The Iola Register, May 14, 2020

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Locally owned since 1867

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Trustees weigh risks of reopening ACC

By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register

As the spring semester comes to a close, ACC board of trustees engaged in discussion as to how feasible it will be to open the campus to on-site courses in the fall.

Allen Community College has already determined that all summer courses will be conducted completely online

The Iola Register

Thursday, May 14, 2020

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IOLA

NEVER STOP LEARNING.

WAY TO GO!

2020 GRADUATES NOT PICTURED

Noah Ashmore

Casen Barker

Tessa Bain

Taelynn Bonnett

Mayte Breithaupt

Lacey Brown

Mikaila Buck

Rachel Bycroft

Haley Carlin

Eason Cheung

Mary Crites

Nickolas Davis

Melany Dean

Calvin Delich

Torrance DePriest

Tiffany Dokes

Jayce Doolittle

Isabella Duke

Zaviera Evans

Alexandra Fager

Elijah Fawson

Danielle Fees

Nissa Fountain

Kenton Giles

Kayton Godfrey

Christine Helman

River Hess

Mackenzi Hutton

NOT PICTURED

Jillian Keller

Dawson King

Dakota Knowles

Dakota Kogan

Elysia Kunkler

Gabriella Lampe

Maria Landsdown

Jasmine Ledford

Cal Leonard

Kallen Lieurance

Gary Lower

Jordan Maloney

Mark McCullough

Lauren McDermeit

PAGES B1-B2-B7 Diamend McFadden

Karson McGraw

Trevelle Means

Theresia Middleton

Alex Morris

Kelsey Morrison

See ACC | Page A3

IHS seniors earn honors

Recognizing Iola High School’s Class of 2020 iolaregister.com

and that the campus will remain closed to the public.

Additional consequences of the closure are that there will be no food service on campus during the summer, and only three students will be living in the dorms (as they have few other feasible alternatives).

During discussion over

In a year unlike any other, one of the events scrubbed this year from the Iola High School calendar was its annual Senior Awards Night.

Nevertheless, the graduating members of the Class of 2020 racked up plenty of acclaim for their erudition.

The high school announced the award recipients Wednesday via YouTube. The list of honorees follows:

Cal Leonard — McFadden Scholarship, Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, academic and athletic scholarship at Washburn University, Academic Achievement Award for

3.5 GPA and above.

Lauren McDermeit — McFadden Scholarship, Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Kansas Honor Scholar, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above, Wildcat Traditions Scholarship.

Jada Stogsdill — Chapter L PEO Award, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA or above.

Casen Barker — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, FFA Senior Recognition.

Brody Nemecek — Edward B. Zahn FFA Scholarship ($1,500), Built Ford Tough FFA Scholarship

by Twin Motors ($1,000), Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, FFA Senior Recognition, Ag Challenge

of Champions $2,250, Kansas Junior Livestock Show Scholarship ($1,250), Kansas Grain and Feed Scholarship ($1,500).

Jillian Keller — Edward B. Zahn Scholarship, Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, FFA Senior Recognition, Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center Scholarship, American Royal Livestock Exhibiting and Judging Scholarship, K-State College of Agriculture Scholarship, Aksarben Purple Circle Sale Scholarship.

Braiden Wiggin — Baseball scholarship to Allen Community College.

See AWARDS | Page A3

Jefferson Elementary School educators Jessie Hutton, left, and Becky Helms greet students on the first day of school last August. FILE PHOTO

Educators warn of ‘COVID slide’

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN Kansas News Service

WICHITA — The summer slide. That’s the annual learning loss that happens when students spend three months away from school.

Now researchers warn about a “COVID slide.”

Students will have spent five months out of the classroom, shuttered because of the pandemic, when they reSee SLIDE | Page A4

Chara Moss

GOP lawmakers move to take control of reopening state Dalton Muntzert

Adryan Nading

Naomi Neal

Mary-Jane Neises

Brody Nemecek

Breanna Northcutt

Sadrie Overall

Carlie Payne

Makayla Perez

Sierra Petty

Michael Price

Andre Quinn

Gabriella Richards

Paige Riley

States target liability laws

By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers in Kansas moved aggressively Wednesday to take control of how the state reopens its coronavirus-battered economy from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, the latest of several power grabs by frustrated GOP-controlled legislatures.

Kelly and top Republicans disagree over how quickly to See GOP | Page A5

By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press

Protesters outside the Statehouse in Topeka demanded last month that Gov. Laura Kelly let businesses and activities return to normal. KANSAS NEWS SERVICE/NOMIN UJIYEDIN/KCUR.ORG

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas are joining a broader effort to shield doctors, hospitals and businesses from lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus, with business and medical groups pushing them to act quickly.

The effort faces strong opposition from labor unions,

trial lawyers and some Democrats.

They fear that such measures could be too broad and keep patients, Derek Schmidt consumers and employees from using the court system to hold businesses and medical providers See LIABILITY | Page A5

Memorial Day service canceled Memorial Day services at Highland Cemetery have been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Leslie J. Campbell American Legion Post 15 in Iola announced the cancellation Wednesday. The annual ceremony honors military service men and women.

The pandemic has forced the cancellation of mass gatherings to avoid the spread of the virus, and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has prohibited gatherings of more than 10 until Monday. After that, the governor’s plan limits gatherings to 30 people.

After June 1, gatherings are limited to 90.

Vol. 122, No. 140 Iola, KS 75 Cents

Still giving Welcome Wayne of Iola gives blood Wednesday afternoon at the American Red Cross Blood Drive, in partnership with Allen County Regional Hospital. Wednesday’s donation pushed Wayne near the 12 gallon mark in lifetime donations. Because of coronavirus visitor restrictions at the hospital, the blood drive was moved to the North Community Building. The drive collected 57 units in its first day, exceeding the goal of 53 units. It continues through 2:30 p.m. today with a goal to collect 43 units. Also pictured giving blood, in back, is Jim Specht of Piqua. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

High Speed Internet

Digital Phone

Digital HD TV

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Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Iola Register

Obituary

Wisconsin court overrules governor

Richard Bruner Richard C. Bruner, 98, of Neosho Falls, passed away on Monday, May 11, 2020 at Allen County Regional Hospital.

He was born on Oct. 12, 1921 in rural Anderson County near Colony. He was the third of four children born to Fred and Bessie (James) Bruner. By the age of 7, he and his family moved to Neosho Falls where he grew up. He graduated from Le Roy High School in 1940.

Richard Bruner Richard was united in marriage to Violet C. Hays on May 29, 1940. Their union was blessed with four children. Following their marriage, they moved to San Diego, Calif., where he worked in the aircraft industry building war planes.

They moved back to rural Neosho Falls in 1943 where he farmed. He later went into the oil business with Howard George, forming the George & Bruner Drilling Co. He continued working in the oil business until his death.

Richard enjoyed spending time with his family.

He especially loved camping and trout fishing at French Creek in Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Bessie Bruner; wife, Violet Bruner; three sisters, Helen Brunke, Mary German, and Lois Varvel; and granddaughter, Krista Grogg.

Richard is survived by his four children, Darwin Bruner and wife, Carolyn, of Oswego, Darlene Robinson and husband, Gary, of Andover, Mike Bruner and wife, Carol, of Neosho Falls, and Linda Garland and husband, Mike, of Le Roy; 13 grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

A graveside service for Richard will be at 2 p.m.

Tuesday at Cedarvale Cemetery in Neosho Falls.

Friends can pay their respects from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friday and Monday at Feuerborn Family Funeral Service in the Chapel. Family will not be present during public services.

Memorials in honor of Richard are suggested to the Neosho Falls Senior Center and may be left with the funeral home. Condolences may be left for the family online at www.feuerbornfuneral.com.

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By TODD RICHMOND The Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ coronavirus stay-athome order Wednesday, ruling that his administration overstepped its authority when it extended it for another month without consulting legislators.

The 4-3 ruling essentially reopens the state, lifting caps on the size of gatherings, allowing people to travel as they please and allowing shuttered businesses to reopen, including bars and restaurants. The Tavern League of Wisconsin swiftly posted the news on its website, telling members, “You can OPEN IMMEDIATELY!” The decision let stand language that had closed schools, however, and local governments can still impose their own health restrictions. In Dane County, home to the capital of Madison, officials quickly imposed a mandate incorporating most of the statewide order.

City health officials in Milwaukee said a stayat-home order they enacted in late March remains in effect.

Evers reacted angrily in a conference call Wednesday night, saying the state has been doing well in the fight against the coronavirus.

He predicted the court ruling will lead more counties to adopt their own restrictions, leading to a confusing patchwork of ordinances that

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Precipitation 24 hours ending 8 a.m. 1.08 This month to date 3.36 Total year to date 14.98 Excess since Jan. 1 3.38 Sunset 8:24 p.m.

UPCOMING AUCTIONS

MAY 15, 22, 29

CLOSED FOR SUMMER

as of June 5, 2020

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Spring Break is around the corner.

Book your furbabies stay today.

Correction Allen County Commissioner Bruce Symes represents all but the northeast quadrant of Iola. An article in Wednesday’s Register incorrectly identified areas outside Symes’s Commission District 3.

He was elected in 2018 to fill the unexpired term of Jim Talkington, not Tom Williams.

Public notice (First published in The Iola Register May 14, 2020)

STILL OPEN!

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of emergency and COVID-19 related ordinances are accessible for viewing at www. kansas.enotice.io. Additional notices can be submitted for print publication through the e-notice platform, maintained in a partnership with the Kansas Press Association.

BOARDING FACILITY Doggie daycare NOW available.

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Strips of steak, fresh cilantro & diced onions

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Carnitas (pork) topped with pico de gallo. Served with jalapenos

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Marinated pork then cooked with pineapple, topped with fresh cilantro & diced onions

Tacos San Juan

Strips of steak and camitas (pork), topped with fresh cilantro & diced onions

Tacos San Pedro

Strips of steak, chorizo (spicy sausage) & grilled onions, topped with fresh cilantro & diced onions

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Chorizo (spicy sausage) & grilled onions, topped with fresh cilantro & diced onions All items feature three soft tacos served with a bowl of whole pinto beans, tomatillo & avocado sauces.

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will allow infection to spread.

“Today, Republican legislators convinced four members of the state Supreme Court to throw the state into chaos,” Evers said. “They have provided no plan.

There’s no question among anybody that people are going to get sick. Republicans own that chaos.”

Chief Justice Patience Roggensack wrote for the majority that health secretary Andrea Palm’s order amounted to an emergency rule that she doesn’t have the power to create on her own.

“Rule-making exists precisely to ensure that kind of controlling, subjective judgement asserted by one unelected official, Palm, is not imposed in Wisconsin,” Roggensack, part of the court’s 5-2 conservative majority, wrote.

Rebecca Dallet, one of the court’s liberal justices, dissented, saying the decision will “undoubtedly go down as one of the most blatant examples of judicial activism in this court’s history. And it will be Wisconsinites who pay the price.”

Dallet also took aim at the potential delay of a rule-making process:: “A review of the tedious multi-step process required to enact an emergency rule illustrates why the Legislature authorized DHS to issue statewide orders to control contagion.”

State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, both Republicans, said

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Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers

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they’re confident businesses can safely reopen by following guidelines calling for letting workers stay home if they’re sick, making workers wash their hands and implementing telework and social distancing and postponing travel and events.

“This (court decision) does not promote people to act in a way that they believe endangers their health,” they said.

EVERS FIRST issued a stay-at-home order in March that closed schools and nonessential businesses. The order was supposed to lift April 24, but Palm, an Evers appointee, extended it to May 26.

Republicans asked the Supreme Court to block the extension, arguing that Palm exceeded her authority because the extension amounted to an administrative rule that required legislative approval. Evers countered that state law clearly gives the executive branch broad authority to quickly enact emergency measures to control communicable diseases.

Nearly seven of 10 Wisconsin residents back Evers’ “safer at home” order, based on a Marquette University Law School poll released Tuesday, though that support was down from 86% in March.

Evers’ administration faced an uphill battle in convincing the conservative court to keep the order in place. Three of the conservatives joined Roggensack; the remaining conservative, Brian Hagedorn, joined Dallet and fellow liberal justice Ann Walsh Bradley in dissent.

The Republican legislators had asked the court to let the rule remain in place for six days to give them time to work with Evers’ administration on an alternative plan. The court refused to grant the stay, saying the two sides have had weeks to come up with some-

thing.

The GOP so far has not offered any alternative plans. The state’s chamber of commerce has suggested allowing all businesses to open at once while compelling higher-risk establishments and operations to take increasingly strict mitigation measures such as requiring employees to use protective gear.

Evers said there’s no avenue to appeal the decision. His administration plans to put together an emergency rule addressing the virus, he said, but the process is so complex that it could be at least two weeks before state health officials can start drafting it. And the final product could be blocked by legislators.

“In the meantime, we’re going to have 72 counties doing their own thing,” Evers said.

“I can’t believe there’s a state in the nation with this type of chaos.”

Vos and Fitzgerald said in their statement that they want to work with the administration on rules that would provide clear guidance in case COVID-19 “reoccurs in a more aggressive way.”

The GOP move against Evers mirrors actions taken by Republican-controlled legislatures in other states, most notably against the Democratic governors in nearby “blue wall” states Michigan and Pennsylvania. All three are critical presidential battlegrounds in November.

The GOP has been working to weaken Evers’ powers since he ousted incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2018.

During Walker’s final weeks in office, Republicans adopted a set of laws that prohibited Evers from ordering the attorney general to withdraw from lawsuits, a move designed to prevent the governor from pulling Wisconsin out of a multistate lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act. The state Supreme Court has upheld those laws.

The high court also backed Republicans over Evers in the GOP’s insistence on holding in-person voting for April’s presidential primary despite the health risks of the coronavirus.

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The Iola Register

Thursday, May 14, 2020

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Awards: IHS seniors lauded Continued from A1 Rachel Bycroft — Iola National Education Association Scholarship ($500 to senior in pursuit of teaching license), Track and Cross Country Scholarship at Allen Community College, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Dalton Muntzert — Allen Community College Music Scholarship.

Eason Cheung — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Kansas Honor Scholar, Swarthmore College Scholarship ($57,420), Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Andy Smith — Upward Bound Scholarship.

Haley Carlin — McFadden Scholarship, Washburn Freshman Academic Scholarship ($2,500), Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above, Dale C. Marceoux Business Scholarship ($3,000), Garvey Exam Scholarship ($2,000), Music Scholarship at Washburn University.

Jayce Doolittle — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Butler Community College Presidential Scholarship ($750 per year).

Alexandria Fager — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, KSHSAA Citizenship Award, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Danielle Fees — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Upward Bound Scholarship, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Christine Helman — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Upward Bound Scholarship.

Carlie Payne — McFadden Scholarship, Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Kansas Honor Scholar, KU Rock Chalk Scholarship ($4,000), PSU Academic

Achievement Scholarship ($700), PSU Valedictorian Award ($1,000), William H. and June Stewart Munday PSU Chemistry Department Scholarship ($1,000), Community National Bank PSU Scholarship ($500), Carol Sinclair Memorial Scholarship ($400), Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Elysia Kunkler — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Track Scholarship to Fort Hays State University, Black and Gold Scholarship at Fort Hays State University.

Gabriella Lampe — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Wichita State Heritage Merit Scholarship ($8,000), DSI Semifinalist Scholarship ($4,000), Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Theresia Middleton — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Upward Bound Scholarship, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Jasmine Ledford — Upward Bound Scholarship.

Kelsey Morrison — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Kansas Honor Scholar, Presidential Scholarship at Allen Community College.

Breanna Northcutt — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above, KU Opportunity Grant ($2,000), Dave Larson Scholarship ($6,500).

Mayte Breithaupt — Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Sadrie Overall — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Kansas Honor Scholar, Mascot Scholarship at Allen Community College (covers books and tuition), Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Naomi Neal — Upward

Bound Scholarship.

Andre Quinn — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Kansas Honor Scholar, Grinnell College Scholarship ($270,000 over four years), Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Adryan Nading — Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Ella Taylor — Kansas Scholars Curriculum Completer, Kansas Honor Scholar, BYU Heritage Scholarship ($2,985 per semester), Elks Most Valuable Student ($4,000), Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above,Frank and Electa Myers Mathematics Award.

Tiffany Dokes — Gear Up Scholarship.

Shane Winner — Kansas Scholar Curriculum Completer, Kansas Honor Scholar, Upward Bound Scholarship, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Jillian Stokes — Upward Bound Scholarship.

Isabella Duke — Gear Up Scholarship, FFA Senior Recognition, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Taven Tavarez — FFA Senior Recognition.

Torrance DePriest — FFA Senior Recognition, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above.

Trevelle Means — Allen Community College Cheer Scholarship (covers books and tuition).

Karson McGraw — FFA Senior Recognition, KSHSAA Citizenship Award.

Alexandria Vega — Dale Dennis Award, Academic Achievement Award for 3.5 GPA and above, Allen Community College Theatre Scholarship, Allen Community College Presidential Scholarship, Knights of Columbus Scholarship.

Grandma’s Kitchen aided Josh Oberley, right, an agent with Modern Woodmen of America, donates $1,000 Wednesday to Humanity House to aid with the organization’s Grandma’s Kitchen effort. Humanity House opens its doors at 5 p.m. Sundays for free meals for the community. The exceptions are for the last two Sundays of each month, when Humanity House assists Iola’s First Presbyterian Church’s Sunday Soups endeavor. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Missouri proceeds with execution plans O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — Missouri is moving ahead with plans to execute a man next week, despite new concerns about key evidence that led to his conviction, and despite concerns about the coronavirus that prompted other states to postpone lethal injections.

Walter Barton, 64, is scheduled to die by injection Tuesday for killing 81-year-old trailer park operator Gladys Kuehler in 1991. She was beaten, sexually assaulted and stabbed more than 50 times in the town of Ozark, near Springfield. The execution would be the first in the U.S. since March 5.

Three jurors involved in Barton’s 2006 trial now express misgivings, based on new blood spatter evidence, Barton’s attorney, Fred Duchardt Jr., said Wednesday. The NAACP and Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty submitted more than 5,000 petition signatures Wednesday to Republican Gov. Mike Parson, urging him to grant clemency.

Parson’s spokeswoman Kelli Jones said the governor’s office anticipates that that the execution will go on as scheduled. She declined further comment.

Duchardt also has an appeal pending in federal court.

Key to Barton’s conviction was blood that was found on his clothing. Duchardt said the blood got there after Barton and others found Kuehler dead.

A blood spatter expert retained by Barton’s defense team concluded that the assailant would have had far more blood on his clothing.

Duchardt said three jurors recently signed affidavits calling the new evidence “compelling” and saying it would have affected their deliberations.

The jury foreman said, based on the evidence, he would have been “uncomfortable” recommending the death penalty.

ACC: Trustees discuss risks of reopening Iola campus Continued from A1

whether the campus might be open to in-person classes come fall, president John Masterson highlighted institutional language stating that ACC strives to provide both “quality education” as well as a “safe” campus.

Given this emphasis on safety, it seemed the overarching sentiment of the board gravitated towards a fall closure, though this has not yet been decided.

Some evidence that things are headed in this direction, however, include Masterson outlining policies for campus employees that he described as “more strict than the state regulations are.”

This included encouraging employees to wear face masks while in public, as well as taking their temperatures on a daily basis.

From a business-oriented standpoint, “I don’t feel that pressure” to reopen, Masterson added. Others on the board pointed out there are potential legal liabilities to consider as well.

Trustees said that a worst-case scenario might involve incoming students from across the nation and world bringing the virus with them.

In turn, trustees worried that ACC might be indirectly responsible for an outbreak of cases in Allen County, which so far has been spared the virus. Across Kansas, 7,500 cases have been confirmed.

Moreover, concerns were raised about what to do if an out-of-state

or out-of-country student contracted the virus, but had nowhere else beyond campus to retreat for quarantine.

On this front, Masterson said it was obvious ACC wasn’t going to tell students: “Hold your nose for two weeks, because your roommate’s got the COVID!” All joking aside, Masterson clearly wanted to press home the point that COVID-19 is “not a political issue; it’s a life-anddeath issue.”

Trustee Vickie Curry chimed in, saying that given the gravity of the situation, it’s important to “prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

So far, only a single case of COVID-19 has been linked to an ACC student (at the Burlingame campus), though she contracted the virus weeks after the campus closure.

Her parents, who also had contracted the virus,

had been in critical condition.

Despite concerns over COVID-19, it is worth noting that ACC enrollments for fall have not dropped off, and students are still planning to attend in numbers equal to previous semesters even if they can only attend online.

DURING his athletics report, Doug Desmarteau said that “recruiting is doing really well, though we’ve been stuck on campus.”

Like many other things, athletic recruitment has had to migrate online, which at a previous meeting Desmarteau said had made the situation rather challenging.

Bolstering concerns by trustees, Desmarteau related the story of a prospective athlete who has recovered from COVID-19. The athlete’s parents had contracted the virus at their jobs in

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the meatpacking industry.

During his academic affairs report, vice president Jon Marshall said academic performance had been quite good throughout the semester, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19 and the campus being closed to the public.

In general, “students are doing well; they’ve made that transition,” Marshall said, adding that those who struggled after the pandemic-oriented changes were mostly the same students who’d struggled

before them.

Marshall mentioned that the campus bookstore provides the free service of mailing labels to students at home so that they can return their textbooks without having to physically return to campus.

He further mentioned that searches continue for positions in Leadership Studies and Theater, with teaching demonstrations being conducted over the internet for the first time.

By contrast, due to the uncertainty of the fall sports season, the search

for an assistant athletics trainer has been suspended.

THE BOARD awarded tenure to sociology instructor Katie Mitchell and music instructor Jeffrey Anderson.

ACC also has decided to auction off the beloved “Big Red” bus, as it is no longer safe to drive and repairs would be too expensive to salvage it.

Those interested in purchasing and renovating a piece of college history can look for the vehicle listing on the “Purple Wave” website.

USD 257-Iola Meal Pick-up Locations March 23rd - May 14th Iola High School Cafeteria Entrance 207 N. Cottonwood - 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

MONDAY - FRIDAY M.A.R.V. Bus

2900 Dodge Drive - 10:30 - 10:40 200 McGuire Drive - 10:50 - 11:00 Lincoln Elementary - 11:10 - 11:20 Eisenhower Dr. School on North End - 11:30 - 11:45 McKinley Elementary - 12:10 - 12:20 Jefferson Elementary - 12:30 - 12:40 Riverside Park South Parking Lot - 12:50 - 1:00 Students receiving a meal must be present.

*If you live in Gas, LaHarpe, or you are a rural bus rider, please call the district office (620) 365-4700 or email judy.baker@usd257.org to schedule meal delivery.

This institution is an equal opportunity employer.

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Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Iola Register

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Supreme Court justices wary of tampering with Electoral College

By DAVID G. SAVAGE Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court justices said Wednesday they saw a danger of “creating chaos” after November’s presidential vote if electors were freed to defy their state’s popular vote and cast ballots in the Electoral College for the candidate of their choice.

In a close election, they noted, a few electors could have the power to flip the outcome.

Under the Constitution, the president is not elected by direct popular vote, but instead by a majority of the votes cast by states in the Electoral College. Since the early 1800s, states have appointed a slate of electors, who are pledged to support the candidate who wins the most votes in that state.

But in recent elections, including in 2016, some electors have attempted to vote for other candidates.

Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig argued that electors have a constitutional right

U.S. Supreme Court Building to “exercise discretion” and vote as they wish.

Most justices sounded skeptical of that assertion Wednesday as the court heard arguments — via telephone conference due to the coronavirus outbreak — in two related cases, Chiafolo vs. Washington and Colorado vs. Baca.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. told Lessig his theory could “lead to chaos.”

If the outcome in November is very close, he said, “the losing party or elements within the losing party will launch a massive campaign to influence electors. There would a long period of uncertainty about who

the next president was going to be ... Do you deny that is good possibility if your argument prevails?” he asked.

“We don’t deny it’s a possibility,” Lessig replied. “We agree that of course the possibility exists you could flip electors.”

But Lessig said the Constitution provides that the decision be left in the hands of electors, not state voters, and that right should not be infringed. Even if there were allegations that an elector took a bribe, Lessig said, a state should not be permitted to prevent that elector from voting unless the charges were proved in

court.

Alito noted that Lessig in 2016 had urged electors to defy their states and choose Hillary Clinton for president because she won the popular vote. But the two cases heard Wednesday arose when four electors in Washington and Colorado refused to cast their ballots for Clinton, even though she won a majority in both states.

In August, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled for the first time that electors had a free-speech right to defy their state’s popular vote.

Meanwhile, the Washington Supreme Court rejected the free-speech claim and upheld the state’s decision to fine electors who refused to vote as they had pledged.

State attorneys urged the high court to take up the issue and rule before this year’s presidential election.

Lessig said framers of the Constitution in 1787 viewed electors as playing a crucial role. Electors were envisioned as smart, informed local

leaders who would be better suited to pick the president than a population of less-educated, easily manipulated citizens.

But Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned whether the framers’ original approach was relevant since changes to the Constitution were adopted in 1804, and ever since states have required electors to honor the choice made by the majority of voters.

Agreeing with Alito, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh said he too believed in “what I might call the ‘avoid chaos principle’ of judging, which suggests that if it’s a close call or a tiebreaker, that we shouldn’t facilitate or create chaos. You said it hasn’t happened, but we have to look forward.

And just being realistic, judges are going to worry about chaos.”

Lessig stuck to his position. He said most electors are highly loyal to their party and that only a “tiny” number might flip their votes.

But he said the states had no constitutional power to remove and

replace these people — often dubbed “faithless electors” — and no authority to fine them for breaking their promise.

Are there any limits on electors’ freedom to choose, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. asked. Could they “flip a coin?”

Justice Clarence Thomas, who has been an engaged participant during the phone arguments in stark contrast to his usual silence on the bench, wondered if an elector could opt for a character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.”

Could the elector “suddenly say, you know, I’m going to vote for Frodo Baggins? I really like Frodo Baggins.

And you’re saying, under your system, you can’t do anything about that?”

That would be too far, said Los Angeles attorney Jason Harrow, who joined Lessig in representing electors. Harrow said an elector could not vote for “a nonperson, no matter how big a fan many people are of Frodo Baggins.”

Slide: Educators discuss problems with five-month layoff Continued from A1

turn in August.

Clunky remote learning replaced longer hours and more rigorous instruction for the students still trying — and many have checked out for the year. Add the stress of an imploding economy that might have tossed Mom or Dad out of work plus limits on the emotional support schools often offer kids, and teachers will likely see already struggling students slip further behind.

“There will definitely be loss and there is a potential for even greater loss when they come back if schools don’t carefully understand how traumatic experiences impact learning,”

said Alison Wishard Guerra, an associate professor at the University of California-San Diego’s department of education studies.

COVID slide

Researchers debate how much of an impact summer vacation has on student learning.

While some say it costs students a full month, others say the “summer slide” is more of a summer slowdown, more a halt than a retreat.

But researchers at NWEA, a nonprofit that works on education assessments, used summer learning loss to model a “COVID slide.” Under the worst-case scenario, students would come back in the fall with

roughly 70 percent of the learning gains they would have received during a full school year.

Math had the worst results, with some grades losing nearly a full year of learning. Compared to other subjects like reading, math gets much less attention outside of school.

“That’s not what we typically imagine when we think of the really, you know, wonderful parent-child bonding time,” Megan Kuhfeld said, a researcher at NWEA. “It’s not usually over math workbooks.”

That worst-case scenario, however, assumes no teaching happens between the March shutdown and when schools reopen.

Kansas schools hope to avoid that with remote learning, but what that looks like differs from district to district.

Wichita requires no assignments or attendance. The district locked in student grades, though high schoolers sweating their GPA or short of their graduation requirements can do extra work to boost their GPA. The Barnes Hanover Linn school district, about an hour north of Manhattan, requires students to keep doing their work. Each day about 75% to 85% of the district’s kids log in for online learning, but that’s short of the district’s 97% attendance average from last year.

Prices extended through May 31, 2020

Most student grades have held steady since the shutdown, though that’s with teachers focusing more on reviewing old material than teaching new material.

“We’ve backed off on the rigor,” said John Whetzal, superintendent of Barnes Hanover Linn. “But we do keep records of when kids are logging on, when kids are actually completing the work.”

That fits with Kansas’ top line in the state’s recommendations for schools — “less is more.” The state suggests middle and high school students spend no more than three hours a day learning.

Fifth and fourth grade should max out at 90 minutes and the time drops below that for the lower levels.

Despite the shrunken learning time, educators say this is far from a lost learning semester.

Between days off, spring break and field trips, Buhler Unified School Districts says it’s only losing about 13 days worth of classroom time.

“I don’t feel like we are going to be missing too much content at all,” said Cindy Couchman, assistant superintendent at Buhler. “We have really secured our students to be successful in school next year.”

COVID stress

Mon. -Fri. | 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday | 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Learning loss will not affect all students equally. While some high-achieving students might bristle against online learning, the gap between them and students that were already struggling will likely widen even more.

Some research blames the summer slide for causing low-income students to fall further behind their peers. They expect a COVID slide to do the same. Lack of internet or computers at home makes summer and remote learning more difficult.

Kansas schools have tried to address those achievement gaps in recent years by focusing

on student’s emotional and social needs. The philosophy goes that if schools take care of students’ mental health, they’ll be better able to focus on learning.

But educators worry that the opposite is true — coronavirus related stress could be a barrier to student’s catching back up in the fall. That stress could come from a parent losing a job, or when a child doesn’t have school as a sanctuary from abuse in the home.

“For students to learn, we have to take care of any trauma they’re experiencing before that can happen.” said Brent Yeager, assistant superintendent at Olathe Public Schools. “A lot of that will be magnified when students come back to school in the fall.”

Olathe wants to hire more psychologists, social workers and counselors. Wichita Public Schools says it’s continuing to train teachers to address students’ emotional needs. Some of that work is still happening remotely, with social and emotional check-ins taking over some time from teaching.

Lan Huynh, a teacher at Christa McAuliffe Academy in Wichita, says she starts her weekly video meeting asking how her third graders are doing. So many students want to speak at the same time that she has to mute them when the lesson eventually begins. Even the shy kids speak up.

“They just love to talk,” Huynh said.

“They haven’t seen their friends in a while.”

Huynh also calls students without internet access. But she says when she talks with her teacher friends they cry together. They wonder if they’re doing enough or even too much for their students.

“I hope people know that emotionally it is very difficult for us teachers, too,” Huynh said. “Looking at the screen, seeing their faces, it’s just not the same.”

iolaregister.com

The Iola Register

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Liability: Protections sought for businesses Continued from A1

accountable for negligence or misconduct.

Similar efforts are underway in Congress, with Derek Schmidt of Kansas joining other GOP state attorneys general in calling for legislation to head off “frivolous” lawsuits. Legislators in multiple states, including Mississippi, North Carolina and Utah, are considering their own laws.

In Kansas, the state House Judiciary Committee had the first of three Zoom meetings on the issue on Wednesday, and its Senate counterpart is expected to meet next week. The full GOP-controlled Legislature plans to meet May 21 for its last remaining day in session this year.

“What about a company who re-purposes their facilities because they’re closed as nonessential but they have the equipment to manufacture masks?” said Eric Stafford, a Kansas Chamber of Commerce lobbyist.

“Somebody who’s trying to do a good deed, should they be punished, for liability for failure to prevent someone from getting sick?”

Groups pushing for quick legislative action said they fear businesses that reopened after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly

lifted a statewide stay-athome order on May 4 will face lawsuits if customers or employees get sick, or that customers or employees will sue businesses that were deemed essential and remained open while others closed.

Stafford said the chamber wants to ensure that businesses are protected if they followed health officials’ guidelines for operating safely.

The debate also comes after President Donald Trump directed meatpacking plants to stay open despite the spread of the coronavirus among workers. Kansas has seen seven large outbreaks at such plants, accounting for nearly 1,300 confirmed cases, or 18% of the state’s total, with two COVID-19-related deaths.

Dr. Beth Oller, a family physician in Rooks County in northwestern Kansas, said she thinks businesses should face legal liability if, for example, they won’t provide proper protective equipment for employees.

But, she said, it could be “a bad precedent” to allow lawsuits when one customer of a business following health guidelines gets the virus from another customer.

She also said in nursing homes, even with aggressive

steps to contain the virus if there’s one case, “It’s going to be exceptionally difficult to prevent the spread of any cases.”

Health care providers worry that they could face lawsuits if a patient’s health declined or a patient dies after providers delayed surgeries or other care because of concerns about spreading the virus.

Chad Austin, the Kansas Hospital Association’s executive vice president, said the group wants to protect medical providers “who did what they were asked to do” by focusing on combating the coronavirus.

“They were focused probably where they were instructed to be focused for sure, but you never know, there could be somebody forgoing care at that time who ended up having an issue,” added Cindy Samuelson, the association’s membership vice president.

David Morantz, a Leawood attorney and the Kansas Trial Lawyers’ Association president, said medical providers already aren’t subject to paying damages for injuries if they can show they followed generally accepted standards of care. He said adhering to government recommendations or directives to cancel

A5

Court tosses lawsuit over KS prisoners

elective surgeries because of the pandemic would qualify.

While Kelly has been open to proposals for protecting medical professionals, Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat and key ally of the governor’s, said the issue is too big, too complex and too contentious for lawmakers to tackle before adjourning May 21.

And labor unions have been quick to object to the proposals to prevent lawsuits, both in Kansas and nationally. The Working Kansas Alliance, a coalition of union groups, called it a “dangerous agenda” that would put workers at risk for “saving a buck on the corporate balance sheet.”

Morantz said he fears that any new law could be “pushed beyond what anybody ever intended” to cover actions or cases not directly involving the coronavirus. He also said shielding businesses from lawsuits will give them an incentive not to be as safe and would make consumers wary.

“If it’s safe to reopen the economy, why is immunity needed?” Morantz said. “If immunity’s there, it’s going to make people scared and it’s going to delay rebooting the economy.”

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by a civil rights rights group seeking the immediate release of prisoners who have preexisting medical conditions that make them vulnerable to the new coronavirus.

Leavenworth District Judge David King dismissed on Friday the class action petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas on behalf of eight inmates at the Lansing Correctional Facility, the Ellsworth Correctional Facility and the Topeka Correctional Facility and others similarly situated.

The district court found the ACLU didn’t prove that jail officials either failed to meet their constitutional duty to provide adequate medical care or acted with deliberate indifference to the inmates’ serious medical needs.

“We respect the court’s decision and will continue our work to ensure the health and safety of those that we serve,” said department spokeswoman Rebecca Witte.

The judge noted documents showed the Kansas Department of Corrections has “undertaken appropriate efforts to protect the inmate population in Kansas correctional facilities from COVID-19.”

GOP: Lawmakers at odds with governor on reopening state Continued from A1

allow some businesses to reopen, with Republicans wanting to move faster. GOP leaders also are irritated with what they view as Kelly’s efforts to evade legislative oversight.

Six GOP leaders rejected a request from Kelly to have top lawmakers extend a disaster declaration she issued for the coronavirus pandemic into mid-June.

The Republicans instead extended the declaration only through May 25, Memorial Day, to give the GOP-controlled Legislature a chance to pass a law governing the state’s coronavirus response.

“We won’t allow one dictator to determine everything,” said Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, frequent Kelly critic and U.S. Senate candidate.

“We will have a check and a balance of powers.”

The full Legislature is scheduled to reconvene May 21 for a final day in session this year, and House and Senate committees are meeting this week and next week to draft measures on a variety of issues, in-

My best interests are not what’s at stake here. It’s the best interests of the citizens of the state of Kansas, and I would like you all to consider that.

A disaster involving a flood doesn’t include a governor’s executive order to criminalize going to church. It doesn’t shut down businesses.

— Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly

cluding the governor’s power. The Legislature began its annual spring break on March 20, about two weeks early, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Republican legislators’ efforts to undermine Democratic governors’ power have been pronounced in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all three of which have divided governments and are crucial in this year’s presidential race. Their governors have faced lawsuits, legislation and other moves by Republicans trying to seize control of the response to the virus.

Kansas legislators are trying to set up a situation in which they’d pass a measure curbing Kelly’s power and force her to either accept the limits or watch her

BE A PARENT NOT A FRIEND

current disaster declaration expire. During a contentious, hour-plus meeting, Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a Kansas City-area Republican, told Kelly it would be in her best interest to sign such legislation, and she bristled.

“My best interests are not what’s at stake here,” Kelly said. “It’s the best interests of the citizens of the state of Kansas, and I would like you all to consider that.”

Kansas reported 7.468 confirmed and probable coronavirus cases Wednesday, nearly double the number two weeks ago, with major outbreaks in meatpacking plants and nursing homes. The state has reported 164 COVID-19-related deaths since early March.

“I know that these decisions that have been

— House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins

made have caused great pain for a number folks, but I’d also like to think that it’s saved a number of lives,” she said.

State laws give Kelly broad authority in emergencies but also require her to ask eight legislative leaders, six of them Republicans, to extend an emergency declaration she issued April 30 for the pandemic. The declaration was set to expire May 14, and Kelly had planned to phase out restrictions on businesses and public gatherings until June 15 after allowing a statewide stay-at-home order expire May 4.

The legislative leaders’ meeting with Kelly gave top Republicans a chance to air grievances they’ve had with her throughout the pandemic. They’ve repeatedly said that Kelly has not

consulted them on decisions.

They objected to an order that limited in-person religious gatherings to 10 congregation members, something she loosened up after two churches and their pastors filed a federal lawsuit. Wagle accused Kelly of “overreaching” in her orders.

And there’s the question of legislative oversight. Kelly issued her first disaster declaration in March, and the full Legislature extended it to May 1, agreeing to allow their leaders to extend it further but also giving them the authority to reject Kelly’s orders. When top Republicans attempted to overturn Kelly’s limit on religious gatherings, she sued, and the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the restrictions on

technical grounds.

Kelly then issued her April 30 emergency declaration so that she could continue to exercise broad emergency powers after May 1. But in Kansas, such declarations expire after 15 days unless they’re extended by lawmakers or their leaders. Some Republicans question whether Kelly can keep issuing new declarations every 15 days during the same pandemic.

Her chief counsel, Clay Britton, acknowledged it’s an open question. Britton noted that legislators have extended emergency declarations regularly in the past. Neither of Kelly’s two Republican predecessors faced a similar backlash, nor did Kelly last year when dealing with flooding.

“A disaster involving a flood doesn’t include a governor’s executive order to criminalize going to church. It doesn’t shut down businesses,” said House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, another Wichita Republican. “There has to be some trust developed, and we don’t have that right now.”

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A6

Opinion The Iola Register

Thursday, May 14, 2020

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Students can’t afford summer off

Nation must prepare to vote by mail

Having slogged through weeks of unevenly administered distance learning, schools in the U.S. are preparing to shut down for the summer. Amid the stress of the pandemic, students, teachers and parents undoubtedly deserve a break. They should keep it short.

How to get students back in classrooms will be driven by public health considerations.

In areas at low risk of coronavirus outbreaks, schools might safely reopen if they plan for proper social distancing. For everyone else, some form of remote learning should continue. Forgoing a traditional 10- to 12-week summer vacation might not go over well with students, to say nothing of the adults who will need to supervise their work. But especially for disadvantaged children, the alternative is worse.

The disruptions caused by the coronavirus have harmed learning across the board. By the end of April, more than 80% of public schools had already canceled in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year, leaving 55 million students to learn from home. School districts were ill-prepared for the shift to remote teaching, though the vast majority have since managed to provide students with at least some academic work. However, both the quality of instruction and the expectations for student performance vary widely. Although close to three-quarters of all school districts are delivering material through online platforms, less than half require students to actually use them.

Assuming physical schools remain shut for the summer, the drop-off in students’ progress will be steep. During a normal summer, students would be expected to lose at least one month’s worth of learning, with math retention taking the biggest hit.

The springtime stall caused by the pandemic will exacerbate those losses. Researchers at NWEA, a nonprofit educational consultancy, estimate that on average students could be as much as a year behind by the time they return in the fall.

Low-income students and those already struggling academically may face insurmountable deficits, particularly if a resurgence of the virus forces schools to close in the fall.

In the best case, schools should resume in-person classes as soon as it’s safe to do so and teachers have adequate protective gear, even if that means curtailing or eliminating the long summer hiatus. To ensure social distancing, students could attend in rotating shifts. Until schools physically reopen — and even after they do — students should continue to receive instruction at home.

School districts should conduct assessments of students’ home computer and internet access and direct support to families that lack access to reliable technology.

The long-term impact of the pandemic on student outcomes is not yet known.

What’s certain is that the less schooling students receive, the worse off they’ll be once the crisis subsides. Like their elders, children benefit from having time off. Especially now, though, the traditional long summer is far too much.

— Bloomberg opinion

By HARVEY WASSERMAN Tribune News Service

The turn away from internationalism in the aftermath of the Spanish flu epidemic of 191819 awakened xenophobia at home. In this photo from 1922, members of the Ku Klux Klan are about to take off with literature that was scattered over Washington’s Virginia suburbs during a Klan parade.

Leadership vacuum with Spanish flu an omen for what could come

By CHRIS DOYLE The Hartford Courant

The historian in me is fascinated by how Americans in crisis make use of the past to predict the future. To those inclined to look backward, the so-called Spanish influenza epidemic of 19181919 offers pundits the obvious historical analogy to our own COVID-19 moment.

A century ago, the flu killed roughly 50 million people worldwide, negatively shaped the global order for years afterward and was spectacularly mishandled by political leaders trying mightily to ignore it.

The Spanish influenza offers a painful cautionary lesson at odds with what I’m reading by today’s futurists — many of whom have adopted a “creative destruction” metaphor to describe the impact of COVID-19.

According to their reasoning, the misery inflicted by the coronavirus will pave the way for universal health care, a renaissance of American manufacturing and cities, better public epidemiology, more accountable politicians, a global population hardened by “herd immunity” and the end of science denial.

We wish, naturally if desperately, for the silver lining.

Lacking a crystal ball, I propose that, if we want to realize that silver lining, we should pay closer attention to how the Spanish flu played out in American politics and society as that epidemic ran its course.

The public history of the Spanish flu and its aftermath in the United States is complicated and, on the secondary level where I teach, poorly conveyed by textbooks and in many classrooms.

For the first time, by 1918 Americans could no longer

escape the fact that they were living in a global milieu and caught up in affairs beyond their borders. U.S. participation in World War I led to the conscription of nearly 3 million Americans, with almost 1 million sent to fight in Europe. By the armistice in November, both the flu and disillusionment had set in. Rejecting the Versailles Treaty because it would tie America to suspect international commitments within a League of Nations, in the 1920 presidential election voters also threw out the party responsible for Versailles, electing a nonentity in Republican Warren Harding, who made vague promises about returning to “normalcy.”

The turn away from internationalism awakened xenophobia at home. Congress passed two highly restrictive immigration acts in 1921 and 1924, and the first Red Scare emerged in 1919.

The working classes, fed up with wartime demands for greater labor, difficult conditions and low wages, staged a general strike in Seattle in February 1919 that shut down the city. Class unrest generated hysteria that led federal agents to target radical labor unions for destruction and foreign and domestic “agitators” for arrest and deportation.

Race relations grew increasingly fraught. Chicago experienced a brutal race riot in the summer of 1919, and Tulsa, Okla., followed suit two years later. Thirty-eight people died in Chicago, perhaps hundreds in Tulsa, and the Ku Klux Klan morphed from a Southern hate group to an organization with national reach and membership.

The quest to curb disorder included ratification of the 18th Amendment in January 1919, abolishing the sale and

distribution of alcohol. Prohibition was meant to curb wayward tendencies among the same suspect groups targeted just after the war: “unruly” immigrants, workers and African Americans.

Fear, suspicion and hysteria need not have prevailed.

The immediate postwar years coincided with the first votes cast by women (they voted in the election of 1920); marvelous technological developments including national radio broadcasts, the proliferation of Hollywood movies and the rapid evolution of air travel; as well as a burst of artistic creativity ranging from jazz to Lost Generation and Harlem Renaissance poetry and prose.

However, national leaders in the 1920s were not up to the task of shepherding the nation through the problems it confronted. Harding has gone down as one of the worst presidents in our history, shortsighted and presiding over an exceptionally corrupt administration.

Real reform had to wait for the next major crisis: the Great Depression of 1929.

The architect of that reform, Franklin Roosevelt, was the unsuccessful vice presidential candidate of 1920. Tellingly, he proclaimed at the outset of the New Deal that the only thing Americans had to fear was “fear itself.”

We deserve true reform in the aftermath of this crisis, but wishful thinking won’t make it so. Given the current climate, it seems highly likely that fear may yet prevail.

But if the past is truly to serve as our guide, we should heed FDR’s admonition. We cannot let the old stumbling blocks of race, class and xenophobia dominate our national conversation about the way forward from this pandemic.

A look back in t me.

45 Years Ago May 1975

Paper bags whipped off the high-speed presses of Quality Packaging, Inc., on Davis Street yesterday afternoon as about 50 members of the Iola Chamber of Commerce stood back and watched. Frank Ball, plant manager and co-owner, said the bags, which will hold a hamburger somewhere in a U.S. fast-food store, were produced at 1,000 a minute

and that the presses run 24 hours a day, five days a week.

He said he and his brother, Jack, own and operate three complimentary businesses: Quality Packaging, Bricc Wholesalers, the distribution unit, and a fleet of trucks. They can sell a package service to chains like Tastee Freez and guarantee to deliver to each of their outlets every two weeks. ***** MORAN — The new Klein

Tool plant will turn out its first forgings June 2, according to Matt Klein III, Moran project manager for the company. He said the company is planning “very preliminary production with only a few people” beginning June 2. **** Crest High School will graduate 31 seniors in ceremonies Sunday in Colony.

Humboldt High School graduation for 54 seniors will be in the high school gym.

The more we learn about COVID-19, the more likely it seems most of us will be voting by mail this fall.

Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Colorado and Utah have long been voting by mail. California now says it will join them, and other states are likely to follow.

What’s needed is a national commitment to voting by mail. Under this system, all registered voters would receive a postpaid ballot. They can then make their choices, sign the ballot, seal an interior envelope and send it back.

But for this to happen nationwide this fall, we must start working now.

First, some legislatures are demanding that ballots come in with one or two witness signatures, or even a notarization. This represents an insurmountable burden to many voters, which seems to be the point.

And now the Trump administration is acting as though it wants to eliminate the U.S. Postal Service, which would make it virtually impossible to get ballots out and back.

Millions of Americans rely on mailboxes that might disappear with the postal service. Private delivery operations like UPS and FedEx are sure to be exceedingly expensive, and unlikely to serve rural areas, Native American reservations or college campuses.

The Brennan Center estimates voting by mail could hike the cost of our national election from $2 billion in 2016 to about $4 billion in 2020. GOP Senate leadership is blocking federal provision of that money, creating a void that state and local governments may be unable or unwilling to fill.

Yet a vote by mail remains the most sensible option. According to election protection expert John Brakey, about 80% of the nation’s precincts now have ballot imaging machines which should be able to handle the vote counts quickly, while still preserving the actual paper ballots for inevitable challenges.

Some voting stations will still be necessary for voters with handicaps, and for those wishing to newly register or re-register if they’ve been removed from the voter rolls for any reason. And vigilance will be needed by all to guarantee that the system works right.

In 2018, after filling out the ballot I got in the mail, I walked it into my Los Angeles neighborhood voting station.

Gracious poll workers made sure I knew my ballot would be treated with the respect it deserved.

You should settle for no less. In 2016, the U.S. had 116,990 voting stations, each with its own quirks, shortcomings, and potential for corruption.

A simplified mail-in, paper-based system would represent a great standardized leap forward.

But the devil will be in the details. Americans hoping for a clean, fair, and reliable vote count this fall must pay attention to how their state and local officials intend to handle this election. It is the job of us all to protect this fundamental right.

About the writer: Harvey Wasserman wrote “The People’s Spiral of U.S. History.”

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The Iola Register

A7

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Coronavirus overshadows another dangerous viral outbreak

By DAVID PIERSON Los Angeles Times

SINGAPORE — The first of Yuli Irma’s children to fall ill with a fever was her 6-year-old girl. The next day it was her 13-year-old daughter, followed by her 12-yearold son.

Living on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, Irma feared her children were stricken with the coronavirus. But blood tests revealed they had dengue fever, another viral disease that’s in the throes of an outbreak but has been overshadowed by COVID-19.

After a record number of cases last year, the illness is relentlessly spreading across Southeast Asia, a hot zone where the mosquitoes that transmit the virus flourish. The painful disease kills thousands each year and infects hundreds of millions within a band of tropical territory spanning the globe.

While the overwhelming majority of people infected never present symptoms, severe cases can result in bleeding, respiratory distress and organ failure. More common symptoms — a few that mirror the coronavirus — include high fevers, severe headaches and excruciating joint pain deserving of dengue’s sobriquet, “breakbone fever.”

The rise in dengue fever cases is further straining medical resources in countries such as Indonesia at a time when health care

facilities are dealing with the crushing demands of a pandemic — a stark reminder of how the coronavirus’ impact on health is rippling far beyond just those it sickens.

People worldwide are delaying elective surgery. Noncoronavirus patients are competing for diminishing supplies of ventilators, antiviral drugs and sedatives. And countries with chronically low numbers of medical staff are being pushed to the brink.

It took days for Irma to find treatment for her children. A doctor drew blood samples at home because Irma feared exposing the youngsters to the coronavirus at a hospital. When the tests revealed dengue, it took several more days to find a facility that wasn’t designated for COVID-19 patients.

“The children were very weak and dizzy by then,” said Irma, 42, whose children were hospitalized for four days in April.

Dengue’s early flulike symptoms can be confused for the coronavirus. Some patients have been found to have both, exponentially worsening their chances of recovery. The first person with COVID-19 to die in Thailand was also infected by dengue (pronounced deng-ee).

In February, two Singaporeans with COVID-19 were misdiagnosed as having dengue.

Like the coronavirus, there is no cure for the disease, though

A male, top, and female Aedes aegypti mosquitos.

(Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

researchers have been trying for decades to develop a vaccine — a sobering prospect for those expecting a COVID-19 vaccine to be ready in less than two years.

Development has been complicated by the fact the dengue virus appears in four different forms, known as serotypes. Patients who recover from one serotype can develop an immunity, but they face severe illness if they’re later infected by another serotyope. A successful vaccine would have to target all four serotypes.

One promising vaccine ended up being marred by controversy.

In 2016, the Philippines stopped a vaccination drive that used a drug sold by French pharmaceutical manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur after children began dying.

Sanofi Pasteur subsequently disclosed its vaccine was making children ill who had never had dengue. The World Health Organization now recommends the drug only for those who have had dengue

SALUTING THOSE ON THE

in the past. The scandal resulted in indictments of government officials and medical researchers in the Philippines, and a public mistrust of inoculations that contributed to a major recurrence of measles last year.

“It’s sort of a cautionary tale while we’re searching for a COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases expert at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital in Singapore. “Vaccines don’t always behave the way we want them to.”

While dengue is also found in Africa and countries south of the United States, 70% of its occurrence is in Asia. Before 1970, only nine countries had severe dengue epidemics, according to the World Health Organization.

Since then, mass urbanization, explosive growth in travel and warming weather has propelled the spread of the disease, making it endemic in 128 countries. Dengue is considered a “neglected tropical disease,” a title given by health officials to describe illnesses that occur in mostly poorer

countries that receive inadequate attention.

The World Health Organization last year named dengue one of the top 10 public health threats and urged countries to improve surveillance of female Aedes mosquitoes, the pests most responsible for spreading the disease.

Experts are unsure what impact social restrictions and widespread lockdowns will have on the spread of the disease. Aedes mosquito bites most commonly occur inside homes, which is where people are now confined.

The likelihood of infection “is probably increased with everyone staying at home, but the lack of mobility may limit its spread,” said Duane Gubler, founding director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Signature Research Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School in Sin-

gapore. “We’re going to have to wait and see.”

Dengue outbreaks tend to come in waves lasting several years.

The duration of outbreaks depend on populations developing herd immunity to strains of the virus before a new one can gain momentum.

Countries such as Singapore have learned to live with the disease by promoting what amounts to social distancing with mosquitoes.

Citizens here are regularly reminded by inspectors to eliminate sources of stagnant water. Construction sites, prime places for puddles, must include onsite pest control officers charged with eliminating larvae. And residential neighborhoods are periodically doused with plumes of organic insecticides, a practice known as fogging.

Enroll today for fall preschool at The Growing Place Preschool Team Led By:

Nicole Lucke, BS in Early Childhood Development from Pittsburg State University Kay Laver, Certified in Montessori Early Childhood Education

• Hands on learning Experiences • State Licensed • Serving Nutritious Snacks • Fun + Educational Field Trips

The Growing Place 1050 Industrial Rd., Humboldt

620-473-3955 We are state licensed for 82 and DCF (Department for Children and Families) approved.

We are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

E-mail us at: tinatgp@sbcglobal.net and thegrowingplaceks@gmail.com

MAY SPECIALS M-SAT. | 11-8 P.M. �

DINING ROOM IS NOW OPEN!

WE WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER CURBSIDE & DELIVERY

$7 Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap .99 $7 Bases Loaded BBQ Beef Fries .99 $7 .99

The Triple Double Club Sandwich

Delicious layers of turkey, ham, and bacon, lettuce, tomato, American cheese, Swiss cheese and honey mustard in between 3 layers of Texas toast. Served with fries or Susie q’s.

Romaine lettuce mixed with our Caesar dressing, tossed with garlic chicken and grated parmesan cheese rolled in a cold wrap. Served with fries or Susie q’s.

Left to right Diane Rogers, Stacy Jones and Jennifer Friend.

I would like to recognize our kitchen staff as they are the ones that came up with the menu for the Meals On Wheels and are a very important part of keeping the MOW up and running.

One pound of our house made fries loaded with cheese sauce, philly meat, bacon pieces, grilled onions, cheddar cheese, garlic BBQ and house-made BLT dip.

Jennifer Friend – Head Cook Stacey Jones – Cook Diane Rogers – Cook When it was said that we would discontinue the MOW’s due to the COVID-19, this did not set well with them, nor any of us involved and they came up with a meal plan that could sustain our Seniors for multiple days in a row and through the weekends. This was a great plan and we (Hope Unlimited, Sheriff Deputies and other volunteers) agreed to make deliveries twice a week to make sure they were taken care of and not forgotten. All three of the cooks are very passionate when it comes to the MOW service and take great pride that they are part of this service.

Having to make meals for multiple days as opposed to one meal a day was a little of a challenge but they thought outside the box and with every meal that is sent out they make sure that they are getting the nutrition that will sustain them for those days. Also they continue to come up with a different meal plan so that it is not always the same stuff each week.

This is a great example of the age-old saying, “When life serves you lemons make lemonade or lemon pie.” If it was not for these three cooks not only would our inmates suffer but also those seniors in our community would not be getting the meals that they so very much need at this time in our county.

GO TO OUR FACEBOOK FOR FAMILY STYLE MENUS & MORE!

(620) 228-5322 Northeast Corner of the Iola Square

@Rookiesiola

(620) 365-ROOF (7663) 306 N. State St. Iola, KS 66749 borensroofing.com

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Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Iola Register

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Obama emerges as central figure in 2020 presidential race WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly eight years after he was last on the ballot, Barack Obama is emerging as a central figure in the 2020 presidential election.

Democrats are eagerly embracing Obama as a political wingman for Joe Biden, who spent two terms by his side as vice president. Obama remains the party’s most popular figure, particularly with black voters and younger Democrats, and Biden’s presidential campaign is planning for him to have a highly visible role in the months to come.

For President Donald Trump, that means an opportunity to focus the spotlight on one of his favorite political foils.

In recent days, Trump and his allies have aggressively pushed conspiracy theories about Obama designed to fire up the president’s conservative base, taint Biden by association and distract from the glut of grim health and economic news from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Partisans on both

sides want to make this about Obama,” said Ned Price, who served as spokesperson for Obama’s White House National Security Council.

The renewed political focus on Obama sets the stage for an election about the nation’s future that will also be about its past. As Biden looks to Obama for personal validation, he’s also running to restore some of the former president’s legacy, which has been systematically dismantled by Trump.

The current president is running in part to finish that job.

Yet Trump’s anti-Obama push also frequently takes on a darker, more conspiratorial tone that goes far beyond differences in health care policy and America’s role in the world. His current focus is on the actions Obama, Biden and their national security advisers took in the closing days of their administration, as they viewed intelligence reports about Michael Flynn. Flynn had a short-

lived stint as Trump’s national security adviser before being fired for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his interactions with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. Trump’s own administration acknowledged on Wednesday that Obama advisers followed proper procedures in privately “unmasking” Flynn’s name, which was redacted in the intelligence reports for privacy reasons. Flynn ultimately pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, though Trump’s Justice Department moved last week to drop the case against him.

Despite there being no evidence of wrongdoing by Obama, Biden or other administration officials, Trump is eagerly pushing the notion of an unspecified crime against the former president, branding it “Obamagate.” He’s being backed up by Republican allies, including Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley who took to the Senate floor this week to ask of the Flynn matter: “What did Obama and Biden know, and when

MAY IS 2 MENTAL 0 HEALTH 2 MONTH 0 #breakthestigma

“Staying Grounded in the Moment”

BY JENNIFER ENSMINGER

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and given the current circumstances, it’s vital we take care of our mental health. Things are hard right now, and they may be so for quite a while moving forward, too. But part of dealing with the consequences of a pandemic is learning to accept that now is a tough time.

We have to take extra good care of ourselves.

We should all give ourselves a little extra grace, love and gratitude while many of our family members, friends, fellow Americans and people the world over struggle with this pandemic and current economic hardships.

And though it may sound like a small step to take given the scope of our problems, when you’re feeling especially stressed or anxious, try stepping back and experimenting with some mindfulness exercises.

Mindfulness involves a technique that brings your attention to the present moment. Slowing down and focusing on the gifts of our daily lives—children at play, flowers growing in the garden, pleasant weather—help us realize that yes, life may be stressful right now, but we also have daily blessings that are some of life’s simplest—but not unimportant—pleasures.

Former President Barack Obama attends a campaign event in Anaheim for Democratic congressional candidates on Sept. 8, 2018. IRFAN KHAN/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS did they know it?”

Trump’s zeal has sparked fears among some former Obama and Biden advisers about how far he may be willing to go in using the levers of government to push his case against them in an election year.

The Justice Department is conducting an investigation into the origins of the Russia probe that ensnared Flynn and other Trump associates.

Trump’s renewed focus on Obama comes as Republicans grow increasingly anxious that the rising coronavirus death toll and cratering economy will damage the president’s reelection prospects in November. More than 84,000 Americans have died from the virus, and more than 30 million have claimed unemployment.

Biden’s campaign drew a direct connection between the president’s attacks on Obama and the twin crises battering his administration.

“It’s no surprise that the president is erratically lashing out at President Obama, desperate to distract from his own failures as commander in chief that have cost thousands of Americans their lives during this crisis,” said TJ Duck-

lo, a Biden campaign spokesman.

Trump’s emphasis on Obama also comes as the former president begins to emerge from a threeyear period of political restraint as he prepares to embrace his role as leading surrogate for Biden. Last week, Obama told a large gathering of alumni from his administration that DOJ’s decision to drop the Flynn case put the “rule of law at risk.”

He also criticized the Trump White House’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden’s campaign has been eager to get Obama involved in the election, though his exact role is still forming, particularly given that the pandemic has upended the campaign’s plans for rallies and other in-person events in battleground states. The former president is also expected to campaign for Democratic House and Senate candidates across the country.

Though Obama campaigned for Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterms, he has mostly tried to avoid overt politics since leaving the White House. He’s spoken out publicly against Trump on rare occasions, frustrating many

Democrats who have wanted him to be more aggressive in calling out his successor.

But the 2020 election has always loomed as the moment when Obama would step off the sidelines, and he’s told advisers he’s eager to do so. Despite his strident public neutrality during the Democratic primary, he spoke to Biden regularly and has continued to do so as the campaign moves into the general election, according to aides.

Biden’s campaign sees Obama as a clear asset as they seek to not only energize Democrats,but to also appeal to independents and more moderate Republicans who may be wary of four more years of Trump in the White House.

A recent Monmouth University poll found 57% of Americans say they have a favorable opinion of Obama. That includes 92% of Democrats and 19% of Republicans.

Obama’s favorable ratings are higher than either of the men who will be on the ballot in November. The same poll showed 41% of Americans had a favorable opinion of Biden, and 40% viewed Trump in a favorable light.

There are several different ways to bring your attention to the present moment. One is to take a few slow, deep breaths and focus on the different sounds around you or how you feel. Take a short walk around your neighborhood and listen to the different sounds of nature. Perhaps on your stroll, notice the warmth of the sun as you stop and smell the flowers. Cooking your favorite meal and intentionally focusing on how it tastes could be another mindfulness exercise.

Or perhaps just sitting on your porch, watching the clouds roll by, could be enough to ease your mind and divert your stress and worries to more positive thoughts and feelings. As we take a moment for ourselves, remember to keep yourself grounded in these small moments.

It is likely life may not ever really return to how it was, at least not very soon. But the stresses of today will pass, and brighter days are ahead of us. There is hope, and there are many people in our community ready to help.

If you need someone to talk to, please reach out to Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center at (620) 365-5717 or online at sekmhc.org. We are here to help connect you with resources and support during difficult times like these. Your mental health matters, and it matters to us.

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The Iola Register

Thursday, May 14, 2020

B1

IOLA

NEVER STOP LEARNING.

WAY TO GO!

2020 GRADUATES NOT PICTURED

Noah Ashmore

Casen Barker

Tessa Bain

Taelynn Bonnett

Mayte Breithaupt

Lacey Brown

Mikaila Buck

Rachel Bycroft

Haley Carlin

Eason Cheung

Mary Crites

Nickolas Davis

Melany Dean

Calvin Delich

Torrance DePriest

Tiffany Dokes

Jayce Doolittle

Isabella Duke

Zaviera Evans

Alexandra Fager

Elijah Fawson

Danielle Fees

Nissa Fountain

Kenton Giles

Kayton Godfrey

Christine Helman

River Hess

Mackenzi Hutton

NOT PICTURED

Jillian Keller

Dawson King

Dakota Knowles

Dakota Kogan

Elysia Kunkler

Gabriella Lampe

Maria Landsdown

Jasmine Ledford

Cal Leonard

Kallen Lieurance

Gary Lower

Jordan Maloney

Mark McCullough

Lauren McDermeit

Diamend McFadden

Karson McGraw

Trevelle Means

Theresia Middleton

Alex Morris

Kelsey Morrison

Chara Moss

Dalton Muntzert

Adryan Nading

Naomi Neal

Mary-Jane Neises

Brody Nemecek

Breanna Northcutt

Sadrie Overall

Carlie Payne

Makayla Perez

Sierra Petty

Michael Price

Andre Quinn

Gabriella Richards

Paige Riley

B2

Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

BE PROUD OF YOUR IOLA

ACCOMPLISHMENTS!

2020 GRADUATES NOT PICTURED

Alec Sager

Courtland Sager

Andy Smith

Jada Stogsdill

Jillian Stokes

Jordan Swart

Tevan Tavarez

Ella Taylor

Allie Utley

Marisa VanHouden

Alexandria Vega

Pieter Venter

Derek White

Zane Whitney

Braiden Wiggin

Raylea Wilsin

Shane Winner

Bethannie Yarnell

Keian Zimmerman

We send our best to all of our area graduates!

StClair-Hays Public Accountants

Janet S StClair-Hays EA, ABA, ATA

1006 N State St-PO Box 747 Iola, KS 66749

(620) 365-2421

janet@kmspa.kscoxmail.com Fax: (620) 365-2004

Get your school mascot on your debit card!

For each card issued, weʼll donate $3.00 directly to your school.

Michael Stockebrand 617 South State St. Iola, KS 66749 (620) 432-3535

00 0000 00 0 0 0 0 4 000 DEBIT

Congrats & best wishes!

ROCK ON!

4000

GOOD THRU

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Member FDIC

Come see us for any of your insurance needs.

Way to Go Class of 2020!

GO MUSTANGS!

Rick & Shelley Lauber

620-365-2651 • Fax: 620-365-2182 612 N. State St. • P.O. Box 387 Iola, Kansas 66749

Mustang cards available, as well as other area high schools and colleges.

1450 Montana Road, Iola, KS

Like us on 120 East Madison, Iola

620-365-6000 mybankcnb.com

In times like these, In the midst of heartbreaking tragedy, the canceled ceremonies, sporting events, school plays, spring musicals, proms, and so much more

HAPPY GRADUATION FROM

CONGRATULATIONS TO

Raylea Wilson

Caleigh Porter

Rhiannon Coats

Jacob Fudge

IHS

HHS

IHS

HHS

600 E. GARFIELD � IOLA | (620) 365-3183 � windsorplace.net

We realize just how important friends and family truly are.

Thank you to all of those whom we’ve had the pleasure of serving.

We’re proud to call Iola home.

And to the Class of 2020, CONGRATS!

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT.

-Mike and Carri Sailor AND THE ROOKIES CREW (620) 228-5322 Northeast Corner of the Iola Square

@Rookiesiola

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Thursday, May 14, 2020

B3

Always home.

No matter where life takes you, stay connected to the stories and events that make your community a special place to call home.

Print and digital subscriptions start at $14.90 a month.

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Thursday, May 14, 2020

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DEADLINE: 2 p.m. day before publication for Mon.-Thurs.; 10 a.m. Fri. for Sat.

CLASSIFIED RATES: 3 Days - $2/word | 6 Days - $2.75/word | 12 Days - $3.75/word | 18 Days - $4.75/word | 26 Days - $5/word 3-DAY GARAGE SALE SPECIAL: 20 words or fewer - $12 | 21-40 words - $15 | 41+ words - $18

EMPLOYMENT

ITEMS FOR SALE PACKING PAPERS AVAILABLE at The Iola Register office. $3 per bundle.

HOMES FOR RENT

accepting applications all shifts. Apply in Person.

1421 east st. • iola

Nice Homes For Rent! view pictures and other info at growiola.com

FARM

Custom Haying Jobs Call STEVE at (785) 448-8989 or PHILLIP at (620) 212-1007

FOODS

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City Limits of Iola 5:30 p.m.

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Saturday

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All Carrier Routes 9:30 a.m.

SERVICES

SERVICES

SETH BLACK CONTRACTING Call us for your exterior home painting needs!

Specializing in large houses.

620•363•0452 PAYLESS CONCRETE

824 N. CHESTNUT • IOLA

802 N. Industrial Rd., Iola

tholenhvac.com

PRODUCTS, INC.

Russell Stover Chocolates offers a generous benefits program including: Medical/Prescription Insurance • Dental & Vision Insurance • Paid Holidays and Vacation & more.

residential &commercial industrial repair and installs fully insured free estimates!

• Residential HVAC

• Commercial HVAC • Commercial Refrigeration

620-330-2732 620-336-3054

• LG Ductless Systems

sekgaragedoors.com

HECK’S MOVING SERVICE

NELSON EXCAVATING

323 N. Jefferson Call 620-365-3178 or 365-6163

Insurance/Real Estate

RICK NELSON 620-365-9520

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Loren Korte

MORAN MORAN 237-4631

General G e n e r a l Repair Repair a n d Supply, and S u p p l y , Inc. Inc.

Storage & RV of Iola

MACHINE SHOP H REPAIR CUSTOM MANUFACTURING

HUMBOLDT HUMBOLDT 473-3831

620-365-2200

Regular/Boat/RV/Storage LP Gas Sales, Fenced, Supervised iolarvparkandstorage.com

Complete Stock of Steel, Bolts, Bearings & Related Items ( 6 2 0 ) 365-5954 (620) 365-5954 11008 008 N N.. IIndustrial ndustrial R Road o a d H IIola ola

CARRIER DELIVERY DEADLINES Mon.-Thur.

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If you have not received your paper by this time, please call your carrier. If you cannot reach your carrier, call the Register office at (620) 365-2111.

Bettis Asphalt & Construction

FULL-time POSITIONS

is seeking a Mechanic

Whitaker Aggregates is looking for dependable, safety conscious employees and has immediate full-time openings to fill.

to support our Mobile Asphalt Division in southeast Kansas.

$18 PER HOUR STARTING WAGE

Verifiable experience & Class B CDL is required.

Service truck provided and benefits include: Health, Dental, Vision, Long and Short Term Disability, Life Insurance & Competitive Compensation.

Employees are eligible for health and dental insurance, retirement contributions, and paid vacation and holidays.

Current openings in the Humboldt and SEK, KS area:

MECHANIC

LOCAL ROUTE CLASS A CDL TRUCK DRIVERS

HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATORS

CALL 620-876-5676

APPLY ONLINE whitagg.com

TEXT 620-664-7449

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Applications may be obtained at 12 W. Jackson Iola, KS, call 785-235-8444, or bettisasphalt.com EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

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NOW HIRING!

We specialize in the sales, service and installation of:

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View available positions @ russellstover.com/careers

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We are currently hiring for:

**We pay holiday pay from date of hire, including 1 day of pay for Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day.

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MINIMUM STARTING WAGE OF $13.19/HR.

FOR SALE: FARM FRESH EGGS (FREE RANGE CHICKENS), $1.75 dozen, 3 dozen $5, will deliver in Iola for a 3-dozen order, 620-2280631.

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Hutchinson native to testify about pandemic

By EMILY KOPP CQ-Roll Call

WASHINGTON — A Trump administration health official who filed a whistleblower complaint last week plans to tell Congress today that without a science-based national response to the pandemic, 2020 will be the “darkest winter in modern history.”

“Our window of opportunity is closing,” Rick Bright will tell the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, according to his prepared testimony.

The mortality of the pandemic could be “unprecedented” and ultimately outstrip the 50 million casualties of the 1918 influenza epidemic, wrote Bright, who was recently transferred from his position as Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority director.

“If we fail to develop a national coordinated response, based in science, I fear the pandemic will get far worse and be prolonged, causing unprecedented illness and fatalities,” his testimony reads. “The undeniable

Dr. Rick Bright fact is there will be a resurgence of the COVID19 this fall, greatly compounding the challenges of seasonal influenza and putting an unprecedented strain on our health care system.”

“If we ignore the science, we stand a dramatically increased risk of worsening the spread of the virus in the coming months. This could lead to more widespread outbreaks and to many more lives lost,” he continues.

A native of Hutchinston, Bright wrote in his complaint that he was demoted from his post as director of BARDA in retaliation for challenging the pace of the Trump administration’s emergency response.

Bright says he resisted the efforts of Trump appointees to make hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, antimalarial drugs with no proven

benefit for treating COVID-19, widely available.

Bright said tablets of chloroquine accepted by the Strategic National Stockpile were manufactured in overseas plants previously barred from U.S. sale by the Food and Drug Administration.

Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees BARDA, are expected to rebut Bright’s testimony by underscoring that Bright requested the emergency use authorization from the FDA for those donations of chloroquine.

“This is a personnel matter that is currently under review. However, HHS strongly disagrees with the allegations and characterizations in the complaint from Dr. Bright,” said HHS spokesperson Caitlin Oakley in a statement.

The committee will also hear from Michael Bowen, executive vice president of medical device company Prestige Ameritech, who exchanged emails with Bright about a severe shortage of N95 respirators in the national stockpile in the early

days of the crisis, according to Bright’s complaint.

Bowen offered to ramp up his supply of the vital personal protective equipment but was ignored, the complaint alleges.

Bowen will testify that he sent “13 years of emails to BARDA” in an “effort to get HHS to understand that the US mask supply was destined for failure,” according to his prepared testimony.

Rep. Michael C. Burgess of Texas, the top Republican on the subcommittee, has called Thursday’s hearing premature.

Burgess said in a letter to Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Anna G. Eshoo, D-Calif., on Tuesday that Trump appointees should have been given the opportunity to rebut Bright’s claims.

The warning comes as Democrats criticize President Donald Trump for encouraging the relaxation of social distancing measures in favor of resuming economic activity.

iolaregister.com

The Iola Register

Thursday, May 14, 2020

B5

His ‘mixed signals’ are really pretty clear Hi, Carolyn: My boyfriend and I are very much in love and plan to settle down, marry and have kids someday.

However, his plans change all the time. One minute he says we could move to a different country to study together, the next he is saying he isn’t sure he wants that anymore. Or he could say something like, I should pursue my dreams and he should pursue his and we will meet up and settle down. At the moment, he is saying he isn’t sure of us traveling together anymore and I might have to go first, and he would come meet me.

Also, he isn’t ready to meet my parents because they are in a different city and he isn’t ready to come down.

All these excuses and patterns are making me think maybe he actually doesn’t plan to settle down with me, but then he talks about our future

Tell Me About It Carolyn Hax

so passionately that I’m so convinced he really wants it. Also, he pushes me to be a better person in every area. Always saying things like he wants me to make habits with him that are impossible to replicate. Please help me, I really need your advice.

Anonymous: You plan to settle down, marry him and have kids someday.

He has no such plans.

This isn’t something I’m telling you; it’s something you told me. You already know he’s not committed.

He just hasn’t told you himself because he’s too scattered to — or too content to have you on a string.

Nevertheless, you’re

straining to hear anything to support a case for his being committed to you, and then focusing on that. It’s wishful waiting.

Please don’t do that to yourself. Cherry-picking data to support the conclusion you want may feel good in the short term, but it only postpones the truth — as it becomes progressively more painful to hear.

To know where you stand with people, always, you need to listen to all of what they say and note all of what they do, then weigh it accordingly.

Maybe you do indeed love each other, and your relationship’s uncertainty is in part a byproduct of being young and in flux.

But immaturity is its own problem, and neither of you is mature enough yet to see “he isn’t ready to meet my parents” is a dead giveaway, a “nope” in neon lights. Someone

ready to commit wants to meet your people.

And you aren’t mature enough yet to hear the alarm bell: He “pushes me to be a better person”?

He “wants me to make habits with him”? I have no idea what “impossible to replicate” means here, but I do know what it means when someone wants you to be better: It means you aren’t good enough as you are, and he’s the one to fix that.

No, no, no, no. No. Serious power imbalance there, a common precursor to even more serious control problems.

Already, whether by manipulation or accident, you’re taking orders from his heart, not yours.

We aren’t who we might become; we are only who we are, right now, today.

Always. Don’t trust yourself to anyone who isn’t thrilled with today’s version of you. Whether you want or need to be better is entirely up to you.

Hand sanitizer vs. hand washing, Take 2 Dear Dr. Roach: I am a dedicated reader of your column and appreciate very much your attention to detail. I was surprised to read in my local paper recently that you recommend hand sanitizer over handwashing with soap and water. This is contrary to all other health advice I have seen. Please explain. I do understand using it when one cannot use soap and water.

— A.B. Answer: I don’t think

Dr. Keith Roach To Your Good Health I explained that very well, as several people have written to me with the same question.

Hand-washing with soap and water is preferred for many or most situations. However, in the hospital, when health care workers need to

perform hand hygiene many times daily, alcohol-based hand sanitizer may be preferred because compliance is higher with it and because it is much faster.

There are some situations where hand sanitizer should not be used and hands should be washed with soap and water: when hands are visibly soiled; when they start feeling “sticky”; and in the cases of some infections, especially C. difficile and norovirus.

In all cases, hands should be washed after using the bathroom, and before and after eating.

ZITS

BEETLE BAILEY

by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

by Mort Walker

Public notice (Published in The Iola Register, May 7, 2020) IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS PROBATE DIVISION In the Matter of the Estate of CONSTANCE LEA MILLER, Deceased 2020-PR-20 NOTICE TO CREDITORS

THE STATE OF KANSAS TO ALL PERSONS CONCERNED: You are hereby notified a Petition was filed on May 5th, 2020, in this Court by Eric Miller and Tamara Womelsdorf, praying for the appointment of Eric Miller and Tamara Womelsdorf, as co-administrators of the estate of Constance Lea Miller, and for the issuance of Letters of Co-Administration.

Pursuant to K.S.A. 59-2239, all creditors of the decedent are hereby notified to exhibit their demands against the estate with-

in four (4) months of this notice as provided by law, and if their demands are not thus exhibited, they shall be forever barred. /s/ERIC MILLER and TAMARA WOMELSDORF, Petitioners

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

by Chris Browne

JOHNSON SCHOWENGERDT, PA Robert E. Johnson II, #18223 P.O. Box 866 Iola, Kansas 66749 (620) 365-3778 Attorney for Petitioner (5) 7, 14, 21

CRYPTOQUOTES JBZ FCVJ LEJZPZVJLEH

FUNKY WINKERBEAN

by Tom Batiuk

LENCPFUJLCE KCFZV NPCF KBLRIPZE, NCP JBZS JZRR URR J B Z S X E CY U E I JBZE VJCQ. — F U P X JY U L E

BLONDIE

by Young and Drake

BABY BLUES

by Kirkman & Scott

HI AND LOIS

by Chance Browne

Yesterday’s Cryptoquote: It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.

— Frederick Douglass

B6

Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Iola Register

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The Iola Register

Thursday, May 14, 2020

B7

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to CHANGE THE WORLD.” IOLA

- NELSON MANDELA

Congratulations

2020 GRADUATES

HATS OFF TO THE GRADUATES! You’ve worked hard, and now that you’re off to bigger and better things, you deserve nothing but the best!

Way to Go!

e h t Find gift t c e f r pe r u o y for ! e t u d a r g

Congrats!

Bank of Gas 303 W. 1st • Gas, KS (620) 365-3195

Piqua State Bank

1356 Xyland Rd• Piqua, KS (620) 468-2555 or (620) 365-6692 www.piquastatebank.com Member FDIC

2020 CONGRATS!

Established 1968 Fully Insured

211 N. Jefferson • Iola 365-3534 or 1-800-794-2662

@SHOPAUDACIOUSBOUTIQUE

Mon., Tues., Thurs., and Fri. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Wed. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

23 E. Madison • Iola | 620-380-6366

CONGRATS CAL AND FELLOW GRADUATES! Allen County

ChiropractiC Dr. Steven L. Leonard 219 W. Garfield

365-3000

You’ve Come a Long Way!

of Iola, Kansas for complete crafting, customization, repairs, deliveries and installations of beautiful monuments.

We offer a wide selection of styles and options for you to choose from so you can get the exact look you’re after.

We congratulate all area graduates!

Congratulations Diesel & Turbo of Iola

Class of 2020!

1 South Walnut St • Iola, KS (620) 365-5232

Congratulations IHS Graduates!

• Headstones • Final Dates • Setting & Straightening • Vases

B&E REPAIR

Ed Stokes

42 years’ experience

Tim Vest

27 years’ experience

202 S. State • Iola www.reeblemonuments.com

From simple oil changes and tune-ups to engine overhauls, transmission rebuilding, brakes, exhaust & more!

410 E. 6 th, LaHarpe (620) 496-2496

Congrats Grads

B8

Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

IOLA

BE PROUD, YOU DID IT!

2020 GRADUATES

CONGRATULATIONS, SENIORS!

IOLA

Go see the world.

When you’re ready to come home we’ll be here to welcome you.

PARKFORD Apartments

CLAss of 2020 CONGRATS GRADS!

620-365-8424 104 White Blvd.-Iola

MAY YOUR EYESIGHT AND YOUR FUTURE BE CLEAR & BRIGHT!

Drs. Donnelly & Skahan Optometrists EXPERIENCE MODERN EYE CARE

www.wilhoitliving.com parkford@wilhoitproperties.com

(620) 365-2108 216 N. Jefferson, Iola

620-365-8200 1257 Bennett Street, Iola, KS

STAY COOL, CLASS OF 2020!

WE’RE PROUD OF YOU!

from

Nancy Sigg

Residential and Commercial Heating & Air Conditioning

511 S. Colborn (620) 365-3700

Caps off to you, graduate!

2020 Well done.

S

N LATIO RATU CONG

From your friends at

Robert E. Johnson II Daniel J. Schowengerdt Jacob T. Manbeck General Law Practice 118 W. Madison• Iola (620) 365-3778

207 N. State, Iola - 620-365-5533

24-HOUR SERVICE

CLASS OF2020

Congratulations 2020 graduates!

LILLY’S TOWING Heavy Duty Truck Towing

Light Duty Trucks

Iola (620) 365-7860

Car Carriers

Chanute (620) 431-7706

— Reasonable Rates —

H6

PROPERTIES & MECHANICAL

Let our professional HVAC technicians handle your heating and air conditioning needs. We have over two decades of experience helping area families stay comfortable.

We install high quality American Standard systems and can service all brands.

• TOTAL HOME COMFORT SYSTEMS •INDOOR AIR QUALITY • CUSTOM SHEET METAL • BOILER SYSTEMS • STANDARD & TANKLESS WATER HEATERS • RENTAL PROPERTIES

Enjoy your graduation day.

You’ve worked hard for it!

Congrats to you!

Specializing in Collision Repair and Painting Our professional service team has the knowledge and expertise to treat your car right... the first time! we guarantee it!

• Paint booth and frame repair equipment.

• Large stock of windshields

• Windshield Repair - We fix bull’s eyes right here!

Knowledgeable in every facet of our jewelry collection

Come Browse The Largest Selection That We’ve Had In Years!

5 N. Jefferson • Iola 620-365-2681

• Rings • Earrings • Pendants • Necklaces • Bracelets • Watches • Pearl Jewelry • Loose Diamonds

We’re so proud of you!

Congrats, Grads!

HWY. 54 IN GAS • (620) 365-6136 8 A.M. - 5 P.M. MON. - FRI. • DAVID (DUKE) MILLER, OWNER

530 S. State St., Iola • (620) 365-3041

CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES TO ALL GRADUATES

COMFORT EXPERT

620-365-9698

Free estimates on all insurance work.

BENNETT COIN LAUNDRY • 39 Well Maintained Washers & Dryers • Ironing Service Available • Drop-off & Pick-up for Top Hat Dry Cleaners of Chanute

CALL

CHRIS HOLLOWAY

B’s Tax Service, LLC

Brenda Buck - Public Accountant Accounting • Payroll • Income Tax • Complete Small Business Services

1201 East St. • Iola, KS 66749 | PH: 620-365-3900

Your LIVES Your PATHS BUT YOUR MEMORIES