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1st vaccine headed to hospital By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Allen County Regional Hospital’s first round of COVID-19 vaccine was expected to arrive today, with the first shots likely to be administered Thursday. The hospital was expected to receive 45 vaccines. Front line staff and hospital providers who have direct contact with patients and who agree to be vaccinated will receive the first shots, according to a hospital spokesperson. Today, hospital administrators will decide who gets the shots and complete required paperwork. The shots are expected to be administered Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings. The first vaccine is likely to go to those with the most contact with patients, such See VACCINE | Page A3
Turnovers marr Fillies return
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Kansas mayor quits in protest PAGE A2
K-State thumps Iowa State PAGE B6
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
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SPARK: Time is running out By TREVOR HOAG The Iola Register
Time is running out. After originally receiving $2.4 million in CARES Act/ SPARK funds, Allen County has to spend every remaining cent by the end of the year ... or else return it. Lisse Regehr and Becky Voorhies of Thrive Allen County were therefore on hand to continue a dialogue with commissioners about how best to spend the balance. Most of the initial sum has already been strategically spent, but some possible options for using what remains include providing local small businesses and nonprofits with additional grant opportunities, even if the amounts are smaller than with previous SPARK subgrants. Another item high on people’s lists is personal protective equipment (PPE), which is especially relevant as the SPARK funds are designed
Becky Voorhies and Lisse Regehr of Thrive Allen County discuss with county commissioners how best to spend remaining CARES Act/SPARK funds. REGISTER/TREVOR HOAG specifically with COVID-19 relief in mind. Commissioner Bruce Symes asked about gloves and other safety items that might not be arriving before the
end of the year deadline, and Voorhies assured him that this should not be an issue so long as items had already been purchased. Being able to assist local
food pantries also remains high on the list of possibilities, commissioners have previously noted, especially
Pandemic backlash hits home Kansans urged
to stay vigilant despite vaccine
By ANNA MARIA BARRY-JESTER, HANNA RECHT, MICHELLE R. SMITH and LAUREN WEBER The Associated Press
Tisha Coleman has lived in close-knit Linn County, Kansas, for 42 years and never felt so alone. As the public health administrator, she’s struggled every day of the coronavirus pandemic to keep her rural county along the Missouri border safe. In return, she’s been harassed, sued, vilified — and called a “sheep.” The months of fighting over masks and quarantines were already wearing her down. Then she got COVID-19, likely from her husband, who refused to require masks at the family hardware store. Her mother got it, too, and died Sunday. Her mother, Nina Lou Thompson Worthington, age 71, a former health care
By MARGARET STAFFORD The Associated Press
Nina Worthington, formerly of Moran, contracted COVID-19 and died Sunday. Her daughter is the public health administrator in Linn County and said she’s been vilified for efforts to keep her county safe. COURTESY PHOTO worker, was formerly of Moran and has many relatives in Allen County, including David Heard of Iola and Rep. Kent Thompson of LaHarpe. Her obituary is on page A2. Across the U.S., state and
local public health officials have found themselves at the center of a political storm. Some have become the target of far-right activists, conservative groups and anSee BACKLASH | Page A5
McConnell finally recognizes Biden as president-elect By STEVEN T. DENNIS Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recognized Joe Biden as the winner of the U.S. election the day after the Electoral College confirmed his victory — a pivotal moment that further cements President Donald Trump’s defeat. “The Electoral College has spoken,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “So today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.” McConnell also discouraged Republican senators during a conference call from joining any move to object to the Electoral Col-
See COUNTY | Page A6
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) walks from his office on Capitol Hill in Washington on Friday. (YURI GRIPAS/ABACA PRESS/TNS)
lege outcome when Congress convenes Jan. 6 to formally count the results. Until Tuesday, McConnell
had declined to acknowledge Biden’s win, saying the president was entitled to pursue his claims in court, even as
Trump-backed cases were dismissed by numerous judges. The Supreme Court last week turned away an effort to toss out election results in states won by Biden. Biden told reporters he called McConnell on Tuesday to “thank him for the congratulations” and told him there are issues where they can work together. “We’ve always been straight with one another and we agreed to get together sooner than later and I’m looking forward to working with him,” Biden said. Yet even as McConnell and other Republicans are See BIDEN | Page A3
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas’ top health official said Tuesday they are relieved the state has begun distributing a coronavirus vaccine but they stressed that the public still needs to adhere to social distancing and other precau- Gov. Kelly tions for several more months. The Ascension Via Christi health care system administered the first doses of the vaccine to 115 physicians and employees at its St. Francis hospital on Monday. Vaccinating health care workers will speed up this week, but it likely won’t be an option for the general public until late spring or early summer, Kelly said. “I am relieved that we are really truly turning the corner now on this virus,” Kelly said during a virtual meeting with University of Kansas Medical Center officials. Long-term care residents will get the vaccine after health care workers, and state officials are working with advisers to determine subsequent vaccinations — a process that should be completed by the end of this week or the beginning of next, Kelly said. When asked about the possible impact of the vaccine on getting students back into classrooms full time, Kelly See STATE | Page A3
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