The Iola Register, Oct. 27, 2022

Early voting surges

By JENNIFER SHUTT Kansas Reflector

WASHINGTON —

Roughly 9.4 million Amer icans have already voted in the midterm elections, casting a combination of in-person early votes and mail-in ballots, according to data compiled by the United States Elections Project.

Florida as well as Geor gia, Michigan and Penn sylvania are among the top states in terms of early voting so far.

The initiative, headed up by University of Flori da Professor Michael Mc Donald, shows that, within states releasing the data, 2.6 million people have vot ed in person while 6.8 mil lion have returned mail-in ballots. Another 41.6 mil lion voters have requested mail-in ballots, according to the website.

The 17 states reporting data and that share party affiliation show that of the roughly 5.1 million Amer icans in those states who voted early, 50% are Demo crats, 30% are Republicans and 20% are not part of either party or registered with another political affil iation.

McDonald noted Tues day that in Florida, Re publican in-person early voters outnumbered Dem ocrats, 56,000 to 34,000.

“This is not just a func tion of which counties offered in-person early voting,” McDonald wrote. “Even in some blue coun ties like Palm Beach, more Republicans voted in-per son early.”

He added that since many Democrats have

Candidates share views

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

With Election Day less than two weeks away, candidates for state offices made their re spective pitches to a group of about 50 Tuesday evening.

Topics ranged from eco nomic policies and abortion to Medicaid expansion or legal izing marijuana. Allen Coun ty Farm Bureau sponsored the forum.

Humboldt’s Alana Cloutier, Democrat, and Garnett’s Fred Gardner, Republican, seeking to represent Allen County in the Kansas House of Repre sentatives, received the bulk of the attention because they were the only two opposing candidates attending the fo rum.

Also appearing were Dem ocratic U.S. House of Repre sentatives candidate Patrick Schmidt; Katie Sawyer, run

County looks at leasing tractors

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

Allen County will take a test drive, of sorts, with a decision to lease two trac tors from the local John Deere dealership.

Mark Griffith, road and bridge director, asked com missioners to consider a proposal to lease tractors rather than purchase them outright, especially as county departments have faced numerous equip ment breakdowns this year.

Over the summer, the county’s newest boom mower caught on fire and was destroyed. It was cov ered by insurance, but led to a debate over how to best replace the county’s fleet of large, expensive machinery.

The proposal from John Deere offered four trac tors available for lease for between $56,000 to $60,000 per year. The cost of a new tractor would be some where around $200,000.

The county fleet typical ly includes four tractors and two boom mowers.

Commissioners were intrigued by the lease pro posal, but reluctant to go all-in. Instead, they asked Griffith to look at leasing two tractors as a sort of trial run.

Although it’s common practice to lease vehicles,

Anti-poverty advocate takes aim at utility policy

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

Tori Bland remembers when she realized her family was poor.

Her parents tried to protect her from the harsh reality — they always had food and shel ter — but eventually she un derstood her family couldn’t afford the kinds of things girls her age needed.

Now, as an adult, Bland is stepping into the role of an ti-poverty advocate. She’s de termined to make sure other families in her community don’t suffer from policies that penalize poor people.

Two months ago, Bland started working at Humanity House. Her primary focus is to make changes to the City of Iola’s policies regarding pastdue utility bills.

“I wanted to help people in the community where I grew up,” she said. “It would have been really helpful to have had resources like what Hu manity House provides when I was growing up.”

On Saturday, Bland will or ganize a meeting to encourage members of the community to discuss Iola’s utility pol icy. She wants to hear about the experiences of Iola utili

ty customers, including what changes they would like to see in the city’s policies.

The meeting is from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday at Humanity House, 110 East St. Child

DISCUSSION

Topic: Utility bills

When: 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday

Where: Humanity House, 110 East St.

care is provided and refresh ments will be available.

Bland said she wants to hear from those who are most affected by the city’s utility policies before she develops a plan or approaches the Iola City Council about proposed changes.

“This is a community issue and people need help to make sure their voices are heard,” Bland said. “I want to hear what would be most beneficial to them, and we can collec tively come up with ideas.”

Bland and other Humani ty House leaders have some ideas to prompt discussion, such as policy change for both

ning mate of GOP guber natorial candidate Derek Schmidt; Secretary of State Scott Schwab, Republican; In surance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, Republican, and Lib ertarian U.S. Senate hopeful David Graham.

Several other candidates sent proxies or letters for moderator Heather Mentzer to read aloud to the audience. Cloutier v. Gardner

While both Cloutier and

See FORUM | Page A3

Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt is running for re-election.

Humboldt’s Alana Cloutier, left, and Fred Gardner of Garnett are vying to serve District 9 in the Kansas House of Representatives. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Tori Bland is the new anti-poverty advocate at Humanity House. She’s hosting a community meeting from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday at Humanity House, 110 East St., to discuss the City of Iola’s utility policy for past-due bills. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Concert postponed

The performance of concert pianist Brian Woods, sched uled for Friday eve ning in the recital hall of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center, has been resched uled to Feb. 23, 2023, at 7 p.m.

Drug takeback Saturday

Unused prescrip tion medication can be disposed of from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Iola Police De partment.

The Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center and Allen Coun ty Multi-Agency Team are co-spon soring the local participation in the DEA Nation al Takeback cam paign.

Any unused or expired prescrip tion drugs will be accepted.

For more in formation, visit DEATakeBack. com.

Lavers reunite

The 10th Annual Laver First Cousin Family Reunion was held Sunday at Chi nese Chef in Par sons.

There are only 23 first cousins living out of 52 grandchil dren of Ross Fitzi mons and Stella Ann (Sears) Laver. This past week, the youngest of the first cousins, Sandy Dee Romine, 61, passed away.

A total of 23 fam ily members gath ered for great food and fellowship, which included nine of a possible 23 first cousins who could attend.

Attending were Lar ry and Judy Laver, Iola; DeWayne and Janice (Laver) Ard, Stacy (Licht enwalter) Biffle, J.D. and Cathy Baughn, Joe and Krysta Baughn, Jerek, Kalyn, Kynli and Jayse, all of Humboldt; Larry and Wilma Jean (La ver) Nelson, Albert and Juanita (Allen) Barker; Robin (Barker) Olberd ing and Don Baughn, all of Chanute; Howard Ludlum, Lone Elm; Rog er Houk and Gary Lud lum, Moran; andDonna (Laver) Krokstrom, Par sons.

Iola High School honors listed

Iola High School has announced its first-quar ter honor rolls for the 2022-23 school year.

All A’s (4.0 GPA):

Seniors: Caiden Cloud, Jesse Taylor, Luke Wicoff and Kinzey Wilhelm.

Juniors: Piper Aronson, Daniel Boeken, Rebekah Col trane, Keira Fawson, Abigail Meiwes, Jaydon Morrison and Jenna Morrison.

Sophomores: Grady Dougherty, Alejandro Escalan te, Krystina Hurst, Mariah Je linek, Ethan Riebel and Alyssa Williams.

Freshman: Madelyn Ash worth, Brennen Coffield, Chloe Hoag, Bethany Miller, Briley Prather, Bella Rahming, Ari Ramirez, Izzy Tyson and Cosette Warner.

Principal’s Honor Roll (3.76-3.99 GPA):

Seniors: Tatum Boyd, Macie Hoag, Kaster Trabuc, Haily Wil son and Jackoby Wilson

Juniors: Kendall Glaze, Rio Lohman, Kennedy Maier, Ka libre Smith, Hallie Sutherland and Landon Weide.

Sophomores: Elza Clift, Kaysin Crusinbery, Reese Cur ry, Teanna Hamilton, Gavin Jones, Tavia Skahan, Emalee Thompson, Madeleine Wanker and Kegan Wilson.

Freshman: Parker Andres, Trapper Boren, Stephanie Fees, Madison Karns, Pay ton Kern, Carly Kramer, Lily Lohman and Michaela Riebel.

Regular Honor Roll (3.03.75 GPA):

Seniors: Thomas Chapman, Gavin Doolittle, Carly Dreher, Jarrett Herrmann, Aysha Houk, Preston Hurst, Joseph Karr, Ja dyn Kaufman, Jessica Kroenke, Crystal Lindsey, Hallie McDer meit, Dallyn McGraw, Benja min Mikulski, Kyler Mittelmei er, Kaden Priddy, Cali Riley, Brock Sander, Kyle Schmidt, Khloeigh Shafer, Gabriella Sharp, Sage Shaughnessy, Jake Skahan, Travis Wanker, Genevive Ward, Wyatt Wester velt and Cody Wille.

Juniors: Jeremy Adair, Anna Beckwith, Kaycee Berry, Logan Brakel, Karyssa Brun er, Korbin Cloud, Aden Cole, Shelby Daniels, JJ Engelhardt, Katelyn Erbert, Korbyn Foun tain, Kadence Gragg, Ashton Hesse, Christopher Hollo way, Sydney Hutton, Carson Keller, Benjamin Kerr, Kyndra Kratzberg, Keaton Larney, Lee ann Maloney, Briggs Michael, Rylie Olson, Molly Riebel, Kyler Smeltzer, William Talkington, Aaliyah Trester, Jillian Ward and Nevaeh White.

Sophomores: Maxwell An

dersen, Matthew Beckmon, Kyndal Bycroft, Cortland Car son, Keaton DePaola, Harper Desmarteau, Hayden Deven port, Alex Donnelly, Brooklyn Ellis, Everett Glaze, Kale God frey, Abbigail Hutton, Car men Jones, Jordan Kaufman, Kealie Keeler, Macey Lewis, Alana Mader, Lucan Maier, Maleigha Molina, Cole Moyer, Layla Newkirk, Melanie Palm er, Guilis Pina, LaPrincia Pulley, Demarco Ross, Kaiden Ruther ford, Kinsey Schinstock, Maya Shaughnessy, Jacob Stokes, Trevor Tatman, Camden War ner, Peyton Weast, Griffin Westervelt, Emily Williams, Kenneth Wilson, Morgan Wil son and Katelyn Womelsdorf.

Freshmen: Nickolas Bau er, Jayden Beene, Brayden Boyce, Tessa Brutchin, Aniya Dodson, Baron Folk, Brooklyn Foxworthy, MaHailie Geno ble, Mylie Hageman, Nevaeh Hancock, Jakolby Hill, Logan Huff, Gannon Hutton, Joel LaCrone, Mason Lampe, Kan drella McCullough, Maddox Riley, Kinsey Ryman, Tayten Salzwedel, Briggs Sharon, Ma son Silvey, Jaden Smith, Brent Stevens, Brody Thompson, Ra ven Tomlinson, Alisha Trainor, Isaac Velazquez, Faith Warden, Easton Weseloh and Marlee Westhoff.

IMS students named to rolls

Iola Middle School has announced its first-quar ter honor rolls for the 2022-23 school year.

All A’s (4.0 GPA)

Eighth grade Ean DeLaTorre, Zoie Hesse, Kinsey Jelinek, Abigail Jerome, Franklin Kerr, Brock Michael, Alston Nelson, Melody Nor man, Kaydra Scheibmeir and Rohan Springer.

Seventh grade

Brycen Baker, Reed Clift, Ainslee Glasgow, Shaylee Karns, Olivia Mathews, Jordyn Potter, Raiden Stowell and Brodon Westerman.

Sixth grade

Lucas Boeken, Jacob Ca tron, Alexa Cronk, Kashyn Curry, Haidyn Desmarteau, Blayke Folk, Kinzley Fountain, Maddux Franklin, Eliana Hig ginbotham, Ethan Hunt, Piper Jordan, Tayven Kress, Robert McLaughlin, Aaliyah Rhodes, Logan Thompson-Belknap, Harley Tidd and Camryn Wille.

Regular Honor Roll (3.0-3.9 GPA with no D’s or F’s)

Eighth grade Ramon Ballin, Ruger Boren, Sheridan Byrd, Caden Col

Grousing over grouse

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An envi ronmental group is su ing U.S. wildlife man agers, saying they have failed to protect a rare grouse found in parts of the Midwest that in clude one of the coun try’s most prolific areas for oil and gas develop ment.

A lawsuit filed Tues day by the Center for Bi ological Diversity says the U.S. Fish and Wild life Service is nearly five months late in releasing a final rule outlining protections for the less er prairie chicken.

trane, Austin Crooks, Dally Curry, Ay’Real Davis, LaCarea Eads, Beau Erickson, Sofia Es calante, Benjamin Fager, Lyn sie Fehr, Addison Ferguson, Jase Herrmann, Keegan Hill, Joseph Holding, Brooklyn Hol loway, James Hunt, Evan La Crone, Jayden Leavitt, Abigail Lower, Elizabeth Maier, Lain ey Oswald, Broderick Peters, Adriel Pina, Kale Pratt, Kaeden Vega and Joshua Wanker.

Seventh grade Brealynn Andres, Kristina Andres, Jeffrey Ashworth, Lil lie Bingham, Brecken Bycroft, Aidan Cheney, Regional Da vis III, Amare Dodson, Bron na Dryden, Mosiah Fawson, Aiden Fraker, Isaiah Geisler, Kali Joy, Kevon Loving, Brax tin Martin, Joseph McIntire, Blayke Patterson, Grant Sigg, Jordyn Spillman, Tatter Stitt, Nickoles Stogsdill, Kylea Tay lor, Colton Thompson, Lauryn Tisdale, Addilyn Wacker and

Bentley Zarhouni.

Sixth grade Chelsea Andres, Theodore Beerbower, Phoenix Bennett, Raegan Berry, Kahdrien Boek en, Ke’aunna Bossell-Willard, Charles Brown Jr., Rudara Desai, Sophia Doty, Adelyn Droessler, Broden Emerson, Lily Foxworthy, Jeep Harper, Danika Hill, Payton Holt, Ty son Hyden, Jayna Ivy, Liliana Jerome, Clayton Johnson, Braylon Keithly, Christopher Kilby, Adam Klubek, Henry Kramer, Jimmie Maloney Jr., Isabelle Martin, Melody Max son, Caleb McCullough, Hunt er McDaniel, Kayleigh Merrill, Maddilyn Peres, Kailyn Rodri guez, Cruz Riley Ross, Breigh lynn Rutherford, Spencer Sargent, Bayleigh Scheibmeir, Stokes-Huntsinger, Hadlee Stranghoner, Samantha Thomas, Hannah Thompson, Maicy Winner, Bryson Yocham and Jackson Young.

MV Elementary School pupils lauded

MORAN — First Quarter Honor Rolls for Marmaton Valley Elementary School.

All A’s

5th Grade

Daniel Allee, Olivia Beaman, Kenna Bryant-Boone, Jaren Curl, Emily Heskett, Morgen Kinzer, Anthony Sander, Mya Uhlrich and Kinsley Vance.

4th Grade

Tyler Borth, Doug Dix, Chloe Henderson, Kloie Sna vely and Elizabeth Stinnett.

3rd Grade

Charles Ensminger, Kol ten McVey, McKenna Mei wes, Kylee Resco, Thomas

Retana and Hadley Wools.

All A’s and B’s

5th Grade

Gage Clay, Mathew Dick son, Case Drake, Raylan Preston, Logan Sneen, Ryler Stone and Kaiden Woods.

4th Grade

Layten Blevins, Mieke Eh rler, Lucius Hannum, Aubrie Heskett, Kager Mathews, Cambri O’Neal, Taygen Stroud, Brody Taylor and Stetsen Westhoff.

3rd Grade

Savannah Cain, Kimbree Daum, Alexis Greve, Colin Maley, Eli Maley and Asher Stone.

Obituary

Pat O’Day

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Patricia Anne (Dun can) O’Day, age 84, passed away on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022 at home in Carbondale.

Pat was born on March 17, 1938, in Oelwein, Iowa, and was adopted as an infant by Delmont “Monte” Duncan and Neola (Ste vens) Duncan. Her parents and her adopted brother, Donald “Don” Craig Duncan, all preced ed her in death.

Pat is survived by her husband of 61 years, Edward J. O’Day, of Carbondale; children and grandchildren. Daughter Kathleen (O’Day) Pham, and son-in-law Hung Pham live in Mi ami, Fla., and have two children, Ryan Pham, of Atlanta, Ga., and Kyle Pham, of Worcester, Mass. Son Michael O’Day, resides in Minneap olis, Minn., with daughter-in-law Jai O’Day and their children, Keira and Colin O’Day. Son Ste phen O’Day, lives in Hatfield, Mass., along with daughter-in-law Michelle Mattison, and their children, Grace and Mattie O’Day. Daughter Anne O’Day resides in Vergennes, Ill.

Pat grew up in Granite Falls, Minn., spending summers swimming and winters ice skating, and always considered herself a Minnesotan, although she moved to Carbondale in 1962. She graduated from Iola High School and later at tended Kansas University. In 1958, she began study in Tuebingen, Germany, where she met Ed O’Day. Pat loved her family, animals, and babies of any species, probably in that order. In Car bondale she regularly served as a room mother and active PTA member at the schools of all her children. As a member of the Church of Saint Francis Xavier Women’s Club, she catered many events at Saint Francis and the SIUC Newman Center. She was known for her attention to de tail in place settings, decorations, and her oneof-a-kind edible topiaries. For several years, she was a board member of the Humane Society of Southern Illinois. She was also an active sup porter of Friends of Carbondale Public Library, where she often tended to the Children’s Books Section during their used book sales.

One important theme of her life was reading. She introduced children and grandchildren to Richard Wilbur’s Loudmouse, which remains a family favorite, and she helped inspire the en tire family’s love of words and language. Pat also spread that literary influence with tutoring and volunteering in the library to help all chil dren to discover the magic of reading.

While active at home and in the community, she was also an enthusiastic traveler. Pat and Ed’s itineraries extended to all seven conti nents, including travel throughout the U.S. and Europe, as well as trips to Russia, China, South east Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Ant arctica and South America where Pat was able to realize her life-long dream of seeing Machu Picchu during a trip sponsored by Kansas Uni versity.

She also spent much of her working life at Southern Illinois University including in the Department of Agribusiness Economics and the School of Medicine.

Services will be held on Saturday, Oct. 29, at St. Francis Xavier Church, 303 South Poplar Street, in Carbondale. Visitation will start at 9:30 a.m. and the Funeral Mass at 11. Masks are required. The Funeral Mass will also be lives treamed on the funeral home website: www. meredithfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Pat’s name to the Church of St. Fran cis Xavier, the SIU-C Newman Center, Hospice of Southern Illinois, or the Humane Society of Southern Illinois.

Meredith Funeral Home in Carbondale as sisted the family with arrangements.

To leave a story or memory of Pat, visit www. meredithfh.com

Pat O’Day

Gardner agreed public tax dollars shouldn’t be used to fund private schools, an idea tossed about occasionally and termed as “school choice,” they spoke on opposite sides of the coin when discussing Medicaid expansion, marijuana legalization and abortion.

Cloutier, who favors Medicaid expansion, noted the number of rural Kansas hospitals that have closed in re cent years, including one in Bourbon County. Adding Medicaid fund ing would be a valuable tool for hospitals strug gling to stay afloat Medicaid expansion “is extremely popular,” she said. “We should have done it years ago. We’re losing money,” be cause Kansas pays into the federal program for the expansion but receives nothing in re turn.

Gardner disagreed, noting that while 90% of the Medicaid funding comes from the federal government, “it’s not free. We’d have to pay 10%. We also need to realize, the federal gov ernment has a pretty good history of starting things and not coming through with the money forever.”

Gardner also spoke out on his opposition to abortion.

“We know as soon as conception occurs there’s been a DNA fin gerprint that had never been established before and will never be dupli cated again,” Gardner said. “Our constitution clearly says life is pro tected, and we clearly know when life begins.”

Cloutier, conversely, noted Kansans voted less than three months ago, and affirmed the State Constitution should include the right for Kansans to seek abortions.

“Voters turned out in record numbers” and noted overwhelmingly anti-abortion measures went too far, Cloutier said. “I know Kansas has a long history of this being a contentious issue. I would love to not have this be the thing that stops all progress in Topeka.”

Likewise, Cloutier pointed to polls that show overwhelming support for legalized medical marijuana in Kansas.

“I don’t think we’re ready for recreational use yet,” she cautioned.

Gardner, however, said chemicals in mar ijuana lead to a host of physical or mental health issues, particu larly among young us ers.

CLOUTIER shared her biography, from growing up in northern California on a sheep farm near Bodega Bay — where they filmed the Alfred Hitchcock classic, “The Birds” — before meeting Kansas native Paul Cloutier in high school.

After marrying, the Cloutiers were Kansas visiting relatives in 2016, when they paid a visit to friends living in Humboldt.

“We were so inspired by that trip, and the idea of returning to a more rural life, that we laid the ground for A Bolder Humboldt, and we ha ven’t looked back,” she said.

Cloutier vowed to serve as an advocate for rural Kansas, noting the GOP platform does not include the word “ru ral,” “farm,” “farmer” or “rancher.”

“The Democratic party platform, which I helped write, uses the word ‘farm’ 24 times and ‘rural’ 27 times,” she continued. “It has a whole section about developing strong rural communities and sup porting our agricultural industry.

“I see a lot of biparti san issues that Kansans want, pushed aside in Topeka for issues that play well for fundrais ing,” Cloutier said. “The Legislature needs to focus on kitchen table issues, not culture war issues.”

GARDNER, who graduated from veter inarian school in 1978 and moved to Garnett with his wife Jackie in 1984, spoke glowingly of the relationships his family has forged. Now that he has sold his vet business, he’s ready to represent Kansans in Topeka.

“There are a few things that motivated me to do that,” Gardner said. “I’d like to leave a governing system be hind so my grandchil

dren can enjoy the same opportunities Jackie and I enjoyed in Gar nett.

“I’m very much a believer in a limited constitutional form of government,” he con tinued. “One thing that motivates me is the amount of growth in state government. … That’s not sustainable, unless you’re willing to pay considerably more taxes.”

In his campaigning, Gardner said “I’ve had zero people ask me to see if I could please raise taxes to provide more services.”

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Patrick Schmidt spoke out repeatedly against his opponent, Republican Jake La Turner, who was not in attendance.

LaTurner, Schmidt said, “has been vicious ly attacking Kansas families and Kansas farmers for the past 15 years” through legis lation that resulted in higher food taxes, lost Medicaid funding and higher insurance rates.

In addition, Schmidt said LaTurner’s votes to allow such things as earned income tax cred it and child tax credits lapse have been devas tating to Kansans of all stripes.

Jake Conard, speak ing on behalf of LaTurn er, said the Congress man has heard from plenty of constituents adversely impacted by inflation rates and high fuel prices, attributed to “failed policies coming out of D.C.

“Republicans are asking for support, not for the sake of having control,” Conard said, “but because we hav en’t heard any solutions coming from Demo

crats.”

Conard said LaTurn er ascribes to a “Com mitment to America” centered on a strong economy, a nation safe from illegal border crossings, freedom and accountability within the government.”

Schmidt, when ques tioned on three bills he would support, pointed to ones that would ex pand the child tax cred it, child care access and protect Social Security and Medicare, which, he claimed, are in danger of funding cuts support ed by LaTurner.

KANSAS GOVERNOR Sawyer, as a lieu tenant governor candi date running along with Derek Schmidt, said the state should continue to be the number-one advo cate for agriculture and work with association groups to bring new markets for farmers.

“Our ag industry is constantly under at tack by the Biden ad ministration, crippling drought, record high inflation, input costs and supply chain dis ruptions,” Sawyer said. “Now more than ever we need a governor and lieutenant governor who support Kansas ag riculture, and the lives of those who work in Kansas agriculture.”

Sawyer fielded ques tions dealing with strik ing a bipartisan tone in government, bringing immigrants to Kansas and higher education.

Conversations within communities are vital to keeping open lines of dialogue across party lines, Sawyer said.

“We see too many times people try to push problems up to Tope ka or D.C.,” Sawyer said. “The government should be the last resort to solving issues.”

“Four years ago I ran for governor in order to get our state back on track after the prior administration left our state in a really tough place,” Kelly’s letter read. “Schools were un derfunded, roads and bridges were crumbling, and our economy was in freefall. Now, despite all the challenges our country has faced these last few years here in Kansas, we are back on track.”

TIM TARKELLY, speaking on behalf of Libertarian candidate Seth Cordell, said he sees “a lot of govern ment, but not a whole lot of liberty.”

Tarkelly cited a bro ken criminal justice system and millions of dollars spent on a “war on drugs that we’re los ing,” regulations that have stifled business and “big city politicians tightening their grip on rural life.”

“Seth’s plan will al low Kansas farmers to feed Kansans,” Tarkelly said. “We know what’s right for us. … We’ve pumped money into ev ery problem and have yet to learn the lesson that maybe the govern ment can’t fix every thing.”

SECRETARY OF STATE Incumbent Scott Schwab, the only candi date or proxy for the Sec retary of State position to appear at Tuesday’s forum, spoke about helping develop a new web portal to stream line efforts for entrepre neurs to do business in Kansas, and replacing an antiquated computer system that had been in place since the 1980s.

“What we’re creating is a business one-stop,” Schwab said. “We just want it to be easier to do business in Kansas. We need to get off of a sys tem we should have been off of 10 years ago.”

As the state’s chief election officer, Schwab rebuffed suggestions Kansas elections were not secure.

“Our election folks do a really good job at ad ministering elections,” Schwab said. “Some times they do make mis takes, but we still get the answer right as to who won and who lost.”

Schwab also rejected claims that drop boxes for voters’ ballots can lead to voter fraud.

“What’s that blue thing outside the post office?” Schwab asked. “It’s a drop box.”

Accordingly, drop boxes set up specifically for ballots are equally secure, handled by “two Kansans subject to Kan sas law” if malfeasance is suspected.

Schwab said his point of view that Kansas

IOLA ATTORNEY Jake Knight, speaking on behalf of Gov. Laura Kelly, read a letter the governor penned to the audience.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, above, is running for re-election. Lieutenant governor candidate Katie Sawyer, at right, represents gubernatorial candidate Derek Schmidt as his running mate.

elections are secure may differ from others in the Republican party, but only a handful.

“At the end of the day, we Kansans show we can get it right,” he said.

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

Incumbent Vicki Schmidt, the only candi date for insurance com missioner to appear at Tuesday’s get-together, has a background as a pharmacist, which led to her interest in insur ance issues, “and how complicated they are.”

An insurance com missioner represents agents, agencies, com panies “and certainly consumers,” Schmidt noted.

She recalled reading a recent social media post about a fundraiser for a family raising money to pay for a daughter’s cochlear implant. Her insurance claim for the procedure was denied because the girl needed only one implant, not two.

Schmidt said she helped get the proce dure approved.

She also admonished the audience, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, to not post about their health insurance issues on Facebook.

“I will hunt you down,” she joked.

Schmidt also kept things light when dis cussing attributes need ed for those in public office: namely, honesty

and truthfulness.

“When I give you my word, I’m going to keep it,” she said. “I really love my job. You need to be able to trust me.”

“I feel like I just ran for Miss America,” she joked.

DAVID GRAHAM, the only candidate to ap pear for Jerry Moran’s U.S. Senate seat, warned about the dangers of the growing size and scope of the U.S. government.

“Unless we start seri ously reducing size and some of the national government, it’s going to collapse,” he said. “We can’t keep giving

money to foreign coun tries, when we have problems here. Who’s gonna pay for this?”

The nation also is in dire need of criminal justice reform, exac erbated by “the prison industrial complex,” he said.

“We need to end the drug war” for those who peacefully imbibe, Gra ham continued, which wastes millions of dol lars.

“We need to focus on catching violent crimi nals,” Graham said.

Thirdly, the nation needs a smarter nation al defense. To wit, he pointed to the use of

polygraph tests for mil itary personnel to get security clearances.

Private companies have been banned from using polygraphs since the 1980s. The govern ment should follow suit, Graham said.

“I know it’s kind of daunting voting for an independent liber tarian,” he concluded. “Most of you are think ing, I have to vote for the lesser of two evils. … If we don’t change who we send to Washington, we get the same product.”

In response to a ques tion, Graham said he favors more funding for law enforcement, pro vided it remains a local function.

Graham also touched on microchip produc tion and plans to help Kansas farmers.

Advocate: Meeting to talk about utilities

Continued from A1

in the form of a “promise to pay.”

Short-term assis tance would allow cus tomers to apply for an extension of up to two weeks, such as for those who have a guaranteed source of income but won’t receive it until soon after the city’s deadline.

Long-term assistance would allow customers to set up a payment plan arrangement over a lon ger period of time.

BLAND has spent her first two months on the job researching utility policies in other Kansas communities, focusing on those simi lar in population to Iola.

So far, she’s obtained results from 26 cities. Most allow some sort of extension or payment plan option. Ten-day ex tensions are most com mon.

The City of Iola al lows customers 42 days to pay a utility bill, but does not allow exten sions.

“Right now, my main goal is to collect infor mation and talk to peo ple. And maybe there are people who don’t know how strict the city’s policy is because they haven't been per sonally affected by it,” Bland said.

“It’s all about making people aware and find ing people who care.”

HUMANITY House and a church-based or ganization provide fi nancial assistance to help families pay for utility bills in emergen cy situations, but those funds are not always available. Humanity

This is a community issue and people need help to make sure their voices are heard. I want to hear what would be most beneficial to them, and we can collectively come up with ideas.

— Tori Bland

House has provided an average of about $40,000 each year in utility as sistance since the foun dation began in 2016.

So far this year, the foundation has paid $43,005.36 but ran out of funds in August.

It hurts to turn peo ple away, Bland said.

Solutions are possi ble if the community can come together to find them, she said.

Her research also found the city collected $29,725 in reconnection and late fees last year. She believes that money could be better used to ease the burden for fam ilies, rather than going into the city’s budget for salaries and supplies.

Changes to the city’s utility policy also could reduce the financial burden on non-profit or ganizations and church es by making utility assistance funds avail able for other projects, Bland said.

IT’S NOT the first time Humanity House has attempted to make changes to the city’s utility policy.

In February 2020 — just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S. —Hu manity House founders Tracy Keagle and Geor gia Masterson asked the city to allow pay

ment plans for past-due bills, for a change to the monthly due date, and to reduce or eliminate late and reconnection fees.

At the time, several residents also spoke about the challenges they faced, and asked the city to make chang es.

The city agreed to lower the penalty fee for past-due bills from 5% to 2.5%, and agreed to waive the reconnection fee once per year, but increased the reconnec tion fee from $25 to $35.

They were not in fa vor of making changes to the due date and did not discuss a proposal for a “promise to pay”

extension, although one council member sug gested it could be dis cussed at a future date.

The pandemic made it more challenging to convince city leaders to make further chang es to the police, Keagle and Masterson said recently. However, the pandemic and resulting inflation have increased financial challenges for families, and help is needed more than ever.

Also, new members have since joined the Iola City Council. Hu manity House advocates hope the new Council members may be more receptive to changes to the utility policy.

Bland said she en courages Council members to attend Sat urday’s meeting. She hopes to develop a pro posal to take the Coun cil, and vowed to contin ue fighting for changes to the city’s policy.

“I’m very passionate about this and I’m not going to give up,” she said.

While microchip pro duction is valuable, the best solution is for the government to incentiv ize private industry to handle it.

Likewise, farmers could better handle in put costs without feder al interference, Graham said.

“The best thing to do is to get the government out of the way of farm ers.”

ROB FILLIAN is not a candidate for elective office, but was tapped to speak on behalf of two Republicans who were, attorney general hope ful Kris Kobach and Ste ven Johnson, candidate for state treasurer.

Kobach, Fillian said, is the only candidate “with the will and the skill” to defend Kan sas laws from what he

claims are outreach from the Biden adminis tration.

Likewise, Johnson helped preserve the state pension system when he was a state legislator, and is skilled and dedicated “to do what’s in the best inter est of our Kansas val ues,” Fillian said.

State Treasurer Lynn Rogers, Democrat in cumbent, wrote a letter to the audience read aloud by forum modera tor Heather Mentzer.

Rogers cited his expe rience as an ag banker who has worked to mod ernize the treasurer’s office software since taking office.

Rogers vowed to con tinue using his “skills to run the treasurer’s office, taking extra care to support real commu nities.”

Kays in ESU musical

EMPORIA — Max Kays of Humboldt has a role in Emporia State University Theatre’s production of “Cur tains,” written by Ru pert Holmes with lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, as the 2022 Homecoming mu sical.

Performances are Oct. 27, 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. in the Karl C. Brud er Theatre in King Hall, Emporia State Univer sity campus.

The show is a mur der mystery, inside a musical, wrapped up in a savvy comedy. The story: It’s opening night for a new mu sical, but the leading

lady has been mur dered. Detective Frank Cioffi — a music the atre aficionado — is called in to investigate. Everyone is a suspect as the bodies begin to pile up. “Curtains” is packed with glorious tunes, show-stopping dance numbers, de lightful characters,and was nominated for eight Tony Awards in cluding Best Musical.

Kays plays Aaron Fox.

Visit emporia.edu/ tickets for reservations or additional informa tion or call the box of fice at (620) 341-5256 be tween 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays with any questions.

Patrick Schmidt, at left, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives. David Graham, above, is runnning for the U.S. Senate.

World’s deadliest conflict reaching a tipping point

One of the world’s worst humanitarian crises has escalated dramatically over the past two months — but has received scant attention from the international com munity. In Ethiopia’s north ern Tigray region, where federal forces have been bat tling regional rebels, the re sumption of fighting has re sulted in civilian casualties, the destruction of critical infrastructure and the dis placement of tens of thou sands of people since Au gust. As peace talks between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan representa tives begin this week, it is imperative for regional and world leaders and multilat eral institutions to press for an immediate cessation of hostilities — and serious, sincere negotiations.

The conflict in Tigray has taken an unimaginable hu man toll since it first erupt ed in November 2020. From the outset, the war has been marked by brutality and a stark disregard for civilian life. According to an inter national commission con vened by the U.N. Human Rights Council, there is evi dence to suggest combatants on all sides have engaged in serious human rights abus es, including extrajudicial killings, mass rapes and de liberate starvation. The full scale of the devastation is difficult to gauge, thanks to a two-year internet blackout and restrictions on access to Tigray. Yet researchers from Ghent University estimate the war, resulting famine and lack of health-care ser vices have claimed between 385,000 and 600,000 lives. Millions more have been displaced.

When a humanitari an truce was agreed to in March, some hoped it would herald a lifting of Ethiopia’s “de facto blockade” and set the stage for broader peace negotiations. But fighting recommenced in August. In recent weeks, Ethiopian forces have seized control of

several key towns in Tigray, including the strategic city of Shire.

The federal offensive has been supported by troops from neighboring Eritrea, a longtime enemy of Ethiopia that made peace with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s gov ernment in 2018 — an act for which Mr. Abiy was award ed the Nobel Peace Prize. Now, those who sang Mr. Abiy’s praises four years ago are sounding the alarm. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres recently warned that “the situation in Ethiopia is spiraling out of control.” Tedros Adha nom Ghebreyesus, the di rector general of the World Health Organization and a Tigrayan, went even fur ther, arguing that “there is a very narrow window now to prevent genocide” in Tigray.

SO FAR, diplomatic ef forts have been inconsistent and uncoordinated. As the war enters a critical period, the international communi ty should ramp up engage ment. For a start, world lead ers should push both sides to negotiate in good faith during the ongoing African Union-led peace talks. They should urge an immediate end to fighting, protection for aid workers and opening access for desperately need ed humanitarian assistance. The United States and its allies have some leverage: They could threaten to im pose new targeted sanctions on actors who have commit ted abuses and continue to withhold non-humanitari an assistance until there is progress. With Ethiopia’s economy floundering be cause of the conflict, global powers can also make clear that debt relief is available — but only if the situation improves.

As fears of atrocities mount and the death toll increases by the day, there is no excuse for the world to look away.

— Washington Post

Schmidt plays dumb to campaign’s lies

Just when you thought state politics couldn’t get any more absurd, the Kansas De partment of Commerce has gotten its name tied to a Hal loween drag show at Towne West Square in Wichita.

Dion Lefler Wichita Eagle/ TNS

And the Kansas Republi can Party has chosen to lie about it, blaming Democrat ic Gov. Laura Kelly.

Really, if there’s a gover nor to blame for this, it’s Sam Brownback. More about that in a minute.

What really happened is this: The Department of Commerce has given the nonprofit arts group Fisch Bowl a grant to help offset administrative and utilities costs for OpenStudios, which provides some free studio space to artists at the mall.

One of the OpenStudios artists is organizing a Final Friday Halloween party in the mall called “Mall Mon ster Mash,” with a DJ, a cos tume contest, and yes, a drag show.

The Department of Com merce’s logo wound up on fli ers for the event because it’s a standard condition for or ganizations receiving grants from the department’s Kan sas Creative Arts Industries Commission.

Elizabeth Stevenson, ex ecutive director of OpenStu dios, explains it thus:

“At the request of the KCAIC … I had asked all of our artists to put the KCA IC logo on all their printed material and social media posts, which is why the logo appeared on the promotional material created specifically for this event. However, the KCAIC has no direct role in this event, nor is any of the money they have granted our organization being spent on this event.”

Republican governor can didate Derek Schmidt, a no

torious dodger of the press, actually called a press con ference to talk about it. The state GOP sent out a fund raising letter bashing Kelly and asking for $15.

The Republicans lied through their pearly whites in their e-mail, claiming “Gov ernor Laura Kelly and her administration sponsored a drag show they deemed appro priate for ‘all ages.’”

Schmidt seemed to have made no effort to inform him self what was really going on, so his press conference was long on spec ulation and pearl-clutching, but abysmally short of facts.

handle the money.

The next year, the Legis lature and governor estab lished the Creative Arts In dustries Commission.

Schmidt seemed to have made no effort to inform himself what was really going on, so his press conference was long on specula tion and pearl-clutch ing, but abysmally short on facts.

The key word was “indus tries” and it was put under the Commerce Department as primarily a workforce development program. Its mandate was to turn the state’s cre ative energies toward such endeavors as making deco rative lamps to be sold at Walmart.

It’s how we got from sup porting artists to giving arts grants to pay the Evergy bill at a strug gling shopping mall.

BUT THE REAL author of this mess is Brownback, our former elected governor and self-appointed guardian of Kansas morals.

It goes back to 2011, when Towne West had a Sears and a food court, and Kansas had an Arts Commission that supported artists.

Brownback’s apprecia tion of art is as sophisticat ed as a velvet Elvis painting and he didn’t like some of the avant-garde artistry the commission supported. One of his first acts in office was to abolish the Arts Commis sion.

That sparked a big hoo-haw and the federal government and other funders promptly withdrew $1.2 million in arts funding for Kansas, because there wasn’t a state agency to

The commission’s all about marketing and pro motion, especially self-pro motion, so demanding their logo on programs they’re not actually sponsoring is pretty much on brand.

And, it’s become one more chance for Derek Schmidt to confirm his homophobia (as if we didn’t already know), take a cheap shot at the governor and promote his “Leave it to Beaver” vision of the way Kansas ought to be.

If anything, it lends cre dence to Kelly campaign assertions that Schmidt is Brownback, version 2.0.

If anybody’s all that worked up about Friday’s drag show, all they have to do is what nearly everybody does regarding Towne West.

Don’t go.

Kelly’s investment in childcare shows compassionate leadership

While my kids are now in the days of after-school sports and band practice, I remem ber the difficulties of finding quality, affordable child care when they were young. My wife and I wanted to make sure our kids were safe and had opportunities for aca demic enrichment without breaking the bank.

That’s why I’m proud of the work Gov. Kelly and I have done to help Kansas parents access child care. In total, our administration has invested more than $270 million to support child care providers, including $100 mil lion to ensure those facilities could remain open during the pandemic, and $160 million for child care businesses to use toward payroll expenses, costs of operations and po tential losses. This June, Gov. Kelly announced over $50 mil lion in appreciation bonuses for 23,000 of our child care providers across the state to honor their hard work and dedication to our kids.

Since taking office, Gov. Kelly has invested in early childhood initiatives unlike any governor in Kansas’ his tory. All in for Kansas Kids, a strategic plan and collabora

David Toland Kansas Lt. Gov.

tion between state agencies, has provided a blueprint to increase opportunities for children and families to ac cess reliable and affordable child care. Gov. Kelly and I expanded the Child Day Care Assistance Tax Credit that incentivized businesses to cover the costs of child care and early childhood educa tion services to provide some relief for our workforce.

Just recently, our adminis tration knocked down barri ers for child care profession als to be hired faster by using digital fingerprinting to ac celerate the licensing approv al process. This ensures that bureaucratic red tape doesn’t get in the way of filling criti cal child care positions while also ensuring we are filling these roles with safe and reli able employees.

This new initiative allows

providers to get to work as soon as possible and helps child care facilities attract and retain highly skilled em ployees.

As a parent, I advocate for increasing access to child care because I know the toll this cost can take on our fam ilies, and the benefits these programs have on our kids in the long term. As Kansas’ lieutenant governor and sec retary of commerce, I advo cate for increasing access to child care because I know we can’t have a robust workforce if we don’t have access to af fordable, quality child care.

I’m proud of all our ad ministration has been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. That’s why I find it interesting that Katie Sawyer — Derek Schmidt’s mysterious, partisan politi cal operative-turned running mate — has written an op-ed misleading Kansans about our dedication to and invest ments in child care.

By making these invest ments in child care, we are eliminating an unnecessary personal and financial stress or on our workforce to ensure Kansans can go to work, and it shows: under my and Gov.

Since taking office, Gov. Kelly has invested in early childhood initiatives unlike any governor in Kansas.

... As a parent I advocate for increasing access to child care because I know the toll this cost can take on our families, and the benefits these programs have on our kids in the long term.

Kelly’s leadership, Kansas has seen the lowest unem ployment rate in state history.

Gov. Kelly and I also know the toll high health care costs have on our workforce, partic ularly on our child care pro viders. Expanding Medicaid would directly help our child care providers who often fall into the coverage gap and are forced to fend for themselves for health care. Katie Saw yer failed to mention that in her op-ed, or the fact that she and Derek Schmidt oppose expanding Medicaid here in Kansas despite its popularity and necessity.

Increasing access to child care has been a top priority of Gov. Kelly and my admin istration, and will continue to be in our second term. Gov. Kelly and I know child care is

a major economic driver in Kansas, and allows our work force and employees to thrive.

It’s no wonder why our cam paign for re-election has been supported by teachers, par ents and education advocacy organizations in such great numbers.

Katie Sawyer and Derek Schmidt can make whatever election-year promises they’d like, but in term two, Gov. Kel ly and I will continue to make critical investments in child care and early childhood ed ucation that will provide en richment opportunities for our kids, ease the burden on Kansas families and strength en our workforce.

David Toland is the lieu tenant governor and secretary of commerce.

Flyer for Wichita Mall Monster Mash event (SCREEN SHOT)

Putin renews ‘dirty bomb’ claims, reviews nuclear exercises

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)

— NATO and Russia’s military staged sepa rate nuclear exercises Wednesday as the Rus sian president again stood firm on the in ternationally reject ed claim that Ukraine plans to set off a radio active “dirty bomb.” On the battlefront, his forc es targeted more than 40 villages around Ukraine over the past day.

Russian President Vladimir Putin remote ly monitored the drills of his strategic nuclear forces, which involved multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles in a show of force. Russian Defense Minister Ser gei Shoigu reported to Putin that the exercise simulated a “massive nuclear strike” retaliat ing for a nuclear attack on Russia.

The Biden adminis tration said Russia pro vided advance notice of the annual drills. NATO is carrying out its own long-planned annual nuclear exercises in northwestern Europe.

In remarks carried by Russian TV, Putin said Ukraine plans to “use a so-called ‘dirty bomb’ as a provocation” and con tended the United States was using Ukraine as a “battering ram” against Russia and its region al allies, turning the country into a “testing ground for military-bio

logical experiments.” It was the first time Putin himself made the dirty bomb allegation, which his officials have been repeating since last week.

Ukraine and its West ern allies have denied the claims and contend that Russia, facing set backs on the battlefield, might try to detonate a “dirty bomb” — which uses explosives to scat ter radioactive waste to sow terror — or go fur ther and tap its nuclear weapons.

Shoigu on Wednesday called his counterparts from India and China to share Moscow’s con cern about “possible Ukrainian provoca tions involving a ‘dirty bomb,’” according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

NATO Secretary-Gen eral Jens Stoltenberg called Russia’s unsub stantiated statements “absurd.”

“Allies reject this bla tantly false accusation, and Russia must not use false pretexts to escalate the war further,” Stol tenberg told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednes day.

He underlined that the 30-nation military organization “will not be intimidated or de terred from support ing Ukraine’s right to self-defense for as long as it takes.”

County: Lease considered for tractors

Continued from A1

it’s unusual for tractor providers to offer lease agreements, Griffith said. It’s possible the county could purchase the tractors at the end of the lease period.

“I say come up with a plan and go for it,” Commission Chair man Jerry Daniels told Griffith.

The purchase of a new boom mower is a separate issue. Griffith has been considering a MowerMax utility machine, which would be an upgrade from previous equipment.

It also has a more ex pensive price tag, at $271,000 fully loaded.

The county received $104,000 in insurance from the mower that burned. Commission ers advised Griffith to see if he could get a boom mower for closer to $200,000.

COMMISSIONERS also gave their blessing to Jason Trego, emer gency management director, for his plans to purchase a cellular system that would pri oritize first-responder communication during an emergency.

The system comes in a box about the size of a small briefcase, and would allow cellular communication and data to be transmitted on FirstNet, a separate system dedicated to emergency response. Trego recommended the county purchase a system from Mega-Go

Voting: Early ballots cast

Continued from A1

mail-in ballot requests carried over from the 2020 elections, “it may be that Democrats who might have voted in-person early already voted by mail or plan to vote by mail.”

If the data around more Republicans vot ing early in person in Florida continues through the end of ear ly voting, McDonald wrote that he would “be extremely confident in predicting DeSantis and Rubio victories.”

Florida Gov. Ron De Santis and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, both Re publicans, are seeking reelection to their cur rent offices this Novem ber.

Florida voters have cast nearly 1.3 million early votes, with 42% from those registered as Democrats, 40%

from Republicans and 18% from people with out a party registration or a minor party regis tration.

In Georgia, just under 1 million vot ers have already cast their votes, with 54% of those coming from female voters and 45% from men. The state’s breakdown of race and ethnicity, something not all states disclose, shows 56% of early voters so far are white non-Hispanic and 32% are Black non-Hispanic voters.

Another 1.5% of early voters in Geor gia identify as Hispan ic and 1.5% as Asian American.

Michigan voters have cast more than 700,000 early votes, either in person or via mail-in ballots, according to the project.

Of those voters, 62% are more than 65, mak ing up the overwhelm ing majority of early voters so far. People between 41 and 65 ac count for 30% of early votes cast, with people between 26 and 40 mak ing up nearly 6% of ear ly votes.

Women make up 56% of Michigan’s early voters up to this point with men accounting for 44%.

In Pennsylvania, res idents of the Keystone State have cast 635,000 early votes.

An overwhelming 73% of those votes came from Democrats, with Republicans casting 19% so far. The remain ing 8% of early voters come from people not registered as Democrat or Republican, or who affiliate with a minor political party.

for $4,199, with a recur ring monthly charge of $38.

He recommended that system over oth ers, including a satel lite-based SkyLink pro posal.

Such a system is important during an emergency because communications tow ers may be damaged and cellular traffic can get congested, Trego said. This will allow emergency responders to communicate even if others cannot.

THE COUNTY WIDE burn ban will remain in effect despite recent rain.

Just 0.61 inches of

rain fell in Iola on Mon day. But conditions re main dry, with just 1.26 inches this month and 25.50 inches for the year so far. That’s about 7.87 inches below normal.

IN OTHER business, commissioners: Heard an update on airport improvements. The airport was expect ed to be closed Tuesday or Wednesday of next week for a striping proj ect. Public Works Direc tor Mitch Garner also asked commissioners to consider building more hangars at the airport, as requests have contin ued to increase.

Thrive Allen Coun ty’s Jonathon Goering

gave commissioners updates on spending through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and a housing project in Humboldt. ARPA money has been spent on some of the county’s biggest projects, includ ing a wireless commu nication tower, and the county paid the second half of its adminis trative fee to Thrive. Meanwhile, the hous ing project in Humboldt is eligible for another $7,500 in grant funding from the Kansas Hous ing Resources Corpora tion, and also qualifies for investor tax credits.

An auction of sur plus county equipment is planned for Saturday.

Iola Police Department

in Iola City Hall

W. Jackson Ave., Iola

prevent

from taking

and

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learn

Commissioner David Lee takes part in a discussion on whether to lease trac tors. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

Iola gears up for sixth ever playoff appearance

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

The Iola High School foot ball team will face Fronte nac Friday night in the first round of the 3A state play offs. The Raiders will host the Mustangs.

The Mustangs (2-6; 0-2) have fallen on tough times this season but have fought hard to work through their adversity of injuries and tougher teams that are near the top of their respective di visions.

Sophomore quarterback Jordan Kaufman and run ning back Courtland Carson have been forced to step into starting roles due to the high number of injuries.

“With all of the injuries piling up, we’ve already faced a lot of adversity,” said Iola football senior Jake Skah an. “We’re doing something we’ve dealt with all season with the injuries so we real ly have nothing to lose. Our starting quarterback Landon Weide going down has been really hard, Wyatt Westervelt went down week three and that’s been really tough.”

The Mustangs are un doubtedly excited for the opportunity to take the field and see it as a chance to prove

what they are made of one last time.

Even through the struggles of a two-win season, the Mus tangs want to spark a new beginning for future teams down the road.

“We’re super excited,” said Mustang senior Carter Hut ton. “It feels good. There’s not many Iola teams before us that could make it to the play offs. We’ve not had the best season of course but we won the game we had to make it.”

Skahan continued on what the opportunity means.

“It’s a special moment for us,” said Skahan. “Frontenac is a really tough opponent.

Last year they were state runner-up, so they think they have a really good chance. We really just want to go out and show that we’re the under dogs and go on their home field and ruin it for them.”

The team believes its ad versities have made it a stron ger unit.

“In life you’re going to have ups and downs but you’ve still got to push through with what you have,” Skahan said. “Although we have all these setbacks, we still have to fin ish the season. We just have to deal with what we have

Allen looks to keep dominance rolling

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

The Allen Community College men’s basketball team is looking to contin ue is impressive national tournament run from last season as it hits the hard wood for a new year.

The Red Devils finished with a 28-7 record and 13-1 mark in conference action.

The team also knocked off Johnson County three times to reach the nation al tournament in Danville, Ill., in March.

Like every season, the Jayhawk conference is ex pected to be a dogfight for the top spots and Allen is to compete again in a lengthy six-month season.

“We have a lot of guys back from a successful team that went 28-7,” said Allen men’s basketball head coach Andy Shaw.

“We have 12 returners, six third-year sophomores due to the COVID year, six true sophomores and four fresh men.”

Last season, the Red Dev ils had the second-leading rebounder in the confer ence in Brayden Thomp son.

“It’s Brayden’s third

year in the program. He’s a big, physical rebounder. He was First Team All-Defense a year ago,” Shaw said.

“Nick Whittick is a third-year point guard,” Shaw continued. “I trust him with the ball and he’s the best defender I’ve ever had.”

“Ahmed Mahgoub, he makes winning plays, it’s not always the scoring he does but the other little dirty work he can do to help you win games.

“Chris Dixon is a true sophomore. We’re going to need him to help with some of the scoring.”

This depth is what will take ACC back to the na tional tournament, Shaw predicted.

This season is the only year that sophomores have a third year of eligibility due to the COVID year.

“This is the oldest team I’ll ever have at a junior college level and these guys have played a whole ex tra season together,” said Shaw. “To have that many third-year sophomores is something special. There are some things they just know what to do based on years prior. If we’re fortu

Vote for October Athletes of the Month!

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

The month of October pro vided quite the sports action around Allen County.

Between six high schools’ football, volleyball, tennis and cross country teams and a few community college teams sprinkled in, it was a tall task to choose the nominees for Oc tober’s Athlete of the Month.

Vote for your picks for ath lete of the month online at iolaregister.com. The poll is currently live and will remain open until midnight Wednes day. We’ll announce the win ners next week.

Trey Sommer

This Humboldt football star led the Cubs to a 6-2 regular season and a playoff meeting with Cherryvale on Thurs day night. The running back began the season at his usual position before filling in for quarterback Blake Ellis who went down with an injury and was out for two games.

Sommer has led the Cubs with 164 rushing yards per game and 22 touchdowns with 21 of those scores coming on the ground. When starting un der center, Sommer excelled while passing for four touch downs and 292 yards and led the Cubs to a 46-0 shutout vic tory over Cherryvale.

Kaster Trabuc

Iola cross country athlete Kaster Trabuc qualified for the state meet this past weekend after taking a ninth place fin ish at regionals with a speedy time of 18:24. Trabuc also fin

ished strong at the league meet where he came across with a time of 20:17 while dealing with an injury in his core.

Trabuc was one of three Iola runners to reach state alongside senior teammate Jesse Taylor and Cole Moyer, a sophomore. Prior to the league race, Trabuc medaled at Louis

burg with a 10th place, 18:42 finish.

Thiago Fernandes

The Brazil native assisted the Allen County Red Devils to a Jayhawk conference title as well as a home playoff match with Southeast Community College this week. Overall this

season, Fernandes has start ed in 13 out of 15 games and scored six goals, including a game-winning goal as well as two other goals at Southeast last week.

Fernandes also scored twice in the match prior against Hes ston.

Josie Walters

Crest cross country athlete

Walters secured a spot in the state meet this weekend after her third-place, 21:02 finish at the 1A Regionals in Wichita. Her finish, along with three other Lady Lancers’ winning times, helped the Crest varsity girls cross country team take home first place at regionals.

Not to mention, Walters is only a freshman. The young Lady Lancer also helped lead her squad to a Three Rivers League championship title with a first place, 20:25 finish at the league race alongside Mar maton Valley and Yates Center.

Shelby Shaughnessy

Shaughnessy was a key piece of the Humboldt volley ball team winning the Tri-Val ley League championship this season. The sophomore has led her Lady Cubs on offense with 6.1 kills per set while she has also led Humboldt defensively and at the serving line.

The sophomore’s 34 total blocks on the defensive end lead the team alongside her 45 ace serves and 1.7 ace per set to lead her Humboldt squad.

Janae Granere

Janae was a leader for Marmaton Valley’s volleyball team, which ended the season to a successful 21-15 finish, in cluding a 9-5 mark in district play.

Granere led the Wildcat vol leyball team in almost every category including her two kills per set, 43 blocks, 3.4 digs per set, 292 digs and 173 kills on the season.

The Iola High School football team gets set to face off at Santa Fe Trail on Friday. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Mahomes winning via the comeback

By JOSH DUBOW The Associated Press

SANTA CLARA, Ca lif. (AP) — The most precarious lead in the NFL these days might be a double-digit one over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mahomes engineered his 12th comeback from a deficit of at least 10 points in the past four seasons on Sunday when the Chiefs rallied for a 44-23 victory over the San Francisco 49ers after falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter.

The Chiefs have won 12 of 17 games since the start of 2019 with Ma homes at quarterback after falling behind by at least 10 points, in cluding all three games in the 2019 postseason.

Kansas City is just as likely to win by dou ble-digits after facing the early deficit like they did against the Niners as the Chiefs are to lose the game.

It’s a far cry from the rest of the NFL. While the Chiefs have a .706

winning percentage in these scenarios, the rest of the league has a mark of just .154. No other QB who has faced at least three double-digit defi cits has won even half,

Iola: 6th ever playoff

Continued from B1

and keep going.”

It’s both Skahan and Hutton’s fourth season donning the gold and blue on Friday nights and the pair will miss being a part of a spe cial group of players. The senior year of any student-athlete can be hard to say goodbye but especially for this year’s Mustangs.

Hutton has contribut ed most on the ground where he has racked up 23 rushing yards while Skahan has hauled in 27 receiving yards for one touchdown catch.

“It’s something I’ll look back on and say ‘Wow, I’m glad I put all that hard work in to be come a leader because it’s fun leading a group of guys,” said Hutton. “We’re not the best foot

ball team, but we have fun and it’s fun leading guys like this team we have.”

Iola has outscored most of its opponents in the second half this season, one of the big gest strengths of the team. This may be a key factor for the Mustangs to come out on top in their playoff game at Frontenac on Friday.

“I believe we’re one of the best fighting teams in the second half this year,” Hutton said. “Against Garnett we were down a lot and came back and won. In the Burlington game we almost came back and won. We have a lot of fight. We just need to turn it up in all four quarters, not just the second half.”

Allen: Men’s hoops

Continued from B1

nate enough to get back to Danville, it will be because of the experi ence.”

Defense wins cham pionships. At least that’s what Allen proved last season.

“We were a great of fensive scoring team, but we won a lot of games with our de fense,” said Shaw. “We held half of our con ference opponents in the 50’s. Defense and rebounding is why we had the success last

year and this year will be the same recipe.”

The Red Devils are also priding themselves on their toughness this season.

“It’s not easy keeping the ball in front, closing out and taking charges and boxing out and re bounding. Those are all things that take tough ness and the right men tality,” Shaw said.

Allen tips off at Cow ley County Community College next Friday at 7:30 p.m.

with Drew Brees’ 6-7 mark the second best.

In fact, the only other QB besides Mahomes to win more than 70% of his starts since 2019 is Aaron Rodgers, who

has a .733 winning per centage in all starts.

Mahomes reached a few more milestones on Sunday when he won for the 55th time, ty ing Hall of Famer Ken

Mahomes also had his eighth career game with at least 400 yards passing and at least three TDs. Only Brees (12), Peyton Manning (11), Dan Marino (11) and Tom Brady (8) have more. Those QBs have all started at least 242 games, while Mahomes has only 70.

STRUGGLING STARS

Two of the most ac complished quarter backs in NFL history are off to rough starts with Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers both at 3-4 after back-to-back losses.

This marked the sec ond time that Brady and Rodgers both lost in consecutive weeks with the only other coming in the final two weeks of the 2015 season.

Stabler for the most in a QB’s first 70 starts in the Super Bowl era. Otto Graham is the only quarterback in NFL history with more with 56.

Rodgers has a losing record through seven games for the first time as a starter and Brady’s only previous losing record at this juncture came in 2002 — the only healthy season that he failed to make the play offs.

the

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws a pass during the second quarter against the Bal timore Ravens Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019. JAMES WOOLDRIDGE/THE KANSAS CITY STAR/TNS

Allen men’s basketball player Chris Dixon (0) goes up for a layup against Independence on Tuesday.

REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Chiefs’ Clark suspended for gun arrest

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark was sus pended two games by the NFL on Tuesday af ter pleading no contest last month to two counts of misdemeanor posses

sion of an assault weap on in Los Angeles.

The league an nounced the suspension as the Chiefs (5-2) head into their bye week. He will miss games against the Titans and Jaguars and will be allowed back

Public notices

PERSONS CONCERNED:

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS

IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF SUE E. GODDARD, DECEASED AL 2021-PR-000040

NOTICE OF HEARING ON PETITION FOR FINAL SETTLEMENT

59)

THE STATE OF KANSAS TO ALL

(First published in The Iola Register Oct. 20, 2022)

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS CIVIL DEPARTMENT

NDF1, LLC Plaintiff, vs. The Heirs at Law of Paula Mae Peterson, Deceased; Cindy An thony; Danny Peterson; Paul Peterson; Dorothy Slater; Un known Spouse, if any, of Paula Mae Peterson; ; John Doe (Ten ant/Occupant); Mary Doe (Ten ant/Occupant); City of Iola, Kansas Defendants.

Case No. AL-2022-CV-000026

You are hereby notified a pe tition has been filed in this Court by Julia Wight, Administrator of the Estate of SUE E. GODDARD, deceased, praying for final set tlement of the estate, approval of her acts, proceedings and accounts as Administrator, al lowance for her Administrative fees and expenses and the Court determine the heirs of the said decedent and assign the per sonal property remaining in said estate.

You are hereby required to file your written defenses

Court Number: Pursuant to K.S.A. Chapter 60

NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of an Order of Sale issued to me by the Clerk of the District Court of Allen County, Kansas, the undersigned Sheriff of Allen County, Kansas, will offer for sale at public auction and sell to the highest bidder for cash in hand, at the Front Door of the Court house at Iola, Allen County, Kansas, on November 16, 2022, at 10:00 AM, the following real estate:

LOT 1, BLOCK 92, IN THE ORIGINAL TOWN OF IOLA, AL LEN COUNTY, KANSAS, com monly known as 322 South St, Iola, KS 66749 (the “Property”)

NOTICE OF SALE

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS CIVIL DEPARTMENT

DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc. Plaintiff, vs. The Unknown Heirs of Susan H Diebolt a/k/a Susan Diebolt, de ceased; Donald D Diebolt a/k/a Donald Diebolt; Michelle L. Diebolt a/k/a Michelle L Diebolt Smith; Michaela C Diebolt; Dylan M. Diebolt; State of Kan sas, Department of Revenue; John Doe (Tenant/Occupant); Mary Doe (Tenant/Occupant) Defendants.

Case No. AL-2021-CV-000037

Court Number: Pursuant to K.S.A. Chapter 60

Under and by virtue of an Order of Sale issued to me by the Clerk of the District Court of Allen County, Kansas, the undersigned Sheriff of Allen County, Kansas, will offer for sale at public auction and sell to the highest bidder for cash in hand, at the Front Door of the Court house at Iola, Allen County, Kansas, on November 16, 2022, at 10:00 AM, the following real estate:

Lot Twenty-one (21) Burris Addition being a subdivision of the West Half of the South east Quarter (W/2 SE/4) and the East Half of the Southwest Quarter (E/2 SW/4) of Section Thirty (30) Township Twentyfour (24) South, Range Nine teen (19) East of the Sixth Principal Meridian, Allen

with the team on Nov. 14 in time for that week’s game against the Char gers. The three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher was sentenced to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service

after he was arrested in March 2021, when he was pulled over while riding with another man in a vehicle that did not have a license plate. An officer noticed a weapon in the car and recovered two loaded firearms.

thereto on or before the 15th day of November 2022, at 8:30 a.m., in said District Court in Iola, Kansas, at which time and place said cause will be heard. Should you fail therein, judgment and decree will be entered in due course upon said petition.

/s/ JULIA WIGHT, Administrator

DANIEL SCHOWENG ERDT, #23766 JOHNSON SCHOWENGERDT PA P.O. Box 866 Iola, KS 66749 620-365-3778 (10) 20, 27 (11) 3

to satisfy the judgment in the above-entitled case. The sale is to be made without ap praisement and subject to the redemption period as provided by law, and further subject to the approval of the Court. For more information, visit www. Southlaw.com

Bryan J. Murphy, Sheriff Allen County, Kansas

Prepared By: SouthLaw, P.C. Blair T. Gisi (KS #24096) 13160 Foster, Suite 100 Overland Park, KS 66213-2660 (913) 663-7600 (913) 663-7899 (Fax)

Attorneys for Plaintiff (230144) (10) 20, 27 (11) 3

County, Kansas, commonly known as 214 Sunflower Lane, Iola, KS 66749 (the “Property”) to satisfy the judgment in the above-entitled case. The sale is to be made without ap praisement and subject to the redemption period as provided by law, and further subject to the approval of the Court. For more information, visit www. Southlaw.com

Bryan J. Murphy, Sheriff Allen County, Kansas

Prepared By: SouthLaw, P.C. Shari Ashner (KS #14498) 13160 Foster, Suite 100 Overland Park, KS 66213-2660 (913) 663-7600 (913) 663-7899 (Fax)

Attorneys for Plaintiff (212433) (10) 20, 27 (11) 3

(Published in The Iola Register Oct. 27, 2022)

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that a public demonstration will be held in the office of the County Clerk/ Election Officer, Allen County Courthouse, Iola, at 3:00 P.M. on November 3, 2022 for pre-elec tion and again on November 10, 2022 at 3 p.m. for post-election. The optical scanning equip ment and ExpressVote to be used in the General Election to be held November 8, 2022, will be tested to be certain that the equipment will correctly count the votes cast. The test shall be conducted by processing a pre-audited group of ballots marked as to record a pre determined number of valid votes submitted and shall include one or more ballots which have votes in excess of the number allowed by law in order to test the abil ity of the optical scanning equip ment to reject such votes.

Shannon Patterson, ALLEN COUNTY CLERK/ ELECTION OFFICER (10) 27

MARVIN

HI AND LOIS by Chance Browne

ZITS by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

BEETLE BAILEY by Mort Walker HAGAR THE HORRIBLE by Chris Browne FUNKY WINKERBEAN by Tom Batiuk

BLONDIE by Young and Drake

by Tom Armstrong

As Big 12 QB attrition piles up, TCU’s Duggan shrugs off hits

By JOHN RABY The Associated Press

Max Duggan threw a com pletion a split second before a defender’s helmet struck his face mask on a targeting call, sending the TCU quar terback’s head snapping back and leaving him momentarily woozy on the ground.

The mobile Duggan took his share of collisions against Kansas State but finished the game and has No. 7 TCU alone in first place.

In a year of quarterback at trition, the Big 12 race could come down to how many are left standing, or who has a backup capable of shoulder ing the load. Most teams have lost their starting quarter back at some point this sea son. A few remain out, others have returned and the status of some for Saturday’s games are a day-to-day observation.

Just as he’s shaken off hard tackles, Duggan deferred questions about the recent pounding, instead pointing to the real battle in the trenches.

“My job’s pretty easy. When you’re a quarterback, you don’t get hit too often,” Dug gan said after TCU beat Kan sas State 38-28 on Saturday. “The guys up front, the guys blocking out on the defense, they’re getting hit every play.

Those guys are never com plaining, never talking about their hits. So the least I can do is get up after a play.”

Duggan might not be thriving had redshirt fresh man Chandler Morris not sprained his left knee in the season opener. Despite being a three-year starter, Duggan lost the top position over the spring and summer to Mor ris. But Duggan has played so well that Morris has re mained on the bench despite being available. Duggan has thrown 19 touchdown passes with one interception. His 181.8 efficiency rating is fifth in the nation.

While Duggan led TCU back from an 18-point defi cit to beat Kansas State, the Wildcats are having their own quarterback issues.

Starter Adrian Martinez left after the first series with an undisclosed in jury and did not re turn. Backup Will Howard threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, then hurt his shoul der on a third-quar ter running play. Howard left the game briefly but was brought back in after a thirdstring freshman threw an interception.

Coach Chris Klieman said Tuesday he’s not sure wheth er Martinez will be available but Howard should be ready when Kansas State, tied for second place with Oklahoma State, prepares to host the Cowboys on Saturday.

Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders, playing through un disclosed injuries in the past few weeks, led the Cowboys to a comeback win over Texas on Saturday. Sanders is tied with Duggan for the Big 12 lead with 23 total touchdowns — seven more than anyone else.

“He’s feeling better,” Okla homa State coach Mike Gun dy said. “He’s not where he was. You can tell.”

Quarterback injuries seem to have hit the Big 12 harder

than other Power 5 confer ences, although there are some notable season-ending injuries elsewhere, including Devin Leary at North Caroli na State (pectoral muscle).

Some schools can’t catch a break: Utah State has seen injuries to its top three quar terbacks, forcing one to end his college career, and Texas A&M its top two.

Despite the frequency of quarterback visits to the training room, the Big 12 is on pace to challenge a high scor ing mark under the current 10-team format that started in 2012. The league-wide average of 35.4 points scored is more than five points better than each of the past two seasons and the same as that averaged over the 2015 season.

One reason for the success is Kansas, which has far sur passed its scoring total for all of last season.

Jalon Daniels led Kansas to a 5-0 start, then injured a shoulder against TCU. The Jayhawks lost that game and the next two. Kansas now has an open week and no timeta ble has been set for Daniels’ return. Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel returned from a con cussion on Oct. 15 to help the Sooners snap a three-game losing streak. Both quarter backs were injured in back-

to-back weeks on plays by TCU linebacker Jamoi Hodge, whose hit on Gabriel was ruled targeting.

Quinn Ewers of Texas missed three games with a collarbone injury. Texas Tech has gone 3-3 since Tyler Shough injured a collarbone in the season opener. Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said Shough has been medi cally cleared and will be avail able to play against Baylor this week. Redshirt freshman Behren Morton has started the last two games, going 1-1.

Baylor’s Blake Shapen sus tained a head injury Oct. 13 in the third quarter at West Virginia but returned Satur day to lead the Bears to a win over Kansas. West Virginia’s JT Daniels and Iowa State’s Hunter Dekkers also have yet to miss a start.

By this point in the season, every coach must address a growing list of players who may or may not be available.

“Kansas State’s not the only team that’s beat up. That I know for a fact,” Klieman said.

“And so nobody’s going to feel sorry for you. It’s the ‘next man up’ mentality. And whoever is out there, we have confidence as a staff, we have confidence as a football team, that they’re going to allow us and give us opportunity to be successful.”

TCU quarterback Max Duggan (15) throws a pass under pressure from Kansas State defensive end Felix Anu dike-Uzomah (91) Saturday. SMILEY N. POOL/TNS