Sports: Mustangs treat fans to scrimmage See B1
The Weekender Saturday, August 30, 2014
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Grain not so golden
Corn harvest good, but nationwide glut depresses price
At far left, Brian Specht watches closely from the enclosed cab of his combine as it harvests corn in a field northwest of Iola. At bottom middle, corn kernels gush from an augur during harvest of a field near Iola.
REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
B
rian Specht has a pragmatic view of farming. “It’s either feast of famine,” Specht said on a sweltering afternoon this week when he took a break while cutting corn northwest of Iola. Specht referred not only
to crop yields but also prices that newly harvested grain fetches. And his analysis even could apply to differences between crops. This spring many farmers harvested bumper wheat crops and with its cutting in high gear, corn production promises to be just as robust. The outlook for soybeans, depending on what the weather does the next few days, doesn’t
look so bright. But, there is more to success in farming than planting a crop, having the weather cooperate and then cashing a paycheck after harvest. The field Specht was cutting likely shook out at well over 100 bushels an acre, maybe even more after the figures are tabulated. He gambled on this summer being a little on the dry
side, planting 20,000 seeds per acre. However, although spotty throughout the area, rain generally fell in good enough amounts during prime corngrowing weather that farmers who planted more densely — 24,000 to 28,000 seeds per acre — reaped the benefits, i.e. greater yields. “There’s going to be some 140- and 150-bushel corn this year,” Specht said. Probably
even some in the 200-bushel range, opined Arlyn Briggs, who farms in the Kincaid area. The dry weather of late and mid-90-degree days have dried corn to desirable moisture levels, putting combines to work throughout the area. Specht’s corn tested at 14 and 15 percent moisture, with See CORN | Page A3
Schools forum Tuesday The public is invited to a forum at 7 p.m. Tuesday to partake in a discussion about proposed new elementary and high schools in Iola. School officials will talk about the district’s needs in terms of facilities, how the proposed schools would meet those needs and costs involved. Questions from the public also will be accepted. The meeting will be in the Iola High School Lecture Hall.
In addition, the district will host a pair of bus tours, the first to Garnett Elementary School at 6 p.m. Thursday, the second to Olathe Northwest High School at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 6. All district staff and the public are invited to the bus tours, which are intended to gather ideas and concepts that might fit USD 257. Those interested in the bus tours should call 3654700 to sign up, so officials know how many buses will be needed.
New facilities a boon for Chanute, former admin says By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
CHANUTE — It’s been eight years since voters in Chanute approved a $42 million construction project to build new elementary and high schools for USD 413. Steve Parsons, Chanute’s former superintendent of schools, remembers it well. Parsons now works in the central office at the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center in Greenbush. He answered a series of questions, particularly those regarding similarities (and differences) between Chanute and USD 257. The Chanute schools project stemmed from a monthslong process, Par-
sons explained. A committee of parents, school staff, students and others in the community — more than 40 in all — began looking at all district facilities to deter mine what, if any, needed to be improved. Steve Parsons T h e y toured each school in the district — four elementary schools, Royster Middle School and Chanute High School — to develop lists of what was necessary to bring each “to the level of an acceptable education facility,” Parsons said. See CHANUTE | Page B3
Quote of the day Vol. 116, No. 215
Latent Content, featuring bandmates Stephen Bender, from left, Jason Chandlee and Nic Olson, performs onstage at Scooters last weekend. REGISTER/KAREN INGRAM
Local band still going strong after 9 years By KAREN INGRAM The Iola Register
Latent content: 1. The underlying meaning of a
The mirrored walls gave the impression of more men on the stage than there actually were. Twin drums rolled out rhythms while doppelgangers mimed the guitarist’s moves and the bass player’s singing. On the floor, women danced to the music and watched some otherworldly vision of themselves do the same behind the band onstage, echos of real life, dreams within dreams. Latent Content is a local band that has been giving a voice to the soul of Iola for nine years. They write most of their own songs and use very few covers, using everyday life in a small town as the
dream or thought that is exposed in psychoanalysis by interpretation of its symbols or by free association. (MerriamWebster); 2. A local alternative rock band featuring the talents of boyhood friends Stephen Bender, Jason Chandlee and Nic Olson.
inspiration for much of their material. Nic Olson, guitarist/bassist/vocalist, said that in the early days small town life inspired his music because it was something he wanted to get away from, until he actually tried it. “I lived in a bigger town and I realized a small town feels more homey,” he said. “It’s where everything is comfortable.”
In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd. — Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish author 75 Cents
Olson, 28, grew up with bandmates Stephen Bender, bassist/guitarist/vocalist, and Jason Chandlee, drummer. They were friends long before they made music, and their friendship endured through school, college, moving and the gradual changes in life. “There was a time we were living in three different See BAND | Page A3
Hi: 92 Lo: 69 Iola, KS