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Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Helping kids cope
iolaregister.com
By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
T
he abrupt and early end to the school year because of the coronavirus pandemic isn’t all fun and games for children. In many ways, it’s just the opposite, an Iola family therapist says. “I’ve definitely seen an increase in kids being anxious,” said Kari Miller, who operates Blanket Fort Therapy. “Kids are adaptable, but what really helps kids is a schedule. Their schedule has been overturned. They have to figure out a new normal, and that makes them anxious.” Children also pick up on subtle clues from their parents, and parents may sub-
Pastor Kenyon Kaehr
Kari Miller offers tips to parents on helping children cope mentally with the COVID-19 health crisis. REGISTER FILE PHOTO consciously convey their own anxiety even though they try to hide it. “Kids soak up that energy. They get that something big is going on,” Miller said. “A family will pass anxiety
around like a hot potato.” Children may worry they will become sick. They may even worry they are going to die, or that a loved one will die. They may act out with
temper tantrums or crying jags. They may hit their siblings. They may need more hugs and emotional reassurance. Older children, espeSee CHILDREN | Page A6
Kansan led efforts to ‘swat the fly’ a century ago By BECCY TANNER and THE JOURNAL Kansas News Service
A statue of Samuel Crumbine, a pioneer in Kansas public health, near the Statehouse in Topeka. THE JOURNAL/KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
If Samuel Crumbine were alive today, he’d recognize the precautions that Kansans are taking to limit COVID-19. There’s little doubt he would approve of the closing of schools, theaters and restaurants. He would worry about Kansas hospitals and wonder if their staffs are prepared for a crisis. But mostly, he’d be determining how, once again, the government could persuade
the public to take seriously the threat of a global pandemic. It was 102 years ago that Crumbine, a public health reformer and executive officer of the Kansas State Board of Health faced down a similar crisis — the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. At the turn of the 20th century, he had led public health campaigns that encouraged Kansans to “swat the fly” to combat the spread of diseases, had “Don’t Spit on the Sidewalk” emblazoned on bricks and had encouraged See SPANISH FLU | Page A3
Getting through on common sense, faith By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
As Easter and Good Friday are soon approaching, the Register continued its series of conversations with religious leaders in the community by speaking with Pastor Kenyon Kaehr of First Christian Church in Iola. Again, the topics of conversation focused on faith/ reason, anxiety, grief, isolation and celebrating Easter during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of thinking critically about the current medical crisis, Kaehr said “God has given us all a gift that a lot of folks don’t necessarily utilize ... it’s called common sense!” And “[w]hen there’s a pandemic floating around,” that’s an opportunity to use See FAITH | Page A6
Racing family waits for action to resume
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Area news
Marsha and Kenneth Storrer kept busy by Monday cleaning litter alongside the county road that passes by their home east of Iola. The effort filled the Storrers’ all-terrain vehicle. COURTESY
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Practicing social distancing, while keeping county clean By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register
Finding themselves socially isolated because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Iolans Marsha and Kenneth Storrer felt at a loss as to how they could help their community. So they became Good Samaritans to the environment.
On Monday, the Storrers spent much of the day scouring the roadside ditches near their house for litter and filling their all-terrain vehicle with refuse, “just to make the county a little cleaner,” Marsha said. The impetus came during a morning walk, when Marsha noticed a large collection of
beer cans strewn along New Mexico Road. “We just figured we needed to do something,” Marsha said. So she recruited her husband, grabbed some gloves and started picking up trash. She hopes to spark similar endeavors with others. She encouraged volunteers
to wear protective clothing, “and you can work on opposite sides of the road to keep your distance from each other,” she said. Marsha’s dream is that once the stay-at-home orders are lifted, and residents resume their normal lives “that we have a much cleaner county when it’s over.”