The Iola Register, Sept. 16, 2023

Cabins come with can-do spirit

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

CHANUTE — Some of Kyleigh Ogle’s handiwork can be found across the state.

Ogle, a sophomore at Neosho County College, has assisted with construction of cabins built for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

There’s one near Perry State Park on the outskirts of Topeka.

Another is at Crawford State Park between Fort Scott in Pittsburg. And there’s one at Cross Timbers State Park outside of Toronto.

Now, Ogle and her construction trades classmates at NCCC are putting the finishing touches on their latest cabin: Lovewell State

Lehigh Portland State Park is officially a state-owned property, now that the land has been handed over by Iola Industries.

Lehigh Portland State Park transfer complete

By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register

It took the entire summer, but on Sept. 1, Iola Industries officially handed over an estimated 500 acres to the state of Kansas for the creation of LeHigh Portland State Park.

The transition means the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks can begin in earnest the park’s development to enhance water sports, camping and fishing, hiking and biking, and other outdoor opportunities.

“It’ll be a pretty quick turnaround,” estimated Lisse Regehr, CEO of Thrive Allen County and instrumental to

Local victims discuss life changes after tick bites

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

Dorothy Sparks doesn’t remember being bitten by a tick.

Auto worker union votes for strike

DETROIT (AP) — About

13,000 U.S. auto workers stopped making vehicles and went on strike Friday after their leaders couldn’t bridge a giant gap between union demands in contract talks and what Detroit’s three automakers are willing to pay.

Members of the United Auto Workers union began picketing at a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.

It is the first time in the union’s 88-year history that all three companies were targeted simultaneously.

The strikes will likely chart

See STRIKE | Page A4

the passage of the legislation to create the park.

Architectural plans are in the works for both landscape designs and physical structures.

Even without a stone being turned, “we’re seeing a significant increase in people coming our way just from the announcement that we are getting a state park,” she said. “We know once it’s up and running the park will not only be a beautiful place, but it also will be a great economic development tool.”

Jerry Dreher, president of Iola Industries, noted the

See PARK | Page A8

Sure, she brushed a few off when outdoors earlier this spring. But it would be weeks before she realized she had contracted not just one but two tick-borne illnesses.

Gene Myrick didn’t remember a tick bite until it was almost too late.

He was in critical condition at a Wichita hospital when his doctor, desperate for answers, called Myrick’s fiance to see if she could think of anything that might help. She recalled he had been bitten by a tick while working in his garden.

Sparks and Myrick are among several area residents who have been diagnosed with a tick-borne illness this year.

Erin Splechter, a physician assistant at the Allen County Regional Hospital Clinic, said she diagnosed four patients with tickborne illness before March. At one point this spring and summer, she was testing about one patient each week for tick-related diseases. She hopes to provide a greater understanding of the harm ticks can cause.

Splechter encourages anyone who was bitten by a tick and has symptoms

such as fever, aches and pains or rash to talk to their physician about a test to see if they might have one of many tick-borne illnesses.

Tick-related illnesses can cause a variety of symptoms. Patients — and even physicians – may not think about ticks as the cause. A simple blood test can find out if ticks are to blame.

“Sometimes when I can’t figure anything else out, I ask, ‘Have you had a tick bite?’” Splechter said.

“Advancements in lab testing and greater awareness have made it easier for us to find out. Unless you completely live in a bubble,

it’s hard to avoid ticks, but they can cause life-changing illnesses.”

MYRICK enjoys working in his garden. Each year, he and his family and friends

Brenda Krumm, dean of outreach and workforce development at Neosho County Community Collee, stands near the Mitchell Career and Technology Center, which houses the school’s construction trades, plumbing, welding and other technical programs. REGISTER/RICHARD

and frustrated, McCarthy challenges right-flank colleagues to try to oust him

WASHINGTON (AP)

— Angry, frustrated and unable to lead a fractured and unruly Republican majority, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday told the colleagues threatening to oust him: Do it.

The embattled Republican leader essentially dared his hard-right flank to quit holding the risk of a vote to remove him from the job. If you’re going to do it, go ahead and try, McCarthy told the Republicans behind closed doors.

“File the f——- motion,” McCarthy said, using a profanity for emphasis, according to those in the private meeting.

With a government shutdown looming, McCarthy is confronting the same stubborn problem that has driven Republicans before him from the speaker’s job — trying to lead a ruptured GOP majority that’s split between what’s left of the traditional party and a harder-right element largely allied with former President Donald Trump.

Even his decision to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden did little this week to appease the demands of the Freedom Caucus and others as they threaten to shut down the government in pursuit of deep spending cuts or move to a motion to oust him from office.

“I showed frustration in here because I am frustrated with some people in the conference,” McCarthy said after the meeting in the Capitol basement as lawmakers were wrapping up for the week.

“But when we come back, we’re going to get this done. Nobody wins in a government shutdown.”

This may be the toughest moment yet for McCarthy who is trying to survive his first year as House speaker and live to fight another day.

But now, after promises made and possibly dashed, he has barely any days left.

American, Russians blast off

MOSCOW (AP) — One

American and two Russian space crew members have blasted off aboard a Russian spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a mission to the International Space Station. NASA

astronaut Loral O’Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub lifted off on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft.

O’Hara will spend six months on the International Space Station while Kononenko and Chub will spend a year there. Neither O’Hara nor Chub have ever flown to space before, but they are flying with veteran cosmonaut Kononenko, who has made the trip four times already. The trio should arrive at the space station after a flight of about three hours.

At the moment McCarthy has just nine working days to pass the spending bills needed to fund the government or risk a politically devastating federal shutdown.

An interruption in government services would ripple across the country, almost certain to hurt his party politically as Republicans are blamed for the disruption and disarray.

Biden said in a speech Thursday that McCarthy and House Republicans seem unable to honor the commitments they made as part of a June debt-limit deal and are now seeking deeper cuts. In his remarks, the president did not address the impeachment inquiry nor the indictment Thursday of his son, Hunter, on gun-purchasing charges.

“They’re back at it again, breaking their commitment,” Biden said in Maryland.

“Threatening to shut down the government again this month.”

Led by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a core group of McCarthy critics is holding the threat of removal over him unless he meets conservative demands.

A top Trump ally, Gae-

tz reiterated the conservative flank’s many demands after McCarthy’s meeting — single-subject spending bills, a subpoena for Hunter Biden in the impeachment inquiry and other priorities.

“So instead of emotionally cursing, let’s do this,” Gaetz chided. “We must begin immediately. Pull yourself together, Kevin!”

None of the hard-right opponents of McCarthy rose to speak during the private morning meeting — in fact, few even showed up.

But McCarthy still addressed them directly — and profanely.

“Kevin doesn’t live in fear about this,” said Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla.

McCarthy has prided himself being a survivor, who rose from the ranks over the past nearly 20 years to lead House Republicans.

At the start of the year, he suffered through 14 votes in his reach for the speaker’s gavel before colleagues finally agreed to give it to him on the 15th vote.

Top McCarthy ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene who is also close with Trump recaptured the speaker’s message. “He said, ‘If you want to

throw in a motion to vacate, that’s fine. I didn’t survive 15 rounds for nothing and I’ll survive another 15 rounds.” That said, there still is no viable plan or having the House pass the bills needed to run the government by Sept. 30, when current funding runs out, risking the shutdown.

Freedom Caucus conservatives are demanding cuts lower than what McCarthy agreed to in a budget deal with Biden earlier this year — and even lower than the speaker promised he would fight for when he agreed to their demands during his election to become speaker.

Colony Christian Church

Being a church is serious work. Caring for people takes time, energy, and resources and requires people to be motivated by love and compassion.

The first century church experienced growing pains as the number of followers increased. Soon there seemed more to do than could be accomplished by just the twelve apostles.

In Acts 6, we see the apostles designate specific people to oversee feeding widows. 1 Timothy 3:8-13 gives us some guidelines as to how we can help people meet the needs of others,

Colony church Court news

including showing respect and being faithful to the Gospel’s mystery.

Even the mundane tasks of taking care of the physical building require an attitude of faithfulness.

Additionally, those who have not been assigned a title or to a specific committee are not off the hook. Everyone in the body of Christ should be ready and willing to lend a helping hand, meet a need, and love others as Jesus did. By working together as the body like God intended, we will make an impact on the lives of others, just as the church did in its infancy. (Acts 2:42-47)

Angry

Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-California. (YURI GRIPAS/ ABACA PRESS/TNS)

NCCC: Construction program aids Kansas state parks

Continued from A1

Park, in north-central Kansas.

Supply chain issues prevented the cabin’s completion before the end of the spring 2023 semester, explained construction trades instructor Kyle Seufert.

“We’re hoping, if the plumber shows up, it’ll be ready to go soon,” Seufert said.

All that remains is the kitchen sink installation, adding a front porch and installing tile flooring. The latter two to-do items will wait until the cabin is at its permanent home, Seufert said.

“With all the shifting and rattling, it’s better to wait until after it’s moved.”

THE CONSTRUCTION program is one of several career and technical education courses offered at Neosho’s Mitchell Career and Technology Center.

The college acquired the building — a former cabinet manufacturing plant — in 2018, and has spent the subsequent five years turning the 64,000-square-foot building into a state-ofthe-art education center.

Boosted by a $1.3 million donation in 2021 by Chanute natives Mike and CeCe Mitchell, the center has expanded from its first two programs — industrial maintenance technology and aerostructure science — to include welding, electrical engineering, plumbing, HVAC and construction trades.

On top of that, the building also houses an indoor training facility for NCCC athletics programs, a career services center for KansasWorks to match students with job opportunities, an assortment of classrooms, as well as a student lounge area.

Next up is the addition of automotive technology as early as 2024. As an aside, Neosho County also offers instruction for the construction, welding and nursing classes at LaHarpe’s Regional Rural Technology Center.

GETTING the Mitchell center in place has been a boon for all of the programs, noted Brenda Krumm, NCCC dean of outreach and workforce development, in particular the construction trades courses.

In its early years, NCCC construction students built a pair of houses in downtown Chanute, which meant

time wasted ferrying students (and occasionally tools) from the campus to the work site.

Now, with all of the construction handled at the center — one of the key tenants in Chanute’s South Industrial Park — projects are offered seamlessly once classwork is complete.

Ogle is a rarity at Neosho, a fourth-year student.

The Chanute native started in the program as a high school junior.

She’s pursuing a career path that includes starting her own construction company after this year. Because she’s already completed all of the construction trades basics, Ogle has moved on to “special skills” courses, which allows her to effectively manage her own construction crew.

“She’ll take some of the students with her,” Seufert explained. “While we’re installing cabinets, she may be putting in doors.”

The program also is tailored to allow students to take part in internships with local contracting companies.

In fact, Seufert already has fielded calls from employers eager to see the next batch of students.

“Everybody wants the good ones,” he laughed.

Ogle, in turn, heaps praise upon her instructor, for his handson approach.

“He’s out here helping all the time,” she said. “When we have

questions, we don’t have to run back and forth to get them answered.”

Classmate Sergio Leon agreed. “What makes him great is he delves into the small things for us.”

To wit, Leon detailed the cabin’s pine “car panel” wood siding, which requires each piece to be placed atop the other in a groove.

The process can be painstaking at times, yet must be exact.

“You can be an eighth of an inch off at the bottom, and by the time you get to the top of the building, it’s half-inch off or more,” Seufert said.

“And it’s stupidly hard to handle,” Leon added quickly.

“But they did a great job with it,” Seufert interjected. “It’s dead even on both sides.”

Twenty NCCC students have had a hand in the most recent cabin, of varying levels of experience and expertise.

That makes it advantageous for years like this, where the cabin wasn’t finished by the end of the school year, Seufert noted.

“We had several students entering their second semester this year, which focuses on interior finishes,” he said. “That means they were able to roll right into doing trim work, Sheetrock, cabinetry when they got back.”

The next cabin will begin as soon as this one rolls off the lot,

Seufert said.

And with the center still expanding, plans are in the work to install a second construction pod.

“We’ll have two cabins going at the same time,” he said. “So, if like this year, you have supply chain issues with one, you can continue working on the other.”

Seufert considers himself fortunate to have this group of students.

“I’ve got a really good bunch of kids,” he said. “They’re all competent workers.”

The program, which started in 2008, has churned out many skilled tradesmen.

After Noah Kelley and Dillon Wolverton finished the NCCC program, they immediately started up their own company, K-W Contractors.

“They started barely two years ago, and they’ve already got contracts for work from the college and area school districts,” Krumm said. The response “is not

only for this program,” Seufert said. “We’ve got demand for electric, plumbing, and other classes. The community members are looking for help.”

302 S. Washington, Iola 620-365-2111 news@iolaregister.com

Neosho County Community College construction trades students involved with building cabins for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks are, clockwise from bottom left, Trent Jones, Colton Lewis, instructor Kyle Seuefert, Kyleigh Ogle, Sergio Leon, Justus Norris and Reed Haneberg. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Libya flood toll tops 11k, with another 10k missing

DERNA, Libya (AP)

— Libyan authorities limited access to the flooded city of Derna on Friday to make it easier for searchers to dig through the mud and hollowed-out buildings for the more than 10,000 people still missing and presumed dead following a disaster that has already claimed more than 11,000 lives.

The staggering death toll could grow further due to the spread of waterborne diseases and shifting of explosive ordnance that was swept up when two dams collapsed early Monday and sent a wall of water gushing through the city, officials warned. The disaster has brought some rare unity

to oil-rich Libya, which after years of war and civil strife is divided between rival governments in the country’s east and west that are backed by various militia forces and international patrons. But

the opposing governments have struggled to respond to the crisis, and recovery efforts have been hampered by

confusion, difficulty getting aid to the hardest-hit areas, and the destruction of Derna’s infrastructure, including several bridges.

Aid groups called on the government to facilitate their access to the city so they can distribute badly needed food, clean water and medical supplies to survivors. Four days into the cri-

sis, the lack of central oversight in Derna was apparent, with people receiving supplies and resources in some parts of the city but being left to fend for themselves in others.

Teams have buried bodies in mass graves outside the city and in nearby towns, Eastern Libya’s health minister, Othman Abduljaleel,

said.

But officials worried that thousands more have yet to be found. Bodies “are littering the streets, washing back up on shore and buried under collapsed buildings and debris,” said Bilal Sablouh, regional forensics manager for Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Strike: Workers for ‘Big 3’ auto manufacturers idled

Continued from A1

the future of the union and of America’s homegrown auto industry at a time when U.S. labor is flexing its might and the companies face a historic transition from building internal combustion automobiles to making electric vehicles.

If the strikes drag on, shortages could push vehicle prices higher and strain an economy already bruised by inflation. Walkouts may even become a factor in next year’s presidential election, testing Joe Biden’s claim to be the most union-friendly president in American history.

“Workers all over the world are watching this,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFLCIO, a federation of 60 unions with 12.5 million members.

The union’s tactics have changed. While the UAW is striking all three automakers, led by its pugnacious new president, Shawn Fain, not all of the 146,000 UAW members at company plants are walking picket lines, at least not yet.

The UAW targeted a handful of factories this time in a bid to get automakers closer to the union’s demand of 36% wage increases over four years. GM and Ford offered 20% and Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, offered 17.5%.

The limited strikes will stretch the union’s $825 million strike fund, which would run dry in about 11 weeks if all workers walked out. Strikes at other plants may begin if automakers don’t budge, Fain said.

Carlos Guajardo, who has worked at Ford for the past 35 years and was employed by GM for 11 years before that, said he likes the new strategy of simultaneous, yet targeted, strikes.

“It keeps the strike fund lasting longer,” said Guajardo, who was out on the picket line before the sun came up.

The limited-strike strategy could have ripple effects, GM CEO Mary Barra said in a Friday interview on CNBC.

“A lot of our assembly plants also have contiguous stamping plants that may serve other plants,” Barra said. We’ve worked to have a very efficient manufacturing network, so yes, even one plant is going to start to have impact.”

Britney Johnson, 35, who has worked for the company about 3 1/2 years, joined about 400 workers on the picket line outside the Ford

plant in suburban Detroit.

“I like the job,” she said. “It’s just that we deserve more.”

At the Toledo Jeep plant, assembly line worker Candace Bowles, 52, cleaned up her workstation and walked out when the midnight bell rang. “I’m really happy that everyone stood together,” she said.

Even Fain has called the union’s demands audacious, but he maintains the automakers are raking in billions and can afford them. He scoffs at automaker claims that costly settlements would force them to raise vehicle prices, saying labor accounts for only 4% to 5% of vehicle costs.

“They could double our raises and not raise car prices and still make millions of dollars in profits,” Fain said. “We’re not the problem. Corporate greed is the problem.”

THE STRIKEScapped a day of both sides griping that the other had not budged enough from their initial positions.

In addition to general wage increases, the union is seeking restoration of cost-of-living pay raises, an end to varying tiers of wages for factory jobs, a 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay, the restoration of traditional defined-benefit pensions for new hires who now receive only 401(k)-style retirement plans, pension increases for retirees and other items.

Starting in 2007, workers gave up cost-ofliving raises and defined benefit pensions for new hires. Wage tiers were created as the UAW tried to help the companies avoid financial trouble ahead of and during the Great Recession. Even so, only Ford avoided government-funded bankruptcy protection.

Many say it’s time to get the concessions back because the companies are making huge profits and

CEOs are raking in millions. They also want to make sure the union represents workers at joint-venture electric vehicle battery factories that the companies are building so workers have jobs making vehicles of the future.

Top-scale assembly plant workers make about $32 per hour, plus large annual profit-sharing checks. Ford said average annual pay including overtime and bonuses was $78,000 last year.

The Ford plant that’s on strike employs about 3,300 workers, and it makes Bronco SUVs and Ranger midsize pickup trucks. The Toledo Jeep complex has about 5,800 workers and manufactures the Jeep Wrangler SUV and Gladiator pickup. GM’s Wentzville plant has about 3,600 workers and makes the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickups, as well as the GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express full-size vans.

The union didn’t go after the companies’ big cash cows, which are full-size pickup trucks and big SUVs, instead targeting plants that lower profit margin vehicles, said Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit.

“They’re not putting them right into the corner,” Masters said. “You put an animal in the corner and it’s dangerous.”

Automakers say they’re facing unprecedented demands as they develop and build new electric vehicles while at the same time making gas-powered cars, SUVs and trucks to pay the bills. They’re worried labor costs will rise so much that they’ll have to price their cars above those sold by foreign automakers with U.S. factories.

On CNBC Thursday, Ford CEO Jim Farley said if Ford had agreed to the union’s demands, it would have lost $15 billion during the last de-

cade and gone bankrupt.

It’s tough to say just how long it will take for the strikes to cut inventories at dealers and start hurting the companies’ bottom lines.

Jeff Schuster, head of automotive for the Global Data research firm, predicted the strikes could last longer than previous work stoppages such as a 40-day strike against GM in 2019.

“This one feels like there’s a lot more at risk here on both sides,” he said.

United Auto Workers members march in the Detroit Labor Day Parade on Sept. 4, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan. GETTY IMAGES/BILL PUGLIANO/TNS

Car show fundraiser in Humboldt helps CASA

HUMBOLDT — More than five car clubs and 40 cars attended Pete’s Car Show on Sept. 9 on the Humboldt square to benefit Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of the 31st Judicial District.

CASA serves Allen, Neosho, Woodson and Wilson counties by providing volunteers to work with children as they navigate the court process due to abuse or neglect by parents or caretakers.

William Schomaker, an octogenarian, showed a 1947 blue and white Chevrolet BelAir purchased in 1986. Immaculately kept for 37 years, it looks like it was driven off the showroom floor except for the removal of a record player which could not be repaired. He also showed a Willys-model military jeep and trailer that he also restored.

Music was provided as a donation from Rockin DJ, owner Tony Ysusi.

The SEK Disney Princesses, in full royal attire, visited the event

and did a meet and greet with children, who were in awe of the royalty, and posed for pictures.

The event also included a bake sale, food trucks and vendors, and bouncy houses, along with a 50-50 raffle. Humboldt’s Willie Jones won $160 which was half of the $320 pot; he donated $60 back for CASA.

Sponsors of the event were Pete’s Stores 31 and 48, Iola Radio KIKS and Our Market.

Railyard explosion in Nebraska not expected to create lingering problems

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska authorities said they don’t expect any lingering problems related to Thursday’s explosion of a railroad shipping container carrying an acid used to make explosives because the chemical largely burned off and any residue was contained at the scene.

No one was injured in the blast at Union Pacific’s massive railyard in North Platte, and no structures were damaged. A precautionary evacuation of a one-mile area right around the fire only involved a few farmsteads for several hours because the fire happened in the west end

of the railyard near the edge of town. The fire didn’t even spread beyond the shipping container on top of the one that exploded to the rest of the parked train. North Platte Fire Chief Dennis Thompson said Friday this was the best-case scenario for an incident like this because of its isolated location and the quick response from his hazardous materials team and other agencies, including the railroad’s own experts. A team from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency that happened to be passing through the area on the way to a training session in Western Nebraska even

stopped to offer their expertise.

“Especially when we look at some of the incidents that we’ve seen recently around the country, this just couldn’t have gone any better,” Thomson said. “When we leave these things with no injuries or significant damage or loss of equipment or anything, or environmental impact, it’s a win by all means.”

Any railroad incident these days brings to mind the fiery Norfolk Southern derailment that happened in eastern Ohio back in February. That crash prompted a national reckoning on rail safety and a massive cleanup effort that

continues in East Palestine, Ohio. But Thursday’s incident in the Union Pacific railyard was nothing like that.

The perchloric acid inside the container that exploded, which is used to make explosives as well as a variety of food and drug products, dissipated in the air as it burned off, Thompson said. And air and soil monitoring in the area never showed any dangerous levels. He said the other container that burned in the fire likely contained memory foam — not another hazardous chemical.

Investigators from the state Fire Marshal’s office and the

railroad are working to determine the cause of the blast. Union Pacific was able to continue operating part of the railyard throughout the incident, and full operations resumed after the fire was extinguished Thursday evening. The head of the Federal Railroad Administration did recently say that inspectors found an alarming number of defects among the freight cars and locomotives in use at the North Platte railyard, which is the world’s largest, during an inspection this summer. But there’ wasn’t any immediate indication that Thursday’s explosion were linked to those defects.

Above, classic cars line the streets of downtown Humboldt on Saturday, Sept. 9, as part of a car show to benefit Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of the 31st Judicial District. COURTESY

Above left, Cody Vink with Pete’s stores congratulates Otis Crawford, at right, who won a raffle drawing. Above right, William Schomaker shows his Chevy Belair.

The SEK Disney Princesses visit CASA vounteers and Pete’s convenience store representatives.

Willlie Jones, front center, won the 50-50 drawing. He stands with Pete’s representatives from left, Cody Vink, Caden Vink, Roberta Vink, Miranda Simmons and Tracy Cook.

Saturday, September 16, 2023

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Futility of hosting extremists

the statehouse.

There’s an old cliche that says no one’s liberty is safe when the Legislature is in session.

Well, here in Kansas, we can go that one better.

Our state Legislature’s a threat to liberty, even when it’s out of session.

Case in point: The upcoming hearing of the 2023 Special Committee on Elections.

Kim & Putin: A worrying powwow of pariahs

Unable to attend the BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) in Johannesburg at the end of August, or at the G20 summit in New Delhi on Sept. 9-10, due to an arrest warrant from the International Court of Justice in connection with Russian abuses in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin had to make do with a tête-à-tête with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Russia’s eastern borders on Wednesday.

For want of a better expression, the master of Moscow has turned to a country that can be summed up as an arsenal housed in a barracks itself governed by a dictatorship. You take your summit where you can get it.

Putin, who has become a pariah in at least one section of the world, spoke with the man who has enjoyed this unenviable status since he came to power over a decade ago, due to his aggressiveness in the field of nuclear weapons.

Their common ground is impressive. North Korea was one of the very few countries to blindly support Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including through its votes at the United Nations. The country, engulfed in a state of virtual autonomy, requires food aid and foreign currency, as much as technological advice, with an obvious military purpose.

BUT THIS MUTUALLY beneficial friendship sounds like an admission of weakness from Putin, and even more so in terms of his country’s arms industry, if the meeting results, as is likely, in ammunition transfers.

No one doubts the reality of North Korean stockpiles, nor their compatibility with Russian equipment.

Because of the international sanctions against Pyongyang, the reliability of these munitions is more questionable. The bombardment of the South Korean island of Yeonpy-

Dion Lefler

The Wichita Eagle

eong in 2010 was marked by a high failure rate for North Korean shells.

Nuclear proliferation

But there was a deeper meaning to the two men’s meeting that should not be downplayed. It demonstrated the reality of a violently anti-Western axis that appeals far beyond the handful of states that have cast votes in Moscow’s favor in UN bodies. Moscow’s neutralization of the Ukrainian issue in the final communiqué of the G20 summit is striking proof of this.

In so doing, Putin has added irresponsibility to the list of poor strategic Russian calculations that the aggression on Ukraine has exposed, from the idea of the presumed non-existence of Ukraine as a nation to the predicted spinelessness of Westerners allegedly consumed by decadence.

Putin’s visit to Iran in July 2022, in the midst of the relaunch of an equally worrying nuclear program, had already represented a foray by Moscow beyond the international consensus it has long shared against proliferation.

It was true that Russia has a crucial need for the Iranian military drones that strike Ukraine on an almost daily basis. The normalization reflected in the Sept. 13 meeting with Kim sounded a new alarm.

This was all the more true as it came after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s visit to a military exhibition in Pyongyang at the end of July, which featured nuclear weapons and implicitly legitimized North Korea’s military adventurism.

The fight against nuclear proliferation appeared to be a potential collateral victim of the fragmentation of the world accentuated by the war in Ukraine. If this threat is confirmed, Putin’s Russia will be held accountable.

— Le Monde (Paris)

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

45 Years Ago

September 1978

Sen. Robert Dole will be in Iola to ride in the Farm-City Days parade. Gov. Robert Bennett will also be in the parade and he and Sen. Dole will also attend a luncheon in Everett Shepherd Park. *****

Next spring — on May 24, to be exact — Iola High School will conduct its 100th commencement exercises. *****

Iola city commissioners, after reviewing information concerning loans now in force in Iola’s flood zone, yesterday decided to go ahead with participation in the federal flood insurance program.

*****

Ernie Davidson, director of the SEK Multi-County Health Department, said youngsters entering area schools are required to have a vaccination against mumps. Prior to 1978, protecting against the possibly fatal disease was not mandatory.

EXCERPTED FROM THE CHRONICLES OF ALLEN COUNTY

Max Snodgrass, Iola certified public accountant, has been elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Kansas Society of CPAs. *****

Iola dairyman Ivan Strickler has been named World Dairy Expo Man of the Year and will be honored at the World Dairy Expo Oct. 4 in Madison, Wis.

I’ve got the agenda for the hearing, and “special” is certainly one adjective that describes it — though not in a good way. The committee is planning a full two days of hearings Sept. 28 and 29 to facilitate hours of crackpottery from conspiracy-minded election deniers, and smooth talk from hired guns representing billionaires who have their own interest in interfering with the election process.

The star witnesses for the hearing come primarily from two groups, the “Liberty Lion League” and the “Foundation for Government Accountability.”

Lions of QAnon?

The Liberty Lions are the Kansas version of a national group that peddles discredited conspiracy theories and claims Donald Trump won the 2020 election, bigly.

In 2022, the group submitted those claims in a report to the Kansas Legislature that was long on speculation and practically devoid of actual evidence of voting fraud.

It uncritically quoted thoroughly discredited theories from such election experts as “My Pillow” guy Mike Lindell, former infomercial producer and treasure hunter Jovan Pulitzer, and of course, Fox News, which recently paid a $787 million settlement to Dominion Voting Systems to avert an ugly court case over the network’s repeated lies about the company’s voting machines.

The leader of the Kansas Lions is Greg Shuey, a former Air Force pilot from Johnson County who wrote in the report that when he retired, “I was extremely dismayed to see Marxism come out from the closet and seep into then take over my country. To do what little I could, I started writing newsletters to enlighten family and friends, and eventually anyone who would listen, to what I was learning in constantly reading and analyzing history and political trends.”

In 2022, a report in the Kansas Reflector quoted Shuey at a Topeka church meeting peddling the ridiculous QAnon conspiracy theory known as “Italygate,” which claimed the 2020 election was stolen via satellite by operatives of an Italian software company working out of the U.S. Embassy in Rome with assistance from the Vatican.

That’s credibility! Also speaking on behalf of the Liberty Lions:

• Tore Maras, a QA-

non podcaster who ran as an independent for Ohio secretary of state in 2022. She collected 5,010 signatures in an election requiring 5,000 to get on the ballot, many of which were challenged by the state Republican Party because of incorrect or incomplete addresses and mismatching signatures.

In court, her lawyer argued that those things don’t matter, (My what an odd crop of election integrity advocates we’re growing this year). The court ruled Maras’ candidacy could go forward and she got 1% of the vote.

• Mark Cook, the Lions’ national IT expert, who was involved in a lawsuit filed by the Colorado secretary of state last year alleging Cook and another individual provided equipment and advice to help a county election official make illegal copies of voting data.

• Thad Snider, a Loins’ “investigator” who has previously advocated to the Legislature for all elections to be conducted by paper ballots, hand-counted.

• Bernie Rieter, qualifications unknown. A Google search on the name gets only one hit, a guy in Bolton, New York who signed a zoning petition in 2014. I’m guessing its not the same Bernie.

Billionaires unite!

So let’s take a look at the other elephant in the room, the Foundation for Government Accountability.

The foundation is fueled with millions of dollars from rightwing billionaire donors across the county, all part of a network — including our own Koch Industries — that exists to increase corporation profits, widen the income gap between rich and poor and make the lives of disadvantaged people more miserable than they already are.

Among the foundation’s chief priorities is fighting Medicaid expansion, loosening and eliminating public-protecting regulations on businesses, relaxing child-labor laws and cutting tax exemptions for those pesky community hospitals.

ON VOTING issues, they say they’re fighting “to stop outside influence on our elections,” which they somewhat ironically express by coming in from the outside and attempting to influence our elections.

The election committee will be hearing from two of their representatives: Nick Adolphsen of Maine, the foundation’s state government affairs director, and Steven Greene, a Wichita contract lobbyist representing 25 other business and interest groups at

The committee will also hear from Keith Esau, a former legislator and House Election Committee chairman, who wants to end the three-day grace period that gives the post office time to deliver legitimate ballots that are postmarked by Election Day. All totaled up, the League of Anti-Voters will get about five hours of hearing time, compared to 75 minutes for the secretary of state’s office, 20 minutes for the legislative revisor’s office and 15 minutes for the office of legislative research.

Sadness and absurdity

There’s a sad component to this and an absurd one.

Let’s take the sad part first.

There are 105 counties in this state and every one of them seems to have taken Frank Sinatra to heart and does it their way.

Your voting rights should never be contingent on where in the state you live, but there it is.

This state can’t even decide on a consistent method for picking the people who run elections. The four largest counties — Sedgwick, Johnson, Shawnee and Wyandotte — have an election commissioner appointed by Secretary of State Scott Schwab. Everywhere else, elections are run by an elected county clerk.

There’s certainly room for improvement, but it should go in the direction of making it easier for Kansans to vote, not harder like the Legislature does every time it touches the process.

Like the Sedgwick County Commission, which recently voted to stop sending voters advance ballot applications, the state Legislature’s justification for their actions is a purported loss of public confidence in elections.

Well, maybe everyone’s confidence would increase if our politicians addressed real issues, instead of listening to weirdos and ax grinders with fairy-tale theories about elections and who shot JFK. I know mine would.

THE ABSURD part is what it’s costing to put on the hearing.

The cost to get the lawmakers to Topeka is a few dollars shy of $6,600, including salary at $88.66 a day, $157 per lawmaker per day for “subsistence,” and mileage from their home to the capitol at 66.5 cents per mile.

With 11 lawmakers on the committee, that averages out to $600 each — though mileage varies depending on how far they have to travel.

Personally, I could think of better ways for the state to spend our money that putting 11 people in a small room at the capitol to listen to two days of QAnon flakes and the billionaire boys’ club telling us how to run elections. Maybe that’s just me.

Ticks: Bites lead to

Continued from A1

harvest a bounty of crops.

In April, Myrick had to rely on others to plant his garden because he had back surgery.

He was on the road to recovery in June and felt good enough to get back out in the garden.

One morning after pulling weeds, he showered and found a tick attached to his leg. He mentioned it to his fiance, Glenda Goff, but otherwise didn’t think much about it.

Days later, he started running a fever. His back was swollen, so he assumed it was a complication from surgery.

Antibiotics didn’t help. Over Father’s Day weekend, his temperature rose to 105 degrees. His doctor admitted him to the hospital.

“At one time, I had four IVs and was on six antibiotics. Nothing was working,” Myrick said.

After 17 days in the hospital — including 10 days in an intensive care unit at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis in Wichita — Myrick went into respiratory distress.

A physician called Goff at 3 a.m. and said something along the lines of “If we don’t figure out what he’s been eating or drinking, we’re going to lose him.”

She recalled he’d eaten a pepper out of the garden without washing it. Maybe he’d picked up a parasite?

Then she remembered the tick bite.

The doctor immediately dropped the phone to test Myrick for tick-borne illnesses, leaving a nurse to finish the conversation.

The results of the test showed Myrick had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, a bacterial disease that can be deadly if not treated with the right antibiotic. Doxycycline is the only known treatment.

Once he started taking the antibiotic, Myrick began to improve. He continues to have breathing problems and is still battling the effects of pneumonia in his right lung.

“It’s a long process of healing. I get tired real easy. I’m wore out doing the simplest things around the house but I’m slowly working my way back,” Myrick said.

“Who would have known a damn tick bite would do that?”

SPARKS considers

life-altering illnesses

Lone star tick

Research has found that some of those bitten by the lone star tick may develop an allergy to meat.

All in the bite

•Blood levels of antibodies for alpha-gal, a sugar found in red meat, lamb and pork, rise after a single bite

Males have scattered spots on back; females have one spot

It’s a long process of healing. I get tired real easy. I’m wore out doing the simplest things around the house but I’m slowly working my way back. Who would have known a damn tick bite would do that?

herself lucky — at least she didn’t end up in the hospital — but a tick bite changed her life nonetheless.

It started with a rash on her leg.

Nothing seemed to abate the spread of the rash.

Then, she had a headache that didn’t seem to go away. She felt as if she had a fever and was exhausted.

“I’ve never been so tired in my life,” she said. “It’s a different kind of tired. I just could not make myself get up and go.”

She made an appointment with Splechter.

“Have you had a tick bite?” was one of the first questions Splechter asked. Because of medical privacy laws, Splechter cannot speak about an individual patient’s condition. She spoke only in general terms for this article, but Sparks relayed the conversation.

“I told her I find them and I flick them off. I didn’t think I’d been bitten,” Sparks said.

A tick panel showed Sparks had not just one but two tick-borne illnesses: Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Alpha-gal syndrome.

Alpha-gal syndrome is a potentially life-threatening allergic condition also known as the “red meat allergy” or “tick bite meat allergy.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, alpha-gal syndrome is associated with a bite from a lone star tick. It’s not known if other ticks can spread it.

Alpha-gal is a sugar molecule found in most mammals. When someone with alpha-gal syndrome eats a product containing the molecule, it triggers an allergic reaction such as hives, rash, swelling, severe stomach pain, difficulty breathing and a drop in blood pressure. For some, the reaction can be deadly.

A CDC report showed that between 2010 and 2022, more than 110,000 suspected cases of alpha-gal syndrome were identified, but it’s not known how many cases may exist because the condition is not required to be reported to health authorities.

The best treatment is to avoid eating anything associated with a mammal. That means avoiding beef, pork, lamb — “Basically, anything with a hoof,” Splechter said.

But it can also mean avoiding animal products such as dairy or other milk-products and gelatin. Even antibiotics used to treat most

tick-borne illnesses can contain animal by-products, so treatment is difficult, Splechter said.

Sparks now follows a vegan diet, something that is quite different from her previous lifestyle. She lives on a beef cattle farm and usually has a freezer full of meat.

“Your life changes fast,” Sparks said. She still has a rash and hasn’t found any sort of cream or treatment that eases the pain and itch. She started carrying an epi-pen in the event of an anaphylactic reaction. She’s lost weight “but I’m not complaining about that part,” she joked.

The worst part is being afraid to go outside. Another bite from an infected tick could reactivate her condition.

“I’m outdoors a lot. That is my favorite place to be, at my picnic table or walking my dog or looking for morel mushrooms. I guess I won’t be doing that anymore,” she said.

SPLECHTER understands that it can be difficult to avoid ticks.

“Nobody wants to wear long, dark pants when it’s 100 degrees,” she said.

The CDC recommends actions you can take before and after you go outdoors.

Before:

Know where to expect ticks, such as grassy, brushy or wooded areas. Pets can also carry ticks, so treat them appropriately.

Treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin.

Use insect repellents that contain DEET or

other products approved by the EPA. When outdoors, avoid areas with high grass and leaf litter. Walk in the center of trails.

After:

Check your clothing for ticks as soon as you go indoors. Tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks.

Examine pets and gear such as coats and backpacks.

Shower within two hours of coming indoors. This has been shown to reduce the risk and may wash off unattached ticks. Check your body or your child’s body for ticks. Remove any you

star tick range

find. Ticks prefer certain areas such as under the arms and behind the knees, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, in and around hair, between legs and around the waist.

Splechter said health officials continue to learn more about tickborne diseases. It can be difficult to find trustworthy information online, so she recommends reputable sources such as the CDC, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, or your local health department.

“You shouldn’t worry yourself sick over it,” Splechter said.

“But if it’s been a week or two after a tick bite and you feel tired and feverish — or just really crummy — remind your practitioner of the tick bite and ask if you could be tested.”

long-lasting,

Dorothy Sparks was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Alpha-gal syndrome — the dreaded “red meat allergy” — after her recent tick bite. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

— Gene Myrick

Erin Splechter

“I’m outdoors a lot. That is my favorite place to be, at my picnic table or walking my dog or looking for morel mushrooms. I guess I won’t be doing that anymore.”

Park: Iola Industries transfers Lehigh property to state

Continued from A1

land had been the organization’s most valuable asset, valued at more than $2 million, and as such, “it’s somewhat bittersweet to part with it, although we recognize the positive economic impact the park will have, and as such, that falls in line with our mission statement.

“We’re excited to see what the park will mean not only for today, but for future generations.”

Iola Industries purchased the land in 1971 when the Lehigh Portland Cement Co., closed after 100 years of operation.

Kansas legislators approved LeHigh Portland State Park as Kansas’ 29th state park on April 6. On April 19, Gov. Laura Kelly signed the legislation.

Then on July 17, the governor came to Iola to ceremoniously sign the legislation on the shores of the 180-acre lake.

Funds from the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) program will be used to develop the park. It’s still under wraps as to how much that will be.

Proposed features include several fishing docks, four restroom buildings placed around the lake and trails, about 50 campsites, seven “floating” cabins positioned in the water and six regular cabins, two RV campgrounds, a visitor center, a splash park and playground and continued development of the more than 200 acres of surrounding trails.

PS I

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is flanked by a large crowd as she signs a bill establishing Lehigh Portland State Park during a ceremony on the park grounds July 17. REGISTER FILE PHOTO

Daily B

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Iola earns top spots at Chanute

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

Iola High’s Rebekah Coltrane took home a firstplace finish while Keira Fawson grabbed a second place finish Thursday at the Chanute Tennis Invitational.

Coltrane swept her opponents, defeating Kayann Humble of Pittsburg, 8-6, Presley Banzet of Coffeyville, 8-4, and Bryleigh Hymer of Fort Scott, 8-7. Fawson defeated Pittsburg’s Hayden Turnbull, 8-4 and Coffeyville’s Emma Thompson, 8-3. She then lost to Fort Scott’s Abbie Gorman, 8-4.

“Everyone played very well,” Iola head coach Chris Belknap said. “We even had a tiebreaker until Molly Riebel and Melanie Palmer lost 8-7. We had one of the best weather days of tennis since I have coached. It was pleasantly warm and the breeze was perfect.”

Iola’s duo of Kyndal Bycroft and Harper Desmarteau lost to Pittsburg’s Indiana Grotheer and Savannah Grotheer, 8-2. The Mus-

tangs then defeated Coffeyville’s Lyndsey Geisen and Lindsey Hayden, 8-4. The Mustang duo of Molly Riebel and Melanie Palmer lost to Pittsburg’s

Roary Hunziker and Bree Huebner, 8-7. Then they fell to Coffeyville’s Evalen Craften and Sarah Turner, 8-7. In pool play, Riebel and Palmer defeated Chanute’s

Crest Lady Lancers finish as top dogs

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

WELLSVILLE — Crest

High’s sophomore sensations Josie Walter and Peyton Schmidt made their marks once again on the cross country circuit.

The Lady Lancers each secured top-10 finishes at Thursday’s Wellsville Invitational against a loaded field of competitors from significantly larger schools.

Walter nabbed third in the girls 5K, finishing in 20 minutes, 47.46 seconds. Schmidt took 10th overall at 22:48.94.

Crest’s Aubrey Allen took 23rd, finishing in 23:45, while Kaylee Allen finished in 51st at 26:26.03.

Marmaton Valley and Yates Center runners also were a part of the action.

Yates Center’s Jaylynn Birk took fifth and Marmaton Valley’s Sophia Heim eighth in the girls junior varsity race. Marmaton Valley’s Emma Louk took home second in the girls middle school race.

Full results follow. Of note, the girls and boys JV race times were unavailable

Lady Red Devils get by Crowder

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

The Allen Lady Red Devils went full steam ahead and took down Crowder Community College at home Thursday, 4-2.

Allen’s (4-1) Rebecca Lord, Emma Hicklin and Vivian Santos each scored in the first half with Tanka Rother scoring in the second.

“It’s nice to not play well and still win,” Allen head coach Jeremy McGinnis said. “As soon as Tanika’s goal went in, I felt a lot more relaxed. There was a moment there where it got brutal. We didn’t play our game, we didn’t possess and we weren’t first to the ball but we still found a way to win which matters.”

Lord’s goal came off an assist from Santos on a breakaway dribble for the 1-0 lead. Hicklin was then fed a pass by Audrey Smith which she scored from outside the 18 for the 2-0 lead. Santos scored the third goal unassisted on a rebound shot.

Allen was led offensively by Santos and Lizeth Ayala’s three shots on goal apiece while Ayala led with a team-high four shots and Santos had three shots.

Lucia Solanilla Leo started at goalkeeper for Allen and made five saves out of Crowder’s five shots on goal. Brianna Alexander made one save of Crowder’s three shots on goal. Crowder scored both of their goals on Alexander.

IMS splits wins at AC

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

NA

due to a technical glitch. Wellsville Invitational Girls Varsity (5K)

3. Josie Walter, Crest, 20:47.46

10.

Arnold, YC, NA 27. Brendon Newman, MV,

8th Grade Girls (3200 meters)

2. Emma Louk, MV, 13:53.28

10. Lynnex Allen, Crest, 1445.24

See XC MEET | Page B2

MV Junior High football falls to North-

ARMA — If there’s such a thing as a mulligan in football, Marmaton Valley Junior High head coach Daniel Uhlrich would gladly have taken one Thursday. The Wildcats struggled through a mistake-plagued first half, and wound up trailing host Northeast 22-0

at the break.

The second half was a different story. Marmaton Valley upped its level of play several notches, but the early deficit was too much to overcome in a 30-14 setback.

The defeat was MV’s first of the year.

“The second half, the

Wildcats were clearly the better team,” Uhlrich said. “But it takes the whole 32 minutes for the game to unfold. Much can be learned from this game and I wished we played this team weekly. We could learn much from one another.”

The early miscues in-

cluded false start penalties, Uhlrich said. Northeast also converted on several fourthdown attempts to keep the upper hand.

“We were so close many times, but close doesn’t get the job done,” he said.

Marmaton Valley (2-1) re-

See MVJH | Page B2

Iola’s eighth grade football team came out to play while the seventh grade Mustangs dropped a matchup at Anderson County Thursday.

The eighth grade Mustangs earned a dominant 58-20 win after scoring 30 points in the second quarter. The Iola seventh-graders were shut out by Anderson County, 34-0.

8th grade Iola didn’t need the entire game to show Anderson County who the boss was. The Mustangs scored eight points in the opening quarter before adding on 30 points in the second quarter. The Mustangs allowed 20 points with the Bulldogs scoring a touchdown in each quarter.

“It was a strong finish by our eighth-graders,” Iola head coach Scott Ellis said.

See IMS | Page B2

Ava Campbell and Laynie Jones, 1-0. THE MUSTANGS face off in Chanute again on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Iola’s Rebekah Coltrane goes for a hit at home. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Jorden Allen, Crest, 16:42.58

Haylie Aiello, MV, 20:30.03

Marmaton Valley’s Sophia Heim, middle, runs at Wellsville Thursday.

PHOTO BY: HALIE LUKEN

MVJH finishes strong at Northeast

ARMA

a spotless

for Marmaton Valley High’s volleyball team. The Wildcats had won their B and C team matches, and were sitting pretty after edging host North

east 26-24 in the first set. But the Vikings were hoping to play spoiler in the second set, taking a 22-17 lead.

Marmaton Valley’s Alayna Cook took matters into her own hands serving up the final seven points for

a stunning 25-22 win. The Wildcats’ younger players had an easier time.

The B team won by 25-6 and 25-12, while the C team rolled to 25-11 and 25-16 wins.

Marmaton Valley hosts Pleasanton on Thursday.

History suggests 0-2 start is difficult to overcome

By ROB MAADDII The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP)

— Two losses in five days already puts the Minnesota Vikings in a big hole that’s been difficult for NFL teams to overcome.

Since 1990, only 31 of the 270 clubs (11.5%) that began a season 0-2

advanced to the playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals recovered from losing their first two defeats last season to finish 12-4 and reached the AFC championship game.

The Vikings have to buck the losing trend after another sloppy effort in a 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Ea-

gles on Thursday night. They had four costly fumbles, including Justin Jefferson losing the ball out of bounds in the end zone. That followed up a mistake-filled 20-17 loss at home to Tampa Bay in Week 1.

“Shot ourselves in the foot with the turn-

See CHIEFS | Page B3

XC Meet: Wellsville plays host

Continued from B1

63. Daniel Allee, MV, 16:44.48

64. Wyatt Francis, Crest, 16:51.70

65. Isaac Stoll, YC, 15:59.59

92. Maddox Bysfield, YC, 18:47.90 7th Grade boys (3200 meters)

Allen’s Ayoup Bader plays against Crowder. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Allen beats Crowder in last minutes

A goal off the foot of Pascal Brose with less than 10 minutes left in regulation sealed a 2-1 victory for Allen over Crowder Community College Thursday afternoon. Allen is 5-1 on the season. The score was tied at 1-1 before Brose found an opening from the right side of the goal for the eventual game-winner. “It was a great team effort, we didn’t give up until the end. We

could have done a lot of things better to not concede a goal, but in the end I’m happy and the team is happy,” said Brose. “Communication is key, we still need to work on that but it’s getting better from the back.”

ACC’s Calum Murphy scored on a Patrick Alouidor pass for the 1-0 lead in the first half.

Crowder then knotted the game at 1-1 with 30 minutes left in

the game.

Guarav Sandhu made a big save for Allen when he stepped in front of a Crowder Roughrider to keep the game tied at 1-1.

Brose scored for the Red Devils, a goal from the right side of the box for the 2-1 lead.

Sandhu made nine saves in goal out of 10 Crowder shots on goal.

Allen travels to Central Community College-Columbus Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

MLB managers strive for honesty

By JANIE MCCAULEY The Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif.

(AP) — The only time Mark Kotsay ever faced being demoted or released as a player, Terry Francona delivered the tough news. And he did so with such grace and care, Kotsay remembers to this day how that thoughtful tone made it a little easier to accept in the moment. Those are lessons he now uses himself as manager of the Oakland Athletics.

“Terry Francona, his communication skills

are off the charts,” said Tampa Bay skipper Kevin Cash, who played for Francona in Boston and served as a coach on his staff in Cleveland. “I think that’s why he’s been in the game and been successful for so long.”

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy has long abided by a simple message when it comes to his players: “I try to treat players the way I would want to be treated.”

So, when it comes to tough conversations, most every manager agrees that being truthful and straight

forward is always the best approach.

All these years later, Kotsay still recalls when Francona told him in 2009 that he had been designated for assignment by the Red Sox as a role player at age 33. Kotsay, in his second season as Oakland’s manager, tries to use that same empathetic approach when he has a difficult conversation with a player.

“My first spring training, Jim Leyland called me in and told me I wasn’t going to make the team, but

See MLB | Page B3

64. Wyatt Francis, Crest, 16:51.70

82. Joseph Bishop, YC, 18:26.54

Marmaton Valley’s Clara Ferguson. PHOTO BY: HALIE LUKEN

Lucas Herbert holds first round lead at Silverado

NAPA, Calif. (AP) — Justin Thomas scuffled through an uneven afternoon with a 3-under 69 in his return to the PGA Tour following a lengthy layoff, leaving him six shots off the lead Thursday in the first round of the Fortinet Championship.

Thomas, the former No. 1 player in the world who was a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup, had hoped

to clean up his game in a final tune-up, but wasn’t nearly as sharp at Silverado Resort as he hoped.

Playing for the first time since finishing 12th at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 6, Thomas made four birdies and worked around a bogey on the par-4 ninth. He was tied for 20th, chasing Lucas

Herbert, the leader after a 6-under 63.

“Sometimes after some time off it’s hard for me to get back into it but I didn’t feel very competitively rusty,” said Thomas, who hit three of 14 fairways. “I was very engaged and focused on what I was doing. I just wasn’t exactly doing it how I wanted to.

“I was managing my game. It’s exactly what

I did at the Wyndham. Today wasn’t a day with how I hit it I was going to shoot 6- or 7-under. Three under with how I feel I hit it was a great thing.”

Herbert, who took a seven-week mental break from playing, came back looking much stronger and crisper than Thomas.

Herbert had 10 birdies — seven over his final nine holes — to over-

come an early bogey.

S.H. Kim was second at 65, He holed out for eagle from 106 yards on the par-4 14th. Kelly Kraft was at 66 with Jason Dufner, Harry Hall, Sung Kang, Zac Blair and Mark Hubbard.

Max Homa, the twotime defending Fortinet champion and U.S. Ryder Cup team member, endured a rough morning with a double bogey and bogey on his

way to joining Thomas at 69. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson also shot 69. Co-captain Stewart Cink, a winner here in 2020, had a 71. Herbert, a 27-yearold Australian ranked No. 59 in the world, needed a big spark after entering the FedEx Fall 152nd in points. The top 125 players after the seven fall tournaments

See SILVERADO | Page B6

Chiefs: 0-2 start has been hard to overcome in NFL

Continued from B3

overs,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said.

“Similar story now the first two weeks in that case. ... Just difficult to win in this league when you lose the turnover battle by one, let alone by the margin we have lost it by, so we have to fix those mistakes and not let it continue.”

Six other 2022 playoff teams are in danger of starting 0-2, including the AFC’s top three teams last year. The Kansas City Chiefs, Bengals and Buffalo Bills each lost their season opener. So did the Los Angeles Chargers, New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks.

Only the 1993 Dallas Cowboys, 2001 New England Patriots and 2007

New York Giants won a Super Bowl after starting 0-2.

“It doesn’t feel good. You want to win,” twotime Super Bowl MVP

Patrick Mahomes said.

“Obviously, I’ll be motivated as much as I always am, and that’s to go out there and win the week and it’s a great opportunity to go up against a great football team, so I’m excited for it.”

Mahomes and the Chiefs visit the Jacksonville Jaguars in a playoff rematch, so they’ve got a tough battle ahead. Seeing other playoff teams lose early is no comfort to Mahomes.

“I mean, not really. You never know what’s going to happen in this league,” he said. “People lose every week. It’s parity. That’s what this NFL is about, and everybody can beat every-

MLB: Managers strive to be honest with players

Continued from B3

from that day forward, I had never gotten a message up until Terry that I was being released and didn’t have a job in baseball,” Kotsay said. “I was never sent down from the major leagues to the minors, so I can’t put myself in those shoes. But I’ve tried to talk to enough guys that have had that experience.”

There’s no standard message from Francona — who has hinted this may be his final season in the dugout — when he has those chats with the Guardians. In fact, Francona often lets the player’s reaction dictate how it goes from there. When someone is visibly upset, he might offer the option of talking again in 24 hours, once the information has settled in a bit.

Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais also does that, trying his best to read each situation.

“Sometimes they don’t hear anything after you tell them they’re getting sent down,” Francona said. “Sometimes they don’t hear anything else, so we always kind of check with them like, ‘Hey, do you want to talk more now, do you want to come back later, do you want to come in tomorrow?’

Because we want to help, but sometimes, they’re just not ready to

listen.”

Athletes have changed. Times have changed, too.

Largely gone are the days of players walking into the clubhouse the afternoon of a game and checking the posted lineup to see if they’re in it.

Brandon Hyde, Baltimore’s fifth-year manager, makes a point to tell his Orioles a day before if they will be getting a break, whether for rest or simply to give someone else needed at-bats. He understands how much today’s athletes count on regular communication in order to plan their routines.

“You want them to appreciate that we’re trying to put them in the best position to have success,” Hyde said. “Players today appreciate as much communication as possible.

... I think as you evolve, you want good communication between the coaches and the players.”

Such thoughtfulness matters greatly to players, even if sometimes the information can be hard to hear.

“I think most people can handle being honest with them,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said.

Veteran San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford recalls how Bochy was

MVJH: Football

Continued from B1

turns to action next Thursday against Pleasanton. “We know we will get Pleasanton’s best shot,” Uhlrich said. “They are a

big ball club. I hope we come out with a sense of urgency and get that game for 32 minutes vs. Pleasanton. I am looking forward to seeing how we prepare for next week.”

always truthful regardless of the situation. He also stuck by Crawford through his early struggles, writing him into the lineup day after day.

“There wasn’t a lot of beating around the bush with Boch, he would kind of just tell you like it is,” Crawford said. “Maybe this is why, but he had a lot of trust in his players, his guys that he believed in. He’d keep putting them back out there. I’m talking about myself a lot here. I was going through struggles, maybe some tough stretches and he would continue to put me back out there because he believed that you would come through in the big situations, and fortunately it worked out.”

Bochy guided the Giants to World Series titles in 2010, ‘12 and ‘14.

“If that comes across that I cared about them, then that’s good for me. If I could do anything

to help them, that was my job I felt like,” Bochy said. “I didn’t always get it right, but I did care about them and wanted them to do well. I was always for them. Sometimes the players might not think that, but trust me, that’s the case. We’re in it together.”

Servais strives to evaluate each situation as it presents itself and take into account each player individually — “so read the facial expressions and read the body language, all those things are really important because you can’t script it out, you really can’t.”

“It’s handling people,” he said. “And I don’t care if you’re managing a baseball team or running a company, it’s the same type of thing, you’ve got to understand before you go into those meetings or into those discussions, and also have the ability to adjust on the

fly. “You may go into a meeting saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to hit this guy with this,’ and all of a sudden you get in there and ‘Whoa, this player isn’t ready for that.’”

Francona expects young players going through a demotion for the first time to be polite, yet he understands there is typically some anger or sadness that comes with it.

“I think there’s a way to be respectful. Our guys always handle themselves. We acknowledge that while we’re telling them something, it’s a big deal, you’re upsetting a part of their life and it’s important to them so we respect that, we tell them that,” Francona said. “But we always tell them the truth, we just try to find a way that’s not just smack somebody in the face, I think there’s a way to do that.”

body. You have to come in with the mentality that you’re going to play your best football. I thought we lapsed in that this last week, and we were playing a good football team and they beat us.

“I don’t worry about those other teams around the league because you never know who’s going to be at the top at the end of the year whenever you are trying to find your seeding. You just try to go out there and be the best you can be and stack as many wins as possible.”

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Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) tries to avoid the tackle bid from Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton (32). DAVID EULITT/GETTY IMAGES/TNS

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Public notice

(Published in The Iola Register Sept. 16, 2023)

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS Jacquelyn M. Evans vs Damien M. Evans Case No. AL-2023-DM-000117

Pursuant to Ch. 60 of K.S.A

NOTICE OF SUIT

TO: Respondent- Damien M. Evans You have been sued in the above Court by the Petitioner and unless you answer this Petition on or before 2nd day of November, 2023, judgment will be rendered against you in an absolute divorce by Petitioner from Respondent.

/s/Dennis D. Depew Dennis D. Depew, #11605 Kansas Legal Services 408 North Walnut Post Office Box 1509 Pittsburg, Kansas, 66762 (620) 232-1330 Attorney for Petitioner (9) 16, 23, 30

Public notice

(First published in The Iola Register Sept. 2, 2023)

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS

In the Matter of the Estate of MARY L. QUECKBOERNER, Deceased Case No. AL-2023-PR-000016

NOTICE OF HEARING

THE STATE OF KANSAS TO ALL PERSONS CONCERNED:

You are hereby notified a Petition has been filed in this Court

by Traci Hermsen, the duly appointed, qualified and acting Administrator of the Estate of Mary Louise Queckboerner, deceased, requesting that her acts be approved; her account be settled and allowed; the heirs be determined; the Estate be assigned to the persons entitled thereto; the administration of the Estate be closed; and the Petitioner be finally discharged as Administrator and released from further liability.

You are required to file your written defenses to the Petition on or before September 26, 2023,

at 8:30 a.m. in the District Court of Allen County, Kansas, 1 North Washington Ave., Room B, Iola, KS 66749, at which time and place the cause will be heard. Should you fail to file your written defenses, judgment and decree will be entered in due course upon the Petition. Traci Hermsen, Administrator

Red Sox fire Chaim Bloom

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox fired Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom on Thursday as the team stumbled toward a third last-place finish in four seasons.

The team made the announcement before the start of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees, who took the first two games of the series to drop Boston into a tie for last.

“The decision was not made lightly or easily,” President & CEO Sam Kennedy read from a prepared statement before his press conference. “We all know where we are in the standings. It’s a painful reality that fans feel as deeply as we do. Our fans deserve a winning, competitive team that consistently plays postseason baseball.”

Manager Alex Cora said he got a call from ownership in the morning telling him about the move. He said he was planning next year’s team with Bloom on Wednesday.

“We actually had a great conversation about the future of the organization and what he envisioned,” Cora said after the Red Sox beat the Yankees 5-0 in the opener of a split doubleheader. “There were a few things that he felt we needed to do better as a coaching staff. We were talking about the kids and what we wanted to accomplish the last few weeks.”

Red Sox infielder Justin Turner was caught off guard by the move.

“That was certainly

a surprise to everyone this morning,” he said.

“I did not see that coming. I have not experienced that in my career.”

Bloom was hired from the Tampa Bay Rays to help revive the farm system and bring financial stability to a team that was one of baseball’s biggest spenders. One of his first moves was to trade 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts, a year before he was eligible for free agency, on a mandate from ownership to get the payroll in order.

But the return for Betts was unspectacular — outfielder Alex Verdugo and some prospects that have not panned out — and other moves have failed to yield results at the major league level. Bloom also watched shortstop Xander Bogaerts, whom the organization developed into a four-time All-Star, depart as a free agent.

“I think we’ve always been consistent, trying to build, build that farm system, but win at the major league level has always been a priority,” Kennedy said. “Obviously, the past two seasons we haven’t been there and the change

Silverado: Golf

Continued from B3

retain their full PGA Tour cards for 2024.

“Found a little groove there,” Herbert said. “It felt like anything I did poorly seemed to work out nicely for me and the good shots got rewarded as well. Felt like I played OK and just got a lot of good breaks, and capitalized on chances as well.”

Herbert needed just 22 putts to finish the round in the heart of the Northern California’s wine valley. His lone mistake was a bogey on the par-4 16th when he missed a 16foot putt for par.

In the past that might have lingered in his mind the rest of the afternoon, but after taking nearly two months off to “reset” himself, Herbert kept his cool and got on a roll on the back nine.

“Me two months ago, I probably wouldn’t have shaken that off as much,” Herbert said. “I would have been a little harder on myself.”

After a birdie on No. 10, Herbert parred No. 11 then rolled off six consecutive birdies before ending his round with par on the par-5 18th. The 63 wass two shots shy of the tournament course record of 61 shared by seven players, most recently Ricky Barnes in 2018. Barnes shot a 71 on Thursday.

It was a nice way for Herbert to return in his first tournament since missing the cut

CSU coach stokes rivalry with comment about Deion Sanders

DENVER (AP) — Colorado State coach Jay Norvell just heated up the rivalry with No. 18 Colorado by poking at his counterpart Deion Sanders.

was made.”

This season, the Red Sox appeared to be holding onto young talent instead of making moves at the trade deadline to help their playoff push.

“I believe we were doing everything possible to win,” Cora said. “We were in a spot that we were thinking about the present and thinking about the future — and that’s not easy to do.”

Entering Thursday’s doubleheader, the Red Sox were 267-262 in Bloom’s tenure, with a trip to the AL Championship Series in 2021.

“It’s hard to say it’s not related to results because that’s what this is all about,” Kennedy said. “We’re aiming for World Series championships. That’s it. That’s the aim, that’s the goal. We’re here to win World Series championships. While we’re here, we’re not going to waste this opportunity. That’s what the Boston Red Sox are all about.”

Kennedy said Bloom was informed of the decision by owner John Henry, Chairman Tom Werner and himself Thursday morning.

The team said general manager Brian O’Halloran “has been offered a new senior leadership position within the baseball operations department.”

On his coach’s show Wednesday night, Norvell made a reference to Sanders’ tendency to wear a hat along with sunglasses at news conferences and said that “when I talk to grownups, I take my hat and my glasses off.”

Norvell also mentioned his players had a “chip on their shoulder” after conducting interviews with ESPN in advance of the game dubbed the Rocky Mountain Showdown. The Rams are a 23 1/2-point underdog, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, on Saturday night against Colorado at sold-out Folsom Field.

“I sat down with ESPN, and I don’t care if they hear it in Boulder, I told them I took my hat off and I took my glasses off,” Norvell said on his show that aired from a restaurant in Fort Collins, Colorado. “That’s what my mother taught me.”

His words drew applause from the crowd. The Rams (0-1) have lost five straight to Colorado (2-0) in the series.

Sanders responded to the remarks Thursday at practice. In a video posted on YouTube, Sanders started out by saying: “Beautiful day, ain’t it?”

and made it, what?”

His team responded in unison: “Personal.”

Sanders added: “It was just going to be a good game. They done messed around and made it?”

“Personal,” his team said.

“It was going to be a great test, a battle of Colorado,” Sanders said. “But they done messed around and made it?”

“Personal,” his team responded.

Sanders has turned the Buffaloes into the talk of college football. So much so that both ESPN’s “College GameDay” and Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” will be in Boulder on Saturday for the game.

“They (Colorado) are not going to like us no matter what we say or do,” Norvell said. “It doesn’t matter. So, let’s go up there and play. That’s just how I feel about it.”

in the spring.

Earlier in the week, Norvell spoke about the respect he had for Sanders.

“Just to start talking about Colorado, Deion Sanders has had a lot of public critics. I’m not one of them,” Norvell said. “I really respect all head coaches and the sacrifices that they’ve had to make to become head coaches. I appreciate the path they have to go to get there.”

Norvell educated his team on the history of a rivalry that started in 1893. He also noted the last time the game was held in Boulder — Sept. 6, 2009 — the Rams won, 23-17.

“This might be the most eyes that have ever been on this game,” Norvell said. “That’s a tremendous opportunity for us and our kids.”

at British Open on July 23. That was when Herbert decided he needed to take a sabbatical and clear his mind.

During the time off Herbert stayed in America rather than heading home to Australia. He traveled to Maine to spend time with his girlfriend’s family and kept away from golf.

“Just needed to get away from the game and refresh everything,” Herbert said.

The only player from the top 10 in the world playing in the Fortinet Championship, the seventh-ranked Homa ran into trouble with a double bogey on No. 4, a 367-yard par 4 after his drive out of bounds and hitting a recovery shot that landed in a greenside bunker.

That pushed Homa further back into the field as he attempts to become the first player to win a tournament three straight years since Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic from 2009 to 2011.

“Just one bad swing that led to a double and then a bad wedge shot that was quite frustrating,” Homa said. “Other than that, I actually felt like I kept it in front of me pretty good. Didn’t do anything special to get going anywhere, but overall it was solid. I don’t think anything stuck out as overly bad or overly great. It was a decent day.”

O’Halloran will run the department in the interim, along with assistant general managers Eddie Romero, Raquel Ferreira and Michael Groopman.

After going 86 years without a World Series championship, the Red Sox have won four since 2004.

“I’m minding my own business, watching some film, trying to get ready, trying to get out here and be the best coach I can be,” he continued. “I look up and read some bulljunk that they said about us. Once again, why would you want to talk about us when we don’t talk about nobody? All we do is go out here, work our butts off and do our job on Saturday.

“But when they give us ammunition, they done messed around

Norvell becomes the latest coach to take a perceived swipe at Sanders, who made no secret about using a ton of transfers to transform a scuffling program that went 1-11 last year. The Buffaloes opened the Sanders era at Colorado with a 4542 win at TCU as heavy underdogs. They then beat Nebraska at home 36-14 in a game where the theme was, “This is personal.” It was a reference to not only the storied nature of the old rivalry, but the Buffaloes taking note of some critical comments out of Lincoln

Norvell, who’s in his second season at Colorado State, also pointed out the significance of a matchup that features two Black head coaches.

“It holds a lot of weight,” Norvell said. “I’m really proud to be a part of that.”

Sanders agreed.

“It’s just tremendous getting this opportunity and allowing the nation to see that we are more than capable of doing a sufficient and a great job,” Sanders said. “I’m happy that he pointed that out. I have the utmost respect for him.”

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders. ANDY CROSS/THE DENVER POST/TNS

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. AMANDA SAGBA/BOSTON HERALD/TNS

Hornet has impressive lineage

By CASEY WILLIAMS Tribune News Service

It dominated NASCAR, boogied through the 1970s, starred in countless movies, and now sports flashy Italian style. The Hornet has a long and distinguished pedigree, having assumed disparate shapes and features over the decades, and its current avatar, the Dodge Hornet GT, is an attractive and worthy evolution of the nameplate,

The original 1951 Hudson Hornet was known for its streamlined styling and “step down chassis,” in which the floorpan and passengers were set between the frame rails for a lower profile and improved center of gravity for safety and handling.

In “Cars,” Doc Hudson (the Hornet character voiced by Paul Newman) was a “three-time winner of the Piston Cup”, but in reality the Hornet dominated NASCAR, winning 27 of 34 Grand National races in 1952, 22 of 37 in 1953, and 17 of 37 in 1954. Not bad for a car renowned for its luxury credentials.

The Dodge Hornet is an entirely different insect — essentially a domesticated version of the Alfa Romeo Tonale, although not entirely Americanized because it’s assembled in Naples, Italy. Sure, it has snarling air extractors on its hood, angry hornets on its flanks, and looks menacing with 18inch black wheels and black trim included in the Blacktop package,

but the curvy, muscular sheet metal would look as sexy in Tuscany as Tucson. In GT trim, it’s also a convincing Dodge.

I’d say it’s even a might sportier than the 1976 AMC Hornet Sportabout wagon.

Gone are the cheap plastic and cloth seats from The Malaise Era of American cars. The Dodge Hornet’s interior cribs Alfa design with deeply bolstered black leather sport seats, a flat bottom steering wheel with bulging hand grips, and red stitching throughout. The steering wheel is canted forward in the Italian tradition.

Beyond that, it’s pretty comfortable. Flatscreen gauges are clear and concise, and the slick center screen looks artful attached to the dash, but putting volume control in the console is a little too Audi. I’d prefer Chrysler Group’s super intuitive infotainment with easy icons plus proper volume and tuning knobs. I have no complaints about wireless Apple/Android connectivity, sumptuous Harman Kardon audio, or dual-zone automatic climate control.

Hornet is available as a plug-in hybrid with 30 miles EV range and putting out 288 horsepower and 383 poundfeet of torque, but our super fly buzzes about with Dodge’s “Hurricane” 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, connected to a nine-speed automatic transmission, delivering 268 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque.

The old Hudsons would have no hope of matching the latest Hornet’s 0-60 mph time of 6.5 seconds.

It’s safe to say the Dodge Hornet GT would own 1950s NASCAR, but a proper performance crossover is not born of speed alone. Hailing from Italy suggests the Hornet performs as if old Enzo Ferrari was fettling the chassis. He’s not, but the quite firm fourwheel independent suspension and sharp steering are more adept than the average crossover.

Add to that torque-vectoring all-wheel drives to sharpen corners and a Sport mode that makes the throttle more responsive, tightens steering, and employs a limited slip differential to lay

power evenly. The Hornet is comfortable on the highway and over most city pavement, but it is most fun over smooth twisty pavement.

And while we may dream of attacking two-lanes through Italy, it’s more likely that time spent in Dodge Hornets will be interrupted by belching kids and slobbering dogs en route to baseball practice. Keeping everybody safe are adaptive cruise, lane-centering steering with haptic counter steer (which gently nudges the car back into lane), and automatic emergency braking. Blind spot warning, rear cross path detection, and surround-view camera protect fenders and pedestrians, too.

With an Italian accent and NASCAR heritage, Dodge has a stinging little Hornet crossover that’s unique among rivals. It’s a fun commute to work, easy in daily errands, and occasionally enjoys a good romp through the country. A base price of $30,735 — $40,710 as-tested — suggests competitors like the Subaru Crosstrek Sport.

Baseball HOF spotlights Bananas

By PAUL NEWBERRY The Associated Press

The Baseball Hall of Fame is going Bananas. An exhibit dedicated to the sport’s wackiest team, the Savannah Bananas, will open Friday at the hallowed shrine in Cooperstown, New York.

“I’m blown away,” Bananas owner Jesse Cole told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “As a kid, you look up to all your heroes in the Hall of Fame. To even be considered for a display that shares what we’re doing is really special.”

What started as an idea to exhibit a few Bananas-related items

at the Hall of Fame was expanded into a full display and a weekend

of activities, capped by a game Saturday at Doubleday Field

Tuesday: Volleyball @ Wellsville, 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday: Tennis @ Chanute, 3 p.m.

Friday: Football v Anderson County, 7 p.m.

Tuesday: Home cross country meet, 3:15 p.m.

Friday: Football v Council Grove, 7 p.m.

Tuesday: Cross country @ Humboldt, 3 p.m.; Volleyball @ Oswego, 4 p.m.

Friday: Football v. Hartford, 7 p.m.

Tuesday: Cross country @ Humboldt, 4 p.m.

Friday: Football @ Marais des Cygnes, 7 p.m.

Tuesday: Cross country @ Humboldt, 3 p.m.; Volleyball @ Chetopa, 5 p.m.

Friday: Football v. Oswego, 7 p.m.

Wednesday: M/W soccer @ Neosho, 5/7:30 p.m.; Volleyball @ Hesston, 6:30 p.m.

Friday: Volleyball @ Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, 6 p.m.

Saturday: M/W soccer v Southeast, 4 p.m.

against their perennial rivals, the Party Animals.

Some 6,500 tickets sold out in minutes, which has become the norm for the barnstorming, Harlem Globetrotters-style team that spawned its own reality series and claims to have a waiting list of more than a million fans.

Josh Rawitch, who

is president of the Hall, called the team a “phenomenon” that is helping attract younger, less-traditional crowds with shenanigans such as a player on stilts and outs being counted when a fan catches a foul ball in the stands. He said the Bananas deserved to be recognized at a museum

See BASEBALL | Page B8

The 2024 Dodge Hornet GT in Acapulco Gold. STELLANTIS/TNS

Savannah Banana Malachi Mitchell (2) flips in the air as the team cheers before the start of a banana ball game against the Kansas City Monarchs. KENT NISHIMURA/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Baseball: Hall of Fame is turning to banana land

Continued from B7

that also is striving to create a whole new generation of fans for the national pastime.

“I think the game, as it is, is incredibly entertaining,” Rawitch said. “But they’ve added an additional element.”

The Bananas were founded in 2016 as a member of Coastal Plains League, a summer circuit for college players. But Cole always had grander ambitions, eventually starting a professional team alongside the amateur

squad so he could fully try out a version of the game he calls “Banana Ball.”

Among the rules: a two-hour time limit on games, no bunting, batters having the option of trying to steal first, no stepping out of the box, no mound visits, and a scoring system that awards a point to the team that puts up the most runs each inning.

But beyond the rules, Cole delivers a barrage of entertainment on almost every pitch, in-

cluding choreographed dances, bizarre skits and players roaming through the stands mingling with fans.

“Some people who are more traditional may think this isn’t quite baseball. And it is different,” Rawitch said. “At the same time, if you look at the exhibit we have on baseball in the 1800s, you’re talking about playing the game with no glove and underhand pitching. The game continues to evolve, and I think Banana Ball is

part of the evolution.”

While Cole doesn’t claim credit for a series of new major league rules that have increased action and cut down the length of games, he was at the cutting edge of the movement to make baseball more exciting.

“If we played role, great,” he said. “All we’re trying to do is get more people involved, get a young audience involved. If we can do that, it’s a victory for everybody.”

The temporary ex-

RACING THIS WEEK

HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400

Tyler Reddick beat Joe Gibbs Racing driver and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin to the finish line by 0.327 seconds Sunday to grab a Cup Playoff win.

hibit, which opens with a ribbon cutting Friday and replaces a display commemorating the “Field of Dreams” games, will contain team artifacts such as yellow baseballs, a kilt worn during games, and the pad where Cole wrote down his original ideas for the rules of Banana Ball.

There will also be a video element focusing on the team’s huge social media presence through conduits such as Instagram and Tik

TRUCKS BURNOUT ALERT! Christian Eckes, driver of the #19 PEAK/ NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway Friday. (Kyle Rivas/Getty)

Hollywood thriller goes Reddick’s way in overtime

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – With a bold move to the front of the field in overtime, Tyler Reddick won Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 and left his car owner frustrated at the end of the second Cup Playoff Race at Kansas.

Reddick beat Joe Gibbs Racing driver and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin to the finish line by 0.327 seconds.

Hamlin led 63 laps and was more than two seconds ahead of Reddick when Playoff driver Chris Buescher blew a right rear tire on Lap 261 of a scheduled 267 to cause the ninth and final caution.

Diverging strategies then gave Reddick the opening he needed to gain automatic entry into the Playoffs’ Round of 12. Daniel Suarez stayed out on 31-lap-old tires and inherited the lead. Erik Jones, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano made two-tire stops and restarted second, third and fourth.

Reddick restarted on the bottom of the third row and surged forward while Hamlin hung back in the top lane. After the field rounded Turn 4 on the restart Lap, Reddick shot to the bottom of the track and took the lead right before the start/finish line.

On the final circuit, third-place finisher Erik Jones moved up the track on the backstretch to block Hamlin’s progress for a moment, and that gave Reddick all the breathing room he needed to secure his second victory of the season, his first at 1.5-mile Kansas and the fifth of his career.

“Just an outstanding job by this whole 23XI team,” Reddick said, after climbing out of the window of his No. 45 Toyota during his celebratory burnout.

“We had really good pace, but just couldn’t get ahead of Denny there, but chaos ensued, people stayed out, some took two tires, and the bottom lane opened up. Pretty crazy.”

Beaten by a car he owns, Hamlin took the defeat philosophically. The second-place run leaves him 49 points ahead of teammate Martin Truex Jr., the first driver below the current Round of 12 cut line.

“Well, the 5 (Kyle Larson, behind Hamlin in the top lane for the final restart) was just laying back so much,” Hamlin said. “I was trying to back up to him. Should have just kind of focused forward probably.

“It gave the 45 (Reddick) an opportunity to get up there in front of us. Just kind of sleeping on the restart, looking in the rear view instead of looking in the front.

“Just another really, really fast car—just didn’t need that caution at the end.”

Larson finished fourth after leading a race-high 99 laps and winning the first stage. Logano came home fifth, thanks to the two-tire call by crew chief Paul Wolfe. Chase Elliott was sixth, followed by Kyle Busch, pole winner Christopher Bell and Brad Keselowski, who won the second stage.

Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 23XI Racing MoneyLion Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday. (Jay Biggerstaff/Getty)

The race, however, had dire consequences for Playoff drivers now in danger of elimination Saturday at Bristol.

Disaster struck regular season champ Martin Truex Jr. before the race was four laps old. As the field was working Lap 4, Truex started to slow on the backstretch and then slammed the wall in Turn 3, the result of a cut tire.

With the suspension on his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota damaged beyond repair, Truex retired to the garage in 36th place and fell seven points below the cut line for the Round of 12.

“Just unfortunate and very unlucky,” Truex said after exiting the infield care center. “I took off really tight, and I knew something was up, and then cut a right rear. Not really sure what happened, obviously, but it blew in the worst place possible.

“I hate it for my guys. We had an awesome Bass Pro Toyota Camry. We were going to have a great day, just not sure what we need to do to get some luck here.”

Bubba Wallace was next to have his hopes of advancement to the Round of 12 suffer a crippling blow. Wallace was running second on Lap 108 when his right rear tire exploded, sending his No. 23 Toyota hard into the outside wall.

Wallace brought the car to pit road to repair a bent right rear toe link and lost three laps in the process. After a second trip to pit road, he was five laps down in 34th place and could recover only to 32nd by the end of the event.

Now 14th in the Playoff standings, Wallace leaves Kansas 19 points behind Kevin Harvick in 12th.

After two brushes with the outside wall, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came home 23rd and is 22 points behind Harvick. Michael McDowell dropped 40 points below the cut line with a 26thplace result and realistically needs a victory at Bristol to advance to the Round of 12.

Tok. The team’s wacky videos have attracted some 2 million followers on Instagram — 200,000 more than Major League Baseball’s best team, the Atlanta Braves. The game Saturday afternoon will cap the team’s sold-out “world tour” for the 2023 season, which has encompassed more than 80 games in 33 minor-league ballparks across 21 states, stretching from Maine to California.

BASS PRO SHOP NIGHT RACE

Bristol Motor Speedway

7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, USA

• Located in Northeast Tennessee in the town of Bristol, Bristol Motor Speedway is a legendary NASCAR short-track nicknamed The Last Great Colosseum for its epic battles and Roman-like architecture. The stadium-like structure serves as a versatile multi-use venue.

• The very rst NASCAR race at BMS, held on July 30, 1961, was won by Jack Smith with relief help from Johnny Allen.

• The short track is a (0.533-mile) concrete oval with corner banking ranging from 24 to 28 degrees and a pair of 650-feet straightaways.

CUP

PLAYOFF NOTES

After the second race of the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, here’s a look at the playoff picture. There is one race left in the Round of 16 — Saturday night’s showdown at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 ET, USA).

• Tyler Reddick led just two of the 268 laps, capitalizing in an overtime frenzy to secure a win in the Hollywood Casino 400. Reddick started fth and converted for his second win of the season, his rst at the 1.5-mile Kansas track and the fth of his Cup Series career. The triumph — his rst since March at Circuit of The Americas — sends him to the Round of 12, keeping him free of the threat of elimination in the opening round’s nale.

• Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin hasn’t won in the opening round of the Cup Series Playoffs, but he’s been among the most impressive performers. He led 63 laps and dominated the nal stage as he logged a runnerup nish Sunday at Kansas. That result comes on the heels of leading a race-best 177 laps in the playoff-opener at Darlington before fading to a 25th-place outcome.

• Last week’s winner Kyle Larson stayed on a positive swing, leading the most laps (99) and rallying from a brief Stage 2 fade to net his fourth top- ve result in the last ve Kansas races. Larson has already advanced but heads to Bristol where he’s led multiple laps in seven of the last eight races on the high-banked concrete oval.

Chris Buescher partied big-time in Victory Lane last year at Bristol.

SEAN GARDNER/ GETTY IMAGES

CUP PLAYOFFS: 3RD RACE