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2017 1867
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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
PUSHING PAST THE PAIN Iola woman overcomes childhood abuse
Fire destroys several KC homes
By SHELLIE SMITLEY The Iola Register
R
ecognized for her humanitarian efforts, Tracy Keagle, founder of Humanity House Foundation is headed to Provence, France for two weeks in September, just in time for her 59th birthday. While there, she will meet Sara Stewart, a contributing writer for The Huffington Post, author of “Whilst I Was Out,” and co-owner of Mad as a March Hare, a public relations and marketing firm in rural England. Stewart’s business partner is Tami Williams, originally from Iola. Stewart became acquainted with Keagle through Williams and was instantly impressed with Keagle’s efforts to provide support services to low-income people. She featured Keagle in a blog, “I met Santa Claus, and She’s a Woman,” on Dec. 22, 2016, on The Huffington Post’s website. The article celebrates
not only Keagle’s efforts, but also her ability to overcome childhood sexual abuse. It was attention that Keagle was not expecting. “It’s weird,” she said.” It’s cool, I was glad they were talking about Santa’s
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Firefighters are mopping up after a huge fire spread from a suburban Kansas City apartment complex that was under construction to more than a dozen homes. Overland Park Fire Department spokesman Jason Rhodes said crews have put out the fire at the multimillion-dollar CityPlace development in Overland Park. He said the crews would focus today on investigating each fire and making sure all flames have been extinguished. Firefighters battled at least 17 house fires after the fire started Monday. Rhodes said eight to ten of those homes were “significantly impacted.” Three firefighters were transported to the hospital, but all are listed in fair con-
See PAIN | Page A3
See FIRE | Page A3
Tracy Keagle’s humanitarian efforts have garnered her plenty of acclaim. So, too, has been her ability to overcome a childhood of abuse. In addition to traveling to England for an upcoming interview, Keagle hopes to purchase the old Kelley Building at 214 S. Washington Ave. REGISTER/SHELLIE SMITLEY
Lawmakers advance plan for state employee raises By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators advanced a proposal Monday to give most state employees a 2 percent pay raise, even as lawmakers wrestle with serious budget problems likely to
prompt a big tax increase. The state Senate Ways and Means Committee voted to include the pay increase in its proposed state budget for the fiscal year beginning in July and the
spending blueprint for the fiscal year that begins in July 2018. The cost would be about $20 million each year. The proposed raises had bipartisan support. Most government employees haven’t seen a pay increase since 2008, a legacy of budget problems arising after the Great
Recession and after GOP legislators slashed personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013. “We can do better with our employees,” said Sen. John Skubal, an Overland Park Republican. The Senate committee and its House counterpart hoped to finish work this week on
proposed budgets for each of the next two fiscal years. The state is facing projected budget shortfalls totaling more than $1 billion through June 2019. There is bipartisan support for rolling back past income tax cuts champiSee RAISES | Page A3
Comey: FBI investigating Russia’s role in election By ERIC TUCKER and EILEEN SULLIVAN The Associated Press
Henbit in bloom covers a vacant yard Monday in the 800 block of South Washington Street in LaHarpe. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Purple flowery weeds return Each year, Carla Nemecek fields calls about the purple, flowery weeds that fill yards and pastures this time of year. “It’ll go away once the weather warms up,” Nemecek, Southwind Extension agent, told the Register of the henbit plant. While many will let henbit grow unfettered because of its color, others are less receptive. Keeping lawns mowed at a
consistent height or using a chemical treatment are the best two options to control henbit, Nemecek said. “But like spraying for dandelions, spraying for henbit is best done in the fall,” she said. Is this year’s henbit infestation abnormally thick? “Not really,” Nemecek replied. “People just notice it now because it’s in full bloom.”
Quote of the day Vol. 119, No. 91
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is investigating whether Donald Trump’s associates coordinated with Russian officials in an effort to sway the 2016 presidential election, Director James Comey said Monday in an extraordinary public confirmation of a probe the president has refused to acknowledge, dismissed as fake news and blamed on Democrats. In a bruising five-hour session, the FBI director also knocked down Trump’s claim that his predecessor had wiretapped his New York skyscraper, an assertion that has distracted White House officials and frustrated fellow Republicans who acknowledge they’ve seen no evidence to support it. The revelation of the investigation of possible collusion with Russians, and the first public confirmation
James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, testifies before a House Intelligence Committee hearing Monday in Washington, D.C. ABACA PRESS/OLIVIER DOULIERY/TNS of the wider probe that began last summer, came in a remarkable hearing by one branch of government examining serious allegations against another branch and the new president’s election campaign. Tight-lipped for the most part, Comey refused to offer details on the scope, targets or timeline for the FBI investigation, which could
“Getting married was a ball; being married was a nightmare.” — Kid Rock 75 Cents
shadow the White House for months, if not years. The director would not say whether the probe has turned up evidence that Trump associates may have schemed with Russians during a campaign marked by email hacking that investigators believe was aimed at helping the Republican defeat Democrat See COMEY | Page A3
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