Sports: Red Devil squads split road contests See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
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Thursday, January 21, 2016
Mascot details mishap ‘miracle’ Near-fatal accident leads to valuable lessons in life, Meers says
Kobach backs off on two-tiered voting system
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
By ROXANA HEGEMAN The Associated Press
For years, Dan Meers has delighted local fifth-graders as KC Wolf, official mascot for the Kansas City Chiefs. Each year, he’s shared a few nuggets of wisdom, pearls of advice, and a few lighthearted jokes along the way. Wednesday’s message, delivered at the annual Drug Abuse Resistance Education graduation ceremony, was a bit more poignant. Meers captivated the crowd with his retelling of a near-fatal stunt attempt that added a few unforeseen items to his bucket list. “I’m not only an NFL mascot, but also a failed bungee jump survivor,” Meers confessed. The accident came the afternoon of Nov. 23, 2013. The plan was for Meers to bungee jump out of one of Arrowhead Stadium’s light fixtures, where he was to plummet about 20 feet until the cord snapped back, and then send him across the stadium on a zip line. “But instead of falling 20 feet, I fell 75 feet and hit the seats in the upper level,” Meers recalled. The impact of the collision not only broke two of the metal seats from the concrete mezzanine, but also several of Meers’ body parts. “After I hit, my body immediately went into shock,” he said. “I was shaking, trembling all over, really struggling to breathe. I was scared. All I wanted to do was get down.” But zip lines are much like
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach said Wednesday that he has no plans to ask lawmakers to ban voters who registered with a federal form from casting ballots in state and local elections. Instead, he said he may appeal or ask a judge to reconsider a state court’s ruling last week that he had no legal right to institute the state’s “dual registration” system, in which those who register using a federal form that doesn’t require proof of U.S. citizenship may only vote in federal races. Under that system, voters may only cast ballots in state and local races if they register using the state form, which requires proof of citizenship. “We believe that the judge has made a number of legal errors in his opinion and they will be corrected on appeal,” Kobach said. “The Kansas law is absolutely sound.” The Republican contends existing law states plainly that a person who has not provided proof of citizenship shall not be registered, “and so we are complying with Kansas law and there is no constitutional or other problem with that law.” But Dale Ho, director of American Civil Liberties Union voting rights project, said the court’s ruling is very clear: Kobach has no legislative to disallow feder-
Above, from left, Iola Community Resource Officer Mike Ford joins fifth-graders Kadin Smith, Jesse Taylor, Cody Wille, Maliyah Walls and Jake Skahan for a dance routine to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” during the USD 257 Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) culmination program. At right, KC Wolf greets Micayla Moen with a high-five during the program. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
The fact I’m still here, and I can stand up here and share this story, is nothing short of a miracle. I’m not supposed to be here. — Dan Meers, KC Wolf
roller coasters, he continued. “You don’t just stop the ride part way through.” The cord yanked him back up into the air, as he fluttered, broken, across Arrowhead Stadium, 260 feet above the turf. “I wish I had time to share everything that happened to me that day,” Meers said. “But the fact I’m still here, and I
can stand up here and share this story, is nothing short of a miracle. I’m not supposed to be here.” Meers broke seven ribs, had a collapsed lung, shattered his tailbone, gashed open his leg (which required several units of blood to re-
place) and cracked another bone in his lower back. Most seriously, he broke a bone in his back, which required surgery the next day. Over the next nine days, Meers laid in a Kansas City See WOLF | Page A5
See VOTING | Page A5
Lawmakers consider easing water transfers By ANDY MARSO KHI News Service
Kansas legislators are considering a bill that would make it easier to apply to transfer water from one part of the state to another. Senate Bill 322 would lower the fees — dramatically in some cases — that the Kansas Department of Agriculture charges to review applications for such transfers and perhaps make expensive projects more attractive. The bill would apply only to transfers of water that would otherwise leave the state of Kansas, and therefore not be subject to the department’s usual appropriation fees. The bill’s main proponent is Mark Rude, the executive director of a groundwater management district in
water-starved southwest Kansas. Rude’s district relies heavily on the underground Ogallala Aquifer, which is one of the water sources he said are “suffering significant depletion.” Without new sources of water for crop irrigators, Rude said, the state as a whole will take a big financial hit. “Water and the Kansas economy are directly linked,” he said. “Looking to the future of Kansas, there are big problems apparent in a constrained future water supply.” Gov. Sam Brownback has made water conservation a priority of his administration, tasking the Department of Agriculture and other state officials with developing a 50-year “vision”
Feathered visitors Dozens of seagulls have set up shop at the Neosho River this week, circling above the surface, while occasionally diving into the chilly waters (at left).
See WATER | Page A5
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 59
REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.”
— Henry Ford 75 Cents
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