The Iola Register, Nov. 21, 2023

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Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Locally owned since 1867

Humboldt players earn season honors

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4-H club meets PAGE A2

Prepare finances for the holidays

Thrive salutes change makers By TIM STAUFFER The Iola Register

In the midst of busy lives, we can forget how much local do-gooders improve our community. Doctors heal the sick, teachers help children learn to read, the trails stay cleared of brush; what’s the big deal? It’s always been like this. Thrive Allen County’s banquet Friday night, their 16th in the non-profit’s history, sought to recognize the change makers, those who perform the ordinary miracles that seek to make Allen County a better place to live and work. Around 350 guests See AWARDS | Page A3

Thrive Allen County recognized the board of Iola Industries with the Donna Talkington Award for Community Excellence at Friday’s banquet. From left, John McRae, Jerry Skidmore, Mary Kay Heard, Susan Lynn, Jim Gilpin, Job Springer and Georgia Masterson, last year’s winner who presented the award. REGISTER/TIM STAUFFER

Area district forces boy to cut hair

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Rosalynn Carter, 96, has died ATLANTA (AP) — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Jimmy Carter during his one term as U.S. president and their four decades thereafter as global humanitarians, has died at the age of 96. The Carter Center said she died Sun- Rosalynn day after Carter living with dementia and suffering many months of declining health. The statement said she “died peacefully, with family by her side” at 2:10 p.m. at her rural Georgia home of Plains. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” the former president said in the statement. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.” President Joe Biden See CARTER | Page A2

iolaregister.com

By RACHEL MIPRO Kansas Reflector

Lee Rocker, founding member of the Stray Cats, cradles his double bass during a concert at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center on Saturday. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Rockin’ on Lee Rocker hits the Bowlus stage By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

“Stray Cat Strut” starts with a hum, then a thrum, then a throb. Lee Rocker, founding member of the iconic 1980s rockabilly band Stray Cats, launched onto the stage at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center with one of his most recognizable numbers. Immediately, the vibration from his double bass grabbed hold somewhere

deep inside my soul. My Apple watch buzzed with a warning. Caution, this is a loud environment. Indeed, it was. But it was the kind of loud that you feel as well as hear. The kind that starts your toes a’tappin’ and your hips a’swayin’. Rocker calls rockabilly “true American music,” dating back to the mid-1950s. Rocker and two of his high school friends got their start See SHOW | Page A6

Lee Rocker and friends rocked the Bowlus. At right is drummer Larry Mitchell.

TOPEKA — Officials at R.V. Haderlein Elementary in Girard forced an 8-yearold Native American boy to cut his hair, despite objections that he grew it out to connect with his cultural heritage. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas warned the district in a letter Friday that the school policy is both a violation of religious freedom and one that promotes “rigid gender norms.” “The present-day harms of school policies that restrict Native American boys from wearing long hair must be understood in the historical context of multifaceted efforts to separate Native American children from their families and tribes and to deny them their rights of cultural and religious expression,” the ACLU letter reads. “Haderlein’s policy impacts Native American students disproportionately and perpetuates a legacy of cultural, psychological, and spiritual trauma and discrimination.” R.V. Haderlein Elementary has a dress code polSee HAIR| Page A4

Grocery Grab benefits non-profits By TIM STAUFFER The Iola Register

Iola Rotarians sold 901 tickets for this year’s Grocery Grab, which took place Saturday morning at G&W Foods of Iola. Jessica Thompson bought just four of them, and was selected as the winner for the Grocery Grab, securing five minutes of virtually unlimited shopping in the store. Not quite like the odds of winning a golden ticket to meet Wonka, but just about as special. Especially since

Vol. 125, No. 290 Iola, KS $1.00

Thompson turned around and gave her ticket to April Jackson, director of the SEK Recovery House. Half of the tab, which totaled $879.43 in free groceries, will stay with the house; the other half will be given to Hope Unlimited, an organization that serves survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. Jackson had done her homework before the big day, too, planning a route. “I knew I wanted to go to canned goods and then head to the meats,” said Jackson

after raiding the store. She ended up with three grocery carts, stuffed full of eggs, milk, roasts, whole chickens, cuts of beef and pork, canned goods and more. “I’m just so excited,” said Jackson. “I couldn’t believe it. Things like this make me feel like we have karma on our side.” This is the sixth edition of the Rotary fundraiser, and it gets bigger and better every year, according to Iola store manager Dan Giles. “We love the energy, love the enthuSee GRAB | Page A4

From left, April Jackson, Rotarians Ellis Potter and Iola president Jonathan Adams and Jessica Thompson after Jackson hauled in about $879 in free groceries at Saturday’s Grocery Grab at G&W Foods. REGISTER/TIM STAUFFER


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