The Iola Register, Nov. 30, 2022

City Council gets Iola rail history lesson

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

A few historians have a bone to pick with the City of Iola — in particular, the city’s newest trail extension that connects the Iola High School tennis courts to Iola Elemen tary School and parts east.

No, they’re not concerned with the roughly eight-block stretch of walkway, the pace of the ongoing crosswalk installations, or even the planned pedestrian bridge north of the school.

Rather, they note the new trail does not officially follow the old Missouri Pacific rail corridor, and thus should not be considered “The MoPac Trail.”

Mayor Steve French brought up the topic at Mon day’s City Council meeting, noting he’d been approached by folks “quite adamant” about properly reflecting Io la’s history.

The route does begin at what was at one point the Mo Pac corridor near IHS. But continuing to follow the Mo See RAILROAD | Page A4

Fallen leaf pick-up starts Monday

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

Iola city employees will sweep through town starting Monday for leaf pick-up duty.

City Clerk Roxanne Hutton said the leaves must be bagged and left by the curbside — no alleys — by Monday morning.

Bomgaars coming soon

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

Changes are coming to Iola’s Orscheln Farm and Home franchise.

The store is one of 73 Orscheln locations that are being acquired by Bomgaars, an Iowa-based

farm and home supply re tailer.

The transaction will make Bomgaars the sec ond-largest farm and ranch retailer in the nation based on total store count. The acquisition was an

The crews will make one swoop through town, and won’t double back once they’ve canvassed each block, so it’s best not to wait, Hutton warned.

She also asked residents to ensure they don’t mix any household trash or limbs in with the bags of leaves. Those items will be rejected.

The leaf pick-up helps keep the fallen foliage out of Iola’s stormwater system.

Iola band students selected to perform at upcoming events

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

Eighteen Iola Middle and High school band students were selected to perform with their respective District Bands.

Nine IHS students will perform at a music clinic Saturday before auditioning for State Band on Jan. 7.

Last year, just two IHS stu dents made District Band.

Nine middle school stu dents were also selected for the Middle School District Honor Band and will per form in a music clinic on Jan. 14 in Chanute.

Iola Middle School band students perform two holiday songs for USD 257 board members at Monday’s meeting at the Iola Elemen tary School library. From left, Josh Wanker, Sheridan Byrd, Briley Prather (a freshman, filling in for an ill student), Ben Fager and Raiden Stowell. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS

District Band auditions

Iola Mayor Steve French, from left, City Councilman Mark Peters and Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock look over an early map of Iola Monday showing where the Missouri Pacific and Katy Railroads passed through the east part of town in Iola’s early years. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Iola’s Orscheln Farm & Home store will soon be part of the Bomgaars chain. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

HUTTON also noted an up coming change in how cus tomers pay their utility bills. While customers can still use their phones to pay their bills, they must now go through an automated hotline at (866) 272-0281 to do so.

City employees will refer callers to the hotline starting Thursday. Customers also have the option of paying their bills via text or by logging onto the www.cityofiola.com web site.

PIXABAY.COM

Obituaries

Maxine Jackson

Maxine Louise Jackson, 86, passed away on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, at the Premier Living by War den Center in Wichita. Maxine was born on March 20, 1936, in Elsmore, the daughter of Robert N. and Alma M. (Jackson) Vincent. Maxine was a resident of Kansas except for six years in California.

Maxine Jackson

After high school, Maxine mar ried James G. Jackson in LaHarpe on June 25, 1954. Maxine and Jim were married for 67 years until his death on March 17, 2022.

Maxine was a member of the Chanute Church of the Nazarene, Friendship Club and the TWI Club. Maxine dedicated her life to taking care of her family and their home. She worked a few differ ent jobs throughout her life, such as Hearts Cafe in Iola, California House of Almonds, in Bakersfield, Calif., National Garment, and Wal-Mart. She also worked and then retired from Neosho Memorial Regional Hospital cafeteria in Chanute. She en joyed working for the U.S. Census and at the voting polls. During her later years, she was the bookkeep er for Jim’s drilling business, JJ Drilling.

Maxine enjoyed socializing and making lifetime friends. She had a love for all animals, but most im portant was her love for her church and her family.

Survivors include daughters Brenda Rhodes and husband Gary of Piedmont, Okla., Vicki Hunziker of Wichita and Jayme Minyard and husband Wayne of Wichita; a brother, Lloyd E. Vincent and wife Bonnie of Colony; six grandchildren, Jared Rhodes (Tracy) of Portland, Ore., Meghan Parker (Drew) of Bakersfield, Calif., Katie Feisal (JK) of Oklahoma City, Melissa Kosek (Nathan) of Alamogordo, N.M., Rachelle Minyard of San Diego, Calif., and Erica Minyard of Wichita; six great-grandchildren, Gar rison, Tatum and Kendall Parker and Eliza, Reed and Marshall Feisal.

Maxine was preceded in death by her parents, husband Jim, in-laws, Kathryn (Percy) Deer, Lo rene (Delbert) Mann, Glenn (Lucille) Jackson, Vir ginia (Olin) Henderson, Dorothy (Fred) Dice and Cecil (Dottie) Jackson.

Cremation has been requested with a memorial service at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Chanute Church of the Nazarene. Instead of flowers, the family requests memorials to either WAAL (Wich ita Animal Action League) or the Chanute Church of the Nazarene, both of which are tax deductible.

Condolences may be left at www.countrysidefh. com.

Memorials may be left with or mailed to Coun tryside Funeral Home 101 N. Highland, Chanute, KS 66720.

Police news

Arrests reported

Iola police officers ar rested Leo Bass, 41, for suspicion of marijuana and drug parapherna lia possession Nov. 23 at the intersection of

East Street and Kansas Drive.

Officers arrested Sharaa Sweatt Nov. 22 in the 1900 block of North Street for suspected driving while revoked.

Christians a minority in England

LONDON (AP) — Fewer than half the people in England and Wales consider them selves Christian, ac cording to the most re cent census — the first time a minority of the population has followed the country's official re ligion.

Britain has become less religious — and less white — in the decade since the last census, fig ures from the 2021 cen sus released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics revealed.

Some 46.2% of the population of England and Wales described themselves as Chris

tian on the day of the 2021 census, down from 59.3% a decade earlier.

The Muslim population grew from 4.9% to 6.5% of the total, while 1.7% identified as Hindu, up from 1.5%.

More than 1 in 3 peo ple — 37% — said they had no religion, up from 25% in 2011.

The other parts of the U.K., Scotland and Northern Ireland, re port their census re sults separately.

Secularism cam paigners said the shift should trigger a rethink of the way religion is entrenched in British society.

of Alvin H. and Frances (Doty) Klingensmith. He grew up in Humboldt and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam Conflict.

On April 7, 1992, Gene married Mary Ann “Kate” Elliott in Las Vegas, Nevada. She survives at the home. Prior to marrying Kate, Gene mar ried Marilyn Baker and later divorced.

Other survivors include son Daniel Klin gensmith (Teraricka) of Emporia, daughter Elaine Legitt (John) of Chanute, and other rela tives, including brother Richard Klingensmith of Iola. He was preceded in death by daughter San dra Klingensmith.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, at Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home in Emporia. Pastor Mike Stubbs of the Victory Fel lowship Church will be officiating. Interment fol lows at 2 p.m. at the Thornburg Cemetery north of Altoona.

Memorial contributions may be made to Topeka VA Hospital and sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Bar nett Funeral Home.

Online condolences may be made to www.rob ertsblue.com.

Jim Sullivan

Jim D. Sullivan, 86, of Lenexa, died Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022.

He is survived by his wife, Ro salie Sullivan; sons Mike and Jim; grandson Sean Sullivan, and brother-in-law Dale Roberts.

A visitation will be from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 2, with Mass of Christian Burial to fol low at 10:30 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 11300 W. 103rd St., Overland Park.

The mass will be livestreamed for those unable to attend by visiting amosfamily.com.

Biden nominates U.S. Attorney for Kansas

WASHINGTON (AP)

— President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that will nominate a former Jackson Coun ty, Missouri, prosecut ing attorney to be the next U.S. Attorney for Kansas.

Kate Brubacher, a native of North New ton, Kansas, worked in the Jackson Coun ty prosecutor's office from from 2016 to Au gust 2022, where she prosecuted homicide cases, helped with a federally-funded re storative justice pro gram and worked on

efforts to reduce gun violence.

During her tenure, Brubacher was part of a team that success fully fought for the re lease of Kevin Strick land, a Kansas City man who served more than 40 years in prison for a triple murder he did not commit.

If the U.S. Senate confirms her nom ination, Brubacher would replace Dus ton Slinkard, who has been acting U.S. attor ney for Kansas since Biden was inaugurat ed in January 2021.

ACC students offer holiday concerts

Allen Community College will offer the sounds of the season with two music events next week.

On Dec. 8, enjoy a holiday music concert featuring the ACC jazz band, concert band and choir at 7 p.m. at Iola First Christian Church, 1608 Oregon Rd. The concert is free to the public. The theme is “Once Upon a December”

and features a variety of traditional Christ mas music, some Ha nukkah music and even some comedic holiday music.

On Dec. 9, the Fall Student Recital will be at 7 p.m., also at First Christian Church. It is also free.

Students will per form classical in strumental and vocal music, with some Broadway tunes.

Ex-majority leader jailed for DUI is leaving Kansas Senate

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas lawmak er who was forced out of one of the state Senate’s most power ful jobs following an arrest for drunken driving and speeding the wrong way on two interstate highways is planning to leave the Legislature in early January.

Former Senate Ma jority Leader Sen. Gene Suellentrop, a Wichita Republican, confirmed Tuesday that he plans to retire Jan. 2, saying in an email that his 13 years as a lawmaker “is long enough.” State senators aren’t up for reelection until 2024, and Republicans in his district will find a re placement to serve the rest of his four-year term.

Republican senators who picked Suellen trop in December 2020 to set the chamber’s daily debate calendar and run their caucus meetings stripped him of the majority lead er’s title four months later, though he kept his Senate seat. His ouster as majority leader came less than a month after his March 2021 arrest and crim inal charges that in cluded attempting to elude law enforcement, a felony. He pleaded no contest in October 2021 to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and driving under the influence and served two days in jail.

“There are too many things in my life that are more important, at this stage, than serving in the Kansas Legisla ture,” Suel lentrop said in his email Tues day.

Gene Suellentrop

The 70-yearold Wichita businessman added that he was “most thankful for” constituents who sup ported him throughout his career. His plan to resign was first report ed by the Sunflower State Journal.

Suellentrop’s crim inal case received national attention be cause he was a legisla tive leader and report edly had been driving up to 90 miles per hour. A Kansas Highway Pa trol trooper also said in an affidavit that Suel lentrop at one point called him “donut boy.” No one was injured.

Law enforcement ra dio recordings and 911 calls released by the local sheriff’s depart ment showed multiple people reported Suel lentrop’s SUV travel ing the wrong way on Interstate 470 near a south Topeka exit and then on Interstate 70 through northern To peka. The Highway Pa trol said Suellentrop’s blood-alcohol level was 0.17, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Gene Klingensmith

Jim Sullivan

KS community corrections programs decry underfunding

By TIM CARPENTER Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — The net work of community cor rections organizations in Kansas proposed an $11.5 million budget in crease in the upcoming fiscal year and relax ation of regulations on use of state funding to allow for hiring of about 50 more officers to su pervise felony offenders.

Randy Regehr, presi dent of the Kansas Com munity Corrections As sociation and director of Reno County Commu nity Corrections, said funding in the past eight years failed to keep up with inflation and fu eled turnover of expe rienced staff changing jobs to boost income.

Loss of skilled com munity corrections workers to build mean ingful relationships with offenders leads to higher recidivism and places communities at greater risk, he told state legislators on Mon day.

“This loss of knowl edge and experience has cut deep in agencies. Result of this turnover is people we supervise aren’t receiving the service and assistance they need,” Regehr said. “The people we super vise are resistive to change. They’re so en trenched in their crimi nal lifestyles they don’t even think they’re capa ble of change. For many of them, all they have are criminal or addicted

family or friends. The idea of change seems impossible.”

In terms of a budget request to the 2023 Legis lature, he said $6 million could be earmarked for operational costs, $4.5 million could be used to add the 50 officers to reduce caseloads and $1 million could be appro priated to mental health services. About half of the people assigned to Kansas’ community cor rections programs have mental health challeng es and have experienced addiction challenges.

“Reducing caseloads allows officers more time to spend with each person they supervise,” Regehr said. “This is more time to work on behavior changes, more time to ensure compli ance with court orders and more time to ensure

community safety.”

In addition, Regehr said the community corrections associa tion requested greater budget flexibility and the option of carrying unspent funding to the next fiscal year.

IN THE 2022 ses sion, the Legislature approved $11.8 million aimed at making wages of community correc tions officers more com petitive. The coalition of community corrections agencies had sought a $14.3 million hike in funding.

An earmark in that budget allowing com munity corrections agencies to surge sala ries helped retain staff, Regehr said. However, some counties couldn’t use their full allotment due to a prohibition on

expanding the officer workforce. For exam ple, Johnson County re turned to the Kansas De partment of Corrections about $370,000 because its wage for community corrections officers was already competitive and the need in the county was for additional offi cers.

“As you can imag ine, staff were deflated. They had been excited about and celebrated the increase in funding only to be told they weren’t getting a raise and the agency couldn’t use the money,” Regehr said.

The Corrections and Juvenile Justice Over sight Committee is ex pected to draft budget and policy recommen dations Wednesday for presentation to the full House and Senate. The 2023 Legislature con

The people we supervise are resistive to change. They’re so entrenched in their criminal lifestyles they don’t even think they’re capable of change. For many of them, all they have are criminal or addicted family or friends. The idea of change seems impossible.

venes Jan. 9.

Rep. Eric Smith, a Burlington Republican, said the Legislature ought to weigh the cost of community correc tions programs in the context of saving tax payers money in the long run by curtailing the number of people who returned to jail or prison. He said the con tributions of commu nity corrections staff were pivotal to weaning people away from crimi nal behavior.

Advocates of new spending on communi ty corrections need to present the Legislature statistical evidence the investments improved public safety and were beneficial to felony of fenders, said Sen. Molly Baumgardner, the Re publican from Louis burg who chairs the interim corrections committee.

The state’s mental health appropriation to community correc tions had been set at $3

million annually since created in 2014. Regehr’s request was for a $1 mil lion boost in that line item. The Legislature needed to know wheth er a $4 million budget would meet the need and, if not, what actual demand for resources would be, Baumgardner said.

“As legislators,” she said, “we need to know what it’s going to cost. We need to have a better, more accurate picture.”

Regehr said he appre ciated the committee’s enthusiasm for new state investment in com munity corrections and reiterated bleak bud gets in previous years left the county agencies with little wiggle room in their budgets.

“We’re asking our selves, do I stop or re duce drug testing?” he said. “Do I decrease or eliminate services to help clients be success ful? Or, do I have to cut a staff position so I can afford rent?”

NATO commits to future Ukraine membership, drums up aid

BUCHAREST, Roma nia (AP) — NATO dou bled down Tuesday on its commitment to one day include Ukraine, a pledge that some of ficials and analysts believe helped prompt Russia’s invasion this year. The world’s largest security alliance also pledged to send more

aid to Ukrainian forc es locked in battle with Russian troops.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with NATO foreign ministers in Romania to drum up support for Ukraine as Russia bom bards energy infrastruc ture ahead to the frigid winter. Russia cannot

Bomgaars: Iola

Continued from A1

nounced in October as part of a larger deal re volving around the sale of Orscheln to Tractor Supply Co. After a year of investigating the mat ter, the Federal Trade Commission approved the Orscheln-Tractor Supply deal, provided a portion of the stores go to a third-party partic ipant — Bomgaars in this case — to circum vent potential antitrust concerns. Eighty-one Orscheln stores will become Tractor & Sup ply locations, including one in Garnett. Twelve Orscheln stores also were acquired by Buch heit Enterprises in Mis souri and Illinois.

Bomgaars spokes man Heather Korbe said the timing of the Iola store’s name change is still to be determined, although Orscheln em ployees here already have been retained by the new owners.

“They’re a part of the Bomgaars team,” she said in a telephone in terview. “We asked them all to stay, and retained everybody interested in remaining. We’re very excited to have them all on board.”

Like Orscheln, Bomgaars specializes in farm and ranch materials.

“We carry a lot of the same things, but with different focuses on product lines we carry,” Korbe said. For exam ple, Bomgaars carries a wide selection of De walt power tools.

Bomgaars sells lawn and garden plus nurs ery items, clothing and footwear, farm, pet and automotive supplies, paint, hardware, tools, housewares and toys.

EXACTLY when the store’s name will change has yet to be de termined, Korbe said.

The plan is for the first Orscheln store to change over in Lincoln in January, with the oth er 72 occurring over the subsequent 15 months.

“There are a lot of fac tors outside of our con trol,” she said, such as when computer systems can be changed over to Bomgaars systems, and appropriate signage ar rives.

THE BOMGAARS op eration started in 1944 in Iowa, and eventual ly expanded to include South Dakota, Iowa, Ne braska, Wyoming, Idaho and now Kansas, Okla homa and Texas.

“We’re very excited to be coming to those mar kets,” Korbe said.

stop the alliance’s ex pansion, NATO leaders said.

“NATO’s door is open,” NATO Secre tary-General Jens Stol tenberg said before chairing the meeting in the capital, Bucharest.

He praised North Macedonia and Monte negro recently joining NATO, and said that Russian President Vlad imir Putin “will get Finland and Sweden as NATO members” soon. The Nordic neighbors applied for membership in April, concerned that Rus sia might target them next.

“Russia does not have a veto” on coun

tries joining, Stolten berg said. “We stand by that, too, on member ship for Ukraine.”

When they met in Bucharest in 2008, NATO leaders said that Ukraine and Georgia would join the alliance one day.

Some officials and analysts believe that move — pressed on the NATO allies by former U.S. President George W. Bush — was partly responsible for the war that Russia launched on Ukraine in February. Stoltenberg said NATO expansion would not be hindered.

“President Putin can not deny sovereign na tions to make their own

sovereign decisions that are not a threat to Rus sia,” the former Nor wegian prime minister said. “I think what he’s afraid of is democracy and freedom, and that’s the main challenge for him.”

Even so, Ukraine will not join NATO anytime soon. With the Crime an Peninsula annexed, and Russian troops and pro-Moscow separat ists holding parts of the south and east, it’s not clear what Ukraine’s bor ders would even look like.

Many of NATO’s 30 allies believe the focus now must solely be on defeating Russia, and Stoltenberg stressed that any attempt to move ahead on member ship could divide them.

“We are in the midst of a war and therefore we should do nothing that can undermine the unity of allies to provide military, hu manitarian, financial support to Ukraine, be cause we must prevent President Putin from winning,” he said.

Randy Regehr, director of community corrections in Reno County and leader of a statewide organization of corrections officials, requested $11.5 million to improve prospects of preventing recidivism among felons by adding officers and upgrading mental health services. KANSAS REFLECTOR SCREEN CAPTURE VIA KANSAS LEGISLATURE YOUTUBE CHANNEL

— Randy Regehr, Reno County community coreections director

Band: Iola students selected to perform at upcoming events

Continued from A1

were Nov. 5 at Independence Community College.

A few of the middle school students entertained USD 257 school board members at Monday evening’s meet ing, playing two Christmas songs. Band director Brandi Holt talked about the band’s achievements this year. The band is young, made of about 26 middle school and 19 high school students. Another 32

sixth-graders are taking the Beginning Band class.

High-schoolers named to the District Band are:

Jillian Ward, 12th chair clarinet

Ari Ramirez, alternate for clari net

Krystina Hurst, third chair bass clarinet

Jesse Tyalor, first chair tenor saxophone

Kale Godfrey, first chair bari tone saxophone Jackson Ulrich, eighth chair

trumpet Madeleine Wanker, alternate trumpet

Bethany Miller, third chair trombone

Alyssa Williams, eighth chair trombone

Middle school students are:

Sheridan Byrd, first chair sopra no clarinet

Kevon Loving, first chair alto saxophone

Ben Heiman, second chair alto

saxophone

Ben Fager, first chair tenor sax ophone

Josh Wanker, second chair trumpet

Raiden Stowell, second chair trombone Nathan Womack, fourth chair trombone Isaiah Geisler, first chair snare/ percussion Tripp Mathes, second chair snare/percussion

ALL bands will perform at a concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.

The IMS/IHS choir will perform a concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 7, and the IMS/IHS Strings Concert will be 7 p.m. on Dec. 14, both also at the Bowlus.

A FULL report from Mon day’s board meeting will be published in Thursday’s pa per.

Railroad: New trail follows Katy route, Iola historians note

Continued from A1

Pac would have meant dipping farther south as it continued eastward.

In reality, the exten sion follows a second rail corridor, the old Missouri, Kansas Texas Railroad route that op erated briefly in Iola in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

French showed a copy of one of Iola’s original plats, courtesy of Iolan Jim Smith, to indicate the route each railroad followed.

RAILROADS played a large role in Iola’s early years, with as many as four lines operating at one point or another.

The MoPac, and later the MKT, or Katy, were the east-west rail lines, ferrying cargo to Io la’s bustling industries that filled the east part of town during the gas boom days.

Alas, many of those industries quickly went belly-up after natural gas deposits were de pleted. By the latter half of the 20th century, only the old Atchison, Tope ka and Santa Fe Rail road remained, and it closed up shop by 1980. An electric railroad car rying passengers daily from Iola to LaHarpe also ceased operation once business dwindled and a tornado destroyed the train depot.

In reality, the nomen clature won’t matter a whit to the city, Assis tant City Administrator Corey Schinstock not ed. There is no plan for any signage along the new trail, aside from crosswalk signs or other safety postings for mo torists.

In fact, the city has no signage denoting the MoPac Trail portion, ei ther.

Regardless, the histo rians’ objection is not ed, French replied. “His tory is very important to individuals,” he said.

As an aside, Schin stock said the crosswalk work has begun in ear nest this month, and should be done shortly.

Footings for the pe destrian bridge should be poured soon, with the span installed perhaps as early as February.

IN AN otherwise short meeting, Council members unanimous ly approved provisions of a new contract with Thrive Allen County for economic development services.

Iola boosted its con tract to the tune of $50,000 annually, or roughly the equivalent of 1.5 mills.

City Administrator Matt Rehder previous ly has noted that Iola’s economic development investment levels pale in comparison to oth er communities across southeast Kansas.

Other partners with Thrive also are bumping up their investments.

Humboldt city officials increased their econom ic development contract

from $10,000 to $17,000 — also equivalent to about 1.5 mills — while Allen County bumped up its contribution from $20,000 to $30,000. Iola Industries will continue to pay Thrive $20,000 an nually for the service.

Council members previously set their 2023 budget in anticipation of the higher funding level.

SPEAKING of the budget, the Council scheduled a Dec. 11 bud get hearing to tackle year-end budget amend ments for the city’s gas, electric, stores, sales tax, water and special highway funds, nearly all of which are tied to higher costs associated with energy and sup plies.

“It’s been an interest ing year with gas prices and fuel prices, and not knowing where we’re going,” City Clerk Rox anne Hutton said. “We tried to take a stab in the dark.”

The largest adjust ment hikes for the gas and electric funds are largely recouped from higher sales to cus tomers, Hutton noted, but still required the

amendments to reflect the increased budget au thority.

Some of the differenc es are staggering.

The Council, in the summer of 2021, bud geted $2.8 million for natural gas sales in 2022. By year’s end, that figure could be $5.9 mil lion. Electricity sales, projected originally at about $9.6 million are now expected to reach $11.6 million. Water sales should be about $200,000 over projec tions, from $306,000 to $506,000.

The city also must add about $200,000 in budget authority to its stores budget and sales tax fund, as well as put $23,900 into its special highway fund.

“If we don’t hit these limits, we won’t spend this money,” Hutton

said. “We just need the power to do so.”

COUNCIL members also approved cereal malt beverage licenses for 2023 for on-premises con sumption at El Jimador, Pizza Hut, Denny’s Sports Center and China Palace. Licenses for off-premises consumption — thus, re quiring those CMB con tainers to remain closed — were approved for Walmart, Casey’s Gener al Store, G&W Foods, Dol lar General and the three Pump ’N Pete’s franchis es in town.

Hutton noted other businesses that sell al cohol are licensed by the state.

OTHER items: — Councilwoman Joelle Shallah shared compliments the city received for its improve

ments to the Oak Street water tower, including a fresh coat of new paint and several interior improvements. Rehder echoed Shallah’s com ments, calling it a “bad ly needed improvement to the city’s water infra structure.”

— The Council ap proved a request by the Liberty Homeschool Alliance to charge ad mission and sell conces sions at sporting events at the Recreation Com munity Building, allow ing the group to pay for officials and cover other expenses.

620.365.2111

This copy of an early Iola plat map shows where the Missouri Pacific and Missouri, Kansas and Texas (Katy) Railroads passed through the eastern part of town in the late 19th century. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

~ Journalism that makes a difference

Rebound from drug addiction came with some inherent perks

By MARY BETH O’CONNOR Los Angeles Times/TNS

I first shot methamphet amine when I was 17. As an abused child seeking relief from trauma and stress, I’d turned to alcohol at age 12 and had used numerous drugs to excess before stick ing that needle in my arm. In 1979, at age 18, I was arrested for possession of meth and syringes.

Knowing I was a good student headed to college, without a prior criminal re cord, the judge reduced the charges to disorderly per son, which was below a mis demeanor. As a result, I was not incarcerated. And when he sentenced me, the judge ordered that my record be expunged if I did not get con victed for the next few years. I also was al lowed to leave New Jersey to attend college in California, after a one-year delay, even though I still was on proba tion. The criminal justice system showed me mercy and allowed me to build a life.

judge, despite my 20 years of sobriety at that point.

My drug addiction story has been a humbling series of breaks, granting me sec ond and third chances.

That wasn’t luck. Based on the data, I am confident I ben efited from the white color of my skin.

People of color experience discrimination at every stage of the criminal legal system. They are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, convicted, harshly sentenced and saddled with a lifelong criminal record. This is par ticularly the case for drug law violations.

The Public Policy Institute of California has found that Black drivers are stopped at night at twice the rate of white drivers.

My drug addiction story has been a hum bling series of breaks, granting me second and third chances. ... That wasn’t luck.

In addition, police search Black and Lati no drivers at a much higher frequency even though the dis covery rates of contraband are lower than for white peo ple. Similarly, Black and Latino drivers are overrepresented in being de tained and handcuffed.

Let’s challenge what gun ownership means

By NED BARNETT The News & Observer

The mass shootings in Virginia and Colorado again call attention to the nation’s gun problem, but how deeply guns are em bedded in everyday life can be seen from other random news reports:

• When NBA player Tau rean Prince of the Minneso ta Timberwolves was pulled over in suburban Dallas for an expired registration, he informed the officer he had two handguns in the car.

members of Congress who value campaign contribu tions over their constitu ents’ lives.

How to make it less this way is equally complicated. But as the U.S. endures an other wave of mass shoot ings, there are signs that the majority of Americans who want stronger gun controls may yet be heard. A biparti san group called the 97 Per cent — an allusion to the 97 percent of Americans who favor universal background checks for gun purchases –wants to reduce the carnage by enlisting gun owners in the effort.

start with steps that most gun owners would support:

• Add convictions for vi olent misdemeanors such as assault, stalking and vi olent threats to convictions that bar gun ownership and possession.

• Pass red flag laws that would allow courts to order the removal of guns from people considered a danger to themselves or others.

• Require a permit to pur chase a gun (only 11 states do) and make federal and state background checks part of the gun permitting process.

I regained a bit of control over my drug use in college, until I succumbed to a severe meth addiction that lasted from my senior year until I was 32. During that decade, I carried meth with me every day. I was pulled over for tick ets multiple times and was in car accidents that involved police response. But the po lice never searched me. Not even when I had been awake for days and looked like a tweaker, with a scabby face and twitchy hands.

While I had to work hard to build a robust recovery foun dation, as everyone does, my University of California, Berkeley education allowed me to reenter the workforce with relative ease.

I then graduated from Berkeley Law at nine years sober, at the age of 42. When I applied to obtain my law license, due to the expunge ment, I had a clean criminal record. It was the same years later when I had to pass a se curity screening to become a federal administrative law judge. Had I had an extensive arrest record, I likely would not have been appointed a

Black men in California are 42% more likely, and Lati no men 32.5% more likely, to be sentenced to prison than white men with similar crim inal records and convictions.

I do not mean to suggest that the most significant im pact from these racial dispar ities is that I was able to be come a judge and those with notable criminal records cannot. The consequences of racial discrimination and white privilege in my life are trivial compared with the effects for victims, which include limited job opportu nities, the break-up of fam ilies, lost years spent in jail or prison, and the trauma as sociated with knowing your community does not receive equal or fair treatment.

I am proud of my accom plishments and appreciate that my hard work, on my recovery and professional ly, was a prerequisite to my judicial appointment. Still, I also am aware that this suc cess almost certainly would not have been possible had I been a different color.

About the author: Mary Beth O’Connor, a retired federal administrative law judge.

• Security guards at a bonfire party held at an En field, North Carolina, horse ranch confiscated 27 guns that people tried to smug gle in. “These weapons were found in the bottom of coolers, these weapons were found in boots, these weapons were even found in hats,” the host said.

• A report on the Trans portation Security Admin istration (TSA) noted that so far this year TSA has confiscated more than 4,600 guns, about 87 percent of them loaded. It’s on pace to pass last year’s record of 6,000 guns confiscated.

Second Amendment zealots say that people, not guns, kill people. But when a nation has more guns than people — 393 million guns and 326 million people — the prevalence of guns is going to lead to the demise of people through inten tional shootings, accidents or suicides. The toll is more than 110 people every day, including five deaths per day in North Carolina.

How it got this way is a complicated story about muskets, militias, the Na tional Rifle Association and

The group sponsored a re cent conference focused on how gun control advocates might appeal to Republican lawmakers and gun owners who are willing to consid er ways to reduce gun vio lence.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who this month mourned a mass shooting that killed five in Raleigh, opened the conference with a speech about seeking con sensus on reducing gun vi olence. He said that traffic fatalities have been reduced by sensible measures such as seat belts, air bags and better vehicle designs.The same could be done with guns.

“The government didn’t take the cars away from re sponsible drivers to help that problem and we won’t take away guns from re sponsible owners,” Cooper said. “We just want to make it safer. And all of us want to feel safe in our houses, our schools, our churches and in our communities. That’s common ground.”

Participants in the con ference said the progress against gun violence should

Keeping guns out of the hands of violent people is a start, but those laws won’t prevent road rage shoot ings, domestic violence shootings, gun suicides, tod dlers shooting themselves and the river of guns that careless gun owners lose to thieves.

TO REDUCE gun vio lence, challenge the popular idea of gun ownership. It’s not an expression of free dom. Nor is it in the over whelming percentage of cases about self-defense.

An NBA player doesn’t need two handguns at the ready. No one needs to hide a gun in a cooler on the way into a party or pack a load ed one in their carry-on lug gage.

Those who have a real need for a gun should be trained in how to use it and penalized if they lose it. Those who pack guns just because they can aren’t making anyone safer, in cluding themselves.

About the writer: Ned Barnett is associate opinion editor for The News & Ob server, Charlotte, Va.

Twitter is not protecting free speech by lifting bans on accounts

“Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Elon Musk tweeted after he posted the results of an unscientif ic poll showing respondents favored allowing former president Donald Trump to return to Twitter. The Latin phrase, roughly translating to “the voice of the people is the voice of God,” might be a poetic expression of demo cratic sentiment. But it does not reflect what Mr. Musk is doing with one of the world’s most influential social media platforms.

So far, Mr. Musk has gov erned Twitter according to his whims. The chief exec utive’s polls supposedly ex press the will of the users — but many of those who engage regularly with his

account are his die-hard sup porters, aware of his prefer ences and eager to see them enacted. This was true in the case of Mr. Trump, who so far has chosen not to return to using Twitter despite his ac count’s reinstatement. And it was true in the case of Mr. Musk’s most recent query: “Should Twitter offer a gen eral amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?”

Seventy-two percent said “yes” to this question, prompting Mr. Musk to an nounce that amnesty will be gin this week. But determin ing whether an account has “broken the law” — when the law varies by location and le

gal judgments often require an expert eye — will be a logis tical nightmare. Twitter just gutted its staff in broad-scale layoffs; if the company rein troduces, en masse, a group of users previously found to have violated its terms of service, what happens if they flout the rules again? Are there any rules now? Perhaps Mr. Musk doesn’t believe that people engaging in hate and harassment should be barred from his site. Fine. But if that is the case, he should have revised the site’s policies, allowed accounts suspended under the old regime to ap peal under the new one, and applied the revised terms of service going forward.

The approach Mr. Musk

has instead chosen under mines the values he claims to cherish. Slashing the number of staff devoted to policing content can end up harming civil liberties: The Post reports that Twit ter is drowning in nuisance posts, mostly pornography, spewed onto the platform by accounts connected to the Chinese Communist Party, in an effort to obscure news of recent protests. Many of the analysts the company had to root out influence operations reportedly no longer work there.

Moreover, spotty rule en forcement — or even know ingly permitting rule viola tions — will make Twitter’s decision-making more ar

bitrary and, therefore, less conducive to free expression. The most credible criticism of Mr. Trump’s removal after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection was that it was capricious, seeming to spring not from a violation of any specific pol icy but rather from a seat-ofthe-pants reaction to offline developments. As things stand now, it is unclear what one can and cannot say on Twitter — or what Mr. Musk’s next poll might result in.

Those who believe in free expression on Twitter should be fighting for clear and con sistent policies along with transparent enforcement. In stead, Mr. Musk has brought chaos.

U.S. House to intervene in rail workers strike

By ARIANA FIGUEROA Kansas Reflector

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Mon day said the House will take up legislation to ratify an agreement be tween rail workers and operators in order to avert a nationwide rail strike.

“This week, the House will take up a bill adopt ing the Tentative Agree ment — with no poison pills or changes to the negotiated terms — and send it to the Senate,” the California Demo crat said in a statement.

“It is my hope that this necessary, strike-avert ing legislation will earn a strongly bipartisan vote, giving America’s families confidence in our commitment to pro tecting their financial futures.”

The announcement follows President Joe Biden’s call on Monday directing Congress to adopt the agreement reached in September, which was based on rec ommendations from an emergency board that Biden established in July.

That agreement would give workers a 24% raise over five years, from 2020 to 2024; one additional personal day; and some protec tion from the rail carri ers’ punitive attendance policies so that workers can take time off for medical needs without fear of discipline.

But paid sick leave was not on the table and the board recommend ed to the unions that they withdraw their proposal to have 15 paid sick days. The way rail unions work is that all 12 unions — repre senting 115,000 freight rail workers — need to agree on a contract, and if one doesn’t agree, workers represented by the others don’t cross the picket line.

Eight of the 12 voted to adopt and ratify the union’s tentative agree ment, so the unions went into a cooling-off period that was set to end Dec. 9, meaning the unions then could strike.

The unions that did not ratify the Septem ber deal are the Broth erhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Di vision-International

Brotherhood of Team sters, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Work ers, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and International Brother hood of Boilermakers, which represent about more than half of rail workers.

“The most common sticking point for BM WED, BRS and IBB Members has been the lack of quality-of-life improvements, name ly the lack of paid sick leave,” according to BM WED’s website. “BM WED, BRS and IBB have made paid sick leave proposals to the rail roads, but the railroads have made it clear that they will neither engage in any meaningful dis cussions nor accept any sort of proposal regard ing such.”

Biden said that he is concerned about no paid sick leave for rail workers and that he has pressed for legislation to enact it.

“Every other devel oped country in the world has such protec tions for its workers,” Biden said in a state ment. “But at this crit ical moment for our economy, in the holi day season, we cannot let our strongly held conviction for better outcomes for workers deny workers the bene fits of the bargain they reached, and hurl this nation into a devastat ing rail freight shut down.”

These negotiations over employee pay, abil ity to take time off for medical appointments and paid sick leave have been going on since 2019, between labor unions representing railway employees and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, which represents the railway carriers.

Congress has the abil ity to intervene, due to the Railway Labor Act, which governs disputes between railway carri ers and labor unions.

“We are reluctant to bypass the standard rat ification process for the Tentative Agreement — but we must act to prevent a catastrophic nationwide rail strike, which would grind our economy to a halt,” Pe losi said.

PSU and Washburn launch law school track

PITTSBURG — Washburn’s School of Law and Pittsburg State University have joined forces to speed up the process to obtain a law degree, according to a PSU news release.

On Monday, repre sentatives from each institution celebrated the partnership which fast-tracks the process from the typical seven years to six, plus guar anteed scholarships.

The partnership means a year less in tuition and fees at PSU, said Chris Childers, di rector of PSU’s School of History, Philosophy and Social Sciences.

Students accepted into the program are guar anteed a minimum

Area news

Solar farm considered

FREDONIA — City commissioners are weighing whether to build a solar farm, ac cording to the Wilson County Citizen.

City Administrator Wesley Young present ed two options. 1.) Out right ownership for about $4 million and paid over the course of 18 years, or, 2.) Letting Priority Power Man agement oversee the project for about $6 mil lion to be paid over the course of 25 years.

The first option in cludes federal tax in centives of up to 60% in direct cash.

A solar farm “would reduce our market vul nerability,” said Young, estimating it would re duce the city’s utility

tuition scholarship of $5,000 a year to Wash burn Law School.

The 3+3 program means students attend Pitt State for the first three years to work on their bachelor’s de grees and then trans fer to Washburn where they complete both their bachelor’s and ju ris doctorate over the next three years.

Typically, students must complete a bach elor’s degree, usually based on four years of classes, before they are accepted to a law school.

THE NEW program addresses the scarcity of attorneys in South east Kansas, said Marla

Luckert, chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court and a Washburn Law School alumnus, who attended Monday’s ceremony.

“We have a critical shortage of attorneys — especially in rural Kansas,” Luckert said.

The announcement comes at a time when demand is high and supply is low: South east Kansas is consid ered underserved when it comes to the number of cases on the books and the number of law yers available.

Southeast Kansas has only one quarter of the number of at torneys needed to meet demand, Luckert noted. Getting students who

are seeking law degrees educated more effi ciently will help.

The program mir rors PSU’s partnership in the biology depart ment to fast-track stu dents into the medical and dental fiels.

Washburn Associate Dean Shawn Leisinger said students in the pro gram also will be able to go into communities in their third year of law school for externships with law firms, serving communities and gain ing valuable real-world experience.

The program will be gin in August 2023.

For more informa tion, go to https://bit. ly/3XJgT4i

costs by 15-17%.

Parsons Land Bank purchases strip mall

PARSONS — A der elict shopping center will become a police training annex thanks to its purchase by the Parsons Land Bank, ac cording to the Parsons Sun.

“It’s a great, positive move,” said Jim Zales ki, the city’s economic development director.

The purpose of the

land bank is to pur chase abandoned prop erties so that they can be developed into pro ductive entities such as affordable housing or stabilizing property values.

Parsons gets splash pad

PARSONS — A grass roots effort to build a splash pad in down town Parsons amassed $121,950.88.

City expenditures were $77,376 for con crete work and installa

tion of equipment, ac cording to The Parsons Sun.

The city estimated its in-kind work at $40,000.

Pittsburg turkey trot a success

PITTSBURG —

Despite less than a month’s planning, more than 100 partici pated in a Thanksgiv ing Day 5K walk/jog.

“We are definitely doing this next year,” said organizer Renato Pinto, according to the Morning Sun.

Commemorating the launch of a pre-law program at Pittsburg State University that segues into Washburn Law School are administrators from both the schools’ programs as well as Marla Luckert, center, Chief Jus tice of the Kansas Supreme Court and an alumnus of Washburn’s law school. Pictured from left are, Chief Judge of the 11th Judicial District Lori Fleming, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Howard Smith, PSU pre-law advisor Darren Botello-Samson, Chief Justice Luckert, Washburn School of Law Dean Jeffrey Jackson, Washburn School of Law Associate Dean Shawn Leisinger, Chair of PSU’s School of History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences Christopher Childers, Kansas Bar Association President Nancy Morales Gonzalez, Dean of PSU’s College of Arts and Sciences Mary Carol Pomatto, and local attorney and adjunct instructor Steve Angermayer.

Area high schools tip-off hoops season

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

A number of area high schools are set to tip off their basketball seasons this week including Iola, Humboldt, Crest, Marmaton Valley, Yates Center and Southern Coffey County.

The top dog team on the boys side in the Tri-Valley League is predicted to be the Humboldt Cubs while the top

girls basketball team in the Three Rivers League will be Marmaton Valley.

Iola Mustangs

The Mustangs are coming off a sour 6-15 season. The silver lining is that the team won four of its last six games in Pioneer League play. Head coach Luke Bycroft is hoping that momentum can get his team going a little bit earlier this season.

Iola will be led by Landon Weide, Eli Adams, Mac Leon ard and Jake Skahan. Bycroft praises Weide’s solid ball handling and high basketball IQ to know where to go with the ball. Iola will be a team that sticks to speed and good defense to win games.

The Iola girls basketball team will look to focus on scoring more points than they did last season when the Mustangs beat Yates Center in a low scoring affair, 20-18. The girls finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 4-17 record. Team leaders will include Aysha Houk, Jackie Fager and Keira Fawson. Kelci Johnson coaches the girls.

Humboldt Cubs

The Humboldt High boys will rely on their underclass men to carry the weight of their team with only one se nior and one junior starting, Trey Sommer and Sam Hull, respectively. This duo along with sophomore Colden Cook will team up to work at im proving from their 13-8 finish to last season.

The Lady Cubs are in a re building phase of their pro gram after having only eight girls on the team last season which jumped to 13 players this year. Karley Wools, Car son Haviland, Kennisyn Hot tenstein and McKenna Jones are the starting returners. Humboldt will rely on its quickness and being in shape to outrun opposing teams be tween ends of the floor.

Crest Lancers

The Crest High boys are locked in on improving after last season and return three starters from last year in Ethan Godderz, Stetson Set ter and Karter Miller. It will

be an experienced Lancer squad of four seniors getting the opportunity to start on a nightly basis with newly add ed 6-foot-4-inch Ryan Golden being the go-to guy around the basket.

The Lady Lancers are projected to finish around a .500-record this season, bet ter than their disappointing 2-18 finish to last year. Kayla Hermreck returns as one of the best rebounders in the Tri-Valley League and will be joined by McKenna Ham mond as well as Mia Coleman and Kaylee Allen. Crest will use its fight and grit of nev er giving up as well as their chemistry to win games this season.

The Wildcat boys will be a tough team to take down this season with a new head coach in former Pittsburg State bas ketball player Cornell Walls. A young but talented pro gram will greet Walls, led by sophomores Jaedon Granere and Dreden Ellis as well as ju nior Chase Smith and senior Dylan Drake.

The Wildcats will also be a fast team that uses full court transition to move the bas ketball.

The Lady Wildcats will be even tougher to corral as they return a number of starters from an 11-7 team from last

Mustangs take Pioneer League honors

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

Iola High football players were awarded a number of team and Pioneer League honors at their annual ban quet last week.

Mustang senior Jake Ska han took home the Distin guished Mustang Award. Skahan caught a touchdown and hauled in 27 yards of fensively this season while he came down with nine total tackles and two solo stops defensively.

“He was a great leader for the program and has been a quality person,” said Iola head coach David Daughar thy. The coach noted the award recognizes “not nec essarily the best football player, but the person who represents the program the best.”

First-year football player Eli Adams won the Special Teams MVP award. Adams returned 140 yards on kick off returns as the team’s speedy kickoff and punt re turner.

“I think that’s pretty un heard of and it speaks to his natural athleticism,”

Daugharthy said. “It’s pret ty amazing what he was able to do. For him to re turn as well as he did and be able to kick as well as he did is great. Unfortunately, we didn’t have him for more years.”

Five secured All-Pioneer League honors this season including Danny Boeken and Skahan winning First Team offensive line and de fensive line, respectively. Boeken also received Sec ond Team honors for his work on the defensive line.

“These kids have done

what they needed to do and have been good lead ers in the offseason. They are great examples for other kids,” said Daughar thy. “The kids are all very coachable and they’ve been very receptive. They’re just great kids to be around. It speaks to how much talent and lead ership we have.”

Korbin Cloud earned a Second Team defensive back honor while Ben Kerr and Drayden Reiter each claimed Second Team linebacker honors.

No. 9 Kansas bounces back, routs Texas Southern

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas freshman MJ Rice has been through the ringer in his first couple of months of college basket ball: the back injury during preseason practices, a bout with COVID-19 and then kidney stones last week that sent him to the ER.

The five-star recruit showed Monday night what he can do when he’s healthy and available.

Rice came off the bench to score 19 points, Jalen Wil son hit five 3-pointers and scored 22, and the ninthranked Jayhawks bounced back from their first loss of the season with an 87-55 rout of Texas Southern.

“Just coming in and do ing my job, really, whether that’s bringing energy or playing defense,” Rice said afterward. “I know I missed some time but it’s also kind of like a build-up. I have to get that rhythm back.”

Gradey Dick added 15 points, Josef Yesufu had 14 and KJ Adams 10 for the Jay hawks (7-1), who stumbled

against No. 13 Tennessee in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. They are now 109-16 after a loss under coach Bill Self, who made his regular-season debut in Allen Fieldhouse after missing three home games to a school-imposed suspension.

“I thought it was prob ably pretty good overall,” Self said, “considering we were tired, and we hadn’t practiced since we played Tennessee. I thoguht that was about as good as we could do.”

Davon Barnes had 22 points and Zytarious Mor tle scored 11 for the Tigers (1-7), whose brutal non conference schedule has taken them to Texas Tech, Houston and Auburn with a trip to Wichita State still to come.

Texas Southern coach Johnny Jones was not avail able after the game.

It was a rematch of a first-round NCAA Tourna ment game last season won

Marmaton Valley Wildcats

Humboldt sophomore Colden Cook will be a key piece for the Cubs this season on a fairly younger team. REGISTER FILE PHOTO

Marmaton Valley’s Janae Granere works to stay in the lane in a game last season. PHOTO BY HALIE LUKEN

The Iola High football team huddles before a game at Prairie View this fall. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

GARAGE

MOVING SALE THIS SATURDAY. Items priced to

Queen bedroom set that includes bed, dresser with mirror and two nightstands; dining room table with six chairs, sets eight; beautiful antique couch; lamps; bu et; chairs; kitchen items. 1018 Meadowbrook Rd E. Dec. 3, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Houston lifts boil order

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston officials lifted an order Tuesday that had called for more than 2 million people in the nation’s fourth-largest city to boil their tap water before drinking or using it.

The boil order had been in effect since Sunday, when a power outage at a purification plant caused pressure to drop.

The order led to the closure of businesses and schools, including the Houston Independent School District, which canceled classes Monday and Tuesday. The city rescinded the order shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday. The city said water

quality samples sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed the tap water meets regulatory standards and is safe to drink.

At a news conference Monday, Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city issued the notice, which affects all of Houston and some adjacent areas, in an “abundance of caution” after two transformers — a main one and its backup — “uniquely and coincidentally” failed at a water plant. The problem affected the plant’s ability to treat and pump water into the transmission system, resulting in low pressure.

Public notice

World Cup viewers guide: Is Messi in trouble?

DOHA, Qatar (AP) —

Two of the best players on the planet go headto-head when Lionel Messi of Argentina and Robert Lewandowski of Poland meet with World Cup implications in what is likely Messi’s final attempt to win the tournament.

That match is part of an intense Wednesday at the World Cup: Mex ico could be eliminated from the group stage for the first time since 1978 and Saudi Arabi has a chance to advance after its opening-game upset over Argentina.

But the spectacle will be at Stadium 974 in Doha, where Messi and Lewandowski square off.

Poland leads the group and a draw is enough to advance to the round of 16. But after the shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in its opening match, Argen tina is only guaranteed to advance with a vic tory. A draw could get Argentina into the next round depending on the other result.

A loss? Well, that would mean elimina tion and humiliation. Messi is playing in his record-tying fifth World Cup and, at 35 years old, he’s unlikely to play in a sixth.

He knows it, too, and the devoted Argentina fanbase shed tears after Messi scored the cru cial second-half goal to seal a 2-0 win over Mexi

co last week. Argentina has not been eliminated from the group stage since 2002.

“I think when the groups were drawn and we were put together, the whole world has been waiting for this match,” Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz said.

Poland is trying to ad vance out of the group stage for the first time since 1986, and the Poles last went unbeaten in all three first round games in 1982 en route to the semifinals. Le wandowski failed to convert a penalty in a 0-0 draw with Mexico, but he scored his first career World Cup goal in a 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia.

No. 9 KU: wins

Continued from B1

by the Jayhawks on their way to the nation al championship. And for a stretch in the first half, the Tigers gave the champs all they could handle.

Texas Southern was still within 14-10 mid way through the first half when Kansas ripped off a 15-2 run to seize control. But even during the spurt, the Jayhawks at one point missed three straight shots, failed to capital ize on turnovers and couldn’t salvage much of an advantage on the boards against a much smaller team.

Kansas even gave up a buzzer-beating 3 that got the preseason SWAC favorites within 40-25 at halftime.

“Defensively we were not very good early,” Self said, “and they missed a lot of layups.”

If there was any dra ma left, it evaporated in the opening minutes of the second half. Tex as Southern turned it over four times in its first five possessions, Kansas ripped off a 14-2 run and Self eventually was able to examine his bench.

ONE LAST TIME

TV play-by-play man Dave Armstrong signed off for the last time after a 38-year career broad casting the NBA, Major League Baseball, col

lege football and college basketball. He’s been a staple in the Big 12 since 1988, when it was known as the Big 8, and regularly called games in the Big East, the Big Ten and the ACC.

AILING JAYHAWKS

Kansas forward Kev in McCullar Jr., who is averaging 9.7 points and 7.3 rebounds, watched the game in street clothes with a minor groin injury. Backup guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. was out with a ham string injury.

BIG PICTURE

Texas Southern couldn’t overcome 16 turnovers and a poor night from the 3-point arc, where the Tigers were 4 of 17. They also got just six points off the bench, and their lack of depth was evident as they wore down in the second half.

Kansas was 13 of 29 from the arc, and many of the shots came off open looks courtesy good ball movement.

The Jayhawks had 23 assists on 30 made shots, including six assists from Wilson and nine from Dajuan Harris Jr.

UP NEXT

Texas Southern re turns home to face NAIA foe North Ameri can on Sunday.

Kansas plays Seton Hall on Thursday night in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.

Messi and Lewand owski have never before played each other at the international level, but have gone head-to-head three times at the club level in the Champions League. Messi scored twice for Barcelona in a 2015 win and Lewand owski scored once each for Bayern Munich in victories over Barcelo na in 2015 and 2020.

Michniewicz said the match is much bigger

than two players and it will be team effort, not Messi or Lewandowski, that decides the game.

“It’s not Messi versus Lewandowski. It’s not tennis, it’s not 1-on-1. They are not serving to each other,” the Poland coach said. “Robert needs his teammates, like Leo does. They rely on their teammates, they can’t do this alone, although these individ ual players can do a lot

themselves.”

MEXICO-SAUDI ARABIA

Mexico came to the World Cup with goal keeper Guillermo Ochoa desperate to ad vance past the round of 16 and play in an elusive “quinto partido” — a fifth game.

If Mexico doesn’t make something hap pen against Saudi Ara bia, there might not even be a “cuarto parti do.”

El Tri hasn’t ad vanced to the quarterfi nals since Mexico host ed the 1986 tournament, but the team is now on the verge of elimina tion in group play. A loss to Saudi Arabia would end Mexico’s bid for an eighth straight trip to the World Cup’s knockout rounds.

The last time Mexico played at soccer’s big gest tournament and didn’t advance out of its group was in 1978.

But Mexico needs to do more than just win. Even with a victory, Mexico needs Poland to beat Argentina, and maybe even goal dif ference will determine

Mexico’s fate.

One problem: Mexi co has yet to score any goals in Qatar. El Tri hasn’t scored in 384 straight minutes at the World Cup, dating back to their second group match at the 2018 tour nament in Russia.

“In the next game we have no more chances,” Mexico forward Henry Martin said. “We have to score the goals that we can, and not worry what happens in the other game.”

Saudi Arabia pulled off one of the tourna ment’s biggest upsets ever when it beat Ar gentina 2-1 in its opener. The team reached the knockout stage in 1994 in its World Cup debut but hasn’t made it past the group stage since.

Saudi Arabia can advance with a win. A draw would also be enough if Poland beats Argentina.

“We will play to the last second of this tour nament and we will not give up,” Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard said.

TUNISIA-FRANCE

Chiefs add RB Melvin Gordon

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are signing twotime Pro Bowl running back Melvin Gordon to their practice squad, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press, add ing some much-needed depth with a player that was recently released from the AFC West rival Denver Broncos.

The person spoke on condition of anonymi ty Monday because the signing was not yet of ficial.

Gordon was cut by the Broncos last week amid fumble problems that plagued the 2015 firstround pick during his time in Denver. While he ran for 318 yards and caught 25 passes for 223 yards in 10 starts, aver aging 3.5 yards per car

ry, Gordon also fumbled five times in 10 games, including a costly one in a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

The fumble issues are not new. Gordon has lost the ball 26 times in 108 games, or about once in every four games.

The Chiefs were the perfect landing spot for him for a couple of rea sons.

First, they still have to play the Broncos twice in their final six games, when they are trying to maintain their grasp on the AFC’s top seed and lone playoff bye.

Whatever informa tion Gordon can provide on new coach Nathaniel Hackett’s system, and the rest of the struggling Broncos, will only help them down the stretch.

were in need of some depth at running back with Clyde Edwards-He laire out with a high an kle sprain.

Seventh-round draft pick Isiah Pacheco had already surpassed Ed wards-Helaire on the depth chart before the 2020 first-round pick landed on injured re serve. The Chiefs also have Jerick McKinnon, who is more threaten ing as a receiver than on the ground, and Ronald Jones II, who was active for the first time this season in Sunday’s 26-10 win over the Rams.

Pacheco carried 22 times for 69 yards and a touchdown against the Rams. Jones had four carries for 12 yards.

coach Andy Reid said of Jones on Monday. “Everything was fast to him, but he was produc tive. He had some good, strong runs. He caught the ball well when he had the opportunity to do that, and had a big game there. I thought for the first time coming in he did well.”

Now he’ll be pushed for playing time by Gor don, who will start off on the practice squad while he learns enough of the offense to contrib ute on game day.

That’s unlikely to happen in time to face the Bengals on Sun day in Cincinnati, but it could be in time for their next game against — you guessed

Argentina’s Lionel Messi (10) and Mexico’s Uriel Antuna (21) compete for the ball during a World Cup Group match at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, Nov. 26. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/GETTY IMAGES/TNS

Huskers pay premium to ‘Rhule’ in football

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)

— Matt Rhule said he had plenty of options after he got fired by the Carolina Panthers. He could have taken a year off from football or worked in television.

Or he could jump back into college coaching. A number of schools reached out to him, he said, but only one ap pealed to him and his family.

Nebraska introduced Rhule as its coach on Monday, exactly seven weeks after the Panthers fired him five games into his third season. Await ing him is the daunting task of taking over a team coming off a sixth straight losing season and a program that’s a shell of what once was one of the biggest brands in the college game.

“I am here because this is the right fit, it’s the right time,” Rhule said. “And if I have one message for you: We can absolutely do it. We can absolutely get University of Nebraska football ex actly where it’s supposed to be. It will be hard. It may take time, but it will be done.”

Rhule signed an eightyear, $74 million contract that makes him the third highest-paid coach in the Big Ten behind Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Michigan State’s Mel Tucker and among the top 10 nationally.

Athletic director Trev Alberts said the contract is 90% guaranteed and that some of the com pensation is deferred.

Rhule will have a pool of $7 million to spend on as sistant coaches.

When the Panthers fired Rhule, he was still owed $34 million on his seven-year contract. Al berts said the Panthers were involved in Rhule’s negotiations with Ne braska.

“Structuring a busi

ness arrangement that everybody was willing to sign off on was a bit of a challenge,” Alberts said, “and there were some fits and starts to it.”

Alberts said there was a period when it looked like the deal would fall through, but the sides reached an agreement on Thanksgiving morn ing.

Rhule’s starting sal ary is $5.5 million and rises by at least $1 mil lion each year, topping out at $12.5 million if he’s still coach in 2030.

Asked if he thought he would need to spend an average of $9 million per year on a football coach, Alberts said the salary scale is rising in the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference because of dramatically increas ing revenues tied to re cord-setting television rights deals.

“Let’s be honest, there’s a Power Two now,” Alberts said. “Cer tainly not to denigrate any of the other confer ences, but that’s kind of where we’re heading. ... If we’re going to be serious about having Nebraska football com peting at the upper level of the Big Ten Confer ence, there’s going to be resources needed to ac quire that talent.”

Rhule, who was 11-27 in two-plus seasons with the Panthers, was hired because of the success he had in his two college head coaching jobs.

He had Temple play ing for and winning the American Athletic Con ference championship in his third and fourth seasons (2015-16). He had Baylor playing for the Big 12 championship in his third season (2019) after taking over a Bears program emerging from the sexual assault scan dal under Art Briles.

Rhule emphasized toughness in practices

and games and said the only way to win games is to win the line of scrim mage. The Huskers have notably struggled on the offensive and defensive lines.

Rhule, who grew up in New York City as a Penn State fan, was a walk-on linebacker for the Nitta ny Lions. He said he at tended the Huskers’ 44-6 Kickoff Classic win over Penn State in 1983 and was heartbroken when Nebraska beat out the unbeaten Nittany Lions for the 1994 national title.

Rhule said he respect ed the physical brand of football the Huskers played back then and that he wants to bring it back.

About 750 boosters and former players turned out at the Hawks Championship Center for a welcome event and news conference. Among them were Gov.-elect Jim Pillen, a Republican who played defensive back for the Huskers in the 1970s, and 1972 Heisman Tro phy winner Johnny Rod gers. The band played and fireworks went off next to the podium as Rhule and Alberts en tered the building.

Rhule, 47, is the sixth coach to lead the pro gram since College Foot ball Hall of Famer Tom

Area: High school hoops

year. Marmaton Valley’s top returners include former First Team AllLeague player Janae Granere and starters Tayven Sutton and Pay ton Scharff. The Lady Wildcats will base their team on defense and never giving up.

Yates Center Wildcats

The Yates Center High boys are in their first year under new head coach Lane Huff man who returns a strong senior group of players. If everything goes according to plan, Huffman could end up leading his team to a Three Rivers League championship title in his first year at the helm.

The Wildcats will be a balanced team with

offensive and defensive playmakers.

Jim Papen is in his first year as head coach of the Lady Wildcats. Papen brings 19 years of experience coaching at the junior college and high school levels. The Wildcats are return ing only two players in Grace Westerman and Callyn Miller and the team is mainly working on crafting their skills and getting the funda mentals down. Yates Center girls finished 5-17 a year ago.

Southern Coffey Coun ty Titans

The Southern Coffey County High boys will look very similar to how they looked on the foot ball field this fall with head coach Brian Rand in place and many of

the same players transi tioning to the hardwood. The Titans carry a young team with only two up perclassmen return ing in AJ Dianda and Thomas Nickel who have shown leadership.

Southern Coffey will be a fundamental and defensive driven team under Rand.

The Lady Titans are being led by longtime coach Jeff True and will look to make a run at the Lyon County League ti tle. If Southern Coffey wants to be a front-run ner, they will need to rely on their familiarity of each other as well as Josie Weers scoring and rebounding and threeyear varsity returner Ross Snovelle.

The high school bas ketball season tips off on Thursday.

ships in four years before retiring after the 1997 sea son.

The Huskers’ most recent conference cham pionship came in 1999 un der Osborne’s successor, Frank Solich. Bill Calla han, Bo Pelini and Mike Riley followed before the program bottomed out un der Scott Frost, who was 16-31 in four-plus seasons and never finished higher than fifth in the Big Ten West.

Rhule’s arrival came three days after the Husk ers closed a 4-8 season under Mickey Joseph — named interim coach after Frost’s firing Sept. 11.

World: Cup viewers guide

Continued from B1

The reigning World Cup champions have already advanced to the round of 16 and that could give France a chance to rest some players against Tunisia in its final game of group play.

France beat Austra lia and Denmark in its opening games and it almost guaranteed Les Bleus to finish on top of Group D. After arriv ing in Qatar with Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku all ruled out with inju ries, France lost Lucas Hernandez after only 13 minutes of its opening game with a ruptured ACL.

France could choose to rest Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and An toine Griezmann.

“There will be chang es. Everyone’s ready to play,” France coach Di dier Deschamps said.

France has not won all three of its World Cup group matches since claiming its first title in 1998.

Tunisia hasn’t even won three matches in its World Cup history, but the team needs to

beat France to have any chance of advancing.

Tunisia coach Jalel Kadri said before the tournament it was his “personal mission” to advance past the group stage and hinted he would quit otherwise.

“Let’s wait for the result of the match and we’ll see. Hopeful ly I’ll be able to answer your question after the match,” Kadri said ahead of the match against France. “We are still alive and we are still present.”

The Tunisians have never been past the group stage in five World Cups and their two wins were 40 years apart — against Mexico in 1978 and against Panama four years ago in Russia. AUSTRALIADENMARK

Australia has reached the round of 16 at the World Cup only once, in 2006. In fact, the Soc ceroos have only won three times in their last 18 World Cup matches.

“It was amazing to get that result and get that third win in a World Cup for Australia. But we’re not happy and sat isfied with that,” striker Mitchell Duke said. “We

want more and we do believe that we can get out of the group and we can get a result against Denmark and that’s our main objective now.”

A win Wednesday against Denmark would advance Australia and a draw would also be enough unless France loses to Tunisia.

Denmark, which reached the semifinals at last year’s European Championship, would also advance with a win over Australia. Den mark wants to qualify for the knockout stage at back-to-back World Cup tournaments for a second time, last done in 1998 and 2002.

The Danes have only failed to qualify from the group stage in one of their previous five appearances at the tour nament. Denmark had a 0-0 draw against Tunisia in its opening game and followed with a 2-1 loss to France.

“It is very clear and it is very easy. We don’t have to make any calcu lations or think other op tions,” Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said. “It is straightforward. We will try to win.”

Osborne won or shared three national champion

Matt Rhule as the Carolina Panthers coach earlier this season. GRANT HALVERSON/ GETTY IMAGES/TNS

Public notice

in Iola, Kansas; the Board of Zon ing Appeals of Iola,

The Allen County Appraiser’s O ce is now accepting applications for an APPRAISER CLERK

Customer service, answering calls, ling, and computer data entry. Good communication and computer skills. Microsoft Word, Excel, and the training on appraisal software. The hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. Certain times of the year may require some overtime. The o ce can be very busy during certain seasons. Must have a valid Kansas driver’s license.

Please submit your application/resume to the appraiser’s o ce. Allen County has paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, personal days, and other bene ts. Allen County is an equal opportunity employer.

tal size of an accessory structure permitted in a residentially zoned district on the following property:

STERLING HEIGHTS, N2 LT 14, ALL LTS 15 & 16, & ALL EX ST AKA: 1501 N Kentucky

How to handle trigger finger diagnosis

DEAR DR. ROACH:

My healthy 91-year-old mother recently dis covered that she has a diagnosis of trigger fin ger. She is hesitant to do surgery, but is hoping for more mobility in her hand. What are some of the best options for an independent woman at her age? — M.B.

ANSWER: Stenos ing flexor tenosynovitis, more commonly known as “trigger finger,” is a common issue, espe cially for people in their 40s and 50s, somewhat more common in women. (It’s called trigger fin ger because the finger gets stuck in the flexed position, and when it is straightened out, it snaps like a trigger being pulled and released.) The condi

Dr. Keith Roach

To Your Good Health

tion often starts out pain less, but may progress to painful episodes, or even being unable to “unlock” the finger. Some people have more than one fin ger affected.

There are many strat egies for conservative management. One that has data behind it is splinting the affected finger, which is effective in many people, but it may take 6 to 10 weeks. Avoiding activities that have caused the condi tion (pinching the fin gers is a common one)

may help. I have had readers write in to tell me that moving the fin ger (one person said un derwater) helped, and quite a few have written me to say that the condi tion just went away af ter a year or two.

I refer people who continue to have symp toms despite conserva tive management to a hand surgeon, who can inject an anti-inflam matory steroid into the sheath the tendon goes through to try to keep the tendon from getting stuck. Although hand surgeons can treat this surgically, I have not had a patient have to go through the operation very often, as most peo ple will get better by the third injection.

Said application is being filed for under the provisions Article 4, Section 16-413 of the City of Iola Unified Development Code.

City of Iola Board of Zoning Ap peals and Planning Commission Tony Godfrey, Chairperson (11) 30

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

by Young and Drake

by Tom Armstrong

by Chance Browne

Kansas will hold a public hearing on the writ ten application of Max Grundy for a variance to the Unified De velopment Code Section 16-703, (a), (8), in specific he is requesting a variance to the maximum to

Some of NFL’s best Week 12 drama was off the field

By ARNIE STAPLETON The Associated Press

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.

(AP) — Threatening to overshadow an intoxi cating weekend in the NFL that began with a trio of Thanksgiving classics and included two successful do-or-die 2-point conversions was all the drama that hap pened off the field in Week 12.

Mike Purcell got up in Russell Wilson’s grill and screamed right in his face at the Bank of America Stadium side line, channeling plenty of Broncos fans weary of the robotic quarter back’s inability to shake off a season-long slump that tilts his big trade from Seattle more to ward the Seahawks by the week.

Lamar Jackson blast ed a fan on Twitter for suggesting the Ravens let the quarterback leave in free agency fol lowing Baltimore’s 28-27 loss to the Jaguars. That drew a rebuke from his coach who called it un wise to jump on social media after a loss and from the LBGTQ com munity for his offensive language.

The Washington Commanders drew ire on social media after unveiling a memorial to the late Sean Taylor that

looked more like a man nequin from the team store than a statue of the beloved safety who was killed 15 years ago by an intruder.

And free agent Odell Beckham Jr.’s return trip to the NFL from a knee injury last year’s Super Bowl took a slight detour Sunday when he was removed from an aircraft before takeoff at Miami International Airport after failing to

Steelers score late, quell Indy comeback

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

— Benny Snell Jr.’s 2-yard touchdown run with 9:55 left gave Pitts burgh the lead and the Steelers fended off a last-minute comeback bid to beat the Indianap olis Colts 24-17.

Snell had 12 carries for a season-high 62 yards after replacing the injured Najee Har ris in the third quarter. Harris was ruled out at halftime with an abdom inal injury.

Pittsburgh improved

NFL standings

to 4-7 and won its eighth straight over Indianapolis, which fell to 4-7-1.

Matt Ryan drove the Colts in position for a tying score but Indy stalled in Pittsburgh territory and didn’t call its first timeout until a fourth-down play with 30 seconds left.

Ryan threw incom plete and that was it.

respond to requests to buckle his seatbelt and appearing to be uncon scious.

“Fearing that Mr. Beckham was serious ly ill, and that his con dition would worsen through the expected 5 hour flight, (flight crew members) called for po lice and fire rescue,” Miami Dade police offi cer Luis Sierra said in a statement. “As they tried to wake (Beckham) to fasten his seat belt, he appeared to be coming in and out of conscious ness.”

A Twitter post at tributed to Beckham appeared to refer to the incident, saying, “Never in my life have I experienced what just happened to me,” and adding with a misspell ing that he had “seen it alll.”

In Baltimore, Ravens coach John Harbaugh lamented Jackson jump ing on Twitter in the moments after their 2827 loss to the Jaguars, who overcame a sev en-point deficit in the final minute of regula tion for the first time in

their 30-year history.

Jackson snapped back at a fan blaming him for Baltimore’s loss using profane and inflamma tory language, saying the fan “never smelt a football field” before lat er deleting his response.

Harbaugh said he spoke with Jackson on Monday about the star quarterback’s profane postgame tweet directed at a fan, saying the lan guage Jackson used was out of character.

Jackson insisted on Twitter that he did not intend to disrespect anyone’s sexual orien tation when he angrily responded to a dig fol lowing Baltimore’s loss that ended with Justin Tucker coming up short on a 67-yard field goal.

Outsports.com, which covers LGBTQ sports news, published a piece about Jack son’s comments that said: “Jackson might not be homophobic, but his comment was. He would have been better off apologizing for the tweet in the first place as opposed to trying to defend its contents.”

Jackson’s regrettable reaction followed the Jaguars’ epic comeback in which Trevor Law rence connected with Marvin Jones on a 10yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds remain ing, followed by a 2-point toss to Zay Jones.

In Denver, embattled rookie head coach Na thaniel Hackett said he spoke with both Purcell and Wilson about their brief sideline spat fol lowing a personal foul on Purcell during a field goal kick. Hackett insist ed it wasn’t a symptom of a locker room rift be tween the team’s stingy defense and punchless offense that’s averaging barely 14 points a game.

“It’s an emotional game,” Hackett said, lat er adding that he appre ciates Purcell’s passion.

“You want every one of your football players to want to do anything to win. You want them to hold each other account able and you want them to try to fire each other up,” Hackett said. “I’ve always believed that it is a little different com ing from a coach than it

is coming from a player. Whenever it comes from the player—those guys, that means a lot to them.

“I appreciate his pas sion and understand it. I just don’t want him to get that personal foul in that situation. Besides that, I love when the guys are fired up. That’s what we ask for. We want everyone fired up.”

Fans in Washington were fired up over Tay lor’s tribute.

“Sean Taylor De served a Statue,” former Washington quarter back Robert Griffin III tweeted.

Instead of a statue, the memorial to Taylor was a glass-enclosed installation on the con course of FedEx Field featuring a helmet, No. 21 jersey, pants and cleats stood up in man nequin form.

Some on social media pointed out the display included a strange mix of a Nike jersey, Reebok pants and Adidas cleats. The use of soccer cleats instead of football ones also sparked criticism, but Taylor’s daughter, Jackie, said it was in tentional and called it a special tribute.

Seahawks linebacker

Darrell Taylor saw to it that all the drama of the weekend wasn’t relegat ed to the sidelines or the concourses.

When Seattle safety Quandre Diggs inter cepted Las Vegas quar terback Derek Carr’s first pass Sunday, TV cameras caught Taylor deciding to leave the Se ahawks sideline to run onto the field and block for Diggs.

Astonishingly, the Se ahawks weren’t flagged for having too many men on the field.

So, kudos to Taylor for getting away with returning some of the drama to the field itself over the weekend and for giving an entirely new meaning to the Se ahawks’ famed “12th Man.”

Russell Wilson (3) of the Denver Broncos walks off the field after a game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday. GETTY IMAGES/JARED C. TILTON/TNS