No excuses now

I’ve consoled myself over the years that I couldn’t get a good latte in town with the fact that it saved time, money and calories.

Now with the opening of the “Right Around the Corner,” coffee shop, I’m sunk.

It’s not a coincidence that around 10 a.m. — our deadline to go to press for the day’s paper — I can hear a soy latte and slice of pumpkin bread calling my name. The coffee shop is within easy walking distance, just off the square on South Jefferson.

After Monday’s paper was out the news staff met at Around the Corner. And I must admit it was a pretty productive meeting. We examined the efficiency of the machine that steams the milk. We weighed the pros and cons of mocha over amaretto flavorings. We compared the cookies to the scones. 

All in a day’s work.

 

ON WEDNESDAY I popped into Kelly Sigg’s Audacious Boutique to take advantage of her sale. A coupon printed in the Register’s classifieds section offered 20 percent off everything not already on sale. Sorry, the special ended Friday. Hint: Be sure to look at each Monday’s classifieds to see the Special of the Week.

As always, walking into Audacious was a great opportunity to visit with Kelly and see how business is going.

As the “new kid on the block,” Kelly has been pleasantly surprised by the difference of moving her women’s clothing store from just slightly down the street to right on the downtown square.

“We don’t realize how lucky we are to have a highway going right through town,” she said of the east-west US 54 corridor.

Seems many of her customers are “drive-bys” whose attention is grabbed by her creative window displays, which I’m sure is the same for all downtown merchants. 

“I couldn’t survive if I relied on only Iola shoppers,” she said, which is not to disparage their loyalty, but to illustrate the added advantage of the out-of-town traffic that passes by her storefront at a steady pace. 

Kelly has been pleasantly pleased by the local response to her store. 

“The first 18 months were amazing,” she said. “I knew that couldn’t last, and it’s settled down somewhat. With Christmas just around the corner, I’m hoping the traffic will pick back up.”

The majority of Kelly’s customers are between the ages of 35 to 50, a demographic that is still youthful and has money to spend. 

It’s heartening to see businesses placing their bets on Iola. We can return the favor by making them our first place to shop.

 

Landan Oswald

Landan Dean Oswald, infant son of Jordan and Jessica (Capper) Oswald, Iola, was born into eternal life on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013, at Allen County Regional Hospital.

Survivors are his parents; Jordan and Jessica Oswald, sister, Lainey Michelle Oswald, 4; grandparents Mike and Leah Oswald, Iola, and Brent and Carla Capper, Gas; great-grandparents Elva Dean and Gene Smith, Gas, Maggie and J.D. Inman, Topeka, Ruby Cook and Martha Capper, Iola; and a number of aunts, uncles and cousins.

Funeral services will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, at Fellowship Regional Church in Iola. Burial will be at Highland Cemetery, Iola.

Memorials can be made to the Landan Dean Oswald Memorial Fund and left with Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapel of Iola.

Online condolences may be left at www.iolafuneral.com. 

[Engagement] Tiffany Stahl and Roy Lee Young II

Tiffany Ann Stahl and Roy Lee Young II will unite in marriage on Nov. 9, 2013 at 6 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church in Iola.

Tiffany is the daughter of Mike and Winona Leslie, Iola. She graduated from Iola High School in 1994 and attended two years of college. She works at Herff Jones in Iola.

Roy is the son of Bill and Cheryl Toothman, Cherryvale. He graduated from Independence High School in 1995. He is employed at Russell Stovers in Iola.

[Anniversary] Thomas and Doris Stranghoner

 

Thomas Stranghoner and Doris (Sander) Stranghoner were married 50 years ago on Sept. 7, 1963 at Grace Methodist Church in Wichita. 

They met while attending Friends University and began their teaching careers in Gypsum. They moved to Iola in 1967 to teach in the Iola school system. Tom was the Industrial Arts teacher and coach at the junior high and Doris taught in the business department at the high school. They are still involved in farming and ranching. 

A family dinner is tonight at Terradyne Country Club in Wichita hosted by their sons Todd and wife Liz, Wichita, and Eric and wife Rene’, Grand Prairie, Texas. The Stranghoners have three grandchildren and two step-granddaughters.

 

[Anniversary] Claude and Yvonne Percy

 

Claude and Yvonne Percy recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Claude Orris Percy, son of Mack Joseph and Pearl Pansy Latimer Percy, and Margaret Yvonne Dreher, daughter of Stanley and Loretta Whitaker Dreher, were married at Wesley United Methodist Church in Iola on July 25, 1952. 

Claude graduated from Iola High School in 1950 and attended Iola Junior College and served in the Kansas National Guard as sergeant-major until 1960. They moved to Kansas City in 1955 where he worked as chief draftsman and chief of design at Larkin and Associates Consulting Engineers until his retirement. He was an avid sailboat racer and competed in several national and international championships. Sailboating was also a family affair for Claude and Yvonne and their children for many years.

Yvonne is a 1953 graduate of Iola High School and after raising her family worked as an elementary school para-professional and as an administrative assistant until her retirement. 

They are the parents of three children, Audrey Denise Muenz and her husband Steve, Clayton Austin Percy and his wife Karen and Rosalind Percy. They have five grandchildren: Nick and Zack Muenz, and Henry, Diana, And Julia Yvonne Percy. 

Claude is the brother of Robert (Joan) Percy, Oscar (Mary Jeanne) Percy, and Will Glenn “Curly” (Jeanne Ann) Percy and the late Carl and Eugene Percy. Yvonne is the sister of Stanley, Jr. (Maxine) Dreher and the late Lyle (Carolyn) Dreher.

 

Golfers compete

Allen County Country Club hosted a couples golf tournament Sunday, with 54 competing t.
Nancy Lassman and Rick Henry won in a scorecard playoff over Paula Sutherland and Richard Boyd. Third went to Phyllis and Ken Nelson. Annette and Chris Cole were fourth.
The second flight was won by the Pileys. Second went to Bill and Cathey Ellis, third to the McAloons and fourth to Kim and Terry Thompson.

YC golfer earns medal

FORT SCOTT — Yates Center High’s MaKayla Jones earned a medal in her first junior varsity golf tournament of the season.
Jones shot a 76 to earn a 10th-place medal at a tournament hosted by Uniontown High School.
The Wildcats’ Jaylie Weseloh finished in 20th with a score of 93.
“This was both girls’ first tournament and I am very pleased for both of them,” Wildcat head coach Kevin Barnes said. “It was very warm so the ladies had to contend with that as well. Getting experience playing against other schools and identifying some areas of their games that need improvement were our main goals today. MaKayla getting a medal was just icing on the cake.”
The Wildcat varsity golfers hit the course next Thursday at Caney.

Football Night a smashing success

Above, Allen County Youth Tackle League player Karson Sigg, left, tries to corral Ryker Curry in a scrimmage Thursday evening at Riverside Park. At right, Iola High’s Nate Evans, foreground, is sandwiched between Mustang defenders Cody Conner, left, and Derek Weir in a fourth-down run at the goal line — he was stopped short of a touchdown. Below, the youth tackle league’s fifth-and sixth-graders line up for a play. Below at center, Iola Middle School’s Isaac Vink, right, attempts to haul in a long pass in front of defender Cole Regehr. At lower right, high school cheerleaders, from left, Taylor Stout, Clara Wicoff, Mackenzie Weseloh and Caitie Venter drum up enthusiasm during the high school scrimmage. The festivities drew more than 150 players to the park for the scrimmages in front of an enthusiastic crowd. More photos are available online via the photos link at iolaregister.com.

Temperatures soar as Iola hits courts

CHANUTE — With the thermostat set on “bake,” Iola High’s tennis team opened the 2013 season Thursday afternoon.
Each of the Fillies’ entries — singles players Megan Smith and Katie Lieurance and doubles teams of Alexis Hobbs and Bobbi Sinclair and Shelby Reno and Cyanne Vaughn — went 1-3 on the day.
“This first match of the season is always tough to know where to place each player,” Iola head coach Jenn Bycroft said. “Lots of factors weigh into this. We lost two seniors who played varsity all last season, so that makes it hard to replace sometimes.
“Overall, though, I thought we played well,” Bycroft continued. “Of course, there are always those silly mistakes, like double faults, but all of the girls improved as the matches went on. There were many games that went to deuce, and many players were pretty evenly matched. Hopefully, we can improve as we move forward.”
Smith handled the number one singles duties. She dropped an 8-5 decision to Emily Depew of Neodesha before defeating Cierra Oplotnik of Columbus, 8-0, through injury default. Smith fell to Sami Brown of Labette County and Rebecca Wendt of Chanute by identical scores of 8-1.
In number two singles play, Lieurance fell to Taylor Eustice of Neodesha 8-3 before defeating Abbey Peterson of Columbus, 8-2. She dropped an 8-1 decision to Emily McCoach of Labette County and an 8-0 setback to Chanute’s Shelby Stair.
Hobbs and Sinclair made up Iola’s top doubles team. They fell to Wittum and Lambert of Neodesha but rebounded to thump Atkinson and Murdock of Columbus, 8-1. Hobbs and Sinclair fell to Smith and Closs of Labette County, 8-3, and to Liudahl and Thuston of Chanute, 8-0.
Reno and Vaughn, in number two doubles, opened the afternoon on a strong note, defeating Dent and Franklin of Neodesha, 8-3. They dropped an 8-6 heart-breaker to Kitch and Murillo of Columbus, then fell to Stevenson and Page of Labette County and Angleton and Bearrick of Chanute, 8-1.
Temperatures hovered in the low to mid 90s through the early portion of the competition until the protective layer of clouds cleared out of the area, sending temperatures soaring to 100 degrees in short order.
Iola returns to action next Thursday to host its first, and only, matches of the year on the IHS tennis courts. The Fillies host Parsons, Independence and Columbus, starting at 3 o’clock.

Butler does in ACC Red Devils

EL DORADO — In a match filled with wild momentum swings, Allen Community College’s volleyball team never could get over the proverbial hump Wednesday.
The Red Devils battled host Butler toe to toe through the first two sets, even taking a quick 8-1 lead in their first set, before the  Grizzlies found their answers with a formidable front line.
Butler garnered a straight-set victory, 25-22, 25-21, 25-12, to open the season for the Red Devils.
“We saw a lot of good things,” ACC head coach Jessica Peters said. “We minimized a lot of serve and block errors, and didn’t give many points away in those areas.”
Butler’s victory was anything but routine.
Allen’s quick start in the opening set gave the Red Devils a 9-3 lead with the serving of Adriee Munoz and Halley Scott, before Butler came storming back to eventually take a 16-15 lead.
The set went back and forth from there, before a late service error for the Red Devils gave Butler a 25-22 win.
“Set 2 is where the adrenaline wore off and their true ability started,” Peters said.
The Grizzlies have four players listed at 6 foot, and took full advantage of their height, with several blocks and thundering kills to keep the Red Devils at bay.
Butler raced to leads of 8-0 and 13-3, courtesy of a handful of reception errors and Grizzly blockers.
Allen switched to attack mode and stormed back, taking a 19-18 lead at one point. The teams were knotted at 21-21 when Butler closed the set with a four-point run to win.
“It was anyone’s game at that point, but with rotational substitutions and a few unforced errors, the loss again was ours,” Peters said.
Butler didn’t look back from there, racing to a 7-0 lead in the third game and holding on from there.
“We got some first-game jitters out of the way, and are coming back with some very positive things to improve upon,” Peters said. “I mean what I said about this team. We are going to pose a threat when we reach our peak this season. We plan to challenge the top teams in our conference, and I think we saw a glimpse of that this evening. This is the start to what we hope to be a very solid season.”
Individual statistics from the match were unavailable by press time.
The Red Devils are off this weekend before traveling to Independence next Wednesday in another Jayhawk Conference match. A tournament follows at Highland the following weekend.
Allen will host its home-opener Sept. 11 against Highland.