Tuesday, March 15, 2022
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Zelenskyy to deliver virtual address to US Congress WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver a virtual address to the U.S. Congress as the Russian war on his country intensifies. Zelenskyy will speak We d n e s d ay Zelenskyy to members of the House and Senate, the Democratic leaders announced. The event will be livestreamed for the public. “The Congress, our coun-
try and the world are in awe of the people of Ukraine,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement Monday. They said all lawmakers are invited to the talk that will be delivered via video at the U.S. Capitol. It comes as Congress recently approved $13.6 billion in emergency military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. “The Congress remains unwavering in our commitment to supporting Ukraine as they face Putin’s cruel See UKRAINE | Page A3
Fatality wreck Iolan Jaime Ellis 45, was one of two people killed in a Monday morning in a wreck on U.S. 169 near the Hawaii Road exit to Humboldt. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Gordon Lane, 62, Ottawa, was southbound in his pickup on 169 when he crossed over the center line and collided head-on with the pickup Ellis was driving. Lane also died in the wreck. Two passengers with Ellis, David D. Glaze, 42, Carbondale, and Kylynn Collins, 6, Iola, were taken to Kansas City hospitals for their injuries. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN
Book salutes ‘Heroes on the Job’
Allen ready for national tourney
By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Everyone has something to contribute. That’s the message Iolan Jacob Cooper hopes to teach others through a children’s book he has written and published. “Heroes on the Job” pays homage to the everyday heroes “who save the day in their own way.” There are doctors and nurses, teachers and police, but also grocery store clerks and product stockers, janitors and more. Jacob’s inspiration for the book came during the pandemic as he learned about “essential workers” and realized those who perform very important tasks are often overlooked. “I thought they deserved credit for their hard work,” he said. Jacob wrote the book and submitted it to Christian Faith Publishing, a full-service, self-publishing and marketing company that focuses on books with an uplifting message. The publisher provided an illustrator for Jacob’s book and set him up with an agent. He worked with them to finetune his story before the 24page hardcover book was sent to press. “There were various stages I had to go through. Outlining. Sketching. An art phase. A printing phase,” Jacob said. “I really enjoyed it. I learned a lot. I’m still learning.” A book signing event is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at The Foundry, 228 S. Kentucky St. Books will be available for purchase. Books also are available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Jacob also plans to give copies of the book to school libraries. “I hope parents read this book to children and we can learn to appreciate the people who learn to do these jobs for us,” Jacob said. “I’d like people to be more thoughtful.”
Vol. 124 No. 114 Iola, KS $1.00
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Walk Kansas kicks off with event PAGE A2
Ukrainian mom, baby die in bombing PAGE A3
Jacob Cooper shows off his book, “Heroes on the Job.” A book signing event is planned from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at The Foundry, 228 S. Kentucky St. He is also wearing a T-shirt inspired by his book. Notice it says “hero on the job” and is pointing up. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS THE BOOK’S message is not surprising to those famililar with Jacob’s story. He knows what it’s like to struggle with adversity, and how important it is to find people who can inspire you. Jacob faced challenges from the moment he was born, his mom, Lori Cooper, said. He had trouble breathing at birth. Later, he faced developmental delays, such as walking and talking. He received occupational and physical therapy. At age 5, Jacob started having an unusual type of seizure — laughing fits. It’s called a gelastic seizure, a rare type of epilepsy. At first, those around him assumed it was a behavioral problem. “It felt like someone was tickling me,” he described. Often, the episode would leave him in tears. He would have up to 20 episodes a day. Those types of seizures typically don’t respond well to
Doctors recall early days of pandemic By SHERMAN SMITH Kansas Reflector
cidal episodes. School, of course, was another challenge. “I was bullied a lot,” Jacob said. Still, there were many positives. Jacob was able to compete in track and forensics. He made a lot of friends. “Jacob has always been a
TOPEKA — When the first Kansas patient to be treated for COVID-19 arrived two years ago at The University of Kansas Health System, doctors weren’t sure how to handle the new and scary sickness. Steve Stites, chief medical officer for KU Health, was working that Saturday morning, trying to figure out how to prepare for the inevitable arrival of a novel coronavirus that was making news in New York City and Seattle. “So I was like, ‘OK, I’ll go in.’ And we had these spacesuits that we wore. They’re really our hazmat suits. And we didn’t know what to do,” Stites said. The woman had returned from a microbiology conference in Boston, which turned out to be the
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A page from “Heroes on the Job.” medication. After his diagnosis, Jacob underwent surgery to have the right frontal lobe of his brain removed. That was in 2003; he hasn’t had a seizure in years. Later, though, came years of struggling with emotional and mental conditions. He’s been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, anxiety, OCD and has experienced sui-