The Iola Register, July 15, 2023

Connecting with Iola

Pastor takes helm at Wesley UMC

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

Talk about your busy weekends.

Sheriff seeks creative ways to fill jail staff

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

Sheriff Bryan Murphy is doing everything he can to encourage careers in local law enforcement.

He’s offering walk-in interviews next week at the jail. He’s lowered the age to work in the jail from 21 to 18. And, after reviewing pay and benefits in other counties, he’s asked county commissioners to allow

correctional officers to change to a different retirement plan.

Though a staffing shortage hasn’t reached a crisis point, Murphy is concerned.

“It’s hard to get anybody interested in law enforcement and public safety. It’s a struggle across the nation,” he said.

Currently, Murphy is

See MURPHY | Page A3

The Rev. Dyton Owen arrived in Iola on a Thursday evening, started unpacking on Friday and Saturday, and by Sunday morning was greeting members at Iola’s Wesley United Methodist Church, where he now serves as pastor.

“It was busy, but it went smoothly,” Owen said with a smile. “We already had the program ready to go. We just jumped right in.”

Owen, who has served as a pastor for nearly 40 years, comes to Iola eager to connect with the community.

“I’ll be trying to meet with community leaders over the next couple of weeks to see how we might be able to work together,” he said. “I’m very hands-on with my ministry, and look forward to getting The Rev.

See OWEN | Page A7

State school board seeks more special ed funding

By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — The Kansas State Board of Education voted unanimously to recommend Gov. Laura Kelly and the 2024 Legislature embrace a four-year initiative raising state aid to special education by $86.6 million annually to bring Kansas into compliance with the law. The state board last year urged lawmakers to imple-

ment a five-year program that would have moved the state’s contribution to the required 92% in terms of extra spending by local districts to educate students with special-education needs. That recommendation was supported by the governor, but didn’t gain sufficient traction at the Capitol during the 2023 legislative session. In the upcoming fiscal year, without changes approved by the Legislature and

Kelly, the state would again provide 69% of special-education funding. The strategy adopted by the state Board of Education would move the state to the 92% level within four years by delivering a total of $346 million in new state aid to special education instruction. Support among the 10 state Board of Education members at a Wednesday meeting reflected, in part, the state treasury’s fiscal year ending

balance of $1.9 billion and deposits in the state’s separate rainy-day account of $1.5 billion.

“Right now, they’re not funding the law,” said state board chair Melanie Haas, with a district that included Blue Valley, Olathe, Shawnee Mission and Kansas City schools. “We certainly have the budget as a state right now to cover this. It’s time we caught up.”

Board member Jim Porter,

who has responsibility for a 23-county district spreading out from southeast Kansas, made the motion to recommend the Democratic governor and the Republican-led Legislature tackle the funding shortfall in special education aid within four years.

It wasn’t fair to obligate local districts to fill the gap, he said, because those expenditures diverted resources in

See STATE BOE | Page A3

Group’s charge: Doling out $50B opioid settlement

By ANERI PATTANI KFF Health News

As more than $50 billion makes its way to state and local governments to compensate for the opioid epidemic, people with high hopes for the money are already fighting over a little-known bureaucratic arm of the process: state councils that wield immense power over how the cash is spent.

In 14 states, these councils have the ultimate say on the money, which comes from companies that made, distributed, or sold opioid painkillers, including Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, and Walmart. In 24 other states, plus Washington, D.C., the councils establish budget priorities and make recommendations. Those will affect whether opioid

settlement funds go, for example, to improve addiction treatment programs and recovery houses or for more narcotics detectives and prisons.

KFF Health News, along with Johns Hopkins University and Shatterproof, a national nonprofit focused on the addiction crisis, gathered and analyzed data on council

members in all states to create the first database of its kind.

The data shows that councils are as unique as states are from one another. They vary in size, power, and the amount of funds they oversee. Members run the gamut from doctors, researchers, and county health directors to law enforcement officers, town managers, and business owners, as well as people in recovery and parents who’ve lost children to addiction.

“The overdose crisis is incredibly complex, and it demands more than just money,” said Rollie Martinson, a policy associate with the nonprofit Community Education Group, which is tracking settlement spending

See OPIOIDS | Page A5

Dyton Owen is the new pastor at Iola’s Wesley United Methodist Church. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy, like many other law enforcement administrators across the state, is having difficulty finding employees. REGISTER FILE PHOTO

Philip Rutherford, chief operating officer of Faces & Voices of Recovery, gathered with his colleagues in Washington, D.C., in June for a conference around addiction issues, including the use of opioid settlement funds. LINDSAY DIVELY/TNS

Court news

IOLA MUNICIPAL

COURT

Judge Patti Boyd

Convicted as follows:

Gavin L. Cranor, Iola, failure to carry/exhibit license, $195

Travis W. Leftwich, Colony, theft of services, $342.78, probation ordered

Christopher M. Newton, Iola, driving without proper license classification, $195

Shelby A. Shepherd, Iola, vicious animal ordinance violation, $958.86

Long Island serial killer suspect arrested

MASSAPEQUA PARK, NY (AP) — A man arrested in connection with a long-unsolved string of killings on Long Island known as the Gilgo Beach murders has been identified as Rex Heuermann, an architect living across a bay from where some of the bodies were found, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Friday.

Heuermann, 59, was taken into custody in Massapequa late Thursday, the official said. Investigators, some in protective suits, searched his home Friday. Heuermann is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon in state court in Riverhead. Officials have scheduled a press conference to discuss the charges.

The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

A message seeking comment was left with Heuermann’s lawyer. Voice and email messages were left at Heuermann’s Manhattan office and at possible numbers for his home and family Friday.

The Gilgo Beach case has drawn immense public attention since human remains were found along a New York beach highway more than a decade ago. The mystery attracted national headlines for many years and the unsolved killings were the subject of the 2020 Netflix film “Lost Girls.”

The deaths of 11 people whose remains were found in 2010 and 2011 have long stumped investigators. Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Several of the bodies were found in thickets along a sandy stretch known as Gilgo Beach.

After school closes, community tries to divorce district

By RACHEL MIPRO Kansas Reflector

CLAFLIN — Barton County residents will decide whether to break up with their school district and “start fresh” following heartbreak and anger over the closure of a rural community’s high school.

The change could result in hundreds of students displaced and three more schools shut down.

The Aug. 1 disorganization vote is a test case for rural communities that increasingly have to make decisions to shut down or consolidate as populations dwindle and schools face financial strain.

“This is brand new territory for the Department of Education, for the State Board of Education and basically every district in the state of Kansas,” said KSDE general counsel Scott Gordon during a June 27 meeting in Claflin.

Dissolving the district is likely to have widespread consequences for all district schools and likely will increase residents’ taxes, according to opponents of disorganization.

Wilson parent Kayla Cullens said the split needs to happen because the Claflin-based Unified School District 112 school board voted to shut down Wilson High School.

The district covers portions of five counties, including the Holyrood, Bushton, Claflin, Dorrance, Lorraine, Wilson, Beaver and Odin communities, along with other rural areas. Claflin and Wilson are a little less than a half hour apart, and the other communities mostly fall within a 1030 minute range of each other.

Cullens, part of a disorganization campaign, said the district’s school board had long treated the Wilson community unfairly. She said the “hostility” in the decision to close the high school was the latest evidence of other schools being prioritized over Wilson.

“It’s been growing animosity between both ends of the district since consolidation, and it’s now a good time just to part ways,” Cullens said. “They weren’t willing to work with us. They weren’t willing to look at the bigger picture.”

Michael Kratky, a lifelong Wilson resident and fellow disorganization advocate, said the Wilson shutdown was a bad decision by the board. Kratky said part of his frustration stemmed from Claflin’s consolidation with Wilson, Holyrood, Bushton and Lorraine in 2010, when the Claflin school

district needed financial help.

Kratky said the district didn’t extend the same help these past two years to Wilson.

“They’re shooting for everything to be centrally located eventually in Claflin. … (The district) helped them survive. They didn’t help us survive,” Kratky said.

The district now has three schools left: Central Plains Elementary, Central Plains Junior-Senior High School and Wilson Elementary School.

Cullens said she is aware that disorganization isn’t likely to reopen the high school, but she said the Wilson community will fare better under a different district school board.

“I do not think it will get re-opened,” Cullens said. “I hope it will, and it’s really the only chance we have of reopening it. But I don’t see a yes vote opening our high school.”

Other members of communities in the district call the move misguided.

Denise Schmidt, a Claflin resident, educator and member of the opposing “United USD 112” campaign, said the disorganization effort is driven by anger and fear.

“They will lose their elementary school, we will lose our elementary school, Central Plains Elementary, and we’ll also lose Central Plains Junior Senior High School,” Schmidt said. “We will lose everything in a yes vote.”

Some have said the disorganization campaign has been misleading, with Wilson residents encouraged to believe signing the disorganization petition would bring back the high school or allow them to create their own district. Schmidt said a sign at the local post office asked residents to go in and sign the petition to “save our schools.”

“Obviously it’s for the postal officials to

decide, but putting it out there to patrons, ‘save our school’ or ‘we need a high school’ and then encouraging them to sign the petition is misleading, because by signing the petition, it doesn’t open the high school,” Schmidt said. Cullens said signs about saving the school were the work of one person, and not the official campaign effort, which has put up signs asking for a “fresh start.”

What will happen?

If the measure doesn’t pass in the Aug. 1 vote, the USD 112 school district will stay the same, keeping the tax rate and schools intact. If the measure passes, the Kansas State Board of Education takes over, deciding how to divide up the USD 112 territory into 10 neighboring school districts. The district’s schools will either be absorbed into the surrounding districts or shut down.

Officials from the Kansas State Department of Education held two informational meetings on June 27 to explain the repercussions of disorganization. During one of the informational meetings, Gordon, the agency attorney, said he wanted to clear up rumors that people in the school district would have some say over which school district they became a part of.

“I don’t know who came up with that,” Gordon said. “And that’s probably not going to happen.”

Gordon said Wilson High School wouldn’t be reopened unless the incorporating school district decided it was a good choice. Gordon said reassignment wouldn’t assure the fu-

ture safety of any of the district’s schools, or the school staffs’ jobs.

“Do we get to guarantee that they’re going to stay open? I don’t believe so,” Gordon said. “If you vote to disorganize a school district and you disorganize the locally elected school board, it is the same as if an employer suddenly goes out of business or a business owner suddenly goes out of business. The business is gone. It is entirely up to the receiving school districts.”

According to Gordon, former USD 112 residents likely would lose any say in school district functions for a few months. After the state Board of Education makes the reassignment decision, people from the former district wouldn’t be eligible to vote in elections for about 120 days.

Gordon estimated it would take 18 months after reassignment be-

fore anyone from the former USD 112 could run for local school board.

Taxpayers will pay the rate of their new district. Because nine of the 10 neighboring districts have higher mill levy rates, it’s likely many reassigned residents would see a tax increase.

Cullens said she understood there could be negative implications for the district but that Wilson needed better representation.

“We don’t know if a school will close,” Cullens said. “That’s totally up to the receiving district. We don’t know what that looks like. … They can choose to leave as open as is. They can choose to reopen the high school here in Wilson. They could choose to shut everybody down.”

She added: “We’re putting faith in the effort that they will be looking out for what’s in the best interest of our students, which we feel they’re not getting today.”

Timeline of the vote

In April 2022, the USD 112 Central Plains Board of Education voted to reassign Wilson junior and high school students to the Central Plains Junior-Senior High School because of low enrollment and financial issues.

Members of the Wilson community began to explore options of keeping the school open, such as a land transfer, which would place the building into a neighboring district.

After those unsuc-

Barton County residents will vote Aug. 1, on whether to disorganize or keep the USD 112 school district intact. (RACHEL MIPRO/KANSAS REFLECTOR)

BOE: Seeks additional $341M in special ed funding

Continued from A1

each district’s general fund.

“The special education students are not being cheated, but it very well could be to the detriment of everybody else,” Porter said. “It’s critical we make a strong statement.”

Board member Danny Zeck, a Leavenworth resident with a district extending to 16 counties in northeast Kansas, voted for the special-education funding recom-

mendation. He did so despite suggesting local school districts were supercharging assessment programs with the goal of increasing the number of students labeled with some sort of educational disability.

He also said 30 years operating a car dealership taught him it was prudent to stockpile cash in anticipation of economic downturns.

“Cash is king,” Zeck said. “I don’t know anybody will disagree with

that.” Topeka state board member Ann Mah,

with a district ranging from Wyandotte to Coffey counties, said Zeck

Murphy: Filling jail staff shortage

Continued from A1

looking to hire two deputies and four correctional officers for the jail.

The jail typically has a staff of 14 to look after 50-60 inmates. That level of staffing allows at least two staff members per shift.

Murphy calls the current staffing level “minimal,” with just enough officers to meet the threshold of two per shift. However, it requires a lot of overtime hours to do so.

“With overtime, I worry about burnout,” Murphy said. “In this type of job, you don’t want to work someone too hard. It’s not very physically demanding but it is mentally taxing.”

Murphy and his staff will offer walkin interviews between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday, July 17, and Wednesday, July 19. Those who are interested can show up, fill out an application and immediately have an interview.

To work as a correctional officer, you must be 18 or older, a high school graduate or equivalent and pass a background investigation. That means you can’t have any felony or domestic violence convictions. Murphy’s office will do pre-hire and random drug screenings.

He also asks potential hires to undergo a psychological evaluation. That is required for deputies before they attend the state’s law enforcement training academy but typically isn’t done for jail employees in other counties.

“It helps us hire better corrections officers and maybe pick up on things we didn’t see in the interview,” Murphy said.

So what makes a good officer?

“A good problem solver is the best person,” Murphy said. “Someone with a good temperament. Someone with a good, level head who can think through things that are thrown at them without getting flustered. Someone who wants to contribute or give back to their community.

“There are a lot of people who can do that, they just haven’t been put in position to see their full potential.”

A few years ago, Murphy lowered the minimum age to work at the jail from 21 to 18. It helped attract

more employees, but he found most of the time those younger employees move on to larger departments once they gain experience.

THERE MAY be many reasons why a potential officer hesitates to join law enforcement.

Perhaps some are intimidated by being put in dangerous situations. Murphy believes some also could be turned off by changing attitudes toward law enforcement because of negative national media stories about a few bad apples.

But Murphy believes the biggest deterrent is the pay.

In Allen County, the starting hourly wage for a correctional officer is $15.45, and $17.51 for road deputies.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for all occupations in Kansas is $20.13. For correctional officers, the median pay is $19.16; for sheriff’s patrol officers, it’s $23.51.

It can be challenging for smaller departments such as Allen County’s

to compete with larger agencies that offer better wages and benefits, Murphy said.

From studying the wages at comparative counties, he found most start their jail staff at $17 and $18 per hour, and most of the road deputies’ starting wages are more than $20 an hour. Only Crawford County reported similar pay to Allen.

On Tuesday, Murphy proposed a change in benefits that he believes would attract more corrections officers. He asked the county for permission to join the Kansas Police

and Fire (KP&F) retirement system. KP&F is under the umbrella of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) but offers unique benefits to law enforcement. Currently, jail employees are under the KPERS plan.

Switching to KP&F would allow those employees to retire earlier and at a higher rate.

Murphy sees KP&F as a tool for hiring and retention.

“If we can get them in and out at a younger age and give them a better retirement, I think it will help,” he said.

misunderstood implications of making local districts responsible for unfunded costs of special education.

She said there was no financial incentive for districts to draw more and more students into special education given the state’s failure to

comply with the 92% standard.

In the 2011 fiscal year, the state covered 95.7% of additional special education costs incurred by local school districts. Generally, that percentage declined throughout the subsequent decade.

“You can see what’s been happening to that percentage over the years,” said Craig Neuenswander, deputy commissioner in the Kansas Department of Education. “It has declined primarily because costs increased each year and the increase in revenue has not kept up with one, inflation, and two, the need to provide additional services.”

The Kansas State Board of Education voted unanimously to request the governor and Legislature support a four-year, $346 million plan to raise state aid to special education and comply with the law. KANSAS REFLECTOR SCREEN CATPURE FROM BOARD OF EDUCATION’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL

House GOP ties defense bill to abortion, diversity initiatives

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House on Friday approved a sweeping annual defense bill that provides an expected 5.2% pay raise for service members but strays from traditional military policy with political add-ons from Republicans to block abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the Pentagon and transgender issues that deeply divided the chamber.

Democrats voted against the package, which had sailed out of the House Armed Services Committee on an almost unanimous vote just weeks ago, but was being loaded up with the Republican priorities during a heated late-night floor debate heading into Friday’s session.

The final vote was 219-210, with four Democrats voting with the GOP, and four Republicans opposed. The bill is expected to go nowhere in the Democratic-majority Senate.

Efforts to halt U.S. funding for Ukraine in the war against

Public notices

Russia were turned back, but Republicans tacked on provisions to stem the Defense Department diversity initiatives and to restrict access to abortions. The abortion issue has been championed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who is singularly stalling Senate confirmation of military officers, including the new Commandant of the Marine Corps.

“We are continuing to

block the Biden Administration’s ‘woke’ agenda,” said Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., at a press conference with conservatives ahead of Friday’s vote.

Turning the must-pass Defense bill into a partisan battleground underscores how deeply the nation’s military, a once hallowed institution, has been unexpectedly swept up in the political culture wars over race, equity and women’s health care that are now driving the Republican Party priorities in a deepening national divide.

During one particularly tense moment in the debate, Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, a former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, spoke of how difficult it was to look across the aisle as Republicans chip away at gains for women, Black people and others in the military.

“You are setting us back,” she said during a debate over an amendment from Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., that would

prevent the Defense Department from requiring participation in race-based training for hiring, promotions or retention.

Crane argued that U.S. adversaries Russia and China don’t mandate diversity measures in their military operations, and neither should the U.S. “We don’t want our military to be a social experiment,” he said. “We want the best of the best.”

When Crane used the pejorative phrase “colored people” for Black military personnel, Beatty asked for his words to be stricken from the record.

Friday’s voted capped a tumultuous week for Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy as conservatives essentially drove the agenda, forcing their colleagues to consider their ideas for the must-pass bill that has been approved each year by Congress unfailingly since World War II.

“I think he’s doing great because we are moving through

— it was like over 1,500 amendments — and we’re moving through them,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

But Democrats, in a joint leadership statement, said they were voting against the bill because House Republicans “turned what should be a meaningful investment in our men and women in uniform into an extreme and reckless legislative joyride.”

“Extreme MAGA Republicans have chosen to hijack the historically bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act to continue attacking reproductive freedom and jamming their rightwing ideology down the throats of the American people,” said the statement from Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar.

The defense bill authorizes $874.2 billion in the coming year for the defense spending, keeping with President Joe Biden’s budget request.

Schools: District could dissolve

Continued from A2

cessful efforts, the BOE voted in January to close Wilson High School at the end of the 2022-23 school year. The plan was that Wilson junior high and high school students would be bused to Central Plains High School in Claflin. Kindergarten through sixth grade students would continue to attend school in Wilson.

According to KSDE data, the Wilson high school had 73 students at the end of the 2022-2023 school year, a 50% decline over 10 years. The Claflin high school had 140 students for the same school year.

splitting her up from friends she has known since kindergarten.

“It’s very sad,” Cullens said. “And it’s hard on her.”

She blames a “lopsided” school board for the decision. Two out of the seven board members represent Wilson, and she said the school board wasn’t advocating for her community.

Cullens cited differences in janitor pay and being passed over for collaborative opportunities with other schools for athletic programs as examples of unequal treatment She said she’s already seen some families move away as a result.

submitted for a March 22 hearing. “It was always about one school surviving at the cost of another closing. … The current structure allows lopsided boards to overpower smaller schools in a district, and the smaller schools don’t have the ability to do what’s best for our communities. We need your help.”

Following the review, the state BOE will give its opinion on closure to the local board, which will make the final decision.

a Petition for Adoption has been filed on March 2, 2023 by John and Dimity Lowell, Petitioners, praying for the adoption of the minor child, Pexleigh E. Lowell-House, YOB: 2017. The natural mother of the minor child is Caressa Elizabeth Lowell Vaughn and the natural father’s rights have been terminated. The court may find that the natural mother’s rights shall be terminated pursuant to K.S.A. 59-2136 and the minor child, above named, should be adopted by the Petitioners, John and Dimity Lowell. You are hereby required to file your written defenses thereto on or before August 1st, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. on such day, in such court, in the City of Iola, Allen County, Kansas, at which time and place such case will be heard.

You are hereby notified that

(Published in The Iola Register July 15, 2023)

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS

Should you fail therein, judgment and decree will be entered in due course upon said Petition for Adoption, entering an Order for Adoption of the minor child. Date and Time of Hearing: Au-

Members of the community asked the board to grant an oneyear extension to give the school time to find alternate solutions, such as opening a Catholic school in the space, or continuing efforts to have other school districts accept the high school.

After the extension was refused, a group of community residents successfully filed a petition in May to dissolve the school district entirely. Under Kansas statute, a disorganization petition with enough signatures is put on a ballot for all voters in the district.

Cullens, who has lived in Wilson for about 20 years, has said the months since the closure have been difficult. Her son graduated from the high school after attending the school since preschool, and her daughter, a rising senior, was set on the same track before the closure announcement. Now, she will shift schools,

“There’s a house on the market,” Cullens said. “There’s no more local spending. … I just foresee it getting worse.”

Rural communities across Kansas

In reaction to anger from the Wilson community, and support from other rural communities, the Legislature this year voted into law House Bill 2138. The law allows citizens to request the state BOE to conduct an administrative review of a resolution to close a school building if 5% or more of registered voters in the school district request the review.

Kratky went to Topeka multiple times to testify in support of the proposal.

“Through all of this in our district, this discussion was never about education,” Kratky said in testimony

Schmidt said rural communities needed to find ways to cope with shrinking populations, pointing to Bushton as an example. When the district voted to shut down the Bushton middle school in 2019, her daughter was one of the students transferred to the Claflin school.

Schmidt said Wilson could learn from Bushton, which has turned the former middle school building into a multi-purpose facility for community spaces. She pointed out the Bushton community didn’t “take their anger and hurt” and use the statute to disorganize the school district.

“There’s always a loss,” Schmidt said. “Kind of like a death. You have to mourn the death of what was. You’re not the same community you’ve always been. But that doesn’t mean your community can’t go on, that your students can’t prosper, and that there’s good things to come.”

U.S. Capitol. PIXABAY.COM

Opioids: Group must decide how to dole out settlement

Continued from A1

across Appalachia. “We also need the right people in charge of that money.”

That’s the $50 billion question: Are the right people steering the decisions? Already, criticism of the councils has been rife, with stakeholders pointing out shortcomings, from overrepresentation to underrepresentation and many issues in between. For example: — Council membership doesn’t always align with the states’ hardest-hit populations — by race or geography.

— Heavy presence of specific professional groups — treatment providers, health care executives, or law enforcement officials, for example — might mean money gets directed to those particular interests at the expense of others.

— Few seats are reserved for people who’ve dealt with a substance use disorder themselves or supported a family member with one.

ADMITTEDLY, no one can design a perfect council. There’s no agreement on what that would even look like. But when a pile of money this big is at stake, everyone wants in on the action.

More than $3 billion of opioid settlement funds has already landed in government coffers, with installments to come through 2038. The money is meant as restitution for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have died from drug overdoses in recent decades.

But what restitution looks like depends on whom you ask. People running syringe service programs might suggest spending money immediately on the overdose reversal medication naloxone, while hospital officials might advocate for longer-term investments to increase staffing and treatment beds.

“People naturally want money to go toward their own field or interest,” said Kristen Pendergrass, vice president of state policy at Shatterproof.

And that can trigger hand-wringing.

In many parts of the country, for instance, people who support syringe service programs or similar interventions worry that councils with high numbers of police

officers and sheriffs will instead direct large portions of the money to buy squad cars and bulletproof vests. And vice versa.

In most states, though, law enforcement and criminal justice officials make up fewer than one-fifth of council members. In Alaska and Pennsylvania, for instance, they’re not represented at all.

OUTLIERS exist, of course. Tennessee’s 15-member council has two sheriffs, one current and one former district attorney general, a criminal court judge, and a special agent from the state Bureau of Investigation. But like many other councils, it hasn’t awarded funds to specific groups yet, so it’s too soon to tell how the council makeup will influence those decisions.

Pendergrass and Johns Hopkins researcher Sara Whaley, who together compiled the list of council members, say criticism of councils drawing too heavily from one field, geographic area, or race is not just a matter of political correctness, but of practicality.

“Having diverse representation in the room is going to make sure there is a balance on how the funds are spent,” Pendergrass said.

To this end, Courtney Gary-Allen, organizing director for the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project, and her colleagues chose early on to ensure their state’s 15-member council included peo-

ple who support what’s known as harm reduction, a politically controversial strategy that aims to minimize the risks of using drugs. Ultimately, this push led to the appointment of six candidates, including Gary-Allen, to the panel. Most have personal experience with addiction.

“I feel very strongly that if these six folks weren’t on the council, harm reduction wouldn’t get a single dollar,” she said.

Others are starting to focus on potential lost opportunities.

In New Jersey, Elizabeth Burke Beaty, who is in recovery from substance use disorder, has noticed that most members of her state’s council represent urban enclaves near New York City and Philadelphia. She worries they’ll direct money to their home bases and exclude rural counties, which have the highest rates of overdose deaths and unique barriers to recovery, such as a lack of doctors to treat addiction and transportation to faraway clinics.

Natalie Hamilton, a spokesperson for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who appointed the members, said the council represents “a wide geographic region,” including seven of the state’s 21 counties.

But only two of those represented — Burlington and Hunterdon counties — are considered rural by the state’s Office of Rural Health needs assessment. The state’s hardest-hit rural

But what restitution looks like depends on whom you ask. People running syringe service programs might suggest spending money immediately on the overdose reversal medication naloxone, while hospital officials might advocate for longer-term investments to increase staffing and treatment beds.

counties lack a seat at the table.

Now that most of the council seats nationwide are filled, worries about racial equity are growing.

Louisiana, where nearly a third of the population is Black, has no Black council members. In Ohio, where Black residents are dying of overdoses at the highest rates, only one of the 29 council members is Black.

“There’s this perception that this money is not for people who look like me,” said Philip Rutherford, who is chief operating officer of Faces & Voices of Recovery and is Black. His group organizes people in recovery to advocate on addiction issues.

Research shows Black Americans have the fastest-rising overdose death rates and face the most barriers to gold-standard treatments.

In several states, residents have lamented the lack of council members with firsthand knowledge of addiction, who can direct settlement dollars based on personal experiences with the treatment and criminal justice systems. Instead, councils are saturated with treatment providers and health care organizations.

And this, too, raises eyebrows.

“Service providers are going to have a monetary interest,” said Tracie M. Gardner, who leads policy advocacy at the New York-based Legal Action Center. Although most are good people running good treatment programs, they have an inherent conflict with the goal of making people well and stable, she said.

“That is work to put treatment programs out of business,” Gardner said. “We must never forget the business model. It was there for HIV, it was there for covid, and it’s there for the overdose epidemic.”

Councils in South Carolina and New York

have already seen some controversy in this vein — when organizations associated with members pursued or were awarded funding. It’s not a particularly surprising occurrence, since the members are chosen for their prominent work in the field.

Both states’ councils have robust conflict-of-interest policies, requiring members to disclose professional and financial connections. New York also has a law precluding council members from using their position for financial gain, and South Carolina uses a rubric to objectively score applications.

That these situations cause alarm regardless shows how much hope and desperation is tied up in this money — and the decisions over who controls it.

“This is the biggest infusion of funding into the addiction treatment field in at least 50 years,” said Gardner. “It’s money coming into a starved system.”

Database Methodology

The list of council members’ names used to build the database was compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Sara Whaley and Henry Larweh and Shatterproof’s Kristen Pendergrass and Eesha Kulkarni. All council members, even those without voting power, were listed.

Although many states have councils to address the opioid crisis generally, the database focused specifically on councils overseeing the opioid settlement funds. A council’s scope of power was classified as “decision-making” if it directly controls allocations. “Advisory” means the council provides recommendations to another body, which makes final funding decisions.

The data is current as of June 9.

KFF Health News’ Aneri Pattani, Colleen DeGuzman, and Me-

gan Kalata analyzed the data to determine which categories council members represent, based on the following rules:

— Each council member can be counted in only one category. There is no duplication.

— People should be given the most descriptive categorization possible. For example, attorneys general are “elected officials,” but it is more specific to say they are “law enforcement and criminal justice” officials.

— A “government representative” is typically a government employee who is not elected and does not fit into any other descriptive category — for example, a non-elected county manager.

— People who provide direct services to patients or clients, such as physicians, nurses, therapists, and social workers, are classified as “medical and social service providers.” People with more administrative roles are typically classified as “public” or “private health and human services,” based on their organization’s public or private affiliation. — “Lived or shared experience” refers to someone who has personally experienced a substance use disorder, has a family member with one, or has lost a loved one to the disease. Because people’s addiction experiences are not always public, only individuals explicitly appointed because of their firsthand connection or to fill a seat reserved for someone with that experience were categorized as such.

(KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.)

Elizabeth Burke Beaty is in long-term recovery from substance use disorder and runs Sea Change, a nonprofit recovery community organization in New Jersey. She says people who have seen the pitfalls of the addiction and criminal justice systems know best where to direct opioid settlement dollars. TNS

Saturday, July 15, 2023

ACC future is bright

Strategic planning is a vital process that provides a framework for operational planning, enabling organizations to fulfill their mission, vision, and meet the needs of stakeholders.

Allen Community College recognizes the significance of strategic planning in shaping its future. By engaging in a comprehensive strategic planning process, the college has developed a dynamic roadmap to navigate the coming years and ensure its continued success.

Analyzing the Market

In the summer of 2022, ACC embarked on the development of its 2023-2027 Strategic Plan. To gain valuable insights into the college’s service area, including Allen County and adjacent regions, the college collaborated with the Clarus Corporation.

Together, they conducted a market assessment, analyzing both historical and future trends. This assessment revealed crucial findings such as shifting age and racial demographics, stagnant educational attainment, and higher levels of sustained regional poverty compared to national metrics.

Engaging Stakeholders

To gather diverse perspectives and input, the college organized Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities, and Threats (SCOT) analysis sessions involving staff, faculty, and community groups.

The internal SCOT analysis with college employees was on Aug. 11, 2022. An external SCOT analysis was Nov. 30, 2022, involving community members and external stakeholders.

These discussions formed the foundation for the strategic goals of the 2023-2027

Strategic Plan.

Mission and Vision

As part of the planning process, the Board of Trustees reviewed the mission and vision statements from the previous strategic plan (20172022). The board decided to embrace the continuity of the existing mission and vision

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Bruce Moses ACC President

statements, which emphasize the college’s commitment to providing “Quality Education in a Caring Atmosphere.” This reaffirmation ensures the college’s core purpose remains aligned with its overarching goal.

Refining the Strategic Plan

Throughout the spring of 2023, additional focus sessions were conducted, enabling the college to select relevant metrics and measurements that align with the vision of the Governing Board and the statewide goals of the Kansas Board of Regents. The plan considers both qualitative and quantitative data, positioning it at the confluence of vision and action.

Building a Prosperous Future

By strategically allocating human and financial resources in accordance with the plan, Allen Community College aims to collaborate with community partners in Southeast Kansas. The college seeks to improve economic conditions, increase educational attainment across the service area, and foster a strong and prosperous future for Allen County. Through this commitment to long-term planning, the college aims to make a positive and lasting impact on the community it serves.

Allen Community College’s dedication to strategic planning sets the stage for its continued success and growth. By thoroughly analyzing market trends, engaging stakeholders, and refining their Strategic Plan, the college has positioned itself to address the evolving needs of its community. With a focus on collaboration and a commitment to its mission and vision, Allen Community College is well-prepared to build a brighter future for both its students and the region.

Family

should come with care tag

Last week my three brothers and I met for the first time in seven years. Husband Brian and I went to Vermont, where brothers Emerson and Angelo live. Mike is in Connecticut.

Previously, we had relied on summer vacations in Colorado and the weddings of our respective children to bring us together.

Now that we’re grandparents, the summer vacations have been relegated more to immediate family members while the idea of a multi-generation reunion of any sorts has proved too daunting for this calendar-challenged family.

But last week’s reunion gave us inspiration.

Even after that long of a hiatus our conversations picked up without a hitch as we reveled in each other’s news and memories.

Saying goodbye was tough.

NONE OF US use social media on a regular basis.

We all still have all-consuming jobs and figure if

Susan Lynn Register editor

we need to know something significant about the family we’ll get the word.

That attitude likely comes from us growing up when writing letters was our main form of communication.

There’s something to be said for that distancing, the “no news is good news” philosophy.

When my parents dropped me off for college, our communication was sporadic.

If I was confused or upset, I wrote in a journal.

I had dozens.

In today’s world, that must sound harsh. And lonely.

And, in truth, it probably wasn’t the healthiest way to muddle through.

I don’t know how my

daughter Louise got so smart, but her Saturday morning ritual includes calling me while on a walk about her Topeka neighborhood.

Three things: No matter the weather, she knows the exercise and being outside automatically puts her in a positive mindset as does touching base.

By the time we hang up, I feel lucky — again.

I loved looking at the photos in Tuesday’s paper of the various pairings attending the Taylor Swift concert in Kansas City. Mothers and daughters. Sisters and cousins. Friends of all ages.

All fall under the umbrella of family.

AS MY BROTHERS and I sat around the table I thought, “how happy Mom and Dad would be to see us together like this.”

And then I shuddered, knowing that all along we had taken the moment for granted.

Never again.

Grade inflation is hurting our students’ career prospects

I love teaching. But I hate grading.

I am not alone in this. Most teachers, instructors and professors — from kindergarten to doctoral classes — embrace the daily work of being an educator: preparing lectures, leading demonstrations, decorating bulletin boards, refreshing lesson plans, helping students during class.

But the grading? Ugh.

I invent elaborate schemes to avoid grading. The laundry must be folded. The spice cabinet needs a renovation. Our taxes are due … 10 months from now. Anything but grading.

The novelist Frank McCourt wrote about the psychic weight of lugging around ungraded essays. His solution: He once pitched them into a dumpster and strolled along into a now-leisurely day. I’ve never done anything so cinematic with a stack of student work.

With all of this dread for grading, I had to click on a story this week from the University Daily Kansan by Rylie Oswald Al-Awhad. The headline? “GPAs rise at KU during the pandemic; highest in nearly 50 years.”

(Full disclosure: I teach journalism at KU, where Oswald Al-Awhad is a journalism student.)

The story describes how GPAs among undergraduates

jumped during the spring of 2020, when the university suspended in-person classes for the COVID-19 pandemic and instructors scrambled to figure out remote teaching.

The jump took GPAs from 3.17 in fall 2019, the last uninterrupted semester before the pandemic, to 3.47 in spring 2020.

The change of .30 in GPA points is by far the largest at KU since 1974, according to the university’s institutional research. If you, for instance, compare spring GPA records year-to-year, the largest annual increase is .06 points. For fall GPAs, the largest annual increase is .07.

The one-semester pandemic bump was four to five times larger than even those earlier and relatively extreme years.

Nevertheless, GPA has been rising for decades. In fall 1980, KU registered its lowest GPA: 2.63. Since then it has been a steady climb, with the large pandemic bump sliding backwards slightly — from 3.47 in spring 2020 to 3.29 in spring 2023.

These GPA numbers are not particular to KU. National research reveals that GPAs have been increasing everywhere, for decades. That isn’t breaking news. Here is what is new: Today’s incoming university students in Kansas are less academically prepared during this

Eric Thomas Kansas Reflector

post-pandemic era. Yet they are earning higher and higher GPAs.

Talk to any professor or instructor. They will dump out anecdotes of how students are struggling after the pandemic. Spotty attendance. Shaky study skills. Over-reliance on screens. Struggles to meet deadlines.

“Yes,” they will say, “the students are different now.”

Recent educational research also has described students who are less skilled than the students who graduated years before. By virtue of the pandemic, they are scoring lower in math and reading. According to the Education Recovery Scorecard, students from many Kansas school districts shed at least the equivalent of a half-year in math achievement. For some low-income districts, the results were doubly worse, often because those districts used remote schooling for longer during the pandemic.

Student ACT scores are slumping too. Benchmark scores on the ACT test aim

to predict the college success of graduating high school students. Whereas 30% of Kansas students met all four benchmarks in 2012, only 21% met those standards, according to a Kansas Board of Regents report. Math readiness fell from 51% to 32%.

Educators are quibbling about what to call this phenomenon. Calling it a “loss” suggests that students ever learned how to diagram the water cycle or how to write a topic sentence. But they didn’t. They never could “lose” it because they never learned it in the first place.

Saying that students “missed” the content suggests they answered a multiple-choice question incorrectly, or perhaps they were on vacation in Gulf Shores. We could call it a “deficit,” if we want it to equate learning with economic principles. Calling it a “hole” in their learning sounds like a physical wound.

Regardless, we have students who are less ready for college. And yet, they have higher GPAs than previous students.

THE MOST consequential result of these escalating grades at a moment of slumping achievement? Students get a false sense of their own talents.

Students should see the ur-

gency of this moment in their post-pandemic learning. We should be honest with them, sharing the research. We should let them know the pandemic education has put them in a difficult place, and each of them will need work toward that recovery.

Grades are another (and more direct way) to communicate that urgency. The pandemic has made it vital that students make up their pandemic learning loss (or deficit or hole). A series of “A” grades on a report card doesn’t seem urgent at all.

Instead, those grades say, “Your work here is not average or even above average. It is excellent.”

That is not a message that would send me scrambling to the library for extra hours of research. Or persuade me to go to the chemistry study group.

During the summer, teachers step back from their work. They deserve it. But they also reflect on what they will do differently next year. My suggestion is that we each consider if the grades we are giving reflect the work we are seeing.

By inflating grades for a struggling generation of students, instructors are sending them the message that their skills are excellent. At this moment, that is less and less likely.

Man drowns in home

By KATHY MCCORMACK The Associated Press

A man who died as a result of a drowning accident in his home is Vermont’s first death related to recent storms and historic flooding, the state’s emergency management agency said.

Stephen Davoll, 63, of Barre, died on Wednesday, said Mark Bosma, spokesperson for Vermont Emergency Management.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner investigated the death, in cooperation with local police, Bosma said in a news release late Thursday afternoon. He said Vermonters are urged to continue to take extra care as they return to their homes and repair damage.

“The loss of a Vermonter is always painful, but it is particularly so this week,” Vermont U.S. Sen. Peter Welch said.

It was the second flood-related death stemming from a storm system and epic flooding in the Northeast this week. The first was in New York — a woman whose body was found after she was swept away in Fort Montgomery, a small Hudson River community about 45 miles north of New York City.

Owen: Wesley pastor getting to know Iola

Continued from A1

involved in the community after we get settled.”

Moving to Iola was a particularly exciting development because his wife, Tammy, spent much of her childhood in Eureka.

Owen, meanwhile, is an Oklahoma native, and son of a pastor and bishop, whose service has taken him from Texas to Nebraska and various parts in between.

Wesley is his 14th church since Owen began preaching in the early 1980s as a college student.

He’s served in churches of all sizes, from ultra-rural to suburban, urban and even inner-city churches in Oklahoma City.

“We wanted a small town,” Owen said. “We like the peace and quiet, and not the big-city rush and headache that it involves.”

Iola’s size is perfect, he notes, because it’s large enough to get pretty much anything he needs locally, but small enough that it doesn’t take 30 minutes to drive one-way to work, like he did at his most recent stop in Oklahoma City.

They’ve previously served at churches in Chanute and Independence years ago, but Iola is the couple’s closest stop to Eureka yet.

“The goal is always to stay as long as you can,” ‘he said. “My goal is to stay here for a while.”

OWEN grew up in a family already well-acquainted with the church. In addition to his father, Owen had a brother who became a pastor.

It was while in college at Oklahoma City University that Owen felt his calling from God, so he switched over to OKC’s school of theology, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in theology.

It was also where, at age 20, he was tapped to preach at a small church outside Edmond, an Oklahoma City sububrb.

“I’d preach on weekends and go to school during the week,” he recalled. “I did that all the way through seminary.”

Owen eventually earned his master’s degree from Southern Methodist University’s School of Theology in Dallas, and later earned his doctorate at the Robert Webber Institute for Worship at Northern Seminary in Jacksonville, Florida.

IOLANS have already accepted Owen and his wife with open arms, he said.

In his inaugural sermon at Wesley, Owen admitted to a little trepidation. It’s natural, he explained to the congregation.

He wanted to appear wise, but not “offensively wise,” he said, engaging, but not overly so.

Likewise, he expected the church-goers

were keen on giving a strong first impression as well, “so that any pastor would love to serve them.”

“We’re still getting to know them,” he told the Register. “We’ve had two worship services so far. People are very receptive and responsive and warm, and have been nothing but friendly.”

He greeted the church members with one bit of advice.

“If you’re not forthcoming with your ‘good mornings’ and your excitement, I’ll just keep asking you,” he joked. “I’ll just keep saying it.”

The message was received loud and clear with Owen receiving a hearty “Good morning!” in response.

OWEN plans to maintain Wesley’s reputation as a church heavily

involved in community activities, from regular food distribution efforts to those in need, having an active youth group and assisting with such things the Salvation Army bell ringing during the Christmas season.

“A lot of churches are just now getting out of COVID,” where attendance plummeted as parishioners were advised to stay away from large gatherings.

“It just kind of wrecked everything,” Owen said. “But people are ready to come back. They’re eager for it.”

Outside of church, Owen hopes to eventually take up fishing again, despite not having cast a line in decades.

“Haven’t had the time or opportunity,” he explained.

Mainly, the Owens

enjoy spending their spare time with family.

Tammy has three sons who live in the Wichita area, while Dyton’s son lives in Bartlesville.

Tack on a group of youthful grandchildren, and getting closer to home has never been more appealing. “We just like to hang out with each other and with family,” he said. “It’s nice to be this close to them.”

CORRECTION:

The Register’s Allen County Fair Entries magazine incorrectly reported the flavor of this year’s Baked Pie Contest as gooseberry. It is not. The flavor for this year’s contest is blackberry.

The baked pie contest will take place Thursday, July 27 at 6 p.m. Each contestant must bring a copy of the recipes for both the pie crust and filling. No fresh fruit pies will be accepted if they have not been properly preserved. Further questions can be directed to Linda Garrett at 620-228-2101.

And deliciously enough, all winning entries become property of the Allen County Fair Association.

The Register sincerely regrets the error.

(And if anyone has already made a gooseberry pie, we will gladly accept it!)

Sports Daily B

Alcaraz to face Djokovic in Wimbledon men’s final

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — This was the moment. If Novak Djokovic was going to be stopped in the Wimbledon semifinals, if his much younger and harder-hitting opponent, Jannik Sinner, was going to turn things around Friday, the monumental comeback required would need to start immediately.

Djokovic knew it. Sinner knew it. The 15,000 or so Centre Court spectators knew it.

After taking the first two sets, Djokovic trailed 5-4 in the third, and a flubbed forehand made the game score 15-40 as he served. Two chances for Sinner to finally break. Two chances for him to actually take a set. Djokovic hit a fault, which drew some sounds of approval from the stands. Djokovic sarcastically used his racket and the ball to applaud the noise-makers, then flashed a thumbs up. He can back up any such bravado. Djokovic simply does not lose at the All England Club lately. Or at any Grand Slam tournament, for that matter. So he calm-

See WIMBLEDON | Page B2

Pulisic signs with AC Milan

MILAN (AP) — After struggling for playing time in his fourth season with Chelsea, Christian Pulisic finalized a four-year contract with U.S.-owned AC Milan on Thursday.

The 24-year-old American midfielder and forward, who joined Chelsea after four seasons with Borussia Dortmund, scored 26 goals in 145 games with the Blues and won a Champions League medal in 2021. But after netting 19 Premier League goals in his first three seasons he had just one in 2022-23 — none in 20 matches after Oct. 8. He made just two starts after Jan. 5.

“I haven’t gotten the opportunities I’ve wanted in recent years and haven’t reached the level that I want to be at, and this is a great opportunity for me to do that,” Pulisic said during an online news conference with U.S. media.

Considered the top

See PULISIC | Page B2

Saturday, July 15, 2023

Iola A’s season ends at Ottawa

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

OTTAWA — The Iola A Indians attempted to overcome a deficit in a season-ending 8-6 loss to Ottawa’s A’s in the American Legion zone tournament Thursday.

Iola (15-8) held a 2-1 advantage from the bottom of the second until the top of the sixth only to have Ottawa storm back with four runs in the sixth inning.

Iola made a fighting comeback by scoring four runs in the final three innings but

came up just short, 8-6.

“It just takes us awhile to get started every game,” Iola head coach Jason Bauer said. “Some mental mistakes hurt us, we’ve got to hit and we can’t give out free passes. You turn three double plays in a summer legion contest and lose, that’s unheard of.”

Ottawa’s Stetson Miller scored on a Gavin Jones wild pitch in the top of the second for the early 1-0 lead.

Iola then struck with a Jacob Harrington two-run double to right field which plated Ryan Golden and Drake Weir for the 2-1 lead.

“That should have given us some momentum,” said Bauer. “We were still acting like we were behind. It’s growing pains.”

Neither team scored again until the sixth inning when Ottawa’s Miller lined an error to the first baseman which allowed one more run

to cross and tie the game at 2-2. Servin Rumold singled to right field to plate another and Keaton Mallicoat sent a sac fly to right to put Iola down, 4-2.

Rumold scored again on a wild pitch for the 5-2 lead.

Tyler Lord got the Indians back into the game in the sixth when he singled to left field to bring home Golden and Harrington and bring it within a 5-4 deficit.

Will Altic led off the seventh by doubling to center field to score a run and make it 6-4.

Iola knotted it up in the seventh when Kyler Isbell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 6-5. Harrington then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Kade Nilges for the 6-6 tally.

Ottawa secured the vic-

See INDIANS | Page B6

Mustangs test their engines

The Iola High cross country team has been in action this week, practicing at Riverside Park. Af left, Cole Moyer, left, and Brennen Coffield run side by side. Below, Josh Wanker nears his finish. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Iola’s A Indians crowd the dugout fence during an 8-6 loss to Ottawa to end their season in the Kansas American Legion zone A tournament. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Iola’s Jacob Harrington had an early go-ahead two-run double against Ottawa. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Vegas is basketball world

LAS VEGAS (AP) —

The timing and location of the WNBA AllStar Game couldn’t be much better.

Just in the past week, 19-year-old phenom Victor Wembanyama made his NBA debut in the Summer League to sold-out crowds at the nearby Thomas & Mack Center, league commissioner Adam Silver spoke openly about Las Vegas as a potential expansion candidate, and the Aces continued to

Wimbledon: Finals are set

Continued from B1

roll through opponents to move to 19-2 as they seek a second straight WNBA title.

That’s a lot of basketball momentum ahead of the All-Star Game at Michelob Ultra Arena.

The 3-point shooting contest and skills competitions take place Friday, and the game Saturday has been declared a sellout.

Team Wilson is captained by Aces star and two-time MVP A’ja Wilson, and she will

be joined by three of her Las Vegas teammates when they take on Team Stewart, led by 2018 MVP Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty.

Aces coach Becky Hammon, who will lead Team Wilson, noted that Las Vegas has a history as a basketball city. UNLV won the 1990 national championship and appeared in three other Final Fours,

See WNBA | Page B6

Pulisic: Reviving club career

Continued from B1

American player with 25 goals in 60 international appearances, Pulisic was sidelined by a string of injuries and didn’t live up to expectations at Chelsea. He left the London club with a year left on his contract. His deal with Milan includes a team option for 2027-28.

“It all just became very clear in the recent weeks that this was the spot for me,” he said. “I’m going to have a great opportunity to play, to hopefully make an impact within this team. It was really at the end of the day a no-brainer.”

Pulisic scored three goals at Burnley in October 2019, becoming the second American with a Premier League hat trick after Fulham’s Clint Dempsey in 2012. He was the first American with a goal in an FA Cup, a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in 2020.

But his playing time dwindled as Chelsea changed managers from Frank Lampard to Thomas Tuchel to Gra-

ham Potter and back to Lampard.

Pulisic said he spoke extensively with Milan coach Stefano Pioli.

“The manager really spelled out exactly how he sees me fitting in with this team and I did feel wanted at this club,” Pulisic said.

Milan is controlled by the American investment firm RedBird Capital Partners led by Gerry Cardinale, and baseball’s New York Yankees are a minority investor. Milan is paying a transfer fee of 20 million euros ($22 million) for Pulisic, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport. That’s less than a third of what Chelsea paid Borussia Dortmund for Pulisic in 2019.

Pulisic is set to become the third American to play for the Rossoneri after defender Oguchi Onyewu, who appeared in one Champions League match for 31 minutes, and right back Sergiño Dest, who was on loan from Barcelona last season and didn’t dress after Jan.

24. Milan is a seven-time European champion and lost to city rival Inter in a Champions League semifinal last spring. The Rossoneri won the last of their 19 Serie A titles in 2022.

Getting playing time is key for Pulisic and other top U.S. players ahead of next year’s Copa América, to be played in the United States, and a 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“You want to be in top form,” he said. “Being here, I hope to find that again.”

Pulisic is the second Chelsea player to leave for Milan this month after Ruben Lof-

ly collected the next four points to claim that game, looked toward the crowd and mockingly pretended to wipe away a tear. Twenty minutes later, the match was over, and the 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Sinner allowed Djokovic to close in on a record-tying eighth title at Wimbledon and fifth in a row.

“The third set could have gone his way,” said Djokovic, who will meet No. 1-ranked Carlos Alcaraz for the trophy on Sunday. “It was really, really, just a lot of pressure.”

Alcaraz showed off every bit of his many talents, including winning 17 of 20 points when he serve-andvolleyed, while beating No. 3 Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to make his way to his first final at the grasscourt major tournament.

While Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, is pursuing a 24th Grand Slam singles championship, Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, seeks his second after winning the U.S. Open last September.

“What can I say? Everybody knows the legend he is,” Alcaraz said about Djokovic. “It’s going to be really, really difficult. But I

will fight. ... I will believe in myself, I will believe that I can beat him here.”

No one has managed to beat Djokovic at Wimbledon since 2017. And no one has managed to beat him at Centre Court since 2013.

Against Sinner, Djokovic repeatedly served himself out of potential trouble, saving all six break points he faced, to reach his ninth final at the All England Club. It’s also his 35th final at all Grand Slam tournaments, more than any man or woman in tennis history.

As great as he is as a returner, as superb as his defense is — over and over, he would sprint and lean and stretch to get to a ball that extended a point until Sinner made a mistake — Djokovic possesses a serve that might be the part of his game he’s improved the most over his career. That showed Friday, and it’s showed throughout this fortnight: In his half-dozen matches during the tournament, Djokovic has won 100 of his 103 service games and saved 16 of 19 break points.

“In the pressure moments, he was playing very good. Not missing,” Sinner said.

“That’s him.”

The age gap between Djokovic and Sinner, 21, was the largest between Wimbledon men’s semifinalists in the Open era, which began in 1968. Djokovic would be the oldest champion at Wimbledon since professionals were first allowed to compete that year.

“I feel 36 is the new 26, I guess,” Djokovic said. “It feels good.”

Sinner is the one who hit serves at up to 132 mph and pounded one fault that clanged against the speed readout board in a corner of the arena with such force it sounded as if he might have broken the thing. Of more concern to Sinner: It was followed by another fault in a service game he dropped to trail 2-1 in the second set.

In truth, talented as Sinner is, he didn’t really generate any more frustration for Djokovic than chair umpire Richard Haigh did.

In one game in which Djokovic would face — and erase — a break point, he argued to no avail after forfeiting a point because Haigh called him for hindrance for letting out a lengthy yell while the ball was still in play. Moments later, Haigh issued Djokovic a warning for letting the serve-clock expire.

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Grandma heard us say she’s boring

We asked readers to channel their inner Carolyn Hax and answer this question. Some of the best responses are below.

Dear Carolyn: During Christmas 2021, my mother walked into her kitchen as my 15-yearold said, “I hate being here. She’s boring, and I would rather be at home,” and I replied, “I agree — but she’s family.” I was standing at the sink looking outside and didn’t see her. She cleared her throat, filled her glass with water and left the room. Nothing more was said before we left. She gave us all plenty of hugs and kisses when we were at the door.

Since then, she sold the house and left no forwarding address. She sends gifts in the mail, and we exchange cordial but insubstantial emails. When I have asked if something is wrong, she simply responds, “Enough has been said already,” and “Young people are very observant.” No anger. No animosity. Just complete disinterest.

She is clearly upset, but I can’t even say she is angry. This is completely unlike her! What can I do or say now?— Caught

Caught: It’s hard to be caught, no doubt about it. But it seems like asking your mom to tell you what is wrong is putting the burden on her. You both know already what is wrong, and it’s on you to address it.

Do you feel bad for what was said? Tell her. Do you wish you had stood up for her? Tell her. Do you want to make it right? Tell her. Teenagers say cruel things sometimes, and you offhandedly agreed to the cruel thing and, to no one’s surprise, your mom is hurt. While it might seem like giving no forwarding address

could be an overreaction, it also stands to reason that if someone thinks your house is boring, you wouldn’t want to obligate them to be there. This is her way of avoiding that. It’s up to you to make it right. — Sequoia

Caught: Oh my. You do know the answer to your question, right? You know what’s wrong. And you know it was not your intention to hurt her feelings, but you did. I see two steps to mend this relationship.

First, talk to your kid about what those visits mean to their grandmother. You validated their statement that the visits are boring. Time to revisit that. As a teacher, I sometimes had students talk about a task they found boring. I challenged them to reframe their thinking: It is boring if you think it is. If you can dig deep and find ways to engage with grandma — instead of expecting her to entertain you — that would be good for all. Meet her on her level and respect what she CAN do.

Second, it is up to you as the parent to model restorative action to repair your relationship with grandma. She is deeply hurt. An apology and ownership of your hurtful statement is in order. You can’t erase what she heard, but you can own that it was a hurtful thing to say whether she heard it or not. Ask for forgiveness and an opportunity to help heal — on her time frame. Give her time and space to consider your offer. Best of luck.

— Cyntax

Caught: Have you asked Mom where she is and what she is doing? Maybe overhearing that conversation gave her permission to stop fulfilling a perceived duty and break out of the jail of society and family expectations! So many of my friends (especially single grandmom’s, but not exclusively) are enmeshed in their children’s lives, including me. We regularly joke that we are going to sell the house, change our phone numbers and not come back. The Mom sticker on our forehead is so big that we can’t breathe.

Don’t ask your Mom what’s wrong. Ask her what she did yesterday, how her friends are, what music she’s listening to, how she feels about the state of the world, etc. She’s probably not as boring as you and your teenager think. I hope she is having a blast. — Never Too Late

Caught: Speaking as another older person, it sounds like it could be depression to me. Pervasive self-loathing of varying degrees saps the will to be spontaneous or even active, which makes anyone appear “boring.” That she caved so quickly and completely, inferring your teen was correct, suggests plenty of self-conditioning ahead of these overheard remarks.

I know from my and my peers’ experience that thoughts about aging include feelings of social irrelevance, fear and hopelessness. The urge to withdraw is powerful. I suggest facing this with your mom squarely as a matter of concern about her general well-being and your (plural, include her grandchild) desire to be active in her life.

Isolation, if that is your mom’s case, is dangerous to older people mentally, spiritually and even physically. — Lwoodsky

Caught: Wowzer. Imagine one day hearing your child describe you as boring and the time spent with you as an obligation. That kind of pain would take anyone’s breath away. Your mother’s response indicates to me that this is not the first time you have treated her badly, and she has just had enough and moved on.

If you truly want her in your life then figure out why. In your letter you don’t say you miss her or value her or how mortified you are to have hurt her. If you can’t see her as a person who deserves kindness and respect and worthy of love and connection with her own family, then take her lead and stay away. If you do want a connection with her then find your way to I’m sorry with a very good therapist. — Look Within

ZITS

by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

BEETLE BAILEY by Mort Walker

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE by Chris Browne

BLONDIE by Young and Drake

MUTTS by Patrick McDonell

MARVIN by Tom Armstrong

HI AND LOIS by Chance Browne

Huggins, Fitzgerald legal headaches could just be starting at WVU, NW

By JOHN RABY The Associated Press

The legal headaches could only be starting for Pat Fitzgerald and Bob Huggins — and their schools.

Fitzgerald was fired this week as Northwestern’s football coach following hazing allegations — but after the school had first announced a twoweek suspension. West Virginia said Huggins had resigned after the Hall of Fame basketball coach’s arrest last month on a drunken-driving charge — but he now says he made no such decision.

Attorneys are looking to sort it all out, a process that requires a precise review of their contracts, but industry observers are stunned by the awkward-atbest handling of two high-profile contracts worth millions of dollars. If the cases wind up in court, it would be in everyone’s best interest to seek a quick resolution, said Marty Greenberg, a Mil-

waukee attorney specializing in coaches’ contracts and terminations.

“A lot of these things end up settled because no one wants to hang their dirty laundry out,” Greenberg said.

Northwestern originally suspended Fitzgerald for two weeks without pay July 7, saying a law firm’s investigation did not find sufficient evidence that the coaching staff knew about ongoing hazing. On Monday, following the publication of stories alleging not only hazing but racism in the football program by the Daily Northwestern student newspaper, the school changed its stance and fired Fitzgerald. President Michael Schil said the hazing was “widespread” and not a secret within the program. Northwestern’s assistant coaches and support staff are being retained.

A lawyer for Fitzgerald told ESPN that the school breached an oral agreement.

“Without a doubt the Northwestern one is most puzzling for the fact that the university told him he was getting a two-week suspension,” said Andrew Rhoden, a Dallas lawyer who has represented college coaches. “For them to reverse the decision is actually the most puzzling thing I’ve heard of.”

Fitzgerald signed a 10-year contract in 2021 and he reportedly had more than $40 million coming though the life of the deal.

The Fitzgerald situation is “kind of a mess because nobody outside of there really even knows what all of the allegations are,” said Bill Robers, who teaches sports law at the University of Colorado and has represented sports entities, athletes and coaches in contract negotiations.

If Fitzgerald’s case is messy, Huggins’ predicament is downright bizarre.

West Virginia announced the day after

See NCAA | Page B7

WNBA: All-Stars in Vegas

Continued from B2

making Runnin’ Rebels games must-see events even in this entertainment-driven city.

“We just have the privilege and honor to be its first professional basketball team,” Hammon said. “But you go back to those early UNLV games, I think this town has always loved basketball. I played in conference tournaments here. But to have a product like this, a women’s team like this, I think people are excited to come visit. I think we’ve played our way into the conversation of being one of the best shows here.”

Hammon spoke after Tuesday night’s 98-72 victory over the Phoenix Mercury, which was played before a franchise-record crowd of 10,281 and was the team’s third sellout this season.

Paul George, Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo were among the NBA players watching, joined by former Duke and USA Basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas.

“The birth of Vegas sports outside of boxing has been amazing,” Thomas said. “It truly is becoming a hub of sports and entertainment, and the WNBA and the Vegas Aces are driving that.”

ship is growing with the NBA playing the final four games of its first in-season tournament in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 and 9.

“I like to believe the tournament games being held here next year has something to do with the NBA flirting with the idea of having a team,” George said.

“Hopefully, that goes well. A heck of an NBA fan base here.”

Silver, when addressing the Associated Press Sports Editors convention in Las Vegas on Monday, didn’t tamp down speculation of the city as a potential expansion candidate. Once the NBA secures its multimedia contracts within the next couple of years, Silver said the league would consider adding teams.

“We will look at this market,” Silver said. “There’s no doubt there is (also) enormous interest in Seattle. It’s not a secret.”

For now, at least, the world’s best women’s players will call Las Vegas home for a couple of days, going through All-Star Game festivities and trying to put on a show for the fans.

Iola’s Gavin Jones pitches to Ottawa Thursday. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Indians: Season ends abruptly

Continued from B1

tory in extra innings when Landon Giest grounded out to shortstop to score a run and go ahead, 7-6. Two at bats later, Zachary Winter doubled to left field to plate one more for the 8-6 win.

Jones started on the mound going 5.1 innings and allowing four runs on two hits while striking out

four. Nilges then recorded one out in the sixth and surrendered one run.

Golden took the loss for Iola, pitching 1.2 innings in relief and allowing three runs to score on three hits with six walks and two strikeouts. Weir recorded the final two outs in the eighth and didn’t allow a hit.

Harrington led Iola

at the plate, driving in a team-high three runs while Tyler Lord drove in two runs. Golden was the only Indian with a multi-hit game, collecting two hits.

The loss eliminates the American Legion A team from a state appearance.

The AA team is still in the running, with a game slated for Friday night.

STAY COOL THIS SUMMER

The NBA could be next. Silver has often referred to Las Vegas as the “31st franchise” because of the presence of all 30 teams at the Summer League each year.

And that relation-

“I think it’s great having it in Vegas,” said Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who will play in her third All-Star Game. “They’ve always done a really great job in the past, and having Summer League, there are extra people there who are interested in basketball. So I think it’s a great opportunity to convert even more women’s basketball fans.”

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon. AARON ONTIVEROZ/DENVER POST

NCAA: Coaches in legal trouble

Continued from B6

June 16 arrest that he had resigned, based in part on a text message sent from the cell phone of Huggins’ wife sent to a deputy athletic director. A week later, an interim replacement was named for the 2023-24 season.

It wasn’t until July 8 that Huggins released a statement saying he never officially stepped down and wants to keep his job.

“It’s very odd, obviously, to come back and say ‘yeah, uh, nevermind,’” Robers said.

West Virginia is sticking with its stance that Huggins resigned, even though the coach accused the university of issuing a “false statement” sent in his name that he didn’t write or review.

Add to that Huggins’ use of a homophobic slur and denigration of Catholics during a radio interview in May. After that incident, Huggins was suspended for three games, his salary of $4.15 million was cut by $1 million and his contract was reduced to a year-by-year review.

Huggins is facing a DUI charge. Under the contract he signed in 2021, the university could fire him for cause for conduct resulting in criminal charges, regardless of a conviction.

University presidents and governing boards have the last say in contract decisions that could get dragged into an ugly legal battle. That’s why they typically turn to their attorneys for guidance. But general counsels often have other daily duties, too.

Rhoden suggested every Power Five conference school should dedicate part of its general counsel office to sports, especially with

Mother-daughter duo from Ohio at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Caty McNally was one of the few female entrants at Wimbledon with a female coach: Her mother, Lynn Nabors McNally.

Mom does not travel full-time on tour with Caty — someone else she’s worked with for six years, Kevin O’Neill, does — but they use a two-coach setup at the biggest events, including Grand Slam tournaments.

the recent emergence of name, image and likeness compensation for athletes.

“It’s no longer possible to just rely on your general counsel,” Rhoden said. “What we’re going to start seeing, especially with this NIL stuff and these investigations, is that it’s too much for that individual to try to take on.”

The experts aren’t sure whether coach firings, especially “for cause” misconduct or other serious violations, have become more challenging. But as coaching salaries have ballooned over the past few decades, their contracts now include layers of provisions concerning duties and responsibilities, rules enforcement, moral standards and upholding a school’s reputation, among other things.

“The contracts when I started out were fairly simple,” Greenberg said. “This has become a most sophisticated area of sports contracts. It’s not for the novice or for the normal lawyer. You have to have experience and understand where the problems are.”

Ty Thomas, who leads a sports industry team at the Holland & Knight firm in Washington, said schools have to be careful because “terminating a coach ‘for cause’ may chill your ability to recruit the next coach. For any institution, anytime you’re doing a ‘cause’ termination, you’re making something that’s a pretty strong statement.”

Other coaching splits have ended up in court over NCAA and buyout issues, including former UConn basketball coach Kevin Ollie and ex-Kansas football coach David Beaty.

Tennessee cited

NCAA rules issues in firing football coach Jeremy Pruitt in 2021 and negating his $12.6 million buyout. Last year, the NCAA notified Tennessee of 18 major rules violations under Pruitt.

Art Briles received a $15 million settlement from Baylor after the university fired him in 2016 following allegations that he and his football staff took no action against players accused of sexual assault.

West Virginia has a history of messy coaching exits, including buyout issues after basketball coach John Beilein and football coach Rich Rodriguez both left for Michigan in 2007.

Rhoden, the Dallas attorney, earned a master’s degree from West Virginia and served as a defensive quality control specialist on Rodriguez’s staff. He said Huggins’ situation puts the school on “a slippery slope.”

“Many coaches are going to be kind of leery about coming to West Virginia if they don’t do this situation right,” he said.

McNally, a 21-yearold from Ohio who was the runner-up in women’s doubles at the U.S. Open each of the past two years, once alongside Coco Gauff and once alongside Taylor Townsend, wishes female coaches weren’t so rare at the pro level. There are just 13 women ranked in the Top 200 with a female coach; four of those coaches are the player’s mother.

It would be nice, McNally says, if there were more women around. She looks at her male counterparts — every man who was in the singles field at the All England Club is coached by a man — and thinks, “Why can’t it be that way for us?”

“There’s a different vibe because of it. A different environment. On the men’s side, the coaches are always in the locker room with the players, just hanging out. On the women’s side, you don’t see that; it’s only the players in the locker room,” McNally said last week after a session at the All En-

gland Club’s Aorangi Park practice courts with her mother and O’Neill.

“It might let the guys be more loose: The coaches are right there to help take things off their shoulders. On the women’s side, after a loss, a lot of the girls are like, ‘I don’t want to talk to anyone. I want to be by myself.’ You don’t see any female coaches hanging around in the locker room,” said McNally, who missed the French Open with a torn right hamstring and wore athletic tape on the back of that leg during first-round exits in singles and doubles at Wimbledon.

“I do wonder what it would be like if there were more females coaches. Maybe the players and coaches would hang out and have group dinners more.”

McNally, a successful junior who is now 67th in singles and 26th in doubles in the WTA rankings, was one of just six of the 128 women in the singles bracket at Wimbledon with a female coach. The WTA is hoping to increase the number of women in that role at the highest levels of tennis, in part through a Coach Inclusion Program that is in its first full year.

“It’s embarrassing how few of us there are, to be honest with you,” Nabors McNally said, sitting next to her daughter on a wooden bench near the practice courts. “It’s going to take a lot more time and effort to see the

numbers where they should be.”

Nabors McNally, a teaching pro after being a professional player in the 1980s and 1990s, and her daughter have been a tennis tandem for nearly all of Caty’s life. She started at age 2 by hitting a balloon over the couch at home with her older brother, John, who went on to earn all-Big Ten honors at Ohio State.

The next step was hitting balls in the driveway. Then there would be Sunday night all-in-the-family matchups: Caty and Mom against John and Dad.

“I would say, ‘Just make contact, Sweetie.’ And all of a sudden, she did,” Nabors McNally recalled. “And then we had rallies. And then we played points.”

From the time Caty was 7 or 8, she would spend 12 or more hours a day at the The Club at Harper’s Point in Cincinnati, where Mom has given lessons seven days a week for years. “I liked being around the sport,” Caty said. “I liked being around her.”

Katherine Sebov, a Canadian player who lost in qualifying at Wimbledon, has always been coached by her mother, too. Sebov picked up the sport after watching her parents play tennis and deciding to join in — uninvited.

“I 100% crashed the party,” Sebov said. “Then they stopped

See TENNIS | Page B8

West Virginia’s Bob Huggins, left, and Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald. AP PHO-

Tennis: Mother is rare example of women coaches in sport

Continued from B7

playing, and it was all me.”

Both McNally and Nabors McNally say they are able to navigate the two spheres of their relationship: mom-child and coach-player.

“It’s a very fine line, and you just have to find it. ... As I’ve matured, I’ve just realized to not take certain things so seriously, and (think), ‘Maybe she meant it one way but it came across in another,’” McNally said. “It’s just like probably

RACING THIS WEEK

QUAKER STATE 400 AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

With severe weather moving into the area, NASCAR’s sanctioning body called Sunday’s race and made William Byron the first four-time winner in the Cup series this season.

any 21-year-old who at times doesn’t always want to be around their mom.”

Mom’s take? “We’ve had a lot of conversations about Caty being the CEO of her business. But you can’t have a bigger person in your support system than family.”

One rule they adhere to: no tennis talk when at home.

As a teen at the junior level in 2018, McNally was the singles runner-up to Gauff at the French Open — after eliminating current

TRUCKS BURNOUT ALERT!

Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Saturday. (Meg Oliphant/Getty)

Elements don’t get best of Byron

HAMPTON, Ga. – Neither an early spin nor damage to his No. 24 Chevrolet could prevent William Byron from winning Sunday night’s rain-shortened Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With a storm approaching the 1.54-mile track, Byron surged past AJ Allmendinger into the lead on Lap 167 and remained out front until an accident in Turn 3 involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace caused the seventh caution of the evening on Lap 178.

With Byron out front, the Cup Series cars circled the track until the rain arrived and began falling more heavily. NASCAR brought the cars to pit road and redflagged the race at 9:47 p.m. after 185 of a scheduled 260 laps were complete.

With severe weather moving into the area, the sanctioning body called the race and made Byron the first four-time winner in the series this season. The victory was Byron’s second at Atlanta and the eighth of his career.

Daniel Suárez was second when NASCAR called the race, with Allmendinger running third. Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch completed the top five.

Crew chief Rudy Fugle called Byron to pit road on Lap 125 under caution for a pileup in Turn 2 that damaged the cars of Erik Jones, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs.

That enabled Byron to restart fourth on Lap 165 after roughly half the field (cars that had not pitted since Lap 95) came to pit road on Lap 161. Two laps later, Byron had the lead.

Byron hardly looked like a winner after spinning through the grass on Lap 80 and losing a lap getting to pit road.

But the 25-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, regained the lost circuit as the beneficiary under caution for Kyle Larson’s spin on Lap 92.

“It’s cool, man,” Byron said. “We went through so much throughout the night –spinning through the infield, destroyed

the bottom of the car dragging it around the apron trying to stay on the lead lap. At that point, you just don’t have the grip, so I was real edgy back in traffic, but Rudy made a good call to pit there and then stay out.

“Once we got towards the front, it was OK. We could make the right decisions, block OK, and I got the lead from AJ and was able to manage the run. Just a crazy night.”

The race was a boon not only for Byron, who leads the playoff standings, but for winless drivers around the playoff bubble. First, there was no new winner in the series to reduce the number of spots available on points.

Moreover, Suárez, Allmendinger and McDowell improved their chances with top-five finishes. Those three drivers all gained ground on Chase Elliott, who is trying to qualify for the NASCAR Playoffs despite missing seven of the 19 races this season. Elliott wasn’t a factor on Sunday night, failing to earn any stage points and finishing 13th.

Despite his early struggles, Byron was pleased that handling played such an important part in the racing on the recently repaved racing surface.

“It was awesome – that’s all you can ask for on a superspeedway,” Byron said. “We want handling to matter. We want to be able to drive the things. I felt like the first stage was really fun. I was able to make some moves on the bottom.

“And you’re lifting every corner, so it’s different than a 550 (horsepower) oldstyle race. It’s more packed up, but still handling matters, and guys can make aggressive moves… I’m thankful for the whole team and just staying in it, ’cause we were a lap down, and it could have been over.”

The race started with team owner Richard Childress driving pace laps in the No. 29 Chevrolet that launched Kevin Harvick’s career with an Atlanta win after Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001. It wasn’t Harvick’s night, however. After a late spin, he finished 30th in his final run at Atlanta. Harvick is retiring from Cup racing at the end of the season.

WTA No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals — and won doubles titles with Gauff at the French Open and U.S. Open.

Her goals these days?

“I want to win Slams in (singles and doubles). And mixed, as well. And also be No. 1 in the world,” Caty said with a smile. “Might as well dream big.”

Mom agrees. “Once Caty grabs ahold of the kite string,” McNally Nabors said, “I hope she can hold on for a long time.”

NEXT: AMBETTER 301

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

3 p.m. ET Sunday, USA

DETAILS

The speedway, which opened in 1990, is located about one hour north of Boston in Loudon, N.H. According to the latest census numbers, the population within 200 miles of the speedway is more than 18 million people. The venue is easily accessible via Interstate highways from all metro areas in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.

• Oval speedway with asphalt and granite surface.

• Length: 1.058 mi (1.703 km).

• Banking: Turns-variable banking at 2-7 degrees (12% grade); straightaways-1 degree banking.

• The Cup Series makes its traditional mid-summer visit to “The Magic Mile” Sunday, marking the series’ 51st Loudon appearance.

• Largest sports and entertainment facility in New England.

• Site of the rst single-day sporting event in New England to draw over 100,000 guests (July 9, 2000, Cup Series Race).

• The speedway provides part-time employment to more than 1,500 workers.

• More than 10 million viewers in over 90 countries watch events televised from NHMS each year.

• More than 500,000 spectators attend NHMS races/events during a season.

Christopher Bell in Victory Lane last year at New Hampshire. JAMES GILBERT/ GETTY IMAGES

William Byron, #24 Axalta Chevrolet, leads Daniel Suarez, #99 Quaker State Chevrolet, AJ Allmendinger, #16 Farmsmart Chevrolet, and Michael McDowell, #34 FR8Auctions.com Ford, on his way to winning the Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday.

(Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Caty McNally of the United States at Wimbledon. AP PHOTO/HOWARD FENDRICH