Infrastructure tops French’s to-do list

Steve French wants to continue to be a sounding board and voice for people living in the Fourth Ward.
He is the lone incumbent in the ward in a race that also includes Sandy Zornes and Jerod Kelley. The candidate who attracts the most votes in Tuesday’s election will serve on Iola’s city council the next four year; the runner-up will serve two years.
“I like to be involved,” said French, which prompted him to run for the council when it became an eight-person body two years ago. “It’s better to be involved than to sit back and accept what happens.”
He likes the council having two representatives from each ward, which “lets us focus on the area where we live, as well as all of the city.”
Looking ahead, French said he would continue to stress attention on Iola’s infrastructure — sidewalks, streets and curbs and gutters.
“It’s vital that we stay on top of the infrastructure. We can’t just keep putting patches on roads. Some need to be rebuilt,” he said.
Case in point: French pointed out Broadway, which his home fronts, was scheduled for a rebuild about 20 years ago, but it hasn’t occurred.
“Why is it sitting here, still waiting to be rebuilt?” he asked. “What will it cost now? We can’t push projects back hoping things will get better.”
French also would like for the city to create an economic development package that’s more than a promise “to give utilities and pour some concrete. We need to come up with something that’s above and beyond what other cities offer if we want businesses to relocate here.
“If our package doesn’t stand out, it won’t work,” he said. “We need to shine above all others.”
An attraction, he thinks, would come from the city “aggressively funding the police department so it can continue current success it has had in combating drug abuse. It’s important to stay on top of that problem,” even if it means having to pay officers overtime and arranging to have other agencies help with investigations.
He was born in Iola and spent much of his young years here, along with some in Moran. Professionally, he worked 6 1/2 years for Allen County Sheriff Ron Moore as a deputy and in public relations.
“We were doing DARE (drug abuse resistance education) before there was DARE,” said French, 52.
For the past 22 years he has been an investigator for the Kansas Board of Healing Arts. He has an office in Topeka and travels the state, but also does much of his work from an office in his Iola home.
Wife Becky is a master nurse practitioner for Family Physicians and will complete work on a doctorate from the University of Kansas in December. They have four grown sons and five daughters, including one who is a senior at Iola High and a granddaughter they adopted.