The
IOLA REGISTER
SPORTS
Postseason draws near for area schools See B1
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
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HEALTHY INITIATIVE Longtime Register voice dies
Students participate in Kansas Kids’ Fitness Day
Area third-graders came together Tuesday afternoon for Kansas Kids’ Fitness Day — an initiative meant to promote health and reduce the obesity epidemic in the state’s schools. The statewide event, started by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, had
nearly 20,000 students participating across the state. One of the local organizers of the event, Jacki Chase, said the day is meant to have fun and keep kids exercising. “We really just want to encourage kids to be more active,” she said.
Road upgrade sought
ACH board makes key purchases
By BOB JOHNSON bob@iolaregister.com
Pat Spencer told Allen County commissioners Tuesday morning 2200 Street, on which she lives, is a popular route for motorists. She thinks the road should be improved. “You’ve talked about it for years and told me it was high on your priority list,” Spencer said, in an effort to have commissioners take action. Traffic volume is high with not only cars and pickups, but also semitransports and other heavy trucks, she said. The road runs south from See ROAD | Page A5
See FITNESS | Page A5
By STEVEN SCHWARTZ steven@iolaregister.com
As construction progresses at the new Allen County Hospital, the Board of Trustees approved proposals that will fund key equipment. Trustees Tuesday evening approved tentative purchase of a CT scanner, a telephone system and telemetry equipment. These decisions came following an optimistic construction update that, despite recent rains, reported the majority of exterior cement work finished and the building process on track. David-Paul Cavazos, head of radiology at ACH, suggested options for the purchase of a CT scanner. The board approved a GE 32/I-64 Slice Optima machine at a five-
LYNN was a supporter of Iola and its efforts to prosper. He served in leadership positions on Iola Industries, Rotary, Allen County Hospital, First Presbyterian Church, Iola State Bank and Friends of the Bowlus Fine Arts Cen-
year lease cost of $661,430. The higher the number of “slices,” the more diagnostic a machine’s scans can be, and, Cavazos said, this machine (which is a 32-slice machine with 64-slice capabilities), will keep the hospital ahead of the curve in technology. The hospital’s current machine, a four-slice machine, was purchased in 2004. “I like this option because it meets all of the goals,” Cavazos said. He said the room at new hospital for the CT scanner is made for a GE machine, and he believes it makes the most sense to buy from General Electric. He said the company is the easiest vendor to work with as well. See ACH | Page A5
Emerson Lynn ter. It was during his tenure as president of Iola Industries that Berg Manufacturing, the former Haldex Brake plant, located to Iola, followed by Gates Rubber, Intercollegiate Press and Klein Tool. On a state level, he served on the boards of Mid-America, Inc., Kansas Press Association, the Kansas Historical Society and the William Allen White Foundation at the Uni-
versity of Kansas. In 1989, Lynn was appointed to serve on the State Highway Commission by Gov. Mike Hayden. He also served on a five-member state economic development advisory panel as well as a Blue Ribbon Commission to study the state judiciary system. Lynn was the first living Kansas newspaper publisher See LYNN| Page A5
South State speed limit raised to 45 By BOB JOHNSON bob@iolaregister.com
Motorists who have railed about having to drive 35 mph when leaving Iola’s city limit on State Street have been heard. Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy asked commissioners Tuesday to raise the limit to 45, to mesh with the legal speed south of Elm Creek and on to where the old highway curves east to U.S. 169. There the limit increases to 55 mph. For years the limit was 55 from the city limit on south and was changed in 2010 at the behest of Tom Williams, then sheriff and now a commissioner. His motivation was three traffic fatalities in a short span. “I did it on a guesstimate of
what the speed limit ought to be,” William said.
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I think the lower speed limits have saved lives. —Tom Williams, Allen County commissioner
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Clockwise from bottom left, Quincy Adams tries his best to keep up in a game of “Simon Says.” Jaron Morrison jumps over mini-hurdles and Sammy Holding launches a soccer ball for a goal in the Allen Community College red barn.
A voice in Kansas has been silenced. Emerson E. Lynn, Jr., 88, longtime publisher of the Iola Register, died this morning at a hospice facility in Topeka. Lynn was recognized across the state as a distinguished and insightful editorial voice guiding his beloved state of Kansas. Lynn was a regular panelist on the “Kansas Week” public television program that discussed Kansas politics during its run from 1986 to 2000. He was the third publisher of the Register, following the footsteps of his uncle, Angelo C. Scott, and his grandfather, Charles F. Scott, who purchased the paper in 1882. He was at the Register’s helm from 1965 to 2000, when he sold it to his daughter, Susan Lynn. He continued to write editorials for the Register until earlier this year, when it was discovered he had cancer. Mr. Lynn was an enthusiast for life. He loved hiking in the mountains, a good game of tennis, and traveling the world. He relished 59 years of marriage to Mickey, who died on April 6, 2009. He was an avid learner and spent his days reading and writing. He enjoyed excellent health up until these last few months.
“I think the lower speeds have saved lives,” Williams added. “We had a wreck there (since the change) where one car rear-ended another and I think it would have been a fatality with the 55 mile-an-hour speed.” Murphy, who was undersheriff when the change occurred, said he thought a lowSee SPEED | Page A5
Commissioners put off tax abatement decision By BOB JOHNSON bob@iolaregister.com
Toby Shaughnessy’s request for Allen County commissioners to sign off on giving a restaurant he intends to build a tax break wasn’t met with open arms. They won’t decide until next Tuesday’s meeting whether to join Allen Community College, USD 257 and Iola in approving the restaurant’s inclusion in Iola’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program. The program gives participants a 95 percent property tax abatement for five years, with taxes then added in 20 percent incre-
ments the next five years. The county retains 5 percent for administration in collection of taxes. Shaughnessy and his father, Bob, will build a Sam and Louie’s New York Pizzeria near the east entrance to Walmart. It will be a “full-service, sit-down restaurant,” said Toby Shaughnessy. He expects to have 1520 employees, many of them high school and college students. Shaughnessy worked at Papa John’s pizza restaurant while attending Pittsburg State University, where he graduated in 2010, and then managed the restaurant. See TAX| Page A5
Vol. 115, No. 126
Earth Day celebrations
Register/Allison Tinn
Allen County schools took a field trip to the Iola Recreation Community Building Tuesday for a day of activities. Jefferson Elementary students listen to Becky Meiwes, Allen County Farm Bureau, as she demonstrates how to test water quality. Students, from left, are Britain Folk, Kelli Stogsdill, Rebecca Sprague, Alex Ridge and Heaven Wagner. 75 Cents
Iola, KS