Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Locally owned since 1867
Iola squads fall at Wellsville
FEEDING BODIES AND SOULS
PAGE A6
State moves to junk local property tax lid law
iolaregister.com
HOSPITAL
Four vying for hospital CEO By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are moving toward eliminating limits on local property taxes they say are ineffective in favor of a proposal aimed at requiring officials to be more transparent about upcoming levies. The Senate voted 39-0 on Tuesday to approve a bill that supporters said would force local officials to be more open in making tax
Four candidates hoping to serve as Allen County Regional Hospital’s next administrator have visited the hospital and community over the past two weeks. Local officials and those from Saint Luke’s Health System of Kansas City have been conducting interviews and visits in the search for a new administrator, as ACRH transitions to a lease agreement under Saint Luke’s. The lease is expected to take effect June 1, though the Home Health and Hospice departments will join the Saint Luke’s system on April 27. Hospital board of trustees said they expect to have a new administrator hired in the next 30 days or so, although it’s likely that person will train with Saint Luke’s staff for at least another 30 days. The four candidates are fairly diverse, ACRH Board
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Iolans kicked off Lent this morning with an Ash Wednesday breakfast at Iola’s First Christian Church. At top left, Pastor Kenyon Kaehr greets the crowd before leading the group in prayer. At top right, John Snavely fills his plate. Among the other participants, below, were Paul Upshaw, left, and Ken Groves. Next Wednesday’s Lenten breakfast will be at Calvary United Methodist Church, at the intersection of Jackson and Walnut streets. An article Tuesday listed the breakfast at Wesley Methodist. We regret the error. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
COUNTY COMMISSION
CDC: Coronavirus coming to US It’s a matter of when, not if, officials say — but don’t panic, either By COLLEEN SHALBY and James F. Peltz Los Angeles Times
Communications director Angela Murphy provides an overview on calls received by the Allen County Emergency Communications Center in 2019, while commissioner Jerry Daniels listens. REGISTER/TREVOR HOAG
Who ya gonna call? By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
“There’s probably a story in each one of those numbers,” said commissioner Bruce Symes during an annual report from communications director Angela Murphy. And indeed, call statistics to the Allen County Emergency Communications Center over the past year are both fascinating and a bit peculiar. In total, the center received 100,171 calls in 2019, which is slightly fewer than Vol. 122, No. 85 Iola, KS 75 Cents
the 101,319 calls received in 2018. Other statistics included:
n 2,537 arrest warrants were entered or modified, and 672 were cleared or canceled. n 90,934 screens were performed during traffic stops, including 160 stops during the Click it or Ticket campaign. During those 160 stops, 168 tickets were written. n 17 articles were reported stolen, which may seem low, but this is due to officers filtering which specific cases to enter, Murphy explained. For example, six guns, 46 license plates, 120 vehicles and 48 persons were reported stolen or missing. n With regard to first responder
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised communities to take precautions in the event that the coronavirus spreads — something officials believe to be inevitable. “Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” CDC Director Nancy Messonnier said. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.” Messonnier advised parents to talk to schools about the possibility of internetbased learning in the event that COVID-19 spreads and students would need to refrain from attending classes in a school building, and for businesses to think about how to use teleconferencing meetings in the event that employees would need to work from home. Messonnier said officials would also need to consider whether large community-based events would need to be canceled in such an event. There is still no vaccine for the virus, which has killed
Leah Stout
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COURTESY OF CDC
more than 2,700 people — mostly in mainland China. Though the CDC’s mandatory quarantine prompted health officials to scramble and has stirred growing fears within communities, it is one of the few tools officials believe can mitigate the spread of the disease. Messonnier reminded people to take proactive steps in washing their hands and cleaning exposed surfaces. She also reiterated that despite fears over coronavirus,
the flu still poses a greater risk to the public. There are currently 53 cases of confirmed coronavirus in the United States — 40 of those are repatriated individuals from the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Stock prices plummeted for the second consecutive day as investors grew increasingly skeptical that the virus would soon be contained, thus raising prospects that the outSee CDC | Page A6
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