The Iola Register, Dec. 19, 2023 by Iola Register

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Locally owned since 1867

iolaregister.com

US health spending levels back to pre-COVID

Humboldt teams split vs. Neodesha

By ERIK GUNN and CASEY QUINLAN Kansas Reflector

After skyrocketing in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and then tempering almost as dramatically a year later, health care spending in the U.S rose just over 4% in 2022, hitting $4.5 trillion, the federal government announced Wednesday. The annual growth in the nation’s health care spending appears to be returning to pre-pandemic trends, according to a new report from analysts at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The report was published online Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs. In the four years before 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care spending rose 4.2% to 4.6% a year, according to CMS. While last year’s increase was higher than the 3.2% growth in health spending in 2021, it was less than half the 10.6% growth of health spending in 2020. “This pattern reflects the volatility tied to the COVID 19 pandemic and the significant response by the federal government,” said Micah Hartman, a CMS statistician at a briefing for journalists on the report. CMS produces the annual report on national health care expenditures, which various government agencies, including the White House Office of Management and Budget rely on as they produce economic and budgetary forecasts and plans. With the slower growth in spending compared with 2020 and 2021, health See HEALTH | Page A6

PAGE B1

Key components for downtown PAGE A4

Allen Community College students Ayoup Bader of Jordan, left, and Wisom Nkwemba of South Africa address the board of trustees last week to share their views on new policies that do not allow payment plans for international students and require them to live on campus and enroll in ACC’s meal plan. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Taking a second look Allen to review financial policy for international students

attended the Dec. 12 meeting in support of Lee’s request. Lee also read letters from other instructors and students requesting the policy changes. Lee contacted each of the state’s 13 community colleges to compare policies. Allen is the only one that does not allow international students to set up a payment plan; Coffeyville did not offer payment plans to any students but that will change next year. “We understand the reasons for implementing this last year,” Lee said, re-

By MICHAEL SASSO Bloomberg News/TNS

ferring to a discussion in May. At that time, President Bruce Moses and others said the payment plan conflicts with the process for which students apply for educational visas, and it is cumbersome for the college to collect if an international student falls into arrears. Lee, however, called the process discriminatory and a hindrance for recruiting future students. “I think we should review if it has helped or hindered our institution,”

The share of Americans working beyond retirement age has almost doubled since the late 1980s and the wage gap between them and their younger colleagues is shrinking, according to a Pew Research Center report. Older workers are now as likely to hold college degrees as younger ones and can expect to earn $22 an hour compared to $13 in 1987, a 69% increase in 2022 dollars, according to the Pew report issued last week. That’s in contrast to the 19% boost in median hourly earnings for 25- to 64-year-olds. The trends are reshaping the U.S. workforce, as seniors’ participation in the labor market is expected to rise while the participation rates of most other age groups stall or decline. All told, about 19% of people 65 and older today are

See ALLEN | Page A3

See AGING | Page A6

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

ACC English instructor Tracy Lee took administrators to task last week, accusing a new policy regarding international students as discriminatory. Lee requested Allen Community College board members change the newly implemented policy that requires international students pay their tuition in full at the start of the semester rather than in installments as well as the new mandate that they reside on campus and be enrolled in the school’s food service meal plan. The new policies were approved last spring. Two international students, Ayoup Bader of Jordan and Wisdom Nkwemba of South Africa,

Older workers earning about as much as younger ones

MVHS teacher proves ‘the truth’ about Santa Claus By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

MORAN — Halie Luken, a speech, drama and Spanish teacher at Marmaton Valley High School, remembers when she proved the existence of Santa Claus. She was around age 11, and her mom, Jackie Walls, was pregnant with her little sister. They lived in LaHarpe, just a few blocks from Halie’s Uncle Richard. Traditions are important to her mom’s side, the Lukens. They celebrate on Christmas Eve with a big family gathering. That year, before they headed to the annual family gath-

Vol. 126, No. 6 Iola, KS $1.00

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

ering, Halie’s mom encouraged her to set out cookies and milk for Santa, and “reindeer food” with a mixture of granola, carrots and glitter — just in case Santa visited while they were gone. She also left a note for Santa, asking if he was real and,

if so, she wanted a response. When they arrived home, Halie opened the door to find their entire living room filled with gifts. The cookies had just one bite taken (Santa has to eat a lot of cookies, so he can’t gorge himself at every house). The reindeer food was gone, too. “I was so excited,” she recalled. Now, Halie had proof that her mom couldn’t possibly be Santa. Just like Superman and Clark Kent, he can’t be in two places at once. She’d been with her mom all night. Not only that, Santa had responded to her note. Still skeptical, she put her See SANTA | Page A3

Halie Luken, a teacher at Marmaton Valley High School, recalls the year she proved the existence of Santa Claus. REGISTER/ VICKIE MOSS

A2 Tuesday, December 19, 2023 Obituaries Vernon Settlemyer Vernon Glenn Settlemyer, age 90, 0f Neosho Falls, died on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, at Iola Medicalodges. He was born April 8, 1933, in rural Neosho Falls to Ivan Settlemyer and Virginia (Dickerson) Settlemyer. He married Ruth Bolinger on Dec. 11, 1966. She survives. Survivors also include a son, Don Settlemyer; and daughter, Melinda Martin. A visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday in The Venue at Feuerborn Family Funeral Service, 1883 US Highway 54, Iola. A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday in the chapel at Feuerborn Family Funeral Service. Burial will follow in Geneva Cemetery, Colony. Memorials are suggested to Wings of Warriors, and may be left with Feuerborn Family Funeral Service.

Allen Jones James “Allen” Jones Jr., 69, of Emporia, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. Allen was born May 8, 1954, in Iola the son of James Allen and Loretta (Lee) Jones. Allen was an avid Harley Davidson fan and all things cars and loved spending time with his family. Allen was preceded in death by Allen his parents and three siblings Don- Jones ald Jones, Jimmy Lee Jones and Carol Sue Ahne. He is survived by three children, Keith (Michael) Jones of Wichita, Chris (Rebecca) Jones of Wright City, Mo., and Anissa (Clint) Peet of Emporia; two brothers, Kenneth Jones of Iola and William Jones of Gas; three sisters, Janice Trester of Gas, , Mary Ann Cooper of Iola, and Viola Boeck of LaHarpe; eight grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Allen married Wanda Trowbridge on July 8, 1972. They had three children and later divorced. Celebration of life will be held at a later date.

iolaregister.com

The Iola Register

Area news Live Well receives $80,950 grant PITTSBURG — Live Well Crawford County is the recipient of a grant targeted toward ending the generational impact of drugs on families, according to the Pittsburg Morning Sun. Gov. Laura Kelly announced recently that nearly $2 million has been awarded to 18 Kansas service agencies in the first round of the All Hands onDECK (Drug Endangered Children of Kansas) grants. Live Well Crawford County received $80,950. The grants, according to the recent release, aim to better identify and support children living in an environment where a parent/caregiver uses, distributes, manufactures, or cultivates illegal drugs. Along with Live Well Crawford County, additional recipients included the Wilson County Health Department ($130,000); Thrive Allen County ($111,548.22); Central Kansas Partnership ($130,000); and Riley County Health Depart-

ment ($130,000). Additional grant awardees are scheduled to be announced in the spring of 2024.

USD 413 looks at daycare addition CHANUTE — According to a report from The Chanute Tribune, USD 413 Board of Education members gave the green light for the district to explore an option to create a potential daycare addition of 76 new slots for infants, toddlers, and 2½ year olds at Lincoln Early Learning Center. USD 413 Superintendent Matt Koester said the district has a goal of expanding offerings across the system to children aged birth to 5 years old. The board then looked at potential drawings and floor plans for an addition at Lincoln Early Learning Center. “This would mostly be represented by grant dollars if we were fortunate to get them,” Koester said. A community room for the public to use separate from the classrooms also is included in the floorplan. The classrooms will be locked and secured from the public,

Koester explained. The addition would include a reconfiguration of the current main entrance. Koester asked the board for its blessing to continue the grant process. The grant is due Dec. 18, the Tribune reported. “We’ve already been working on it. It has become a very competitive grant recently,” Koester said. “There are several school districts and several agencies within Southeast Kansas that are applying now. I don’t know if our chances have gone up or down much lately. Either way, we are going to be prepared and we are going to be ready for it.”

Trash rate increase OK’d BURLINGTON — Residential trash rates will increase 4% next year in Burlington, The Coffey County Republican reported. City Clerk Anne Brown said the increase amounts to basically 50 cents a month. The new residential

Today

monthly rate will be $13.75. Of that amount, Republic Services will receive $13.23. The city receives a 52-cent per customer fee, which is remitted to the city’s general fund.

Fredonia to start level payment plan for utilities FREDONIA — A new option for Fredonia utility customers will become available in the new year, The Wilson County Citizen reported. The city commission approved an ordinance that creates a level payment plan for city utility customers with enrollment starting in February. “This has been in the works for a while,” said City Administrator Wes Young, who went on to explain that the level payment plan would be based on a customer’s last 12 months of usage, plus 10%, and would be monitored monthly with reevaluation annually. It is available for both commercial and residential customers.

Wednesday

Thursday

Kansas Supreme Court allows challenge to voting law By RACHEL MIPRO Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — For two and half years, Davis Hammet has felt gaslighted by the state. Now, he said, a decision made Friday by the Kansas Supreme Court has vindicated his claims that a 2021 voting law based on “the big lie” poses a threat to advocacy groups like his. Hammet is the founder and executive director of Loud Light. “Telling us that we have no reason to be afraid, that we’re crazy, that there’s no threat of (registering voters),” Hammet said. “And today in an opinion issued unanimously by the Supreme Court and written by the most conservative justice on the Supreme Court, they said, ‘You’re not crazy. There is a very real fear of you facing felony charges for going out and (registering voters).’ ” Hammet has been part of ongoing litigation over the election law. The challenged law made it a felony to have “the appearance of being an election official” or behave in ways that would “cause another person to believe a person engaging in such conduct is an election official.” Hammet said Loud Light, under fear of felony charges, hasn’t registered voters since 2020, before the law went into effect. He estimated the group had been able to sign up almost 10,000 Kansans to vote at that time. Hammet said the group had probably missed out on registering thousands of voters in the years since, but said the total impact has been incalculable. “In 2020, we were sort of running at full force. And then we had to stop all this,” Hammet said.

Davis Hammet, founder of Loud Light, says he hopes for a speedy case resolution. SHERMAN SMITH/ KANSAS REFLECTOR

The challenged law made it a felony to have “the appearance of being an election official” or behave in ways that would “cause another person to believe a person engaging in such conduct is an election official.” The law in question was first passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature in response to election fraud concerns, though there is no evidence of voter fraud in the state. Other portions of the law stipulate election officials have to evaluate advance ballots by matching signatures on file with the county with signatures on ballot envelope and limits the number of advance ballots an individual can gather for delivery to an election office to 10. The League of Women Voters of Kansas, Loud Light, Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, and the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center filed their lawsuit against Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Attorney General Kris Kobach, but a Shawnee County District Court judge dismissed the lawsuit.

Among other arguments, the groups said the law had a significant chilling effect on their operations because at times observers believed they were election officials even though they always identify themselves as private citizens. A three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals later reversed the decision, declaring voting a foundational constitutional right. “It’s unfortunate that the district court didn’t reach this point because we’re two and a half years into suspending voter registration, through multiple elections,” Hammet said. “While we’re excited about the victory, we also can’t wait for a resolution on this so that we can get back to safely registering voters.” Kansas Supreme Court justices on Friday ruled voting rights ad-

vocacy groups have the right to challenge the law, reversing the lower-court decision. Justice Caleb Stegall wrote in the court’s opinion about voting rights as a form of free speech, a classification that offers strong constitutional protections. “Speech — that is, human communication — is a two-way street. But sometimes a listener may mistake the meaning intended by the speaker. … Despite these “problems” with speech, however, it remains the cornerstone of our free society and undoubtedly an essential, fundamental principle of American government,” Stegall wrote. “We are cognizant — and wary — of recent government efforts to expand the scope of fraudulent speech to include speech the government, in its judgment, determines is simply false or misleading in some fashion,” Stegall wrote.

Temperature High Sunday Low Sunday night High Saturday Low Saturday night High Friday Low Friday night

57 28 45 24 47 39

High a year ago 43 Low a year ago 30 Precipitation 72 hours ending 8 a.m. .32 This month to date .41 Total year to date 28.10 Deficiency since Jan. 1 9.06

Sunrise 7:33 a.m.

Sunset 5:05 p.m.

302 S. Washington Ave. Iola, KS 66749 620-365-2111 | iolaregister.com Published Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, except New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Subscription Rates One Year 6 Months 3 Months 1 Month In Allen County

$149.15

$82.87

$46.93

Out of Allen County $162.74

$92.76

$53.51

$16.86 $21.75

Mail out of State

$174.75

$94.05

$55.60

$22.20

Internet Only

$149.15

$82.87

$46.93

$16.86

All prices include 8.75% sales taxes. Postal regulations require subscriptions to be paid in advance. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Iola Register, P.O. Box 767, Iola, KS 66749.

Member Associated Press. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to use for publication all the local news printed in this newspaper as well as all AP news dispatches.

NEWS & ADVERTISING

Susan Lynn, editor/publisher | Tim Stauffer, managing editor Periodicals postage paid at Iola, Kansas. USPS 268-460 | Print ISSN: 2833-9908 | Website ISSN: 2833-9916

Call 620-888-9283 to schedule your free quote!

iolaregister.com

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

The Iola Register

Storm batters Northeastern US, knocking out power, grounding flights PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A storm barreled up the East Coast on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees in the Northeast, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, and forcing flight cancellations and school closures. A man was killed by a fallen tree in Windham, Maine, police said. More than 5 inches of rain had fallen in parts of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania by mid-morning, and parts in several other states got more than 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts reached nearly 70 mph

Flooding is seen in Queens on Monday. (THEODORE PARISIENNE/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS/TNS)

along the southern New England shoreline. Power was knocked out for more than 700,000 customers in an area stretching from Virginia north through New England, including over 278,000 in Massachusetts and 263,000

in Maine, according to poweroutage.us. In Maine, Gov. Janet Mills said all state offices would close for the afternoon. “With the storm expected to grow stronger in the coming hours, I encourage all Maine

people to be safe and vigilant and to exercise caution when traveling,” she said in a statement. Police in Windham said part of a tree fell and killed a man who was removing debris from his roof. Police did not immediately name the man, and encouraged residents to stay indoors. Weather knocked out power to street lights in Portland, Maine’s largest city, tying up traffic and stirring confusion at busy intersections. Wind ripped Christmas decorations from yards and homes, scattering them in city streets.

Allen: Payment plan policy under review Continued from A1

she said. She outlined additional reasons why she believes the policy works against the college: It creates a barrier for international students, it creates separate policies for native and international students, and it hinders diversity and cultural enrichment. She shared a letter written by fellow English instructor Erik Griffith, who said, “Given our declining numbers, any action that potentially discourages prospective students from selecting Allen is problematic. … With ever-increasing globalization, international students will play an expanding role in providing the rank and file of our student body … especially in Allen County where the population base is declining.” LEE CITED statistics, which Moses and Vice President for Student Affairs Cynthia Jacobson criticized as not showing the full picture, that this fall’s enrollment showed a loss of 41 international students for a revenue loss of $566,210. Jacobson noted there are many reasons why those numbers dropped off and it wasn’t fair to attribute that entirely to the new policies. Moses took issue with much of Lee’s criticism, repeatedly stressing his understanding of immigration laws meant it was illegal to allow international students to delay tuition payments. “Every international student is supposed

Given our declining numbers, any action that potentially discourages prospective students from selecting Allen is problematic. … With ever-increasing globalization, international students will play an expanding role in providing the rank and and file of our student body … especially in Allen County where the population base is declining. — Erik Griffith, ACC English instructor

to demonstrate before they get here that they have sufficient funds,” Moses said. “Then they arrive and say I’m broke and I need a payment plan. … What we can’t do as an institution is carry that debt for an entire semester.” Jacobson also noted that international students could make payment installments over the spring and summer before they arrive, thus avoiding the problem altogether. Trustee Jenny Spillman questioned how other colleges can offer payment plans to international students. “I think we need to look at our policy,” Spillman said. During a discussion that followed, trustees theorized Allen’s financial policies could be more restrictive than other colleges’, thus leading to the discrepancy. Moses agreed there could be some tweaks to the college’s policy. “I’m just telling you what immigration requires. If a student hasn’t paid, we’re supposed to revoke their visa. We were not doing that.”

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us to you!

“We need to look at when payments need to be paid in full if we’re the only college doing that,” Spillman said. “What does it hurt if a student pays throughout the semester if they’re getting it all paid?” trustee Vicki Curry said. “I think it would be good for the board to review that again and make sure we’ve got the best policy.” The board agreed to schedule a discussion on the matter for the January board meeting. THE DEBATE on policies regarding international students wasn’t the only somewhat contentious discussion during last week’s board of trustees meeting. Trustee Lonnie Larson said he was surprised to read a Register newspaper article about Allen moving to a fourday class schedule. The matter was discussed during the Nov. 14 meeting; Larson said he did not realize the schedule had been decided. “I thought there was going to be more research,” Spillman added. That led to anoth-

er debate over the pros and cons of a four-day schedule. Trustees asked several questions about how the schedule would work. Kara Wheeler, vice president for academic affairs, said the hope is that a shorter schedule will entice more students who need the flexibility, while still maintaining essential services. “This is an opportunity for us to try something to increase enrollment at Allen and set ourselves apart from the competition,” Wheeler said. “If we’re not seeing the advantage, we’ll change it.” Lisa Wicoff, the new dean for Career and Technical Education & Industry Partnerships, also shared her thoughts about how to use a fourday schedule, including at high schools where students could utilize that fifth day for internships, on-campus tutoring or meeting with instructors. Wheeler then presented the 2024-25 school calendar for trustee approval. It outlined dates for spring break and the start and end of each semester. Curry asked if approval of the calendar also meant approving the four-day schedule. No, Wheeler answered. The board approves the calendar; administrators set the schedule. “So the change to four-days isn’t something the board has to vote on?” Curry asked. “No,” Wheeler said, and read the policy regarding those responsibilities.

Helping you protect what matters most.

The weather service issued flood and flashflood warnings for New York City and the surrounding area, parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts and parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. “We are asking people to avoid traveling at this time if they can as most people are safest at home,” Vanessa Palange, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said in a statement. Trees and power lines fell in many areas, including some that landed on homes and cars. In the coastal town of Guilford, Connecticut, about 30 miles south of Hartford, a tree fell on a police cruiser but the officer escaped injury, officials said. Certain roads throughout the region were closed due to flooding or downed trees. Heavy rain and high tides caused flooding along the Jersey Shore, leading

authorities to block off roads near Barnegat Bay in Bay Head and Mantoloking. The flooding was made worse by leaf piles that residents had put out for collection but was blocking water from reaching drains. In northeastern and central Pennsylvania, heavy rain that fell overnight flooded ponds, streams and creeks in several counties, forcing authorities to close several major roadways. The Delaware River spilled over its banks in suburban Philadelphia, leading to road closures. In the suburb of Washington Crossing, crews placed barriers along roadways and worked to clear fallen tree limbs. Seven people died after flash flooding in that area over the summer. Many flights were cancelled or delayed across the region. Boston’s Logan International Airport grounded all flights Monday morning because of the poor conditions, leading to more than 100 canceled flights and about 375 delays, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware.

Santa: Memories Continued from A1

investigative skills to work, carefully analyzing the note word for word and comparing it to samples of her mom’s handwriting. She deduced: Her mom didn’t write the note. Conclusion: Santa is real. She taped the note to her bedroom wall and it sustained her belief. Years later, she learned Santa had recruited her Uncle Richard for help on that magical night. IN THE years since, Halie and her family have continued their traditions and added to them. They still have their family gathering on Christmas Eve. For many years, her grandfather, Ken Luken, would take her on a special shopping trip. He’d ask her to pick out something she wanted. She remembers him buying some of her favorite gifts over the years: a keyboard, a basketball, Season 1 of The

O.C. (a TV show). “I wasn’t supposed to know about it,” she said. That tradition continued “until one year I got busted. Now, I don’t want to know what my gift is.” Halie, her mom and little sister started a new tradition. They pick a town and spend an evening driving around it to see Christmas lights. They’ve been to Emporia, Lawrence, Pittsburg, Fort Scott and other larger cities. This year, they chose Joplin, Mo. She also started a tradition with her cousin Madison, Richard’s daughter. On Dec. 23, they get together for a holiday baking day to whip up cookies and treats, both old favorites and something new for a challenge. That tradition began around the time Halie left for college. “I think she wanted to do something with me since I went away,” she said. She’s looking forward to continuing those family traditions again this year.

May the season fill you with

JOY!

Jacob T. Manbeck, Esq. 10 E. Jackson | Iola, KS 66749 | (620) 305-2592 jacob@manbecklaw.com | manbecklaw.com

Gari, Derrik, Dana, Kyle and Laci

620-228-1771 208 W. Madison, Iola

415 N. Washington Iola, KS

620-365-6262 ioladds.com

A4 Tuesday, December 19, 2023

iolaregister.com

The Iola Register

Farm

Key components to a successful downtown I recently partici- Amanda pated in a Clasen book study with coll e a g u e s Extension over “13 Agent for Ways To Community Vitality Kill Your Community” by author Doug Griffiths. Griffiths visits common issues that communities face when they begin to struggle and see population relocating when trouble seeps into a community. Change in a small town is often difficult. Scott Sewell, from Kansas Mainstreet, routinely shares information on his organization and its offerings to small town businesses and local main street revitalization. Part of his presentation focuses on what success looks like for downtown/main streets. Sewell lists the following as key components to a successful downtown: Open and Thriving Downtown — A thriving business district builds a positive image for your entire community. It will also attract new businesses, create new jobs and keep local dollars in your community. Even businesses outside of the “downtown” area should be concerned with how the downtown area is healthy and viable. Maintained Buildings — Looking at a main street, often look at how many of the buildings with-

in that downtown district are up kept and are functional. How many of those buildings located in the blocks of main street are condemned and not functional for any new opportunities to open within the community? Griffiths talks about how a coat of paint can change the character and looks of a vibrant downtown, enticing people to visit and become a part of the culture. Utilization of Public Space — Having space that is open for the public to utilize to host events to bring more individuals into the community is a vital part to success. An event that brings people that don’t reside in the community, will bring more revenue to town and in return those people may return at a different time to revisit a new favorite location withing the town. A Place to Live — Many older buildings in the main street areas were once used for a housing opportunity above businesses. In the past few years many towns and business owners have started to revitalize those spaces as apartments or short term rentals. How many businesses in your main street district have livable spaces to use or renovate into functional living spaces? Sewell mentions that 4-6% of population in past towns they have visited are interested in living in downtown loft apartments.

Having space that is open for the public to host events is a vital part to success for a downtown area. The Iola Municipal Band performs on the courthouse bandstand weekly throughout the summer months. FILE PHOTO

Includes Culture and History — A main street that incorporates and exhibits history of the town and past main street business will also preserve historical character of the whole community. Sewell talks about how the importance of building in a downtown, builds assets and are easily noticeable by the architectural aspects, a sense of place as well as a personal service that you can’t find anywhere else.

A “Cool” Environment — Unique features within the downtown area, make people want to visit and spend time within local businesses and want to return to enjoy those features they cannot get at another location. For more resources to help in your community, contact your local chamber, local revitalization groups or Amanda Clasen, Community Vitality Agent, at amclasen@ksu.edu or at any Southwind Extension office.

PIQUA

Open 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. M-F • Sat 7:30 a.m. - 12 Noon Combine Guards & Sections Baler Teeth Rake Teeth • Twine & Net Wrap Extensive Stock of Sprayer Fittings

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A farmer in northwest Missouri runs a combine through a field of soybeans in November 2022. CARLOS MORENO/KCUR 89.3/HARVEST PUBLIC MEDIA

USDA predicts lower 2024 crop prices By KATE GRUMKE Harvest Public Media

Both inflation and interest rates will slow in 2024, according to preliminary projections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, while some crop prices are expected to fall. The USDA puts out annual reports on economic conditions for the coming 10 years — that includes particularly important information for farmers and agriculture policy-makers. In this year’s projections, the department said inflation will increase less than it did in the past year and interest rates will fall slightly. The USDA also projects some important Midwest crops like corn, soybeans and wheat will see lower prices. Ryan Frieders is a corn and soybean farmer in northwest Illinois who keeps an eye on USDA reports to make decisions about his business. “I can look at the different datasets and try and think what the best opportunities are for me as a farmer, and also some things that I could maybe think about that

might be potential hurdles,” Frieders said. In Frieders’ view, one potential obstacle will be the labor market. The USDA projects wages will increase over the next decade while the unemployment rate will increase slightly but remain relatively low. “It looks to be a very competitive labor market coming at us for the next 10 years,” Frieders said. “So it’ll be harder and harder for farmers to find that help that they need to get the work done on the farm.” But there are also plenty of opportunities for farmers. In these new projections, Frieders sees a sign of hope: stability. The USDA is projecting decreasing, then stable interest rates and relatively stable energy costs, both of which are important for farmers, who take out regular operating loans and use a lot of fuel. That stability is especially welcome after a highly variable past few years marked by the pandemic, inflation, war abroad and supply chain disruptions. Farmers also faced specific challenges, like increasing fuel prices and

difficult access to fertilizer and seed. “It made it harder to plan for everyday operation,” said Andrew Larson, director of government relations for the Illinois Soybean Association. “We’ve been in a transition period the last couple of years where commodity prices have been higher than they normally are,” Frieders said. “I believe from the data, the USDA was predicting a more normalized price with fewer ups and downs in the commodity prices for the next few years.” Lower commodity prices aren’t likely to translate into lower prices at the grocery — at least not immediately. It can take a while for lower crop prices to trickle down into lower consumer prices, especially when there is a lot of processing involved, said Bob Maltsbarger, a senior research economist with the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri. That’s because to get a product to store shelves, you have to add in costs for things like packaging, transportation and labor.

“Retailers will generally have prices be stickier, and you will see a delay or a lag between farm prices declining and store prices decline,” Maltsbarger said. Still, Maltsbarger said if factors like weather are relatively normal this year, strong production could put pressure on commodity prices and push food inflation down. The USDA is also predicting rising yields, or more productive crops, over the next decade for corn and soybeans, which Frieders found interesting. “Overall, it looks like a good time to be in agriculture,” Frieders said.

2795 N. State St., Iola, KS 64749 (620) 365-2341 30211 S. East Outer Rd. 505 W. 12th St. Harrisonville, MO 64701 Lamar, MO 64759 (816) 884-2551 (417) 660-7000 2900 N. Osage Blvd. 809 W. Grand Ave. Nevada, MO 64772 Cameron, MO 64429 (417) 667-9180 (816) 632-7277

heartlandtractor.com

MERRY

CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! 620-496-3647 • acarf.org 305 E. Hwy 54 • LaHarpe, KS

WISHING YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US AT

700 West Miller Road, Iola

913-424-5536

Opinion A5 The Iola Register

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Medicaid expansion: If it’s Kelly’s, GOP leadership says no On Friday, Republican leaders once again rebuffed Gov. Laura Kelly’s efforts to find common ground in order to expand the state’s Medicaid health insurance program. Kelly’s new plan, her sixth, even agreed to Republicans’ long-held demand that applicants prove they are gainfully employed. Senate Majority Leader Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins were unmoved. In fact, Masterson said the work requirement would now “push able-bodied adults off of private insurance and onto a government program that was intended for the truly vulnerable.” Such a remark is disingenuous. “The truly vulnerable,” have never been on their radar, by evidence of the fact that in Kansas health insurance for low-wage workers remains out of reach; far above the rates of the 40 other states that have expanded Medicaid. Masterson and Hawkins also are playing stupid. Both know full well that a more generous state plan would not lure people from their private plans. Those who would be taking advantage of the expansion rarely could afford health insurance is the first place. The deception gets even uglier. Hawkins and Masterson are threatening expansion would turn Kansas into a “welfare state.” You know the stereotype: Perfectly able-bodied people who “choose” to live off of Uncle Sam rather than get a job. The duo, in fact, are calling Kelly’s campaign to expand Medicaid, “the welfare express tour.” Let’s set things straight. More than 75% of the state’s uninsured are employed, oftentimes in multiple jobs. A major hurdle for these employees is that they aren’t provided enough hours on the job to qualify for a company’s health insurance plan. They work as paraprofessionals in schools, at the counter at convenience stores, serve food at restaurants, etc. Many of these employ-

ees fall into the “doughnut hole.” They make too much to qualify for the state’s Medicaid program, which requires a family of three earn no more than $9,447 a year; and they earn too little to qualify for the federal government’s Marketplace plan, which requires that same family of three earn at least the federal poverty level, or about $25,000 a year. That $15,000 gap affects more than 150,000 Kansans — the target of the Medicaid expansion crusade. THE REQUIREMENT to work in order to qualify for the health insurance is ass-backwards. Poor health is the number-one reason people are unable to maintain their jobs. Give them affordable health care, and they’ll remain healthy enough to work, a fact proven by the 40 other U.S. states that have expanded eligibility for Medicaid. That’s why Kelly’s current tour of the state is called “Healthy Workers, Healthy Economy.” A work mandate also will land Kansas in a legal quagmire just as it did when Arkansas and a dozen other states unsuccessfully argued for such restrictions. We understand Kelly’s efforts to compromise with Republican leadership in order to get the measure to a vote — where it would likely pass — but going against federal law is not the way. REPUBLICANS maintain expansion is too expensive. That’s because they’re looking at only one side of the ledger. Kansas is expected to pay $73.8 million or 10 percent of the total bill annually to expand Medicaid; the federal government 90 percent, or $682.4 million. To date, Kansas has paid $7 billion — that’s with a “B” — into the program for the benefit of other states. That’s an undue expense. We deserve our share and the care the expanded program provides. — Susan Lynn

A look back in t me. 30 Years Ago December 1993

ERIE — A $4 million biking and hiking trail linking Iola and Ottawa will be built on the abandoned rail-bed of the Santa Fe if the state agrees to fund 20 percent of the project, a Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks official told Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission members here Tuesday. It will be called the “Prairie Spirit Rail Trail.” State funding is still in limbo. Gov. Joan Finney said she would not propose additional funds for the project and that the De-

partment of Wildlife and Parks would have to divert money from other projects if it is to be funded in fiscal 1994. ***** Gary Parker of Moran has been named to the United Soybean Board for a three year term by Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy. Parker is a past-chairman of the Kansas Soybean Commission. ***** Rex Taylor will become Iola’s police chief on Feb. 1. City commissioners selected Taylor to fill the vacancy to be created by Jay Thayer’s retirement on Jan. 31, 1994.

Every year I think of the wonder in my baby sister’s voice: “I got a puppy!” PHOTO BY MARGARET RENKL

What happens when the happy memories fade By MARGARET RENKL Guest essay for The New York Times

My happiest Christmas memories take the form of snapshots, or the briefest of video clips, though in most cases no actual photographic documentation exists. Even when I study on them, even when I work in earnest to call them up again in some fuller form, they remain only flashes. Such memories exist entirely as fragments, freezeframe likenesses of ephemeral joy: The held breath just before my husband pulls down the creaky attic ladder in the hallway outside our sons’ bedrooms. That midnight pause, year after year, as he listens for any stirring behind their closed doors. The Christmas tree we installed outside the front window the year our middle boy, barely toddling, wouldn’t stop eating the ornaments, and the Christmas tree we encircled with chicken wire the year our first puppy wouldn’t stop eating the ornaments. The giggling from our oldest son’s room long before first light because his brothers always climbed in bed with him as soon as they woke up. Our children dressed in bathrobes and towels in the Christmas pageant. This snapshot comes with a soundtrack: “There. You look just like a shepherd,” my husband is saying. “I look like a guy with a towel on his head,” our youngest son is saying back. The whimpering box under the tree one long-ago Christmas morning. My brother and I are speechless, but our sister, not quite three, is exultant. “I got a puppy!” she is saying. Every year I think of the wonder in my baby sister’s voice: “I got a puppy!” THERE’S AN actual photograph of that event, a picture of the three of us peering into the box that held a very small, very sad baby dog, but all the rest are just the barest fragments of memory, something that once existed

in sprawling, multisensory extravagance but is now refined to its truest essence: one brief, shimmering instant of gladness. Whatever may happen to the details of long-past joys, however thoroughly they may vanish, the joy itself always seems to linger in the end. Christmas comes on with its twinkle lights and its bustle and its beloved tale of angels and frightened shepherds and wise men following an uncommonly bright star. Christmas comes on, and I am surrounded by these moments of pure, distilled happiness that have trailed me through this season across the decades. Our children are grown now, my husband and I hurtling toward old age, and so I linger in such flares of memory, a meteor shower flickering as brightly as the homemade ornaments on our tree that sparkle with the gluedon glitter of Christmases past. I have had my share of grieving seasons. Decembers of raw loss or the unbearable certainty of a coming pain. Decembers of loneliness or fear or worry or some other kind of trouble. And I know there will be more lonesome Decembers to come. More grief. It’s what happens with time. I can bear that thought only because I also understand that no matter how impossible it may be to believe, a tiny shard of joy always pricks again. Some surprising enchantment, some sudden mirth — somehow they always shine in the ashes. CHILDREN SURRENDER to the deliciousness of anticipation without reserve, and so this season of waiting is a season for children. They are not, as Auden knew, waiting for the miraculous birth. The lucky ones — those who have no knowledge of illness or hunger or cold or bombs — are waiting for nothing so grand as the arrival of God. They are waiting to wake into a morning of wonders, the fulfillment of all child-desperate hopes. The utter deliciousness of waiting is a feeling we rarely allow ourselves as adults. For us, waiting is too often mere-

ly the terrible kind of uncertainty. The waiting for biopsy results, or whether we’ll be in the next round of layoffs, or news of family in a town hit hard by disaster. Is it because we know what children do not? The melancholy of Christmas afternoon, the whiff of sorrow lurking behind every joy as surely as joy waits at the edges of every sorrow? Among the few Christmas photos that survive from my childhood, there’s a picture of my brother and me waiting at the top of the stairs at our grandparents’ farmhouse. It’s Christmas morning, so early the window behind us is still dark, and it must be unusually cold because I am wearing my footie pajamas beneath the new red nightgown my mother made me every Christmas. There is no wild holiday abandon in this picture. Billy and I are waiting at the top of the stairs for the adults to tell us we can come down. I don’t know how long we’ve been waiting there, but it might have been for some time. In our family, waiting for the adults to get into place meant waiting for not just our parents and our grandparents but also our great-grandmother. Two of these beloved elders moved slowly even in haste, but all would have insisted on being present to watch the delight dawn as we spied our surprises under the tree. Maybe it was their way of reclaiming, if only for those few minutes, the pleasure of anticipation. We were waiting to see what surprises Santa had brought us. They were waiting to see the looks on our faces when we found them. For just that bit of time, the magic was ecumenical, bringing us all into its circle of light. Like the flash from a cube on my father’s Instamatic camera, it lasted only a moment. Even then the Kodachrome colors were already beginning to fade, leaving just that one scrap of brightness to carry through the years. About the author: Renkl is a NYT contributing writer in Nashville who covers flora, fauna, politics and culture in the American South.

A6 Tuesday, December 19, 2023

iolaregister.com

The Iola Register

UN to vote on cease-fire UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council has scheduled a vote Monday on an Arab-sponsored resolution calling for an urgent cessation of hostilities in Gaza to allow unhindered access to deliver humanitarian aid to the massive number of civilians in need. The draft resolution also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

The percentage of Americans with health insurance reached an all-time high of 92% in 2022, in part because of the coverage for Medicaid patients required during the pandemic. But millions of Americans continue to lack insurance. Earlier this year, more than a thousand people came to get free dental, medical and vision care at a mobile clinic in Grundy, Virginia, staffed by students and volunteer medical teams. (SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES)

Health: One-fifth of national economy in 2031 Continued from A1

care accounted for 17.3% of the nation’s overall economy in 2022. That was a decline from the first year of the pandemic, at 19.5%, the highest share ever recorded by the National Health Expenditures Accounts. In 2020, national health expenditures “accelerated substantially due mainly to unprecedented COVID-19 supplemental funding and public health spending,” Hartman said. “The result was that the share of the GDP devoted to health reached 19.5% in 2020.” The 2022 findings echoed the pre-pandemic picture from 2016 through 2019, when health care’s share of the economy hovered between 17.4% and 17.6%. The current trend is less dramatic than longer-term CMS forecasts, which project health care spending to grow by 5.4% a year on average through 2031 and to take up one-fifth of the nation’s economy by then. Higher spending on drugs

Spending on prescription drugs — about 9% of total health care spending — increased faster than other segments. Retail spending

on medications totaled $405.9 billion in 2022 — an 8.4% increase from 2021, after growing by 6.8% from 2020. The Biden administration has attempted to rein in prescription drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes provisions to reduce the cost of monthly insulin and negotiate lower drug prices for some drugs covered under Medicare. And last week, Biden said the administration could break the patent on drugs made using taxpayer money if their costs were too expensive. As overall spending on health care increased modestly, the cost of care — how much patients and their insurance providers, public or private, pay for the care that they receive — rose less sharply in 2022. The medical price index increased 3.2%, according to the report, while that same year overall inflation hit 7.1%, a rate not seen in four decades. Insured at all-time high

The percentage of Americans with health insurance reached an all-time high of 92% in 2022, CMS reported. That was due both to the pandemic continu-

ous coverage for Medicaid patients as well as to measures that gave more U.S. residents access to health insurance through the health insurance marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act, said Aaron Catlin, deputy director of the CMS national statistics group. Medicaid enrollment grew by 6.1 million in 2022, a result of the requirement for continuous Medicaid coverage that Congress enacted in early 2020, CMS economist Anne Martin said. That requirement ended earlier this year and Medicaid programs are in the process of “unwinding” by requiring enrollees to establish their eligibility for the program. Medicaid saw the single largest growth in spending on health care — 9.6% — totaling $805.7 billion in 2022. Spending on Medicare was up 5.9%, to $944.3 billion, in 2022, said Martin, while enrollment in Medicare was up 1.9%. Enrollment through the ACA marketplace was up by 1.7 million and employer-sponsored insurance enrollment increased by 1.5 million. The 1.5% increase in private insurance coverage in 2022

NOW HIRING MONARCH SOW FARM LOCATED IN SAVONBURG, KS

POSITIONS AVAILABLE: • Breeding/Gestation WHAT WE OFFER: Technicians • Farrowing Technicians

marked “the fastest growth and enrollment since 2015,” Martin said. Subsidies on premiums for individual insurance purchased through the ACA marketplace, first put in place under the American Rescue Plan Act and later extended in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act helped drive the stronger enrollment in the marketplace plans, Catlin said. Private health insurance and Medicare each saw spending increase 5.9%. Consumers’ outof-pocket health care spending, which includes copayments and other forms of unreimbursed medical expenses but not health insurance premiums, rose 6.6%.

The vote is scheduled for 5 p.m. in New York, but diplomats said the text is still being negotiated to try to get the United States, Israel’s closest ally, to abstain rather than veto the resolution. The U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution on Dec. 8 backed by almost all of the 15 council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

Aging: Workforce Continued from A1

employed, compared with 11% of that cohort in 1987, according to the report. A few factors are converging to push older Americans into the workforce, and keep them there longer. Traditional pension plans that often incentivized Americans to retire at a certain age are on the decline, while the sheer number of Baby Boomers naturally increases the older-age workforce. There are also more “age-friendly” jobs that don’t require as much physical exertion than there used to be, the report said. The share of older workers in the labor force slipped during the pandemic as a wave of “excess retirements” — older Americans quitting work at rates above historical trends — peaked at an

estimated 3 million in December 2022, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. However, some of those older workers have since returned to the labor force because of higher living costs and other factors, the bank’s research shows. Over the long term, older workers are far more likely to work full-time than decades ago. Nowadays, 62% of workers 65 and older are working full time, compared with 47% in the late 1980s. One area where older workers haven’t made as many strides is gig work. Only 10% of people 65 and older performed any gig work in the previous month, according to a recent Federal Reserve study cited in the Pew report. That’s compared to the 17% of younger adults who reported doing so.

Allen County Regional Hospital Welcomes Megan Morriss, MD Dr. Morriss is a board-certified general surgeon, skilled in all aspects of general surgery with specialized training in benign and malignant breast surgery, laparoscopic surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, and hernia surgery.

Megan Morriss, MD

General surgery

She understands the benefits that come with staying close to home for surgical care and recovery. Dr. Morriss provides individualized recommendations, giving comfort and support every step of the way.

• On-the-job training

• Great benefits; Health, Vision, Dental, 410k, etc. • 40 hours of PTO in first year plus 9 paid holidays! • Opportunities for growth • Rotating weekends

Visit PERDUECAREERS.COM and search “KS” in the location to

APPLY NOW

MUST BE ELIGIBLE TO WORK IN THE UNITED STATES

Learn more 620-365-1205 saintlukeskc.org/RegionalSurgery

Sports Daily The Iola Register

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Cubs fend off Neodesha By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

HUMBOLDT — David Taylor is happy, but not satisfied, with Humboldt High’s start to the 2023-24 season. The Cubs capped their pre-Christmas schedule with another win Friday, improving to 6-0 with a 61-45 victory over visiting Neodesha. But with all the good — another balanced scoring attack with few turnovers — Taylor sees room for improvement elsewhere. “I know the guys think we’re harping on them,” Taylor said. “But we’ve talked about the standard we want, for them to get to the level they’ll need to reach to go where we want them to go.” Humboldt led virtually from start to finish, but the Bluestreaks stayed within shouting distance thanks to their long-distance shooting. Neodesha hit nine 3-pointers — “It felt like more than that,” Taylor said — and were within 42-37 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Humboldt’s Sam Hull converted a 3-point play with 6:57 left, before Blake Ellis converted a steal and layup as part of another 3-point play to push Humboldt’s lead to double digits. Neodesha could get no closer than eight down the stretch. “We didn’t guard their dribble drive very well,” Taylor said, which in turn led to open looks from the perimeter. And after a couple of bad possessions, we haven’t

Iola High’s Ruger Boren, right, wrestles at a tournament Dec. 9 in Garnett. On Saturday, Boren won his weight class at a junior varsity tournament in Cherryvale. REGISTER/ RICHARD LUKEN

JV wrestlers hit Christmas break CHERRYVALE — Iola High’s junior varsity wrestlers ended 2023 on a high note Saturday. The Mustang youngsters were at a JV tournament in Cherryvale, the final cokmpetition prior to the Christmas break. There, Iolans Ruter Boren (96-113 pounds), Tripp Mathes (122-133) and Ean DeLaTorre (149-156) won their respective weight classes. Each won all three of their matches. Action cranks back up for Iola’s varsity wrestlers Jan. 6 with a tournament in Burlington. Cherryvale JV Tournament Trapper Boren (Third in 96-113 pounds) — T. Boren def. Mark Stroud, Frontenac, via fall — Carlos Giovani Jasso, Independence, def. Boren, 8-5

— Ruger Boren, Iola, def. T. Boren, via fall Ruger Boren (First in 96-113) — R. Boren def. Carlos Giovani Jasso, Independence, 5-3 — R. Boren def. Mark Stroud, Frontenac, via fall — R. Boren def. Trapper Boren, Iola, via fall Beau Erickson (fourth in 118128) — Jace Essig, Cherryvale, def. Erickson, via fall — Rian Groom, Independence, def. Erickson, via fall — Erickson def. Jakarre Green, Parsons, via forfeit Tripp Mathes (first in 122-133) — Mathes def. Isaac Hamm, Frontenac, 6-4 — Mathes def. Amare Brown, Independence, via fall — Mathes def. Blake Blevins, Parsons, via fall Ean DeLaTorre (first in 149-156) — DeLaTorre def. Bryson

Chiefs top Patriots to snap skid FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — This was a surprise look, even for the always unpredictable Patrick Mahomes. The quarterback with a highlight reel full of left-handed throws, contortionist arm angles and no-look passes got down in a three-point stance in the single wing formation on Sunday to serve as a decoy for running back Jerick McKinnon’s touchdown pass. “That was sweet,” said Mahomes, who guessed that he hadn’t lined up with his hand on the turf since running the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine before he was drafted seven years ago. “That play was awesome. That’s a hard team to score on in the red zone. One of the best.” Mahomes passed for 305 yards and threw two TD passes of his own to help the defending Super Bowl champions snap a twogame losing streak, thrilling Chiefs superfan Taylor Swift See CHIEFS | Page B4

See WRESTLERS | Page B3

Humboldt High’s Blake Ellis (3) goes in for a layup Friday against Neodesha. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Bluestreaks hand Humboldt girls first loss By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

HUMBOLDT — For much of the night Friday, Humboldt High’s girls stood tiptoe-to-toe with a much taller Neodesha squad. The Lady Cubs even led Neodesha midway through the second period. But the Bluestreaks, one of the premier teams of the Tri-Valley League, found their groove late in the half. A flurry of Humboldt turnovers turned into a 12-2 Neodesha run as the Bluestreaks went into halftime with a 22-13 lead. Humboldt challenged several times after intermission, but could never pull back in a 39-31 defeat. The setback was the first of the year for the Lady Cubs, who had won their first five games of the 2023-24 season. “I’m mad about the second quarter, but I’m not mad about the game,” Humboldt head coach Aubrey Jones said. “Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get See HUMBOLDT | Page B4

Humboldt High’s Shelby Shaughnessy, left, is defended by Neodesha’s Kimmy Combs Friday. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Running out of

GRAIN STORAGE?

Henry Yoder 660-973-1611 Your local dealer

See CUBS | Page B3

yodersconstruction85@gmail.com

Specializing In: • Steel Buildings • Grain Bins • Grain Handling Equipment

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

CLASSIFIEDS

All ads are 10-word minimum, must run consecutive days

DEADLINE: 10 a.m. day before publication.

ITEMS FOR SALE

SERVICES

PACKING PAPERS AVAILABLE at the Iola Register Office. $3 per bundle.

Storage & RV of Iola

CATERPILLAR DOZER D7G, Power Shift, Hydraulic, Good Condition! Call 620-365-9092.

iolarvparkandstorage.com

WANTED

EMPLOYMENT

620-365-2200

Loren Korte

PETS

IIOLA OLA 365-6908

HUMBOLDT HUMBOLDT 473-3831

MORAN MORAN 237-4631

PRODUCTS, INC.

NOW OPEN

802 N. Industrial Rd., Iola

(620) 365-5588

CREATIVE CLIPS

SEK Garage doors

Clean & affordable. Shots required. If you want the best, forget the rest!

residential &commercial industrial repair and installs fully insured free estimates!

BOARDING FACILITY Call Jeanne

620-363-8272

full service!

620-330-2732 620-336-3054

SERVICES

sekgaragedoors.com

Iola Mini-Storage 323 N. Jefferson Call 620-365-3178 or 365-6163

HECK’S MOVING SERVICE •furniture •appliances •shop •etc.

Ashton Heck 785-204-0369

General G e n e r a l Repair Repair and and S Supply, u p p l y , IInc. nc. MACHINE SHOP H REPAIR CUSTOM MANUFACTURING

Complete Stock of Steel, Bolts, Bearings & Related Items

(620) ( 6 2 0 ) 365-5954 365-5954 1008 N. Industrial Industrial Road Road HH Iola

BOTTOMS UP TREE SERVICE

Licensed and Insured Free estimates

LAWN SERVICE

(620) 212-5682

Garden Tilling Tree Stump Removal Junk Removal

RECYCLE

620-473-0354 EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

We are seeking a dedicated and passionate part-time director to lead Your Community Foundation. $25 PER HOUR • $300 MONTHLY MEDICAL STIPEND

This person will play a pivotal role in advancing our mission to support and enhance the well-being of our community through strategic philanthropy.

INTERESTED?

We’d love to hear from you! Email givingmakesadiﬀerence@gmail.com or visit our website at www.givingmakesadiﬀerence.com/join-us to learn more.

PAYLESS CONCRETE

BOARDING

EMPLOYMENT

JOIN US!

Regular/Boat/RV/Storage LP Gas Sales, Fenced, Supervised

Insurance/Real Estate

Willing to buy Annals of Iola and Allen County, 1868-1945, Vols. 1 and 2. Call the Iola Register, 620365- 2111 or email susan@ iolaregister.com

EMPLOYMENT

Entry Level Laborer The Monarch Cement Company is seeking to fill the position of Entry Level Laborer for the Humboldt, KS plant. Monarch is a rewarding place to work and offers an excellent benefit package including medical, dental and vision insurance, company paid life insurance, 401K with a company match, an educational assistance program, and an employee assistance program (EAP). This is a union position and starting wage begins at $27.28/hour with additional pay for working shifts. Shift work is a good probability. To be considered for the position a candidate must be 18 years of age, have a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent, successfully complete a pre-hire physical, drug screen and background check, and possess a valid state issued driver’s license. This position also requires the candidate to be capable of following oral and/or written instructions and able to accomplish duties in a safe and systematic manner. A college education and/or technical certification and WorkReady Certificate through KansasWorks is preferred. Some of the day-to-day duties will include, but are not limited to, clean-up and housekeeping of the plant and surrounding plant properties, motors, dust collectors, conveyor belts, hoppers, and piping. The candidate must be able to work from scaffolds and ladders as required to reach areas to be cleaned, work inside hot and confined spaces such as inside the rotary kilns, grinding mills and dust collectors. This position is required to operate forklifts, skid steer loaders, vacuum truck, street sweepers, man lifts, telehandler, jackhammer, chipping hammer and other equipment efficiently and safely. This type of work requires considerable walking, lifting up to 100 lbs., bending, pushing, pulling, climbing and working at elevated areas and confined spaces. Candidates interested in testing for the WorkReady Certificate through KansasWorks can register by calling 620-432-0320 or contacting Lonnie Jones at the Mitchell Career and Technical Center at 4101 S. Ross Lane, Chanute, KS. Applications can be obtained either online at monarchcement.com or by stopping by the plant office between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. or at the Corporate Office between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Completed applications can be dropped off at the Corporate Office, by email at hr.dept@monarchcement.com or by mailing the application to The Monarch Cement Company, Att. Entry Level Laborer Position, P.O. Box 1000, Humboldt, KS 66748. Previous applicants must complete a new application.

Applications are to be submitted by December 29, 2023. The Monarch Cement Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages qualified minority, female, veteran and disabled candidates to apply and be considered for open positions.

JOIN OUR TEAM! Arrowood Lane and Greystone Residential Care communities are seeking a Registered Nurse or LPN to join our Care Team. We have an open position for a

FULL-TIME COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR to join our team.

If you have experience in marketing, building relationships, communications, and grant writing, we encourage you to apply. We oﬀer a competitive salary and excellent beneﬁts, including health insurance. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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

STARS Transfer/Career Advisor Salary range: $33,280 - $39,720

Desktop Support Technician

Minimum Starting Wage: $17.85 per hour

Biology Instructor

Salary Range: $40,950 - $71,700

Adjunct Positions –

Send resume to Hope Unlimited, 406 North Buckeye, Iola, KS 66749, or hopeunlimitedkansas@gmail.com.

Phlebotomy (LaHarpe), Court Reporting, Paralegal, Physics (Online)

ANDERSON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS FULL-TIME DETENTION OFFICER OPENINGS.

For a detailed description of all open positions and instructions for submitting your application, visit our website at

Starting wage $17.60 per hour with 12-hour shifts. No experience needed. Must be 18 years or older, have a valid driver’s license, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and pass a background check, a general knowledge test and a basic physical. Come by 135 E. 5th St., Garnett, KS or call 785-448-5678 for an application. Visit our Facebook page for more information.

CLASSIFIEDS

BUILD

RESULTS

Join a progressive organization working with the elderly in this premier assisted living community. Must be flexible, self-motivated, have good leadership and assessment skills and enjoy working with the elderly. Duties include resident assessments and service direction, supervision and oversight of care staff and regulatory compliance. Sign on bonus, vacation, retirement, and insurance benefits available. Please contact Peggy Strong at (620) 363-2080 or submit a resume to: Arrowood Lane 615 Franklin, Humboldt, KS 66748.

www.neosho.edu/Careers.aspx NCCC is an EOE/AA employer.

IS A

Maclaskey Oilﬁeld Services

LOCATION

NOW HIRING CDL LICENSED DRIVERS

CLASS A WITH TANKER & HAZMAT ENDORSEMENTS PREFERRED OILFIELD EXPERIENCE A PLUS Apply at 105 N. Industrial Rd., El Dorado, KS or call 316-321-9011 for details.

Pick up and drop off your pre-packaged, pre-labeled shipments. Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. 302 S. Washington Ave., Iola • 620-365-2111

TRUTH

Newspapers put truth front and center

iolaregister.com

The Iola Register

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Yates Center High’s Devereaux Sarchet puts up a shot in a game earlier this season. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Jayhawk-Linn tops Wildcats

Humboldt High’s Colden Cook, top, goes in for a layup Friday amid a cluster of Neodesha defenders. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Cubs: Unbeaten at break Continued from B1

learned to be patient and pass it around until we get what we want.” Taylor emphasized that approach with about 5 minutes left, calling timeout and exhorting his players to be patient with the ball. “Pass it until the cows come home,” he was heard telling his players. For the better part of a minute, Humboldt did just that, keeping the ball around the perimeter until Ellis found Logan Page darting to the basket for an easy layup. Neodesha missed on its subsequent trip down the court, leading to another extended possession for Humboldt. This time Sam Hull found Colden Cook for another easy lay-in. Hull led three Humboldt players in double figures with 15 points and six assists, followed by Cook’s 13 points and six rebounds. Ellis scored 12

and Page scored eight. “Logan had a nice allaround game,” Taylor said. “He did a lot of good things offensively and defensively. And Blake Ellis really did a good job of giving us a spark.” Humboldt won’t see the friendly confines of the Humboldt Community Fieldhouse again until Feb. 2. After playing six straight home games to start the season, the Cubs are on the road for eight straight, starting Jan. 5 at St. Mary’s Colgan in Pittsburg. Taylor is eager to see how his team can improve through the break. “We’ve got a lot to work on,” he said. Talon Roebuck scored 17, while Krewe Johnson and Rylan Allen had 11 apiece. Neodesha (10-14-11-10—45) FG/3pt FT F TP Johnson 1/3 0 4 11 Ramey 0 0 2 0 Jake Flessuer 0 0 1 0 Roebuck 3/3 2 2 17 Allen 1/3 0 2 11

Songer 0 0 1 0 Sandbothe 0 3 0 3 Springer 1 1 2 3 Totals 6/9 6 13 45 Humboldt (15-18-9-19—61) Miller 0 0 2 0 Sterling 0/1 0 0 3 Ellis 3/1 3 1 12 Hull 7 1 1 15 Gomez 1 0 0 2 Works 1 0 1 2 Page 1/1 3 4 8 Hart 0/1 3 1 6 Cook 4/1 2 1 13 Totals 17/5 12 11 61

YATES CENTER — Yates Center High was clicking on all cylinders to start Friday’s home tilt with Jayhawk-Linn. “We played exactly how we wanted,” head coach Lane Hufman said. “I couldn’t be more proud of that first quarter. We were patient on the offensive end, moved quickly on the defensive side, and it helped that we knocked down some jumpers.” The Wildcats led 15-11 after the period. But an offensive lull, exacerbated by foul trouble, spelled doom in the second period. The Jayhawks outscored Yates Center 14-2 to take the lead for good in a 59-33 win. The loss keeps

EAT DRINK

& Be Merry

WE’LL TAKE CARE OF THE REST.

Broderick Peters (third in 182-199) — Joshua Foreman, Independence, def. Peters, via fall — Noah Edington, Independence, def. Peters, via fall — Peters def. Franklin Kerr, Iola, via fall Alston Nelson (third in 234-251) — Paxton LeBaron, Coffeyville, def. Nelson, via fall — Joel Schultz, Parsons, def. Nelson, via fall

JAYHAWK-LINN also prevailed, 50-17, in the girls matchup. The Jayhawks scored the game’s first 17 points and didn’t look back to pick up the Three Rivers League victory. Individual statistics were unavailable.

IOLA

PHARMACY

MEDICATION THERAPY MANAGEMENT

Consult our Pharmacists for Better Health!

WE ALSO HAVE

GIFT CERTIFICATES! Here at Iola Pharmacy, we work to ensure our patients receive the most appropriate medications for their needs. Our Medication Therapy Management program helps our team monitor patient progress and identify treatments for effectiveness.

Wrestling: JV HIebsch, Independence, 17-3 — DeLaTorre def. Justus Graff, Erie, via fall — DeLaTorre def. Clinton Stotts, Coffeyville, via fall Franklin Kerr (fourth in 182-199) — Noah Edington, Independence, def. Kerr, via fall — Joshua Foreman, Independence, def. Kerr, via fall — Broderick Peters, Iola, def. Kerr, via fall

first.” Kaiden Rutherford paced Yates Center with 12 points, followed by Devereaux Sarchet with 11. Tristan Ballin and Evan McVey added five points apiece. Yates Center’s junior varsity dropped a 6417 decision. Jeremiah Jones scored six and McVey five for the Wildcat JV.

Rent our location on the square for all your holidays and gatherings. This includes access to our dining space, catering, and full bar. For parties large or small, we have something for everyone.

The perfect gift for those with an appetite.

Continued from B1

Yates Center winless, with another game on Tuesday at home against Uniontown before Christmas break begins. “Scoring two points in a quarter is a recipe for disaster,” Huffman said. “Getting outscored by 12 dug a hole we weren’t able to get out of.” Yates Center battled valiantly after intermission, “but we were too far behind to make a real comeback,” Huffman said. “Our guys battled, and we relied on our bench a lot. Foul trouble starting in the second quarter kept a few guys from ever getting back into the rhythm we had in the

Give us a call or stop by to learn more! PROUD TO BE A PART OF YOUR COMMUNITY FOR OVER 50 YEARS IOLA PHARMACY DOWNTOWN 109 E. Madison • Iola

(620) 365-3176

(620) 228-5322 Northeast Corner of the Iola Square

@Rookiesiola

IOLA PHARMACY CLINIC 1408 E. Madison • Iola

(620) 365-6848

iolapharmacy.com

Call or find us on the Rx 2 Go app

B4 Tuesday, December 19, 2023

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

Chiefs: Take control in second half vs. Patriots WSU slips past Salukis Continued from B1

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Colby Rogers and Xavier Bell scored 20 points each and Wichita State got a blocked shot at the buzzer to edge Southern Illinois 69-68 on Saturday night. Wichita State did not score in the last 1½ minutes but Quincy Ballard and Ronnie DeGray both got a piece of a blocked layup attempt by the Salukis’ Xavier Johnson as time ran out. Johnson led the Salukis (6-4) with 23 points and nine assists. Clarence Rupert added 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Southern Illinois. The Shockers will take on a pair of instate rivals for their next two matchups, against Kansas State on Thursday and then Kansas on Dec. 30. Both matchups will be in Kansas City, Mo.

and all the Swifties in New England with a 2717 victory. With the pop star in a luxury suite watching current beau Travis Kelce — and a whole bunch of her fans at the stadium just to see her — the Kansas City tight end caught five passes for 28 yards, but also had a potential touchdown bounce off his hands. McKinnon also ran for a touchdown and Rashee Rice caught nine passes for 91 yards and one touchdown. Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a season-high 101 yards from scrimmage and leaped in the back of the end zone to bring down a high Mahomes TD pass as the Chiefs (9-5) opened a two-game lead in the AFC West over the Broncos, who lost on Saturday to Detroit. “When you’re as close as the AFC is right now, wins are hard to get. And they’re important,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, noting that New England has lost seven games by one score. “This Patriots team is so close. They’re doing a nice job with their defense. They’re salty.” Bailey Zappe, making his third straight start in place of benched firstround draft pick Mac Jones, completed 23 of

Patrick Mahomes (15) of the Kansas City Chiefs attempts a pass during the second half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 17, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. GETTY IMAGES/MADDIE MEYER/TNS 31 passes for 180 yards for the Patriots. New England (3-11) lost for the sixth time in seven games and — with Carolina’s victory — moved just one game back in the race for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Flexed out of “Monday Night Football” because of their ineptitude — an NFL first — the Patriots seemed to have third billing on the day, behind Swift and her beau’s team, which has won two of the past four NFL titles and has all of the star power New England once claimed. In what could be the penultimate home game of coach Bill Belichick’s

tenure, the six-time Super Bowl champions took a 10-7 lead before allowing 20 straight points. “It’s wild to even think about. But I’ve got a feeling that guy still has some football left in him,” Kelce said. I’ve got all the respect in the world for that guy. Every single time I go up against him, it’s the toughest job in the NFL, to go up against a Belichick defense.” Fans filed in carrying signs shouting out to Swift; others lined up along the ramps and walkways hoping she would pass by on her way to the luxury boxes.

Kelce himself walked past a Swift poster commemorating top acts that have come to Gillette Stadium. Swift, who is on a break from her Eras Tour, was shown on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, wearing a Chiefs knit cap and sweatshirt. The crowd shrieked; she stuck out her tongue playfully, waved and blew the fans a kiss. The Chiefs improved to 5-2 with Swift in attendance. The best the Patriots could offer was Belichick friend Jon Bon Jovi, who rang the lighthouse bell before the game and was greeted with tepid applause when he was shown on the scoreboard during the game. Harrison Butker missed a 39-yard field goal on Kansas City’s opening drive, snapping a string of 61 straight made kicks that was one short of his own franchise record. New England’s Chad Ryland matched him, missing from 41 yards out

on his first try. On the next play, Mahomes connected with Edwards-Helaire for 48 yards to the New England 15. Two plays later, McKinnon took a direct snap and flipped it to Rashee Rice for the 4-yard touchdown pass. Zappe completed a 16-yard touchdown to Hunter Henry, and New England capitalized on Mahomes’ first interception for a field goal that made it 10-7 lead late in the second quarter. Mahomes hit McKinnon from 8 yards to give Kansas City the lead and converted from 29 yards to make it 17-10. On the Patriots’ next play, Willie Gay intercepted Zappe and ran it back 24 yards to the New England 7. Two plays later, Mahomes lofted one to Edwards-Helaire in the back of the end zone to give the Chiefs a 24-10 lead. Kansas City led 27-10 when Mahomes’ pass bounced off Kadarius Toney’s hands and was intercepted by Jahlani Tavai. Two plays later, Kevin Harris scampered 18 yards for the touchdown. After the Chiefs were stopped, Ekow BoyeDoe downed Tommy Townsend’s punt at the 1 inch-line. “That was pretty amazing. That was close,” Reid said. The Patriots could not make any progress, turning the ball over on downs at their 7 after Zappe’s pass was incomplete on a fourthand-4. UP NEXT Chiefs: Host the Raiders on Christmas Day. Patriots: Play the Broncos in Denver on Sunday night.

ONE OF THE JOYS OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY THANK YOU And TO WISH YOU a

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Humboldt High’s Skylar Hottenstein (2), McKenna Jones (3) and Ricklyn Hillmon (21) surround Neodesha’s Prayer Roebuck Friday. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Humboldt: Lady Cubs fall to ’Streaks Continued from B1

our shots to fall late in the game. The girls fought and did everything I asked.” Humboldt was downright dominant defensively in the third quarter, utilizing a zone defense to flummox Neodesha’s post players. Humboldt wasn’t exactly an offensive dynamo after intermission, but did enough to make things interesting. The Lady Cubs limited Neodesha to a single field goal in the third quarter, pulling to within 24-19. Backto-back field goals from Ricklyn Hillmon to start the fourth had Humboldt within a point, 24-23. Neodesha rattled off five straight points before McKenna Jones drilled a trey for Humboldt, cutting the deficit to 28-26. Kenisyn Hottenstein’s layup with 2:50 left made it

31-29. But a missed field goal and two straight turnovers allowed the Bluestreaks to stretch the lead back out to 3629. Humboldt got no closer than five down the stretch. Jones led Humboldt with 12 points, while Hottenstein scored nine. Prayer Roebuck scored 16 to lead Neodesha. “We knew this was going to be a big test to see what kind of team we have,” Jones said. “I’m excited to see what we’ll do in the second half.” In a bit of a scheduling quirk, all six of Humboldt’s games so far have been at home. However, the Lady Cubs will not return to the Humboldt Community Fieldhouse until Feb. 2 against Caney Valley. They are at Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan on Jan. 5.

Neodesha (6-16-2-12—39) FG/3pt FT F TP Gooch 0 0 1 0 Dyke 0 2 3 2 Roebuck 7 2 2 16 Combs 2/1 2 3 9 Pond 0 1 0 1 Thompson 1 0 0 2 Newland 2 0 0 4 Morrison 0 1 2 1 Totals 14/1 8 11 39

Humboldt (9-4-6-12—31) S. Hottenstein 0 0 3 0 Jones 2/1 5 1 12 Wrestler 0 0 1 0 K. Hottenstein 4 1 5 9 Shaughnessy 2 0 2 4 Hillmon 2 0 0 4 Hull 2 0 1 4 Totals 12/1 6 13 31

102 N. Washington • Iola • (620) 365-5211

Believe...

In the magic of the season!

Many blessings to you and yours. ST. CLAIR- HAYS, INC. - PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS Janet S. St. Clair-Hays | 101 W. 1st St. Gas, KS | (620) 365-2421

iolaregister.com

The Iola Register

EMPLOYMENT

MISC.

NOW HIRING:

GOT AN UNWANTED CAR??? DONATE IT TO PATRIOTIC HEARTS. Fast free pick up. All 50 States. Patriotic Hearts’ programs help veterans find work or start their own business. Call 24/7: 855-612-3543.

Projects Technician Job requirements include a variety of tasks to be completed in new movie theatres, as well as movie theatres undergoing renovations. The scope of the position includes: · Installation of audio, projection, concession, and auditoriumrelated materials. · Ability to work from heights on ladders, scaffold, or scissor lifts. · Work with hand tools and power tools. · Some heaving lifting is required.

Experience in construction/ assembly is preferred but will train the right person. Applications available at our office or email resume to info@sonicequipment.com.

(620) 365-7501 900 W. Miller Rd., Iola

MISC. Place your 25-word classified in the Kansas Press Association and 135 more newspapers for only $300/ week. Find employees, sell your home or your car. Call the Kansas Press Association @ 785-271-5304 today! VIAGRA and CIALIS USERS! 50 Pills SPECIAL $99.00 FREE Shipping! 100% guaranteed. CALL NOW! 844-887-7963 PROFESSIONAL LAWN SERVICE: Fertilization, weed control, seeding, aeration and mosquito control. Call now for a free quote. Ask about our first application special! 855-288-8649. TOP CA$H PAID FOR OLD GUITARS! 1920-1980 Gibson, Martin, Fender, Gretsch, Epiphone, Guild, Mosrite, Rickenbacker, Prairie State, D’Angelico, Stromberg. And Gibson Mandolins / Banjos. 855-454-6658 PAYING TOP CA$H FOR MEN’S SPORT WATCHES! Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Patek Philippe, Heuer, Daytona, GMT, Submariner and Speedmaster. Call 844-5750691

BATH & SHOWER UPDATES in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 855-219-8849 STOP OVERPAYING FOR HEALTH INSURANCE! A recent study shows that a majority of people struggle to pay for health coverage. Let us show you how much you can save. Call Now for a no-obligation quote: 1-888519-3376 INJURED IN AN ACCIDENT? Don’t Accept the insurance company’s first offer. Many injured parties are entitled to cash settlements in the $10,000’s. Get a free evaluation to see what your case is really worth. 100% Free Evaluation. Call Now: 1-888920-1883 AGING ROOF? NEW HOMEOWNER? STORM DAMAGE? You need a local expert provider that proudly stands behind their work. Fast, free estimate. Financing available. Call 1-877-589-0093 WATER DAMAGE CLEANUP & RESTORATION: A small amount of water can lead to major damage and mold growth in your home. Our trusted professionals do complete repairs to protect your family and your home’s value! Call 24/7: 1-877-5866688. Have zip code of service location ready when you call! NEED NEW WINDOWS? Drafty rooms? Chipped or damaged frames? Need outside noise reduction? New, energy efficient windows may be the answer! Call for a consultation & FREE quote today. 1-866-766-5558

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Purdue back at 1 By AARON BEARD The Associated Press

Purdue’s slide from No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll turned out to be brief. The Boilermakers headlined Monday’s latest poll for the second time this season after beating former No. 1 Arizona over the weekend. The Wildcats had spent two weeks at No. 1 after

Public notice (Published in The Iola Register Dec. 12, 2023) IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS PROBATE DIVISION In the Matter of the Estate of DONALD KAY ENSMINGER, Deceased AL-2023-PR-300006 NOTICE OF HEARING

Purdue’s loss to Northwestern ended the Boilermakers’ stint at the top after one week. Purdue received 48 of 62 first-place votes in the latest poll to jump from third with the Arizona win, which marked the program’s first win against a No. 1 team in 23 years. It also marked the latest impressive nonconference win to a resume that already includes ranked teams in Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette. Preseason No. 1 Kansas stayed at No. 2 with six first-place votes, while Houston moved up one spot to No. 3 and had the other eight votes. Arizona fell to fourth. THE TOP TIER UConn, Marquette, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky and Baylor rounded out the top 10. Of that group, the Sooners are making their first appearance inside the top 10 since February 2021. And the Wildcats cracked the top 10 for the first time this season after beating North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic.

THE STATE OF KANSAS TO ALL PERSONS CONCERNED: You are hereby notified that a Petition has been filed on December 4, 2023 in this Court by Alan Ensminger, as Petitioner for the Estate of Donald Kay Ensminger, ZITS Deceased, praying for the Appointment of Administrator of personal property and real property in Kansas, real and personal, or interest therein, owned by the decedent at the time of his death. You are hereby required to file your written defenses to such Petition on or before the 5th day of January 2024 at 8:30 a.m. of said day in said Court, in the city of Iola, in Allen County, Kansas, at which time and place said cause will be heard. Should you fail therein, judgment and decree will be en- BEETLE BAILEY tered in due course upon such Petition. All creditors of the decedent notified to exhibit their demands against the estate within four (4) months from the date of the first publication of this notice as provided by law, and if their demands are not thus exhibited, they shall be forever barred. /s/ ALAN ENSMINGER, Petitioner ROBERT E. JOHNSON II #18223 HAGAR THE HORRIBLE JOHNSON SCHOWENGERDT, PA P.O. Box 866 Iola, Kansas 66749 (620) 365-3778/(620) 380-6230 Fax Attorney for Petitioner

by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

by Mort Walker

by Chris Browne

(12) 12, 19, 27

CRYPTOQUOTES

RTV G GV E J G FYV GV H G S Q NY J BY

BLONDIE

by Young and Drake

MUTTS

by Patrick McDonell

MARVIN

by Tom Armstrong

HI AND LOIS

by Chance Browne

V Q D H DV G FYV NY STV N S KT E J Q H BSQGXJKHBO SC TSLV. — Y H I JT F S Q N K J DY F I H R JV Saturday’s Cryptoquote: Family is not an important thing. It’s everything. — Michael J. Fox

B6 Tuesday, December 19, 2023

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

Jayhawks rally past Indiana

Above, Crest High School cross country coach Kaitlyn Cummings puts gloves on her daughter Delilah, 3, after Saturday’s Jingle Bell Jog at Iola’s Riverside Park. Delilah and younger brother Clyde, 1½, enjoyed the ride. Mom is training for a half-marathon. At left, from left, Kaden Coltrane, Cole Moyer and Adam Klubeck pose after completing the race. REGISTER/TIM STAUFFER

Jingle Bell Jog brings Joy to Iola By TIM STAUFFER The Iola Register

Fourteen brave souls braved a cold and dreary Saturday morning for a 5K Jingle Bell Jog to benefit the Iola High

shy of $400, which will be used to buy clothing and meals for next season’s runners. IHS cross country coach Brit Daugharthy organized the race, which Iola junior Cole Moyer

School cross country team. Runners began at the football stadium in Riverside Park, went up the Southwind Rail Trail, and headed back again. The event raised just

won with a time of 21 minutes, 18 seconds. But with temperatures hovering in the low 40s and the money going to a good cause, every participant left a winner.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 21 points, including four crucial free throws in the final minute, and Hunter Dickinson had 17 points and 14 rebounds as No. 2 Kansas rallied in the second half for a 75-71 win at Indiana on Saturday. The Jayhawks, who picked up their first victory at Assembly Hall, trailed by as many as 13 and did not take their first lead of the game until Dickinson scored in the post to make it 62-61 with 4:53 remaining. “It’s a long game,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “It was a hell of a win. A great atmosphere. The last time I came here I met John Mellencamp. That’s probably my fondest memory of this place up until today. This place reminds me of KU: history, tradition. Two true bluebloods out there.” Trey Galloway scored a career-high 28 points for Indiana, Mackenzie Mgbako had 14, Malik Reneau finished with 13, and Kel’el Ware added 11 points and 15 rebounds. After a spinning bank shot from Dajuan Harris Jr. put Kansas in front 71-66 with 1:11 left, the Hoosiers gave themselves a chance thanks to Galloway’s 3-point make on the ensuing possession. After a defensive stop, Galloway missed an off-bal-

ance 3 from the right wing that would have given Indiana the lead with 23 seconds left. “I thought it was good,” Galloway said. “Next opportunity I get I am going to make sure I make it. It hurts and stings but a lot of good things to take away. I’m proud of my team.” McCullar, who went 13 of 16 from the line, knocked down two free throws following a foul to make it 73-69. After Ware’s putback with 9.4 seconds left got Indiana within two again, McCullar returned to the line and made two more to seal the win in Kansas’ first true road game of the season. “They gave us a great shot,” said Dickinson, who said he embraced the boos he used to hear in Assembly Hall as a visiting player for Michigan and heard again Saturday as a member of his new team. “I could probably save a baby out here and they’d still boo me the next day.” Indiana played without starting point guard and third-leading scorer Xavier Johnson for the fourth straight game due to what the team describes as a lower-body injury. KJ Adams Jr. had 14 points for Kansas, which shot 43% from the field to the Hoosiers’ 42%. Harris contributed 12 points and five assists.

Second-half drought sinks Kansas State against Huskers MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Rienk Mast and Juwan Gary finished with double-doubles to power Nebraska to a 6246 victory over Kansas State on Sunday. Mast sank 8 of 15 shots with three 3-pointers, scoring 19 with 12 rebounds for the Cornhuskers (9-2), who snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Wildcats (8-3) dating to when both were members of the Big 12 Conference. It was Mast’s fourth double-double

assists. Perry hit three 3-pointers and scored nine, Carter added eight points and Kansas State took a 34-31 lead into halftime. The Wildcats led despite shooting just 34.3% overall and 22% from 3-point range (4 of 18). Mast hit all three of his shots from distance and scored 11 to keep Nebraska close. The Cornhuskers shot 35% overall but made 7 of 18 from distance (39%). Nebraska opened the second half with an 11-4

of the season. Gary totaled 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for his second double-double of the campaign. Brice Williams contributed 10 points and nine rebounds for Nebraska. Keisei Tominaga hit three 3-pointers, scoring nine with five steals and four assists. Cam Carter had 12 points to lead Kansas State, which saw a fivegame win streak end. Tylor Perry pitched in with 11 points and six

run, capped by Gary’s layup, for a 39-38 lead. The Cornhuskers’ advantage grew to 52-41 on back-to-back baskets by Mast with 9:13 remaining in the game. K-State

didn’t top double figures in the second half until Perry made two free throws with 2:07 left. The Wildcats were outscored 31-12 after the break.

K-State saw a 15-game win streak against nonconference opponents at home come to an end. The Wildcats are 22-2 at home under second-year coach Jerome Tang.

Merry Christmas from our families to yours!

ROBERT N. SMITH

Optometrist

NAUGHTY OR NICE, WE WISH YOU A SEASON OF SPICE

(620) 365-0402 1

E R2

R Y C 3

H R I S 4

5 M E R R Y 6 C H R I S T 7 8 T M A S

109-1/2 W. Madison, Iola 620-365-3212

624 Bridge, Humboldt 620-473-2772

We end the year deeply grateful for our customers, our friends, and our family. We hope your holiday is plumb happy and your New Year, too!