Red Devils pick up season’s first win

SEMINOLE, Okla. — Allen Community College’s Red Devils picked up their first win of the baseball season Saturday, earning a split with host Seminole (Okla.) Junior College.
Allen won the opener in a slug-fest, 12-10, before dropping a 13-2 decision in the nightcap.
Allen brings a 1-4 record today to the ACC baseball diamond for the Red Devils’ home opener against Oklahoma Wesleyan. First pitch is at 3 p.m.
Earning the win wasn’t easy, even after Allen took a 7-0 lead after 3½ innings.
Still, the game came down to the final pitch. Reliever Derek Pike struck out Seminole’s Brandon Cuddy with the tying runs in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh.
“This was a great, great win for us,” ACC head coach Val McLean said. “That was a very good ball club we played.”
Pike earned the save by pitching 2 2/3 innings of relief. He allowed six hits with two strikeouts, and four runs, only two of which were earned.
John Prohaska picked up the win, allowing six hits and two earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two.
The Red Devil bats came alive in the third inning of the opener, exploding for four in the third and three in the fourth.
Austin Griffin’s three-run homer was the key blast in the third-inning rally. Trey Francis had an RBI double, while Levi Ashmore singled in a run and scored on a fielder’s choice.
Kyle Foster picked up the baton from there with a three-run blast in the top of the sixth after Seminole had cut Allen’s lead to 7-6.
Austin Maruo and Ashmore had RBIs in the top of the seventh for a 12-8 lead. Seminole scored twice in the bottom of the inning before Pike slammed the door for the save.
Ashmore was 4-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored. Griffin was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Francis doubled and tripled in four at bats. Foster’s only hit was a home run. Maruo, Trevor Kreifel and Cole Slusser added singles.
“Levi had a great game,” he said. “Those home runs, obviously, were very important. In a close game, every run is important.”

GRIFFIN staked Allen to a brief 1-0 lead in the second game when he doubled and scored on Francis’ sac fly. Ashmore’s home run to left field in the top of the third gave the Red Devils a 2-1 lead.
But Seminole struck for six in the bottom of the third and never looked back.
The hosts tacked on five in the bottom of the fifth.
Ashmore went 2-for-3 with his home run. Jacob Waters singled twice. Griffin had a double, while Clint Heffern and Maruo had singles.
Keil Stauffer was saddled with the loss. He gave up six hits and five walks in 2 1/3 innings. Zachary Maskill gave up four hits in two innings of work. Chase Cunningham allowed an unearned run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of work.
“They threw a pretty good pitcher at us,” McLean said. “We were able to get some hits, but we couldn’t string anything together.”

‘Jays take down Wildcats

MORAN — If the first-half version of the Wildcats had played the entire game, they may have had a chance Friday night. Unfortunately, the second-half version took care of that.
Marmaton Valley High’s boys had split games against the Pleasanton Blu-Jays in their prior meetings. The Jays weren’t ready to give them a second win, however, as they came out on top, 53-25.
Pleasanton opened with a 10-0 run on the Wildcats during Marmaton Valley’s homecoming. The home team bounced back with consecutive basket from Chance Stevenson, along with a putback from Brady Newman to bring them to a 16-6 deficit for the second.
The Wildcats kept scratching.
Stevenson hit another to open the second, then nailed two free throws. Micheal Genn chimed in with a pair of jumpers. The comeback brought the Wildcats to within four, forcing the Blu-Jays to call a timeout midway through the quarter.
Whatever coach Kevin Wood said to his team must have worked, because the Wildcats never got that close again.
Pleasanton’s Cole Campbell and Brenton Laver were off to the races, capitalizing on sloppy passing from the Wildcats for multiple fast break points, along with Cale Campbell. The lead grew to 30-15 by the half.
Despite whatever energy the homecoming festivities gave the crowd at halftime — Emily Meiwes and Mark Henderson were crowned queen and king — it was all but gone by the opening minutes of the third.
The Wildcats had no points in the third quarter, no field goals, no free throws. The first field goal of the half came as the Blu-Jays’ bench players exchanged onto the court at the beginning of the fourth period.
Marmaton Valley’s Joey Jefferis took advantage of the switchup’s confusion to get a bucket underneath.
The Wildcats showed obvious frustration as the Blu-Jays’ lead expanded past the 30-point mark, triggering the running clock.
Stevenson led the Wildcats with 11 points, the only player in double figures. Genn and Newman had four apiece. Laver had 21 points for the Jays, Cale Campbell had 12.
The Wildcats face Altoona-Midway at home Monday.
Pleasanton 16-14-12-11—53
Marmaton Valley 6-9-0-10—25
Pleasanton (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Fleming 0-0-1-0, Duncan 0-1-0-1, Laver 6-9-3-21, Baker 1-2-1-4, Ca. Campbell 5-2-3-12, Sabine 0-2-0-2, Oberlechner 2-0-1-4, Co. Campbell 3-2-3-8. TOTALS: 17-19-14-53.
Marmaton Valley (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Jefferis 0-1-2-2, Genn 2-0-3-4, Stevenson 3/1-2-3-11, Boyd 0-2-1-2, Newman 0-4-5-4, Adams 1-0-3-2. TOTALS: 7/1-8-18-25.

State dreams still alive for Mustangs

BURLINGTON — Iola High’s Bryce Misenhelter guaranteed himself a return trip to the Class 4A State Wrestling Tournament Friday.
The Iola High senior, wrestling at 195 pounds, swept past his first two opponents to seal a top-two finish at the 4A Regional Tournament, hosted by Burlington High School.
The wins — a dominating 11-0 win over Paola’s Duncan Watrous and a second-period pin of Spring Hill’s Dylan Thompson — sets up a titanic regional championship match against Ottawa’s Dalton Weidl. Weidl (34-3) is the second ranked 195-wrestler in Class 4A this year. Misenhelter (35-2) is ranked third.
Misenhelter is guaranteed a slot at the state tournament, which begins next Friday at Salina’s Bicentennial Center.
“Bryce did an excellent job,” Iola head coach said. “We were a little nervous against the Spring Hill kid, because they had such similar styles, but Bryce pretty much controlled him.”
His teammates have some work to do if they want to join him.
Three other Mustang wrestlers opened the regional competition with victories, but lost in their respective quarterfinal matches.
In order to qualify for state, a wrestler must finish in the top four of his weight bracket at regionals.
Whitworth is a win away from that goal.
He won his first round and quarterfinal matches at 160 pounds, pinning Anthony Morton of Parsons and Dillon Flora of Frontenac, both in the first round. But his semifinal match came against Taylor Watkins — the state’s top ranked 160-pound wrestler in Class 4A. Watkins pinned Whitworth midway through the first period of their matchup.
Whitworth falls to the consolation semifinals, where he will face one of four potential opponents, who must first duke it out in order to advance. A win in the semifinals puts Whitworth in the third place match — and guaranteed in the top four.
“We were happy with how John started,” Carson said. “He came out aggressively. That’s something but that kid was just so aggressive. He’s strong.  You can tell the way he turned him. John fought hard.
It’s a bit trickier for Cody Conner (152 pounds), Tavon Blazek (170) and Andrew Garber (182); each must win three straight matches in the consolation bracket today to qualify for state.
“Cody had his chances, and that Dees kid probably should have been a 3 seed,” Carson said. “He had him on his back a couple of times, but couldn’t quite get it done.”
Three other Iola wrestlers also remain alive, but have not yet won matches.
Travis Rieske lost to Ethan Hess of Frontenac with a second period pin at 145 pounds. Seth Sanford lost at 220 pounds to Keenan Dodd of Parsons with a second-period pin. Colton Toney lost in his quarterfinal match at 285 pounds with Spring Hill’s Keanan Clark. They, too, must win three straight consolation matches to earn state bids.

THE DAY STARTED a bright note, but turned for three Mustang wrestlers at the hands of opponents from nearby Chanute High.
Conner pinned Aubrey Hamilton of Columbus in the first period, but fell behind early against Daniel Dees of Chanute in the quarterfinal match. Dees eventually earned the pin late in the second period.
Blazek pinned Kevin Rivera of Parsons late in the third period before getting pinned himself by Chanute’s Alex Son late in the first period.
Garber, meanwhile, pinned Garrett Gross of Ottawa less than a second before their second period ended. He went the distance against Chanute’s Ethin VanAnne, but dropped an 11-2 decision.
“Losing three straight matches to Chanute wasn’t something we were happy about, but Chanute has a great program,” Carson said. “We still have a good shot at getting three guys to state. If we can get four, this will have been an excellent meet for us.”
The action resumes this morning at 11 at the BHS gymnasium.

Old Ranger and I a pair

Half jokingly I mentioned the other day I was thinking about trading off my old pickup truck.
“You can’t do that,” a friend replied. “No one would know you in a new one.”
I bought my Ford Ranger — a 1991 edition— sometime in the 1990s after its predecessor, also a Ranger, bit the dust — literally. I was out west of town doing a story on a farm couple one evening and was headed back to town when the little truck’s engine coughed and a big puff of bluish smoke came out of the tailpipe. I limped home — me praying and the truck sputtering.
Later that night, I gave it last rites.
The current model wasn’t exactly brand spanking new and shiny. It had had a bout with a hail storm, which left the hood and cab top with some conspicuous dents. That also made it a bargain; no one else wanted to put up with the blemishes.
I looked at the bottom line, and wrote a check.
Today the truck has about 170,000 miles on its four-cylinder engine. It never fails to start and purrs like a kitten. I credit its longevity to timely oil changes — and me not driving like a maniac.
It and I bonded long ago even though the driver’s side door doesn’t close tightly — probably because I pried it open after leaving the keys inside.
The truck has a few dings inflicted under my ownership.
A pheasant broke the grill work around the left headlight; a tree fell on the hood; I backed into a utility pole; inattention led to a fender-bender on East Madison Avenue; and who knows how many skirmishes with brush driving through fields added scrapes and scratches here and there.
We’ve a big elm tree in our backyard and whatever it is that falls from such trees made a lasting impression on the hood and top. I suppose a good scrubbing would remove the grime, but I’ve convinced myself the task would be too trying for my arthritic shoulders.
An aging vehicle has financial advantage. Property taxes and insurance are at the bottom of the scale, and in another 12 years it will be eligible for a license plate signifying it as an antique.
The old Ranger fits me like a glove. Guess I’ll keep it a while longer.

—Bob Johnson

We can each try to be Olympians — at least in spirit

The only Kansan I have heard participating in the 2014 Olympics is Allison McFarland, a business and economics professor at Bethel College, Newton.
McFarland, 52, is working as a volunteer at the event. The experience will help slake her love of sports and travel.
She is taking a sabbatical from teaching to be in Sochi, Russia, where she will get a thrill from rubbing shoulders with world-class athletes as well an opportunity to study Easter European culture.
McFarland herself is an avid athlete. In the 2012 Kansas Senior Olympics she won gold in shot put, 28 feet, 10 inches, and discus, 88 feet, 2 inches, and placed second in the javelin with a toss of 60 feet.
I’ve watched more TV in the past two weeks than what I probably watch in a six-month span because of the Olympics. My favorite event has been snowboarding.
Kansans are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to winter sports. Most of us don’t live near an ice skating rink, when it comes to indoor events, and the outdoor disadvantages are obvious. Not that I’m complaining about our lack of snow.
No matter the event, I’m impressed with how much courage the athletes display — and maturity. To get where they are today they have learned sacrifice, discipline and perseverance.
To a smaller degree, the same qualities are demanded of today’s students. My own children have become more resilient to the ups and downs of life because of competitions — won and lost — either in sports or behind a podium throughout their middle school and high school years.
I can’t imagine my future depending on an athletic performance. The closest I’ve ever come to competing in an athletic event are “fun runs” or races that involve thousands of participants. My kind of race is where everyone gets a medal, which does nothing to diminish the thrill of the experience of simply being part of an event.
Olympians take their sport to an extreme, leaving the rest of us in awe of their talent, but also inspiring us to get out the door.
The motto of the Senior Olympics is “You don’t stop playing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop playing.”

—Susan Lynn

Letter to the editor — February 20, 2014

Dear editor,
In reference to the article “The cost of a good meal,” on Feb. 10, I was wondering why we always hear shop local?
When I was an employee of the food service for USD 257 I witnessed that three out of four delivery trucks were from the state of Kansas.
The revenue from these sales helped the state of Kansas. Also the employees of all were receiving a paycheck and paying taxes to the state of Kansas.
The ladies who work for USD 257 food service will also lose pay.
The revenue that Kansas will lose, the state of Missouri will gain.
I noticed that’s where the food will come from!
So much for shopping local.
Lillian Ozechowski,
Iola, Kan.

(Editor’s note: USD 257 board of education members are in the process of reviewing how the district provides meals for its students and has had interviews with food service representatives of OPAA and Chartwells.
Jack Koehn, superintendent of schools, said OPAA, which has formed an LLC in Kansas, has guaranteed USD 257 employees would receive the same pay rate they are receiving now.

Election cycle keeps Congress, compromise as oxymorons

In brief remarks Wednesday morning Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins said any suggestion of raising the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour is “a job killer.”
The theory goes that if employers are forced to pay more they will reduce their rolls.
Let it be known that in 2013 corporate profits were at an all-time high. While CEOs reaped their biggest-ever share of the pie, the percentage of profits that went to wages was at an all-time low.
In a report issued Tuesday by the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office, data showed raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would indeed cause a reduction in jobs, maybe as many as 500,000.
But the number who would see an increase in pay, 16.5 million, and be raised out of poverty, 900,000, would more than offset that reduction and provide a flood of spending into the general economy. People who have money, spend it.
Jenkins also said immigration reform was a non-starter because current proposals do not adequately address the number of illegal immigrants crossing U.S. borders. Unless illegals can be kept from infiltrating, any legislation having to do with the 12 million already here is for naught, she said.
The stance is an about-face for Republicans. Just two weeks ago, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, unveiled a long list of principles critical to reform.
Jenkins also said she didn’t trust the Obama administration to enforce any legislation passed and gave the impression there was no use to proceed on such issues until this administration has been retired by the 2016 election.

CONGRESS is infected with a disease called “elector-alitis,” as coined by author Adolph Reed Jr., in a recent article published in Harper’s Magazine. This is a condition that limits the attention span of legislators to an election cycle. Anything of a serious nature that requires long-term organizing — tax reform, immigration, entitlement programs, and public transportation — does not fit into the mind/time frame of today’s politicians.
Republicans would rather sit out the current administration rather than tackle important reforms in the hopes the 2016 election will yield a transfer of leadership.
When the shoe is on the other foot, Democrats are just as intransigent.
Instead of being willing to seek compromise, their default is to insult the other party and throw up their arms in feigned exasperation.
Think if families, businesses or local governments acted this way.
If that were the case, marriages would dissolve at the first argument. Parents wouldn’t bother to teach manners.
Businesses wouldn’t plan for technical upgrades, transitions in management, or even taking a product into the next decade.
And city and county governments wouldn’t address long-term infrastructure needs with their roads and bridges, or look for efficiencies with combined services.
Good leadership takes time and commitment, not kicking responsibility down the road or to the other side of the aisle.
— Susan Lynn

A place to call home

LaHARPE — Larry Trester’s long-held dream is about to come true.
“We’ve wanted a fire barn, a place to keep all the trucks together, for a long time,” said Trester, chief of LaHarpe’s Rural Volunteer Fire Department.
The building will be available by the end of March.
Tuesday morning a crew from Amish and Mennonite groups in the El Dorado Springs, Mo., area arrived in LaHarpe, with tools in hand and knowledge that comes from putting up a good many metal buildings.
Late Wednesday afternoon the shell of the building, with three large bays facing south, was in place downtown.
A concrete floor will be poured Friday and the concrete’s curing will be the only hold-up to volunteers occupying the structure.
“That will take about a month,” Trester said.
Finishing the interior and putting up doors will follow the concrete pour.
The volunteers answer calls in Elm and Deer townships, with most of those who man firefighting equipment pulling double duty.
“We’re all members of the LaHarpe department, too,” Trester said, but the two departments, city and rural, are independent.
The volunteers are funded by a district-wide levy of 5 mills. Money to build the new fire barn came from reserves that have been accumulated for several years.
LaHarpe funds the city department.
The volunteers have a 300-gallon tanker, a pumper and three trucks outfitted to fight grass and brush fires, a relatively common occurrence in an area made up mainly of farm ground.
The trucks have been kept in various places for years. Some are outdoors near volunteers’ homes and the two sensitive ones — tanker and pumper — have been kept indoors most of the time. Trester said heating costs for those two was about $400 a month during cold weather months.
He also noted that acquisition and construction of the new fire barn, estimated at $50,000, was partly made possible by the generosity of Don Diebolt at Diebolt Lumber and Supply, just to the southeast of LaHarpe.
“It would have been hard to do without his help,” Trester said.

Pennies add up for MOMs fundraiser

As local students have proved over the past few months, pennies can really add up.
Students from Jefferson Elementary and Iola Middle School donated a total $1,064.39 on Wednesday to the MOMs group for the construction of a special-needs access playground at Riverside Park.
Girls from BLING (Building Leadership In Girls) helped with the drive. The group is sponsored by Kelly Francis, Stacey Crusinberry, Barb Sherrill and Julie Dunler.
MOMs representative Lesley Skahan said the group will be ordering equipment on March 1, but more donations are always welcome — they did not include concrete work, benches or signage into the budget of the playground.
For those donating $500 or more, they will be recognized on a sign placed at the park.
Lincoln Elementary and McKinley Elementary donated $419.09 and $435.36 in pennies in fall 2013, totaling $854.55. The total for the four schools’ donations came in at $1,918.94.
That’s 191,894 pennies.

Sharon Denslow

Sharon Lea Leckrone Denslow, 69, Savonburg, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, at her home.
She was born on Jan. 16, 1945, at South Bend, Ind., the daughter of John M. and Helen L. (Polson) Denslow. Sharon grew up in South Bend, graduating from Riley High School there in 1964. Sharon was united in marriage to Charles E. Leckrone Sr. in 1965. Four children were born to this union. They later divorced, in 1990. They lived in South Bend after their marriage until moving to Simi Valley, Calif., in 1967. They then moved to Savonburg in 1973, with her living there for the rest of her life. Sharon loved fishing and camping. She was a member of Friends Church of Stark. She was a wonderful, hard-working wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was always there when you needed that one person you could count on.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Helen Denslow; one daughter, Tammy Hughes; and great-grandson Shawn Blevins, Jr.
Sharon is survived by one son, Charles E. Leckrone, Jr. and Tonia Greer, Savonburg; two daughters, Sherry Caudill and husband James, Olive Hill, Ky., and Kim Leckrone and Tonya Cuppy, Yates Center; five grandchildren, Dustin and Dalton Caudill, Olive Hill, Ky., Helen Leckrone, Elsmore, Marie and David Slife, Colony, Tiffany Leckrone, Wichita; four great-grandchildren, Keair French, Iola, Scottie Bruckholder, Elsmore, Skylar Slife, Colony, and Hunter Leckrone, Elsmore; one sister, Janet Zimmerman and husband Jack, Canyon Country, Calif.; and son-in-law John Hughes, Elsmore. She leaves behind many more family and friends. She is loved and missed greatly.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Friends Church of Stark, 206 Washington Ave., Stark. Burial will follow in Mount Moriah Cemetery, Savonburg. The family will greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Feuerborn Family Funeral Service Chapel, 344 N. Cedar, Moran. Memorial contributions may be made to the Friends Church of Stark in care of the funeral home. Condolences may be left at www.feuerbornfuneral.com.