Sports: Iola wrestlers qualify for state See B1
The Weekender Saturday, February 20, 2016
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Group seeks lenience for Iola utility customers
Bridal Wave
Connectors want City Council to adhere to ‘Cold Weather Rule’ By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Iola City Council members will hear a plea Monday to change its policies regarding past-due utility accounts. The Allen County Connectors — a group of local volunteers who assist citizens in need — are asking Iola to adopt a “cold weather rule” to largely prevent utility shutoffs in the winter months. The group also is requesting the city begin allowing
Molly’s countdown to bliss
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See UTILITIES | Page A6
Lawmakers discuss juvenile justice changes
Story and photos by SUSAN LYNN
his afternoon Molly Maxwell and Alec Horton will start their lives as husband and wife. The 4:30 p.m. ceremony at Wesley United Methodist Church will include music provided by a cellist and violinist, a special exchange among guests of lighting candles, as well as the traditional vows. Afterward is din-
payment plans in which overdue utility amounts are paid off in monthly installments. Customers still would be required to pay their bills in full for current service while paying the overdue amount. Allowing the payment plans would prevent customers from having to pay an added $55, in disconnection and reconnection fees, noted Angie Murphy, Allen County’s 911 director and a Connectors member. The state’s Cold Weather Rule prohibits utility companies from disconnecting a customer for nonpayment when the temperature is forecast to drop below 35, or be in the mid-to-low 30s over
INSIDE
ner and two-stepThe Register’s ping at Bridal Edition Miller’s Pages A2-A5 on Madison. Guesses are the day will go by in a blur. Which is a touch sad, considering all the attention to detail she has devoted to the occasion.
For Molly, her wedding day has been in the making — off and on — for more than a year, ever since their November 2014 engagement. “I wouldn’t actually recommend having this much time,” she said. “It gives you the opportunity to change your mind a lot.” On the other hand, some See MOLLY | Page A2
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas juvenile justice system is set to undergo an overhaul by offering community-based services instead of incarceration to juvenile offenders. The Senate Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice voted on Wednesday to close group homes for juvenile offenders in July 2018. The bill also proposes to create a team to review cases with the input of families and educators and offer additional training for juvenile corrections officers. Juvenile offenders who violate probation will also be referred to communitybased programs that al-
low them to stay in the homes with their families instead of being placed in a juvenile detention center as they are currently. Republican committee Chairman Greg Smith from Overland Park Smith said the full Senate will vote on the bill by next week. The House has not voted on the bill. Smith told the Associated Press on Thursday that community-based programs See JJA | Page A7
Problems Keeping Walter Johnson Field alive abound in Haiti By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Becky French, an Iola medical professional, has a passion for Haiti, she told Iola Rotarians Thursday. She talked about its people and what she and others have Becky French done the past three years to alleviate some of their physical suffering. Under auspices of the First See HAITI | Page A7
HUMBOLDT — USD 258 wants to divest itself of the old Walter Johnson athletic field, “not to make money but to do something good for the community,” Superintendent Kay Lewis told committee members helping to find a use. The field is a landmark in Humboldt, with an imposing rock wall on four sides, iron gates and a stadium also constructed of local limestone, all done under authority of the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. Generations of Humboldt High students played football and baseball there. Stadium and athletic fields occupy just a portion of the spacious landscape. Named for Walter Johnson, Hall of Fame pitcher born
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 78
Walter Johnson Field north of Humboldt in 1887, the complex became an albatross for the district, albeit a popular one, when its new, upscale sports fields opened at the east edge of town in 2014. Board members and Lewis
agitated about what to do, finally making their concerns public. With no apparent need, the district still has responsibilities of keeping the large area of mostly grass mowed. Liability issues also are a concern.
“Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” — Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” 75 Cents
Transfer to the city, or the Recreation Commission, funded by a district-wide levy, didn’t strike a positive chord. Lewis said board memSee PLANS | Page A6
Hi: 71 Lo: 43 Iola, KS