Sports: Season ends for Iola wrestlers See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
Monday, February 29, 2016
www.iolaregister.com
Prize extra special for area girl Grieving town
finds strength from within
By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
HUMBOLDT — Saturday night was filled with emotion for Ava North. The fourth-grader at Humboldt Elementary tied with Landen Wright, a preschooler, for most raffle ticket sales for the HES annual carnival at $630 each. Their efforts won each an iPad. When the announcement was made in the Humboldt Fieldhouse, Ava and her mother, Gina, dutifully trotted upstairs to the mezzanine to collect her prize. The fun was just starting. With iPad in hand, Ava, 9, on instructions from her mother, touched a couple of icons and there was her father, Brandon, whom she hadn’t seen in four months. He is deployed with the U.S. Army in Kuwait. A big smile shot across her face and then the force of the moment brought tears of joys. “Hi, Daddy!” she cried. The event wasn’t happenstance. It had been orchestrated the previous several days when members of the HES Parent-Teacher Organization and staff learned Ava was one of the winners. Dad was contacted and arose in the wee hours of Sunday morning in Kuwait to make the iPad reunion. After an initial few words, Ava and her mother retired to a private area to talk furSee SURPRISE | Page A4
By ROXANA HEGMAN and JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
Ava North sees her father for the first time in four months on an iPad she won Saturday night at the Humboldt Elementary School carnival. With her is mother Gina North. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — Grieving residents of this small Kansas town parked riding lawnmowers with American flags planted beside them along some streets on Saturday and adorned them with “Hesston Hustler Strong” signs in a symbolic reference to the lawn equipment brand from the factory where a gunman killed three co-workers. The Excel Industries factory nestled in the center of this peaceful community of 3,700 founded by Mennonite farmers has long been more than an economic hub. It is a source of pride that binds people together. It draws about 1,000 workers from small towns around the region and everyone seems to either work there or know someone who does. The Hustler brand evolved in the 1960s from the tinkering of a man from a nearby town, John Regier, who built a lawn mower that could turn and maneuver more easily to cut grass around obstacles such as trees and winding sidewalks. The company now sells Hustler and Big Dog equipment around the globe and in 2013 earned the Kansas Governor’s Exporter of the Year award. The quiet of Hesston was shattered on Thursday when Cedric L. Ford barged into the plant while about 300 people were working the second shift and opened fire. Authorities say Ford, See HESSTON | Page A4
PINEWOOD DERBY ACTION
Jaime Ellis
Exercise studio owner touts healthy lifestyles By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
Though the crowd was sparse Friday morning, the monthly See, Hear Iola was chock full of information. Jaime Ellis, a massage therapist and owner of Gett Fitt exercise studio, was the main speaker of the program. Other presenters included Jason Erbert of Erbert Electric, Carl Slaugh of the City of Iola and John Brocker, Iola Realtor. Ellis said her goal as a massage therapist and gym owner is to help people live
their lives to their potential. “Exercise helps build your endurance so you can do what you want, even at age 80,” she said. Ellis bemoaned the American lifestyle. “We so need to turn this around,” she said of our sedentary ways. “Children, especially, need to get away from the computer and move!” Exercise not only helps one keep physically fit, but also helps combat stress, Ellis said. “The more fit you are, See SEE, HEAR | Page A4
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 84
Eighteen Iola Cub Scout Pack 55 members flocked to the Allen Community College fish pond Sunday for the annual Pinewood Derby. The cars — which can be no heavier than 5 ounces, nor longer than 7 inches — can muster speeds in excess of 220 mph, using only gravity from the start of a steep, slanted track. The entries also were rated on eleaborate paint schemes and other creative designs. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
“Be sincere; be brief; be seated.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt 75 Cents
Hi: 70 Lo: 36 Iola, KS