Sports: Hundreds flock to disc golf course celebration See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Supreme Court upholds ACA subsidies plan By MARK SHERMAN The Associated Press
Phillip Patel and wife Tina have refurbished and renamed the old Crossroads Motel in Iola. Regency Inn features 54 fully remodeled rooms. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Striving to restore motel’s luster
The Supreme Court today upheld the nationwide tax subsidies under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, in a ruling that preserves health insurance for millions of Americans. The justices said in a 6-3 ruling that the subsidies that 8.7 million people currently receive to make insurance affordable do not depend on where they live, under the 2010 health care
law. The outcome is the second major victory for Obama in politically charged Supreme Court tests of his most significant domestic achievement. It came the same day the court gave the administration an unexpected victory by preserving a key tool the administration uses to fight housing bias. Chief Justice John Roberts again voted with his liberal colleagues in support See ACA | Page A5
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
It took Phillip and Tina Patel about a year to fully remake — and rename — the old Crossroads Motel. Now, the Patels hope their efforts to make the Regency Inn a viable part of Iola’s tourism industry takes a little less time. The Patels spoke this week about their long, arduous efforts to refurbish the 54-room facility at the intersection of State and West streets. But while the physical effort alone was a Herculean task, re-establishing the motel’s reputation might be even more daunting. “Many people don’t realize we’ve done all this work,” Tina said. “They still think of Crossroads, and they think it
still has a bad name.” Prior to the Patels acquiring the hotel, Crossroads had become a long-term home to several indigent occupants who stayed on a long-term basis.
As those tenants struggled to pay their monthly rent, the old owners in turn had an increasingly difficult time keeping up the facility’s mainteSee REGENCY | Page A4
Looking ahead Allen County 4-H’er Carly Dreher gives reasons during judging practice at Allen Community College’s farm north of Iola. Listening to Dreher’s presentation is Southwind Extension District Ag Agent Carla Nemecek. Southwind 4-H’ers are judging in the Southeast Area contest at Yates Center today, and will again in the state contest at Manhattan in August. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
Vendor calls it quits with Gas fireworks display By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Just like they’ve done the past 33 summers, Gerry and Chad Diltz will set up their fireworks stand along U.S. 54 in Gas this weekend. The father-son team will open Black Cat Fireworks on Saturday, the first day fireworks can be sold legally in Kansas. But unlike years past, the Diltzes won’t end their July 4
Race Across America
holiday with a bang. The Diltzes retired their fireworks extravaganza in Gas, a show that drew so many onlookers city officials would close off most of the streets on the north side of town each July 4. “The cost just became so prohibitive,” Gerry Diltz said. The Diltzes started their shows as a token of appreciation to the Gas community for See JULY 4 | Page A5
Judge weighs abortion ban By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An abortion rights group will ask a Kansas judge today to block the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on what it says is the most common method for terminating second-trimester pregnancies, contending that the new law would force some women
Renato Shaffer, a member of the Team 2 Cure Huntington’s Disease, passes through rural Woodson County this morning as he completes a leg of the Race Across America. Scores of bicyclists have passed through the Iola area this week on U.S. 54 as part of the race from Oceanside, Calif., to Annapolis, Md. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
to either accept higher medical risks or forgo abortions. But the state’s lawyers were expected to argue in Shawnee County District Court that abortion providers have safe alternatives to the procedure, which anti-abortion activists describe as dismembering a fetus. District Judge Larry See ABORTION | Page A5
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 162
“Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” — A.A. Milne, “Winnie the Pooh” author 75 Cents
Hi: 95 Lo: 73 Iola, KS