The Iola Register, Feb. 23, 2022

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

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Recycling efforts move forward

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

Recycling efforts in Allen County are continuing, thanks to a dedicated group of advocates.

A new recycle center will open to the north of Pete’s convenience store on East State Street. Thompson Poultry formerly occupied the site up into the late 1970s.

The plan is to have it open by the next recycling day on Saturday, March 5, organiz- Steve Strickler er Steve Strickler told Allen County commissioners at used to it. Those who don’t want to get out of their cars Tuesday’s meeting.

Recycling days are expect- can just pop the trunk,” he ed to continue the first Satur- said.

“Plus, they got used to takday of each month, from 8 to ing stuff to the recycling cen11 a.m.

“People have started to get See RECYCLE | Page A3

Banking on it A vehicle drove onto a snowbank on South Washington Avenue near West Street Tuesday morning. Driver John Fewins of Iola drove around a parked vehicle and didn’t realize the snowbank was so close until it was too late, Iola Police reported. The snow was left from last week’s storm that dropped about 4 inches on Iola. A new round of flurries fell throughout the morning Tuesday, but did not accumulate. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Iola girls get a big win

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67 22 45 degrees lower

Wednesday

Thursday

48

36 14 degrees higher

Friday

Roller-coaster temperatures

64

Kansas Senate looks to shield firearm industry

70

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19 12 degrees higher

Saturday

Temperatures have fluctuated from a high of 70 to 19 over the past week.

16 degrees higher

Sunday

6 degrees higher

Monday

51 degrees lower

Tuesday

REGISTER ILLUSTRATION/RICHARD LUKEN

Justice system’s fines, fees criticized PAGE A3

Biden announces sanctions on Russia PAGE A4

County plans Lawmakers don’t want to stop electing sheriffs to distribute PILOT funds

By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

The Marmaton Valley school district will get a little more wind farm money this year, and other school districts will see a financial windfall as well.

But there are no guarantees the county will continue to provide that money in the future. Commissioners made a point of saying they’re under no obligation to give wind farm money to the school districts.

“There’s some misunderSee PILOT | Page A3

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Many Kansas legislators want to make sure that counties don’t change the longstanding tradition of electing sheriffs by enshrining the policy in the state constitution.

The Republican-controlled state House gave first-round approval Tuesday to a proposal to add language to the Kansas Constitution’s short article on county government to ensure that sheriffs are elected to four-year terms. The article now says only that the Legislature will create county offices “as may be necessary.”

Counties have been electing sheriffs since 1857, four

Rep. Eric Smith, a Burlington Republican and deputy sheriff for Coffee County, asked lawmakers to consider the implications of a board-controlled law enforcement leader. (TIM CARPENTER/ KANSAS REFLECTOR)

years before Kansas was admitted to the Union, and all but one of the state’s 105 counties still do. However, a commission created by state law for Johnson County, Kansas’ most populous county,

reviewed a proposal to make the sheriff there appointed before deciding last month against any major changes to county government.

“The idea is that you have an individual who answers

to the people directly,” said Rep. Eric Smith, a Burlington Republican and Coffey County undersheriff. “This is really important when you’re talking about a sheriff, who carries quite a bit of power in these counties.”

Legislators currently can change how sheriffs and other county officials are selected by passing a law by simple majorities in the House and Senate, if the governor also approves. Changing the state constitution would require the approval of two-thirds majorities in both chambers and a simple majority of voters in a statewide election.

House members expected to take a final vote Wednesday on the sheriffs proposal, which appears to have biparSee SHERIFFS | Page A4

Vol. 124, No. 101 Iola, KS $1.00

101 S. FIRST ST., IOLA | (620) 228-5570

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Wednesday, February 23, 2022

The Iola Register

Men convicted of hate crimes BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The three men responsible for Ahmaud Arbery’s murder were found guilty Tuesday morning of federal hate crimes, closing another chapter in his family’s two-year struggle for justice.

The verdict was reached just before 10 a.m. after less than four hours of deliberations by a jury of eight white people, three Black people and one Hispanic person. It came a day before the two-year anniversary of Arbery’s slaying.

The convictions are viewed as a victory for the U.S. Justice Department, which has made prosecuting hate crimes a priority.

Unlike last year’s murder trial, federal prosecutors centered their case on race. Numerous witnesses testified about the three white defendants’ vile comments and bigoted attitudes toward Black people. The prosecution successfully argued that Travis McMichael, 36, his father Greg McMichael, 66, and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, targeted Arbery because he was Black.

Several jurors were visibly emotional as the clerk read the guilty verdicts on all five counts of the federal indictment. The foreperson, a Black social worker, wiped tears from his eyes.

Outside the courthouse was a scene of jubilation as Arbery’s parents addressed news cameras. Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, called it “Super Tuesday.”

“I want to say thank you to everybody who stood by us during this fight for justice for Ahmaud,” she said. “It’s been a very long, stressful fight.”

Cooper-Jones praised the Justice Department for bringing the federal hate crimes charges but criticized prosecutors for striking a plea deal with the McMichaels before the trial.

During an emotional pretrial hearing on Jan. 31, U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood, after hearing protests from Arbery’s family, declined to accept a binding plea agreement that would have required her to impose 30-year prison sentences against the father and son. Wood gave the McMichaels two days to decide whether they wanted to enter their guilty pleas to a hate crime but allow her to decide their punishment. They declined.

“What the (Justice

Today

Lawmakers look to protect gun-makers

By NOAH TABORDA Kansas Reflector

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)

Travis McMichael, left, speaks with his attorney during his sentencing, along with his father Greg McMichael and neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan on Jan. 7, 2022, in Brunswick, Georgia. (STEPHEN B. MORTON/POOL/GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

Department) did to- being chased for five day, it was made to do minutes by the McMitoday,” Cooper-Jones chaels and Bryan. All said. “It wasn’t because three defendants were of what they wanted to convicted of murder do. They were made to at last year’s state trial do their job today.” and sentenced in JanThe defendants face uary to life in prison. possible life sentences Only Bryan was given for the hate crimes con- the possibility of pavictions. Wood has yet role. to schedule a sentencThe McMichaels ing date. contend they chased At a press conference after Arbery because in Washingthey suston, U.S. Atpected him torney Genof stealing [The verdicts] from a neareral Merrick Garland said are another step by home “hate crimes toward justice in a under conhave a sincase that shocked s t r u c t i o n . gular imBryan, who pact because many across our lived down of the terror state and nation, the street, and fear that my family includ- joined the they inflict chase after ed. on entire seeing Ar— Georgia communibery run Gov. Brian Kemp ties. ... No past his one should house with fear that if the Mcthey go out for a run Michaels in pursuit. they will be targeted He filmed the widely and killed because of shared cellphone video the color of their skin.” of Travis McMichael Arbery should still fatally shooting Arbery be alive today and his at close range with his family should be pre- Remington shotgun. paring to celebrate The defendants were his 28th birthday this convicted of interferspring, not mourning ing with Arbery’s right the second anniversary to use a public street of his killing, the attor- because of his race ney general said. as well as attempted “The defendants’ ac- kidnapping. The Mctions and the racism Michaels were also that fueled them have of found guilty of usinflicted enduring trau- ing weapons during a ma on Mr. Arbery’s crime of violence. family, his friends, his Though the punishcommunity and com- ment in the federal munities across the case cannot be much country,” Garland said. more severe than the When asked about sentences given the Cooper-Jones’ criti- three defendants in the cism of the Justice state case, “symbolicalDepartment’s recom- ly, this verdict is very, mended plea deal, Gar- very important,” said land became emotion- attorney BJay Pak, the al, at times catching his former U.S. attorney in breath.

Atlanta.

“I cannot imagine the “Hate crimes statpain that a mother feels utes carry a message to have her son run that we will not tolerate down and then gunned this kind of behavior,” down while taking a Pak said. “Hate crimes jog on a public street,” convictions are not all he said. “My heart goes that common because out to her and to the it’s not often you have family. That’s really all strong evidence of a deI can say about this.” fendant’s racist intent.

In a statement, Gov. In this case, however, Brian Kemp called the prosecution had the verdicts “another powerful evidence of necessary step toward the defendants’ views justice in a case that of Black people.” shocked many across our state and nation, my family included.”

Arbery, 25, was killed in the Satilla Shores subdivision just outside Brunswick after

Wednesday

Thursday

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TOPEKA — Legislation under consideration by the Kansas Senate would make firearms the first industry protected from discrimination under state law.

Senate Bill 482 prohibits state and local government entities from contracting with companies that refuse to trade, engage or have terminated an existing relationship with firearm companies. Firearm industry advocates argued instances of this type of discrimination have risen substantially in the past decade.

Supporters of the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination Act called these business decisions a direct attack on the Second Amendment.

However, Tom Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas, said in a hearing Monday these business decisions pale in comparison to some of the other forms of discrimination around the state. He pointed to several women’s health clinics in Wichita having difficulties finding service from plumbers,

for government entities who need to contract with the sole provider of the good or service.

Jason Watkins, with the Kansas State Rifle Association, pointed to Yeti, a cup and cooler company, who a few years back ceased partnering with the firearm industry.

“What we’ve seen recently is corporations taking action to discriminate against those that make firearms, those that make ammunition and even those associations that represent the people that want to use firearms to protect their families or for sport shooting or for hunting,” Watkins said.

Lawmakers in Texas, Wyoming and Georgia have approved similar legislation.

Proponents of the bill also said PayPal has taken a stance against the firearm industry.

They did not provide examples of any specific companies the Kansas government is contracting with that violate this proposed law.

The Attorney General’s office said the enactment of this bill would result in legal challenges.

contractors and suppliers.

“There’s about 150,000 LGBT Kansans. There are 1,310 licensed gun dealers in the state of Kansas,” Witt said. “If you are going to protect 1,310 licensed gun dealers in the state of Kansas, let’s amend this bill. Let’s include sexual orientation and gender identity and we will become active supporters.”

UNDER THE BILL,

in the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, all government agencies at the state and local level would be subject to antidiscrimination provisions, with few exceptions. For example, a company would not be discriminating against a firearm entity if it has an established company policy of not engaging in the business of firearms.

If the company must engage in discriminatory acts to comply with federal, state or local laws or if the company has a “traditional business rationale,” it may refuse to engage in trade with a firearm entity.

The final exception is

Canadian convoy leader detained

By BRIAN PLATT Bloomberg News

A key organizer of the trucker protest that besieged Canada’s capital city was denied bail Tuesday as police kept a strict checkpoint system in place to prevent demonstrators from retaking the downtown streets.

Tamara Lich, who was the public face of the convoy and helped it crowdfund millions in donations, was rebuffed by an Ontario Superior Court judge who concluded she was evasive during her testimony and was likely to re-offend if released, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and other news outlets.

She was arrested last Thursday and remains in detention on a charge of counseling to commit mischief.

Though Ottawa has now been cleared of the semis and other trucks that blockaded the city for three weeks in protest against COVID-related public health measures, dozens of the vehicles used in the protest are still in the area, parked at private farms outside the city.

One demonstrator told

life in Ottawa for weeks but shocked the Canadian economy and supply chains by bringing important U.S. border crossings to a standstill.

“We know that there are still a number of individuals who are affiliated with the illegal blockades who were in the area just this morning,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters on Monday. “We have to remain vigilant — and not only in Ottawa, but at our ports of entry.”

the Globe and Mail he and others left the city to “regroup,” not to give up.

The emergency powers invoked last week

by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are still in place, having been approved by a majority of elected lawmakers in a vote Monday night.

Trudeau and his cabinet ministers have said they still need the emergency powers in case the truckers attempt any more blockades, which not only disrupted daily

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The Iola Register

Recycle: Location Continued from A1

ter at Peerless anytime they wanted to.”

Those options will start again, once the new recycling center opens.

Previously, Iola Rotary Club set up recycling bins at Peerless, but that effort ended in early December. Since then, volunteers have picked up recycling once a month near the 911 Center.

The new location can be accessed on the west side of Pete’s at 1700 East St. Because the building has been vacant for decades it needs a lot of work, Strickler told commissioners. Crews so far have installed enough electricity and lights for basic operation, including running a baling machine.

The roof badly needs replaced, but the group can’t afford the estimated $40,000 it would take.

Instead, Strickler plans to make repairs.

He purchased a horizontal baling machine from a company in Chanute. It will allow the group to recycle just about any material.

But for now, they’re going to continue to ship plastics and all material except cardboard to the Coffey County Recycling Center at Burlington.

They’ll contract a broker to pick up and sell the cardboard for them.

The group also is filling out paperwork to become a 501c3 non-profit organization.

For now, the group isn’t asking the county for more than already provided, including the use of two trailers used to collect recycling material. Those trailers need to be moved from Peerless and the 911 Center to the new re-

We do benefit from things staying out of the landfill and helping the environment. I appreciate your interest and I’m OK with continuing participation. And we’ll see how it goes.

— Commissioner Bruce Symes

cycling center with the help of county staff, he told commissioners.

Eventually he may ask the county for more support.

Commissioner David Lee said some citizens shared concerns about using taxpayer money to fund a private, personal organization. The effort has been driven

by Strickler and others since the Rotary Club pulled away from the recycling program.

But with the filing of non-profit status, that will change.

Strickler assured commissioners that any profit made from selling recycling material will go back into the center, and a lot of money is needed to improve the facility. He plans to continue to use volunteer labor rather than paid staff.

Commissioner Bruce Symes said he was in favor of the county continuing its limited support.

“We do benefit from things staying out of the landfill and helping the environment,” Symes said. “I appreciate your interest and I’m OK with continuing participation. And we’ll see how it goes.”

PILOT: Planned Continued from A1

standing out there. This is not money owed to anybody,” Commissioner David Lee said. “The needs of the county going forward may dictate this gift stay in-house instead of going out.”

THIS IS the second year the county is dispersing a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) paid by the Prairie Queen Wind Farm. The county agreed to abate property taxes for the wind farm for 10 years and instead accept an annual payment of $250,000.

Last year, commissioners gave equal payments of $50,000 each to the Marmaton Valley, Iola and Humboldt districts, the Rural Regional Technical Center at LaHarpe, and kept a portion for the county.

Since then, some Moran residents said they believed Marmaton Valley should get a bigger share because the wind turbines are located in that school district.

Lee said he didn’t think the RRTC should get as much, since other districts contribute to the educational center.

Chairman Jerry Daniels estimated how much the Marmaton Valley district would get if the wind farm were subjected to property taxes: about $60,000. He also asked Lee to come

up with a fair funding amount for the RRTC. Lee calculated a per-student rate for all Allen County students who use the tech center, and came up with $23,100. Commissioners rounded it up to $25,000.

That makes the PILOT breakdown as follows: $60,000 to Marmaton Valley. $50,000 each to the Iola and Humboldt school districts. $25,000 to the RRTC. $65,000 to the county.

DANIELS noted the school district was given an opportunity to negotiate any type of payment with the wind farm company before the project was completed.

Initially, discussion about giving the money to the school districts was based on a desire to help all of the county, he and Commissioner Bruce Symes noted.

The original goal was to help schools improve security, but the money wasn’t given with any sort of stipulations for its use.

They pointed out that Humboldt residents aren’t directly affected, but its students still benefited from the disbursement.

“What's good for all of Allen County is part of my thought process on everything,” Symes said.

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

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Critics say the Kansas criminal justice system’s fees and fines trap people in a cycle of poverty

By BLAISE MESA Kansas News Service

TOPEKA, Kansas — After Tyler Williams spent much of his teenage years locked up in the juvenile jail system, he found himself at 19 owing more than $1,000 to the state of Kansas — including an $840 fee for hauling him from Oklahoma to face charges in Junction City.

Working a minimum wage job, it took Williams two years of his young adulthood to wipe out all the fees and fines from his crimes as a kid.

“It was a sigh of relief,” he said. “Having that burden gone definitely helped me get into a better mindset and take control of my life.”

Fines and fees are commonly used to punish offenders and fund the court system, but critics argue they mostly make it harder for people to get their lives on track.

That’s fueled a push to make the courts less reliant on ringing up revenue from people convicted of crimes. Advocates for tossing aside many of those fees and fines say lawmakers should consider dumping them if they want people to escape from cycles of poverty and crime that tend to land people back in jail.

So far, one committee in the Kansas House has discussed ditching the charges in the juvenile system. But there’s no legislation pending yet that would put that change into law.

A survey by the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice found that 38% of the almost 1,000 people it talked to turned to crime to be able to pay off their court debts. Others surveyed gave up essentials like groceries to make payments or took out loans.

Unpaid costs in Kansas could also cause someone to lose their driver’s license, which makes it harder for them to get to work.

“There’s a lot of unintended consequences with it,” Williams said.

“You’re just throwing them into society expecting them to fly when everything says that they’re going to sink.”

Ed Klumpp, who represents multiple law enforcement advocacy groups in Kansas, said fines are one

tem,” Weiss said. “The justice system is meant to serve everyone, and so it needs to be funded by everyone.”

Klumpp said fees should never be used to punish someone for a crime, but said it isn’t unreasonable for someone who created the court cost to have to pay for it themselves, as long as they aren’t unrealistic. Some fees can, and regularly are, waived when someone is unable to pay.

Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert has proposed shifting away from fees. Luckert urged lawmakers earlier this year to pass legislation that would send fees to the state’s general fund rather than direct them just to the court system.

In turn, the Legislature would direct a steadier stream of funding to the judicial system.

The bill would not reduce any fines or fees associated with the criminal justice system.

Luckert said the state’s much larger budget is better equipped to handle shortfalls from fee collection. The courts currently rely on fines and fees to fund 20% of their operations.

Rep. Troy Waymaster, who chairs the House appropriations committee, said the current funding model is limiting how the courts can function.

“The executive branch and the legislative branch, we are funded through the state general fund,” Waymaster said. “The judicial branch is a third form of government. … Perhaps they should be funded through the state general fund as well.”

There was $27.9 billion worth of uncollected fines and fees nationwide. KANSAS NEWS SERVICE/ NOMIN UJIYEDIIN

of the most reasonable tools in dissuading someone from committing a crime. Some crimes, like speeding, aren’t serious enough to warrant jail time but do need some type of negative consequence.

Without penalties, Klumpp said, people are less likely to follow the law. But he said that fines hit people differently based on their incomes. Courts can adjust monetary penalties so they aren’t too onerous to low-income people.

Williams, a community leader with youth justice advocacy group Progeny, said fines wouldn’t have deterred him from the crime that got him locked up in his early teens. But finding himself with $1,000-plus debt at 19 made it harder to get his life in order after his release.

Proponents of the changes said helping someone avoid crime, especially children, requires investment in education, family life and neighborhoods.

And they say there’s little evidence that fees and fines deter crime.

While they sound similar, fines and fees are two different things.

Fines are used to punish someone for a crime, like paying for a speeding ticket. Fees help cover the cost of expenses

in the court system, like a fee to file court documents.

In Kansas, fees for court-appointed attorneys and getting past convictions expunged off someone’s case can cost hundreds of dollars.

Fees are also an unpredictable revenue source. The COVID-19 pandemic closed down courts and kept more people at home. That led to a $7.3 million budget shortfall and a hiring freeze for Kansas courts last year.

The courts usually receive $28 million in fees to fund core operations, but that total has been lower the past two years because of the pandemic. Some courthouses might have closed if not for the additional money approved by the state Legislature.

In a 2021 report, the Fines and Fees Justice Center found $27.9 billion worth of uncollected fines and fees nationwide. Joanna Weiss, co-director at the Fines and Fees Justice Center, says that number severely undercounts the real total because most states either reported partial data or had no data on uncollected fines and fees.

Kansas did not provide data for the study. “(Fees) have no place in the criminal legal sys-

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Wednesday, February 23, 2022

The Iola Register

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Biden announces sanctions against Russia Russia evacuating

embassy in Ukraine as crisis escalates

By ELI STOKOLS and TRACY WILKINSON Los Angeles Times/TNS

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the United States will levy its first tranche of economic sanctions against Moscow, responding in concert with European allies to what he described as “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine” while holding stronger measures in reserve.

“I’m going to begin to impose sanctions in response far beyond the steps we and our allies and partners implemented in 2014,” Biden said, a reference to the response that followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine eight years ago.

“If Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand to go further with sanctions” against Moscow, he added.

U.S. sanctions will hit “large Russian financial institutions” in a way that will “cut off Russia’s government from Western financing,” Biden said from the White House, adding that similar measures would soon also target “Russian elites” and their family members, including the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, the main domestic security agency that succeeded the Soviet-era KGB. Shortly after Biden’s announcement, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said he had called off his planned meeting this week in Geneva with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

“Now that we see the invasion is beginning and Russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy, it does not make sense to go forward with that meeting at this time,” Blinken said.

Speaking to reporters in Washington with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at his side, Blinken said that he was not yet giving up completely on diplomacy but that Putin was fulfilling the worst of U.S. predictions of how he would attempt to attack and “subordinate” Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden provides an update on Russia and Ukraine in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (YURI GRIPAS/ABACA PRESS/TNS)

“The United States and I personally remain committed to diplomacy if Russia is prepared to take demonstrable steps to provide the international community with any degree of confidence that it’s serious about de-escalating,” Blinken said. “But we will not allow Russia to claim the pretense of diplomacy at the same time it accelerates its march down the path to conflict and war.”

On Monday, Putin recognized two enclaves in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent breakaway republics and ordered Russian troops into the areas already held by pro-Moscow separatists.

He based the actions on his own assertion, forged in the aftermath of the Cold War and rearticulated Monday during a brazen speech in Moscow, that Ukraine, which declared its independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, had never had “real statehood.”

The coordinated rollout of sanctions from the U.S. and other democracies, calibrated as a proportional response to Russian incursions into Ukraine, reflects an effort by Western allies to stay unified as they shift from trying to deter a conflict to containing one.

For several U.S. administrations, sanctions have become a favored tool to try to change the behavior of world leaders, but their effectiveness is murky at best.

Sanctions, which usually ban the target from trade or commerce with U.S. entities including

Sheriffs: Election Continued from A1

tisan support. If the GOP-controlled Senate also approves the measure, it would go on the ballot in November.

The Kansas Sheriffs Association backs the proposal, and about a dozen uniformed sheriffs or deputies watched the House’s debate.

“As long as there’s always a sheriff in each county, we believe that the people are more — better — represented in public safety,” Sheriff Cole Presley, of Graham County in northwestern Kansas, said afterward.

Only Riley County, in northeastern Kansas, doesn’t have an elected sheriff. Voters there consolidated the sheriff ’s department with the Manhattan and Ogden city police departments in 1974, and the combined department’s director answers to a

board led by local officials.

The proposed amendment would allow Riley County to continue that system, but if voters decided to return to an elected sheriff, the switch would be “irrevocable.”

“Each of our counties is unique and should be able to form their law enforcement according to their individual needs,” said Republican Rep. Michael Dodson, of Manhattan.

Had the Johnson County review commission pushed for the sheriff there to be appointed, county voters would have decided the issue.

“We are taking that decision away from our county voters,” Democratic Rep. JoElla Hoye, of Lenexa, said of the proposed constitutional change, which she opposes.

banks and freeze the target’s U.S.-based assets, seemed instrumental last decade in bringing Iranian leaders to the negotiating table over their nuclear aspirations.

In 2015, Iran agreed to suspend most production of nuclear materials in exchange for the lifting of sanctions that had crippled the country’s economy and blocked its ability to sell oil on the world market.

Russia is a different story. A series of sanctions that the U.S. and Europe previously placed on Russian entities and individuals has failed to alter Putin’s behavior, including his suspected poisoning of opponents and dissidents in countries outside Russia. Many experts say that unless sanctions can punish the Russian elites whose wealth and political self-interests bolster Putin, the measures will have little deep impact.

But the sanctions imposed Tuesday against two banks — the nation’s fifth-largest, VEB, and a government bank that funds Russia’s military — marked the first time the U.S. has frozen the assets of a major stateowned Russian bank, signaling the severity of the fuller sanctions package still in the offing. Deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh, who briefed reporters on the measures, said they were “only the sharp edge of the pain we can inflict,” stating that the White House is ready to take similar actions against Russia’s largest banks.

“No Russian financial institution is safe if this invasion proceeds,” Singh added.

Combined, the two banks hold $80 billion in assets and finance the Russian defense sector and economic develop-

ment, according to a fact sheet from the White House. The measures will freeze the banks’ assets in the United States, prohibit U.S. individuals and businesses from being involved in any transactions with them, shut them out of the global financial system and foreclose access to the U.S. dollar.

The administration also said it plans to block U.S. individuals and financial institutions from participating in Russia’s secondary bond market, in an effort to cut off a key avenue for Russia to raise new money. Last year, the U.S. took similar action to block the purchase of Russian government bonds directly from state institutions.

Biden said that the U.S. would be repositioning troops already in Europe to shore up forces along NATO’s eastern flank, including moving an infantry battalion task force of approximately 800 personnel from Italy to the Baltic region.

He emphasized that the movements were “totally defensive.”

“We have no intention of fighting Russia,” Biden said. “We want to send an unmistakable message, though, that the United States, together with our allies, will defend every inch of NATO territory and abide by the commitments we made to NATO.” In the first hours of a new conflict in Europe, democratic powers worked to balance the need to punish Putin for violating Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty with the awareness that severe economic repercussions may not be enough to force the Russian autocrat to change course.

In fact, officials say, Putin may use Western sanctions as a pretext to escalate the crisis.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia began evacuating its embassy in Kyiv, and Ukraine urged its citizens to leave Russia on Wednesday as the region braced for further confrontation after President Vladimir Putin received authorization to use military force outside his country and the West responded with sanctions.

Hopes for a diplomatic way out of a new, potentially devastating war in Europe appeared all but sunk as the U.S. and key European allies accused Moscow on Tuesday of crossing a red line in rolling over Ukraine’s border into separatist regions — with some calling it an invasion.

Russia began pulling personnel from its diplomatic posts in Ukraine, state news agency Tass reported, a day after the Foreign Ministry announced a plan to evacuate, citing threats. By Wednesday afternoon, the Russian flag was no longer flying over the embassy in Kyiv, according to an Associated Press photographer. Police surrounded the building.

After weeks of trying to project calm, Ukrainian authorities also signaled increasing concern on Wednesday. The Foreign Ministry advised against travel to Russia and recommended anyone there leave immediately, saying Moscow’s “aggression” could lead to a significant reduction in consular services.

The head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council called for a nationwide state of emergency — subject to parliamentary approval. Oleksiy Danilov said it will be up to regional authorities to determine which measures to apply, but they could include additional protection for public facilities, restrictions on traffic, and additional transport and document checks.

It was just the latest in a series of signs of escalating tensions.

Kyiv recalled its ambassador to Russia and considered breaking all diplomatic ties

with Moscow; Russia said it would evacuate personnel from its embassy in Ukraine; dozens of nations further squeezed Russian oligarchs and banks out of international markets; Germany halted a lucrative pipeline deal; the U.S. repositioned additional troops to NATO’s eastern flank bordering Russia; and the top U.S. diplomat canceled a meeting with his Russian counterpart.

Already, the threat of war has shredded Ukraine’s economy and raised the specter of massive casualties, energy shortages across Europe and global economic chaos.

Even as the conflict took a new, dangerous turn, leaders warned it could still get worse.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to unleash the force of the 150,000 troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, while U.S. President Joe Biden held back on even tougher sanctions that could cause economic turmoil for Russia but said they would go ahead if there is further aggression.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday called European Union sanctions agreed a day before just “a first step” and also said further measures could follow.

Sanctions are key because the West has ruled out taking on Russia militarily.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Western leaders not to wait.

“We call on partners to impose more sanctions on Russia now,” he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “Now the pressure needs to step up to stop Putin.

Hit his economy and cronies. Hit more. Hit hard. Hit now.”

Responding defiantly to the steps already taken, Russian ambassador in the U.S. Anatoly Antonov retorted that “sanctions cannot solve a thing” in a statement on Facebook. “It is hard to imagine that there is a person in Washington who expects Russia to revise its foreign policy under a threat of restrictions.”

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Tuesday’s sanctions just a rehearsal Any illusions about Vladimir Putin’s objectives should have vanished on Monday, when Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time in a decade.

Trudy Rubin The Philadelphia Inquirer The Russian leader made clear in a Monday speech that he believes Ukraine has no right to exist as an independent country and regards it as the rightful possession of Russia.

Call it Hitlerian, call it Stalinesque — the bottom line is that Putin, who rules a failing nation with nukes and considers America his prime enemy, believes he can take control of other countries by military means. Ensconced in his anti-COVID bunker, the Russian leader’s passion to restore Soviet-era power and territory now poses a threat that goes far beyond Ukraine.

President Joe Biden’s sanctions package, announced Tuesday, was useful, as was the German decision to halt moving forward with the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia. But these moves won’t stop Putin, who is obsessed with restoring his warped vision of Russian greatness.

So now is the moment for Biden to throw his entire sanctions package at Putin.

That should include cutting off access to the SWIFT network for international financial transfers. Now is also the time for Americans to grasp the magnitude of the big lies Putin is trying to peddle to his own people — and to the world.

The lie of ‘independence’

The biggest lie of all: Putin’s claim that his second invasion of eastern Ukraine in 10 years is meant to save Russian-speaking Ukrainians from a “genocide.” On Monday, Putin ordered troops into two chunks of eastern Ukraine that are controlled

by Russia-backed separatists and Russian troops, claiming Russia now recognized them as “independent” republics.

This comes straight out of a Putin playbook that was used to destabilize the Caucasus country of Georgia (also a former Soviet republic) when it contemplated NATO membership in 2008. At that time, Moscow recognized the “independence” of two ethnic enclaves inside the territory of Georgia, sending Russian troops to occupy the enclaves and set up bases. These bases guarantee that Georgia can never be truly independent.

Flash forward to 2014, when Putin played the same game with eastern Ukraine, sending troops and organizing pro-Russian militias to

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on developments in Ukraine and Russia, and announces sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, Feb. 22, in Washington, DC. The White House earlier in the day called Russia’s deployment of troops into two pro-Russian separatist regions of Ukraine the beginnings of an invasion. (DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES/TNS) start a “rebellion.” Putin was worried that Ukrainian leaders were leaning too far toward the European Union (not NATO) and wanted to destabilize the country. He also wanted to grab Crimea and attach it back to Russia.

I was on a reporting trip to the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine at the time and interviewed “rebel” leaders, ethnic Ukrainians who admitted they were sent by Moscow. When they seized control of the city, the first thing they did was cut off access to Ukrainian TV. That meant locals could only view Russian TV, which presented a steady stream of fake horror stories claiming Ukrainian “fascists” were coming to kill them and rape their daughters.

The result was that Russian troops (which Moscow still denies are there) and their local proxies occupied a third of the Donbas region for the past eight years, killing nearly 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.

The Kremlin is now pulling the same stunt, beaming the exact same kind of fake news to Russians at home and Ukrainians in the eastern Donbas region, even evacuating area residents to Russia. Putin has now used this fake “threat” to Russian speakers as the excuse to recognize the areas of the Donbas region controlled by its proxies as “independent” republics.

The fiction of ‘peacekeepers’

Having sent fresh Russian troops to the Donbas (which he also denies), Putin has authorized them to take the unoccupied two-thirds of the region, probably including the port city of Mariupol. I

was in Mariupol less than two weeks ago and visited the memorials for civilians killed when Putin’s proxies carelessly lobbed rockets at civilian buildings and markets. Now he wants to do that again on a grander scale.

Putin’s military move also puts him in position to move thousands of soldiers further into Ukraine under the transparent fiction that they are “peacekeepers.” Think how much cynicism it takes to attach such a label to military forces whose mission is to terrorize and kill innocent civilians.

Most hideous, if Ukrainian soldiers fight back, Putin will claim this is proof of their aggression and use their rightful self-defense as an excuse to invade further.

A turning point

That’s why the West must throw every heavy-duty sanction under consideration at Putin so he fully grasps the costs of his aggression. This would provide a chance — if only a slight one — of deterring him from invading further and trying to oust the Ukrainian government by force.

Hopefully, the Biden team understands there is no prospect for negotiations in the midst of an invasion. Even if Ukraine declared tomorrow that it would never join NATO, Putin would not be dissuaded from his goal. His speech made clear he wants much more: first Ukraine’s demise, and then the withdrawal of NATO forces from all Eastern European countries that joined the alliance after 1997.

This will not happen. As I was told repeatedly by officials when I recently visited Lithuania, a small Baltic

state that was once part of the Soviet Union, had they not joined NATO, Putin would have them in his sights today.

Nor should progressives nourish the illusion that the United States should support the concept of a buffer zone of neutral states, including Ukraine, that would separate the West from Russia.

This concept is often referred to as “Finlandization” and has been cited as a way to prevent further Russian military action. Yet even Finland, which maintained a cautious neutrality during the Soviet days, was relieved when the Soviet Union collapsed, and is now debating whether it should apply to join NATO. To Putin, “neutral” means back under Russian sway.

That’s why this week should mark a turning point in Western relations with Russia. Only the strongest allied economic stand, along with an effort to brand Putin as a global pariah, will stand a tiny chance of penetrating Putin’s current madness. But this requires shedding all illusions about what the Russian leader wants.

The ideal substitute teachers Plenty of Kansas school districts are in need of qualified substitute teachers.

We’re getting a bit desperate.

The State Board of Education had already sought in January to help struggling Kansas school districts staff up by allowing anyone over 18 and with a high school diploma to apply for a temporary emergency substitute license, valid for this school year only.

We gritted our teeth but accepted it as necessary.

Retired teachers are the ideal substitutes. They’ve been in the classrooms, they know what to expect — and what’s expected of them — and they know how to reach students.

Yet, there’s an obstacle keeping many retirees from returning to the classroom.

Under state law, school retirees who receive benefits from the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System may generally return to work in schools, but a few provisions in state law make it harder for them to do so, KPERS director Alan Conroy told the board.

Two different waiting periods keep retired school employees from immediately starting in positions, even if only working as substitutes.

Those who retire after age 62 have to wait 60 days before being able to work in a KPERS-affiliated employer, while others who retire before 62 have to wait 180 days.

As a result, retired teachers can’t just hop back into a classroom easily if a need arises. And often these needs can’t be predicted.

IF A KINDERGARTEN

teacher in rural Kansas were to have a medical emergency keeping them out of the classroom, wouldn’t you rather bring in an experienced teacher who knows the area and the students?

What about a shop teacher? Or middle school math teacher?

Bringing retirees back just makes sense. We should make it as easy as possible for them.

Several other obstacles are keeping veterans out of classrooms, but unfortunately the state board doesn’t have the authority to override them. Only the Kansas Legislature can.

We believe the Kansas Legislature needs to address these obstacles to putting qualified teachers in the classrooms.

Let’s not lower our standards. Let’s fix the obstacles keeping our standard-bearers out of our classrooms.

We owe it to our children.

We owe it to our state.

— Topeka Capital-Journal

How to contact USD 257’s elected officials

Mandey Coltrane mandey.coltrane@usd257.org

Doug Dunlap doug.dunlap@usd257.org

Robin Griffin-Lohman robin.griffin-lohman@usd257. org

Tony Leavitt tony.leavitt@usd257.org

Jen Taylor jen.taylor@usd257.org

John Wilson john.wilson@usd257.org

Dan Willis dan.willis@usd257.org

uild1 in lim/

A6

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

Experts say it’s a big mistake to think pandemic is over

By RONG-GONG LIN II and LUKE MONEY Los Angeles Times/TNS

LOS ANGELES — So how much longer will the pandemic last?

No one is sure. Coronavirus cases are falling, but it would be a mistake to think the pandemic is over, experts say.

The last decline in cases means that we’re likely turning to a period of calm in this pandemic, representing a “containment” of the coronavirus, but “that is not the same as the pandemic being over,” Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, wrote in an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times this week.

“Unfortunately, when states or countries proclaim that we just need to live with the virus and end all restrictions, many people interpret that message as meaning the pandemic is actually over — for good,” Topol said. “That would be a fantasy given the myriad opportunities for the virus to haunt us in the months and years ahead.”

What history tells us

Recent history has shown that pandemics can last for several years. The 1918 flu pandemic persisted into a third year, with a fourth wave in 1920 even deadlier in some U.S. cities than the better-known

Growing optimism

A discarded surgical mask on the sidewalk in Chicago. (BRIAN CASSELLA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS)

second wave of late 1918, John Barry, author of “The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History,” wrote in a recent op-ed.

Lately, scientists are studying the “Russian flu” pandemic that began in 1889 for clues to how the COVID-19 pandemic may turn out — since some scientists suspect that pandemic was actually caused by a coronavirus rather than a flu virus.

There are parallels between the two pandemics. The Russian pandemic was first reported in the spring of 1889 in what is now Uzbekistan. It spread worldwide in three distinct waves over three years, Dr. George Rutherford, a UC San Francisco epidemiologist, said at Friday’s campus

town hall meeting.

But, unlike what typically happens with the flu, which is usually hardest on the very young and old, “this just got the old,” Rutherford said. And the distinctive symptoms in the 1889 pandemic included loss of taste and smell — traits similar to those seen with COVID-19.

A detailed report by scientist Harald Brüssow, published last August in the journal Microbial Biotechnology, suggested plausible scenarios in which elevated levels of COVID-19 deaths could last five years or even longer.

The 1889 pandemic hit England and Wales in 1890, and deaths remained high through 1892. Deaths declined over the next two years but still remained “substantially higher than

in the pre-pandemic period.”

“From these data, one might deduce a protracted five-year course for a COVID-19-like pandemic, suggesting that COVID-19 might occupy us well beyond 2022 if the current vaccination campaigns does not change its ‘natural’ trajectory,” Brüssow wrote.

Still, the author added, “it is by no means clear whether an epidemic with similar basic characteristics will be a replay of one which occurred 140 years ago.”

There are a number of differences between that pandemic and the one caused by COVID-19; such as the lack of use of masks during the 1889 pandemic, the lack of quarantine measures and the unavailability of vaccines.

Health officials are optimistic that drugs like Paxlovid will reduce the risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19.

But there is a severe shortage of those drugs — one reason why health officials in some California counties, including L.A. County, are retaining local indoor mask orders until case rates drop further, likely for a few more weeks.

It’s possible the virus could still mutate into something potentially worse, overriding immunity provided by vaccines or past infection, Topol said.

That’s why it’s so important to be ready for a worst case scenario, such as being able to meticulously monitor new surges, ramp up wastewater tracking of the virus, improve air filtration and work on a variant-proof vaccine, Topol wrote.

Potential new variants are a big reason why it’s essential that people get vaccinated and boosted, thereby reducing the chances of yet a new mutant strain developing.

The U.S. ranks 67th in the world in a comparison of the share of its residents who are considered fully vaccinated, Topol wrote, citing data compiled by the Financial Times, behind countries including Sri Lanka, Colombia, El Salvador, Iran and Mongolia.

“Around the world, there are billions of peo-

ple unvaccinated and likely without any protection from prior infection,” Topol said. “When the virus is not contained, as is the case in the world now, its spread creates the potential for new variants.”

Moving forward in California

Meanwhile, California is heading back toward a greater degree of normality as the omicron surge eases. On Tuesday, the L.A. Unified School District began allowing students to be maskless outdoors on campus for the first time since in-person schooling resumed 10 months ago.

UC San Francisco is on track to allow more staff, faculty and students to work on-site starting March 1. The campus is retaining a universal indoor mask mandate, except for people alone in an office or in a vehicle or while eating or drinking, Chancellor Sam Hawgood said in a town hall on Friday.

“We thought long and hard about the returnto-work date. We think it’s safe. The predictions are suggesting that there will be very little community transmission,” Hawgood said, assisted by high vaccination rates, and by the 10-campus UC system’s requirement that all eligible students and staff provide proof that they have received a COVID-19 booster shot.

Supreme Court will decide case on turning away same-sex couples

By DAVID G. SAVAGE Los Angeles Times/TNS

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to decide whether a conservative Christian woman who designs websites has a free-speech right to turn away same-sex couples, even though a state civil rights law requires businesses to be fully open to all without regard to their sexual orientation.

Lorie Smith, a Colorado graphic artist and web designer, says she wants to expand her business to design custom websites for weddings, but not for samesex couples.

She is “willing to work with all people regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation and gender,” her lawyers told the court. “But she cannot create websites

that promote messages contrary to her faith, such as messages that condone violence or promote sexual immorality, abortion or same-sex marriage.”

She sued seeking a ruling that would uphold her right to a freespeech exemption, but she lost before a federal judge and in a 2-1 decision by the 10th Circuit Court in Denver.

The case is the latest in which conservatives are invoking the First Amendment to shield Christians from anti-discrimination laws or protect their rights to express themselves in public spaces.

Last month, the justices said they would hear the case of Joseph Kennedy, a former high school football coach in Bremerton, Washington, who insisted on praying at the 50-yard

line after games. School officials objected, but Kennedy said he had a free-speech right to pray at school.

Four years ago, the court was badly split and unable to rule clearly in a similar dispute involving the Masterpiece Cakeshop and cake maker Jack Phillips. He had refused to make a wedding cake to celebrate the marriage of two men and was accused of violating Colorado’s civil rights law.

He appealed based on the freedom of speech, but in the end, the court handed down a narrow ruling. By a 7-2 vote, the justices said he had been treated unfairly by the state commission that enforced the law.

The justices did not rule on Phillips’ freespeech claim. Since then, two new conservatives — Justices Brett

M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — have joined the court.

Now the same lawyers for the Alliance Defending Freedom who represented the baker are back before the court and are seeking a broader ruling that would give conservative Christians a partial exemption from state laws that would require them to participate, even indirectly, in a same-sex marriage.

The exemption, they say, would be based on First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion. But in a brief order issued Tuesday, the court said it would limit the issue to free speech and decide “whether applying a public-accommodation law to compel an artist to speak or stay silent violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”

A decision in favor of the web designer could have a significant impact in California and 19 other states that forbid businesses from discriminating against LGBTQ customers. It could give business owners an exemption based on their religion to refuse to provide flowers, photography or other products or services for a same-sex marriage.

In her appeal in 303 Creative v. Elenis, Smith contends the appeals court “took the extreme position that the government may compel an artist — any artist — to create expressive content, even if that content violates her faith. ...

If left in place, the 10th Circuit’s decision will allow officials to compel Democratic speechwriters to plug Republican candidates and Muslim artists to create cartoon

parodies of Allah.”

Attorneys for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in Los Angeles urged the court to rule that business owners do not have “a license to discriminate” based on their religious views.

With the new case, “we are witness yet again to the unrelenting anti-LGBTQ crusade being waged by self-described Christian fundamentalist legal groups aiming to chip away at the hard-won gains of LGBTQ people by carving out swaths of territory where discrimination can flourish,” said Jennifer C. Pizer, a senior counsel at Lambda. “The constitutional protections for religious freedom and free speech were never intended as weapons of discrimination for those doing business with the general public.”

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Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Mustang girls get big win over Eagles

By REESE BECKER The Iola Register

Iola’s Aysha Houk drives to the lane in a game earlier this season. Houk had 19 points in Iola’s win.

REESE BECKER/IOLA REGISTER

Iola High School’s girls basketball team notched a big win on Tuesday night over Wellsville. The girls prevailed 45-38. It was a tough win for the Mustangs, fueled by a 19-point performance by Aysha Houk.

Iola began on an 8-5 run early in the first quarter.

Maci Miller went 4-4 from the free throw line.

The Mustangs stretched the lead out by forcing turnovers and playing solid defense, while having possibly the best offensive game of the season.

Miller, along with Houk led the way for the Mustangs, with five points apiece in the second quarter.

The Iola defense continued to dominate until the break. The Mustangs led 2218 at the half.

Coming out of the break, Houk hit a series of big threes to extend the advantage. The Eagles roared

back to tie the game, while the lead flip-flopped throughout the third quarter.

Once it came down to business in the fourth, it was all Mustangs. Houk continued her offensive master class with eight points down the stretch while getting help from Josie Plumlee, who hit a three pointer towards the end of the game.

The win puts Iola at 4-15.

With a trip to Santa Fe Trail on Thursday, a berth in the substate tournament is still possible.

IOLA (10-12-9-14—45) FG/3p FT F TP Houk 7/4 1 4 19 Plumlee 3/1 0 4 7 Miller 2/1 5 3 10 J. Curry 2 0 3 4 R. Curry 1 0 1 2 Sturgeon 0 0 2 0 Shelby 1 1 2 3 TOTALS: 16/6 7 21 45 Wellsville (7-1-11-9—38) FG/3p FT F TP Clancy 2 2 5 6 Fletcher 2 1 2 5 West 0 1 2 1 Pearson 3 1 2 7 Roldon 2 1 2 5 TOTALS: 15/1 7 13 38

Mustangs struggle against Eagles

By REESE BECKER The Iola Register

After a two-week hot streak, Iola High School’s boys basketball team had difficulty firing up Tuesday against Wellsville. Iola lost 71-33.

The Eagles started on an 8-2 run, predicated by two huge threes early in the game.

Iola initially was unable to get into the lane with Tyler Boeken and had a hard time defending Wellsville’s threepoint shooters.

Wellsville would continue to use the three-ball to dominate Iola, establishing a 25-8 lead in the first quarter.

During Iola’s two-week winning streak, the Mustangs were able to keep turnovers to a minimum, but that trend was bucked on Tuesday.

Iola had 23 total turnovers in the game.

With the extra possessions, the Eagles had a field day.

Wellsville led 46-24 at the half.

It was much the same in the second half. Wellsville’s defense was solid and their of-

fense kept attacking the rim.

Boeken got into foul trouble, limiting his effectiveness.

Wellsville’s Dorsey brothers combined for 39 points, and eight threes.

“They shot the ball extremely well,” said Iola head coach Luke Bycroft. “They missed enough shots that we should have been able to get rebounds. We didn’t rebound well and didn’t take care of the ball. If you rebound the basketball and don’t turn See MUSTANGS| Page B4

Iola’s Eli Adams looks to line up a shot in front of the Iola bench from a game earlier in the season. REESE BECKER/IOLA REGISTER

Late Cherryvale basket sinks Cubs in heartbreaker

Humboldt High’s Trey Sommer, shown going up for a shot in a game earlier this season, scored 22 points in a 57-56 loss to Cherryvale Tuesday. REGISTER FILE PHOTO

HUMBOLDT — Cherryvale’s basket with 6 seconds left was enough to propel the Chargers to a 57-56 victory over Humboldt High’s boys Tuesday.

The Cubs advanced the ball to halfcourt with 2 seconds left, but were off the mark with a desperation heave at the buzzer.

Despite the loss, Humboldt head coach David Taylor was encouraged by his team’s improved play after a lopsided loss Saturday to Caney Valley.

“We played a lot better against the zone,” Taylor said. “The kids played hard.

They played a lot better.”

The game was nip-andtuck throughout. The Cubs nursed a 24-23 lead at the break and a 38-36 advantage after three.

“We had a good fourth quarter,” Taylor said. “We played well, but just came up a little short.”

With Class 3A Substate pairings set to be announced today, the Cubs (12-6) still

have some unfinished work to wrap up the regular season. Humboldt travels to rival Yates Center Thursday evening.

Taylor said having the extra game after pairings are announced can be a positive.

“It’s good to keep playing, take your mind off things,” he said.

Trey Sommer racked up 22 points on 10 of 11 shooting to lead Humboldt. He also had six rebounds and three steals.

Drew Wilhite tacked on 14 points, five assists and six steals.

Colton Slocum chipped in with eight points, Gavin Page scored six, Levi McGowen four and Blake Ellis two.

Page had three assists; Colden Cook managed three steals.

Cherryvale’s Stetson Schafer poured in 29 to lead Cherryvale.

“He’s a tough kid to guard,” Taylor said. “I don’t like to get beat, but I’m glad to see we’re playing better.”

B2

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

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Italian city assists with utility bills FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Florence is famed for its contributions to Italian art, architecture and cuisine.

But these days, local leaders in the city regarded as the birthplace of the Renaissance are concerned with more mundane matters: paying the bills.

Amid soaring energy costs across Europe, officials have teamed up with a local nonprofit to help fixed-income retirees keep their power

on through an “Adopt-aBill” fundraising campaign.

A significant number of Florence’s retirees, however, live on less than $10,205 a year and can’t afford to make ends meet with an expected 55% increase in home electricity costs and a 42% hike in residential gas bills, he said.

Widower Luigi Boni, 96, confirms that. He says that by the end of February, he will have

emptied his bank account and spent his monthly pension check of under $680 before covering utilities.

“Either I eat or I pay the rent,” Boni said.

To assist him and others among Florence’s estimated 30,000 residents over age 65 and living alone, the city administration launched the fundraising campaign with the nonprofit Montedomini Foundation, which runs projects aimed at help-

ing the city’s retirees.

The campaign raised more than $37,000 in its first few days. Private citizens, including Florentines living abroad, made more than 200 donations, according to the city’s welfare counselor, Sara Funaro.

“Our goal is to raise funds to make sure that every elderly person who asks us for help can receive help to cover the increase in bills due to (energy costs) increasing,” Funaro said.

iolaregister.com

The Iola Register

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

B3

MV boys stomp Jaguars

Marmaton Valley High’s Payton Scharff drives between a pair of Hartford defenders Tuesday. PHOTO

BY SARA HARRISON/MVHS

Wildcats come up short MORAN — Offensive struggles hurt Marmaton Valley High’s girls to wrap up the regular season Tuesday.

The Wildcats were held to two third-quarter points, and despite a feisty fourth-quarter rally, fell short in a 37-28 loss to Hartford.

The defeat puts the Wildcats at 11-7 headed into the Class 1A-I Substate playoffs.

Marmaton Valley has the third seed and will host sixth-seeded Olpe at 7 p.m. Friday in the MVHS gymnasium.

The winner will advance to next week’s

semifinal round against top-seeded St. Paul.

On Tuesday, Hartford led 10-8 after one quarter and 22-14 at the break. Marmaton Valley’s deficit swelled to 12, 28-16, after three.

Marmaton Valley’s Janae Granere erupted down the stretch, scoring 11 of her game-high 17 in the fourth quarter, but the Jaguars did just enough to keep things in hand.

Tayven Sutton added four points, Kendall Scharff scored three, and Payton Scharff and Aly Ard scored two each.

MORAN — A good year for Marmaton Valley’s boys basketball team keeps getting better. The Wildcats dominated Hartford Tuesday night, winning 60-29, sending the seniors out with a win in their last home game.

The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 30-12 lead at the half, fueled by a 21-point second quarter. Quincy Adams had seven points in that massive second to help Marmaton Valley pull away from the Jaguars.

After the half, it was still all Wildcats. The Marmaton Valley defense shutdown Hartford’s offensive scheme and continued surging on offense. This time, fueled by Dylan Drake’s five-point third quarter. Nine Wildcats scored in the affair, showcasing different offensive looks from Marmaton Valley and the ability to spread the ball around.

On the flip side, Marmaton Valley’s defense held the Jaguars without a double-digit quarter.

“Tonight was our most complete performance we have had all season,” said Marmaton Valley head coach Gavin Cole. “It was a great way to send off our four seniors who were playing their last game at home. I greatly appreciate their contributions to our program. They are all great young men who have really bright futures.”

Adams led with 14 points. Garrett Hender-

Marmaton Valley High’s Quincy Adams, center, puts up a shot Tuesday against Hartford on Senior Night. PHOTO BY LUIZA LOUINICI/MVHS son scored 10. Drake, Jaedon Granere, and Carter Burton scored seven apiece. Brayden Lawson scored six.

Dresden Ellis had four.

Chase Smith had three.

Wyatt Ard had two.

Marmaton Valley, 6-11, travels to Crest

Thursday to open the class 1A-I Substate Tournament. The winner gets top-seeded Olpe.

Torrid shooting propels Jayhawks in Sunflower Showdown LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Ochai Agbaji scored 23 points and passed Wilt Chamberlain on Kansas’ career scoring list, leading the No. 5 Jayhawks to a 102-83 win over Kansas State on Tuesday night.

Agbaji, a 6-foot-5 senior guard, now has 1,444 points in 110 games, 26th on Kansas’ all-time list. He passed Chamberlain with his 13th point of the first half. Chamberlain had 1,433 points in 48 games.

“I didn’t know that,” Agbaji said when asked about his milestone in the postgame. “That’s an honor, big time.”

When told it took Chamberlain just 48 games to reach his total, Agbaji just said, “Oh, wow.”

Danny Manning (2,951 points) is Kansas’ all-time scoring leader.

Christian Braun scored 20 points, Jalen Wilson added 17 and Mitch Lightfoot 13 for Kansas (23-4, 12-2 Big 12), which posted its 16th straight win over K-State at home.

Kansas coach Bill Self was asked if the margin of victory gave his team confidence and momentum.

“I think a win would have given us confidence and momentum,” he said, “but we played pretty well offensively.

We were cooking there for a while. K-State played pretty well offensively, too. We couldn’t stop them and they

couldn’t stop us.

“It was a good game.

The game had more pace to it than probably any game we’ve played this year.”

Kansas is 203-94 alltime against Kansas State. The 203 victories are the most by any school over any opponent in NCAA Division I history. Oregon State’s 193 wins over Oregon ranks second.

Markquis Nowell scored 20 points, Nijel Pack, Selton Miguel and Mike McGuirl each had 13, and Mark Smith added 11 for Kansas State (14-13, 6-9), which finished a point shy of its season high.

“I think K-State did a lot to force the (pace),” Self said. “They did some things we hadn’t seen before.”

Kansas maintained its 1½-game lead in the Big 12 Conference over Baylor and Texas Tech.

The Jayhawks will face Baylor on Saturday in Waco, Texas.

Kansas, which had to overcome a 17-point deficit in the second half of their victory in Manhattan in January, didn’t have to mount any comeback Tuesday.

The Jayhawks scored the first bucket of the second half and their lead never dipped into single digits.

“It’s always fun to play against them,” Braun said. “We always enjoy the rivalry.”

The Jayhawks’ 102 points matched a season

high. They shot 64.1% (41 for 64) from the field.

K-State stayed close early with 3-point shooting, connecting on 3 of 7 early on, including two straight by McGuirl.

But Kansas used a quick 6-0 run to take an 18-13 lead.

Kansas gradually pulled away, taking a 10-point lead on a tip

by Wilson with 9:02 left in the first half. The Jayhawks’ biggest lead in the first half was 16 points at 46-30, and they led 53-43 at halftime.

Agbaji’s 15 points in the first half led the Jayhawks. K-State was led by Pack and Nowell with 11 points apiece in the opening half.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas State: The Wildcats probably need to win three of their next four games to reach the NCAA Tournament. They have home games against Iowa State and Oklahoma, sandwiched around a road game against No. 9 Texas Tech prior to their opening game in the Big 12 Tournament.

Kansas: Bill Self still owns the state of Kansas in basketball. He’s now 39-6 all-time against his rivals from Manhattan, Kansas, including 18-1 in Allen Fieldhouse.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: Hosts Iowa State on Saturday.

Kansas: Travels to Waco, Texas, on Saturday to play No. 10 Baylor.

Kansas’ Mitch Lightfoot (44) rises up for a shot against Kansas State’s Selton Miguel (3) and Ismael Massoud (25) Tuesday. GETTY IMAGES/ED ZURGA/TNS

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B4

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

IndyCar ready to get rolling

By JENNA FRYER The Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The stars of IndyCar crowded into Indianapolis Motor Speedway to celebrate an upcoming season of opportunity for America’s open-wheel racing series to further cement its legitimacy and expand its popularity.

The party to mark the 100-day countdown to the Indianapolis 500 went off course amid word Michael Andretti was again trying to acquire a Formula One team. Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 world champion, wrote that Andretti Global had applied for an expansion team to launch in 2024 — news so very indicative of IndyCar’s pecular dilemma.

IndyCar has weathered the pandemic under Roger Penske, who had the misfortune of purchasing the series and IMS about two months before the global shutdown. Despite the challenges, Penske enters his third season at the top with all critical metrics trending upward.

IndyCar’s growth can be attributed to a crop of young stars — a Dutch driver, a Mexican, a Spaniard and 21-year-old Colton Herta of California — who won races and new fans. IndyCar’s growth has made it a respectable and even desirable landing spot for top drivers around the globe, but the bright young lights of IndyCar’s resurgence all happened to grow up dreaming of F1.

If Michael Andretti ever does get an F1 team, he is almost certain to take Herta from Andretti Autosport with him as the next American driver. Herta was a central figure in last year’s failed Andretti talks to purchase Sauber, and as he prepares this Sunday to defend his St. Petersburg victory from a year ago, he’s again in the headlines for the wrong series.

“It’s the same as how I was with the Sauber stuff, it doesn’t really make too much of a difference to me,” Herta told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “My main goal this year is IndyCar and that’s what I’m focused on. If something were to happen with Formula One, I’d have to take a good look at it. But when I’m contracted to drive something, that what I put 95% of my energy into.”

Pato O’Ward, a 22-year-old Mexican, races for McLaren in IndyCar and seems to already have one foot out the door. He tested the F1 car for McLaren in December and could be the team’s reserve driver at select 2022 races.

Herta and O’Ward, teammates in January on a class victory at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, have established themselves as motorsports’ new guard. Losing them to F1, the hottest property in motorsports right now, hangs over an IndyCar community banking on all the new faces to carry the series forward.

“I want people to enjoy me in IndyCar, I want them to know what IndyCar has to offer, the racing,” O’Ward said of the line he must toe. “Whenever I go to Formula One, or if I ever go to Formula One, just for now enjoy me in IndyCar.” It’s a lot of attention on a pair of drivers who both fell short of the IndyCar championship and are both still scraping together the points the FIA requires to get an F1 drivers license. And of all the emerging stars, the one to finally dethrone sixtime IndyCar champion Scott Dixon last season was neither Herta or O’Ward, but instead Alex Palou — Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate.

Palou was new to Ganassi last season but in his second year of IndyCar, and the 24-yearold Spaniard has a remarkable steeliness and relentless thirst

Johnson named Ryder Cup captain

By DOUG FERGUSON The Associated Press

Two-time major champion Zach Johnson is taking over as Ryder Cup captain, leading an American side trying to end 30 years without a victory on European soil.

Three people with knowledge of the decision confirmed the move to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the PGA of America has yet to announce Johnson’s selection.

The decision is not a surprise. Johnson has been an assistant captain each of the last two matches, and the U.S. team has moved toward captains with previous involvement.

The 2023 matches are scheduled for Marco Simone in Italy. The Americans are coming off the coun-

try’s biggest Ryder Cup rout, beating Europe 19-9 at Whistling Straits last September with Wisconsin native Steve Stricker as the captain.

Stricker was part of the Ryder Cup committee — three PGA Tour players and three PGA of America executives — that picked the next captain.

Johnson played in five Ryder Cups, part of a hardscrabble career that began with him driving the country to play on minitours out of college and now includes 12 wins on the PGA Tour, including the Masters in 2007 and the British Open in 2015 at St. Andrews.

The Americans have won the Ryder Cup only four of the last 13 times, and their last victory away from home was in 1993 at The Belfry in England.

to understand every element of his craft.

He won his debut race with Ganassi last season, finished second to Helio Castroneves in the Indy 500 and rebounded from consecutive DNF’s to win at Portland and reclaim the championship lead for good with two races remaining.

With the attention always seemingly elsewhere, Palou’s season was somewhat under the radar.

“We didn’t surprise people last year, but they didn’t really talk about us either,” Palou said. “We need to be consistently part of the conversation so that people understand clearly this team is for real.”

BACK FOR MORE

Rinus VeeKay, who turned 21 last fall, was another one of IndyCar’s breakout first-time winners and returns with Ed Carpenter Racing. The Dutchman’s on-track results weren’t the same after he broke his collarbone in a bicycle crash, and there’s a ton of young talent looking for IndyCar seats.

Some of the new faces in IndyCar came from F1 as curiosity in the IndyCar Series has been piqued since Alexander Rossi defected in 2016 and Fernando Alonso entered the Indy 500 three times.

Marcus Ericsson left F1 for IndyCar in 2019 and returns for a fourth season (third with Ganassi) after two wins last year. The fourth guy in the Ganassi lineup is seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, back for a second season and this time full-time with an Indianapolis 500 entry.

NEW FACES

There’s so much new talent that reigning Indy Lights champion Kyle Kirkwood, a 23-year-old American, nearly found himself without a seat. He has been developed by Andretti Autosport but his path with that team required Herta to move See INDYCAR | Page B6

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers walks off the field following a game in Arizona in 2021. GETTY IMAGES/CHRISTIAN PETERSON/TNS

Rodgers not sure on 2022 plans GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he’s still making up his mind about whether he wants to return to the Green Bay Packers next season.

“There will be no news today,” the fourtime MVP quarterback said Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show” on YouTube and SiriusXM. “No decision on my future.”

Rodgers said after the season that he would try to make a decision about his 2022 plans in relatively short order rather than dragging out the process. The reigning MVP said at the time that he hadn’t ruled out any option, including returning to the Packers for an 18th season, retiring or requesting a trade.

When Rodgers sent out an Instagram post late Monday night thanking current and former teammates and coaches among others, it raised speculation that an announcement on his future could be forthcoming. Rodgers said Tuesday he just wanted to show some gratitude to people who have helped him over the past year.

“I just came out of a 12-day cleanse where you’re eating a specific diet and you’re going

through these treatments every day and you’re not really doing anything else,” Rodgers said during his 40-minute conversation.

“You’ve got to kind of turn everything else off, so you’re not working out, you’re not straining or anything. It’s kind of a re-centering. It not only heals you physically, but I think it takes away mental stress and then the spiritual part I think is it allows you to kind of enjoy the meditations a little more, so when I come out, my first thought is intense gratitude for the people in my life.”

Rodgers won his second straight MVP award less than two weeks ago. The Packers went 13-4 in the regular season and won a third straight NFC North title before losing 13-10 at home to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional playoffs.

After the season, Rodgers talked about making a decision by the time the free agency period begins next month.

He continues to point out the importance of getting this done soon.

“I get it,” Rodgers said. “There’s not a lot to talk about football-wise and this will be a topic of conversation. But I am looking

forward to making a decision and moving forward. I think it’s best for me. It’s best for the team. It’s best for all parties involved. Let’s just get this behind us.”

The 38-year-old Rodgers did offer the Packers some reason for optimism.

He said he enjoyed the postseason conversations he had with team officials such as coach Matt LaFleur, general manager Brian Gutekunst and executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball.

“The meetings were much different than they were in the past, in a positive way,” Rodgers said. “There were some real honest conversations that I appreciate.”

He wants to avoid a repeat of 2021, when his status with the team was uncertain until the start of training camp.

Rodgers reported for training camp on time last summer after skipping their mandatory minicamp, but he acknowledged his future with the organization was uncertain. At the time, he said he wanted more of a voice in the team’s decision-making process.

His relationship See RODGERS | Page B6

Mustangs: suffer loss against Eagles Continued from B1

it over, you give yourself a chance. They shot lights out, we don’t shoot very well but you can’t turn the ball over 23 times.”

Iola’s junior varsity won 60-34. Cortland Carson led with 13. Travis

SINCE 1903

Wanker had 11. Japheth Rutoh had nine. Gage Skahan had seven. Jake Skahan scored six. Eli Adams had five. Cody Wille scored four. Mac Leonard and Ashton Hesse both had two.

Iola is back in action Thursday against Santa Fe Trail.

IOLA (8-16-4-5—33) FG/3P FT F TP Weide 1/1 0 2 3 Adams 2 0 3 4 Fager 1 2 2 4 Carson 3/1 0 1 7 Riley 1 0 1 2 Boeken 4 2 4 10 G. Skahan 1 0 1 2 Wille 0 1 0 1 TOTALS: 13/2 5 17 33

Wellsville (25-21-16-9—71) FG/3P FT F TP Lee 1 2 0 4 Winton 2/2 2 2 8 J. Dorsey 7/3 0 2 17 W. Dorsey 6/5 4 3 21 McCarty 3 2 2 8 Douglas 3 0 1 6 Eiche 2 1 2 5 Taylor 0 2 1 2 TOTALS: 24/10 13 16 71

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The Iola Register

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

B5

Does daughter’s support end at ‘I do?’

Dear Carolyn: My 19-year-old college freshman wants to marry her boyfriend. My husband and I pay her tuition, room and board for college.

I don’t think parents should be supporting married children. I proposed continuing to pay her tuition but she and her husband support themselves for room and board. My husband thinks that’s “changing the deal” we have with our daughter and wants to pay the same amount we have been paying.

What do you think? — Anonymous Anonymous: Define “should.”

Is it about outcome, principle, deterrence?

Deterrence is selfexplanatory. You don’t like her life choice, so you attach a large material consequence to it.

I’m no fan of the tactic — punitive child rearing always seemed off to me, so punitive adult

Crash probed WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say two people were found dead in a car that crashed in Wichita after it came under gunfire.

KSNW reports that the crash happened early Monday.

Police say that although someone was shooting at the car, officers don’t think bullets hit any of the people inside the vehicle.

Police identified the two victims as 21-year-old Amill Williams and 20-year-old Alonzo Montgomery, A 22-year-old woman also was ejected from the car but is expected to survive.

Police are still investigating.

Carolyn Hax Tell Me About It

rearing mystifies — but you can’t fault its simplicity.

Principle is one both parents can cite to back your positions. His: You promised her an education and there was no “don’t get married” clause. Yours: Adults making adult decisions are adult enough to support themselves.

These both have merit on their faces, and some satisfying simplicity of their own — but they also contradict some obvious unspoken things beneath the surface. First, it’s kind of understood that if you’re functioning as a dependent for educational purposes, then the “don’t marry your boyfriend” part doesn’t need to be spoken. (Does it?) On the other side, your daughter has been an adult since age 18 and yet that hasn’t precluded your paying her tuition, room and board as if she’s a fully dependent child — so if you’re already working from

a gray and fuzzy definition of adulthood, then you don’t get to declare that a black-and-white one is in force on just this topic alone because you want it to be. Not without hypocrisy. Why is it okay to finance a grown woman’s education in full only if she’s an unmarried grown woman?

Finally, outcome: the pragmatist’s refuge.

If the point of paying for her education was to equip her in early adulthood to live independently thereafter, on (this is often the unspoken part) a middle-class rung of the ladder or better, then there’s no reason you can’t continue to make your decisions with that goal in mind — in light of the threatened marriage or of any other rearrangement of her personal life. The baseline facts can change but the agerelated goal can remain intact: Equip her in early adulthood to launch stably ever after.

If you and your husband — and daughter — can agree on that goal, then that’ll clarify which decisions make sense to achieve it.

have an obligation to attend a dinner, for instance, with a sour stepmother-in-law my husband tolerates only so he can see his dad? I find the facade intolerable — putting up with her control and her demeaning attitude to access my husband’s dad. I see my husband’s over-the-top attention to her as groveling, which he says is to protect me from having to deal with her at the table. This is toxic. Do I go numb? — Demeaned Demeaned: Your obligation is to the marriage — not on his terms, but on mutual ones. If your husband won’t compromise toward your sanity, then he’s shorting his duty.

Sometimes the bluntest instrument is best: an agreed-upon limit.

You attend … half of these torture sessions? A quarter? You offer some presence to protect him, he offers some absence to protect you. Thoughtfully ever after.

And if the “groveling” dims your feelings for him, then you owe the marriage the truth about that, too.

ZITS

by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Dear Carolyn: Do I

Public notice (Published in The Iola Register Feb. 23, 2022) LANDLORD’S NOTICE OF INTENT TO DISPOSE OF TENANT’S PERSONAL PROPERTY Pursuant to K.S.A. 58-2565(d), Laura Yocham hereby notifies Hope Rogers k/n/a Hope Lammey that Hope Rogers k/n/a Hope Lammey has failed to remove all household good, furnishings, fixtures, and any other personal property from 412 N. Fourth, Iola, Kansas 66749 following Hope Rogers k/n/a Hope Lammey’s abandonment of said property.

Hope Rogers k/n/a Hope Lammey has abandoned and Laura Yocham intends to sell or otherwise dispose of the following personal property.

1 Chair, 2 dressers, Dining table, TV, Car (Unknown Make & Model) Pursuant to K.S.A. 58-2565(d), Laura Yocham intends to sell or

dispose of Hope Rogers k/n/a Hope Lammey property fifteen (15) days after publication which is on or around March 9, 2022.

Unless Hope Rogers k/n/a Hope Lammey resumes possession of the personal property items and reimburses Laura Yocham for the reasonable cost of storing the items while the items were in the Laura Yocham’s possession, Hope Rogers k/n/a Hope Lammey’s personal property items will be sold or otherwise disposed of by the Laura Yocham fifteen (15) days after publication which is on or around March 9, 2022.

BEETLE BAILEY

by Mort Walker

/s/LAURA YOCHAM, Landlord ROBERT E. JOHNSON II, #18223 JOHNSON SCHOWENGERDT, PA 118 W. Madison Avenue, PO Box 866 Iola, KS 66749 (620) 365-3778 Attorney for Landlord

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B6

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

The Iola Register

iolaregister.com

MLB lockout costing star players money JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Sometime soon, lockout costs become real: Max Scherzer would forfeit $232,975 for each regular-season day lost, and Gerrit Cole $193,548.

Based on last year’s base salaries that totaled just over $3.8 billion, major league players would combine to lose $20.5 million for each day wiped off the 186-day regular-season schedule.

Major League Baseball has told the players’ association a labor deal must be reached

by Monday in order for opening day to come off as scheduled on March 31 and a 162-game season to remain intact.

The union hasn’t said whether it believes that deadline, and there likely is some leeway based on timing after the 1990 lockout, the 1994-95 strike and the 2020 pandemic delay.

Talks resumed this week in the second-lon-

gest work stoppage in baseball history, which started Dec. 2.

A player at management’s proposed $630,000 minimum would lose $3,387 for each day he’s not on a big league roster, the amount rising to $4,167 under the union’s offer of a $775,000 minimum.

While medical insurance would expire after March 31 for players in the major leagues when last season ended, the union would pay COBRA payments to continue their coverage and also will cover the subsidy usually paid for the medical coverage of former players.

It’s harder to calculate what owners of the 30 teams would lose if games are lost, but a similar amount is likely.

While players received about half of industry revenue that reached a high of $9.7 billion in 2019 (a percentage that includes spending on

draft picks and international amateurs), they are paid during the regular season, and teams receive a substantial percentage of revenue from the postseason.

For players, the cost is clear: Each earns 1/186th of his base salary each day.

Scherzer and Cole are on the union’s eight-man executive subcommittee, which supervises the negotiations. Among others in the union’s leadership group, the daily price comes to $172,043 for Francisco Lindor, $134,409 for Marcus Semien, $75,269 for Zack Britton, $32,258 for James Paxton and $20,161 for Jason Castro. Andrew Miller, the other member, is among the hundreds of players who remained unsigned heading into the transaction freeze that began with the lockout.

Stoppage costs would compound in future

seasons due to the major league service time that wouldn’t be accrued. Once 15 days of the regular season are missed, the free-agent eligibility of some players would be delayed by one year unless management agrees to give credit in an eventual agreement, which it hasn’t done in the past.

That would delay free-agent eligibility for Shohei Ohtani from 2023 to 2024, Pete Alonso from 2024 to 2025, Jake Cronenworth from 2025 to 2026 and Jonathan India from 2026 to 2027.

Others in danger of delayed free agency after 15 missed days — players currently with major league service ending in .000 days — include Tejay Antone, Jordan Hicks, Cristian Javier, Brad Keller, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Chris Paddack, Brady Singer, Andrew Vaughn and Garrett Whitlock.

In Lindor’s case,

because of deferred compensation in his contract, he would lose money both this year and a decade from now. He would forfeit $145,161 each day from the $27 million he is owed this season and $26,882 each day from the $5 million due on July 1, 2032.

Players also may find it more difficult to reach provisions in their contracts to guarantee future seasons triggered by statistics such as plate appearances, games and innings, but the sides have agreed to prorating those in past settlements.

Clubs would lose broadcast revenue and ticket money, though the impact is somewhat uneven. Some teams generate less revenue from April games than they produce in the summer, and there likely are different contractual arrangements regarding the flow of

broadcast fees, credits, refunds and delayed/ forfeited payments.

In addition, a large percentage of broadcast revenue is for the postseason. MLB gave the union a slide two years ago that contracts called for $787 million in media money from the 2020 postseason: $370 million from Fox, $310 million from Turner, $27 million from ESPN, $30 million from MLB Network and $50 million from international and other.

The prospect of an extended stoppage to some degree is likely to have depressed ticket sales among fans wary of purchasing tickets for games that may not be played.

And there is no public knowledge of debt financing among the clubs and how much liabilities increased during a pandemic that caused a huge revenue loss.

Rodgers: QB not sure of 2022 plan Continued from B4

Colton Herta celebrates after a win in the IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg 2021. TNS

IndyCar: Series begins this weekend Continued from B4

to F1; when Andretti didn’t complete the Sauber deal, Kirkwood became available to AJ Foyt Racing.

David Malukas, the 20-year-old Indy Lights runner-up, moved with his father’s backing into a Dale Coyne Racing ride and the driver from the Chicago area gives IndyCar two new Americans.

Devlin DeFrancesco, who races under the Canadian flag, moved up alongside Kirkwood and Malukas to put three graduates of the Road to Indy ladder system in the big league. The trio enters IndyCar at the same time as three completely new faces: — Tatiana Calderon with Foyt will be IndyCar’s only fulltime female driver; at 28, the Colombian will be the oldest rookie in the class.

— Christian Lundgaard spent the last two seasons racing Formula 2 before the Danish driver committed to Rahal Letterman Lanigan.

— Callum Illot, an F1 test driver for Alfo Romeo, was so inspired

by Romain Grosjean’s renewed energy as an IndyCar rookie last year that he signed on with new team Juncos Hollinger Racing, which gives IndyCar its largest entry list in a decade with 26 full-time cars.

PURSE STRINGS

Penske said he is increasing by 30% the leaders circle guaranteed payout by IndyCar to the top 22 teams in the standings, and expected the Indy 500 purse to be “higher than it was before.”

The purse for last year’s race was just under $9 million.

“The one thing we’re going to do is try to provide support to all of our leaders circle teams.

We have good teams and we need to support them,” Penske told AP. “The lights are on and the stores are open.”

The series is opening a new three-year deal with NBC Sports, which pulled in its highest IndyCar ratings last season since acquiring the property in 2019.

A series-high 14 races this year will be on the flagship broadcast network rather than cable.

Telemundo Deportes has planned live Spanish-language coverage of three races starting

with Sunday’s opener in St. Pete, and IndyCar says it has deals in more than 200 countries and territories.

The search for a third manufacturer is ongoing and Penske said talks are furthest along with Toyota after IndyCar’s courtship of Ferrari fizzled.

It Toyota returns, it is thought it will partner with Vasser Sullivan Racing.

“They have not said no or go away,” Penske said of Toyota. “I think what they are trying to do is see how it fits in their own total motorsports package on a worldwide basis. But there’s definitely interest there and it would

be a home run to get a third manufacturer here, someone we could announce over the next season.”

FAMILIAR FACES

The competition is so good that both Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud turned down opportunities in other series because Meyer Shank Racing was willing to build around them in IndyCar. Castroneves took a job with Shank after three seasons away from IndyCar driving for Penske in IMSA; Penske wanted Pagenaud to take a sports car job so the team could shrink to three IndyCar entries.

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