The Iola Register, April 1, 2020

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Locally owned since 1867

Coaches adjust to recruiting rules amid coronavirus scare

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Census count efforts take a hit PAGE A2

Earthquake rattles Idaho PAGE A6

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Pandemic won’t deter school project

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

A groundbreaking for the Iola school district’s new elementary school, planned for April, likely will be delayed because of the social distancing rules caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The project itself, though, remains on track, USD 257 board president Dan Willis said.

Construction is considered “an essential function” and likely won’t be affected by the various restrictions related to the coronavirus outbreak.

Much of the work underway now is still related to the planning and design, as the various entities involved prepare for construction. The projects — a new elementary school, a new science and technology building with a cafeteria at Iola High School, and new See SCHOOL | Page A3

Construction of a new Iola Elementary School is expected to begin soon near the intersection of Kentucky and Monroe streets in east Iola. Before that begins, the land must be cleared. A groundbreaking ceremony will be delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. COURTESY OF SJCF ARCHITECTS

Most will get stimulus checks (but we still don’t know when)

By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register

As part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law this weekend, Congress included the provision that Americans will receive a onetime stimulus check.

Who gets a check and for how much?

Eligible adults earning up to $75,000 will receive a check of $1,200. Couples earning up

to $150,000 will receive $2,400.

Eligible families will receive an additional $500 per child - for children under the age of 17 - regardless of income.

If you still claim children who are 17 or older as dependents on your tax return, you will not receive the additional $500 for them. It does not matter whether or not they are employed.

Those making more than $75,000 but less than $99,000 will receive a check, but it will be reduced by $5 for every $100

made over $75,000. For example, if your income is $80,000, your check would be reduced by $250, for a check totaling $950.

As stimulus checks issued through the CARES Act are aimed at helping low- and middle-income persons and families, if you make over $99,000, you will not receive a check.

One exception to this limit is that head of households will receive $1200 if they earn See STIMULUS | Page A3

Governor eases path to COUNTY COMMISSION unemployment benefits Commissioners talk COVID-19 preparation WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly took steps Tuesday to address what she described as hundreds of thousands of calls to the state labor office by making it easier for Kansans to receive unemployment benefits as the number of coronavirus cases in the state continued to grow.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said it had confirmed 428 cases Tuesday, up from 369 a day earlier, and it identified a Kansas City church conference two weeks ago as a point of exposure for multiple people. Johnson County reported a third death from the virus, pushing the state’s total to 10.

Kelly announced Kansas would temporarily waive the one-week waiting period for people to receive unemployment benefits and waive the requirement that they seek employment.

“It’s right that we are working hard on the medial challenges this virus represents, but we also must work on the economic fallout created by

By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register

Displaced workers are asked to file for unemployment benefits at getkansasbenefits. org, instead of filing over the telephone. this disease,” Kelly told reporters.

Unemployment claims have skyrocketed from 1,800 a week at the beginning of the month to 60,000 as of Sunday.

The Kansas Department of Labor has been inundated by roughly 230,000 calls each day, which the governor likened to every resident of Topeka, Lawrence and Emporia calling the agency daily.

Kelly urged people to file See GOVERNOR | Page A5

“We are in uncharted territory,” said commissioner Jerry Daniels to close Tuesday’s meeting, echoing a sentiment that hung over the entire proceeding, not to mention neatly summarizes how most residents are feeling these days.

However, given Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive “stayat-home” order to stem the COVID-19 pandemic, Allen County commissioners said there was little more that the county could do at this stage. “[For the most part,] I think the Governor’s directive took care of any further action from any county,” said Daniels.

“We hope everyone respects that, and tries to stay home,” he added.

When the Sheriff and commissioners were asked about enforcing the governor’s declaration, they also emphasized that this would

Deputies Dathan McMurtery and Seth Pollet screen visitors to the Allen County courthouse Tuesday to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. REGISTER/TREVOR HOAG not curtail peoples’ freedom in any overarching or draconian manner.

“Obviously, if someone’s having a 50-person party, we’ll have them disperse,” said Sheriff Bryan Murphy. But beyond that, he and the commission urged common sense and respect for recommendations from the health department and various agencies.

In terms of the county’s response in the advent of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Allen County, commissioner Bruce Symes said: “We are very very adequately equipped.”

“If and when we did get an active case [of COVID-19] in Allen County,” added Symes, See COUNTY | Page A3

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Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Moran cancels meeting MORAN — The Moran City Council meeting planned for Monday has been canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Several governing bodies have altered their meeting formats because of the health scare.

Iola City Council members will continue to host their regular meetings — the next one is April 13 — but have discouraged public members from

attending, and prohibited public comment during the meeting.

Those with questions or concerns about city managers are encouraged to call City Hall, 365-4900, or reach out via email.

In LaHarpe, the City Council will meet April 8, but only long enough to pay the city’s monthly bills, and adjourn.

LaHarpe, too, has removed the regular public comment session from its agenda.

Police report Iolan arrested twice Iola police officers arrested Christine Beagel, 47, Iola, twice in the span of 13 hours over the weekend.

She first was arrested Friday evening for suspicion of battery, trespassing and disorderly conduct after officers were called to the 200 block of North Washington Avenue.

Beagle then was arrested for suspicion of disorderly conduct Saturday morning at Allen County Hospital.

Items stolen Richard Womelsdorf reported Saturday several items were stolen from his garage in the 600 block of South Fourth Street.

Colony church calls off services because of virus COLONY — Colony Christian Church is calling off church services and other activities until further notice, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

At Sunday’s church service, Pastor Chase Riebel gave the sermon on “God’s Masterpiece.�

We are not perfect, and only God can re-

move the dark stain of sin in our lives to uncover his original masterpiece, Riebel said.

You can view the sermon on the church’s Facebook page, or listen to it at http://www.colonychristianchurch. org. (Ref: Psalm 139:1316, 51:1-13; 1 Corinthians 15:56-57; 1 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 2:10, 4:16 & 22-24; Titus 3:4-7)

Kansas prison system sees first coronavirus TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Three Kansas prison workers have contracted the coronavirus in the first cases reported in the state’s prison system amid an outbreak that has one cash-strapped health system slashing pay.

The Department of Corrections announced Tuesday night in a news release that the three employees at the Lansing Correctional Facility are recovering at home. Residents who had close contact with the workers have been moved to medical isolation where they will be monitored for symptoms. “With a virus that moves and changes as quickly as the coronavirus we anticipated that this day may

come,� said Jeff Zmuda, secretary of the corrections department.

Meanwhile, health care providers in Kansas are facing financial strains as the outbreak leads to an increase in the cost for supplies and a sharp drop in the number of patients seeking routine and non-emergency care.

Topeka-based Stormont Vail Health CEO Robert Kenagy said in a statement Tuesday that cuts in wages are necessary so all staff can continue getting paid. Staff working face-to-face with patients in acute care and emergency settings are exempt from pay cuts. Others will see reductions ranging from 10% to 50%.

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The Iola Register

Pandemic dampens ‘Census Day’

By MICHAEL MACAGNONE CQ-Roll Call

WASHINGTON — Before the coronavirus pandemic, the Census Bureau planned to kick off in-person counting and outreach efforts that are key to the 2020 count on April 1, “Census Day.�

Efforts to stop the spread of the virus scuttled those efforts, pushing a census process already rocked by controversy into unprecedented territory. Vulnerable communities already considered difficult to count — young children, the elderly, rural residents and people of color — face greater risk of being left out of the count, which is used to divvy up congressional representation, more than $1.5 trillion of federal spending and more.

People can still selfrespond to the census questionnaire online, over the phone or by mail, but “everything else is critically affected because everything else requires people to go out and visit,� said University of Chicago professor Colm O’Muircheartaigh. “It was already challenged by the controversy last year of the citizenship question, which I think has damaged trust in a fair number of communities,�

O’Muircheartaigh said. “The hope was that by providing adequate training to (door knockers) and combining that with the campaign by trusted voices would have overcome that initial controversy.�

The Census Bureau uses “Census Day� as the reference for count-

Some of the paper work previously used by census takers. (Boris Yaro/Los Angeles Times/TNS) ing everyone in the country, and planned to use it to start in-person counting and outreach efforts. Over the weekend, the agency announced it postponed all field operations and hiring through at least April 15, after previously delaying them through April 1.

Agency spokesman Michael Cook said staff will “continue to assess the current situation making sure we follow the guidance of national and local public health officials,� and is looking at shaking up its plans in the next few weeks. “The Census Bureau has operational contingencies in place to ensure that when staff and our facilities are affected, the work can still continue to be done to ensure we complete the 2020 census,� Cook said.

The pandemic creates unprecedented challenges for the census, according to former Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt, who oversaw the 2000 count.

Prewitt said prior crises have always been localized. “We have had storms, we have had fires and so on, and the Census Bureau is very good at getting Plan B going when Plan A doesn’t work,� he said. “This is clearly a different game altogether.

They are scrambling, of course, right now.�

If the delays keep the Census Bureau counters in the field until the fall, that could endanger the end-of-year deadline to deliver the state populations for congressional apportionment, Prewitt said.

Cook said the agency still anticipates meeting its December deadline.

It is also comfortable dipping into a $2 billion contingency fund if it needs to hire more staff — potentially beyond the 500,000 planned door-knockers.

The agency also could up its $500 million census advertising campaign.

The coronavirus has already affected census operations directly. Last week, an employee at the agency’s processing plant for paper responses tested positive for the virus, and Cook said the agency has already pulled back on staffing for the facility to implement social distancing.

In the meantime, Cook and others continue to urge the public to respond to the census on their own. By Monday, the self-response rate stood at 34% nationwide.

Cook noted that when a household responds online, it does not require a census worker to be involved at a call center or processing facility.

The agency counts on about 60% of American households to respond, and census watchers have kept a close eye on that number.

A Pew Research survey released Monday showed about two thirds of those polled had heard about the census recently, and 80% said they “definitely will� or “probably will� participate.

Respondents generally didn’t break along partisan lines over the census, said one of the survey’s authors, D’Vera Cohn.

She noted, though, that those numbers dropped among younger adults, black and Hispanic respondents. “There certainly remains a gap in enthusiasm in people who have been harder to count in the past,� Cohn said.

Misunderstandings about the census still exist; more than half of Pew’s respondents incorrectly said the questionnaire will ask about citizenship.

Advocacy groups including the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights and Asian Americans Advancing Justice had counted on being able to directly reach out to people to counter that misinformation. “Mistrust, misunderstanding, and misinformation are the perfect storm for our communities to be undercounted,� AAJC president John Yang told reporters.

More than 250 advocacy groups joined Monday in a pledge to protect census responses. Those are already protected by law, but Yang and other advocates said the public needs extra reassurances.

Could COVID-19 hit again this fall? Yes, but differently

By BAILEY ALDRIDGE McClatchy Washington

wouldn’t be a repeat of the crisis the country is in now, as WASHINGTON — several things Coronavirus likely will would be differmake another appearent. ance in the fall, a top First, the health expert says, but country’s abilit would be a completely ity to “test, idendifferent situation than tify, isolate and the outbreak happening contact trace� now. will have sigDr. Anthony Fauci, nificantly imdirector of the National proved, Fauci Institute of Allergy and says.

Infectious Diseases, And several said Monday during a Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy clinical trials White House Coronaviand Infectious Diseases, delivers remarks on the COVID-19 are underway rus Task Force briefing pandemic in the Rose Garden Sunday. (Stefani Reynolds/CNP/ for potential that he expects COVAbaca Press/TNS) COVID-19 treatID-19 will “strike again� ments, he said in the fall, meaning the McClatchy News re- 2009 peaked twice in the country could be facing ports, meaning it could U.S., according to the in the briefing. He said a second outbreak of the become less aggressive Centers for Disease Con- he hopes at least one of virus. in summer months then trol and Prevention. Af- them will be available by Fauci previously has pick back up in the fall. ter initially peaking in fall.

Additionally, there are said the virus could be But some experts say May and June, a second cyclical, and it’s possi- the novelty of the virus wave of the outbreak multiple vaccine “candible it will come back as makes it difficult to pre- peaked again in late Oc- dates,� one of which is a seasonal illness, Mc- dict how it will respond tober. It wasn’t until Au- “on track.� “So I would anticipate Clatchy News reported. gust 2010 that the World to warmer weather. that, you know, a year to Additionally, studies This wouldn’t be the Health Organization anhave found warmer, hu- first time a virus reap- nounced the pandemic a year and a half, we’d be able to do it under an mid weather could slow peared in the fall. was over. the spread of the virus, On Monday, Fauci cit- emergency use,� Fauci The H1N1 outbreak in ed the ease with which said in the briefing. “If COVID-19 spreads as the we start seeing an effiFriday Today Thursday reasoning behind his cacy signal, we may be prediction it will make a able to even use a vaccine at the next season. comeback in the fall.

If it does, he says it So things are going to be very, very different.�

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The Iola Register

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

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US lays out transition plan for Venezuela, without Maduro MIAMI (AP) — The Trump administration is prepared to lift crippling sanctions on Venezuela in support of a new proposal to form a transitional government requiring both Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó to step aside in favor of a five-person governing council, U.S. officials said.

The one-page “Democratic Transition Framework for Venezuela” was presented Tuesday by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It echoes a proposal made

Juan Guaido

Nicolas Maduro

over the weekend by Guaidó that shows how growing concerns about the coronavirus, which threatens to overwhelm the South American

country’s already collapsed health system and economy, are reviving U.S. attempts to pull the military apart from Maduro.

“This framework can provide a path that ends the suffering and opens the path to a brighter future for Venezuela,” said Pompeo in Washington.

Under the plan, both Maduro and Guaidó, who some 60 countries recognize as Venezuela’s rightful leader, would step aside and cede power to a five-member council of state to govern the country until presidential and parliamentary elections can be held within 6-12 months.

The military high command — the traditional arbiter of political dis-

putes in Venezuela and a key plank of support for Maduro — would remain in place for the duration of the transitional government.

Four of the members would be appointed by the opposition-controlled National Assembly that Guaidó heads.

To draw buy-in from the ruling socialist party, a two-thirds majority would be required. The fifth member, who would serve as interim president until elections are held, would be named by the other council members. Neither Maduro

nor Guaidó would be on the council but Pompeo said Guaidó would be free to run for president when elections are held.

“The hope is that this setup promotes the selection of people who are very broadly respected and known as people who can work with the other side,” U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams told the AP in a preview of the plan. “Even people in the regime look at this and realize Maduro has to go, but the rest of us are being treated well and fairly.”

Stimulus: It’s still a ‘big unknown’ when Americans will get funds Continued from A1

less than $112,500 but no more than $136,500.

All of the above amounts will be based on the adjusted gross income (AGI) listed on your 2019 tax return, or 2018 tax return if you have not filed this year.

You can find your AGI on Line 8b of your Form 1040 (2019), or on Line 7 of your Form 1040 (2018).

If you would like help calculating the amount of your stimulus check, there are several websites that provide the service for free such as OmniCalculator.

If you receive a Social Security check and do not make enough money to require filing a tax return, you will still receive a check for $1,200 as long as you received an SSA-1099 form. The stimulus check will be sent to the same address/account as your Social Security

check.

Contrary to misinformation circulating online and elsewhere, non-resident aliens or workers in the U.S. who do not have a green card are not eligible for stimulus payments.

You will not have to pay taxes of any kind on your stimulus check.

Whatever amount you qualify for, you will receive that amount.

How and when will the checks be delivered?

If you have filed your taxes online (or through a service) and received previous direct deposits, this IRS information will be used to send the check directly to your bank account.

If the IRS does not have your banking information, a paper check will be delivered by mail to whatever home address is listed on your most recent tax forms.

It is not clear at this time if/how Americans who are not required to file a tax return will get a stimulus payment.

A spokesperson for the IRS told WSYR News that those not required by law to file may still want to file a 2018 return now because they may be eligible for various credits and rebates that can only be collected by filing.

Note that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many tax services have temporarily closed altogether, or have closed their lobbies and are only permitting document drop-offs.

The tax deadline this year has been extended to July 15, 2020.

If you would like to provide your banking or mailing information to the IRS, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, “[they] will create a web-based system for people

[where] they can upload [the information] so that they can get the money immediately as opposed to checks in the mail.”

The web address for this system has not yet been posted.

Sunday on “Face the Nation,” Mnuchin said recipients can expect stimulus payments via direct deposit as early as April 16, 2020.

In his words, “[w]e expect that within three weeks, that people who have direct deposit information with us will see those direct deposits into their bank accounts.”

He added that the “number one objective is now delivering to the American workers and American companies the needed money that will put this economy in a position where it gets through the next eight to 10 weeks.”

However, according to irs.gov, “[a]t this time,

County: Talks COVID-19 preparations Continued from A1

“something that has given me confidence throughout this is that the agencies that are involved … they’ve got protocols, and they are right on top of it.”

If there happened to be a local outbreak of COVID-19 in connection with an Allen County entity, such as what is currently occurring at a Burlington nursing home, Daniels said, “I think we’d have to consider doing whatever they needed.”

“If there’s something we can do, I [hope] they’ll come talk to us.”

Daniels also pointed to a statute whereby if a local outbreak occurred, the county, cities and health department are prepared to work in tandem to reach a solution.

“Most of the day, every day,” commissioners said they were working

behind the scenes to address the pandemic and keep Allen countians safe.

AS PART of addressing the pandemic, commissioners voted to continue keeping the courthouse closed until April 19, in accordance with Gov. Kelly’s stay-athome order.

However, they gave county departments the green light to continue making one-on-one appointments with residents, as long as they are absolutely necessary.

“That was what I envisioned from the getgo,” said commissioner Symes.

“If somebody needs to meet with any of our offices here, they call and say ‘I’ll meet you at [whatever time].’ You let them in, go into the office and do the business

that’s needed.”

Commissioners emphasized, however, that many deadlines have been extended, and certain late fees have been waived on items like vehicle registrations. “[Consider] if it’s an essential appointment that you really need to take care of,” emphasized Daniels.

IN OTHER news, work is continuing on the ambulance stations in Humboldt and Moran, but has slowed due to concerns over COVID-19.

For example, the floors are finished in the Humboldt station, but there is concrete work yet to be done in Moran.

Housekeeping is continuing to periodically come to the courthouse to pick up trash, as well as clean and sanitize facilities.

Public Works has been blading and ditching roads along with patching potholes. They are also on the lookout for a new hole-patching machine.

According to Humboldt city administrator Cole Herder, a new patching machine might run the county about $70,000, whereas a used one might run about $50,000.

Commissioners expressed appreciation toward county employees who were continuing to work and fulfill essential functions, despite the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The commission plans to continue meeting at 8:30 on Tuesday mornings.

“We have jobs to do, and we’re going to continue meeting here,” said Daniels.

School: Construction plans proceeding Continued from A1

heating and cooling systems at Iola Middle School — will be let for bids soon.

SJCF Architects, the Wichita firm overseeing the planning and design of the school, is now working remotely.

Construction manager Coonrod & Associates, Wichita, is preparing to let part of the project out for bids.

First up will be demolition of existing build-

ings at the elementary school site at Kentucky and Monroe streets, and of the existing maintenance building at the high school. Asbestos will need to be remediated from buildings at each site. The maintenance building will need remediated from a licensed asbestos contractor, Willis said. Issues include areas including exterior windows with caulk and glazing, caulk on doors and floor tile.

Existing buildings on the elementary school site have fewer problem areas, but asbestos was found in door caulk, window glazing, black roof tar and cement shingles.

“I wouldn’t call the report surprising,” Willis said. “Findings were in line with buildings that were constructed in the 1940s and ’50s.”

Meanwhile, city officials are reviewing a traffic study that was recently completed. Final

recommendations will be made at a later date, Willis said.

THE

ECONOMIC

downturn could result in lower costs, as construction company costs and materials may be more competitive, Willis said.

“So far the building estimates are in line with projections, so we think we’ll be able to accomplish all we wanted to get done,” Willis said.

the IRS does not have any information available yet regarding stimulus or payment checks, which remain under consideration in Congress. Please do not call the IRS about this. When the IRS has more specific details available, we will make it available on [our website].”

Experts also point out that past stimulus initiatives show similar payments taking months, not weeks.

The CARES Act only states that payments are

to be made “as rapidly as possible.”

Rebate checks issued under a new tax cut in 2001 were not sent out by the IRS for six weeks.

Stimulus payments issued in 2008 following the Great Recession took nearly three months after they were approved in Congress to reach consumers.

According to CBS News, as to when Americans will get their stimulus checks: “This is the big unknown.”

Financial Focus Know the Four Uses of Cash It’s important to have cash available for your everyday spending and the inevitable rainy day. However, you also need to develop a cash strategy that can contribute to your long-term financial success. But just how much cash do you need? And in what form?

To answer these questions, it’s useful to look at the four main uses of cash: • Everyday spending – Your everyday spending includes the cash you use for your mortgage, utilities, groceries and so on. As a general guideline, you should have one to two months of living expenses available during your working years, and perhaps a year’s worth of living expenses when you’re retired. (The latter can be adjusted higher or lower based on your income from Social Security or a pension.) You’ll need instant access to this money – and you need to know your principal is protected – so it may be a good idea to keep the funds in a checking or cash management account.

• Unexpected expenses and emergencies – If you needed a major car repair or a new furnace, or if you incurred a big bill from a doctor or dentist, would you be able to handle the cost? You could – if you've set up an emergency fund. During your working years, this fund should be big enough to cover three to six months of living expenses; when you’re retired, you may be able to get by with one to three months’ worth of expenses, assuming you have additional sources of available cash.

You’ll want your emergency fund to be held in liquid vehicles that protect your principal, such as savings or money market accounts or short-term certificates of deposit (CDs).

• Specific short-term savings goal(s) – At various points in your life, you may have a specific goal – a new car, vacation, wedding, etc. – that you’d like to reach within a year or two. Your first step is to identify how much money you’ll need, so think about all the factors affecting the final cost. Next, you’ll need to choose an appropriate savings vehicle. You could simply put more money in the accounts you use for everyday cash, or even in your emergency fund, but you would run the risk of dipping into either of these pools. Instead, consider opening a separate account – and tell yourself this money is for one purpose only.

• Source of investment – You can use cash in two ways as part of your overall investment strategy. First, cash can be considered part of the fixed-income allocation of your portfolio (i.e., bonds and CDs). Because cash behaves differently from other asset classes – such as stocks and bonds – it can help diversify your holdings, and the more diversified you are, the less impact market volatility may have on your portfolio. (However, diversification can’t guarantee a profit or protect against all losses.) The second benefit of cash, in terms of investing, is it’s there for you to purchase a new investment or to add more shares in an existing investment. In any case, you probably don’t want to be too cash heavy, so you might want to keep no more than 10% of your fixed-income assets in cash.

As you can see, cash can be valuable in several ways – so use it wisely.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

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Opinion The Iola Register

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Living in rural Kansas reveals stark disparities regarding healthcare As the new coronavirus spreads, it has exposed a variety of societal vulnerabilities. For example, giant cities have seen how their long-touted lifestyle — packing more and more people into less and less space — can endanger public health.

Those in more rural settings shouldn’t feel smug, however. Those sprinkled among the countryside of Kansas are in some ways even less prepared than those in urban areas. The lack of hospital facilities and emergency services is the first gap that comes to mind.

But there’s another shortcoming, one that has been highlighted for years and will only make this experience more difficult. That’s the lack of broadband internet access.

How might that make this current crisis worse?

There are several ways.

First, with schools across the state closed, educators are moving their classes online. Students in rural areas were already disadvantaged without broadband, but if education itself is primarily dispensed online, where does this leave them?

That’s not all. Routine doctor’s visits are shifting toward telemedicine, which is perhaps ill-named. It’s more accurately described as video-conferencing medicine. Again, without the support of broadband internet, online meetings with your doctor will be all but impossible for rural folks.

And with rural hospitals

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dwindling, that access was already precarious to begin with.

Finally, this is a rapidly changing, historical event.

Yet because of social distancing requirements, we are largely experiencing it alone. Social media and other online tools can bring us closer together, if only virtually. Again, lack of broadband makes that challenging.

So what’s the answer? The Legislature has repeatedly talked about this problem, but we haven’t seen decisive action yet.

Internet providers, which are interested in making a profit, don’t see a sustainable business in the miles upon miles of fields and tiny towns of rural Kansas.

ONCE THIS CRISIS passes — and it will pass — lawmakers will need to solve this problem once and for all. Do providers need incentives? Will some sort of public-private partnership need to be created? Surely the problem has solutions, if all sides work toward them in good faith.

What’s unacceptable is seeing rural areas once again being left behind during a time of great social change. These communities, and these residents, are no more or less Kansans than the rest of us.

They deserve access to the same utility services — and that’s what broadband internet is, make no mistake — as the rest of us.

— Topeka Capital-Journal

news@iolaregister.com

Religious leaders are endangering their flocks More than 550 parishioners packed Sunday service at the Life Tabernacle Church in the Louisiana town of Central. Megachurches in Ohio and Florida also reported their halls teeming with congregants. In Virginia, Liberty University last week welcomed back from spring break some 1,900 of students to its Lynchburg campus. These foolhardy, irresponsible decisions endanger not just those who attended the church services or resumed their college studies but untold others who now run the risk of the novel coronavirus being passed on to them and their families.

Efforts to stop the spread of the highly contagious disease, which medical experts warn could kill 100,000 to 200,000 Americans, have prompted a reordering of public life.

Schools, businesses and local governments have shut as growing numbers of officials — as well as much of the public — take to heart the advice of public health professionals about avoiding gatherings

and practicing social isolation.

Unfortunately, some don’t believe the scientific evidence or don’t think it applies to them. “It’s not a concern,” the pastor at Life Tabernacle Church said of the chance of infection. “The virus, we believe, is politically motivated.

We hold our religious rights dear, and we are going to assemble no matter what someone says.” Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., who has blamed the media for hyping the threat of covid-19 to damage President Trump, framed his decision to reopen the evangelical college as a favor for students.

“I think we have a responsibility to our students — who paid to be here, who want to be here, who love it here — to give them the ability to be with their friends, to continue their studies, enjoy the room and board they’ve already paid for and to not interrupt their college life,” he told the (Lynchburg) News & Advance.

More on point was a student who told the New York Times: “I’m not allowed to talk to you because I’m an employee here . . . we need help to go home.” Or that of a Liberty parent who wrote on Twitter “I’m as right wing as they get, bud. But as a parent of three of your students, I think this is crazy, irresponsible.” The Times on Monday reported that about a dozen students “were sick with symptoms that suggested covid-19.” Mr. Falwell disputed the numbers, but his rebuttal included disclosure about a student “from an out-of-state county with a high number of cases who was running a fever and had a cough. He was tested and advised to self-isolate pending the results. He elected to return to his permanent residence instead.”

Most people are doing their best to follow the rules — in most churches, colleges and everywhere else. They shouldn’t be put at risk by the reckless actions of a few.

— The Washington Post

Try to find a little beauty in each day a helpful exercise On Monday night, I spent an hour staring at my laptop screen. My goal was to find a column idea that was not related to the coronavirus update.

I eventually just shut my laptop and went to bed.

So on Tuesday morning (deadline day), I loaded my laptop into my backpack, prepped a food bag with lunch and snacks for a 12-16 hour workday, put in my ear buds and hit “shuffle” on my workout playlist, and hiked to the office.

“Beautiful Day” by U2 came up first. As I looked around, I realized it was, indeed, a beautiful day.

That doesn’t mean the day wasn’t hard for me or you or thousands of other humans.

Right now, every day feels hard in its own way.

Travis Mounts TimesSentinel Newspapers That was one of my struggles Monday night as I stared at my computer screen. I so desperately wanted to write something positive and uplifting. We all need that right now.

However, I didn’t want to write something that didn’t feel truthful and honest.

And truthfully, there is a lot to worry about right now.

Businesses — if they’re still open — are hurting. That includes our business. Newspapers might be an essential business, but that does mean

we’re not we’re not being hit hard. Our livelihood is tied directly to the livelihood of other businesses.

But honestly, there are things to be positive about.

Personally, I’m still healthy, as are my kids and the rest of my family. I’m still working and getting paid, and I still have a roof over my head.

My financial concerns are still out in the future, although how far into the future is unknown. I know who are already on their second week of being without a job.

Their worries are as immediate as it can gets.

A college buddy, Tim, called me from Los Angeles on Monday evening. We have one of those relationships where we’re close, but we don’t necessarily talk very frequently.

When I saw him last October,

it was the first time we’d been together in about 25 years. He just wanted to know if I was OK, and that call made my night.

I went to bed knowing I’m loved. That feeling can carry you through many difficulties. I climbed out of bed Tuesday morning and staggered into the shower, comforted by the many people and blessings I have in my life.

There are many amazing things happening now, some in spite of our challenges and some because of it. They are small and beautiful. Family get-togethers on Zoom, chalk art on the sidewalks, students playing music and singing outside, kind words delivered via social media and phone calls, fundraisers to help servers and bartenders and others without work.

Bad times bring out the best in so many people. Folks are rediscovering the pleasures of family time and being at home.

There are lots of positives if you look for them. It can be hard to that, especially when reality crashes into your life and upends the things you know.

And yet, there is beauty to be seen if you can shake the weight off your shoulders and lift up your head.

As my buddy Bono told me Tuesday morning on my walk to work, “It’s a beautiful day.

Don’t let it get away. It’s a beautiful day.”

Travis Mounts is managing editor of Times-Sentinel Newspapers in Cheney and president of the Kansas Press Association.

How to contact USD 257’s elected officials

Jennifer Coltrane Email: jennifer.coltrane@ usd257.org

Doug Dunlap Email: doug.dunlap@usd257. org

Jerad Larkey Email: jerad.larkey@usd257. org

Tony Leavitt Email: tony.leavitt@usd257. org

Jennifer Taylor Email: jennifer.taylor@ usd257.org

Nancy Toland Email: nancy.toland@usd257. org

Dan Willis Email: dan.willis@usd257.org

iolaregister.com

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

The Iola Register

A5

Trump: Country is in store for ‘hell of a bad two weeks’

Birx said the experiences of Washington state and California give her hope that other states can keep the coronavirus under control through social distancing. That’s because they moved quickly to contain the early clusters of coronavirus by closing schools, urging people to work from home, banning large gatherings and taking other measures now familiar to most Americans, she noted.

Trump said he would also ask Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to allow the docking of two cruise ships with passengers who have had contact with patients suffering from COVID-19. Passengers are anxious to disembark once they reach Florida, but DeSantis said the state’s health care resources are already stretched too thin to take on a ship’s coronavirus caseload.

“They’re dying on the ship,” Trump said. “I’m going to do what’s right, not only for us for but humanity.”

Trump also said he planned to curtail his travel for the month ahead and stay close to the White House to safeguard his health. The president hasn’t held one of his signature bigstadium rallies since early March.

“I think it’s important that I remain healthy. I really do,” Trump said.

“So for the most part we’re staying here.”

White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Ambassador Deborah Birx participates in a news briefing with members of the Coronavirus Task Force at the White House Tuesday. SIPA USA/POOL/CHRIS KLEPONIS/TNS on Wednesday. “But we’re gonna give them the best possible guidance we can, and that’s to stay at home and to social distance.”

“This is going to be one of the roughest two or three weeks we’ve ever had in our country,” Trump said. “We’re going to lose thousands of people.”

The jaw-dropping projections were laid out during a grim, two-hour White House briefing.

Officials described a death toll that in a bestcase scenario would likely be greater than the more than 53,000 American lives lost during World War I. And the model’s high end neared the realm of possibility that Americans lost to the virus could approach the 291,000 Americans killed on the battlefield during World War II. “There’s no magic bullet,” Birx said.

“There’s no magic vaccine or therapy. It’s just behaviors. Each of our behaviors, translating into something that changes the course of this viral pandemic.”

Fauci called the numbers “sobering” and urged Americans to “step on the accelerator” with their collective mitigation efforts.

“We are continuing to see things go up,” Fauci said. “We cannot be discouraged by that

because the mitigation is actually working and will work.”

Birx said pandemic forecasts initially predicted 1.5 million to 2.2 million deaths in the U.S. But that was a worst-case scenario, without efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus through social distancing. She added that states that have not yet seen a spike in cases as New York has could take action to flatten the curve of rising hospitalizations and deaths.

It’s not only social distancing that could make a difference but also the frantic efforts by hospitals around the country to prepare for an onslaught of seriously ill patients. The better prepared hospitals are, the greater the chances of lives being saved.

There’s also a wild card when it comes to treatment: whether the experimental drug combination Trump has touted — a medicine for malaria and an antibiotic — will actually make a difference. That combination is already being used on thousands of patients, and Fauci said he would want to see a rigorous test of its effectiveness.

Trump’s comments came after he announced Sunday that he was extending to April 30 the social distancing guidelines that advise

Americans to cease large gatherings, work from home, suspend onsite learning at schools and more in a nationwide effort to stem the spread of the virus.

Adams said that some areas of the country would likely need to maintain those restrictions into May. “Well, it will be for some places, it won’t be for others, depending on where they are on their curve,” he told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

It was an abrupt reversal for the Republican president, who spent much of last week targeting April 12 as the day he wanted to see Americans “pack the pews” for Easter Sunday services.

Trump called the data “very sobering,” saying it was his understanding that 100,000 deaths was a minimum that would be difficult to avoid. He also sought to rewrite his past minimization of the outbreak, saying he rejected those who compared the new coronavirus to the flu when in fact he repeatedly did so publicly.

“This could be hell of a bad two weeks,’” Trump said. He added: “You know 100,000 is, according to modeling, a very low number. In fact, when I first saw the number ... they said it was unlikely you’ll be able to attain that. We have to see but I think

we’re doing better than that.”

Trump played down concerns from New York’s Andrew Cuomo and other governors that their states’ hospitals don’t have enough ventilators to treat an anticipated crush of patients. Trump said the federal government currently has a stockpile of 10,000 ventilators that it plans on distributing as needed.

“Now, when the surge occurs, if it occurs fairly evenly, we’ll be able to distribute them very quickly before they need them,” Trump said. “But we want to have a reserve right now. It’s like having oil reserves.”

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WA S H I N G T O N (AP) — President Donald Trump warned Americans to brace for a “hell of a bad two weeks” ahead as the White House projected there could be 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus pandemic even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained.

Public health officials stressed Tuesday that the number could be less if people across the country bear down on keeping their distance from one another.

“We really believe we can do a lot better than that,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force. That would require all Americans to take seriously their role in preventing the spread of disease, she said.

Added Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, “This is a number that we need to anticipate, but we don’t necessarily have to accept it as being inevitable.”

Trump called it “a matter of life and death” for Americans to heed his administration’s guidelines and predicted the country would soon see a “light at the end of the tunnel” in a pandemic that in the United States has infected about 190,000 people and killed more than 4,000, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

“I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead,” Trump said.

The White House figures assume that Americans follow the rigorous social-distancing guidelines set out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the stricter “stay at home” restrictions set by many governors across the country. Still, the White House was not looking at a nationwide order.

“We live in a nation that has a system of federalism, and the governors get to make the decisions,” Dr. Jerome Adams, the surgeon general, told NBC’s “Today”

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online, noting the department got 877,000 calls on Monday.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

The state health department identified a church conference in Kansas City, Kansas, as a place of exposure for at least seven people who have tested positive for COVID-19. The agency continues to investigate and said people who attended the Kansas East Jurisdiction’s 2020 Ministers and Workers Conference at the Miracle Temple Church of Christ from March 16 to March 22 may have been exposed to the virus.

Melody Thuston, a spokewoman for the

Kansas East Jurisdiction, said in a statement that organizers were made aware while concluding the conference that two people had tested positive for the coronavirus. She said attending members were notified and urged to self-quarantine, contact their physicians and comply with federal heath protocols if they experienced symptoms.

She said the organization ensured throughout the meeting that it adhered to all county and state government regulations.

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, issued a statement urging anyone who attended the conference and develops symptoms of COVID-19 stay home and report their symptoms.

Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell is asking the the commission on Wednesday to strip abortion clinics from

the list of “essential” businesses that can stay open during the pandemic, thus shuttering the Trust Women Wichita Clinic, The Wichita Eagle reported.

Julie Burkhart, founder and CEO of the clinic, called the proposal “unethical” and “unconscionable.”

O’Donnell presented the proposal even as federal judges temporarily blocked similar efforts in other states. He said women have been traveling to the Wichita clinic from out of state after the governor in neighboring Oklahoma issued a stay-at-home order last week that effectively bans most abortions.

The Kansas Supreme Court last year declared access to abortion a “fundamental” right under the state constitution, and Kelly said Tuesday that women’s reproductive centers are considered a health care facility and therefore essential.

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6.5 quake rattles Boise, Idaho Pastors ignore social distancing; services continue

By CHADD CRIPE The Idaho Statesman

BOISE, Idaho — An earthquake shook the Boise area late Tuesday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The shaking was reported to last for 20 to 30 seconds, with a small pause.

U.S. Geological Survey pegged the earthquake at 6.5 magnitude with an epicenter in the mountains northwest of Stanley. The epicenter was about 28 miles west of Challis, the National Weather Service said.

There were at least five aftershocks.

Stanley Mayor Steve Botti said as of 6:15 p.m. he hadn’t seen any damage in his town yet.

“Stuff was flying all over the place,” Botti said. “I was upstairs and I tried to walk down the steps and I couldn’t because it was shaking too much.” According to the Idaho Statesman archive, the 6.5 magnitude would be the second-largest earthquake in Idaho history if it stands (the number often is adjusted with more information). The Borah Peak earthquake, which was a magnitude 6.9, killed two people in Challis near the quake’s epicenter. The secondlargest is a three-way tie at 5.8 from 1983-84.

The five strongest previous Idaho earthquakes were all in the

By JAWEED KALEEM Los Angeles Times

Downtown Boise, Idaho, in March 2019. A 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook the Boise area on Tuesday. Brendan Kiley/The Seattle Times/TNS Challis area.

Expect more earthquakes in the days to come, USGS says.

There’s a 99% chance of aftershocks of magnitude 3 or higher and a 48% chance of a magnitude 5 quake or higher, its forecast says.

“Our first responders are out doing building checks downtown.

We’ve already done a scan of all of our public works facilities and they all look good,” Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said.

Idaho resident Anna Eberlin sent the Idaho Statesman a photo of a mirror that crashed in her house.

“A large mirror fell off our wall and shattered,” she said. “It scared my kids and me half to death. Everyone is OK after some tears and nervous excitement

We are your

INSULATION HEADQUARTERS

about their first earthquake.”

Typically Idaho earthquakes tend to occur in the central and southeast parts of the state. Recently, a swarm of low-magnitude quakes rumbled across Southern Idaho and parts of Utah and California. Idaho’s last strong earthquake was in 1983.

Two earthquakes rattled the Boise area in the mid-1940s, according to the Idaho Geological Survey. Another in 1916 “wrecked several brick chimneys at Boise and sent residents rushing into the street.”

There were immediate reports that the earthquake was felt in Coeur d’Alene, Twin Falls and Hailey in Idaho; Spokane, Wash.; Utah; and Missoula and Bozeman, Mont.

“I am from Florida and we have always had hurricanes growing up, but I had never been in an earthquake,” Kurt Wisehart of Boise said. “This was the first time for me, which is why I walked out ‘cause this is weird. Like, what’s everyone do?” Zach

Borman of Meridian said he and his wife experienced nausea after the quake.

“Felt a bit longer than a minute,” Borman said. “While minding our social-distancing business, the house started a low rumbling. I assumed it was a heavy wind, or some sort of issue with our air conditioning, but my wife and the dogs were both reacting to it and it just kept going.

My first thought when I realized it was probably an earthquake was: ‘Wow. More stacked on top (of the coronavirus pandemic)? Way to add insult to injury.’”

Savannah Brehmer, spokeswoman for FEMA Region 10, which includes Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, said you should not attempt to run outside or hide in a doorway during an earthquake.

“Dropping, covering and holding on is the best action to take as soon as you realize an earthquake has hit,” Brehmer said. “That’s what’s going to keep your most precious organs safe from potential injury.”

Spring break trip to Cabo turns south Stay out of the RED on your heating & cooling bills!

By MARK WILSON and LARA KORTE Austin AmericanStatesman

Let us help you stay in the PINK!

AUSTIN, Texas — Twenty-eight University of Texas students who returned to Austin from a spring break trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, have tested

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positive for the coronavirus, UT officials say.

Dozens more are being monitored.

Austin Public Health officials said Tuesday a group of about 70 people in their 20s took a chartered plane to and from Mexico about 10 days ago. Some flew back on commercial flights. Four of those who tested positive showed no symptoms. In addition to the 28 who tested positive, a university spokesman said it is believed many in the larger group were UT students.

Austin Public Health, UT Health Austin and University Health Services have made contact with every spring breaker on board the charter plane and are in the process of tracing the commercial flights’ other passengers. The 28 confirmed cases are self-isolating, and others are under quarantine while being monitored and tested, Austin Public Health said.

In total, UT says it is aware of 38 students and seven faculty members who have tested positive for coronavirus, are presumed positive or self-reported.

nati, has continued to meet despite harsh criticism from locals.

Legal experts say that At any other time, in a predominantly while religious groups Christian nation that generally have wide enshrines freedom of latitude to worship unworship in the Consti- der the First Amendtution, the news would ment and state-by-state sound absurd or terri- religious freedom laws, fying: “Pastor arrested rules shutting down after holding church worship are legally sound if they apply services.”

But that’s what hap- across-the-board to all pened this week when types of group meetsheriff ’s deputies hand- ings.

The loudest protests cuffed a Florida minister for violating munici- have come from conserpal stay-at-home orders vative Christian voices.

R.R. Reno, editor of by gathering hundreds First Things, a promito worship. conservative Police said the min- nent ister, the Rev. Rodney Christian magazine, recently said in an article Howardthat politicians have Brown been correct to put forth of the “stern measures to slow River at the spread of the viTampa rus.” But he added that B a y , churches should stay showed open. “reck“When we worship, less disRev. Rodney we join the Christian reregard Howard-Brown bellion against the false for hulordship of the princim a n life” by potentially ex- palities and powers that posing his congregants claim to rule our lives, including sickness and to the coronavirus.

Brown, now out on death,” Reno wrote this bail, has complained of month.

Scott Thumma, a so“religious bigotry.” The church maintains that ciology and religion the right to assemble in professor at Hartford worship is a fundamen- Seminary, said, “Those tal freedom that cannot that are continuing to be abridged even in an have services are most emergency, and cites likely to be those who early American reli- subscribe to prosperity gious dissidents, includ- gospel beliefs that claim ing Baptists and Quak- God will protect them ers, as examples of the from adversity or are religious persecution pitting their claims of that the nation’s found- religious freedom over ers would have found against the welfare of those they would like intolerable.

The coronavirus to evangelize. I would pandemic — along say that this percentage of large with federal churches guidelines h a v i n g advising When we wor- service is against large g a t h e r i n g s ship, we join the r o u g h l y and state or- Christian rebel- the same as smaller conders shutting lion against the g r e g a t i o n s down none s s e n t i a l false lordship of who are still services — the principalities meeting, at has spurred and powers that least according to the most houses claim to rule our few recently of worship released to go online. lives ... polls and But several — R.R. Reno, surveys.” megachurcheditor of ChrisThumma es have retian magazine added that volted, pit“ m e g a ting public churches health concerns against claims and other large churchof religious freedom es are the most well and competing views prepared to adapt to on what to do amid tu- the present situation. mult. Some religious They have the technileaders maintain that cal expertise, cameras it is precisely in times and other technology, a of despair and disorder system of small group that the faithful need to ministry, and a wellestablished online givcongregate.

In Louisiana, police ing program.” That’s issued a summons Tues- something many small day to the pastor of Life churches lack.

The Rev. Jim Martin, Tabernacle Church in Central, La., near Ba- a Jesuit priest and editon Rouge, after he held tor at large for the Cathservices for 1,200 people olic magazine America, violation of state limits. suggested that conser“Never been more vative religious groups proud to be persecuted that continued to meet for the faith like my sav- in large numbers were ior,” the Rev. Tony Spell hypocritical.

“I’m stunned by shot back.

While more than half church leaders who reof Americans are under ject the most basic adorders to stay at home, vice from public health states have approached officials during a panreligious groups in dif- demic,” he said in an interview. “It’s just plain ferent ways.

In Ohio, a shutdown old stupidity, of the type order exempts religious that puts people’s lives gatherings. The same in danger. As such, it’s goes for Pennsylvania anti-life. The next time and New York, though any of these groups both states have strong- calls themselves proly discouraged worship life, we need to remind centers from opening. ourselves about these deciOne Ohio megachurch, death-dealing Solid Rock near Cincin- sions.”

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The Iola Register

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Allen Community College: Men’s Basketball

NFL:

Playoffs expand to 14 teams

By BARRY WILNER The Associated Press

Shaw talks recruiting Allen Community College head men’s basketball coach Andy Shaw. REGISTER/ERICK MITCHELL

By ERICK MITCHELL The Iola Register

As of March 13 the NCAA canceled all on-campus recruiting visits for Division I universities, a decision that continued to trickle down to the NAIA and NJCAA. At the moment, Allen Community College head basketball coach Andy Shaw is making pitches to future Red Devils without them stepping a foot on cam-

pus.

While the measures make matters more difficult, Shaw is not in unfamiliar territory.

Last year, Shaw recruited forward Malik Hardmon, who earned All-Conference and All-Region honors, and Joel Boyce, an All-Conference guard, with them never stepping foot on campus before arriving in Iola last summer.

Already in the early stages of this unprecedented recruit-

ing season, the Red Devils are continuing to make some noise.

“We had a good week last week,” Shaw said. “We signed two guys, a point guard from Louisiana and a transfer from Northwest Tech. But it has made things different for sure. Right now would be the time where most state tournaments would be over, and kids would be looking to start making decisions. But, we can’t

have those kids on campus and go the traditional route any more.”

Georgia native Ian Hardy will be joining the Red Devils out of Northwest Tech. The 6-5 combo guard averaged 14.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest. With ACC losing its two leading scorers in Hardmon and Boyce, Shaw will be depending on Hardy for scorSee ACC | Page B5

NBA: Esports

League stars to compete in NBA 2k20 video game tournament NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant and Trae Young will lead a 16-player field of NBA players in an NBA 2K20 tournament airing on ESPN. The NBA, the players’ association and 2K announced the NBA 2K Players Tournament on Tuesday. Play begins Friday, and the winner of the week-long competition will receive a $100,000 donation to a coronavirus-related relief ef-

fort of their choice.

Player have been seeded according to their NBA 2K player rating — from Durant’s 96 down to Derrick Jones Jr.’s 78 — and tenure. Durant, the Brooklyn Nets star who sat out this NBA season due to injury, will face Jones in the first game Friday night. Other matches will air on ESPN2.

The championship is set for April 11.

Participants will each select a pool of eight teams prior to the tournament and can only play with each club once throughout the tournament.

Rounds one and two will be single elimination, and the semifinals and finals will be best-of-three.

The other matchups include Young vs. Harrison Barnes, Hassan Whiteside vs. Pat Beverley, Donovan Mitchel

vs. Rui Hachimura, Devin Booker vs. Michael Porter Jr., Andre Drummond vs. DeMarcus Cousins, Zach LaVine vs.

Deandre Ayton and Montrezl Harrell vs. Domantas Sabonis.

The NBA has been shut down since March 11, the night that Utah center Rudy Gobert became the first player in the league to have a positive diagnosis for the virus revealed.

The NFL is gearing up for a normal season and playoffs — with two additional wild-card teams in the Super Bowl chase.

NFL team owners voted Tuesday to expand the playoffs by one team in each conference for a total of 14 next season as they continue to plan for the 2020 season to begin on time.

During a conference call to discuss league business after the annual meetings were canceled due to the new coronavirus, the owners also awarded one of those extra games to CBS and one to NBC. Threefourths of the 32 owners needed to approve the change, and the vote was unanimous, football operations chief Troy Vincent said.

As for opening the season on Sept. 10 as scheduled, NFL lead counsel Jeff Pash said: “All of our focus has been on a normal traditional season, starting on time, playing before fans in our regular stadiums and going through our full 16-game regular season and a full playoffs.”

That would include the two stadiums still under construction in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, plus international games in England and Mexico.

“I expect that international games will be part of our schedule for this year,” Pash added. “We’re optimistic just as we expect conditions in the United States to permit playing a full season that that will be the case for our international partners as well. Obviously, that’s something that we’ll have to work closely with the authorities, public health and other government authorities in those other countries to See PLAYOFFS | Page B6

MLB: Seattle Mariners

Pitchers preparing for all options post COVID-19 SEATTLE (AP) — Even with major leaguers likely to receive some semblance of another spring training to get ready, teams are going to have to be creative with how they handle starting pitchers whenever baseball returns.

The last thing anyone wants is arm problems to arise almost immediately after baseball restarts — whenever that ends up being because of coronavirus outbreak.

“Possibly having a six-man rotation or something along those lines. Maybe a piggyback situation for us just those first couple outings,” Seattle left-hander Marco Gonzales said during a conference call on Tuesday.

Gonzales was slated to be the Mariners’ starter on opening day.

“Maybe we go three or four innings for the starters. And that’s who this affects most really is starting pitchers.

Maybe we have a piggyback

situation or something along those lines. Like I said, those are things we need to get creative with,” he said.

No one knows when baseball will start again after being derailed by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Players want to play as many games as possible — even into November and December possibly — without risking their health.

For pitchers, and specifically starters, the unknowns can be unnerving. After weeks in Arizona and Florida of building up arm strength pointed toward the start of the regular season, they’re back into offseason mode trying not to lose all that was gained during spring training.

“I think that as starting pitchers — I’m speaking for myself and probably a bunch of other guys on the team — we’re doing everything we can to maintain kind of where we were, getting our up-and-downs and our pitch

counts and all of that,” Chicago White Sox All-Star Lucas Giolito said.

“Despite limited resources, we’re able to pick up a ball and throw it and change intensities and measure it out,” he said. “I think when it does come time for us to play again, we’ve already been communicating pretty much on a weekly basis with our coaching staff and training staff and everything like that. We’ll just kind of pick it up and kind of gauge where guys are at and make decisions from there.”

Gonzales said he’s viewing this stretch as though it’s the December portion of his offseason throwing program.

He’s been trying to find empty fields near his home in Seattle to go throw on occasion with a teammate, but it’s mostly been limited to just long toss.

Still, between the limited throwing and having a home See MLB | Page B6

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Marco Gonzales works against the Detroit Tigers at Safeco Field in Seattle on July 5, 2018.

DEAN RUTZ/SEATTLE TIMES/TNS

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Wall Street donors forgo political contributions during pandemic

By BILL ALLISON, MISYRLENA EGKOLFOPOULOU AND TOM MALONEY Bloomberg News

WASHINGTON — Big donors to U.S. presidential campaigns are feeling the economic pinch from the coronavirus pandemic and holding on to their money just when the candidates — especially Democratic front-runner Joe Biden — need it most.

With stocks falling, businesses shrinking and unemployment soaring, donors of all sizes are feeling the effects.

Billionaires counted on to fuel super PAC spending have seen their net worth plummet by anywhere from 10% to as much as 75%.

“There’s no question fundraising is going to be hurt,” said investor and Biden supporter Bernard Schwartz.

“Biden has to do the best he can with what he has.”

The crunch comes at a particularly bad time for Biden, who was looking to capitalize on his wins in the March primaries as a selling point to donors. Since entering the race almost a year ago, the former vice president has lagged in fundraising, trailing his top Democratic rivals as well as President Donald Trump.

The $88 million he took in through February trails not only rival Bernie Sanders’s $169 million but is also less than former candidates Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg raised.

Biden ended February with $12.1 million in the bank compared to $94.4 million for Trump.

Trump and the Republican National Committee have together raised $607 million for his reelection and are sitting on $225 million in cash at the end of February.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment about fundraising during the shutdown.

Biden has relied heavily on in-person fundraising events and has yet to build the large base of donors who give smaller amounts of money online. Biden gets just 38% of his money from individuals who gave $200 or less, compared to 58% for Sanders and 53% for Trump, Federal Election Commission data shows.

“Between the global economy, between the stock market that is

Former Vice President Joe Biden holds a virtual campaign event on March 13, in Chicago. The scheduled in-person Illinois campaign event was changed to a virtual event because of fears of COVID-19. SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES/TNS super confused right now, between running a small company and a small business, yes, I’m standing back,” Democratic donor Erika Karp, founder and chief executive officer of Cornerstone Capital Group, said about making political contributions at the moment. “There’s not a moment that goes by where everyone is not thinking about coronavirus.”

One of Biden’s Wall Street bundlers, who requested anonymity because he’s not authorized to speak for the campaign, said politics is a low priority right now, and he has no events, not even virtual ones, planned for Biden.

As the presumptive Democratic nominee, Biden should be raking in donations now in preparation for the convention and the general election to follow. At the end of February 2016, Hillary Clinton had raised $160 million for her campaign, and had $31 million in the bank.

Biden said he had raised $33 million in the first half of March, already topping his best monthly total. But that was before social distancing and stayat-home policies were put in place. Biden is also spending less than before the virus shut down campaigning. The campaign has largely stopped advertising since March 22.

Sarah Morgenthau, a member of Biden’s national finance committee, said donors were coalescing behind him and she was confident the campaign could raise enough money despite the outbreak.

“Is there going to be a dip because of coronavirus? Look, this is something that’s going to

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People show their support Monday for President Donald Trump at a rally he held on March 2 in Charlotte. BILL WARD/GASTON GAZETTE affect everybody,” Morgenthau said. “But we will have a very strong month and we will have the resources that we need to take us through the next set of primaries and to build the infrastructure we will need in November.”

Biden has attempted to replace in-person fundraisers with online ones, but numbers aren’t yet available for whether they’ve been successful. “It’s understandable but it’s disappointing,” Karp said of virtual fundraisers. She recalled meeting Barack Obama and Hillary and Bill Clinton in person as an irreplaceable part of the process.

Some Democratic donors are putting their money toward coronavirus relief rather than political campaigns.

“I am not sure what other donors are feeling but for me, political donations have not been top of mind the last two weeks,” said Robert Wolf, a major Wall Street fundraiser for Obama and founder of 32 Advisors, a strategy and investment firm. “I have been focusing on the health and well-being of my family, friends and the community, working on my business from home, and giving to some charitable organizations on the front lines of the crisis.”

WHILE DONORS say that Trump’s fundraising will also be hurt by a poor economy, the president is much better prepared for the general election and can weather a downturn. “Biden needs to build his election airplane and fundraising apparatus in midair,” said Dan Eberhart, GOP bundler and chief executive officer of Canary Drilling Services LLC. “Trump’s is already built and operating.”

Super PACs could step in where individual donors to campaigns could not. Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC, says it’s on track to meet its $150 million fundraising goal before the Democratic convention scheduled for July, but some of those large donors have taken a

massive hit to their net worth.

FACEBOOK co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who gave Priorities $6 million in 2016, has this year lost more than $1.8 billion of his net worth, which now stands at about $11.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Jim Simons, who with his wife, Marilyn Simons, gave Priorities $10 million in 2016, earned an estimated $1.73 billion in 2019. But his hedge fund Renaissance Technologies incurred double-digit losses in its two largest strategies in the first 2½ months of the year.

Michael Bloomberg in January didn’t rule out spending as much as $1 billion to defeat Trump, even if his own presidential effort failed. Instead, he said on March 20 he would transfer $18 million to the Democratic National Committee.

He has also made donations to groups, including $2 million to Swing Left to aid Democrats in competitive races.

Among Republican mega-donors, the mood could be even less generous. Many of the party’s most prominent donors have fortunes concentrated in the hardest-hit sectors, including gaming, financials and oil and gas, which have all underperformed the broader market.

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s net worth has dropped by almost $12 billion this year with much of his casino business shut down. Harold Hamm’s fortune plunged 75% to $2.6 billion as low oil prices crushed fracking companies including his Continental Resources Inc. Party leaders expected both could be counted on to make big donations to super PACs. Trump Victory, which raises money that is split between the campaign and the RNC, has canceled its events, according to a fundraiser for the party.

Trump, who gave $66 million to his own 2016 campaign, isn’t supplying any of his own money for his reelection effort.

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Rural areas fear spread of virus as more hospitals close CARROLLTON, Ala. (AP) — As the coronavirus spread across the United States, workers at the lone hospital in one Alabama county turned off beeping monitors for good and padlocked the doors, making it one of the latest in a string of nearly 200 rural hospitals to close nationwide.

Now Joe Cunningham is more worried than ever about getting care for his wife, Polly, a dialysis patient whose health is fragile.

The nearest hospital is about 30 miles away, he said, and that’s too far since COVID-19 already has been confirmed in sparsely populated Pickens County, on the Mississippi state line.

Cunningham is trusting God, but he’s also worried the virus will worsen in his community, endangering his wife without a hospital nearby.

“It can still find its way here,” said Cunningham, 73.

The pandemic erupted at an awful time for communities trying to fill health care gaps following the closure of 170 rural hospitals across the nation in the last 15 years. 2019 was the worst year yet, with 19 closures, and eight more have shut down since Jan. 1, according to the Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina.

While the nation’s coronavirus hot spots so far have been big cities like New York and New Orleans, officials fear inadequate testing and the lack of medical resources linked to hospital failures will catch up with smaller population centers.

The reasons for the closures vary, but experts and administrators cite factors including declining rural populations, rising medical costs, insufficient Medicare reimbursements, large numbers of uninsured patients, state decisions against Medicaid expansion and mismanagement. About 60% of the counties and towns that have lost hospitals are in the South, an analysis by the Sheps Center showed.

Other communities are trying to keep hundreds of endangered hospitals afloat as resources are stretched thinner than ever and moneymaking services like elective surgeries are curtailed during the outbreak.

“It’s a scary time to be thinking about losing a hospital when you’ve got a pandemic going on,” said Scott Graham, chief executive officer of Three Rivers and North Valley Hospitals in central Washington.

The hospitals serve about 26,000 people in a wide-open area that Graham describes as so remote it’s more frontier than rural.

In North Conway, New Hampshire, a physician at the 25-bed Memorial Hospital already is among the county’s seven confirmed cases of coronavirus, said CEO Art Mathisen. The hospital is preparing for the worst as it tries to triple the number of beds and spends upward of $100,000 on rooms with air flow aimed at limiting the spread of

contagions, he said.

About 15% of the U.S. population, or more than 46 million people, lives in rural areas, according to the Census Bureau. They are more likely than urban dwellers to die from chronic respiratory illnesses, heart disease and other problems that put people more at risk for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

In West Virginia, where no city has a population of more than 50,000 and 20% of residents are senior citizens, frustration has mounted over two recent hospital closings that forced patients to seek help farther away, and a third hospital that filed for bankruptcy in October announced Monday it was shutting down in April. There has been talk but no immediate action to open new facilities to deal with coronavirus cases in one of the unhealthiest states.

“We certainly need our local hospital. We need the beds. We need the equipment, and we need it locally,” said Michael Angelucci, a state lawmaker who operates an ambulance service in rural Fairmont, West Virginia, where a hospital closed this month.

THE

PANDEMIC

could actually hasten more rural hospital closures, said Michael Topchik of the Maine-based Charter Center for Rural Health. He co-authored a study released in February that found about 450 rural hospitals were vulnerable to shutting down.

Most rural hospitals make money on emergency room care and elective procedures, which are on hold as health care workers try to ration masks and other protective gear in anticipation of COVID-19 infections, he said.

“Our study predicts the worse is yet to come if something’s not done to stabilize the safety net,” he said.

In northern Missouri, Sullivan County Memorial Hospital’s chief executive, Tony Keene, said that on top of the recent drop in revenue linked to reduced services, he has been pumping money into preparation for a possible outbreak in the rural area by the Iowa border where the hospital is.

“We need an infusion of cash, like now,” Keene said. “If we go a couple more weeks, we are going to have to make very serious decisions on whether we pay our vendors or pay our people.”

The $2.2 trillion coronavirus package approved by Congress last week includes $100 billion for hospitals, but it’s unclear how much of that will go toward rural health care centers.

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Coast Guard: Cruise ships must stay at sea FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard has directed all cruise ships to remain at sea where they may be sequestered “indefinitely” during the coronavirus pandemic and be prepared to send any severely ill passengers to the countries where the vessels are registered.

For most of the South Florida’s cruise ships, that means the Bahamas, where people are still recovering from last year’s hurricanes.

The rules, which apply to any vessel carrying more than 50 people, were issued in a March 29 safety bulletin signed

by Coast Guard Rear Admiral E.C. Jones, whose district includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Puerto Rico.

More than two dozen

cruise ships are either lined up at Port Miami and Port Everglades or waiting offshore, the Miami Herald reported.

Most have only crew aboard, but several still carry passengers and are steaming toward South Florida ports.

Carnival notified the SEC Tuesday that it has more than 6,000 passengers still at sea.

Federal, state and local officials have been negotiating over whether two Holland America cruise ships that had been stranded off the coast of Panama with sick and dead passengers would be allowed to dock at Port Everglades this week. More than 300 American citizens are on the two ships.

The Zaandam, which set sail in early March on a South American

cruise, is carrying sick passengers and crew, while passengers not showing symptoms were transferred to a sister ship, the Rotterdam, sent to the region to help. Both ships cleared the Panama Canal and are sailing toward Florida. Two of four deaths on the Zaandam have been blamed on COVID-19 and nine people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the company said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that the state’s healthcare system is stretched too thin to take on the coronavirus caseload from the Zaandam. “Just to drop people off at the place where we’re having the highest number of cases right now just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” DeSantis said.

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Loose lips are about to sink friendship Dear Carolyn: A few years ago, I got very chummy with an old acquaintance. We knew each other socially for years, but the closeness is new.

She can be a fun person . . . shopping trips, meeting for coffee, etc.

I allowed it to grow into a lopsided arrangement where she calls every few days to check in, shares facts and gripes about everyone in her life. At a recent luncheon, she blurted out — to people I don’t know — a few things about me that I shared with her. It finally dawned on me that this is part of her DNA. She just can’t keep anything private.

I doubt it is malicious, she just has to tell what she knows … to anyone and everyone.

I have minimized contact, respond “nothing to report,” always claim busyness when she calls, etc. I feel I need to address this clearly with her, and I

Tell Me About It Carolyn Hax

really want to end the friendship. I am a very private person and can’t trust her with any information.

I am at a loss as to how to handle this without causing a blowup. — Bad Boundaries Girl Bad Boundaries Girl: Truthfully: “I’ve been dodging your questions and invitations, which is unfair. I owe you the reason.

“I was really upset at the luncheon when you shared X, which I told you in confidence, with people I don’t even know. This is after [another example or two.]

“I don’t think you did this out of malice. I just think we have different ideas about privacy. Regardless, I am no longer

comfortable confiding in you. I am sorry about this — I enjoy your company.”

Then see what she says.

Or: don’t, and instead (pending post-pandemic normalcy) just keep sharing coffee and nothing deeper than that. Fun can be enough.

Dear Carolyn: My aunt and cousin both were diagnosed recently with serious illnesses. I would like to send a card when I hear of things like this, but my mother seems to want to be the contact person, not have our family bother them, etc.

It feels wrong not to acknowledge individually something so big-ticket to them and their family members. I ask my mother and she tells me to wait, and then finally months go by and I think our side of the family looks like [glass bowls]. Do I just give her a heads-up I’m doing my own thing? — Anonymous Anonymous: Yes, this

time.

And the next time your mother asks you to wait, please ask, on the spot: “Wait for what, exactly?”

That way, she can tell you if the person, for example, asked your mother not to share the news, or requested no contact. I realize history says she has her own, controlling reasons to wait, but given how common it is for people to share health news in confidence or with certain requests or disclaimers, it’s still important to confirm you’re at liberty (in the eyes of the afflicted) to act on any information you’re given.

Once she makes it clear it’s about not “bothering” someone or about her wanting to be the contact person, then say you’re going ahead anyway with expressing your concern directly and will make sure you keep a low profile. A card or letter, after all, is about as unobtrusive as caring can get.

Chronic pain needs vs. opioid prescription Dear Dr. Roach: The new laws concerning prescription of opioids, especially the requirement of three-day or seven-day prescriptions, has caused quite a disruption in our area, causing some doctors to take early retirement. Doctors should decide how long to treat patients. There are people who could get liver failure taking Tylenol or overusing aspirin. The drug overdoses are young people using street drugs like heroin or fentanyl. What do you say? — C.G. Answer: Fatal overdoses from many different drugs have risen dramatically over the past 20 years. All deaths from overdose are tragedies, and it’s certainly appropriate to try to find ways of reducing these deaths.

There is absolutely a risk that people who need opioids for long-term chronic pain are having increased difficulty getting them.

Not everyone benefits from long-term use of opiates, but there are people who use them appropri-

Dr. Keith Roach To Your Good Health ately and effectively. An expert should be consulted in these cases.

Prescription opioids are the cause of roughly 25% of fatal overdoses.

Reducing UNNECESSARY prescribing of these drugs is likely to reduce the number of people becoming dependent on the drugs. A 30-day prescription for a painful condition expected to last only a few days is a mistake with potentially profound consequences.

However, excess restriction on prescriptions for the subset of people with chronic pain who benefit from long-term opiates could cause the difficulties you mention in addition to letting terrible pain go unrelieved.

Since 2015, the largest single cause of overdose deaths has been illegal

synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl, although both heroin and prescription opiates continue to kill increasing numbers of people. The solution to the problem of illegal fentanyl is elusive and well beyond my expertise.

However, many of those using illegal opioids got their addiction from legal opioids, which is why casual prescribing of large amounts needs to stop.

Policies on prescription opioids require flexibility to allow physicians to prescribe long-term opiates appropriately while still cutting down on unnecessary prescriptions. Physicians who prescribe these drugs are obliged to do so safely and effectively; otherwise, they shouldn’t be prescribing them.

We need to work together to reduce all overdose deaths, whether they are from prescription or street drugs. Opiate addiction is preventable and treatable in most cases.

People who recover from opiate addiction get their lives back, which is good for everyone.

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The Iola Register

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

B5

NFL teams rely on game tape with virus altering pre-draft routine

ACC’s Malik Hardmon shoots from the free-throw line in the 2019-20 season.

REGISTER/ERICK MITCHELL

ACC: Recruiting process continues Continued from B1

ing next season, Still, it is only one player, and ACC has many holes to fill if they hope to have a third consecutive winning season.

ACC will also be without starters Trez Hankins and Jalen Sasser. Cedric Rollerson and Shakim Jenks are the only two solid rotation players returning from last season, meaning Shaw has his work cut out for him.

“Right now my assistant and I have been hitting the phones pretty hard, and we have a YouTube video that does a tour of campus. We have been pumping that out to kids, and it replaces the on-campus visit. They get to see the hallways, classroom, cafeteria, gym, and all the fields.

It shows pretty much the entire campus, so that is one way we are trying to be creative, and give kids a feel for Allen Community College.”

A personable charac-

ter, Shaw no longer has the luxury of seeing future Red Devils face-toface. For athletes looking to make a decision, knowing how the coach is in person is always a deciding factor. Well aware, Shaw is doing all he can to make recruits feel at home.

“The good thing, is that these are the same rules for everybody, so everyone is trying to be creative,” Shaw said. “I have done FaceTime talks with kids, opposed to in the past where it has been a lot of text messaging, and us trying to get them on campus to make a visit.

Right now, we are trying to be more creative than ever before.”

Assistant coach Stedman Allen has been a key factor in ACC’s recruiting season. This was Allen’s first season at ACC after arriving from Pensacola State, and Shaw has been more than satisfied with his

assistant.

“He is doing really well,” Shaw said. “He is bringing me in contact with more kids every day, and I’m looking forward to this recruiting class.”

Shaw is also helping his sophomores find places to play next season. Tyus Jeffries and Trez Hankins have received heavy interest from Kansas Wesleyan, while Hardmon and Boyce continue to garner interest from top programs across the country.

In a normal world, these sophomores would be making weekly visits to universities across the country.

“They are trying to remain calm about the situation because it is different for everybody,” Shaw said. “I think they are trying to stay patient, and are now more than likely to make a decision without stepping on campus.”

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Let’s go to the tape.

NFL teams are having to rely more heavily on game film of college prospects as they prepare for the draft at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has halted business as usual across the globe.

The social distancing spawned by the coronavirus emergency has halted pro timing days at college campuses. It’s also led the league to forbid teams hosting prospects at team headquarters or from visiting them for in-person interviews, face-to-face meetings that are usually such an integral part of the annual evaluations that can make or break a franchise’s fortunes.

“We’ll just have to conclude the best we can from what we can see on the tape,” Denver Broncos general manager John Elway said in a conference call Tuesday.

Broncos coach Vic Fangio said scouts and college personnel appraisers are fond of suggesting ninth-tenths of the evaluation of a player is based on what he did in college with just 10 percent of the grade coming off the NFL scouting combine, college pro days and/or personal interviews.

“This is the year it will really be tested,” Fangio said. “It will be 90 percent what you see on tape, and we’ll go from there.”

Fangio is putting a positive spin on the situation.

“We do not have the workout times that you normally have to evaluate guys, but sometimes those workout times and that information just clouds the issue,” Fangio said. “It’s nice to know what a guy runs a 40 in, but how fast does he look on tape is more important.

“A lot of times you can guess how fast a guy runs, generally speaking. It’s more important what the tape says.”

Less than an hour’s drive from the Broncos’ headquarters, new University of Colorado head football coach Karl Dorrell is lamenting how FaceTime has replaced face time with his players because of the shelter-in-place and stay-athome orders that have been issued in response to the global pandemic.

While emphasizing that these measures are what’s most important to curtail the pandemic, Dorrell, who left his job as the Miami Dolphins receivers coach to take over at Colorado follow-

ing Mel Tucker’s abrupt departure in February, said truer evaluations are made in person.

“I have a really strong philosophy on that. I think the best way to really get your best evaluation of players is really not on tape,” Dorrell said. “Tape kind of gives you an idea, but from my experience, it’s getting your hands on the players on the grass.

That’s when you know what you have. You can kind of feel their movement, their explosiveness, their lack thereof, anything that are important ingredients for you to make an assessment.”

That’s why he’s so eager for normalcy to return, so that he can get up-close looks at the roster he inherited.

“To me it’s always been best when I see it live and when I see them running around, when I see them competing against each other.

Those are the best telltale signs of making your evaluation,” Dorrell said.

And, Dorrell said, that holds true whether it’s an NFL assistant assessing college talent as he once did or a college coach checking out a high school prospect as he’s doing now.

100 years ago, sports rise from ashes

By TIM DAHLBERG The Associated Press

The world in 1919 was hardly a place for fun and games.

A war like no other had ravaged Europe, killing untold millions and leaving the continent devastated. The Spanish Flu pandemic was waning but still wreaking its horrors, with some 50 million people dead worldwide, including 675,000 in the United States.

But hundreds of thousands of troops from various countries were still in Europe. The war was over but they were bored, with little to do until the time came to be shipped home.

And so was born an international competition like no other. The Inter-Allied Games would bring together nations weary of war in some traditional — and not so traditional — sports.

A century before the Tokyo Olympics were postponed as coronavirus spread across the earth, sports helped in the healing.

Italians played basketball for the first time,

while Americans won medals by throwing grenades like the baseballs they tossed at home.

There was golf and tug of war, and a black American was a big star, 17 years before Jesse Owens stared down Adolf Hitler in Berlin.

Fourteen countries competed on the outskirts of Paris, including a team from the Kingdom of Hejaz (now part of Saudi Arabia) that brought four camels used in the opening parade.

Women were not invited to compete, but French tennis phenom Suzanne Lenglen — who would win her first Wimbledon title the next month — played demonstrations and beat every man she met on the other side of the net.

And it was all done in a stadium built in 90 days — mostly by American troops — and named after Gen. John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe. The stadium not only sat 25,000 but had dressing rooms, showers and a special bungalow built for Pershing to host friends and dignitaries with a private

entrance to the stadium.

“Here were these people who came together in the spirit of sport and really showed that it could be a healing property,” said Doran Cart, senior curator of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. “They wanted to continue the feeling of camaraderie with the allied nations and keep the troops occupied. Sports were seen really as an activity everybody could take part in.”

Silent films from the time show the parade of athletes circling the track on opening day, then jumping hurdles and running relays. A boxing ring was set up in the middle of the stadium, and the swimming was outdoors.

All the competitors were amateurs, as was the order of the day, and collected small medals as their prizes. Various countries also donated prizes, with the winner of the rifle shooting competition getting a statue from Pershing of an American doughboy in action during the war.

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MLB: Pitching Continued from B1

gym in his basement, Gonzales estimated between three to four weeks of build-up would probably be needed to get ready for the start of a season.

Gonzales also stressed that teams should be allowed to carry extra players to help ease the burden. “I’m trying to stay at a point where I can easily ramp up in three to four weeks,� Gonzales said. “That’s different for everyone, so I hope everyone is staying diligent about that because it is going to be important to start on time when we do start.�

While starters likely need more time to replenish their arm strength, Minnesota’s Taylor Rogers said re-

lievers shouldn’t have much trouble getting themselves prepared.

But he also didn’t envy the uncertainty starters are facing. “If this goes six, eight weeks of nothing, do you expect your starters to be throwing 50-pitch bullpens for eight weeks?� Rogers recently said. “That’s kind of a lot on the arm for nothing, basically. I think the starters are in the toughest spot right now, with not knowing the date, and they obviously take the longest to get ready.�

RECYCLE

NFL: Changes postseason to 14 teams Continued from B1

make sure it’s entirely safe.�

Contingencies are being discussed for all potential interruptions caused by the coronavirus.

As for the first expansion of the postseason field since 1990, when the NFL went from 10 qualifiers to 12, only the teams with the best record in the AFC and NFC will get a bye under the new format; the top two teams in each conference skipped wild-card weekend in the past. The seventh seed will play No. 2, the sixth will visit No. 3 and the fifth will be at the fourth seed for wild-card games.

Three games are set for Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 9-10 — pending the NFL schedule going

senior SPOTLIGHT

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forward as planned; that schedule likely will be released on May 9, according to Brian Rolapp, the league’s chief media and business officer, to give the NFL “flexibility.�

CBS will broadcast one of the new games on Jan. 10 at approximately 4:40 p.m. EST. The game will also be available via live stream on CBS All Access. A separately produced telecast of the game tailored for a younger audience will air on Nickelodeon.

NBC, its new streaming service Peacock and Spanish-language Telemundo will broadcast the other new game on Jan. 10 at approximately 8:15 p.m. “It’s definitely going to be different,� Washington Redskins linebacker Thomas Davis said. “It’s going to be weird. Essentially, the second team (in each conference) is being penalized for being a good football team. “It just makes it more competitive, it adds more teams in and it allows teams that are hot late in the season like the Titans to be able to make a run — a team that might not normally be in the playoffs are getting that opportunity. I like it, though.�

Team presidents and owners were advised of current plans for conducting the draft on April 23-25.

Peter O’Reilly, who oversees organization

of major events such as the Super Bowl and draft, said all of the NFL’s preparations have been designed to “ensure the selection process is sound.� That means equitable arrangements for every team; “celebrating and welcoming� draftees to the league; fan involvement “providing an escape for our fans and perhaps allowing virtual fan access�; and as a fundraiser for people and communities affected by the pandemic.

O’Reilly stressed that social distancing will be maintained, with no more than 10 people together, remaining at least six feet apart. Anyone who is ill will be kept away.

Commissioner Roger Goodell will make the first-round selection announcements from a central hub, and the telecasts will have connectivity at the 32 teams and potentially at some players’ or fans’ homes.

Vincent noted that the powerful competition committee is discussing a potential one-shot extension of the time limit on a draft slot so teams can complete a trade.

O’Reilly said Las Vegas, scheduled to host the draft this year, will get consideration for 2022; the 2021 draft will be held in Cleveland. “2022 is an option for Las Vegas,� he said. “We need some time to work through that with Las

Vegas and the Raiders, but that is something we are considering.�

This week, Vincent sent a letter to several prospects inviting them to participate “live� in the draft. “We hope that you will start your NFL journey with us as part of the NFL family,� Vincent wrote. “At this time, we are working on the plan for draft. As you can imagine, it is a bit of a moving target with all that is going on. “We are contemplating several options that we will be communicating to you once details are confirmed. We want to ensure that you and your family stay safe while we develop the best way to give you a great experience and highlight your accomplishments as you are drafted into the NFL.�

In recent drafts, firstround selections were announced by Goodell.

Then followed hugs involving players and Goodell — some of them comical — and photo sessions with the players wearing team ball caps or even showing off team jerseys. Often their families and friends would get involved in the celebrations.

This year, with all public events at the planned site of Las Vegas canceled and the draft set to proceed remotely, players will likely be at their homes when their names are called.

Sports lift hearts after long war Continued from B5

Though ostensibly an international competition, the games had a distinctly American flavor.

They were the brainchild of Elwood S. Brown, who headed athletics for both the American Army in Europe and the YMCA. Brown saw them as a way to keep troops out of trouble after the war was over while showing that America was as good on the playing field as it was on the battlefield.

In a 1918 letter proposing the games, Brown said they would be a way of “demonstrating to our allied friends America’s best in sport, her great play spirit and incidentally her finest in physi-

cal manhood.�

Indeed, Americans built the stadium, won most of the medals, and even fed the other competitors with military rations left over from the war that had ended in an armistice just eight months earlier. Just to make sure the U.S. team was loaded, about 40 athletes who never served in the war were put on a ship to France to compete in their specialties.

They joined 1,000 other athletes and 7,000 troops from various countries in a mini-Olympics that drew big crowds. After years of war, they competed in the day and socialized at night.

Off the field, the hottest

spot was the YMCA InterAllied Hut, which quickly drew the name “the melting pot.� Cinema shows were held nightly in the hut, and there were four formal dances. The hut was staffed by 21 YMCA secretaries and 95 other American women who worked in shifts as “floaters,� with duties as dancing partners and game players.

A total of 39,000 liters of ice cream and 200,000 gallons of lemonade were served without charge by the YMCA to soldiers who had gone years without seeing such luxuries.

The men ate and drank so much that trainers were worried they would get sick.