Letter to the editor

Dear editor,

I hope you are all aware the Allen Community College men’s basketball team is undefeated in their conference games. They have a 10-game winning streak. Malik Hardmon, who was the Register’s November Athlete of the Month, had a career high game Saturday night with 39 points. However, the most outstanding accomplishment Saturday night was when they defeated the Hutchinson Blue Dragons who are ranked No. 5 in the nation.

Thanks to modern technology, I was able to watch the women’s and men’s basketball games at Hutchinson on my computer and listen to the sports commentators on my phone. I was very impressed with what they had to say about Allen Community College! They spoke very highly of ACC’s head coaches Rachel Janzen and Andy Shaw. They remarked how last year when the ACC women played Hutchinson only five women suited up and played all 40 minutes. This year, Coach Janzen has a deep bench of good players. 

As for Coach Shaw, they recounted his days of playing basketball at OSU to current times. They wondered if his team would keep their winning streak going. They found out before the night was over what Coach Shaw has put together for his team at Allen.

We as citizens of Iola, Allen County, Kansas, owe Coach Rachel Janzen, Coach Andy Shaw and the team players of the Allen Community College men and women’s basketball teams our highest respect! We should be proud of the contribution Coach Janzen and Coach Shaw are making to our community. We need to show them and their athletes our pride for what they have developed this year.

You ask how can I support them and show our pride in their contributions to our community? The answer is by attending their games at Allen! You can start by attending their home games next Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2 and 4 p.m. The basketball gym stands should be filled with us there supporting these athletes.

In my opinion these two teams are the best I have seen at Allen in a while. I hope you will join me in supporting the Allen athletes by attending their home games and making them feel our appreciation for choosing Allen Community College, Iola, Allen County, Kansas to further their education!

You will be glad you did!

Marsha M. Burris,

Iola, Kan.

 

Doncic’s big night leads Mavs; Spurs top league-best Bucks

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan had 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs hit a season-high 19 3-pointers to beat Milwaukee 126-104 on Monday night, snapping the Bucks’ five-game winning streak.

Patty Mills added 21 points, shooting 6 of 10 on 3-pointers, for San Antonio (15-20). LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay added 18 points each.

The Spurs finished 19 for 35 on 3s and shot 51% overall.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for Milwaukee. Donte DiVincenzo added 16 points.

The Bucks, whose previous loss was on Christmas at Philadelphia, maintain the NBA’s best record at 32-6.

Milwaukee defeated San Antonio 127-118 on Saturday at home but could not maintain its early momentum in a rare home-and-home set of back-to-back games.

 

76ERS 120, 

THUNDER 113

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 18 points while playing with a dislocated left ring finger, Ben Simmons had 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Philadelphia ended a four-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma City.

The 76ers lost all four games on a trip that knocked them down the Eastern Conference standings and raised questions about how far this team can go in the playoffs.

They usually last in the postseason as long as a healthy Embiid can take them. The All-Star center dislocated his left ring finger in the first quarter, an injury so gnarly that the bent finger stretched across his pinkie and the sight did a number on gag reflexes for those watching at home. Embiid made a brief stop in the locker room, got the finger taped and returned to start the second period.

The Thunder, who had won five straight, closed within two with three minutes left before the Sixers scored nine straight points to put the game away.

Steven Adams had 24 points and 15 rebounds for Oklahoma City, and Chris Paul scored 18.

Josh Richardson scored 23 points for the Sixers, and Simmons fell two assists shy of a triple-double.

 

JAZZ 128, 

PELICANS 126

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 35 points, Joe Ingles added 22 and Utah extended its winning streak to six games by holding off New Orleans.

Brandon Ingram had 35 points for the Pelicans but could not convert a driving layup attempt at the horn while being defended by Rudy Gobert. The Utah center was chasing Ingram down the right side of the lane and appeared to make body-to-body contact that forced Ingram over the baseline as he attempted to take the final shot.

As the horn sounded, Pelicans players leaped off the bench pleading for a foul call while Utah players celebrated Gobert’s defensive play and quickly disappeared down the tunnel. Officials briefly went to the scorer’s table to check if there should be any time left and then ruled the game over, eliciting a cascade of boos from the crowd.

Gobert had 19 rebounds and Donovan Mitchell capped a 19-point night with a driving floater in the lane that broke a 126-all tie with 1:12 left and wound up being the winning basket in a game that had 18 lead changes and 11 ties.

 

WIZARDS 99, 

CELTICS 94

WASHINGTON (AP) — Missing star guard Kemba Walker, the Boston Celtics became the latest NBA contender to surprisingly come up short against one of the league’s worst teams, losing to the Washington Wizards as Ish Smith scored 27 points to lead a depleted lineup.

Walker sat out his third game in a row with the flu, and while the Celtics won the previous two — against also-rans Atlanta and Chicago — they couldn’t overcome poor shooting, a slow start and a whole lot of Smith.

One game after pouring in a career-high 32 points as a reserve, Smith again came off the bench to pace the Wizards. The 31-year-old guard even heard “M-V-P!” chants in the fourth quarter, when he scored 14 points, including 10 straight for the Wizards during one 5-for-5 shooting stretch.

That allowed Washington to regain an edge after an 11-point halftime lead had dwindled to zero when Jaylen Brown’s 3-pointer made it 80-all with eight minutes left.

Brown scored 23 points but shot 7 for 22. Marcus Smart was 3 for 14, Jayson Tatum went 8 for 20 and Gordon Hayward was 4 for 11, including an air ball on a wide-open 3 attempt with under 90 seconds remaining.

 

MAVERICKS 118, BULLS 110

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 21 of his 38 points in the third quarter and had his NBA-leading 11th triple-double of the season to lead Dallas past Chicago.

Doncic scored 17 of the Mavericks’ 19 points in the final 5:35 of the third to break open what had been a tie game. His 3-pointer gave Dallas a 72-69 lead it did not relinquish.

The 20-year-old added 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Mavs, who played without Kristaps Porzingis for the fourth straight game because of right knee soreness.

Dwight Powell added 16 points for Dallas on 6-for-6 shooting from the floor and 4-for-4 from the line.

The Bulls lost forward Wendell Carter Jr. to an apparent right ankle injury with 8:25 left in the third quarter. He was taken off the court in a wheelchair.

Lauri Markkanen led the Bulls with 26 points, starting the game despite spraining his left ankle Saturday night against Boston.

 

NUGGETS 123, 

HAWKS 115

ATLANTA (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored a career-high 47 points, Will Barton added a season-best 28 and Denver held on to beat Atlanta.

The Nuggets, coming off a surprising loss at Washington two nights earlier, have won four of six to improve to 25-11, second-best in the Western Conference. Atlanta, worst in the NBA at 8-29, has dropped 11 of 13.

Trae Young finished with 29 points and Kevin Huerter had 22 for the Hawks.

Jokic surpassed his previous career high of 41 points with a putback that gave Denver a 114-109 lead with 3:14 remaining.

 

MAGIC 101, NETS 89

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Markelle Fultz scored a career-high 25 points, including seven straight during a 15-1 run in the fourth quarter that sent Orlando past slumping Brooklyn.

Nikola Vucevic had 24 rebounds and 11 points for his 300th career double-double, and the Magic pulled away in the final seven minutes after going 9:20 without a field goal.

Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 16 apiece for the Nets, who lost their sixth straight game after charging back from a 16-point deficit to take a lead in the fourth quarter.

Seven players scored in double figures for the Magic. D.J. Augustin came off the bench to contribute 16 points and five assists.

Fultz, the top pick in the 2017 NBA draft, shot 11 for 20 with four assists and two steals.

 

PACERS 115, 

HORNETS 104

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — T.J. Warren scored 30 of his season-high 36 points in the second half and Indiana topped Charlotte to halt a two-game skid.

Domantas Sabonis added 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and Miles Turner had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who had lost four of five. The Pacers, who are 15-4 at home, improved to 8-10 on the road.

Indiana outscored Charlotte 37-21 in the third quarter behind 13 points from Warren to open a 14-point lead. Warren finished 15 of 24 from the field.

Terry Rozier had 28 points for the Hornets, whose two-game win streak ended. Devonte Graham added 22 points and six assists.

 

KINGS 111, 

WARRIORS 98

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 21 points and seven assists, Buddy Hield also scored 21 and Sacramento thumped Golden State.

Trevor Ariza added a season-high 18 points for the Kings, and Harrison Barnes scored 18 as well. Sacramento led by 31 on the way to winning for only the second time in 11 games, allowing coach Luke Walton to rest most of his starters in the fourth quarter.

It was the Kings’ second lopsided win over the Warriors this season, having beaten Golden State 100-79 on the road Dec. 15.

Glenn Robinson III had 16 points for Golden State. The Warriors, who played without Draymond Green and D’Angelo Russell, have lost five straight after a season-high four-game winning streak.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr was ejected late in the second quarter after getting hit with consecutive technical fouls by referee Jason Goldenberg.

Jesse Lee Elrod, Jr.

Jesse Lee Elrod, Jr. was born May 18, 1936, in Marfa, Texas, to Jess Elrod, Sr. and LaVon (McClimans) Elrod. He entered Heaven’s gates on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, at 83 years, 7 months and 29 days.

Jess and family moved to Bronson when his father served in the United States Army. He attended and graduated from Moran High School in Moran. After serving the U.S. Army, Jess returned home to attend Iola Junior College. He completed his bachelor of science degree in business at Emporia State University, Emporia, in 1960.

He and his college sweetheart, Wilma Irene Bedenbender, were married May 29, 1960, and started their home in Olathe. Jesse had several great careers: Pharmaceutical sales, lumber brokerage and finally owning his own door and window company. Jesse’s hobbies included fishing and boating, especially on Table Rock Lake and Grand Lake. He enjoyed vegetable gardening, building and household projects. His joy was playing with his granddaughters and attending their activities. He was a member of Anthem Church (formerly Liberty Baptist).

Jesse is survived by his wife, Wilma; son, Jesse (Jay) Elrod III and wife, Shauna, Glenpool, Okla.; granddaughters, Abigail and Lily Elrod, Glenpool, Okla., and Miranda Elrod, Norman, Okla., great-granddaughter, Emery Miller, Norman, Okla.; niece, Jeanne Stover, Broken Arrow, Okla.; sister, Sharon Jackson and husband, Bruce, Chanute; their children; sister-in-law, Marilyn Elrod, Littleton, Colo., and their children.

Graveside services will be at 1:30 pm Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, at Fort Scott National Cemetery, Fort Scott.

Memorials in Jesse’s name may be made to Meals On Wheels or your favorite charity.

Donations can help with utility costs

Iolans can assist residents in need each time they pay their utility bills by rounding up for CURB.

Through the program, customers are allowed the option of rounding up their bills to the nearest dollar, and donate the rounded-up amount to the Community Utility Relief Board.

For example, a customer whose bill is $69.21 would pay an extra 79 cents to make it $70 even.

The Round-Up proceeds are then handed over the Iola Area Ministerial Association to determine which residents are most in need.

Sign-up can be done at the Iola Utility Office, 2 W. Jackson Ave.

For more information, call 365-4910.

Osaka shines in Brisbane

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Naomi Osaka got an extended workout in her opening match at the Brisbane International, just two weeks away from the defense of her Australia Open title.

Osaka defeated Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3 today to set up a second-round match with American Sofia Kenin.

The two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 took more than two hours and had 16 aces to beat Sakkari.

In other matches today, eighth-seeded Madison Keys beat Czech qualifier Maria Bouzkova 6-2, 6-3. Keys will now face local favorite Samantha Stosur in the second round.

“Sam’s always tough,” Keys said. “I think she’s beaten me every time we have played. It’s also hard to play someone who is going to be playing at home and have the crowd and all that.”

Russian qualifier Liudmila Samsonova had the upset of the tournament so far by defeating American Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

In later matches, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 and American qualifier Jennifer Brady beat wild-card entry Maria Sharapova 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

NASCAR: Penske will shuffle crew chiefs for all three of its Cup Series teams

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Team Penske has overhauled the crew chief assignments for all three of its Cup Series teams.

Joey Logano, the 2018 NASCAR champion, will now be paired with Paul Wolfe; 2012 champ Brad Keselowski has Jeremy Bullins; and Ryan Blaney was assigned Todd Gordon.

Keselowski and Wolfe had been paired together since the 2010 Xfinity season. They were paired together in Cup in 2011 have won 21 races since then. Their split leaves 2014 champion Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers as the longest active paired driver/crew chief combo (since 2014) in the Cup Series.

Logano and Gordon had worked together since 2013, winning 21 races and the Cup title. Blaney had Bullins as his crew chief for all 162 career Cup starts and three wins since 2014.

“As we do after the completion of each season, we evaluated what we can do to better achieve our goals and we felt it was time to make these changes to better position us to reach our potential,” team owner Roger Penske said. “We are fortunate that we have three very strong leaders in Paul, Todd and Jeremy, who work with experienced and talented crews. Pairing each of these winning teams with different drivers and cars should provide new energy and a fresh approach for the 2020 season.”

Australia fire costs mount

BALMORAL, Australia (AP) — Bolstered by cooler weather and desperately needed rain, exhausted firefighters in Australia raced to shore up defenses against deadly wildfires before the blazes flare again within days when scorching temperatures are expected to return.

The first hints of the financial toll from the disaster began to emerge today. The Insurance Council of Australia said the estimated damage bill had doubled in two days, with insurance claims reaching $485 million.

That estimate comes one day after Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government was committing an extra $1.4 billion toward the recovery effort in addition to the tens of millions of dollars that have already been promised. Morrison’s funding announcement came amid fierce criticism from many Australians who say he has been too slow to respond to the crisis. He has also faced backlash for downplaying the need for his government to address climate change, which experts say helps supercharge the blazes.

The fires, fueled by drought and the country’s hottest and driest year on record, have been raging since September, months earlier than is typical for Australia’s annual wildfire season. So far, the blazes have killed 25 people, destroyed 2,000 homes and scorched an area twice the size of the U.S. state of Maryland. Three people in New South Wales state who were reported missing earlier today were later found, police said.

Across New South Wales, 130 fires were still burning today, around 50 of which were uncontrolled. The day’s cooler, rainier weather was providing thousands of weary firefighters a “psychological and emotional” reprieve as they scrambled to strengthen containment lines around the blazes before temperatures rise again, said Shane Fitzsimmons, commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.

“It really is about shoring up protection to limit the damage potential and the outbreak of these fires over the coming days,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The rain was not heavy enough to extinguish the blazes. Victoria state Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said on Monday at least 200 millimeters (8 inches) of rain would need to fall in a short time to snuff out the fires — around 20 times what has fallen across the region in the past day. And officials warned that Australia’s wildfire season — which generally lasts through March — was nowhere near its end.

The rain was also complicating firefighters’ attempts to strategically backburn certain areas, and was making the ground slippery for fire trucks.

Anxious, weary and frustrated after living through months of fires already, many Australians have focused their fury on the prime minister, whose response to the crisis has been roundly criticized as lax, and at times, dismissive. Morrison faced particularly fierce backlash for taking a family vacation to Hawaii in the midst of the disaster.

Helena Wong and her partner Justin Kam, who lost their home when fires swept through the town of Balmoral south of Sydney last month, were frustrated with what they say has been a slow, uncoordinated response to the fires and a lack of preparedness by the government.

“Disaster plans should have been put in place ahead of time, not after the fact when everybody’s in a state of emergency and everybody’s scrambling,” Wong said. “Communication could be better. We are told different things by different people. … We are a fire-prone country. Things should have been put in place.”

Thousands of army, navy and air force reservists were being dispatched to battle the fires. On Tuesday, rescue crews were still trying to reach some affected communities. A navy ship was sent to rescue stranded residents of Mallacoota, a coastal town in Victoria cut off for days by fires that forced around 4,000 people to shelter on beaches over the weekend. Heavy smoke squandered the navy’s efforts to airlift people out on Monday.

Around 200 of the 340 residents still waiting to be evacuated from the town had signed up to board the navy ship on Tuesday, said Andrew Crisp, Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner. The rest were hoping to be rescued by military helicopter.

The fires have exacted a grisly toll on the country’s wildlife, with carcasses of kangaroos littering the sides of roadways. Hundreds of millions of wild animals are believed to have been killed in the blazes, along with thousands of livestock.

“Those who are working with wildlife, those who are having to go through that incredibly painful process of having to put down stock … my heart — as someone who grew up in regional Victoria — I could only think how challenging it would be for my family to have to destroy stock,” Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said. “I can barely imagine how the grief, the toll, that would take on you.”

More misery; quake hits Puerto Rico

PONCE, Puerto Rico (AP) — A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico before dawn today, killing one man, injuring at least eight other people and collapsing buildings.

The quake was followed by a series of strong aftershocks, part of a 10-day series of temblors spawned by the grinding of tectonic plates along three faults beneath southern Puerto Rico. Seismologists say it’s impossible to predict when the quakes will stop or whether they will get stronger.

The 6.4-magnitude quake cut power to the island as power plants shut down to protect themselves. Authorities said two plants suffered light damage and they expected power to be restored later today. Puerto Rico’s main airport was operating normally, using generator power.

“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” said Nelson Rivera, a 70-year-old resident who fled his home in the city of Ponce, near the epicenter of the quake. “ I didn’t think we would get out. I said: ‘We’ll be buried here.’”

Teacher Rey González told The Associated Press that his uncle was killed when a wall collapsed on him at the home they shared in Ponce. He said 73-year-old Nelson Martínez was disabled and that he and his father cared for him.

Eight people were injured in Ponce, Mayor Mayita Meléndez told WAPA television. Hundreds of people sat in the streets of the city, some cooking food on barbeque grills, afraid to return home for fear of structural damage and aftershocks.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit at 4:24 a.m. just south of the island at a shallow depth of six miles. It initially gave the magnitude as 6.6 but later adjusted it. At 7:18 a.m., a magnitude-6.0 aftershock hit the same area. People reported strong shaking and staff at a local radio station said live on air that they were leaving their building

A tsunami alert was issued for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after the initial quake, but was later canceled.

In the historic district of Ponce, authorities evacuated more than 150 people from two buildings they said are in danger of collapsing. Among them were more than two dozen elderly patients from a nursing home who sat in their wheelchairs in silence as the earth continued to tremble.

Amir Señeriz leaned against the cracked wall of his Freemason Lodge in Ponce and wailed.

The roof of the 1915 building was partially collapsed and dust and debris lay around him.

Outside, he had already carefully placed 10 large historic paintings. The earth continued trembling as he went back into the building to recover more artifacts.

Helping him was artist Nelson Figueroa, 44, who said he slept in his street clothes.

“It was chaos,” he said, adding that there was a traffic jam in his coastal neighborhood as terrified people fled.

Albert Rodríguez, who is from the southwest town of Guánica, said the tsunami sirens went off before officials canceled the alert. He said there is widespread damage in his neighborhood.

“The road is cracked in the middle and it lifted up,” he said.

The mayor in the southwest town of Guayanilla, Nelson Torres, told NotiUno radio station that the church in the public plaza of his town collapsed.

Puerto Rico’s governor, Wanda Vasquez, ordered government offices closed for the day and urged citizens to remain calm and not check damage to their homes until daylight.

A 5.8-magnitude quake that struck early Monday morning collapsed five homes in Guánica and heavily damaged dozens of others. It also caused small landslides and power outages. The quake was followed by a string of smaller temblors.

The shake collapsed a coastal rock formation that had formed a sort of rounded window, Punta Ventana, that was a popular tourist draw in Guayanilla.

Residents in the south of the island have been terrified to go into their homes for fear that another quake will bring buildings down.

The flurry of quakes in Puerto Rico’s southern region began the night of Dec. 28. Seismologists say that shallow quakes were occurring along three faults in Puerto Rico’s southwest region: Lajas Valley, Montalva Point and the Guayanilla Canyon, as the North American plate and the Caribbean plate squeeze Puerto Rico.

One of the largest and most damaging earthquakes to hit Puerto Rico occurred in October 1918, when a magnitude 7.3 quake struck near the island’s northwest coast, unleashing a tsunami and killing 116 people.