Here’s what you can plant now

Some gardeners live in fear of frost. Even as the days begin to warm, a surprise cold snap could mean the end of the road for precious tomatoes and peppers sown too soon. Growers in a handful of tropical areas may not experience such trepidation, but for most gardeners, the fear of frost is alive and well.

There are cold hardy vegetables that can be planted in your garden before, though. In fact, there may be more of them than you think.

Certain cold-hardy plants can survive a light or moderate frost and prosper even if spring temperatures have not quite stabilized. These plants can thrive in cold soil temperatures, compared to their later season counterparts that need a warmer growing medium.

Carrots, corn, parsnips, spinach, turnips, peas, onions, lettuce and seed potatoes can all be sown directly into the ground once the soil has thawed enough to be workable.

?Plants like carrots and even corn, they are really hard to transplant and they will germinate right into the soil anyway,? said Wendy Wilber, statewide Florida master gardener coordinator at the University of Florida.

Some long-season seedlings can also be planted before the last frost. Broccoli, beets, cabbage, cauliflower and kale can all be started from seed indoors before bringing them out several weeks before your projected frost-free date. Seedlings should be ?hardened off,? or brought outside to face the elements during the day for about a week before you transplant them in order to let the plants acclimate to the elements.

?You?re gradually exposing them to lower temperatures, increased air flow and increased light,? said Kate Garland, horticultural specialist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. ?Even a week is helpful.?

If you do not start your plants from seed, you can still purchase seedlings from a nursery to plant before the last frost. Just make sure those plants have been properly hardened off as well.

Some perennial crops can be planted before the last frost-free date as well. ?Things like asparagus and rhubarb and strawberries, and woody plants like blueberries, raspberries and fruit trees do better if they?re planted a little bit early,? Garland said.

Make that Col. Dole

WASHINGTON, Kan. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas has been promoted from captain to colonel for his service in the Army during World War II.

The Wichita Eagle reports both chambers of the U.S. Congress have unanimously passed a bill promoting the 95-year-old Dole.

He earned two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars for valor for his service in the war. Dole was an infantry lieutenant in 1945 when he was wounded by German machine gun fire, which left him with limited use of his right arm.

Dole represented Kansas in the U.S. House and Senate for a total of 35 years and ran unsuccessfully for president in 1996.

The legislation to honor Dole was promoted by the entire Kansas delegation.

Letter to the editor — March 26, 2019

Dear editor,

The April 2 school bond issue is a very good test of the faith people have in their community.

What is the point of pouring money into three grade schools that need so much maintenance and will never be up to par?

This is among a multitude of problems that have gone on way too long with our schools.

I don’t want to see Iola become a memory like so many other towns in Kansas.

I am 82 years old. My family moved to Moran in 1944 and bought a home and started paying taxes. I graduated in 1954, got married and started paying taxes in 1955 and still do. That is the responsibility of owning property and fixing it up as needed.

In the 1950s, our high school played sports with Kincaid. The students there now go to school in Colony. We played Blue Mound, whose students now go to Mound City. Elsmore, whose students now go to Moran. Bronson, who now go to Uniontown, and La-Harpe, who now go to Moran or Iola.

When my five children graduated in the 1970s, Moran was a nice place to raise children and had a pretty good business district. Most of these towns lost their businesses before their schools and are now just memories.

It takes pride, ambition, foresight and knowledge of the consequences for the city fathers to step up and do what they can to inform the public of its needs. There has been a very good steering committee who has done an excellent job of studying the pros and cons of building a new elementary school and addressing the immediate needs of the middle school and high school. 

We have been patching the problems way too long. The teachers and retired teachers have worked in these crowded classrooms for many years. They have done their part. The superintendents from Burlington, Garnett and Chanute have talked about how much they have saved on utilities alone because of their new facilities and how their schools are safer, too.

I am eager to see one campus for all the younger children on the east side of town. I am happy at the thought of them having one central cafeteria. The very idea of busing food around to the individual elementaries was ridiculous and eating in a gym for many years made it difficult for all concerned.

Think of the future of the children and the town. You can’t live in the past or it keeps pulling you back there. Look ahead and Vote Yes for all three propositions April 2.

Thank you,

Norma Stahl, 

Iola, Kan. 

Letter to the editor — March 26, 2019

Dear editor,

I am writing this letter to encourage you to vote yes on the school bond on April 2. 

I graduated from Iola High School in 2017. I now attend the University of Kansas and was just recently accepted into the University of Kansas’ Pharmacy School. 

Once I am done with school I am very interested in returning to Iola. One of the biggest factors in determining if I do move back is if the school bond passes. 

When I have kids, I want them to have access to a good education. Having been through elementary, middle, and high school in Iola, I know first-hand the inadequacies of each. 

The bond choice I want to focus on primarily is the high school science building. Science classes for me were very important because I needed a good base of knowledge in order to move on to KU. This was hard to get with the current science labs. The current labs are not equipped to do more extensive techniques essential to having a strong knowledge in different sciences. 

Gaining a new science building at Iola High School would improve the overall education. We should all want to improve our community, and upgrading our schools is a much-needed improvement.  

Please Vote…Yes!  Yes!  Yes! on all the proposed initiatives.

Sincerely,

Ben Cooper,

Lawrence, Kan.

 

 

Paula Morrow

Paula Morrow of O’Fallon, Mo., passed away at the age of 62 on Thursday, March 21, 2019. 

She was preceded in death by her father, Marvin “Ike” Zornes; and her brother, Marvin “Ikey” William Zornes.

Paula is survived by her beloved husband, William “Bill” Morrow; her children, Ashley Colgin, Travis (Diana) Colgin, Sarah Colgin, and Joanna Morrow; her mother, Jessie Mae Jeffries Ross; her sisters, Rebecca Wolfe and Tina (Jim) Jones; her grandchildren, Natalie Coleman, Ethan Colgin, and Chloe Colgin; her faithful friend, Daisy Morrow. 

She was a loving aunt, cousin, and friend to many.

Paula was a very talented sewer and often used her time and skill to create wonderful quilts and clothing for her family and friends. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

Services will be announced and held at a later date. Visit Baue.com for details.

Christine Hawkinson

Effie Christine Hawkinson, 89, of rural Savonburg, died Saturday, March 23, 2019, at Sunset Manor Nursing Home, Waverly. 

She was born Jan. 26, 1930, to  Elmer William and Zulah Z. (Bennett) Haddan on the family farm near Stark. 

She married Frank P. Hawkinson on Nov. 25, 1951, at the Stark Friends parsonage.  He preceded her in death.

Survivors include sons, David, Charles, Gary; one daughter, Sheryl; and other relatives.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Feuerborn Family Funeral Service Chapel, 1883 US Highway 54, Iola. Family and friends are invited to stay after the service for a time of reflection. Private burial with family will be at the Odense Cemetery.

Jamie Jones

Jamie Lee Jones, age 47, of Moran, died Saturday, March 23, 2019, at his home.

He was born on Sept. 2, 1971, in Iola.  

He served with the Army National Guard.

He was preceded in death by a son Colton Jones and his father Jim.

Survivors include his wife, Debbie; two daughters Dezera Jones of Kansas City, Kan., and Destiny Jones of Moran; mother Ellen Harrison of Iola;  and numerous other relatives.

 A visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Feuerborn Family Funeral Service Chapel. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Thursday at Hope Chapel Assembly of God in Moran. Burial will follow with military honors in the Moran Cemetery.

House tries to override Trump veto

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is nearing a victory over Democrats as the House tries overriding his first veto, a vote that seems certain to fail and would let stand his declaration of a national emergency at the Mexican border.

Today’s vote would keep the border emergency intact, which for now would let him shift an additional $3.6 billion from military construction projects to work on a barrier along the southwest boundary. Building the wall was one of his most oft-repeated campaign promises, though he claimed the money would come from Mexico, not taxpayers.

Trump’s emergency declaration drew unanimous opposition from congressional Democrats and opposition from some Republicans, especially in the Senate, where lawmakers objected that he was abusing presidential powers.

But while Congress approved a resolution voiding Trump’s move, the margins by which the House and Senate passed the measure fell well short of the two-thirds majorities that will be needed to override the veto. That’s expected to happen again when the House votes today.

“The president will be fine in the House,” said Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in a brief interview. “The veto will not be overridden.”

Even with his veto remaining intact, Trump may not be able to spend the money for barriers quickly because of lawsuits that might take years to resolve.

Today’s vote was coming as Trump claimed a different political triumph after Attorney General William Barr said special counsel Robert Mueller had ended his two-year investigation without evidence of collusion by Trump’s 2016 campaign with the Russian government.

Democrats were hoping to use the border emergency battle in upcoming campaigns, both to symbolize Trump’s harsh immigration stance and claim he was hurting congressional districts around the country.

The Pentagon sent lawmakers a list last week of hundreds of military construction projects that might be cut to pay for barrier work. Though the list was tentative, Democrats were asserting that GOP lawmakers were endangering local bases to pay for the wall.

Congress, to which the Constitution assigned control over spending, voted weeks ago to provide less than $1.4 billion for barriers. Opponents warned that besides usurping Congress’ role in making spending decisions, Trump was inviting future Democratic presidents to circumvent lawmakers by declaring emergencies to finance their own favored initiatives.

Trump supporters said he was simply acting under a 1976 law that lets presidents declare national emergencies. Trump’s declaration was the 60th presidential emergency under that statute, but the first aimed at spending that Congress explicitly denied, according to New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, which tracks the law.

The House approved the resolution blocking Trump’s emergency by 245-182 in February. On Tuesday, Trump opponents will need to reach 288 votes to prevail.

Just 13 Republicans opposed Trump in February, around 1 in 15. Another 30 would have to defect to override his veto.

This month, the GOP-led Senate rebuked Trump with a 59-41 vote blocking his declaration after the failure of a Republican effort to reach a compromise with the White House. Republicans were hoping to avoid a confrontation with him for fear of alienating pro-Trump voters.

Twelve GOP senators, nearly 1 in 4, ended up opposing him.

If the House vote fails, the Senate won’t attempt its own override and the veto will stand.

Allen students to be joined by Fort Scott, Neosho for concert

The students of Allen, Fort Scott, and Neosho County community colleges will perform a combined concert, “Music from the Movies!” at 7 p.m. April 10 at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.

This collaboration among the three schools is under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Anderson and Adrienne Fleming of Allen Community College, Seth Ernst of Fort Scott Community College, and Alan Murray of Neosho County Community College. 

The choral and instrumental combined concert will feature 62 students. 

The evening’s selections will include a medley from “Les Misérables,” the theme from “Mission Impossible” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Since November 2017, representatives from the three schools have been meeting together on a monthly basis to explore programming, create partnership opportunities, and share best practices and efficient processes.

Admission to the April 10 concert is free of charge.

Colony church gives evening services a try

COLONY — The Colony Christian Church will offer evening services, on a trial run, starting at 7 p.m. Sunday.

In addition, men’s Bible study continues at 7 a.m. Tuesday, with a meal and prayer time at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, with youth group to follow at 7 o’clock. Kids are welcome to arrive by 4:30.

Small groups also Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7.

This week’s Sunday morning service featured Communion meditation from Larry Wittmer, who said some people view Jesus as a roadside attraction to determine if He’s the world’s greatest teacher or its biggest fraud. 

But Jesus changed their lives, Wittmer continued. The blind could see; soldiers’ hearts were changed by watching the crucifixion. Jesus is not a roadside attraction, but the destination, Wittmer concluded.

Pastor Chase Riebel gave the sermon on “Sharing My Faith” for week 20 of the Believe series. Many times, sharing our faith includes how we live and what we say, along with verbally sharing with others. We should share our faith because God commands us to go out into the nations to make disciples, and we should share that faith with passion. Paul in Acts 20 says that his life is worth nothing unless he uses it to finish the work that God sent him to do. We must remember that other’s eternal lives depend on us sharing our faith.