The Iola Register, Nov. 19, 2022

tussles at Santa Fe Trail

Prosecutor to look into Trump allegations

WASHINGTON (AP) —

Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel on Friday to over see the Justice Depart ment’s investigation into the presence of classified documents at former Presi dent Donald Trump’s Flor ida estate as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to undo the 2020 election.

The move, which is be ing announced just three days after Trump formally launched his 2024 candi dacy, is a recognition of the unmistakable political implications of two inves tigations that involve not only a former president but also a current White House hopeful.

Though the appoint

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How to love books

Volunteer program at IES helps students with reading skills

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

First-graders enter the li brary at Iola Elementary School on a mission.

It’s a Thursday morning, and they have just 45 minutes.

The 80 or so students head straight to one of dozens of Chromebooks, ready and wait ing. Preferably, they’ll find one next to a volunteer. They each have their favorite volunteers, of course, and they’ll wait if they have to.

Many of the adult volun teers are retired teachers, who

gave up their classrooms but never lost their love of kids or of teaching.

Other volunteers are fifth-graders, students just like them who grew up with

Santa’s house gets makeover

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

Just call it a home make over, Santa edition.

With Christmas five short weeks away, Santa will once again set up temporary quar ters in Iola to hear requests from area children starting Dec. 3.

But as Iola Area Chamber of Commerce volunteers were pulling the house out of stor age, Executive Director Robin Schallie noticed the home had started to show its age.

Lights were broken, as were several decorations, because of shifting, the structure’s front door no longer locked.

Helpers were busy Thurs day, doing a few improve ments to jolly old domicile, after it had been placed at its familiar spot on the southeast corner of Iola’s courthouse square.

The interior will sport new

decorations, a new chair for St. Nick and a new tree.

New exterior lights and decorations also are a part of the improvements, with a plaque to recognize donors who helped make the project possible, Schallie said.

New locks also were in stalled.

“We just want to make it a little spiffier,” Schallie said.

Santa

a love of reading and who are now learning about communi ty service.

The first-graders log into their Accelerated Reader ac

World’s population 8 billion

By SETH BORENSTEIN The Associated Press

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — The world is getting hotter and more crowded and the two is sues are connected, but not quite as much as people might think, experts say.

On Tuesday somewhere a baby was born that will be the globe’s 8 billionth person, according to a projection by the United Nations and other experts. The Earth has warmed al most 1.6 degrees Fahren heit since the world hit the 4 billion mark in 1974.

Climate and population is a touchy subject for sci entists and officials.

While more people con suming energy, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels, is warming the plan et, the key issue isn’t the number of people as much as how a small fraction of those people are causing way more than their share of carbon pollution, sever al climate and population experts told The Associat ed Press.

“We do have a popula tion problem and we do have a population issue,” said Vanessa Perez-Cicera, director of the Global Eco nomics Center at the World Resources Institute. “But I think most importantly, we have an overconsumption issue.”

And because of that the 8 billionth child born will “not have what we had ... because there’s not enough resources,” she said.

Kenya, which is suffer

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will make his first appearance of the Christmas season from 4 to 7 p.m. Satur

Volunteer Donna Houser works with with first-grader readers Ike Cochrane, left, and Quinn Trammell.

Iola Elementary School first-grader Ray Peterson gets ready to read a book about chipmunks with volunteer Connie Brown. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Iola Area Chamber of Commerce Director Robin Schallie hangs a board on the front of the Santa House. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Santa’s downtown headquarters

Making space

Kansas GOP rift boils over after loss in governor’s race

By JOHN HANNA The Associated press

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)

— A push by top Repub licans in Kansas to pun ish party officials who backed an independent candidate for governor is shining a spotlight on an internal rift that could hinder GOP lead ers’ efforts to steer the state to the right over Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s objections.

Many Republicans blame independent state Sen. Dennis Pyle’s campaign for Kelly’s narrow reelection vic tory Nov. 8 over threeterm Republican state Attorney General Der ek Schmidt. But five hard-right lawmakers said in a Facebook statement this week that GOP “establish ment manipulations” were the culprit and de nounced the state par ty’s chair.

While Republicans nationally are unset tled by ex-President Donald Trump’s bid to win back the White House in 2024, the Kan sas conflict boiled over because state GOP Chair Mike Kuckelman convened the party’s Loyalty Committee the day after the election. The committee enforc es a party ban on its officials supporting non-Republicans.

“Kuckelman and the Republican establish ment, we are done with you,” the lawmakers concluded in a posting on the Facebook page of state Sen. Mark Stef fen, a south-central Kansas Republican.

That election was a perfect example of how divided houses fall.

— Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Wichita

Kuckelman, a Kan sas City area attorney, plans to retire as chair in February, when his two-year term ends. Three of the state ment’s signers said they plan to remain Republicans, while two others did not respond to emails seeking com ment.

“I fix problems. I do not run from them,” Steffen said in an email Thursday. “As such, it is Republican Christian values that I adhere to and advance. Values that build great societ ies.”

Kelly won re-election with a little less than 50% of the vote and

faces GOP legislative su permajorities that can override her vetoes — if Republicans remain uni fied.

The party’s Loyalty Committee this week stripped about 40 of ficials of party deci sion-making posts such as voting-precinct com mittee spots. However, Kuckelman said Thurs day that the sanctions have been suspended to give those officials a chance to have appeals heard by the state par ty’s larger executive committee.

The hard right re mained skeptical of Schmidt despite his con servative record as attor ney general. He was an aide to moderate Repub lican U.S. senators early and served as Kansas Senate majority leader with a moderate Senate president before being elected attorney general in 2010.

Pyle also was among the Legislature’s most conservative Republi cans before leaving the GOP to run for governor.

Kuckelman and other GOP leaders contend Pyle took votes from Schmidt and decreased Republican turnout by making conservatives less enthusiastic about him.

“That election was a perfect example of how divided houses fall,” said Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita Republican.

The GOP dissent ers argue that the state party establishment ignored conservatives’ misgivings and improp erly treated Schmidt as the Republican nominee well ahead of the August primary. Pyle has called Schmidt a weak candi date.

“I plan to remain a principled Republican that honors the will of the People and respects the Republican Party platform,” said another dissenter, central Kan sas state Sen. Alicia Straub.

Kuckelman saw the lawmakers statement as an attempt to tamp down the widespread Republi can anger over support for Pyle.

“What they’re doing is trying to dig themselves out of a hole that they’ve placed themselves in,” Kuckelman said.

Pyle, Steffen and Straub already had been

stripped of most Sen ate committee assign ments by Masterson in February in a fight over redistricting. Senate rules forced Pyle to surrender his last remaining assignment when he registered as an unaf filiated voter in June.

Masterson told reporters this week that he hasn’t decid ed whether to punish Steffen and Straub further. Kuckelman acknowledged that the Loyalty Commit tee can’t touch elected lawmakers like them who don’t hold party positions.

And while three Kansas House mem bers signed the statement, Rep. Dan Hawkins, a Wichi ta Republican who’s expected to become House speaker in Jan uary, said he doesn’t plan to punish the two who were reelected. Hawkins said remov ing people from com mittees would mean others would have to “take up the slack.”

One of the House members, south western Kansas Rep. Tatum Lee, who lost a primary race when she was drawn into a district with anoth er GOP incumbent, said in an email: “The statement I signed on to earlier in the week is to put on notice the traitors in our midst that our values nor our vote are for sale and that any cheap imitation or perver sion of our platform is a slap in the face to Liberty.”

Court report

IOLA MUNICIPAL COURT

Judge Patti Boyd Convicted as follows: Nicholas L. Trester, Tope ka, driving after being de clared a habitual violator, $700, probation ordered.

Otherwise disposed: Jonathan N. Hibbs, Cha nute, entered diversion agreement for driving while intoxicated charge, fined $1,125.

LaHarpe Thanksgiving meal Tuesday

LAHARPE — La Harpe Health and Wellness will host a Thanksgiving turkey and noodle feed from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at La Harpe City Hall. Free-will donations will be accepted.

Officers’ appeal rejected

By MARGARET STAFFORD The Associated Press

A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal by several Kan sas law enforcement of ficers who were sued by a man who was wrong fully convicted of mur der.

Floyd Bledsoe was convicted in the 1999 rape and murder of 14-year-old Camille Arfmann in Oskaloosa, Kansas.

He served 16 years in prison before being re leased after his broth er, Tom, confessed in a suicide note to killing the girl.

Several officers named in a federal law suit filed by Bledsoe argued they should be should be given quali fied immunity for their actions involving Bled soe.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the officers Tuesday.

“We conclude that Bledsoe adequately alleged that each ap pellant participated in depriving him of his constitutional rights,” the appeals court’s de cision said.

ago. The property is owned by Iola Industries, which has a long-term lease for the National Guard to use as needed. The project will benefit the 891st in that it will provide much-needed space, noted Iola Industries President John McRae, while also improving the value of the property. REGISTER/ RICHARD LUKEN

A high number of appeals prompted the Kansas Republican Party’s loyalty committee to suspend sanctions against GOP officials who signed a petition leading to placement on the November ballot of independent governor candi date Dennis Pyle. The state party alleges Pyle’s presence helped re-elect Dem ocratic Gov. Laura Kelly by drawing votes from GOP nominee Derek Schmidt. KANSAS REFLECTOR/TIM CARPENTER

Pipeline: Damage was ‘sabotage’

HELSINKI (AP) — In vestigators found traces of explosives at the Bal tic Sea site where two natural gas pipelines were damaged in an act of “gross sabotage,” the prosecutor leading Swe den’s preliminary inves tigation said Friday.

Mats Ljungqvist of the Swedish Prosecution Authority said the inves tigators carefully docu mented the area where the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines ruptured in September, causing sig nificant methane leaks. The parallel undersea pipelines run from Rus sia to Germany.

“Analysis carried out shows traces of ex plosives on several of the foreign objects that were found” at the site, Ljungqvist said in a statement.

The prosecution au thority said the pre liminary investigation was “very complex and comprehensive” and further scrutiny would show whether anyone could be charged “with suspicion of crime.”

Investigators in Swe den, Denmark and Ger many are looking into what happened. Danish officials confirmed in October that there was extensive damage to the pipelines caused by “powerful explosions.”

The leaks, which stopped after several days, occurred in in ternational waters but within the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden.

Investigators have not given indications of whom they think might be responsible but re ported earlier that the blasts were likely to have involved several hundred pounds of ex plosives.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

Friday it was “very im portant to find those who are behind the ex plosion.”

Sweden’s findings of “a sabotage act or a ter rorist act — you can call it whatever you like” confirm “the informa tion that the Russian side has had,” Peskov said. Moscow needs to wait for a full damage assessment to decide whether to repair the pipelines, he said.

Nord Stream 1 carried Russian gas to Germa ny until Moscow cut off supplies at the end of Au gust. Nord Stream 2 never entered service as Ger many suspended its cer tification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

The governments of Denmark, Germany and

Sweden have refrained from speculating over who may be behind the sabotage, saying only that there’s no sufficient proof yet to identify the perpetrator.

“We have no infor mation on possible initiators of this act of sabotage,” Ger man Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said at a regular government news conference in Ber lin on Friday.

But some Nordic and other European media outlets have pointed a finger of blame on Moscow, hosting mili tary experts suggesting that Russia has all the resources to carry out such a precise attack re quiring careful advance planning.

Snow paralyzes parts of New York

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A dangerous lake-effect snowstorm paralyzed parts of western and northern New York on Friday, with nearly 2 feet of snow already on the ground in some places by midmorning and possibly much more on the way.

The storm’s sever ity varied widely due to the peculiarities of lake-effect storms, which are caused by frigid winds picking up moisture from the warmer lakes, and dumping snow in nar row bands.

Residents in some parts of Buffalo awoke to blowing,

heavy snow, punctuat ed by occasional claps of thunder, while just a few miles north, only a few inches had fallen overnight and there were patches of blue sky.

The worst snowfall so far was south of the city.

The National Weather Service reported more than 2 feet of snow in many places along the eastern end of Lake Erie, with bands of heavier precipitation bringing nearly 34 inch es in Hamburg, New York.

Schools were shut tered. Amtrak stations in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Depew closed Thursday and will stay

closed Friday.

Numerous flights in and out of Buffalo Niagara Internation al Airport were can celed.

Even before the snow began falling, the NFL announced it would re locate the Buffalo Bills’ Sunday home game against the Cleveland Browns to Detroit. Or chard Park, where the team plays, had seen 2 feet fall by midmorning Friday.

A car carrying a TV news crew reporting on the storm had to be pushed out of the snow by onlookers early Fri day, WGRZ reporter Alexandra Rios said on Twitter.

Trump: Special counsel

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ment installs a new supervisor atop the probes — both of which are expected to accelerate now that the midterm elections are complete — the special counsel will still report to Garland, who has ultimate say of whether to bring charges.

A senior Justice Department official disclosed the appoint ment on Friday but did not reveal the identity of the special counsel. Garland was expected

to provide more details later in the afternoon.

Representatives for Trump, a Republican, did not immediately re turn messages seeking comment.

There was no imme diate reason provided for the decision or for its timing. Garland has spoken repeatedly of his singular focus on the facts, the evidence and the law in the Jus tice Department’s de cision-making and of his determination to restore political inde pendence to the agency

following the tumultu ous years of the Trump administration.

And there does not seem to be an obvious conflict like the one that prompted the last appointment of a spe cial counsel to handle Trump-related inves tigations. The Trump Justice Department named former FBI Di rector Robert Mueller as special counsel to lead the investigation into potential coordi nation between Russia and the Trump 2016 presidential campaign.

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Saturday, Dec. 3. Be cause his reindeer are still in training for their global Christmas Eve trek, Santa will get a lift from the Iola Fire Department for his grand arrival.

He’ll return to Iola from 5 to 7 p.m. on both Tuesday, Dec. 6, and Thursday, Dec. 8. His final appearance in the Santa House will be from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 10.

Children wishing to write letters to Santa can drop off their cor respondence at a small mailbox right outside Santa’s front door. The letters must include a valid email address so that Santa can respond.

Postal rates north of the Arctic Circle are outrageous this year, Schallie noted.

The Swedish Coast Guard released a photo of gas emanating from a leak on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea on Sept. 27. (SWEDISH COAST GUARD/ GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

U.S. moves to shield Saudi prince

WASHINGTON (AP)

— The Biden admin istration says Saudi Crown Prince Moham med bin Salman’s high office should shield him from a lawsuit over his role in the killing of a U.S.-based journalist, making a turnaround from Joe Biden’s pas sionate campaign trail denunciations of the prince over the brutal slaying.

The administration spoke out in support of a claim of legal im munity from Prince Mohammed — Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, who also recently took the title of prime min ister — against a suit brought by the fiancée of slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and by the rights group Khashoggi founded, Democracy for the Arab World Now.

“Jamal died again today,” Khashoggi’s fi ancée, Hatice Cengiz, tweeted after the U.S. fil ing late Thursday in her lawsuit.

The U.S. govern ment’s finding of im munity for the Prince Mohammed, some times known as MBS, is non-binding, and a judge will ultimately decide whether to grant immunity. But it an gered rights activists and risked blowback from Democratic law makers. The U.S move came as Saudi Arabia has stepped up impris onment and other re taliation against peace ful critics at home and abroad and has cut oil production, a move seen as undercutting efforts by the U.S. and its allies to punish Russia for its war against Ukraine.

The State Department on Thursday called the administration’s call to shield the Saudi crown prince from U.S. courts in Khashoggi’s 2018 killing “purely a legal determination.” It cit ed what it called long standing precedent.

Despite its recom mendation to the court, the State Department

said in its filing late Thursday that it “takes no view on the merits of the present suit and reiterates its unequiv ocal condemnation of the heinous murder of Jamal Khashoggi.”

Saudi officials killed Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. They are believed to have dismembered him, although his remains have never been found.

The U.S. intelligence community concluded Saudi Arabia’s crown prince had approved the killing of the wide ly known and respect ed journalist, who had written critically of Prince Mohammed’s harsh ways of silencing of those he considered rivals or critics.

The Biden admin istration statement Thursday noted visa restrictions and other penalties that it had meted out to lower-rank ing Saudi officials in the death.

“From the earliest days of this Admin istration,the United States Government has expressed its grave con cerns regarding Saudi agents’ responsibility for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder,” the State De partment said. Its state ment did not mention the crown prince’s own alleged role.

“I think it was a flatout murder,” Biden said in a 2019 CNN town hall, as a candidate. “And I think we should have nailed it as that. I pub licly said at the time we should treat it that way and there should be con sequences relating to

Public notices

ed in it by the Act, hereby elects to exempt itself from and make inapplicable to it the provisions of K.S.A. 14-570 and K.S.A. 14-571, and shall be governed by the fol lowing substitute and additional provisions contained herein.

how we deal with those — that power.”

But Biden as presi dent has sought to ease tensions with the king dom, including bump ing fists with Prince Mohammed on a July trip to the kingdom, as the U.S. works to per suade Saudi Arabia to undo a series of cuts in oil production.

Khashoggi’s fian cée and DAWN sued the crown prince, his top aides and others in Washington federal court over their alleged roles in Khashoggi’s killing. Saudi Arabia says the prince had no direct role in the slay ing.

“It’s beyond ironic that President Biden has singlehandedly assured MBS can es cape accountability when it was President Biden who promised the American people he would do everything to hold him accountable,” the head of DAWN, Sar ah Leah Whitson, said in a statement, using the prince’s acronym.

Biden in February 2021 had ruled out the U.S. government im posing punishment on Prince Mohammed himself in the killing of Khashoggi, a resi dent of the Washington area. Biden, speaking after he authorized re lease of a declassified version of the intel ligence community’s findings on Prince Mo hammed’s role in the killing, argued at the time there was no prec edent for the U.S. to move against the leader of a strategic partner.

‘Chamber Bucks’ a great gift

The Iola Chamber’s “Chamber Bucks” pro gram is a great way to spread the wealth among the local com mercial district.

The certificates come in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $25 and $50 and can be used at any of the 35-plus mer chants participating.

They are printed and stamped with the Chamber’s corporate seal to prevent counter feiting and are valid for

Robin Schallie Iola Chamber

one year.

The Bucks can be used by consumers just like cash with the only caveat that if the full amount of the certifi cate is not redeemed, no cash can be remit

ted.

Chamber Bucks make a great gift for any occasion or for the hard-to-buy-for person.

If you are a Cham ber member and want to participate in the program or want to purchase some Cham ber Bucks as a stock ing stuffer, come by the Chamber at 10 W. Jack son, Iola, or email me at robin.schallie@io lachamber.org, or call 620-365-5252.

A ‘violent overthrow’ at stake

WASHINGTON (AP) — For weeks leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, Oath Keepers founder Stew art Rhodes and four associates discussed using violence to over turn the results of the 2020 election, and when rioters started storm ing the Capitol they saw an opportunity to do it, a federal pros ecutor told jurors on Friday in her closing argument.

Making her final pitch to the jury that will decide whether the defendants are guilty of seditious conspiracy, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy said Rhodes’ own words show he was prepar ing to lead a rebellion to keep Democrat Joe Biden out of the White House.

She sought to rebut suggestions from the defense that Rhodes’ rhetoric was simply bluster, telling jurors that his messages filled with talk about violence and civil war weren’t “ranting and raving” but were “dead ly serious.”

“These defendants repeatedly called for violent overthrow of the United States gov ernment, and they fol lowed these words with action,” she said.

Closing arguments began in Washington federal court after the final pieces of evidence were presented in the

ter Ordinance. In such instance, this Charter Ordinance shall be construed and enforced as if such illegal or invalid provision had not been contained herein.

Mayor ATTEST: /s/ Roxanne Hutton Clerk SEAL

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WHEREAS, Article 12, Section 5 of the Constitution of the State of Kansas (the “Act”), provides that cities may exercise certain home rule powers, including passing chaffer ordinances which exempt such cities from non-uni form enactments of the Kansas Legislature; and

WHEREAS, the City of Iola, Kansas (the “City”) is a city, as de fined in the Act, duly created and organized, under the laws of the State of Kansas; and

WHEREAS, K.S.A. 14-570 and K.S.A. 14-571 are part of an enact ment of the Kansas Legislature (K.S.A. 14-570 et seq.) relating to public improvements and the is suance of bonds for such purpos es, which enactment is applicable to the City, but is not uniformly applicable to all cities within the State of Kansas; and

WHEREAS, the governing body of the City (the “Governing Body”) desires, by charter ordi nance, to exempt the City from the provisions of K.S.A. 14-570 and K.S.A. 14-571, and to provide substitute and additional provi sions therefor.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT OR DAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF IOLA, KANSAS:

Section 1. Exemption. The City, by virtue of the powers vest

Section 2. Master Plan for Public Improvements. When ever the City Administrator, the chief financial officer of the City, or such other person designated by the City Administrator, has filed with the Governing Body a master capital improvements plan (the “Plan”) for the physical development of the City within the boundaries of the City, in cluding public improvements, the acquisition of land neces sary therefore, the acquisition of equipment, vehicles or other personal property to be used in relation thereto, and may pro vide for assulnption and payment of benefit district indebtedness heretofore created for public im provements, and which Plan may require a number of years to ex ecute, and such Plan is approved by the Governing Body, the City is hereby authorized to issue its general obligation bonds (the “Bonds”) in an amount sufficient to carry out such Plan and asso ciated costs.

Section 3. Procedure for Issuance of Bonds. Before any Bonds are authorized or issued pursuant to this Charter Ordi nance, the City will adopt a res olution specifying thc amount of such Bonds and the purpose of the issuance thereof. The resolu tion will be effective upon adop tion and the City may proceed to issue thc Bonds.

Section 4. Severability. If any provision or section of this Char ter Ordinance is deemed or ruled unconstitutional or otherwise illegal or invalid by any court of conipetent jurisdiction, such ille gality or invalidity shall not affect any other provision of this Char

Section 5. Effective Date. This Charter Ordinance shall be pub lished once a week for two con secutive weeks in the official City newspaper, and shall take sixty (60) days after final publication, unless a petition signed by a num ber of electors of the City equal to not less than ten percent (10%) of the number of electors who voted at the last preceding regular City election shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk demanding that this Charter Ordinance be sub mitted to a vote of the electors, in which event this Charter Ordi nance shall take effect when ap proved by a majority of the elec tors voting at an election held for such purpose.

PASSED with at least a twothirds (2/3) vote of the entire Gov erning Body of the City of Iola, on November 14, 2022 and SIGNED by the Mayor.

/s/Steven C. French

(Published in The Iola Register Nov. 19, 2022)

ORDINANCE NO. 3511

SUMMARY

On November 14, 2022, the City of Iola, Kansas adopted Ordi nance 351 1 revising Chapter 16, Article 7 of the Code of the City of Iola, clarifying the use of metal shipping containers as accessory structures in a Residential, Gener al Business, and Industrial zoned districts.

A complete copy of this ordi nance is available at City Hall, 2 W Jackson, Iola, Kansas or may be viewed on the City’s website at www.cityofiola.com. This summa ry has been certified by Robert E. Johnson Ill, City Attorney.

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trial al leging Rhodes and his band of antigov ernment extrem ists plot ted for weeks to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power from Republican Donald Trump to Biden.

Rhodes

Evidence presented by prosecutors shows Rhodes and his co-de fendants discussing the prospect of violence and the need to keep Biden out of the White House in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6, before stashing a mas sive cache of weapons referred to as a “quick reaction force” at a Vir ginia hotel.

On Jan. 6, Oath Keepers wearing hel mets and other battle gear were seen pushing through the pro-Trump mob and into the Cap itol. Rhodes remained outside, like “a general surveying his troops on a battlefield,” a prose cutor told jurors. After the attack, prosecutors say, Rhodes and other Oath Keepers celebrat ed with dinner at an Ol ive Garden restaurant.

Closing arguments are expected to be Mon day for the defense, which has focused on prosecutors’ relative lack of evidence that the Oath Keepers had an explicit plan to at tack the Capitol before

Jan. 6. Rhodes, who is from Texas, testi fied that he and his followers were only in Washington to pro vide security to rightwing figures like Rog er Stone. Those Oath Keepers who did enter the Capitol went rogue and were “stupid,” he said.

Rhodes testified that the mountain of writ ings and text messages showing him rallying his band of extremists to prepare for violence and discussing the prospect of a “bloody” civil war ahead of Jan. 6 was only bombastic talk.

Two other defen dants testified in the case. Jessica Watkins, of Woodstock, Ohio, echoed that her actions that day were “really stupid” but maintained she was not part of a plan but rather was “swept along” with the mob, which she likened to a crowd gathered at a store for a sale on the popular shopping day known as Black Friday.

Defendant Thomas Caldwell, a Navy veter an from Virginia, down played a chilling piece of evidence: messages he sent trying to get a boat to ferry weapons from Virginia across the Potomac into Wash ington. He testified that he was never seri ous about his queries, though he struggled to explain other messages referencing violence on Jan. 6.

Stewart

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in July. AFP/GETTY IMAGES/BERTRAND GUAY/TNS

‘Tripledemic’ of respiratory illnesses exhausts short-staffed KC hospital

By NOAH TABORDA Kansas News Service

Jennifer Watts en

tered a media briefing Thursday a few minutes behind schedule.

Watts, the chief emer gency management officer for Children’s Mercy Hospital, came directly from assisting in the emergency room. There, Children’s Mercy Hospital staff are work ing around the clock to help a growing waiting list of children suffer ing from several respi ratory illnesses spiking around the country.

As of Thursday, Chil dren’s Mercy had 15 children on its waiting list — forcing an already understaffed group to pick up extra shifts to accommodate all those sick with the flu, RSV and COVID-19.

“It’s exhausting and it takes time. It’s a sacri fice,” Watts said. “We’re sacrificing family time to be here, to take care of all the kids that need us right now and will continue to do so be cause it’s the right thing to do.”

Ideally, Watts said they would transfer pa

tients to another hospi tal — but there are no beds in the region right now, a trend for pediat ric facilities across the country.

Influenza cases con tinue to rise even as RSV case numbers are plateauing across the Kansas City area. Watts said the number of pa tients being treated for the flu has more than doubled at Children’s Mercy in the past couple of days.

For the week of Octo ber 30 through Novem ber 5 in Missouri, there

were 1,738 laborato ry-confirmed flu cases, compared to 1,280 cases the week before.

Topping off the socalled “tripledemic” is the threat of another COVID-19 spike. After two months of COVID-19 case numbers declining, the Mid-America Re gional Council report ed a slight uptick in the Kansas City metro, from 135 cases per day to 164 per day the week ending November 5.

According to the Cen ters for Disease Control and Prevention, Wyan

dotte and Leavenworth counties are at medium community transmis sion levels. Metro coun ties on the Missouri side of the border all remain at low transmission lev els.

“We keep children in our emergency depart ment and we wait until we have a bed avail able and get them beds as soon as they come open,” Watts said.

Earlier this week, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced it will offer free testing

for the flu, RSV and COVID-19 at several lo cations throughout Mis souri until March 2023. There are more than 50 testing sites in Kansas City.

All it takes is one na sal swab to detect any of the three viruses, said George Turabelidze, DHHS’s state epidemi ologist.

“Although cases over all have not increased in severity, the increased volume has caused a strain on our health care partners,” he said. “Ultimately, we need families to remember how important it is that they stay home when sick.”

Turabelidze and Watts urged people to stay up to date on flu and COVID-19 vaccines to help reduce strain on state and local health systems. Those ages 5 and up are eligible for the Pfizer bivalent booster and anyone 6 years or older can get the Moderna booster.

Watts also suggested frequent handwashing.

While individuals can take steps at home to help lessen the load on doctors and nurses,

World: Energy consumption matters most

Continued from A1

fering through a devastat ing drought, has 55 million people, about 95 times more than the population of Wy oming. But Wyoming emits 3.7 times the carbon dioxide as Kenya. Africa as whole has 16.7% of the world’s population but historically emits only 3% of the glob al carbon pollution, while the United States has 4.5% of the planet’s people but since 1959 has put out 21.5% of the heat-trapping carbon dioxide.

The average Canadian, Saudi and Australian put out more than 10 times the carbon dioxide into the air though their daily liv ing than the average Paki stani, where one-third of the nation was flooded in a climate change worsened event. And in Qatar the per capita emissions is 20 times Pakistan’s, according to the World Bank.

“The question is not about population but rath er about consumption pat terns,” said climate scien tist Bill Hare of Climate Analytics. “So it’s best to look at the major northern emitters to begin with.”

Climate Interactive, a group of scientists who run intricate computer simula tions that can be tweaked to see what factors matter

the most in fighting climate change, looked at the differ ence population makes. It found it made a small con tribution compared to other factors, like economics.

Comparing two United Nations population pro jections scenarios of 8.8 billion people and 10.4 bil lion people, Climate Inter active’s Andrew P. Jones found only a 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit difference. But the difference between no price or tax on carbon and $100 a ton was 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hare said there is more than a tinge of racism in the myth that overpopula tion is the major issue be hind climate change.

“One of the biggest ar guments that I hear almost exclusively from men in high-income countries is that, ‘Oh, it’s just a popula tion problem,’” The Nature Conservancy Chief Scien tist Katharine Hayhoe said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

“The 50% poorest people in the world are historically responsible for 7% of heat trapping gas emissions,” Hayhoe said. “Yet when you look at which countries are bearing the brunt of the im pacts from climate change, countries like Malawi, Mo zambique, Senegal, Afghan

istan topped the list.”

And even within coun tries, it’s the wealthiest who cause more of the car bon pollution, Hare said. Overall, he said, “80% of the population, the global population, emits a small fraction of emissions.”

The world’s population is growing mostly in sub-Sa haran Africa and south Asia “and they’re contrib uting the least to man-made climate change,” said Co lette Rose, project coordi nator at the Berlin Institute for Population and Develop ment.

EIGHT NATIONS, five in Africa, three in Asia, are going to have at least half of the population growth between now and 2050, Rose said. They are Egypt, Ethi opia, Tanzania, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, India and the Philippines.

Worldwide population growth has substantial ly slowed, will likely peak sometime this century, and is now down to growing less than 1% a year, Rose said. But carbon emissions are growing faster, at 1% more this year than 2021.

For environmental advo cacy groups and officials the issue of population and climate has caused prob

lems.

“Population is an issue that no one has wanted to touch from the very begin ning. Too politically sensi tive,” Joanna Depledge, a climate historian from the University of Cambridge in England, said in an email. “There are many dimen sions, notably in relation to religion and accusations of racism — population growth is mostly concen trated in non-white popula tions, of course.’’

For a long time, the Si erra Club had promoted efforts to try to control the world population, until a couple decades ago, when the environmental group looked harder at the issue and broke down the num bers, said the group’s pres ident, Ramon Cruz. They found the problems were more overconsumption and fossil fuel use and those problems would be the same “at 6 billion, 7 billion or 8 billion” people, he said.

While most environmen tal groups try to avoid the issue, 11 years ago, when the world hit 7 billion peo ple, the Center for Biologi cal Diversity made special issue condoms with popu lation and environmental messages such as “Wrap with care, save the polar bear.”

the American Academy of Pediatrics and Chil dren’s Hospital Associa tion are asking for feder al support. On Monday, the organizations penned a joint letter to President Joe Biden and Health and Human Ser vices Secretary Xavier Becerra asking them to declare an emergency to support a national response to the surge in respiratory illnesses.

The emergency decla rations would allow cer tain Medicare, Medic aid or Children’s Health Insurance Program re quirements to be waived so health care providers can share resources and coordinate efforts, said Children’s Hospital As sociation CEO Mark Wi etecha.

“We implore (Biden and Becerra) to renew their commitment to pediatric health care and give us the resourc es necessary to control the ongoing RSV and flu surge with the con tinuing children’s men tal health emergency,” Wietecha said. “Our system is stretched to its limit and without immediate attention the crisis will only worsen.”

Finland to build fence on Russian border next year

HELSINKI (AP) — Construction

The initial 1.8 mile stretch of the fence will be erected at a crossing point in the eastern town of Imatra by the summer of 2023. It will even tually extend to a a maximum of 124 miles.

Finland’s 832-mile border with Russia is the longest of any Europe an Union member.

In October, Finnish Prime Minis ter Sanna Marin said there was con sensus among lawmakers to build a fence to cover parts of border with Russia in a project that is estimated to cost $393 million and scheduled to be completed by 2026.

According to Marin, the fence’s main purpose would be to help bor der guards monitor and prevent pos sible large-scale illegal migration seen as a hybrid threat” from Mos cow.

Her government hasn’t publicly cited Russia’s war in Ukraine or Fin land’s decision to join NATO as a rea son to build a fence. But Helsinki is concerned over developments both in Russia and Ukraine, as well Mos cow’s threats of retaliation should Finland join the military alliance.

At Children’s Mercy, the number of patients doctors and nurses are treating for the flu has more than doubled in the past couple of days. Federal, state and local officials are pushing for increased urgency around the surge in respiratory illnesses. KCUR 89.3/CARLOS MORENO

of a planned barbed-wired fence along Finland’s long border with Russia will start early next year, Finnish border guard officials said Friday, amid concerns in the Nordic country over the changing security environment in Europe.

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Politics is personal

I’ve always been a late bloomer.

Despite growing up in a household where poli tics was served each night around the dinner table, I didn’t feel pulled to partic ipate until I was in my mid30s.

At that time, Bill Clinton had just been elected pres ident in 1992. Besides his compelling personal story, (before the scandals) what interested me most was his wife Hillary’s efforts to pass universal health care. In addition to her goal, I admired her tenacity and smarts and hated how her expertise was so cavalierly dismissed.

I was then a newly di vorced mother of three and felt very nervous making my way. As a first lady who broke from tradition, Hil lary became somewhat of a polestar in helping me navigate uncertain territo ry, as well as good friends and a supportive pastor. Whatever lay ahead, I knew it was a challenge I was meant to take.

Which goes to show that politics is personal. It’s when our leaders and is sues become relatable that many feel called to get in volved.

TODAY, that appears to be happening to more and more of our younger gen erations.

For the last three elec tion cycles — 2018, 2020, 2022 — the youth vote tilt ed the scales in favor of Democrats in a majority of swing states including Wis consin, Michigan, Georgia, Ohio and Arizona.

Nationwide, pollsters say last week’s election ex perienced a “Gen Z wave,” according to John Del la Volpe of IOP Polling. “Youth today vote at levels that far exceed millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers when they were under 30.”

Volpe attributed voter engagement to anxiety about the future — “of our country and planet.”

They see democracy be ing attacked when lawmak ers curtail voting access and even undermine the election process.

Overwhelmingly, they report a feeling that their rights, and the rights of others, are being attacked, according to Harvard’s Institute of Politics, in cluding those that concern abortion, a clean planet and same-sex marriage.

Turned off by the divi siveness of today’s politics, the majority of today’s youths say their votes are in support for their party,

Susan Lynn Register editor

rather than a rejection of the other. In other words, they don’t hold their noses to vote for someone they don’t like just to spite the opponent.

THESE YOUNGER gen erations also appear to be more generous in spirit than their elders.

My 40-year-old daughter who teaches at the college level ventured that in one more generation’s time, is sues concerning one’s sex uality will be a thing of the past.

“People will stop label ing themselves and each other as gay or lesbian, trans or bisexual. They won’t get hung up on some one’s sexual orientation,” she predicted.

Though the official re sults haven’t been posted on the Kansas Secretary of State’s website, I wouldn’t be surprised if those aged 18 to 29, played a significant role in Gov. Laura Kelly’s re-election. If so, the credit goes to the voter mobilizing effort for the Aug. 8 prima ry election that included a measure on the Kansas Constitution’s protections for abortion.

Two things stick out in those results: women accounted for 56% of the votes and those under 30 accounted for 14%, both ex ceeding their tallies in the 2020 general election.

That organizers were able to keep up the momen tum for the midterm elec tion is impressive.

A young woman’s quote from early this fall sticks with me.

When queried by Sher man Smith, a reporter for the Kansas Reflector, as to her involvement in the Nov. 8 election, the 18-yearold said, “You know when you were younger and you wish that adults would lis ten to you? That’s what this gives you — the right to be heard.”

That simple analogy speaks volumes.

Hooray for this young woman’s awareness!

That this could be just the tip of the iceberg of these young people’s politi cal engagement guarantees an exciting and different landscape for the country.

Pelosi a paragon of leadership

Certain images from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s near ly two decades of leading House Democrats stand out. There is Ms. Pelosi beaming as she called up to the dais all the children who had ac companied their parents to the House chamber, having them stand with her as she reclaimed the speaker’s gavel in 2019. There is Ms. Pelosi in the White House surrounded by male congressional lead ers and top military officials as she stood up across the table and pointed her finger toward a stunned President Donald Trump. But the image that perhaps best sums up Ms. Pelosi is the footage of her on Jan. 6, 2021. As insurrection ists besieged the U.S. Capitol, Ms. Pelosi, with calm and quiet authority, made calls to get help and protect members of Congress so they could go back to work.

Doing the hard work of government — often behind the scenes — has defined Ms. Pelosi’s 35 years in Congress, propelling her to become the first female speaker of the House and one of the most consequential House lead ers in the country’s history.

On Thursday, Ms. Pelosi, 82, announced the end of an era with her decision to step down from Democratic Party leadership to make way for a new generation.

The announcement came a day after Republicans se cured control of the House, prompting some critics to say it was easy for her to throw in the towel. But Ms. Pelosi has opted to remain in Congress to continue to represent her California district — unlike House speakers who left Con gress when their party lost the majority — and that’s fur ther testament to her lifelong dedication to public service.

Ms. Pelosi’s against-allodds rise to power in the

male-dominated world of pol itics — “from homemaker to House speaker,” in her words — secured her a spot in histo ry. But she burnished it with a string of achievements that included passage of the Af fordable Care Act, two major economic bailouts, the DoddFrank financial reform, a bi partisan infrastructure bill and a landmark climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act. She presided over the two impeachments of Mr. Trump and helped ensure there would be a full investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Sometimes working with a thin majority, she wielded her office’s power more effective ly than any speaker in at least a century.

Ms. Pelosi, of course, was not without fault. She could be tone-deaf; consider her comment that the Affordable Care Act needed to be passed

to figure out what was in it. And she presided over an era in which the nation’s stew ards failed to right the coun try’s finances, which are still badly out-of-whack, focus ing instead on passing their own pet programs and other spending.

Yet that is true of almost ev ery national leader in recent times. In a profile of Ms. Pe losi when she turned 80, The Post’s Karen Tumulty wrote about the speaker’s disci pline, her maturity, her refus al to be intimidated — even as she became the target of Mr. Trump’s bluster and count less Republican attack ads. She has inspired and helped usher into politics countless women. And she set a stan dard for leadership for which the nation should be grateful and to which others who hold the

Letter to the editor A look back in t me. A look back in t me.

45 Years Ago

November 1877

Max Snodgrass and Dave Wilson have hired Iola na tive Andrew Dunlap, CPA, as a partner to their firm, Snodgrass & Wilson, Cer tified Public Accountants. Dunlap is the son of Bob and Hazel Dunlap, and is returning to Iola from Reno, Nev.

A large section of rein forced plaster ceiling fell from the balcony at the Iola Junior High School, injur ing perhaps as many as 75 students, some with only

scratches or bruises “that didn’t require them to be taken to the hospital,” Don Wilmoth, the school’s prin cipal said. Thirty-one stu dents were taken to Allen County Hospital for treat ment. None were injured seriously. The accident hap pened during an awards as sembly at the school. The 440 students who attend the school went to the auditori um at 8:35; 15 minutes later the ceiling gave way and fell on the students below it. “I had just gone to the micro phone to give my volleyball awards,” Georgia Master

son, an instructor at the school, said. “Suddenly a group of students started to get up and make noise and my first impulse was to tell them to sit down. Then, I saw the ceiling falling onto them.” *****

Iola artist Gary Hawk has received a distinguished Service Award from Gov. Robert Bennett. Hawk also was recently named as an honorary Governor’s Art ist. Hawk’s painting, “Sad dle,” will hang in the gov ernor’s conference room for three months.

Dear editor, The article about Iola Christmas lights had me ha rummping quite a bit.

It was known last year that the system was failing badly as lights were being pieced together then. But nothing was done.

This year the square will be dark because the lights aren’t there. BUT, we have a year to work on that for next year.

Yeah, like the year from last to this.

Then I got to the bottom of the page. It is unbelievable that St. Marys would consid er not renewing the lease for the library because a group

of closed-minded individu als aren’t happy that the li brary is being a true library.

Get rid of stuff we don’t like or believe in or we won’t renew the lease, they threat en.

I say, get rid of authori ty that goes along with this idea. A library is for every one. It is for enjoyment and education of the whole pop ulace.

Closed minds want to be everyone’s conscience and moral compass. That’s an in credibly wrong way to run a city.

Wake up, St. Marys.

Karan Bailey, Iola, Kan.

gavel should aspire.

— The Washington Post

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left, confronts then-President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Oct. 16, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (SHEALAH CRAIGHEAD/THE WHITE HOUSE VIA GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is surrouned by children as she wields the gavel after being elected Speaker of the House, be coming the first woman to hold that position, on Jan. 4, 2006, in Washington, D.C. On Thursday, Pelosi announced she would step down from the Speaker’s role. (CHUCK KENNEDY/MCT)

Reading: Volunteers help first-graders with reading skills

count. Some need help but the truth is, most of the kids already know more about technology than their adult helpers.

The part they need help with is reading.

“Do you want me to read the questions?” vol unteer Connie Brown asks a little girl next to her. She nods.

Throughout the li brary, volunteers and students read a short multiple-choice quiz about the books these first-graders read last night. Hopefully, their parents or siblings read the book with them, en couraging both family bonding and a love of reading. If not, the vol unteers will read the book with the child be fore they take the test.

A fifth grade girl helps a child with a book about a mouse named Pip Squeak, whose roof is leaking.

“Something wet was falling on his toes, so what did he get? A. A pan. B. A mop. C. A tow el. D. A tent.”

Another volunteer helps a boy who read a book about velocirap tors.

“A velociraptor was as tall as what animal? A. Large dog. B. Big moose. C. Horse. D. Giraffe.”

The tests are simple, just enough to verify the child read the book and understands what it said.

Across the library, volunteer and retired kindergarten teacher Linda Johnson calls out for librarian Tammy Prather: “Timberlyn just reached 50 points.”

That means the first-grader has read at least 100 books. Prather gives the girl a high-five and takes her to a big board that is filled with colorful paper cutouts of students’ names. She helps Timberlyn find her name and they move it up one level.

It’s quite an accom plishment, so Prather celebrates with the girl.

The ritual is just one way to encourage stu dents to read.

“The library doesn’t teach kids how to read. It teaches them how to love books,” Prather ex plains.

By the end of the school year, each firstgrade student will read between 250 to 400 books.

Since school start ed in August, students from preschool through fifth grade have checked out a combined 27,828 books.

The library holds about 25,000 books, which means that in just three months, stu dents have read the equivalent of the en tire collection — plus some.

That’s why volunteers are so important.

JOHNSON, the long

time kindergarten teacher, volunteers at the library nearly every morning.

“I enjoy seeing the progress they make and the joy they get out of certain books,” she said. “They get so excit ed when they pass the test.”

She’s one of a group of longtime, retired el ementary teachers who are regular volunteers, including Linda Garrett and Linda Brocker. It’s a way for them to stay connected to the stu dents and the school.

“I want to give back

She remembers how sad it made her when students entered high school not knowing how to read.

“I thought, maybe I can help some kid learn how to read. It’s so nec essary in today’s world to be able to read, and first grade is when we need to catch them,” she said. “It’s been such

Connie

in the Register. She and her husband moved to Iola from Col orado about a year ago. She was looking for a way to meet friends in the community and give back.

She retired after working in a variety of

West Texas earthquake causes damage hundreds of miles away

MENTONE, Texas

(AP) — A strong earth

quake that struck a re mote area of the West Texas desert caused damage in San Antonio, hundreds of miles from the epicenter, officials said.

University Health said Thursday that its Robert B. Green his torical building was deemed unsafe because

of damage sustained from the quake, which hit Wednesday in a re mote area near the New Mexico border. The his torical building is more than 100 years old and has been closed off for safety reasons, Universi ty Health said.

The quake initially had a 5.3 magnitude but that was revised upward to 5.4. The earthquake’s

epicenter was about 23 miles south of Mentone, a tiny community about 350 miles northwest of San Antonio.

It was one of the strongest earthquakes on record in Texas and hit in an area known for oil and gas production.

On Thursday, the state’s Railroad Commission — which regulates Tex as’ oil and gas industry

— sent inspectors to the site to determine wheth er any actions were needed.

Earthquakes in the south-central United States have been linked to oil and gas produc tion, particularly the underground injection of wastewater. The U.S. Geological Survey said research suggests that a 5.0 magnitude quake

that struck the same West Texas area in 2020 was the result of a large increase of wastewater injection in the region.

In neighboring Okla homa, thousands of earthquakes of varying magnitudes have been recorded in the past decade, leading state regulators to direct pro ducers to close some in jection wells.

industries, including serving in the Air Force and more than two de cades as a radio disc jockey, but — unlike many of the other vol unteers — never official ly worked as a teacher.

This experience has changed that. Brown en joys her volunteer time at IES so much, she re cently applied to become a substitute teacher.

“I just love kids and I love reading. I’ve always volunteered at school for my kids and grand kids. During the pan demic, I homeschooled my grandkids, so this isn’t entirely new for me,” she said.

“The program they’ve built here is so benefi cial. These kids are all so unique and such in dividuals. They’re so re ceptive to learning.”

She hopes more par ents, grandparents and others in the commu nity will take the time to learn about the pro gram and get involved.

“I know people are busy, but if you can take just five minutes to read to a child, it means so much to them.”

LIBRARIAN Daryl Sigg understands the morning reading ac tivity might be a little overwhelming for new comers. She’d like to or ganize an orientation or some kind of training program to encourage potential volunteers to learn more, without be ing thrust unprepared into the chaos of a morning.

Library staff and oth er volunteers will train anyone who wants to try. It’s fairly straight forward. Plus, she said, the students don’t really care. They’ll gladly just sit and talk about the books.

And because it’s a volunteer activity, you can come whenever best suits your schedule. Some parents will hang out with their children in the library before

for all that was given to me,” Johnson said.

Donna Houser, a re tired English teacher, decided to volunteer after reading about the program at the start of the school year.

a joy to me. These kids are so excited. I had one little boy at the start of the school year who couldn’t even spell his name. Now he’s getting 100% on his tests.”

Brown also volunteered at the start of the school year after reading about the pro gram

Above, Iola Elemen tary School librarian Tammy Prather talks to students as she helps them check out books.

At right, Taylor Burney takes a test about a book she read, assisted by retired kindergarten teacher Linda Johnson. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

starting their workday.

A LITTLE AFTER 8 a.m., a series of soft chimes play over the intercom. It’s a signal to fifth graders. Time is up, and they need to go to class.

They’re reluctant to leave. Some have fin ished helping their first grade partners take tests, and are now work ing with them to find new books to check out.

“What’s your favorite princess book?” a fifth grade girl asks. “Do you like Cinderella?”

The girl finds an ap propriate book for her younger friend and leads her to the check out counter before head ing to class.

Another series of chimes, not quite as pleasant sounding, alert the rest of the students that it’s almost time to go.

At the counter, Prath er is busy scanning books with staff mem bers Mona Melvin and Mary Jo Dickerson. Prather comments on each choice, excited by their discoveries.

“Oh, you found the deer books!” she ex claims.

“Yeah, ‘cause I love hunting,” a boy an swers.

“You got one of the state books!” Prather says to another. “You must want to take a ride in the Slingshot,” she adds, referring to a new program that of

fers a special ride in a three-wheel vehicle for students who read all 50 books about the United States.

A loud, persistent alarm begins to blare. Students must get to class. Now.

There are about 20 first-graders in line to check out books. A few are still finishing their tests.

The next two min utes are frenzied. Each student has a library folder; staff tell them to put the books inside the folder, leave them and go to class. They’ll finish the checkout process and deliver the folders to classrooms later.

Students leave, and there’s a moment of calm. Volunteers and

library staff gather the laptops and put them in a charging station, where they’ll be re freshed in time to start all over again the next morning.

It’s hard to believe it’s only 8:30. Prather and Sigg still have classes to teach. Dickerson and Melvin need to finish scanning books and deliver them to class rooms. They have hun dreds of books to put back.

If a book isn’t in the hands of a child, it needs to be on the shelf and ready for someone to find it.

In the afternoon, old er students will come to check out books.

The library may be quiet now, but only for

Pfizer says booster spurs immune response to new omicron subtypes

By LAURAN NEERGAARD The Associated Press

Pfizer said Friday that its updated COVID-19 booster may offer some protection against new ly emerging omicron mutants even though it’s not an exact match.

Americans have been reluctant to get the up dated boosters rolled out by Pfizer and rival Mod erna, doses tweaked to target the BA.5 omicron strain that until recent ly was the most common type. With relatives of BA.5 now on the rise, a question is how the new boosters will hold up.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said their up dated booster generated virus-fighting antibod ies that can target four additional omicron sub types, including the par ticularly worrisome BQ.1.1.

The immune re sponse wasn’t as strong against this alphabet soup of newer mutants as it is against the BA.5 strain. But adults 55 and older experienced a nearly 9-fold jump in antibodies against BQ.1.1 a month after receiving the updated booster, according to a study from the Univer sity of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and the companies. That’s compared to a 2-fold rise in people who got another dose of the original vaccine.

The preliminary data was released on line and hasn’t yet been vetted by independent experts.

It’s not the only hint that the updated boosters may broaden protection against the still mutating virus. Moderna recently an

nounced early evidence that its updated booster induced BQ.1.1-neutral izing antibodies.

It’s too soon to know how much real-world protection such anti body boosts translate into, or how long it will last. Antibodies are only one type of immune de fense, and they natural ly wane with time.

The BA.5 variant was responsible for about 30% of new cases in the U.S. as of Nov. 12, according to the Cen ters for Disease Control and Prevention, but two new variants have been crowding out the once-dominant strain in recent weeks. The BQ.1.1. variant now ac counts for 24% of cas es, up from 2% in early October and the close cousin BQ.1 accounts

for 20% of cases.

The original COVID-19 vaccines have offered strong protec tion against severe dis ease and death no mat ter the variant.

That’s a good reason to stay up-to-date on boosters, Dr. Kathryn Stephenson of Beth Is rael Deaconess Medical Center said earlier this week, ahead of Pfizer’s data.

“Any kind of boost re ally reduces your chanc es of getting very sick from COVID,” she said.

Updated boosters are available for anyone 5 or older, but only about 35 million Americans have gotten one so far, accord ing to the CDC. Nearly 30% of seniors are upto-date with the newest booster but only about 13% of all adults.

a moment. Soon, it will once again be teeming with life and sound.

It’s a different envi ronment than the librar ies most of us grew up with, Prather acknowl edges.

“For this generation, reading has to be so cial. Books are just our way to connect to the larger world,” she ex plains. “Children learn empathy through books. Within the pages of books, they begin to feel what another person feels.”

The Iola school dis trict has emphasized its morning reading program for years. The COVID-19 pandemic kept parents out of the schools for two years, but the library staff did its best to keep students reading.

With all elementary students now under one roof at a new school — with a large, inviting new library — Prather, Sigg and the staff are excited to see what the future holds.

A fundraising effort

called Project Bookshelf allowed the district to buy thousands of new books. The need contin ues, with hundreds of books being read by stu dents every day.

They need all the vol unteer help they can get. Anyone who is in terested in volunteering is encouraged to contact Prather or Sigg to learn more. In addition to the morning reading ac tivity, library staff can use help at any time to reshelve books or do other tasks.

The students are al ways excited to meet new people. They’re ea ger to talk about the sto ries they read and the facts they learn from books they found in the library.

“Every day, they get to have a conversation about books with an adult. The most import ant thing is that they feel loved,” Prather said.

“And that’s how we create a reading school.”

— Tammy Prather, librarian

Iola tussles at Santa Fe Trail

decision.

Mustang Peters placed in first with no team points. Pe ters won by decision over Sil ver Lake’s Hill, 8-2. He then took down Rossville’s Mar tinek in a 6-1 decision.

Ruger Boren came in sec ond place with four team points. Boren first won on a fall over against Silver Lake’s Lane Ray in a 1:30 fall before beating Silver Lake’s Manhart in a 1:18 fall over.

Iola’s Brock Michael placed in third with no team points. Michael lost in a major deci sion to Santa Fe Trail’s Mi chael Guffy before falling in a major decision to Santa Fe Trail’s Dale Kirby, 13-1.

Injuries plaguing Chiefs, Bolts

LOS ANGELES (AP) —

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

CARBONDALE — The Iola Middle wrestling team had 12 wrestlers finish in first place at the Santa Fe Trail Mixer Tournament on Thursday af ternoon.

The Mustangs who fin ished in first place were Ean DeLaTorre, Broderick Peters, Rohan Springer, Keden Vega, Austin Crooks, Kale Pratt, Noah Anderson, Kevon Lov ing, Jase Herrmann, James Hunt, Olivia Mathews and Ad dilyn Wacker.

Our wrestlers did really well at Santa Fe Trail,” said Iola head coach Jason Bates.

“We decided that we were not going to focus on winning or losing. Our goal yesterday was simply, ‘Don’t get pinned.’ With that mindset, our wres tlers fought harder than I’ve seen them fight all season.

Iola’s DeLaTorre came in first with four team points. He first defeated Rossville’s Jordan Martinek on a fall 39 seconds in before defeating Silver Lake’s Blaise Hill in a 23 second fall.

Mustang Kollyn Wilson

came in second with two team points. Wilson first lost to San ta Fe Trail’s Trevon Brooks on a fall 44 seconds in before win ning by medical forfeit to Lib erty Memorial’s Hudson Kirk. Cadin Peres placed in sec ond with no team points. Peres won by decision against Silver Lake’s Jax Manhart before falling to Silver Lake’s Kyle Connor.

Iola’s Tripp Mathes came in second place with no team points. Mathes lost to Silver Lake’s Camden Kruger in a 7-0 decision before he defeated Rossville’s Cale Horak in a 6-2

“Brock Michael is one that stands out,” Bates said. “He got caught in a tight head throw. He got thrown straight to his back with 54 seconds. A tight head throw is extremely difficult to get out of and most ly ends with a pin fall. Brock fought the entire minute. He fought through the pain and the stressful situation and re fused to get pinned. That takes a lot of heart.”

Mustang Rohan Springer came in first place with four team points. Springer won on a fall over to Santa Fe Trail’s Brooks 3:03 into the match. He then won again on a fall over against Rossville’s Brayden Van Vleck 25 seconds in.

“I believe these small goals contribute to our success,” said Bates. “Rohan Springer took first place for the first time. He wrestled hard and never gave up. This mentality allowed him to continue scor

Wildcats fend off Kangaroos

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

MANHATTAN — Kansas State got behind some early hot three-point shooting and held off the University of Missouri Kansas City in the second half to take a 69-53 win on Thursday evening in Manhattan.

The Wildcats improved to 3-0 on the season for the first time since 2019. Kansas State is also 20-1 all-time against UMKC and have won the past six matchups.

Keyontae Johnson was active early for the Wildcats after scoring the first eight points which helped take an 8-2 lead five minutes into reg ulation. Johnson’s scoring was highlighted by a slam dunk alley-oop for the first points of the night as well as a corner three.

Kansas State found their stroke early as Cam Car ter, Markquis Nowell and Johnson knocked down three-pointers through the opening 10 minutes.

“In the first half I thought when they were in the zone we got pretty good shots. Cam Carter did a great job, Keyon tae did a good job of making shots,” said Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang.

“I feel like we’ve brought in multiple guys who at any point in time can score dou ble figures. It’s important to have a balanced team.”

UMKC cut the lead to five a few times including when Anderson Kopp knocked down a two-point jumper eight minutes into the game.

Roo Shemari Allen then went up for a layup halfway

through the opening half to cut the Kansas State deficit to 16-11.

Markquis Nowell helped pull Kansas State ahead by double digits with a pair of free throws with six minutes left in the first half, 24-13.

Carter then hit a pair of three-pointers with less than six minutes left before half time. The Donaldsonville,

Louisiana native went fourof-seven from three-point land in the first half. John son then tacked on another three-pointer.

“Cam worked really hard. He is relentless in the gym. He knew he had to improve his shooting and it’s a joy knowing he’s being reward

Fans usually expect a passing duel when Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs face Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. That might not be the case on Sun day night, with both teams unsure of who will line up at wide receiver. The Chiefs won’t have Mecole Hardman and likely will be missing JuJu Smith-Schuster for the prime-time showdown. Keenan Allen and Mike Wil liams are questionable for the Chargers. Kansas City leads the AFC West and with a win, the Chiefs would take a three-game lead over the Chargers with seven games to play.

Fans usually expect a passing duel when Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs face Justin Her bert and the Los Angeles Chargers. That might not be the case on Sunday night, with both teams unsure of who will line up at wide re ceiver.

The Chiefs (7-2) won’t have Mecole Hardman and likely will be missing JuJu Smith-Schuster for the prime-time showdown. Hardman was placed on injured reserve Thursday with an abdominal injury.

Smith-Schuster remains in concussion protocol after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit in last week’s win over Jacksonville. Fellow receiv er Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been dealing with an ill ness.

The Chargers (5-4) can empathize. Keenan Al len has played in only two games due to a nagging left hamstring strain, and Mike Williams was out the last two weeks with a high right ankle sprain. Allen and Wil liams returned to practice this week, but both have tak en part only in individual drills and are questionable.

Smith-Schuster, Hardman and Valdes-Scantling have 97 of the Chiefs’ 245 receptions. If they can’t play, Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore and Jus tin Watson can expect bigger roles.

Toney, acquired from the New York Giants on Oct. 30, had four receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown last Sunday against the Jaguars.

“We put guys in positions to succeed. And so for me, it’s about executing the of fense, finding the open guy and getting the ball out of my hands, letting those guys make plays,” Mahomes said.

“We’ve seen over the year that these guys can make plays in big moments. And so, we’ll give them those chances as well as have some younger guys step up.”

The Chargers have been inconsistent on offense all season. Herbert’s rib injury, which happened in a Week 2 loss to the Chiefs, affect ed his play for a couple of games, but the injuries to the receiving group have had a bigger impact.

DeAndre Carter and Josh

See CHIEFS | Page B2

ed for appointed attempt Kansas The 20-point 47-27. dunk. UMKC the ba throws, The was len “Even energy,” their ability with second credit A three 14 points, with Johnson son-high points Wildcats also “First able it without able because The sas three son on the Kansas against 6:30

Iola Middle wrestler Kevon Loving fends off a Chanute wrestler at Independence on Tuesday afternoon. Loving took first place with four team points after taking down wrestlers from Santa Fe Trail and Silver Lake. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

New Kansas State mens basketball coach Jerome Tang holds up a Wildcat hand symbol during his introductory news conference at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan prior to the season. TNS

Women break through as World Cup voices

By RONALD BLUM The Associated Press

The World Cup will sound different this year.

Jacqui Oatley will become the first wom an play-by-play com mentator for U.S. World Cup telecasts, heading one of Fox’s five broad cast teams for the tour nament in Qatar that opens Sunday.

Pien Meulensteen, Vicki Sparks and Robyn Cowen are among the broadcasters for match es on BBC in Britain.

“Loads of people will have negative com ments about women and women commentators and that’s because that’s just the way that they think. They’re not open to hearing anything different,” said Meu lensteen, the 25-yearold daughter of former Fulham manager and current Australia assis tant coach René Meu lensteen.

“I’ve loved football since I was a kid. I grew up in a footballing house, My dad works in football. My two broth ers play football, and we all talk about the same thing, so why not have a female talking about it?” Pien Meulensteen said. “And I’m hoping in time, as well, that we’ll just be accepted. It won’t be seen as like, ‘oh, wow, there’s a woman that’s doing commentary.’ This should be a normal thing to have females

talking about football, just as much as men.”

Oatley, 47, worked the 2018 World Cup for Britain’s ITV as a studio presenter and sideline reporter. She and Meu lensteen have become regulars on the Premier League’s world feed, heard in the U.S. on NBC’s networks.

“I found the Amer ican audience in par ticular are fantastic,” Oatley said. “They seem to be so much more worldly wise and up to date and modern in their thinking and acceptance of women.

And I guess that’s be cause you have such a successful national team over the years and that you don’t have that history of gender preju dice that we have in the UK and traditionally in parts of Europe and elsewhere in the world, South America, Africa, as well.”

World Cup broadcast booths were long dom inated by male voices. That started to change four years ago, when ingame analysts included Aly Wagner on Fox, Viv iana Vila on Telemun do, Sparks on BBC and Claudia Neumann on Germany’s ZDF.

FIFA is using color commentators for the first time on its En glish-language world feed. Its six crews in clude San Diego Wave coach Casey Stoney and Lucy Ward, both former England players.

Oatley will be paired on Fox with former England defender War ren Barton starting with Denmark’s match against Tunisia on Tuesday.

“They bring knowl edge and expertise,” said 77-year-old Martin Tyler, about to broad cast his 12th World Cup. “They only get the work because they’re very good. It’s very import ant to have the connec tion with the audience, and they bring their own connection. The most important thing is how good they are.”

Five of ESPN’s six play-by-play announc ers in 2014 were British but Fox used just one among six in 2018, Der ek Rae. This time, three of five are British, with Rae joined by Oatley and Ian Darke.

“We want the best per son available regardless of their gender, regard

Wildcats: fend off Kangaroos

Continued from B1

ed for all his work,” said Tang. “It was great, I was disappointed he didn’t get another catchand-shoot three attempt in the second half.”

Kansas State led UMKC at halftime, 41-25.

The Wildcats began the second half by tak ing a 20-point advantage after a Johnson dunk in transition, 47-27. Nae’Qwaun Tomlin also went up for a layup and dunk.

UMKC began to cut into their deficit mid way through the second half beginning with an Allen David Mukeba layup which was fol lowed by a pair of Allen free throws, making it a 16-point game, 52-36.

The closest the Roos would get the rest of the night was 10 points with five minutes remaining after an Allen free throw made it a 57-47 ballgame.

“Even when we were up I didn’t think we had great energy,” Tang said. “I thought we al lowed them to run their offense, not what we’re used to. It took away our ability to wear them down on the offensive end to play with pace and that really slowed the game down in the second half. In the sec ond half you’ve got to give them credit for what they did on their end.”

A pair of layups from Desi Sills and Johnson with three minutes left stretched Kansas State’s lead back to 14 points, 65-51. Sills then finished with a pair of layups with a minute left to seal the 16-point victory, 6953.

Johnson led Kansas State’s scoring with a season-high 19 points, followed by Carter’s career-high 16 points and Sills’s 11 points off

the bench as the trio of Wildcats to finish in dou ble digits. Tomlin and Nowell also chipped in nine points apiece.

“First half, my team got me great looks and I was able to knock them down,” said Carter. “I couldn’t do it without my team so they got me going and we were able to get on top and get some momentum. It feels good because I work on that all the time and it showed.”

The Wildcats won the turnover battle, 34-33. Kansas State has forced 20 or more turnovers in their first three games and made 11 steals last night as well. Johnson and Tomlin each led the team with seven re bounds on the glass.

Kansas State is back in action Monday against Rhode Island in the Grand Cayman Clas sic at 6:30 p.m.

less of their nationali ty. Jackie has operated the highest level in the Premier League in En gland. You don’t have to convince anybody of her qualifications,” said David Neal, executive producer of Fox’s World Cup coverage. “She cap tures the emotion of the moment. Some play-byplay people are so good and so focused on the technical aspect of what they’re calling that they don’t pay enough atten tion to what’s going on

in the building.”

Oatley grew up in Wolverhampton listen ing to Barry Davies, Brian Moore and John Motson. She attended the University of Leeds and was a midfielder for Chiswick’s women’s team when she dislocat ed her left knee and rup tured ligaments when trying to keep a ball in play. She was on crutch es for 10 months.

Around Christmas in 2001, she decided her job as an accounts manager for an intellectual prop erty company was un fulfilling. She searched the Internet for how to get into broadcasting, took a one night-a-week job doing sports report for hospital radio and enrolled in evening courses in radio produc tion and print journal ism. She gave up her day job and her apartment and stayed with friends while learning her new trade and in September 2002 enrolled in a post graduate journalism program at Sheffield Hallam University. Oat

ley wrote to local BBC radio stations and when visiting Leeds made contact with the radio sports editor, Derm Tan ner

“I’m a mature student in a hurry,” she told him.

She started freelanc ing, giving match re ports on non-league matches and in 2003 broadcast her first game for BBC Radio Leeds, between Wakefield & Emley and Worksop Town in the seventh tier Northern Premier League.

Charles Runcie hired her for BBC Radio 5 Live, first for women’s matches and then the 2005 Women’s Europe an Championship. On April 21, 2007, she be came the first woman to broadcast BBC One tele vision’s “Match of the Day,” between Fulham and Blackburn.

“Unfortunately it became a bit of a news story because there was one difference be tween the others and

Chiefs: Chargers injuries up

Continued from B1

ua Palmer have stepped up at times, but Los Angeles has been lack ing a deep threat, with most of the passes being screens, dump-offs, or within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage.

“For the people that are in the NFL, some times you just have to hang tough, and I think our group has done a really good job of that,” coach Brandon Staley said. “That’s just been the type of year it has been, but I think that our group is improving because we’re figuring out more ways to play. I think that is a positive with your group be cause it is reality.”

ALL OR NOTHING

The Chargers need a win if they want a re alistic shot at catching the AFC West-leading Chiefs.

A victory by Kan sas City would give it a sweep of the season series and a three-game lead in the division with seven games left.

“We’re not looking ahead to being three

is. We’re looking at what can we do to win today so that we can win on Sunday,” Mahomes said. The Chiefs are 26-3 in games played in Novem ber or later since 2019. Meanwhile, the Char gers are 0-3 this season against teams with a winning record.

KELCE VS. JAMES

Derwin James had one of the hits of the year when he bodyslammed Travis Kelce near the goal line late in the third quarter of the teams’ first meeting. The tackle added anoth er chapter to a competi tive rivalry between the Chargers safety and the Chiefs tight end.

According to Next Gen Stats, James has covered Kelce on 36 snaps over their six matchups since 2018. Kelce has been target ed seven times and had only four receptions for 14 yards.

Against the rest of the Chargers’ defenders over the same period, Kelce has 45 receptions for 605 yards and four touchdowns.

ing him. He knows who I am, and I know who he is,” said James, who had nine tackles in the Week 2 game. “Every week is fun whether it is (Kyle) Pitts, (George) Kittle or Kelce. Out of all of them, Kelce is probably the best one at getting open when the play breaks down and getting separation.”

DUAL THREAT Chargers running back Austin Ekeler has six touchdowns in his last three Sunday night games but didn’t find the end zone in last week’s 22-16 loss to San Francis co.

Ekeler leads NFL run ning backs with 67 catch es and has four straight games with at least seven receptions.

LINING THEM UP

The Chargers and Chiefs offensive lines are among the league leaders in fewest sacks allowed.

Los Angeles has al lowed a league-low 13 and is tied with Tampa Bay with the lowest per centage on dropbacks at 3.2%. Kansas City is sec ond with a sack-allowed rate of 4.2% with 16 al

Minnesota United color commentator Kyndra de St. Aubin sets up the Loons’ game against the Philadel phia Union on the Fox Sports North pregame show at Allianz Field in St. Paul on Sunday, June 2. JOHN AUTEY/GETTY IMAGES/TNS

Duvernay-Tardif pauses medical residency to go back with the Jets

FLORHAM PARK,

Veteran guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif signed with the Jets’ practice squad Friday, giving New York some depth on a unit hit hard by injuries this season.

Duvernay-Tardif stepped away from football after spending the last two months of last season with the Jets so he could begin working on his medical residency program at a Montreal-area hospital.

“It’s phenomenal,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said of

Duvernay-Tardif balancing both football and his medical education.

The 31-year-old offensive lineman opted out of the 2020 season while with Kansas City to work on the front lines of the pandemic as an orderly at a long-term care facility in Montreal. Midway through last season, Duvernay-Tardif chose to return to football and was traded from Kansas City to New York in November 2021.

Duvernay-Tardif played in eight games with the Jets, including seven starts at right guard. Despite playing well in

his comeback, he put his NFL career on hold again during the offseason to focus on his medical career and become a physician. Duvernay-Tardif, an unrestricted free agent, told The Canadian Press in June he wasn’t retiring from football and would reassess his interest in the game in the fall.

“I’m going to prioritize medicine ... and we’ll see in September if there’s a fit,” Duvernay-Tardif told CP. “After eight years in the NFL, and I don’t want to sound pretentious by saying this, but I think I’ve earned the right to

do what’s best for me and not just for football and kind of bet on myself a little bit.”

He now will put aside his residency and rejoin the Jets, who worked him out at their facility Wednesday before signing him. Duvernay-Tardif is a welcome addition to an offensive line that needs some healthy bodies as backups.

Tackle Mekhi Becton and guard/tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker are both out for the season with injuries. Tackles George Fant and Max Mitchell are currently on injured reserve, and

starting left tackle Duane Brown is playing through a shoulder injury after missing the first four games of the season.

“He looks good,” Saleh said.

“To add a veteran presence, someone who knows our system, someone who has played and started NFL games in this division, knows what it’s like, knows our language, to be able to add that is definitely a plus.”

The Jets released offensive lineman Myron Cunningham from the practice squad to make room for Duvernay-Tardif.

DELIVERY DRIVER AND PRODUCTION WORKER NEEDED

Driver/Service person and Production Worker needed for the manufacturer of concrete burial vaults. The driver will make deliveries and set up services at cemeteries. When not making deliveries, the person will help in the production of concrete burial vaults.

Must have the ability to perform physical labor, obtain a medical card, pass drug tests, and have a good MVR. Must be comfortable dealing with clients.

FULL-TIME POSITION.

Starting pay is $16.00 per hour with an increase at 90 days (about 3 months) with a favorable review. The job is based in Iola.

Please apply in person at D of K Vaults, 304 Portland, Iola, KS – Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. EOE

ANDERSON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS A FULL-TIME OPENING FOR A DETENTION OFFICER.

Must be 18 years old with a high school diploma or its equivalent, have a valid driver’s license and pass a criminal background and general knowledge test.

Starting pay is $17.09 per hour with an increase for experience. 12-hour shift, 14 days a month, with paid lunch and benefits. ANCOSO is an equal opportunity employer and complies with Veterans’ Preference Laws. Call 785-448-5678 for an application or stop by 135 E. 5th Ave., Garnett, KS 66032.

Now hiring for the positions below. Visit our website to review our excellent benefits package!

Full-time Faculty Positions: Accounting Instructor, Sociology Instructor, Biology Instructor, Chemistry/Physical Science Instructor Part-time Financial Aid Specialist $14.50-$15.50 per hour

Various Adjunct Instructor Positions

For

www.neosho.edu/Careers.aspx

NCCC is an EOE/AA employer.

Tri-Valley Developmental Services, Inc. is submitting an application for capital and operating assistance for transportation services under the U.S.C. 49-5311 (rural public transportation) of the Federal Transit Act. The application will be for capital funds to replace vehicles in our current fleet and for operating funds to help provide transportation services in the area. Written comments and questions in regards to this application are encouraged and will be accepted until December 15, 2022, and should be sent to: Bill Fiscus, CEO at P.O. Box 518, Chanute, KS 66720.

Tri-Valley Developmental Services, Inc. receives Federal Transit Administration (FTA) operating dollars. This funding is utilized for the purchase of fuel, insurance, equipment maintenance and storage. This agency is seeking Kansas Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certified companies as potential vendors for these services.

Please contact Lea Chickadonz at 620-431-7401 ext. 233 if you are a DBE or are interested in learning more about the DBE program.

Diabetes patient persists on hospice care without medication

DEAR DR. ROACH: My dad has been on hospice care for several months now. He had an untreated wound infection that was not responding to meds, so he went on hospice. Also, his wife died, and he lost the will to live after that.

His sugars are well into the 400s. He is on pain meds and nothing else. His doctor says he should not have lasted this long, medically speaking. He gave me no other explanation except a shrug.

His spirits are OK, but I fear something else will get him in the end, like bed sores, pneumonia, a fall or COVID. Is it normal for a diabetes

Dr. Keith Roach

is a necessary condition for hospice care), and he made up his mind to choose this option (and understood the consequences of that action), then hospice is a reasonable choice.

patient who no longer takes their medication to linger like this? He is not suffering per se, but quality of life is not good either. — H.D.

ANSWER: The goal of hospice care is to provide comfort to a person in the last phase of their life. If your father was thought by his physician to have a condition that was likely to end his life (normally, an expectation of end of life coming within six months

Elevated blood sugars in people in hospice care are common. They are often not treated, as they usually do not cause symptoms. Elevated blood sugars over months (or years) predispose people with diabetes to complications, including infection, heart disease and stroke, but in a person in hospice care, these considerations are less important than the overall goal of reducing suf-

fering. Medications are given orally whenever possible and, again, only to relieve symptoms.

Something will indeed “get him in the end,” as it will for all of us. People in hospice care have accepted that. It can be hard for family members, especially when there is not an immediately terminal disease like cancer associated with the hospice care.

DEAR DR. ROACH: My wife was just diagnosed with Paget’s disease of the breast. Is it true that surgery is the only option for treatment? We’ve never heard of this condition. The biopsy shows no

cancer beyond the nipple area. — B.W.

ANSWER: Paget’s disease of the breast is an uncommon type of breast cancer almost only ever found in women (the more common type of breast cancer is found in men about 1% of the time, but PDB is extremely rare in men).

The disease looks like a scaly or raw lesion on the nipple, which usually spreads to the areola around the nipple.

Most women have itchiness, pain or burning, which often starts before — often months before — any skin changes.

A careful exam and mammogram should be

performed by an expert in women with symptoms of PDB, or with something abnormal she can see or feel on the nipple. The prognosis is much better in women who do not have a mass that can be felt on exam.

Surgery is almost always part of the treatment plan. Depending on the stage of the disease, some women will need a mastectomy, but in some cases, women can be treated with breast-conserving surgery (also called “lumpectomy”) followed by radiation treatment. There is no standard recommendation on medications, such as tamoxifen, in the treatment of PDB.

Family’s wastefulness causes angst

Dear Carolyn: I was raised by extremely frugal, environmental parents. I raised my two sons without overin dulging them, and I try to minimize my impact on the Earth as much as possible, such as by eliminating plastic waste wherever I can.

My older son is on his second marriage and is with a loving woman, and, together, they have four daughters. I’m happy for him, but my daughter-in-law is con stantly buying things — and never lets go of anything. Her mother also arrives with bags full of “bargain” clothes and toys. Their house is full to bursting, and the stuff just keeps coming. Obviously, I have to keep quiet about it, though I feel sick every time a new piece of plastic gets added to the pile, which is pretty much daily.

My problem is that my daughter-in-law also feels the need to tell me everything she buys. If they go to a fair, her first comments will be what item each girl got to bring home. I don’t want to hear about it! Is there any kind way I could gently let her know this? She’s rather sensitive to criticism, and I do love her and want to contin ue a good relationship. It’s just all so disheart ening to me.

— Eco-Grandma Eco-Grandma: To me

CRYPTOQUOTES

Carolyn Hax

each child to describe her favorite part of the day. Emphasis, repeti tion and kindness have power.

as well. We are choking our kids’ future with stuff.

But you’re making the right calculation here: You won’t save the environment by remark ing on her reckless con sumption. You will save your relationship by not remarking on it.

I don’t like that an swer, either. It feels like pro-evil permission for good men to do nothing. But what good people “do” is as much a practi cal issue as a moral one, because whatever you do has to work.

By all means, teach with the mute button on through your own conscientious choices. And when she shows you what “each girl got to bring home,” say, “Oh, now tell me about what you did,” asking

Beyond that, though, it is reasonable to expect that one thin-skinned, autonomous adult far gone on the idea that stuff equals love will neither respond even to gentle reason nor, fortu nately, destroy the Earth on her own. So you can keep backing off with out guilt.

Something else to keep in mind about the complexity of human comfort: Your “extreme ly frugal, environmen tal parents” raised a like-minded child, won derful — but you could easily have responded to their earthy evangelism with a multi-decade spree of buying and dis carding single-use plas tic.

Worst case, what par ents care about most gives kids the coordi nates for Square 1 of their rebellions. Even in less extreme cases,

the correlation between what parents preach and what children embrace is hardly one to one. Your son’s decision to marry a one-woman environmental disaster may not be a reaction to your values, per se, and it’s certainly not your fault regardless. He could have a thousand good reasons to love her. But it’s suspicious enough to warrant hu mility, and maybe even a sense of humor, come battle-choosing time.

Yesterday’s Cryptoquote: If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales. — Albert Einstein

ZITS

by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

BEETLE BAILEY by Mort Walker

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

by Chris Browne FUNKY WINKERBEAN

by Tom Batiuk

BLONDIE

by Young and Drake

MARVIN

by Tom Armstrong

HI AND LOIS

by Chance Browne

Sports construction moves along nationwide

ARLINGTON

HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP)

— With the galloping horses long gone, the Chicago Bears see 326 acres of opportunity at the shuttered Ar lington Internation al Racecourse. The Buffalo Bills also are making plans for a new home. Same for the Tennessee Titans and baseball’s Kansas City Royals, and on and on it goes. When it comes to construc tion for sports, today’s economic uncertainty is nothing compared to the promise of to morrow. Interest rates, inflation and supply chain issues factor into the plans, accord ing to construction and financing experts, but they haven’t been standing in the way.

The hulking grand stand at the shuttered Arlington Internation al Racecourse casts an eerie shadow as the sun sets on a weekday evening. It sits dor mant on a tract of land that could be trans formed in a major way.

With the galloping horses long gone, the Chicago Bears see 326 acres of opportunity. The Buffalo Bills also

Iola:

ing enough points to come back from a deficit and win the match.”

Beau Erickson came in second place with two team points. Erickson won by decision against Rossville’s Creed Wood, 3-2, before winning on a fall over to Santa Fe Trail’s Devon Potter. Er ickson then lost to Liber ty Memorial’s Drennan Shorter in a 7-6 decision.

Iola’s Vega placed in first with four team points. Vega won on a fall over Santa Fe Trail’s Kir by in 1:51. He then beat Silver Lake’s Easton Lay man 3:13 into the match.

Mustang Crooks placed in first with four team points. Crooks won on a fall over Rossville’s Evan Thompson 16 sec onds in. He then won in a fall over Santa Fe Trail’s Dalan Brownlee 42 sec onds into the match.

Pratt came in first place with four team points after taking down Liberty Memorial’s Kirk in a 37 second fall over. He then toppled Silver Lake’s Jett Ross in a 58 second fall.

Iola’s Anderson placed first with four team points after winning on a fall over Liberty Memo rial’s Liam Beardsley 2:30 in. Anderson then won by fall over Liberty Memo rial’s Kolby Betts 46 sec onds in.

Mustang Joseph Hold ing came in third place with one team point. Holding lost to Rossville’s Landen Lewis in a 2:14 fall before losing in a fall over Santa Fe Trail’s Lo gan Graham 27 seconds into the match. He then won by major decision to Rossville’s Vleck, 10-0.

Loving finished in first place with four team points. The Mustang won in a fall over to Santa Fe Trail’s Nate Bryant-Free man 54 seconds in before winning by fall over to Silver Lake’s Gavin Beer 15 seconds into the match.

Iola’s Herrmann took first place with four team points. Herrmann won via fall over to Santa Fe

are making plans for a new home. Same for the Tennessee Titans and baseball’s Kan sas City Royals. Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami is working on its new place, and on and on it goes.

When it comes to construction for sports, today’s eco nomic uncertainty is nothing compared to the lucrative promise of tomorrow. Interest rates, inflation and

at

Trail’s Bryant-Freeman 54 seconds in before he beat Silver Lake’s Beer 15 seconds in on a fall.

Mustang Isaiah Geis ler placed second with two team points. Geisler lost to Santa Fe Trail’s Cody Cooper 49 seconds in before he beat Silver Lake’s Layman in a 2:24 fall.

Keegan Hill placed in third with two team points. Hill lost to Silver Lake’s Jacob Workman in 2:18 before winning by a fall over to Silver Lake’s Sawyer Hermesch 3:10 into the match. Hill then lost by a fall over to Silver Lake’s Dom Monhollon 2:30 into the match.

Iola’s Hunt placed in first with two team points. Hunt first won by decision to Silver Lake’s Zephyr Platt, 3-0. He then beat Liberty Memorial’s Betts on a fall 1:13 into the match.

Mustang Braxtin Mar tin took second place with two team points. Martin lost to Rossville’s Lakin Gentry 1:03 into the match. Martin then defeated Santa Fe Trail’s David Welton in a 1:59 fall.

Evan LaCrone took third place with no team points. LaCrone lost by a major decision to Silver Lake’s Nate Eldridge, 16-6. He then fell to Ross ville’s Remi Droegemeier in a 13-0 major decision.

Iola’s Olivia Mathews took first place with two team points. Mathews won by an 18-5 major de cision over Silver Lake’s Leonia Ngole before knocking off Santa Fe Trail’s Alaya Jones by major decision, 12-2.

“Overall the team wres tled hard,” said Bates. “They showed a lot of improvement and heart. They won 35 matches and 12 individuals took first place.”

Mustang Wacker took first place with four team points. She first beat San ta Fe Trail’s Jones on a fall 32 seconds in before toppling Silver Lake’s Ngole in a 1:13 fall.

Iola will wrestle at the Royster Invitational in

supply chain issues factor into the plans, according to construc tion and financing ex perts, but they haven’t been standing in the way.

“The best time to build is now, not two years from now,” said Dan Wacker, director of pre-construction for Mortenson’s sports and entertainment di vision, which counts Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium and Las Vegas’ Allegiant Sta dium among its re cent major projects.

“If you can make that happen.”

The key to any development is un derstanding what the market can bear when it comes to spending, which already factors in inflation — “a man ageable risk factor,” according to Scott Zolke, a lawyer with an extensive sports background who rep resents the Bills in stadium talks.

“One of the things that we exhausted in our analysis of Buf falo was ‘What if?’” he said.

“What about infla tion? What if we go

into a recession? What if ... the supply chain is completely flipped upside down?” Zolke added. “You look at the best, worst, mid dle-case scenarios, do your comparisons ... and then you say, is it worth it?”

Teams continue to say yes during what looks like an impos ing time for massive construction projects. Even amid a tentative easing of inflation in October, the Feder al Reserve likely will continue raising in terest rates to cool the economy.

While teams are taking the current economic climate into consideration, it hasn’t been a deal breaker.

“I have not yet seen decisions change on whether to do a proj ect or not do a project because of the cost,” said Bill Mulvihill, managing director and head of the Sports Fi nance Group at U.S. Bank, which helped fi nance the Los Angeles Rams’ SoFi Stadium. “It’s just more chang ing how are we going to fund this, how much is it going to cost rath

er than changing are we going to do this or not?”

The Bears want to turn the Arlington Heights site, once a jewel of thoroughbred racing, into a different kind of gem, anchored by an enclosed stadi um and bursting with year-round activity — assuming a deal with Churchill Downs Inc. to buy the land goes through.

They envision restaurants, retail and more on the plot of land some 30 miles northwest of their longtime home at Sol dier Field — all for about $5 billion, with some taxpayer help.

They’re not the only team with their eyes on new digs. The Bills are finalizing a deal with state and county governments to build a $1.4 billion stadi um, and the Titans recently lined up the last financing for an estimated $2.1 billion domed home.

In Buffalo, it took years of prodding, fears of relocation, numerous studies, a change in ownership and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandem ic to finally reach the conclusion the Bills needed a new facility to replace the stadium they’ve called home since 1973.

For the most part, when it comes to new stadiums and ball parks, owners are playing the long game, knowing they figure to profit even if prices are a bit haywire at the moment.

The costs of materi als have surged 35.7% since January 2020, according to the Na tional Association of Homebuilders. Con crete went from a 30year low in 2009 to the largest jump and highest price this year since 1989.

The supply chain issues have led to a juggling act when it comes to choosing ma terials. When steel has been in short supply, for example, there’s been a run on concrete. That in turn has led to supply-and-demand is sues there, said Logan Gerken, vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s sports and entertainment di vision.

If teams are scaling back on design, they’re doing so in ways fans probably wouldn’t notice — like fewer TVs in suites, Mul vihill said. But when it comes to big-ticket items? They’re not sac rificing a retractable roof for a fixed roof or no roof at all just to save money.

“If they thought a year ago they needed a retractable roof, I think they’re going to build with a retract able roof and just take the cost increases and figure out how to fund them,” Mulvihill said.

Though the frame work of the Bills’ deal calls for what in March was an NFL-record $850 million taxpayer price tag (and likely to be topped by the Titans proposal), government funding can be tough to secure.

Take what’s hap pened in Oakland, where baseball’s Ath letics could leave without a new stadi um. The city, which secured $321.5 million in grant money toward a $12 billion stadium and waterfront proj ect, was scrambling for more to help cover potential infrastruc ture cost overruns and keep the team in town.

The Bears plan to pay for their stadium, but want taxpayer dollars to cover infra structure costs such as roads and sewers to de

Photo by April Kroenke Photography

NFL players urge league to nix turf, go with grass

By MARK LONG The Associated Press

Aaron Rodgers has hit the ground in every NFL stadium except one. And while the “frozen tundra” of Lambeau Field has delivered its share of bumps and bruises, the venues with artificial turf have been even rougher on Rodgers’ nearly 39-year-old body.

“I do think it’s time to go all grass throughout the league,” the fourtime MVP said Tuesday, echoing a growing sentiment that’s become a major talking point around the NFL.

Players Association President JC Tretter called on six venues to immediately change their playing surfaces last weekend, saying the artificial turf in those stadiums results in higher injury rates when comparing non-contact injuries and lower extremity injuries like sprained ankles and torn knee ligaments.

Players from Seattle to Miami, from New England to Los Angeles, have loudly backed Tretter. Rodgers, Green Bay’s 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback who has played in every stadium except Las Vegas, thinks there’s a way for the league to pivot to grass quickly.

“A lot of money in this league,” he said. “It’s about cost. I don’t know how much that would cost. ... But the league’s been doing pretty well.”

Does Rodgers think it will get done?

“No, honestly,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of confidence when it comes to the league making that decision without some sort of big vote and gripes from certain owners who don’t want to spend the money. ... This would be putting your money where your mouth is if player safety

is important.”

The NFL hasn’t acknowledged a need for new sod. Jeff Miller, the executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy for the NFL, said in a statement Saturday that injury rates are approximately the same on grass and turf.

The data provided by the league did not distinguish between the three types of turf used: monofilament, dual fiber and slit film. Tretter specifically took exception with the slit-film surfaces used in Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New Orleans and New York.

Players parroted Tretter’s plea, and even a few coaches have joined the push.

“I prefer natural grass,” Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I’ve listened to all the studies, density studies, I’ve seen all the different compounds they’ve put in there. I still like grass.”

Most players do, too.

“You kind of feel the difference when you’re running,” Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook said. “If we can fix it, let’s fix it. Let’s get the safest atmosphere for us to go play in.”

Added Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown: “I do prefer playing on grass. It’s more forgiving, more natural, and it just feel it’s better. It feels better on my joints, my ankles and whatnot.”

Jacksonville Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins called artificial

turf the equivalent of playing in a parking lot, saying “I’m getting slammed on the concrete. It doesn’t feel good.”

Carolina Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble watched teammate Donte Jackson tear an Achilles tendon at home — the latest in a rash of season-ending injuries sustained on turf.

“Guys get terrible injuries from that stuff,” Tremble said. “I get the usability of it, but this is a billion-dollar business, and I think where we should put the money into should be for the players because if we got grass fields and can keep playing, the money keeps rolling in. You see star guys go down all of the time because of it.”

The Panthers already have urged owner David Tepper to switch to grass in the offseason. Sure, it costs more in the long run, but technology advancements have made grass fields more tolerant to every condition seen in the NFL: heat, cold, humidity and dryness. Two indoor venues — in Arizona and Las Vegas — have grass fields that can be rolled into the sun.

Fourteen of the NFL’s 30 venues still use a ver-

sion of synthetic turf. The Hellas Matrix Turf used in Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles is widely considered the best. It’s created using a textured and twisted monofilament fiber.

Slit film, meanwhile, has sliced strands that form a honeycomb shape. It holds up well to frequent use, but the concern is whether cleats are getting caught in the honeycombs.

“They don’t have a bad field in this league, but there are better fields,” New York Giants safety Julian Love said. “There is a type of turf that has proven to be better. We happen to play on the lowest turf in the league, so you want to see those standards go up.”

SWITCHING from artificial turf to grass would be expensive, as Rodgers suggested. It would cost roughly $500,000 for demolition, new rock underlayment

and irrigation (drainage could be reused) and another $350,000 for lay-and-play sod. Cold-weather teams, including those playing indoors, would be lucky if the new grass lasted a month before needing to be resodded.

A potential compromise would be placing thick-cut sod on top of the fake stuff and swapping it out a few times over the course of a football season.

Any tweak would be a welcome relief for most players.

“I do know that after having surgery, and when I go out there and play on turf fields, it’s different,” Cincinnati Bengals nose tackle D.J. Reader said. “It’s a lot more pounding. I get a lot more achy after games.”

Tretter, a longtime NFL center who played in Green Bay and Cleveland, began his anti-artificial turf campaign two years ago after San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and players expressed concern about the MetLife Stadium turf in New Jersey.

Defensive end Nick Bosa, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, defensive tackle Solomon Thomas and running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman all suffered

game-ending lower-body injuries that day.

Thomas, coincidentally, now plays for the Jets. He was among the many calling for immediate change.

“No one knows the beating that our bodies take on turf more than us — the players,” Thomas posted on Twitter. “The sport is violent enough. We shouldn’t be taking more damage from the field, too.”

All those 49ers injuries prompted a review involving representatives from the NFL, NFLPA, MetLife Stadium, the Jets, the Giants, the turf maker and an independent field inspector. They concluded that the field met all applicable standards and protocols for NFL surfaces.

In a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday night, MetLife Stadium announced its field surface will be replaced before next season — but not with grass.

“We evaluate our field each season and historically have replaced our playing surface every 3-4 years,” the statement said. “We have made the decision to replace the field in 2023 and are currently reviewing proposals from multiple vendors for a new synthetic surface.”

NJ Advance Media and ESPN first reported the planned changes at MetLife Stadium.

Two years after beginning his campaign, Tretter — now with players like Rodgers standing behind him — insists the standards need to be raised around the NFL.

“As players, we have a simple message for the league: stop with the lip service, stop with the media spin, stop pretending you care,” he said. “And if you actually do care, take the actionable steps to fix the problems our union has identified, especially those issues you actually agree with.”

style of restorative yoga as exercise incorporating postures that are held for longer periods of time than in other styles. The sequences of postures are meant to stimulate the channels of the subtle body.

VINYASA YOGA

WEDNESDAY • 5:45 P.M.

Vinyasa Flow Yoga focuses on the connection between breath, movement, and the mind in this 35-40 minute class. This style of yoga is often referred to as ‘flow’ because it moves from one pose to another in a continuous, smooth way.

TOTAL BODY BLAST

MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, & THURSDAY • 6:30 P.M.

This fast-paced 35 minute class will have a di erent vibe each day. We’ll rotate and combine styles such as HIIT, functional fitness, stations, core work, plyometrics, strength training, cardio kickboxing, and pilates.

A growing number of NFL players are urging the league to eliminate all arti cial turf playing surfaces, and switching to grass elds — even indoors. TNS FILE PHOTO

No one knows the beating that our bodies take on turf more than us — the players. The sport is violent enough. We shouldn’t be taking more damage from the eld, too.

— Solomon Thomas, San Francisco 49ers

Women: calling World Cup

Continued from B2

me,” she recalled.

“It was extremely stress ful. All my focus through my training of being a journalist, through the match reports, through the commentaries, had al ways been on telling a sto ry to the audience. That’s what I wanted to do, and that’s what I worked hard at. And to go from that to suddenly becoming the story and to have the camera lenses trained on me instead of on the pitch was something I found re ally difficult to deal with and something I wasn’t really ready for and some thing I didn’t enjoy for a

second.”

She became a present er for the BBC’s cover age of the 2015 European Championship and in September 2021 was hired as commentator for Sky’s coverage of England’s Women’s Super League. Her preparation for Qatar includes bringing her own printer, ink cartridges, two phones and two iPads.

“I don’t like to rely on anybody else’s technolo gy,” she said.

Meulensteen, a 2019 graduate of the Universi ty of Salford, worked for BBC Manchester during school and broadcast Man chester United’s women’s

team for MUTV. She start ed Premier League tele casts last December and her first World Cup broad cast will be Poland-Mexi co on BBC One television on Tuesday.

“Women just as much enjoy watching foot ball, listening to foot ball, playing football,” she said. “Twenty, 30 years ago that wasn’t an option for women to watch football and have a female voice. Where as, you go to a football match, you go to Old Trafford, there are loads of women that are watching football and are interested in it.”

Sports: construction a trend

Continued from B6

velop the site. There are differenc es to take into account when developing in large markets, versus smaller ones. While the development around Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadi um and what the Bears envision at Arlington Heights will bring in additional revenue, Buf falo’s small population base and drawing pow er for visitors played a major factor in the Bills’ projections and a larger reliance on public fund ing.

“It’s not apples to ap ples. It’s a completely

RACING THIS WEEK

different metric,” said Zolke, who also worked with Rams owner Stan Kroenke on the SoFi development following the team’s move from St. Louis.

“It made no sense for (Kroenke) to private ly fund a project in St. Louis,” he said. “It made 100% sense to say, ‘I’ll fund this thing (in L.A.), just give me some infra structure.’”

In Nashville, the pub lic funding commitment can be larger because the region can bank on recouping the money by creating yet another attraction to lure even

more visitors to Music City, including the po tential of hosting a Su per Bowl.

That’s not the case in Buffalo, despite the draw of nearby Niagara Falls and being home of the chicken wing.

Top of mind when it comes to any devel opment project, Zolke said, is teams being com fortable with the return on investment over the long-term, which to a de gree de-emphasizes the impact of inflation.

“This is a long-term investment. You’re not going to cash in in five years,” Zolke said.

End of an era: Kyle Busch’s 7th-place finish in the finale marked his final race at Joe Gibbs Racing after a 15-year tenure that included two championships (2015, ‘19) and 56 of his career total 60 victories. He finished in the top-10 in the championship 11 of his 15 seasons with the team.

CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES

Chastain, on finishing second in first Champ 4

appearance

After a season of career-firsts – a maiden victory and a dramatic lap to qualify for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race –Ross Chastain insisted he felt more hopeful than disappointed after coming up short of hoisting his first major racing trophy Nov. 6. Chastain’s No. 1

Trackhouse Racing

Chevrolet finished third in the Phoenix Raceway season finale – 1.2-seconds behind the winner, and newly-crowed 2022 series champion Joey Logano.

After moving forward from a 25th-place starting spot on the grid and competing inside the top five for most of the final laps, Chastain felt confident that he and the two-year-old Trackhouse Racing team had done all it could. And, if nothing else, set the stage for future championship runs.

“The emotions are surprisingly good,” said Chastain, who earned his first two NASCAR Cup Series wins this season (at the Circuit of The Americas road course and at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

“I’m not sad, I’m not upset. … I actually can’t believe how good I feel. I’m so proud and so happy to get this first shot in the championship,” he added.

The other two championship-eligible drivers, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott finished 10th and 28th, respectively – both having to overcome different challenges on Sunday Bell and the entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization received heart-breaking news in the hours immediately before the race that Coy Gibbs – the team’s Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer –and son of team founder Joe Gibbs – had passed away the night before at the age of 49.

Bell said the team met and decided it should still race on Sunday. And he ran among the top-10 for much of the day, despite the tough circumstances.

“That was an experience unlike I’ve ever gone through in my entire life,” Bell said. ‘In that moment, you don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong. If you should get in the race car and race or you

shouldn’t race. Myself, Denny [Hamlin] and the other JGR drivers were all in the same boat, we didn’t know what to do.

“[JGR President] Dave Alpern actually came back to the race track right before driver intros and told us, ‘you need to go out there and race’ and that’s what we did.”

Elliott, who won the Regular Season Championship, also spent time at the front of the field, but contact between his and Chastain’s Chevrolets on a re-start with a little more than 100 laps remaining sent his Chevrolet spinning into the wall. The team worked on the car, but Elliot ultimately finished the race two laps down.

“I’m not sure, I’m not sure,” Elliott repeatedly answered when asked about the incident with him and Chastain. “Looking forward to the offseason and really proud of our team for the fight we put in today. Like we just kind of peaked right before we crashed, got our car driving pretty good, just had our best pit stop of the day so that was all solid, and we were right there next to the 22 [Logano].

“Thought we had a shot at it all the way up until we didn’t.”

For both Chastain and Bell, 2022 marked the best NASCAR Cup Series season of their careers statistically. It was the first Championship 4 appearance for

both, as well.

Chastain, 29, of Alva, Florida, spent 19 weeks ranked among the top three in the championship standings, earned his first two NASCAR Cup Series wins and more than doubled his previous single season marks for top-five (15) and top-10 (21) finishes.

Bell, 27, of Norman, Oklahoma, scored three wins and career highs in top-five (12) and top-10 (20) finishes.

Elliott, 26, of Dawsonville, Ga., tied his career best mark in wins (five) and earned 12 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. His three pole positions were most in his seven fulltime seasons.

Austin Cindric takes home Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors

Team Penske’s Austin Cindric started the 2022 year with a victory in the season-opening Daytona 500 and he took the season’s final checkered flag on Sunday having earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

Cindric, 24, has the Daytona 500 victory, earned five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes this season and advanced to the second round of the Playoffs.

He said securing that all-important early season victory allowed him to essentially learn the ropes of NASCAR’s major league as a rookie with the security of knowing he’d already earned a Playoff position.

“It does change the regular season in the fact I’m able to go through the regular season without the pressure of having to win a race as well as figure everything out,” Cindric said. “And that was probably more of an advantage than I gave it credit for, not having to put pressure on yourself, your team or have to be desperate.

“From that standpoint I think it was something made me be able to be patient or aggressive in areas I needed to be.”

Following Cindric in the rookie standings are fellow Ford drivers - Wood Brothers’ Harrison Burton and Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland. Burton’s best finish was a third place at the Indianapolis road course this summer. Gilliland’s top effort was a fourth place at the Indy road course.

TRUCKS CHAMP. NOTES

Defending series champion Ben Rhodes came up just short

It was a valiant overtime e ort that “just missed” for defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes, who battled Zane Smith all the way to the checkered ag of the overtime nish for the title race at Phoenix Raceway. He ultimately missed out becoming only the series’ second back-to-back champion by a mere .236-second.

Rhodes’ ThorSport Racing team opted for two tires during a pit stop with 10 laps remaining –the only driver among the Championship-eligible foursome to gamble on the two-tire stop. It put his No. 99 ThorSport Toyota out front; but the other three title contenders returned to the track with four fresh tires.

A er the restart, the four championship-eligible drivers – Rhodes, Zane Smith, Ty Majeski and Chandler Smith pulled away to lead the eld and settle the trophy amongst themselves. And Rhodes gamble looked as if it just may pay o . But as he pulled out to a nearly 2-second advantage on the eld, Majeski got loose battling hard just behind Zane Smith bringing the nal caution came out and forcing overtime.

“If the caution never came out, I honest to goodness think we could have won,” Rhodes said.noting that with only two new tires compared to his championship competition he essentially became a sitting duck on the nal restart

“I’m thankful for those calls I just wish it could have worked out di erently,” said Rhodes, who led eight laps and explained he purposely banged the car o the wall on the nal lap hoping to make something happen.

“But that’s just the story of two (tires) versus four.”

Ross

WINNER: JOEY LOGANO, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, and his wife, Brittany Logano, pose with the Bill France NASCAR Cup Series Championship trophy after winning the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

WINNER: ZANE SMITH, driver of the #38 Michael Roberts Construction Ford, poses with the championship trophy after winning the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 4. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Chastain

Cindric