime. The attorney general is often described as the state’s top law enforcement official: Vol. 124, No. 74 Iola, KS 75 Cents
He or she oversees the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, helps county prosecutors with tough cases and pushes anti-crime initiatives. The AG Kris Kobach also represents Kansas in civil cases, defends state laws in court and fights consumer fraud. But in recent years state attorneys general have built political brands by filing lawsuits against the other party’s administration in Washington. Republican candidates for AG are campaigning against
Tony Mattivi
Kellie Warren
Biden, especially his vaccine mandates aimed at fighting the spread of COVID-19 — a public health question that traditionally would have been outside an attorney general’s area of concern. “People are just clamoring for somebody to push back on all of this,” said Kris Van Meteren, owner of a Kansas
City-area direct mail firm that works with Republicans. “And they’re looking to their state leaders, in particular the attorney general.” Former Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a nationally known polarizing conservative, is attempting a comeback after losing the general election for governor in 2018 and a U.S. Senate primary in 2020. He faces Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Kellie Warren, who argues that she’s more likely than Kobach to win lawsuits against the Biden administration, and Tony Mattivi, a retired veteran federal prosecutor who
ORDER Iola & Humboldt TODAY... are on in-stock DELIVERED items only TOMORROW!
says his legal chops make him the best anti-Biden champion. Three-term Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt is running for governor. Like other GOP attorneys general, he’s joined federal lawsuits challenging a host of Biden policies. Their Democratic counterparts used the same tactic against President Donald Trump’s administration. Warren raised the most money from donors last year, $278,000. Kobach raised $225,000 and loaned his campaign $200,000 in December, while Mattivi, new to electorSee RACE | Page A4
Delivery to
2103 S. Sante Fe • Chanute, KS 620-431-6070