The Iola Register, June 24, 2023

Moving the needle in Iola

Coffee shop owners eye new downtown development

By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register

It takes a fresh pair of eyes — or even better, two pairs — to see potential in the well-worn.

“I don’t think people understand what they have here in Iola. It’s very special,” said Myra Gleason of the Fillmore Coffee & Plant Café.

She and husband, Gabe, are recent transplants from Sacramento, California.

The couple have lived in Iola for less than a year. In that time, they opened the unique coffee shop that includes a small menu as well as houseplants.

This spring they announced opening Milk & Marrow, a drive-thru coffee and pastry shop on U.S. 169. They plan to break ground after July 4 in preparation for their September debut.

And in the last several weeks, they have begun gutting a long-vacated building at 105 W. Madison with plans to renovate the historic space into a venue that offers indulgent pastries, relaxing lounge areas and a unique culinary experience coupled with alcoholic beverages.

“Just don’t call it a bar,”

said Gabe.

Which, after a walkthrough of what the Gleasons

have planned, is totally fair. The building dates to the 1890s, according to Kurtis

Russell, director of the Allen County Historical Society. Its many iterations over the years included a real estate and loan office, tailor shop, and until the 1970s as Wolf beauty and barber shop.

The couple have had their eyes on the project for months, Gabe said, but the knowledge that in the next few years Iola will be home to a bustling Lehigh Portland State Park turned their dreams into action.

“It’s good timing because once the state park is fully developed, everyone’s going to have a reason to visit Iola,” he said. “Up to now, there’s not been a huge pull to visit here. State parks are absolutely massive. People from all over the world and country are going to come visit.”

There’s not a moment to lose, he added.

“Once the state park opens, you’ll have to meet people where they’re at, not hint at things to come,” he said. “We have a small window of opportunity across the next two years to get Iola ready.”

Transfer of the land to the Kansas Department of Parks and Wildlife is on track to occur in July.

THE POSSIBILITIES extend beyond tourism.

“We want people to be able to build a life here,” Gabe said. “If young, single people from Kansas City come here to visit, we want them to say, ‘I could imag-

Ukraine: Russia may strike at nuke plants

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine wants other countries to heed its warning that Russia may be planning to attack an occupied nuclear power plant to cause a radiation disaster, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Members of his government briefed international representatives on Thursday on the possible threat to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said he expected other nations to “give appropriate signals and exert pressure” on Moscow.

“Our principle is simple:

Artist’s legacy: Grandson follows Hawk’s footsteps

By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register

CHANUTE — At first glance, Michael Smail’s robot art looks nothing like the western-themed watercolors of his renowned grandfather, Gary Hawk.

But step back and give it some thought, and maybe you’ll start to see Hawk’s influence.

Look carefully and you’ll notice the ever-present critters — rabbits, mice, ferrets, owls, crows — interacting with robots. You might appreciate the flowers and trees weaving through the metal, or see storm clouds gathering in the background.

“Grandpa never said he was a cowboy artist. He was a rural western wildlife artist,” Smail said.

“For me, wildlife is important because it balances what I’m trying to say about technology. And by painting wildlife and nature, part of me is giving back to my grandfather.”

Smail, who lives in Overland Park with his family,

Michael Smail painted “Blackbird” for a special showing at the Chanute Art Gallery, now open until July 8. His grandmother died while he was finishing this painting, which is about death and rebirth. “Sometimes, life imitates art in ways you don’t realize,” he said. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Gabe and Myra Gleason, owners of Fillmore Coffee & Plant Cafe, are renovating a building in downtown Iola to create a new dining and drinking establishment. REGISTER/SUSAN LYNN

Smail: Grandson follows Iola legend’s artistic footsteps

Continued

grew up working by his grandfather’s side. The only thing he ever wanted to be was an artist.

The Chanute Art Gallery, 17 N. Lincoln St., is featuring Smail’s work until July 8. Smail will attend a reception from 1 to 3 p.m. on the final day of the exhibit.

AS HE prepared to display his art at the Chanute gallery, Smail decided to create a special piece for the show.

He called it “Blackbird.”

“It’s really about death and rebirth.”

Half of the robot’s head, an arm and one eye are missing. Sticks protrude from its body, while vines and flowers wind around the broken parts.

Two blackbirds perch on the robot, watching over two baby birds in a nest. Even amid death and destruction, life endures.

He was working on the painting when his grandmother, Beverly Hawk, died on June 5. He finished the piece as he processed the loss of his second grandparent in 18 months; Gary Hawk died Jan. 1, 2022.

The loss delayed completion of the painting. Though his exhibit opened June 6, Smail wasn’t able to display “Blackbird” until Wednesday.

Knowing its history, you might view “Blackbird” with just a touch of melancholy.

“Sometimes, life imitates art in ways you don’t realize,” he said.

“That’s what inspires my work. Things that happen around me make their way into a painting, and somehow I turn it into a robot.”

SOME OF SMAIL’S earliest memories are of his grandfather.

“I remember running around wearing cowboy boots and a hat at the American Royal, telling people to come see my grandpa’s art,” he recalled.

He often attended conventions and art shows to help Hawk sell his paintings.

At age 14, he started to work in his grandfather’s studio where he framed paintings and answered the phone.

In high school, he was allowed to take a work release and served as an apprentice to Hawk.

Each morning, he’d eat breakfast with his grandfather. Then, Hawk would put on his cowboy boots and they’d head to the studio for the day.

“Grandpa had big shoes to fill. He made it look very easy,” Smail said.

Often they’d drive through the country and his grandfather would

see something such as ducks swimming in a pond. He’d stop to take a photo, and those ducks would make it into a future painting.

“People don’t fully understand what it takes to create a piece of art. Before you put the first paint on paper, you’ve got half the work done, countless hours of concepting and collecting images,” Smail said.

“That’s the part I saw with my grandfather, the passion. And that’s the part I love, that creative process.”

Smail studied art at the University of Kansas, then studied graphic design at Johnson County Community College. That’s where he met his wife, Gabdao, who also goes by “Em.” They have a daughter, Mikka, and son, Zane.

Smail worked as a bartender on weekends for years “to support my art addiction.” He focused on his art at a home studio during the week. Hanging above his drafting table is a small sculpture made by a friend of Hawk working at his drafting table.

If Smail has any regrets, it would be not spending more time with his grandfather in recent years. Smail visited Iola a couple of times each year and the two of them usually ended up spending the entire day in Hawk’s studio, talking.

“If I could continue a legacy, no matter how small, or if I could find a fraction of the happiness he had with his career, then I will be successful,” Smail said.

SMAIL does most of his work on commission, but he’s been exploring other avenues to increase his exposure.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smail started a YouTube channel where he livestreams the creative process. Sometimes, he starts from scratch, drawing and then coloring a picture that takes anywhere from one to three hours. He learned most viewers tune out during the sketching process, so sometimes he’ll start with a ready-to-color sketch.

The pandemic led to a sort of ironic change in his work. While many used the lockdown as inspiration to create art, Smail created less. That’s because his family was home during the day, instead of at work or school, and he spent more time with them.

Now, he’s back to working on the YouTube channel. He’s also hoping to increase efforts to show his work at events such as comic cons, galleries and art shows. He’s especially looking forward to comic con events, as his work seems to fit that aesthetic.

“My grandfather did the American Royal and western shows, so I’m basically looking for my audience in the same manner,” he said. “I’m always trying to figure out the next thing.”

Smail didn’t start drawing and painting robots right away. His earlier work was more likely to feature a giant octopus.

McIntosh/Booth Insurance

One day, he started doodling robots in his sketchbook. People were eager to buy them.

He wondered, “If people are so interested in my robots, how far can I push it?”

Smail realized modern humans are very much tied to technology, so he reversed it. He drew portraits of robots that looked very humanoid, doing human things. He’ll imagine a period in history, substituting robots instead of humans.

“Everywhere you look, someone has a cell phone in their hands or their head in a computer. I want to embrace technology and nature in a way that is fun and whimsical, and in a way that somebody is going to get some emotion out of it.”

Of course, creating emotion while representing a cold chunk of steel is harder than you might think. Most of his robots don’t have a mouth, and mechanical eyes can convey only so much humanity.

“You can’t do it through facial expression so I use body lan-

guage. I pose my robots in such a way to convince you there’s emotion there,” he said.

“That’s another reason why I use animals. They can really warm up a piece.”

He makes his animals as realistic as possible in juxtaposition to the man-made metal. He likes the textures created through feathers and fur. Smaller animals such as mice and birds seem to fit better into the robot world.

His favorite piece is called “Hare Trigger”

and features a rabbit riding a bomb (“There’s no robot in it — yet.”). He likes the concept so much, he did a second version that features an entire forest growing on the bomb. He’ll probably do more. You won’t see “Hare Trigger” at the Chanute gallery, but Smail has prints available for sale there. You can find his work online and order prints at stinkyrobotart.com. Stinky Robot is also the name of his YouTube channel.

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Gary Hawk with several of his watercolor paintings during a show at the St. Louis Arch. Also shown are examples of Michael Smail’s robot artwork, including sketches he made during YouTube livestream shows, at bottom. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Tropical storm season starts with Bret, Cindy

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Cindy has formed behind Tropical Storm Bret, in the first case of two storms in the tropical Atlantic in June since record keeping began in 1851, forecasters said Friday.

The historic event signals an early and aggressive start to the Atlantic hurricane season that began on June 1 and that usually peaks from mid-August to mid-October.

Ambitious: Iola couple shares plans

Continued from A1

ine myself living here.’”

To their eyes, what could make Iola more attractive is a “date night” venue.

“There’s no reason to dress up here,” Gabe contended.

The Madison Avenue venue aims to cater to all age groups. For the younger generations, the Gleasons have planned a confectionery wonderland replete with a display case full of desserts such as creme brulee, gelato, and other yummy treats.

The menu will also include non-alcoholic “mocktails” and a selection of sodas reminiscent of classic beverages like old fashioneds featuring handcrafted syrups.

Beyond this room will be a cocktail lounge featuring artisanal drinks crafted by Gabe, who for the last 10 years has worked not only as a chef but also as a bartender skilled in concocting infusions and tinctures for signature cocktails.

As with their coffee shop, the Gleasons believe in expanding customers’ palates.

“We’re aiming for the same level of excellence,” Myra said. “We don’t just give you a cup of coffee, but we know who harvests the beans.”

The new venue will also include an upstairs members-only speakeasy where patrons can enjoy an even more intimate setting to enjoy the Gleasons’ private stock of bourbons and whiskeys as well as food offerings.

“To some, liquor has a bad connotation,” Gabe said. “Anything can be over-indulged in. Our goal is to teach people how to properly enjoy and appreciate spirits. Their history is amazing. Heck, even George Washington distilled whiskey,” he said.

If this sounds pie in the sky, the Gleasons have seen small towns like Iola turn their fortunes around through such adventures.

They ticked off the California towns of Roseville, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Newcastle, Centerville and Auburn.

“Auburn is a perfect example of how a small town used its resources to build tourism,” Myra said.

Since 2000 Auburn has increased its pop-

ulation by about 11%, from 12,400 to 13,700, in part due to its charming atmosphere “that puts customers first.”

THE FIRST PHASE of renovating the old building on West Madison has come with some delightful surprises.

Once the plaster and wallpaper were removed, the underlying brick walls emerged designer perfect, with the requisite splatters of white plaster. Behind interior walls they have discovered “hidden” doors that appeared to lead to the outdoors.

They eventually envision erecting an outdoor patio setting on the south side of the building where there’s an alleyway, “like in New York City where they have all those little back-alley settings with stringed lights,” said Myra.

WHAT makes the Gleasons so ambitious?

They say it’s because they come from an expensive part of the country where “just to get by we both had full time jobs with multiple side hustles,” Myra said. “To come here and have only one job doesn’t feel like I’m doing enough.”

The couple said the cost to launch a new business in California also prevented them from pursuing their dreams.

“Just to start a coffee shop we’d need a down payment of at least $600,000 if not $1 million,” Gabe said. “Californians claim they’re pro small business, but the risk-to-reward ratio here is so favorable compared to there.”

Iola’s dining landscape has lots of room to grow, they said.

“In most cities there’s a high-end cof-

fee shop on every corner,” Myra said. “We’re millennials who were raised in coffee shops. It’s a culture now. Coffee shops are being written about in travel magazines. There are magazines solely devoted to coffee. There are coffee conferences and national barista competitions.”

Bringing that energy to Iola is their goal.

“We want to bring some of the things that we miss, the things that we feel everybody should experience,” said Myra.

“Plus, these old buildings, they’re absolutely gorgeous. There’s not a lot like these left in California,” Gabe added.

The added bonus, Gabe said, has been the community’s response.

“We have had multiple people ask us how they can help,” he said. “The buy-in has been tremendous.”

“The Atlantic is awfully warm this year,” said Kerry Emanuel, a meteorologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, adding that it’s partly a result of global warming, natural variability and the ocean’s recovering from sulfate aerosols pollution that cooled it decades ago.

Studies show that a warmer world is producing wetter and more intense hurricanes, with scientists still trying to figure out if climate change alters how many storms brew.

Because of more early and pre-season storms, the National Hurricane Center has started issuing advisories earlier in the year, with experts recently discussing the idea of declaring the start of the hurricane season earlier.

Emanuel noted that in the entire Atlantic Ocean, not just the tropical Atlantic, it’s not unusual to have storms in June. It has happened 34 times — including this year — since 1851, he said.

Cindy is expected to remain a tropical storm as it heads northeast into open waters.

Meanwhile, Bret brought winds, heavy rain and swells of up to 15 feet early Friday to islands in the eastern Caribbean that shut down to prepare for potential landslides and flooding. Officials in the French Caribbean island of Martinique said they were searching for four people who apparently were aboard a lifeboat after their catamaran sank during the storm.

Gabe and Myra Gleason, owners of Fillmore Coffee & Plant Cafe, are renovating a building in downtown Iola to create a new dining and drinking establishment. REGISTER/SUSAN LYNN

Rotarians learn about Iola’s Russell Stover plant

By TIM STAUFFER The Iola Register

Russell Stover’s Iola plant manager, Andy Darley, provided Iola Rotary members with a bit of personal background and an overview of the Iola facility Thursday afternoon.

A native of northern England, Darley spent the vast majority of his career managing factories in the United States and Canada for Nestlé. He then retired, and after finding himself exceedingly bored, decided to return to the workforce. He now manages both the Iola and Abilene plants, dividing his time between the two locations.

The Iola plant opened in 1997 and currently employs about 335 people, down from around 460 employees in years prior, said Darley. The reduced number can be at-

tributed to employees working shorter shifts but longer work weeks, a change Darley said was made to promote employee safety.

Approximately 60 female residents from the Kansas Department of Corrections are employed at the Iola plant. The residents travel to and from the facility each day via a chartered bus and earn regular wages. The Abilene plant also participates in the program, which began in 2021.

Darley highlighted significant investments to the plant planned for the coming years, all necessary to maintain the plant’s production. Russell Stover Chocolates, which celebrates its centennial this year, is owned by Lindt & Sprüngli of Switzerland and operates three facilities in the United States: the Iola and Abilene plants and one in Corsicana, Texas.

Kansas may be outlier in abortion decrease

By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — One year after federal abortion protections were removed, the reproductive rights debate in Kansas remains contentious.

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning the federal right to terminate pregnancy. Abortion-rights advocates called the ruling dangerous rollback of reproductive rights.

For Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach, on the other hand, the ruling is a cause for celebration. To mark Dobbs’ anniversary, Kobach announced he would co-host a multistate pregnancy center donation drive “in celebration of the one-year anniversary.”

“Pregnancy resource centers provide free and continued support to women, their babies born and unborn, and their families. Most importantly, they save lives,” Kobach said in his Tuesday announcement. “Please consider blessing a family by contributing to a local crisis pregnancy center today.”

While Republicans in the Legislature have tried to divert $2 million from the state budget into crisis pregnancy centers, the attempt was shot down by Gov. Laura Kelly, who vetoed the provision. The attempt was one of several bills through which the GOP-controlled Legislature tried to chip away at abortion protections, despite widespread Kansan support for reproductive rights.

Other proposals include a “Born Alive” bill passed by Legislature that promotes the inac-

curate idea that “failed abortions” are performed on infants, and an “abortion reversal” law that is currently in court. That law would require abortion providers to tell patients the abortion pill can be reversed, a dangerous proposition based on junk science.

Rep. Christiana Haswood, a Lawrence Democrat who attended a June 14 reproductive rights conference at the White House, discussed national and state strategies to safeguard reproductive health care against a prominent anti-abortion faction in the Legislature.

Haswood said she was frustrated with indigenous communities and other minority groups being left out of the conversation. Research has suggested that people of color and people under the poverty line are most affected by abortion restrictions, though the full impact of Dobbs isn’t known yet.

“This rhetoric of pro-life and how someone’s religious beliefs is guiding their policy decisions is a colonial concept to me,” Haswood said. “And the continuation of colonization being forced on other folks. That is adding to my anger when we are dealing with reproductive care, that this one belief is saying that we should all do what they believe in, and that’s not how I want to see the future of Kansas and the future of our country.”

Since the Dobbs ruling, 15 states have enacted full or partial abortion bans while others have implemented restrictions such as gestational limits.

Alison Norris, a professor at Ohio State’s colleges of Public

Health and Medicine

and co-chair of the research steering committee of #WeCount, a national abortion reporting project, said abortion numbers have decreased after Dobbs.

During a Wednesday Sciline briefing on reproductive rights, Norris estimated more than 900,000 people have an abortion in the U.S. every year.

In Kansas, where abortion rights are still protected, a surge in the procedure is predicted for the 2022 year due to out-of-state abortion seekers. Several of Kansas’ neighboring states, including Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas, have banned abortion, and Nebraska has a 12week ban.

Kansas’ legal abortion threshold remains at 22 weeks, except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment hasn’t released the 2022 an-

nual abortion data yet— in an unusual delay of statistics — but last year’s report showed 7,849 abortion procedures in Kansas in 2021.

“Americans have a wide range of feelings about abortion,” Norris said. “Many of them are complex. Abortion in America is highly stigmatized, highly politicized, very common and very safe. One in five American women will have an abortion in their lifetimes.”

After collecting abortion numbers from 82% of the abortion providers in the U.S., the #WeCount team found states with abortion bans had 66,000 fewer clinician-provided abortions in the nine months since Dobbs than would have been expected. In states with six-week abortion bans, during the months the bans were in effect 16,000 fewer clinician-provided abortions were provided than expected.

I-95 to reopen less than two weeks after collapse

PHILADELPHIA

(AP) — Interstate 95 was set to reopen Friday less than two weeks after a deadly collapse in Philadelphia, a quicker-than-expected rebuild to get traffic flowing again on a heavily traveled stretch of the East Coast’s main northsouth highway.

Workers put the finishing touches on an interim sixlane roadway that will serve motorists during construction of a permanent bridge. Crews worked around the clock and were poised to finish ahead of schedule.

The interstate was scheduled to reopen at noon, according to the governor’s office.

“This was a moment of civic pride for

Philly and Pennsylvania. We all came together and we proved that we could do big things again in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said Friday at a news conference at the site.

After he spoke, a procession of fire engines — one carrying Philadelphia’s pro sports mascots — and police vehicles crossed the northbound lanes of I-95, christening the new roadway as hard-hatted construction workers looked on.

The elevated section of I-95 collapsed early on June 11 after a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline flipped on an offramp and caught fire. State transportation officials said the driver, who was killed, lost control around a curve. There were no other deaths or injuries.

Supreme Court upholds conviction in confession case

WASHINGTON (AP)

— The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the conviction of a man serving a life sentence for his role on an international “kill team” in a case about what happens when one person’s confession might also implicate someone else on trial.

Adam Samia’s lawyers had asked the court for a new trial in the killing of a real estate broker in the Philippines because they said he was convicted on the basis of a confession from another man with whom he was on trial.

The confession unfairly implicated Samia as the trigger man, in violation of his constitutional rights, Samia’s lawyers said.

The co-defendant did not testify in his own defense so there was no opportunity for Samia’s trial lawyers to question the man.

But the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, said prosecutors had done enough to protect Samia’s rights. The confession was altered to substitute “someone” or “the other person” every time Samia’s name was mentioned. The jury also was told not to consider the confession in assessing Samia’s guilt.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his majority opinion that there was no violation of the constitutional provision that gives a defendant the right to confront his accuser.

Thomas said Samia

did not deserve a new trial because the confession “did not directly inculpate the defendant and was subject to a proper limiting instruction.”

The court’s three liberal justices dissented. Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the majority decision “undermines a vital constitutional protection for the accused.” Samia was tried with two other men who carried out the attack on the orders of Paul LeRoux, a South African who led an international crime organi-

zation and cooperated with federal authorities after his arrest in 2012.

LeRoux ordered the killing of the broker, Catherine Lee, because he believed Lee had stolen money from him.

The Supreme Court has previously imposed limits on the use of a confession in these circumstances, including that the defendant’s name has to be removed and cannot simply be replaced with the notation “redacted.” In Samia’s trial, he was described in the confession as “someone” and “the other person.”

Russell Stover’s Iola plant manager, Andy Darley, at right, provided Iola Rotary members with a bit of personal background and an overview of the Iola facility Thursday afternoon. The Iola plant opened in 1997 and currently employs about 335 people. REGISTER/TIM STAUFFER

Iolan’s video makes Florida news site

Laura Yocham of rural Iola was featured in the Fort Meyers NewsPress for capturing on her cell phone an impressive water spout in the Gulf of Mexico off of Sanibel Island.

Yocham’s 17-second video appeared on the newspaper’s website on Thursday, June 22.

“I was out on the beach shelling, turned around and there it was,” Yocham told the

Area news

Wichita fisherman

newspaper. “So amazing!”

She and her husband, Darrell, were vacationing in Florida, a tradition they have enjoyed ever since their marriage there in 2014.

Accompanying the Yochams this year were Laura’s mother and her friend.

Yocham’s video can be viewed on Yahoo News as well.

Water toys recalled

WASHINGTON (AP)

— About 7.5 million singing and swimming “Baby Shark” bath toys are being recalled after multiple lacerations and puncture wounds were reported in children playing with them.

Zuru, an El Segundo, California-based toymaker, said it’s recalling both full-size and mini versions of its robotic baby shark toys that have hard plastic top fins, which pose the injury risks.

Twelve injuries have already been reported with Zuru’s full-sized Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim

Court news

IOLA MUNICIPAL

COURT

Judge Patti Boyd

Convicted as follows:

Dalton Ryan-Cooper Coffield, Iola, inattentive driving, $195

Kolby A. Daum, Iola, driving without a valid license, failure to yield, $435

Trevor L. Gray, Iola, driving without a valid license, $195

Jasmine L. Morgan, Iola, possessing drug paraphernalia, possessing marijuana, $555

Michael W. Splechter, Iola, criminal damage to property, $415

James W.J. Waggoner, Chanute, driving while

Bath Toys — after children sat or fell on the now-recalled products. Nine of these cases required stitches or medical attention, according to a Thursday release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

While injuries have only been reported with these full-sized toys so far, Zuru is also recalling Robo Alive Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toys “out of an abundance of caution.”

Consumers in possession of the recalled toys are instructed to stop using them immediately.

suspended (third or subsequent conviction), $1,925

Convicted of no seat belt and fined $30 apiece:

Richard E. Dixon, Iola

Anita F. Dodge, Iola

Preston C. Frazell, Iola

Tamala L. Hyden, Iola

Maria C. Melendez, Humboldt

Jocelyn B. Miller, Iola

Wilma C. Morrison, Iola

Patrick A. Schierholz, Iola

Jerry R. Skaggs, Wellsville

Matthew K.W. Wells, Iola

Therese L. Yetzbacher, Iola

catches Jeep CHENEY — A local fisherman helped resolve a 33-year-old mystery recently.

The Wichita Eagle reported John Mounce of Wichita was fishing in Cheney Reservoir May 29 when a sonar device tipped him off that a large object was below the water’s surface.

A livescope gave him a grainy glimpse of the object: the rusting, corroded remnants of a Jeep.

Authorities pulled the vehicle from the water, and soon realized it had been reported stolen in Wichita in 1990, the Eagle reported. Authorities contacted the owner, who confirmed reporting the vehicle stolen 33 years ago.

It was not known how the vehicle wound up at the bottom of the lake.

Because an insurance claim for the vehicle had been paid out years ago, the fate of the vehicle now belongs to the insurance company that paid for it, the newspaper reported.

PSU students research tick-borne diseases

PITTSBURG — Pittsburg State University biology students are working alongside an associate professor this summer to research tick-borne diseases — the leading vector-borne diseases and among the most pressing public health issues in the nation — by surveying Crawford County and Anderson counties in southeast Kansas as part of the state’s annual tick surveillance program.

Associate professor Anu Ghosh and her students have conducted field and lab research for seven years, but this year is special, the Pittsburg Morning Sun reported, because the research is being contracted by the Kansas Department of Health

and Environment. According to the CDC, ticks can transmit more than a dozen pathogens that can cause human disease, including Lyme disease, tularemia, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, spotted fever rickettsiosis, and ehrlichiosis.

Since 2009, more than 60 cases of Heartland virus have been reported in Missouri and Kansas, the most recent case contracted in May in Crawford County. Last year, the Bourbon virus was contracted in Anderson County, the newspaper noted.

Community support from landowners and veterinarian clinics, as well as support from staff at Pitt State, have made the research possible.

Realtors give update on real estate near battery plant site

LAWRENCE — Key details are beginning to emerge on the $4 billion Panasonic battery plant set to open in De Soto in 2025, in particular, how communities such as Lawrence will be affected.

The Lawrence Journal World reported that a group of Lawrence real estate professionals was told Thursday that roughly as many as 1,800 of the 4,000 employees needed at the plant will come from outside the area, which means housing construction will soon be a key factor for the region.

Thursday’s event, hosted by the Lawrence Board of Realtors, estimated the need for 30 to 40 new homes per year for the next three years in Lawrence, the Journal World reported.

Communities such as Lawrence, Eudora and of course De Soto are eagerly awaiting more information to begin planning for housing, infrastructure and ancillary development, the newspaper noted.

The Journal World

noted hiring for executive-level positions has already begun. Panasonic is projecting lowend wages in the $22- to $25-per-hour range.

Hutchinson raises chicken count

HUTCHINSON — Hutchinson residents can bring more chickens home to roost.

The Hutchinson City Council voted Tuesday to increase the number of chickens a resident can own, changing it from three to eight chickens on most city properties, the Hutchinson News reported. Jim Sietnater, interim planning director, told the newspaper that keeping chickens is a growing trend.

If someone wants a larger flock of chickens and has the area to do that, they can add an additional chicken for every 250 square feet. That maxes out at 20 chickens. All chickens must be fenced in, with coops being kept neat in appearance.

However, roosters are still not allowed in Hutchinson, and the public slaughtering or processing of chickens remains off limits.

Mayor John Richardson saw a discrepancy with the ordinance with regard to rural lands in the city, the newspaper reported. In the rural areas, there remain allowances for cattle, horses, sheep, deer, goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks, gamebirds, geese and other poultry. However, pigs are no longer allowed.

Newman CEO to retire this fall

EMPORIA — Longtime Newman Regional Health CEO Bob Wright will retire this fall, after 10 years with the hospital.

Wright submitted a letter of resignation to the Newman Regional Health Board of Trustees citing Oct. 1, as his effective retirement

date, the Emporia Gazette reported. His last day in the office will be Sept. 29. Wright will turn 72 on Oct. 3.

“It is time for me to step aside and let the next generation step in," he said in the letter.

Pair go to trial over false identities

JOPLIN — Trials are in the works for a pair of defendants charged with separate incidents of trafficking stolen identities.

Both waived preliminary hearings Thursday, the Joplin Globe reported.

Frederick E. Phillips, 36, will stand trial on counts of trafficking in stolen identities and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The charges pertain to an arrest made April 16 by a Joplin police officer who was looking for a suspect in another crime when he spotted Phillips and mistook him for the suspect. As he was detaining Phillips, a hypodermic needle fell out of a bag Phillips was carrying, the newspaper reported

A probable-cause affidavit states that the officer subsequently learned Phillips’ actual identity and that he had several outstanding warrants issued in other states. The officer also purportedly found a handgun and identification and credit cards belonging to seven other people in the defendant’s possession.

In a separate case related to a traffic stop Feb. 20 by police in Carterville, Mo., Rikki N. Mull, 32, of Jay, Oklahoma, waived a hearing on a count of trafficking in stolen identities, the Globe reported.

Stopped for a lane violation, Mull’s nervousness led to a search of her vehicle that turned up identification belonging to five other people, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

Long COVID link to mental health conditions prompts federal advisory

By RONG-GONG LIN II The Los Angeles Times/TNS

Federal health officials have identified a number of mental health conditions associated with long COVID, prompting them to issue an advisory to help doctors treat patients suffering from the syndrome.

Conditions could include depression, anxiety, psychosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Other long COVID symptoms can include fatigue, trouble sleeping and cognitive impairment, according to the advisory from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration — a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

It can be challenging to determine whether mental health illness is the result of long COVID or other factors. Whatever the reason, however, “treating symptoms is vital to recovery,” the advisory said.

“This long COVID epidemic is not over. We’re absolutely in the midst

of it,” said Dr. Will Pittman, associate director of the UCLA Health Long COVID Program. “Psychiatric symptoms are some of the most common symptoms that we see in long COVID.”

The advisory is partly an acknowledgment that many healthcare providers need more education on long COVID, which has been linked to numerous symptoms affecting virtually every part of the body. Even in the post-emergency phase of the pandemic, it can be hard for longhaul sufferers to get the care they need, experts say.

Although long COVID clinics do exist, their capacity is limited.

“We know that people living with long COVID need help today, and providers need help understanding what long COVID is and how to treat it,” Dr. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.

Because long COVID can be debilitating, the advisory suggests healthcare provid-

ers approach patients as having undergone trauma. Suggested interventions include individual and group psychotherapy, peer support groups, physical therapy, neuro-rehabilitation, medication to treat anxiety and depression, speech therapy for people whose language skills were affected and treatment for people suffering from substance abuse.

The advisory also urged healthcare providers to listen, and not dismiss, their patient’s stories, manage symptoms while sharing the uncertainty of prognosis and “provide hope while helping set realistic recovery goals.”

Anyone with worsening anxiety or depression, or has thoughts of selfharm, warrant immediate action and referral to a mental health specialist.

Pittman said he’s seen patients who have long COVID but feel as though their other doctors haven’t listened to them — “they don’t feel like they’ve been taken seriously.”

Other times, some primary care physicians

are linking symptoms like anxiety or depression to a long COVID diagnosis but then referring the patient to a specialty clinic instead of treating those mental health challenges.

“Primary care really needs to take the reins of treating this. And

they absolutely can, and I think they do have tools at their disposal to treat this and to make patients better,” Pittman said.

The advisory notes that healthcare providers who aren’t familiar with the wide range of long COVID

symptoms may misdiagnose patients. This can be another barrier to care, as patients may feel ashamed or discouraged from seeking treatment if a healthcare provider suggests symptoms are exaggerated or simply “in their head.”

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Solving the teacher shortage problem in Kansas schools

It’s no fun being between a rock and a hard place, but that’s the spot Kansas public schools are in today. It’s an unfortunate circumstance begging for action by the Legislature and Kansas State Board of Education.

The two major problems facing schools currently are: 1) teacher shortages and 2) low student achievement. Both have plagued Kansas schools for at least 20 years.

Kansas student achievement on the most recent National Assessment of Student Progress reading and math exams declined again — a situation that can’t improve without schools fully staffed with well-prepared teachers.

The rock/hard-place dilemma is that in the past, the answer to increasing the teacher workforce was to relax the rules for qualifying teachers.

Following precedent, Kansas started down the traditional road again last year by creating an emergency substitute teacher license. Instead of requiring a minimum of 60 hours earned college credit, substitute teacher qualifications are now holding a high school diploma and being at least age 18.

To speed national workforce development, the U.S. Department of Labor is offering funding for apprenticeship programs in a range of occupations including teacher preparation.

These apprentice programs pair accelerated on-line post-secondary education with on-site training. The programs are proving effective for technical careers, and so far, 16 states will receive teacher education funding.

KSDE is looking into this as well as creating its own teacher apprentice program.

The best programs place teacher candidates who have completed 60 hours college general education into public schools with 15 to 20 hours paid work per week as paraprofessionals, who assist a teacher, usually with small group activities.

Teacher candidates complete requirements for the bachelor’s degree that include practice teaching experiences in multiple classroom levels with in-person teacher candidate evaluation by credentialed supervisors.

The least effective apprenticeship programs allow 18

Sharon Iorio Insight Kansas

year-olds to work as paraprofessionals as little as five hours per week or become full-time classroom teachers with little college-level preparation. The apprenticeship can occur in a single classroom for the full four years of college study which may be shortened through accelerated, eight-week, all on-line courses. The apprentices’ classroom teaching may be with small-groups only, in one grade only with candidate teaching evaluation reduced to student-produced, 15-minute videos observed by on-line reviewers.

COVID TAUGHT us that “all online, all the time” is not the best way for students to learn and it follows, also not the best for teacher candidates. Pre-service teachers also need experience through research based, faculty-led roundtables to learn the wide-range of student needs, develop problem solving abilities and practice communication skills — all difficult to accomplish in an exclusively online, one class in one school environment.

If properly organized, paid apprenticeship for teacher candidates can reduce their college costs, give pre-service teachers valuable handson experience and speed-up preparation without abbreviated, fully online courses or candidate’s teaching skills evaluated remotely.

Kansans might also consider that in 2023, the median teacher starting salary in Kansas is $40,699 while the average starting salary for college graduates nationally is $58,860.

Kansas ranked 36 nationally in public school salaries in 2021.

The median yearly income of one earner in Kansas is $51,957.

The state projects a $3.2 billion cash surplus by June 2024 and nearly $1 billion more in the rainy day fund.

Raising teacher salaries may be the fastest and most effective way to solve the teacher shortage.

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

25 Years Ago

June 1998

SAVONBURG — An end of an era will occur Friday afternoon when the Savonburg Post Office, open to the public for 119 years, closes its doors. Savonburg area customers will still be able to purchase stamps and get delivery instructions from the customers’ rural mail carrier or at the Stark Post Office, 4 miles away.

*****

In another year the oldest building used for the Allen County Fair will have a new concrete floor. Iola artist Gary Hawk will do a painting of the “Baby Barn” where infant farm animals are on display for young fair visitors to enjoy. Prints will be sold at the

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Jerry-rigged e-bikes a danger

HQ E-Bike Repair at 80 Madison St. in Chinatown was a bomb factory masquerading as a harmless bike shop, housing e-bikes and electric scooters fueled by lithium-ion batteries. This newish micromobility is a great boon to economical and speedy travel, especially for deliverymen and deliverywomen to quickly bring that restaurant order, but the unstable power cells have a tendency to make a great boom and explode.

Where once was HQ E-Bike Repair is now just a smoldering ruin that was consumed by erupting flames late Monday night, killing at least four people in the apartments above. That makes for 13 dead from lithium-ion battery fires this year, which

is still less than half over.

During 2022, lithium-ion battery fires claimed six lives in New York City, so we are on track to quadruple the death toll.

How many more must die? How many more homes must be destroyed? How many more times must the heroes of the FDNY race out to fight chemical flames that burn hotter and faster than normal blazes and then reignite even after being drowned in water? How many more calls before one of the Bravest dies? All from fires that can be prevented.

Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh has raised the national alarm on these lithium-ion battery menaces and their threat to life and property. The response from

others in government, in City Hall, Albany and Washington, must be still stronger. Even if every e-bike and scooter sold in New York City was UL certified, inspected and guaranteed safe, there remain tens of thousands of cheap and dangerous models out there, as well as old batteries that have been rejiggered to squeeze a few more charges from them. Sure, they are fine to use. Until they explode and kill people. Put a bounty on these things, collect them all and safely dispose of them. Otherwise, the explosions, the fires and deaths will just keep going on. We don’t need any more warnings and we don’t need any more funerals.

— New York Daily News

Do your own policing of gas stoves

By LISA PATEL, M.D. For The Los Angeles Times

As a pediatrician a big part of my work is to advise families on nutrition and healthy eating. These days, I find myself talking with parents and patients more often about how they prepare their food — as in what appliances they are using to cook.

A number of studies in recent years have examined the dangers of having a gas stove in the home. They have addressed questions such as how common gas leaks from stoves really are (very common); what’s in natural gas besides methane (21 hazardous air pollutants); do these pollutants leak into our homes (they do); and do gas stoves really cause asthma (yes, about 12.7% of childhood asthma is attributed to them). All of this research shows serious harm to children and their families.

tists were measuring benzene emissions. Benzene is a highly toxic chemical used to make plastics, pesticides and other chemical compounds. It can be found in gasoline and cigarette smoke. Benzene affects our bone marrow, damages our immune systems and impairs our ability to produce red blood cells. Exposure to it is linked to anemia and blood cancers such as leukemia. Benzene is not something we want where we eat and sleep.

The study found that cooking with gas or propane releases between 50 and 500 times as much benzene into homes as is leaked from stoves when they are off. Turning on one burner for 45 minutes created benzene levels in kitchens comparable to breathing in cigarette smoke. The benzene then drifted through the house and was detectable in bedrooms far from the kitchen.

spend most of our time. And the gas industry has spent decades waging an expensive public relations campaign to get the public to believe that cooking with gas is good, while covering up their own research showing the harms that come from burning fossil fuels indoors. The consumer rebates offered through the Inflation Reduction Act to swap gas stoves for electric are helpful. But replacing gas appliances with electric ones is just one part of investing in safe, clean and sustainable homes.

Fair in August and the proceeds used to help pay for the new floor.

***** Iola’s Russell Stover Candies plant will hire a weekend supplemental crew on a seasonable basis to keep up with sales demands. It will be the first in the Russell Stover company to do so.

***** Gates Rubber will spend $2.5 million to add a fourth line of spiral hose manufacturing equipment here.

***** Allen County Commissioners voted to spend $69,062 to build a new hangar at the Allen County Airport. The hangar will be 34 by 182 feet and will accommodate six airplanes.

Now, in a new study from Stanford, researchers turned the stove on, testing indoor air quality under a number of common cooking situations. The results are alarming. These scientists tested several scenarios: They lit a single burner for 45 minutes — roughly how long it takes to make chicken soup. They turned the oven on to 350 degrees for 45 minutes — a common cooking setting for lasagna. They also set the oven to 475 degrees for 90 minutes — approximately the length of time it takes to preheat the oven and roast a chicken. This research found that burning gas or propane to make these staple meals created dangerous pollution inside — and not just in the kitchen, but throughout the whole house, for hours.

Specifically, these scien-

The levels were high enough that an immediate investigation would have been triggered had they been measured in public outdoor spaces, such as one in 2020 after an outdoor air monitor in a parking lot across from North High School in Torrance, about a quarter mile from the Torrance Gas Refinery, recorded a reading of 8.84 parts per billion. This was a lower level of benzene than researchers found in a bedroom of one of the homes they tested after cooking with a gas stove.

Why do we launch investigations when benzene is detected in unsafe levels outside, but view comparable pollution from burning gas inside as normal? It’s because there are no indoor air quality standards for homes, even though that’s where we

So, what can people do now? Even if a kitchen has an over-oven fan or vent, research shows that these features are unreliable in getting out gas pollution. Those who have them should turn them on anyway, but everyone should open windows throughout their homes when cooking or baking — and leave them open afterwards. This creates ways for pollutants to flow out of living spaces.

We can also reduce our reliance on gas stoves by investing in lower-cost electric products such as plug-in kettles, coffee makers, electric toaster ovens, slow cookers and microwaves, all of which will keep homes cleaner, safer and cooler.

Cooking should be something that creates nourishment and brings families together. Instead, the common gas stove is causing industrial pollution in our homes that is threatening everyone’s health.

About the author: Lisa Patel is a pediatric hospitalist, environmental scientist and executive director for the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health.

New York Fire Department firefighters check the charred remains of an e-bike repair and sales store in the Chinatown area of Manhattan early Tuesday, June 20. (LUIZ C. RIBEIRO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS/TNS)

Ukraine: Offers warning

Continued from A1

The world must know what the occupier is preparing. Everyone who knows must act,” Zelenskyy said. “The world has enough power to prevent any radiation incidents, let alone a radiation catastrophe.”

The potential for a life-threatening release of radiation has been a concern since Russian troops invaded Ukraine last year and seized the plant, which is Europe’s largest nuclear power station. The head of the U.N.’s atomic energy agency spent months unsuccessfully trying to negotiate for a safety perimeter to protect the facility as nearby areas came under repeated shelling.

The International Atomic Energy Agency noted Thursday that the “the military situ-

ation has become increasingly tense” while a Ukrainian counteroffensive that got underway this month unfolds in Zaporizhzhia province, where the namesake plant is located, and in an adjacent part of Donetsk province.

On Friday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi met with the director of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom to discuss the conditions at the plant.

Rosatom director Alexey Likachev and other officials at the meeting in the Kaliningrad exclave “emphasized that they now expect specific steps” from the U.N. agency to prevent Ukrainian attacks on the plant and its adjacent territory, said a statement from the Russian corporation, whose divisions build

and operate nuclear power plants.

The governor of Zaporizhzhia, Yuriy Malashko, reported Friday that Russian shelling in the southern province killed two people in the past day. An attack that hit a transportation company in Kherson, the capital of Kherson province, killed two others on Friday, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Russia also fired 13 cruise missiles overnight at a military airfield in the western Khmelnytskyi province but Ukrainian air defenses intercepted them all, according to the air force. The attack came after Russian-appointed officials said that Ukrainian-fired missiles damaged a bridge that serves as key supply link to occupied areas of southern Ukraine.

Sweet melodies

Clues sought in sunken submersible

By PATRICK WHITTLE and JENNIFER MCDERMOTT The Associated Press

A day after revelations that the Titan submersible imploded, officials grappled Friday with vexing questions about who is responsible for investigating the international disaster.

The U.S. Coast Guard said an official inquiry had not yet been launched because the agencies involved are still looking for clues about what caused the vessel to fall apart.

“I know there are also a lot of questions about how, why and when did this happen. Those are questions we will collect as much information as we can about now,” Rear Adm. John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District

said Thursday. On Friday, the Coast Guard said all of the agencies involved are trying to determine who has the authority to lead an inquiry, which is sure to be complex because of the international nature of the mission. After the Titan imploded in international waters, the U.S. Coast Guard led the search and rescue mission. OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned and operated the Titan, is based in the U.S. but the submersible was registered in the Bahamas. OceanGate is based in Everett, Washington, but closed when the Titan was found.

Meanwhile, the Titan’s mothership, the Polar Prince, was from Canada, and the people

on board the submersible were from England, Pakistan, France, and the U.S.

How the investigation will proceed is also complicated by the fact that the world of deepsea exploration is not well-regulated. Deep-sea expeditions like those offered by OceanGate are scrutinized less than the companies that launch people into space, noted Salvatore Mercogliano, a history professor at Campbell University in North Carolina who focuses on maritime history and policy.

The Titan was not registered as a U.S. vessel or with international agencies that regulate safety. And it wasn’t classified by a maritime industry group that sets standards on matters such as hull construction.

ries at the courthouse bandstand. Above, director Jenna Morris leads the band through a number. Below, trumpeters Glen Cunningham, from left, Norman Jackson and Daniel Kays stay in tune. The band, which has performed weekly concerts in downtown Iola for the past 152 years, will return to the bandstand each Thursday evening through July. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Sports Daily B

Pitching, late heroics secure wins for Iola

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

A blowout victory in game one and a go-ahead winning hit from Easton Weseloh in the bottom of the fourth of game two were what the Iola A Indians needed to sweep Chanute at home Thursday.

The Indians (12-6) used a five-run third inning in game one to take the lead and later win behind Gavin Jones’ five-inning start on the mound in a 7-1 win. Weseloh then stepped up in game two and smacked a two-run single to left to take the 3-1 final score in game two.

Game one — 7-1 win

Sound and consistent hitting kept the Iola A Indians in the lead against Chanute. Jones earned the win on the mound across five innings, allowing one run on four hits with six strikeouts.

The Indians scored a run in the bottom of the first when Blake Ellis grounded out to shortstop to score Cole Mathes for the early 1-0 lead.

Chanute countered with a run in the top of the third when Brady Alonzo singled to center field to knot the game at 1-1.

Mathes singled to shortstop to score Henry White for the 2-1 lead in the third. Ellis then doubled to left to score Lucas Maier and Mathes for the 4-1 advantage. Grady Dougherty added another

Saturday, June 24, 2023

run with an RBI groundout to short to make it 5-1.

Two batters later, Ryan Golden singled to left field to score Ellis for the five-run lead, 6-1.

Iola scored its final run in the sixth when Tyler Lord grounded out to shortstop to bring home Golden for the 7-1 victory.

Game two — 3-1 win

A big two-run single off the bat of Weseloh in the fourth inning gave the Indians a 3-1 victory and a sweep of Chanute. Maier got the win on the mound in relief, throwing 1.1 innings and striking out three while not allowing a hit.

Golden began the game on the mound, tossing 3.2 innings of one-run baseball and allowing two hits. He also struck out three Chanute batters in his start.

Chanute jumped on top early when Thompson took home on an error by Golden for the 1-0 score.

White delivered the first run of the game for the Indians on an RBI single to left in the bottom of the second to knot the game at 1-1. Neither team scored again until the fourth inning when White singled to left field to bring home Kade Nilges and Golden for the 3-1 victory.

Weseloh drove in a teamhigh two runs while Lord, Ellis, Weseloh and White each had one hit.

The Indians are at Ottawa Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Indians sweep Chanute

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

CHANUTE — The Iola AA Indians swept Chanute Post 170 on the road Thursday. The Indians (14-4) got shut down pitching performances from their aces, Trevor Church and Trey Sommer, while Tre Wilson and Sommer drove in two runs apiece across 5-1 and 7-1 victories.

“It definitely feels amazing to take four from Chanute,” Iola head coach Ethan Tavarez said, referring to last week’s wins against Chanute’s Legion team.

“Our guys did a good job of keeping their heads up. We were hitting the ball a lot better. We’re hoping to keep this momentum go-

ing until we hopefully win the super-state.”

Game one — 5-1 win Church allowed his only run to score in the first inning, an error on Iola’s third baseman. The Indians responded with timely hitting in the third and seventh innings to grab the four-run win, 5-1.

Chanute’s Nathan Meisch walked in the first inning and later scored on a Cohwen Wheeler ground ball to third which was mishandled by Iola’s Sam Hull. The run was Chanute’s only one of the game.

Wilson struck for Iola in the top of the third when he drilled a triple to center field to score Logan Page and knot the game at 1-1. Two at bats later, Sommer

singled to center to score Wilson and grab the 2-1 advantage.

“It’s a lot of fun to see Tre (Wilson) stroking the ball, getting on base with a smile on his face,” Tavarez said. “He had them beat and was having fun while doing it.”

Wilson was hot again in the fourth inning, when the freshman doubled to left field to score Jack White for the 3-1 score.

Brandon McKarnin delivered the final two runs for Iola in the top of the seventh when he reached on a fly ball error to left field allowing Gavin Page and Sommer to score for the 5-1 final score.

Logan Page tossed the final two outs for the save in the bottom of the seventh and struck out one while not allowing a hit.

“When he’s not battling something in his head, he throws a lot of strikes and that’s what we want,” Tavarez said. “He throws it well from the left side. Having a couple of lefties that can throw decently hard, those are good weapons to have. It’s nice to have that in our pocket.”

Wilson had a team-high three hits and two RBI’s while Sommer drove in one run. Logan Page also recorded two hits and scored a run.

See IOLA | Page B2

Iola Seahorses face off against Chanute Sharks

CHANUTE — The Iola Seahorses competed against the Chanute Sharks in Chanute Wednesday evening. Iola had some top finishes including Griffin Westervelt taking first place in the boys

15-18 50-yard freestyle, Moira Springer taking second in the girls 9-10 25-yard back crawl as well as Liam Illmaleota placing second in the boys

9-10 25-yard back crawl.

Mixed 9-10 100-yard medley relay — 4. Iola: Cooper Cook, Jyler Granere, Brigham Smith and Raina Borjas, 2:31.78.

BUNE/HUNTYR SCHWEGMAN

Mixed 11-12 200-yard medley relay — 3. Iola: Isabelle Chapman, Mariah Mathis, Helena Morrison and Mi-

chael Hancock, 3:41.00; 4.

Iola: Elliot Sigg, Liam Illimaleota, Anna Klubek and Springer, 3:52.82.

Mixed 13-14 200-yard medley relay — 3. Iola: Ben Fager, Lainey Oswald, Lee Wanker and Adam Klubek, 3:17.75.

Mixed 15-18 200-yard medley relay — 3. Iola: Rohan Springer, Toby Jernigan, Madeline Wanker and Westervelt, 2:48.12.

Girls 10 and under 50-yard freestyle — 4. Moira Springer, 49.82 seconds; 8. Klubek, 55.94 seconds; 11. Sigg, 57.38 seconds; 12. Luuly Tran,

1:02.39; 13. Borjas; 1:02.82.

Boys 10 and under 50-yard freestyle — 6. Ilimaleota; 48.56 seconds; 10. Cooper Cook, 1:08.09; 11. Brigham Smith, 1:19.07.

Girls 11-12 100-yard freestyle — 5. Mariah Mathis, 1:40.44; 6. Chapman, 1:45.00;

7. Morrison, 1:54.14. Boys 13-14 100-yard freestyle — 4. R. Springer, 1:13.41. Boys 15-18 100-yard freestyle — 4. Westervelt, 1:08.16. Boys 7-8 25-yard fly — 3. Cohen Sigg, 29.50 seconds; 7. Brigham Smith, 37 seconds.

See SEAHORSES | Page B2

Iola’s Logan Page goes for a hit at Chanute. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Iola’s Trevor Church had 10 strikeouts at Chanute. REGISTER/ QUINN BURKITT

Iola’s Gavin Jones delivers a pitch to home plate. REGISTER/ QUINN BURKITT

Iola’s Moira Springer, 10, swims the breastroke leg of the girls 10-and-under 100-yard individual medley race. CHANUTE TRI-

Raptors grab KU shooter Dick in NBA Draft

By KYLE HIGHTOWER The Associated Press

The Boston Celtics, coming off their fifth trip to the conference finals in the last seven seasons, entered Thursday night’s NBA draft having already started the process of retooling for another attempt at the franchise’s 18th title.

They stayed on that path by amassing lots of future draft picks on a mostly quiet night elsewhere around the East’s Atlantic Division.

Toronto had the highest selection of the night at No. 13, taking sharpshooter Gradey Dick out of Kansas.

The Celtics made one of the league’s biggest predraft moves when they traded franchise mainstay Marcus Smart to Memphis in a deal that got them big man Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards. The three-team deal included Boston receiving the 25th overall draft pick from the Memphis Grizzlies.

But Boston traded it for Detroit’s second-round pick and two future second-round

selections. The Celtics then traded down again, picking up the No. 34 and No. 39 picks in a deal with the Charlotte Hornets. Boston selected Colby Jones at No. 34 and shipped him to the Kings for No. 38 and another future second-rounder. Boston took Jordan Walsh with the 38th pick, and 6-11 Washington State forward Mouhamed Gueye at No. 39. But Gueye was sent to the Atlanta

Hawks for a future second-round pick.

The cache of picks could prove to be invaluable to Boston in free agency.

The Nets continued their latest restructuring by snagging a pair of forwards, selecting Noah Clowney out of Alabama and Duke’s Dariq Whitehead with picks No. 21 and 22.

The Knicks and the 76ers did not have any selections Thursday

night.

Here is a look at who teams in the Atlantic Division drafted: BOSTON CELTICS

— Team needs: With the addition of Porzingis, which included the departure of Danilo Gallinari, the Celtics entered the night in need of some shooting and defensive depth at power forward.

— Who did the Celtics draft: After all that moving up and down,

Seahorses: Pick up pace in Chanute

Continued from B1

Girls 9-10 25-yard fly

— 4. Klubek, 28.50 seconds; 5. M. Springer, 32.68 seconds; 8. Borjas, 35.27 seconds.

Boys 9-10 25-yard fly

— 5. Ilimaleota. 29.06 seconds; 8. Granere, 37.25 seconds.

Girls 11-12 50-yard fly

— 6. Mathis, 1:04.19; 7. Morrison, 1:04.28.

Boys 13-14 50-yard fly

— 4. R. Springer, 39.50 seconds.

Girls 15-18 50-yard fly

— 5. Madeline Wanker, 41.03 seconds.

Boys 15-18 50-yard fly

— 6. Jernigan, 56.91 seconds. DQ.

Girls 6 and under 25yard back — 12. Elizabeth Christenson, 1:34.75.

Boys 7-8 25-yard back — 5. Smith, 31.25 seconds; 6. Sigg, 32.97 seconds; 12. Gavin Granere, 1:13.81.

Girls 9-10 25-yard back — 2. M. Springer, 23.81 seconds; 5. Sigg, 28.94 seconds; 6. Klubek, 29.56 seconds; 8. Tran, 31.60 seconds; 9. Seattle Nagy, 33 seconds; 10. Borjas, 33.12.

Boys 9-10 25-yard back — 2. Ilimaleota, 24.19 seconds; 5. Cook, 34.19 seconds; 10. J. Granere, 42.88 seconds; 11. Taylor Christenson, 55.22 seconds.

Girls 11-12 50-yard back — 3. Mathis, 46.68 seconds; 7. Chapman, 1:02.81; 8. Morrison, 1:05.58.

Boys 11-12 50-yard back — 4. Lee Wanker, 1:02.50; 6. Michael Hancock, 1:06.75; 7. Adam Klubek, 1:07.20.

Boys 13-14 50-yard back — 4. R. Springer, 42.57 seconds; 6. Fager, 44.87 seconds.

Girls 15-18 50-yard back — 7. Wanker, 49.68 seconds.

Boys 15-18 50-yard back — 5. Jernigan, 1:01.06.

Boys 7-8 25-yard breast — 3. Smith, 35.93 seconds; 8. Sigg, 43.25 seconds.

Girls 9-10 25-yard breast — 3. M. Springer, 28.25; 4. Klubek, 29.44; 5. Sigg, 30.44; 8. Tran, 38.15; 9. Borjas, 39.81.

Boys 9-10 25-yard breast — 2. Ilimaleota, 26.81 seconds.

Girls 11-12 50-yard breast — 2. Mathis, 51.38; 4. Morrison, 53.88; 7. Chapman, 1:00.32.

Boys 11-12 50-yard breast — 5. L. Wanker, 1:09.78; 6. Klubek, 1:00.60, DQ.

Boys 13-14 50-yard breast — 3. R. Springer, 43.19; 6. Fager, 54.65.

Girls 15-18 50-yard breast — 7. M. Wanker,

49.52. Boys 15-18 50-yard breast — 5. Westervelt, 39.25, DQ. Girls 6&U 25-yard free — 9. Christenson, 1:19.44.

Boys 7-8 25-yard free — 6. Sigg, 30.00; 8. Smith, 34.56; 12. G. Granere, 49.16.

Girls 9-10 25-yard free — 4. Klubek, 23.94; 5. M. Springer, 24.00; 7. Sigg, 24.84; 8. Borjas, 28.07; 9. Tran, 29.99; 11. Nagy, 33.44.

Boys 9-10 25-yard free — 4. Ilimaleota, 19.88; 7. Cook, 29.18; 10. J. Granere, 39.62; 11. Christenson, 47.78.

Girls 11-12 50-yard free — 5. Mathis, 44.06; 6. Chapman, 44.34; 8. Morrison, 52.01, DQ.

Boys 11-12 50-yard free — 4. Klubek, 45.00; 5. Hancock, 45.38; 6. Wanker, 46.47.

Boys 13-14 50-yard free — 4. R. Springer, 32.88; 7. Fager, 39.65.

Girls 15-18 50-yard free — 7. M. Wanker, 35.38.

Boys 15-18 50-yard free — 1. Westervelt, 27.57; 5. Jernigan, 49.62.

Girls 10&U 100-yard IM — 3. M. Springer, 2:08.00; 8. Klubek, 2:24.22.

Boys 10&U 100-yard IM — 3. Ilimaleota, 2:08.03.

Girls 11-12 100-yard IM — 5. Mathis, 2:02.22. Boys 11-12 100yard IM — 4. Klubek, 2:06.47; 5. Wanker, 2:07.81.

Boys 13-14 100yard IM — 3. Springer, 1:28.50.

Girls 15-18 100-yard IM — 7. Wanker, 1:39.16.

Boys 15-18 100yard IM — 5. Jernigan, 2:13.25, DQ.

Mixed 9-10 100yard free relay — 3. Iola: Tran, Nagy, Sigg and Borjas, 1:57.88.

Mixed 11-12 200yard free relay — 3. Iola: Chapman, Mathis, Hancock, Morrison, 3:06.57; 4. Iola: Sigg, Springer, Klubek and Ilimaleota, 3:44.63.

Mixed 13-14 200yard free relay — 3. Iola: Klubek, Wanker, Fager and Oswald, 2:54.63.

Mixed 15-18 200yard free relay — 3. Iola: Springer, Jernigan, Wanker and Westervelt, 2:25.75.

Iola hosts a swim meet at Riverside Park next Wednesday, June 28 at 6 p.m.

Boston eventually selected 6-7 forward Jordan Walsh out of Arkansas at No. 38.

— Player comparison: Walsh has been compared to Boris Diaw, with an ability to play both forward positions. His shooting was spotty at times, but his defensive potential is there.

BROOKLYN NETS

— Team needs: The Nets could use scorers who can create their own shot as well as additional size. Outside of Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie and Cam Johnson, the rest

of the roster needs to be set up for baskets. Up front, despite having Nic Claxton (16th in the league with a 9.2 rebounds per game average), Brooklyn ranked 29th with 40.5 per game.

— Who did the Nets draft: Brooklyn used the first of its back-toback picks in the first round to grab 6-10 forward Noah Clowney at No. 21. He showed ability as a floor spacer in his lone college season at Alabama. The Nets took 6-7 forward Dariq Whitehead out of Duke

Iola: AA beats Chanute

Continued from B1

Game two — 7-1 win

The Indians never trailed in a 7-1 win in game two Thursday.

McKarnin shot a sacrifice fly to center field to score Gavin Page for the 1-0 lead. Sommer then scored on a wild pitch for the 2-0 lead only two at bats later in the top of the first.

“It’s huge having kids from three different schools being able to gel and mix like they do. It’s not something you can just work on,” said Tavarez. “The fact that it works helps us out big time.”

Chanute scored its lone run in the bottom of the first when Meisch scored on an error by Iola’s catcher Wilson for the 2-1 score.

OMNIA

In the second, Sommer poked a sacrifice fly to the pitcher which brought home White for the 3-1 lead.

Church singled home McKarnin in the third for the 4-1 advantage before White grounded out to shortstop to plate Hull for the 5-1 edge. Church wrapped up the third inning by scoring on a wild pitch for the 6-1 edge.

Iola scored its final run in the top of the fifth when Korbin Fountain singled to left field to plate Ashton Hesse for the 7-1 score.

Sommer earned the win on the mound, going five innings and allowing only one run on four hits with nine strikeouts. Iola travels to Ottawa Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Gradey Dick, right, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted 13th overall by the Toronto Raptors during the first round of the NBA Draft at Barclays Center on Thursday, June 22. SARAH STIER/GETTY IMAGES/TNS

LSU takes down No. 1 Wake 2-0; headed to CWS Finals

OMAHA, Neb. (AP)

— Jay Johnson has coached in the College World Series finals before, and he’s won his share of big games.

To him, nothing compared with Thursday night.

“That is one of the greatest moments in my entire life, what happened on the field tonight,” LSU’s second-year coach said after his team’s 2-0, 11-inning victory over No. 1 national seed Wake Forest clinched a spot in the CWS finals.

Soccer: U.S. to host in 2025

GENEVA (AP) — The United States will host the Club World Cup in 2025, the first time the FIFA tournament will have 32 teams.

Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea already earned places as recent Champions League winners for the expanded tournament lineup that is set to test stadiums and operations one year before the 2026 World Cup.

The United States will host the men’s World Cup with Canada and Mexico, and FIFA could yet give some Club World Cup games to those countries.

The Club World Cup will take place in June-July 2025. The United States was chosen as host Friday during an online meet-

ing of the FIFA Council.

FIFA praised “the United States’ position as a proven leader in staging global events and because it would allow FIFA to maximize synergies with the delivery” of the 2026 tournament.

The Seattle Sounders also are in the lineup for the Club World Cup as the 2022 champion of North American soccer region CONCACAF. The Americans should get another entry as the host nation.

Storied European teams have visited the United States for preseason friendly games for years but the expanded club tournament will give fans a rare chance to see 12 of them play competitive games.

FIFA said in March the basic qualification path for clubs was to win a continental championship in any of the four years from 2021 to 2024 in the five main confederations: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Europe with 12 teams and South America with six are the only continents with more than four entries. Extra places should be awarded according to team rankings by results a four-year span in continental competitions.

The current seven-team Club World Cup for continental champions played every season creates little broad appeal and

See NEW | Page B7

KU: Gradey Dick to Raptors

Continued from B1

at No. 22. He dealt with foot and leg injuries but still shot 43% from the 3-point line. They also took 6-8 forward Jalen Wilson out of Kansas.

— Player comparison: Clowney has been compared to Claxton and former Philadelphia 76ers F/C Theo Ratliff. His height (610) and athleticism fill a hole, and he could pair well with Claxton. Whitehead, who played just 28 games at Duke after needing two surgeries to repair a fractured right foot, shot 43% from 3, so perimeter shooting should be his calling card in the NBA. Projections vary, with analysts viewing him in the same light as Bradley Beal, Ken-

tavious-Caldwell Pope and Allen Crabbe. Wilson, the Big 12 Player of the Year, has been compared to Jimmy Butler, Saddiq Bey, and Andrew Wiggins for his size, shooting touch, and ability to draw fouls.

TORONTO RAPTORS

— Team needs: Adding shooting was an obvious need for the Raptors, who last season had the NBA’s fourth-worst field goal percentage (45.9%) and third-worst mark from 3-point range (33.5%).

— Who did the Raptors draft: Toronto took Kansas guard Gradey Dick with the 13th pick. Dick made a Kansas freshman record 83 3-pointers in his lone season with the

Jayhawks. The Wichita-born Dick attended the draft dressed in a sparkling red jacket and shirt combination with red-soled shoes, calling his outfit a nod to Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz.”

— Player comparison: While he’s considered one of the best shooters in the draft, the 6-8 Dick is also adept at moving off the ball to get himself open or cutting to the basket. His skillset has drawn comparisons to Sacramento guard Kevin Huerter, a consistent deep threat and dependable playmaker in his five NBA seasons. son contributed to this report.

Tommy White hit Camden Minacci’s first pitch into the leftfield seats to set up an All-SEC best-of-three finals matchup with Florida starting Saturday night. It will be a rematch of the 2017 final that the Gators won for their first national title.

“Now that we’re here, it’s not a surprise,” Johnson said. “This is the first team I’ve coached that I think can win a national championship. Hands down.”

That’s saying something. Johnson nearly won one in 2016 when he was at Arizona, which lost a threegame finals to Coastal Carolina.

LSU (52-16) became the first team to hand Wake Forest (54-12) consecutive losses. The Tigers had won 5-2 on Wednesday to set up a second bracket final.

“We just slayed a giant tonight,” Johnson said.

Dylan Crews singled to left leading off the bottom of the 11th against Michael Massey (3-1), prompting Deacons coach Tom Walter to call on his star closer. Minacci’s first pitch to LSU’s home run leader was

a 90 mph slider, and White sent it out for his 23rd homer of the year.

“I thought a heater was coming,” White said. “But I was very amped up and I saw a slider that was up. I put my bat head to it. That was about it.”

It was a fitting end to one of the most anticipated non-championship CWS games.

LSU was the consensus No. 1 team in the major polls from the start of the season until May 8. Wake Forest was the consensus No. 1 the rest of the way. The teams split their first two games here this week.

The pitching matchup between LSU’s Paul Skenes and Rhett Lowder set this one apart from the first two. The two are projected top-10 overall picks in next month’s amateur draft, and they matched zeroes deep into the game. Wake Forest came in 18-0 in games Lowder had started.

Skenes allowed two hits and walked one before turning the game over to Thatcher Hurd (7-3) to start the ninth, and his nine strikeouts made him the Southeastern Conference’s single-season record holder.

Skenes has 209 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings; previous record holder Ben McDonald had 202 in 152 1/3 for LSU in 1989.

Skenes’ fastball was a tick down from Saturday, when he hit at least 100 mph 46 times against Tennessee, but it was still plenty good — as were his slider and changeup.

Lowder mixed his mid-90s fastball with a sharp slider and allowed three hits, walked two and struck out six in an efficient

seven innings. Of his 88 pitches, 63 were strikes.

“Paul Skenes was fantastic, and Rhett matched him pitch for pitch,” Walter said. “It was one of the bestpitched college baseball games I’ve ever seen. And Michael Massey behind him was dominant. And Hurd was, too, for LSU. Runs were hard to come by. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a way to scratch one across there those first 10 or so innings.”

Skenes was backed up by a spot-on defense, never more than in the eighth inning when Justin Johnson drew a leadoff walk and ended up on third on a wild pitch.

Johnson started running for home when Marek Houston bunted to the right side. First baseman Tre’ Morgan charged, picked up the ball and made a diving flip to catcher Alex Milazzo, who tagged Johnson for the second out.

“He showed everyone in the country he’s the most athletic first baseman out there. I saw him lay the bunt down, and Tre’ came flying in to make the play and pick me up,” said Skenes, who got out of the inning when left fielder Josh Pearson, playing shallow, caught Tommy Hawke’s liner.

The Deacons played without Nick Kurtz, a .353 hitter with 24 home runs. He aggravated a rib injury in pregame warmups and was scratched from the lineup 20 minutes before first pitch.

Wake Forest batted just .158 and totaled eight runs in four games in Omaha after outscoring its opponents 75-16 in five

See CWS | Page B7

USA coach Gregg Berhalter applauds the fans after the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group B football match against Iran at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha on Nov. 29, 2022. (GLYN KIRK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/TNS)

Supreme Court rejects Republican-led challenge to a Biden policy on deportations

WASHINGTON (AP) —

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a Republican-led challenge to a long-blocked Biden administration policy that prioritizes the deportation of immigrants who are deemed to pose the greatest risk to public safety or were picked up at the border.

The justices voted 8-1 to allow the policy to take effect, recognizing there is not enough money or manpower to deport all 11 million or so people who are in the United States illegally.

Louisiana and Texas had argued that federal immigration law requires authorities to detain and deport even those who pose little or no risk.

But the court held that the states lacked the legal standing, or right to sue, in the first place.

Justice Brett Kavana-

ugh wrote in his opinion for the court that the executive branch has no choice but to prioritize enforcement efforts.

"That is because the Executive Branch invariably lacks the resources to arrest and prosecute every violator of every law and must constantly react and adjust to the ever-shifting public-safety and public welfare needs of the American people," Kavanaugh wrote.

At the center of the case is a September 2021 directive from the Department of Homeland Security that paused deportations unless individuals had committed acts of terrorism, espionage or "egregious threats to public safety."

The guidance, issued after Joe Biden became president, updated a Trump-era policy to remove people who were

in the country illegally, regardless of criminal history or community ties.

The case displayed a frequently used litigation strategy by Republican attorneys general and other officials that has succeeded in slowing Biden administration initiatives by going to Republican-friendly courts.

Texas and Louisiana claimed in their lawsuit that they would face added costs of having to detain people the federal government might allow to remain free inside the United States, despite their criminal records.

Last year, a federal judge in Texas ordered a nationwide halt to the guidance and a federal appellate panel in New Orleans declined to step in. A federal appeals court in Cincinnati had

earlier overturned a district judge's order that put the policy on hold in a lawsuit filed by Arizona, Ohio and Montana.

But 11 months ago, when the administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene, the justices voted 5-4 to keep the policy on hold. At the same time, the court agreed to hear the case, which was argued in December.

In Friday's decision, Kavanaugh's opinion spoke for just five justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts and the three liberals. Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett agreed with the outcome for other reasons.

Justice Samuel Alito filed a solo dissent, writing that the decision improperly favors the president over Congress.

Adult kid: Mom's not sad enough about divorce

Dear Carolyn: My mom refuses to acknowledge the upside of her marriage to my dad. He was not the best husband or father, I’ll be the first to admit that. He was wrapped up in his work and left everything else to her.

But now that I’ve entered the same branch of science he was in, I get it. It had to be that way for him to make the breakthroughs he did.

My mom divorced him two years ago, and he hasn’t really gotten over it. He asks me when I see him whether she misses him, and I don’t know what to say. I’m not saying she can’t be happy, but she makes it all too clear that she doesn’t miss him and talks endlessly about this guy she’s dating like he’s Mr. Wonderful.

I know my dad can’t see it, but it’s kind of sickening that my sister and I can, though my sister says my mom is entitled to be happy. I’m not saying she isn’t, but tone it down a little, you know?

Carolyn Hax

I tried talking to her about it, presenting the good of her 23-year marriage, saying she played a part in my father’s work; she enabled him to do that research and write those papers, and she can be happy and proud of that. She said that, because of her children, she wasn’t sorry she married my dad, but that she wasn’t sorry she divorced him, either. It’s like she didn’t even listen to me. So frustrating. Should I try another way to get through to her or just let it go? —

Frustrated

Frustrated: Here are some things to say when your dad asks you whether your mom misses him:

• I am sorry you are hurting. Asking me to be your go-between will not make things better

and is not fair to me.

• Please stop trying to put me in the middle.

• You will have to ask her that yourself.

• I am not your carrier pigeon.

• Dad, stop. (Change subject.)

• Dad, stop.

Here is why I opened my answer that way:

The things you are looking for are not yours to have. Your mother’s feelings about your dad and her former marriage are entirely her own to have. It’s not appropriate to try to influence her feelings to make yourself feel better. She “didn’t even listen to me” because you crossed into subjects that were very distinctly not your business.

It’s easy to see how you might believe they are your business. Your parents’ divorce obviously affected you in all kinds of ways. But if you try to make sense of what happened and how you feel about it without clear, logical boundaries in place, then you’re going to end

Chemotherapy port leads to scarring

Dear Dr. Roach: I had a port put in for chemotherapy. I have a red scar on my chest and a smaller one near my collarbone. None of the nurses have seen one placed in the neck before. Was mine put in wrong, or is this a new style? What can I do to lessen the red scars when I have it taken out? I hate the scar near my neck. Would a laser be helpful?— R.R.

Answer: A chemotherapy port is a medical device to make it easier to provide access to a central vein in order to give medication, especially chemotherapy. They can improve a person's quality of life, since the nurses and doctors don't need to put

Dr. Keith Roach

To Your Good Health

in multiple (uncomfortable) peripheral IV lines, which often fail due to the toxic nature of some chemotherapy on the veins. They are most commonly put into one of the jugular veins in the neck or the subclavian vein under the collarbone. There's no need to think that the port was put in incorrectly.

Hopefully, your treatment will be successful, and they will no longer need the port. Once that happens, the port can be removed surgi-

cally. Scars, for any reason, are often red in the first weeks or months after the incision. Over time, the redness usually fades, and the scar becomes more skin-colored, sometimes paler than the person's normal skin.

Some treatments are used to improve the cosmetic appearance of the scar. Keeping an ointment, such as petrolatum (Vaseline), over the scar helps it heal. I've had success with silicone gel sheets. Plastic surgeons sometimes use lasers, dermabrasion or even surgical scar revision when the patient is particularly dissatisfied. I have very seldom had a patient go through that.

up frustrated and confused.

So draw lines where they belong. Your feelings are your business, your dad’s are your dad’s, your mom’s are your mom’s, and your sister’s are your sister’s. How you interact with your dad is your business. How you interact with your mom is your business. How your mom and dad interact with each other is not your business. How your mom interacts with her new love interest is not your business, unless and until it crosses some kind of line in your presence. If you’re uncomfortable around them, then it is your place to speak up and/or leave the room.

Gaining new perspective on your dad from a career angle is interesting and valuable, but it doesn’t redraw any of those lines or make your mom retroactively any less lonely.

It may seem complicated, but it’s actually a simple system for navigating human complexity. You do you. That’s it. As well as you can.

ZITS by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

BEETLE BAILEY by Mort Walker

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE by Chris Browne

BLONDIE by Young and Drake

MUTTS by Patrick McDonell

MARVIN by Tom Armstrong HI

LOIS by Chance Browne

Manfred says big Oakland turnout doesn’t change plans

LONDON (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said one big turnout by Oakland Athletics fans doesn’t change “a decade worth of inaction” as he defended earlier comments about the “ reverse boycott “ held in protest of the team’s proposed move to Las Vegas.

Manfred claimed he was taken out of context when he sarcastically praised the 27,759 A’s fans for amounting to “almost an average Major League Baseball crowd” at a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on June 13 at the Coliseum.

Speaking Friday at a new conference ahead of a weekend series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, Manfred said the A’s had not yet submitted a relocation application and there is not a deadline for when he wants clubs to vote.

“My comment about Oakland was that I feel sorry for the fans, that it was my initial and — preference that we find a solution in Oakland,” Manfred said at London Stadium when asked

if he had regrets about his remarks.

“The comment that I made about the fans on a particular night was taken out of context of those two larger remarks: I feel sorry

for the fans. We hate to move. We did everything we could possibly to do keep the club in Oakland. Unfortunately, one night doesn’t change a decade worth of inaction,” he added.

Following an owners meeting on June 15, Manfred had said: “I mean, it was great. It’s great to see what is this year almost an average Major League Baseball crowd in the facility for one night. That’s a great thing.”

MLB is set to begin a months-long approval process for the team’s proposed move to Las Vegas. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo last week signed legislation granting $380 million in public financing for a ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.

A relocation committee will study the relocation proposal and make recommendations to Manfred and the eight-man executive council. The executive council formulates a recommendation to all clubs, which must approve the move by at least three-quarters vote.

Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio will chair the relocation committee. Manfred said he has not yer appointed any additional members.

“I don’t have a firm timeline,” Manfred said. “Depends on when the application comes in and how long the committee feels it needs to examine the application.”

Oakland is averaging under 10,000 fans per home game, lowest among the 30 teams. The A’s have the worst record in the major leagues at 19-58. The proposed $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark with a retractable roof would be close to Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s Oakland Raiders moved to in 2020, and T-Mobile Arena, where the NHL’s expansion Golden Knights started play in 2017.

Luis Arraez chasing .400 for surging hot Marlins

MIAMI (AP) — When Luis Arraez steps up to the plate, Miami Marlins fans are already on their feet expecting a hit. More often than any one in years, Arraez will deliver.

Traded from Minnesota to Miami in January, the modestly built left-handed hitter is putting together one of the greatest stretches of pure hitting in decades. After going 5 for 5 against Toronto on Monday night, Arraez’s batting average reached .400 in Miami’s 73rd game of the season — matching Chipper Jones in 2008 for the furthest into a season a player has been at .400 since Nomar Garciaparra’s 91 games in 2000.

Already, Arraez is in a realm few players have touched since Hall of Famer Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

“I believe in myself. I trust myself. I just come here and play hard,” Arraez said. Arraez leads baseball in batting average (.397), hits (106), onbase percentage (.447), and in April became the first Marlin to ever hit for the cycle.

More importantly to him, Arraez has the Marlins surging. Miami (43-33) is 10 games over .500 and second in the NL East behind the 4826 Braves. It’s Miami’s best start to a season through the first 75 games since the club’s 1997 World Series team.

The Marlins are finally finding success, a year after finishing with their 11th losing record in 12 seasons (they were 31-29 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season) and four years after losing 105 games.

“This is my family.

My team, we play like a team,” Arraez said. “We just do the little things. We play defense. We’ve got really good relievers. We’ve got really good starting. We’ve got everything. Now everybody trusts this team. And I trust this team.”

After winning the AL batting title in 2022, Arraez became the first reigning batting champion to be traded the following offseason since Rod Carew after the 1978 season. The

Twins shipped Arraez to Miami for a package featuring starting pitcher Pablo López, who has looked like a potential All-Star for Minnesota.

Arraez had a breakout season for Minnesota last year, making his first All-Star team while batting a leaguebest .316.

He leads NL second basemen in All-Star voting with 1,464,802 votes after the first phase of voting. In an era in which power is an increasingly popular metric by which hitters are judged, the 5-foot-10 Arraez is an outlier. He’s not a power hitter — he has two home runs this season — but he hits just about everything.

The 26-year-old is

World Cup: New format in U.S.

Continued from B3

FIFA has long wanted to stage a full-sized tournament every four years.

This expanded version in 2025 is a huge

commercial opportunity for FIFA to try new broadcasting models and sign new sponsors, funding hundreds of millions of dollars in prize money for the

clubs. The influential European Club Association said in March it hoped for talks with FIFA on how to manage the commercial rights.

CWS: Finale now set in Omaha

Continued from B3

five NCAA Tournament games leading to the CWS. The Deacons were in the CWS for the first time since 1955, when they won the nation-

al championship, and they don’t expect to wait 68 years for their next appearance.

“I think just the evolution of Wake Forest baseball, to get to

where we are now, it’s something to be proud of,” Lowder said. “This is the standard for Wake Forest baseball now.”

hitting .396 against four-seam fastballs, .333 against sinkers, .360 against cutters, .438 against sliders and

.450 against changeups.

When Williams hit .400, the league-wide average was .261, and four other players hit .340 or better. The league-wide average this season is .247, and Arraez is the only qualified player batting better than .330.

“He’s really unique,” said Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton. “He does something with the barrel

of the bat that very few people can do in the game and that’s why he has the batting average he has. The thing that’s most impressive is he doesn’t run great. It’s not like he’s getting a ton of infield hits. He’s truly getting hits.”

Shelton was a bench coach with the Twins when Arraez was called up to the majors in 2019 and said he’s happy for

See MARLINS | Page B8

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks to the media prior to a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Francisco Giants at American Family Field on May 25. STACY REVERE/GETTY IMAGES/TNS

Miami Marlins batter Luis Arraez (3) hits the ball during the ninth inning of an MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at LoanDepot Park on Tuesday, June 20. D.A. VARELA/TNS

Marlins: Arraez chasing .400

Continued from B7

his success. “It’s great for the game. I don’t know for how long he’ll be able to sustain it, but if he sustains it into August or September, that’s awesome,” Shelton said. “That’ll be fun to watch.”

Arraez, who has a club-record three fivehit games this season — all this month — has had help in powering the Marlins to their best start in years despite an uncharacteristically slow start to the

season by Miami’s ace and reigning Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, who is 2-6 with a 5.08 ERA.

Designated hitter

Jorge Soler is tied for third in MLB with 21 home runs, trailing only Shohei Ohtani (24) and Pete Alonso (23). Ten of Soler’s homers have given the Marlins a lead.

And 20-year-old right-hander Eury Perez has been stellar to start his major league career after he was called up in May. His 1.54 ERA

through his first eight career starts is the third-lowest for a pitcher his age or younger since 1913, when ERA became an official MLB statistic, according to Elias Sports Bureau as reported by the Marlins.

“There’s a lot of prospects that are hyped and never really pan out at the big-league level,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said after Perez tossed six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts against Toronto. “This kid is the real deal.”

NFL owners set to decide on sale of Washington Commanders

By STEPHEN WHYNO The Associated Press

NFL owners are set to meet July 20 to consider and potentially vote to approve the sale of the Washington Commanders, a person with knowledge of the situation said Friday.

The person said teams were notified Thursday of a special league meeting that will take place in Minneapolis. The per-

RACING THIS WEEK

son spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the league meeting was not announced.

Three-quarters — 24 of the league’s 32 owners — approval is needed to finalize the deal between Dan Snyder and his family and a group led by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris. Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson is also among

CUP BONUS PHOTO: With Martin Truex Jr. (right) holding off former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch at Sonoma for his fourth win at the road course, the June 11 race marked the 11th time in Cup Series history that the duo nailed down a 1-2 finish.

Most likely to NOT go winless?

Ten races remain in the 2023 Cup Series regular season and there are still a handful of superstars who remain winless entering the summer.

Which winless drivers are likeliest to break through before the postseason?

RACE: Ally 400 (at Nashville Superspeedway) WINLESS

DRIVER LIKELIEST TO SCORE VICTORY: Chase Elliott

He took the checkered flag under the lights last year in Nashville and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Elliott goes back-toback to kick off NASCAR’s summer stretch.

Elliott will need a win sooner rather than later with 84 points to make up as he sits 27th in points.

RACE: Grant Park 220 (at Chicago Street Course) WINLESS

DRIVER LIKLIEST TO SCORE VICTORY: Ross Chastain

Little to nothing is known about how NASCAR’s street circuit debut will play out but if there’s anyone who could make a rousing statement in a new venture, look out for the Melon Man.

Chastain was the first driver to win a road-course race in the Next Gen era at Circuit of The Americas and while COTA is no street circuit, close-quarter racing around the narrow streets of downtown Chicago will play into Chastain’s hands as someone who’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers.

RACE: Quaker State 400 available at Walmart (at Atlanta Motor Speedway) WINLESS DRIVER LIKELIEST TO SCORE

VICTORY: Brad Keselowski

Keselowski came just short of scoring his first victory as co-owner of RFK Racing at Atlanta in the spring but the whole organization has become a formidable contender this season with both Keselowski and Chris Buescher inside the top 16 in points.

Keselowski is one of the greats on drafting tracks and after leading 47 laps in the spring on the 1.5-mile oval, expect him to finally break through under the lights in July.

RACE: Crayon 301 (at New Hampshire Motor Speedway)

LIKELIEST TO SCORE VICTORY: Kevin Harvick

There are few drivers better than Harvick in the Granite State and the 47-year-old veteran is having himself a fantastic final campaign in the Cup Series. He currently sits fifth in points and has a comfortable advantage above the playoff cutline.

Don’t expect Harvick to be in a must-win situation to reach the playoffs but New Hampshire, where he sits tied with Jeff Burton for most wins with four, appears to be the ideal spot for Harvick to nab his first victory in his swan-song season.

RACE: Pocono 400 (at Pocono Raceway) WINLESS DRIVER

LIKELIEST TO SCORE VICTORY: Daniel Suárez

Maybe a bold pick for the “Tricky Triangle” but Suárez has been sneakily good at the triangular track. He scored a top-five finish at the track last season and three top-10 results prior. Suárez currently sits three points outside the playoff standings and needs a massive swing of positive momentum to get his season on the right track. I like him as a surprise at Pocono.

RACE: NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond WINLESS

DRIVER LIKELIEST TO SCORE VICTORY: Alex Bowman

To start the season, it looked as though Bowman was a lock for the postseason and a contender for the Cup title. But after a points penalty and a back injury that sat the 30-year-old out for a month, Bowman now sits just three points above the playoff cutline without a win.

Where can Bowman cement his playoff status? Enter Richmond at the end of July. The Virginia short track has become one of his most consistent tracks with four top-10 finishes, including a 2021 victory, in his last six starts at the track.

RACE: FireKeepers Casino 400 (at Michigan International Speedway) WINLESS DRIVER LIKELIEST TO SCORE

VICTORY: Bubba Wallace

From superspeedways to 1.5-mile ovals and now, two-mile Michigan. Wallace scored his first Cup Series pole in the Irish Hills last summer and was one better final restart than Kevin Harvick away from making the playoffs last year.

Instead, 2023 will be the year Wallace gets redemption at Michigan and will make his maiden postseason run in his sixth full-time season.

RACE: Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (at Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course WINLESS DRIVER LIKELIEST TO SCORE VICTORY: AJ Allmendinger

The site of Kaulig Racing’s first Cup Series triumph, Allmendinger will return to Victory Lane at the Brickyard to earn the team its first playoff berth. In five starts on the Indy road course across Xfinity and Cup, Allmendinger owns two wins and an average finish of third on the course. His worst finish at the track in those starts? Seventh.

RACE: GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN (at Watkins Glen International) WINLESS DRIVER LIKELIEST TO SCORE

VICTORY: Michael McDowell

Following his seventh-place showing at Sonoma Raceway, I’m sold that McDowell and the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team found an edge that will have them competing for a win at every road-course event left this season. Won’t say for certain that a debuting street course will be their best chance but Watkins Glen certainly will where McDowell led 14 laps en route to a sixth-place finish last year.

RACE: COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 (at Daytona International Speedway) WINLESS DRIVER LIKELIEST TO SCORE

VICTORY: Chris Buescher

Last year’s regular-season finale at Daytona was filled with drama as just one spot remained to get into the 2022 postseason. Not sure that will be the case this August but one thing that will be a lock is Chris Buescher in contention for a win at the superspeedway.

His two top fives at the Daytona 500 and at Talladega this year show he’s ready to finally score that elusive win he’s been so close to getting at these types of tracks and whether he’s already on the right side of the playoff cutline or needed the win to get in, it will be a huge shot in the arm for the No. 17 RFK Racing team to make a surprise playoff run.

those involved in the incoming ownership group.

The deal is for a North American professional sports record $6.05 billion, surpassing the $4.55 billion Walmart heir Robert Walton paid for the Denver Broncos last year.

Snyder and Harris’ group had a deal in principle for the Commanders in April, then came to a firm agreement in May.

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Nashville Superspeedway Circuit length: 1⅓ mi. (2.15 km)

METERS

• Nashville Superspeedway is located in Gladeville, Tenn. (although the track has a Lebanon, Tenn., postal address), about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. The track was built in 2001 and is the longest concrete oval in NASCAR. Current permanent seating capacity is approximately 25,000, but will reach up to 38,000 for the Cup Series event. Additional portable seats are brought in for some events, and seating capacity can be expanded to 150,000.

• Surface: Concrete

• Length: 1.333 miles (2.145 km)

• Turns: 4

• Banking: 14°

• A year-round family friendly destination in one of the fastest growing cities in the country, Nashville Superspeedway is a staple on the regional sports, entertainment and festival scene.

• Nashville Superspeedway hosted its rst NASCAR events in April 2001.

• Through 2022, the 1.33-mile D-shaped oval with 14 degrees of banking has hosted two NASCAR Cup Series race, 23 NASCAR X nity Series races, 15 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events and eight Indy Racing League contests.

• The largest concrete-only track in NASCAR, Nashville Superspeedway is owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC.

• CUP SERIES, Fastest Race (400 Miles): Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 113.792 mph (3:30:23), June 20, 2021

• XFINITY SERIES, Fastest Race (300 Miles): Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, 134.095 mph (2:14:12), March 22, 2008

• TRUCK SERIES, Fastest Race (200 Miles): Kyle Busch, Toyota, 136.459 mph (1:27:55), April 2, 2010

Chase Elliott left his mark on ‘Music City’ with a sweet burnout at Nashville Superspeedway in last year's Ally 400. (Getty Images)