Iola UMW donates money to missions

As is customary at year’s end, members of the Iola United Methodist Women voted Dec. 13 to use up much of their treasury for missions, by donating to Calvary and Wesley churches, and to the Church Utility Relief Board (CURB).

Vice President Linda Johnson provided the program by reading the children’s book, “The Story of Candy Cane.”

Secret sister gifts were exchanged, as were cookies.

Donna Grigsby, Linda Johnson and Marty Meadows served refreshments.

The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 24 at Calvary UMC. The Rev. Jocelyn Tupper will provide the program. Johnson, Donna Beebe and Grigsby will serve as hostesses. All women and girls are invited.

Police reports

Citations issued

Jesse Belsher, 41, Topeka, was cited for suspicion of theft and contributing to a child’s misconduct Friday morning following an incident in the 800 block of North Chestnut Street, Iola police officers said.

 

Vehicle struck

Barry W. Walker, 74, was northbound on State Street Friday morning when his pickup struck the rear end of a van driven by Julie L. Hoyt, 32. Hoyt was stopped when the accident occurred, Iola police officers said. Neither driver was injured, nor was a passenger in Hoyt’s vehicle.

 

Theft reported

Brian Kinder told Iola police officers Sunday somebody entered his storage unit in the 1500 block of East Monroe Street and stole numerous items, valued altogether at nearly $1,100.

 

Gas meter hit

Hiram Raby, 32, was backing a trailer in the 200 block of South Cottonwood Street Saturday when he struck a gas meter with his pickup.

Florida restores voting rights to felons

MIAMI (AP) — The right to vote was restored for most Florida felons as of Tuesday, increasing the pool of eligible voters by as many as 1.4 million people in a battleground state infamous for its narrow margins in key elections.

The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition planned to get people together over breakfast before registering online or going to their local election supervisors’ offices to fill out the forms.

“We are encouraging our members to celebrate,” said organization’s president, Desmond Meade. “Our members are going into the supervisor of elections with their loved ones.”

Nearly 65 percent of Florida voters last November approved Amendment 4, which was crafted so that it would take effect automatically, without further action needed by lawmakers. It applies to all felons who have done their time and completed the terms of their probation and parole, with the exception of people convicted of murder or sex offenses.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida says people don’t need to present proof that they completed their sentence; they can simply fill out the existing application, signing under oath that their voting rights have been restored.

Civil rights groups have maintained the measure is self-executing, taking effect automatically on Tuesday, but just to be sure, they warned that they are ready to go to court if there are any delays.

Some offices posted notices at the offices and websites saying they will accept the existing registration application.

Until the amendment passed, Florida’s constitution automatically barred felons from being able to vote after leaving prison. The state’s clemency process allows the governor and three elected Cabinet members to restore voting rights, although the governor can unilaterally veto any request. The process has changed over the years.

Census citizenship question could worsen undercount

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Asking people whether they are U.S. citizens on the 2020 census would worsen the undercount of Latinos and non-citizens compared with other groups, an expert in surveys said Monday at the start of a trial over the Trump administration’s decision to include the question for the first time in 70 years.

Colm O’Muirchear-taigh, a professor at the University of Chicago, said the question would reduce the percentage of Latinos and non-citizens who respond to the census questionnaire. He testified in federal court for California and numerous cities that argue asking about citizenship is politically motivated and are suing the U.S. government to keep it off the population count that is done every decade.

California’s lawsuit says an undercount of Latinos and immigrants would jeopardize its federal funding and congressional representation in a state with a substantial number of both groups. Figures from the census are used to determine the distribution of congressional seats to states and billions of dollars in federal funding.

The U.S. Justice Department argues that census officials take steps to guard against an undercount, including making follow-up visits in person, so the final numbers will be accurate. Households that skip the citizenship question but otherwise fill out a substantial portion of the survey will still be counted, government attorneys said in court documents.

O’Muircheartaigh, who has served as an adviser to the Census Bureau, said the bureau’s additional efforts to count those people would not “remediate the damage caused by the introduction of the citizenship question,” he said, referring to an undercount of certain groups.

It’s the latest battle between California and President Donald Trump’s administration, with both sides suing the other over immigration and other issues. The government has cracked down on immigration and border security, while California has some protections for immigrants in the country illegally.

U.S. Judge Richard Seeborg is scheduled to hear a week of testimony from experts and other witnesses in the census case before deciding whether to allow the question. Seeborg is the second federal judge considering issue, with a ruling by the first judge expected soon after a trial in New York ended in November.

The Commerce Department announced the addition of a citizenship question in March, saying the Justice Department had requested it and it would improve enforcement of a 1965 law meant to protect minority voting rights.

The move sparked an outcry from Democrats, who said it would disproportionately affect states favoring their party. All households were last asked whether individuals were U.S. citizens in the 1950 census.

Documents in the litigation in New York appear to show that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was pushing for the question well before the Justice Department’s request and spoke about it in spring 2017 with former senior White House adviser Steve Bannon and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

There was enough evidence “to infer that Secretary Ross was motivated to add the citizenship question for the partisan purpose of facilitating the exclusion of non-citizens from the population count for congressional apportionment,” California and other plaintiffs told Seeborg in court documents.

O’Muircheartaigh’s testimony is part of the plaintiffs’ effort to show the citizenship question would result in a costly undercount that they say would violate the constitutional requirement that the census include everyone in the U.S., even non-citizens.

The Justice Department plans to rely on its expert, Stuart Gurrea, to argue that the question would cause no change in congressional apportionment in any state and only a negligible dip in the distribution of federal funds to California.

Government attorneys said California failed to show ulterior motives for the question. The commerce secretary’s request that his staff look into adding it doesn’t show he acted improperly, and neither does the fact that other officials might have supported it for different reasons, the attorneys said.

“It is unremarkable for an agency head to enter office with predispositions toward certain policy choices,” they said.

Committee meeting tonight on new school

Committees working toward passage of a bond issue to build a new elementary school for USD 257 will be formed tonight beginning at 6 o’clock in the assembly room of the basement of the Allen County Courthouse.

Those from Iola, Gas, and LaHarpe areas are needed to serve on either the publicity, communications, finance or voters committees.

At issue is a $25.5 million new elementary school in Iola.

If you feel strongly about the issue, come tonight to see how you can be a part of it.

Moran: Shutdown will hurt farmers

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran says he wants the shutdown to come to end, saying it will soon start to affect farmers and aircraft manufacturers.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Moran said Friday after touring three Wichita businesses that he’s “sorry” the government is in a shutdown. He added that people who are dissatisfied with the government sometimes say, “Shut her down, it doesn’t matter.” But Moran says “the things that government does are important to many people.”

He says one effect of a protracted shutdown will be that aircraft manufacturers will be unable to deliver planes because the Federal Aviation Administration office in Oklahoma City that issues aircraft titles is closed. He says farmers hurt by the trade battle with China also will have to wait for federal aid.

 

MORAN’S comments came two day after he noted how many rural hospitals in Kansas are “hanging on by a thread” and could benefit from the additional revenue that Medicaid expansion would generate.

But Moran said Wednesday, after speaking to LMH Health president and CEO Russ Johnson in Lawrence, that he wants to leave the decision to the state Legislature, the Lawrence Journal-World reported.

Kansas has rejected accepting additional federal funding through the Affordable Care Act to expand the program for the poor and disabled. The idea is being revisited now that incoming Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has expressed an interest. The federal government paid the full cost of the expansion until 2017 and will continue paying 90 percent starting in 2020.

“The state needs to weigh that with how long those federal dollars will be in place,” he said. “But I will say, it was suggested to me in this meeting (with Johnson) that the one thing that could be done that would better deal with people with mental health issues is Medicaid expansion.”

In Kansas, former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and outgoing Gov. Jeff Colyer were the biggest reasons for the program not being expanded. Both cited cost as the main factor. Colyer’s budget office estimated the expansion would be a net cost of $22 million for the fiscal year beginning in July 2019.

Moran said he plans to be back in session on Monday, but he will be ready to head back sooner if it will help end the shutdown. Moran said he believes the border wall funding issue could be resolved through legislative negotiation if the people involved would “come out of their corners.”

Moran is also concerned about the impact of immigration policy on higher education. He said he has heard that many institutions of higher education in Kansas, particularly community colleges, are losing lucrative foreign student enrollment.

Another issue affecting Kansas is the trade war with China, which put U.S. soybean purchases on hold until the two countries agreed to a truce in December.

“It doesn’t seem to me the way to deal with that is putting tariffs in place and they retaliate,” he said. “It doesn’t need to be a tariff battle.”

Bolton: Syria pullout will include conditions

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is set to press Turkey for assurances that it won’t attack the Kurdish fighters in Syria, which he said is now a condition for the withdrawal of American troops from northeastern Syria.

Bolton arrived today for negotiations with the NATO ally about the safety of the Kurds, who have fought alongside American forces against the Islamic State in Syria, and fear a military assault from Turkey should the U.S. pull out.

His visit comes a day after Bolton said guarantees about the safety of the Kurds were a “condition” of the withdrawal of about 2,000 troops in the region that President Donald Trump ordered last month.

The talks are likely to be contentious, as Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, a terrorist group linked to an insurgency within its borders, and has threatened to mount a campaign against the groups. Bolton, who is expected to meet Tuesday with Turkish officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the U.S. would oppose any such move against its allies in the fight against IS.

“We don’t think the Turks ought to undertake military action that’s not fully coordinated with and agreed to by the United States,” Bolton said Sunday. Trump has made clear that he would not allow Turkey to kill the Kurds, Bolton added. “That’s what the president said, the ones that fought with us.”

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar hit out at Bolton today, saying on Twitter that Turkey’s fight isn’t against Kurds but against Kurdish rebels and Islamic States militants who pose a threat to all ethnic groups.

“Our fight is against YPG, PKK and IS terrorists who are a threat against our Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen brothers and all ethnic and religious groups,” he said. PKK is the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

And Turkey’s presidential spokesman, with whom Bolton will meet Tuesday, called allegations that his country planned to attack the U.S.-allied Kurds in Syria “irrational” and said Turkey was fighting terrorism for national security.

“That a terror organization cannot be allied with the U.S. is self-evident,” Ibrahim Kalin said Sunday in comments carried by the official Anadolu news agency.

Bolton had said the protection of U.S. allies in Syria, including the YPG, was among “the objectives that we want to accomplish that condition the withdrawal” of U.S. forces.

Those comments marked the first public confirmation that the drawdown has been slowed since Trump’s announcement in mid-December. Trump had faced widespread criticism from allies about his decision, including that he was abandoning the Kurds in the face of Turkish threats. Officials said at the time that although many details of the withdrawal had not yet been finalized, they expected American forces to be out by mid-January.

At the time, Trump had also said that Turkey would step up the fight against the remnants of the Islamic State in Syria, but Bolton said Sunday U.S. troops will eliminate what remains of IS before leaving northeastern Syria.

Bolton maintained there is no fixed timetable for completing the drawdown, but insisted it was not an indefinite commitment to the region. Still, some 200 U.S. troops will remain in the vicinity of al-Tanf, in southern Syria, to counter growing Iranian activity in the region, he said.

In meetings with Turkish officials Tuesday, Bolton said he will seek “to find out what their objectives and capabilities are and that remains uncertain.”

He will be joined by the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, who will remain in Turkey for additional meetings with Turkish military officials centered pressing for protection for the Kurds, as well as Jim Jeffrey, the special representative for Syrian engagement and the newly named American special envoy for the anti-Islamic State coalition. Jeffrey will travel from Turkey into Syria to reassure the Kurdish fighters that they are not being abandoned, Bolton said.

A senior Kurdish official said today that Syria’s Kurds are awaiting clarifications from the U.S. Speaking to The Associated Press from northern Syria Monday, Badran Jia Kurd said the Kurds have not been informed of any change in the U.S. position and were in the dark about Bolton’s latest comments.

Kurdish officials have held conversations with Moscow and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government about protection.

Bolton said the U.S. has asked the Kurds to “stand fast now” and allow the U.S. to continue negotiations. “I think they know who their friends are,” he added, speaking of the Kurds.

Ginsberg absent from court session

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is missing arguments for the first time in more than 25 years as she recuperates from cancer surgery last month.

Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Monday the 85-year-old Ginsburg is continuing to recuperate and work from home after doctors removed two cancerous growths from her left lung on Dec. 21.

Ginsburg was discharged from a New York hospital on Christmas Day.

Ginsburg had two earlier cancer surgeries in 1999 and 2009 that did not cause her to miss court sessions. She also has broken ribs on at least two occasions.

The court said doctors found the growths on Ginsburg’s lung when she was being treated for fractured ribs she suffered in a fall at her office on Nov. 7.

Iola freshmen boys and girls grab wins at Osawatomie

The Iola freshmen girls and C-Team boys got wins on Friday at Osawatomie. 

The girls won 45-10 and the boys won 45-24. 

Josie Plumlee led the way with 19 followed by 10 for Maci Miller, eight for Jenna Curry, six for Chloe Sell and two for Miah Shelby. 

For the C-Team boys, it was sophomore Jack Adams who led the way with 12 followed by eight for sophomore Drake Sellman and freshman Ty Boeken. Freshman Cooper Riley had four, sophomore Dillon Slaven, sophomore Eli Smith and freshman Sam Fager each had three and freshmen Ryker Curry and Brett Morrison each had two. 

The C-Team also lost to St. Mary’s Colgan before Christmas break 41-31. 

Riley had 11, freshman Karson Sigg had five, Slaven, Morrison and Boeken had four and Curry had three. 

The C-Team boys will host Wellsville today while the freshman Fillies will host the Eagles on Friday.

Willis Ross

Willis Jean Ross, age 97, of Moran, died Friday, Jan. 4, 2019, at Windsor Place in Iola.

He was born Jan. 13, 1921, to William Joseph and Nola Maude (Craig) Ross at Bayard.

He served with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.

He married Pauline Mae Gerdsen on Feb. 25, 1951 at the Jeddo United Brethren Church; she preceded him in death. He later married Jessie Jeffries.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Feuerborn Family Funeral Service Chapel, 1883 US Hwy 54, Iola. Burial with military graveside honors will follow in the Moran Cemetery.