The Iola Register, Oct. 8, 2022

City to consider splitting fire, EMS

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

Iola City Council members will be asked Monday to con sider splitting Iola’s fire pro tection and emergency medi cal service personnel.

The proposal would assist the city in covering a chronic personnel shortage because Iola cannot find enough ap plicants interested in both EMS and firefighting duties.

“We’ve lost some qualified applicants” because many are not interested in doing both services, City Adminis trator Matt Rehder said.

As of this week, the de partment has four vacant positions, with a fifth coming this month, Fire Chief Corey Isbell noted.

In fact, the department has not been fully staffed since Iola began providing county wide ambulance services in 2014.

Under the plan devised by Rehder and other city staff ers, each service and staff would function as its own en tity.

The fire-only department would have 16 employees, and would operate with a budget of about $2.28 million for 2023, according to projec tions.

The revamped EMS-only service would have a staff of 19 — 11 paramedics, five ad vanced emergency medical technicians, two emergency medical technicians and a staff of part-timers, as well

Eyes on the skies

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

It was the largest such crowd for a library lecture this year, organizers said.

Those who partook were nothing but astonished.

Myer opened the 90-minute pro gram with a bit of a history lesson.

Two dozen wide-eyed stargazers, from toddlers to retirees, were treat ed to a lesson in the heavens Thurs day.

The guide, Humboldt’s Mike Myer, enthralled the group at the Iola Pub lic Library with tales of learning about everything from faraway gal axies to solar and lunar eclipses.

In early 1608, Dutchman Hans Lip pershey, a local eyeglass maker, dis covered that holding lenses together would greatly magnify images.

By putting the lenses in a tube, he had invented a refracting telescope.

As word of his invention spread, Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei devised his own tele scope, using the same design as had

She’s giving retirement a try

By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register

Mary Rosaker McDonald has had a heckuva time retir ing.

She first tried after 23 years as a nurse at the Topeka Vet erans Affairs Medical Center.

“I couldn’t handle retire ment,” she said. “I lasted six months.”

From there she found a job at a nursing home facility, where she worked another four years.

“I loved the residents,” she said. “Geriatrics has always been my specialty.”

It was when she got COVID-19 in December 2020, before a vaccine was avail able, that McDonald’s health and subsequent perspective on life began to change.

A victim of long Covid, Mc Donald, age 69, said recovery — both physical and mental — has been slow going.

That’s not to say she’s not trying.

MCDONALD and her hus band, Steve, both graduated from Iola High School, he in 1967, she in 1971.

They married in 1972, a year after Steve returned from serving with the Navy in Vietnam.

For almost all of their mar

riage they have lived predom inantly in Emporia and To peka where she has worked as a registered nurse. Steve’s career was selling cars for the Ed Bozarth and Laird Noller dealerships in Topeka before he was declared disabled from his service in Vietnam.

They have three children, Joy, age 48, Donnie, 46, and Wendy, 44.

Since age 2, Donnie has lived in state-run facilities de signed to care for the mental ly and physically impairred.

McDonald earned her LPN license from Emporia’s Flint Hills Technical College and her RN degree from Neosho Community College’s pro gram in Ottawa.

McDonald suspects it’s her career as a nurse that prompted her daughter, Wen dy Froggatte, a nurse with the Humboldt school district, to contact the Register, saying, “my mother has a wonder ful story to share should you

Lippershey, but stacking thicker and more lenses to increase magni fication, Myer noted.

“Galileo modified his own design, so he gets a lot of the credit,” Myer said.

But as larger telescopes were built, observers noted two issues.

The longer telescopes became un wieldy to use, and once a telescope’s focal length grew, colors began to look skewed.

“The early telescopes worked, but they did not bend the colors of the light at the same distance” Myer ex plained. “When you looked at a plan

Thrive revamps transportation

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

Jeff Keithly of Iola is looking forward to the chal lenge of developing a public transportation program in Allen County. While it won’t be the first such program in the state, it’s quite unusual for a non-profit entity to run a

transportation program for a rural community.

“A challenge is always fun,” he said.

“Getting people to their jobs is the biggest goal for me. If you need a ride to work, we’re going to be able to make that happen and help people make a living.”

Thrive Allen County re

Trails ahead are rugged and wild.

guide you and your child.

“To confine our attention to terres trial matters would be to limit the hu man spirit.”

- Stephen Hawking, Astrophysicist

Jim Heffernon gets an eye full of Saturn during “Sky Watch,” an educational program at the Iola Public Library on Thursday evening. Humboldt’s Mike Myer provided telecopes to view Saturn, Jupiter and the moon. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Jeff Keithly is the director of transportation for Thrive Allen County. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Mary McDonald

Obituary

Naomi Clounch

Naomi Doris Marie Clounch, age 89, of Iola, passed away Aug. 25, 2022, in Iola. Naomi was born July 14, 1933, in Omaha, Neb., to George W. Johnson, Sr. and Naomi Susie Mae (Anderson) Johnson.

Naomi graduated Missouri Valley High School, Missouri Valley, Iowa, and she continued her education, receiving a dietician’s certificate.

Naomi Clounch

Naomi was a dietary supervisor at Countryside Estates and then later a cook supervi sor for Gas and LaHarpe Elementary Schools in the Iola school district.

Naomi and Eugene E. Clounch, Jr. were married Dec. 29, 1962, in Iola.

Naomi belonged to the Clio Club and Ward Chap el AME Church, Iola. She served her church as mu sic director, missionary president, stewardess, and was a member of the Ward Chapel Singers. She was a member of the Eastern Star Lily White Chapter No. 44. Naomi worked at the Allen County Region al Hospital as an auxiliary volunteer for several years.

Naomi enjoyed spending time with her family, cooking, her Ebony Eight Red Hat Group and a lo cal Red Hat Ladies group. She hosted many July 4 celebrations with family and friends. Naomi was a loving and caring person, who always fed everyone. If you needed a recipe, she was the person to go to for about any recipe imaginable.

Naomi was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Eugene; sons, Paul Albert Graham, Jr., William Rodney Graham, Thurman David Gra ham, Nathaniel Maurice Graham; sister, Gloria Jean Estill; and grandson, Justin Maurice Graham.

Naomi is survived by daughters, Dr. Teresa L. Clounch, Hays, and Gena Clounch (Alan Scott), Iola; brother, George W. Johnson, Jr., Kansas City, Kan.; brothers-in-law, Kenneth L. Clounch, St. Lou is, Mo., Charles Estill, Fort Worth, Texas, and John Wallace Jr., Iola; daughters-in-law, Rondalyn Gra ham, Indio, Calif., and Ida Graham, St. Louis, Mo.; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews; and numerous other relatives and friends.

A visitation for Naomi will be held Friday, Oct. 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. in The Venue at Feuerborn Fam ily Funeral Service, 1883 U.S. 54, Iola. A memorial service in Naomi’s honor will be at 10 a.m. Satur day, Oct. 15, 2022, at the Ward Chapel AME Church, Iola. Inurnment will follow in Highland Cemetery, Iola.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to Allen Community College Endowment, which may be left with the funeral home.

Condolences may be left at www.feuerbornfuner al.com.

Court news

IOLA MUNICIPAL COURT Judge Patti Boyd

Convicted as follows with fines assessed:

Helen I. Burkholder, Iola, failure to report accident, $270

Kevin M. Christmas, Houston, Texas, disorderly conduct, $195

Police news

Rail trail drive nets citation

Iolan Jayce Ingham was cited for suspicion of improperly driving on a rail trail, not hav ing required insurance, improper registration and no driver’s license after officers were called to the 300 block of Portland Street Sun

Kolby A. Daum, Iola, no driver’s license, $195 Robin M. Evans, Iola, im proper parking, $50 Katy L. Hill, Iola, driving while suspended, $315 Christian Lindsey, Iola, disorderly conduct, $195 Brandon S. Riley, Topeka, no driver’s license exhibit ed, $595

Medical Arts Building open after renovation

Allen County Re gional Hospital an nounces the move of its Iola Clinic to the newly renovated Medical Arts Building at 826 E. Madi son Avenue in Iola. The clinic opened its doors to patients at the new location on Monday morning.

“I’m pretty excited to have a new up-to-date and more functional space to work in, and I know that the other providers and clinic staff are as well,” Dr. Brian Neely said. “The Medical Arts Building is more centrally lo cated and puts us clos er to the hospital, the schools, and other ser vices, which is nice for our patients.”

The Iola Clinic occu pies the north end of

the Medical Arts Build ing. The new space includes a spacious patient check-in and waiting area, updated exam rooms, provider offices, and a new labo ratory.

Exterior updates, which include rebuild ing the overhang, paint and repairs to the facade, and a new parking lot, are nearly complete. Additional parking is available in

the lot across Madison Street to the south of the building.

An open house is be ing planned for later this month. The public will be invited to at tend.

Humboldt police investigate home invasion

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

HUMBOLDT — Humboldt police offi cers are on the hunt for a suspect accused of entering a home and attacking one of the occupants when he arrived on the scene.

Humboldt Police Chief Shannon Moore said the incident oc curred about 10 a.m.

Friday on Eighth Street, near Hum boldt’s downtown square.

The occupant, whose name was not released, arrived home and real ized an intruder was in the home.

“The victim engaged with the suspect, and was hit in the face with a fist,” Moore said.

The intruder then exited the home, appar ently on foot.

The male suspect was described as tall and lanky, light-skinned, and was dressed all in black and was wearing gloves.

The victim was

checked out by ambu lance personnel.

“He has a black eye and a nasty goose-egg,” Moore said. “For safety reasons, we encourage anybody who comes across an intruder to step back out and not engage with the sus pect, and just call us.”

It did not appear as if anything was missing from the home, Moore said, adding that the investigation was con tinuing.

Officers have been interviewing neigh

bors and checking cam eras in the area.

The suspect appar ently took a deliberate route before entering the home to avoid be ing detecting from neighboring surveil lance cameras, Moore noted.

The suspect “knew the area,” Moore said. She refused to com ment on how the sus pect gained entry.

She said officers have “several” leads to follow, without being more specific.

Iola Library to host program about heart health

Casey Godinez, a healthy-heart spe cialist from Thrive, explains the role of sodium in controlling blood pressure, 6 p.m. Wednesday, in a co-sponsored program at Iola Public Library.

She will explain what it is, how it works in the body, and how nu trition can help reduce it to lower blood pres sure.

This is the second of

day afternoon. There, they found In gham sleeping in a ve hicle.

Drivers cited Iola police officers cited Braiden Williams for suspicion of reck less driving Saturday in the 1700 block of East Street.

Allen Community College will present a band and choir concert at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Bowlus Fine Arts Center’s main audito rium.

Dr. Jeffrey Ander son, music director, will lead the students as they celebrate a his tory of Allen in music.

four pro grams on nutri tion and self-mon itored blood pres sure. Subse quent topics are: Nov. 9, Food Labels and Shopping; and Dec. 14, Healthy Snacks and Dining Out. The program is in the

meeting room and also may be joined virtually at live.televeda.com.

Everyone is invited for conversation over coffee and refreshments.

Casey Godinez

ACC offers free concert

The event is free to the public.

talk is cheap.

news is valuable.

The Allen County Regional Hospital’s Medical Arts Building at 826 E. Madison is now open. COURTESY PHOTO

Council: Will discuss fire, EMS services

as an EMS chief. Such a service would continue to provide Type-1 EMS at stations in Iola, Hum boldt and Moran.

THE COSTS for hav ing separate services would rise, to the tune of about $600,000 annu ally, according to pro jections.

The city’s 2023 bud get for the existing fire/ EMS department sits at $3.5 million, including

$2.8 million for salaries.

The Iola-only fire service would cost the city about $1.9 million; EMS-alone would cost $2.2 million.

Iola’s fire protec tion service is funded through the city’s gen eral fund. A five-year contract reached last year with Allen County has the county paying the city $1.65 million for EMS, increasing that payment 2.5% each year through the life of

the contract.

Still, with a $300,000 difference between projected cost and rev enues, Rehder also will ask the Council if the city should attempt to renegotiate its contract with Allen County to cover those expenses.

OTHER items on Monday’s agenda in clude discussions on renewing Iola’s Neigh borhood Revitalization Plan, which provides

property tax rebates to those who improve their homes and busi nesses. The current plan expires in Novem ber.

Council members also are asked to adopt municipal court fees, to stay in accordance with recently updated traf fic ordinances and city codes.

The 6 p.m. meeting will be at the New Com munity Building in Riv erside Park.

COVID shots saved at least 330,000 seniors’ lives last year

By MADISON MULLER and JEANNIE BAUMANN Bloomberg News/TNS

COVID-19 booster vac cinations can save tens of thousands of lives in the weeks and months ahead, Biden adminis tration officials said, cit ing new data that shows the impact of previous shots on hospitaliza tions and deaths among older Americans.

Primary immuniza tions were associated with up to 680,000 fewer COVID hospitalizations and between 330,000 to 370,000 fewer related deaths among Medicare beneficiaries in 2021, according to research from the Department of Health and Human Services. Prevention of COVID hospitalizations was associated with sav ings of more than $16 billion in direct costs, the report found.

Just over one-third of Americans have re ceived their first booster dose, creating concerns about the lag in uptake for updated shots that experts warn leaves the US more vulnerable to a winter surge as COVID variants continue to emerge and the Biden administration strug gles to convince Repub licans that another $22 billion in funding is needed to keep fighting the virus.

“Given that we have a highly contagious virus that’s still circulating, the single biggest thing people can be doing to protect themselves and their families is get ting vaccinated,” White House COVID Response Coordinator Ashish Jha said. “We need every body to pull in that di rection.”

While the dollar sav ing of COVID shots are significant, those num bers don’t show the full impact of vaccination, according to HHS Secre

tary Xavier Becerra.

“You can’t really put a price tag on the value of saving someone’s life,” he said.

In September, the US began rolling out up dated bivalent boost ers that target the BA.4 and BA.5 versions of omicron, the currently

dominant COVID strain.

As many as 15 million Americans have gotten the new shots, half of them seniors, health of ficials said Friday. Peo ple older than 75 who are unvaccinated or not up-to-date on boosters continue to account for 70% of deaths occurring

today, although overall COVID death rates have dropped significantly from earlier in the pan demic.

Still, the administra tion’s fall booster cam paign has been “sub stantially hampered by the lack of funding from Congress,” Jha said.

Woman whose toddler died in fire sentenced

OLATHE, Kan. (AP)

— A Kansas mother whose 17-month-old son died in a fire af ter she left him home alone was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation.

Karlie Phelps, of Shawnee, pleaded guilty in August to in voluntary manslaugh ter and endangering a child. If she violates the terms of her pro bation, she faces 18 years in prison.

Authorities say her son’s body was found in February in a crib as firefighters battled flames.

The child’s father, Nicholas Ecker has been charged with first-degree murder

and aggravated arson.

Court records said Ecker, who was barred from contacting Phelps after he was charged with domes tic violence, was in side the home minutes before firefighters re sponded to the blaze.

Phelps admitted to investigators that she left the child alone while she went to an other home with the intent of buying pre scription pain medi cation. She wound up rushing home when she learned of the fire.

Investigators said the fire was intention ally set. No ignitable liquids were found at the scene of the fire.

MOVING!

Beginning on Nov. 1,

new location

S. State, Iola

The Iola Fire Department responds to a fire at the former Harmony Health building at Lincoln and North State streets in April 2021. FILE PHOTO

Nobel Peace Prize to activists from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) —

Human rights activists from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia won the No bel Peace Prize on Fri day, a strong rebuke to Russian President Vlad imir Putin, whose in vasion of Ukraine rup tured decades of nearly uninterrupted peace in Europe, and to the Be larusian president, his authoritarian ally.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2022 prize to imprisoned Belarus activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liber ties.

Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the panel was honor

ing “three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and

peaceful coexistence.”

“We are in the midst of a war and we are

talking about two au thoritarian regimes and one nation fighting a war and we would like to highlight the impor tance of civil society,” she said.

In Ukraine, there was some resentment at awarding the Ukrainian group alongside activ ists from Russia and Belarus, whose govern ment allowed Russian forces to attack Ukraine from its territory.

Ukrainian presiden tial adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted that the Nobel committee has “an interesting un derstanding of the word ‘peace’ if representa tives of two countries that attacked a third one receive” the prize together.

“Neither Russian nor Belarusian organiza tions were able to orga nize resistance to the war,” he said.

Belarus’ Foreign Min istry denounced the No bel Committee for hon oring Bialiatski, with the spokesman calling its choices in recent years so “politicized” that “Alfred Nobel got tired of turning in his grave.”

Olav Njølstad, direc tor of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, retort ed: “Well, I’m quite sure we understand Alfred Nobel’s will and inten tions better than the dic tatorship in Minsk.”

Asked whether the Nobel Committee was intentionally rebuking Putin, whose 70th birth

day is Friday, Reiss-An dersen said the prize was not against anyone but for the democrat ic values the winners champion. However, she did note that both the Russian and Belarusian governments were “sup pressing human rights activists.”

It was the second straight year that Pu tin’s repressive govern ment was implicitly re buked with the prize. It was awarded last year to Dmitry Muratov, ed itor of the independent Russian newspaper No vaya Gazeta, and Phil ippine journalist Maria Ressa, for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. Both have struggled in the past year.

Service: Revamped transportation program now available

cently took over the general transportation program from the coun ty. The organization is setting up a separate non-profit, Allen Re gional Transit (ART), that will essentially spin off from Thrive with a sole focus on transportation.

The service will offer free rides to just about anywhere in Allen Coun ty, not just to work but to doctor’s appointments, court appearances, City Hall or the courthouse, to restaurants, grocery stores, shopping or even just to visit a friend.

Keithly was hired as the transportation di rector and will run ART.

“Transportation is very different from the non-profit work that we do,” Thrive’s CEO Lisse Regehr said.

Thrive’s focus is most ly on health, and though transportation is relat ed, grants and state reg ulations for transporta tion are quite different, she said. Plus, having separate organizations will allow them to pur sue more grants and funding opportunities.

“We knew this pro

gram would be very good on its own,” Re gehr said.

Thrive’s transporta tion program began on Oct. 3 and runs between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mon day through Friday. At some point, hours likely will be adjusted as staff assess the community’s needs.

There is no charge for the service, and no re strictions based on age or income although chil dren younger than 18 need to be accompanied by an adult.

The service actually comes in two parts, but the general public won’t see much difference.

One part of the ser vice is called “safety net transportation.” It pro vides rides to medical or mental health appoint ments, court appearanc es and social service ap pointments, even those that are out of town such as to places includ ing Kansas City, Topeka, Joplin, Mo., etc.

For example, the ser vice often takes patients to dialysis treatments in Chanute.

The other part of the program is for general transportation, but only

within the county. The service can take riders just about anywhere, with a few exceptions.

Riders can’t go to the li quor store or vape shop, for example.

General public trans portation should oper ate in some ways to its urban counterparts, Re gehr said, while noting the different challenges a rural community can face.

Transportation can be costly, not just the cost of a vehicle but its maintenance and fuel. Some older residents or those who struggle with health issues cannot safely drive.

“It’s important to ed ucate the community about what public trans portation means,” she said.

“We want to break down barriers. We want to help our residents make a living for them selves. We want to make sure people are getting to the grocery store, or running errands. We want them to get to their doctor appointments.”

Social activities also are important, Regehr said, noting how the pandemic increased

We want to break down barriers. We want to help our residents make a living for themselves. We want to make sure people are getting to the grocery store, or running errands. We want them to get to their doc tor appointments.

awareness of the health risks related to social isolation. That’s espe cially true for older people, who may have the most difficulty with transportation.

“We will get you where you need to be,” she said.

When scheduling a ride, it’s recommend ed to give as much no tice as possible. “Safety net” trips, especially out-of-town trips, may be booked weeks in ad vance.

KEITHLY has worked in transportation for about 10 years.

He started as a trans portation dispatcher, then moved into logis tics coordination. Be fore joining Thrive, he served as a logistics

Retired: COVID took a toll on health

Continued from A1

daughter’s comment.

“She’s the reason I’m feeling good.”

It’s been a tough go the last two years.

McDonald’s said she says she’s never fully re covered from COVID-19.

“I used the med cart at the nursing home as a walker,” when she re turned to work. Today, she continues to use a cane.

“After Covid, I’ve never regained my strength.”

In May 2021 she broke an ankle.

In January of 2022 she retired “for good.”

This summer she tripped and broke her shoulder from which she is still recovering. “I’m about 50 percent there.”

She’s gained 50 lbs. because of a lack of ac tivity. “I just don’t move well,” she said.

And, she said, she be came depressed.

“I didn’t feel the same about myself when I couldn’t work. Plus, it was the first time in my life I’ve ever been sick,” said McDonald.

Well, that’s not exact ly true, she recalls.

“Maybe Wendy is re

ferring to the fact that I’m a breast cancer sur vivor,” she postures.

Eight years ago McDon ald contracted cancer in her left breast. After radiation and chemo therapy she remains cancer-free — but not pain-free.

“I skipped the last che mo treatment because it left me with severe pe ripheral neuropathy in my hands and feet. Oh how I hate taking pain medication every day, but I have no choice.”

McDonald took three months off from her job at the VA during her treatments, but then was right back at it.

Maybe that occurred to Wendy as well.

Wendy to the rescue McDonald knew things were getting bad.

“I’d let the house go. I had no energy to do any thing. I became isolat ed,” she said.

When McDonald re tired, she also quit par ticipating in social ac tivities such as a ladies group. Also adding to her loneliness was the fact that the McDonalds were living on a farm outside of Auburn, a ru ral community about 20

miles southwest of To peka.

“As a nurse, it’s hard to admit I may need help. I know what I should be doing, but it’s very diffi cult to heal yourself.”

“Wendy is showing me the way out.”

In July, McDonald moved to Iola where she is renting a duplex. Her husband is due to join her after he recuperates from a recent surgery.

She’s also seen Kari Miller, an Iola therapist, with another visit on the calendar.

After more than 40 years away, McDonald’s link to the area is Wendy and her husband

and their son, Nate.

“They get me out of the house. We do things as a family. It’s so good seeing their solidarity. That’s very healing,” she said. “We’re also outside a lot, which I know is good for me.”

She’s also starting to look ahead.

“When I get better I’d like to volunteer either at the hospital or a nurs ing home. I can be a good support,” she said.

After a career of help ing others, McDonald knows that’s when she is at her best.

“I can see the way for ward when I think of others.”

manager, overseeing trucks and transporta tion. At one point, he managed up to 20 driv ers.

“You have to always be on your toes,” he ex plained about coordinat ing drivers and truck routes.

“You can have the perfect plan, but you’re probably going to have to change it.”

Although Keithly was born and raised in Iola, this is the first time he’s worked locally. He previ ously commuted to and from Parsons.

“I thought this was a perfect opportunity to be able to help our com munity,” he said.

He will oversee all as pects of the transporta tion program, including staff, logistics, grants

and budgets. A separate transportation manager will work as a dispatch er and oversee the dayto-day work of taking calls and scheduling drivers.

“We needed some one who has a passion for our community and wants to provide these services, as well as someone who is able to run this organization as it separates from un derneath Thrive’s um brella,” Regehr said. “It’s sort of like a par ent-child relationship, and Jeff will continue to build on the relation ships we’ve already es tablished with our vari ous funders.”

Much of the funding for the program comes from grants through the Kansas Department of Transportation, the Kansas Health Founda tion and other organiza tions.

There is no charge for the service, but dona tions are accepted. The group also will consider donations of vehicles.

To learn more, visit thriveallencounty.org/ transportation or to schedule a ride, call 620228-0463.

— Lisse Regehr, Thrive CEO

Anna Popova of the Centre for Civil Liberty talks to journalists as staff celebrate in their office on Oct. 7 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Ukrainian human rights organiza tion received the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize along with human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, and the Russian human rights organization Memorial, which was shut down earlier this year. (ED RAM/GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

Uvalde schools suspend entire police force after outrage

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Uvalde school district on Fri day pulled its embattled cam pus police force off the job following a wave of new out rage over the hiring of a for mer Texas state trooper who was part of the hesitant law enforcement response during the May shooting at Robb El ementary School.

School leaders also put two members of the district police department on admin istrative leave, one of whom

chose to retire instead, ac cording to a statement re leased by the Uvalde Consol idated Independent School District.

The extraordinary move by Uvalde school leaders to suspend campus police op erations — one month into a new school year in the South Texas community — under scored the sustained pres sure that families of some of the 19 children killed in the May 24 attack have kept on

the district.

Brett Cross, whose 10-yearold son Uziyah Garcia was among the victims, had been protesting outside the Uvalde school administration build ing for the past two weeks, demanding accountability over officers allowing a gun man with an AR-15-style rifle to remain in a fourth-grade classroom for more than 70 minutes.

“We did it!” Cross tweeted. The district said it would

ask the Texas Department of Public Safety, which had already assigned dozens of troopers to the district for the school year, for addition al help.

“We are confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition,” the district said in a statement.

The move comes a day af ter revelations that the dis trict not only hired a former Department of Public Safe

ty trooper who was one of the nearly 400 officers who rushed to the scene of Robb Elementary, but that she was among at least seven troop ers later placed under in ternal investigation for her actions.

Officer Crimson Elizondo was fired Thursday, one day after CNN first reported her hiring. She has not respond ed to voicemails and mes sages left by The Associated Press.

Bell,

Berumen,

Brand,

Brogan,

Coca

Coronados

Cress,

Davis,

Dillon, Mike

Dix, Chris

Easton, Andy

Garner, Tyler

KS 106.30

TX 72.60

Thomas, VI 65.72

KS 72.66

Gillham, Michael 4701 NW Green Hills Riverside, MO 74.66

Gillham, Michael 4701 NW Green Hills Riverside, MO 145.66

Head, Ronnie 2230 Rhode Island Rd. La Harpe, KS 72.52

Herring, Evan 719 Mulberry St. Humboldt, KS 147.18

Holman, Jarred 217 E. 2nd Moran, KS 67.10

Houk, Kevin 409 E. 5th Pomona, KS 74.58

Howard, Kevin & Kristy Po Box 22 Gas, KS 138.50

Knoblich Tractor Repair 2335 US Hwy 54 Iola, KS 116.50

McNelly, Roxanne 220 N. 3rd St. Humboldt, KS 116.24

Nelson Excavation 1466 1800th St. Iola, KS 596.45

Pate, Tera Po Box 203 Gas, KS 107.42

Peterson, David 305 Kennedy Ave. Iola, KS 72.66

Rife, Melvin & Helen Lvg. Tr 4730 Wisconsin Rd. Bronson, KS 430.08

Shafer, Ralph 1251 100th St. Apt 12 Iola, KS 261.80

Sidebottom, Dennis Po Box 173 Gas, KS 546.26

Smith, Melvin & Elva Dean 402 N. McRae St. Iola, KS 72.24

Spencer, Christian Po Box 194 Gas, KS 251.90

Stiffler, Carrie 2321 Nebraska Rd. Iola, KS 277.62

Stratton, Charles 1691 800th St. Colony, KS 119.21

Stubbs, Tom 9440 Hoffman Way Unit A Thornton, CO 244.54

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Temming,

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS

the Matter of the Estate of

H Koon,

NOTICE OF HEARING

THE STATE OF KANSAS TO ALL PERSONS CONCERNED AND TO:

Cross, Francine Koon, Diane Koon, Jim Koon, Pamela Koon, Brenda

Court

2022, at 8:30 a.m. in the Allen County Dis trict Court, Iola, Kansas, at which time and place the matter will be heard. Should you fail, judgment and decree will be entered in due course upon the Petition.

Frederick J Works Petitioner

FREDERICK J. WORKS, PA 6 East Jackson Iola, Kansas 66749 Attorney for Petitioner (10) 8, 15, 22

Europeans refuse to kowtow to Putin’s warmongering

As winter looms, I am in awe of Europe’s resolution to stand firm against the tyranny of Russia’s Vladi mir Putin as he weaponiz es his country’s oil and nat ural gas supplies against those who protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Yes, the danger of a se vere economic retrench ment across Europe is great, leaders reckon, but pales in comparison to Pu tin’s existential threat to democracy, human rights and freedom.

That was the take from a meeting in Prague on Thursday where the lead ers of 44 European coun tries, including the Euro pean Union’s 27 members and those aspiring to join.

This resilience and com mitment to democracy has made the West’s hand stronger than ever.

“Leaders leave this sum mit with greater collec tive resolve to stand up to Russian aggression. What we have seen in Prague is a forceful show of soli darity with Ukraine, and for the principles of free dom and democracy,” said Liz Truss, the U.K.’s new prime minister.

All are bearing the brunt of the economic sanctions they have imposed against Putin. They’re also deter mined to wean their depen dency on Russian fuel not only in retaliation but also for their future preserva tion.

The challenge is im mense.

Before Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russia was supplying Europe with more than half of its gas and a third of its oil. The EU’s goal is to ultimately end that reliance by 2030, starting with a 15 percent reduction this year.

Across the board, Eu ropeans are rising to the challenge.

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Ma cron announced govern ment buildings will set thermostats at 66 degrees, only cold water will run in the restroom taps of public buildings and city lights will be dimmed earlier.

To walk the talk, the dapper president has be gun wearing turtlenecks instead of a shirt and tie.

Lowering a thermostat by only 2 degrees cuts the typical heating bill by 7 percent. Other savings measures include setting your water heater to a rec ommended 130 degrees, unplugging electronic

Susan Lynn Register editor

devices when not in use, staggering the use of large appliances, and using your car more economically by consolidating errands into fewer trips.

This is not idle talk.

Six months of conser vation tactics in Germany have cut its use by 15 per cent over the previous year.

But yes, it’s low-hanging fruit.

Though demand has decreased, it still exceeds the now greatly dimin ished supply, driving up the prices and forcing EU countries to spend billions to subsidize their constitu ents’ energy bills.

Americans frequently use the price of gasoline as a yardstick.

A gallon of gas in Eu rope today averages $6.50. In Allen County, gas is $3.50 a gallon.

The current rate of in flation in the United States is 8.3 percent. Inflation in Europe is averaging 14 per cent, bumping 20 percent in the northern regions.

If we bemoan we’re hav ing to tighten our belts be cause of higher inflation, just think of the economic challenges facing our Eu ropean allies.

PUTIN IS betting once winter settles in, Europe ans will buckle and come begging for his help.

He relishes the oppor tunity for control over the spigot just as he’s done time and time again to the Ukrainians.

Putin can rule with such impunity because up until now he’s faced little to no consequences for acting like a barbarian.

It’s more important than ever for those who rely on Russian fuel to cut back significantly in order to prove Putin wrong.

To think one person could cause such disrup tion, not to mention the blood on his hands from the thousands wounded and killed in Ukraine, is truly unfathomable.

EUROPEANS are being asked to sacrifice much in support of Ukraine.

For those who value de mocracy, they do us proud.

How are you voting on the legislative veto, Kansans?

Kansans will soon vote on Constitutional Amendment 1 (also called HCR 5014), which creates a “legislative veto.” At stake is an important but dull topic to most—checks and balances.

Civics 101 time.

Legislatures make laws, often using vague language. Governors and the state agencies they direct (the “ex ecutive branch”) create con crete rules and regulations to implement those vague laws. Government agencies are the “bureaucracy,” and most government workers (e.g., police, child welfare workers, food inspectors, teachers, or soldiers) are “bureaucrats.”

You probably remember checks and balances. Gover nors can veto bills that the legislature passes, but a su permajority of legislators can override that veto and make that bill law. And, if the executive branch devel ops rules or regulations that the legislature dislikes, then the legislature can pass a bill overturning those and over ride a governor’s veto of that bill.

That’s how Kansas works now.

Amendment 1 changes that process to give the legislature relatively more power over a governor, altering traditional checks and balances. It al lows the legislature to “veto” executive branch rules or regulations by a simple ma jority vote. No supermajority required. No gubernatorial veto.

Kansas adopted a legisla tive veto in 1939. However, the Kansas Supreme Court

Patrick Miller Insight Kansas

ruled it unconstitutional in 1984 as a violation of sepa ration of powers and checks and balances. Amendment 1 overturns that ruling.

There isn’t much cam paigning around Amend ment 1. One pro-amendment special interest group is tar geting voters with emotional mailers about “red tape” and unchecked bureaucrats, plus some questionably honest arguments about the Kansas legislature’s actual power. That’s sadly standard prac tice in the politics industry, especially in political adver tising.

A legislative veto sounds harmless, but there are some real concerns.

First, it upends tradition al checks and balances. The legislature currently has the power to stop rules and regu lations by passing a law. How ever, if you prefer the legisla ture to have more power than it does now, then you might like a change.

Second, it might become another tool for partisan and ideological warfare. In Kansas, that realistically means a very conservative Republican legislature veto ing actions by a Democratic governor like Laura Kelly. Partisan readers probably see the stakes here for their

party teams.

Third, the legislature could cripple the ability of a governor to implement laws. Legislatures cannot imple ment laws themselves. If the legislature becomes super activist in using a legislative veto, then how much will laws actually get enforced?

Fourth, it puts more bur den on the part-time legisla ture to solve problems. Leg islatures are often better at saying “no” than saying “yes” to difficult policy solutions.

Think of all the problems that fester while legislatures don’t act. If a legislature ve toes executive branch action to address problems, then who in government is solving problems?

Fifth, it might empower special interests that domi nate the legislature. For ex ample, if interests that are strongly opposed to envi ronmental regulation have a stranglehold over the legisla ture, then they have an easier path to stopping government regulations around things like clean drinking water or ground contaminants.

Ultimately, Amendment 1 is about how much you trust the Kansas legislature. If you want a more powerful legis lature, then voting “yes” on the amendment may be for you. However, if you trust the legislature less and pre fer more traditional checks and balances, then voting “no” might suit you better. It’s your choice, Kansas.

About the writer: Patrick R. Miller is an associate pro fessor of political science at the University of Kansas.

Sky: Humboldt’s Myer gives a lesson on astronomy at library

et, it may have been red on top, blue on the bot tom.”

Roughly 60 years later, in 1668, Sir Isaac New ton of England entered the fray.

Newton devised a tele scope using a pair of mirrors, the first with a concave shape at the bot tom of the tube, which in turn reflected the light to a second mirror to re direct the light through the eyepiece. Thus, the reflecting or Newtonian telescope was born.

Those telescopes grew in popularity, largely be cause the size of the mir ror, and a subsequent magnifying eyepiece, could draw greater de tail, and original color of whatever celestial body was being viewed, Myer explained.

As an aside, religion played a large role in early astronomy. Galil eo, in fact, was charged with heresy and forced to renounce his teach ings for suggesting the earth revolved around the sun, and not other wise — in clear violation of church orthodoxy.

Upon his conviction, Galileo infamously stomped his foot to the ground and bellowed “E pur si muove” — “and yet it moves.”

“It was his way of say ing, ‘I was forced to do this, and it’s not right,’” Myer said.

Many early astron omers were hired by kings and governments to monitor the sky for comets in particular, which legend held were signs of pending doom.

What they discovered, however, was a world of wonder.

“They realized the moon was not smooth,” Myer said. “They could see craters and moun tains, and craters within craters.”

The darker areas of

Above, Mike Myer of Humboldt offers

lesson on

at the Iola Public Library on Thursday evening. He brought

Saturn,

to

and the

also showed photos he had taken over the years, including this

of

seen in Texas,

the moon, originally thought to be seas, were later to be determined as nothing more than darker shades of rock.

Yet, the “seas” mon ikers remained, Myer noted, such as the Sea of Tranquility — landing spot of Apollo 11.

WITH THAT bit of history out of the way, Myer showed off several examples of his astro photography, from near and far galaxies, exam ples of nebulae and a spectacular series of im ages he captured during a solar eclipse during sunset in rural Texas a few years back.

Myer also fielded questions from the audi ence.

Pluto was “demot ed” as a planet within the past 20 years, and is now considered a dwarf planet.

“If anything, it’s more like a comet than a plan et,” Myer said.

Comets are different from meteors, because comets orbit the sun, and emit a tail consist ing of ice and dust that

evaporate as the comet heats. Most meteors are likely the size of a grain of sand that burn up as they enter the earth’s atmosphere, creating shooting stars.

“It would be a bad day

if a comet entered the earth’s atmosphere,”

Myer noted, speculat ing it was likely a comet striking the earth that wiped out the dinosaurs millions of years ago.

The sun, like all oth

er stars in the universe, will eventually use up its energy and explode into a supernova because it will lack the strength to retain its shape. But earthlings won’t have to worry about it for a while. Such a scenario is still millions of years from becoming reality.

MYER’S presenta tion concluded with a stargazing program in the library parking lot.

Spectators were treat ed to close-up views of the moon, Jupiter and its four moons clearly visible, and Saturn and its distinctive rings.

Myer also welcomed the audience to check out the library’s own 6-inch Newtonian tele scope, donated two years ago by Myer. He also donated telescopes to libraries in Humboldt and Chanute for public use.

Each telescope also has star and field charts, a user’s manual and var ious eyepieces to magni fy images.

To inquire about us ing the telescope in Iola, call (620) 365-3262.

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The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula

Rhiannon Jordan looks through the telescope for a view of Saturn.

The Spaghetti Nebula

Schmidt blasts Kelly’s justice commission despite his affirmation of racial bias

By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Republi can governor candidate Derek Schmidt’s new campaign commercials castigate Gov. Laura Kelly for creating in 2020 a Commission on Racial Equality and Justice to search for solutions to problems within Kansas law enforcement agen cies.

Ads released Thurs day and Friday by the Schmidt campaign ripped the commission and focused on a key message in the attorney general’s end-of-cam paign political assault on Kelly. The commer cials seek to portray Schmidt as an unblink ing supporter of law enforcement, while questioning Kelly’s com mitment to public safety.

Specifically, the attorney general’s ads one month ahead of the Nov. 8 elec tion asserted the Demo cratic governor “called Kansas cops racist” and “appointed a woke com mission that pushed for anti-policing laws.”

Schmidt took this tact despite affirming in Oc tober 2020, in a conver sation with members of the governor’s equity and justice commission, that he believed racial bias was present within Kansas law enforcement agencies.

Schmidt’s reply to a question from one of the commissioners, cap tured on a video posted to YouTube: “Obviously, it does exist.”

“It exists in human relations and so it there fore exists in the subset of human relations that

include law enforcement interactions with peo ple,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt, the state’s three-term attorney general, told the gover nor’s commission the challenge of racial bias was enough that law en forcement agencies in the state and the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training, the entity that licenses law enforce ment officers in Kansas, took seriously allega tions leveled against of ficers and deputies.

Leaders of CPOST and individual law en forcement agencies, es pecially the state’s larger policing agencies, have shown a commitment to dealing with “implicit or explicit” instances of racial bias, the attorney general said.

“It’s not an also-ran consideration and I give them credit for that,” Schmidt said.

Commission’s origin Kelly created the Commission on Racial Equality and Justice one month after millions of Americans watched vid eo of a Minneapolis po lice officer with his knee on the neck of George

Floyd for nine minutes. Floyd, a Black man, died. Before the Floyd incident, Louisville, Kentucky, resident Bre onna Taylor, also Black, was shot to death in her home by police officers. The governor also ref erenced the hate-crime murder of Ahmaud Ar bery in Georgia by three white men, including a former police officer.

These and other in cidents sparked nation wide protests woven into the Black Lies Matter movement, which took issue with police bru tality and racially moti vated violence against Black people. Some pro tests veered into riots.

“The recent protests over police brutality and institutional racism are part of a long tradition used by civil rights activ ists to compel our coun try’s leaders to address racial inequity,” Kelly said in 2020. “Americans have once again stood up and raised their voic es demanding reform, accountability, trans parency and their con stitutionally guaranteed rights for all.”

Kelly went on to say elected leaders had to listen, learn and act to

thwart racial inequity and injustice in Kansas and elsewhere.

“As governor,” she said, “I am committed to ensuring this latest tragedy does not fade into the next news cycle.

Communities of color do not have the luxury of time for leaders to ignore these issues any longer. Systemic racism within law enforcement must end.”

Kelly said that by fo cusing her commission initially on policing and law enforcement, “we aim to make changes that will improve the safety of both citizens and police officers.”

In response, the com mission produced doz ens of suggestions in 2020 and 2021 that in cluded modification of policies on use of lethal force, banning fired offi cers from being hired at other policing agencies and expansion of train ing to avoid bias.

Commissioners rec ommended school dis tricts consider alterna tives to armed school resource officers by increasing reliance on counselors, social work ers and other profession als capable of interven ing with students during times of mental health crisis. In addition, the commission proposed school resource officers

receive training in im plicit bias.

Kelly said in a recent interview with KAKE News the commission’s work wasn’t just an ac ademic exercise. It pro vided a blueprint that could move the state “steadily towards a more equitable society,” the governor said.

Point, counterpoint

During the Johnson County Bar Associa tion’s gubernatorial debate Wednesday be tween Schmidt and Kel ly in Overland Park, the governor said her administration had ush ered in “record funding for law enforcement.” Her administration ex panded by one-third spending for the Kan sas Highway Patrol and the state Department of Corrections.

Schmidt has juris diction over the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which operated without a substantial budget in crease.

In September, the KBI reported violent crime in Kansas declined 3.4% in 2021 compared to 2020.

Lauren Fitzgerald, spokeswoman for the Kelly campaign, said Schmidt “has to lie to Kansans about the governor’s record” in an attempt to distract

voters from his parti san alliances with Gov. Sam Brownback. In 2012, Brownback cham pioned tax policy that left the state with mas sive budget shortfalls resulting in cuts to law enforcement and public schools.

“These false smears won’t work because Kansans know Gover nor Kelly has worked with both parties to deliver historic invest ments in law enforce ment, including officers having better pay, better equipment, and better family benefits,” Fitz gerald said. “Governor Kelly has always sup ported our law enforce ment and will continue to support meaningful investments that keep us all safe.”

Schmidt’s campaign issued a public safety plan in June. Schmidt’s most recent comments on crime blamed Kelly for importation of ille gal drugs, including fen tanyl, across the border with Mexico.

C.J. Grover, Schmidt’s campaign spokesman, said Kelly said multiple times Kansas law en forcement was enduring systemic and institution al racism. He said Kelly’s commission was flawed because most members weren’t involved in law enforcement.

Gov. Laura Kelly and Attorney General Derek Schmidt, candidates for governor in November, have offered statements affirming racial bias existed in the state’s law enforcement system. (SHERMAN SMITH/ KANSAS REFLECTOR)

Sports Daily

IMS football dominates Burlington

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

The Iola Middle School football teams dominated Burlington on Thursday at home taking 38-12 and 32-0 victories.

Eighth grade

The eighth grade Mustangs scored 32 first half points.

Iola scored three touchdowns on the ground. Kale Pratt led the way, rushing in all three scores for a total 137 rushing yards in the win. The touchdown rushes came from seven, five and nine yards out to put the Mustangs ahead.

“It was a good win against a tough Burlington squad. I thought all-around we saw improvements on both sides of the ball. The boys came out fired up, shutting them out the first half,” said Iola head coach Scott Ellis.

Jase Herrmann also ran the ball well, going for 58 rushing yards.

Austin Crooks started the game under center for the Mustangs and threw one touchdown pass to Herrmann on a big 37-yard gain.

Crooks passed for a total of 50 yards with a pair of 10yard touchdown passes as well.

Pratt also scored on an interception defensively late in the second half to put the game away.

“Our defense was aggressive and executed well against a team that threw several formations against us,” Ellis said. “It was a great win overall with total team effort.”

Defensively, Pratt led the way with his interception for a touchdown and six total tackles. Franklin Kerr followed suit with four tackles while Broderick Peters and Xander Brackett made three tackles apiece.

Layton Stowell also scooped up a fumble recovery along with his one tackle.

Seventh grade

The seventh grade Iola football team shut out Burlington in a 32-0 drubbing. The Mustangs scored 24 of their 32 points in the first half while also coming out of the gate strong.

Reginald Davis III led the way running the ball with two touchdowns on 154 rushing yards. The pair of touchdown runs came on snaps from 83 and 71 yards out for monstrous touchdown scores.

“Offensively, Davis carried us rushing 154 yards and making some big runs. There was positive execution by all the boys. It was a great win for us,” Ellis said.

Reed Clift also punched in a touchdown from seven yards out while going for 19 total rushing yards. Kevon Loving ran the ball for 46 yards while Noah Anderson

Mustangs medal at meet

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

LOUISBURG — The Iola High School varsity cross country team ran like the wind at the Louisburg 5K meet on Thursday, taking third place as a team while two Mustang runners took home medals.

Jesse Taylor crossed the finish line first for Iola coming in sixth place overall with a time of 18:09. The time would be good for a medal. Iola’s Kaster Trabuc also medalled, finishing in 10th place with a mark of 18:42.

“Jesse has just been super focused and ready to push

himself. He’s taken care of his body so when it’s time to add extra mileage or have these big finishes he’s ready to go and he’s mentally in it. He’s having fun, that’s the best part,” said Iola head coach Brittany Daugharthy. “It’s just so cool to see him have these moments.” Mustang Cole Moyer took home 20th place with a time of 19:38. Travis Wanker finished just shy of a personal-record time with a 20:01, good for 22nd place overall. Brennan Coffield came in with a personal-record time of 20:57, in 33rd place.

Alejandro Escalante rounded out Iola’s team with a 23:07 time to take 37th over-

all.

“All of these guys are super close to season PRs or even their career PRs and they’re just pushing themselves that much. It’s so exciting to see how they turn that around,” said Daugharthy. “They amaze me every week with how they’re ready to take on challenges.”

Iola will see some of the same schools at their regional meet in Chanute on Oct. 22. The other runners competing hailed from both 4A and 5A schools with a high level of competition and good times.

Iola will race at Osawatomie next Thursday at 4 p.m. in a Pioneer league meet.

Humboldt runners cap season

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

OSAGE CITY — The Humboldt High School cross country team ran at the Osage City invitational on Thursday in their final meet of the regular season.

The Cubs set a number of personal-records and ran four varsity boys runners, six varsity girls, three JV boys, two JV girls and one middle school runner.

Peyton Wallace led the varsity boys in the 5K race with a time of 19:26 to take 30th place overall. Brigg

Shannon placed in 60th with a time of 20:44, followed by Landon Bauer coming in 65th place with a time of 21:04.

“Osage City has a fast course and we always have good times at this meet,” said Humboldt head coach Eric Carlson. “It is also a very tough meet as there are a number of very good

schools that attend. We had a beautiful day to run on a great course. Both Shannon and Lauer’s times were personal-records by more than one minute.

Gavin Jaro rounded out the varsity boys runners in 94th place with a time of 24:35. This was also a person-

al-record time for Jaro by nearly a minute and a half.

McKenna Jones led the varsity girls runners with a 15th place, 22:46 finish, good for a medal. Anna Heisler finished in 28th place with a mark of 24:09, Carsyn

ACC takes down NEO Thursday

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

The Allen Community College volleyball team were successful in their second home match in as many days on Thursday, taking down Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, 3-2.

The Lady Red Devils dropped their first set, 25-22 but won the second set in a tight one, 26-24. Allen secured the third set in a 25-19 victory before falling in the fourth set, 28-26.

In the fifth-set decider, the Lady Red Devils defeated Northeastern Oklahoma by 5 points, 15-10.

Sofia Otero served a monstrous 66 aces from the line through five sets while Karsyn Smith registered three aces.

Gabriela Dominguez led the offensive attack with 21 kills, followed by Veronica Agostini’s 19 kills and Jada Dangerfield’s 15 kills. Lexi Deweese also knocked 10 kills offensively.

Defensively, Agostini and Smith led the way with 29 and 28 digs, respectively. Dominguez and Dangerfield also chipped into the effort with 19 and 13 digs, respectively. Arlette Becerra made four solo blocks while Dominguez had one solo block.

Overall, Agostini led with 25 points, Dominguez 23 points and Dangerfield 16.5 points. Deweese also managed 13 points while Becerra hit 12.5 points.

The Lady Red Devils are back in action at home against Neosho Community College on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

HMS handles Leon

LEON — The Humboldt Middle School football team crushed Leon Middle School on Thursday evening, 36-6.

The Cubs (5-1) got on the board quickly on a Collin Cook 58-yard touchdown rush for the 6-0 lead.

The Blue Storm of Leon responded on the very next drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 6-6.

Cook then ran back the next kickoff to the end zone for the 75-yard touchdown return. The Cubs tacked on a two-point conversion for the 14-6 edge heading to the second quarter.

Shortly into the second quarter, Humboldt’s Ty Shaughnessy rushed for a two-yard touchdown. The score was set up by Shaughnessy hitting Cook for a pair of pass plays of 30 and 20 yards to move downfield.

Gryzbowski

ed on a after the 22-6 Humboldt Following Cubs and a scoreless Humboldt up any yards fourth down The fourth with a Gavin yard touchdown from Shaughnessy Truman score from boldt converted two-point 36-6 victory.

Gunderman defensively ing one Cole Anderson, and Hudson tackling. Humboldt Jennings the fans their support.

“It means cheer for energy high,” Humboldt at home final game

Iola’s Jesse Taylor (46) took sixth place at Louisburg on Thursday evening. The Mustangs nished third as a team at the meet. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Humboldt eighth grade cross country runner Jack Works heads for the nish line at the Humboldt invitational. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

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Feeling of dread follows rough stretch

Adapted from an on line discussion.

Dear Carolyn: Like many people, I had a rough year during 20202021. I struggled with many things for the first time — depression, insomnia — and some more normal things that became crippling — anxiety, self-esteem issues, etc.

Anyway, I made a few moves and choices, I saw a therapist weekly for a few months, and I FEEL AMAZING. Like it might not be an exag geration to say I have never been this happy in my life. Part of me thinks it is from going through what I went through, and proving to myself my resilience and fortitude that’s making me so happy. I had a lot of realizations, found out what I valued most, found new coping skills, impressed my self with my strength, made changes in my life that align more with the things I love.

I do have this creep

Carolyn Hax

About

ing feeling of “this is only temporary.” Like, “Something bad is going to happen because life can’t be this good.”

I don’t want that devil on my shoulder. Tell me it isn’t going to end! (Or some other wisdom that will help me fully enjoy this time without those creeping doubts.) —

Turning a Corner

Turning a Corner: I love this question so much.

Yay for you. There are so many hard things in here and you did them, when you felt tired and terrible and when even the easy things were hard for all of us to do. Enjoy this buoyant “after” because you so clearly earned it.

And enjoy it because it will end, yes. Some what. I’m not saying this to be a downer,

but to make a realistic point: The [Poo] Fairy will keep making her rounds, because that’s what she does. And while it’s a good idea not to make choices that basically invite her to show up, she mostly decides when and how long she’ll stay, so you don’t really protect yourself from anything by assuming a defen sive mind-set. Your hap piness is not tempting fate.

You can use your hap piness, however — and your recent unhappi ness and all the things you did to turn the lat ter to the former — to your advantage. When the bad stuff does come back, you are now pre pared. You know all the things you did to get bet ter before, and you know you can turn to them again, as appropriate.

You also know you can experience the worst struggle of your life and feel joyful an unimag inably short time later.

You also know you were key to that turnaround,

Stroke’s effects likely permanent now

DEAR DR. ROACH:

so you understand you have agency. You know that external conditions change, too, even if it’s just that winter will yield to spring.

All of these things change you, and that new you then greets each upswing and downturn in your life. The person you are now will be able to recognize bad feel ings like anxiety or de pression sooner, as they creep in, and be able to address them knowl edgeably and see past them to a possible “af ter.” This robs them of so much of their power.

The person you are now — if you internalize life as cyclical and your self as a competent selfmanager — will be able to ride an upswing just for the joy of it while it lasts. Because you know it won’t and you know you’ll be able to handle it when it’s over.

So there it is: “This up swing will end, but I now know I can handle what ever downturn comes next, and expect another upswing in time.”

Thanks for sharing this with us.

Dr. Keith Roach

To Your Good Health

My husband had a stroke in October 2020, and although he has been able to resume most functions, his left side has remained with out any feeling or sensa tion. He has cut his fin ger many times and has no awareness of it. The neurologist said that it is not likely to come back now.

We are inquiring, however, if there are any remedies or treat ments for the intense burning sensation he frequently gets in his

CRYPTOQUOTES

PIXABAY.COM

left hand. — C.P.

ANSWER: Among the most important func tions of nerves in the body is the function of sending informa tion from the brain to muscles, and sending back information about what we are touching. A stroke in certain parts of the brain can affect the sensation of touch, causing numbness and pain.

The brain has the ability to recover from

some injuries, but re covery becomes less likely after a year. So, his neurologist is prob ably correct. There are still treatments for the pain, however. Most of ten, gabapentin is used, but it often needs to be prescribed at a high dose that takes weeks or months to get used to. Other options include pregabalin and amitrip tyline, while nonmedi cation options include sensory retraining ther apy and massage.

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Yesterday’s Cryptoquote: The best way to pursue happiness is to help other people. Nothing else will make you happier.

— George Lucas

MARVIN by Tom Armstrong

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HI AND LOIS by Chance Browne

MVJH volleyball competes

MORAN — The second time was not the charm for Marmaton Valley Junior High Thursday.

The Wildcat volleyball team, playing Southeast-Cherokee for the second time in four days, came up on the short end of a 25-8, 25-12 setback.

“Our serving went well,” Wildcat head coach Brenda Mills said. “We just didn’t keep our serves. We played flat most of the night. We made a few good volleyball, but just couldn’t pull it together. If it could go wrong, it did.”

Addisyn Drake led with two points, while Jae Beachner, Emma Michael and Layla Cook each had one point.

“Addisyn, Layla and Andie (Carr) all had some kills,” Mills said. “We had a few bright spots.”

Marmaton Valley’s B team dropped a 2522 and 26-24 nailbiter.

Myleigh Eslick led with 10 points, followed by Reagan Marshall and Mahala Burris with

five apiece, Evva Sander with four and Kaylee Burris with one.

The C team prevailed, 25-17. Eslick scored four, Bella Winner had three, Marshall and Mary Burris two each and Harlie Cook one.

“The B and C teams

Ramirez blast propels Guardians

CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez connected for a two-run homer, Shane Bieber dominated Tampa Bay for 7 2/3 innings and the young Cleveland Guardians played with poise in their postseason debut, beating the Rays 2-1 in the wild-card opener on Friday.

Ramírez’s shot off Shane McClanahan in the sixth inning helped Cleveland end an eightgame postseason losing streak and left the club one win from advancing in its first season as the Guardians.

Bieber, rocked in his only other playoff appearance two years ago, allowed just three hits and struck out eight before being lifted with a runner on in the eighth.

Emmanuel Clase took it from there, getting four outs for his first postseason save and finishing a game that took just 2 hours, 17 minutes. Cleveland’s closer led the majors with 42 saves in the regular season.

Jose Siri homered for the Rays, who dropped their sixth straight game overall and must win Game 2 on Saturday to force a decisive Game 3. The series winner plays the AL East champion New York Yankees in the Division Series starting Tuesday in the Bronx.

With 17 players making MLB debuts, the Guardians entered lacking playoff experience.

However, Ramírez and Bieber have been here before, and both came through for the AL Central champions.

And the Guardians, who played “small ball” all season to win an unexpected division title, leaned on power for this win.

With Cleveland down 1-0 and running out of outs, Ramírez delivered — as usual.

Amed Rosario singled with one out in the sixth off McClanahan,

and Ramírez, a fourtime All-Star who finished second to Aaron Judge in RBIs in the AL this season, drove a 1-1 changeup over the wall for just his second postseason homer in 97 at-bats.

As the red-towel waving fans in Progressive Field screamed, Rays manager Kevin Cash appealed whether Rosario missed second.

TV replays showed Ramirez slowing and touching the bag.

While the umpires waited for an official ruling, the crowd spontaneously sang “Jose ... Jose ... Jose,” like never before, prompting Ramírez to pop out for a curtain call. The home run stood and Cleveland had a slim lead it protected.

Siri’s one-out homer in the sixth — just the second hit allowed by Bieber — gave the Rays a 1-0 lead. Siri flew out to deep center in his first at-bat in third before driving a 1-0 pitch over the fence.

Tampa Bay didn’t get its first hit of Bieber until the fifth, when Harold Ramírez bounced a single into center. But Bieber buckled down and got two outs before striking out Christian Bethancourt, the righthander’s third punchout to end an inning.

When he was lifted, Bieber received a thunderous ovation he tried to return by clapping into his glove.

Both Shanes, McClanahan and Bieber, were looking to rebound from poor playoff outings.

As a rookie last season, McClanahan pitched five scoreless innings in Game 1 of the ALDS against Boston. Called on to pitch in relief in Game 4, he gave up five runs and recorded only two outs and then took out his frustration on a chair in the tunnel in Fenway Park.

played well,” Mills said.

Marmaton Valley ends the season at home next Thursday against Crest.

BY HALIE LUKEN/ MVHS

Wildcats fall to Southeast

MORAN — A spirited effort came up just short Thursday as Marmaton Valley Junior High dropped a 68-42 decision to Southeast-Cherokee.

“Southeast is a very quality team,” Wildcat head coach Dan Uhlrich said. “We had many stops, but we were giving up too much ground

early.” Cooper Scharff had a strong game running the ball, Uhlrich said.

“I am glad he is on our team.”

But Marmaton was plagued by false starts and missed blocks, he continued. “On defense, we still need to continue to move forward on

run plays and attack the ball. The team that wins the line of scrimmage most of the time wins the game.”

Marmaton Valley wraps up the 2022 season next Thursday at home against Crest. “We will need to be disciplined,” Uhlrich said.

the team that makes it happen:

Marmaton Valley Junior High’s Dagan Barney, center, tackles a Southeast ball carrier Thursday. Arriving to help is Marmaton Valley’s Brian Morgan (72).

PHOTO

Emma Michael, center, sets up a teammate at a recent Marmaton Valley Junior High volleyball match. PHOTO BY HALIE LUKEN/MVHS

Area runners shine at Pleasanton Invitational

PLEASANTON — Crest High’s young runners shined brightly at the Pleasanton Invitational Thursday.

Freshman Josie Walter took home first place in the girls varsity race by a substantial margin, winning the 5K in 19 minutes, 59.6 seconds — a full 73 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, Emma Cubit of Central Heights.

Walter’s Lady lancer classmates Peyton Schmidt and Aubrey Allen weren’t far behind.

Schmidt took third at 22:09.05, while Allen placed ninth at 23:14.45.

On the boys’ side, Crest’s Breakin Jones took 13th in the varsity race, finishing in 19:41.29. Marmaton Valley’s Kowa Bloemer placed 23rd at 20:39.6.

Runners from Marmaton Valley and Yates Center also were a part of the festivities.

The Wildcats’ Sophia Heim took the top spot in the girls junior varsity run, finishing in 26:26.85. Yates Center’s Courtney Spoon wasn’t far behind, placing fourth at 28:12.46.

Crest’s Kallei Robb won the seventh-grade girls race, while Marmaton Valley’s Tucker Sutton (second) and Thomas Allee (fifth) each took home top-five positions in the seventh-grade boys competition.

Pleasanton Invitational

Girls Varsity (5K)

1. Josie Walter, Crest, 19:59.60

3. Peyton Schmidt, Crest, 21:12.62

9. Aubrey Allen, Crest, 23:14.45

16. AJ Belcher, Yates Center, 25:35.53

22. Kyree Puckett, Crest, 26:04.49

Boys Varsity (5K)

13. Breakin Jones, Crest, 19:41.29

23. Kiowa Bloemer, Marmaton Valley, 20:39.6 Girls Junior Varsity (5K)

1. Sophia Heim, Marmaton Valley, 26:26.85

4. Courtney Spoon, Yates Center, 28:12.46

Eighth Grade Girls (2 miles)

9. Jaylynn Birk, Yates Center, 15:06.52

Eighth Grade Boys (2 miles)

7. Max Wehry, Marma-

ton Valley, 13:18.84

11. Brendon Newman, Marmaton Valley, 14:20.41

12. Asher Arnold, Yates Center, 14:37.10

Seventh Grade Girls (2 miles)

1. Kallei Robb, Crest, 12:41.04

8. Emma Louk, Marmaton Valley, 15:06.65

10. Haylie Aiello, Marmaton Valley, 15:42.90

Seventh Grade Boys (2 miles)

2. Tucker Sutton, Marmaton Valley, 12:42.96

5. Thomas Allee, Marmaton Valley, 13:07.28

9. Dagon Denny, Crest, 13:14.03

14. Jimmy Ayers, Crest, 13:51.46

19. Laken Culver, Yates Center, 14:41.46

20. Isaac Stoll, Yates Center, 14:56.64

25. Colin Ard, Marmaton Valley, 15:20.82

26. Wyatt Francis, Crest, 15:38.40

34. Joseph Bishop, Yates Center, 17:56.66

Cleveland attorney charged in bottle throwing incident

CLEVELAND (AP) — An attorney who was arrested for throwing a water bottle at Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam at the end of a home game last month has been charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct by intoxication.

Jeffrey Miller, 51, of Rocky River, is sched-

uled to appear in Cleveland Municipal Court on Oct. 20. A message seeking comment was left with Miller on Friday. He was charged on Thursday.

Haslam was struck by the bottle as he walked off the field and headed toward the end zone tunnel at FirstEnergy Stadium during a last-second

loss to the New York Jets on Sept. 18. Miller was detained by securi-

ty guards when he tried to leave the stadium, according to cleveland.

com.

Haslam was not injured.

Above, Crest High’s Breakin Jones runs in the boys varsity race at Thursday’s Pleasanton Invitational Cross Country Meet. Jones earned a 10th-place medal. At lower left, Marmaton Valley High’s Sophia Heim races to victory in the girls junior varsity race. At lower right, Marmaton Valley’s Tucker Sutton (3227) places second in the seventh-grade boys race. PHOTOS BY HALIE LUKEN/MVHS

MLB crowds jump from last season

By DAVID BRANDT The Associated Press

Even with homer chases by Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols, Major League Baseball wasn’t able to coax fans to ballparks at pre-pandemic levels this season, though attendance did jump substantially from the COVID-19 affected campaign in 2021.

The 30 MLB teams drew nearly 64.6 million fans for the regu-

lar season that ended Wednesday, which is up from the 45.3 million who attended games in 2021, according to baseball-reference.com.

This year’s numbers are still down from the 68.5 million who attended games in 2019, which was the last season that wasn’t affected by the pandemic.

The 2022 average of 26,843 fans per game throughout the league was down 5.3% from the 2019 average of 28,339.

The 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers led baseball with 3.86 million fans flocking to Dodger Stadium for an average of 47,672 per contest. The Oakland Athletics — who lost 102 games, play in an aging stadium and are the constant subject of relocation rumors — finished last, drawing just 787,902 fans for an average of less than 10,000 per game.

The St. Louis Cardinals finished second, drawing 3.32 million

fans. They were followed by the Yankees (3.14 million), defending World Series champion Braves (3.13 million) and Padres (2.99 million).

The Toronto Blue Jays saw the biggest jump in attendance, rising from 805,901 fans to about 2.65 million. They were followed by the Cardinals, Yankees, Mariners, Dodgers, and Mets, which all drew more than a million fans more than in 2021.

RACING THIS WEEK

The Rangers and Reds were the only teams to draw fewer fans than in 2021.

Only the Rangers started the 2021 season at full capacity and all 30 teams weren’t at 100% until July. It was a huge reason why an average of only 18,901 fans came to games.

No fans were allowed to attend regular season games in 2020.

MLB attendance had been declining slowly for years — even before the pandemic — after

hitting its high mark of 79.4 million in 2007. This year’s 64.6 million fans is the fewest in a non-COVID-19 season since the sport expanded to 30 teams in 1998.

The lost attendance has been balanced in some ways by higher viewership on the sport’s MLB. TV streaming service. Viewers watched 11.5 billion minutes of content in 2022, which was a record high and up nearly 10% from 2021.

Trucks bonus quote: “We’ve come so close so many times at this track, I’ve felt like Talladega – more than Bristol or any of those places – owes me one so pretty sweet. The wait was well worth it.”

- Matt DiBenedetto, who earned his first NASCAR national series race victory in Saturday’s Chevy Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway

It’s on to Round of 8 for fan fave Elliott

CUP PLAYOFFS

BANK OF AMERICA ROVAL 400

A

lways the unquestionable fan favorite at NASCAR‘s famed Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Georgianative Chase Elliott made a last-lap pass to claim the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 victory Sunday afternoon — having to better one of his best friends, Ryan Blaney, to earn the first automatic bid into the next round of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

With two laps to go, Elliott pulled his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from the bottom lane to the top lane and got a huge push from behind by Petty GMS Racing driver Erik Jones — the momentum enough to edge fellow playoff competitor Blaney by a slight 0.046 seconds at the line and give him a chance to hoist his series-best fifth trophy of the season; 18th of his seven-year NASCAR Cup Series career.

“Moments like that, you have to really cherish and you guys are what makes this special to me,” Elliott, 26, told the cheering fans. “So, thank you sincerely, I really appreciate it.”

“These things are so so hard to win, you gotta enjoy them and just appreciate everyone‘s effort today.”

Former Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell was third, followed by two more playoff drivers, Trackhouse Racing‘s Ross Chastain and Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Denny Hamlin.

Chastain and Stewart-Haas Racing‘s Aric Almirola led the most laps on the day — each out front 36 laps — in an afternoon that featured the most lead changes of the season (57) set by 17 different drivers.

Although it was a dramatic superspeedway ending, the action was tame by Talladega standards. Only one of the six caution periods was for a multi-car accident. Two were scheduled stage breaks and the other two for single-car incidents. The final caution — which set up the two-lap shootout ending — came for Daniel Hemric‘s stalled car on pit road.

That bunched up the field again and ultimately positioned Elliott (who restarted on the inside of the third row) to make his run forward. Blaney, who led 31 laps in the No. 12 Penske Racing Ford, had been trading the lead with Jones in the laps immediately before that final caution flag.

“I thought about it,” Blaney said of making a different move for the lead. “The second lane was kind of the strongest, definitely the second half of the race. And I thought about (throwing a block on Elliott) but when you go to the middle without a Ford or teammate behind you, the chances of getting split are so high.

“As much as I trust Chase, I don‘t trust him enough for him not to take me three-wide and leave me in the middle so I chose to stay down in front of (fellow Ford driver) Michael (McDowell). He was awesome at pushing me on the last restart and giving me great shots. Just a little bit too late.

Each of the stage finishes came down to the moves made in the tri-oval. Blaney snatched the Stage 1 victory by just .009 seconds over Hamlin with a charge through the outside lane, while Elliott snookered Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson exiting the tri-oval for the Stage 2 win.

It was a big boost for Elliott, who had a rough outing last week in the opening race of this playoff round in Texas. Elliott crashed out and finished 32nd and came into Talladega ranked eighth — after earning the regular season championship and leading the standings for a season-best 23 weeks prior to Sunday.

The opening four 2022 playoff races were won by nonplayoff drivers — an unprecedented occurrence. So Elliott‘s advancement to the next round is the first “automatic” advancement by a playoff-eligible driver.

Beyond Elliott, Blaney now leads the points standings — 34 points ahead of Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Austin Cindric in ninth place with the top eight drivers advancing to the Round of 8 next playoff round.

Chastain is ranked third, followed by Hamlin and Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who finished 27th on Sunday. Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson — who finished 18th at Talladega — is ranked sixth in the standings, followed by Trackhouse Racing‘s Daniel Suárez and Stewart-Haas Racing‘s Chase Briscoe in that final eighth place.

Cindric is tied with Briscoe in points. William Byron (-11), Christopher Bell (-33) and Alex Bowman (-54) complete the current playoff 12.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver Bowman did not race this week as he is recovering from concussion-like symptoms after an accident in Texas last week. Team owner Rick Hendrick said Bowman would be re-examined by doctors this week in hopes of getting clearance to return to competition.

Bell and Byron, who both entered Sunday’s race beneath the elimination line, failed to score stage points at Talladega. Byron charged to the lead in Stage 1 but ultimately finished the respective stages in 11th and 13th, taking the checkered flag 12th. Bell, who finished 20th in Stage 1, spun entering pit road at Lap 100 and lost a lap before the conclusion of Stage 2, taking the green-checkered flag in 30th before ending the race 17th.

The next race, the Bank of America ROVAL 400, is Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval — the final road-course event of the season. Larson is the defending race winner. Blaney won the inaugural race at the Charlotte Roval and Elliott is a two-time winner there as well (2019 and 2020).

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course 2 p.m. ET Sunday, NBC

• Charlotte Motor Speedway was designed and built in 1959. In 1984 it became the only sports facility in America to offer yearround living accommodations when it built 40 condominiums high above turn one. The lighting system was installed in 1992, allowing it to be the rst modern superspeedway to host night auto racing.

• During a typical race weekend, fans consume more than 34,000 slices of pizza, 9,500 gallons of soda and water, 13,500 feet of hot dogs and 309,000 pounds of ice.

• In 2011, it set a Guinness Record with the debut of the world’s largest HDTV at a sports venue, spanning nearly 16,000 square feet.

Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, drives during the Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Sunday (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

CUP BUBBLE WATCH