The Iola Register, Sept. 13, 2023

Allen celebrates centennial in style

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

David Toland’s experience as a student at Allen Community College was brief.

He enrolled in a handful of summer classes between his freshman and sophomore years while he attended the University of Kansas.

His class schedule was such that it would have been difficult to get the necessary credits in a timely manner at KU, Toland explained Tuesday.

So the Iola native, who today is Kansas’s lieutenant governor, spent one summer at Allen.

“I had great instructors,” he said. “I remember Gary Greve was one of them, and I took care of what I needed to.

“The point is, Allen was here for me when I needed

it,” Toland continued. “That’s the value of having a strong community college. We can all be proud Allen has consistently offered affordable, value-driven excellence to students looking to gain skills and credentials along their paths to a good job or career.” And, Toland noted good-naturedly, the experience affords him the honor of calling himself “a proud Allen alumnus.”

Toland provided the keynote address at Tuesday’s centennial celebration for Allen Community College, which opened its doors on the third floor of Iola High School on Sept. 10, 1923.

For communities to thrive, it’s imperative they have schools such as ACC that are responsive, agile and adaptive to a shifting landscape,

See ALLEN | Page A3

Tracking the numbers

Committee member for the 2019 school bond project returns for financial update

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

A member of a steering committee that led a successful school bond campaign asked board members for an update on the financial impact of the project.

Ray Maloney of LaHarpe, a steering committee member known for his careful consideration of financial matters during the 2019 campaign, attended Monday’s budget hearing.

He wanted to know if the district had realized the kind of savings expected from combining three elementary schools into the new Iola Elementary School.

He also asked if the district had reduced staff, or attracted or retained quality staff as expected after opening the new

school. Finally, he wanted to discuss interest rates and taxes related to the project.

“I’m pro-education but I’m also a taxpayer,” Maloney said. “And education is a big part of our property taxes.”

The district’s savings on utilities have not reached the level as predicted, board member Dan Willis conceded. There are several reasons for that, he said, though he

expects to see more savings over time.

First, the district continues to maintain the three former elementary schools under an agreement with BNIM, a Kansas City development group. BNIM is working to obtain various types of funding to convert the three buildings to apartments. They have two years to work toward that goal.

Meanwhile, two groups are renting space at Lincoln and McKinley, and reimburse the district for utility costs.

The district’s utility costs also have increased significantly since the bond issue was passed, Willis said. The year prior to moving into the new school building, the district’s utility costs had increased by 40%, he said. The first year in the new building, costs were up 28%.

“We lost all the efficiency we were ever going to gain just with utility rate increases,” Willis said. Willis also noted the new building is 25% larger than the three former schools combined. The new infrastructure is more efficient, but there is more space to heat and cool. The school is also busier, hosting community events and additional school activities.

AS FOR reduction in staff from combining three schools into one, Superintendent Stacey Fager said the district reduced staff by sev-

See 257 | Page A3

Thousands feared dead after floods in Libya

CAIRO (AP) — Emergency workers uncovered hundreds of bodies in the wreckage of Libya's eastern city of Derna on Tuesday, and it was feared the toll could spiral with 10,000 people reported still missing after floodwaters smashed through dams and washed away entire neighborhoods of the city.

The startling death and devastation wreaked by Mediterranean storm Daniel pointed to the storm's intensity, but also the vulnerability of a nation torn apart by chaos for more than a decade. The country is divided by rival governments, one in the east, the other in the west, and the result has been neglect of in-

frastructure in many areas.

Outside help was only just starting to reach Derna on Tuesday, more than 36 hours after the disaster struck. The floods damaged or destroyed many access roads to the coastal city of some 89,000.

Footage showed dozens of bodies covered by blankets in the yard of one hospital. Another image showed a mass grave piled with bodies. More than 1,000 corpses were collected, including at least 700 that have been buried so far, the health minister for eastern Libya said. Derna's ambulance authority put the current death toll at 2,300.

But the toll is likely to be higher, in the thousands, said

Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He told a U.N. briefing in Geneva via videoconference from Tunisia that at least 10,000 people were still missing.

The situation in Libya was "as devastating as the situation in Morocco," Ramadan said, referring to the deadly earthquake that hit near the city of Marrakesh on Friday night.

The destruction came to Derna and other parts of eastern Libya on Sunday night. As the storm pounded the coast, Derna residents said they heard loud explosions and realized that dams outside

the city had collapsed. Flash floods were unleashed down Wadi Derna, a river running from the mountains through the city and into the sea.

The wall of water "erased everything in its way," said one resident, Ahmed Abdalla.

Videos posted online by residents showed large swaths of mud and wreckage where the raging waters had swept away neighborhoods on both banks of the river. Multi-story apartment buildings that once were well back from the river had facades ripped away and concrete floors collapsed. Cars lifted by the flood were left dumped

See LIBYA | Page A6

PIXABAY.COM

City eyes new solar policy

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

As residents and businesses turn to generating their own electricity, Iola should have a policy in place that sets how those customers should be credited for the power, City Administrator Matt Rehder said Monday.

The policy would affect those who generate more electricity than the customer consumes in a given month, Rehder explained to City Council members.

“It’s something we’ve talked about doing for a while now,” Rehder said.

See COUNCIL | Page A4

Kansas Lt. Gov. and Iola native David Toland speaks with Iolan Delbert Nelson, right, and Nelson’s daughter, Lisa Wicoff, during Tuesday’s centennial celebration at the college. REGISTER/ RICHARD LUKEN

Ray Maloney, a member of the steering committee that developed a 2019 school bond project, asks USD 257 board members for an update on the financial impact. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Obituary

Frances Scearce

Frances Irene Scearce, age 75, of Iola, passed away Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, at St. Francis Via Christi in Wichita. She was born Dec. 19, 1947, to Lewis Amos Hunt and Vera Valeda Thompson. However, she was lovingly raised from birth until young adulthood by her paternal grandparents, Jim and Alice Gregg.

Speaker lauds retired teachers

Frances Scearce

There she had the time of her life living on their farm. That’s where her love of all animals came to be. She had several dogs, cats, chickens, pigs and cows that she grew up playing with. Her Grandpa also had a horse that he allowed Frances to ride to get the mail a quarter-mile away when she got older. She would play in the corn fields behind their house, and fish in the ponds in the north pasture.

When she was older, her father would visit, and would take nature walks with her, and they always would come home with baby birds, a turtle, or a collection of pretty wildflowers — Butter Cups were her favorite.

She attended the Silver Leaf one-room school until it closed, and finished grade school in Gas. She was a 1965 graduate of Iola High School, where she was an A student, excelling in accounting skills. From here, she went to the Clark’s School of Business in Topeka. She lived through the 1966 tornado that nearly destroyed parts of Topeka. She had a horrible fear of thunderstorms from that day forward.

When she came home from Business School, she took a job with Snodgrass, Routh and Clark Accounting. She worked there for several years.

She was married to Ivan Trester on March 2, 1974. They divorced in the same year. Then she married Charles “Charlie” Scearce on Aug. 30, 1976. Afterwards, they lived in Tulsa. Frances worked as office manager for Park’s Oil Company. In 1986 after Charlie’s sudden death, Frances moved back home to Iola. She started working at Iola State Bank during the day, and evenings and weekends she worked as a cashier for the IGA grocery store and as the evening assistant night manager for The Crossroads Motel.

When Iola State Bank sold to Great Southern, Frances followed her friends to Community National Bank across the street, working until retirement December 2022. She started a loving friendship with Paul Zirjacks nine years ago. He and Charlie had been friends at Humboldt High School. Frances and Paul shared watching many baseball games on the television, eating out and traveling. In 2015, he took her on a trip to Germany to see the castles on the Rhine River! That was the first time Frances had ever been out of the United States. They also shared their love of animals, including Paul’s little dog Patches.

Frances had a kind and loving heart. She was very fond of her niece and nephews.

She loved them as if they were her very own.

Frances was preceded in death by her husband Charlie; her parents; her grandparents, and her niece Lisa Byers. She is survived by her sister Mary Lou Byers (Mike) of Iola, and her nephew Michael Byers (Michelle), and her great-nephews Stephen Byers and Matthew Byers, and her great-niece Sarah Byers, all of Crofton, Md.

Frances had been cremated, and buried in her family plot at Highland Cemetery.

Frances was an organ donor, many people will be able to live a better life thanks to her. There was no funeral. Instead there will be a Celebration of Life to remember her and to say “goodbye.” Date and place will be posted at a later date.

It’s important to remain hopeful after retirement, guest speaker Amber Jewell told Allen County Area Retired School Personnel Sept. 6.

Jewell was the guest speaker for the group’s monthly meeting.

Even retired educators still have the gift of teaching, Jewell stressed, encouraging attendees to remember their roles in education, applaud themselves as a means of self-recognition and plant seeds of hope in others.

“Look at retirement as a shift to new opportunities,” said Jewell, who also has authored motivational books. She handed out cards featuring 10 affirmations for finding hope.

During the business portion of the meeting, Jane Martin, District 6 representative, handed certificates to Donna Houser for 3,000 plus hours of volunteer work, Linda Johnson, Paul Upshaw and Diana Asher for 1,6002,999 hours and Sharon Sigg for 900-1,199 hours.

The monetary value of the volunteer work would equate to about $440,000.

The fall District 6 meeting is set for Sept. 22 in Erie. A

Attendees are asked to RSVP by Friday to John and Vera Shafer-Sheehan.

Sixteen members and four guests, Martin, Jewell, Jean Quaintance and Carolyn Harvey.

The next meeting will Oct. 4. All retired school personnel are invited.

College corrections

Last week’s series of articles about the Allen Community College centennial had a handful of errors.

Former Allen standout basketball players Becky Carlson and Leslie Crane, who went on

to become successful coaches, spent time at Hillsboro High School and Western Illinois University.

The articles incorrectly listed their previous schools.

In addition, former Iola High School music teacher Dale Creitz did not teach choral music at the college, as was incorrectly reported. We regret the errors.

21

Kappa Alpha on the hunt

Members of Kappa Alpha met for an evening social at Iola’s First Christian Church Aug. 21.

Members were divid-

ed into two teams for a scavenger hunt around town. The hunt included both clues to photograph and riddles to

solve. Both teams were declared winners. Hostesses for the evening were Jeanna Church and Susan Locke.

BTK won’t face more charges

PAWNEE, Okla. (AP) — There isn’t enough evidence to charge the BTK serial killer in the 1976 disappearance of a 16-year-old girl, an Oklahoma prosecutor said Monday despite statements from law enforcement officials calling Dennis Rader a prime suspect.

District Attorney Mike Fisher said at a news conference that he’s not at a point where he could file charges against Rader in the disappearance of Cynthia Dawn Kinney, a cheerleader from the northern Oklahoma city of Pawhuska who was last seen at a laundromat.

But Fisher asked the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to open a formal investigation into Kinney’s disappearance because of the public interest in the revived cold case, and he will file charges if he learns of evidence that would warrant it, he said.

Osage County sheriff’s officials, including Undersheriff Gary Upton, have recently called Rader a “prime suspect” in Kinney’s disappearance and the death of 22-yearold Shawna Beth Garber, whose body was discovered in December 1990 in McDonald County, Missouri.

Rader, now 78, killed from 1974 to 1991, giving himself the nickname BTK — for “bind, torture and kill.” He played

a cat and mouse game with investigators and reporters for decades before he was caught in 2005. He ultimately confessed to 10 killings in the Wichita, Kansas, area, about 90 miles north of Pawhuska. He is imprisoned for 10 consecutive life terms.

Rob Ridenour, Rader’s attorney, said he had no comment Monday.

A bank was installing new alarms across the street from the laundromat where Kinney was last seen, Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden has said. Rader was a regional installer for security system company ADT at the time, but Virden wasn’t able to confirm that Rader installed the bank’s systems.

Virden told KAKE-TV he decided to investigate when he learned

that Rader had included the phrase “bad laundry day” in his writings.

Fisher said he sat in on interviews that Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma investigators conducted with Rader about 90 days ago, but the sheriff has not shared any physical evidence with the DA’s office.

He called the information he has received so far “rumors because they’ve not been substantiated yet.” And he said he hadn’t seen anything “that at this point arises to the level of even reasonable suspicion.”

But Fisher said he had seen things that gave him “pause and concern” about the sheriff’s department, including the way they handled a dig for evidence at Rader’s former property in Park City, Kansas, last month.

Taking part in a Kappa Alpha scavenger hunt Aug.

are, from left, Mary LaCrone, Lucinda Stanley and Ashlyn Milner. COURTESY PHOTO

Allen: Lawmakers and alumni recognize college’s 100th

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Toland said, while maintaining a close alignment with regional employers and communities.

Toland pointed to recent economic development projects in the state, including EMP Shield’s announcement that the microchip manufacturer will build a $1.9 billion facility near Burlington.

Allen was one of the first schools to step up to the plate to offer training for the more than 1,200 employees needed, Toland said.

“Allen is committed to being a central spoke in our regional talent pipeline here in southeast Kansas,” he said.

REP. FRED Gardner, a Garnett veterinarian, spoke about the example set by his grandparents to raise an educated family.

“They had an opportunity to get a higher education, and they took advantage of that opportunity,” Gardner said. “It greatly en-

hanced their lives, as well as for their children and their grandchildren.

“As we celebrate this today, it’s a good day to stop and remember what’s happened in the last 100 years,” he continued. “ACC has impacted not only stu-

dents who attended this institution, but also family members, neighbors and friends. It truly does enrich the entire community and state.”

“Today’s celebration is a celebration for all of us,” added Allen President Bruce Moses. He

pointed to the school’s origins, first as Iola Junior College, then Allen County Community Junior College when the school relocated to its campus on North Cottonwood Street in 1970.

The name was later shortened to Allen

American researcher rescued from Turkish cave

ISTANBUL (AP) — An American researcher was “doing well” at a Turkish hospital, officials said Tuesday, after rescuers pulled him out of a cave where he fell seriously ill and became trapped more than 3,000 feet below its entrance for over a week.

Rescuers from Turkey and across Europe cheered and clapped as Mark Dickey, a 40-yearold experienced caver, emerged from Morca

cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains strapped to a stretcher at 12:37 a.m. local time Tuesday. He was whisked to the hospital in the nearby city of Mersin in a helicopter.

Dickey fell ill on Sept. 2 with stomach bleeding. What caused his condition remained unclear.

Lying on the stretcher surrounded by reporters shortly after his rescue, he described his nine-

day ordeal as a “crazy, crazy adventure.”

“It is amazing to be above ground again,” he said. A well-known cave researcher and a cave rescuer who had participated in many international expeditions, Dickey thanked the international caving community, Turkish cavers and Hungarian Cave Rescue, among others.

Dickey, who is from Croton-on-Hudson, New York, was part of an

County Community College, Allen Community College “and now Allen.”

“Our journey has been amazing,” Moses concluded. “We celebrate the history today with each of you and look forward to what

the future will hold.”

TUESDAY’S celebration brought back several former ACC instructors, administrators and students, who toured the campus and looked over pieces of Red Devil memorabilia.

expedition to map the Morca Cave, Turkey’s third deepest, when he became sick.

As he was too frail to climb out himself, cave rescue teams from Europe scrambled to help save him, mounting a challenging operation that involved pulling him up the cave’s steep vertical sections and navigating through mud and water at low temperatures in the horizontal sections.

257: State pays less for 2019 bond project

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en positions when the new school opened last year.

However, much of the salaries from those positions were needed to offset increased costs such as insurance and higher wages, he said.

“We did have savings, but that helped buffer what we could offer for an overall package,” he said.

This year, for the first time, the district is asking staff to pay part of their health insurance costs. Fager said the district’s insurance provider initially proposed a 23.7% increase that was negotiated down to 8%.

A health insurance plan the district previously covered entirely will now cost $50 per employee. That led some employees to shift to a health savings account with a higher deductible plan.

Fager said the district prided itself on its health insurance coverage, but felt it was necessary to ask employees to share costs.

“Everything is looked at. Everything is negotiated every year,” Fager assured Maloney.

FAGER ALSO encouraged Maloney and others concerned about taxes to contact state legislators and lobby for changes to the way the state funds capital improvement projects.

Under a formula adopted in 2015, the state calculates assistance based on how a school

district compares to the district with the lowest assessed property value per pupil. The numbers are skewed, Fager said, because Fort Leavenworth Unified School District 207 sits on a military base with virtually no taxable property. Removing Fort Leavenworth would make more districts eligible and provide greater equalization for communities that need to upgrade facilities, Fager said.

“It gives smaller communities more equal footing to pass a bond issue,” he said.

Basically, he said, each year that the county’s valuation increases, the state pays less for the bond issue and USD 257 taxpayers have to make up the difference. The district received 22% assistance this year, a number that has gone down each year since the bond issue passed in 2019.

However, Maloney noted the interest rates were much lower when the bond issue passed, something that has resulted in significant savings. The bonds were sold just before the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020; interest rates jumped higher almost immediately after that.

“We couldn’t have passed the bond at a better time, in a better financial situation than we did,” Fager agreed.

The bonds were predicted to come in at 3.5% but instead came in at 3.09%, an expected

savings of $8.6 million.

Maloney also asked about the impact of the new school on enrollment.

Last year, the first year the new elementary school opened, the district saw an unexpected increase of about 15 students after years of declining enrollment. Fager said he expects this year’s enrollment to be stable; the official student count takes place Sept. 20. Willis also noted the increased enrollment was in lower grades, and students in lower grades are seeing improved test scores.

THE BOARD approved

WEEKLY BREAD SCHEDULE

the budget for the 202425 school year with a slight decrease in the tax rate.

The school district will collect 68.726 mills in the next fiscal year. That’s just a hair — .153 of a mill — lower than last year’s rate of 68.879. The previous year it was 68.80.

The district’s supplemental local option budget dropped by about a half of a mill, but that savings was mostly erased by the 2019 school bond. The bond and interest tax rate will increase slightly to 23.675 mills this year, up from 23.32 last year and 22.39 the previous year.

At left, Kansas Rep. Fred Gardner, R-Garnett, speaks at Tuesday’s Allen Community College centennial celebration. Above, ACC noted its 100th birthday with a ribbon-cutting. Taking part in the festivities are, from left, Nathan Mentzer, president of the Iola Chamber of Commerce, ACC President Bruce Moses, college trustees Lonnie Larson, Jenny Spillman, Vicki Curry, Jessica Thompson and Gena Clounch, Allen director of development Lauren Maisberger and college trustee Becky Nilges.

US plans prisoner swap with Iran and release of $6 billion in funds

WASHINGTON (AP)

— The Biden administration has cleared the way for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions. In addition, as part of the deal, the administration has agreed to release five Iranian citizens held in the United States.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on the sanctions waivers late last week, a month after U.S. and Iranian officials said an agreement in principle was in place. Congress was not informed of the waiver decision until Monday, according to the notification, which was obtained by The Associated Press. The outlines of the deal had been previously announced and the waiver was expected. But the notification marked the first time the administration said it was releasing five Iranian prisoners as part of the deal. The prisoners have not been named.

The waiver drew criticism of President Joe Biden from Republicans and others who say the deal will boost the Iranian economy at a time when Iran poses a growing threat to U.S. troops and Mideast allies.

On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said “it’s ridiculous for US to be blackmailed into paying $6B for hostages which will help indirectly finance the number 1 foreign policy of Iran: terrorism.”

Council: Solar customers can get credit

“We’ve just been trying to finish up the details.”

This remains a sensitive and ongoing process.

— Adrienne Watson, National Security Council

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas accused Biden of “paying ransom to the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism.”

Another Iran hawk, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the waivers were a sign the administration was secretly pursuing a broader deal with Iran to include more than the release of the detainees.

The White House pushed back on all criticism of the waiver decision, saying it was only a “procedural step” aimed at fulfilling the tentative agreement reached with Iran in August.

“What is being pursued here is an arrangement wherein we secure the release of 5 wrongfully held Americans,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council. “This remains a sensitive and ongoing process. While this is a step in the process, no individuals have been or will be released into U.S. custody this week.”

The waiver means that European, Middle Eastern and Asian banks will not run afoul of U.S. sanctions in converting the money frozen in South Korea and transferring it to Qatar’s central bank, where it will be held for Iran to use for the purchase of humanitarian goods.

McCarthy takes steps for Biden impeachment

WASHINGTON (AP) —

Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday he is directing a House committee to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over his family’s business dealings, launching historic proceedings ahead of the 2024 election.

McCarthy said the House Oversight Committee’s investigation so far has found a “culture of corruption” around the Biden family as Republicans probe the business dealings of the president’s son, Hunter Biden, from before the Democratic president took office.

“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption, and they warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said outside the speaker’s office at the Capitol.

“That’s why today I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,” he said.

The announcement comes as the Republican leader faces mounting pressure from his right flank to take action against Biden while he also is struggling to pass legislation needed to avoid a federal government shutdown at the

The proposed policy mirrors what other communities have established, and is recommended by the state, Rehder said.

In a nutshell, any customer who generates enough to push power back into the city’s energy grid will be credited for 150% average wholesale cost for that electricity, with the credit being applied annually. In July, Iola’s wholesale cost was 3.8 cents per kilowatt hour.

The policy also caps how much power can be credited, at 104% of a customer’s peak usage.

A couple items of note with the policy.

While it sounds like the city would lose money by buying the electricity at a higher rate than the wholesale value, “it’s actually pretty much a wash,” Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock explained, because the city can immediately put that power back into its grid to sell to its other customers at a retail rate. “It’s really not hurting us if we keep it at this level, and it helps the customer.”

Customers who generate their own power still must remain a part of the city’s grid, Schinstock noted, because solar panels don’t generate electricity at night, and are much less efficient in cloudy weather.

All customers who generate their own power must have in place a transfer switch, Schinstock noted, to continue receiving the city’s electricity.

“The ordinance we’re putting in front of you is pretty standard,” he continued. “Communities aren’t required to do anything yet. But the state’s gonna come in

unique access to

end of the month.

An inquiry is step toward impeachment, and McCarthy essentially outlined potential charges. He is is planning to convene lawmakers behind closed doors this week to discuss the Biden impeachment, and top House chairmen are heading Wednesday to brief the Senate.

The Republican leader is once again at a political crossroads — trying to keep his most conservative lawmakers satisfied and prevent his own ouster. It’s a familiar political bind for McCarthy, who is juggling the impeachment inquiry and a government shutdown threat with no clear end game.

Government funding is to run out on Sept. 30, which is the end of the federal fiscal year, and Congress must pass new funding bills or risk a shutdown and the interruption of government services.

Minutes after McCarthy spoke a chief Republican critic stood on the House floor deriding the inquiry as “a baby step” and reviving the threat of ousting the speaker. “We must move faster,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

Biden’s White House has dismissed the impeachment push as politically motivated.

on us at some point.”

IN OTHER green energy news, City Councilman Carl Slaugh said the city should reconsider its recent rejection of a local merchant’s request to install a privately run electric vehicle charging station on the city’s right-of-way.

Council members rejected Paul Porter’s request, 4-3, in April.

Since then, the city learned it was unsuccessful in applying for a state grant fund to install its own EV stations.

“He can come back again and ask if he wants, but what was pretty clear was that (the stations) weren’t something you wanted to allow on the right-ofway,” Rehder responded. “I have no intention of bringing (the proposal) back.”

Mayor Steve French suggested the city follow another tack, instead looking at a project on one of the city’s 24-hour parking lots, with possible partnerships with private investors.

French said Councilman Mark Peters is researching the issue, such as allowing advertisers for a public station, not dissimilar to how sponsors can advertise on score-

boards at athletic fields.

MIKE FORD’S 28year career with the Iola Police Department will end with his retirement, effective Sept. 22.

As a token of appreciation for his service, the city will allow him to keep his badge and firearm.

The gift generated discussion among the Council, which voted, 7-1, to allow the donation, with Carl Slaugh opposed.

“It’s city property,” Slaugh said of the firearm. “I don’t think firefighter personnel get to keep their bunker gear.”

French countered the argument, noting the gun’s value. “After 28 years of service, we’re offering a retirement gift worth about $250.”

COUNCIL members also rezoned the 105 acres of recently annexed land near the intersection of U.S. 169 and North Dakota Road, to accommodate con-

struction of a new PrairieLand Partners John Deere implement dealership. About 25 acres will be rezoned as commercial, while the remaining 80 acres will be zoned as agriculture land. The rezoning, endorsed by the Planning Commission, was necessary because the property was automatically listed as residential upon the annexation, Code Enforcement Officer Gregg Hutton explained.

THE COUNCIL also:

— Approved a request from Thrive Allen County to have a food truck at the John Silas Bass North Community Building Sept. 26 for a senior health fair event.

— Adopted updated the city’s uniform public offense codes and standard traffic ordinances for the upcoming year, as published by the Kansas League of Municipalities.

Paul Porter, Iola, owner of Big Square Media, used a drone to capture the Register’s rooftop showing its solar panels.

Opinion

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Supreme Court, reform thyself

Next term will be agonizing for the Supreme Court. Some combination of voters and courts will determine whether Donald Trump becomes president again and whether he goes to prison. President Joe Biden’s son has a case before the courts. Dozens of states have changed their voting laws since 2020 and the nine justices on the Supreme Court may be asked to look at them. If the presidential election in 2024 is close, the court may have to step in and adjudicate.

With so much at stake, America needs a Supreme Court that is broadly seen as legitimate and, ideally, impartial. Regrettably, trust in the court is at its lowest point since pollsters began asking about it.

This is partly because of polarization. Supreme Court nominations are a knife-fight in the Senate: there is no longer even a pretense that confirming a justice should be above party politics. Four of the nine justices were nominated by the candidates who will probably contest next year’s presidential election.

Thanks to brass-knuckle politics, lifetime tenure and quirks of fate, such as the timing of a liberal justice’s death, three were nominated by Mr. Trump. He refers to them as “my judges”, as if they worked for him, which they do not. Meanwhile many left-leaning Americans are outraged at recent rulings on abortion and racial preferences. All this has undermined faith in the court, and much of it is beyond the justices’ control.

private jet that was paid for by another Republican donor. When this was discovered by ProPublica, an NGO, Justice Alito complained that no reasonable person could accuse him of having flouted the rules.

It is fine for justices to have rich friends. Yet they also have a duty to the institution they serve. The most common accusation leveled at them is that they are partisans. They deny it, but the charge is easier to make when conservative justices nominated by Republican presidents holiday with conservative donors to Republican candidates and then appear to want to sweep it under their robes. Most federal employees are barred from accepting any gift worth over $20.

Members of the Supreme Court, by contrast, largely self-regulate. And lifetime tenure, which we have argued should be scrapped, fosters a sense of entitlement.

Most federal employees are barred from accepting any gift worth over $20. Members of the Supreme Court, by contrast, largely self-regulate. And lifetime tenure, which we’ve argued should be scrapped, fosters a sense of entitlement.

Last year Congress passed a law requiring more transparency about financial disclosures. It is too weak: under it, Justices Alito and Thomas can still decide what is reasonable for Justices Alito and Thomas to do. The same goes for the liberal justices, who have sometimes fallen short — though Sonia Sotomayor’s paid-for trips to various law schools sound less fun than Justice Thomas’s jaunts. That needs to be fixed before the court finds itself entangled in contentious political cases next year.

No technology can replace in-person connection

From

By PAUL WOODRUFF Guest Essay for The

My good friends know that my end is near. Several of them have flown from far away to see me in Texas. They come for an hour or two of conversation, and then they fly home. That’s an expensive visit, and time-consuming for them. Why aren’t they satisfied to see me over the internet? I offer them that way out, but they insist on the trip. Why?

My friends tell me the internet is not a healthy place to develop friendships. I agree.

What they can control are their own ethical standards. On this, some have fallen short. Harlan Crow, a Republican donor, bought a house from Clarence Thomas, flew him on a private jet, took him on cruises and paid private-school tuition for his great-nephew. Justice Thomas decided he did not need to disclose any of this, because Mr Crow is a friend — and the justices were not required to declare such hospitality. Neither did Samuel Alito divulge a ride he took on a

Democrats no longer have majorities in both houses of Congress, so further reform is unlikely to come through legislation. New standards will therefore have to be adopted by the court voluntarily. These should not be discretionary, but transparent and binding. That would be in the court’s interest because voters may otherwise conclude that some justices are less interested in the law than what they can get out of it. Now, of all times, America needs a court that is spotless and seen to be. — The Economist

In my latest meeting with one friend, I gained a growing understanding of him at this stage in his life, and he of me, from subtle clues in our posture, expressions and body language — clues we could not have captured on the web. We kept close eye contact most of the time — something we could not have done on the internet. In the end, I felt that soul had touched soul.

Another recent visitor and I both changed as we came to know each other better. He told me he had shelved a beloved project to devote time to his business. We had little need for words after he told me of his decision. By contrast, the web would have allowed us hardly anything but words to go on.

Yet another friend told me that he had come to value in-person meetings because the business he had started was entirely in virtual space, and he saw its shortcomings every day. During his business meetings, he tells me, he suspects that many of his workers are multitasking — head and shoulders pretend-

ing to be paying attention, hands below camera range busy on other projects. They would not get away with that in person, he says. Because worries like this bother him every day, he sets a higher value than ever on seeing friends face to face. In-person encounters have become more intense for him, more special than they were before. Today, he wastes no time on small talk when we meet. We are each focused on the other. I am not against the medium as such. I have taught on Zoom, and I know its strengths and weaknesses. I also understand that internet technology allows us to make and maintain connections that we would otherwise be denied. I know a stay-at-home parent with a large family who rejoices in her Zoom and Facebook connections. Without technology, she would be isolated, as parents were in the old days.

Technology tempts us into being satisfied with psuedo-friendships, and these can be dangerous.

Being physically together might be the gold standard for connecting, but we must not discount the value of other options. Whatever form of connection we are allowed is a gift. But web-based connections are simply not as good as in-person ones. Technology tempts us into being satisfied with pseudo-friendships, and these can be dangerous. You’d be a fool to marry someone you had never met off-screen. That’s because the internet can’t reliably protect us from falsehood. Now, artificial intelligence has become a champion at falsehood. It can create false images of people — even of my friends — and get me to believe they are real.

Friends should be able to trust each other with secrets. Trust is at the heart of friend-

ship, and trust can’t get started without privacy. The most valuable things friends say with each other must be safe behind a wall of “Don’t tell anyone else.” My wife and I need to process a rift in a colleague’s marriage to be clear about our own, but we don’t want the colleague to know what we are thinking. My wife and I are best friends, so I can trust her to keep our conversation private. But nothing has ever been private on the web. If I dare not tell you the truth of my heart, you cannot be my friend. But I don’t dare tell the truth of my heart to anyone I know through the internet. It follows that I cannot have friends through the internet. I am delighted that my friends are flying in to see me from far away. They warm my soul. And having such good friends keeps me honest with myself and others. We do not come together to say goodbye. We come together to know each other better, right now, as we are at this hour, today. Each visit brings a growth of understanding in real time. I am very lucky to have such friends. They are right to come in person. In actual presence, they can hold my hand, stroke my brow. At the end of my life, if they were trying to see me through the internet, they would fail. That dying thing will not be me. I am who I am through my actions, and dying is not an action. It is a happening. At the end, I will have no comfort in being observed. At the end, I cannot be seen. I want to be touched.

About the author: Paul Woodruff, a professor of philosophy emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin, is finishing a book called “Surviving Technology.”

Washington Post

Spontaneity is critical to the development of a friendship. That happens best when people are together in the flesh, not via an internet link. SHANE ROUNCE/UNSPLASH

John Masterson john.masterson@ Doug Dunlap doug.dunlap@usd257. org

Robin Griffin-Lohman robin.griffin-lohman@ usd257.org

Tony Leavitt tony.leavitt@usd257. org

Jen Taylor jen.taylor@usd257.org

John Wilson john.wilson@usd257. org

Dan Willis dan.willis@usd257.org

Libya: 10,000 remain missing after floods

Continued from A1

on top of each other.

On Tuesday, local emergency responders, including troops, government workers, volunteers and residents dug through rubble looking for the dead. They also used inflatable boats to retrieve bodies from the water.

Many bodies were believed trapped under rubble or had been washed out into the Mediterranean Sea, said eastern Libya’s health minister, Othman Abduljaleel.

“We were stunned by the amount of destruction ... the tragedy is very significant, and beyond the capacity of Derna and the government,” Abduljaleel told The Associated Press on the phone from Derna.

Red Crescent teams from other parts of Libya also arrived in Derna on Tuesday morning but extra excavators and other equipment had yet to get there.

Flooding often happens in Libya during rainy season, but rarely with this much destruction. A key question was how the rains were able to burst through two dams outside Derna — whether because of poor maintenance or sheer volume of rain.

Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist and meteorologist at Leipzig University, said in a statement that Daniel dumped 15.7 inches of rain on eastern Libya in a short time.

“The infrastructure could probably not cope, leading to the collapse of the dam,” he said, adding that human-induced rises in water surface temperatures likely added to the storm’s intensity.

Local authorities have neglected Derna for years. “Even the maintenance aspect was simply absent.

Everything kept being delayed,” said Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow specializing in Libya at the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies.

Factionalism also comes into play. Derna was for several years controlled by Islamic militant groups. Military commander Khalifa Hifter, the strongman of the east Libya government, captured

Storms kill 7 in China, 70 crocodiles escape

BEIJING (AP) —

Rainstorms battering

southern China have killed at least seven people and allowed dozens of crocodiles to escape from a farm.

Nearby residents were advised to stay at home after more than 70 crocodiles escaped in Maoming, a city near the coast in western Guangdong province, according to Chinese media reports.

An emergency official was quoted as saying that 69 adult crocodiles and six juveniles had escaped. Some have been captured, but the operation was difficult because of the depth of

a lake they are in, the media reports said.

No injuries have been reported.

Further west, seven people died and three are missing after multiple landslides in the city of Yulin in the Guangxi region, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Monday. Heavy rain on Sunday and Monday triggered the landslides.

The rain caused flash floods in Hong Kong last week, killing two people. Parts of the city were flooded again following a heavy downpour Monday. Puddles of water and debris could still be seen.

the city in 2019 only after months of tough urban fighting.

The eastern government has been suspicious of the city ever since and has sought to sideline its residents from any decision-making, said Harchaoui.

“This mistrust might prove calamitous during the upcoming post-disaster period,” he said.

Hifter’s eastern government based in the city of Benghazi is locked in a bitter rivalry with the western government in the capital Tripoli. Each is backed by powerful militias and by foreign powers.

Hifter is also backed by Egypt, Russia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, which the west Libya administration is backed by Turkey, Qatar and Italy.

Still, the initial reaction to the disaster brought some crossing of the divide.

The Tripoli-based government of western Libya sent a plane with 14 tons of medical supplies and health workers to Benghazi. Airplane carrying humanitarian aid and res-

cue teams from Egypt, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates also arrived Tuesday in Benghazi.

It was not clear how quickly the aid could be moved to Derna, 150 miles east of Benghazi, given conditions on the ground. Ahmed Amdourd, a Derna municipal official, called for a sea corridor to deliver aid and equipment.

U.S. Special Envoy for Libya Richard Norland said on X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that the United States is coordinating with the United Nations and local authorities to assess how best to target official U.S. assistance.

The storm hit other areas in eastern Libya, including the town of Bayda, where about 50 people were reported dead. The Medical Center of Bayda, the main hospital, was flooded and patients had to be evacuated, according to footage shared by the center on Facebook.

Other towns that suffered included Susa, Marj and Shahatt, according to the government. Hundreds of families were displaced and

took shelter in schools and other government buildings in Benghazi and elsewhere in eastern Libya.

Northeast Libya is one of the country’s most fertile and green regions. The Jabal al-Akhdar area — where Bayda, Marj and Shahatt are located — has one of the country’s highest average annual rainfalls, according to the World Bank.

In this photo provided by the Libyan government, cars and rubble sit in a street in Derna, Libya, on Monday, Sept. 11, after it was flooded by heavy rains. Mediterranean storm Daniel caused devastating floods in Libya that broke dams swept away entire neighborhoods and wrecked homes in multiple coastal towns in the east of the North African nation. As many as 2,000 people were feared dead one of the country's leaders said.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Sports Daily B

Hull surpasses 1,000 receiving yards

By GARY VAN CLEAVE The Van Cleave Vibes: Chronicling Kansas’ Greats

He’s back to play havoc on defenses in the Tri-Valley League and southeast Kansas.

Humboldt High senior Sam Hull stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 200 lbs. — a big target for quarterback Blake Ellis to throw to as the Humboldt Cubs look to improve on last year’s 8-3 record.

“Sam is a talented, hard-working leader on the field and in the weight room. I am excited to be able to throw the ball up and let him make a play,” Ellis said. “Sam will definitely be a big target this year and it will be tough for defenses to stop him. I can’t wait to see what this year brings for him.”

Hull was recently featured on Social Media’s Sports in Kansas as a player to watch for this fall. He totaled 564 receiving yards last year and scored seven touchdowns for the Cubs.

“It felt great to finally get some recognition,” Sam said of the SIK post. Especially after putting up some pretty good numbers on a team that runs the ball two-thirds of the time.”

Hull surpassed the 1,000yard mark for career receiving yards this past Friday. He sits at 1,020 yards.

Hull will go until the

Yates Center hosts local volleyball

YATES CENTER — Local junior high volleyball teams matched up at Yates Center Monday evening.

Moran split against Colony and Yates Center.

Marmaton Valley lost to the Yates Center Wildcats in two sets, 25-15 and 25-19.

Jetta Mathews and Evva Sander led Marmaton Valley with four points apiece in the first set. Alayna Cook then led the Wildcats with a team-high six points in the second set.

Marmaton Valley defeated Crest in two sets, 25-10 and 25-23.

Layla Cook went on a run for the Wildcats and scored

See VOLLEYBALL | Page B3

whistle, every play 100% no matter what.

Hull got onto the scene at wideout his sophomore year when he hauled in nine receptions for 224 yards.

Hull mentioned a play he

made last year that even impressed himself. “We were facing off against Caney Valley, we were on defense,” he said.

“I was playing D-End as they were running a QB option,

I made the QB flip the ball to the running back and I tipped the ball up to myself to catch. I took it to the endzone for 6.”

“Sam is a hard-working,

See HULL | Page B3

Humboldt

JV football falls to Caney

HUMBOLDT — The Humboldt JV football team fell to Caney Valley, 34-6, at home Monday.

The Cubs (1-1) were held to one touchdown on a Mason Sterling carry. Humboldt beat Fredonia in week one action.

Sterling rushed for 108 yards on 21 carries. On offense, Lane Wagner went for nine carries for 30 yards and Brody Gunderman gained six yards on three carries.

Behind center, Sterling completed eight-of-17 pass attempts for 100 yards and threw an interception.

Daniels led the receiving corps with three catches for 22 yards while Brody Gunderman hauled in two receptions for 24 yards. Wagner also caught a 16-yard pass, Karsyn Kaufman brought in a 25yard reception and Gavin Gunderman caught a 13yard pass.

On defense, Daniels had a team-high six tackles while Brody Gunderman had three tackles and an interception. Emmitt Carson and Cole Anderson each had three tackles.

Humboldt hosts Neodesha next Monday at 6 p.m.

IMS Mustangs host Osawatomie on hardwood

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

Iola’s eighth grade A and B volleyball teams hosted Osawatomie Monday.

The eighth grade Mustangs came out on top in three of four sets while the seventh-graders won one of four sets.

Iola’s eighth-graders won by scores of 16-25, 25-14, 2725 and 25-23.

Tierce Moore had one ace and Addy Wacker registered a lone kill in the first set. Spillman and Wacker each had one kill between the second and third sets.

Bella Wilson led the Mustangs in the third set, going for a team-high nine points while Addy Wacker added eight points. In the fourth set, Wilson and Spillman each had one kill while Nah-

la Jenkins registered an ace. The seventh grade team won one of four sets, a 25-21 win in the second set. The

Mustangs then dropped the other three sets, 13-25, 32-30 and 29-27. Moore recorded four aces

while Aaliyah Lawrence and Potter each had three. Iola is in Pittsburg Thursday at 4 p.m.

Chiefs sign Chris Jones to new one-year deal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)

— The Kansas City Chiefs signed Chris Jones to a new one-year contract Monday, which should end the All-Pro defensive tackle’s holdout and could mean he will be back on the field when they visit the Jacksonville Jaguars for Week 2.

The Chiefs did not disclose terms, but a source told The Associated Press no years

were added to his four-year, $80 million deal, which was due to expire. The person, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deal, said it instead includes incentives to substantially increase what Jones will make this season.

“Chris is an elite player in this league, and over the last seven years, he’s real-

ly developed into a leader on our team,” Chiefs general manager Manager Brett Veach said in a statement.

“He’s been instrumental to our success and Super Bowl championship runs and it was a priority for us to keep him in a Chiefs uniform.”

Veach praised Jones’ representation, Jason and Michael Katz, for their work on the deal. The agents accom-

panied Jones to Kansas City last week and sat alongside him in a suite at Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Chiefs’ season-opening loss to Detroit.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said hours before the deal was announced there had been recent communication between the sides.

“Two things were obvious,” Veach said, “Chris

wanted to be a Chiefs and the Katz brothers worked diligently on his behalf.”

Jones gave up a $500,000 workout bonus, was fined $50,000 each day for missing a mandatory minicamp and all of training camp, and forfeited nearly $1.1 million in his first game check for holding out through Week 1.

It’s unclear whether the pro-

See CHIEFS | Page B3

Humboldt’s Sam Hull (#17) leaps up and grabs a two-point conversion during Friday night’s victory over Fredonia. COURTESY PHOTO

The Iola Mustangs huddle up in between sets. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

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www.ekaellc.com

NOW HIRING FOR MAINTENANCE TECHNICIANINSTRUMENTATION & ELECTRICAL

East Kansas Agri-Energy, LLC, a fuel ethanol manufacturer in Garnett, Kansas, has an opportunity available for a maintenance technician who will be responsible for testing, calibrating, troubleshooting, and repairing various electrical equipment including flow meters, level transmitters, flow control valves and other electrical equipment as needed. Other necessary skills include: the ability to read P&ID/PFD drawings and electrical/mechanical schematics. The successful candidate will have a positive work ethic, strong motivational skills, the ability to work independently as well as in a team environment and a commitment to safety. The position requires a high school diploma or GED. Also required is the ability to lift up to 50 lbs, manage multiple tasks and priorities simultaneously, work shifts as needed, and be on call as scheduled. Experience in the maintenance of a manufacturing process is helpful but not required. The company offers a competitive pay and benefits package that includes paid vacation, health, dental insurance, and 401(k). E/O/E Apply on our website at www.ekaellc.com or in person at 1304 South Main, Garnett, KS or email to: Shelly.Newport@ekaellc.com.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

Allen Community College Notice of Non-Discrimination allencc.edu

regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, or disability: AA, AS, AGS, MS, Career and Technical Education Certificates, and programs leading to licensure. Admission criteria include a completed application, high school transcript or proof of GED completion, and transcripts from any other cdleges attended.

Former officers accused of civil rights violations

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)

— Five former Memphis police officers were charged Tuesday with federal civil rights violations in the beating death of Tyre Nichols as they continue to fight second-degree murder charges in state courts arising from the killing.

Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith were indicted in U.S. District Court in Memphis. The four-count indictment charges each of them with deprivation of rights under the color of law through excessive force and failure to intervene, and through deliberate indifference; conspiracy to witness tampering, and obstruction of justice through

witness tampering.

The new charges come nine months after the violent beating of Nichols by police officers during a Jan. 7 traffic stop near his Memphis home. Nichols died at a hospital three days later, and the five officers have pleaded not guilty to state charges of second-degree murder and other alleged offenses in the case. The five former officers charged are Black, like Nichols.

“We all heard Mr. Nichols cry out for his mother and say ‘I’m just trying to go home,’” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video statement after the indictment.

Caught on police video, the beating of the 29-year-old Nichols was

one in a string of violent encounters between police and Black people that sparked protests and renewed debate about police brutality and police reform in the U.S.

Blake Ballin, an attorney representing Mills on the state criminal charges, said the federal indictment “is not unexpected” and Mills will defend himself against the federal charges as he is in state court.

Martin Zummach, the attorney for Smith on the state charges, declined comment, while attorneys for the other former offices have not responded to requests for comment.

The indictment says the officers failed to tell dispatchers, their supervisor and emergency

medical technicians that they knew Nichols had been hit repeatedly in an attempt to cover up their use of force and shield themselves from criminal liability.

Additionally, the indictment alleges instances where the officers used their body cameras to limit what evidence could be captured at the scene: Martin moved his body camera to a place where it wouldn’t show video of the beating; Haley and Smith activated theirs only after the assault; Haley and Mills took theirs off when emergency medical personnel were on the scene, before the officers gathered to talk among themselves about the force they used on Nichols.

Chiefs: Chris Jones signs new deal

Continued from B1

visions in his new deal will allow Jones to recoup the millions he already lost.

The statement from the Chiefs did not discuss what could happen next season. The club could still work out a long-term deal with Jones, use the franchise tag — and perhaps trade him — or allow him to leave in free agency.

Jones is coming off perhaps the best year of his seven-year career. He had 15 1/2 sacks to match a career best, and easily lead the Kansas City defense, along with picking up the first postseason sacks of his career. He also batted down four passes, forced a pair of fumbles, recovered one and helped the Chiefs to their second Super Bowl title in the past four years.

Along with earning

his first spot on the AllPro first team and getting voted to his fourth straight Pro Bowl, the 29-year-old Jones finished third behind the 49ers’ Nick Bosa and the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons for AP Defensive Player of the Year.

The deal for Jones came about a week after he returned to Kansas City from his home in Miami, where he had been working out all offseason. While he had not reported to the Chiefs at that point, Jones did spend about 90 minutes with sick children and their families on a visit to Ronald McDonald House Charities. In his only public statement, Jones said: “Hopefully it gets worked out. It’s always been my goal to be a Kansas City Chief for life. I’ve said that multi-

Hull: Football his first love

ple time on social media platforms, from interviews, and they know where my position is at.”

There had been rumors Jones wanted a deal that exceeded several recent contracts given to defensive tackles, but that would be less than that of the Rams’ Aaron Donald, who set the market with a threeyear, $96 million contract. That would mean a deal in the ballpark of the four-year, $90 million deals of the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence and the Commanders’ Daron Payne, the four-year, $95 million contract for the Titans’ Jeffrey Simmons and the four-year, $96 million deal for the Jets’ Quinnen Williams.

“I’ve been keeping in contact with my teammates. I’ve been working out every day, doing similar things to what they’re doing.”

Continued from B1

relentless leader,” teammate Cole Mathes said. “In the weight room he’s always picking up kids who fail a rep and pumping them up if they get it. On the field he knows how to lead the team, he gets our heads right. And plays the game in his best way, he’s an animal on the field.”

Hull showed his animal instincts in the playoffs last November.

Against eventual state champion Nemaha Central in the quarterfinals, he finished with 147 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

You can also see him on defense as a defensive back or defensive end. Sam racked up 30 solo tackles, 41 total tackles and four tackles for loss.

Three-sport athlete

He helped the bas-

ketball Cubs to a 19-5 mark as a junior. He averaged 12.2 points and 5 rebounds per game and shot 52% from the field.

Sam earned allstate honors as an outfielder where he batted .495 with four home runs. This summer he led the Iola Indians AA Legion team to a spot in the Kansas AA/AAA Super State with the winner advancing to the American Legion World Series.

But it’s football that tugs his heart, as he hopes to play at the next level.

Emporia State has been reaching out to him quite a bit, he noted, along with Missouri Western and a few NAIA’s.

“It would mean a lot to me to be able to play college football,”

Hull said. “Football is one of the things that I have always loved, so furthering my career in that sport would be amazing.”

“I’m really excited to see what (No.) 17 is going to do this year,” center Garren Goodner said. “I think he will be an amazing asset on offense and defense. He’s definitely going to be someone to watch out for.”

“I want to be remembered as a hard-working talented athlete who helps out others on and off the field,” Hull said.

This fall he’ll be causing some major headaches for opposing defensive coordinators. Off the field, the Big Guy is a Big Ole Teddy Bear and a huge inspiration to future generations of Cubs’ fans.

PS I

Breanna Stewart named AP’s Player of the Year

By DOUG FEINBERG The Associated Press

Breanna Stewart wanted to get closer to home after spending her entire WNBA career in Seattle so she signed with New York as a free agent in a seismic move during the offseason.

The decision has paid major dividends for Stewart and the Liberty.

She finished the regular season second in the league in scoring, averaging a career-best 23 points a game. She helped New York secure the second best record in the league and Tuesday became the first player to repeat as The Associated Press Player of the Year.

“To be honored as the AP Player of the Year is an incredible honor,” said Stewart, who also won the award in 2018. “It’s quite different after switching teams and coming to New York and having such a positive season going 32-8. It’s been a lot of amazing basketball going on this year and makes you feel good going into the playoffs.”

Stewart narrowly edged Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson by one vote from the 12-member media. Alyssa Thomas was third in voting. Stewart and Wilson finished one-two in the balloting last year also with the Aces’ star winning the league’s MVP award.

The WNBA will announce its awards over the course of the postseason which begins Wednesday. The league MVP will be announced on Sept. 26.

“We’re at a special place in women’s basketball when there are so many great players doing so many great things every single night,” said Stewart, who is the first threetime winner of the award since voting began in 2016.

Wilson was selected

as the AP’s Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, edging Thomas and Washington’s Brittney Sykes. Wilson anchored the Aces’ defense, averaging 2.2 blocks and 1.4 steals. Las Vegas earned the top seed in the playoffs.

Her Aces teammate Alysha Clark was chosen as the AP Sixth Woman of the Year. It’s the fourth time that an Aces player has won the award with Clark joining Dearica Hamby, who won it twice and Kelsey Plum. Clark consistently provided a spark on both ends of the court while coming off the bench for the Aces this season.

For the second consecutive year a former WNBA player won the AP Coach of the Year award with Connecticut’s Stephanie White receiving the honor. She led the Sun to the third-best record in the league despite the team losing center Brionna Jones to a torn Achilles a month into the season.

Other AP winners included:

— Rookie of the Year: Aliyah Boston. She was the No. 1 pick of the Indiana Fever and helped the team double its win total from last year. Boston averaged 14.5 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 57.8% from the field.

— Comeback Player of the Year: Brittney Griner and Napheesa Collier. Griner missed all of last year after a spending nearly 10 months in a Russian prison. She averaged 17.5 points this year. Collier missed nearly all of last season after giving birth to her first child. She averaged 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds to help Minnesota earn the sixth seed in the playoffs.

— Most Improved Player: Satou Sabally. After playing in just 44

Local: Volleyball in YC

Continued from B1

16 of Marmaton Valley’s 25 points while Mathews went for four points. In the second set, Mathews again went for a team-high

games because of injuries her first three years combined, Sabally was able to stay healthy and played in 38 of the Dallas Wings’ 40 contests this season. She averaged a career best 18.6 points and had 8.1 rebounds.

— All Rookie Team: Boston was joined on the team by her teammate Grace Berger, Dorka Juhasz and Diamond Miller of Minnesota,

Jordan Horston of Seattle and Haley Jones of Atlanta.

— All-WNBA Teams: Stewart, Wilson and Thomas were unanimous first-team selections. Joining them on the first-team are Seattle’s Jewell Loyd and Las Vegas’ Chelsea Gray. The second team: Jackie Young of Las Vegas; Sabrina Ionescu of New York; Arike Ogunbowale; Sabally and Collier.

Public notice

The

pursuant

resolution duly adopted, declared it advisable to make and finance certain improvements to District facilities pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 10-101 et seq., K.S.A. 25-2018(f), K.S.A. 72-5457, and K.S.A, 72-5458 et seq. Notice is hereby given to the qualified electors of the District that a bond election has been called and will be held on November 7, 2023, for the purpose of submitting to the qualified electors of the District the following proposition:

Shall the following be adopted?

Shall Unified School District No. 479, Anderson County, Kansas (Crest), issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $5,950,000, to pay the costs to construct, furnish and equip renovations, improvements and additions to District school facilities, including but not limited to: (a) classroom addition, designed as a storm shelter; (b) main entry ADA and secure entry addition, renovations and improvements; (c) existing classrooms and locker rooms renovations and improvements; (d) kitchen and cafeteria renovations and improvements; (e) new auxiliary gymnasium addition; (f) parking and entry drive improvements; and (g) all other necessary improvements related thereto (collectively the “Project”), and to pay costs of issuance and interest on said general obligation bonds during construction of the Project; all pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 10-101 et seq., K.S.A. 25-2018(0, K.S.A. 72-5457, and K.S.A. 72-5458 et seq.?

To vote in favor of any question submitted on this ballot, press the word “Yes” on the voting machine or completely darken the oval to the left of the word “Yes” on the paper ballot. To vote against it, press the word “No” on the voting machine or completely darken the oval to the left of the word “No” on the paper ballot

O YES

O NO

The polls will open at 7:00 0’clock A.M. and will close at 7:00 0’clock

P.M., on November 7, 2023, the election day. The voting places in the district, and the area each voting place will serve, will be as follows:

Voters Residing In Precinct, Will vote At, Location Indian Creek Township, Colony City Hall, Colony, Kansas Lincoln Township, Welda Community Building, Welda, Kansas Lone Elm Township, Selma Kincaid Methodist Church, Kincaid, Kansas Lone Elm City, Selma Kincaid Methodist Church, Kincaid, Kansas Rich Township, Selma Kincaid Methodist Church, Kincaid, Kansas Kincaid City, Selma Kincaid Methodist Church, Kincaid, Kansas Ozark Township, Colony City Hall, Colony, Kansas Colony City, Colony City Hall, Colony, Kansas Carlyle Township, North Community Building, Iola, Kansas Deer Creek Township, North Community Building, Iola, Kansas Geneva Township, North Community Building, Iola, Kansas

The election will be conducted by the officers and/or persons provided by law for holding elections, and the method of voting will be by ballot. Registered voters are eligible to vote by advance voting ballot upon application to the County Clerk at the address set forth below pursuant to K.S.A. 25-1 1 17 el seq.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Capital Improvement Fund (“CIF”) has been established in the treasury of the State of Kansas to assist school districts with making principal and interest payments on voted general obligation bond is-

13 points. Cook also scored five points in the slim two-point win.

Marmaton Valley travels to Northeast on Thursday at 5 p.m.

sues, The amount of CIF funding each school district receives is based on a formula prescribed by statute and implemented by the State Board of Education (“Bond State Aid”). Based on the current formula, the District expects to receive Bond State Aid in the approximate amount set forth below to assist with making the principal and interest payments on the Bonds. No assurance can be given that Bond State Aid will continue at this or any amount in future years.

The following additional information is provided by the District with respect to compliance with the provisions of K.S.A. 10-120a and K.S.A. 12-6, 122. This information has been obtained from sources deemed reliable by the District. Certain portions of this information are based upon projections. No assurances can be given that these projections will be accurate as of the date of issuance of the Bonds due to changing market conditions, any changes in assessed valuation of the District, changes in the amount of state financial aid received by the District and other matters unknown or unavailable at this time. The projected rates of property taxation to be used to pay the principal of and interest on the Bonds are based upon the current assessed valuation of the District, the assumed principal repayment schedule and the average interest rates from recent bond issues for similar types of financings and the current level of Bond State Aid the District would receive with respect to the Bonds, all as shown below.

Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty. ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES/TNS

SCHALLERT FARMFARM

AUCTION

Alabama seeks help with redistricting

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let it keep Republican-drawn congressional lines in place as the state continues to fight a court order to create a second district where Black voters constitute a majority or close to it.

Despite losing at the Supreme Court earlier this year in the long-running redistricting case,

Alabama is pursuing another appeal, hoping for a different result with the most recent GOP version of the map. Alabama asked the justices to stay a ruling issued last week by a three-judge panel that that blocked the use of the latest GOP-drawn districts in upcoming elections and directed a court-appointed special master to propose new lines for the state.

The judges, in their ruling, said Alabama lawmakers deliberately defied their directive to

create a second majorityBlack district or something close to it.

The Alabama attorney general’s office asked justices to put the order on hold while the state appeals “so that millions of Alabama voters are not soon districted into that court-ordered racial gerrymander.” “Race-based redistricting at the expense of traditional principles bears an uncomfortable resemblance to political apartheid,” the attorney general’s office wrote.

N.

Korea’s leader rolls into Russia

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s Kim Jong Un rolled into Russia on an armored train to see President Vladimir Putin.

It’s a rare meeting between isolated leaders driven together by their need for support in escalating standoffs with the West. Kim is expected to seek economic aid and military technology for his impoverished country.

Kim’s train stopped in Khasan, a station on the Russia-North Korea border, where it was met by a military honor guard and a brass band, according to video on social media channels by a regional governor and Russia’s natural resources minister.

Kim appears to have something Putin desperately needs: munitions for Russia’s grueling war in Ukraine.

ZITS

by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

BEETLE BAILEY by Mort Walker

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE by Chris Browne

BLONDIE by Young and Drake MARVIN by Tom Armstrong

by Chance Browne

MUTTS by Patrick McDonell

Jets lose Rodgers to injury; rally to stun Bills 22-16

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets pulled off one of their most exciting and unlikely victories in years — and still couldn’t completely enjoy it.

Not with knowing they might have to go the rest of the way without their leader.

Aaron Rodgers was knocked out of the Jets’ 22-16 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills just four snaps into his debut on Monday night with what coach Robert Saleh said is believed to be an injured left Achilles tendon.

“It caught us off guard,” cornerback Sauce Gardner said. “But we dedicated winning the game to him.”

Rodgers was sacked by Buffalo’s Leonard Floyd and fell awkwardly on the leg. Saleh said the 39-year-old Rodgers would have the MRI on Tuesday after X-rays during the game were negative.

“Concerned with his Achilles,” a somber Saleh said. “MRI is probably going to confirm what we think is going to happen, so prayers tonight. But it’s not good.”

It cast a pall over the game — won when rookie Xavier Gipson returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown — and perhaps the Jets’ season.

“It has been a roller coaster of emotions,” Gardner said.

New York’s aggressive defense forced four turnovers from Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who was picked off three times by Jordan Whitehead in a wild and often ugly season opener.

“We made it pretty hard on ourselves,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “When you turn the ball over four times, it’s hard to win in this league. You’re playing two opponents: the one on the other

sideline and yourself. That’s what we did tonight and that’s not the right formula to win games.”

With the game tied, Micheal Clemons forced a fumble by Allen that was recovered by Quinnen Williams, setting up Greg Zuerlein’s third field goal — a 30-yarder — with 1:48 remaining to put the Jets ahead for the first time.

But Allen and the Bills had just enough time to get in scoring position again, and Tyler Bass’ 50-yard kick hit the left upright before going over the crossbar to tie it at 16 with 2 seconds left in regulation.

After Buffalo went three-and-out to start overtime, Sam Martin punted 42 yards and Gipson fielded it, made a few moves early and then scampered down the left sideline, made a couple more cuts and zipped into the end zone to set off a huge celebration by his teammates.

Saleh was there to swarm Gipson, an undrafted rookie from Stephen F. Austin who made the team out of training camp.

“They’ve given me

the opportunity and given me the chance,” Gipson said. “I guess it was my time. My time came to light.”

It was the third punt return for a TD in overtime in NFL history, with Gipson joining Arizona’s Patrick Peterson (2011) and Kansas City’s Tamarick Vanover (1995).

Meanwhile, Allen tied a career high with his four turnovers and fell to 0-5 in overtime, including playoff games. “I cost our team tonight,” said Allen, who was 29 of 41 for 236 yards and a touchdown to Stefon Diggs.

“It sucks when you feel like the reason, and I am the reason we lost.”

The Jets had tied it at 13 with 4:55 left on an acrobatic catch by Garrett Wilson, who tipped Zach Wilson’s pass to himself with his right hand — and Tre’Davious White draped all over him — and corralled the ball as he fell on his back in the end zone.

A night that began with optimism for the Jets turned disappointing before the game was even four minutes old.

After a 26-yard run

Former No. 1 tennis player Simona Halep gets four-year doping ban

LONDON (AP) — Twotime Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been suspended from professional tennis for four years for doping violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Romanian “committed intentional anti-doping rule violations “ by failing a drug test during the 2022 U.S. Open and for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport, the ITIA said.

Halep, who plans to appeal the ruling, had been provisionally suspended since October 2022. The four-year ban will run to Oct. 6, 2026.

Halep reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2017. She won Wimbledon in 2019, beating 23time major champion Serena Williams in the final, a year after winning the French Open.

Halep, who had blamed contaminated nutritional supplements, plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“I am continuing to train and do everything in my power to clear my

name of these false allegations and return to the court,” Halep said in a statement.

She said she also will “pursue all legal remedies against the supplement company in question.”

The ITIA’s tribunal heard from Halep and her expert scientific witnesses but concluded that the player committed both offenses.

“The tribunal accepted Halep’s argument that they had taken a contaminated supplement, but determined the volume the player ingested could not have resulted in the concentration of Roxadustat found in the positive sample,” the ITIA said.

Halep’s biological passport profile had been examined by an expert panel. Such passports provide a baseline reading of substances in an athlete’s body and are considered a way to help chart doping.

The tribunal reported that “likely doping” was the explanation for the irregularities in

Halep’s profile.

Halep is the most prominent tennis player to receive a ban since five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova tested positive for a newly banned substance at the 2016 Australian Open.

by Breece Hall on the Jets’ opening play, Rodgers threw his first pass away after getting heavy pressure from Greg Rousseau. Rodgers threw incomplete on the next play, but Terrel Bernard was called for defensive holding.

Then, Rodgers tried to avoid a rushing Floyd, who wrapped up the quarterback and took him down to the MetLife Stadium turf. Rodgers appeared to reach down at his leg before trainers attended to him. He stood up after a few moments, but needed help getting to New York’s sideline.

Rodgers was taken to the blue medical tent to be examined — and then sat on a cart. Halfway to the locker room, he hopped off the cart and limped inside.

Zach Wilson replaced him just 3:45 into the game. Wilson, who finished 14 of 21 for 140 yards, including the TD pass, and an interception, is expected to start

next Sunday at Dallas.

“My job as a quarterback is I’ve got to step up,” Wilson said. “I’ve got to be as efficient as I can in that offense. Just a lot of emotions.”

HALL’S BACK

After Bass’ 40-yard field goal on Buffalo’s second offensive series put the Bills up 3-0, Zuerlein tied it with a 26-yarder to cap a drive jump-started by an 83yard run by Hall. The second-year running back had his rookie season cut short last year in Week 7 when he tore the ACL in his left knee.

He spent the offseason working toward a comeback and made it to the opening game — and showed he’s healthy just 11 months after a major knee injury.

He finished with 127 yards on 10 carries.

OH, BROTHER!

Dalvin Cook made his Jets debut, rushing for 33 yards on 13 carries and catching three passes for 26 yards. He also got bragging rights again on his brother James, a Bills running back.

James Cook, who’s five years younger, had 46 yards on 12 carries and four receptions for 17 yards.

Dalvin’s Vikings beat the Bills 33-30 in overtime last season in the brothers’ first meeting.

UP NEXT Bills: Host the Las Vegas Raiders in their home opener next Sunday.

Jets: Travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys next Sunday.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) of the New York Jets is helped off the field by team trainers after an injury during the first quarter of the NFL game against the Buffalo Bills. ELSA/GETTY IMAGES/TNS