The Iola Register, March 11, 2022

Friday, March 11, 2022

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VP Harris calls for war crimes probe

ACC’s Ed Wright leads team to glory

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New CDC guidelines are confusing PAGE A6

Inflation soared 7.9% in past year WASHINGTON (AP) — Propelled by surging costs for gas, food and housing, consumer inflation jumped 7.9% over the past year, the sharpest spike since 1982 and likely only a harbinger of even higher prices to come.

The increase reported Thursday by the Labor Department reflected the 12 months ending in February and didn’t include the oil and gas price surges that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Since then, average gas prices nationally have jumped about 62 cents a gallon to $4.32, according to AAA. Even before the war further accelerated price increases, robust consumer spending, solid pay raises and persistent supply See INFLATION | Page A3

Terry Call wears a lot of hats for Allen County. He’s the planning and zoning administrator, handles the mapping services for the appraiser’s office, and the EMS billing, among other responsibilities.

He will retire next week. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

JACK OF ALL TRADES

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

It’s not easy to describe Terry Call’s job responsibilities.

“Jack of all trades” might fit.

“My attitude is, if someone else can do it, there’s no reason why I can’t do it,” Call explained.

That attitude has led to a multitude of titles and activities for Call, who is retiring next week after working for Allen County since 2006.

He’s the planning and zoning administrator. He’s the EMS Financial Officer and the GIS Coordinator, in charge of digital mapping services for the appraiser’s office. He also livestreams the weekly commission meetings on the coun-

ty’s Facebook page.

If someone needs an inspection for a building permit, Call will get it done as quickly as possible. Even on weekends.

Even on a Sunday.

“I used to do construction, so I know if you’ve got a hole dug and there’s weather coming, you need to get it done or you’ve got a big mess,” he said.

Over the years, Call has worked in construction and helped with carpentry and remodel projects for the county, including at the dispatch center, courtroom and other buildings.

One day, back when his office was located at the sheriff ’s department, he noticed a large conveyor-belt toaster had been discarded. One of the jailers told him it had quit working.

A replacement would cost roughly $1,800.

“Do you mind if I take a look at it?” Call asked.

He tore it apart and found the problem was a switch that could be replaced for $7. Better yet, it worked.

“So I just do stuff like that,” Call said with a casual shrug.

His favorite project, though, was helping to build the community garden for the SAFE BASE after-school program.

Former sheriff and former county commissioner Tom Williams asked if he would be interested in helping.

They built raised planter beds and a greenhouse, and installed a fence around the property.

“I just really enjoyed doing See CALL | Page A3

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday embraced calls for an international war crimes investigation of Russia over its invasion of Vice President U k r a i n e , Kamala Harris citing the “atrocities” of bombing civilians, including a maternity hospital.

Speaking alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda at a press conference in Warsaw, where she is demonstrating U.S. support for NATO’s eastern flank allies, Harris expressed outrage over the bombing Wednesday of the maternity hospital and scenes of bloodied pregnant women being evacuated, as well as other attacks on civilians. She stopped short of directly accusing Russia of having committed war crimes.

“Absolutely there should be an investigation, and we should all be watching,” said Harris, noting that the United Nations has already started a process to review allegations. “I have no question the eyes of the world are on this war and what Russia has done in terms of this aggression and these atrocities.”

Harris’ visit to Poland See HARRIS | Page A4

Bill targets wind farm lights

By ALLISON KITE Kansas Reflector

Residents of the Kansas prairie asked legislators Wednesday to restore the night sky they say is dominated by red blinking lights from industrial wind turbines.

“One of the greatest things about living in rural Kansas is being able to enjoy the night sky, the moon and the stars … the red blinking lights have taken that away from us,” said Shenan Cline, a Marshall County resident.

In recent decades, windswept Kansas has become a hotspot for wind energy development. The state has the fourth-largest generating capacity in the nation behind Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma.

And it’s expected to keep growing.

But that wind development, critics say, has come at a price. Some residents feel the looming towers disrupt the peace of rural Kansas, especially the red blinking lights at the top meant to keep planes from crashing Vol. 124, No. 112 Iola, KS $1.00

A Kansas Senate bill would require that wind farm developers do more to mitigate the blinking lights at the tops of turbines.

(JILL HUMMELS FOR THE KANSAS REFLECTOR)

into turbines.

They want Kansas to pass legislation mandating lighting systems that detect nearby aircraft and only blink when necessary, or dimming technology. And they want to leave it up to county commissions to evaluate lighting systems and approve them for projects. Proponents say it’s a cost effective way to minimize the annoyance to rural neighbors.

David Fisher, a Centerville

resident, said wind developers were “pinching pennies” by not installing light-mitigating systems.

“They are simply not being good neighbors,” he said.

Industry representatives say they’re sympathetic to the concern, but that the bill introduced by Sen. Mike Thompson, a Johnson County Republican and chair of the Senate Utilities CommitSee LIGHTS | Page A4

Food for all Marmaton Valley High School’s FFA students hosted a massive food packing project in cooperation with The Outreach Program. The students packed 15,000 meals in two hours to benefit those in need throughout Allen County. Each student in USD 256 will get at least two packages of food to take home during spring break. Food also will go to distribution sites in Moran, Elsmore and Savonburg, as well as Hope Unlimited and Humanity House. Students taking part are, from left, Amberlyn Henshall, Victoria Jamison, Zoe Sneed, LesLeigh Cary. The students are under the direction of Jacque Gabbert. COURTESY PHOTO

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Friday, March 11, 2022

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ACMAT learns about Kansas Appleseed

Obituary

By the Register staff

Jerry Griffith Jerry L. Griffith of Lawrence passed away on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.

He was born on July 8, 1919, in Collinsville, Okla., to John A. Griffith and Elizabeth Driskell Griffith.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and his brother Dr. John Griffith and sisters Celeste Jerry Griffith Griffith and Margaret Evans. The family moved to Iola in 1922 and Jerry graduated from Iola High School in 1936.

He attended Iola Junior College for two years, Stetson University in Florida for one year and graduated from the University of Kansas in 1942.

He married Dorothy Fournier Durand of Hoisington in 1942 and they were married for 57 years at the time of death in 1999.

After completing 1½ years of law school at the University of Kansas, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and soon after transferred to the U.S. Air Force. After Officers Candidate School, he served as Group Intelligence Officer in the 361st Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force and attained the rank of lieutenant. He served as Group Intelligence Officer, combat. He was awarded six Bronze Battle Participation Stars and the European Africa Middle Eastern Service Ribbon. He was stationed near Cambridge, England and in Belgium and France.

He and a portion of his unit were assigned to the European Continent during the Battle of Bulge.

Upon his discharge after three years, he’d attained the rank of captain and returned to Lawrence to complete his law degree. He later was appointed a Doctor of Law Degree.

He and Dorothy settled in Hoisington, where he practiced law for over 40 years. He was the Hoisington city attorney for 30 years, the assistant Barton County attorney for four years, the attorney for Hoisington National Bank and the attorney for Clara Barton Hospital. He was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1979, sponsored

by Senator Robert Dole.

He is survived by his daughter, Rochelle McKown of Lawrence (Joel McKown, deceased), son, Robert Griffith (partner Eve Neugebauer) of Raymore, Mo., grandson, Justin Griffith (Elizabeth) of Mequon, Wisc., granddaughter, Lindsay D’Agostino (Michael) of Leawood, and great-grandchildren, George and Penny Griffith and Lucy and Rose D’Agostino. He leaves behind five nephews and one niece.

He enjoyed sailing, hunting, fishing, raising Arabian horses, crosswords, Jayhawk basketball, woodturning, and playing Scrabble. He was a witty and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and will be greatly missed by his family.

Celebration of Life and inurnment will be in Hoisington at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made in Jerry’s name to Clara Barton Hospital, 250 W 9th St., Hoisington, KS, 67544 and may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary, 120 W. 13th St., Lawrence, KS 66044.

For more information or to post a condolence go to warrenmcelwain.com.

Transit mask mandate to ease WASHINGTON (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is developing guidance that will ease the nationwide mask mandate on airplanes, buses and other mass transit next month, according to a U.S. official, but the existing face covering requirement will be extended through April 18.

The requirement, which is enforced by the Transportation Security Administration, had been set to expire on March 18, but was extended by a month to allow the public health agency time to develop new, more targeted policies. The requirement

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extends to planes, buses, trains and transit hubs.

According to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the announcement head of time, the CDC is developing a “revised policy framework” for when masks should be required on transit systems based off its newly released “COVID-19 community levels” metric.

As of March 3 more than 90% of the U.S. population is in a location with low or medium COVID-19 Community Levels, where public face-masking is no longer recommended in indoor settings.

Paige Olson with Kansas Appleseed talked to the Allen County Multi-Agency Team (ACMAT) on March 1 about the advocacy work being done in Southeast Kansas to improve access to affordable food and safe, secure housing.

Kansas Appleseed focuses on outreach to those who can benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Much of the organization’s work focuses on changing legislative policies that can support and empower families, Olson said. She expressed disappoint-

m e n t t h a t s o m e of the policy changes Appleseed p r o - Paige Olson moted during this year’s legislative session failed to make much progress, including a bill that would allow felons convicted of drug-related crimes to receive SNAP benefits.

“Food access reduces the rate of recidivism, and it’s a lot harder to get your life on track if you’re hungry,” Olson told the group.

The Kansas House

also voted against a Kansas Appleseed proposal to change a policy that requires parents to agree to pursue child support in order to receive SNAP benefits.

Some families have private agreements or there are other reasons why a parent may not want to pursue support, Olson said.

The organization remains hopeful Kansas will eliminate the food sales tax.

ACMAT members also heard from Joshua McLeon, donor relations and community outreach coordinator for the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas, who

talked about grant opportunities.

They also heard a presentation from Daniel Donovan, a community support specialist with DCCCA, who talked about efforts to establish a National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children Coalition task force. DCCCA provides social and community services.

ACMAT is a coalition of community organizations. Its mission is to prevent substance abuse in youth and offer safe community events.

The coalition meets at noon on the first Tuesday of each month, currently via Zoom.

Russians keep pressure on Mariupol M A R I U P O L , Ukraine (AP) — Civilians trapped inside Mariupol desperately scrounged for food and fuel as Russian forces kept up their bombardment of the port city Thursday amid international condemnation over an airstrike a day earlier that killed three people at a maternity hospital.

Western and Ukrainian officials called the hospital attack on Wednesday a war crime by Moscow.

Meanwhile, the highest-level talks held since the invasion began two weeks ago yielded no progress, the number of refugees fleeing the country topped 2.3 million, and Kyiv braced for an onslaught, its mayor boasting that the capital had become practically a fortress protected by armed civilians.

More than 1,300 people have died in the 10-day siege of the frigid city of Mariupol, according to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

Residents of the southern seaport of 430,000 have no heat or phone service, and many have no electricity. Nighttime temperatures are regularly below freezing, and daytime ones normally hover just above it.

Bodies are being buried in mass graves.

Grocery stores and pharmacies were emptied days ago by people breaking in to get supplies, according to a local official with the Red Cross, Sacha Volkov. A black market is operating for vegetables, meat is unavailable, and people are stealing gasoline from cars, Volkov said.

Places protected from bombings are

Residents evacuate the city of Irpin, north of Kyiv, on Thursday. (ARIS MESSINIS/ AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

hard to find, with basements reserved for women and children, he said. Residents, Volkov, are turning on one another: “People started to attack each other for food.”

Repeated attempts to send in food and medicine and evacuate civilians have been thwarted by Russians shelling, Ukrainian authorities said.

“They want to destroy the people of Mariupol. They want to make them starve,” Vereshchuk said. “It’s a war crime.”

A child was among those killed in the hospital airstrike in Mariupol. Seventeen people were also wounded, including women waiting to give birth, doctors, and children buried in the rubble. Images of the attack, with pregnant women covered in dust and blood, dominated news reports in many countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Russian leaders that the invasion will backfire on them as their economy is strangled. Western sanctions have already dealt a se-

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vere blow, causing the ruble to plunge, foreign businesses to flee and prices to rise sharply.

“You will definitely be prosecuted for complicity in war crimes,” Zelenskyy said in a video address. “And then, it will definitely happen, you will be

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Friday, March 11, 2022

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Inflation: Rising Continued from A1

Young Dems Ryan Reza, president of the Kansas Young Democrats, left, and Iola native Allie Utley, vice president, discuss issues facing Kansans and young people in particular at a meeting of the Allen County Democrats on Wednesday evening. Also pictured is Mike Bruner, chairman of the Allen County Democrats. REGISTER/VICKIE

MOSS

Study: COVID on uptick in older adults in England LONDON (AP) — Coronavirus infections appear to be rising in older adults in England, with cases remaining at a high level despite a broad decline since a peak in January, according to a government-commissioned study published Thursday.

The REACT COVID-19 monitoring program, which looked at almost 95,000 home swab tests taken in February, showed that around 1 in 35 people in England was infected with the virus during the period and infections were rising among those aged 55 and

older.

Researchers said the increase may have been driven by more socializing since all coronavirus restrictions were lifted in late February, as well as waning protection from the vaccine booster.

The data showed that “the pandemic is not over and we can expect to see COVID circulating at high levels,” said Jenny Harries, head of the U.K. Health Security Agency.

Paul Elliott, the director of the study, said there was an uptick in hospitalizations and infections particularly in the older group. “But we

don’t know where it’s going to go,” he added.

“We really need to be monitoring closely the infection data through surveys, such as REACT, and we need to monitor the hospitalization,” Elliott said.

Official figures showed that more than 346,000 people tested positive in the past 7 days, a 46% jump from the previous week.

The study estimated that almost half of the positive cases were a sub-variant of the omicron variant, which researchers say is more highly transmissible.

In Scotland, the latest

official figures showed a similar trend, with the number of people in hospital with the coronavirus standing at 1,636 on Wednesday — the highest for 13 months.

Britain’s government lifted all mandated COVID-19 restrictions in England on Feb. 24 as infection rates and hospitalizations fell following a surge in December and January.

People who test positive are no longer legally required to isolate at home, and face coverings in public places and the tracing of infected people’s contacts were also scrapped.

Call: ‘Man of many hats’ hangs them up Continued from A1

that,” he said.

He also has fond memories of another SAFE BASE project, planting trees on the courthouse lawn. Many old trees on the courthouse lawn had been lost, so Westar provided about 40 trees to replace them.

Call and others dug the holes, then helped local children plant the trees.

CALL has enjoyed carpentry work as a hobby for most of his life.

From 1985 until 1992, he worked for the Iola Fire Department as a firefighter and EMT. Then, he did bridge construction for about 13 years.

A back injury forced him to reconsider his occupation.

At about the same time, the county needed someone in the ambulance department who could handle medical billing and assist the emergency manager.

Call was familiar with ambulance reports, so he thought it would be a good fit.

Then, he learned of a need to convert the county’s maps to a digital format. The maps had been drawn by hand up until that point. They needed to be digitized as part of an upgrade for

emergency 911 services.

“They bought me a software package and said, ‘Good luck,’” Call recalled.

When former county counselor Alan Weber needed someone to help with his duties, Call stepped up to help.

When Weber retired, Call took over as planning and zoning administrator.

“That’s about all of my job responsibilities at the moment. Anything they ask, I try to do it,” Call said.

“There were days I’d think, this is too much.

But it always worked itself out.”

He likes to handle jobs as they come. By the end of the week, he doesn’t want to leave anything sitting unfinished on his desk.

“If you put it aside, it’s too easy to forget.”

Finding someone to take Call’s place hasn’t been easy.

“When I announced I was going to retire, they weren’t sure how to post the position.”

The county decided to contract with a medical billing company for its ambulance service. The company already provides the software for the billing program, so it’s been an easy transition for that portion of his responsibilities.

Call said the medical billing amounted to about one-third of his duties.

Commission Chairman Jerry Daniels said the county is still searching for someone to take over the planning and zoning duties, as well as some of Call’s other responsibilities.

For now, his work will be spread to other county employees.

“He wears many hats.

He’s a wealth of experience and he will be missed,” Daniels said.

“Hopefully, we can find someone to fit that special position.”

CALL said he’s especially grateful for the support of county commissioners.

Over the years, he’s worked with a total of 12 commissioners. When he first started working for the county, commissioners included Kent Thompson, Walt Regehr and Dick Works.

“After about a year into the job, they started trusting me,” he said.

“They saw I was reliable and started giving me more leeway and more duties.”

He had a good working relationship with Bill King, who served as public works director for 23 years and then as a county commissioner.

King was always “a good guy to have in your corner,” Call said.

“It’s been a privilege to work with different commissioners over the years. They’ve been great,” he said.

Since he announced his intention to retire, most everyone Call encounters asks the same question: “What are you going to do now?”

His answer: “Whatever I want.”

His wife, Susie, has been retired for nine years and has been patiently waiting for him to do the same.

They have three children, Eric Call, Kelly King and Kyle King.

Eric lives on the East Coast, and they haven’t been able to see him or his family much since the COVID-19 pandemic began two years ago. The Calls hope to change that.

Call also hopes he will have time to travel.

Whatever he does, he plans to keep busy.

“The biggest thing that bothers me is boredom. That’s the reason I took on all these other jobs,” he said.

“I don’t like being bored, at all.”

A RETIREMENT reception for Call will be from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 17.

shortages had sent U.S. inflation to its highest level in four decades. What’s more, housing costs, which make up about a third of the government’s consumer price index, have risen sharply, a trend that’s unlikely to reverse anytime soon.

“The numbers are eye-watering, and there is more to come,” said Eric Winograd, senior economist at asset management firm AllianceBernstein. “The peak in inflation will be much higher than previously thought and will arrive later than previously expected.”

The government’s report Thursday showed that from January to February, inflation rose 0.8%, up from a 0.6% increase from December to January.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, socalled core prices rose a sharp 0.5% month to month and 6.4% from a year earlier. Economists tend to monitor core prices because they more closely reflect longer-running inflation trends.

For most Americans, inflation is running far ahead of the pay raises that many have received in the past year, making it harder for them to afford necessities like food, gas and rent. As a consequence, inflation has become the top political threat to President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats as the midterm elections draw closer.

Small business people say in surveys that it’s their primary economic concern, too.

Seeking to stem the inflation surge, the Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates several times this year, beginning with a quarter-point hike next week. The Fed faces a delicate challenge,

though: If it tightens credit too aggressively this year, it risks undercutting the economy and possibly triggering a recession.

From January to February, nearly every category of goods and services got pricier.

Grocery costs jumped 1.4%, the sharpest one-month increase since 1990, other than during a pandemic-induced price surge two years ago. The collective price of fruits and vegetables rose 2.3%, the largest monthly increase since 2010. Gas prices spiked 6.6%, clothing 0.7%.

For the 12 months ending in February, grocery prices leapt 8.6%, the biggest yearover-year increase since 1981, the government said. Gas prices are up a whopping 38%. And housing costs have risen 4.7%, the largest yearly jump since 1991.

Lydia Boussour, an economist at Oxford Economics, estimates that if oil remains at $120 a barrel for the rest of this year — which it topped Tuesday before slipping — it would cost U.S. households $1,500, on average. It would also weaken economic growth by about 0.8 percentage point this year, she said. Many economists have cut their growth estimates for 2022 by roughly a half-point to about 2.5%.

Across the country, individual Americans as well as companies are struggling with the inflation spike and trying to minimize its impact.

“Gas prices are above the roof, especially with spring vacation coming up for the kids,” Vikas Grover said while filling up his car Monday in Herndon, Virginia. “It definitely takes our overall budget much, much higher.”

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Lawmakers eager to inject budget surplus into KPERS’ bottom line

By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — The House and Senate approved rival bills injecting $1 billion of the budget surplus into the state pension to cover skipped payments to the system in 2017 and 2019 and to bolster the bottom line of a retirement program serving more than 300,000 members.

Both Republican-led chambers Wednesday rejected cost-of-living payments to individuals receiving retirement benefits from the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.

House Democrats were unsuccessful with an amendment earmarking $238 million for the first COLA since 1998. In the Senate, Democrats were unable pass an amendment giving retirees an additional monthly check at a cost of about $155 million.

Republican lawmakers voting for the bills said the objective was to use excess state revenue to pay off debt to KPERS and to diminish the unfunded liability in the system’s portfolio serving state workers and school teachers.

Democrats were in favor of taking care of the skipped payments, but also sought to leave mon-

Rep. Rui Xu, D-Westwood, offered an amendment to a pension bill that would have provided cost-of-living increases to 82,000 retirees in the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. The idea was rejected by the Kansas House. (SHERMAN SMITH/KANSAS REFLECTOR)

ey on the table for other priorities, including Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposal to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries.

Under the House measure, Rep. Steven Johnson, R-Assaria, said the strategy was to deal with the $253 million owed by the state to KPERS for the two years of missed payments and then add $746 million to the pension’s asset column.

Dropping that much cash into KPERS all at once would save the state an estimated $400 million in payments to the system over the next five years.

“Managing the liability over time is critical.

Making a payment of this size is significant,” Johnson said. “Are our retirees deserving of consideration? Absolutely.”

Want a COLA?

Rep. Rui Xu, D-Westwood, proposed granting the state’s 82,000 KPERS retirees a COLA ranging from 1% to 5% depending on retirement date.

The average monthly payment to KPERS’ retirees is $1,200. Nobody would receive more than a $200 monthly increase under Xu’s amendment.

It was rejected 38-79, but the underlying content of Senate Bill 421 was adopted later on a vote of 113-5.

“While we are experiencing and expecting higher gas and groceries prices, it is essential now more than ever for our retirees to get a COLA increase. This is sorely needed and it is a shame that help was refused,” Xu said.

His amendment would have paid off the state’s two years of missed payments to KPERS and funneled money to COLAs, but also would have left about $500 million in reserve that he said could be used to slash the state sales tax on food.

Rep. Susan Estes, a Wichita Republican, said the state was at risk of suffering an economic recession. Instead of a COLA for retirees, she said, the state should shore up the pension system and cut the cost of state government to “weather whatever comes forward.”

Derek Schmidt, the attorney general and a GOP candidate for governor, said he encouraged legislators to lower state debt in KPERS and regarded the House bill as a “bold step that for years will benefit taxpayers.” He criticized Kelly’s past recommendation to refinance KPERS’ debt, which would have freed up cash for other state government priorities but deepen the unfunded liability over time.

In the Senate, the GOP majority also pushed through a bill that set the stage for $1 billion investment in the pension system. Senate Bill 523 passed 28-12.

It would place $600 million into KPERS in

Harris: Calls for war crimes investigation Continued from A1

came amid a kerfuffle between Warsaw and Washington over a Polish proposal to send its Soviet-made fighter jets to a U.S. and NATO base in Germany so they could then go to Ukraine.

Poland, in turn, would receive American F-16s.

Poland had publicly floated the proposal without first consulting the U.S. Just as Harris arrived in Warsaw late Wednesday, the Pentagon definitively rejected the idea, saying it would run the risk of escalating the Russia-Ukraine war.

At Thursday’s news conference, both Harris and Duda sought to brush aside differences on the fighter jets issue.

“I want to be very clear, the United States and Poland are united in what we have done and are prepared to do to help Ukraine and the people of Ukraine, full stop,” she said.

Duda for his part sidestepped questions about why Poland announced its proposal without first consulting the United States. He stressed his government’s intention was driven by a desire for “NATO as a whole to make a common decision” on the matter.

“In a nutshell we have to be a responsible member of the North Atlantic Alliance,” Duda said.

Harris’ embrace for an investigation of war crimes came after the Biden administration on Wednesday warned that Russia might seek to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine as the White House rejected Russian claims of illegal chemical weapons development in the country it has invaded.

The White House raised the notion after Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova — without evidence — accused Ukraine of running chemical and

biological weapons labs with U.S. support.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor announced last week he was launching an investigation that could target senior officials believed responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide amid a rising civilian death toll and widespread destruction of property during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But investigations at the ICC take many years, and relatively few convictions have ever been won. The ICC was set up in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The crime of aggression, which can’t be investigated in Ukraine because neither Russia nor Ukraine is a member of the court, was added later.

Duda said “it is obvious to us that in Ukraine Russians are committing war crimes.” He added that in his view the invasion was “bearing the features of a genocide — it aims at eliminating and destroying a nation.”

Harris praised the Polish people for their generosity for taking in nearly 1.5 million refugees since Russia invaded Ukraine last month.

“I’ve been watching or reading about the work of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and so I bring you thanks from the American people,” Harris said earlier during a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki hours after the U.S. House passed a massive spending bill that includes $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine and its European allies.

The legislation includes $6.8 billion to care for refugees and other economic aid to allies.

Harris also met

Thursday with seven refugees who have fled from Ukraine to Poland since the Russian invasion began. She praised the refugees for their “courage” and said the conversation would help inform U.S. assistance efforts. The group included a Ukrainian advocate for people with disabilities, a Moroccan university student, a professional film producer from Odessa, a Senegalese community leader and teacher, a LGBTQIA+ rights activist from Kyiv, and a Ukrainian energy expert and her young adult daughter.

“We are here to support you, and you are not alone,” Harris told the group. “And I know there’s so much about the experience that you’ve had that has made you feel alone. You are not alone. We around the world are watching.”

The vice president is also scheduled to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

while in Warsaw. The Canadian leader has been in Europe in recent days meeting with allies about Ukraine.

Harris’ whirlwind visit to Poland and Romania was billed by the White House as a chance for the vice president to consult with two of the leaders from eastern flank NATO nations about the growing humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Already, more than 2 million refugees have fled Ukraine — with more than half coming to Poland — and even more expected to arrive in the days ahead.

Duda warned of a “refugee disaster” if Poland doesn’t receive more assistance to help house and feed Ukrainians fleeing the conflict.

He said he asked Harris for the U.S. to “speed up” the process for those Ukrainian refugees who would want to go to the U.S. and might have family there.

Other priorities

Sen. Tom Hawk, D-Manhattan, said the Senate should wait to determine how much to set

aside for KPERS until the end of the 2022 legislative session. He said the Legislature would be prudent to delay large appropriations decisions until analysts get a better sense of economic trends.

“We do have a healthy surplus projected, but this is a very interesting time,” Hawk said.

“We have a war going on across the world in Ukraine. It looks a little dicey for our economy.”

Kelly proposed in January the Legislature repeal the state’s 6.5% sales tax on groceries and issue $250 income tax rebates to Kansans.

The tax rebate hasn’t gained much traction, but Republican legislators may be interested in adjusting the food sales tax.

“We are in a position to debate the best way to appropriate funds and deliver relief to Kansans because our economy is so strong and has resulted in a significant surplus,” said Dinah Sykes, the Senate’s Democratic leader. “Each of us has differing ideas of what our top priorities should be, and each of those priorities deserves serious consideration.”

Lights: Wind farm Continued from A1

tee is unworkable.

Josh Svaty, a lobbyist representing the Kansas Power Alliance and former gubernatorial candidate, said, first and foremost, the Federal Aviation Administration selects the lighting systems — not only on a project of dozens or 100 turbines, but on each turbine.

“We do not choose the lighting systems that go on the towers,” Svaty said. “I’m going to pause for dramatic effect here, and then I’m going to say it again. We do not choose the lighting systems that go on the tops of the towers.”

Thompson’s committee has seen a litany of bills this legislative session meant to make developing wind — and sometimes solar — farms more difficult, including provisions allowing non-participating neighbors to contest wind farms, barring turbines from being built within a mile of an adjacent property line and outlawing

noise and shadow flicker from the turbines.

Last month, the committee heard two days of informational testimony from critics of wind energy, a third day from critics speaking on one of Thompson’s bills and only one day from the industry and proponents of renewable development.

Taken together, one renewable energy attorney said, Thompson’s bills would end wind energy in Kansas.

Thompson sought to ban testimony by an environmental health specialist who contradicted his claims about the so-called health effects of industrial wind farms.

Representatives of the wind energy industry asked that the committee consider a longer discussion about how to mitigate blinking lights on wind turbines rather than move forward with what they saw as a flawed bill.

Thompson asked them to sit down with proponents of the legislation to work on improvements.

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the current fiscal year ending in June. The State Finance Council, comprised of the bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate as well as the governor, would decide in October whether to transfer $200 million more into KPERS. The council also would be tasked with determining next January whether to authorize a second $200 million investment into KPERS. “The State Finance Council will be able to look at what is going on in the economy, whether our revenues continue to come in and what’s going on with the stock market,” said Sen. Rick Billinger, a Goodland Republican who chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

The Senate voted 1226 against the amendment offered by Sen. Pat Pettey, D-Kansas City, that would have used $155 million of the initial $600 million investment to issue a 13th monthly check to KPERS’ retirees.

Richmond, Kansas

A5

Opinion The Iola Register

Friday, March 11, 2022

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Russians will bear the brunt of Putin’s crimes “You don’t shoot at pregnant women,” the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States said Wednesday evening.

But Vladimir Putin did.

On Wednesday morning, Putin ordered Russian missiles to target a maternity ward and children’s hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Two women and a child were killed and dozens injured.

The bombing occurred during an agreed upon ceasefire during which women, children and elderly can flee for safety.

Russia’s military leaders used the interval to level the hospital and all around it, burying people under the rubble.

“What kind of country is this?” an incredulous Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, asked in a video later that morning.

“This is an unbelievable war crime,” said the ambassador, Oksana Markarova.

Putin’s response? Sticks and stones.

necessity; * Willfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health; * Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects; * Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives; * Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies. * Employing poison or poisoned weapons; Video footage has recorded most of the above multiple times over the last two weeks. The last item, poison, is feared to be employed in due course because it’s Putin’s weapon of choice to take out opponents and dissidents.

EVEN IN TIMES of war, countries are expected to honor a set of principles that maintain some semblance of humanity.

Such concepts began more than 200 years ago and have been updated over the years. The Hague Convention lays out war crimes; the Geneva Convention, crimes against humanity. Such codes limiting the barbarity of war are generally recognized by 193 of the world’s 195 countries that belong to the United Nations, including Russia.

War crimes and those against humanity include: * Destruction of property not justified by military

EXPERTS SAY it’s important to distinguish Putin and his military leaders from the people of Russia when assessing blame.

The unfortunate truth, however, is that for good or ill, every citizen knows that their leader’s reputation precedes theirs, and often serves as their greeting card when traveling abroad.

The day can’t come too soon for Russians to see that to cast their lot with Putin portends ignominious defeat that will take generations to amend.

What transpires in the next few weeks is critical to their future.

— Susan Lynn

A Ukrainian serviceman says goodbye to his girlfriend before departing in the direction of Kyiv at the central train station in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Wednesday, March 9, amid the ongoing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All Ukrainian men of conscription age, 18 to 60, were banned from leaving Ukraine after the Russian invasion on Feb. 24. The Ukrainian government is not forcing men to fight, only remain in the country. (ALEKSEY FILIPPOV/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

Remember, Russians want freedom Many of us in America feel a need now to somehow confront the Russian government and its strongman leader Vladimir Putin over the unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine.

And we are gratified to see measures at every level of government do so, from serious economic sanctions leveled by the Biden administration to city-led resolutions to condemn the invasion.

We also applaud American companies that have withdrawn their business from Russia and sports organizations that have canceled games where athletes represent Russia.

It is absolutely crucial that Americans and the West stand united against this threat to human freedom and democracy.

We know, at the same time, that it can be hard to recognize where the line of condemnation ends. Just as we

Schmidt mum on price gouging For over a year, Kansans have been waiting for answers as to where the investigation into the natural gas price gouging crisis stands.

Throughout that time, Attorney General Derek Schmidt has withheld details of the investigation, only telling Kansans that a search for and abandoned.

Schmidt’s office recently outside counsel was in the claimed outside counsel had works.

Kansas was far from the been hired but left it at that. only state impacted by last We still don’t know who was year’s cold snap that led to hired or the details of how unprecedented spikes in the that firm was selected to cost of natural gas. Other oversee such an important states, including Texas and investigation.

I recently Oklahoma, filed a Kansas were also hit Open Records hard.

Kansas was not the Act request The attoranneys general only state impacted seeking in those states by last year’s cold snap swers on where took action, in- that led to unprece- things stand, including including launching investiga- dented spikes in the formation on outside tions just days cost of natural gas. But the after the price other states’ attorneys counsel chosen increase and general are taking ac- to oversee the investigation. reaching setI wish I hadn’t tlements with tion. had to take this utility compastep, but connies to protect sidering the their consumattorney general’s refusal ers.

I wish I could say the same to keep Kansans in the loop, about Kansas. But in over a and the importance of this year, our attorney general issue, it felt necessary.

In the Statehouse, we has nothing to show for his supposed “investigation” but know how important this isKansans feeling confused sue is to folks back in our dis-

Rep. Annie Keuther

tricts. The Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee recently passed a near-unanimous resolution denouncing the price gouging that took place last year and called for investigations to protect consumers from this kind of blatant market manipulation in the future.

How often do we see this kind of agreement among legislators? But that’s the thing — this isn’t about politics. It’s about fighting to protect Kansas families, small businesses and towns who shouldn’t be punished simply for trying to keep the heat on, and we’ll do whatever it takes to find them relief.

I am urging the attorney general to respond to my request with the urgency this issue requires. I hope that, moving forward, Schmidt will keep Kansans updated on where the investigation stands.

And I hope the outside counsel is able to find answers and relief for Kansas consumers. Our families, small businesses and towns are counting on it.

Annie Kuether represents Kansas’ 55th District in the House, and serves as the ranking member of the Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee.

did throughout the Cold War, it is important to condemn the evil that Putin has visited upon Ukraine even as we remind Russians that they too deserve to be a free people.

Where to end the condemnation and open the embrace is sometimes hard to determine. The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, for example, recently announced that it will remain open to Russian pianists. The feelings right now over what is happening in Ukraine are so raw that many might conclude this was the wrong decision.

But we also understand the desire to welcome artists who likely have nothing whatsoever to do with their power-mad leader and who have worked their entire lives to bring beauty into the world through their instruments. And it’s worth remembering that Van Cliburn himself was a symbol of the victory of individ-

ual artistry over the power of the Soviet state.

We pray for victory by Ukraine, even as we realize that hope is dimmer with each passing day. We are likely to awaken to a world divided once again between the West and a Russian power.

As we enter that time, we will need to negotiate these very questions many times over — how we both reject Russian aggression and open ourselves to the Russian people.

Our country’s founders understood that freedom is inherent in the human soul, and we believe that the Russian people want freedom from the increasingly tyrannical government they live under.

Sending them the message that we support the full realization of their freedom will be just as important as condemning the darkness that is now spreading in Europe.

— Dallas Morning News

A look back in t me.

55 Years Ago March 1967

GARNETT (AP) — The question of whether the Garnett Grand Prix is to be revived will be put to a vote on April 4. The sports car races were stopped after spectator riots in 1963 and 1964 caused property damage in the business district. ***** ACCJC, which is prepar- Leo and Ann May. EXCERPTED ing to build a new facility on FROM THE CHRONICLES OF ALLEN the north edge of Iola, has COUNTY: 1945-2000 been given a $512,410 federal shop in Yates Center for five years then coming to Iola 12 grant. years ago. His wife, Ann, also ***** Maj. Harvey Kimsey, son works in the shop. The couof Mr. and Mrs. Hollis Kim- ple have three children. ***** sey of Colony, received the Col. Curtis L. Scoville, son Air Medal for meritorious service in Vietnam. Maj. of John Scoville of Iola, is diKemsey is a fighter pilot. rector of the overall re-entry He is married to the former research program directed Marilyn Schainost of Colony. by the U.S. Air Force. The data they retrieve from their ***** Leo May, who started space probes will be used to in the jewelry business 23 help guide spacecraft back years ago, is closing shop at to earth after they have com18 S. Washington. May was pleted their missions. ***** crippled by polio as a young A field of 35 runners set man but has not let that slow him down. He said he sail for 26 miles and 385 yards started in the jewelry trade at the start of the second anwith a kindly old man in nual Humboldt Marathon.

Newton who trained hand- Patrick McMahon, a student icapped young men in his from Ireland at Oklahoma shop without compensation. Baptist University won the After learning the trade he rugged endurance test in a worked at Newton and Kil- time of two hours, 35 mingore, Texas, before owning a utes and 28 seconds.

A6

Friday, March 11, 2022

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

Despite dropoff in cases, many uneasy about relaxing rules

By COLLEEN DEGUZMAN Kaiser Health News

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month unveiled updated COVID-19 guidelines that relaxed masking recommendations, some people no doubt sighed in relief and thought it was about time.

People have become increasingly comfortable being out shopping, attending live events, or meeting up with friends at restaurants. And many are ready to cast aside their masks.

Still, a recent KFF poll pointed to an underlying tension. Just as a large swath of the American public, 62%, said that the worst of the pandemic was behind us, nearly half were worried about easing COVID-related restrictions — like indoor masking — too soon. The poll, conducted in February, found that 49% of adults were either “very worried” or “somewhat worried” that lifting pandemic restrictions would cause more virus-related deaths in their communities. About 50% were “not too worried” or “not at all worried” that death tolls would rise in their communities.

The CDC’s move triggered some of the same mixed feelings from the public that the poll uncovered and laid bare a split within the health care community.

On the one hand, there’s applause.

The CDC’s protocol change is an indicator that the nation is approaching a “transition from the pandemic phase to an endemic phase,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. Rather than pushing messages of prevention, Benjamin said, the agency is changing its focus to monitoring for spikes of infection.

On the other hand, there is criticism — and worry, too.

“When I hear about relaxing regulations,” said Dr. Benjamin Neuman, a Texas A&M University professor and chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex, “it sounds a lot like people giving up.

And we’re not there yet, and it’s a little bit heartbreaking and a little bit hair-pulling.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta. DREAM-

STIME/TNS

What are the new guidelines, and how are they different?

Before the update, the CDC considered a community at substantial or high risk if it had had an infection rate of 50 or more new cases for every 100,000 residents in the previous week.

According to the agency’s new community-based guidance, risk levels can be low, medium or high and are determined by looking — over a seven-day period — at three factors: the number of new COVID-19 cases in an area, the share of hospital beds being used and hospital admissions.

This change had a profound impact on how COVID-19 risk was measured across the country. For example, the day before the CDC announced the new guidelines, 95% of the nation’s counties were considered areas of substantial or high risk.

Now, just 14% of counties fall into the highrisk category, according to the agency.

The CDC doesn’t make specific mask recommendations for areas at low risk. For areas classified as medium risk, people who have other health problems or are immunocompromised are urged to speak to their health care provider about whether they should mask up and take other precautions. In areas deemed to be high risk, residents are urged to wear masks in indoor public spaces.

“This more stratified approach with this combination of those factors gives us a better level of understanding of COVID-19’s impact on our communities,”

said Keri Althoff, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“Specifically, the impact of severe disease and death.”

But people shouldn’t get rid of their masks yet, she said. Even as the nation’s infection rates fall, the virus continues to spread on a global scale. “We have to fully recognize that there are so many people on this Earth who are unvaccinated internationally, and this is where the variants come from,” Althoff said.

Roses and thorns from experts

The same week the CDC rolled out its new guidelines, it reported a national seven-day average of about 71,000 new COVID-19 cases, along with 5,400 hospital admissions. Around 2,000 people were dying because of the disease every day.

It’s numbers like these that led some public health experts to question the CDC’s timing.

“I think we have prematurely opened and prematurely unmasked so many times at this point, followed by remasking and reclosing and just seeing our hospitals absolutely swamped, that I don’t really trust this,” said Texas A&M’s Neuman.

There have been “too many times,” he said, when the CDC has put down its guard and the virus came back stronger. “We’re basically taking our foot off the accelerator in terms of what we’re doing to slow down the virus, and that just means that there will be more virus going around and it’s going to keep swirling around,”

he said.

The CDC’s goal for easing mask mandates, Neuman speculated, was to create regulations that are more appealing and easier for people to abide by, because “it’s hard to sell prudence as something really attractive.” Plus, public health officials need to have a program that the entire country can follow, he said. The battle against the virus can’t be won with policies “that people follow in blue states but not in red states,” he added, “because the virus is very much a collective risk.”

There also are questions about how effective the new approach is at signaling when risk is increasing.

Joshua Salomon, a professor of health policy at Stanford University’s medical school, said that although the CDC designed its new guidance to incorporate a stronger indicator of surges, it has “a very late trigger.”

Salomon, along with Alyssa Bilinski, an as-

he added, more communities will move into the low and moderate categories. “The truth of the matter is that you just cannot keep people in the emergency state forever,” he continued.

“And this is never going to get to zero risk. … [COVID-19’s] going to be around, and so we’re going to have to learn to live with it.”

What about those who are not eligible for a vaccine or are immunocompromised?

The CDC’s relaxed recommendations do not prevent anyone from wearing a mask. But for millions of Americans who are immunocompromised or too young to receive a vaccine, less masking means a loss of a line of defense for their health in public spaces.

Children younger than 5 are not eligible to receive a vaccine yet, and people who are immunocompromised and are susceptible to more severe cases of the disease include cancer patients undergoing active treatment and organ transplant recipients. People living with chronic illnesses or disabilities are also vulnerable.

“You only have control of so much,” Neuman said. “And if you’re exposed to enough of the virus and you’re doing all the right things, you can still sometimes end up with a bad result.”

Masks are most effective when everyone in a room is wearing one, Neuman added, but the new mandate is similar “to victim-blaming — basically saying, ‘You have a problem and so here’s the extra burden to go with your problem.’”

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sistant professor of health policy at Brown University, looked into the delta and omicron surges and found that a rough rule of thumb during that period was that 21 days after most states rose to the highrisk level, the death rate hit three people for every million. That equals about 1,000 deaths a day at a national level.

The updated CDC guidance “is intended to provide a sort of warning that states are entering a period in which severe outcomes are expected,” he said. But the new approach would not sound that alarm until death rates were already reaching that “quite high” mark.

Others, though, point to another set of numbers. They say that with 65% of Americans fully vaccinated and 44% boosted as of March 8, relaxing COVID-19 protocols is the right decision.

The new strategy is forward-looking and continues to measure and track the virus’s spread, said the APHA’s Benjamin. “It allows a way to scale up and scale back the response.”

Since the guidelines are based on seven-day averages, he added, they are a good way to monitor communities’ risk levels and gauge which set of mandates is appropriate. “So if a community goes from green to yellow to red,” he said, referring to the CDC’s color-coded map that tracks counties’ COVID-19 levels, “that community will then need to modify its practices based on the prevalence of disease there.”

The guidelines, Benjamin said, are “scientifically sound, they’re practical.” Over time,

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Sports Daily The Iola Register

Friday, March 11, 2022

Allen’s Mr. Wright Red Devil standout leads way to national tournament

MLB votes to end lockout

T

ry as they might, Allen Community College’s Red Devils were in

See WRIGHT | Page B4

No go for IHS tennis opener Iola High’s tennis opener scheduled for Thursday afternoon, was postponed because of wintry weather.

A makeup date has not been announced.

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

trouble.

They struggled mightily through a miserable 10-minute stretch of their Region VI championship game against Johnson County.

The Cavaliers embarked on a 28-5 run, turning Allen’s 30-19 lead into a 4835 deficit by the 12-minute mark of the second half.

The Red Devils responded as they’ve done all season, by cranking up their defensive intensity and following the scoring lead by sophomore Ed Wright II. But even then, the odds were against them. Allen still trailed by five with 48 seconds remaining.

But a clutch 3-pointer from Tyren Shelley set the stage for Wright, who was fouled on his 3-point attempt with 12.5 seconds left. Wright was awarded three free throws and calmly drained them all to give the Red Devils the lead in their 74-72 win.

So was he nervous?

“No, sir, I’d done it before,” Wright said, noting the best free throw shooters rely on muscle memory and focus. “In big moments, it’s a little part of the game, so I try not to make a big deal out of it, so I don’t psych myself out up there.”

Still, the victory wasn’t secure until the officiating crew reviewed what would have been a game-tying putback by Johnson County’s Korey Jones at the buzzer.

Wright, a sophomore out of Lorain, Ohio, had a per-

B

Ed Wright II’s (13) swipes at the ball in a game earlier this month. Wright’s breakthrough season has the Allen Community College Red Devil basketball team in the NJCAA-Division II National Tournament for the first time in the school’s history. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

ACC’s Mbaye, Smith earn KJCCC honors Allen Community College’s women saw marked improvement under firstyear head coach Leslie Crane this season.

The Red Devils went from a 2-21 season in 202021 to 10-16 this year, and were two games away from a top-three finish in Kansas Jayhawk Conference-Division II play.

Leading the charge were Adjaratou Mbaye, a 6-2 sophomore out of Frisco, Texas, and Naomi Smith, a 5-11 freshman from Lawton, Okla.

Both were named to the third-team All-KJCCC Conference team this week.

Mbaye, who played high school ball at Lebanon Trail in Texas, averaged 11.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Smith, who played at MacArthur High School, averaged 9.9 points, 6.2

Adjaratou Mbaye

Naomi Smith

boards and 2.8 assists this season as a guard.

She saved her best for last, scoring a season-high

20 in the Red Devils’ 64-61 loss at Highland to end the season in the Region VI playoffs.

NEW YORK (AP) — Players have voted to accept Major League Baseball’s latest offer for a new labor deal, paving the way to end a 99day lockout and salvage a 162-game regular season.

The union’s executive board approved the agreement in a 26-12 vote, pending ratification by all players, a person familiar with the balloting said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement was authorized.

MLB sent the players an offer Thursday and gave them until 3 p.m. to accept in order to play a full season.

The union announced the player vote around 3:25 p.m.

Owners had discussed the deal before MLB sent it to the players association.

The agreement will allow training camps to open this week in Florida and Arizona, more than three weeks after they were scheduled to on Feb. 16. Fans can start making plans to be at Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium and Camden Yards next month. Opening day is being planned for April 7, a little more than a week behind the original date on March 31.

The deal will also set off a rapid-fire round of free agency. Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman and Kris Bryant are among 139 big leaguers still without a team, including some who might benefit from the adoption of a universal designated hitter.

Appreciating the Big 12 Tournament

By VAHE GREGORIAN The Kansas City Star

Two years ago this week, the reality of the pandemic arrived in Kansas City subtly enough with the strange “what if ?” sorts of concerns, such as whether we should still shake hands with people.

And what about time-honored media access to take you where you don’t get to go?

And could it actually come to, gosh, might they have to play Big 12 (and NCAA) Tournament games without fans in the stands?

Days later came the abrupt and startling upheaval of everything as we knew it. The sports world both symbolized that and led the way with massive shutdowns that pivotally ramped up safety protocols.

But having the NCAA Tournament canceled still as a prime indicator of a world off its axis, as Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby amplified at the time: When he was serving on the NCAA’s Division I Men’s Basketball Committee in 2003, the Department of Defense was in contact with the committee to encourage

it to play on during the shock and awe bombing in Iraq.

The message was that the NCAA Tournament “is a huge part of our American culture,” Bowlsby said. “And that they would like us to play the tournament and have it be as normal as possible.”

Little has felt normal since the start of the COVID timewarp, which began with what Bowlsby on Wednesday called “an out of body experience two years ago.”

But having the Big 12 tourSee BIG 12 | Page B3

In preparation for the Big 12 Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments being played in Kansas City, Mo., crews were busy sprucing up the exterior of the T-Mobile Center. KANSAS CITY STAR/RICH SUGG/TNS

B2

Friday, March 11, 2022

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Justice Dept. goes after pandemic fraud

By JENNIFER MCDERMOTT The Associated Press

The Justice Department named a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud Thursday, following through on President Joe Biden’s State of the Union promise to go after criminals who stole billions in relief money.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Kevin Chambers, an associate deputy attorney general, will lead criminal and civil enforcement efforts targeting pandemic-related fraud.

Monaco on Thursday convened the department’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which includes nearly 30 agencies that administer and oversee pandemic relief funding.

The Justice Department has already taken enforcement actions related to more than $8 billion in suspected pan-

demic fraud, Monaco and Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday. That includes bringing charges in more than 1,000 criminal cases involving losses in excess of $1.1 billion, opening civil cases against over 1,800 individuals and businesses for alleged fraud involving more than $6 billion in loans, and seizing more than $1.2 billion in relief funds.

Garland said they know their work is not done and the department remains committed to using every criminal, civil and administrative action available to combat and prevent pandemic fraud. Monaco added that the crimes are not victimless, that “every stolen dollar is taken from somebody who needed it.”

“Make no mistake, these criminals chose to line their own pockets at a time when Americans were hurting, at a time

when many Americans were dying,” she said.

Biden said in his address last week that the Trump administration “undermined the watchdogs whose job was to keep pandemic relief funds from being wasted.” He announced the chief prosecutor position, saying he has welcomed the watchdogs back.

Garland talked to his team about his priorities on Thursday, his one-year anniversary.

Reinvigorating whitecollar crime enforcement was among them.

The COVID-19 relief programs were set up to help small businesses and the millions of people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. About $5 trillion in spending was approved.

The Secret Service said in December that potential fraudulent activity was nearing $100 billion. Most of it came from unemployment fraud.

That figure was based on reports from the Labor Department and the Small Business Administration, and was not a new Secret Service report. It did not include COVID-19 fraud cases prosecuted by the Justice Department. The White House downplayed the figure because the reports looked at issues in 2020 and dealt with improper payments, category that includes not only fraud but overpayments and other errors.

A Secret Service spokesperson said Thursday that the agency did not have an updated number.

At the DOJ, Chambers said he’ll prioritize prosecuting large criminal organizations that commit some of the most far-ranging fraud, many using identity theft, and target overseas actors who saw the U.S. government’s relief packages as an opportunity for personal gain.

Man arrested for threat

Minority groups missed in census

MOUND CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a 67-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly making threats that caused a temporary shutdown of the Linn County Courthouse last December.

Albert C. Hinds, of Pleasanton, was arrested Wednesday at a Food Fair Super Market in Mound City, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Linn County Sheriff ’s Office.

He was jailed in Bourbon County on possible charges of terrorism and criminal threat.

The charges allege that in December of 2021 Hinds threatened banking personnel and law enforcement officers.

Black, Hispanic and American Indian residents were missed at higher rates than a decade ago during the 2020 census, according to a report released Thursday that evaluated how well the once-adecade head count tallied every U.S. resident.

Even though the 2020 census missed an unexpectedly small percentage of the total U.S. population given the unprecedented challenges it faced, the increase in undercounts among some minority groups prompted an outcry from civil rights leaders who blamed political interference by the Trump administration, which tried

By the Associated Press

unsuccessfully to add a citizenship question to the census form and cut field operations short.

“These numbers are devastating. Once again, we see an overcount of white Americans and an undercount of Black and Hispanic Americans,” National Urban League CEO Marc Morial said on a call with reporters.

“I want to express in the strongest possible terms our outrage.”

The results of U.S. Census Bureau’s PostEnumeration Survey showed that most racial and ethnic minorities were overlooked at statistically significant higher rates than a decade ago, with the Asian population being an exception. The sur-

vey measures whether certain populations were undercounted or overrepresented in the census.

Overcounts take place, for example, if someone owns a vacation home and is counted there as well as at a permanent home address.

The Black population in the 2020 census had a net undercount of 3.3%, while it was almost 5% for Hispanics and 5.6% for American Indians and Native Alaskans living on reservations.

Those identifying as some other race had a net undercount of 4.3%. The non-Hispanic white population had a net overcount of 1.6%, and Asians had a net overcount of 2.6%, according to the results.

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The Iola Register

Friday, March 11, 2022

B3

Replicating Rams’ Super Bowl success won’t be easy

By ROB MAADI The Associated Press

Going all-in paid off for the Los Angeles Rams. They have a shiny new Lombardi Trophy to show for all the money spent on big contracts and draft picks traded away.

While some teams may be tempted to follow a similar path for success - the Denver Broncos just agreed to send a massive haul to Seattle for Russell Wilson - even the Rams know it’s not a wave of the future in the NFL. “Maybe that’s not for everybody, and maybe that’s not sustainable,” Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said before the Rams beat Cincinnati to win the Super Bowl last month.

“Maybe it doesn’t work long term, even though we seem to figure it out every year. But it’s working right now.”

The Rams haven’t had a first-round draft

win games, consistently contend for the NFC West.

We’ll try to use our picks in an innovative, creative way, and sometimes it will be picking players in the draft and sometimes it Los Angeles Rams defensive end will be using Aaron Donald, left, sacks Seattle them to go acSeahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in a 2021 game. Wilson has quire players.”

Despite havsince been traded to the Denver ing no firstBroncos. LOS ANGELES TIMES/WALLY round picks SKALIJ/TNS since Goff, the pick since selecting Rams have had quarterback Jared the second-most draft Goff at No. 1 overall picks of any franchise in 2016, and they don’t since 2017.

Finding own another one until starters in middle and 2024. But using four of later rounds is essenthose first-rounders to tial. acquire Jalen Ramsey The Baltimore Raand Matthew Stafford vens prioritized adding helped them become compensation picks to champions. give them more assets.

“The model is work“Years ago, for ining,” Rams general stance, we felt like we manager Les Snead said had an opportunity to last month. “It’s allow- collect comp picks, and ing us to consistently it took a long time for

other teams to catch up.

Now, everybody is doing it,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said.

With free agency opening next week and the draft coming up next month, teams have opportunities to bolster their roster without dealing valuable picks for high-priced stars. Of course, spending freely has limitations in a salary cap sport. The Rams, Saints, Packers, Buccaneers and Vikings currently are more than $15 million over the threshold, according to figures compiled by Overthecap.com.

“You need to be able to look at the whole year as an opportunity to improve your team. It’s not just small windows in March or April,” Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said.

“There’s opportunities in pro free agency.

There’s opportunities in the draft. There’s opportunities after the draft,

players that didn’t get drafted. There’s opportunities that are going to present themselves later on in the spring, the summer, all the way through the course of the season and the trade deadline.

“So being patient and trying to develop your roster over time and taking a longer-term approach to it is something that we’re going to try to do. We know we have areas where we’ve got to address them at some point, whether that’s a frontline player or depth, but we’re no different than any other team at this point in time. We have players that we feel pretty good about and spots on our team that we have a little more depth and there’s other areas certainly of need that we need to address.”

The Broncos took a different approach after missing the playoffs the last six seasons.

They’re counting on Wilson, who led the Seahawks to the playoffs eight times in 10 years and started every game until a finger injury last season cost him three games, to make them contenders again.

Denver already has a solid nucleus in place with dynamic wide receivers Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick and K.J. Hamler, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam and running back Javonte Williams.

Wilson came within a yard of leading the Seahawks to consecutive Super Bowl victories in his first three seasons.

He saw Tom Brady join the Buccaneers in 2020 and lead them to a Super Bowl title. Stafford did the same in his first year with the Rams. Wilson doesn’t have to win one in his first season in Denver for the trade to be worth the cost for the Broncos.

Big 12: Reflecting on the COVID tournament that wasn’t Continued from A1

naments in town this week certainly comes with a dose of normalcy ... not to mention star-studded and riveting scenes ahead at both the T-Mobile Center for the men’s version of the tournament and at Municipal Auditorium for the women’s.

And after all the chaos and heartbreak of the last two years, the events that can finally be held before full ca-

pacity crowds for the first time since 2019 sure make for a great time to pause and appreciate the place the Big 12 has in Kansas City.

The conference is “in our DNA,” as mayor Quinton Lucas put it at what might be called an opening ceremony on Wednesday morning in the KC! Live Block of the Power & Light district across from the T-Mobile Center.

And the DNA of the

conference is particularly appealing right here, right now: The men’s bracket, which began with Kansas State taking on West Virginia on Wednesday night, features six schools projected to make the NCAA Tournament with Kansas and defending national champion Baylor each projected as No. 1 seeds in ESPN’s bracketology as of Wednesday afternoon.

The women’s bracket,

Jokic shines as Nuggets top Kings SACRAMENTO, Calif.

(AP) — Nikola Jokic had 38 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists, and the Denver Nuggets held on after blowing an 18-point lead and beat the Sacramento Kings 106-100 on Wednesday night.

Monte Morris added 20 points and made a critical three-point play late to help preserve the Nuggets’ fourth consecutive win and 12th in the last 14 games.

Bryn Forbes and Aaron Gordon each scored 11 points.

“Our guys understand what time it is in the season,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. “This is when you want to be playing your best basketball. There’s a feel-good atmosphere in the locker room.”

The Nuggets trailed 92-91 after De’Aaron Fox’s dunk.

Austin Rivers followed with a 3-pointer and Morris made an 18-foot jumper for Denver. Harrison Barnes’ 3-pointer got the Kings within 96-95 before Jokic and Morris scored on consecutive three-point plays.

Fox had 32 points and 10 assists for Sacramento. Barnes added 17 points and five rebounds. The Kings have lost six of eight since the All-Star break.

Jokic dominated the Kings all night. He had a double-double before halftime and fell three assists shy of a third consecutive triple-double.

“Lately, we’re playing really good, we’re winning games,” Jokic said.

“Hopefully it’s going to continue.”

The reigning league MVP leads the NBA with 18 triple-doubles and needs three more to tie Wilt Chamberlain’s career record for centers (78).

“He just controls the whole game,” Kings interim coach Alvin Gentry said. “He’s a point guard, he’s a forward, he’s a center. He’s whatever he needs to be at that particular time to get them over the hump.”

Morris said it’s a no-brainer that Jokic should be MVP again this season.

“He’s been dominating for so long there’s nothing you can really do,” Morris said. “This guy’s playing phenomenal. He’s been doing it for a long time. I still feel like he doesn’t get enough credit.”

The second quarter ended in controversy when Fox was fouled with eight-tenths of a second remaining. Initial indications were that Fox was fouled before shooting, yet he was awarded three free throws. Malone was charged with a technical as the teams were walking off the court at halftime, giving the Kings a free throw attempt to open the third quarter.

Sacramento trailed 80-77 at the start of the fourth then cut the gap to 87-86 following backto-back 3s from Barnes and Fox.

a rough night in his return to Sacramento. The fifth overall pick in 2010 who spent his first seven seasons with the Kings, Cousins was called for five fouls including four on the offensive end. He finished with five points and six rebounds.

SABONIS SUSPENDED

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Will Barton (left ankle sprain), Jeff Green (personal reasons) and Bones Hyland (right knee soreness) were held out.

Kings: Gentry had to be restrained by an assistant following a foul call in the second quarter. ... Davion Mitchell was hurt after a hard fall in the first half. He was taken to the locker room, then returned in the second quarter.

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Greek alphabet to signify variants but added, “It feels like we’re over the hump.”

If so, it’s fitting that this second anniversary of where and when it all hit home for us in Kansas City with the jarring mid-tournament cancellation can be marked by at least a semblance of order restored.

This time around, though, maybe we can embrace it and enjoy it all the more than before knowing so much of what we once took for granted really can’t be assumed at all.

We never know what’s coming tomorrow, we now know as much or more than ever. And

even the makeup of the conference itself reflects that: Its ongoing flux in the years to come will mean the departure of Oklahoma and Texas and the additions of Brigham Young, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston.

So seize these days to enjoy this version of the Big 12, one of our civic treasures through so much, and enjoy these editions of the men’s and women’s programs.

Because their mere presence, and your ability to attend, is a reminder of how fleeting these sorts of seemingly perennial opportunities can actually become.

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The Kings were without Domantas Sabonis, who served a one-game NBA suspension without pay for aggressively confronting and making contact with a referee during Monday’s loss to the New York Knicks.

Sabonis had been called for a foul when he was charged with his first technical foul, then picked up a second and was ejected after bumping into the official.

BAD BOOGIE

Former Kings star DeMarcus Cousins had

which begins play with two games on Thursday, also features six teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament and currently has three (Baylor, Texas and Iowa State) in the top 10.

That makes for quite a way to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. So, time it right, and you could go see a dozen or so NCAA Tournament-bound teams and several national title contenders within a few blocks of each other in the next few days.

“It feels like a return to normal,” said Bowlsby, who cautioned that there are more letters in the

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Friday, March 11, 2022

The Iola Register

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Source: Colts to trade QB Wentz to Washington Guardians By the ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Indianapolis Colts are moving on from Carson Wentz after one season, sending him to a team he’s familiar with from his days in the NFC East.

The Colts agreed to trade Wentz to the Washington Commanders, according to a person with direct knowledge of the

situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the deal cannot be finalized until the start of the new league year next week.

Washington is getting the 47th pick in the draft along with Wentz and sending Indianapolis Nos. 42 and 73 this year and a 2023 conditional

third-rounder that can become a second based on Wentz’s playing time, according to a different person with direct knowledge of the move.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced.

Wentz, 29, has three years remaining on his contract with salary cap

hits of $28.3, $26.2 and $27.2 million consecutively. The 2016 second overall pick of the Philadelphia Eagles spent just the 2021 season with Indianapolis, with the team going 9-8 and missing the playoffs.

This will be the sixth consecutive year the Colts will have a different opening day starter, though Jacoby Brissett

took over when Andrew Luck missed the entire season in 2017 and again in 2019 when Luck abruptly announced his retirement in August.

While coach Frank Reich urged the Colts to acquire his former Eagles pupil 13 months ago and continued to support Wentz throughout the season and offseason.

“Stability is ideal,

continuity is ideal, you long for that,” Reich said last week at the NFL’s annual scouting combine. “I believe in Carson. I stuck my neck out for him last year. I was a big part of that decision to get him here and I believe he’s going to have a lot of success as a quarterback whether that’s here or somewhere else.”

Wright: Red Devil standout named Jayhawk Conference MVP Continued from B1

fect vantage point.

“I was right under the hoop,” he laughed. “It was scary. I thought it counted. I thought, ‘Oh, no, we’re going to overtime.”

Alas, the video review determined Jones had not released the ball until after the buzzer. The missed shot gave ACC its first regional title since 1924.

The victory also secured Allen’s first ever trip to the upcoming NJCAA-Division II National Tournament, which gets underway next week in Danville, Ill. Allen (27-5) will take on the Lakeland (Ohio) Lakers (23-1) at 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday at Danville’s Mary Miller Arena in the first round. Allen is seeded ninth; Lakeland eighth.

A win sets up a potential showdown with top-seeded and unbeaten South Suburban (Ill.) College.

“This is good for us,” Wright said. “It’ll be a good start-up game against Lakeland. Our team can do anything, up or down. We’ve fought through adversity all year. It doesn’t matter who you put up against us.”

The tournament runs through March 19.

WRIGHT’S penchant for late heroics were part of his concerted effort to become more of a team leader for ACC this season.

“Last year, I had a sit down with Coach Shaw, and he told me I’d have a bigger role this year,” Wright said. “So when I went home I worked on my weaknesses.”

Wright has eclipsed the 30-point barrier four times this year, including Saturday’s 34-point outburst.

The Red Devils have saved their best for last, winning eight in a row and 16 of 17 since returning from Christmas

and went on to play at Michigan State University.

“I didn’t have a lot of offers out of high school, but fortunately I was able to get a scholarship to play here,” he said. “I like Allen. I like the people here, the atmosphere. It feels like home.”

Wright is uncertain where his playing career will take him after his days at Allen come to an end at nationals.

He’s had some offers from schools in both Kansas and Ohio.

“Doesn’t matter where I go,” he said.

“I’ll go anywhere I can play for free, that offers the best opportunity for me.”

Allen Community College’s Cedric Rollerson, left, was named to the second-team all Jayhawk Conference-Division II postseason team, while Brayden Thompson was named to the all defensive team. Below, Andy Shaw was tapped as Coach of the Year. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN break in January.

Leading the way has been Wright, who averaged 20 points per game in conference play and 29 points for each of the three Region VI playoff games.

Coupled with his team’s success, Wright was tapped this week as the Jayhawk Conference Division II men’s most valuable player.

Head coach Andy Shaw, meanwhile, was voted as coach of the year for the Jayhawk Conference.

Allen’s leading scorer averaged 19.1 points (20.1 points per game in conference play) along with 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

“I didn’t think we were gonna be this good at the beginning of the

season,” Wright said.

“But as we went on, and started playing conference games, we realized we could compete with anyone if we kept our composure.”

School, on the outskirts of Cleveland.

His father, Eddie

Wright, was a star prep athlete at the same school in the mid-1980s,

WRIGHT and Shaw weren’t the only Allen players recognized by the Jayhawk Conference.

Cedric Rollerson earned second-team all conference honors. He averaged 11 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest.

Fellow sophomore Brayden Thompson was named to the all-defensive KJCCC-D2 team as well. He led a Red Devil defense that limited opponents to 38% shooting for the season.

DESPITE his basketball acumen as a youth, and an impressive athletic pedigree, Wright wasn’t highly recruited out of high school.

Wright averaged 20.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals as a senior, including a game-winning 3-pointer to win a playoff game, and a game-tying 3-pointer in the waning seconds of another.

Wright also was named the Division III Lorain County Player of the Year while starring for Elyria Catholic High

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The Iola Register

Friday, March 11, 2022

B5

How do couples not get sick of each other?

Hi, Carolyn: I’ve heard so many people say, “When you know, you know,” or, “It feels right,” and my question is, what does that mean?! I can sort of imagine spending my life with someone, until I really think about what that might entail — how do you talk to the same person day in and day out? What if he bores me? What if I bore him after a few years? I listen to inane conversations around me and wonder why you would subject anyone, not least your SO, to that? It’s just hard to fathom how two people do not get sick of each other. — In Love?

In Love?: People do get sick of each other, often intensely. But for a well-matched couple, it either happens mildly, or infrequently, or fleetingly, or all three.

As for inane conversations, sure, you’ll have them. But they’ll be your inanities, which in a way are like your children — they’re

Carolyn Hax Tell Me About It no less obnoxious than everyone else’s, but you love them more anyway.

These ruts are why being fiercely attracted to someone physically should trigger fierce caution when your intention is mating for life. Enjoy it, of course, just don’t let it tempt you into rationalizing away the fact that you talk uneasily, fight hard, disagree on things that count, tire of him easily, and hate it when he does … that.

Trusting passion means you invest in two impermanent things: newness and physical appearance. Same goes, to a lesser degree, for a great career, power, fame — all of which are particularly subject to the whims of fate, and therefore are wobbly foundations for a love

that you depend on to last.

Not that you don’t want someone attractive and employed.

You just want to make sure you’re judging by criteria that last, and that you value, such as a perspective on life that you find attractive, stimulating, challenging, complementary.

That way, not only would your daily grind yield (more or less) daily fuel for conversation, but you’d also need only to introduce new conversation pieces — anything from reading a newspaper to having kids — to your life to propel the conversation. Much, much easier than replacing the conversationalist.

Does the person you’re seeing have the potential to be your endlessly interesting mate? That’s the part you just know, when it feels right. Or so I hear.

Hi, Carolyn: I have been divorced for five years. I have friends who are still friends

Fainting is more likely as we age Dear Dr. Roach: I recently fainted for the Dr. Keith first time in my life, Roach requiring a trip to the emergency room. There I was diagnosed with To Your acute syncope. I am 95 Good Health years old and in pretty good health, with my (from the Greek roots numbers being all good. meaning “cut short”) My blood pressure and is the medical term heart rate are fine. I for sudden loss of conwalk and exercise a sciousness. Most cases little every day, and I are due to a drop in have had three cardiac blood pressure leadstents. What can I do ing to poor blood flow to prevent such attacks to the brain. There are in the future? I was ad- many possible underlyvised that this episode ing causes, but the most resulted from dehydra- common is a condition tion, so I am drinking called vasovagal syncotwo to three glasses of pe, also known as a comwater a day. This was a mon faint. very scary experience.

We think of faint— E.Z. ing, perhaps based off of media depictions, as Answer: “Syncope” a condition of young

people, but the older you are, the more likely you are to faint. As we age, the body’s ability to regulate tension in the blood vessels to rapidly adjust to different needs under different body positions decreases. We need more time to adjust.

I recommend sitting for a minute after laying, then standing and making sure of oneself before walking. Many people get warning signs of fainting, such as lightheadedness, nausea, blurry sight or dimming vision, or a “whooshing” sound in the ears. If this happens, sit down right away. You often can avoid a faint or at least a fall.

with my ex. Recently I heard my ex remarried and this couple went to his wedding. I am very hurt because they saw how I was hurt by my ex. Should this couple be friends with both of us? They stated they did nothing wrong. I don’t know if I can still be friends with them because they didn’t care about my feelings.

— Hurt and Confused Hurt and Confused: You apparently have known all along they were still friends with your ex; of course they went to his wedding.

I understand the pain and confusion, but the wedding is a nonissue.

Either the friendship was wrong five years ago (if your husband was malicious to you and they knew it), in which case that is the issue — or the friendship was fine then. In that case it’s still fine, even if it smarts a bit more at the moment.

I’m sorry.

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FUNKY WINKERBEAN

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GCHD AQD U Q X X Z Q C RT ZXLRN AQDF JY H D Y Z A Q D F KGF EF. — N X LT GY Z

BLONDIE

by Young and Drake

MARVIN

by Tom Armstrong

HI AND LOIS

by Chance Browne

Y NY J Z Yesterday’s Cryptoquote: Today I have grown taller from walking with the trees. — Karle Wilson Baker

B6

Friday, March 11, 2022

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

K-State’s Weber offers parting shots on way out

By DAVE SKRETTA The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bruce Weber resigned as the basketball coach at Kansas State on Thursday, one day after the Wildcats lost to West Virginia in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament to cap a third straight losing season.

Weber made headlines following the loss to the Mountaineers at T-Mobile Center on Wednesday night when he lambasted the NCAA over its handling of the FBI investigation into college basketball corruption. Weber said he had refused to cut his hair until schools that were identified in the probe were punished, which some took as a swipe at rival Kansas.

“We won titles. We did it the right way,” said Weber, who led the Wildcats to a share of two Big 12 regular-season titles in 10 seasons in Manhattan. “I’m on the NCAA ethics committee. I was told they were going to take care of the people in the FBI stuff, so I told somebody

Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber watches his team in action against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 22 in Lawrence. GETTY IMAGES/ED ZURGA/TNS I’m going to grow my hair until something happens. Obviously, it’s

still growing.

“That’s the sad part about our business,”

Weber added. “Lon Kruger told me the other day, all the guys in the

FBI (probe) except one are in the NCAA Tournament. All those teams are going to be in the NCAA Tournament.”

Weber was a largely unpopular pick to replace Frank Martin when he was hired by former athletic director John Currie in 2012, shortly after he was fired by Illinois.

Weber was mulling several mid-major jobs when Currie selected him to take over a program that had suddenly shot to national prominence on the back of six straight 20win seasons.

Weber kept the momentum going for a while, too. He led the Wildcats to a share of the Big 12 title in his first season, made five NCAA Tournaments in his first seven seasons and added a share of another conference title just four years ago.

But the past few years have been a struggle, and all the hard-won support Weber had gained over most of the previous decade simply disappeared. He was forced to completely rebuild the roster after the 2019 season, then struggled to recruit at a

level to get the Wildcats back to the point where they were competing for championships.

They went 9-20 last season and 14-17 this season, leaving Weber — who took the Illini to the national championship game in 2005 — with a 184–147 record with the Wildcats. His career mark, including a highly successful run at Southern Illinois that included two NCAA tourney appearances, stands at 407-301 with 13 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m very, very proud of my time here,” Weber said Wednesday night. “It was a long, long time that we won a championship and I told the guys, the funny part and the sad part, I didn’t get much credit for that, and they all said it wasn’t my guys, but I would tell you probably the closest group of all of my 40-some years of coaching in that group.

“Then we did it with our guys,” Weber continued. “Whatever happens in the future happens, and that’s fine.

K-State is a great place, great people.”

Lakers’ struggles may short-circuit title dreams LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers just can’t get it together, and now they’re nearly out of time.

From Anthony Davis’ injuries and Russell Westbrook’s subpar play to LeBron James’ inability to carry them all, practically nothing has gone well this season for the franchise that momentously assembled a veteran-laden roster last fall to chase another ring.

After their 117-110 loss to the Spurs on Monday night, the Lakers are 2836 and in ninth place in the Western Conference, just three games out of 11th. A group expected to contend for a title is much closer to missing the 10-team playoffs.

They haven’t given up hope in Hollywood: James and coach Frank Vogel both insist there’s still time for Davis to get healthy, for Westbrook to find his game and for the Lakers’ supporting cast to recapture its collective prime.

“We still have games to play,” James said last week after the Lakers blew a late lead and lost

to Dallas at home. “Until you stomp me out, cut my head off, bury me 12 feet under, then I got a chance. So that’s my confidence.”

But every dispiriting loss and injury setback underscores the likelihood that the Lakers’ dreams of an 18th title are profoundly unrealistic. A roster with four members of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team has gone 7-17 since Jan. 7.

Nobody knows exactly where to assign the blame for this mélange of mediocrity — not even the Lakers’ front office, which hasn’t yet scapegoated Vogel for the struggles by firing him.

But past Lakers greats are embarrassed by the current state of the franchise with glory days worthy of an HBO series. “Winning Time,” the dramatization of LA’s vibrant championship teams of the 1980s, began airing last weekend.

James Worthy, a star on those Showtime Lakers, recently referred to the current team as “the

walking dead” on its own television network.

Shaquille O’Neal castigated the Lakers last week for their lack of visible passion during another defeat — and boasted he wouldn’t have accepted the current situation.

“I’m losing to the Clippers, somebody is getting beat up that night in the locker room,” Shaq said.

The past two games encapsulate the frustration and inconsistency that have defined LA’s season. James carried the Lakers to a 124-116 victory over powerhouse Golden State last Saturday with a massive 56-point performance, tied for the third-biggest in his 19-year NBA career — but then he sat out the loss at 12th-place San Antonio with knee soreness.

The Lakers lost to the Spurs without their two most important players on the court, and they did it on the two-month anniversary of the last time they won consecutive games.

“I feel like every time we get some momentum,

LeBron Jame and the Los Angeles Lakers are struggling this season. TNS FILE PHOTO something happens,” Westbrook said, shaking his head. “It’s been like that. When we play a good game, something always happens (shortly afterward). But that’s just how it’s been for us.

We’ve got to keep plugging away, keep finding ways to pick each other up, because some of that stuff is out of our hands, and health is the most important thing for all of us.”

Westbrook is correct: Of all the Lakers’ risky personnel decisions over the past 16 months,

relying on Davis to stay healthy has been the biggest bust.

The star forward’s gangly body and awkward movement have never allowed him to be durable, but Davis has been sidelined by several woes for much of the past two seasons, undercutting everything the Lakers want to do.

After missing half of the Lakers’ 2020-21 regular season with injuries and then getting hurt again in the playoffs, Davis missed 17 more games this season with

a sprained knee. He went out yet again before the All-Star break with a sprained foot, and there’s a chance he won’t return at all this season.

While Davis has missed 27 of the Lakers’ 64 games, James has also been less reliable than usual, missing 18 games. They appeared in only 27 games together last season, and they’ve played just 20 games alongside Westbrook this year — only five since Dec. 17.

The Lakers have used 32 starting lineups already, both because of their stars’ injuries and their unimpressive supporting cast. They’re currently starting Austin Reaves, an undrafted rookie who wasn’t expected to play much at all.

“It changes a lot of things when you’ve got some of your main guys out,” said Westbrook, whose first year with his hometown team has been largely a nightmare. “We’ve got to stick to it, and hopefully guys can step up and make that change.”

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