The Iola Register, Dec. 2, 2022

Humboldt trail proposal hits snag

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

County commissioners oppose a group’s plan to reconfigure one of the en try points into downtown Humboldt.

A Bolder Humboldt re ceived a $1 million grant from the Kansas Depart ment of Transportation in 2019 to connect the South wind Trail north of the city to the downtown area.

Their plan would cre ate a walking and biking trail from the Southwind west to the intersection of Hawaii and Ninth Street.

From there, the trail would cross Ninth and follow along the west side of the street to downtown.

The plan would close an awkward triangle where Eighth and Ninth streets intersect. In its place would be a green space with sig nage, creating an attractive entrance to town.

The county has jurisdic tion over that specific area.

The Humboldt City Council has approved the group’s plans for portions within city limits, which ends at Franklin Street, and the west side of Ninth.

Beth Barlow, a member

of A Bolder Humboldt, wrote the grant. She and Cody Porter, an engineer with Wilson & Company, a Kansas City, Mo., engineer ing firm, visited with com missioners Tuesday.

Barlow and Porter told commissioners the trian gular intersection is not safe.

Northbound motorists who stop on Eighth Street need the neck of an owl to see oncoming traffic, they said. Southbound mo torists who select Eighth Street drive through a res idential area, which Porter said is not ideal.

If the triangular inter section were eliminated, motorists could access Eighth Street by turning right onto Franklin where it meets Ninth, just a short

County eyes pricey boom mower

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

Allen County has invest ed quite a bit of money into equipment this year, and ear lier this week debated wheth er to purchase an expensive new boom mower.

A view from above

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

Max Grundy reported “nothing but good news” after getting his first look inside the Elm Street Water tower Wednesday.

“We were able to get to the top to see the inside of the tank,” Grundy told the Regis ter. “And by ‘we’ I mean some body much braver than me.”

Kurt Jackson of KJ Elec tric scaled the 120-foot tower to inspect the interior of the tank, taking scores of photos to help determine the tower’s structural integrity..

Uncertain of what to ex pect, Grundy was pleasantly surprised to see the tank in good shape — and empty.

Grundy acquired the aban doned tower in November with the intention of turning it into a one-of-a-kind highrise Airbnb, complete with observation deck.

Nothing from Wednesday’s viewing has given Grundy pause, he said.

Under terms of the contract with the city, Grundy has five years to complete his project, although he’s hopeful he can do it more quickly.

The first step, occurring al most immediately, is getting electric service to the tower.

While atop the tower, Jack son snapped several photos of the surrounding landscape to give a glimpse of what occu pants can expect if and when the Airbnb opens.

Wreath donations pour in

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

Maggie

Since word of their endeavor started spreading about a week ago, Barnett and Spencer have received nearly $500 in cash do

nations, plus scores of gently used wreaths — 199 in all.

“The response has been tre mendous,” Barnett said.

Response was so swift, the sisters quickly decided to ex pand their effort to include the veterans’ graves at Old Iola Cemetery, pushing their goal from 230 to 250 wreaths.

They hope to place the wreaths in the cemeteries on Dec. 11.

Those wishing to donate can reach Barnett by calling (620) 380-1814.

A few months ago, Road and Bridge Director Mark Griffith asked commission ers to buy a MowerMax boom mower with an estimated cost of $270,000. They’ve been debating it off and on, and on Tuesday a representative of the Florida-based company that makes the product came before the commission to an swer questions.

The company designed a compact, heavy-duty, wide area mower to meet the needs of governments, which tradi tionally use tractor-mounted boom mowers to clear ditch es along streets and roads.

The Kansas Department of Transportation has three of the machines, and Sedg wick County has two. That’s the extent of the company’s foray into Kansas so far.

Commissioners were con cerned about service, since there are so few of the mow ers in the state.

A worker scaled Max Grundy’s 120-foot water tower on North Elm Street Wednesday, affording him the opportunity to snap this majestic view of west Iola, including Iola High School, the IHS tennis courts and the Hawley Honey building. Below is a photo of Kurt Jackson while atop the tower. PHOTOS COURTESY OF KURT JACKSON (ABOVE) AND MAX GRUNDY DESIGN

This map of Humboldt shows the area that would be affected by extending a walking trail into town, which would include removing the shaded islands of green space in order to reroute traffic as it approaches Eighth Street. GOOGLE MAPS

Neal Colter of AdMax

Flo Croghan, from let, Maggie Barnett and Pat Spencer sort through donated wreaths. COURTESY PHOTO

Barnett is 50 wreaths away from her goal. Barnett and sister Pat Spencer are in the midst of a Christmas wreath blitz, with the hopes of placing more than 250 wreaths on veterans’ graves at Highland Cemetery and Old Iola Cemetery.

Kansas salary survey: 70% of government jobs pay workers below-market rates

By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Seven of 10 categories of Kansas government workers were paid below average market rates based on a new survey examining wages at comparable in-state employers and state government em ployers in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri and elsewhere.

The Kansas Depart ment of Administra tion’s report identified pay deficiencies of 32% for law clerks, 22% for social worker supervi sors, 19% for driver li cense examiners, 13% for chemists, 9% for se nior electricians, 7% for fire investigators, 3% for property appraisers and 1% for technology sup port consultants.

On the flip side, the survey comparing base pay in Kansas state gov ernment to averages of in-state employers and out-of-state government employers revealed in stances in which Kansas had better wages than the comparison sample.

The Kansas Highway Patrol’s master troop ers were paid 30% more than peers, while Capi tol area guards received 27% above peers and safety and security offi cers got 20% more.

Kraig Knowlton, di rector of personnel ser vices in the Department of Administration, told an interim committee of House and Senate mem bers there were three av enues for adjusting em ployee compensation.

He said there were across-the-board raises, such as the 5% boost au thorized by the 2022 Leg islature for most state workers. Kansas state workers also could se cure a raise by stepping up a pay grade. If hired before June 2008, some were eligible for annual longevity bonuses of no more than $1,000. The other approach would be for lawmakers to target adjustments based on market forces, he said.

“Over the years,” Knowlton said, “the state has done a good job

of doing one of those a year, sometimes two, but very, very rarely do we do three.”

He said Kansas had 4,400 classified employ ees and 14,000 unclassi fied staff, excluding the state’s higher education system. The compen sation of unclassified personnel is generally decided by an agency’s supervisor. There is no mechanism in state law enabling an agen cy supervisor to award classified personnel merit raises that distin guished between a per son rated as excellent and the marginal work er meeting minimum expectations.

Sen. Marci Francis co, a Democrat from Lawrence, said the state ought to deal with the breadth of underpaid state government work ers with a program that combined percentage ad justments for all with tar geted dollar amounts for individuals at the lower end of the pay scale.

In other words, she said, the Legislature needed to fashion a more flexible approach to compensating classi fied employees based on merit and longevity. She said millions of dollars invested by lawmakers to boost Kansas High way Patrol retention and recruiting was a worthy cause, but other essen tial state government workers hadn’t receive comparable treatment

through the political process.

“We know that it’s been hard to refill po sitions in the Highway Patrol, but we also know that the case loads for social workers are in creasing,” Francisco said.

Rep. Troy Waymaster, a Bunker Hill Republi can who chairs the House Appropriations Commit tee, said he was baffled by state government’s failure to adopt methods of private industry that awarded raises based on performance.

“If you’re in the pri vate sector it’s based off of your work and your performance. But when we’re talking about state government, we just give everybody a blanket 5%,” Waymaster said.

He said across-theboard raises didn’t prop erly incentivize the state government’s work force. The 5% increase applicable to most state employees — some were exempt, including the KHP, because they ben efitted from alternative salary enhancements — cost the state $145 mil lion. In total, the 2022 Legislature approved $224 million in salary in creases for the current fiscal year.

“In the private sector, as a manager you have those hard conversa tions with an individual who is actually over performing and saying, ‘You know what? You de

serve a pay increase this year.’ Then you have to have a conversation with an employee that is underperforming and say, ‘Look, due to your results you’re not get ting a pay increase this year,’” Waymaster said.

Knowlton said the latest survey included one-third of jobs within the Kansas government structure. In Kansas, there are 350 different classified jobs and dou ble that number of un classified positions. The survey was sent to 450 public and private em ployers, and the Depart ment of Administration received 105 responses. The analysis took into account base pay with out inclusion of over time pay.

Here’s an example: Pay for an accountant III employed at 27 Kansas state government agen cies averaged $24.55 per hour. The market rate of $32.23 for mid-level accountants reflected an average hourly rate of $31.83 at in-state employ ers and an average of $33.41 per-hour on state government payrolls in Iowa, New Mexico, Wyoming and Kansas’ four surrounding states. The survey indicated ac countant IIIs in Kansas were underpaid by 24%.

“We target public and private employers all across the state. We’re not focused on one particular geographic area,” Knowlton said.

France collects heirloom weapons across country

BRUNOY, France (AP)

— The pistol the elderly French woman inher ited from her grandfa ther had once belonged to a German soldier, killed in a war fought on France’s soil in the last century.

Now the woman has turned the heirloom over to police for fear that her grandchildren would stumble upon it.

French authorities want others to follow the unnamed woman’s example by turning in millions of old fire

arms, remnants of the two World Wars and long-abandoned hunting excursions.

The country has launched a weeklong na tionwide campaign end ing Dec. 2 to collect old, unregistered weapons that are tucked away in attics and storerooms across the country that saw much of the twen tieth century’s fiercest fighting.

“We believe there are about 5 or 6 million weapons that are being kept in an irregular

manner by our fellow citizens,” said Jean-Si mon Merandat, Head of the Interior Minis try’s Central Service for Arms and Explosives. “Eighty to ninety per cent of these weapons are in their possession due to an inheritance.”

Despite many such

historical items seem ing harmless, author ities promoting the campaign warn that ap pearances are deceptive. The old weapons can still be deadly and can be used to perpetuate domestic violence, or even fall into the hands of criminal networks.

Denver gets go-ahead from EPA after progress on removal of lead pipes

By MICHAEL PHILLIS The Associated Press

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday approved a nearly $700 million plan to remove all lead water pipes in the Den ver region, saying the local water utility’s approach for reducing lead levels is succeed ing and making swift progress. It’s a recog nition that cities can effectively address the lead pipe crisis if they try.

Lead water lines are a major source of lead poisoning. The metal causes brain damage and the agency says no amount is safe for chil dren’s bodies.

Denver’s water had high levels of lead a decade ago, testing showed. In response, local officials prom ised in 2020 to replace between 64,000 and 84,000 lead pipes in 15 years, a comparatively fast pace. To make sure people aren’t getting lead poisoning in the meantime, they also promised to hand out lead-removing filters to residents. So far the utility has dug up 15,000 lead pipes.

“From our perspec tive, Denver Water has one of the most successful (lead water line) replacement pro grams in the country,” the environmental group EDF told EPA in official comments.

Federal officials say Denver Water’s ap proach could be a mod el for other cities and is unique. In addition to removing all pipes and handing out filters, it also proposed an al ternative water treat ment method because the standard additive, orthophosphate, can harm waterways. Last they held community meetings to persuade residents to grant of ficials access to their property to replace lead pipes.

“We have to instill enough trust in our customers that they’ll open their door to us,” said Alexis Woodrow, Denver Water’s lead re duction program man ager.

Officials also said they are targeting lead pipe replace ments near schools and daycare centers. The Denver Water pro

posal required special permission from EPA. Now what was a trial can move forward in full.

Lead pipes were in stalled decades ago and there are millions underground around the country carrying tap water into homes and businesses. Most, but not all, are in the Midwest and North east.

President Joe Biden signed an infrastruc ture bill last year that provides $15 billion for lead pipe work. It will significantly help but won’t be enough to remove all lead pipes. The law will provide $76 million for Den ver Water’s replace ment efforts. Some of the project’s cost will be paid by customers in the form of water rates.

Flint, Michigan’s lead water problems focused national atten tion on the danger of lead in water. Other cit ies like Benton Harbor, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey have faced flat out crisis.

The responses to these crises have var ied. In Benton Harbor, filters were not part of the solution, forcing people to go to distri bution centers to pick up bottled water for cooking and drinking. In Denver, filters are a key part of the re sponse. With aggres sive outreach efforts, most residents who should be using them, are, according to Den ver Water.

The city’s latest tests show that lead levels have now dropped be low federal limits.

“It is going to have long-term benefits for these communities,” said KC Becker, head of the EPA region that includes Colorado.

Kraig Knowlton, personnel director at the Kansas Department of Administra tion, told House and Senate members 70% of 110 Kansas state government jobs paid workers below market rates based on the latest multi-state survey. (KANSAS REFLECTOR SCREEN CAPTURE FROM KANSAS LEGISLATURE YOUTUBE CHANNEL)

Macron visits US

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron are holding talks centered on the war in Ukraine, con cerns about China’s increasing assertive ness in the Indo-Pa cific and European dismay over aspects of Biden’s signature climate law.

Biden is honoring Macron with the first state dinner of his pres idency on Thursday evening, but first the two leaders sat down in Oval Office to discuss difficult issues that they must confront.

At the top of the agenda is the nine month old war in Ukraine in which Biden and Macron face headwinds as they try to maintain unity in the U.S. and Europe to keep economic and military aid flowing to Kyiv.

Wall-to-wall work

Snag: County balks at plan to reroute traffic in Humboldt

Continued from A1

distance away.

Commissioners were concerned motor ists would not like the change.

“I’m always looking for a compromise. I’ve had a lot of constitu ents ask me not to close streets,” Chairman Jerry Daniels said. “Is there a way the trail can exist 99% the way it is and not close streets?”

Barlow said she un derstood some people would resist the change. Others might welcome it. She also noted nu merous developments in the area have already brought change.

“You can talk about the way it always was, but the way it always was is not the way it is now,” she said. “There’s a fitness center. A brew ery is coming. There are 200 more people work ing at B&W. There’s a lot of changes that have happened in that part of town.”

Commissioner Bruce Symes initially agreed closing the triangle would improve safety, both by eliminating the awkward intersection and by not funneling traffic down a residen tial street.

Commissioner David Lee suggested the coun ty temporarily close the triangle and see what happens.

“It is an unsafe inter section and the decision we make will have an impact on the City of Humboldt,” he said.

What followed was a lengthy discussion in which commissioners suggested a variety of alternative routes.

Humboldt City Ad ministrator Cole Herder added to the discussion, saying he’d like to see an option on the east side of Ninth so resi dents could safely get to grocery stores there.

Barlow said the point of the trail — and the grant that will pay for it — is to connect the South

wind with downtown, not to solve the problem of access to business es. That would be much more costly.

Barlow and Porter assured commissioners that engineers had been studying every possible option since 2019 and de termined their proposed route to be the safest. If commissioners don’t want to close the tri angle, the route should still follow the west side of Ninth. The east side has too many crossings for streets and business es that make it less safe, plus deep ditches that present cost and design

challenges, they said.

“There are major challenges going down that side,” Barlow said. “That’s complicated in ways we couldn’t over come.”

THE GROUP did find a consensus, more or less, on where the trail could cross the intersection of Ninth and Hawaii, which is a three-way intersection.

Traffic stops on Hawaii

You can talk about the way it always was, but the way it always was is not the way it is now.

but not on Ninth. North of the intersection, Ninth becomes a county road and the speed limit increases from 30 to 45 mph.

The group recom mended a crossing on the north side of the intersection, across Ninth.

The county would ex tend the 30 mph limit north of the intersec tion.

Commissioners were concerned about how to stop traffic if a pedes trian or cyclist uses the crosswalk. They gen erally agreed with Por ter’s recommendation for a push-button signal, after debating whether to add stop signs.

“Crossing Ninth is a concern,” Daniels said. “People haven’t stopped there in decades.”

IN THE END, com missioners said they did

not want to close the tri angle.

“Leave Eighth open and go west. Can we get what we’re asking?” Symes said.

“If we’re not going to close the street, we don’t care where it (the trail) goes,” Lee added.

“I’ll agree with that if we’re not closing Eighth,” Daniels said. Barlow said the group would take another look at their options and could return if they found an acceptable al ternative.

— Beth Barlow, A Bolder Humboldt

Beth Barlow, left, of A Bolder Humboldt, and Cody Porter, an engineer with Wilson & Company of Kansas City, Mo., speak about a proposal to build a trail connecting the Southwind Rail Trail with downtown Humboldt. It would involve rerouting traffic from the north. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Crews from Mid States Restoration spray the surface of the Allen County Historical Society Museum this week to begin a tuck-point project. The work will entail replacing crumbling mortar joints and damaged bricks in order to weatherproof the building. The work will focus on the south and east walls, museum director Kurtis Russell said. Funding for the project is available through a donation from the Marian Wilson estate. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Prayers? Bombs? Hawaii history shows stopping lava not easy

By AUDREY MCAVOY The Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) —

Prayer. Bombs. Walls. Over the decades, people have tried all of them to stanch the flow of lava from Hawaii’s volcanoes as it lumbered toward roads, homes and infra structure.

Now Mauna Loa — the world’s largest ac tive volcano — is erupt ing again, and lava is slowly approaching a major thoroughfare connecting the Big Is land’s east and west sides. And once more, people are asking if anything can be done to stop or divert the flow.

“It comes up every time there’s an eruption and there’s lava head ing towards habited ar eas or highways. Some people say ‘Build a wall’ or ‘Board up’ and other people say, ‘No don’t!,’” said Scott Rowland, a geologist at the Univer sity of Hawaii.

Humans have rarely had much success stop ping lava and, despite the world’s technolog ical advances, doing so is still difficult and dependent on the force of the flow and the ter rain. But many in Ha waii also question the wisdom of interfering with nature and Pele, the Hawaiian deity of volcanoes and fire.

Attempts to divert lava have a long history in Hawaii.

In 1881, the governor

Volcanoes: How much do you know?

of Hawaii Island de clared a day of prayer to stop lava from Mau na Loa as it headed for Hilo. The lava kept com ing.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Prin cess Regent Lili’uokala ni and her department heads went to Hilo and considered ways to save the town. They de veloped plans to build barriers to divert the flow and place dyna mite along a lava tube to drain the molten rock supply.

Princess Ruth Ke’elik’lani approached the flow, offered bran dy and red scarves and chanted, asking Pele to stop the flow and go home. The flow stopped before the barriers were built.

More than 50 years later, Thomas A. Jaggar, the founder of the Ha waiian Volcano Obser vatory, asked U.S. Army Air Services to send planes to bomb a Mauna Loa vent to disrupt lava channels.

Lt. Col. George S. Pat

ton (who later became famous as a general in Europe during World War II) directed planes to drop 20 600-pound demolition bombs, ac cording to a National Park Service account of the campaign. The bombs each had 355 pounds of TNT. The planes also dropped 20 smaller bombs that only had black powder charge.

Jagger said the bomb ing helped to “hasten the end of the flow,” but Howard Stearns, a

China eases controls amid effort to stem protests

BEIJING (AP) —

More Chinese cities eased anti-virus re strictions and police patrolled their streets Thursday as the gov ernment tried to defuse public anger over some of the world’s most stringent COVID mea sures and head off more protests.

Following week end demonstrations at which some crowds made the political ly explosive demand that leader Xi Jinping resign, the streets of major cities have been quiet in the face of a crackdown that has been largely out of sight.

Guangzhou in the south, Shijiazhuang in the north, Chengdu in the southwest and other major cities announced they were easing test ing requirements and controls on movement. In some areas, markets and bus service re opened. A newspaper re ported Beijing, the capi tal, has begun allowing some people with the virus to isolate at home, avoiding crowded quar antine centers that have prompted complaints.

The government didn’t immediately respond to a request for confirma tion.

But many of the rules that brought people into the streets of Shanghai, Beijing and at least six other cities remain in force. The death of for mer leader Jiang Zemin this week could provide another opportunity for crowds to gather and potentially protest.

The announcements easing restrictions didn’t mention last weekend’s protests of the human cost of an ti-virus measures that confine millions of peo

ple to their homes. But the timing and public ity suggested Xi’s gov ernment was trying to mollify public anger.

While experts say Beijing’s policies are unsustainable, they warn it can’t relax con trols that keep most travelers out of China until tens of millions of older people are vac cinated. They say that means “zero COVID” might stay in place for as much as another year.

With a heavy police presence, there was no indication of protests Thursday. Notes on so cial media complained people were being stopped at random for police to check smart phones, possibly look ing for prohibited apps such as Twitter, in what they said was a viola tion of China’s Consti tution.

“I am especially afraid of becoming the ‘Xinjiang model’ and being searched on the excuse of walking around,” said a posting signed Qi Xiaojin on the popular Sina Weibo platform, referring to the northwestern re gion where Uyghur and other Muslim minori ties are under intense surveillance.

Protesters have pub licized protests on Twitter and other for eign social media that the Communist Party tries to block access to, while videos and pho tos are deleted from services within China. But police appeared to be trying to keep their crackdown out of sight, possibly to avoid encouraging others by drawing attention to the scale of the protests.

On Thursday, the gov ernment reported 36,061

new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, in cluding 31,911 without symptoms.

The industrial cen ters of Shenyang and Harbin in the northeast announced that students who attend school online and other people who have minimal interac tion with others would no longer be required to take virus tests that have been administered as of ten as once a day.

In Beijing, some neighborhoods have be gun allowing people with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 cases to iso late at home, the news paper Yicai reported on its website. The anti-ep idemic agency didn’t re spond to questions sent

to its office by fax. The report gave no details, but a post on the social media account of the district government of Gaobeidian on Thurs day said people there who test positive can stay at home. It was later deleted.

Meanwhile, state TV announced the funeral for Jiang, who was rul ing party leader until 2002 and president until the following year, will be held Tuesday at the Great Hall of the Peo ple, the seat of China’s ceremonial legislature in central Beijing. Jiang died Wednesday at 96.

No foreign dignitaries will be invited in line with Chinese tradition, the party announced.

It comes up every time there’s an eruption and there’s lava heading towards habited areas or highways. Some people say ‘Build a wall’ or ‘Board up’ and other people say, ‘No don’t!.’

U.S. Geological Survey geologist onboard the last bombing run, was doubtful. In his 1983 au tobiography, he wrote: “I am sure it was a coin cidence.”

According to the park service, geologists to day also are doubtful the bombing stopped the lava flow, which didn’t end with the bombing. Instead, the flows waned over the next few days and didn’t change paths.

Rowland said author ities could use a bull dozer to pile a big berm of broken rock in front of Daniel K. Inouye Highway. If the terrain is flat, then lava would pile up behind the wall. But the lava may flow over it, like it did when something similar was attempted in Kapoho town in 1960.

Rapidly moving lava flows, like those from Kilauea volcano in 2018, would be more difficult to stop, he said.

“It would have been really hard to build the walls fast enough for them. And they were heading towards groups of homes. And so you would perhaps be sac rificing some homes for others, which would just be a legal mess,” he

said. He said he believes most people in Hawaii wouldn’t want to build a wall to protect the high way because it would “mess with Pele.”

If lava crosses the highway, Rowland said officials could rebuild that section of the road like they did in 2018 when different routes were covered.

Hawaii County’s di rector of civil defense, Talmadge Magno, said Wednesday the county has no current plans to try to divert the flow, though he has had some discussions about it.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige, who was governor during the 2018 Kilauea eruption, told reporters his experience showed him it’s not possible to overcome nature and Pele.

Thinking you should physically divert lava is a Western idea rooted in the notion that humans have to control every thing, said Kealoha Pis ciotta, a Native Hawai ian cultural practitioner. She said people need to adjust to the lava, not the other way around.

“We are not separate from nature,” she said. “We are a part of na ture.”

Kinds of volcanoes

Death estimates

— Scott Rowland, geologist, University of Hawaii

Taunts derail QB’s messaging

Aristotle once observed that the only surefire way to avoid criticism is to do nothing, say nothing and be nothing. Or something like that — we weren’t there. But at least this much is certain about the Ancient Greek phi losopher who had a profound impact on Western learn ing: He had no football skills whatsoever, and he never sent a Tweet. Yet, while he didn’t have a social media ac count like so many of today’s armchair philosophers, his wisdom holds up.

We mention this because last Sunday turned out to be a pretty rough day for fans of the Baltimore Ravens and its star quarterback, Lamar Jackson. He not only came up short in a truly painful 28-27 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, completing only half his passes, but the fiveyear veteran made a rookie mistake on Twitter. After the game, a Twitter user tagged Jackson in a tweet that sug gested that the quarterback — who is reportedly seeking $250 million in guaranteed salary in his next contract — should never have let the game come down to a 67yard field goal attempt from Justin Tucker in the final seconds that came up short. “Let Lamar walk and spend that money on a well-round ed team,” the critic recom mended to the Ravens front office.

Jackson’s response was, shall we say, undiplomatic. It included the common social media instruction to “STFU” — which in this holiday season could possible mean “serve the fruitcake, uncle,” but sports writers across the country have helpfully de scribed it as “profane.” Jack son’s tweet also mentioned

that the original poster “nev er smelt a football field,” and he then threw in some addi tional crudities that we will not burden our readers with by repeating.

Jackson’s response was deleted within a few hours, but the foolishness of it lin gered in the digital world like cheap cologne. Some troll had successfully baited one of the NFL’s star players.

Imagine the joy that out-oftowner experienced by doing nothing more profound that tapping a keyboard, tagging a celebrity, hitting the send button and then watching it all go viral.

Who says it’s tough to get on the pages of Sports Illus trated?

Fortunately, The Baltimore Sun’s editorial board mem bers have some modest expe rience in the world of trolling. We may not stir passions quite like a star quarterback, but pointed criticism is kind of a regular companion when you write for a daily newspaper’s edito rial pages. Our advice? Don’t engage. A heated response only serves the purposes of the troll. Constructive criti cism from credible sources is another matter, but on Twit ter, critiques are often less about building up than tear ing down, posting comments for the purpose of causing upset or declaring one’s own supposed superiority. Twit ter is about caustic remarks and clever comebacks; con text and nuance are often missing. And that’s unlike ly to improve under the

platform’s new owner, Elon Musk. The “quarterback” of Tesla and SpaceX is a master troller himself and has pro ceeded to muck up Twitter even worse since spending $44 billion to acquire it.

Jury delivers truth about Jan. 6. It was seditious conspiracy

By HARRY LITMAN Los Angeles Times/TNS

The conviction of Oath Keepers leaders Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs on charges of seditious conspir acy is a historic legal victory for the Department of Jus tice, but it is much more than that as well.

Tuesday’s verdicts in fed eral court in Washington will go a long way toward de fining the Jan. 6, 2021, Capi tol melee, once and for all, as a heinous, purposeful crime orchestrated by enemies of democracy.

The Justice Department richly deserves a victory lap for its efforts. Seditious con spiracy is a notoriously dif ficult charge to prove — the last successful prosecution was in 1995 — and it has a checkered history in the de partment.

65 Years Ago December 1957

A group of about 45 men and women assembled last night to discuss establish ing an Allen County Mental Health Association with a goal of creating a local clin ic. The county committee is composed of the Rev. Ken neth Miller, Dr. A. R. Cham bers, Horace Mason, Frank McAdams, Ed Nord, Ennor Horine, the Rev. Glen Taylor, Mrs. Laura Finley, Everett Shepherd, Dr. Eugene My ers and Mrs. Wayne Hiser. Assisting was Mrs. Lelia My ers, director of the Mental Hygiene Division of the Kan sas State Board of Health.

Our advice? Don’t engage. A heated re sponse only serves the purposes the troll ... on Twitter, critiques are often less about build ing up than tearing down.

As for our fellow Balti moreans, we would just point out that Lamar Jack son shouldn’t be judged too harshly for his social me dia outburst, nor trolled on Twitter for his game play. He is 25 years old, extraor dinarily gifted at a sport in which you risk serious in jury every minute you play it, and he fac es enormous pressures the likes of which few of us can fully appreci ated. Forget “smelling” football fields, how would you like to know that a potential quarter-billion payday rests of your perfor mance on any given Sunday? OK, OK, for some of us wan nabes, that would be pretty sweet.

Still, it’s better to put down the screens and, after a tough afternoon of watching su perstar football players per form for our entertainment, maybe go for a little walk around the block to clear our heads before weighing in, if we must. You don’t have to be a celebrity to post messages you will later regret on Twit ter or elsewhere. And if you are the recipient of a mean message? Better to heed Ar istotle, or simply reply with a “Have a nice day!” and let your critics know you can’t be so easily rattled.

— The Baltimore Sun

Letter to the editor

Dear editor, I am outraged that there are people in my home town that are so disre spectful.

I put a new flower ar rangement on my parents’ headstone in Highland Cemetery in September.

The first of this month, November, I received a call from my sister saying the flowers were gone. The ar rangement was a saddle that fit on top of the head stone.

I sent another arrange ment the middle of No vember and received a call on the 29th saying that,

once again, the flowers are gone along with the flag that was placed at my fa ther’s gravesite.

Stealing flowers from a gravesite is not only disre spectful it is also hurtful.

Those flowers were to honor my mother and fa ther and the flag was to honor my father’s service as a WWII veteran.

Whoever stole these items does not deserve ei ther. I believe that there is a special place for any one who steals from a gravesite.

Elaine Barnett, Jefferson City, Mo.

In fact, it was only after contentious internal debate that the department green lighted the charges in Jan. 6 cases as righ teous and win nable.

Even so, only Rhodes and Meggs were convicted on the sedition count. All five of the defen dants were found guilty of obstructing a government proceeding, but none was convicted on all the various charges the government brought.

For some observers, the mix of verdicts tempers the government’s victory. That’s the wrong way to look at it.

The prosecutors’ focus was always first on convict ing Rhodes, and to a lesser degree Meggs, of seditious conspiracy.

On all the other counts and with the other defen dants, the jury’s meticulous evaluation of the various charges — accepting some, rejecting others — only bol sters the credibility of their decisions. The lack of a clean sweep shows that the jurors exercised independent judg ment; they didn’t simply swallow the government’s case whole. And all the de fendants were convicted of serious charges carrying the potential for significant jail time.

Tuesday’s decisions will have immediate, practical legal ramifications. First, those still to be tried for their involvement in the Jan. 6 riot, including Proud Boys and additional Oath Keep ers, may want to think hard about pleading guilty and of fering to cooperate with the government investigation.

The verdicts also cast a shadow over anyone who consorted with the conspir ators in the days after the 2020 election. Perhaps the most obvious example: Rog er Stone, whose encrypted messages with Rhodes were a key part of the evidence at trial. (Rhodes messaged Stone right after Joe Biden’s victory: “What’s the plan? We need to roll ASAP.”)

More generally, the con victions represent a major advance in the Department of Justice’s pursuit of ac countability for all those

involved in efforts to pre vent a peace ful transfer of power. Now more than ever, the department is all in on treating the riot as the existential danger it was.

Stewart Rhodes

That means a no-stone-un turned approach to the role of political officials in the scandal, and in particular to the investigations that are now in the hands of special counsel Jack Smith, which mainly involve Donald Trump and his circle.

The practical and legal ef fects of the landmark result are only a fraction of the im port of the convictions.

Tuesday’s verdicts will go a long way to ward defining the Jan. 5, 2021, Capitol melee, once and for all, as a heinous, purposeful crime orchestrated by enemies of democra cy.

Some of the country’s most prominent political leaders continue to embrace a ludicrous narrative that minimizes the events of Jan. 6. In their twisted telling, the riot was a legitimate political protest that got a little out of hand or even, in the words of Trump him self, represent ed courageous acts of patri ots who have been treated unfairly by the Justice Depart ment.

The same denial of real ity underlies the announced resolve of the new Republican majority in the House to investigate the Jan. 6 committee, as if that body has been engaged in an illegitimate examination of political trivialities.

Tuesday’s verdicts offer a decisive rebuttal to these preposterous accounts and one that is far more effective than the protestations of political opponents, law pro fessors or op-ed columnists, however well reasoned.

A jury trial represents our system’s ideal of authorita tive fact finding, a process enshrined in the Constitu tion for getting as close as a society can to the truth of a matter that is in dispute. And the jury in this trial plainly took its duty seriously and exercised its power with me ticulous attention to detail.

That doesn’t mean that the whole country will agree to call Jan. 6 a criminal con spiracy, but the holdouts are suddenly swimming against a stronger current.

THE EFFECT of these guilty verdicts, in a trial con ducted with thoroughness and care, will be to margin alize the apologists for Jan. 6. They can’t help but look more and more like wingnuts or monsters now, inveighing against what a critical mass of society has accepted and denying a jury’s account that squares with what the whole country saw in real time.

That goes for history as well. The Oath Keepers con victions (and the other se dition prosecutions) will be among the rare trials — per haps one or two a generation — to appear in high school history books. And what fu ture students will learn is that the trials mattered deep ly because they vindicated the truth about Jan. 6, 2021.

The Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson dives for a first down as he is tackled. The star quarter back is still learning the responsibilities of what it means to be a leader. KENNETH K. LAM/TNS

Russian shelling cuts off power again in liberated Kherson

KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Russian shell ing cut off power in the recently liberated Ukrainian city of Kher son on Thursday, just days after it was re stored amid Moscow’s ongoing drive to destroy key civilian infrastruc ture as freezing weather sets in.

In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned the capital’s millions of res idents that they should stock up on water and preserved food to see them through a winter that could prove misera ble if more energy infra structure is damaged.

He also urged people to consider leaving the city to stay with friends or family elsewhere, if possible.

“Trying months lie ahead. The enemy still possesses substantial

resources,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Olek siy Reznikov said. He added, however, that “signs are accumulat ing that (Russia) needs a pause at all costs.”

Ukraine has faced a blistering onslaught of Russian artillery fire and drone attacks since early October. The shell

ing has been especial ly intense in Kherson since Russian forces withdrew and Ukraine’s army reclaimed the southern city almost three weeks ago.

Ukraine’s presiden tial office said Thurs day that at least two civilians were killed and six others wound

ed nationwide by the latest Russian shelling. In Kherson, a 70-yearold woman was killed in her apartment and a 64-year-old man was wounded on the street. A 15-year-old boy died when a hospital in the northeastern Sumy re gion town of Bilopillia was hit, the presidential office said.

In the eastern Dnipro petrovsk region, Rus sian forces fired “from evening till morning” at Ukrainian-held towns facing the Russian occu pied Zaporizhzhia Nu clear Power Plant across the Dnieper River, the regional governor said Thursday.

“Eight shelling at tacks per night. The Russians from evening till morning struck the Nikopol area with (mul tiple rocket launchers)

and heavy artillery. Two districts — Marhanets and Chervonohryhoriv ka — came under enemy fire,” governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.

Elsewhere in east ern Ukraine, Russian forces continued their attempts to encircle the Donetsk region city of Bakhmut, focusing on several villages around it and trying to cut a key highway.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said Russia released 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war and Ukraine turned over the same number Thursday as the fighting continued.

In Berlin, NATO Sec retary-General Jens Stoltenberg praised the “heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people”

against Russia’s attacks, saying that with the help of allies “Ukraine has made significant gains” on the battlefield.

“But we should not underestimate Russia,” Stoltenberg warned in a speech at the Berlin Security Conference. “Russian missiles and drones continue to rain down on Ukrainian cit ies, civilians and critical infrastructure, causing enormous human suffer ing as winter sets in.” The NATO chief said Russian President Vladimir Putin had made “two big strate gic mistakes” when he invaded Ukraine in February: underesti mating Ukraine and un derestimating the sup port NATO and its allies were willing to provide so the country could de fense itself.

County: Specialty mower would carry a hefty price tag

Continued from A1

Equipment said the company has seven technicians who travel across the U.S. to service the machines. The ma chines use a Cummins engine and non-pro prietary equipment, so some repairs can be made by local or region al mechanics. The most common problem seems to be hose replacement, he said.

The machine comes with a one-year, bumperto-bumper warranty.

“If it’s a hose or a blade or something you can fix yourself, we’ll send parts,” Colter said. “If you’re using a local shop, we’ll pay for it while it’s under warranty.”

The nearest company technician lives on the Texas-Oklahoma border.

The distance seemed to concern commission ers.

“I would feel a little remote with service,” Commissioner Bruce Symes said, and asked Griffith, “Does that make you uncomfort able?”

He said KDOT and Sedgwick County offi cials had not reported any similar concerns.

MowerMax is expand ing into the Midwest, Colter said, and likely will add technicians as needed.

Commissioners did not make a decision.

The county needs a new boom mower, after a newer machine caught on fire over the summer.

Insurance paid $104,000, which will go toward re placement.

Just last week, com missioners agreed to spend $405,290 for a new excavator at the rock quarry, which can also be used for improve ments on county roads. The county also needed to repair several ma chines over the sum mer, noting at the time

that such large equip ment comes with hefty price tags for repair and placement.

IN ANOTHER equip ment matter, commis sioners did agree to a proposal from John Deere to lease two trac tors.

The company recently offered up to four trac tors as part of a lease agreement, the first time such a program has been available and is limited to governments.

Commissioners weren’t ready to approve the plan in October, and the original offer ex pired Nov. 1. New cost estimates were just a lit tle higher — about $1,000 more for a year’s lease.

The company would have honored the previ ous pricing if the county wanted to lease three or more, but commission ers decided they only wanted two. They decid ed two tractors — one larger and one smaller — would allow them to test the program for a year.

The annual cost to lease a smaller tractor is $9,275, and the cost for a larger tractor is $10,850.

Additional charges will apply if the county ex ceeds 350 hours in a year.

Neighborhood Revitalization Program

The county will go it alone when it comes to a property tax rebate program, assuming the Kansas Attorney Gener al’s office agrees.

The Neighborhood Re vitalization Program of fers a tax rebate to prop erty owners who make improvements, such as new buildings or remod eling efforts. Owners receive a rebate equal to the amount their prop erty taxes increased because of the improve ments.

The City of Iola asked county commissioners to agree to changes with its NRP. The city wants to end a tiered rebate system and instead offer a full 100% rebate for 10 years.

Currently, the pro gram offers a 100% rebate for the first six years, then gradually reducing it to 80%, 60%, 40% and 20%.

The county wants to continue that system. Humboldt and LaHarpe have similar programs

that operate the same way.

By not agreeing to Io la’s new program, the county’s participation with that entity ended Wednesday.

The county plans to start its own program, which will apply to all properties in Allen County. That will need to be set up and approved by the Kansas Attorney General’s office, but can be retroactive.

Humboldt Food Pantry Commissioners reluc tantly agreed to extend discussion about bids for construction at the Humboldt Senior Cen ter. The plan is to re model an existing metal building on the property for use as a food pantry.

Commissioners ap proved bids for electri cal and HVAC work, but will wait to decide who to hire for construction after a last-minute re quest from a general contractor.

Joe Weiner said be cause of a miscommuni cation, he was unable to bid on the project. Bids were revealed last week.

Commissioners agreed to let him submit a bid

this week, and it was about half the cost of the lowest bid.

He said he could com plete the project for $12,485. The next lowest bid — which would have been the winning bid had commissioners not allowed Weiner to sub mit a proposal — was from Superior Builders for a little over $25,000.

It seemed unfair all the way around, both to Weiner and Superior Builders, Commission er Bruce Symes said. The other commission ers agreed, and ulti mately decided to ask Superior to attend next week’s meeting to talk about the matter.

IN OTHER news,

commissioners:

* Approved a resolu tion to establish a land bank. The land bank allows the county to take over property in the county and forgive delinquent taxes, then sell the land to a poten tial housing developer at little or no cost, such as for $1.

* Heard an update on the American Res cue Plan Act. Now that construction of a com munications tower has been mostly completed, costs are expected to exceed the budget by about $13,000. The coun ty had budgeted $875,000 out of ARPA funds, but an unexpected expense boosted the cost to a lit tle more than $888,000.

Allen County Commissioner Bruce Symes looks over a brochure on MowerMax, a specialty boom mower designed specifically or governments, at Tuesday’s Allen County Commission meeting. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Members of a Ukrainian army tank platoon get warm by a fire beside a bus stop riddled with bullet holes.

(CAROLYN COLE/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS)

Mustangs, Cubs hit the mats

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

The Iola and Humboldt High wrestling teams are hitting the mats to begin their season this week.

Both schools sent wrestlers to the state tournament last season and remain the only two schools with wrestling programs around the Allen County area.

Iola

The Mustangs’ Jason Bates has been at the head of the program for a number of years and has seen all sorts of wrestling come through the school.

A highlight in this year’s squad is a deep roster that features several athletes in the same weight classes.

That depth provides athletes with competitive matchups during practice, Bates said.

“We have quite a few wrestlers who are around the same weight which is beneficial to us because it allows the athletes to have several practice partners,” said Bates.

One drawback is that the Mustangs don’t have enough wrestlers to fill all of the weight classes at a standard meet. Every time a team can’t field a wrestler in a certain weight class, the other team earns points.

Some of the Mustang leaders this season will be Wyatt Westervelt, Korbin Cloud, Xander Sellman and Trapper

Boren. Most were either state placers or state qualifiers a year ago and will help lead this year’s Mustang squad.

“I really want them to hold the team accountable,” Bates said. “We need leaders who aren’t afraid to speak up against behaviors. With wrestling being a one-on-one sport, it builds mental strength, confidence and a good work ethic. There are so many life lessons to it.”

Bates and a cluster of wrestlers meet most mornings to work out in the gym to get their bodies prepared for the beating they could take on the mats.

Bates believes a good practice must mimic what competition is going to look like in a meet.

As to how they’ll fare competitively, Bates said, “It really depends on how hard they work. I know they’ve been putting in the time. We do have quite a few inexperienced wrestlers and it’s a big learning curve from middle school to high school.

“I think their attitudes are right. We have to have an attitude that we’re going to work hard and outwork our opponents.”

The Mustangs begin their season with the Wildcat Duals

Local stars take Grassland Honors

A number of Southern Coffey County and Yates Center High volleyball players were named to the 2022 Grassland All Star Teams.

Lady Titan seniors Josie Weers earned First Team honors while Madeline Spencer took Second Team honors. Senior Ross Snovelle also took Grassland AllStars Honorable Mention for her work at the middle hitter and setter positions.

This is another award for Weers to place on the mantle after she took a number of All-League and All-District honors following her dominant play in the fall.

The senior led her Southern Coffey County squad with 4.9 kills per set and 397 total kills while also leading with one ace serve per set and 80 aces total.

“All three of these girls were amazing this year,” said Southern Coffey County head coach Jeff True. “All three have played club volleyball since their freshman year. They are great team players and leaders for their teammates.”

Spencer was a quality defensive player while lining up at setter and middle hitter. She led the Lady Titans defensively with 1.3 digs per set and 112 total digs while also leading with 361 total assists.

SCC’s

“I have absolutely loved coaching this group for the past four years,” True said.

“We will miss them next year.”

FOR YATES CENTER, Lauren McConaghie was a valuable setter for the Wildcats, leading with 152 assists. Wildcat Kamdyn Trahan was tabbed to the Grassland All-Stars Honorable Mention list for good reason as well.

“Coaching these two is a joy,” said Yates Center head coach Carrie Cummings.

“Always willing to learn and learning that being pushed

out of their comfort zone was how they were going to get better. They are humble, quiet leaders. On and off the floor, great teammates that have everyone’s back. They are hard workers that come in during the summer.”

Trahan led Yates Center with 1.8 kills per set and 109 total kills as well as 17 total blocks. Trahan still has one more year of volleyball left heading into her senior campaign.

“Lauren McConaghie was one of our two setters on varsity, so she ran the offense half of the time for us,” Cummings said. “They are positive teammates that are encouraging to others. They had fun and got excited for their teammates’ successes.”

at Burlington on Friday at 3:15 p.m.

Humboldt

The Cubs return a number of experienced state finishers from last season and will look to be a top dog in the area on the mats again this year.

The black and orange hit the ground running with some quality leaders. Senior Dakota Slocum is state-ranked this year and was a junior state qualifier. Cole Mathes, a sophomore, was a state qualifier a year ago. Junior Lizzy White placed sixth at state last year while senior Elizabeth Melendez was a state qualifier last

year.

“Our strength is going to be our returning upperclassmen,” said Humboldt head coach Kent Goodner. “Each year we keep gaining experience. Our weakness is we have a lot of young wrestlers.”

Wrestling is a popular choice at Humboldt these days, facing off against some of the top teams in the area like Cherryvale and Erie. Goodner hopes that wrestling in so many meets will help sharpen his team’s skills and prepare them for another state push.

Goodner’s practices focus on molding his wrestlers for real competition and getting their bodies in shape for a full winter wrestling slate.

“I always tell the kids to go out and give it their best, leave it on the mat,” Goodner said.

“Don’t give up, give it your all and win or lose, come out on top. I just want to make sure everyone is staying focused, make sure everyone is ready every time they step on the mat.”

Goodner knows the experience of his team can get them back to where they ended last season and finish with even more wrestlers vying for a state title in their weight class.

“Every year, every kid gets better so this year we’ve got more kids coming up and more experience. I had a couple kids miss state by one match so they’ll be fired up.”

Humboldt hits the road to wrestle at Caney Valley on Saturday at 10 a.m.

USA’s Pulisic hopes to face the Netherlands

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Having scored the winning goal for the United States against Iran, Christian Pulisic watched the final minutes from a hospital on a mobile phone.

“They were checking my blood sugar and everything and it was flying through the roof,” the U.S. star recalled Thursday, “but it wasn’t because of anything. It was just me stressed watching the game. But once I got through that and the final whistle blew, I was obviously very happy.”

Pulisic hopes to play against the Netherlands in the round of 16 at the World Cup on Saturday after bruising his pelvic bone when he collided with goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand while scoring in the 38th minute of the Americans’ 1-0 win Tuesday.

“I will do everything in my power to work with this medical team and make sure that I can play,” he said during a news conference, sitting next to teammate Tim Weah.

Pulisic said he took a knee to the pelvic bone and not the genitals.

“It was very painful,” he recalled. “That bone is there for a reason, to protect you, I think, I hit it well. It was sore, but like I said, I’m getting better.”

Pulisic was down on the field for about three minutes before he re-entered the game and finished the first half. He was replaced by Brenden Aaronson at the start of the second half and was taken to Hamad General Hospital, accompanied by athletic trainer Harris Patel.

“This team helps me so much to take the pressure off of me,” Pulisic said. “A couple of years ago, there were times where maybe I felt like I needed to do more. But with these guys I don’t feel that way at all, to be honest. I know they have my back.”

If the U.S. beats the Netherlands, they would reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002 and face Argentina or Australia. Players realize each of their games has been viewed by 10 million to 20 million on U.S. television.

“I hope that they can see just the unity and the team spirit that we display. I hope that what’s helping us gain fans,” Pulisic said.

“You can see all the individual talent — we have guys playing at top clubs across the world, but without the brotherhood, without this family aspect, we wouldn’t be in this position,” he added.

Snovelle notched a team-high 44 total blocks this past season after lining up at middle hitter and setter.

Humboldt’s Dakota Slocum pins down a wrestler in a meet last season. REGISTER FILE PHOTO

Yates Center’s Lauren McConaghie REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Blood

DEAR DR. ROACH:

A good friend of mine experienced what appeared to be a mild heart attack and went to his physician to have it checked out immediately. The tests found acute blockages in the arteries around his heart, and his doctors performed a triple-bypass heart surgery two days later.

My friend came through the procedure just fine, but by the second day, he started quickly going downhill as his doctors struggled to find the cause and stabilize him. He died about five days later, and his wife informed me that he had a severe reaction to the blood thinner that they used during his surgery and

that they were unable to reverse the effect. His wife told me the name of what this is called, but I am unable to recall it. Is this a common problem, and aren’t they able to pretest for this possibility before surgery? — C.E.

ANSWER: I am very sorry to hear about your friend.

This sounds like a case of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). It is not common at all: It is so uncommon that testing for it ahead

The Allen County Appraiser’s O ce is now accepting applications for an APPRAISER CLERK

THE BOURBON COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER

Various Adjunct Instructor Positions

More devices found after embassy blast

MADRID (AP) — Police in Spain detonated a suspicious parcel discovered at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spanish officials said Thursday, a day after a similar package sent to the Ukrainian Embassy ignited upon opening and injured an employee.

“We can confirm a suspicious package was received at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, and are aware of reports of other packages sent to other locations throughout Spain,” the American embassy said in a response to an Associated Press inquiry.

“We are grateful to Spanish law enforcement for their assistance with this matter,” it added.

Spain’s police said the detonated parcel “contained substances similar to those used in pyrotechnics.”

The action followed police reporting that multiple explosive parcels were sent in Spain over the past two days. Police said they were delivered to Spain’s Defense Ministry, a European Union satellite center located at the Torrejón de Ardoz air base outside Madrid and to an arms factory in northeastern Spain that makes grenades sent to Ukraine.

Authorities said a bomb squad also destroyed an explosive device that was dispatched by regular post to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Nov. 24.

Spain’s interior ministry, which is charge of the country’s police forces, said that the envelope intercepted at the American embassy’s security screening point was “of similar characteristics as the previous ones.”

It was then detonated by authorities after a wide area was

cordoned off by Spanish police around the embassy in the center of Spain’s capital.

Spanish authorities have yet to determine who was responsible for the letters or link them to the war in Ukraine.

The Russian Embassy in Madrid on Thursday condemned the letter bombs, saying in a tweet that “any threat or terrorist attack, especially those directed at diplomatic missions, are totally condemnable.”

The package sent to the Ukrainian Embassy was addressed to the country’s ambassador to Spain, Serhii Pohoreltsev. The employee handling it was slightly injured when it burst into flames.

In an interview Wednesday following the blast, ambassador Pohoreltsev told European Pravda, a news website linked to the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper, that the explosion could have been more serious but for the professional behavior of the injured employee.

He said the parcel looked suspicious to the secretary of the ambassador because there was no return address and it did not look like a typical diplomatic post.

“The package contained a box, which caused suspicion to the commandant and he decided to take it outside – with no one in the vicinity – and open it. After opening the box and hearing a click that followed, he tossed it and then heard the explosion,” said the ambassador.

The embassy employee was treated for light wounds on his hand and later returned to work.

Spain’s National Court is investigating the incident as a ter-

rorist act.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba ordered steppedup security at all of Ukraine’s foreign embassies abroad and asked his Spanish counterpart for a fast investigation.

Two further Ukrainian embassies received threatening letters on Wednesday, Kuleba said on the sidelines of a high-level security meeting in Lodz, Poland, on Thursday.

Kuleba added, without giving details, that “other disturbing events took place” on Wednesday, involving “the sending of very concrete threats to Ukrainian embassies.” He declined to specify the embassies in question.

An initial assessment indicated the first five packages were likely sent from within Spain, Secretary of State for Security Rafael Pérez said. Police said all but one of the letter bombs were disposed of.

Pérez said the one intact explosive device was from the air base and that it and its packaging would be part of the investigation.

Officials said that package was sent to the director of the European Union Satellite Center. The center, known as SatCen, is an EU geospatial intelligence body, and its missions include monitoring Ukraine.

“The Spanish authorities were immediately alerted, they safely disabled the parcel and they have started their investigations,” said Nabila Massrali, EU spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

“Nobody has been injured and the situation is under control.”

during surgery causes a fatal reaction

of surgery isn’t recommended unless the person has a history of low platelets (those are the blood-clotting cells) with current or recent use of heparin (an anticoagulant to prevent blood clotting during surgery) in the past. Even small amounts of heparin can lead to this rare complication, and cardiac surgery normally uses large amounts of heparin.

Besides the relative rarity of the diagnosis, the blood tests that could be used to find antibodies to heparin are often negative, even in a person with known or suspected HIT in the past. Yet, they can still get HIT upon re-exposure to heparin. A care-

ful history and review of previous operations is important, but cannot identify everyone at risk for this condition.

Even though the platelet counts are low (“thrombocytopenia” means “too few platelets”), the big problem with HIT is abnormal blood clotting. HIT has a mortality rate of about 20%. In order to treat the condition, it first must be recognized, and that means the surgeons need to carefully monitor platelet counts and, if the counts are going down, to look for any evidence of abnormal blood clotting. Treatment needs to begin even before results of laboratory testing becomes available, and

that means stopping heparin (which is universally used during cardiac surgery, unless a person has a history of this condition) and beginning a different type of anticoagulant, such as argatroban, immediately. Unfortunately, despite best care, people can still die from this condition.

DEAR DR. ROACH: Why is it every time I get my flu shot, I get an outbreak of vaginal herpes? And will taking Valtrex right after the flu shot make the shot not work? — L.S.

ANSWER: Herpes outbreaks, both oral and genital, can be associated with psychological or physical stress. A review of the vaccine

adverse event reporting system shows very few reports of genital herpes following influenza vaccine, so this does not seem to be a common issue.

Valacyclovir (Valtrex) is an antiviral medicine that works uniquely on herpes viruses. It will not affect the flu shot in any way.

The package to Margarita said.

uted humanitarian Ukraine of the invasion.

Robles visiting on Thursday support fense another dle. did details aid, did not give formation forces.

Robles turbing recent no effect backing

but

BY GEORGE DICKIE

If someone on the show wanted to blow you away, what would they do?

I’m always impressed when teams build for not just strength but also for design and for aesthetic. But when they can build a build that’s really strong. Anytime we have a challenge that requires them to build out from a wall and they only have a couple of studs connection, I find that to be super-impressive. We’ve had it a few times where the teams only have six or eight or 10 studs that can connect something to a wall and then they have to build for strength, I always find that crazy impressive.

You know, our first season we had a great challenge where one of the teams had to build these bridges. It was amazing to see how strong they could build them. And this year you know we have two challenges that are pretty cool, one that involves the use of water that was pretty wild to see because it’s not something you see a lot with LEGO. And watching the teams figure that out – really cool.

As someone with a background in improv comedy does hosting this show help keep those muscles limber?

Well, yeah. I mean, we’re lucky that we always have a great idea of where we want to go and cer tain things that we have to do when it comes to the challenges and the tenor, but so much of it is unscripted. And so I’m kind of forced to really just be on my feet talking to these people, these builders and the brickmasters for that matter, because this is a reality competition show so stuf f is just happening in real time. And so things are always just kind of happening and we adjust and we talk and people are upset or they’re laughing or they’re having a great time. And so it is a form of improv kind of all day ever y day that I’m on set.

They moved for a job, but he now works from home

Dear Carolyn: In 2020, my husband and I moved from a state where I was very happy living so that he could take a new job. I had family nearby, a job I loved and a significant network of support. (I am in long-term recov ery from addiction, with 10-plus years clean and sober.)

Mostly because of the pandemic, my husband works from home and has been to the office fewer times than I can count on two hands. We joke that he hasn’t had to wear pants to work for two years now.

All joking aside: I’m miserable where we are, a deeply conservative state. I miss my fam ily, job, friends and the purplish area we lived in. And I really resent that we made this move when he continues to work at home.

I know we couldn’t have predicted a para digm shift in corporate culture. But is it reason able for me to ask that if he’s not going to go back to the office, we move “back home?” I shared my frustration with him once but stopped short of asking or giving him any sort of ultimatum — which I would never do.

— Sullen in the South Sullen in the South: Oh my goodness, just

CRYPTOQUOTES

say you want to move back.

Or at least say things haven’t improved since you voiced your frustra tion and you would like to set aside time to dis cuss long-range plans.

In the meantime, if you’re not doing this already: Live as if you’ll never move back “there.” Every policy made “here” may be against your beliefs, but I won’t accept that every human living “here” is.

Plus, every day we re sign ourselves merely to endure is a day dis carded — and although it’s inevitable that some days will be like that (sickness, grief, general crappiness, term pa pers), it’s a kindness to ourselves to keep those days to an absolute mini mum. Find beauty. Open minds. Create. Look for fellow misfits, their shel tered places, their code words. Even if your stuff’s on a moving van within the month, you’ll be better for whatever efforts you made.

And last but most, congrats on the 10-plus years. That’s brave stuff,

especially under region al duress.

Hi there: About a year ago, my good friend “Annie” introduced me to her friend “Sally.” Sally and I hit it off and started spending one-onone time together.

Recently, Annie told me that Sally has been giving her the cold shoulder for no apparent or stated reason. I have since witnessed Sally’s coldness firsthand.

In our short friend ship, Sally has never been mean to me or spo ken ill of Annie to me. I don’t have any beef with Sally personally, and I enjoy spending time with her.

I’m not sure what I should do. I don’t think I can just be neutral about Sally’s coldness, but it seems equally petty for me to ice her out for it without expla nation. And I also hesi tate to confront Sally directly, because I don’t think their conflict has anything to do with me. Help?

— Switzerland Wan nabe Switzerland Wan nabe: Feelings can change for completely defensible reasons.

We can’t be mean about it, though. Insult ing, ghosting or back stabbing our way out of

expired friendships is gratuitous and cruel.

Witnesses to cruelty have a duty to speak up. Witnesses to back-burn ering do not.

So there’s your an swer: If you witness Sally being cruel, then stand up for Annie in the moment. (“What was that about?”) Otherwise, uncomfortably, it’s for the two of them to work out as you continue your friendships with both.

Wednesday’s Cryptoquote: It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready.

— Sarah Kay

ZITS by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman BEETLE BAILEY by Mort Walker HAGAR THE HORRIBLE by Chris Browne FUNKY WINKERBEAN by Tom Batiuk

BLONDIE by Young and Drake MARVIN by Tom Armstrong HI AND LOIS by Chance Browne

Z K P E Q N L J V M J H H T Z K X N R J O E M I N E T J O S N K K J E S J K E H J B , P I Z V E T J O H Q K Q H X T E J M I N E T J O S N K S H Q N E Q . — H J T E . R Q K K Q E E

Carolyn Hax

Big 12 title game features top tier running backs

FORT WORTH, Texas

(AP) — The body types are certainly different for TCU’s Kendre Miller and Kansas State’s 5-foot-6 dynamo Deuce Vaughn, yet the thirdyear running backs that will be featured in the Big 12 championship game look pretty similar in what they do on the field.

Like Vaughn, the 6-foot, 220-pound Miller can be shifty, elusive and quick. While being nearly 50 pounds lighter, Vaughn can also be hard to tackle and doesn’t shy from contact whether running or blocking. That was on display last week when he bulldozed a Kansas defensive back to spring Malik Knowles for a touchdown.

Miller has rushed for 1,260 yards and 16 touchdowns, running for a score in every game this season for third-ranked TCU (12-0, 9-0 Big 12, No. 3 CFP). His 153 yards six weeks ago against Kansas State included two TDs after halftime for the Horned Frogs, who won 38-28 after overcoming an early 28-10 deficit.

“He’s a physical hard runner that doesn’t come down with arm tackles. We didn’t wrap up well. We have to get more bodies to the ball,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said. “He makes guys miss and runs through arm tackles and drags guys for another 3 yards.”

No. 13 Kansas State

(9-3, 7-2, No. 10 CFP) gets another shot at Miller and the playoff hopeful Frogs on Saturday, when the Wildcats play in their first Big 12 title game since upsetting then-undefeated No. 1 Oklahoma in 2003.

While Vaughn (1,295 yards) and Miller are 3-4 in the Big 12 in rushing yards, both also catch the ball out of the backfield. That has been a bigger part of K-State’s offense since Will Howard took over as the primary quarterback after dual-threat Adrian Martinez got hurt on the opening series against TCU. Vaughn has 25 catches for 274 yards with all three of his receiving TDs since.

“He’s a load trying to tackle him when they hand it do him, but they’ve done a really nice job getting him on linebackers and him running routes. They’ve been really creative in some of the things they’ve done as far as making him a receiver,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “So that’s going to be challenging for us to try to not only stop him carrying football, and also receiving the football.”

Vaughn, the firstteam AP All-American as an all-purpose player last year, ran for 147 yards and had two catches for 82 yards Saturday against Kansas for his league-record fifth career game with at least 70 yards rushing and 70 yards receiving. He is

one of only three players in school history with multiple 1,000-yard seasons — joining Daniel Thomas and Darren Sproles, a similar-sized shifty back who went on to play 183 NFL games with three teams over 14 seasons.

“I’m geeked up right now,” Vaughn said about playing for the Big 12 title. “This is it. This is what you’ve worked for. Because we worked so hard for,

you can’t let off the gas right now.”

Coming out of Cedar Ridge High School in Round Rock, Texas, Vaughn was largely overlooked by most major programs, including those in his home state like TCU.

Miller, from the tiny east Texas town of Mount Enterprise, is TCU’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2016. His 13 consecutive games with a rushing TD is the

Morocco topples Canada, advances

DOHA, Qatar (AP) —

Morocco advanced to the last 16 at the World Cup for just the second time after clinging on for a 2-1 win over Canada on Thursday.

The victory meant it finished top of Group F ahead of 2018 World Cup finalist Croatia and semifinalist Belgium. Croatia went through in second and No. 2-ranked Belgium was surprisingly eliminated after their 0-0 draw.

The Moroccans’ only other trip past the group stage came in 1986.

Hakim Ziyech scored for Morocco in the fourth minute after a bad error by Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan left the winger to shoot the ball into an empty goal. Youssef En-Nesyri added

a second in the 23rd.

It looked then like Morocco would overrun the Canadians.

But Nayef Aguerd’s own-goal just before halftime made it 2-1 and lifted Canada enough for them to put pressure on Morocco in search of an equalizing goal for most of the second half.

Canada came agonizingly close when a header from captain Atiba Hutchinson, who came on as a second-half substitute, bounced off the crossbar and onto the goal-line.

Canada, which will cohost the next World Cup in 2026 with the United States and Mexico, had already been eliminated before the Morocco game. It ultimately lost all three of its games in

Qatar, matching its three defeats at its only other World Cup appearance in 1986.

The Moroccan squad players were already jumping up and down in a huddle near the dugout well before the final whistle and coach Walid Regragui was smiling broadly and gesturing with his arms for them to keep celebrating.

Morocco has swept aside doubts that appointing Regragui less than three months before the World Cup would undermine its chances of reaching the last 16.

Morocco began its Qatar campaign with a morale-boosting draw against Croatia and then beat Belgium 2-0 for arguably its best result in international soccer.

Morocco has now won as many games at this World Cup as in all of its previous appearances at the tournament combined and is on course for its best performance at the tournament. The North African country’s only major international soccer title came at the 1976 African Cup of Nations.

A bad Canadian error gifted Morocco the opening goal at Al Thumama Stadium when Steven Vitoria’s back pass put goalkeeper Borjan under pressure.

But instead of clearing downfield, Borjan inexplicably side-footed the ball gently in the direction of Ziyech, who chipped it first-time back over Borjan and into the unguarded goal.

nation’s longest active streak, and only two shy of the school-record 15 in a row set by NFL Hall of Fame back LaDainian Tomlinson in 2000.

“At first, it wasn’t a big deal,” Miller said. “But now, I mean, I’m right here, so I might as well break it.”

Vaughn and Miller don’t have to do it by themselves for their respective offenses, with plenty of other talented skill players around them.

Kansas State also has a bigger back in DJ Gidden, and Howard can also throw to allaround receiver Malik Knowles (46 catches, 679 yards, three TDs), who also has run for three scores. The Frogs have one of the NFL’s top prospects in receiver Quentin Johnston (49 catches, 764 yards, five TDs), while senior quarterback Max Duggan leads the Big 12 with 3,070 yards and 29 TDs passing.

“It’s a big deal, just having other people to lean on. Our offense is a pretty high-power offense,” Miller said. “Just having dudes like Q and Max who can make plans any time, it’s a really big deal, because as a defense game planning, it’s pretty hard to scheme for us because you don’t know who’s going to make big plays.”

Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn (22) is brought down by TCU safety Namdi Obiazor (4) during the second half of an NCAA football game on Saturday, Oct. 22, in Fort Worth. TNS