Sports: Iola native takes football kicking career to new heights See B1
THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Smile! You’re on camera By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
William Cook, a surveyor from Stark, discusses staking out the site for the new G&W Grocery with David Toland, center, and John McRae Tuesday afternoon. REGISTER/BOB JOHNSON
G&W says it will expand footprint By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
An investment Iola Industries made 45 years ago will have an impact on Iola’s housing shortage before many moons. Tuesday the local development group exercised a $20,000 option on a portion of the old Allen County Hospital site to permit construction of two 10-unit apartment complexes. Development will be done by Tom Carlson, Springfield, Mo., who was responsible for the Cedar Brook Addition on the north side of town. The housing discussion came on the heels of another stroke of what David Toland called “good news:” G&W Foods has decided to expand the grocery it intends to build on the hospital site by 2,000 square feet, to 17,000 total. That means G&W will purchase just a smidgen less than 80,000 square feet of land, up from 72,000. Purchase price remains at $29,000. “The bigger store will mean more goods, more sales tax, more utility sales and more property taxes — all positive things for Iola and Allen County,” said Toland, who di-
rects local economic development in a Thrive Allen County contract with Iola and the county. “We have some minor things to work through with the city, but nothing major,”
Arrests of standoff leaders leaves 1 dead By KEITH RIDLER The Associated Press
BURNS, Ore. (AP) — Federal and state law officers arrested the leaders of an armed group occupying a national wildlife refuge, during a traffic stop along a highway in Oregon’s frozen high country that prompted gunfire and left one man dead. Militant leader Ammon
Bundy and his followers were reportedly heading to a community meeting at the senior center late Tuesday afternoon in John Day, about 70 miles north of Burns, to address local residents to discuss their views on federal management of public lands. In a statement, the FBI and Oregon State Police said See STANDOFF | Page A4
Quote of the day Vol. 118, No. 63
he said of the larger store. “Don Williams (of G&W) wants to be on the ground (and building) in April.” William Cook, a surveyor hired by the county, began
preliminaries to stake out boundaries for the G&W presence Tuesday afternoon. As for Iola Industries and See FOOTPRINT | Page A4
Downtown Iola will be more secure when new surveillance cameras are attached at four places on Allen County Courthouse and Law Enforcement Center. Sheriff Bryan Murphy told commissioners Tuesday he would research price comparison for video cameras designed to cover 270 degrees of landscape in front of each. He estimated cost at $1,800 each. The cameras will be in addition to two stationary ones that will be retained on the courthouse square. “This will give us coverage not only of the courthouse, jail and sheriff ’s office, but also of merchants’ stores on all four sides of the square,” Murphy said. Murphy said better coverage of the area would reduce liability concerns. While the cameras cover a broad range, it is possible to focus on any image that they record. Commissioners also told Angela Murphy, 911 director, to pursue what’s called New Generation equipment to make her department more technologically advanced. Cost will be $55,000 a year. The 911 fund contains about $100,000 and is replenished by a state mandated 60-cent surcharge on telephone bills. The update will affect mapping and other See SMILE | Page A4
Hospital access widens for veterans By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
Health insurance for military veterans is now accepted at Allen County Regional Hospital and at area physicians’ offices, Tony Thompson, hospital chief executive officer, told trustees at their meeting Tuesday night. Legislation passed last year by Congress, the Veterans Choice Act, allows veterans who live at least 40 miles from a VA medical facility or are forced to wait longer
than 30 days to see a doctor, to receive care at their local clinic or hospital. The nearest VA hospital is in Topeka. The insurance plan is called Veterans Choice, he said, and takes a minimal amount of time in which to enroll. Thompson said he would be making the rounds at area VFW groups to tell them the news. MAINTAINING a steady number of patients is a constant problem for the hospi-
“Wars are caused by undefended wealth.” — Ernest Hemingway 75 Cents
tal, including dictating the level of care it can provide. The hospital’s ICU, intensive care unit, is “temporarily closed,” said Patty McGuffin, chief nursing officer, because not enough patients consistently need the higher level of care needed there. Keeping the skills necessary among staff to care for ICU patients, therefore, suffers. “At this time, we don’t enough clinical competencies in our nursing staff to See VETERANS | Page A4
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