Teen killed in wreck

FORT SCOTT — A Stark teenager was killed in a three-vehicle accident south of Fort Scott Wednesday.

Hunter Dean Kovacic, 15, was northbound on U.S. 69, about five miles south of Fort Scott, when the pickup he was driving crossed the center line, according to the Kansas Highway patrol.

Kovacic’s pickup sideswiped a southbound pickup driven by Anthony D. Alexander, 57, Parkville, Mo., before crashing head-on with a southbound tractor-trailer rig driven by Billy S. Rabbit, 40, Pryor, Okla.

Kovacic, who would have been a sophomore this year at Erie High School, was declared dead at the scene. Rabbit was taken to Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott for his injuries.

Alexander was uninjured.

Troopers said it was unknown if Kovacic was wearing a seat belt. Both Rabbit and Alexander were properly buckled.

Chase ends in wreck, injury near Humboldt

A 62-year-old Massachusetts man was hospitalized Wednesday evening following a crash east of Humboldt.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said Darrell Kinney, Westminster, Mass., was being pursued by law enforcement on Hawaii Road, three miles east of Humboldt, when he lost control of his 2004 Ford Explorer.

The vehicle went into the eastbound ditch, struck a barbed wire fence and rolled clockwise before coming to rest on its top.

It was not clear why law enforcement was pursuing Kinney, nor was the severity of his injuries announced, or if he was taken into custody.

Blood drive set for Wednesday

The Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City will host a summer blood drive from noon to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the John Silas Bass Community Building, 505 N. Buckeye St.

Blood donations are used at medical centers throughout Kansas and Missouri, including Allen County Regional Hospital.

Walk-in donations will be accepted, although donors may schedule an appointment online at esavealifenow.org , and enter “iola” as a sponsor code.

For additional details, call Kay Tindel at kay_tindel@msn.com.

Special gift

Iola’s La Societe des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux (40 et. 8 Club) presents a $1,000 donation to Iolan Alana Kinzle to aid in her efforts to develop a memorial garden next to the Allen County Veterans Wall in downtown Iola. Pictured are, from left, Steven Kinzle, Tom Emerson, Martin Henderson and Alana Kinzle.

Pres.Trump rebukes new NFL anthem protests

(AP) — NFL players demonstrated during the national anthem at several preseason games Thursday night, protests that again drew a rebuke from President Donald Trump.

Writing on Twitter from his New Jersey golf resort, Trump said Friday players “make a fortune doing what they love,” and those who refuse to stand “proudly” for the anthem should be suspended without pay.

He contended “most of them are unable to define” what they’re demonstrating against.” Instead, he said, players should “Be happy, be cool!”

In Philadelphia, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins and cornerback De’Vante Bausby raised their fists during the anthem, and defensive end Chris Long placed his arm around Jenkins’ shoulder. Jenkins had stopped his demonstration last December.

Defensive end Michael Bennett walked out of the tunnel during the anthem and walked toward the bench while it played. It appeared all the Steelers stood.

“Everybody is waiting for what the league is going to do,” Jenkins said. “We won’t let it stop what we stand for. I was very encouraged last year with the direction and that obviously took a different turn.

“I think it’s important to utilize the platform as we can because for whatever reason, we have framed this demonstration in a negative light, and often players have to defend why we feel the need to fight for everyday Americans, and in actuality we’re doing the right thing.”

At Miami, Dolphins receivers Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson and defensive end Robert Quinn protested during the anthem. Stills and Wilson kneeled behind teammates lined up standing along the sideline. Quinn stood and raised his right fist. There were no apparent protests by the Buccaneers.

“As a black man in this world, I’ve got an obligation to raise awareness,” Quinn said. “If no one wants to live in unity, that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in.”

Stills kneeled during the anthem during the 2016-17 seasons and has been vocal discussing social injustice issues that inspired the protest movement by NFL players.

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, a leader of the movement, tweeted support for Stills and Wilson.

“My brother @kstills continued his protest of systemic oppression tonight by taking a knee,” the tweet said. “Albert Wilson joined him in protest. Stay strong brothers!”

And in Seattle, three Seahawks players ran into the team’s locker room prior to the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Defensive linemen Branden Jackson and Quinton Jefferson, and offensive lineman Duane Brown left the field following team introductions and before the start of the anthem. They returned to the sideline immediately after it concluded. All three were among a group of Seattle players that sat during the anthem last season.

Brown and Jefferson said they intend to continue the action all season. Seattle coach Pete Carroll said the team discussed the topic and decided to support individual decisions. Brown said he didn’t believe there had been much progress made from the demonstrations of last season.

“Everyone was clear on my decision and understands and supports it,” Brown said. “We all have different realities in this country and they understand my perspective. We’re all on good terms.”

The league and the players’ union have yet to announce a policy for this season regarding demonstrations during the anthem after the league initially ordered everyone to stand on the sideline when the anthem is played, or remain in the locker room.

“The NFL has been engaged in constructive discussions with the NFL Players Association regarding the anthem and issues of equality and social justice that are of concern to many Americans … ,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email.

“We remain committed to working with the players to identify solutions and to continue making progress on important social issues affecting our communities.”

A look back in time

Thirty years ago

August 1988

10 —The Iola American Legion Post 15 Indians won a first-ever American Legion Class AA state championship here Tuesday. The Indians jumped out early and rode the tide to a 6-1 victory over El Dorado in the title game. “It’s just a great bunch of kids,” said Bob Johnson, Iola head coach. The Iola team finished the season with 37 wins and nine losses.

****

12 — HUMBOLDT — St. Peter’s Lutheran Church will mark its 125th anniversary Sunday. Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, speaker on the Lutheran Hour, a radio ministry, will speak. The Rev. Arlin Alpers has been the pastor for the past 14 years. The church has had three houses of worship since it was established in 1866. The present church, at 10th and Amos, was dedicated in 1959.

Mail-in ballots tighten GOP race

Jeff Colyer gained five votes on Kris Kobach in Allen County’s primary election vote to help determine who will be the next Republican gubernatorial candidate.

Such a paltry number would usually be insignificant, but with this year’s razor-thin margin in the statewide GOP vote, every vote has increased importance.

The added votes came from 16 mail-in ballots that were postmarked Tuesday, but didn’t arrive in the county clerk’s office until Wednesday or Thursday.

This was the first year mail-in ballots could be counted, even if they didn’t arrive at the courthouse on Election Day.

The updated totals put Kobach’s tally from Allen Countians at 652 votes; Colyer at 537.

Additional provisional ballots will be considered Tuesday when commissioners canvass the Allen County portion of the election.

Statewide, Kobach had a lead of about 150 votes over Colyer as of Friday, out of more than 320,000 ballots cast, combined, for the candidates.

A winner is unlikely to be declared for several days, especially if either candidate requests a recount.

Back to school

Classes will resume for all USD 257 students next Thursday.
Classes resume Monday at Southern Coffey County schools in Le Roy and Gridley; Wednesday in Yates Center, Aug. 22 at Marmaton Valley, Aug. 23 at Humboldt and Aug. 24 at Crest.
An open house at Iola High School runs from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Freshman orientation runs from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

 

One big loser from Tuesday’s primary

There is a small bit of deliciousness in the process by which Kansas chose its Republican gubernatorial nominee on Tuesday night. And Wednesday morning. (Are the results final yet? Are we sure?)
The state’s governor and secretary of state, roundly criticized in areas of their job performances, were made to wait overnight for final results because of voting tabulation problems in the state’s most affluent county — one where both men thought they had solid pockets of support.
We will forever remember Tuesday and Wednesday as “The Johnson County Primary,” the time when Republicans tentatively picked Secretary of State Kris Kobach over Gov. Jeff Colyer — a 191-vote margin with thousands of provisional ballots to be counted.
The final, excruciatingly slow tallies came from a county with new voting machines and a new county commissioner — hired by Kobach. That’s all the more embarrassing for Kobach and his office, though we’re not sure he cares at this point.
Provisional ballots will make the margin different, with maybe a new leader. Then there’s a recount when it’s this close. (No telling how long it will take Johnson County to count its votes next time.)
We assumed the primary was always going to be about Kobach. Sure, the Ron Estes vs. Ron Estes story was cute and brought Kansas some attention in a quirky, end-of-a-TV-newscast way.
But the top storyline was first and foremost a referendum on Kobach, his failure to find large numbers of non-citizens voting, his multiple court stumbles while unsuccessfully defending his proof-of-citizenship law, and his association with President Trump and whether it would lead to victory.
These returns say he has passed one referendum. Unless provisional ballots or a recount say differently, the second referendum comes in 91 days.
The primary came two days after Trump tweeted unequivocal support for Kobach, who was vice chair of Trump’s election integrity commission and, Kobach said, offered multiple jobs in the president’s administration.
Trump’s Tweet of Everlasting Faith may tip the scale for Kobach like it did for Georgia GOP nominee Brian Kemp two weeks ago. We may forget that Trump got less than 1 in 4 votes in the 2016 Kansas GOP Caucus, but he received 56 percent of the general election vote and still has pull here, even with farmers and ranchers feeling the effects of a trade war on products such as soybeans, wheat and beef.
Kobach said Wednesday he and Colyer should begin to run a general-election race now and wait for final GOP results later. The winner takes on Democratic nominee Laura Kelly and, presumably once the signatures are verified, independent Greg Orman.
Kelly has as much at stake as either of her GOP opponents. She dominated the Democratic race with more than half the votes but figures to have unique challenges with either Republican.
Polling by Rasmussen Research shows Kelly, a 14-year state senator from Topeka, in a near dead heat with Kobach in the general election, with Orman a distant third. The same polling shows Colyer with a 10-point lead over Kelly.
With confirmation from provisional ballots and a recount, the next three months should be fascinating for Kansas political junkies. The brash, confident Kobach would offer a contrasting style from Kelly’s calm but insistent tone. Colyer offers a more traditional conservative candidate. Each Republican will hold onto a conservative base and try to attract moderates who have three ways to go in November.
The road to the governor’s office began with overnight frustration in Johnson County. Kansas’ GOP primary got a good amount of national notice on Tuesday, and viewers around the country now may think JoCo submits its results by stagecoach.
— Wichita Eagle