Sports: Allen gears up for playoff series See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
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Thursday, April 28, 2016
Pair charged with Iolan’s murder Business By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Two suspects have been charged with the murder of Iolan Shawn Cook, whose disappearance in mid-March sparked a 16day countywide manhunt before his body was Shawn Cook discovered northwest of Iola. Allen County Attorney Jerry Hathaway announced this morning first-degree murder charges were filed against Amber Boeken, 24, Iola, and Joshua Knapp, 34, of Bourbon County. Cook, 33, was last seen by relatives on March 13. He lived with his aunt, Becky Reaves, in the 400 block of South Kentucky Street. When relatives did not
Joshua Knapp
Amber Boeken
hear from him over the next few days, they reported him missing March 17. A flurry of activity by Iola police, Allen County sheriff ’s deputies and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation followed, with the execution of search
warrants in Iola and Gas. Boeken was arrested March 21 in Iola on unrelated drug charges; Knapp was arrested March 24 in Linn County on unrelated warrants out of Allen County and Vernon County, Mo., and on a no-bond
warrant issued from the Kansas Department of Corrections. Knapp was identified then as “a person of interest” in Cook’s disappearance. Authorities found Cook’s body April 3 along the banks of the Neosho River, near the WoodsonCoffey county line. Hathaway declined to comment on whether other suspects are being investigated in connection with Cook’s death, saying only that the case remains under investigation. A murder weapon has not been located, Hathaway said. Hathaway urged anyone with information regarding Cook’s death to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-222TIPS (8477), Iola Police Department at 620-365-4960 or the Allen County Sheriff ’s Department at 620-3651400.
tax repeal debated By JIM MCLEAN KHI News Service
An effort to roll back a controversial business tax exemption is among the budgetbalancing proposals that lawmakers will take up in the final weeks of the 2016 legislative session. Several key Republicans, including many self-described conservatives who voted for Gov. Sam Brownback’s income tax cuts in 2012, are openly supporting bills to either reduce or elimSee TAX | Page A5
ALLEN PRODUCTION IS NO DRAG
Thinking green
Lincoln Elementary fourth-grader Charles Rogers is assisted by Humboldt High School FFA member Kira McReynolds in making an environmentally friendly bird feeder Wednesday during Earth Day activities at Allen Community College. The activities were moved indoors due to rainy weather. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Escapee search continues By The Pittsburg Morning Sun and Associated Press
GIRARD — The search for two fugitives who escaped from the Crawford County Jail on Saturday continues while bond was increased for an alleged accomplice — the mother of one of the escapees — according to county officials. On Monday Crawford
County Sheriff Dan Peak said his officers are working with multiple agencies in the ongoing investigation. Marlene Louise McAfee, 57, Arma, is being held in the Crawford County Jail on a $50,000 bond. McAfee is described as the mother of escapee Shaun Steven See ESCAPEES | Page A2
Nicholas Watson, left, and Jason Davis star in Allen Community College’s production of “Leading Ladies,” which runs tonight through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for students. Allen students enter free. REGISTER/RICK DANLEY
Laughs aplenty for ‘Leading Ladies’ By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
Artistry on display
This watercolor by Iola High School senior Clarie Moran was judged one of the best of show recipients Wednesday at the Pioneer League Art Show, hosted by IHS. Wellsville was named Pioneer League champion, followed by Prairie View in second and Osawatomie in third. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 129
It speaks volumes to the good humor of Iola that when Allen Community College stages its spring play “Leading Ladies” — a farce about two struggling Shakespearean actors in 1950s America who disguise themselves as women in order to defraud a wealthy dowager — it will mark only the second largest public cross-dressing event in the county seat this year. Unlike the carnival of cheap blouses and cheerful spontaneity that describes the gender-bending festivities preceding the annual Mad Bomber run, ACC’s production of “Leading Ladies”
offers a crisp, well-turned, tightly acted romp that any friend of wit will love. The play runs tonight through Saturday at 7:30 on the main stage of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center. The charm of Ken Ludwig’s 2004 play depends in large part on the skill with which the two leads manage their frequent transitions from Leo and Jack to Maxine and Stephanie. Jason Davis exerts a mesmerizing authority in his role as Leo, the poetry-quoting, concocter of the complicated con. And as Maxine, with his tattered haystack wig and distressingly rigid breasts, he sparkles. But he earns special kudos for in-
“The more we do, the more we can do.”
— William Hazlitt, English critic 75 Cents
voking his feminine half in a pair of patent leather heels at least two sizes too large for his feet, and for doing so with barely a stumble. The second half of the huckster duo, Jack, is played with a jittery, comic energy by Nicholas Watson, whose real talents lie in wait for the moment he slithers into his first dress. In his appearance as Stephanie, Watson twinkles across the stage in a gown outfitted with opalescent wings, introducing himself to new acquaintances with a shy tilt of the head and a belabored curtsy. (The pair’s spur-of-the-moment scam has them raiding their ElizaSee ‘LADIES’ | Page A5
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