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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Iola OKs partial smoking ban for parks, trails By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Iola City Council members agreed that parts of Riverside Park should be off limits to smokers. They stopped short, however, of making all parks smoke-free. The Council heard a plea Monday from Allen County Rural Health Initiative members to ban all smoking products from each of the city’s parks and trails.
They voted, 5-1, to have Recreation Director Jason Bauer work with the Rural Health Initiative to recommend designated smoking areas in the park, then to bring those recommendations back to the Council for a final vote. Councilman Jon Wells cast the lone dissenting vote, noting his opposition to a smoking ban along the city’s trails.
Council compensation considered
Council members Nancy Ford and Don Becker were absent. Bobbi Bonds of Thrive Allen County, speaking on behalf of the Rural Health Initiative, spoke about the dangers of secondhand smoke, and seeing cigarette butts strewn about. “Smoke-free parks are an important public health ini-
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Beverly Franklin notes she doesn’t need to be paid for her service on the Iola City Council. But if Iola’s elected representatives were given some compensation, it might attract more candidates willing to serve, she said.
See SMOKING | Page A3
F r a n k l i n’s proposal for a monthly stipend for the mayor and city council members was discussed at Monday’s meeting before Council
Beverly Franklin
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See COUNCIL | Page A3
Schools brace for closings By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
The good thing about being in the business of education is that it is inherently a rewarding career. And at the end of the school year, especially, teachers and administrators see the fruits of their labors in the form of their students successfully completing their classes and moving on to the next grade. At Monday’s meeting USD 257 Board of Education meeting members celebrated the recent graduations of not only Iola High School students but also those of its Crossroads program for nontraditional students. “I thought it was a pretty powerful ceremony,” Jack Koehn, USD 257 superintendent of schools, said about Saturday’s Crossroads graduation. “Sometimes you don’t realize what that second chance means to some kids and adults. Saturday was a good day to be
Field Day fun
McKinley Elementary School students didn’t let rainy weather douse their fun Monday. They simply adjusted, moving their annual Field Day activities indoors. Above and front row from left, kindergartners Olivia Mathews, Branton Varney and Nico Holding-Holland dance with Iola Middle School fifth-graders, second from left, Isaiah Melugin, Louise and Celina Caron, Abigail Hirt, Javin Franklin, Lonna Belshe, Kadin Smith and Macie Hoag in McKinley’s gymnasium. At left, fifth-grader Caiden Cloud does a long jump in the school library. At right, fifth-grader Holden Barker attempts to clear a limbo pole in the school hallway. REGISTER/
See SCHOOLS | Page A2
RICHARD LUKEN
Health care costs plague Kansans By BRYAN THOMPSON KHI News Service
NPR, Harvard University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation partnered to survey Americans last year about their perceptions of health care. Kansas was one of sev-
Pat Hook, at left, a retired nurse who lives in Mayfield, says she can’t afford all of her diabetes medications even though she has Medicare coverage. Hook was among about a thousand Kansans who participated in a survey last year about their perceptions of health care. COURTESY PHOTO
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 147
en states — Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin were the others — singled out for a closer look. And the thing that stood out about Kansans was the degree of concern they expressed about the cost of health care. As a retired nurse, Pat Hook knows all too well the potentially catastrophic consequences of not following her diabetic treatment plan to the letter. “I got a good lecture from my doctor the last time I went,” said Hook, who was one of about a thousand Kansans who answered the telephone survey. “Told me that if I didn’t get on my insulin and stay on it, that
“One eye sees, the other feels”
— Paul Klee, Swiss artist 75 Cents
my kidneys were gonna fail, I was gonna go blind — everything I already knew. But that doesn’t change anything.” Hook, who lives in the tiny town of Mayfield, 40 miles southwest of Wichita, said she has no choice but to triage her own care. Even though she’s covered by Medicare, she can’t afford the insulin and other drugs she needs to control her diabetes. “Last month I went to get my medicine, and it was $708, and I couldn’t get it,” Hook said. “That’s just my copay, because I’m in the doughnut hole. I couldn’t have afforded that if I was working.” The “doughnut hole” Hook referred to is a gap
in Medicare’s prescription drug coverage. Once a person’s drug costs reach a certain level, their coverage is reduced until their drug spending hits an upper threshold. The Affordable Care Act — also called Obamacare — includes provisions to close the “doughnut hole” over time, but in the meantime people like Hook struggle to balance their finances and their health. “I stretch my insulin a lot. I may take one shot a day versus four,” she said “Pills, I skip ’em to once every three days.” The scrimping isn’t limited to medication. Hook said she buys only See KHI | Page A2
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