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2017 1867
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Monday, July 17, 2017
Support for Moran grocery sought By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
MORAN — Early Friday evening a brief reconnaissance of Stub’s Market, a block west of the main drag, revealed a store wellequipped to handle everyday grocery needs of Moran residents. Row after row of non-perishables were at hand, paper goods and other amenities to daily fare were plentiful and the dairy and meat cases offered variety. Store-packaged meat had the freshness shoppers hanker after. A few blocks away, more than 100 folks, the lion’s share Moran residents, were gathering for an old-fashioned public event. The focus was to encourage support to keep the store open, topped off by entertainment and an ice cream social. For several years Dave and Shirlene Mahurin have had the store for sale. The Mahurins want a less strenuous life, having time to do what couples do after having spent a good portion of their lives
Beth Foster, left, and Joan LaRue sign up Friday evening for the community effort to keep Stub’s Market in Moran open. About 30 families contributed $100 each. Below, a quartet of Marmaton Valley High School girls, from left, Rachel Shafer, Clara Boyd, Isabelle Bigelow and Kari Shadden, entertained about 100 people during the event. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON meeting daily schedules. Mahurin is 68, and rising early in the day to do a favorite chore — he’s a cattleman at heart — is different from
being on time to open a store to make certain customers are well-served. They also have one in Erie, near where they live. The Mahurins have six grandchildren, “and it’s time to stay closer to home and play with the grandkids,” Mahurin told the Register in early May. A local group fortified by Thrive Allen County, and with Yvonne Scott, a VISTA healthy food access organizer leading the charge, has ramped up efforts to have the store become a truly community asset. The goal is a member-owned business. Friday evening, between
moving with the music or gulping down ice cream and homemade cookies, about 30 people put money on the line. They contributed $100 each to become members of the fledgling cooperative. LARRY MANES, a Moran stalwart by marriage to longtime resident Nelda Cuppy, has become the mouthpiece for much of what transpires in the community. During a break from entertainment, Manes laid out the plan, and few would be better qualified, he being a retired economics instructor at Allen
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Senate delays vote on GOP health bill WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate delayed a highly anticipated vote this coming week to repeal and replace the nation’s health care law after Sen. John McCain’s announced absence due to surgery, an enormous setback as time dwindles for Republicans to pass the signature legislation after years of promises. The decision by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell late Saturday came not long after McCain’s office disclosed that he had undergone surgery to remove a blood clot from above his left eye. He’s expected to be out for the week, recovering in Arizona. Adding to the uncertainty, the Congressional Budget Office also indicated on Sunday it no longer expected to release its analysis today on the estimated cost and scope of insurance coverage under the latest GOP bill, which has the support of President Donald Trump. The No. 2 Senate GOP leader, John Cornyn of Texas, said he still expected the Senate to move quickly, holding a vote as soon as McCain returns. But amid growing public unease
A crowd of more than 50 walkers and runners zipped their way through the streets of Iola Saturday evening for the inaugural Backwards Bomber 5K, a loosely organized event to replace the now-defunct Charley Melvin Mad Bomber Run For Your Life. At lower left, Jack Adams, foreground, and Bret Holloway finished the 5K run in a shade over 20 minutes. At bottom right, Shelby Yoho was the top female finisher. REGISTER/TIMOTHY EVERSON (ABOVE) AND RICHARD LUKEN
Quote of the day
Community College. “The store is something we all need,” Manes declared, pointing out that whenever they need a gallon of milk or something to top off a batch of cookies, trotting to Stub’s Market is much more convenient than “driving 45 minutes (to and from Walmart in Iola) and waiting in the checkout line 10 minutes.” Having a grocery essentially next to door is more than a convenience, he added. Most of those living in elderly housing nearby can walk to the store “and probably half of them don’t have cars.” The Moran store is an advantage for rural residents, as well as those living in towns close by, including Bronson. “That’s how we came up with the idea for a coalition of people to buy the store,” he added. St. Paul residents faced a similar dilemma, theirs of no grocery store, and solved it with a public vote to borrow $400,000 from Heartland Electric, under a program the company funds to help small communities. The St. Paul project has worked out famously, a delegation from Moran discovered during a fact-finding trip. The store has prospered and is perhaps the second largest bottle of glue, next to its schools, that keeps St. Paul intact. The two towns are similar
“If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.” — Jim Rohn, American businessman (1930-2009) 75 Cents
over the bill, some Republicans suggested the delay will make McConnell’s task of winning enough sup- John McCain port even harder. In a Senate divided 52-48 between Republicans and Democrats, McConnell can lose no more than two GOP votes and still prevail. “There are about eight to 10 Republican senators who have serious concerns about this bill. And so at the end of the day, I don’t know whether it will pass,” said moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. She has made clear she would vote against the bill, citing proposed cuts to the Medicaid health program for the poor and elderly. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is also opposed, said doubts also are increasing among Republicans who want to see a fuller repeal of the Affordable Care Act. “The longer the bill’s out there, the more conservative Republicans are going See SENATE | Page A4
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