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Sports: IHS Mustang baseball, golf teams earn state bids See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Program connects county services
Staying grateful for life’s second chances
By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Allen County Connectors, a newly launched program initiated by Thrive Allen County and funded by the REACH Healthcare Foundation, has Allen County e s t abl i s h e d Connectors a single (620) 228-5110 helpline by which the community can access the majority of its emergency and non-emergency resources. By dialing 620-228-5110 during normal business hours, the caller will be put in touch with a member of the group’s core volunteer staff — known as “connectors” — who will bring to the exchange a comprehensive knowledge of the area’s service agencies and the ability to connect the caller to the agency that best addresses his or her dilemma. This new effort answers a need that many community leaders have recognized as flagrant for years. Whether the lay citizen realizes it or not, on an almost daily basis individuals
year ago today Jerry Scheibmeir died several times over. “But the doctors kept bringing me back,” he said. Scheibmeir, 60, recalled Monday afternoon the events of a horrific boating accident in which he was impaled by a 4-inch limb through his midsection. Nowadays, Scheibmeir, rural Iola, has no recollection of the accident. “Physically, the doctors have told me, I’ll never be what I call normal,” he said. “My belly is always going to be tight. I’m not supposed to lift over 10 pounds. I’m watching myself, I have people helping me instead of doing it myself.” Mentally, he’s fine. In fact, he’s better than that. You see, May 19, 2014, was also the day Scheibmeir quit drinking and chewing tobacco. When physicians at the University of Kansas Medical Center treated him, his heart was beating at 15 percent capacity due to a lifetime of the bad habits.
See CONNECT | Page A6
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May 2014 boating mishap, called ‘a blessing in disguise’
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Jerry Scheibmeir stands next to the boat he was piloting when he was critically injured in an accident on the Neosho River a year ago. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN Today, they put it at 65 percent. “The wreck was somewhat of a blessing in disguise, if you want to look at it that way,” he said. “What I’m saying, I guess, is if I hadn’t had that wreck, there was a big chance I would have died of a heart attack or a stroke or whatever.” ON THAT DAY, Scheibmeir and three buddies embarked on a day of fishing along the Neosho — his house is yards from the bank — and were returning upstream that afternoon.
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Having traversed that portion of the river hundreds of times, they knew of one submerged log in particular. When the river was low enough, he’d bump it with the bottom of his boat. And the river was down that day. With four occupants — one or two more than usual — Scheibmeir’s 17-foot, flat-bottom fishing boat sat just low enough in the water that the submerged log did a bit more than bump the boat this time. Instead, the log snared the bottom of the motor, sending the boat skidding around
— much like skipping a rock across the water surface. The inertia from going about 25 mph to a dead stop, propelled Scheibmeir and another occupant out of the boat. The other landed safely in the water. Scheibmeir, however, struck a nearby log whose limb tore through his torso. The limb was high enough — about 5 feet out of the water — that the other occupants had to hold the boat in place, with a cooler on a seat, See MISHAP | Page A3
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Gov. lauds ‘workman-like’ approach to tax proposals
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By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
Clara Ellis and Clifford Peterson plan to open a new cafe in Gas. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
Gas soon to regain local restaurant By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
As with most little girls, Clara Ellis had a dream of what she wanted to do when she grew up. “I always wanted to own a restaurant,” Ellis said, perched in what soon will be her and husband-to-be Clifford Peterson’s cafe in Gas. Only the experience of ownership will be new to Ellis. She has worked in several restaurants and food service in Iola — where she was born and raised as Clara Goudy —
as well as Kansas City. Peterson doesn’t have a culinary background but, said jokingly, “I’m good at eating.” He has carpentry skills, though, that have come in handy the past several months as the pair refitted what previously was Bonnie’s Corner Cafe. They expect to open Ruth and Earl’s Downhome Cookin’ no later than July 1. The name refers to each of their middle names. The building was owned by Dale Webb, a former Iola rural letter carrier who lives in Springfield, Mo., and had
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 138
been for sale for some time. Webb called on Peterson to do some work on the structure. Peterson asked about its price and Webb “came back with a price we couldn’t turn down,” Ellis said. They started work with a slow-but-sure approach on Nov. 11, a date they remember because of it being Veterans Day. They purchased what was needed — everything from napkin holders to commercial grade kitchen equipment to tables and See GAS | Page A6
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback said Monday that Kansas legislators are taking a “workman-like” approach to sifting through proposals for raising taxes to close a state budget shortfall, praising them after their annual session went into overtime with no plan having passed either chamber. The Republican governor opened a Statehouse news conference by congratulating the GOP-dominated Legislature for “really working well.” He said drafting a tax plan is difficult because in involves discussions among many lawmakers about many options. Brownback and lawmakers must close a projected shortfall of $406 million in the state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The gap arose after lawmakers aggressively cut personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging in an effort to stimulate the economy, and one policy exempted the profits of 281,000 business owners and 53,000 farmers from taxation. The governor views the tax break for farmers and business owners, viewing
“To be prepared is half the victory.” — Miguel, de Cervantes, Spanish author 75 Cents
it as an economic stimulus, but even some GOP lawmakers want to backtrack. A new proposal for narrowing the tax break emerged Monday in the House. Legislators also are considering increasing the state’s 6.15 percent sales tax, an idea Brownback now favors. “There’s a great workmanlike attitude,” Brownback said. “These things take a lot of time because you’ve got a lot of people involved, a lot of moving parts. That’s great. That’s what it ought to be.” Legislators met Monday for the 92nd day of their annual session, two more than the 90 days legislative leaders traditionally schedule, at a total cost of $43,000 per day. Only five legislative sessions have lasted 100 days or more. Republican Rep. Don Hineman of Dighton was skeptical of Brownback’s sunny assessment, saying, “We’ll see if folks are still talking that way when the calendar says June 1.” The House last week voted down a plan last week that would have increased the sales tax to 6.85 percent. Several Republicans said afterward that the vote suggested the House did not want such a big increase in the sales tax.
Hi: 68 Lo: 54 Iola, KS