Sports: Prep baseball gets underway See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
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Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Moves keep store, apartment projects on track By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Thrive Allen County will continue to provide economic development services for Iola, Allen County and Iola Industries. Iola City Council members on Monday renewed Thrive’s contract, the final leg of the joint agreement. The renewed contract came on a day filled with a mixed bag of news pertaining to Iola and Allen County. The original three-year contract expired Dec. 31. The county and Iola Industries renewed their portions prior to then — all three entities pay Thrive $20,000 annually — but a renewed contract for the city “was lost in circulation,” according to a written report The old Allen County Hospital site will soon be abuzz with activity, with construction of a new by City Administrator Carl grocery store and apartment complex scheduled to begin within the next month or so. REGISTER/ RICHARD LUKEN Slaugh, who also previously recommended the city pull tinue to work together, Iola plained that a collaborative of Commerce.” out of the agreement. So Iola Industries apThe Council voted, 7-1, for should insist that both the approach best serves all inthe renewal, with Austin Sigg county and Iola Industries volved. Iola Industries in the proached Thrive, which at the pay the city’s annual fee to past served as a de facto eco- time had no economic developposed. “There’s just some things Van Scoyoc and Associates, nomic development agent for opment responsibilities. “We knew things were fallI want to change,” Sigg said. a Washington, D.C., lobbying the city on a voluntary basis. firm, Sigg said. But when Max Snodgrass fell ing through the cracks every “I’m not against Thrive.” “Even in the last two ill, it couldn’t be done for free week that we had no ability to Sigg questioned why the three entities entered a joint months, we’ve gotten noth- any more, and “none of us respond to,” Gilpin said. It also became evident that agreement instead of each ing good out of (Van Scoyoc),” was able to step up to the plate and respond to the dozens Allen County’s resources outthree entering individual con- Sigg said. Jim Gilpin, speaking on of emails that came through tracts with Thrive. See PROJECTS | Page A3 If the three were to con- behalf of Iola Industries, ex- from the Kansas Department
Democrats protest schools bill TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democrats in the Kansas House and Senate have filed a formal protest against a bill passed last week in the Republicandominated Legislature in response to a state Supreme Court ruling that the state’s school funding is inequitable. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in February that a 2015 school finance law denied poorer school districts their fair share to state funding. The court threatened to shut down public schools if the funding problems aren’t fixed by June 30. The bill redistributes $83 million a year between the districts, without an overall increase in state spending. By filing a formal protest, the Democrats put their objections to the bill into records the court will likely use to determine whether the new law is constitutional. The Democrats contend the new bill still benefits wealthier districts at the expense of poorer districts, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Monday. The protest says the bill “is the product of politics rather than the actual See DEMS | Page A6
Iola council OKs cold weather policy By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Iola will refrain from disconnecting utilities if the weather forecast calls for cold temperatures. City Council members adopted a “Cold Weather Rule” policy that forbids the disconnection of past-due accounts if the temperature is expected to dip below 32 degrees within the following 24 hours. The new policy also contains a provision forbidding disconnections from happening on Fridays. The cold-weather policies already were followed on an informal basis, City Clerk Roxanne Hutton noted previously. She also noted utilities already were disconnected only on Tuesdays See UTLITIES | Page A3
Possible roadblock looms for tech ed center By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
Plans for a career and tech education center have hit a hitch, Jack Koehn, USD 257 superintendent of schools, told school board members at their meeting Monday night. “The community colleges are very reluctant to commit to much, if anything,” he said, citing their fears that funding for the program is at risk. “Wherever I go, I’m always asking if the SB 155 funds are in jeopardy, and nobody has said anything to indicate they are,” Koehn said of the state funding for the program. Koehn related the discussions from a recent meeting of area high school and college administrators. “We’ve had to start from scratch and consider if we could do a program without the colleges,” Koehn said, noting the school districts of Eudora and DeSoto have such an arrangement. About 12-15 students per class would be necessary to launch a program.
School funding plan could be costly for 257 By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
School officials could barely disguise their disgust with last week’s legislation that addresses school funding. “It was introduced last Tuesday and passed on Thursday,” Jack Koehn, superintendent of USD 257, told board members at their meeting Monday night. “As you can tell, they took a lot of time and re“I know we could provide those numbers from Iola alone for building trades,” Koehn said. Pre-enrollment numbers from a few weeks ago indicated about 25 Iola High School students had signed up for welding and construction trade classes for next fall, ac-
ally thought this through,” he said, his words dripping with sarcasm. If Gov. Sam Brownback approves the legislation, Iola schools will see $89,322 removed from a fund whose purpose is to directly aid classrooms. A “workaround” can be had where local taxpayers can make up the funding lost, Koehn said. “That’s going to go over See FUNDING | Page A6
cording to Stacey Fager, IHS principal. One ray of hope is that Fort Scott Community College would be willing to support a construction trades curriculum, Koehn said. “They said if that’s all we’re talking about, they could swing that,” he said.
The biggest hurdle for the high schools taking on the program if the area community colleges do not participate is that the instructors would not only have to be licensed in their particular trades, but also would be required to have a teaching certificate. If managed through the community colleges, a building trades instructor, for example, would need only to be licensed in that particular field as well as have so many industrial hours logged. They would not be required to have teaching degrees. “The bar is set much lower if the colleges provide the instruction,” Koehn said. Whatever the scenario, Koehn said he has received nothing but positive responses to the idea of a career tech program being developed at the site of the old Diebolt Lumber south of LaHarpe. The classes would be halfday and draw students from a half-dozen area communities. “We have to start in baby See TECH ED | Page A6
Egypt plane drama ends with hijacker’s arrest LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) — An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane during a routine domestic flight to Cairo and forced it to land on the island of Cyprus today has surrendered and was taken into custody after he released all the passengers and crew. His surrender ended an hours-long drama and standoff at the Larnaca airport in
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 105
southern Cyprus. The hijacker had earlier freed most of the passengers but kept seven people — four crew members and three passengers — with him. Just minutes before the arrest, local TV footage from the airport showed several people disembarking from the aircraft and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window and
sliding down the side of the plane. Alexandros Zenon, the permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry in Cyprus, confirmed the hijacker’s surrender and subsequent arrest, saying the situation was “over.” The arrest was also reported by Egypt’s prime minister, Sharif Ismail, and Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi.
“War is fear cloaked in courage.”
— William Westmoreland, American soldier 75 Cents
“All passengers and crew are safe,” Fathi said on state television. The man’s motivation was unclear, but Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was “not something that has to do with terrorism” and a Cyprus government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an onSee ARREST | Page A2
Hi: 70 Lo: 55 Iola, KS