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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
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Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Road work draws ire By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
McKinley Elementary School kindergarten teacher Jessy Coffield, at left, joins her students this morning in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before the start of the first day of classes for USD 257 pupils. Joining Coffield are kindergartners, from left, Alexis Lee, Areyannah Martin, Eli Malla and Tripp Mathes. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
School boundary issues raise alarm By KAREN INGRAM The Iola Register
The issue of whether to keep Iola’s schools in their current locations or build a new site north of town has become the source of many arguments. While some believe that keeping neighborhood schools is crucial for the city, others argue appearances are deceiving and that the current
schools can not be considered “neighborhood schools.” Lori Maxwell, principal at McKinley Elementary, said that, in the past, no policy existed on who went to what school. A policy was created to take the guesswork out of enrollment, but problems arose, partly due to the layout of the town and the schools. Maxwell said they try to find a balance between keeping classroom sizes reasonable and not over-
whelming teachers, while minimizing the separation of siblings. “That’s what we’d like to do, but it doesn’t always work out that way,” she said. McKinley has two sections of grades K-3, Jefferson has two sections of grades K-3 and three sections of grades 4-5, while Lincoln has two sections of grades K-5. Each See BOUNDARIES | Page A4
Concerns about reconfiguration of a county road intersection within a stone’s throw of her front door brought out the teacher in Linda Honas. With the use of visual aids, she pleaded with Allen County commissioners Tuesday to reconsider removal of a sweeping curve that connects 600 Street to Hawaii Road and makes it a T-intersection. Honas displayed a home ornament covered with dust, which “I dusted just last week,” and carried a flashlight, which she shined in commissioners’ faces to show what it was like to have vehicle headlights bearing down on her home each night. Honas said those personal concerns were exacerbated by the change. Also, trucks screeching to a halt and then accelerating disturb her sleep, she claimed. The project will result in southbound traffic having to stop at the intersection, while that running east or west will be uncontrolled. Honas said she thought the new configuration was inappropriate, given that Hawaii became a rock road west of the intersection. Meanwhile, 600 Road, a popular short-
cut between Humboldt and U.S. 54 west of Iola, is hardsurfaced, as is Hawaii on to Humboldt. “There’ve been no wrecks there in 30 years,” Honas declared, and proposed that the change might lead to mishaps with no control of vehi-
It’s a safety and sight distance issue. — Bill King, director of Public Works
cles coming off a rock road. Commissioners Dick Works and Jim Talkington — Tom Williams was absent — said the change was for safety’s sake. So did Bill King, director of Public Works. King said several similar intersections in the county had been changed to T-intersections and those left eventually would be. “It’s a safety and sight distance issue,” King said. For practical purposes, Honas’ protest was after the fact. King told the Register work to create the T-intersection had been done and chipSee ROAD | Page A3
Cameras ‘worth weight in gold’ By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Cynthia Welch
Woman walks across country for fun of it By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Cynthia Welch doesn’t have any special causes. She’s not walking for some obscure charity, or to shed light on a social malady. She just felt like walking. “It’s just for the adventure,” she said It’s been quite a journey so far. The Florida native, now living in Virginia, started her cross-country trek March 18 from Delaware. She’s en route to California, and reached Iola Monday evening. She found the environ-
ment so welcoming, Welch decided to stay over an extra day at the RV campground on the west edge of town before moving on earlier today. “There’s no set schedule,” she told the Register Tuesday while visiting the Allen County Historical Society Museum. “I have no idea when I’ll get there. I thought for a while I’d like to make it by the end of the year, but now I don’t think I’ll make it that quickly. “I’m in no hurry,” she continued. “I want to take my time and enjoy this. After all, it’s a trip I’ll probably never See WALKER | Page A4
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 208
The days aren’t far off, Iola Police Chief Jared Warner predicts, when law enforcement officers will consider video cameras as standardissued equipment as guns, holsters and badges. It’s already been that way for both the Iola Police and Allen County Sheriff departments for more than two years. Both departments utilize the AXON FLEX video recording system, head-mounted cameras that record nearly everything an officer sees and hears while responding to calls. Just as importantly, the video is uploaded to an offsite server and cannot be edited. To see just how valuable such a system can be, Warner said, consider the goingson in Ferguson, Mo., where protests surrounding a police officer’s shooting of an unarmed black youth are in their second week. While there has been much speculation about the incident coming from all sides, Warner said having a camera on hand would have answered several questions. “Absolutely, it would have had an effect on what’s going on there today,” Warner said. Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy agreed. “We got these cameras three years ago, and I wished we had ’em 10 years earlier,”
Iola police officers Danny Rodriguez, left, and Ben Biggs show mounted cameras they use to record video when they respond to calls. Rodriguez’s camera is mounted to his collar. REGISTER/
RICHARD LUKEN
Murphy said. “They’re worth their weight in gold. “There’s not much room for interpretation or error,” Murphy continued. “It is what it is. It shows a true, first-person account of what an officer sees and does.” “As technology advances, it becomes more affordable,” Warner said. The video is invaluable on several fronts, Warner said. Not only can it be used as evidence in a courtroom, but officers can go back over
“I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.” — Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel 75 Cents
certain calls as they draft reports. Likewise, Warner occasionally uses the video for officer training. “You just can’t beat that. It makes the officer more accountable,” Warner said. “Everybody’s behavior changes when they know it’s being recorded.” Murphy noted an ancillary benefit. Since his department has started using cameras, the amount of time officers have spent in the courtroom See CAMERA | Page A4
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