Sports: Fillies jump for state title Friday See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Gov. faces questions on Medicaid
Charles Stokes’ home in Humboldt Warren Johnson’s home in Moran
Halloween favorite holiday for many
Steve Orcutt’s home in Iola
By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Sandy Zornes was wiped out by the time Halloween Night ended a year ago, in more ways than one. As sunlight settled well past dusk, and the Zornes’ candy stash was running dry,
Last school forum tonight at McKinley The final USD 257 schools forum is at 7 o’clock tonight at McKinley Elementary School. Voters will decide Tuesday whether to approve construction of new elementary and high schools on the north edge of Iola. If approved, a combination of sales and property taxes
with 51 percent of the monies coming from the state would pay for the $50 million project. The public is invited. A town hall meeting organized by opponents of the bond is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at the New Community Building at Riverside Park.
Kansas literature topic of keynote speech By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
Thomas Fox Averill will deliver the keynote speech at this year’s Iola Family Reading Festival. His address, “Reading Kansas Literature: 60 Years and Going Strong,” will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Allen Community College Library. If there is a person better qualified to address the subject of Kansas writing, he has yet to surface. Averill, a professor of English at Washburn University for more than 30 years, a novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright and a co-founder of the Center for Kansas Study, has also managed, with the help of his students, to create the most comprehensive online database of Kansas writers. The site — www.washburn. edu/reference/cks/mapping — offers visitors an interac-
she was able to scrounge up enough goodies for the last trick-or-treater. Zornes and husband Terry turned off their porch light, locked the front door and settled in for the evening. Or so they thought. Ten minutes later the doorSee HALLOWEEN | Page A7
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback faced new questions Wednesday about his administration’s overhaul of Medicaid in Kansas because of a federal lawsuit and a new study suggesting some disabled participants have experienced problems with services. Brownback is locked in a close race with Democratic challenger Paul Davis ahead of Tuesday’s election. The GOP incumbent has repeatedly described said the overhaul successfully improves health coverage for the needy and disabled while controlling the state’s costs. Kansas turned Medicaid’s administration over to three private health See GOVERNOR | Page A7
Book tells stories of Kansas authors By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
Every person has a story. Nicole Muchmore took this statement and put action behind it by helping produce “Echoes from the Prairie,” a collection of short memoirs from Kansas writers. She will speak Saturday at the Iola Reading Festival at Allen Community College about the importance of writing our own stories. The idea for the book started when Muchmore’s friend wanted to take a writing class. Her friend wanted to be published, so they signed up for a class together. Muchmore is a full-time freelance copy editor who specializes in medical journals and textbooks. She
worked for publishing houses such as Nature Publishing Group and Oxford University Press. At first she wasn’t thrilled about attending the class. At the end of the writing class, there were 10 people from it who felt like they hadn’t finished what they started. So, the group along with a few others created the Great Plains Writing Group. Muchmore compiled all of the writers stories and began working on “Voices from the Prairie.” The group enjoyed the success from the first book they decided to go for another. Muchmore started posting flyers in the local public library. Those who wanted to be published could submit their stories for consider-
Nicole Muchmore ation. She received 120 entries and narrowed it down to 60 short stories. “Echoes from the Prairie,” has three basic parts. There are stories that are light anecdotes about family members, people talking bout noSee MEMOIRS | Page A7
Scam awareness helps citizens By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Thomas Averill tive map of the state, linking Kansas writers to their hometowns, and providing short biographies of each, along with lists of their published works. It would trivialize it to call it one-stop shopping for Kansas lit, but its usefulness to those interested in the subject is invaluable. According to the site, southeast Kansas is one of the more See AVERILL | Page A7
Quote of the day Vol. 117, No. 5
Americans lose about $22 billion annually in scans and con games, Iola police officer Mike Ford said this week. Occasionally, scammers attempt to strike locally, such as the case in recent days when a person purportedly with a Jamaican lottery contacted an Iola Townhouse resident. The resident was in line for a hefty cash prize, the scammer said. All she needed was to pay over a modest sum to cover the so-called taxes and other fees, and the money was hers. Fortunately, the woman did not send any money, Ford said. Instead, she called the police. The Jamaican lottery scam
Mike Ford speaks to patrons about scams. is one of the largest-growing frauds in the country, Ford said, in part because it’s so difficult to prosecute perpetrators in a foreign country. But it’s hardly the only con game going.
“Now autumn’s fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt.” —William Allingham 75 Cents
Ford presented several examples of fraud during an hourlong presentation Tuesday at the Townhouse. Elderly are prime targets, Ford explained, because (1) See SCAMS | Page A7
Hi: 70 Lo: 43 Iola, KS