Mother Nature wasn’t hospitable Saturday night, but that didn’t deter about 150 people from gathering downtown to cheer on Earth Hour.
The conservation celebration was observed globally at 8:30 p.m. local time to encourage preservation of natural resources. The flash point was to turn off lights as a symbol of conservation. Streets lights circling the Allen County Courthouse square were doused and local attendees, bundled head to toe in winter garb, made a statement that one person can make a difference.
They congregated on a large “60,” marked off on Jackson Avenue just east of Washington and turned on and waved tiny flashlights each had been given.
Then the hardy souls took a half-mile walk around the square — about half made a second lap — to show further their intentions to make conscious efforts to recognize the need to save energy and non-renewable resources, not only Saturday night but all year long.
This was Iola’s second Earth Hour observation.
Abby Works, a senior at Iola High School, got the event rolling locally a year ago and did much to ensure that Saturday night’s was well-planned and executed, although she was unable to attend. She was at Ohio State’s Buckeye Leadership Conference in Columbus, Ohio.
“We had some people tell us (later) that when they drove around Iola there were quite a few houses with their lights turned off,” said Judy Works, Abby’s mother. “That’s the goal we’re trying to achieve, to make people aware” that the planet’s future depends on them being good stewards of available resources.
Fred and Judy Works, in their daughter’s stead, were busy from well before the event started making sure all went off on cue; many others joined in.
“We really had two things working against us — the 31-degree weather and it being spring break week,” Works said. “But, there were a lot of high school kids involved,” as participants and helpers.
Maggie Wilson, another Iola High senior, warmed up the crowd, at least figuratively, as she played the guitar and sang several songs that meshed with the conservation theme.
David Toland, Don Burns and Nic Lohman, with Thrive Allen County, also helped out. Iola Mayor Bill Maness read a proclamation for the event, before Lohman, with a large alarm clock dangling from a cord around his neck, counted down the last few seconds before city of Iola electrical worker Darrell Baughn pulled a breaker switch to turn off the downtown lights.
THIS WAS the second year that weather intervened to make the local Earth Hour event physically trying. Last year a cold rain fell during the evening. This time it was cold, but only a fine mist fell, and not noticeably until late when participants walked the square.
All involved said they had no doubt the resolve of participants and their enthusiasm would encourage continuation of Earth Hour events in the future.
In presentations leading up Saturday night, Abby Works said that as many as a billion people worldwide would join in to flip off light switches and give emphasis for people to think deeper about conservation.
The city had a table in front of City Hall where incandescent light bulbs were exchanged for compact fluorescent light bulbs, as part of Iola’s Take Charge Challenge effort. If Iola wins the challenge, it would net a $100,000 grant from the Kansas Energy office to spend on energy saving measures.
City Clerk Roxanne Hutton said more than 100 conventional bulbs were traded for the longer-life and more energy efficient CFL bulbs.
“We also had two people sign up for home energy audits,” Hutton said, which will give the city points in the Take Charge Challenge, and likely identify ways their homes can be made more energy efficient.
