A variety of guests made presentations at See, Hear Iola on Friday. Matt Kleopfer and the Iola Middle School jazz band entertained the crowd with numerous songs.
Kleopfer said the Iola band will have its first Iola Band banquet at 6 p.m. on Friday. Kleopfer hopes it will become an annual affair.
“So far we have 400 tickets sold,” Kleopfer said. “We’re past the deadline on registration but I can’t turn people away.”
The banquet encourages alumni and supporters of the band to come out and have a meal and listen to the band play. It will be in the commons area of Iola High School.
Brad Yoder, recreation director for Iola, said the pool will open on Memorial Day weekend. The pool will close later this year, Aug. 17. Children five and under are free and so are adults 65 and older. Swimmers six to 64 are $2. The rec center has many activities planned for the summer months. There are rec baseball teams, open gym and seniorcise classes.
Police Chief Jared Warner talked about the outdoor storm warning system. Warner said all the sirens have a battery back-up for 15 minutes without power. Shelters are located at Lincoln and McKinley Elementary and the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
There have been some property crimes throughout the town recently. Warner said to prevent this he suggests citizens lock their vehicles and remove valuable items from the vehicle.
The Iola Chamber of Commerce has launched its new website, iolachamber.org. Residents can find a list of upcoming events on the site and on the Get Iola Facebook page.
