Thursday, May 21, 2020
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Hospital expands testing capacity
ACC alum honored
By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Testing for COVID-19 at Allen County Regional Hospital has adapted to ever-changing circumstances, from initial concerns about a shortage in testing supplies to restrictions on who can be tested and even to the whims of Mother Nature when winds destroyed an outdoor tent where drive-up testing had been set up. Most of those hurdles have been overcome. ACRH has plenty of testing kits. Qualifications for the test have been expanded, though tests are still restricted to those with doctors’ orders. And plans to erect another tent were abandoned in favor of a cabin-like structure situated on the northwest side of hospital grounds. The cabin is to be used during inclement weather. Otherwise, lab technicians will test patients while they remain in their cars. After strong winds bent the tent’s poles early last
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4-H geology projects available
Policy lets exposed meatpackers stay on the job
Allen County Regional Hospital now offers COVID-19 testing in a cabin-like structure on the back side of the parking lot. A physician’s order is still required for tests. Pictured, from left, are Rosanna Norman, medical laboratory technician; Alicia Koehn, lead laboratory scientist; and Michel Meyers, laboratory director. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS week, hospital staff planned to rent another one. Instead they went with the wood structure provided by Iola Police Office Mike Ford, who has a side rental business. The 90-day rental is actually
cheaper than a tent, said Tracy Plumless, public relations director for the hospital. In a week’s time the hospital has conducted seven tests for COVID-19. The cabin provides several
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President Trump praises Gov. Kelly
benefits, Michel Meyers, laboratory director, said, including better protection for personal protection equipment. And in the cases of in-
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See HOSPITAL | Page A4
Republican legislators look to restrict Kelly’s powers By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kansas pushed Wednesday to greatly limit Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s power to keep businesses closed during the coronavirus pandemic and give the GOP-controlled Legislature’s leaders the final say
over how federal coronavirus relief funds are spent. GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee included the measures in a bill that the full Senate expects to consider Thursday, when the Legislature is scheduled for one, final day in session this year. Republicans tied their proposals to two musthave measures for Kelly — a
formal ratification of Kelly’s previous coronavirus orders and an extension of state of emergency that she declared so that she could legally exercise broad powers. A dispute between the Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders has grown increasingly bitter over who controls the reopening of the state’s economy
and the spending of coronavirus aid. Many GOP lawmakers contend Kelly is moving too slowly to reopen on the economy and dislike that her plan for lifting restrictions in phases between now and late June treats different kinds of businesses differently. Republicans’ proposal See GOVERNOR | Page A4
Crest grad joins Air Force
McGraw ready for the Marines
By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Crest High School graduate Annika Hobbs is firing up her jets in preparing to join the U.S. Air Force. She begins basic training on July 21 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. As for her last couple months of high school, “it’s been unconventional,” Hobbs said. Though she seemed pleased that “classes have been a lot easier,” more “laid back.” She also said that “it doesn’t really bother me that much” not getting to have traditional rites of passage such as prom or graduation. Perhaps this has something to do with not being a “girly girl.” That said, Hobbs knows she’ll miss not “being able to see [her] friends every day.” Her parents, too, though proud of her choice to join the milVol. 122, No. 145 Iola, KS 75 Cents
Crest High School graduate Annika Hobbs poses in front of the veterans memorial at the Allen County courthouse. COURTESY PHOTO itary, are “sad [she] won’t be close.” “They’re really supportive of me doing what I want,” she added. REGARDING her choice to join the military, Hobbs said it had to do with being “really patriotic,” and added that her decision to join the Air Force was based on the “good lifestyle” it would provide.
She also said that, to her, America is connected to the key words: “opportunity,” “pride,” and “freedom.” Along with being patriotic, Hobbs remarked that she “loves the freedoms that our country has,” and that she’s eager to “do [her] part.” She also said she’s See HOBBS | Page A4
Karson McGraw has never been one to shy away from a challenge. During his senior year of football, McGraw was asked by his Iola High coaches to play on the Mustang offensive line, even though at 150 pounds he was one of the smallest players on the team. So he did. Now, with his days at IHS in the rear view mirror, McGraw is ready for his next challenge. The son of Kortney and Rhonda McGraw, Karson has enlisted in the Marines, and will head out June 6 for boot camp in San Diego. McGraw spoke about his decision-making process. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after school,” he explained. “There wasn’t anything that really stood out to me. I didn’t
Karson McGraw has enlisted in the Marine Corps. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
see any colleges that I wanted.” As he thought more, the options afforded him by the military sounded more promising. And if he was going to enlist, it was going to be as a Marine. “If you’re going to
do something, go ahead and do it all the way,” he said. McGraw signed his enlistment papers last June, after talking with friends who had also joined the Marine See MCGRAW | Page A3
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