Win and they’re in: Iola seeks playoff berth in crucial district matchup. See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Thursday, October 20, 2016
HANGING IT UP Coffields ready for retirement
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
THE COFFIELDS are both from the area; Mary grew up in Elsmore, Glenn in Yates Center. “We just kind of settled in the middle,” Mary said. Neither gave much thought
LAHARPE — Electric customers will spend $15 more monthly for their electric service, starting immediately. LaHarpe City Council members, gathered in a special meeting Wednesday, approved the $15 hike in monthly meter fees, an essential step, they said, to fund needed upgrades. The new fees for residential customers goes from $12 a month to $27. Businesses will see their meter fees go from $15 a month to $30 a month, while larger industrial customers will go from $30 a month to $45. The added revenue will be necessary if the city issues about $400,000 worth of bonds in the near future. Paying off those bonds over a 30-year period will require annual payments of about $23,000. Council members studied a number of meter fee scenarios before agreeing the $15 hike would help recoup a hemorrhaging electric fund,
See CLOSING | Page A5
See LAHARPE | Page A5
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Glenn and Mary Coffield are anticipating their pending retirement with equal parts anticipation and excitement, with a few tinges of bittersweet emotion. All the while, Iola is losing another downtown retail fixture. Town & Country Western & Casual Wear, the Coffields’ clothing store on the south side of the Iola square, kicked off its retirement sale today. Once the store’s merchandise is gone, the Coffields will lock up for good. “Hopefully, everything goes the way we planned,” Glenn said. “We’ll keep busy the next couple of weeks.” After that? “Well, my grandkids say more hunting and fishing needs to be done,” he responded. “My sons think there is work that still needs to be done.” The Coffields have been a mainstay at 17 E. Madison since 1979, when they purchased the western clothing
LaHarpe Council OKs fee hike
Mary and Glenn Coffield, owners of Town & Country Western & Casual Wear, begin their retirement sale today. The Coffields have owned the western clothing store for the past 37 years. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
retail shop from Velda and Ellwyn Richards. The Richardses opened in 1968. Prior to that, the building — which still included the old Litwin’s and Classy Attic building — served as a Scott’s Five and Dime store and later TG&Y. The Richardses soon replaced an original wall, creating a spot next door for another retail outlet. But Litwin’s and Classy
Mary said. “We want the community to go forward. We hope other entrepreneurs will arise.”
Attic are closed, soon to be joined by Town & Country. In addition to the current merchandise, the Coffields will also have up for sale the store’s entire contents as well as the building. “We’ve tried to find somebody to take over the business,” Glenn said. “So far, unsuccessfully.” “We really hope somebody with a vision for the future can do something with it,”
Kansas AG backtracks from Dred Scott filing By ROXANA HEGEMAN The Associated Press
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ attorney general withdrew on We d n e s d ay a court brief that cites the s l ave r y - e r a Dred Scott decision to support the state’s posi- Derek Schmidt tion that the Kansas Constitution does not guarantee a right to an abortion. The reference made in a filing submitted to the Kansas Supreme Court a day earlier does not accurately reflect the state’s position, is not necessary for its legal argument and should not have been made, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a statement. “Neither the State nor its attorneys believe or were arguing that Dred Scott was correctly decided,” he said. “Nonetheless, the reference See SCHMIDT | Page A5
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton square off for the third and final presidential debate Wednesday at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. SIPA USA/XINHUA/YIN BOGU/TNS
Trump won’t say if he’ll accept election results By MARY PACE and CATHERINE LUCEY The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Threatening to upend a fundamental pillar of American democracy, Donald Trump refused to say in the final debate that he will accept the results of next month’s election if he loses to Hillary Clinton. The Democratic nominee declared Trump’s resistance “horrifying.” Trump’s comments at
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 247
Wednesday’s debate sent shockwaves through the presidential campaign. They sharply contrasted with the unequivocal assurances given by running mate Mike Pence and other top figures in the campaign that Trump, despite raising unsubstantiated concerns about voter fraud, would accept the results. Asked whether he would accept the election outcome, Trump replied: “I will tell you at the time. I’ll keep you
in suspense,” Trump’s assertions raise the prospect that millions of his supporters may not accept the results on Nov. 8 if he loses, thrusting the United States into uncharted territory. Free and fair elections, with the vanquished peacefully stepping aside for the victor, have been the underpinning of America’s democratic tradition since the country’s founding. “Donald Trump is trying to pull the central pil-
“Those who are at war with others are not at peace with themselves.” — William Hazlitt, English critic, 1778-1830 75 Cents
lar down,” Clinton running mate Tim Kaine said Thursday on MSNBC. Even some of Trump’s supporters felt it was a step over the line. Conservative commentator Laura Ingraham said her preferred candidate “should have said he would accept” the election’s results.” The Republican National Committee was put in the remarkable position of disputing its own nominee, See DEBATE | Page A2
Hi: 64 Lo: 48 Iola, KS