The Iola Register, Dec. 23, 2022

Zelenskyy sees ‘turning point’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy told cheering U.S. legislators during a defiant wartime visit to the nation’s capital on Wednesday that against all odds his country still stands, thanking Americans for helping to fund the war effort with money that is “not charity,” but an “investment” in global security and democracy.

The whirlwind stop in Washington — his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February — was aimed at reinvigorating support for his country in the U.S. and around the world at a time when there is concern that allies are growing weary of the costly war and its disruption to global food and energy supplies.

Zelenskyy called the tens of billions of dollars in U.S. military and economic assistance provided over the past year vital to Ukraine’s efforts to beat back Russia and appealed for even more in the future.

“Your money is not charity,” he sought to reassure

both those in the room and those watching at home. “It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”

Just before his arrival, the U.S. announced a new $1.8 billion military aid package, including for the first time Patriot surfaceto-air missiles. And Congress planned to vote this

Traditions from sleigh bells to macaroni

Note: For today’s Christmas memory, some of the Register staff are sharing their favorite traditions and holiday moments.

Susan Lynn, editor

When Susan was a little girl, she would travel with her parents and three older brothers to visit her maternal grandparents in Chicago for the holidays.

Back then, a white Christmas was guaranteed in the northern city and her grandparents took full advantage by hiring a driver and horsedrawn sleigh to take the family through the city’s snowpacked streets.

“We were all snuggled down amid a pile of blankets,” Susan recalled. “We’d always go at night to ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over the Christmas lights.

“I can still hear the ringing of the bells around the horses’ necks. In fact, I have some sleigh bells, I suppose passed down from my grandmother.”

The magical time was even more special because visits to her grandparents’ home were typically just once a year. Just like Santa.

Tim and Violeta Stauffer, managing editor and marketing director

Christmas is a time to spend with family.

For Tim and Violeta, the holiday often gives them an opportunity to travel to Violeta’s home country, El Salva-

dor.

They are there now with their children, Lucas and Sofia, visiting relatives. Thursday they visited a botanical garden. Thursday’s temperature there was 80 degrees; in Iola, it was -1.

“Christmas is a time for us to reconnect and celebrate.

Christmas Eve is when we celebrate the holiday. It’s a busy day with lots of food, a house full of laughter and hugs, and fireworks throughout the night,” Tim said.

“We wish everyone a wonderful holiday.”

Richard Luken, reporter

“A former colleague came to my house on Christmas Eve and told me I’d be visited by three spirits. It changed my life,” reporter Richard

Luken jokes.

Actually, instead of spirits he has three memorable Christmas stories to share.

In 1984, both his parents worked as truck drivers. The family lived with his grandmother at the time. Both his mom and dad were able to be home for Christmas.

“I don’t remember there was anything special about it,” he said. “But it was just extra cheery when they were home that year.”

Then, in 2009, Richard hosted the family’s Christmas Eve celebration during what would become a massive blizzard.

No one had any issues getting there. “The trouble was getting them to leave.”

His dad had to drive everyone home, as travel was diffi-

cult.

Brutal

Old man winter, as promised, arrived like a freight train overnight, bringing in a glazing of ice, an inch or so of snow, and plenty of bone-chilling cold temperatures. Above, visibility was limited in downtown Iola as wind-swept snow fell in front of the Allen County Veterans Wall. At left, Sharla Miller sprinkles ice melt in front of her Farm Bureau Financial Services office at 208 S. Washington Ave. Forecasts call for the frigid cold to persist through Saturday before more seasonal temps return on Christmas Day. The upside? A White Christmas is practically assured for Allen County. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Usually, the family would gather on Christmas Day for dinner and games. That didn’t happen until the day after Christmas.

And just a couple years ago, Richard had COVID at Christmastime. It was a unique experience, as he celebrated with family via Zoom.

Every Christmas, without fail, Richard receives a package of macaroni and a bottle of tomato juice from his sister.

“You don’t monkey with tradition.”

Vickie Moss, reporter

If cousins are our first best friends, that was especially

PIXABAY.COM

Farmland escapes real estate slump

By MICHAEL HIRTZER Bloomberg News

Buying a plot of land in rural America has never been so expensive. And that’s even with soaring interest rates.

Rising commodity prices mean farmers made record amounts of money this year, spurring a rush for space to plant in 2023. More demand comes just as people fled to the countryside during the pandemic — with non-metropolitan areas growing faster than urban ones — and investors turned to fields as a hedge against inflation.

Farmland prices in the Midwest, the nation’s breadbasket, jumped 20% just in the third quarter from a year earlier — bucking a downturn in the residential real estate market, according to

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at a news conference Wednesday in Washington, D.C. ABACA PRESS/YURI GRIPAS/TNS

Register staffers gather for a holiday photo. They are, seated from left, Vickie Moss, Liz Cox, Susan Locke and Paiton Richards; second row, Richard Luken, Paul Vernon, Kristi Kranker, Susan Lynn, Nathan Cope, Quinn Burkitt, Tim Stauffer and Violeta Stauffer. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Obituary

Lyle Fosdick

Lyle Dean Fosdick, 70, Iola, died Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, at Allen County Regional Hospital, Iola.

Lyle was born Jan. 10, 1952, in Garnett, to John “Bus” Fosdick and June (Tullis) Fosdick.

He and Crystal McCormick were married Aug. 1, 1983, in Miami, Okla.

She survives, as do a son, James (Erica) Hunt, Iola; daughter, Jessica (Shane) Womack, Iola; four grandsons and numerous other relatives and friends.

A visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 27, in The Venue at Feuerborn Family Funeral Service, 1883 U.S. 54, Iola. A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Interment will follow in Sunny Slope Cemetery, Blue Mound.

Memorials are suggested to the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility (ACARF), which may be left with the funeral home.

Condolences may be left at www.feuerbornfuneral.com.

Former lawmaker convicted of COVID-19 relief fraud

WICHITA, Kan. (AP)

— A former Kansas state lawmaker was found guilty by a federal jury Wednesday of 12 felonies for lying on applications for federal COVID-19 relief.

Federal prosecutors said Wichita Republican Michael Capps, 44, filed forms inflating the number of employees he had at two businesses and a sports foundation, and then applied for loans to pay the nonexistent employees. A federal grand jury indicted Capps in September 2021 and he pleaded not guilty.

The Wichita Eagle reported that Capps was found guilty of three counts of making false statements on loan applications, one count of bank fraud, four counts

of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering. Capps could face millions of dollars in fines and decades in prison at sentencing.

Capps was acquitted Wednesday on six other counts, and a 19th count was dismissed before trial.

Prosecutors said the fraud involved the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and Emergency Injury Disaster Loan programs, which were designed to provide assistance to businesses that struggled during the pandemic.

Capps and his defense lawyer Kurt Kerns did not respond to questions from reporters after the verdict.

Humboldt students recognized

HUMBOLDT — Humboldt Elementary School has announced its second-quarter honor rolls for the 2022-23 school year.

All A’s:

Third grade

Bodee M. Allen, Jayden H. Brady, Rollyn M. Burgett, Lance “Tripp” Carlson, Gracie L. Chapman, Jaci K. Daniels, Novella F. Johnson, Annabelle A. Koch, Maxton T. Mueller, Kodi N. Page, Jax A. Thomas, Taylor B. Weilert, Riggs W. Whitworth and Sutton G. Wimsett.

Fourth grade

Ava M. Booth, Quayd Clay, Ryan D. Cress, Bethany F. Croisant, Izaac J. Cruse,

Grace M. Cunningham, Alayna M.L. Ellis, Lincoln G. Foster-Gwillim, Brinley F. Gean, Jaylie M. Herrmann, Zoey S. Hess, Hunter P. Hurt, Kenady S. Lucke, Ali’ana S. McCarron, Quinn N. Miller, Mason B. Mueller, Taitum L. Ryan, Brock J. Schomaker, Case L. Schomaker, Hunter K. Umbarger, Brooklyn J. Watson, Sutton D. Wehlage, Azahlynn G. Wilkerson and Logan A. Williams.

Fifth grade

Hadlee M. Allen, Kynlie R. Baughn, Brilee L. Bruce, Sydney D. Daniels, Kimberlyn I. Foster, Jaxon M. Gunderman, Eliot J. Hurt, Kinsley L. Isbell, Waylon D. Johnson, Addison L. Koch,

Deegan R. Megenity, Kaylynn M. Olson, Mylan B. Sterling, Lois G. Henderson and Marcus A. Whitcomb.

A-B Honor Roll:

Third grade

Ryverli N. Allen, Jordyn R. Ballard, Tylan L. Baylor, Emily L. Black, Natalie L. Covey, Lydia L. Culver, Christopher J.W. Foster, Kobyn D. Goff, Trevington L. Johnston, Natalie L. Kaufman, Austin M. Kindelsperger, Laynee F. Megenity, Brynlee A. More, Christina L. Willey and Hezekiah S. Zellner.

Fourth grade Kahleeya D. Blackwell, James J. Frederick, Lucy G. Galloway, Dakota L. Haigler, Morgan K. Hencey, Eldon

L. Johns, Mattie K. Jones, Sophia A. Lee, Zaden J. Mellen, Lane R. Newman, Zoey B. Sanchez, Eli J. Seibert, Jaiden S. Shimp, Nicholas D. Thummel, Asher W.L. Turner, Hudson D. Wrestler and Taylin L. Yelm.

Fifth grade Lacey M. Cox, Caylor L. Defebaugh, Amy D. Franco, Jared N. Frogatte, Tanner R. Hurst, Abel H. Lemons, Orval S. LeClair, Camryn C. Miller, Tate Thomas, Kale Arnold, Jazzmyn R. Bumstead, Jaxson L. Gillespie, Aiden C. Morgan, Ryker Platt, Sawyer A. Robinson, Rhys L. Treiber, Peyton L. Weilert, Macie A. Wools and Ezekiel A. Zellner.

ACC announces fall honor rolls

Allen Community College has announced its fall 2022 honor rolls.

President’s Honor Roll (4.0 GPA)

From Iola — Cynthia F. Ballin, Caiden E. Cloud, Braxton A. Curry, Brooklyn M. Ellis, Jasmine M. Ledford, Maci J. Miller, Leah J. Mueller, McKenna D. Orear, Adrianne N. Reynolds, Cooper L. Riley, Elijah S. Smith, Kalibre J. Smith, Addison N. Solander, Jack B. White and Karley A. Wools.

From Humboldt — Chloe B. Daniels, Nautianna J. Goforth, Laura R. Hegwald, Morgan D. Hunter, Anna K. Jennings, Maddox A. Johnson, Elizabeth C. Melendez, Trey A. Sommer, Morgan L. Sterling, Elias O. Works and Brooke C. Yokum.

From Moran — Paulia C. Ard, Jenni C. Armstrong and Antonio Campos.

From Colony — Anna C.

Hermreck and Madeline K. Spencer.

From Yates Center — Sabrina M. Bishop, Morgan R. Collins, Kalley E. Minor and Emery L. Yoho.

From LaHarpe — Madelynn M. Hodgden.

From Le Roy — Kyla C. Lankton, Olivia N. Ludolph and Jalea D. True.

From Chanute — Jada B. Dangerfield and Ethan M. Henry.

Dean’s Honor Roll (3.53.99 GPA)

From Iola — Raven N. Allen, Areil Bennett, Jenna A. Curry, Amber Hartford, Vivian N. Noah, Nevaeh T. Pantoja, Karina R. Sanchez, Gracelyn M. Schemper, Kailey N. Schinstock, Samira C. Stanford, Gavin M. Stockebrand, Raegan K. Trester and Patrick W. Weaver.

From Humboldt — Kaiden M. Barnett, Helaina M. Chryssikos, Jailynn A. Go-

Farmland: Prices still high amid slump

Continued from A1

data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the National Association of Realtors. That was the eleventh consecutive quarter of gains, the longest streak since 2014.

Jim Schultz, who runs Open Prairie, a private-equity investment firm in central Illinois, believes farmland prices could double in the next 10 years. That’s after the 13,000 acres he bought between 1987 and 1992 for $750 an acres are now worth 16 times more.

“I believe we’re at the start of a decade-long trend,” said Schultz, who says he has no interest in selling. “We sit in a very good position.”

Growers across the U.S. are making more money as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine chokes off supplies from a key producer of everything from corn to wheat and sunflower oil. Higher prices have boosted farmer profits to almost $161 billion this year, a 14% increase from 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates.

Broadband expansion

More demand for farmland coincides with pandemic-induced shifts in population.

The number of people living in non-metro counties rose 0.3% in the 12 months ended in July 2021, the first time the growth in rural population outpaced that of urban areas since the mid-1990s, according to USDA.

Tom Halverson, chief executive officer of Co Bank, a cooperative lender serving rural

America, said the expansion of broadband and the ability to work from home helped fuel that shift.

“The reality is that for the first time in several decades, rural America is picking up population,” he said on Bloomberg TV this month. “It’s our hope and our expectation that this will be somehow structural, but it will be unevenly distributed across the country.”

Farmland has also become more attractive as owners seek to make money from the shift to clean energy. Demand for renewable diesel — made from vegetable oils but with identical chemical properties to the petroleum-based fuel — is expected to triple in the next five years, according to BloombergNEF.

Growers also have space for solar panels and wind turbines, with the number of farms with photovoltaic installations doubling in the five years to 2017, according to the most recent USDA census of agriculture. Still, farmland with renewables assets accounted only for 6.5% of the total, highlighting untapped potential.

Producers can also now gain from sequestering carbon, with the price Indigo Ag pays farmers for carbon dou bling in the past two years.

U.S. recession

To be sure, rising rates and a potential U.S. recession next year could still hit the farmland market. Prices for grade-A plots in Illinois could decline between 2% and 5% next year, according to Luke Worrell, a farmland broker in the state’s town of Jacksonville.

“Between decreasing returns and higher interest rates, you’re hitting your top two buyers of farmland. It’s a one-two punch,” Worrell said in an interview.

“We’ve had a wild ride, but we’d be naive to think it will last forever. We have to prepare for a little softening.”

Matthew Fitzgerald, who grows organic corn and soybeans with his family in McLeod County, Minnesota, said the biggest challenge for young farmers is the cost of land. He tapped a USDA program to expand his family’s 200 acres to about 2,500 acres, and is partnering with agriculture-land investment platform AcreTrader, which pur-

chases land that he then manages and co-invests in.

“With farmland prices at these levels, it’s a total puzzle to figure out how to be competitive and how to acquire land,” Fitzgerald, 31, said by phone. “Midwest commodity farming is a lot like the mafia — you have to know someone or have a lot of money.”

Real asset

In the long term, a growing global population coupled with a changing climate makes productive land in the Midwest integral to global food production.

Interest from outside investors is also on the rise. Farmland is considered a great hedge against inflation because the commodities it produces usually gain in value when overall prices rise.

“Land is a real asset,” Gary Schnitkey, professor at the University of Illinois, said at a conference in Champaign. “Do you want to own a piece of dirt or cryptocurrency? It’s a good way to diversify your asset pool.”

forth, Laken E. Hunter, Gabrielle A. Sandoval and Anya-Sophia J. Woods.

From Moran — Garrett C. Henderson.

From Colony — Dean S. Phillips and Ethan J. Prasko.

From Yates Center — Krais D. Baker.

From Le Roy — Rylee C. Mattheis.

From Bronson — Alexa R. Fuhrman and Kaydra L. Woods.

From Chanute — Autumn D. Sharp.

Honorable mention (3.0-3.49 GPA)

From Iola — Rain F. Burleson, Alexandria L. Escobar, Natalie M. Fees, Grace E. Garner, Tristan M. Mittelmeier, Laura Newkirk, Elaina R. Stiffler, Mariah G.E. VanNice and Alissa K. Yarnell.

From Humboldt — Kirsten R. Kobold, Danica R. Modlin and Ethan F. Weiner.

From Moran — John Q.

Adams II.

From Colony — Jarrod M. Powe.

From Yates Center — Emma L. Grogg, Isabela L. Lewis, Callyn P. Miller and Grace M. Westerman.

From LaHarpe — Alejandro Vargas-Garcia.

From Le Roy — Kyanna J. Lankton.

From Chanute — Ashleigh L. Baker and Kyrie A. Goltry.

Bingo canceled

LAHARPE — Bingo is canceled at the VFW Post in LaHarpe this Friday as well as next Friday, Dec. 30, according to Maggie Barnett.

Arizona to remove wall of shipping containers

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will take down a makeshift wall made of shipping containers at the Mexico border, settling a lawsuit and political tussle with the U.S. government over trespassing on federal lands.

The Biden administration and the Republican governor entered into an agreement that Arizona will cease installing the containers in any national forest, according to court documents filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.

The agreement also calls for Arizona to remove the containers that were already installed in the remote San Rafael Valley, in southeastern Cochise County, by Jan. 4 without damaging any nat-

ural resources. State agencies will have to consult with U.S. Forest Service representatives. Ducey has long maintained that the shipping containers were a temporary fixture. Even before the lawsuit, he wanted the federal government to say when it would fill any remaining gaps in the permanent border wall, as it announced it would a year ago.

“For more than a year, the federal government has been touting their effort to resume construction of a permanent border barrier. Finally, after the situation on our border has turned into a full blown crisis, they’ve decided to act,” C.J. Karamargin, Ducey’s spokesman said. “Better late than never.”

Memories: Register staffers reminisce

She lived near her cousin, Aimee, during most of their childhood. They were just five months apart in age. Their younger brothers were similarly close in age and also best friends.

One year, their parents went out together for an evening, right before Christmas. Vickie and her brother were home alone; Aimee and her brother were at their house.

Vickie and Aimee called each other, back in the days when a phone hung on the wall and its cord limited your actions.

Vickie doesn’t remember how it started or whose idea it was (Aimee was usually the ringleader) but the four kids realized they could carefully unwrap their presents, take a peek and rewrap them exactly as they were.

They took turns. One of them would stay on the phone while the other unwrapped and rewrapped one of their presents. Then, they would switch places and the cousins would talk about what they saw.

They looked at all the presents under the tree.

“You’d think that would ruin the magic of it, but it was so much fun and so naughty,” Vickie said.

“The funny part is, I don’t remember what

any of the presents were. I just remember the excitement of running back and forth from the Christmas tree to the phone, laughing all the way.”

And Santa must have been too busy to notice. He still brought presents on Christmas Eve, so they had a few surprises.

Quinn Burkitt, sports reporter

Quinn’s favorite Christmas tradition is going to a tree farm to find and cut down the perfect tree. He is from Maryland.

The family also enjoys watching movies such as “The Polar Express” and drinking hot chocolate, but the live tree is what makes Christmas extra special.

“The act of decorating the tree brings a lot of laughs, love, and stories being told,” he said.

“On Christmas morning, the tree is unlike anything else. It seems to shine and sparkle its brightest when everyone is gathered around to open gifts and share in the moment. Having a real tree is a staple in my house. It’s what keeps the Christmas spirit alive through the whole season.”

Paul Vernon, advertising

Paul Vernon says his family “puts the fun in dysfunctional.”

Their holiday traditions included watching

a lot of classic Christmas movies, including “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and “A Christmas Story.”

Yes, he can still quote just about every line.

“You’ll shoot your eye out!”

His parents were divorced, which sometimes meant a hectic shuffling during the holidays, but Paul said his mom, dad and stepmother were very good at collaborating.

“My dad loved gift giving,” he said.

One year, his father handed the kids an Amway catalog and told them they could each order an item.

“We found out you could order steak out of this thing,” Paul recalled, amazed.

That’s not what he ultimately picked, but he’s still astounded to think he could have ordered himself a steak dinner for Christmas.

“I remember our holidays being full of laughter and smiles.”

Susan Locke, circulation director/office manager

SueLo (as she’s affectionately known in the office) said her parents always let the kids open one present on Christ-

See Xmas | Page A4

Merry Christmas

From Doc and Kathy Monfort – Once again we come to years end. 2022 has own by and we turn our thoughts and thanks to the blessings in our lives, our family, friends, co-workers, clients, community, and all of the beloved pets that enrich our days. We wish all of you the happiest of holidays and Bow-Meow to the puppers and kitties.

From Leon and Diane LaGalle – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Leon, Diane, and Elsa.

From Kristen Ulrey – Hoping everyone has a safe and happy holiday this year!

Merry Christmas from

From Ti any Hurlock – e cold is a beautiful reminder to o er warm wishes for a happy holiday season. May your holidays be bright. Much Love, e Hurlocks

From Megan Westerhold DVM – I have enjoyed working with many of you this year and caring for your animals, both large and small. As we enter the holiday season, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a healthy and prosperous 2023!

From Brande Beyer DVM – It’s the time for re ection and I feel blessed to have provided care for many large and small animal patients this year. I wish you all the magic of the season. Happy Holidays from my family to yours.

From Belinda Garten DVM - During this holiday season, we count our many blessings. We are thankful for the opportunity to care for your animals, both large and small. We treasure the many friendships and bonds that we have developed over the years because of working at RBVS. Finally, we are thankful for our many clients who allow us to share a small part of their lives and the lives of their animals. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and many blessings in the new year!

From Leann Flowers DVM – I would like to wish everyone a very Merry and Blessed Christmas season. I appreciate your business and love seeing all your furry family members. Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

From Christine Freelove – Wishing you all a Tail-waggin and Purr-fect Christmas. Have a paws-itively amazing New Year!

From Hallie McDermeit – Merry Everything and Happy Always!!

From Caleigh Porter – Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May the New Year bring you Joy and Cheer! From Caleigh, Macey & Winston.

From Nicole Haney – is time of year is a perfect time to spend with your family and friends, especially those of the furry variety! Wishing you lots of seasonal cheer and warmth. Happy Paw-lidays from Nicole, Brice, Penguin, and Shrimp Haney.

From Laura Boone – Sending best wishes to your family from mine. As we end this year, may you nd happy and loving memories to cherish and hold near to your heart. May your Christmas be Merry, and your New Year be Happy. From the Boone home to yours!

From Veronnica Cumplido – May everyone’s Christmas Wishes come true and good luck with all of your resolutions this year!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Veronnica and Fancy Cumplido! May all your sweaters be ugly and bright!

From Natalie DeGrado and Arabella (the hound dog) and Finn (the Fine) – May your Christmas be furry and bright!! Happy, happy holidays!

From McKenna Esfeld – We wish you a very Merry Holiday Season and the warmest wishes for the New Year! McKenna & Luna Mae

From Amanda Taylor – May this Christmas season ll you with warmth and good cheer that lasts all throughout the coming year! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! From Amanda and Molly Taylor (and Oran, too)

and a Happy New Year! From all of us to all to you!

true for reporter Vickie Moss.

Xmas: Register employees share notable holiday memories

Continued from A3

mas Eve. And it was always pajamas.

Her father used an old-fashioned, Reel To Reel video camera to film everyone opening their presents on Christmas morning, so he wanted them to look nice in their new pajamas.

In the morning, they always started with their Christmas stockings.

“My poor dad was not a morning person,” SueLo recalled. “A lot of times he’d have just gotten to bed when he had to get up and start filming.”

Her family still has those old movies. Her sister had them transferred to DVD.

“We still watch them at Christmastime.”

Paiton Richards, accounts receivable/ human resources

Paiton was terrified of Santa as a child. She told her parents: “That big, scary, old fat man isn’t coming into my house.”

They cleverly created a magic key that hung just outside the door, so Santa could open the door — just a crack — and slide the presents into the home.

Paiton said what made the holidays special for her are the many traditions.

Her family kicked off the season with Black Friday shopping the

day after Thanksgiving. It was sort of a rite of passage, as all gener-

enough to go.” Another tradition was making her grandmother’s sugar cookie recipe. Everyone gathered for a day of baking, cutting out the dough with various cookie cutter shapes. They had five different colors of icing and a variety of sprinkles to choose from.

On Christmas Day, the family gathered and made either chili or vegetable soup, “so us kids didn’t really eat anything.”

much fun playing with our cousins, we usually didn’t go home.”

After her grandmother and her grandmother’s sisters passed away — right around the holidays a few years ago — the holidays haven’t been the same.

“It’s hard when you lose the people who were the glue,” Paiton said. “But we’ve had fun making new traditions.”

Liz Cox, administrative assistant

heritage.

“Our holiday tradition is to try to get everyone together to cook enchiladas ahead of time because we have Mexican food for Christmas,” she said.

This year, they made 17 dozen enchiladas.

Typically, between 30 and 40 family members gather at her sister’s house to enjoy the meal.

“We also try to get all the grandkids together to bake cookies.”

ations would travel to Kansas City for the day.

“You had to be old

Her favorite part was that “it was such a long day. We woke up early, and then we had so

Liz’s large family gathers every year to celebrate Christmas and honor their Mexican

Liz is staying home for Christmas this year, but told her sister to save some enchiladas “if there are any left.”

Tim and Violeta Stauffer and their children Lucas and Sofia are in El Salvador for Christmas.

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Ukraine’s request is in America’s best interest

Last weekend I attempted to channel Ukraine by making a big pot of Borscht. (We’ve almost made our way through it.)

Susan Lynn Register editor

Paired with rustic bread and a hearty wine all that was missing was a lively Yiddish tune in the background. Who am I kidding?

The only thing that meal has in common with today’s Ukraine is the unfortunate coincidence that the soup’s beet-red color mimics their blood-soaked battlefields.

The lucky put up with intermittent heat and electricity. Others mourn their dead. They all are fearful of what the future holds.

I was anxious about Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. Wednesday — his first trip out of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion 300 days ago.

Besides his personal safety, I worried whether members of Congress would give him the respect he deserves. Would there be offensive shout-outs — or worse.

Thankfully, Mr. Zelenskyy was enthusiastically received by the joint session, demonstrating most recognize that what’s at stake involves more than just Ukraine.

After hearing Mr. Zelenskyy’s impassioned address, I can’t fathom denying his request for more aid because, as he so clearly explained, “Your money is not charity. It’s an investment in global security and democracy …...

“This battle cannot be frozen or postponed. It cannot be ignored assuming that an ocean or something else will provide protection.”

“From the United States to China, from Europe to Latin America … the world is too interconnected and interdependent” to think this war will remain contained if not stopped now.

Earlier in the day, President Joe Biden, who has done a masterful job in uniting European leaders in support of Ukraine said, “We understand in our bones that Ukraine’s fight is part of something much bigger. The American people know if we stand by with such blatant attacks on democracy and liberty … the world would surely face worse consequences.”

NOT EVERYONE seems to care.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the likely incoming House ma-

jority leader, is urging fellow Republicans to vote against the omnibus spending package that includes $45 billion in emergency funds to Ukraine, crucial to maintaining its defense against the Russian incursion.

Some Republicans get it.

On Tuesday, Sen. Mitch McConnell said, “Providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United States. That’s how we see the challenges confronting the country.”

What some fail to recognize is that Ukraine is defending U.S. democracy as well as its own.

“They’re doing us a favor; they’re fighting our fight,” is how Wesley Clark, the retired American general and former supreme allied commander of NATO forces in Europe explains it. “The fight in Ukraine is a fight about the future of the international community.”

Decision to release Trump’s tax returns fails smell test

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee were so busy patting themselves on the back after Wednesday’s partisan vote to publicly release former President Donald Trump’s tax returns that they forgot one thing: explaining why this is legally necessary or proper. The vote wasn’t an attempt to uphold the law or demonstrate illegality but rather to satisfy the curiosity of millions of Americans who just want to view a billionaire ex-president’s tax returns.

It’s almost prurient, as if Congress has agreed to release tax porn for public viewing.

Just because the committee chairman, Rep. Richard Neal, praised his colleagues for not being “punitive” or “malicious” doesn’t make their decision right.

When reporters pressed members to explain why the release was necessary, they appeared to struggle for a legal justification. That’s probably because existing federal law doesn’t require prospective, sitting or former presidents to release their returns.

Such release is strictly voluntary, which all major-party candidates since the Nixon administration have done as a way of demonstrating they have nothing to hide. Trump chose not to. Any implication that he had something to hide was a political risk he was willing to take.

Trump was within his legal right not to release his returns, regardless of the bogus excuse he gave that he couldn’t as long as an Internal Revenue Service audit was underway. The Ways and Means Committee short-circuited his right to privacy.

Several states have passed laws requiring candidates to publicly release their tax returns or be denied a place on the ballot. Congress should consider a similar federal law or, more to the point, one that requires all presidential candidates as well as past or current presidents to release their tax returns. But because Congress hasn’t done that, Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee had to concoct a legal standard regarding Trump.

In all likelihood, the

six years of returns now being prepared for release contain lots of salacious details. In all likelihood, Trump skirted the law and bilked the U.S. Treasury out of millions — even hundreds of millions — of dollars in taxes owed. If so, let the Internal Revenue Service prove it.

On that score, the IRS did fail glaringly in its legal requirement to audit Trump as a sitting president. For his first two years in office, no such audit occurred — in violation of the law. Why that happened, whether through dereliction of duty or pressure from Trump, are legitimate questions Congress should seek to answer.

The job of Congress is to uphold the law, which is where Republicans fell down when it came to investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Democrats prove themselves no less prone to putting politics above the law when they deny a citizen — even if he was the president — a right to tax-reporting privacy.

This decision doesn’t pass the smell test.

— St. Louis Post-Gazette

Others, however, are more insular.

Wednesday afternoon, Republican firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia denounced Zelenskyy as our “shadow president” and Ukraine as the “51st state.”

Wednesday evening, Republican Chip Roy of Texas called Mr. Zelenskyy’s request as nothing more than “political theater.”

The only “performances” happening these days in Ukraine are funerals. More than 17,500 Ukrainians have sacrificed their lives in defending their country’s right to remain a sovereignty.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, continues to stand against aiding Ukraine. Earlier this year he called it “a slap in the face to millions of taxpayers who are struggling to buy gas, groceries, and find baby formula.”

Saying Americans will be denied some other good or service if we aid Ukraine is

a specious argument. This is not a zero-sum game.

Nor is the request going to break the bank. If approved, total U.S. aid to Ukraine will amount to $110 billion. The U.S. defense budget for 2023 is $858 billion.

Also, the sooner we help Ukraine defeat Russia, the less expensive it will be overall.

IF ALLOWED to succeed, Mr. Putin won’t stop at Ukraine because his ultimate goal is to undermine NATO, the security alliance between the United States and the bulk of Europe that has kept the peace there for the last 75 years. Were more of eastern Europe, including Poland and the former Soviet countries of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and the Balkans, to be attacked — the likely scenario if Russia succeeds in overtaking Ukraine — the U.S. would have no choice but to defend its NATO allies, essentially launching World War III.

Before Mr. Putin’s invasion, Mr. Zelenskyy was often a target of ridicule because his greatest talent up to then was as a comedian whose widespread popularity got him elected president.

What has since been discovered is that this unlikely president is equipped with a scrupulous moral compass that has helped the world once again realize that self-determination and liberty are worth dying for.

On Wednesday night President Zelenskyy assured members of Congress that his troops, not Americans, would do the fighting — and the dying.

But he needs our help in securing the necessary ammunition.

It’s the least we can do — for both Ukraine and the United States.

Singing hits all the right notes

Hark — it’s not just herald angels singing. From choirs in care homes to choirs in cathedrals, from organized singalongs to children belting out “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in school halls, voices are raised in song, and raised together. For some, this is the only time of year that such singing happens.

It feels as if this is how it has always been. But of course indoor singing was prohibited, along with all other communal activities, in March 2020. Apart from a few months when a couple of UK government-sponsored studies meant indoor singing was allowed in carefully distanced groups of six, amateur choirs as we generally know them were muted for more than 18 months.

Much guidance about singing during that time went back to a paper about one superspreader incident in the U.S. early in the pandemic. As we said at the time, more information was urgently needed. That information is now available.

Researchers recently concluded that most choir members who fell ill in the incident in

Mount Vernon, Washington, had already been infected. Turns out that singing is no more dangerous, Covidwise, than talking at a similar volume.

There were many reasons why it mattered that choral activities were stopped. Pleasure, of course, in both the singing and — hopefully — in the hearing. Group singing, as the popularity of karaoke bars attests, is fun. It’s also accessible: despite the legions of people given the impression, often in childhood, that they can’t sing, nearly anyone can learn. And the only equipment required — one’s own body — is free. No instruments are needed.

Singing requires deep and regular breathing, which can have an immediately tempering effect on stress levels, and a more long-term effect on lung capacity. Controlled breathing releases endorphins and activates parts of the brain related to emotion. The psychologist William James was on to something when he said: “I don’t sing because I’m happy. I’m happy because I sing.”

Singing with others gives a sense of connec-

tion, of teamwork and togetherness, without the requirement for conversation. But this doesn’t mean it’s passive: the singer must both make an individual effort and listen to others. As singing provides goals (working toward a performance, for instance, or just learning a new song), it can produce a sense of achievement, which can improve confidence. It can also boost memory. Young children across the world learn everything from alphabets to the complexity of relationships through song.

Singing demands the singer be in the moment, rather like meditation, or sport. There is even some evidence that it may help to sustain a healthy immune system. Choirs have been used to support people struggling with their mental health; they can help with dementia, brain injuries, cancer care, even with pain relief. Singing can be prescribed by GPs. The reasons for the ban were understandable. But communal singing should in future not be so easily lost. It’s for life, not just for Christmas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds a U.S. flag after his address Wednesday night before a joint session of the U.S. Congress. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, left, gave Mr. Zelenskyy the flag, which had flown from U.S. Capitol that day. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

Ukraine: Zelenskyy thanks America; sees ‘turning point’

week on a fresh spending package that includes about $45 billion in additional emergency assistance to Ukraine.

The speech to Congress came after President Joe Biden hosted Zelenskyy in the Oval Office for strategy consultations, saying the U.S. and Ukraine would maintain their “united defense” as Russia wages a “brutal assault on Ukraine’s right to exist as a nation.” Biden pledged to help bring about a “just peace.”

Zelenskyy told Biden that he had wanted to visit sooner and his visit now demonstrates that the “situation is under control, because of your support.”

The highly sensitive trip came after 10 months of a brutal war that has seen tens of thousands of casualties on both sides and devastation for Ukrainian civilians.

Zelenskyy traveled to Washington aboard a U.S. Air Force jet. The visit had been long sought by both sides, but the right conditions only came together in the last 10 days, U.S. officials said, after high-level discussions about the security both of Zelenskyy and of his people while he was outside of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy spent less than 10 hours in Washington before beginning the journey back to Ukraine.

In his remarks to lawmak-

ers, Zelenskky harked back to U.S. victories in the Battle of the Bulge, a turning point against Nazi Germany in World War II, and the Revolutionary War Battle of Saratoga, an American victory that helped draw France’s aid for U.S. independence. The Ukrainian leader predicted that next year would be a “turning point” in the conflict, “when Ukrainian courage and American resolve must guarantee the future of our common freedom — the freedom of people who stand for their values.”

Zelenskyy received thunderous applause from members of Congress and presented lawmakers with a

Ukrainian flag autographed by front-line troops in Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s contested Donetsk province. The flag was displayed behind him on the rostrum by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris. Pelosi, in turn, presented Zelenskyy with an American flag that had flown over the Capitol that day, and Zelenskyy pumped it up and down as he exited the chamber.

Declaring in his speech that Ukraine “will never surrender,” Zelenskyy warned that the stakes of the conflict were greater than just the fate of his nation — that democracy worldwide is being tested.

“This battle cannot be ig-

nored, hoping that the ocean or something else will provide protection,” he said, speaking in English for what he had billed as a “speech to Americans.”

Earlier, in a joint news conference with Biden, Zelenskyy was pressed on how Ukraine would try to bring an end to the conflict. He rejected Biden’s framing of finding a “just peace,” saying, “For me as a president, ‘just peace’ is no compromises.”

He said the war would end once Ukraine’s sovereignty, freedom and territorial integrity were restored, and Russia had paid back Ukraine for all the damage inflicted by its forces.

By EDDIE PELLS The Associated Press

Sports, politics often collided in 2022 ’Cats fend o Radford

The unspoken deal between sports fans and their favorite teams and players has been, in theory: Sure, there are billions of dollars being thrown around, but at the core, sports are supposed to be fun and games, a never-ending menu of two- or three-hour escapes into a land of winners and losers where nobody really gets hurt.

For all but the most starry-eyed fanatics, that worldview unraveled in 2022 — much as it did the year before, the year before that, and the year before that, and so on. A more accurate assessment might be that sports are not so much an escape from the world’s problems as simply another window into them.

Hardly a day passed in 2022 when a headline running across the ticker on ESPN would’ve been every bit as fitting on CNN or Fox Business or, in some cases, on NBC’s “Dateline.” The intersection between sports and real life ranged from toxic workplace environments, alleged sexual misconduct, sportswashing, cryptocurrency, transgender sports and the COVID-19 pandemic — plus a sprinkling of doping, geopolitics, hypocrisy and corruption.

The AP Sports Story of the Year was about a basketball player, Brittney Griner, whose plan to travel to Russia to play in the offseason ended up as a high-stakes diplomatic battle between the United States and Russia.

KU women fall in triple overtime

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)

— Jaz Shelley scored 24 points, hitting two of Nebraska’s three 3-pointers in the third overtime, and the Cornhuskers handed No. 20 Kansas its first loss of the season 85-79.

Shelley’s first 3 opened the scoring in the third overtime for a 73-70 lead and after Ioanna Chatzileonti scored the first five Kansas points, Shelley hit again to make it 78-75.

Alexis Markowski had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Cornhuskers (10-3) and Sam Haiby scored 12 points.

Nebraska lost starter Allison Weidner to a leg injury when she crashed into a court-side television camera early in the fourth quarter. Zakiyah Franklin finished with a career-high 27 points in 54 minutes for Kansas (10-1).

Taiyanna Jackson had 18 points and a career-high 21 rebounds.

Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison for possessing a small amount of hashish oil, which is illegal in Russia. Months of tense negotiations ensued. Ultimately, Griner was released, and the sign-off for both countries’ negotiating teams

came from none other than Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin.

Putin, who, as much as any world leader, has tried to use sports to project his country’s strength, began the year front-and-center with Chinese premier Xi

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP)

— Nae’Qwan Tomlin scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Keyontae Johnson added 16 points and seven rebounds and Kansas State held off Radford 73-65 on Wednesday for its fifth straight win.

Tomlin scored six points during an 11-0 run as Kansas State took the first double-digit lead of the game at 45-35 with 14:22 remaining. Johnson’s highlight was an alley-oop dunk, off Markquis Nowell’s lob from midcourt, to made it 69-52.

Kansas State was ahead by 17 points with 4:04 left before Radford scored 13 of the next 15 to get within 71-65.

Johnson sealed it with two free throws at 20.4.

Nowell finished with 10 points and 11 assists and Desi Sills also scored 10 for Kansas State (11-1), which has won 11 non-conference games for the first time since 2017-18. K-State is off its best start since opening the 201617 season with a 12-1 record.

Tomlin, who entered averaging 10.4 points per game, was 11 of 18 from the field and Johnson, a Florida transfer, reached 1,000 career points.

Kenyon Giles scored 20 points and DaQuan Smith added 12 for Radford (6-7).

Kansas State opens Big 12 play against West Virginia on Dec. 31.

Late sportswriter celebrated at New York City gathering

NEW YORK (AP) — Grant Wahl was remembered for his peripatetic life as a sportswriter, pursuit of social justice and lasting impact on family, friends and people he mentored.

Wahl died at age 49 from aortic aneurysm on Dec. 10 while covering a World Cup match in Qatar. A two-hour celebration of his life at The Times Center on Wednesday drew several hundred people, including colleagues and soccer officials.

“Grant and I were really just kids when we met at Princeton,” said his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, her voice cracking at times. “I was 18. He was 21. In many ways, we finished growing up together. ... He hadn’t traveled the world, yet. In fact, he’d only been out of the country twice at that point, both times to Argentina. But as much as I made fun of his provincial palette back in those days, there was something worldly about him, this curiosity he had about the world.”

Wahl grew up in the Kansas City suburb of Mission, received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton in 1996 and became a fact checker at Sports Illustrated. He was promoted to writer and covered college basketball and soccer before

switching fulltime to soccer. “Grant really did write to Sports Illustrated in late elementary school to say: ‘My name is Grant Wahl and I want to write for your magazine,’” recalled his brother, Eric Wahl. “And he really did get a response that said some-

thing like: Dear Grant. Thanks for your letter. That’s cute. Keep writing.’ But the fact that he received a reply stuck with him.”

Wahl’s rebuke of retiring Princeton basketball coach Pete Carril in the Daily Princetonian in 1996 was recalled as an early sign of Wahl’s moral backbone and his 2002 SI cover story on LeBron James as an example of his prescience. Later in his career, Wahl advocated LGBTQ rights and criticized FIFA and Qatar’s government for their treatment of migrant workers.

Wahl stayed at SI until he was fired in 2021 during a time of the magazine’s retrenchment, then started his own website. Wahl also had a Planet Fútbol podcast.

“Grant’s effort to be Anthony Bourdain of soccer without ever trying heroin,” said Joel H. Samuels, dean of the University of South Carolina’s College of Arts and Sciences, host of the celebration, a friend from Princeton days and the officiant at Wahl’s wedding.

“It was not easy to be

Grant’s editor even then,” Samuels said of their Princeton days. “Every word that Grant Wahl wrote was gold. And I know that’s true for all of you writers, but for Grant, he would push back on any word we wanted to edit, ever.”

New Yorker editor David Remnick, who taught Wahl at Princeton, recorded a video tribute. Among the speakers were three of Wahl’s colleagues from Sports Illustrated: Alexander Wolff, L. Jon Westheim and Mark Mravic. The celebration included video of Wahl speaking and photos of many of his SI cover stories.

Wolff recalled “the high pitch his voice took on when he recounted an absurdity committed by some blazer-wrapped buffoon of world soccer.”

“In the past week, some have called our love epic. Was it an epic love story?” Gounder said. “I suppose it depends on what you mean. We had to overcome obstacles. I wasn’t a sports fan, which confused many of our friends when we first got together.”

“It was hard at times sharing Grant with the rest of the world,” she added. “Until this past week, I didn’t realize just how much he’s shared of himself with all of you.”

Jinping, as the autocrats used the start of the Beijing Olympics to highlight their partnership on the world stage.

Shortly after those Games, Russia invaded Ukraine,

Basketball star Brittney Griner, clockwise from top, Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder and LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman, shown with former President Donald Trump at an LIV tournament in August, all made headlines in 2022 that had nothing to do with sports. TNS

In this le photo from April 8, 2014, Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl speaks on a panel discussion at the 2014 Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival in New York City. GETTY IMAGES FOR BUDWEISER/MICHAEL LOCCISANO/TNS

The ideal candidate will have, or be willing to obtain, ASE certifications including A1-A8, G1, and L1, as well as experience working in an automotive service and repair shop. A minimum of an Associate Degree (or willing to obtain) in Automotive Technology, or a related field, plus either 2 years of related work experience or teaching in the automotive field, is required. The successful candidate needs to have excellent verbal and written communication skills, as well as be able to successfully complete a criminal background check. Bilingual applicants encouraged to apply.

Applications will be taken until the position is filled.

To apply, please go to my.fhtc.edu and click on the Careers tab, or feel free to provide a cover letter and resume via email to Sandy Weeks, Director of Human Resources

careers, while giving the instructor the opportunity to work in an ever-changing and exciting field. This full-time, 9-month position offers a competitive salary, commensurate with experience and education level, KPERS retirement plan, paid health insurance, as well as options for dental, vision, life, accident, cancer, and disability insurance. Enjoy holidays and summers off with a flexible workweek schedule.

BY GEORGE DICKIE

they’re doing something that’s encouraging their child to grow to be a healthy and happy young person and adult, then course, continue doing it. But if they’re doing something that’s not quite on track for that, then the next par t of that self-reflection is self-correction. So those are the most, in my opinion, humbling things that any parent can be a par t – self-reflection and selfcorrection.

As a parent, did you catch yourself doing that here?

Oh, of course. There were parents there that – my only comment to them during a break was, I’d look at them and say, “Goals.” (Laughs) I mean, there’s a traditional parenting on this show that I fell in love with because my grandparents were ver y integral in rearing me. And then there was a family that reared their children in rural America as farmers. I identified with them because my grandparents were farmers. So I was constantly reflecting, constantly And of course, my children are all young adults but now I have two grandchildren, so it’s kind of like a second chance.

‘Cool’ wedding band now makes him cringe

Dear Carolyn: My wife and I were high school sweethearts and got married in college. Despite the struggles of marrying so young, I wouldn’t change a thing — except the wedding band I chose.

We picked out our rings together, and I wanted my ring to look cool. My wife wisely chose a classy and timeless style. My ring is large, clunky, mostly black and has a cringey design on it with a shiny faux stone inlay. I loved it at the time and couldn’t understand why my dad laughed when he first saw it.

I’ve matured and have slowly come to hate it. I am very self-conscious about it at the office and usually take it off when I meet with important clients. I feel horribly guilty, because my wife saved for almost two years to buy me that ring.

For our 10th anniversary, I gently broached the topic of getting a ring that looks more adult and professional, but my wife is hurt, say-

Hax

ing that she has wonderful memories of picking our rings out together and saving her waitressing tips to buy it, that we’ve had the bands all these years and that it’s really special to her. I absolutely do not want to hurt her feelings, but I just don’t want to wear this monstrosity anymore.

Is this even a joint decision, or is it my ring, my choice? — Love the Marriage, Hate the Wedding Band

Love the Marriage, Hate the Wedding Band: You share those wonderful memories, clearly — so you will wear the original ring on special occasions.

And wear a new, timeless band the rest of the time.

Your wife’s attachment is touching, but she is well into the wrong here. Guilting

you into wearing a dated ring she knows you don’t like is not cool.

A chat reader suggested a vow renewal: “Doesn’t have to be a big affair. Just a new band for you and an anniversary band to add to hers if she’d like.”

Dear Carolyn: I have a girlfriend I have dated on and off for 25 years. We met when we were both 15, and we are now 40. I have been married twice, and she has remained unmarried. We decided to try once more to see whether we could make the relationship work. She believes we are soul mates, if you believe that kind of thing; however, I am skeptical, because we have tried maintaining a relationship over the years and failed.

I have produced children in my marriages and unfortunately she has not, and she believes she is past the childbearing age. I’m trying to figure out whether I should just let her go, because evidence shows we aren’t great for each other. But I feel guilty about

Topical hair treatment is pretty safe

Dear Dr. Roach: I’m a 66-year-old man who has been losing hair since my 20s. I’m in pretty good health and still young at heart, so I decided to try topical minoxidil. While I have lost my ordinary head of hair, I still have thin wisps of hair across the top of my head. (I’m not “shiny head bald.”)

When I read the instructions of the minoxidil, it warned against using this for bald men, but it didn’t specify why.

Do you know if I could be doing harm or risking my health by us-

CRYPTOQUOTES

ing minoxidil, even if it likely won’t produce the desired results? I figure it doesn’t hurt to try, but the warning against it has me concerned. — D.E.

Answer: Topical minoxidil (solution or foam applied to the scalp, not minoxidil taken by mouth) is pretty safe. It can be irritating to the scalp, but seldom has other ill effects. Men who have had hair loss for many years, who don’t have nonvellous

hair (i.e., “peach fuzz”), and who have larger amounts of baldness are less likely to get a response, but are not at increased risk from a trial of minoxidil.

You should know that men often get increased hair shedding when first starting minoxidil, which stops after about two months. It takes four to eight months for hair regrowth to start, and it’s recommended to use the medication for a year before making an assessment of whether it’s effective (photos may help you decide).

Finally, if you stop the medicine, all the benefit you had from treatment will be lost within a month or two.

her not having children, because, in a way, it feels as if she has been waiting for me, and I owe her my love. — Skeptical

Skeptical: What? No. You don’t owe anyone yourself because you feel guilty. Or a child, if that’s what you’re implying. Gah.

Date her if you enjoy her company. Don’t if you don’t.

If you do enjoy her company but only in limited doses, then say the “evidence shows we aren’t great for each other” thing out loud. Misleading her while you indulge yourself is contemptible.

Nevertheless: Even if you led her on, and even if she was only biting at whatever leading-on bait you dangled, any consequences of her choice to wait for you are hers to reckon with, including not having children. Because she can’t trust you. Plus we all must own our selfdeceptions.

And if you don’t see being a father again, then get a vasectomy. Stat.

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

Dr. Keith Roach

2022: Sports tangled frequently within political landscape

leaving the global sports community to wrestle with whether Russian athletes should be able to compete in international events, sometimes head-tohead against athletes from the country under siege.

“I think it’s fairly simple,” said Sebastian Coe, the head of World Athletics, when asked in November what it would take to see a Russian in a track meet anytime soon. “Get out of Ukraine.”

As the year closed and the war remained far from a conclusion, Coe was hardly in the majority among world sports leaders.

Many of those leaders, meanwhile, had brought their athletes home safely from China, where the government shuffled all 2,800 competitors and thousands more officials and media in and out of the country for the Beijing Games without suffering a major COVID-19 outbreak.

It happened thanks to the country’s draconian, opaque testing procedures and cordoned-off Olympic venues, all of which served to tamp down any notion of dissent or free speech in a land that doesn’t view any of that kindly. The COVID restrictions helped China ultimately prove that it could pull off a major worldwide event in the midst of the pandemic — even if the festivities fell short of the global outpouring of peace and love that the Olympics so desperately wants to be.

“It’s kinda like sports prison,” Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris said.

China was hardly the only country hoping to use sports for air of legitimacy — or to whitewash its own perceived sins.

The creation of the breakaway LIV Golf tour took up virtually all the oxygen in that sport, as much for disrupting the status quo as for being bankrolled by a wealth fund backed by Saudi Arabian leaders who detractors said had blood on their hands. For a time, the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the Saudi citizenship of the 9/11 terrorist attackers drowned out birdies, bogeys and Tiger Woods’ health as the biggest talking points in golf.

Later in the year,

misgivings about holding soccer’s World Cup in Qatar were placed under a similar microscope. The country’s poor treatment of migrant workers and members of the LGBTQ community, to say nothing of the alleged corruption involved in awarding the tournament to a kingdom with no soccer roots, overshadowed the runup to a tournament that nevertheless concluded with Argentina winning one of the most thrilling soccer matches ever.

While the World Cup was unfolding, the cryptocurrency world was melting down. The bankruptcy of multibillion-dollar crypto exchange firm FTX and the arrest of its owner, Sam Bankman-Fried, had sports connections everywhere. Tom Brady and Steph Curry were pitchmen for the company, and FTX’s name quickly came off the arena where the Miami Heat played.

Despite that, 2022 was the year that crypto officially became entrenched in sports, for better or worse, via sponsorships of leagues, endorsement deals by athletes and, of course, crypto-backed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that are becoming a new status symbol of sports stars, who have, for decades, had a knack for inducing fans to buy what they buy and wear what they wear.

“It would make sense for these (crypto) companies to work with a sports team or a sports celebrity because there’s an emotional attachment that goes along with that partnership,” said Brandon Brown, who teaches sports and business at New York University’s Tisch Institute for Glob-

al Sport.

In basketball, Griner’s was hardly the only story that strayed far outside the lines. The year was filled with reports about the rot that infiltrated the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, whose owner, Robert Sarver, was pressured into selling the team after the details emerged.

Employees documented years of abuse and toxic workplace culture that included frequent disrespect of women and use

of racially inappropriate language.

Another owner behaving badly: Daniel Snyder of the NFL’s Washington Commanders.

Snyder found himself accused by a congressional committee of standing in the way of investigations about sexual harassment and misconduct that had allegedly been prevalent throughout the organization for two decades. Part of the investigation

suggested the franchise was receiving help from the NFL itself in slowing down investigations. It’s a claim the NFL has denied, while pointing to its own outside probes into conditions that existed on Snyder’s team.

In many corners, the saga reflected poorly on a league that has long been trying to grow its female fan base. Not helping was the ongoing story of one of the league’s best quarterbacks, Deshaun Watson, who, in 2022, reached settlements with 23 women who accused him of sexual misconduct while he was getting massages. He served an 11-game suspension that ended just in time for the holidays. He has not admitted guilt.

But perhaps the single issue that underscored the inseparable bond between sports and all it touches was the furor over the future of transgender athletes.

It is among society’s most complex topics, one steeped in a mix of physiological science, common sense, human decency and, yes, politics — and one that has

left different sides of the debate at seemingly intractable loggerheads.

The international swimming federation, in the wake of Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas’ title at the NCAA championships, was among a number of global sports entities that wrote, or updated, guidelines in 2022 in an attempt to bring clarity. So did legislatures in no fewer than 18 states across the U.S.

One goal, said Olympic swimming champion Donna de Varona, an outspoken advocate in the transgender debate, should be to find some nuance in both the debate and the policymaking.

“But nobody wants nuances,” she conceded.

Such is the bottom line in sports, the place where fans go not for shades of grey, but, rather, to see wins and losses neatly summed up in black and white.

What became clear as ever in 2022 is how far past the scoreboard we have to look to see the true outcomes of the games.

Penn swimmer Lia Thomas prepares to race at UPenn’s Sheerr Pool in Philadelphia in January. Thomas nished in rst. Thomas is a transgender athlete who is among the nation’s top swimmers in her events. TNS