Iola Register, Oct. 12, 2022

Bike trails targeted for route

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

HUMBOLDT — Two of Al len County’s most popular recreational trails may soon be integrated into a bicycle route system spanning the state.

Humboldt City Coun cil members were given a glimpse of what organizers hope will become USBR 55, as part of the expanded US Bicy cle Route System.

The route would include the Southwind Rail Trail, which connects Iola and Hum boldt along the old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad corridor, as well as the Prai rie Spirit Trail, which follows the same path farther north to Ottawa.

The goal is to provide de

tailed bicycling routes for traveling cyclists along the east side of Kansas, Kerry Irons of the Adventure Cy cling Association, wrote in an email to the city.

The proposed route is just that — a proposal — Irons noted. Local agencies, such as Humboldt’s City Council, would have the final say on how routes are determined.

The proposal utilizes trails already in existence or light ly traveled public roads, and would enter Humboldt from the north via Southwind, then west on Hawaii Road before turning back south to Humboldt via 14th Street, Central Street, 13th Street, Bridge Street and onto Geor gia Road before heading back

Farm Marshals’ history embedded in county

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register THURSDAY: Learn about the City Marshals, Lloyd and Nancy Houk

Suiting up for safety

Poll: Foreign relations are turning sour

WASHINGTON (AP) —

A majority of U.S. adults expect America’s relations with foreign adversaries like Russia and North Ko rea to grow more hostile, according to a new poll, a major shift in public opin ion from four years ago under President Donald Trump.

Two years into the Biden administration, 60% of U.S. adults say relations with adversaries will get worse, up from 26% four years ago at the same point in the Trump administra tion, according to the poll from the Pearson Institute and The Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

21%

Forgive Dee Bedenbend er if his candy-throwing marksmanship is off Satur day. Bedenbender and wife Sheila are the farm mar shals for the upcoming Farm-City Days celebration, and thus will be one of the featured participants in Sat urday’s parade.

But Dee will be doing so with his right arm in a sling, having torn ligaments in his elbow while working with a small herd of cattle last week.

“I had put up some heavy panels,” he explained. “I for got how heavy they were, and I grabbed one and jerk ed it. I knew as soon as it happened I tore something.

“I picked the wrong time to do that,” he chuckled. “It’s gonna be fun throwing candy out.”

THE BEDENBENDER family has been a part of Allen County almost since

IHS students show off sewing, life skills

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

When something isn’t work ing, just rip out the seams and start over.

Iola High School students Kinsey Schinstock and Jess Kroenke talked to USD 257 board members about the les sons they’ve been learning from sewing classes. They’re picking up life skills while learning how to make clothes.

The students attended Mon day’s school board meeting as part of a program about the Career and Technical Ed ucation pathways. IHS has 20 career pathways students can explore, and many will go on to work internships as seniors. Kroenke, for exam ple, is a senior and has an internship with Audacious Boutique. Schinstock is a sophomore.

The students are pursuing

Iola Elementary School students, along with area preschoolers, were treated to a visit from the Iola Fire Department and EMS. They toured the ambulance and fire trucks and learned about fire prevention and safety, including a trip through a house filled with simulated smoke. Above, Hud son McCall tries on firefighter Hunter Badger’s helmet while his classmates from Munchkinland Preschool and teacher Megan McKarnin look on. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Iola High School sophomore Kinsey Schinstock, left, and senior Jess Kroenke show USD 257 board members and administrators the dresses they’ve made as part of a sewing program for the Career and Technical Education pathway in Family, Career and Community Leaders of America classes.

Sheila and Dee Bedenbender have been named Farm Mar shals for this year’s Farm-City Days Parade. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Humboldt City Administrator Cole Herder, left, and Mayor Nob by Davis take part in a council meeting. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Library book sale on tap

Iola Public Library’s annual used book sale, a fundraiser organized by the Friends of the Library, starts Thurs day and runs through Saturday.

In addition to donat ed books of all kinds, bargain hunters can also expect to find sec ond copies of best sell ers and DVDs.

For first pick, buyers will want to hit the pre views 6-8 p.m. Thurs day; Friends of the Library get in free, but non-members may join for a $5 donation.

Admission is free 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Satur day. Sunday, 1-4 p.m., is also free, and leftovers go for $1 a bag. The

sale takes place in the library meeting room adjacent to the parking lot.

Proceeds from the sale help support on going projects such as summer reading pro grams and “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten,” book purchases, guest speakers, display fur niture and more.

Former ESU president blasts firings

By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — A for mer interim president of Emporia State Uni versity contends mass dismissal of more than 30 faculty brands the in stitution as a higher ed ucation outcast and un dermines recruitment and retention of quality students and faculty.

Ed Flentje, who served as interim ESU president in 2011, ex pressed concern in a letter to Jon Rolph, chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents. His request the Board of Re gents rescind removal of 33 faculty mirrored a plea by a representative of the American Associ ation of University Pro fessors, who denounced the firings as an intru sion into academic free dom.

“I believe the regents’ actions will lead to the decline and eventual closure of the universi ty,” Flentje said. “The vision of the mass firing will lead to a prosperous future for Emporia State is complete fantasy.”

Flentje said students in English and other academic programs tar geted for cuts by ESU president Ken Hush would look for new op portunities at other col leges and universities. As prospective students decided to seek an edu cation elsewhere, Flent je said, ESU enrollment would further erode.

In addition, Flentje said, more classes at Emporia State would

Ed Flentje

be taught by part-time adjunct professors “who have little stake in the future of the university and less interest in stu dent success.”

He said ESU’s “pari ah” status would send a message to existing and prospective faculty their future at Emporia State would be uncer tain. ESU faculty and staff identified by ad ministrators as a prior ity will continue to face competition for scarce dollars, he said.

“Budget-minded state lawmakers will increas ingly question added spending at the univer sity,” Flentje said. “Po tential donors will raise the same questions.

When the next inevita ble budget crunch con fronts state lawmakers, Emporia State’s future will be given heightened scrutiny.”

Flentje was a student and administrator at Emporia State, earned a doctorate at University of Kansas and served on the faculty for years at Wichita State Universi ty, where he was part of the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs from 1986 to 2008. For a five-month

period in 2011, he was interim presi dent at ESU.

The state Board of Regents created a policy during height of the COVID-19 pan demic granting the six universities in the public university system the authority to initiate a stream lined method of slashing the campus workforce. The poli cy included dismiss al of tenured faculty.

KU officials ex pressed interest, but said repeatedly they had no intention of deploying provisions of a policy scheduled to expire Dec. 31. Nei ther Kansas State University, Fort Hays State University, Pitts burg State University nor WSU took steps to impose the policy embraced by ESU to deal with financial, enrollment and staff ing challenges.

Hush said the pol icy would be used by Emporia State to better target ex penditures in disci plines attractive to students. So far, ESU announced plans to hire personnel in art, music and cyberse curity.

The university president told the state Board of Re gents approximately 7% of the universi ty’s staff would be laid off “to move us toward an exciting, successful future.”

Candidates to stop in Allen County

Patrick Schmidt, candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, will be at Iola’s new cof fee shop, Fillmore Coffee House & Plant Cafe, 102 S. Wash ington, at 2:30 Thursday afternoon for a meetand-greet.

Schmidt, a Democrat, is running against in cumbent Rep. Jake La Turner.

Schmidt, the son of public school teachers, is a former U.S. Navy in telligence officer.

ON SATURDAY, Chris Mann, candidate for Kansas Attorney Gen eral, will meet with con stituents at 1 p.m. at Hum boldt’s coffee shop, Octagon City Coffee Co., 103 S. Ninth St.

Mann, a Democrat, is a former police officer who is now practicing law.

Mann is running against Republican Kris Kobach.

Police reports

Arrests reported

An incident Friday af ternoon in the 300 block of South Vermont Street led to the arrest of Iolan Jason Sinclair, 33, Iola, for suspicion of aggra vated burglary, inter fering with law enforce ment, battery on a law enforcement officer (four counts), interfering with emergency medical ser vice personnel, criminal damage to property and battery.

William Weston, 61, Iola, was arrested Satur day morning for suspi cion of domestic battery after officers were called to a disturbance in the 800 block of Meadow brook Road East.

China Trester, 43, Iola, was arrested Sunday morning for suspected criminal trespassing and violating a protec tion order after Iola po lice officers were called to investigate an inci dent in the 400 block of East Madison Avenue.

Obituaries

Nancy Mertz

Nancy Alma Mertz, 96, of Santa Fe, N.M., died Sept. 6, 2022.

Nancy was born Oct. 2, 1925, in Iola, Kansas, the daughter of Horace L. and Nannie Madge Miller.

She was an accomplished artist who also enjoyed journaling and writing poetry. Nan cy graduated with a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Kansas in 1946. She was a third-generation member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, following her grandmother who became a Kappa in 1894 and her mother in 1920.

Following graduation, Nancy went to work in the family business, H.L. Miller & Son Garment Company. She practiced her painting for over 60 years, specializing in oil and watercolor. Her works grace the homes of many.

Nancy and Max Albert Mertz were married on June 27, 1958. He preceded her in death on June 23, 2011.

Nancy and Max were key founders of the fes tival, Music from Angel Fire, in New Mexico.

Survivors include her son, Max Edward Mertz and wife Valerie, Juneau, Alaska; daugh ter, Patricia Parker Mertz Moayedi and husband Alex, Sugarland, Texas; daughter-in-law Sha ron Mertz, Lafayette, Louisiana; her brother Ed Miller and wife Betty of Iola and their children, Jay, Beth Wall, Nancy, and Bob.

Preceding Nancy in death were her daughter, Margaret Stover Mertz, and son, Aaron Wright Mertz.

Memorials may be left to Del Corazon Hos pice, 811 St. Michael’s Dr., Suite 207, Santa Fe, N.M. 87505 or to St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, 550 W. San Mateo Rd., Santa Fe, N.M. 87505.

A private family burial will take place in Moreno Valley, N.M,. in the summer of 2023.

Joyce Hudson

Joyce Elaine Hudson, 80, Humboldt, died Sun day, Oct. 9, 2022, at Medicalodges of Iola.

She was born Aug. 15, 1942, in Kansas City, Kan., to Howard Elton Goodall and Bettye Elno ra (Cole) Goodall.

Joyce and Richard Norman Hudson were mar ried Sept. 30, 1960, in Kansas City, Mo. She was preceded in death by her husband, and son, Rick Hudson.

Joyce is survived by son, Ron (Laura) Hudson, Topeka; daughter-in-law, April Hudson, Hum boldt; four grandchildren; seven great-grand children; and numerous other family members and friends.

A visitation will be from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Fri day, Oct. 14, at First Baptist Church, Humboldt, followed by a memorial service at 10:30 a.m. In urnment will be immediately after the memori al service in Mount Hope Cemetery, Humboldt.

Memorials are suggested to Humboldt First Baptist Church or to Allen County Animal Res cue Facility (ACARF), which may be left with Feuerborn Family Funeral Service, 1883 U.S. 54, Iola, KS 66749.

Condolences may be left at www.feuerbornfu neral.com.

At left, Iola Public Library patron Sarah Griesel sorts through books recently at the library. Jennifer Tarter is in the background, checking out her books. At right is a book display at the library. COURTESY PHOTOS

Patrick Schmidt

Chris Mann

Marshals: Bedenbenders picked

Continued from A1

there was an Allen County.

The family first ac quired a farm near the four-counties line, sep arating Allen, Ander son, Coffey and Wood son counties in 1881.

The 500-acre spread has remained in the family for six genera tions ever since.

Dee shifted gears to focus primarily on his cow-calf operation, with about 50 head of cattle, encompassing roughly 300 acres with hay and foliage.

He also rents ground for row crops to area farmer Nathan Men tzer.

Dee spoke briefly on the ongoing dry spell that is rapidly becom ing critical.

“We caught about 5 inches of rain (over the summer) that the farm ers around Humboldt didn’t get, so our corn wasn’t too bad,” he said. “Our beans may be another story, and our ponds are starting to dry.”

Pond levels are so low he’s had to rotate his herd and use rural water district sources.

“We need to get some

rain,” he said. “It’d probably take 3 or 4 inches just to get some runoff moisture.”

BOTH Dee and Shei la have continued to be a part of the commu nity, including helping at previous Farm-City Days celebrations.

Sheila, in fact, is on the Farm-City Days Com mittee.

“That’s how we found out we were mar shals,” she laughed. “I was at a meeting and one of the girls told me. It was quite a sur prise.”

“I’ve always enjoyed the parade,” said Dee, who also helped orga nize a Farm-City Days co-ed softball tourna ment with former Iola Register coworker Ron Helman in the 1980s.

(He worked in the Reg ister’s press room for 19 years, joining the operation straight out of high school. His mother, the late Thel ma Bedenbender, was a long-time Neosho Falls correspondent for the newspaper as well.)

Both graduated from Iola High School in the mid-1970s, and lived briefly in Fort Scott un

til returning to Allen County after Dee’s fa ther, Neil, died in 2011.

Sheila’s duties in volve organizing the arts and crafts booths.

Dee has served on the Allen County Farm Bureau Board of Di rectors, including two years as president. He’s also on the Kansas Farm Bureau Hay and Foliage Committee. Sheila, too, has been involved with the Allen County Farm Bureau board.

THE COUPLE has three children, daugh ters Heather and Laura and son William Mi chael.

Heather, a 13-time state medalist in track and field for Le Roy High School, includ ing a thrilling win over Kansas legend Jackie Stiles in the 1997 state track meet in the 400-meter dash, lives in Overbrook and works as a child psy chologist. Laura works as a professional buyer for Collins Bus Lines in Hutchinson. William, who lives just down the road from his parents, works for MFA Oil and Propane.

More missiles, drones strike Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces showered Ukraine with more mis siles and munition-car rying drones Tuesday after widespread strikes killed at least 19 people in an attack the U.N. human rights office de scribed as “particularly shocking” and potential war crimes.

Air raid warnings extended throughout the country for a sec ond straight morning as Ukrainian officials advised residents to con serve energy and stock up on water. Strikes in the capital and 12 other regions Monday caused widespread power out ages and pierced the relative calm that had returned to Kyiv and many other cities far from the war’s front lines.

“It brings anger, not fear,” Kyiv resident Volodymyr Vasylenko, 67, said as crews worked to restore traffic lights and clear debris from the city’s streets. “We already got used to this. And we will keep fight ing.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the leaders of the Group of Seven industrial powers by videoconference Tues

day. After the meeting, the G-7 leaders con demned this week’s blitz and said their countries “will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Russia launched the widespread attacks in retaliation for a week end explosion that damaged a bridge link ing the country to the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Russian President Vlad imir Putin alleged the Ukrainian special ser vices masterminded the Saturday attack on the Kerch Bridge.

Russia has has con centrated most of its firepower during the 7½-month war in eastern and southern

Ukraine, and Ukrainian officials said the previ ous day’s diffuse strikes on power plants and civilian areas made no “practical military sense.”

However, Putin’s supporters had urged the Kremlin for weeks to take more drastic steps in Ukraine and actively criticized the Russian military for a series of embarrass ing battlefield setbacks. Pro-Kremlin pundits lauded Monday’s attack as an appropriate and long-awaited response to Kyiv’s recently suc cessful counteroffen sives, and many of them argued that Moscow should keep up the in tensity in order to win the war.

Investigators examine a crater next to a damaged bus, following a missile strike in Dnipro on Monday, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/ AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

Supreme Court hears pork industry’s challenge to animal welfare law

By DAVID G. SAVAGE Los Angeles Times/TNS

WASHINGTON —

The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear the pork industry’s chal lenge to a California animal welfare law that would forbid confining breeding pigs in narrow metal cages for most of their lives.

At issue are two broad questions: Can one state can enforce regulations within its borders that will force businesses in other states to change their practices? And can voters insist on stan dards of morality and decency that include the humane treatment of animals?

In 2018, 63% of Cali fornia voters approved Proposition 12, a ballot measure to prohibit the sale of eggs or meat that originate from the ex treme confinement of egg-laying hens, breed ing pigs or calves raised for veal. The law was due to take full effect this year.

While some of the largest meat packers, including Hormel and Tyson, said they could comply, the National Pork Producers Council sued, alleging the law is unconstitutional be

cause it would require farmers in the Midwest and North Carolina to change how they raise and confine their breed ing pigs.

California produces less than 1% of the pork sold in the state, the pro ducers told the court, but “Prop. 12 will trans form the pork industry nationwide.”

To comply with the California law, breeding pigs would have to be

given larger pens that would allow them to stand and turn around, or they could be con fined in an open area with other pigs. The pro ducers said those chang es would increase their costs by 9%.

“The practical effect of Prop. 12 is that com mercial activity outside of California will need to comply with Califor nia’s regulations, and therefore [it] is an ex

CAN’T

traterritorial regulation of the $26-billion in terstate pork market.... Consumers nationwide will pay for California’s preferred sow-housing methods,” they told the court.

The pork producers lost before a federal judge in San Diego and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which said they had no claim of a constitutional violation. But in March, the Su

TO SEE YOU

preme Court agreed to hear the industry’s ap peal, and the Biden ad ministration joined the case on the side of the pork producers.

“California has no le gitimate interest in the housing conditions of out-of-state animals,” Solicitor General Eliz abeth B. Prelogar said. “States may not other wise regulate out-ofstate entities by banning products that pose no threat to public health or safety based on phil osophical objections to out-of-state production methods or public poli cies that have no impact in the regulating state.”

In defense of the law, the state’s attorneys said the law regulates what happens inside California.

It “only restricts the products that business es choose to sell within California’s borders,” they said. “In approv ing Prop. 12, California voters chose to prohibit the in-state sale of pork products that they found to be immoral and po tentially dangerous to human health.”

Attorneys for Cali fornia also contended that the pork producers challenging the law do not represent the entire

industry, noting that three years ago, “nearly a third of the nation’s pork industry had con verted to sow breeding facilities to allow for group housing” where breeding pigs may move around freely.

“Pork produced this way may be marketed as ‘cratefree’ pursuant to USDA regulations” and can be separated from other pork products, they said.

The Constitution says Congress may “regulate commerce...among the several states.” Con gress has not regulat ed the confinement of breeding pigs, but the court has struck down state laws that seek to protect businesses from out-of-state competition. By contrast, in this case, National Pork Produc ers vs. Ross, the court will decide whether a state law is unconsti tutional because it will have a strong regulatory effect in other states.

The Humane Soci ety of the United States and several animal-pro tection groups objected to the Justice Depart ment’s contention that Californians have no “legitimate” interest in preventing cruelty to animals.

Justices of the US Supreme Court pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC . Seated from left, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito and Associate Justice Elena Kagan, standing behind from left, Asso ciate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/

AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

Gov. Kelly determined to bring more under health insurance umbrella

By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — A major ity of Kansans across the political spectrum endorse expansion of eligibility for Medicaid in a statewide survey also indicating nine in 10 registered voters believe a candidate’s position on health care influenced votes at the polls.

Kansas is among a dozen states declining to broaden access among lower-income people to affordable health cov erage under Medicaid. Expansion legislation in Kansas was vetoed in 2017 by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and the GOP-led Senate blocked a vote on a House-passed bill in 2019. Expansion states include Missou ri, Oklahoma, Colorado and Nebraska.

The issue emerged in the campaign for Kan sas governor with Gov. Laura Kelly promis

ing to introduce a fifth Medicaid expansion proposal in January if reelected. Republican gubernatorial nominee Derek Schmidt spoke in opposition to substan tive enhancement of eli gibility for Medicaid.

The poll released by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, or ACSCAN, of 500 likely Kansas voters showed support to be almost universal among Democrats with backing from majori ties of both Republicans and independents.

In the poll, 72% of Kansans favored ex panding opportunities for Kansans to partic ipate in KanCare, the state’s Medicaid pro gram. The political breakdown in terms of those favoring reform: Democrats, 98%; inde pendents, 64%; and Re publicans, 56%.

The poll conducted by Public Opinion Strate gies and Hart Research

Gov. Laura Kelly at the Kansas State Fair on Sept. 10. Kelly favors bringing more Kansans under the insur ance net. (JAIME GREEN/THE WICHITA EAGLE/TNS)

Associates showed 87% of respondents consid ered health care a piv otal issue in political elections. The poll for ACSCAN had a 4.3% margin of error.

“Kansans clearly understand the im portance of affordable health coverage and want their lawmakers to take action to expand KanCare,” said Megan Word, who works for ACSCAN. “Voters want Kansas to join the 38

other states who have expanded their Medic aid program and they are paying close atten tion this election sea son.”

The number of Kan sans potentially bene fitting from a state law deepening eligibility for the Affordable Care Act has ranged from 120,000 to 150,000. The federal government would be obligated to pay 90% of the increased cost in Kansas.

In the poll, 81% said all Kansans regardless of income, location, race, gender or immi gration status ought to have affordable health care.

Kelly, who is seeking a second term in the Nov. 8 election, said during the latest gubernatorial debate in Overland Park that expansion of Med icaid to the underserved would be the most sig nificant health policy change she could cham pion as governor.

“I have proposed four different expansion ap proaches,” said Kelly, who claimed Republi cans undermined Med icaid bills because the reform was among her top priorities as gover nor. “I will propose my fifth in January. I think the fact that I never will be on the ballot again can take politics out of it.”

Schmidt said con servative leadership of the House and Senate

wouldn’t step aside to allow a Medicaid expan sion bill reach Kelly’s desk. He also criticized Kelly for not convincing a GOP majority in the Legislature to approve expansion in her first term.

“It makes a good thing to talk about in the mid dle of an election,” Schmidt said of Kelly’s advocacy. “At the end of the day, the Kansas Legislature, if anything like its current compo sition, is not going to go that direction in terms of public policy.”

He said Kansas should focus on retain ing the three for-profit insurance companies under contract to oper ate the privatized Kan Care system during a period of inflation in the national economy. He said he would con sider modest changes to KanCare such as the 2022 bill signed by Kelly extending Medicaid cov erage to new mothers.

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD

Flocks of tourists return to Japan after COVID restrictions lifted

TOKYO (AP) — Ea ger to admire colorful foliage, eat sushi and go shopping, droves of tourists from abroad began arriving in Japan on Tuesday, with the end of pandemic-fight ing border restrictions that had been in place for more than two years.

“We got the news that we can finally come. We are really, really hap

py,” said Nadine Lack mann, a German who was among the crowd of tourists arriving at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.

Travelers like Lack mann are expected to deliver a sorely needed $35 billion boost to the world’s third-largest economy. And the flood of visitors is expected to keep growing.

A daily limit of 50,000

arrivals is gone. Air lines have added flights in response to the full re-opening of borders. Visa-free travel is back for short-term business visits and tourism from more than 60 countries.

David Beall, a pho tographer based in Los Angeles who’s been to Japan 12 times, has al ready booked a flight, planning to go to Fukui,

Kyoto, Osaka, and To kyo. The last time he was in Japan was in October 2019. But it’s ev eryday things the Amer ican is looking forward to, like eating Japan’s popular pork cutlet dish, tonkatsu.

“As cliched as it sounds, just being back in Japan after all this time is what I am most looking forward to. That

of course includes hope fully meeting new peo ple, eating the food that I’ve missed like good tonkatsu, being in na ture at that time of the year, riding the trains,” he said.

As a tip for others planning trips, he rec ommends getting a Japan Rail Pass and a Suica or some other prepaid card that allows

COME ONE AND ALL TO FARM

Farm City

cashless payments for easy travel.

About 32 million tour ists visited Japan in 2019, before COVID-19. Their return is welcome for good reason. Many will have more spending power because the Jap anese yen has declined in recent months in val ue compared to the U.S. dollar, the euro and oth er currencies.

Opinion

No reason to doubt Kobach’s threat against Kansas Supreme Court

Kris Kobach says the abor tion issue is not over, and I be lieve him. If Kobach is elected as our next Kansas attorney general, he wants to see our state supreme court filled with anti-abortion justices — justices who would rule that a woman who gets pregnant has no right to make deci sions about her reproductive future.

The former secretary of state unveiled his strategy last week: Kobach will push the Republican majority in the Legislature to propose an other constitutional amend ment, asking voters whether our Kansas Supreme Court justices should be selected by popular election. The sole purpose, according to Kobach himself, is to clear a path to “slowly and quietly” place anti-abortion judges on the state’s highest court, with the ultimate goal of overturning the Kansas Supreme Court’s 2019 Hodes decision — in which the court held that our state constitution includes the right to bodily autonomy.

Foremost, selecting our Kansas Supreme Court Jus tices by popular election is a horrible idea, and Kobach is, at best, disingenuous about how common that method is among other states.

According to Ballotpedia, seven states elect their su preme court justices in par tisan elections, and 13 states hold nonpartisan elections — for a total of 20. I am no math whiz, but that’s certainly not a majority of states. The re maining 30 use an array of different methods, including retention elections.

And there’s a good reason why most states don’t elect their state supreme court jus tices by popular vote.

In Kansas, our state su preme court justices are se lected based on merit. When a judge vacancy occurs, those who want to apply for the position must submit an ex haustive application with de tailed information about the applicant’s background and legal qualifications. Then a committee — made up of four nonlawyers and five lawyers — investigates the applicants, verifying the truthfulness and accuracy of the applica tion contents. Based on the committee’s investigation and determination as to who is most qualified, the commit tee selects three applicants. At that point, the Kansas

Castle

Bureau of Investigation steps in to do a thorough back ground check on each of the final three applicants. If ap plicants pass the KBI back ground check, the committee sends those final three names to the governor, who appoints the justice from those three. Thereafter, state supreme court justices face periodic retention elections (the first general election after being appointed and every six years thereafter).

This merit-based selection of our state supreme court justices is not perfect, but it’s pretty darn good. I want my state supreme court justices thoroughly vetted to ensure they are intellectually and academically qualified to be a justice on our highest court. Popularly electing our state supreme court justices would eliminate that vetting process and further politicize state courts.

Think about it. If we select our state supreme court judg es by popular election, that means just about anyone can run to be a state supreme jus tice. Know that anti-abortion groups will generously fund the campaigns of any judicial candidate who would over turn Hodes. Judicial candi dates who would end access to abortion care in Kansas would likely amass war chests from anti-abortion groups, greatly increasing their chances of becoming Kansas Supreme Court Justices.

Any plan to pack our state supreme court would not be good for Kansas and would result in more anti-abortion judges on our state supreme court. That’s the plan we’re hearing from high-profile pol iticians. Be aware, and don’t be taken off guard.

About the author: Castle is a professor at the University of Kansas, where she teaches at the law and business schools. Amii also teaches constitu tional law in KU’s political science department. Before teaching, Amii practiced law in downtown Kansas City for two decades.

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

70 Years Ago October 1952

Dry weather stories: Fa thers tell their sons to walk with arms outstretched so, if they fall into cracks in the ground, they will catch them selves. It is actually true that fence electrification systems don’t work because they re quire a certain amount of wa ter in the ground to establish a circuit path. Paul Bush, city superintendent, says drought is causing breaks in water mains. The earth shrinkage pulls joints apart.

*****

Farmers who have to haul water from Iola will now be able to obtain it on Satur day afternoons and Sundays as well as throughout the week, Mayor Charles Wilson announced today. The new schedule goes into effect to

day. The decision was made, Wilson said, to be as help ful as possible during the drought. The city sells the water at the rate of 10 cents per 100 gallons. It may be ob tained at the Walnut Street side of the City Hall.

*****

HUMBOLDT — Maynard Puckett, rural Humboldt, re ported at the Allen County Hospital this morning that his daughter, Jerrine, 16, is in critical condition at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, suffering from bulbar type polio. Miss Puckett, a junior in Humboldt High School, became ill Friday night. She was brought here for emer gency treatment and taken Sunday to the hospital in Wichita by ambulance. Her father returned home from Wichita this morning.

OPEC+ sides with Russia

Wednesday’s decision by the Organization of the Pe troleum Exporting Coun tries and Russia — also known as OPEC Plus — to slash crude oil production by 2 million barrels per day is not quite as big of a shock as the embargo OPEC im posed on the United States between October 1973 and March 1974. It is neverthe less a setback for President Biden’s foreign policy and a blow to the United States and its allies on several fronts. The situation calls for a coolheaded short-term response followed by smart longer-term strategy.

The political essence of the decision is a tilt by Sau di Arabia and other Gulf states in favor of Russia, which shares their interest in higher oil prices. The move will not only create economic risks for the Unit ed States and Europe but also make it more difficult for them to implement a planned price cap on Rus sian oil exports in Decem ber. All of that can only help Russia pursue its flagging war against Ukraine.

There could be no more troubling evidence of how badly Mr. Biden’s efforts earlier this year to mend fences with the de facto Sau di ruler, Crown Prince Mo hammed bin Salman, have failed. Not only has MBS, as he is known, refused to raise oil production, as Mr. Biden wanted. He appears to be doubling down on hos tility toward the president, in retaliation for the latter’s — accurate — depiction of him as the author of Post contrib utor Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and other human rights vio lations that make Saudi Arabia wor thy of “pari ah” status. Announced just a month before a cru cial midterm election in which Republi cans are blaming Mr. Biden for high U.S. gas prices, the crown prince is effectively joining hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin to drive those prices, which had been falling, back up.

Dictatorial and impetuous, MBS is also young — only 37 years old — and likely to dominate the kingdom for many years. Democratic members of Congress are calling for a reassessment of the long-standing stra tegic relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia in light of that reali ty, and they should be.

The United States cannot yield to this kind of pres sure. It should press ahead with the plan for a price cap on Russian oil, appropri ately adjusted to account for the OPEC Plus produc tion cut. At the same time, Congress and the Biden ad ministration should avoid any action, in the heat of an election campaign, that might make matters worse.

One probably counter productive step would be restricting U.S. exports of petroleum products. Sup porters argue that this would shield domestic cus tomers from foreign com petition, thus reducing up ward price pressure. More likely, it would punish the Latin American and Euro pean countries that buy U.S. products while reducing incentives for U.S. refiners to expand production for everyone. The net impact could even be higher prices at the pump.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is effectively joining hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin to drive up oil prices. .... We can stand firm against the despots by taking ad vantage of our domes tic supplies of fossil fu els and green energy.

Also unwise would be further releases from the Strategic Petroleum Re serve, which is already at its lowest levels since the mid-1980s. Legislation to lift the sovereign immunity of OPEC’s stateowned oil com panies, sub jecting them to U.S. price-fix ing lawsuits — the so-called NOPEC bill — is worth con sidering but also fraught with potential unintended consequences, including re taliatory legal action against the United States and its businesses.

It looks for all the world like an attempt by MBS to influence internal U.S. pol itics, to the advantage of the party of former pres ident Donald Trump, who dealt warmly with him.

Another reason to take a deep breath: The real-world impact of the OPEC Plus production cut might be less than the headline num bers suggest. Though a production cut of 2 million barrels per day is 2 percent of the global supply, OPEC Plus was already missing its daily quotas this year by as much as 3 million bar rels, according to the Wall Street Journal.

As the world’s secondand third-largest crude oil producers, Saudi Arabia and Russia have leverage — in the short run. Reducing that leverage and restoring U.S. freedom of action over the longer term mean tak ing advantage of our do mestic supplies of fossil fu els and green energy, as the climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act will ensure. Legislation to facil itate the build out of trans mission lines and other crit ical energy infrastructure is now doubly urgent. And Congress and states can do more to encourage conser vation, including through increased fuel taxes, which several states have imple mented in recent years but at which Congress still balks. Yes, fuel taxes raise per-gallon prices, but at least the ultimate destina tion of the money is the Highway Trust Fund, not Riyadh or Moscow.

Ultimately, the 1973 oil embargo backfired on its authors because it shocked the United States and other industrialized countries to use energy much more ef ficiently. A smart response can turn the OPEC Plus production cut to the United States’ ultimate advantage as well.

Prosecutor makes final case for school shooter’s execution

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.

(AP) —

The lead prosecutor of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz made his final push Tues day to persuade jurors to sen tence him to death, telling them during his closing argument that the 2018 attack that killed 17 people was cold, calculated and meticulously planned and deserving of execution.

Mike Satz said Cruz “was hunting his victims” as he stalked a three-story classroom building at Parkland’s Mar jory Stoneman Douglas High School for seven minutes, fir ing into some victims at close range and returning to some wounded victims as they lay helpless “to finish them off.”

He pointed to Cruz’s inter net writings and videos, where he talked about his murderous desires such as when he wrote, “No mercy, no questions, dou

ble tap. I am going to kill a ... ton of people and children.”

“It is said that what one writes and says is a window into their soul,” Satz said as the three-month trial neared its conclusion. The killings, he said, “were unrelentlessly hei nous, atrocious and cruel.”

Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty a year ago to murdering 14 stu dents and three staff members and wounding 17 others on Feb. 14, 2018. Cruz said he chose Val entine’s Day to make it impos sible for Stoneman Douglas students to celebrate the holi day ever again.

Cruz, dressed in an off-white sweater, sat impassively during Satz’s presentation, occasion ally exchanging notes with his attorneys. His lead attorney, Melisa McNeill, will give her closing argument later Tues day. Deliberations are expected

to start Wednesday.

A large number of the vic tims’ parents, wives and family members packed the section of the courtroom reserved for them, watching Satz intent ly, many of them weeping. Just minutes earlier, they had greeted each other with smiles, handshakes and hugs.

The massacre is the deadli est mass shooting that has ever gone to trial in the U.S. Nine other people in the U.S. who fatally shot at least 17 people died during or immediately af ter their attacks by suicide or police gunfire. The suspect in the 2019 massacre of 23 at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart is await ing trial.

Satz kept his main case simple for the seven-man, five-woman jury. He focused on Cruz’s eight months of plan ning and the attack, where

Cruz fired 140 shots with an AR-15-style semiautomatic ri fle, and his escape.

He played security videos of the shooting and showed gruesome crime scene and autopsy photos. Teachers and students testified about watch ing others die. He took the jury to the fenced-off building, which remains blood-stained and bullet-pocked. Parents and spouses gave tearful and angry statements.

McNeill and her team nev er questioned the horror he inflicted, but focused on their belief that his birth mother’s heavy drinking during preg nancy left him with fetal alco hol spectrum disorder. Their experts said his bizarre, trou bling and sometimes violent behavior starting at age 2 was misdiagnosed as attention-defi cit/hyperactivity disorder,

Schools: Students study CTE pathways

Continued from A1

a pathway in fashion apparel and interior de sign.

They showed off several of the clothing items they had made or are working on, talked about how they’ve over come challenges and the lessons they have learned from solving those problems.

Schinstock, for ex ample, held up a short black dress.

“It didn’t fit so I had to sew a zipper, and it’s really short. There are still pins in it because I’m fixing it so I can sub mit it in the fair next summer,” she explained.

She held up pieces of pink denim cut in the shape of a leg, which she plans to turn into a pair of jeans.

“I spent all of my class hour today try ing to interpret the in structions for this. I’m a visual learner, and trying to visualize the instructions was very difficult.”

Kroenke talked about how the students find patterns. They search online sites, purchase a pattern to download, then print it. The pat tern will print on doz ens of sheets of paper, so they have to piece it together before cutting it out, pinning it to the fabric and then cutting the fabric.

It’s an extensive pro cess, she said.

“The tricky part is finding your size, be cause your waist may be one size and your hips another.

“It’s very fun to make something you can be proud of.”

They also talked about finding and buy ing fabric. They have a budget and typically make trips to a fabric store in Kansas City, but may also shop at stores

in Humboldt and Yates Center.

Superintendent Sta cey Fager asked if they ever purchase fabric on line.

“We like to touch it and feel it. You need to know if it stretches,” Schinstock said.

“Or if it’s itchy,” Kro enke added.

“This one is itchy,” Schinstock said, holding up the black dress with a sigh of frustration.

The students will complete nine projects each during the course of a year.

Neither student plans a career in making clothes, but both expect what they are learning to benefit them in the future.

Schinstock said she loves sewing and is happy to know she can make her own clothes or repair them.

Kroenke plans to study interior design.

“I’m learning a lot about colors and tex tures, and how to mix patterns and colors,” she said.

Board member Tony Leavitt said he was im pressed the students were learning a practi cal skill.

“Being a good seam stress is almost a lost art,” he said. “You’ll get plenty out of it.”

The students said they’ve already been asked to make repairs and alterations by oth er students and faculty. They’re also helping to make costumes for the drama department’s fall production.

Physics teacher Dana Daugharthy is the new director for the CTE and internship program, also known as “workbased learning.” He took over for Melissa Stiffler, who left the district at the end of last year, and was at Monday’s meet

ing to give board mem bers an update.

The programs help students figure out what kind of career they might want to study, and gives them an opportu nity to try different in dustries.

“CTE is all about trial and error,” he said. “It’s about learning from your mistakes.”

IHS principal Scott Carson also talked about the program and other efforts the school has undertaken in recent years to help students plan their futures.

For example, col lege-bound students can now take a class to help them fill out scholarship applications, write mes sages and schedule col lege visits.

Younger students who struggle but don’t have an IEP can take a “Con nections” class to work on homework and get extra help with lessons.

The Blended pro gram, which replaced the Crossroads alterna tive school and requires students to spend some time at IHS, also has been going well, he said. He talked about a stu dent who had stopped going to class last year, but is back because she enjoys working with the instructor, Marty Tay lor.

“He does an amaz ing job, and he’s one of those people who don’t always get the recogni tion they deserve,” Car son said.

SPEAKING of recog nition, both Carson and Fager celebrated recent success stories.

IHS math teacher Di ane Kauth was selected as the Pittsburg State University Mathematics Department’s Outstand ing Secondary Mathe matics Teacher of the Year.

Fager reported the Kansas Department of Education had lauded the district in both the preschool program and graduation rates.

The preschool pro gram advanced from the copper level to the bronze, Fager said.

Graduation rates im proved from 85% in the 2020-21 school year to 91.3% last year.

Fager said much of the success regarding graduation rates can be attributed to pro grams such as CTE pathways, internships and the Regional Rural Technical Center at La Harpe, where students can learn welding, con struction, wind energy, health and automotive repair.

“You have to make programs relevant to students,” he said.

CARSON also gave the board an update on new environmental sen sors installed in bath rooms to reduce vaping and bad behavior.

The six sensors have kept administrators busy, but students are learning not to gather in the bathrooms.

“We’re ruining their fun,” Carson said.

When the sensor goes off, administrators re view cameras to see who enters and leaves the bathrooms. There are no cameras in the bath rooms.

They keep a list of names of students who are in the bathrooms when the sensors are triggered. If a student is on the list three times, they can face disci plinary action.

Already, the system has helped them identi fy students who needed to meet with a police officer and receive assis tance for nicotine addic tion, Carson said.

meaning he never got the proper treatment. That left his widowed adoptive mother over whelmed, they said.

The defense cut their case short, calling only about 25 of the 80 witnesses they said would testify. They never brought up Cruz’s high school years or called his younger half-brother, Zachary, whom they accused of bullying.

In rebuttal, Satz and his team contended that Cruz did not suffer from fetal alcohol dam age but has antisocial person ality disorder — in lay terms, he’s a sociopath.

Their witness es said Cruz faked brain dam age during testing and that he was capable of controlling his actions, but chose not to. For example, they pointed to his employment as a cashier at a discount store where he never had any disciplinary issues.

Poll: Adversaries

Continued from A1

say relationships with allies will deteriorate, down from 46% then.

In general, 39% ex pect the country’s glob al standing to worsen, compared with 48% who said that in 2018. Crucially, the United States’ own sharply di vided domestic politic s influences views of the country’s standing abroad.

“Those results really, clearly show that it’s hyperpartisanship” af fecting how confidently or bleakly, respective ly, Democrats and Re publicans see the U.S. standing abroad, said Sheila Kohanteb, a po litical scientist and ex ecutive director of the Global Forum at the Chicago-based Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Glob al Conflicts.

In terms of the opin ions that people in the U.S. are expressing on U.S. dealings abroad, the key factor is “polit ical bloc sticking with political bloc,” Kohan teb said.

Four years ago, three-quarters of Dem ocrats expected U.S. global standing to suf fer. Now, roughly that same percentage see stability or improve ment in the near future.

By comparison, about 6 in 10 Republicans pre dicted improvements in 2018; now that same percentage expect the current administration to stumble.

Other countries are “probably laughing at us, waiting for us to fall apart,” said Kristy Woodard, a 30-year-old Republican in Win ston-Salem, North Car olina. She said she saw the economy and U.S. leadership as suffering under President Joe Biden.

“I don’t think we

really have allies any more because the Unit ed States is just a joke at this point,” Woodard said.

But David Dvorin, a 49-year-old Democrat in Pittsburgh who works as a price specialist, said Biden was win ning respect abroad by rallying international allies to respond to Rus sian President Vladi mir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The war in Ukraine has shown the leader ship of the Biden ad ministration, to be able to hold most of Europe together,” Dvorin said.

Still, as Russia amps up its assault on Ukraine, tensions with China grow over Taiwan and other issues and the U.S. confronts North Ko rea and Iran over those countries’ nuclear pro grams, similar percent ages of Republicans and Democrats say that rela tionships with adversar ies will get worse in the next year.

The Pearson Insti tute/AP-NORC poll also shows strong support for a U.S. foreign policy that protects women and minorities around the world — even though few people think the U.S. is doing a world-beating job of protecting those same interests at home.

Majorities of U.S. adults said they see preventing discrimi nation against women and minorities around the world as an import ant U.S. foreign policy goal and that the U.S. government has signif icant responsibility for protecting the rights of those groups. And 78% of people in the United States believe the U.S. should withhold finan cial support from other countries that are fail ing to protect the rights of women and minority groups.

Voters in some key swing states to decide on voting access

By DAVID A. LEIB

All but lost in the shadow of major con tests for U.S. Senate and governor, voters in some battleground states will be deciding ballot pro posals this November that could reshape the way they vote in the next presidential election.

In Arizona, scene of the closest presiden tial contest in 2020, the question is whether to require more identi fication to vote in the future. In Michigan, an other swing state, voters will consider whether to make it easier to cast early ballots.

Voting-related propos als will be on the ballot in several other states, including a measure to adopt ranked-choice voting in Nevada that — if approved this year — would need a second vote in 2024 to take ef fect.”

Most of the measures are garnering little at tention but could have profound effects on voting in some of the most politically com petitive states for years to come. They mark an escalation of what vot ing expert Jon Sherman

describes as “the voting wars” — battles between Democrats, Republicans and activist groups over laws specifying how peo ple register, obtain mailin ballots, prove their identity and cast ballots.

“The parties and their allies are fighting over every last voting rule and trying to make predictions about how they think it will help or hurt their chances of winning, particularly in closely competitive states,” said Sherman, litigation director and senior counsel at the Fair Elections Center, a nonprofit that advocates for voting access.

Efforts to change vot ing laws ramped up af ter the 2000 presidential election, when a U.S. Su preme Court decision in Florida’s exceptionally close race gave Republi can George W. Bush the victory over Democrat

Al Gore. It intensified after the 2020 election, as Republican President Donald Trump refused to acknowledge his loss to Democrat Joe Biden while pressing false claims of widespread fraud, and some Repub lican-led states respond ed by passing restrictive voting laws.

Arizona, which Biden won by about 10,500 votes, was one center of controversy. After a sixmonth review focused on Arizona’s largest county, a Trump friend ly firm hired by Repub lican state lawmakers ended up with vote re sults confirming Demo crat Biden’s victory.

Republicans who control the Legislature subsequently placed a proposed constitution al amendment on the November ballot that would strengthen vot er identification laws. It would require peo ple voting in person to show a photo ID, and eliminate a current al ternative of providing two documents bearing a person’s name and ad dress, such as a recent utility bill and bank statement.

People voting with mailed ballots — the

vast majority in Arizo na — would have to list their date of birth and either their driver’s li cense number, a state identification number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.

Republican state Sen. J.D. Mesnard, who spon sored the measure, said the intent is to “make the election as secure as possible” while address ing “a growing crisis in confidence” that could discourage some people from voting.

But rather than reas suring voters, tougher ID requirements could dissuade some from vot ing at all and actually lead to fraud by expos ing personal informa tion, said Darrell Hill, policy director of the American Civil Liber ties Union of Arizona, which opposes the mea sure.

“You’re opening peo ple up to greater poten tial identity theft,” Hill said.

Only a few states — Georgia, Minnesota, Ohio — have similar proof-of-identity mea sures for mailed ballots, according to the Nation al Conference of State Legislatures. Arkansas

requires voters to pro vide a copy of a photo ID when returning a mailed ballot.

In Michigan next month, a ballot initia tive would pre-empt Republican attempts to tighten photo identifica tion laws by amending the state Constitution to include the current al ternative of signing an affidavit. It also would expand early voting op tions, require state-fund ed return postage and drop boxes for absentee ballots, and specify that the Board of State Can vassers has only a “cler ical, nondiscretionary” duty to certify election results.

Trump allies had tried to persuade can vassers to delay certify ing the 2020 results.

The goal of the new initiative is to “enhance the integrity and secu rity of the elections by sort of modernizing how they’re adminis tered and making them more accessible,” said Khalilah Spencer, pres ident of Promote the Vote, which backs the measure.

On the other side, Michigan Republican Party spokesman Gus tavo Portela said the ini

tiative “opens the door up for fraud” through the combination of ear ly voting and a consti tutional exception to showing photo ID.

Just four states — Al abama, Connecticut, Mississippi and New Hampshire — lack an in-person early voting option for all voters.

Connecticut’s Novem ber ballot will feature a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing the Democratic-led Gen eral Assembly to create an early voting law. A similar ballot proposal failed in 2014.

Supporters in Con necticut hope this time is different — both be cause the new version is more clearly written and because the vote comes after the corona virus pandemic height ened awareness about early voting.

“The idea that every body has free time on a Tuesday between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. — and that’s their only opportuni ty to participate in our democracy — is a little dated,” said Democratic state Sen. Mae Flexer, co-chair of the Con necticut legislative com mittee that sponsored the measure.

Humboldt: Statewide bicycle and trail system proposed

Continued from A1

south through Petrolia and into Neosho County.

The entire route would stretch from Atchinson to the Kan sas-Oklahoma state line.

There’s no inherent li ability for local jurisdic tions, he continued. And signage would be nice, but not required.

There are a number of ways a route can be designated, including maps — paper or digi tal — signs, pavement markings or via down loadable GPS coordi nates.

The route was cho sen after extensive dis cussions on who would most utilize such a route, Irons explained.

“The choice of roads for a US Bicycle Route is a tradeoff between low-traffic, direct rout ing, access to services (bike shops, motels, campgrounds, etc.), ac cess to points of interest and scenic roads,” Irons wrote. “The best route for a family weekend bike ride may not be the best route for someone on a multi-day long-dis tance bicycle trip.”

Long-distance bicycle riders typically are ex

perienced riders accus tomed to varying qual ity of road surface and traffic conditions.

That said, the number of cyclists who might use a given route is diffi cult to predict, but even five to 10 riders a day would be considered a significant increase in usage, Irons noted.

Local entities choos ing to change the route would submit those changes to the Kansas Department of Trans portation, which is working in league with the American Associ ation of State Highway and Transportation Offi cials in setting up USBR 55. Route changes could be made twice a year if conditions warrant, he said.

Council members in dicated support for the proposal, and will be asked to offer a letter of support to be submitted to KDOT.

If approved, USBR 55 would be the third such route incorporat ed into the US Bicycle Route System. USBR 76 connects Garden City with Pittsburg, cover ing roughly 400 miles. A shorter 12-mile stretch

from Baxter Springs to Galena constitutes USBR 66.

HUMBOLDT was given a brief rundown of an effort to develop Land Bank properties in Allen County.

Under a land bank, a city or county has the power to remove delin quent tax obligations on abandoned property so that it can be trans ferred to a new owner without that financial burden, noted Jonathon Goering, economic de velopment director for Thrive Allen County.

Doing so makes the property more appeal ing to developers, and in some cases the gov ernment may sell it for a minimal amount Allen County com missioners, when ap proached about the land bank earlier this year, were non-committal, cit ing concerns the coun ty would be stuck with a surplus of unwanted property it would need to maintain, while los ing property tax reve nue.

Goering said the gov erning body — a board of trustees would over

see the land bank if it is approved — would have options to ensure those problems are mitigated.

Council members promised to study the issue further.

IN OTHER BUSI NESS: City Administrator

Cole Herder told Coun cil members chip-seal work on Eighth and 10th streets and Hawaii Road are complete, with assis tance from the county.

The cost to complete

the roughly 50 blocks, for just chips and oil, came to about $51,800. Leftover oil was used to reseal the driveway to Mount Hope Cemetery, Herder noted.

MONEY IS IN

TASTE.”

UK spy chief says rise of China world’s top security issue

LONDON (AP) — The head of Britain’s cy ber-intelligence agency on Tuesday accused Chi na of trying to “rewrite the rules of internation al security,” saying Bei jing is using its econom ic and technological clout to clamp down at home and exert control abroad.

Jeremy Fleming, di rector of GCHQ, said that despite war raging

in Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Beijing’s growing power is the “national securi ty issue that will define our future.”

In a rare public speech to the Royal Unit ed Services Institute think tank, Fleming alleged that Beijing’s Communist authorities want to “gain strategic advantage by shaping the world’s technology

ecosystems.”

“When it comes to technology, the politi cally motivated actions of the Chinese state is an increasingly ur gent problem we must acknowledge and ad dress,” Fleming said. “That’s because it’s changing the definition of national security into a much broader concept. Technology has become not just an

area for opportunity, for competition and for col laboration, it’s become a battleground for con trol, for values and for influence.”

He argued that the one-party system in Beijing seeks to control China’s population and sees other countries “as either potential adversaries or poten tial client states, to be threatened, bribed or

CITY DAYS

coerced.”

Relations between Britain and China have grown increasingly frosty in recent years, with U.K. officials accus ing Beijing of economic subterfuge and human rights abuses.

British spies have given increasingly neg ative assessments of Beijing’s influence and intentions. Last year the head of the MI6 over

seas intelligence agency, Richard Moore, called China one of the biggest threats to Britain and its allies.

In 2020, then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson followed the United States in ban ning Chinese tech firm Huawei as a securi ty risk, ordering it to be stripped out of the U.K.’s 5G telecoms net work by 2027.

Farm

Sports Daily

Lawson’s play under center leading the way for Wildcats

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

Marmaton Valley High School football quarterback Brayden Lawson was named the Allen County Athlete of the Month for September.

The sophomore gunslinger has led the Wildcats to a 3-3 start to the season, throwing for 14 touchdowns and 1,133 yards and rushing for 10 touchdowns and 650 yards. He also leads his team with 108.3 rushing yards per game, 14 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns. Lawson currently owns a 98.9 quarterback rating and a completion percentage of 52.1%.

He has made quite the jump from his freshman season where Lawson started at tight end with very limited time taking snaps under center. The young student-athlete admits he’s surprised with the strides he’s made at quarterback.

“I thought I was going to be a lot better than last year but I didn’t think I would

have the season I’ve had so far,” Lawson said. “I started at tight end last year, I played some quarterback but it was against really good teams. I feel like he (head coach Max Mickunas) trusts me a lot. I’ll be here for two more years so he can work with me even more.”

Come Friday night, Lawson’s love of football is evident. The quarterback usually enjoys running the ball, which is perfect for high school football. Passing tends to lead to turnovers and lower first down conversion rates.

The experience at tight end gave Lawson a different perspective on the field, both in catching the ball as well as blocking for his teammates. That experience has led Lawson to better understand his role on offense and how it functions.

“I love just being out there with my team, winning some games and playing hard,” said Lawson. “I think I like running the ball more, it’s just natural to me.

At tight end, I was more of a blocker and receiver but a lot of times before I just ran the ball.”

Even sitting at a .500-record, Lawson believes his team is better than their record and has a chance to make some big plays to produce more wins for the Wildcats.

Some of the other playmakers on this year’s Marmaton Valley squad include receivers Jaedon Granere and Tyler Lord and tight end Kolby Knavel.

“We’ve got some really good players who can make some good plays and we’ve got some good coaches that get the ball in the right players’ hands. We as a team work really well together,” Lawson said. “I have some good

Crest’s McKenna Hammond (14) hits a ball at Iola on Sept. 10. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Hammond leading Crest to new heights

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

Crest Lady Lancer senior volleyball leader McKenna Hammond was named the Allen County Athlete of the Month for September.

Hammond has played a role on the varsity volleyball team all four years. Hammond has been instrumental in helping the Lancers earn their best record (24-6) since 1988.

The senior is currently playing the best volleyball of her life and has been on fire from the serving line as well as passing the ball.

In Crest’s most recent weekend tour-

nament at Uniontown this past Saturday, Hammond led her team with five ace serves as well as in serve receive passing. Hammond also led her team with 21 digs and made eight kills against St. Paul last week.

“I really like passing. It’s my strong suit,” she said. “I feel like I have a lot of muscle memory when it comes to passing. It comes more natural to me. I seem to be most talkative on the court and I like to show lots of leadership as a senior.”

Hammond’s experience on the court has taught her not to allow a game to mess with her performance and mentality.

Hammond credits her coach, Abigail Hermreck, as well as her teammates for lifting her up when she’s down.

“I used to get in my head a

See HAMMOND | Page B6

Chiefs hold on for roller coaster 30-29 win

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)

— The Kansas City Chiefs headed off to the locker room facing a big hole against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, everything from the big plays to the officiating calls going the way of their longtime AFC West rivals.

One call in particular lit a fire under them.

It was a dubious penalty on Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones for roughing Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, and nobody in the Kansas City locker room could believe it. But rather than stew over it, or lament their 10-point deficit, Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs used it as motivation to storm from behind for the 30-29 victory.

“There was anger just about how we had played up to that point,” said Mahomes, who threw four touchdown passes to tight end Travis Kelce. “We needed everybody

to go out there and take the fight to them.”

The Raiders still had a chance when Davante Adams, who earlier had hauled in a 58-yard touchdown catch, added a 48-yarder with 4:29 to go. It came after Kelce’s final touchdown catch, when Kansas City failed on a 2-point try that left the score 30-23. But rather than kick a tying extra point, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels also went for 2.

Josh Jacobs, who had shredded the Chiefs defense all night, was stuffed at the goal line.

The Raiders got the ball back one last time with 2:29 left, and a long third-down pass to Adams down the Kansas City sideline appeared to get them in field-goal range. But the play was reviewed and Adams failed to get both feet in bounds, and Carr threw incomplete on fourthand-1 with 47 seconds left

before the Chiefs ran out the clock.

“We didn’t fall apart on each other,” Chiefs safety Justin Reid said. “We battled through adversity.”

Carr finished with 241 yards passing, and Jacobs ran for 133 yards and a score, as the Raiders lost to the Chiefs (4-1) for the fourth straight time. Daniel Carlson was 3 for 3 on field goals, extending his streak to 38 in a row.

What he wouldn’t have given for a chance at No. 39.

“We had a chance,” Daniels said. “We just didn’t make one or two plays there at the end to finish it.”

The game of twists and turns began with the Raiders failing to score on their opening drive for the first time all season.

They made up for it on the next one.

Facing fourth-and-inches

in their own territory, McDaniels sent his offense back on the field. But rather than run Jacobs up the middle, or sneak with Carr, he aired it out to Adams, who ran past Rashad Fenton for the 58yard TD catch.

Adams and the Raiders continued to pick on Fenton later in the half, when a pass interference moved Las Vegas deep into Chiefs territory. Adams drew another penalty on Jaylen Watson in the end zone, setting up Jacobs’ short TD plunge.

It was 17-0 when Kelce finally reached the end zone for the Chiefs, but it appeared as if the momentum had turned when Jones stripped Carr from behind and landed him. But despite the ball clearly coming out, and the Pro Bowl defensive tackle coming away with it, referee Carl Cheffers threw a penalty flag and called Jones for

roughing the passer.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid stormed off the sideline to argue. And after the teams traded field goals in the final minutes, leaving the Raiders ahead 20-10, Reid cornered Cheffers and lit into him again as the teams headed to the locker room.

“I got it off my chest,” Reid said. “I said what I needed to say.”

The questionable penalty came one day after another questionable roughing call by referee Jerome Boger on Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett against Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady sealed the Buccaneers’ win over the Falcons.

Cheffers told a pool reporter that Carr “gets full protection of all aspects of what we give the quarterback in a passing posture. So when he was tackled, my ruling was the defender landed on him

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Analysis: NFL can’t nd elusive sweet spot to protect QBs

By ARNIE STAPLETON

Associated

One week, the NFL is getting blasted for not taking care of its quarterbacks. The next, it’s being lambasted for treating them like they’re crystal.

Tua Tagovailoa’s return to the field after stumbling to the sideline two weeks ago set in motion the midseason modification of the league’s concussion policies, and the first one restrained by the stricter rules in Week 5 was none other than his backup.

On his first snap of Miami’s 40-17 loss to the Jets on Sunday, Teddy Bridgewater was popped in the chest by a blitzer on his first snap.

Although Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said afterward that Bridgewater passed all tests and displayed no concussion symptoms, a spotter saw him stumble after the play, so he was removed as a result of the revised policy.

Then came Grady Jarrett’s textbook sack of Tom Brady on Sunday and Chris Jones’ strip sack of Derek Carr on Monday night, both of which were nullified by debatable calls that sent current and former NFL personnel into a Twitter frenzy.

In Tampa, Jarrett was penalized for taking down Brady in the fourth quarter, a ruling that helped the Buccaneers run out the clock and fend off the Falcons 21-15. It was the second straight week referee Jerome Boger made the critical call late in the game on a play that didn’t seem to warrant a flag.

A week earlier, Boger’s roughing call helped the Buffalo Bills on a drive that ended with Tyler Bass kicking a 21yard field goal as time expired to beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20.

“What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pock-

et, and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground,” Boger told a pool reporter after the Bucs-Falcons game.

Jarrett’s hit was nothing like Bengals 340-pound defensive tackle Josh Tupou’s hit on Tagovailoa in Week 4 when he grabbed the quarterback and threw him backward, slamming Tagovailoa’s head into the ground. Tagovailoa was stretchered off the field and hospitalized.

Tupou wasn’t penalized for sacking Tagovailoa. Neither Josh Allen nor Brady were injured on the hits Boger called roughing.

Nor was Carr injured when referee Carl Cheffer’s crew called roughing on Jones, who wrested the ball from Carr as they tumbled to the turf.

Cheffer explained to a pool reporter after the Chiefs’ 30-29

win over the Raiders that he whistled Jones for landing on Carr “with full body weight.” Cheffers said the fumble was irrelevant because the QB “still gets passing protection until he can defend himself.”

Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy disagreed with the call.

“This is not football anymore,” tweeted Dungy, who called out the NFL last week after Bucs tight end Cameron Brate was allowed to re-enter a game despite suffering a concussion.

“I know we have to protect the QB but Chris Jones was recovering a fumble,” added Dungy. “We have gotten ridiculous with this.”

Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons complained that the NFL wants every game to be like the no-tackle affairs the Pro Bowl has become in recent

years, adding, “Change the rules or just make the league 7 on 7!!”

Former Seattle star Richard Sherman tweeted, “Imagine when they decide a playoff game with one of the Roughing calls. Cannot brace the fall when one hand is holding the football! Bad.”

The criticism was just as strong Sunday after Brady benefitted from the problematic penalty called by Boger.

“It’s just not a foul,” said former NFL head of officials Dean Blandino of “The 33rd Team.

“Grady, he just wraps up Tom Brady, takes him to the ground. There wasn’t anything additional. He didn’t lift and drive him to the ground, there were no body weight, there wasn’t anything head/ neck area, at the knee area or below,” Blandino said. “It just doesn’t fit into any bucket of roughing the passer.”

Dungy said on NBC’s “Football Night in America” pregame show after Jarrett’s roughing call that the erroneous roughing calls have to be addressed by the league office.

“If you cannot tackle the quarterback,” Dungy said, “it’s going to be impossible to play defense.”

Robert Griffin III tweeted: “The Falcons got ROBBED. Hitting the QB hard does not equal Roughing the Passer even if it’s Tom Brady.”

In Tagovailoa’s case, the NFL acted quickly for safety’s sake to close a loophole in its concussion policy.

Especially at a time the league has embraced legalized gambling, if it doesn’t move just as swiftly to reexamine its roughing the passer benchmarks and make such calls reviewable it could very well be the league’s integrity that takes the next big hit.

Raiders’ WR in hot water

By JOSH DUBOW The Associated Press

Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams could be suspended or fined for shoving a photographer to the ground as he left the field following Monday night’s loss at Kansas City.

A person familiar with the process told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the league is reviewing Adams’ actions following a 30-29 loss to the Chiefs, with possible punishment including a fine or suspension. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league hadn’t made the review public.

NFL Network first reported that Adams could face discipline.

Detectives from the Kansas City Police Department’s assault unit are investigating the incident and will work with prosecutors to determine whether charges are warranted, spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said Tuesday.

He did not provide a timetable, other than to say it could take more than a couple of days.

As Adams left the field, he pushed what appeared to be a member of a camera crew to the ground as he headed into the Arrowhead Stadium tunnel to the locker room.

Becchina said the photographer went to the hospital for treatment for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Adams apologized in his postgame comments to the media and later on Twitter.

“He jumped in front of me coming off the field. I kind of pushed him. He ended up on the ground,” Adams said after the game. “I want to apologize to him for that. That was just frustration mixed with him really just running in front of me.

“I shouldn’t have responded that way, but that’s the way I responded. I want to apologize to him for that.”

Adams had three catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns in the game. He has 29 catches for 414 yards and five TDs so far in his first season with the Raiders.

A HIDDEN NOTICE IS NO NOTICE AT ALL.

don’t know what you don’t know.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones sacks Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr during the rst half of Monday night’s game at Arrowhead Stadium. Jones was called for roughing the quarterback on the play. KANSAS CITY STAR/RICH SUGG/TNS

Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett (97) sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) late in the fourth quarter Sunday, but is penalized for roughing the passer, giving Tampa Bay a controversial rst down. TAMPA BAY TIMES/LUIS SANTANA/TNS

Chiefs: Hold on to beat LV

Continued

with full body weight.” Mahomes said: “It wasn’t the greatest call in the world. You have to find a way to bounce back and we did.”

Did they ever.

The Chiefs opened the second half with a 75yard march that Kelce capped with his second TD reception. And after they forced a quick punt, the Chiefs went 57 yards and watched Kelce haul in his third to give Kansas City a 2420 lead.

Midway through the fourth quarter, it was the Chiefs who got a penalty gift.

They were leading 24-23 when fill-in kicker Matthew Wright, whose

59-yarder before halftime set the franchise record for longest field goal, yanked a 37-yarder left. But defensive end Malcolm Koonce was called for holding, giving Kansas City an automatic first down, and Mahomes found Kelce once again four plays later to extend the lead to 30-24.

The teams traded touchdowns — and missed conversions — down the stretch as the Chiefs escaped with the win.

“We’re close but close doesn’t count in this game,” Carr said. “It’s frustrating.”

INJURIES

Raiders: TE Darren Waller left with a ham-

string injury in the first half. TE Foster Moreau (knee) already was unavailable despite returning to practice Saturday.

Chiefs: DT Tershawn Wharton tore his left ACL early in the game. ... OL Trey Smith (pectoral muscle) was inactive after starting the first 21 games of his career. DE Mike Danna (calf) and K Harrison Butker (ankle) also were inactive.

UP NEXT

The Raiders get next week off before facing the Texans on Oct. 23 in Las Vegas.

The Chiefs host the Bills on Sunday in a rematch of January’s playoff overtime thriller.

Astros, Mariners meet in ALDS

HOUSTON (AP) —

When Justin Verlander took the mound for the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners, it had been almost three years since his last playoff appearance.

Verlander, who missed almost two seasons after Tommy John surgery, looks to build on his remarkable comeback season when he leads Houston into the postseason in the opener of the bestof-five series.

“This crowd here’s always great, especially in the playoffs,” Verlander said. “So hopefully we can feed off that, and just try to continue to pitch like I have all season.”

Verlander’s last postseason appearance came on Oct. 29, 2019, when he allowed five hits and three runs in five innings of a loss to Washington in Game 6 of the World Series. Tuesday will be his 31st playoff start and 32nd appearance in his 20th playoff series.

“Unbelievable Hall of Fame-type career, on top of his game, maybe better than he’s ever been most recently,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “We certainly have seen him a lot through the years, and he’s not slowing down, unfortunately for us.”

The 39-year-old Verlander led the AL with 18 wins, and his MLB-leading 1.75 ERA is the lowest for an AL qualified pitcher in a full season since Pedro Martinez’s 1.74 ERA in 2000.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner’s ERA also was the lowest of his career, besting his 2.40 ERA in 2011, when he won his first Cy Young and was also voted AL MVP while with Detroit.

Verlander, who also won a Cy Young in 2019, is a top candidate to win the award for a third time this season after returning to form following his injury.

Veteran second baseman Jose Altuve said Verlander’s return gives the Astros a boost

as they try to return to the World Series for the fourth time in six seasons and reach their sixth consecutive ALCS.

“He’s just amazing the way he pitched, the way he came back from injury,” Altuve said. “He’s the right guy to have out there in Game 1… (and) we all know he’s going to go out there and be him.”

Verlander was great against the Mariners in the regular season, going 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA in six starts. He believes this series will be interesting because the AL West foes know each other so “intimately.”

Houston had the advantage in the regular season, winning 12 of 19 games.

The Mariners advanced to the ALDS after rallying from a seven-run deficit in Game 2 of the wild-card round to sweep the Blue Jays. That victory was the biggest road comeback win in playoff history and baseball’s largest comeback

Kansas City’s Travis Kelce hauled in four touchdowns on Monday night. TNS

Embattled soccer team owner steps down amid scandal

PORTLAND, Ore.

(AP) — Merritt Paulson removed himself Tuesday as the chief operating officer of the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer and the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League.

It comes in the wake of an investigation that found abusive behavior, misconduct and administrative failure throughout the NWSL.

Last week, both teams dismissed general man-

ager Gavin Wilkinson and president of business Mike Golub in response to the investigation. Paulson, the owner of both teams, previously stepped away from day-to-day operation of the Thorns.

“As you know, I removed myself from Thorns decision-making, yet, in order for the organization to move forward and unite, I feel that another step is necessary,” Paulson said in a statement on Tuesday. “Effec-

tive immediately, I am removing myself as CEO of the Portland Thorns and Portland Timbers, and announcing a global search for a CEO of the organization.”

Former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates and the law firm of King & Spaulding released results of their investigation last week that detailed “systemic” abuse and misconduct in women’s soccer.

Five of 10 NWSL coaches either were

fired or stepped down last season amid allegations of misconduct.

Among them was former Thorns and North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley, who was accused by former players Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly of sexual coercion and harassment dating back a decade. Riley has denied the allegations.

Riley was coach of the Thorns in 2014 and 2015. His alleged misconduct was investigated by the

team, which opted not to renew his contract but did not publicly reveal the reason for the decision.

Yates wrote that Thorns management “interfered with our access to relevant witnesses and raised specious legal arguments in an attempt to impede our use of relevant documents.” The investigation also found team executives made inappropriate workplace comments.

Riley went on to coach the Western New York Flash, which became the North Carolina Courage. He was there until September 2021, when allegations of misconduct were published in The Athletic.

Paulson said that Heather Davis will continue to serve as interim president and interim CEO of the clubs and that Sarah Keane, the interim chief operating officer, will lead the search for a permanent CEO.

Mets’ dream season ends with a thud in wild card round

By RONALD BLUM The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP)

— Baseball’s biggest spenders looked spent.

The New York Mets enjoyed 175 days in first place, boosted by their billionaire new owner, confident Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer would lead them to glory, certain Buck Showalter would make all the right moves.

All that blood, toil, tears and sweat ended not with bubbly and rings, but in a one-hit shutout defeat before a stunned crowd short of a sellout and Showalter prodding umpires to search the other team’s starter for secret sticky substances.

“To be honest, it hurts. It really hurts,” Pete Alonso said after Sunday night’s 6-0 loss to San Diego ended the Mets’ postseason return just three games after it began.

“It’s not just the losing. It’s kind of the disbanding of the group because every single guy in this clubhouse is really awesome. And it just sucks that it’s not going to be the same group next year because you have free agency, trade possibilities,” he said.

A day before the loss

in the wild-card round, pitcher Chris Bassitt thought about Gotham’s glare.

“There isn’t a harder city in our country to play a sport,” he said. “New York is an absolute just gauntlet every night.”

And now the Mets are on the firing line, entering a winter of constant questions of

fight, fortitude and free agency — the group that can go free includes deGrom, Edwin Díaz, Brandon Nimmo, Seth Lugo, Adam Ottavino and Trevor May, and perhaps Bassitt and Taijuan Walker.

IN HIS second season since buying the long-underfunded team, owner Steve Cohen

joined with new general manager Billy Eppler to boost payroll to $274 million, the Mets’ first time as baseball’s biggest spender since 1989. They hired Showalter as manager to change a clubhouse culture long tolerant of immaturity and unaccountability.

Players responded by opening a 10 1/2-game NL East lead by June 1, sparking dreams of a championship to join the 1969 Miracle Mets of Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, and the 1986 swaggerers led by Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter.

At a giddy visitors’ clubhouse in Milwaukee on Sept. 19, after Scherzer pitched six perfect innings to clinch a postseason berth, Cohen called ensuring the first playoff trip since 2016 “just the first step.”

“This is a lot of fun, right? I mean, it’s a lot better than losing,” Cohen said then. “I have high expectations. ... I think this is a team that can go really far.”

BUT AFTER getting swept in Atlanta, they lost the NL East to the Braves on a tiebreaker — consigning the 101win Mets to a new playoff round. Cohen was nowhere to be seen in

the clubhouse after the season-ending defeat.

Scherzer allowed four home runs to the Padres as the Mets lost Friday’s postseason opener 7-1, and deGrom’s 7-3 victory Saturday wasn’t enough to spark a recovery. They were shut out for just the fourth time since the All-Star break and hit .185 with six extra-base hits in the series, going 0 for 10 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

“It’s the worst day of the year,” Scherzer said. “This league is unforgiving. It finds a way to punch you in the face every single time and you got to find a way to respond to it, come back out and want more. That’s the life of being a major leaguer. I wish everything would be gravy. I wish everything would work out in our favor, but more often than not, it doesn’t, and it’s how you respond from that environment and how to rebound from that.”

SHOWALTER, 66 and running his fifth team in his 21st season as a major league manager, has never reached the World Series. He would etch his name alongside Gil Hodges and Davey Johnson in Mets lore if he pushes this team to the top.

“Billy and I were talking and Steve — we’re trying to do things that fans can trust. Don’t talk about it. Do it. There’s been enough lip service. Not here necessarily, just in general,” Showalter said. “Fans don’t want — you know, show me. Play better.”

In winning a pair of Cy Young Awards, deGrom became a fan favorite, now a holdover from the down days linking to better times. At 34 and coming off 1 1/2 seasons of injuries, he is expected to opt out of his contract, give up a $30.5 million salary for next year and become a free agent. He brushed aside all questions about whether he thinks he’ll be back next season.

“I’m not going to discuss any of that. I have no clue,” he said.

In the minutes after the loss, Showalter had tried to ease their pain while sparking introspection.

“I think I told our players, I don’t want them going around apologizing for winning 101, 102 games,” he said. “But all that does is give you a chance to do what we were able to do the last three games. That’s about all you get back for it.”

New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom delivers a pitch to Atlanta Braves batter Ronald Acuna in a previous game. deGrom and his Met teammates were ousted in the wild card round by San Diego. ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/CURTIS COMPTON/TNS

Lawson: leads MV

Continued from B1

receivers who work really well together,” Lawson said. “I have some good receivers that will get open and I’ve just got to get them the ball and go.”

Having good players around Lawson certainly takes some of the pressure off the sophomore quarterback. This summer was a turning turning point for Lawson who worked harder than ever on the football field, in the weight room and taking snaps with his teammates to try and simulate game speed.

Those reps are paying dividends with two games left in the season against Lebo and St. Paul. This year’s Wildcat team is looking to have one of their best finishes in recent school history. Last year the team finished 4-5 and the year before Marmaton Valley went 1-7.

“We’ve played some pretty tough teams and gotten a lot better,” said Lawson. “I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better than last year. I’m a lot more calm and able to make more plays.”

PHOTO BY HALIE LUKEN

Lawson said that state of mind comes in handy every time he drops back and sees the defensive linemen come barrelling toward him.

“Being calm plays a huge role because having three guys running at you when you’re trying to throw a football can be tough. You’ve just got to be calm in order to find someone that’s open.

“My goal is to get the ball to my teammates who can really do a lot with it,” Lawson said.

Marmaton Valley will host Lebo this Friday at 7 p.m.

Hammond: a leader

lot but my coaches and teammates really help me with staying calm,” Hammond said. “Just staying out of my head and not making a mistake, in sports it’s really important. Throughout my years I’ve learned to not let it bother me.”

As one of the smaller schools in the Allen County area, Crest athletes typically grow close no matter the sport. Those connections have helped the Lady Lancers jump out to their impressive 24-6 record.

The last time the Lady Lancers were this good was 34 years ago when current assistant coach Tisha Hugg was the head coach.

“Being a part of such a tight team, everyone is really happy and they love the sport as well so that’s really a good thing.

Being a part of this team is great,” said Hammond. “We do a lot of teamwork exercises and talk to each other or just play games. It’s nice having such a small community because everyone gets along.”

Hammond has a personal goal of signing to play college volleyball after graduation.

ON

She has not signed anywhere yet but is keeping her options open.

It’s hard to deny the amount of work the four-year varsity player puts in. Hammond also plays on the Allen County Aces travel volleyball team. This group of players is comprised of some of the best volleyball talents in the area and begins once the high school season is over.

“I really enjoy playing on that team, it’s really fun and a lot faster-paced than high school volleyball. We face a lot of challenging teams.” Crest has only three regular season matchups remaining on their schedule. Hammond along with the other seniors on her team were recognized on senior night on Tuesday.

“What’s different this year is that we have come together really well and we are really strong,” Hammond said. “I work hard to be a good leader and so does Kayla (Hermreck). She sees when I’m down and picks me up. We work well together.”

Crest ends its season at Southern Coffey County on Thursday.

Panthers’ Rhule is red

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper said he ran out of patience with Matt Rhule’s inability to get the franchise “over the hump.”

Tepper fired his second coach in four years on Monday, dismissing Rhule five games into his third losing season.

Rhule, the first NFL coach to be fired this season, went 1127 with Carolina and leaves with roughly $40 million remaining on the seven-year, guaranteed $62 million contract he signed in 2020, when he made the jump from Baylor to the pros.

Defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach Steve Wilks will serve as in-

Marmaton Valley’s Brayden Lawson goes for a tackle.

Astros: Mariners meet in ALDS

Continued from B3

victory to clinch a postseason series.

“Their lineup is re ally good,” Verlander said. “They never give in, as you saw in the series against Toron to. They grind out atbats. They don’t make it easy.”

The Mariners will counter with Logan Gilbert, who will make his first postseason start, as they continue their first playoff run since 2001 with ace Luis Castillo unavail able after starting the first game of the wildcard series on Friday.

Gilbert was solid against the Astros in four starts this sea son, going 2-1 with a 2.52 ERA.

“I’ve watched these games since I was lit tle,” Gilbert said. “I grew up dreaming about playing in these games and now we are here.”

ROOKIE RODRIGUEZ

Seattle center field er Julio Rodríguez is off to a slow start in the postseason after a dazzling regular sea son that made him the frontrunner for AL Rookie of the Year.

Rodríguez hit .284 with 28 homers and 25 stolen bases in the regular season, but has just one hit in the playoffs.

He was hit twice, singled and scored two runs in Game 1 against Toronto be fore going 0 for 4 in the second game. The 21-year-old hasn’t had much success against the Astros, hitting .218 with two homers, two doubles, six RBIs and 19 strikeouts in 15 games.

Servais is confident that Rodríguez will make an impact this October because of the strides he’s made throughout this sea

son. “His ability to make adjustments in game is outstanding,” Ser vais said. “He under stands what they’re doing to him in the batter’s box and how he needs to maybe make an adjustment to get the result he’s looking for. But above and beyond that is his preparation and his routine when he gets to the ballpark every day.”

FILLING CORREA’S SHOES

With Houston play off staple shortstop Carlos Correa gone to Minnesota in free agency, the Astros will look to rookie Jeremy Peña to continue his strong season in the postseason.

Peña hit .289 with 22 homers and 63 RBIs this season after tak ing over for Correa, who starred at short stop in Houston for the previous seven years. Correa embraced the spotlight perhaps more than any Astro in recent history, pil ing up 18 homers and 59 RBIs in 79 career playoff games.

Though Peña un derstands that com parisons will be made, he’s focused on being himself and not con cerned about trying to fill Correa’s shoes.

“It’s never been about that,” he said. “It’s just been about me making a dream come true. This is something I’ve been working for my whole life.”

Altuve has been im pressed with Peña’s development this sea son and believes he’s ready for the bright lights of the playoffs.

“He wants more,” Altuve said. “He wants to learn. He wants to get better. For me, that’s all that matters.

I know he’s going to go out there and give everything he has and he’s going to help us to win some games.”

RALLY RALEIGH

Catcher Cal Raleigh has led the Mariners to several big wins in the last two weeks.

It was his walk-off homer with two outs in the ninth inning that propelled them to a 2-1 win over Oakland on Sept. 30 to clinch a postseason berth.

He kept his hot hit ting going in Game 1 against Toronto with a home run. He add ed another big hit when he doubled in the ninth inning and scored the winning run in Game 2 to cap Seattle’s huge come back.

Raleigh’s recent suc cess has come despite his playing through an injury to his left thumb.

THEY SAID IT Houston manager Dusty Baker on how the Astros’ six-day layoff since their last regular-season game will affect them: “We don’t know if (there will be) rust being off that long, we won’t know until we get into it.”

Seattle second base man Adam Frazier hopes Houston’s lay off benefits his team.

“They have been sitting at home for a week, so I’m sure they’re feeling fresh, but at the same time, timing may be a little off,” he said. “So hop ing for that and we’ll see how it goes.”

GAME 2

Neither team has announced a starter for Game 2 on Thurs day. But it’s likely to be Castillo against Houston’s Framber Valdez, who was sec ond in the AL with a career-high 17 wins.

Fired: Panthers oust Rhule

terim coach.

Tepper said in April he would be patient with Rhule, saying it takes time to build a winner in the NFL.

“It’s a funny thing, that thing called pa tience,” Tepper said Monday during a 30-minute news con ference. “If you ask the average fan out there, they would think I was ridiculously patient. ... I think you have to show the right amount of patience and (look at) the progress that is being made. Are we winning more? Are we progressing in dif ferent ways? In all of those situations we spoke of, it hasn’t been that.”

Two of Rhule’s longtime assistants — defensive coordina tor Phil Snow and as sistant special teams coach Ed Foley — were also fired. Both coaches previously worked for Rhule at Temple and Baylor.

Rhule did not re spond to voice and text messages on Monday.

The Panthers fell to 1-4 with Sunday’s 37-15 loss to San Francisco — their 11th defeat in the last 12 games — as 49ers fans made Bank of America Stadium their East Coast home.

Tepper admitted the blowout loss was a fac tor in his decision.

“There’s numerous reasons why you make a decision,” Tepper said. “Might have been a little bit of lost inten sity on the field (Sun day), which was differ ent from the first four games.”

Tepper, the sec ond-wealthiest owner in the NFL, lured the 47-year-old Rhule away from Baylor with a deal that was notable for its length and dollar value for a rookie NFL coach. Tepper will have to pay

out the rest of the deal unless Rhule takes an other job. In that case, the money he makes will count against what he’s owed by the Pan thers.

General manager Scott Fitterer’s job ap pears safe for now and Tepper indicated he would like a “better balance” in roster deci sions between his GM and next head coach.

Rhule had more pow er to shape the roster than Fitterer did.

Rhule’s teams went 5-11 in 2020 and 5-12 last year. The Panthers hoped Rhule could turn things around in his third year as he did at Baylor and at Temple before that.

The team had con stant turnover at quar terback under Rhule, with Teddy Bridgewa ter as the starter in 2020 and Sam Darnold and Cam Newton getting starts last year.

The Panthers traded for Baker Mayfield this offseason. But the 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick has been awful, rank ing last in the NFL in ESPN’s total quarter back rating. Mayfield has completed 54.9% of his passes and is av eraging fewer than 200 yards passing per game with four touchdowns and four interceptions.

The poor play at the game’s most important position put unsustain able pressure on Car olina’s defense. Under Rhule, the Panthers were 1-27 when allow ing an opponent to score 17 or more points.

Rhule was unpop ular when the season began and fans target ed him even more after the Panthers lost their season opener to the Cleveland Browns in what was dubbed the “Baker Bowl.” Chants of “Fire Rhule!” got louder with each game at home, where the Pan

thers are 1-3.

Tepper wouldn’t dis cuss his strategy for finding a new coach or even disclose who will lead the search. The 53-year-old Wilks will be in consideration for the full-time job.

“No promises were made, but if he does an incredible job, he has to be in consideration,” Tepper said.

Wilks spent one year as Arizona’s coach in 2018, going 3-13.

Wilks becomes the second Black coach to lead the Panthers. The other, Perry Fewell, served as interim coach after Rivera was fired and went 0-4.

Wilks joined Bri an Flores’ lawsuit in April, alleging racist hiring practices by the NFL when there are vacancies for coaches and general manag ers. Wilks joined the lawsuit along with Ray Horton.

The lawsuit alleges that Wilks was dis criminated against by the Cardinals in 2018 when he was hired as a “bridge coach” but was given no meaningful chance to succeed.

Tepper said he wouldn’t rule out hir ing another college coach, but indicated that history suggests it might be better to find a coach with more NFL experience.

Tepper fired Ron Ri vera, the winningest coach in franchise his tory, with four games left in 2019 with the Panthers at 5-7.

The Panthers have not been to the playoffs since 2017 — the year before Tepper bought the team — and have not won a playoff game since winning the NFC championship in 2015 to reach the franchise’s second Super Bowl.

“We have to build a culture of winning,” Tepper said.

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper after firing Rhule. TNS

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT

BICYCLES

Recognizing the di erence between virus strains

monkey-

ANSWER: SARSCoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), monkeypox virus, and HIV (the virus that causes HIV infection and, ultimately, AIDS) are all viruses, but they are all transmitted differently and have very different effects on the body. However, all three of these viruses were originally found in other animals and were then transmitted to humans.

SARS-CoV-2 is spread mostly by large respiratory particles, which means person-to-person contact usually within six feet of each other. The disease may also be spread by smaller particles that can travel longer distances, but that seems to be much less common. It does not seem to be easily transmitted by blood, by se-

Dr. Keith Roach To Your Good Health

cretions or on surfaces.

The virus mutates, and so far, the worldwide trend has leaned toward the more infectious variants, rather than more aggressive or lethal variants. The best evidence shows this was an animal virus that was transmitted to humans, probably from bats.

Monkeypox virus is closely related to smallpox, but not nearly as dangerous or infectious. It is transmitted mostly through close skin-toskin contact. Sexual transmission has been the most common mode of transmission, but sexual contact is not necessary for transmission of infection. It’s much more infectious when a person has the sores and scabs from the infection. Monkeypox can be transmitted from surfaces, especial-

ly from materials such as clothing or linen that have come in contact with the infectious materials from the sores.

Monkeypox can also be transmitted by respiratory particles, but it seems that prolonged face-to-face contact is needed. Monkeypox was also thought to have been transmitted from an animal (not necessarily a monkey).

Many animals carry the virus, and scientists think the most common animal that monkeypox is found in is likely a rodent.

HIV viruses (there are two: HIV-1 is the dominant virus in North America and Europe, while HIV-2 is uncommon outside Africa) are spread through blood or sexual contact. HIV is not spread by sa-

liva or casual contact, but objects that might contain small amounts of blood (such as a razor or a toothbrush) can potentially transmit HIV. Once again, the virus originally came from an animal (chimpanzees).

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have passed out five times and have been diagnosed with vaso-

vagal syncope. The last time, I ended up in the emergency room, and they put in a pacemaker. What can you tell me about this, and is a pacemaker a cure for this condition? The doctors tell me it can happen again. — A.R.D.

ANSWER: Vasovagal syncope is the most common type of faint. Fainting is very common and often needs no more treatment than keeping oneself hydrated, taking precautions about getting up slowly, and avoiding triggers that have caused fainting in the past.

Pacemakers are only occasionally used, most commonly when a thorough evaluation of the heart has shown that the heart rate becomes dangerously low (such as a pause of greater than three seconds between heartbeats, causing a faint). When used appropriately, pacemakers reduce the risk of fainting by half or more, but may not completely prevent further fainting.

Adapted from an on line discussion.

Dear Carolyn: I tend to yell when I argue. I’ve promised my partner I’ll tone it down, but I’ve failed to keep that prom ise 100 percent of the time.

He is calm and mea sured — I’ve only heard him raise his voice twice in three years; if any thing, he pulls out heavy sarcasm to point how ab surd something is.

Last week, I waited 48 hours before addressing a situation, hoping it would make me less re active and more commu nicative. But when he failed to see a problem with planning a fourday vacation for us in one hotel room — WITH HIS EX — without ask ing me, I just couldn’t find another way to my point across.

His ex won’t speak to me and we’ve had doz ens of conversations about how uncomfort able I am. He tells me it is my job to work it out with his EX. More yell ing.

This isn’t the person I want to be. But grow ing up in a physically abusive family where punches and plates were thrown in addition to words, I learned some

Public

very bad habits.

— Yeller

Sometimes a calm demeanor isn’t always nice Tell Me About It Carolyn Hax PIXABAY.COM

Yeller: So did your partner. Wow. Sarcasm and gaslighting are un healthy, too, not just yelling.

I hope you make time ASAP to get some coun seling. I know it’s not ac cessible to all, but please try. (Resource link here.)

Think of emotions as layers: Imagine the in nermost layer as where the feelings are, and the outermost as the way those feelings are ex pressed. So, for example, you feel upset (inner) and then yell (outer).

If your partner gets upset (inner) but stays calm (outer), then, okay, it’s good that he’s not yelling, but his inner up set is still equivalent to your inner upset. If the inner layer is messed up, then smoothing out the outer layer doesn’t fix that, it just reduces the noise in the room.

Ask anyone who lives amid anger issues — if they’re holding back the yell, is everything sud denly okay? Or is there

a seething ball of rage sitting silently at the table while everyone tip toes around, wondering when it’ll blow?

Meanwhile, your guy’s outer layer is sar casm, contempt and blame — which gives him zero standing to find your coping meth ods lacking.

The yelling habit you have is easy to trace to your abusive family (for which I am so sorry — no one deserves that). But it looks like you formed another, inner-layer habit of taking emotion al abuse as something normal or familiar. He’s treating you badly — just in a quiet voice vs. a loud one — and you deserve to be upset (if not yell) about that.

There’s a brilliant, non-yelling way to get your point across when someone treats you as badly as your partner does: breaking up. Leav

ing. Bye. But if you’re not confident enough — yet — in your ability to see that and trust it and go, then counseling can help you with that, too — along with the impulse to yell. Take care.

Re: Yelling: The way you’re communicating about what your partner did — booking one hotel room with his ex, ignor ing you and telling you to work it out with ex — is waaaaayyyyyyy sec ond to the fact that he is doing all of those things. Holy crap, none of that is okay. And his big move is to turn it on you by

COMPLAINING ABOUT YOUR COMMUNICA TION STYLE? Wow.

— Wow Wow: That would be the gaslighting, yes.

ZITS by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALE

NOTICE

HEREBY GIVEN, that under and by virtue of an Order of Sale issued to me by the Clerk of the District Court of Allen County, Kansas, in the case above num bered, the undersigned Sheriff

of Allen County, Kansas, will offer for sale at public auction and sell to the highest bidder for cash in hand at the front door of the Allen County Courthouse, Iola, KS, on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. of said day, the follow ing described real estate situated in the County of Allen, State of Kansas, to-wit: Lot Nine (9) and the North Half of Lot Ten (N/2 of 10), Block Twelve (12) Sunnyside Addition to the City of Iola, in Allen County, Kansas. EXCEPT the oil, gas and minerals underlying the surface of said lands and all rights and ease ments in favor of said oil, gas and minerals, Commonly known as: 321 N. Tennessee St., Iola, KS 66749 (the “Real Property”), to satisfy the judgment in the above-entitled case. The sale is to be made without appraisement and subject to the redemption

period as provided by law, and further subject to the approval of the Court.

ALLEN COUNTY SHERIFF Bryan J. Murphy

Submitted by: SANDBERG PHOENIX & VON GON TARD P.C. Michele M. O’Malley KS# 20760 4600 Madison Ave., Suite 1000 Kansas City, MO 64112 Tel: 816-627-5546 Fax: 816-6275532 momalley@sandbergphoenix. com

ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF

SANDBERG PHOENIX & von GON TARD P.C. IS ATTEMPTING TO COL LECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMA TION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE.

(10) 12, 19, 26

BEETLE BAILEY by Mort Walker

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE by Chris Browne

FUNKY WINKERBEAN by Tom Batiuk

BLONDIE by Young and Drake

MARVIN by Tom Armstrong

HI AND LOIS by Chance Browne

NASCAR teams ght for safety, money

By JENNA FRYER The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

(AP) — Since its first race in 1949, NASCAR has controlled the top motorsports series in the United States with an iron fist. Those who dared to challenge NASCAR leadership were almost never successful.

An attempt at driver unionization failed in 1961 when organizers Curtis Turner and Tim Flock were banned by NASCAR. The only drivers’ strike in NASCAR history failed when the Professional Drivers Association boycotted the inaugural race at Talladega Superspeedway and the stock car series simply brought in replacement drivers.

NASCAR has always been firmly in charge, its punishments doled out sometimes through unannounced fines, overtly intense inspections and in other ways to make life difficult for rabble rousers in the garage.

Well, it seems that the competitors have had enough of the dictatorship.

NASCAR is facing unprecedented dissent, from drivers who are speaking freely about the safety concerns they have with the new Next Gen car and also from team owners, who essentially opened their books to reporters to argue that NASCAR’s business model is broken.

To be sure, it was a calculated move by the owners, who were unsatisfied with NASCAR’s counteroffer to a proposed revenue sharing redistribution plan, but going public was a stunning move.

A 75-minute safety briefing Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway descended into an “airing of grievances,” according to some drivers, as NASCAR struggled to complete its presentation.

NASCAR has promised to address the safety concerns that have sidelined both Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch with concussions, though not until next season.

Joey Logano said the safety briefing was long overdue: “That meeting should have happened Monday after Kurt’s crash (in July), not waiting until Alex had his crash to at least hear us out.”

NASCAR President Steve Phelps has acknowledged communication has been poor, even as the drivers and team owners have individually assembled their own councils to work with the sanctioning body. He agreed the meeting was overdue and he’s hoping to implement them weekly going forward.

“We want to hear what they have to say. We care about what they say, and we’re going to continue to iterate on the car to make it safer,” Phelps said on NBC Sports. “Safety is the single most important thing for NASCAR.”

Either way, the attempts by drivers and teams to wrest some of the power away from NASCAR has reached an extraordinary level. The timing couldn’t be worse, either: There are four races remain-

Ross Chastain is the stage 2 winner during the Bank of America Roval 400 in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday. ALEX SLITZ/TNS

ing to crown the next Cup Series champion Stewart-Haas Racing is under investigation for potential race manipulation, and three full time Cup drivers missed the race at Charlotte with injuries suffered in the Next Gen. It’s been decades since multiple drivers have missed the same race.

All of this has overshadowed the fact that the actual racing that has produced 21 different winners this season (including Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski in non-points events).

“It’s probably frustrating for the sanctioning body for sure,” said three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan. It is Jordan’s longtime business manager, Curtis Polk, who is leading the teams in their bid to restructure the revenue model.

“They had some good momentum earlier in the year, but now everything is kind of caving in on them from every side,” Hamlin said. “Listen, media is a powerful tool. I believe (NASCAR) is heavily influenced by it and sometimes you can use that for good. If it helps us advance safety in a more urgent fashion, that’s a good thing. If it helps get the team owners in a better place with NASCAR, then so be it as well.”

Jeff Gordon, the retired four-time champion who is now vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, is part of the owners’ committee battling NASCAR on revenue sharing. It was Gordon who helped push NASCAR beyond its Southern roots and into mainstream national marketing plans, and he’s likely going to represent NASCAR when it takes its Next Gen car to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year.

When the team principals were asked if they were worried the relationship with NASCAR might grow contentious, it was Gordon who spoke after a long pause.

“It could be a part of the process, you know?” Gordon said.

Perhaps NASCAR will strongarm its “members” back into quiet compliance. NASCAR is, after all, a privately owned company founded in 1948 by the France family that to this day not only runs the series but controls 11 tracks on the 2023 Cup Series schedule. The tracks, by the way, receive 65% of the $8.2 billion television deal that expires at the end of the 2024 season. NASCAR — so the France family — receives 10% of the package; teams get 25% of the pie.

The television package expires at the same time as the current charters, which began in 2016 in an attempt to create something close to a franchise model. As NA-

SCAR negotiates a new media rights deal, the teams want an improved charter agreement. NASCAR, of course, could choose to just eliminate the charters altogether, because NASCAR ultimately makes all the rules.

NFL and NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs has tasked team president Dale Alpern to represent Joe Gibbs Racing, started in 1992, in the revenue negotiations.

Gibbs coached three Super Bowl-winning teams and has won five NASCAR championships and 199 Cup races.

Gibbs tried to walk a fine-line on the revenue topic, even though JGR will lose two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch at the end of this season because after 15 years with the team, sponsorship could not be secured for Toyota’s winningest driver.

“The ownership of the race teams are trying to look for a better way forward financially,” Gibbs said. “There comes a point where it’s negotiat-

ing and working together, solving the problems. At some point you generally always reach a conclusion.”

But can a solution be found? Alpern had said he feared the day the 81-year-old team owner wasn’t the main attraction in the sales meetings that keep JGR afloat.

“I think there can be common sense on both sides and a path forward financially,” Gibbs said. “I think that definitely is something that we can do. I think it’s people that really care, they care about the sport. So hopefully both sides will go after it and talk our way through this and work our way through it.”

If nothing else, the stars who make NASCAR go round and round for 38 weekends every year have at last found their voice and appear unafraid to speak out. Whether NASCAR truly wants to join that conversation or close its iron fist again is anyone’s guess.

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