Sports: Three IHS wrestlers earn state berths See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Monday, February 22, 2016
Cancer centers sound alarm on lack of HPV vaccinations KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The University of Kansas Cancer Center is joining nearly 70 other cancer centers in sounding an alarm about the high number of children who are not being vaccinated against a virus that causes cancer. Kansas ranks last in the na-
tion in the percentage of girls who have received the HPV vaccine, and Missouri isn’t
far behind. Fewer than half of girls in both states receive the vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both states also rank low for the number of boys who are vaccinated, The Kansas City Star reported. “It absolutely breaks my
heart,” says Terry Tsue, physician-in-chief at the University of Kansas Cancer Center. “We have two vaccines against cancers that are caused by virus, the hepatitis B vaccine and the HPV vaccine. Otherwise, we don’t have a vaccine that prevents cancer.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An effort by Kansas lawmakers to repeal Common Core standards could mean the end to Advanced Placement classes and International Baccalaureate programs. The House Education Committee approved a measure on Wednesday that would force Kansas school districts to develop new standards for reading, math, science and other subjects. Those standards would replace the Common Coreinspired Kansas College and Career Ready Standards that have been in place since 2010, The Wichita Eagle reported. The measure calls for AP, IB and similar courses and tests to be aligned with pre-Common Core Kansas standards. A similar bill was proposed last year. Educators say the direc-
By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
See GRANT | Page A4
See VACCINE | Page A4
Anti-Common Core bill could have other consequences
Task force earns grant Not quite two years old, the Allen County Substance Abuse Task Force has earned yet another grant intended to further its goal of reducing substance abuse among the county’s young people. The roughly $23,000 grant — awarded by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services — will provide the coalition with the resources to continue to support county-wide programs that combat substance abuse, especially underage drinking, both in the schools and in the community at large. “The whole mission of the task force,” reflected Sheriff Bryan Murphy, the group’s chairman,
Tsue said he is stunned by what people don’t know about HPV and noted that roughly 70 percent of parents apparently don’t know that the vaccine is recommended for boys as well as girls. In addition to preventing
Ryker Curry and his father, Heath in 2015
Iola youth, 12, to undergo heart surgery Iolan Ryker Curry, 12, is scheduled to undergo heart surgery after complaining of chest pain and eventually collapsing and passing out Wednesday. Curry, son of Heath and Heather Curry, was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., where he was diagnosed Friday with a congenital heart defect called anomalous coronary artery disease. The disease — a defective
artery — is potentially fatal for young athletes, although Ryker’s long-term prognosis after surgery is good, his mother said. The hardest part for the Iola Middle School sixth-grader is the surgery will require a month or longer of down time — read, no sports — afterward. “Anyone who knows Ryker understands how hard this alone is for him,” Heather Curry wrote in a Facebook update Sunday.
Look, up in the sky...
Iolan Michael Wilson was greeted by family members Friday afternoon when he flew a solo flight from Manhattan to Allen County Airport. Wilson, a 2014 IHS graduate, is in flight school at Kansas State University. He’s pictured here with, from left, his aunt, Lisa Fontaine, his grandmother, Amy Specht, and his aunt, Carla Mueller. PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY WILSON
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 79
See SCHOOLS | Page A4
State looks at change in forfeiture laws TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill in the Kansas Legislature would change the state’s current forfeiture law to require that a person has to be convicted of a crime before the state can take their property. Kansas’ current forfeiture law does not require a person to be convicted of a crime before law enforcement can take property they believe was used in a crime. A forfeiture case is civil, not criminal, and law enforcement must prove by a preponderance of evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt that the seized property was used in a crime, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. “When I tell people that in the state of Kansas, you don’t have to be convicted of a crime (to have your property forfeited), people are shocked,” said Rep. Gail Finney, a Wichita Democrat and one of the sponsors of the measure, which would require individuals be convicted of a crime before they can have their property taken. “This is terrible, and the majority of people don’t
“If you do not think about your future, you cannot have one.” — John Galsworthy, English author 75 Cents
tive would be difficult or impossible because such courses are modeled on national or international frameworks. Judy Deedy, executive director of the statewide advocacy group Game On for Kansas Schools, said the bill would “undo everything.” “You don’t eliminate Kansas participation in AP and IB by saying you can’t do anything that Kansas doesn’t control,” Deedy said. “That’s not fair to the kids. You can’t just change
even know that.” Rep. John Bradford, a Lansing Republican who also sponsored the bill, said friends have told him about cases where their money was seized, they were never charged with a crime and still had a difficult time getting their money back. “The system as it is is kind of corrupt when you have to fight to get back what is already yours,” he said. “So I said, ‘We have to fix this.’” Currently, the state allows law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to keep forfeited money and property to spend on law enforcement needs as long as it does not supplant their operating budgets provided by taxpayers. As proposed, the new law would require that money to go into a special state fund. The Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, Kansas Peace Officers Association, Kansas Sheriffs’ Association and Kansas County & District Attorney AssociaSee BILL | Page A4
Hi: 54 Lo: 35 Iola, KS