ACC hoops: Red Devil squads fall at Butler County
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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Iola will end water contract with Gas (in 2031) By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Iola will send a notice to Gas that it intends to terminate a water purchase agreement between the two cities. The termination, it should be noted, will not take effect until 2031, giving the cities 15 years to decide whether to renegotiate. The unusual notification came about because Gas has resisted Iola’s intentions earlier this year to raise its water rates. At issue is the agreement, ratified in 2001, that limits the amount of times — six — Iola can raise the price of treated water it sells to Gas over the 30-year pact. Because of increased costs related to water production — including construction of a new water plant in 2005 — Iola already has exhausted
Local resident given six months to repair home By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
those six hikes. Four of those increases have been since 2011 as Iola has struggled to balance its water fund (the fund operated at a loss the four years prior to 2011.) Gas City Council members have thus far resisted Iola’s attempts at a seventh water rate hike, of 3 percent, which was approved by the Iola Council in April. The contract cannot be terminated early, unless both cities agree. That means any unilateral decision by Iola See WATER | Page A3
Darrell Cole has six months to make his home livable, or the house at 311 S. Chestnut St. will be demolished. Iola City Council members voted, 7-1, for the deadline extension after a lengthy discussion Monday about whether the home should be condemned immediately. Code Enforcement Officer Gregg Hutton cited several issues with the home, including a rotted roof that leaks, causing extensive damage to
the interior; deteriorated stucco siding that has left bare studs and exposed insulation; and two poorly constructed back porches made of used lumber that are unsafe to walk on. One upstairs bathroom is in such poor shape that the toilet leans on the water-damaged floor, Hutton noted, although he’s yet to do a full inspection of the interior. Most of the window seals and door frames are rotted as well. “In my opinion, the house is not livable,” Hutton said. “The roof has See HOUSE | Page A6
Meeting date change proposed By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Iola City Council members will decide soon whether to change their meeting nights each month. The discussion to move their regular meetings to the first and third Monday of each month — they currently meet the second and fourth Monday — was spurred by comments from Iolan Larry Walden. Walden noted the Council’s meeting nights fall on the same night as the USD 257 Board of Education, making it impossible for patrons to attend both. “I’d be in favor of changSee DATES | Page A3
Police seek motive behind attack By JULIE SMYTH Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Investigators are looking into whether a car-and-knife attack at Ohio State University that injured 11 people was an act of terror by a student who had once criticized the media for its portrayal of Muslims. The attacker, identified as Abdul Razak Ali Artan, plowed his car into a group of pedestrians on campus shortly before 10 a.m. Monday and then got out and began stabbing people with a butcher knife before he was shot to death by a campus police officer, authorities said. A motive was not immediately known, but police said they were investigating whether it was a terrorist attack. Artan was born in Somalia
Karen and John Brown are the owners of Trader John’s Thrift Shop and Emporium. COURTESY PHOTO
A student lights a candle inside a cross during a prayer vigil Monday at Jacob’s Porch, the Lutheran Campus Ministry at Ohio State University, after a man attacked pedestrians with a car and then a knife, injuring 11 people. COLUMBUS DISPATCH/BARBARA J. PERENIC/TNS
and was a legal permanent U.S. resident, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of
anonymity. University Police Chief Craig Stone said Artan delibSee ATTACK | Page A2
Couple finds labor of love with Trader John’s By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
MORAN — Call it living out their dream, finding a small business to run in their retirement. Call it fortuitous timing. John and Karen Brown had been hoping to move to the Moran area, and through an offhand conversation with Dewey Stotler, who owned a thrift store along U.S. 59 in downtown Moran, the Browns learned Stotler was looking to sell. Karen calls it something else. “A stroke of lunacy,” she said with a hearty laugh. The Browns acquired the former Walt’s Mart store in downtown Moran in October, as well as all of the merchandise, and a storage building across the street. In its place is Trader John’s Thrift Shop and Emporium, which the Browns hope to integrate fully into the community. “I really, in my heart,
think this was meant to be,” John said. “How could it work out any better? We’ve got a business here. We’ve got a house, and we’ve got inventory. “Boy, do we have inventory.” Since taking over in October, the Browns have spent pretty much every minute going through the volumes of merchandise Stotler sold with the business — three buildings’ worth. “We’re going through boxes that haven’t been opened for a while,” John said. The Browns have ambitious plans. After they sort through every item in their inventory — cleaning and repairing what they can; tossing the rest — the Browns will look at several structural improvements to their building at 235 N. Cedar St. A new tin roof is at the top of their to-do list, with See STORE | Page A3
Quote of the day Vol. 119, No. 24
One step closer LaHarpe volunteers, from left, Danny Ware, Harry Lee and Juanell Garrett were among those who began installation of new playground equipment at the LaHarpe City Park Saturday. The volunteers will return this Saturday to continue installation, weather permitting. The equipment was purchased with city park funding and a Thrive Allen County grant. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
“One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning.” — James Russell Lowell, poet, 1819-1891 75 Cents
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