The Iola Register, May 10, 2024

Students inducted into NHS

By SARAH HANEY

Leave your hometown. Explore the world. Go to college. These sentiments were central to Tim Stauffer’s passionate message to National Honor Society members during Wednesday evening’s induction ceremony at Iola High School. Stauffer, managing editor of The Iola Register, was the event’s keynote speaker. Senior members of the National Honor Society

You need to be changed by the world. You need to let it astonish you.

— Tim Stauffer

graduating with distinction were presented with a gold honor cord and certificate. Six new members were installed, including sophomores Brennen Coffield,

Stephanie Fees, Bethany

Miller, and Ari Ramirez and juniors Grady Dougherty and Kale Godfrey.

Membership in the National Honor Society is based on four pillars: scholarship, character, leadership, and service. Members of the Iola chapter volunteered 810 hours for the good of the community this school year. This included ringing bells for The Salvation Army, wrapping

IHS grads challenge themselves Jenna Morrison excited for future filled with options

By VICKIE MOSS

The Iola Register

Seeing her future stretching out before her, Jenna Morrison is both excited and anxious. Excited, because she has so many options. Anxious, because so much is changing.

“With school, I’ve always had this structure and then one day, it’s gone,” she said. “I really like organization. I like to have a routine. So it’s kind of scary that I’m going to have to find something new to structure my life around.”

Her path truly is wide open after she graduates Sat-

urday as one of Iola High School’s seven valedictorians.

Sure, Jenna has a few ideas about what she wants to do. She has plans.

“I’m going to Allen Community College for a year. After that, I have no idea.”

Morrison sees that lack of definition as an opportunity.

“When I enrolled at Allen, I chose a bunch of very different courses. Design. Macroeconomics. I’m

See MORRISON | Page A6

Self-improvement drives Keira Fawson to succeed

By RICHARD LUKEN

The Iola Register

When Keira Fawson walks across the stage Saturday to receive her diploma as one of seven valedictorians for Iola High School’s Class of 2024, she’ll likely think back to the day in fifth grade when she decided to become a better student.

“I’d never really stressed about my grades before,” Fawson said. “I thought I had pretty good grades. I’d occasionally get a B or a C, but they weren’t bad.”

Then came that fateful day when her teacher announced that year’s Student Council members.

Fawson was heartbroken her name was not called. “All of my friends were selected, and I was sad I wasn’t.”

Then, an epiphany. Each of the students tapped for the StuCo roles had exemplary grades, Fawson quickly realized. Plus, they were active outside the classroom.

“That’s what started me setting a higher standard for myself,” she said.

Fawson cited one other motivating factor: Her older brothers. No, they weren’t the inspirational types to stress

See FAWSON | Page A3

LaHarpe seeks to fill city council vacancy

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

LAHARPE — The LaHarpe City Council is seeking someone to fill a vacancy. Council member Austin Lee will vacate the seat effective May 31 because he is moving outside the city limits. He was first elected in 2020 when he won a seat previously held by his father, David Lee, who did not seek re-election in order to successfully run for the county commission. Austin Lee was elected to his second term in November 2023; it expires in

January 2027. The city is accepting letters of intent from those who may be interested in filling the position. To qualify, you must live in the LaHarpe city limits. The deadline is June 3.

Mayor Ella Mae Crowell is tasked with appointing a successor to Lee. The council will then vote whether to approve her recommendation. The council has five members and the mayor, who votes only in the event of a tie. The Council’s next meet-

from beginning and introduction to strings, to high school ensembles and solos. Piper Weilert performs “The Two Grenadiers” on her cello during a series of solos.

REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

JERUSALEM (AP) — The first aid ship bound for an American-built floating pier to be installed in Gaza departed early Thursday. But it’s unclear when the corridor will be up and running, and humanitarian groups say there are still major obstacles to getting food to starving Palestinians in the war-ravaged enclave.

Cyprus announced the ship’s departure even though the U.S. military has not yet installed the pier and questions remain as to how the aid will be distributed. Even when the route is up and running, it won’t be able to handle as much aid as Gaza’s two main land crossings, which are currently inaccessible.

The U.N. says most of the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians suffer from hunger and that northern Gaza is already experiencing “full-

The Iola Register

Iola High School student Brennen Coffield, left, lights Grady Dougherty’s candle during the National Honor Society’s new inductee ceremony Wednesday evening while Kale Godfrey looks on. REGISTER/SARAH HANEY

Jenna Morrison plans on attending Allen Community College for a year after high school. COURTESY PHOTO

Keira Fawson. REGISTER/ RICHARD LUKEN

House rejects Rep. Greene’s effort to oust Speaker, but chaos lingers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hard-line Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tried and failed in a brazen push to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, but the resounding rejection by Republicans and Democrats tired of the turmoil does not guarantee an end to the GOP chaos.

One of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters in Congress, Greene stood on the House floor late Wednesday and read a long list of “transgressions” she said Johnson had committed as speaker, from his passage of a $95 billion national security package with aid for Ukraine to his reliance on Democrats to wield power.

Colleagues booed in protest. But Greene soldiered on, criticizing Johnson’s leadership as “pathetic, weak and unacceptable.”

After Greene triggered the vote on her motion to vacate the Republican speaker from his office, Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise quickly countered by calling first for a vote to table it.

An overwhelming majority, 359-43, kept Johnson in his job, for now.

“As I’ve said from the beginning, and I’ve made clear here every day, I intend to do my job,” Johnson said afterward. “And I’ll let the chips fall where they may. In my view, that is leadership.”

It’s the second time in a matter of months that Republicans have worked to oust their

own speaker, an unheard of level of party upheaval with a move rarely seen in U.S. history.

While the outcome temporarily calms the latest source of House disruption, the vote tally shows the strengths but also the stark limits of Johnson’s hold on the gavel, and the risks ahead for any Republican trying to lead the GOP.

Without Democratic help, Johnson would have certainly faced a more dismal outcome.

All told, 11 Republicans voted to proceed with Greene’s effort, more than it took to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy last fall, a first in U.S. history.

But by relying on Democratic backing, Johnson risks inciting more criticism that he

is insufficiently loyal to the party.

And the threat still lingers — any single lawmaker can call up the motion to vacate the speaker.

Even though Trump provided a needed nod of support for Johnson at crucial moments, it’s not bankable going forward. The former president posed an idle warning about potentially ousting the speaker as voting was getting underway.

“At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time,” Trump said on social media.

Trump also made clear he still valued Greene, perhaps his biggest ally in the House, even as he rejected her proposal. “I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene,” he said as he

urged Republicans to table her motion.

As Greene pressed ahead with the snap vote, GOP lawmakers filtered towards Johnson, giving him pats on the back and grasping his shoulder to assure him of their support.

The Georgia Republican had vowed weeks ago she would force a vote on the motion to vacate the Republican speaker if he dared to advance the foreign aid package for Ukraine, which was overwhelmingly approved late last month and signed into law.

But in recent days it seemed her effort had cooled, as she and Johnson met repeatedly for a potential resolution.

Johnson of Louisiana marched on, saying he had been willing to take the risk to approve the

Deadly weather: Storms pummel the South

COLUMBIA, Tenn. (AP) — A wave of dangerous storms began washing over parts of the South early Thursday, a day after severe weather with damaging tornadoes and large hail killed at least three people in the region.

A heavy line of storms swept into Atlanta near the end of the morning rush hour. Busy hub airports in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, reported delays Thursday morning. Tornado warnings were issued for parts of Tennessee and Alabama.

The storms continue a streak of torrential rains and tornadoes this week from the Plains to the Midwest and, now, the Southeast. At least four people have died since Monday. The weather comes on the heels of a stormy April in which the U.S. had 300 confirmed tornadoes, the second-most on record for the month and the most since 2011.

Storms had already left more than a quarter-million customers without power Thursday in North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Missouri, according to PowerOutage.us.

A storm Wednesday in northeastern Tennessee damaged homes, injured people, toppled power lines and trees, and killed a 22-year-old man in a car in Claiborne County, north of Knoxville, officials said.

A second person was killed south of Nashville in Columbia, the Maury County seat, where officials said a tornado had likely touched down

and homes were blown off their foundations.

Bob Booth had just gotten home to Columbia from Georgia and was sitting down to watch television when he heard a “crazy racket.”

“I get up and look out, and it was all hell breaking loose outside,” Booth said. “Then the top half of one of my trees goes down across the road.”

Booth said he was told it would be a while before his power was restored. One neighbor, he said, lost all trees except one that would have destroyed his house: “So that guy is blessed.”

Schools were closed Thursday in several Tennessee counties. Some districts north of Atlanta canceled in-person classes or delayed start times because of storm damage overnight that included fallen trees on houses and vehicles around Clarkesville. No injuries were reported there.

“We’re just trying to clean up right now and wait for the next round,” said Lynn Smith, director of the Habersham County Emergency Management Agency.

Torrential rains led to a flash flood emergency and water rescues northeast of Nashville.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary ground stop at Nashville’s main airport, and the weather service issued a tornado emergency, its highest alert level, for nearby areas. In North Carolina, a state of emergency was declared Wednesday night for Gaston Coun-

ty, west of Charlotte, after a storm that toppled power lines and trees, including one that landed on a car. One person in the car was killed, and another was taken to a hospital, officials said.

The storms followed heavy rain, strong winds, hail and tornadoes in parts of the central U.S. on Monday, including a twister that ripped through an Oklahoma town and killed one person. On Tuesday, the Midwest took the brunt of the bad weather. Tornadoes

touched down in parts of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, according to the weather service.

Michigan’s Kalamazoo area was hard hit as a FedEx facility was ripped apart, with downed power lines trapping about 50 people.

Tornadoes were also confirmed near Pittsburgh, in central Arkansas and in northern West Virginia. The West Virginia twister was at least the 11th tornado this year in the state, which sees two tornadoes in an average year.

foreign aid, believing it was important for the U.S. to back Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and explaining he wanted to be on the “right side of history.”

Highly unusual, the boost from Democrats led by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, showed the exhaustion in Congress over the farright antics. Jeffries and his leadership team had said it was time to “turn the page” on the GOP turmoil and vote to ta-

ble Greene’s resolution — ensuring Johnson’s job is saved, for now.

“Our decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene from plunging the country into further chaos is rooted in our commitment to solve problems,” Jeffries said after the vote.

But Democrats have also made clear their help was for this moment alone, and not a promise of an enduring partnership for Johnson’s survival.

CIVIL

Mortgage, LLC f/k/a Quicken Loans,

f/k/a Quicken Loans Inc. Plaintiff, vs. Helen Goodner (Deceased), Unknown Heirs of Helen Goodner (Deceased), Jane Doe, John Doe, Barbara Berry, Bria L. Trytten, Britton C. Klotz aka Britt Klotz, George Waters, Lyle Sherwood Jr., Robert Bruce, Thomas Bruce, Tina Craft (Deceased), Tonya R. Klotz aka Tonya R. Klotz Waters (Deceased), Unknown Heirs of Tina Craft (Deceased), and Unknown Heirs of Tonya R. Klotz aka Tonya R. Klotz Waters (Deceased), et al., Defendants

Case No. AL-2024-CV-000013

Court No. Title to Real Estate Involved Pursuant to K.S.A. §60

NOTICE OF SUIT

STATE OF KANSAS to the above named Defendants and The Unknown Heirs, executors, devisees, trustees, creditors, and assigns of any deceased defendants; the unknown spouses of any defendants; the unknown officers, successors, trustees, creditors and assigns of any defendants that are existing, dissolved or dormant corporations; the unknown executors, administrators, devisees, trustees, creditors, successors and assigns of any defendants that are or were partners or in partnership; and the unknown guardians,

US Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, holds a press conference on House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (left in photo) endorsement of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (right in photo), outside the

Aid: Obstacles still remain in getting food to Palestinians

Continued from A1

the southern city of Rafah, which is the main distribution point for aid and where some 1.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge, most having fled from fighting elsewhere.

Israel seized the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, and it’s unclear when it will reopen. Israel reopened its side of the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing — Gaza’s main cargo terminal — after a rocket attack over the weekend, but the U.N.’s main provider of humanitarian assistance says aid cannot be brought in on the Palestinian side because of the security situation.

A recently reopened route in the north is still functioning, but only 60 trucks entered on Tuesday, far below the 500 that entered Gaza each day before the war.

International aid groups warned this week that a distribu-

Gaza on the container ship Sagamore at Larnaca port, Cyprus, on Wednesday.

AP PHOTO/PETROS KARADJIAS

tion network is at risk of collapse across the territory because of the closure of Rafah, which was used to import fuel.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said it only has enough stocks to maintain operations for a few days and has started rationing.

The threat of a fullscale invasion of Rafah, where many aid groups have warehouses and staff, is also disrupting

distribution.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the United States would not supply offensive weapons for an all-out invasion, in the latest escalation of tensions between the two close allies.

There was no official response to the move from Israel, but the country’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote

a post on the platform X with a heart between the words “Hamas” and “Biden.” He and other ultra-nationalist members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition support a large-scale Rafah operation and have threatened to bring down his government if it doesn’t happen.

Israel’s limited military incursion into Rafah has meanwhile already complicated what had been months of efforts by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt to broker a cease-fire and the release of hostages captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.

CIA Director William Burns headed back to the United States as planned on Thursday after attending talks in Cairo and meeting with Netanyahu this week, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door interna-

tional efforts.

Hamas also said its delegation had left Cairo and was returning to Qatar, where it maintains a political office.

Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera TV said that the Cairo negotiations were continuing. It did not say whether Israel’s delegation was still there, and there was no comment from the Israeli government.

The war began with Hamas’ surprise attack into southern Israel, in which it killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage. The militants are still holding some 100 captives and the remains of more than 30 after most of the rest were released during a cease-fire last year.

The war has killed over 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel’s offensive, waged with U.S.-sup-

plied munitions, has caused widespread devastation and forced some 80% of Gaza’s population to flee their homes.

Biden announced the construction of the floating pier two months ago as part of efforts to ramp up humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Maj. Pete Nguyen, a Pentagon spokesman, said Thursday that parts of the pier are still in the Israeli port of Ashdod awaiting more favorable seas before being moved into position off Gaza. He said the U.S. vessel Sagamore, which left Cyprus, would transport aid to another ship, the Roy P. Benavidez, which is off the coast of Gaza.

“In the coming days, the U.S. will commence an international community-backed effort to expand the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza using a floating pier,” he said.

Fawson: Iola grad plans on attending Brigham Young in fall

the importance of studying, Fawson explained. Nor were they trouble-makers.

“But I was the tattling sister,” she laughed. “If they got a bad grade, I’d be the one to tattle about it.”

Then came another “ah-ha!” moment. Fawson, too, had a younger sibling.

“I figured I’d better do my best so it didn’t happen to me, too,” Fawson said. “I didn’t want to become an example of what not to do.”

Her grades improved, as Fawson went through middle school, and then into high school.

“Once I started developing the habits and standards to want to do my best, it was hard to lower that.”

FAWSON, daughter of Iolans Nathan and Robyn Fawson, will attend college at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she

hopes to study psychology.

Fawson picked BYU over her original dream, attending Utah Tech, where many of her relatives went to school, or to attend Allen Community College and play basketball.

“That was kind of a big plot twist,” she noted. “It took me a long time to figure out what to do. It was stressing me out. I finally decided I wanted to get out and do something new, maybe do a little adventure.”

and all-state honorable mention honors this winter on the basketball court. That came despite suffering a broken nose — twice — concussion that forced her to play much of the season in a mask.

The mask seemed to help me channel my aggression a little more on the court. I started feeling more passionate about it.

— Keira Fawson

Fawson’s high school years included her decorated athletic endeavors.

She was a three-time state qualifier for singles tennis, and eventually earned all-league

“I don’t know how the mask helped me, but it seemed to help me channel my aggression a little more on the court,” Fawson surmised. “I started feeling more passionate about it. Most of it was kind of a daze.”

Fawson hopes to take part in intramural sports, especially tennis, at BYU.

Again, she credits her brothers — and her father — for her tennis game.

“My dad loves ten-

Council: Vacancy to be filled

Continued from A1

Continued from A1 ing is June 12. Members could make a decision at that time or wait until a future meeting. LEE IS moving just outside the city limits.

“I hate to leave but you have to do what’s best for your family,” he said.

nis,” she said. “We’d go out and play as a family, but I never got super serious about it until high school.”

Fawson eventually improved to the point she could play with her family members, and occasionally pull out a win or two herself.

“I finally beat my dad the other day,” she laughed. “I’ve done it a few times, but it’s pretty spotty. Sometimes he has good nights.”

The family outings have become more competitive, to the point that the Fawson Family Tennis Tournament took shape a few years ago.

Now, when the Fawsons gather each June — out-of-town relatives are invited, too — a doubles tournament com-

mences. They’ve even designed a plaque to list the winners’ names each year.

“Mostly it’s for bragging rights,” Fawson said.

Keira and younger brother, Mosiah, made it to the championship match two years ago.

“But last year, he abandoned me to be Isaiah’s partner,” she said. “And they won.”

So, yes, Fawson wants to add “family tennis champ” to her resume before she departs for Utah.

On top of tennis and basketball, Fawson had been a part of the IHS track and field team, until this year, when she signed up for golf.

“When I played tennis, I felt like ‘tennis is life,’” she said. “And

then, when I get into basketball season, the passion would come and I’d feel like ‘basketball is life.’ But to be honest, I was never particularly fond of running, and my schedule was flexible enough I figured I’d give golf a try. It’s been fun getting to hang out with Briley Prather and Madeleine Wanker all season.”

FAWSON had an inherent advantage in wanting to stay focused on her studies through high school. It seems all of her closest friends shared the same passion. “Several of them are valedictorians, too,” she noted.

“They and I share the same values,” Fawson added. “Most of the time we’d stick together.”

A lift loads food aid for

Zelenskyy: Russia has initiative but aid from the West on the way

POKROVSK, Ukraine

(AP) — Ukraine Presi-

dent Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday his country’s army is facing “a really difficult situation” in eastern regions where troops are battling to hold at bay an intense Russian push along parts of the front line.

Russia has sought to exploit Ukraine’s shortages of ammunition and manpower as the flow of Western supplies since the outbreak of the war petered out, assembling large troop concentrations in the east as well as in the north and gaining an edge on the battlefield, Zelenskyy said.

But a massive new U.S. military aid pack-

age is coming, and it will turn the tide, he said at a news conference in Kyiv with visiting President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola.

“With an increase in the supply of weapons, we will be able to stop them in the east. As of now, they seized the initiative there,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia is pressing hard in parts of eastern Ukraine in an effort to drive deeper into the Donetsk region, which it partly occupies. The Ukrainian army is on the back foot, scrambling to build fortified defensive lines, and engaged in intense combat.

Ukraine’s forces are outnumbered in in-

fantry, armor and ammunition against Russia’s bigger army and are trying to limit the Kremlin’s forces to incremental gains.

A Ukrainian brigade recently deployed near Pokrovsk, a town of around 60,000 people before the war, to help stop the creeping Russian advance. Pokrovsk was until recently a two-hour drive from the front line. Now it is less than half that.

Soldiers said the Russians usually shelled Ukrainian positions around dawn before sending in waves of small infantry units. The attackers seek to gain footholds and quickly dig in to consolidate their limited advance.

Legion groups aid USD 256

The Jones-Hardy Post No. 385 American Legion and American Auxiliary of Moran gave USD 256 students a sizable boost recently. The groups donated $1,750 to Marmaton Valley Elementary School Librarian Diane Smith, with the funds going toward purchase of a book vending machine for students. Another $1,250 went to the Marmaton Valley High School forensics team, to help fund a trip for students to compete at an event in Chicago later this month. Pictured are American Legion and Auxiliary members, from left, Cinda Jones, Auxiliary President Kelci Botts, Deloris DeMerritt, Elaine Jackman, Bruce Jackson, Kay Lewis, Mary Jackson, Diane Smith MVE Librarian, Post Commander Gene Gardner, John Collins and Jim Mueller. COURTESY PHOTO

Divided SCOTUS rules no quick hearing required on seized property

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that authorities do not have to provide a quick hearing when they seize cars and other property used in drug crimes, even when the property belongs to so-called innocent owners.

By a 6-3 vote, the justices rejected the claims of two Alabama women who had to wait more than a year for their cars to be returned. Police had stopped the cars when they were being driven by other people and, after finding drugs, seized the vehicles.

Civil forfeiture allows authorities to take someone’s property, without having to prove that it has been used for illicit purposes. Critics of the practice describe it as “legalized theft.”

Justice Brett Kavanaugh

wrote for the conservative majority that a civil forfeiture hearing to determine whether an owner will lose the property permanently must be timely. But he said the Constitution does not also require a separate hearing about whether police may keep cars or other property in the meantime. In a dissent for the liberal members of the court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that

civil forfeiture is “vulnerable to abuse” because police departments often have a financial incentive to keep the property.

“In short, law enforcement can seize cars, hold them indefinitely, and then rely on an owner’s lack of resources to forfeit those cars to fund agency budgets, all without any initial check by a judge as to whether there is a basis to hold the car in the first place,” Sotomayor wrote.

The women, Halima Culley and Lena Sutton, filed federal lawsuits arguing they were entitled to a prompt court hearing that would have resulted in the cars being returned to them much sooner. There was no suggestion that either woman was involved in or knew anything about the illegal activity.

Sutton had loaned her car to a friend. Police in Leesburg, Alabama seized it when they arrested him for trafficking methamphetamine. Sutton ended up without her car for 14 months, during which she couldn’t find work, stay current with bills or keep her mental-health appointments, her lawyers wrote in court papers.

Culley had bought a car for her son to use at college. Police in Satsuma, Alabama stopped the car and found marijuana and a loaded hangun. They charged the son with marijuana possession and kept the car. The Supreme Court decision means months or years of delay for people whose property is taken, said Kirby Thomas West, co-director of the National Initiative to End

Forfeiture Abuse at the libertarian Institute for Justice.

“Meanwhile owners of seized vehicles will scramble to find a way to get to work, take their kids to school, run errands, and complete other essential life tasks,” West said in an email.

Justice Neil Gorsuch was part of Thursday’s majority, but in an opinion also joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, Gorsuch said larger questions about the use of civil forfeiture remain unresolved.

Noting that civil forfeiture has become a “booming business,” Gorsuch wrote the court should use a future case to assess whether the modern practice of civil forfeiture is in line with constitutional guarantees that property may not be taken “without due process of law.”

Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off runway at Senegal airport

DAKAR, Senegal (AP)

— A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Senegal’s capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.

“Our plane just caught fire,” wrote Malian musician Cheick Siriman Sissoko in a post on Facebook that showed passengers jumping down the emergency slides at night as flames engulfed one side of the aircraft at the airport in Dakar. In the background, people can be heard screaming.

Transport Minister El Malick Ndiaye said the Air Sénégal flight operated by TransAir was headed to Bamako, in neighboring Mali, late Wednesday with 79 passengers, two pilots and four cabin crew.

The airport reopened on Thursday morning after closing overnight.

The injured were being treated at a hospital, while the others were taken to a hotel to rest. Boeing referred a request for comment to the airlines.

It was the third incident involving a Boeing airplane this week. Also on Thursday, 190 people were safely evacuated from a plane in Turkey after one of its tires burst during landing at a southern airport, Turkey’s transportation ministry said.

The company has

been under intense pressure since a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole in the plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration in February gave Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to fix quality problems and meet safety standards for building planes after the accident.

The incident has raised scrutiny of Boeing to the highest level since two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. About a dozen relatives of passengers who died in the second crash have been pushing the U.S. government to revive a criminal fraud charge against the company by

determining that Boeing violated terms of a 2021 settlement.

In April, a Boeing whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, testified at a congressional hearing that the company had taken manufacturing shortcuts to turn out 787s as quickly as possible that could lead to jetliners breaking apart.

The Aviation Safety Network, which tracks airline accidents, described the plane as a Boeing 737-38J. The network published photos of the damaged plane in a grassy field, surrounded by fire suppressant foam, on X, formerly known as Twitter. One engine appeared to have broken apart and a wing was also damaged, according to the photos.

The Iola Register Friday, May 10, 2024

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Biden right to pause armaments to Israel

Maybe Israel will now get the message that the United States is not its golden goose.

We say that with tongue in cheek.

Even so, we’re heartened to learn President Joe Biden has stalled delivery of 3,500 bombs to Israel in response to its indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians in the war against Hamas insurgents. What seemed to make a difference this time is Israel’s advancements in Southern Gaza where more than 1 million Palestinians have taken refuge.

Biden has certainly tried everything else to dissuade Israel from the incursion — phone calls, emissaries, joint commission meetings — only to be ignored by his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden was left with little choice, personally as well as in regard to his standing with the Democratic Party, not to mention world opinion.

The ball now is in Netanyahu’s court as to how to respond.

SHOULD ISRAEL be worried?

Yes and no.

Biden’s decision should certainly blow a hole in what Israel has perceived as a blanket assurance that it could act without exception.

“I’ve made it clear to Bibi (Netanyahu) and the war cabinet, they’re not going to get our support if in fact

they go into these population centers,” the president said in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday evening.

Biden admitted U.S. support has been complicit in the harm to innocents. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs.”

That said, the United States has no intention of leaving Israel adrift.

“We’re not walking away from Israel’s security; we’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” the President explained.

Can’t get any clearer than that.

BIDEN’S DECISION has less to do with Israel’s ability to defend itself than with his refusal to support Netanyahu and his war cabinet’s decision to jeopardize the lives of tens of thousands of innocents in their effort to root out Hamas. Israel is not lacking in weaponry. Congress currently sends Israel $3.8 billion a year in military aid, not counting the $15 billion in additional help approved last month. Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the United States has sent Israel tens of thousands of bombs and missiles. By any definition or measure, the U.S. is Israel’s biggest ally.

Whether that dynamic changes is largely up to Israel.

— Susan Lynn

News alert! Candidate concedes loss without dispute

By MARK Z. BARABAK Los Angeles Times/TNS

Joe Simitian long had his eye on a seat in Congress. It would have been a fine way to cap his 40-year political career.

“I viewed it as an opportunity to improve the lives of the people I represent in a different way at a different level,” the Silicon Valley Democrat said. Little did he know.

On election night, March 5, Simitian was running second in a field of 11 candidates vying for a Bay Area House seat. Under California’s top-two primary system, that meant a spot in November’s runoff against the top finisher, former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.

islation expanding green energy and early education.

He began raising money for a congressional bid more than a decade ago and finally got his shot at a seat this year when the Democratic incumbent, Anna G. Eshoo, announced she would step down at the end of her term in January.

It was a rare opportunity — Eshoo has represented parts of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in Congress for 30 years — and there was no lack of interest. Candidates raised nearly $11 million and outside groups chipped in millions more, making the contest one of the most expensive congressional races in the country.

congressional district’s long painful exercise counting the votes is over!” he wrote.

“The not-so-good news: we have come up short.”

Simitian described himself as disappointed, but not sad.

“You don’t work that hard that long to reach that goal and find that, in the flukiest of ways, your aspirations are unrealized. That’s disappointing. There’s no question about it,” he said, elaborating on his written statement during a lunch break in Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

A

look back in t me. A look in t me.

50 Years Ago May 1974

Kathleen McCollam, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McCollam of Kincaid, and a sophomore piano major at Kansas State College of Pittsburg, will present a recital Friday night in McCray Auditorium on the college campus. The program will consist of works by Bach, Debussy and Beethoven. Miss McCollam is a former pupil of the late Miss Florence Hobart. *****

A $15 million hydraulic hose manufacturing plant will be constructed by the Gates Rubber Company in Iola, said Charles C. Gates, company president. The Iola plant will manufacture a wire-braided hose capable of withstanding exceedingly high pressures. Gates Rubber Company has purchased a 100-acre site from Iola Industries, Inc. which was part of the Lehigh property before it was purchased by Iola Industries. Gates officials paid tribute to Mayor Jack Hastings, Iola Industries, Inc., Iola Chamber of Commerce, Mid-America, Inc., and the Kansas Economic Development Commission for helping them secure “this ideal industrial site.”

*****

Mark Chard and Cindy Summers were awarded best actor and best actress Oscars Saturday night at the 9th annual Little Oscar Banquet of the Iola High School Thespian Club. Susan Lynn was presented an Oscar as Best Thespian of the year. Mary West was named Showman of the

Year, Nancy McCoy, Best Supporting Actress; Tom Spencer, Best Supporting Actor; Richard Helms and Barbara Culver were selected as the outstanding sophomore actor and actress.

*****

Don Nickels got his third straight victory in the 6th annual Iola-to-Humboldt innertube raft race yesterday. His crew this year included Darrel Sinclair and Wayne Brand.

******

The graduating class of 141 sophomores of Allen County Community Junior College will be presented associate arts degrees Sunday in the college’s gymnasium. Former president of ACCJC, Dr. Paul Parker, will give the address.

*****

Commencement exercises for 148 Iola High School seniors will be at the ACCJC gymnasium Tuesday evening.

*****

MORAN — Commencement exercises for Marmaton Valley High will be at 8 o’clock Wednesday in the high school auditorium. The valedictorian of the 1974 senior class is Christy Hale and the salutatorian is Ann Burke.

*****

HUMBOLDT — Humboldt High School seniors will graduate at commencement exercises here next Tuesday evening. Seniors Jean Sharp and Barry Massey will give the commencement addresses. The valedictorian of the class is Philip Alan Jarred and the salutatorian is Barry Massey.

Then, the race turned into a cliff-hanger. As more ballots were counted, Simitian bobbed between second and third place, sometimes by just a handful of votes. For a time, the race for second was tied. Finally, last week, the contest ended. Simitian finished third, behind Democratic Assemblyman Evan Low.

The margin was five votes.

What happened next was striking: Simitian bowed out of the race. Swiftly. Unreservedly. Graciously.

“I lost, and I concede,” he said in a written statement. “I trust the process, and I accept the result.”

If only a certain reckless ex-president had acted with as much responsibility and dispatch. Think how much better off the country would have been these last several years.

It’s not that hard, really.

“It’s a pretty simple and straightforward proposition,” Santa Clara County supervisor Susan Ellenberg said in a conversation this week. “If you come up short, you acknowledge that fact, you congratulate the winners and you say thank you to the people who helped get you there.

“I mean, I feel like that’s something every 8-year-old kid in America should have learned from their folks.”

Apparently not.

SIMITIAN, 71, began his political career on the Palo Alto school board in 1983. Over the next several decades, he climbed the rungs of state and local government. In Sacramento, he wrote California’s handsfree cellphone law and leg-

The suspenseful count that pushed the primary into a lengthy overtime was “a bit of a roller-coaster ride,” Simitian said with notable understatement.

“One day you’d be up five. The next day, you’d be down one. The next day, you’d be up three.”

He exerted little energy on what-ifs and spent no time at all staring sleeplessly at his bedroom ceiling.

“Certainly there are things where you think ... I might have done this differently, I might have done that differently,” Simitian

But, he went on, “How can I be anything but appreciative of the fact that I’ve had the opportunity to do the kind of work that I really find satisfying and [notch] a dozen straight election wins before coming up five votes short?”

THE RESULT of the congressional primary was, of course, infinitesimally closer than the 2020 presidential race, which Joe Biden won — clearly and unequivocally — by 7 million votes and a not-close margin in the electoral college.

Donald Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his defeat has not only kept the country on edge the last several years but also set a template

It’s a pretty simple and straightforward proposition. If you come up short, you acknowledge that fact, you congratulate the winners and you say thank you to the people who helped get you there. ... That’s something every 8-year-old kid in America should have learned from their folks.

— Susan Ellenberg, Santa Clara County supervisor

said evenly. “But you really can’t second-guess yourself too much. That’s not a productive exercise.”

Besides, Simitian said, there was the prospect of moving on to a November runoff against Liccardo, his fellow Democrat.

WHEN THE FINAL results came in, following an official recount, Simitian drafted his concession statement with help from his wife, Mary Hughes, a veteran political strategist. He posted a smiling picture of the two, taken early in the campaign, and announced his exit from the race in a jokey fashion.

“The good news is the 16th

for other sore losers, such as failed Arizona gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake, to make similarly false claims.

The result, repeated polls have shown, is a dangerous erosion of faith in our elections and wobbling system of democracy. That’s why Simitian’s willingness to accept defeat without whining or casting false aspersions stands out — though, it should be said, we’ve come to a sad state in our politics when doing the right thing is seen as somehow an act of chivalry.

“It’s sort of a simple matter of decency,” Simitian said. He’s right. We could use a lot more of it these days.

Joe Simitian speaks to supporters at his election night party in Palo Alto, Calif. on Tuesday, March. 5. He would lose the District 16 Congressional race by 5 votes — and later concede the loss without dispute. (KARL MONDON/BAY AREA NEWS GROUP/TNS)

NHS: Iola students encouraged to be ‘changed by the world’

Continued from A1

Christmas presents for the police department and helping in other service projects.

“We are proud of our 810 hours and welcome the new members who bring a new energy in support of our continuing work,” said chapter President Jenna Morrison.

“You need to be changed by the world,” said Stauffer in his address to the students.

“You need to let it astonish you. Its beauty needs to take your breath away, its ugly needs to knock you to your knees.”

Stauffer encouraged NHS members to leave Iola after graduation because “you cannot help this community if you’ve never been outside of it.” He followed this up by challenging the NHS members to have one stamp in their passport in the next five

HANEY

years; have five friends who have never heard of Iola; and have 10 different area codes in their phone’s contacts.

Stauffer noted that attending college is an avenue that helps develop curiosity and meet those goals. “Of course, we’d love for many of you to some-

how find your way back here,” he said. “But to fill this community’s bucket, yours can’t be empty.”

A college education

is “the best investment you’ll ever make,” Stauffer stressed. He explained that college helps you find your passions and guides you to

Morrison: Opportunities are endless

Continued from A1

hoping to weed things out that don’t interest me, so hopefully I can find something I truly enjoy doing,” she said.

“Business is a pretty broad major, so I figured that might be interesting.”

Her parents, Rick and Jessie Morrison, both work at Allen County Regional Hospital. Jenna is also leaning toward a career in health care, perhaps as a labor and delivery nurse.

“That seems like something that would be amazing to be a part of,” she said.

She’s decided she wants to minor in Spanish. She took two years of Spanish early in high school but her skills are limited and rusty. She’s been practicing online and will take college courses as she works toward fulfilling a longtime dream.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Spain. I like the culture. And I want to see the world,” she said. “Spanish is commonly spoken in the U.S., so it will benefit me to know the language. I want to be able to communicate with everyone.”

JENNA grew up with a twin brother, Jaydon, and older brothers, Quinton, who graduated from IHS in 2014 and Alex, who graduated with the Class of 2018.

Jaydon is also a valedictorian candidate. His profile will be featured Saturday.

“We would always try to see who could get the better grades, just to kind of poke at each other,” Jenna said of the friendly competition between the two. “He was always better in math and I did better in English. In science and history, we kind of split down the middle.”

The two have different interests. Jenna is involved in theatre, and competed at the state forensics competition last weekend, where she gave an informative speech about communications skills. Jaydon prefers FFA and football. They both were involved in the clubs Fellowship of Christian Athletes, LINK Crew, SADD and

National Honor Society. Jenna is president of SADD and NHS.

“It’s a good balance,” she said.

During her freshman and sophomore years, Jenna played softball. She transitioned to basketball during her junior and senior years.

“I’m not a multisport kind of person so I wanted something that was a longer season. I got to enjoy being on a team for more of the year.”

of Allen’s Student Ambassadors, “which is kind of the same thing as STUCO, so I’m glad I get to pursue that in college.”

SUCCESS in her school work came easily, she said, because she set the bar high.

I’ve always wanted to go to Spain. I like the culture. And I want to see the world. ... I want to be able to communicate with everyone. — Jenna Morrison

She also serves as Student Council treasurer. Next year, she’ll be one

“I was always told, ‘Do your best.’ And my best was kind of good,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t like to be bad at things.”

At times, though, she put a lot of pressure on herself.

“I kind of struggled

with that, mentally, during my freshman and sophomore years. My parents helped me through it,” she said. “And sometimes, I still get down on myself about grades and scores. I worry about that a lot. But it is what it is. If you know you did your best, there’s nothing more you can do.”

Perhaps that’s why it’s been so difficult for her to choose a major. “I apply myself to everything. I’m never like, ‘Oh, I’m terrible at math. I can’t do math.’ No. I’m pretty good at math.”

So with so many options to choose from, how does Jenna want to see herself in 10 years? “Happy. I just want to be happy,” she said. “I want to do something I love every day. I want to help people.”

become a global citizen.

“Education is not about certificates, workforce training or getting a job,” he said. “It’s about

critical thinking, ideas, and changing society.”

Recalling a friend of his who has worked in restaurants his entire life, traveling from coast to coast, Stauffer noted, “He’s happy. But what still amazes me about a college campus is that darn near everyone there is trying to better themselves. That’s not true of most other places.”

Unlike the old saying “failure is not an option,” Stauffer believes it can be. However, the important thing is to continue to work hard because “hard work beats talent” and the failure won’t be due to a lack of tenacity.

“Tonight’s honor, the diploma you’ll soon earn — it is the starting line, not the finish,” said Stauffer. “You’d be crazy for thinking you’re done. Done? You’re just getting started.”

NHS members graduating with distinction were presented with a gold honor cord and certificate. Included among distinguished are Shelby Peters, from left, Christopher Holloway, and Kennedy Maier. REGISTER/SARAH HANEY

Tim Stauffer served as the keynote speaker for the induction ceremony, encouraging students to explore the world and attend college. REGISTER/SARAH

Sports Daily B

Biles readies ‘golden’ tour

By WILL GRAVES The Associated Press

Simone Biles is bringing back her Gold Over America Tour this fall, with a twist.

This time, the guys are invited too.

The decision to include the men on the 30-city tour that starts in Southern California on Sept. 17 and ends in Detroit on Nov. 3 was intentional. Biles, who will try to build on her haul of seven Olympic medals this summer in Paris, wanted to broaden the show.

“I think the first time we were very driven on female-forward cast and having the beauty in that and knowing that we can put on a show without the guys and just having the girls being in their feminine power and being beautiful and being the stars,” Biles said ahead of the tour’s announcement on Thursday. “But this time around we’re like ‘OK, that worked but let’s do it a little bit differently, let’s invite the men.’”

That includes Fred Richard, 20, who became the first American man to medal in the all-around at the world championships since 2010 when he earned bronze in Belgium last fall.

Richard, who is eyeing making his first Olympic team, has made it his mission to help make men’s gymnastics relevant in a country where the women have commanded much of the attention — and much of the international success

Friday, May 10, 2024

Lancers struggle in win

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

COLONY — Rarely are teams so disappointed with a convincing victory — in the playoffs, no less — and in a game in which the victors also threw a no-hitter.

Such was the case Wednesday as Crest High slogged through a 9-1 victory over Northern Heights to open the Class 2-1A Regional Baseball Tournament.

The win puts Crest (18-7) into the regional semifinals, where the Lancers will play on Monday against Pleasanton, a 7-5 winner over Jayhawk-Linn. The tournament semifinals, and championship game to follow, will be held at the Central Heights High School baseball diamond in rural Richmond. The champion advances to the state tournament in Great Bend May 23-24.

“I’m not happy with the way we played, not one bit,” Lancer head coach Roland Weir said. “We had some guys who hit

Crest High’s Rogan Weir

ern

to

REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

the ball, but we can’t play defensively like we did and expect to get to state. We’ve got to practice hard, step up our game and quit making the

mistakes we’re making.”

Crest pitchers Ryan Golden and Drake Weir combined to no-hit Northern Heights. Golden struck out 11 over four innings. Drake Weir had five Ks over the final three frames.

But walks (nine of them) and errors (five) were an issue.

Golden worked out of trouble on multiple occasions. Two walks and an error loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the third before Golden struck out the next two batters and then tagged out Wildcat baserunner Leo Dedonder, who attempted to score from third on a wild pitch.

Golden then walked the first two batters of the fourth inning before bouncing back with three straight strikeouts.

He exited, having thrown 97 pitchers — 47 strikes —

over four innings. The trend continued when Drake Weir came on in relief. An error and two walks led to another Northern Heights rally, but Weir picked off a runner at second and then struck out the final batter of the frame to keep the Wildcats off the board.

Meanwhile, Crest got an early spark from Henry White, who led off the Lancer first with a triple. He came home on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead.

The Lancers scored two in the bottom of the third. Rogan Weir drove in Logan Kistner with a single. He then came around to score on a throwing error by the Wildcat catcher for a 3-0 advantage. A stray pebble sparked Crest’s biggest rally of the night, a six-run sixth inning. Kade Nilges hit a dribbler

Allen rebounds to stay alive in Region VI tourney

TOPEKA — Survive and advance became the words of the day for Allen Community College’s softball team, after the Red Devils dropped the opening game of the Region VI-Division II Tournament Wednesday.

Allen’s 7-2 loss to Cowley County dropped the Red Devils to the consolation bracket, where they fended off a Labette rally to prevail, 8-5.

The victory keeps Allen (22-26) alive for now, with the longest of roads looming for a potential tournament title.

Allen must maneuver its way through the consolation side, starting Thursday afternoon against top-seeded Johnson County. (Results were unavailable by press time.)

Then, Allen would have to win four more times to emerge with the regional

championship Saturday afternoon at Topeka’s Lake Shawnee Softball Complex. Things started well enough Wednesday. Leadoff batter Brooklyn Goehring roped a triple to start the game. She scored on Bailee Campbell’s RBI single to right. But even after Hayley Gerberding made it three straight hitters to reach safely to start the frame, the Red Devils failed to score again.

The Tigers knotted the proceedings in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly and took a 2-1 lead in the second on a passed ball.

A walk and two singles triggered two more Cowley runs in the third, before a double, single and triple — all with two outs in the fourth — made it 7-1. Allen catcher Ashley Trib-

See ALLEN | Page B6

Allen Community College’s Paxton Meyer, left, throws to first to complete a double play in a game earlier this season. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

rounds second base Wednesday in the Lances’ 9-1 victory over North-

Heights

open the Class 21-A playoffs. Crest advances to take on Pleasanton Monday.

See BILES | Page B5

Crest High’s Ryan Golden tosses four no-hit innings to earn the 9-1 win over Northern Heights Wednesday.

See LANCERS | Page B6

PAPERS AVAILABLE at the Iola Register Office. $3 per bundle.

Will buy copies of The Annals of Iola and Allen County, 1868-1945, Vols. 1 and 2. Call the Iola Register, 620-365-2111 or email susan@iolaregister. com

HR Generalist

The Monarch Cement Company in Humboldt, KS has an opening for a HR Generalist in the Corporate HR Department.

The HR Generalist performs human resource related duties at the professional level and will carry out responsibilities in some or all the following related functional areas: employee relations, training, employment, labor relations, a rmative action, and employment equity programs. The position requires candidates to have a bachelor’s degree in human resources or a related eld, one or two years of related experience, or a combination that will allow successful performance and completion of the duties required for the position. HR certi cation is preferred.

The position also requires a high level of con dentiality, pro ciency in a variety of computer software attention to detail, ability to work as part of a team and excellent communication skills. The position is open until lled. Salary is DOQ.

Please mail or deliver cover letter, application and resumé to: Corporate HR Department, The Monarch Cement Company, PO Box 1000, Humboldt, KS 66748 Or email cover letter, application and resumé to: hr.dept@monarchcement.com Applications and other necessary documents can be found a monarchcement.com. Previous applicants should complete new application.

Q: It’s nice to see Wendell Pierce back on TV regularly in “Elsbeth.” I also enjoyed him on “The Wire,” but hasn’t he done other series as well?

A: He cer tainly has. Most recently before CBS’s and Paramount+’s “Elsbeth,” the actor was a regular on Prime Video’s “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” and BBC America’s “The Watch,” and he also had a recurring par t in the third season of “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” on Starz. Prior to that, he also was a recurring player on USA Network’s “Suits” and “Unsolved,” NBC’s “Chicago P.D.” and “Third Watch,” Showtime’s “Ray Donovan,” the syndicated “Tyler Perr y’s “House of Payne,” Earlier, Pierce had regular roles on several other series … and some of them were sitcoms, though he has been known primarily for dramatic work in recent times. The comedies included CBS’s “The Odd Couple” remake, “The Brian Benben Show” and “The Gregor y Hines Show,” and NBC’s “The Michael J. Fox Show” and “The Weber Show.” HBO’s “Treme” – for which Pierce received par ticular notice from television critics – also featured him regularly, as did CBS’s “Numb3rs” and “Moloney,” and ABC’s “Capital News.” Additionally, Pierce has done prominent par ts in made-for-TV movies. He played Clarence Thomas in HBO’s “Confirmation” and Coach Calhoun in the Fox staging of “Grease Live!,” and he has scores of one-shot guest roles in other series to his credit. On stage in recent years, Pierce had major critical and popular success as Willy Loman in a revival of Ar thur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” both on Broadway and in London, earning award nominations in both places for his per formance. (He won a Tony Award in 2012 for the play “Clybourne Park.”)

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Biles: Golden tour ahead

Continued from B1

— for decades.

The sophomore at Michigan has cultivated an avid following on social media thanks to an ability to make men’s gymnastics look both fun and relatable, a somewhat difficult needle to thread.

“The goal is to get as many eyes on men’s gymnastics side as possible and have more people understand

CRYPTOQUOTES

who we are and what we do,” Richard said. “The dream is that someone walks down the street one day and someone says ‘Name a male gymnast’ and they actually name a male gymnast.”

Working with the most decorated gymnast in the history of the sport for a couple of months might help. Richard called Biles a “role model.” She sees in Richard someone who has a unique ability to connect with an audience.

“I think it gets really intimate when you get on Fred’s platform, just because how he talks to you, the kind of stuff

that he puts out is really interesting,” Biles said. “I think it’ll bring a whole different take.”

The rest of the men’s group won’t be determined until after the run-up to the Paris Olympics.

“(The men) also bring a little bit, in the best way, sex appeal,” Biles said. “I think that’s very interesting and it brings a different type of crowd too. It’s like they can do really cool tricks with little to no effort without training and so I think it’ll be a beautiful show.”

The women joining

See TOUR | Page B6

Yesterday’s Cryptoquote: Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. -- Aristotle

ZITS by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

BEETLE BAILEY by Mort Walker

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE by Chris Browne

BLONDIE by Young and Drake

MUTTS by Patrick McDonell

MARVIN by Tom Armstrong

HI AND LOIS by Chance Browne

Tour: Biles, Olympians bring ‘golden’ show on the road

Continued from B5

Biles include 2020 Tokyo Olympic teammate Jordan Chiles and 2020 Olympic floor exercise champion Jade Carey, with the rest of the roster to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Biles described the show as a “celebration” of gymnastics, though a celebration with decidedly personal elements.

She used the 2021 tour to help promote the importance of prioritizing mental

health, a sometimes taboo subject Biles brought out into the open when she removed herself from multiple competitions at the Tokyo Games while battling “ the twisties.”

“Obviously we want to bring the fun, we want to bring like the exhilarating feeling, we want to bring the golden side out of everybody but those touchy subjects or whatever we want to touch on, those will come whenever people get a chance to

tell their stories at the Olympics,” she said.

The show will also incorporate rhythmic gymnastics and Biles said there was even talk about having “SlamBall” players — think basketball on trampolines — be part of the show. All with the idea of bringing as many people into the tent as possible.

The 27-year-old laughed when asked if this would be her last time as an active participant in the tour. She just celebrated her first

anniversary with Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens and said she’s not thinking much long-term beyond 2024.

“I would never say never and I think that would be amazing to (do this) after every Olympic cycle,” she said. “I think that would be a beautiful thing. But right now I can’t tell you yes or no. Like no definitive answers because I don’t know what life will look like in the next few years to come.”

Lancers: Crest struggles, but still rolls in playoff opener

Continued from B1

down the first-base line, and it was veering into foul territory, when the ball clipped the pebble and changed the ball’s course back into the fair side of the baseline as Nilges hit the base. Jensen Barker followed with a single, and Brayden Goodell’s perfectly placed sacrifice bunt attempt turned into a throwing error for Northern Heights, bringing home Nilges.

The play was significant in that Northern Heights starter Cooper Hamlin had to exit the game because of his pitch count.

Jerry Rodriguez greeted reliever Nathaniel Ciero with a two-run double, making it 6-0. Rodriguez scored on a Wildcat error before Rogan Weir roped an RBI double to left. Drake Weir’s ground ball to first was misplayed for yet another error for Crest’s final run of the game.

“We’ve got to tip our caps to Hamlin,” Coach Weir said. “He threw well.”

Crest missed out on a shutout after another wacky play prevented the Lancers from

retiring a runner at third base in the top of the seventh. Northern Heights had runners on first and second, and it seemed like Crest had the lead runner dead to rights after he ventured too far off the base.

But the runner was awarded third in the subsequent run-down, after the umpires ruled the Lancers obstructed the runner’s basepath.

“You’re supposed to cycle out the fielders, and we didn’t do a good job

of that,” Coach Weir said. “That play should never have happened.”

The runner came home to score on — you guessed it — a Lancer throwing error.

HOW deep were Crest’s struggles?

Coach Weir counted seven balls put into play by Northern Heights batters. Five were misplayed with either fielding or throwing errors.

“You can’t do that and expect to make it to state,” he said.

“We need to clean some things up, me especially,” Rogan Weir agreed. “I made two errors myself.”

That said, both Rogan Weir and Golden agreed with their coach that the team can improve its playing by the time Crest returns Monday to take on the Blu-Jays.

“Sometimes getting that first one out of the way is the hardest,” Coach Weir said. “We did some things right, but not enough to get where we need to be, and it’s not going to get any easier.”

Crest had a few misadventures on the basepaths as well. One baserunner was thrown

Allen: Stays alive with win over Cloud

Continued from B1

ble blasted an 0-2 pitch over the fence for a solo home run in the top of the seventh for Allen’s final run.

Goehring had a single and triple, while Tribble’s home run and singles by Campbell and Gerberding accounted for Allen’s offense. Camrynn Yardley pitched 3.2 innings, striking out four and allowing 1 hit.

Campbell came on in relief, allowing a hit with

a strikeout over 2.1 innings.

A WILD, back-andforth affair followed as Allen and Labette Community College scrambled to stay alive.

Madisyn Havenstein walked with the bases loaded, Yardley singled in a run and Tribble hit a sac fly as the Red Devils took a quick 3-0 lead.

Labette sliced the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the third before

Goehring had a one-out RBI double and Gerberding singled with two down to bring Goehring home.

Jena Hendrix singled to lead off ACC’s fifth inning. Tribble followed with a two-out single before Kalyn Miller hit a fly ball and reached on an error, making it 6-3.

Goehring then was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for the seventh run.

Campbell’s bas-

es-loaded walk in the seventh capped the scoring.

out easily as he tried to steal third. Another was called out after the umpires ruled him out on appeal, saying he missed third base as he scored, taking another run off the board.

Golden noted his inability to throw strikes early in counts, which added to the team’s stress.

“I knew I had to bear down,” he said. “I knew it was an important playoff game. I can’t do that.”

Rogan Weir and Rodriguez each had a single and double to lead the offensive attack. White had a triple. Golden, Drake Weir, Kaden Nilges and Jensen Barker added singles.

AFTER THE game, and a solemn, yet stern, postgame chat with their head coach, the Lancer seniors Rogan Weir, Golden, Brayden Goodell, Kistner, Zander Robb and Rodriguez took turns making a

ceremonial run around the basepaths. Each received a small container to store some of the dirt from their hometown baseball diamond’s infield. Because the rest of the postseason will be at host tournament sites, Wednesday’s contest was the last official home game.

They exit having been a part of four consecutive Three Rivers League championship teams. And while Crest lost a talented senior class from last year, both Golden and Rogan Weir were confident Crest could thrive this year with previously untested players.

“We knew the talent we have,” Golden said. “We’ve been together our whole lives, and all of our younger guys have worked hard to get better.”

“We had six or seven guys on the bench last year who could have started anywhere,” Rogan Weir agreed.

Morgan Collins earned the win. She pitched the first four innings, allowing six hits, while Yardley came on to toss three scoreless innings of relief with four strikeouts.

Goehring hit a single and double, while Herberding, Yardley and Tribble all singled twice. Hendrix and Miller had one single each.

Crest High’s Henry White connects on a first-inning triple against Northern Heights Wednesday. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Simone Biles TNS