The Iola Register, Nov. 23, 2022

Hospital celebrates trail, teamwork

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

As impressed as the small crowd was Monday of the newest additions to the Al len County Regional Hospital grounds — a relocated ga zebo and a nearly mile-long crushed limestone trail — it’s just as important to recog nize the efforts that went into bringing both to reality, Iolan Lisse Regehr noted.

“That is how this kind of stuff happens,” said Regehr, executive director of Thrive Allen County. “Community members get together and say, ‘we want more for our com

County balks at new incentive plan

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

Allen County will wait un til the last minute to make a decision about Iola’s Neigh borhood Revitalization Pro gram.

The city wants to make changes to the program, but commissioners aren’t on board.

Their reluctance to sign on to the revised program rais es questions about what hap pens if the county doesn’t renew the agreement by Nov. 30. It could mean the coun ty’s participation ends. May be it will stay the same. Or, perhaps the county will start its own, separate version.

The Neighborhood Revi talization Program offers a tax rebate to property own ers who make improvements, such as new buildings or remodeling efforts. Owners receive a rebate equal to the amount their property taxes increased because of the im provements.

Iola, Humboldt and La Harpe each have programs.

169 to reopen

munity.’”

Regehr spoke Monday at a ribbon cutting for the trail and gazebo dedication. She was joined by hospital admin istrator Jeremy Armstrong in acknowledging those who helped.

The project is part of a larg er effort to get more people to enjoy the hospital as a means for a healthier community, Re gehr explained.

“What we’re trying to cre ate, in partnership with the hospital, is an area where guests, community members and patients alike can come

VFW Auxiliary launches Christmas wreath blitz

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

For years, sisters Pat Spen cer and Maggie Barnett have helped decorate veterans’ graves at the Fort Scott Na tional Cemetery during the Christmas season as part of the Wreaths Across America campaign.

“We’ve been asked, ‘Why don’t we do something like this for Highland Cemetery?’” Spencer noted this week.

They’ll give it a shot this year.

Spencer and Barnett, who are members of the La Harpe Veterans of Foreign Wars post, are partaking in a “wreath blitz” to come up with more than 230 Christmas wreaths to decorate veterans’ graves at Highland Cemetery.

Barnett and Spencer pre fer artificial wreaths, “so that we can reuse them each year instead of having to buy 230 new ones each time,” Spencer said.

They’re hoping folks will

be able to help with the cause, either by donating a gently used wreath or two, or by making a financial contribu tion.

At $15 apiece for a fresh wreath, buying new each year would cost more than $3,400.

“And most of us Auxiliary members are in our 60s or older,” Spencer added. “It’d be better if we could use the same wreaths as long as they were in good shape, and just replace a few each year.”

Those wishing to donate can reach out to Barnett by calling (620) 380-1814.

Spencer hopes to have the wreaths on hand so they can be placed on Sunday, Dec. 11.

Above, Allen County Regional Hospital Administrator Jeremy Armstrong, center, cuts the ribbon to dedicate the new walking trail and musical garden at the hospital Monday. At left, Traci Plumlee, from left, Lisse Regehr and Karen Gilpin check out the percussion instruments. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Allen County Road and Bridge Director Mark Griffith said U.S. 169 near Chanute, which has been closed to traffic for reconstruction, is slated to reopen late Wednesday after noon. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Iolan makes his mark overseas

They partner with other taxing entities, including the school district in their respective areas, Allen Com munity College and the

county.

Gregg Hutton, building and codes director for Iola, asked county commissioners

Iola Code Enforcement Officer Gregg Hutton speaks Tuesday to Allen County Commissioners about proposed changes to the city’s Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Giving Tree drive aids foster children

TFI Family Services is looking to make Christmas a bit merri er for children in foster care with a Giving Tree campaign.

Through the Giving Tree, donors can se lect the child for whom they’re buying via sig nup.com. The online registry includes the child’s name, age, cloth ing sizes and a short wish list. This list is available at https://ti nyurl.com/3srvhtsb.

Gifts should be un wrapped and dropped off at the Iola TFI office at 501 N. State St. by Nov. 30. Be sure to in clude the child’s initial access code (the num ber next to the child’s name on the sign-up web page) when drop ping off gifts.

For more informa tion, contact Libby Hayden at ehayden@ tfifamily.org, or call (620) 371-4582 or (620) 371-8007.

Obituaries

Susie Wilkinson

Susan “Susie” Dale Melvin Coffman Wilkin son died peacefully at her rural home in Richmond on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, with family at her side after a long battle with can cer.

Her brother, Mick, and sister, Julie, had stayed at the farm for the final two months of her life so she could remain at home.

Susan was born Aug. 2, 1957 to Ernest Neld Melvin and Osa Le nore Veix Melvin in Little Rock, Ark., while her father was in the early years of his career in the United States Air Force.

As a child, she lived and attended school in Ottawa, except for a time in junior high school when she and her siblings lived with their fa ther and attended school in Orlando, Fla.

Each summer, she and her siblings would have an extended visit to Panama City, Fla., with their Granddaddy and Grandmother Melvin, where they would go out in the fishing boats and go to the amusement park, where her granddad dy was the security guard. Her grandparents also hosted many of her summer birthday par ties.

Mike Hamman

Michael (Mike) Eugene Hamman, 73, of Yates Center, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, at St. Francis As cension Via Christi Hospital in Wichita. Mike was born Sept. 4, 1949, in Emporia, the son of Gene and Dixie (Edwards) Hamman. He attended school in Yates Center, graduating in 1967 and then at tended Emporia State University. On Sept. 6, 1969, he and Beth Klick were united in marriage at Yates Center United Methodist Church. She survives.

After marriage, Mike and Beth moved to Em poria, where their first child, Rachel Elizabeth, was born. It was also where his love for Brittanys began. In Emporia, he worked in the meat-pack ing industry. This job then took them to Dorches ter, Neb., for a short stint where their son, Gerald Luther, was born.

They then moved back to the Klick family farm near Toronto to start Lone Pine Hunting Preserve which they operated successfully for 42 years, retiring from the business in 2020. Shortly after moving back to the farm, their last child, Rueben Kenneth, was born.

EMPORIA — Iolans Rachel Shaffer and Lex ie Vega are involved in the Emporia State Uni versity Theatre produc tion “God of Carnage,” which runs Dec. 1-4 at the Ronald Q. Frederick son Black Box Theatre.

The dark comedy tells the story of a play ground altercation be tween 11-year-old boys that brings two sets of Brooklyn parents to

gether for a meeting to resolve the conflict. However, the veneer of diplomacy soon evapo rates. “God of Carnage” won the 2009 Tony for Best Play.

Shaffer plays Annette in the production. Vega runs the box office.

Visit emporia.edu/ tickets for reservations or additional informa tion or call the box of fice at (620) 341-5256.

While growing up, she liked to attend the Ju nior Wranglers Saddle Club events with her big brother, Mick, and her cousin, Joe. She played the guitar in her youth, and loved to go fishing, especially with her mom and brother. She also loved games and cards and enjoyed countless hours playing cards with one of her favorite people — her Grandma Veix, as well as playing video games with her brother, Mick.

She learned to cook by spending many hours in the kitchen at the side of her mother and both grandmothers and grew up to be a wonderful cook and baker.

Her dishes were always among the favorites at any gathering or family dinner, and she had an extensive collection of recipe books. She loved working in her bountiful garden and had a real green thumb with her vegetable and flower gar dens, as well as her many houseplants.

Susan was married to Richard Coffman on June 26, 1978, in Strong City. Rich managed a ranch near Maple Hill. Susan had a job in town, but also performed all of the many jobs of a rancher’s wife and kept up their large, historic two-story house on the ranch. While living on the ranch, she loved fishing, hunting quail and pheasant, and even went along on the coyote hunts when calves were endangered by the coy otes. While her boys were growing up, they went along on all of the hunting and fishing outings. Susan was a huge supporter of her boys in their rodeo careers.

Susan loved all animals but especially her pet dogs and cats and the horses and cows she cared for while growing up on the ranch and farm.

Following her divorce from Rich, she moved to Iola for a time. She then moved to Larose, La., shen she got a job with Gulf Fleet on the off-shore oil rigs, which enabled her to work in supporting projects for companies engaging in oil and gas exploration and production. While working there for several years, she met her husband, Jimmy Wilkinson, who was the chief engineer in the off-shore vessels. They were married on Aug. 4, 2007. They moved back to Kansas and bought their farm near Richmond. They had a happy life together until his untime ly death on Aug. 28, 2014.

Her son and his family then lived out at the farm with her for a time. She continued to be her grandchildren’s after-school caretaker ev ery day until she became too ill to do so. They remained the light of her life.

Susan is survived by two sons, Phillip Mi chael Melvin and wife Carissa, Richmond, and William “Billy” Coffman, Eureka; a grandson, Garrison Melvin; two granddaughters, Kaylee May Melvin and Bailey Melvin; a brother, Mi chael “Mick” Blane Melvin and wife Mona, Iola; by three sisters, Julie Jo Melvin Price Fox, Vassar, Carol Ann Smith Dodd Johnson Jones, Williamsburg, and Kathy Rae Daugharthy Johnston Arnold, Gardner; by several cousins including Debbie Livingston Ball, Ottawa, and Julie Kay Veix Alexander Page, Ottawa; and by many nieces and nephews and her sons’ father, Richard Coffman.

Susan was preceded in death by her husband, Jimmie Wilkinson; by her father, Master Sgt. Ernest Ned Melvin; her mother, Osa Lenore Veix Melvin Howard; by her stepfather, Donald “Bus” M. Howard; by her maternal grandpar ents, Silas Adem Veix and Edith Catherine Ca leb Veix; by her paternal grandparents, Ernest Ephriam Posey Melvin and Sarah Agnes Dudley Melvin; by her cousin, Randy Joe Livingston; and several uncles and aunts.

Susie was strong-willed but always kind and welcoming. Her door was always open and the coffee was always on. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her, but will live on in their memories and hearts.

Cremation has taken place with Dengel and Sons Mortuary in Ottawa.

With all other family, Susan was a proud member of the Munsee Delaware Tribe with her great-great-grandfather, Ignatious Caleb being the last tribal chief. Graveside services will be held at a later date in the Caleb-Veix family plot in the Munsee Indian Cemetery in the Chippe wa Hills outside Ottawa.

Lone Pine Hunting Preserve was truly a family business, employing not only their children and grandchildren, but countless high school boys and girls over the years. Mike made it a point to be a good mentor for all of the young people he came in contact with. For many of these kids, Lone Pine was their first job and many main tained contact over the years after moving on with their lives.

During the early years of Lone Pine, Mike and Beth got started with gun dog training and field trialing. This was a big part of the life of the family for many years, traveling around the country with their dogs and horses on spring and fall weekends. They were charter members of the Neosho Valley Brittany Club serving for over 25 years. Due to their service, in 2010, they were inducted into the Kansas Heritage Hall of Fame by the Kansas Pointing Dog Association. Mike raised and trained many champion Brittanys along with countless great hunting dogs.

Mike was a life-long sports fan with a true pas sion for baseball. He took pride in coaching his two sons along with many other boys from T-ball to American Legion and all levels in between. In total he coached for 15 straight years. He was an avid fan of the Kansas City Royals and loved discussing the game with anybody who would lis ten. Mike loved to go fishing, especially with his children and grandchildren, always happy to bait hooks and change lures for hours.

Mike had a passion for community service and involvement. He became a Master Mason in the Yates Center Gilead Lodge No. 144 in 1994, fol lowing in the footsteps of his father and grandfa ther. He was very active in the lodge presiding as Master several times. He helped start the annu al Hunter’s Banquet, a successful fundraiser for the lodge for the past 22 years. Mike was instru mental in starting the annual Christmas movie theater trip for the Yates Center Elementary 3rd grade class which has continued for 20 years. He was also serving as the Worthy Patron of the Goldenrod Chapter No. 163 Order of the Eastern Star, along with his sister, Kathe Hamman, as Worthy Matron.

In 2005, Mike joined the Shriners as a member of the Mirza Temple in Pittsburg. He served as Potentate for Mirza in 2017 with his wife Beth as First Lady. This was an extremely proud time for Mike as he was strongly called to the mission of the Shriners and their service to children. Within the Shrine he was an active member and leader of the MG Club, Kickoff Club, and Mirza Divan. He took great pride in working with the annual Shrine Bowl and spent the last few years as a Hospital Dad, transporting patients and families to appointments at the St. Louis Shrine Hospital.

Throughout his life, Mike’s greatest love was his family. It was important to him for family to be together whenever possible. He was a staunch supporter of his children and grandchildren in all of their endeavors from the sports field to the concert hall to the stage. He provided encourage ment and loved to watch them compete and per form, attending as many events as possible, es pecially the last few years. Mike genuinely loved life and helping others.

Mike was preceded in death by his parents Gene and Dixie Hamman. He is survived by his wife Beth, of the home; daughter Rachel Benja min and her husband, Scott, of Columbus, Tex as; son Luther Hamman and his wife, Sherry, of Wamego; son Rueben Hamman and his wife, Al ison, of Louisburg; brother Kerry Hamman and his wife, Christy, of Georgetown, Texas; sister Sheila Kostas and her husband, Jim, of Shawnee; sister Kathe Hamman of Yates Center; grandchil dren Charlotte, Mary Jane, Kenneth, and Lydia Benjamin; Kendra, Karlie, and Gavin Hamman; Corbin and Naomi Hamman; and numerous oth er relatives.

Visitation will take place Sunday, Nov. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Yates Center United Methodist Church. Funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Mon day at Yates Center United Methodist Church.

Memorial contributions may be made to Yates Center Gilead Lodge No. 144 or Mirza Shriners and may be sent in care of Campbell Funeral Home, P.O. Box 188, Yates Center, KS 66783.

Mike Hamman

Susie Wilkinson

‘It’s the reflex’: Veteran recounts helping disarm gunman

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — When army vet eran Rich Fierro realized a gunman was spraying bullets inside the club where he had gathered with friends and family, instincts from his mil itary training immediately kicked in.

First he ducked to avoid any potential incoming fire, then he moved to try to dis arm the shooter.

“It’s the reflex. Go! Go to the fire. Stop the action. Stop the activity. Don’t let no one get hurt. I tried to bring everybody back,” he said Monday outside his home in Colorado Springs, where an American flag hung from the porch.

Fierro is one of two peo ple police are crediting with saving lives by subduing a 22-year-old man armed with multiple firearms, including an AR-15-style semiautomat ic rifle, who went on a shoot ing rampage Saturday night at Club Q, a well-known gath

ering place for the LGBTQ community in Colorado Springs. Five people were killed and at least 17 wound ed.

Fierro was there with his daughter Kassy, her boy friend and several other friends to see a drag show and celebrate a birthday. He

said it was one of the group’s most enjoyable nights. That suddenly changed when the shots rang out and Kassy’s boyfriend, Raymond Green Vance, was fatally shot.

Speaking to reporters at his home Monday, Fierro teared up as he recalled Ray mond smiling and dancing before the shooting started.

Fierro could smell the cord ite from the ammunition, saw the flashes and dove, pushing his friend down before falling backwards.

Looking up from the floor, Fierro saw the shooter’s body armor and the crowd that had fled to the club’s patio. Mov ing toward the attacker, Fi erro grasped the body armor, yanked the shooter down while yelling at another pa tron, Thomas James, to move the rifle out of reach.

As the shooter was pinned under a barrage of punches from Fierro and kicks to the head from James, he tried to reach for his pistol. Fierro

grabbed it and used it as a bludgeon.

“I tried to finish him,” he said.

When a clubgoer ran by in heels, Fierro told her to kick the gunman. She stuffed her high-heeled shoe in the at tacker’s face, Fierro said. Del Lusional, a drag queen who performed at Club Q on Sat urday night, said on Twitter that the patron who inter vened with her heel was a transgender woman.

“I love them,” Fierro said of the city’s LGBTQ com munity. “I have nothing but love.”

Fierro served three tours in Iraq and one in Afghani stan as a field artillery officer and left the Army as a major in 2013, an army spokesper son said.

He noted he had dealt with violence. That’s what he signed up for. “Nobody in that club asked to do this,” he said, but everyone “is going to have to live with it now.”

Fierro and James, about whom little was known as of Monday evening, pinned the shooter down until officers arrived minutes later. Fierro was briefly handcuffed and sat in a police car as law en forcement tried to calm the chaos.

“I have never encountered a person who had engaged in such heroic actions who was so humble about it,” Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said of Fierro on Monday. “He simply said to me, ‘I was trying to protect my family.’”

The suspect, who was said to be carrying multiple guns and additional ammunition magazines, faces murder and hate crime charges.

Fierro’s wife, Jess, said via Facebook that her husband had bruised his right side and injured his hands, knees and ankle. “He was covered in blood,” she wrote on the page of their brewery, Atrevida Beer Co.

County: Holds out on decision about Iola incentives plan

Continued from A1

to agree to two chang es. One would extend the length of the NRP, calling for a renewal every five years rather than every three.

The other would ex tend the tax rebate for home improvements to a 10-year, 100% rebate. Currently, all the par ticipating cities have a tiered rebate system. They offer a 100% re bate for the improved taxes for the first six years. Every year af ter that, the rebate de creases from 80% to 60% to 40% to 20%.

Hutton hopes the change will spur con struction of residen tial housing. He noted that in the past six years, only six houses were built in Iola while about 50 houses were demolished.

“We’ve got to look at what’s going to help Iola and Allen County in 20, 30 years down the road. Right now we may not have those tax es coming in the door, but if no one is build ing houses, you won’t have new taxes coming in 20 or 30 years from now,” Hutton said.

Cole Herder, Hum boldt city administra tor, pointed out that it’s not just about proper ty taxes. New housing means additional rev enue to the city in the form of utilities.

COMMISSIONERS want to keep the tiered system. Commission er Bruce Symes said the program is work ing well in its current form, and he’s seen no evidence that changing it will result in new housing.

Commissioner Da vid Lee also was op posed to making a change. Chairman Jer ry Daniels said he was

taking a more neutral stance.

The city, USD 257 and ACC have all agreed to the change.

The current program ends Nov. 30. If the coun ty doesn’t sign on, it’s not clear what would happen next. The pre vailing theory is that the county’s participation would end, but commis sioners asked Counselor Bob Johnson to look into the matter.

They would prefer the county continue but with the tiered system, even though the other participants would be at 100% for 10 years.

If that’s not possi ble, perhaps the county could establish a sepa rate program that would cover the entire county.

Johnson said he will contact the Kansas At torney General’s office, which administers NRP programs statewide, for clarification. Commis sioners would review their options Tuesday, the day before the exist ing program expires.

Equipment purchases Commissioners agreed to spend $405,290 for a new excavator at the rock quarry, which can also be used for im provements on county roads.

Mark Griffith, the county’s road and bridge director, said the coun ty will trade one of its three loaders for the new machine. It will alleviate some of the pressure on the county’s beleaguered

rock crushing machine, he said.

“With an excavator, you can kind of feather the material in, instead of just dropping it,” Griffith said.

Griffith pressured commissioners to make a decision on Tuesday, saying the owner, Foley Equipment, had anoth er offer for the machine and it would be sold that day. If the county wait ed, not only would it be difficult to find another machine but prices were expected to increase 6% after the first of the year.

Commissioners ini tially wanted to wait, but decided to capitalize on the savings and ap proved the purchase.

Later in the meet ing, they also approved equipment purchases for other departments, albeit reluctantly.

Chelsie Angleton, 911 director, wanted to buy a larger paper shred ding machine for $3,099. Her department has a smaller shredder, but it can only feed four or five sheets at a time and must be emptied 15-20 times a day, she said. Dispatchers must shred a significant amount of confidential material on a daily basis, she noted.

Commissioners Symes and Lee were op posed, saying the pur chase seemed unnec essary since she had a working machine. But Daniels, a former law enforcement officer, con vinced Symes to change his mind by arguing dis

patchers’ time was bet ter spent handling calls than standing guard at a paper shredder. Lee vot ed against the purchase.

Daniels and Symes also approved a request from Jason Trego, emer gency management di rector, for a system that allows first responders to access a secured cel lular phone line in the event that private cell phone or internet ser vice is interrupted. He gave an example of a tor nado, where a tower may be knocked out and cell service is limited. First responders would have a dedicated line with access not available to the general public. The cost is $4,999, with an $800 service credit and a monthly $38 fee. Lee vot ed against the purchase.

Humboldt food pantry Commissioners want ed to wait a week before deciding whether to spend about $37,000 to renovate a storage build ing at the Humboldt Se nior Center for use by the Humboldt Ministeri al Alliance Food Pantry. Maintenance direc tor Ron Holman gave commissioners a list of bids for electrical, HVAC and construction work. A large metal building on the lot next to the Senior Center would be converted into usable space for the food pan try. Three-quarters of the space would be dedi cated to the food pantry, with the rest available to the senior center for

storage.

The county pur chased a former funer al home last year and moved the senior cen ter there. The previous downtown location had been the site of both the food pantry and senior center, but the future lo cation of the food pan try was not addressed at that time.

Christmas lights Holman also asked commissioners for per mission to install red and green filters for Christmas lights on the south side of the court house for a festive color change.

He also noted he planned to start shop ping for new lights after the holiday. The county has enough commercial lights to get through the year, but they’re about 30 years old and need to be replaced.

The City of Iola drew public criticism in re cent weeks after initial ly saying they wouldn’t install lights on the top of downtown build

ings because old bulbs couldn’t be replaced in time, but backtracked that decision and will soon purchase new lights.

IN OTHER news, commissioners:

Approved a bid of $293,686.66 to replace a bridge at Nebraska and 2200 Road. RFB Con struction of Pittsburg submitted the low bid and can begin work on March 1. The coun ty will receive about $150,000 from the state for the work, leaving the local portion at about $144,000.

Approved a bid from Midwest Engineering of Sapulpa, Okla., for work on a waterline improvement project near the Allen County Regional Airport. The project is part of a $4 million infrastructure project at the airport; about $3 million is pro vided by a grant and most of the rest of the cost will come from the American Rescue Plan Act.

620-363-4499.

Hospital: Gazebo

Continued from A1

out here and heal,” Re gehr said.

She noted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital had rapidly become a popular gath ering spot for folks in town to meet in the caf eteria for meals.

And while that pas time was largely halted during the pandemic, public meals have re sumed once again, and Iolans are slowly re turning to ACRH to con gregate.

The walking trail, funded through a Health Forward Foundation grant, is open to every one, from hospital staff ers or patients or folks in the community just looking for a leisurely stroll. It runs along the perimeter of the hospi tal property and extends into a picturesque wood ed area. Diners are wel come to burn off a few calories after lunch, Re gehr said.

Or, they can relax in the gazebo — moved nearer the trail earlier this year from the op posite side of the ACRH grounds — to be part of a healing garden.

Newly installed mu sical percussion in struments, including a xylophone and drums, were added, courtesy of an AARP grant, Regehr noted.

“We’re working on all of the different ways health and healing comes together,” she said.

She lauded the efforts of the teams of workers and volunteers, show ing off a list of more

than a dozen entries.

“I hope every day we could do a ribbon cut ting and I have to go up in front of you with a list of people to thank,” she said.

And it’s not yet com plete.

Master gardener Patti Boyd is consulting with hospital groundskeep ers and Thrive staffers to develop a memorial garden surrounding the gazebo.

“We’ll bring you back when things are bloom ing,” Regehr promised.

Additionally, the hos pital intends to replace memorial stones that had been at the old hos pital site in downtown Iola, but have been sit ting in storage since ACRH opened in 2013.

Those plans, too, are still in development.

Armstrong echoed Regehr’s gratitude, ac knowledging Thrive’s effort as a driving force behind both projects.

“This wouldn’t have happened without their work,” he said. “I can speak on behalf of the hospital and board, our providers and the staff and the community (in saying) we feel blessed with these gifts we’ve been given. We look for ward to taking care of it. We hope the commu nity and patients appre ciate it.”

The ceremony con cluded with several au dience members walk ing a circuit along the trail, at eight-tenths of a mile, while others tried their hand at tap ping out a tune on the instruments.

Store’s ‘Thankful Thursdays’ spreads the wealth

By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register

In the last three weeks Kelly Sigg, own er of Audacious Bou tique, has donated more than $1,000 of her store’s sales to local or ganizations.

She calls the effort “Thankful Thursdays.”

The first Thursday brought in $200 for Wes ley United Methodist Church’s hot meals pro gram.

The second Thurs day’s tallies accumulat ed $300.25 for a splash park at Meadowbrook Park planned by the Community Involve ment Task Force.

And last week’s sales yielded $600.75 for the “13 Reasons to Fly” program which Sharla Miller and Lori Cooper

help bring to Iola each spring to help especially teens cope with mental health issues.

To that end, Auda cious is also carrying a clothing line and other items that sport uplifit ing messages.

In 2023, the “13 Rea sons to Fly” program will occur during the first week of February and will be incorporat ed in students’ school day.

STILL TO COME are Sigg’s canned goods and sweater exchange days.

On Dec. 10, patrons bringing canned goods to Audacious Boutique will receive a discount on their purchases.

The canned goods will help replenish the shelves at the Iola Min isterial Alliance’s food

pantry.

On Dec. 15, customers are encouraged to bring “slightly used sweat ers,” in exchange for a discount on the pur chase of a new sweater.

The sweaters cus

tomers bring in will be donated to Hope Un limited, the shelter for victims of sexual and domestic abuse who frequently arrive with only the clothes on their backs.

Audacious Boutique owner Kelly Sigg, left, gives Sharla Miller and Lori Cooper, center, a check for $600.75 as part of Sigg’s “Thankful Thursdays” giving effort during November. At right is Toni Manbeck, Audacious manager. REGISTER/SUSAN LYNN

Walkers stroll along the new trail that surrounds the Allen County Regional Hospital grounds in Iola Monday. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Keeping loyalties to schools - not politics - will be best guide for education board

Can the three newly elect ed Kansas State Board of Ed ucation members move the agenda to the far right? We’ll soon find out.

While the much-hyped red wave didn’t materialize at the national level, Republicans took all five open seats in the Nov. 8 state board elections, gaining a seven to three ad vantage over Democrats.

The new board majority may move to advance more, and more rigorous, conser vative positions. During the campaign, the three conser vative Republican candi dates’ views focused consis tently on limiting discussion of gender, sexuality and race; banning books; and requir ing all curriculum and ma terials to receive the parents’ approval before being given to students.

The three conservatives also supported “school choice,” a term that means allowing parents to claim the portion of state tax dollars going to their child’s edu cation and use it for private schools or other not assessed nor audited learning expens es.

According to a report by KCUR the National Public Radio Kansas City affiliate, the conservative candidates’ campaign websites used sim ilar language projecting a unified front on these issues.

In the past, KSDE board members have worked across party lines to support a mod erate agenda, even though Republicans outnumbered Democrats on the board.

It’s not yet clear just how much the three new conser vative board members can shift Kansas education agen das by moving the party that holds voting control toward national right-wing policies.

In general, the Kansas Legislature makes the laws governing K-12 education and it’s the responsibility of KSDE to carry out these laws including how curriculum is implemented.

November election re sults pushed the Legislature farther right and allowed Republicans to maintain a two-thirds supermajority.

Nevertheless, Republicans, even with a supermajority in the Legislature last year,

Sharon Iorio Insight Kansas

could not override a Parents’ Rights Bill or a bill prohib iting transgender students from athletic competition. Both bills were vetoed by Democrat Laura Kelly who will return for a second term as governor.

The November failure of an amendment giving the Legis lature veto power to suspend rules and regulations written by executive branch agencies under control of the gover nor, also will make it difficult for a Republican controlled Legislature and KSDE board to make ultra-conservative changes in policies governed by state law.

Yet, the state board has considerable power to shape the way education laws are put into practice such as how subjects are taught, teacher licensure and graduation re quirements.

Despite three of the open board seats going unopposed to Republicans, Kansans spoke through the election and the signal is clear. It’s time, within the legal frame work of state and federal eq uity laws, to pump-the-breaks on school issues many in the public find unhelpful, such as explicit gender/sexuality education in Kindergarten to grade three classes.

There are serious issues to be addressed — teacher shortages; funding of spe cial education; academic improvement, especially in math and reading in the low er grades — culture wars aside.

The hope is that relations on the state board don’t de teriorate, calm will prevail and special interests will give way to working through com mon concerns.

It really doesn’t matter which political party holds the majority of votes on the KSDE board as long as each of the members put the best interests of Kansas schools above party loyalties.

Colorado attack should spark action

The worst — and best — of this country was reflected in Saturday’s deadly attack on a Colorado Springs night club.

The bar, Club Q, caters to the city’s LGBTQ communi ty. It allegedly was targeted by 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, who on Monday was arrested on murder and hate crimes charges in the assault that killed five and injured at least 25 patrons. Aldrich was seen on surveil lance footage arriving at the club in body armor and al legedly using an AR-15-style rifle while carrying another weapon.

While much more needs to be learned about this spe cific suspect and the Club Q attack, it’s undeniable that despite the progress on LGBTQ rights in America, unabated hate for the com munity continues in some quarters, often stoked online by like-minded individuals.

Such hatred is a scourge upon our society. So too is the easy availability of weapons meant for warfare that often end up in the hands of peo ple like Aldrich.

“When will we decide we’ve had enough?” Pres ident Joe Biden said in a statement reacting to the at tack. “We must address the public health epidemic in all its forms.”

One attempt to do just that — Colorado’s red flag law — proved tragically in adequate in this case, even though Aldrich allegedly threatened his mother with

a homemade bomb last year. Despite this, no charges were filed, and neither rel atives nor law enforcement attempted to invoke the red flag law meant to take weap ons away from dangerous in dividuals.

This inaction is part of a broader national trend, ac cording to a September As sociated Press analysis of 19 states and the District of Co lumbia that have versions of red flag laws. Overall, the AP concluded, “many U.S. states barely use the red flag laws touted as the most power ful tool to stop gun violence before it happens, a trend blamed on a lack of aware ness of the laws and resis tance by some authorities to enforce them even as shoot ings and gun deaths soar.”

Sometimes it’s not state but local or county officials who are recalcitrant in us ing the law. El Paso County, home of Colorado Springs, “appears particularly hos tile to the law,” the AP re ported. The county joined nearly 2,000 nationwide “in declaring themselves ‘Sec ond Amendment Sanctuar ies’ that protect the consti tutional right to bear arms, passing a 2019 resolution that says the red flag law ‘infringes upon the inalien able rights of law-abiding citizens’ by ordering police to ‘forcibly enter premises and seize a citizen’s prop erty with no evidence of a crime.’”

An investigation will reveal whether Aldrich’s

family or local authorities should have acted. It’s not too early to echo the words of Colorado state Rep. Tom Sullivan, a sponsor of Colo rado’s red flag law whose son was killed in another mass shooting in the state: “We need heroes beforehand — parents, co-workers, friends who are seeing someone go down this path.”

Thankfully, there were heroes at Club Q, according to Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. He said two patrons subdued Aldrich by taking away his handgun and not shooting but hitting him with it, then pinning down the alleged as sailant until police arrived.

“We owe them a great debt of thanks,” Vasquez said.

Indeed, the entire nation does. Perhaps it can return the favor by changing Amer ica’s ludicrously lax gun laws and addressing hate against members of a com munity that has suffered so much discrimination. Satur day’s attack occurred right before Sunday’s Transgen der Day of Remembrance, meant to honor murdered transgender Americans.

In pressing for LGBTQ-protection legisla tion, Biden said in a separate statement: “This is a matter of safety and basic dignity. As we mourn the lives we’ve lost, let us continue build ing a country where every American can live free from fear and discrimination.”

— The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune

The press isn’t beholden to Trump

With the midterm elections over — along with the bar rage of mailers, phone calls and TV spots — voters can be excused if they’re not eager to be immersed in the next campaign. Yet there was Don ald Trump last Tuesday deliv ering a “very big announce ment” about his intention to again seek the GOP presiden tial nomination in 2024.

Trump’s timing turned out to be less than propitious. Many of his highly touted, hand-picked candidates were soundly defeated on Nov. 8, and critics blamed the former president for hampering Re publican gains in what was projected to be a big year for them. Interestingly, Trump barely mentioned any of this in his hourlong campaign kickoff address, which fo cused instead on the nation’s challenges moving forward.

The reaction to Trump’s announcement was decided ly mixed. But for one mem

ber of Trump’s inner circle, the fact that news networks didn’t carry every word of her boss’s oratory was an in dication of something sinis ter at work.

“They don’t want the American people to hear di rectly from the biggest leader of the greatest political move ment in our history,” Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington told a radio talk show. “So I do suspect they’ll try to censor and cut away. However, the people are anxious to hear from him. So they will go right around the major net works if they do indeed cut away … because that’s what you have to do now. We do not have the First Amendment, it’s under attack.”

Yes, well … the First Amendment may certain ly be under attack in some circles — it usually is — but Harrington’s concerns of fer no example of such. She certainly should know that

private news organizations — whether they skew to the left, right or middle — were under no obligation to air any por tion, let alone all, of Trump’s presidential announcement. The Bill of Rights imposes a host of prohibitions against government conduct in an ef fort to promote and preserve individual freedom. It doesn’t mandate that the media pro vide coverage to former or current politicians.

If Harrington wants to criticize the media, fine. It’s a line of attack that has proved fruitful for Trump — and it’s not hard to argue that many powerful news outlets have been overtly hostile to him. But it might be more effective if her assaults on the media weren’t based on an interpre tation of the First Amend ment that any high school civ ics student would recognize as fallacious and faulty.

— Las Vegas Review-Journal

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

35 Years Ago November 1987

Lena Duggan has died at the age of 108. One of her fa vorite pastimes was telling children stories about her life on a farm at the turn of the century and about the gas boom days. Duggan was born Feb. 11, 1879 on a home stead near where Kincaid was later to become a town. She was the fourth of eight children of B.F. and Mary Lutman Reiber. She married Van Marple in 1899 and later married James Duggan. She had four children and four step-children.

*****

After 22 years in the retail business at the same loca tion, Liz Armer is closing the Klothes Kloset at 17 W. Madison and try her hand at other work.

*****

Georgia Masterson, auc tion committee chair for

Hope Unlimited, is pictured holding a flag that once flew at the state capitol. It will be sold at the Celebrity Auction. Leon Thompson, Iola, has volunteered to cry the sale. Money raised will be used for shelter home supplies and to match local contributions and grants. About 20 volunteers started writing celebrities last April and items are still coming in. Some of the items up for sale are an original 1955 al bum from Tennessee Ernie Ford, autographed socks from John Travolta and T-shirts and albums from Kenny Rogers.

*****

Modern Copy Systems, 16 W. Broadway, has opened. It is owned by Roy Morehouse and Donna Curry. The com pany handles Mita copiers, provides wire service, and has supplies for all makes and models of copiers.

A makeshift memorial near the Club Q nightclub continues to grow on Monday in Colora do Springs. On Saturday evening, a 22-year-old gunman entered the LGBTQ nightclub and opened fire, killing at least five people and injuring 25 others before being stopped by club patrons. (SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

Thanksgiving travel rush begins with new habits

By DAVID KOENIG and ALEXANDRA OLSON The Associated Press

The Thanksgiving travel rush was back on this year, as people caught planes in num bers not seen in years, setting aside inflation concerns to reunite with loved ones and en joy some normalcy af ter two holiday seasons marked by COVID-19 re strictions.

Changing habits around work and play, however, might spread out the crowds and re duce the usual amount of holiday travel stress. Experts say many peo ple will start holiday trips early or return home later than normal because they will spend a few days working re motely — or at least tell the boss they’re work ing remotely.

The busiest travel days during Thanks giving week are usual ly Tuesday, Wednesday and the Sunday after the holiday. This year, the Federal Aviation Administration ex pects Tuesday to be the busiest travel day with roughly 48,000 sched uled flights.

Chris Williams, of Ra leigh, North Carolina, flew Tuesday morning with his wife and two kids to Atlanta, Geor gia, to spend the holiday with extended family.

“Of course it’s a stressful and expensive time to fly,” said Wil liams, 44, who works in finance. “But after a couple years of not get ting to spend Thanks giving with our extend ed family, I’d say we’re feeling thankful that the world’s gotten to a safe enough place where we can be with loved ones again.”

Although Williams said the family’s bud get has been tight this year, he’s capitalized on the opportunity to teach his kids some person al finance basics. His youngest, 11, has been learning how to budget her allowance money since March and is ex cited to buy small gifts for her friends on Black Friday or Cyber Mon day. “Probably slime,” she said, “with glitter.”

The Transportation Security Administra tion screened more than 2.6 million travelers on Monday, surpassing the 2.5 million screened the Monday before Thanks giving in 2019. The same trend occurred Sunday, marking the first year

that the number of peo ple catching planes on Thanksgiving week sur passed pre-pandemic lev els.

“People are traveling on different days. Not everyone is traveling on that Wednesday night,” says Sharon Pinkerton, senior vice president at the trade group Air lines for America. “Peo ple are spreading their travel out throughout the week, which I also think will help ensure smoother operations.”

AAA predicts that 54.6 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home in the U.S. this week, a 1.5% bump over Thanksgiving last year and only 2% less than in 2019. The auto club and insurance sell er says nearly 49 million of those will travel by car, and 4.5 million will fly between Wednesday and Sunday.

U.S. airlines strug gled to keep up as the number of passengers surged this year.

“We did have a chal lenging summer,” said Pinkerton, whose group speaks for members including American, United and Delta. She said that airlines have pared their schedules and hired thousands of workers — they now have more pilots than before the pandemic.

“As a result, we’re con fident that the week is going to go well.”

U.S. airlines plan to operate 13% fewer flights this week than during Thanksgiving week in 2019. However, by using larger planes on average, the number of seats will drop only 2%, according to data from travel-researcher Cirium.

Airlines continue to blame flight disruptions on shortages of air traf fic controllers, especial ly in Florida, a major holiday destination.

Controllers, who work for the Federal Aviation Administration, “get tested around the holi days. That seems to be when we have challeng es,” Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said a few days ago. “The FAA is adding another 10% to headcount, hopefully that’s enough.”

Transportation Sec retary Pete Buttigieg has disputed such claims, saying that the vast majority of delays and cancellations are caused by the airlines themselves.

TSA expects airports to be busier than last

year and probably about on par with 2019. The busiest day in TSA’s his tory came on the Sun day after Thanksgiving in 2019, when nearly 2.9 million people were screened at airport checkpoints.

was returning to Kan sas City

“We were surprised at how full the

was,” said Escutia, 32. “We thought it might be

down some but it was packed.”

She welcomed the sense of normalcy, and said her family would be gathering for Thanks giving without worry ing about keeping their distance this year.

Stephanie Escutia, traveling with four chil dren, her husband and her mother, said it took the family four hours to get through check ing and security at the Orlando airport early Tuesday. The family

in time for Thanksgiving after from a birthday trip to Disney World.

park

SCC’s Weers takes honors

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

LE ROY — Southern Coffey County High volleyball senior Josie Weers had quite the fi nal campaign of her high school career af ter being named First Team All-League in the Lyon County League as well as First Team AllState in the KVA 1A Di vision II.

Weers led her team with 4.9 kills per set and 397 total kills as well as one ace serve per set and 80 aces to tal. She was also second on the team with one dig per set and 78 total digs while also serving as one of the defensive leaders with 34 total blocks.

“Josie was a very complete player,” said Southern Coffey Coun ty head coach Jeff True. “She was a great hitter in that she had power, but also saw the floor really well. This season she was able to place attacks with a lot more accuracy, and also did a great job of tipping the ball into holes in the de fense.”

The senior led her team to an impressive 30-8 record and a 2-1 mark in Lyon County League play. The Lady Titans had 22 sweep victories where they didn’t allow the oppos ing team to win a set. The team won a pair of playoff matches against St. Paul and Hartford.

“She was a great leader on and off the court,” True said. “She will bring an excel lent knowledge of the game, a tremendous work ethic and a pos itive attitude. I think her teammates would say that she was a great team player. Someone that cared for her team mates, both on and off the court and someone that has a passion for the sport.”

Weers will take her talents to Allen Commu nity College next year.

A ‘special season’ for Smith

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

Iola native Royce Smith set a Swedish record for least goals allowed for his IFK Umeå Di vision IV south league profes sional soccer team this year.

Smith also took home the Goalkeeper of the Year award in the league, set a record for the most matches without a goal (15) as well as the fewest goals allowed in a single sea son. The goalkeeper broke the league record of the least number of goals allowed by five.

“It was the most special season,” said Smith. “I don’t think any other season I’ve had could match it. I had a lot of fun playing in Central America, but I didn’t really get a proper full season due to Covid. It was on another level, it felt like I wasn’t even there. I was just enjoying it so much in the moment.”

What made the season even more special for the Iolan was the fact his team won its league, advancing up to Divi sion III.

“I think the fact that we won against our main competition and we won at their home was one of the biggest things for us as a team,” Smith said.

Smith’s team also competed

in the Swedish Cup earlier in the year. The Cup is the tour nament that involves all of the professional, semi-profession al and amateur teams around the country to decide who the best teams are and to get a feel of where they stand.

IFK Umeå reached the third round of the Swedish Cup tournament.

The Swedish Division IV teams play a seven-month sea son which begins in April. The stamina required to last a full season is certainly a challenge for any team in the league but Smith’s team was able to leap over that hurdle and had enough depth and stamina to even play tight with many Di vision III teams.

“The trophy is cool and all but the fact that we could po tentially go up and play at the next level and beat the oppo sition and play against better teams is the goal,” Smith said. “Now that I’ve truly won some thing and everything was al most perfect, I don’t want to have anything but that now so now I’m just striving for that and craving for feeling the medal around my neck.”

Smith, 21, was married this year to a girl he met in Swe den a few years ago. He and his wife are currently living in Iola. They are working on

gaining her full U.S. legal cit izenship.

The goalkeeper realizes he is still very young in his career and wants to contin ue playing for as long as he can. Smith doesn’t know if he wants to return to the same team in Sweden next year be cause they are bringing in a new head coach which could change his playing time.

“It means a lot because I’m still young in my career so it’s a big deal to get some big acco lades and be able to work off something big,” said Smith. “I’d like to stay with them but it also depends on playing time and how the new coach feels about my playing style.”

He described his playing style as more passive than other goalkeepers’ but that he knows when to be aggressive and “get big” when the op posing team is barrelling his way. Smith is a smaller goal keeper compared to others but doesn’t let his size dictate how he performs.

“I like to hang out pretty deep in the box. I like to sit further back because first I’m a smaller goalkeeper but also I understand the size thing,” said Smith. “I’d like to say I’m good at reading the game and it helps me understand when

See IOLA | Page B6

Huge upset for Argentina, Messi

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The staggering loss for Lionel Mes si and Argentina against Sau di Arabia at the World Cup is right up there with the biggest upsets in tournament history.

Messi, who had given Ar gentina the lead before the Saudis came back to win 2-1, is playing at what likely is his last World Cup and chasing the one major title that’s elud ed him.

Messi and his highly-rated team, one of the favorites in Qatar, now have an unwanted place on a very different list after losing to a team ranked 48 places below them. Saudi Arabia had won only three games previously at the World Cup, and only one in the last

Five IMS wrestlers first at Chanute

CHANUTE — The Iola Middle wrestling team hit the mats at the Kent Frazell Invitational in Chanute on Monday af ternoon.

Five Mustangs fin ished in first place in their respective weight classes. They are Noah Anderson, Brock Mi chael, Kale Pratt, Rohan Springer and Zoie Hesse.

“Zoie Hesse is a tough girl,” said Iola head coach Jason Bates. “She’s competitive and a smart athlete. Noah An derson has really done a good job at being coach able. Brock Michael is a great asset to our team. He likes to laugh and joke, which always light ens the mood, but he also is a hard worker.”

“Kale Pratt is another wrestler that has really worked on being coach able,” Bates continued.

“Rohan Springer is an other young man that works hard. He’s smart but inexperienced when it comes to athletics. It’s hard the first time and there’s a big learning curve. Rohan has been working on position all week.”

Ruger Boren took sec ond place with 10 team points in the boys 8694 pound weight class. Boren first took down Labette County’s Gavin Myers in a 3-2 decision, then won against Fron tenac Junior High’s Owen Welsh in a 4-2 de cision. He then lost to Royster’s TJ Cash in a 33-second fall.

Cadin Peres took sec ond place with 11 team points in the boys 9399 pound weight class. Peres won by a 2-0 deci sion over Labette Coun ty’s Brock McCarty be fore being taken down by Fort Scott’s Gus Krebs on a fall 51 seconds into the match. Peres then won by a 9-0 major de cision over Coffeyville’s Lincoln Tatman, 9-0.

Braxtin Martin fin ished in third place with nine team points in the boys 103-109 pound weight class. Martin first took down Labette Coun ty’s Mason Kremer on a fall 1:09 into the match before losing to Roys ter’s Jorden Paterson in an 18-second fall. Martin then lost to Columbus’ Shade Schuberger on a fall 1:54 into the match.

“Overall I’m proud of the team and their per formance,” said Bates. “We didn’t win as many matches or get as many first place medals as we have in the past tourna ments, but the wrestlers seemed more receptive to being coached. They stayed focused even in

Iola native Royce Smith (1) goes for a header on his IFK Umea Swedish professional soccer team against a defender this past season. COURTESY PHOTO

SCC’s Josie Weers and coach Jeff True.

28 years before Tuesday’s shocker over the two-time champions.

Here is a look at some of the other major World Cup sur

Lionel Messi after tying with Chile 1-1 in a South American qual ifying match on June 3, 2021. AUGUSTIN MARCARIAN/GETTY IMAGES/TNS

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NCCC is an EOE/AA employer.

Famed ‘Goonies’ house for sale

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Good news for fans of “The Goonies:” the old Victorian home featured in the film is on sale in Astoria, Oregon, and potential buyers are considering making it more accessible to the public.

“We have a few interested parties right now,” said realtor Jordan Miller, the listing agent for the property. “It seems to be everybody’s intention to be able to open up the house a little bit more and have more access.”

The 1896 home with sweeping views of the Columbia River flowing into the Pacific Ocean has been listed with an asking price of $1.7 million on Zillow, where it’s described as “fully loaded with history, nostalgia and iconic level of fame.”

Since the movie hit theaters in 1985, fans have flocked to the home in northwestern Oregon’s historic port

— Jordan Miller

of Astoria. The city celebrates Goonies Day on June 7, the film’s release date, and welcomes thousands of people for the event.

Owner Sandi Preston was known to have been largely welcoming to visitors. But she lived in the house full time, and the constant crowds were a strain that prompted her at times to close it to foot traffic.

After the film’s 30th anniversary drew about 1,500 daily visitors in 2015, Preston posted “no trespassing” signs prohibiting tourists from

walking up to the property. She reopened it to the public this past August.

City officials, who restricted parking in the area, have long sought to mediate the tensions between residents and the fans hoping to see and photograph the location.

“While the owner of this location from The Goonies is a fan of the movie and enjoys chatting with visitors making the trek to Astoria to see the film locations, as you can imagine, it gets hard having hundreds of people crowding into your personal space every single day,” the Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce wrote in August on a Facebook page they administer called Goonies Day in Astoria, Oregon.

In the coming-of-age film, based on a story by Steven Spielberg and featuring a young Sean Astin, a group of friends fight to protect their

Over half of Mississippi’s rural hospitals risk closing

JACKSON, Miss. (AP)

— Over half of Mississippi’s rural hospitals are at risk of closing immediately or in the near future, according to the state’s leading public health official.

Dr. Daniel Edney, the state health officer, spoke to state senators at a hearing Monday about the financial pressure on Mississippi hospitals. Edney said 38 rural hospitals, 54% of the state’s total hospitals, could close. The potential closures threaten to exacerbate poor health outcomes in one of the nation’s poorest states.

“That is a situation that is intolerable from an economic standpoint — to lose 54% of our hospitals in the state — much less from an access to care perspective.”

Rural hospitals were under economic strain before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the prob-

lems have worsened as costs to provide care have increased. Mississippi’s high number of low-income uninsured people means hospitals are on the hook for more uncompensated care.

At the same time, labor costs weigh on hospitals as they struggle to pay competitive wages to retain staff.

“The costs on an income statement for a hospital have skyrocketed,” said Scott Christensen, chairn of the Mississippi Hospital Association Board of Governors. “The liabilities on the balance sheets of hospitals around the state have reached some unsustainable levels given what we face.”

The crux of the problem facing Mississippi’s hospitals is that revenues have not kept pace with rising costs, Christensen said.

The strain is most acute in Mississippi’s Delta region, an agri-

cultural flatland where poverty remains entrenched. Greenwood Leflore Hospital has been cutting costs by reducing services and shrinking its workforce for months. But the medical facility hasn’t been able to stave off the risk of imminent closure. Hospital leaders say they will be out of business before the end of the year without a cash infusion.

At Greenwood Leflore and other hospitals around the state, maternity care units have been on the chopping block. Mississippi already has the nation’s highest fetal mortality rate, highest infant mortality rate and highest pre-term birth rate, and is among the worst states for maternal mortality.

A rising number of health care deserts are emerging in the Delta, but financial pressures are bearing down on

hospitals in more prosperous areas of the state, as well, experts at the hearing said. But hospitals in poor communities often treat patients who don’t have insurance and can’t afford to pay for care out of pocket. An expansion of Medicaid coverage would reduce costs that result from uncompensated care.

About 60% of births in Mississippi in 2020 were financed by Medicaid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Gov. Tate Reeves and other Republican leaders have killed proposals to expand Medicaid, which primarily covers low-income workers whose jobs don’t provide private health insurance. Opponents of expansion say they don’t want to encourage reliance on government help for people who don’t need it.

As a near-term solu-

tion, the Mississippi Hospital Association has suggested the state’s Division of Medicaid work with federal officials to raise the Medicaid reimbursement rate cap to a higher level. The move would lower the cost of providing care for people who are already covered under the state’s current Medicaid plan.

Democratic Sen. Hob Bryan, who convened the hearing, said the financial outlook for Mississippi’s hospitals is a “market failure” that warrants full-time attention.

“What we need is somebody, somewhere in state government, who is charged with figuring what we want health care to look like now and five and 10 years down the road,” Bryan said. “Unless I’m terribly confused, there is nobody in your state government that has that charge.”

homes from an expanding country club and threats of foreclosure. In the process, they discover an old treasure map that leads them on an adventure and allows them to save their “Goon Docks” neighborhood.

Astoria and its rugged coastline served as the backdrop for several well-known films from the 1980s and ‘90s, including “Kindergarten Cop” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

For now, potential buyers of the iconic Goonies house don’t seem to want to make the house their primary residence, said listing agent Miller, suggesting it has drawn interest from people who want to “make it their passion.”

“It’s kind of a fun buy,” Miller said. “Whoever buys the house is going to have a relatively steady stream of extremely happy people walking up outside to fulfill their childhood dreams.”

Ex-Nazi secretary on trial

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors called Tuesday for a 97-year-old woman who was the secretary to the SS commander of the Stutthof concentration camp to be convicted as an accessory to murder and given a two-year suspended sentence.

Irmgard Furchner has been on trial for over a year at the Itzehoe state court in northern Germany. Prosecutor Maxi Wantzen said in closing arguments that “these proceedings are of outstanding historical significance,” the German news agency dpa reported.

Prosecutors accuse Furchner of being part of the apparatus that helped the Nazis’ Stutthof camp function during World War II.

Whoever buys the house is going to have a relatively steady stream of extremely happy people walking up outside to ful ll their childhood dreams.

MEXICO CITY (AP)

— Jimmy Garoppolo threw four touchdown passes, including two each to Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle, and the San Francisco 49ers won their third straight game by beating the Ar izona Cardinals 38-10 in Mexico City. It was the fifth regular-season NFL game played in Mexico City and first since 2019. Technically a Cardinals home game, the festive, raucous an nounced crowd of 78,427 fans heavily favored the 49ers, roaring particular ly loud when Kittle and Deebo Samuel scored on 39-yard touchdowns. San Francisco struggled ear ly in the season but has won five of its last seven. The 49ers improved their record to 6-4, while the Cardinals fell to 4-7.

As the final minute ticked off the clock, San Francisco quarter back Jimmy Garoppolo turned toward the crowd

at Estadio Azteca, lifted his hands over his head and started clapping.

Five: Mustangs first at Chanute

Continued from B1

tough situations, and they acted like champi ons when they won and when they lost.

Beau Erickson came in fourth place with four team points in the boys 105-109 pound weight class. Erickson first lost to Royster’s Kasen Audis on a fall 52 seconds into the match before falling to Gi rard’s Sammy Blair 25 seconds into the match. Erickson slipped to Co lumbus’ Levi Simpson on a fall 53 seconds into the match.

James Hunt placed second with 10 team points in the boys 110114 pound weight class. Hunt took down Labette County’s Jaden Geiger with an 8-1 decision. He then beat Girard’s Kea ton Huber in a 2-0 deci sion. Hunt lost to Roys ter’s Anthony Beard in a 7-2 decision.

Evan LaCrone took fourth place with four team points in the boys 111-116 pound weight class. LaCrone knocked off Girard’s Johnny Walker with a 3-1 deci sion before losing to In dependence’s Kaeston Lewis on a fall 2:19 into the match. LaCrone then fell to Parsons’ Mario Zacarias in a 3-1 decision.

“Our biggest obstacle in many of our tourna ments is getting over bad habits,” Bates said “I preach over and over that our practice has to simulate competition as closely as possible in at titude, effort, and accu racy. If the repeated ac tions are fundamentally sound, then what comes out in competition will be sound.”

Anderson came in first place with 16 team points in the boys 113116 pound weight class.

Anderson defeated Par sons’ Blane Beery in a 6-4 decision before he beat Frontenac’s Isaac Hamm in a 6-5 decision. He then won by a fall over Columbus’ Bro dy Carter 2:39 into the match.

Keegan Hill placed in second with two team points in the boys 114120 pound weight class. Hill lost to Parsons’ Dakota Woodke in a 7-3 decision before he knocked off Indepen dence’s Harlin Bagely in a 4-2 sudden death victory.

Michael came in first place with 16 team

points in the boys 121124 pound weight class.

He first defeated Fort Scott’s Lane Laird in an 8-2 decision before top pling Coffeyville’s Cade Keller on a fall over 1:14 into the match. Michael then won by decision over Labette County’s Vincent Mullin in a 6-2 decision.

Austin Crooks placed in third with nine team points in the boys 122133 pound weight class.

Crooks first won by fall over to Girard’s Stryker Mayhew on a fall 19 sec onds in. He then lost to Labette County’s Aaron Wyrick in a 19-2 tech fall. Crooks lastly lost to Coffeyville’s Hunter Bates in an 11-3 major decision.

Kevon Loving took third with nine team points in the boys 124130 pound weight class.

Loving first won by fall over to Fort Scott’s Landon McDaniel 2:34 into the match before losing to Girard’s Per rin Steven in a 4-2 deci sion. He then fell to Co lumbus’ Braun Stone in a 6-2 decision.

Jase Herrmann placed second with 14 team points in the boys 127 pound weight class.

Herrmann knocked off Coffeyville’s Angel Ara gon on a fall 57 seconds into the match. He then beat Labette County’s Colton Myers 1:52 into the match. Herrman fi nally lost to Frontenac’s Dakota Laverich on a fall 20 seconds into the match.

“Our goals going into this meet were to have fun, to stay focused and to be coachable,” said Bates. “When we have so many young athletes that are new to the sport, it is hard for them to

Dev Patel on a fall over 1:46 into the match.

Tripp Mathes placed in second with 14 team points in the boys 131137 pound weight class. Mathes won by fall over to Coffeyville’s Don te Penn 1:42 into the match before falling to Royster’s Joseph Gann in a 12-0 major decision. He then knocked off Columbus’ Ethan Midg ett 57 seconds into the match on a fall over.

Isaiah Geisler took fourth place with four team points in the boys 137-141 pound weight class. Pratt took first with 18 team points in the boys 137-147 pound weight class and Jo seph Holding finished in third with nine team points in the boys 140151 pound weight class.

Kollyn Wilson took fourth with four team points in the boys 140149 pound weight class, Springer took first with 18 team points in the boys 143-152 pound weight class, DeLa Torre finished in third with seven team points in the boys 165-166 pound weight class and Broderick Peters came in third with no team points in the boys 175191 pound weight class.

Three Iola girls wres tled. Olivia Mathews took third with nine team points in the girls 121-125 pound weight class, Addilyn Wacker took second with 10 team points in the girls 121-131 pound weight class and Zoie Hesse took home first with 20 team points in the girls 161-164 pound weight class.

The meet was the last of the season for Iola Middle School.

It was clear that the Mexico City crowd loved the 49ers.

Jimmy G and the 49ers gave that love — and some really good football — right back.

Garoppolo threw four touchdown pass es, including two each to Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle, and the 49ers won their third straight game by blow ing past the Arizona Cardinals 38-10 on Monday night in Mex ico City.

“The whole at mosphere tonight, I haven’t played in anything like it,” Ga roppolo said. “It was electric, the fans were nuts, they were cheer ing throughout the whole game. It seemed like a soccer game at some points, just the passion they brought. It was really cool. I’d love to do it again.”

It was the fifth regu lar-season NFL game played in Mexico City and first since 2019. Technically a Cardi

nals home game, the fes tive, raucous announced crowd of 78,427 fans heavily favored the 49ers, roaring particularly loud when Kittle and Deebo Samuel each scored on 39-yard touchdowns.

“Man, I love San Fran cisco, but if we can’t be there, I love to be here,” 49ers coach Kyle Shana han said. “This place is awesome. That was one of the coolest experienc es I’ve been a part of.”

San Francisco (6-4) has won five of its last seven and is tied with the Sea hawks at the top of the NFC West. Garoppolo had another efficient per formance, completing 20 of 29 passes for 228 yards.

It was a tight game through much of the first half, but the 49ers pulled away in the sec ond half, jumping ahead 24-10 early in the third quarter on a nifty endaround play. Samuel took the pitch and sprinted 39 yards, weaving through the Cardinals defense on his way to the end zone.

“It was really one of those pick your poison type of nights,” Garop polo said. “They tried to take away the run, so we passed it, and then vice versa. It was a good night.”

It capped a powerful eight-play San Francis co drive that included seven run plays. Aiyuk’s second touchdown catch of the night — this one from 14 yards out — put the 49ers up 31-10 later in the third.

“I hope we made a good impression,” 49ers defensive end Joey Bosa said.

The Cardinals (47) played their second straight game without Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray, who has been battling a sore ham string. Backup Colt Mc Coy had a 3-1 record in

spot starts over the past two seasons — including a win over the Rams last week — but couldn’t rec reate the same magic in Mexico.

McCoy finished 24 of 34 passing for 218 yards and an interception. The 49ers hit him hard multi ple times, connecting for three sacks.

“It’s just a bummer we didn’t find a way to win that game,” McCoy said. “But San Francis co played hard. They’re a good football team, and we just didn’t make enough plays. But for the crowd, for the atmo sphere, being able to play internationally in Mex ico City, I thought it was fantastic.”

The 49ers took a 17-10 into the halftime break after Robbie Gould con nected on a 39-yard field goal with 43 seconds remaining the second quarter. It capped a backand-forth first half that saw the teams gain al most identical amounts of yardage: The 49ers had a 186-185 advantage.

The Cardinals pushed ahead 3-0 midway through the first quar ter on Matt Prater’s 40yard field goal as both teams dealt with a steady rain that started around kickoff and continued through much of the first half.

The 49ers responded early in the second when Garoppolo hit Aiyuk over the middle for a 7-yard touchdown, cap ping a nine-play, 82-yard drive. San Francisco intercepted McCoy on the ensuing drive after a pass bounced off James Conner’s hand and was snatched out of the air by Jimmie Ward.

San Francisco capi talized three plays later when Garoppolo evad

San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) throws against the Los Angeles Chargers in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 13. NHAT V. MEYER/

BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

Beltran on HOF ballot

NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Beltrán, John Lackey and Jered Weaver are among 14 newcomers on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Hall of Fame ballot in what could turn into an evaluation of the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal.

R.A. Dickey, Huston Street, Francisco Rodríguez, Bronson Arroyo and Matt Cain also are new to the ballot, joined by Jacoby Ellsbury,

Jayson Werth, Mike Napoli, J.J. Hardy, Jhonny Peralta and Andre Ethier, the Hall and the BBWAA said Monday.

Holdovers include Scott Rolen, Todd Helton and Billy Wagner.

Rolen received 249 of 394 votes last year (63.2%), when David Ortiz was elected with 307 votes (77.9%), 11 more than the 75% needed. Helton was on 205 ballots (52%) and Wagner 201 (51%).

Public notice

She needs friends after leaving abusive marriage

Dear Carolyn: I just left my 15-year mar riage to a controlling and emotionally abu sive spouse. The last few of those years, I had no energy, barely any for my two small kids, and definitely not for people who invited me to hang out. I blew all of them off, not even necessarily because of Spouse say ing anything about me going out, just … I had nothing in the tank.

Now that I’ve left him, my energy level is through the roof. (Ap parently, he was super exhausting!) I’m still getting no sleep — kids, remember — but, like, now I want to go to the parties. I want friends and buddies!

But I’m pretty sure no one wants to invite me out again, because I’ve been a flake for so long. How do I make it up to these people and get back into having a social life without coming off as pushy or desperate?

— How to Mingle?

How to Mingle?: Stop flogging yourself! Please. I know the sting

of being put down is fa miliar, so it’ll be hard to get yourself to the point where you recog nize it as gratuitous. But kinder self-treatment is a small way you can start to trust your worth again.

Next: Choose the one to three buddies you most regret flaking on, get in touch and say why you flaked, that you’re sorry and that you’d like to see them. One on one, venture out.

Worst case, you’re exactly right: that you flaked one time too many and they’re done. But: 1. You’re prepared for that. 2. That isn’t what, an ecdotally, most people I know would do to some one who is just emerg ing from a long-term cri sis. (You wouldn’t want their friendship anyway if they aren’t able to grasp that you were in

survival mode all those years.)

You don’t have to make anything up to anyone, either. Just be honest and present. That you’re letting yourself be vulnerable, after what you’ve been through, is enough for now. I hope they see that.

Re: Mingling: I wouldn’t be surprised if some of your people are happy to know that you’ve gotten yourself out of a bad situation and would be delighted to see you again. —

Anonymous

Anonymous: Amen.

Dear Carolyn: The son of longtime friends of the family got mar ried in a large wedding last year out of state during the height of the coronavirus in our area. They were very lax about covid proto cols. We declined to at tend the wedding and, because we were both unemployed at the time, were unable to send a gift.

Since then, the moth er of the groom has been very distant and limited

Beach life is OK after knee surgery

Dear Dr. Roach: I have arthritis in both knees, but otherwise, I’m in good health (I’m 5’6” and weigh 130 pounds). My Fitbit in dicates I get about 9,000 steps per day. I am ready for knee replacement, but I’m concerned about one activity I do. We usu ally spend two consecu tive weeks at the beach, and I love to boogie board. When the tide is strong, it can take a lot of effort to get out to where the waves are.

Will I still be able to do this after knee surgery? I only do this activity dur ing those two weeks. I live in Ohio, so I am not sure that doctors here under stand beach life. — B.H.

Answer: In general, people may expect to re turn to most activities af ter knee replacement sur gery. Prosthetic knees are

To Your Good Health

very sturdy, but there are still some activities that are generally not recom mended after a knee re placement, and these are ones that can cause high impact to the knee. It’s not the degree of effort; it’s avoiding sudden trauma to the new knee.

Repetitive high-impact activities, such as run ning, are not good for people with prosthetic knees. Activities where very high impact is likely, like football, hockey and rock climbing, are not recommended. By con trast, walking, hiking, swimming and cycling are

recommended to do after surgery.

The most expert opin ion I found on surfing advised that surfing is considered OK after a knee replacement, and I found many testimonials by surfers who have done well after surgery. How ever, I would ask you to have some common sense and avoid dangerous con ditions, such as waves that should only be attempted by experts.

Since you only surf two weeks out of the year, I’d strongly urge you to do as much strength and stamina building exercise prior to your water ad ventures (I give the same advice to my patients who are passionate about ski ing). When you are there, start slow and make sure your muscles are up to the task.

in her communication, especially with me. We are both now employed and can afford a wed ding gift, but it feels as if it would be awkward to give a gift at this late date.

We will be seeing the family at a group re union. Would it be ap propriate to give a wed ding gift to the couple at that time? Or would it be better to send a gift before that? And how do I deal with my percep tion that the mother of the groom is very upset with me for not attend ing the wedding/send ing a gift and doesn’t really want to com municate anymore? — Anonymous

Anonymous: Send a gift if you want to send a gift. Now is better — less to haul with you, and less “Here’s your late gift” awkward conversa tion. Plus, the value of the gift is the giving, not the timing.

As for the mother of the groom, she can work her own [stuff] out. Real ly. Be yourselves. You’ve done nothing wrong.

Yesterday’s Cryptoquote: I grew up with six brothers. That’s how I learned to dance — waiting for the bathroom. — Bob Hope

ZITS by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman BEETLE BAILEY by Mort Walker HAGAR THE HORRIBLE by Chris Browne FUNKY WINKERBEAN by Tom Batiuk

BLONDIE by Young and Drake MARVIN by Tom Armstrong HI AND LOIS by Chance Browne

Carolyn Hax

Tell Me About It

Dr. Keith Roach

The Final Four is headed for the first time to Las Vegas, where wagering on the NCAA Tournament has long been a staple of March Madness rev elry, after the NCAA awarded the men’s na tional semifinals and championship game to Allegiant Stadium for the 2027-28 season.

The NCAA also an nounced Tuesday that Ford Field in Detroit would host the Final Four in 2027, while Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis would get the 2029 event and AT&T Stadium in Dal las would get the 2030 event.

“We are excited to bring the NCAA’s pre mier championship to Las Vegas, a city that for a number of years has hosted numerous championships from several member con ferences,” said Bradley athletic director Chris Reynolds, who chairs

the NCAA selection committee. “The feed back from leagues, the fans of their teams and the media covering the events staged there has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are confident we’ll get the same reviews.”

The national cham pionship this season will be decided at NRG Stadium in Houston, while State Farm Sta dium in Phoenix, the Alamodome in San Antonio and Lucas Oil Stadium already had been chosen for the following three Final Fours.

The NCAA long shied away from taking marquee events to Las Vegas because of its reputation as a gam bling mecca. But the stance softened over the years, particular ly as sports wagering became legal in states across the country, and many leagues have made its glitzy arenas the homes of their postseason basketball tournaments.

The Mountain West will play its champion ship game this season at the Thomas & Mack Center, the Pac-12 at T-Mobile Arena, the West Coast Conference at Orleans Arena and the WAC split between Michelob ULTRA Are na and Orleans Arena.

Las Vegas already was scheduled to host nine other NCAA championships over the next four years, and the men’s NCAA Tournament will head there for the first time next March when a re gional round is played at T-Mobile Arena.

The other Final Four sites chosen Tuesday have a history of host ing the men’s basket ball championship.

Ford Field was the site of the 2009 tourna ment, when 72,922 fans packed the home of the Detroit Lions to watch North Carolina beat Michigan State. AT&T Stadium will also get its second Final Four after hosting it in 2014, when Connecticut

beat Kentucky before a crowd of 79,238 at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Lucas Oil Stadium has hosted the Final Four six times in the past 25 years, including the 2021 event, when the entire NCAA Tour nament was conducted in front of a limited

number of fans at ven ues scattered across Indiana. When it hosts the Final Four in 2029, Indianapolis will tie Kansas City for the most times conducting the title game with 10 apiece.

“It’s been said many times about how coach es, players, fans and

media love coming to the Final Four in In dianapolis, but I don’t think you can overstate just how much every one enjoys their expe rience when they go,” Reynolds said. “The people not only em brace major events, but they don’t take a single thing for granted.”

Garoppolo: wins in Mexico

Continued from B3

ded pressure and loft ed a pass to Kittle, who juked two Ari zona defenders and then cruised into the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead.

The cavernous Esta dio Azteca — which is home to two of Mexico’s top soccer teams — sits at an altitude of about 7,200 feet, which is much higher than both San Francisco and Phoenix.

The 49ers opted to train at altitude this week in Colorado, while the Car dinals decided to stay at their home practice fa cility in Tempe, Arizona.

Arizona’s defense looked gassed in the second half, missing sev eral tackles as the game slowly got out of hand.

good team,” Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “We knew we had to play as good as we’ve played all year. And I thought they played really physical in that second half and found a way to make plays.”

BACK IN MEXICO

The teams met in Mexico City a little more than 17 years after they played in the first reg ular-season NFL game played in a country out side the U.S. The Cardi nals beat the 49ers 31-14 on Oct. 3, 2005, in front of 103,467 fans. The sta dium’s capacity has been reduced since that time for NFL games.

27-20 in 2016, the Patriots beat the Raiders 33-8 in 2017 and the Chiefs beat the Chargers 24-17 in 2019.

INJURIES

49ers: DE Arik Arm stead (foot/ankle) was listed as inactive.

Cardinals: In ad dition to Murray, the Cardinals had three other starters listed as inactive, including CB Byron Murphy Jr. (back), OT D.J. Hum phries (back) and TE Zach Ertz (knee). Ertz is out for the season. ... WR Rondale Moore (groin) left in the first quarter and didn’t re turn.

prises through the years:

CAMEROON 1, ARGENTINA 0 (1990)

Diego Maradona, an other Argentina great, led his country to the 1990 World Cup tourna ment in Italy as the de fending champion. Ma radona was established as the best player in the world and Argentina was favored to retain the title.

A little-known Cam eroon team that was playing at only its sec ond World Cup had oth er ideas in the tourna ment’s opening match against Argentina.

Francois Omam-Bi yik scored with a sec ond-half header for the African team, which was also down to 10 men at the time after a red card. Cameroon eventually finished the game with nine men af ter another sending off but kept Argentina and Maradona out.

Argentina did re

Royce Smith

Continued from B1

it’s time to come out and be aggressive.”

In Smith’s free time in Sweden, he enjoyed doing videography for different artists and music concerts and festivals around the country. Some of Smith’s videography included Macklemore. He explained that some of the DJs he met have done shows for Tech N9ne and 50 Cent when they perform in the country.

The Iola native agrees that Sweden has helped him grow as an individual on the field as well as with his character and confi dence in general.

“Most importantly, for the team and what we all did for the team was big because I had never won anything before as a profession al. Everything was al most perfect this sea son.”

Smith is employed at Goodlife Innova tions.

cover to reach the final — something that may raise Messi’s spirits slightly in Qatar — but lost to West Germany in that deciding game.

SENEGAL 1, FRANCE 0 (2002)

France was also World Cup champion when it came up against another African un derdog at the start of the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.

France’s team was packed with some of the best players in the world and no one thought they could lose the game.

But Papa Bouba Diop bundled in a goal in the 30th minute and Sene gal kept its nerve for a famous win on its World Cup debut.

France ended up ex iting in the group stage.

Senegal went on to reach the quarterfinals, just as Cameroon did in 1990.

SOUTH KOREA 2, ITALY 1 (2002)

The 2002 World Cup threw up another eye-opener when co-host South Korea made a run to the semifinals.

South Korea had beaten Portugal in the group stage but bet tered that upset with a 2-1 win in extra time over Italy in the last 16. Italy was a threetime champion at the

time while South Korea had never won a World Cup game before the tournament.

Ahn Jung-hwan, who was playing his club soccer in Italy at the time, headed in a golden goal three minutes from the end of extra time to send the Italians home and reward a fanatical home crowd with a last ing World Cup memory.

UNITED STATES 1, ENGLAND 0 (1950)

Haitian-born Joe Gae tjens was the unlike ly hero for the United States in a 1-0 upset over England at 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

The American team was basically made up of part-timers and the result reverberated across the game as one of the first big World Cup upsets.

NORTH KOREA 1, ITALY 0 (1966)

Italy was on the wrong end of anoth er upset in 1966 in En gland, when North Ko rea beat the Azzurri 1-0 in the first World Cup it ever played in. The re sult eliminated the Ital ians and sent the North Koreans to the quarter finals.

North Korea wasn’t even expected to qualify for the tournament and didn’t play at another World Cup until 2010.

“That was a really

There have been three other regular-season games played in Mexi co before Monday — all at Estadio Azteca. The Raiders beat the Texans

UP NEXT 49ers: Host the Saints on Sunday.

Cardinals: Host the Chargers on Sunday.