New era begins for Register sports

Change is here. With the switch to the “Weekender”, I’m working to find how things on the sports pages fit.
One thing is this column, which appeared for years on Fridays, is now going to be on Thursdays. That means during high school football season, The Pressbox and Pregame Outlook on the Iola High Mustang game of the week will be Thursdays as well.
Any sporting event happening Thursday or Friday throughout the fall and winter seasons will be in the Saturday’s Weekender. That means we’ll have more opportunities for color sports photos in the Saturday newspaper.
New ventures have bumps and thumps along the way. They also put variety in life. So we’re all off and running with it  here at the Register.

SUMMER BASEBALL and softball are almost over. Iola Recreation’s youth leagues wind up action this week. The Iola American Legion baseball teams are finishing up the regular season with zone
tournaments next week
The Iola AA Indians are playing in the Kansas Amateur Baseball Association (KABA) league tournament at Baldwin this week. They move into Kansas American Legion AA Zone 3 tournament action Monday. The AA Zone 3 tournament is hosted by Garnett. Iola is in the largest zone tournament in the state with Garnett, Osawatomie, Fort Scott, Mound City, Baxter Springs, Burlington and Chanute.
Iola is hosting the Kansas American Legion A Zone 3 tournament next week. Coming into the A Zone 3 event are Emporia Blue, Baldwin and Cherokee.
The Kansas American Legion state tournaments are July 26-29. The AA tournament is at Ottawa and the A tournament is at Salina.

THE “little” Iola Indians, a USSSA 11 A traveling baseball team, are at the 2011 USSSA 11-A World Series this weekend in Liberty, Mo. The tournament is at the Fountain Bluff Sports Complex. The Iola team is ranked No. 2 in the division power ratings.

THURSDAY night at Garnett Iola’s 14-and-under USSSA team — Sigg Motors staged a rally in the bottom of the seventh to win the 14-and-under league tournament.
The team was down 7-5 when Drew Faulhaber drew a walk, Isaiah Grover singled and Brock Peters reached on a fielder’s choice. Alex Bauer came through with a walk-off RBI single to give Sigg Motors the 8-7 win and the title.

School meals can bring substantial subsidies to district

The local school district is losing between $50,000 and $120,000 a year in bad debts.
That’s the hard truth. Perhaps a more palatable way of saying it is that the district has a very charitable school breakfast and lunch program.
The debt comes in two ways. First, from not collecting from the students themselves for the school meals; secondly from losing out on generous state and federal government reimbursements for every breakfast and lunch served to students.
The lower a household’s income; the higher the subsidy.
For USD 257, slightly more than 57 percent of its 1,332 students are considered economically disadvantaged according to state and federal income guidelines. As a state, just about 46 percent of students fall to that level.
For the district to qualify for the subsidies, families must complete forms that show they earn 185 percent or less of the federal poverty income guidelines. That means a family of four that earns $41,348 or less would qualify for the reduced-priced meals; for those who earn $29,053 or less they would qualify for free meals.
In USD 257, 144 students qualify for reduced-priced meals. A whopping 625 qualify for free meals.

THE SUBSIDIES are more than chump change.
Currently, the district charges $1.85 for breakfast and $2.15 for lunches.
For the 625 who qualify for free breakfasts, the district would be reimbursed $1.48 per meal, and another $1.18 for those who qualify for reduced-priced meals.
Come lunch, the district could actually “make” money. For its $2.15 lunch, the district is reimbursed $3.30 for those who qualify for free meals; $2.90 for those who qualify for reduced-priced meals.
Brian Pekarek, new superintendent of schools, estimates the district has the necessary paperwork of “about half” of the students whose families would qualify for the subsidies provided to the district.

ANGELA HENRY, director of the district’s after-school SAFE BASE program, also knows a thing or two about the value of such numbers. Much of her program has been funded through state and federal grants that base their gifts on the proportion of the poor in an area.
In the current summer program, Henry estimated 190 of her 300 elementary students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches. Of those, 160 are in the lower brackets, qualifying for free lunches.
Henry first got an inkling of the high number of at-risk students when SAFE BASE conducted health fairs in conjunction with school enrollment the past several Augusts.
Organizers offered free school supplies to families that participated in three “activities:”
* Head lice checks;
* Dental screenings, and
* Completion of forms that divulged their incomes to see if they qualified for free and reduced-priced lunches.
With enticing bags of crayons, rulers, notebooks and other such supplies in full sight, the children begged their parents to comply.
“There was a little bit of push-back,” by a few parents, Henry said. But the majority complied.
Henry said this is another reason the school district could use at least one social worker. Many parents are too intimidated by the paperwork to see it through. A skilled social worker also could help alleviate the stigma some attach to their financial situation.
Desperate times or not, the district is missing out on valuable funds that is ours for the asking.
Perhaps the district could copy Henry’s approach of enticing cooperation through the rewards of enhanced programming and services that the additional reimbursement funds can buy.
It’s a win-win for both students and schools.

 

— Susan Lynn

Area pitchers going to world championships

Two area men will be competing in the 2011 World Horseshoe Pitching Championships in Monroe, La. The two-week event begins Monday and ends July 30.
Dave Mathewson, Gas, and Neil Hartwig, Humboldt, are members of the Iola Riverside Horseshoe Club.  Both competed in the 2010 World tournament.
Mathewson goes into the tournament with a 51.27 ringer percentage. Hartwig has a 50.00 ringer percentage.
For the first time in history, the event will be run with electronic scoring systems on all courts. Forty-six portable horseshoe courts will be set up in the Monroe Civic Center Arena for the two-week event.
The event is held once each summer to crown a World Champion horseshoe pitcher in each of eight divisions – Open Men, Open Women, Senior Men, Senior Women, Elder (short-distance) Men, Junior Boys, Junior Girls and Junior Cadets (9-years old and under).
Entrants hail from 45 U.S. states and two Canadian province.

Hunter Ed course is offered

CHANUTE — Kansas Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) and Tourism is holding a hunter education class this weekend at the KDWP office, 1500 W. 7th, Chanute.
The class is 6-9:30 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The class is FREE but students must attend all sessions and must pre-register by calling 620-431-0380. Students must be 11 years old or older to attend.
The Saturday afternoon session will be held outdoors at the Elks Lake and students will need to arrange their own transportation to and from the lake. The students should also come prepared for whatever weather might occur that day.
Kansas law regarding hunter education requirements changed effective Jan 1 2005. No one under the age of 12 may hunt by themselves regardless of hunter education certification status or if they are hunting on private land. No one under 16 may hunt by themselves unless under supervision of an adult age 18 or older, except those age 12 through 15 may hunt by themselves provided they possess a hunter education card.

‘The Little Mermaid’ coming to Bowlus

Missoula Children’s Theatre is returning to the Bowlus Fine Arts stage with its adaptation of “The Little Mermaid.”
Deep in the salty waters of the Sassafras Sea, there lived a little mermaid. She and her three sisters were allowed one visit to the world above on their 16th birthdays to learn the secrets of life on dry land.
Missoula Children’s Theatre and more than 60 local students will present “The Little Mermaid” at 3 and 6:30 p.m. on July 23 on the Bowlus stage. There is no admission charge.
Children who are beginning first grade this fall through 12th-grade students may audition for roles in the musical beginning at 12:30 p.m. Monday at the Bowlus. Young thespians should enter the Bowlus through the south alley door.
Rehearsals begin on Monday and will continue through Friday from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Parents are welcome to attend the auditions and rehearsals. Rehearsal times may vary depending on the child’s role.
Natalie Ann Sullivan and Samantha Parrish, members of the Missoula troupe, will be co-directors for the production.
Sullivan is from Omaha, Neb., and is a graduate of the University of Tulsa with a bachelor of arts in musical theatre performance. Parrish is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University with a bachelor of music in musical theatre.
Assisting with the production with be the Bowlus’ technical director, Jeff Jordan. For additional information call Candace McRae, Bowlus project director, at 365-4766.

‘Charlie’ Riley

Charles E. “Charlie” Riley, 60, of Newton, father of Eric B’Hymer and Angie Tatman of Iola, died Sunday, July 10, 2011, at Via Christi St. Francis in Wichita.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at First Baptist Church in Newton.The Revs. Laura Snyder and David Schirer will officiate. Burial will be in Restlawn Gardens of Memory in rural Newton.
Visitation will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Peterson Funeral Home in Newton.
Memorials to Newton Public Library may be sent in care of the funeral home, 215 N. Main St., Newton, KS 67114.

257 looks at setting district goals

USD 257 board members and other school officials will have a goal setting session with Bill Majors, assistant executive director for the Kansas Association of School Boards, at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Iola Public Library.
Superintendent Brian Pekarek said the meeting will facilitate dialogue among the school staff, board and community about goals the district should be pursuing.
“It’s a very beneficial goal-setting, vision-setting workshop,” Pekarek said.
The meeting is free and open to the public. For more information call the district office at 365-4700.

‘Bob’ Hull

 Robert Lee “Bob” Hull, 87, of Ottawa died Wednesday, June 22, 2011, at Windsor Place in Iola.  
He was born Oct. 2, 1923, in Ottawa Township, to Elmer Andrew and Esther Estella (Gilliland) Hull. He had been a resident of Ottawa most of his life. Bob graduated from Ottawa High School in 1941 and attended Trinidad (Colorado) Junior College.
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He continued his military service in the Kansas Army National guard, retiring as a sergeant E9. 
Upon his return from the war, he was first employed at the former Wassmer’s Men’s Wear and then for several years at Suffron’s Glass, both of Ottawa. He then was hired by Ottawa University, retiring as Director of Environmental Services in 1985, after 22 years of service. During his tenure at O.U., he oversaw many facility additions and enhancements, obtained his general contractor license and took responsibility for the construction of the athletic building completing it ahead of time and under cost.
Bob was baptized by the Rev. John J. Ross at the age of 12 in the Marais des Cygnes River. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church, both of Ottawa, and former member and past president of the Ottawa Club of Kiwanis International.
On Jan. 12, 1947, Bob married Bonnie Leola Lawson in Ottawa, Kansas.
He is survived by his wife of the home, two sons, Richard and his wife, Lana, Cabo, Mexico, and Bob and his wife, Abby, Ottawa; two daughters, Barbie Daugharthy and her husband, Jim, Iola, and Jeanne Meyer and her husband, Jim, Niles, Mich.; a sister, Naomi Miller and her husband, Roy, Russell; 11 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Three brothers, Eddie, Charles and David, died earlier.
 Cremation has occurred.
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Ottawa. Private inurnment services will be at a later date.
Memorials to Hull Wellness Center for Maintenance or Westminster Presbyterian Church may be sent in care of Dengel & Son Mortuary, 235 S. Hickory, Ottawa, KS 66067. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through dengelmortuary@sbcglobal.net.