Drunken handler goes for a ride

CHICAGO (AP) — Police say a baggage handler told them he was drunk when he fell asleep in a cargo hold and flew from Kansas City to Chicago.

American Airlines says the Piedmont Airlines employee was working American Flight 363 on Saturday when the Boeing 737 left Kansas City International Airport with the handler in a heated and pressurized cargo hold.

Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says he was found when the flight landed about an hour later at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. The spokesman says the handler told police he was intoxicated and had fallen asleep.

No charges were filed. He was sent back to Kansas City.

American says it is grateful the handler wasn’t injured and it’s reviewing what happened.

The handler’s name wasn’t released.

‘LOL’ comment to haunt official

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas county clerk who moved the only polling site in the historic Wild West town of Dodge City to a facility outside the city limits more than a mile from the nearest bus stop says it is not possible to add a second polling site for the upcoming election.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree will hear arguments today on a suit from the American Civil Liberties Union whether to force Ford County Clerk Deborah Cox to open another polling site in town for the midterm election.

The group says Cox refused for weeks to talk about improving the polling conditions prior to the lawsuit. During a telephone conference earlier this week, an ACLU lawyer told the judge that Cox forwarded one of their letters to the Kansas secretary of state’s office, with the notation “LOL.” Cox says the polling location had to be moved because of planned construction.

The ACLU noted that Cox moved the polling location just weeks before the election.

“She then compounded any confusion that abrupt change likely caused by incorrectly informing hundreds of newly registered voters that they could vote at the original voting location,” according to their court filing.

Dodge City once was a destination for cattle drives where cowboys and gunslingers tangled. In recent decades, meatpacking plants have drawn to the town thousands of Hispanics, who now make up a majority of the population.

Dodge City has only one polling site for its 27,000 residents. For two decades, the civic center in the mostly white part of town services all 13,000 voters. The average Kansas polling site services 1,200 voters, according to the ACLU. Cox sent a notice to voters on Sept. 28 that she was moving the location for the upcoming election outside the city limits to a facility that even she acknowledged in that mailing was inconvenient.

The ACLU sued on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens and Alejandro Rangel-Lopez, the 18-year-old son of Mexican immigrants who will be voting for the first time in November.

Their lawsuit alleges moving the only polling site outside the city makes it more difficult for the city’s majority Hispanic population to vote because they tend to have less access to transportation and are less likely to have flexible work schedules.

But Cox’s attorney, Bradley Schlozman, countered in a court filing Tuesday that those claims are groundless and the ACLU’s motion for a temporary restraining order is “filled with patronizing arguments that are offensive to the residents of Dodge City.” He wrote that for voters without a vehicle, door-to-door bus service is being provided on Election Day to the polling site. Voters can also vote early both by mail and in person at the Ford County Government Center.

Crabtree pressed both parties earlier this week about whether they would appeal if he ruled against them on the issue of opening a second polling site for the upcoming election. ACLU lawyer Mark Johnson replied they would not appeal, adding “we will give the defendants that one and vigorously prosecute the case after the election.” Schlozman replied that they would immediately appeal to the 10th Circuit.

 

Explore the surroundings of the new location, the Western State Bank Expo Center, for yourself below:

Wichita driver charged in deaths

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man has been charged in a crash that killed an off-duty Wichita police officer and his son.

Sedgwick County sheriff’s Lt. Tim Myers said in a news release that 35-year-old James Neal Dalrymple, of Valley Center, was charged Wednesday with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and failing to yield the right of way.

The crash on April 27 killed 37-year-old Stacey Woodson, and his 9-year-old son, Braedon. Woodson was a 16-year Wichita police veteran who worked in the motorcycle unit.

Authorities have said the motorcycle the Woodsons were on collided with a pickup truck that pulled in front of them. Stacey Woodson died at the scene and his son died later at the hospital.

Iola and Humboldt middle schoolers open season at Burlington

BURLINGTON — Both the Humboldt and Iola middle school wrestling teams opened up their seasons at the 20th Annual Burlington Bobcat Invitational on Monday.

For Humboldt, the meet was the first in program history. It’s been three years since the high school team was founded and their success and high turnout spurred the school board into adding a middle school team for this season.

The Cubs had three first-place finishes.

For Iola, the Ponies look to take advantage of their strong numbers this season.

Five Ponies placed first at Burlington.

Here are the results:

Humboldt

Robbie Robertson, 4th

Round 1 – Kyler Davis (Bluestem) won by fall (0:18).

Round 2 – Dakota Willcut (Central Heights) won by disqualification.

Round 3 – Bowen Wade (Jayhawk-Linn) won by fall (0:16).

Bradley Lowery, 3rd

Round 1 – Lowery won by major decision over Ethan Bartley (Burlington) (13-4).

Round 2 – Wyatt Lumbley (Cherryvale) won by decision (10-4).

Round 3 – Trenton Smith (Osawatomie) won by fall (2:13).

Quentin Heisler, 3rd

Round 1 – Tucker Nelson (Anderson County) won by fall (0:41).

Round 2 – Indy Hood (Osawatomie) won by fall (0:37).

Round 3 – Trenton Smith (Osawatomie) won by fall (2:13).

Sam Hull, 3rd

Round 1 – Juan Hernandez (Galesburg) won by fall (1:21).

Round 2 – Hull won by fall over Max Perry (Osawatomie) (1:35).

Round 3 – Colten Wittman (Anderson County) won by fall (2:37).

Bryon Westbrook, 3rd

Round 1 – Westbrook won by fall over Christian Smith (Burlington) (1:24).

Round 2  – David Bumgardner (Anderson County) won by fall (2:43).

Round 3 – Gage Skahan (Iola) won by fall (2:32).

Brennen Nussen, 2nd, 10 points

Round 1 – Nussen won by fall over Treden Buckman (Uniontown) (1:45).

Round 2 – Nussen won by fall over Brigham Folk (0:38).

Round 3 – Jake Robinson (Cherryvale) won by decision (10-4).

Trey Sommer, 1st, 14 points

Round 1 – Sommer won by fall over Treden Buckman (Uniontown) (1:45).

Round 2 – Sommer won by fall over Josh Doan (Jayhawk-Linn) (1:19).

Round 3 – Sommer won by fall over Masen Huddleston (Eureka) (0:35).

Maddox Johnson, 1st, 14 team points

Round 1 – Johnson won in sudden victory over Wyatt Daulton (6-1).

Round 2 – Johnson won by fall over Lane Kimball (Central Heights) (0:44).

Round 3 – Johnson won by fall over Laramie Helkenberg (Caney Valley) (0:35).

Malichi Atwell, 4th

Round 1 – Aiden Leftwich (Anderson County) won by fall (0:24).

Round 2 – Garren Goodner (Humboldt ) won by fall (1:12).

Round 3 – Oliver Wade (Eureka) won by fall (1:15)

Garren Goodner, 1st, 14 points

Round 1 – Goodner won by fall over Oliver Wade (Eureka) (0:18).

Round 2 – Goodner won by fall over Malichi Atwell (Humboldt) (1:12).

Round 3 – Goodner won by fall over Aiden Leftwich (Anderson County) (0:53).

 

Iola

Korbin Cloud, 2nd, 10 points

Round 1 – Cloud won by decision over Brayden Harris (Caney Valley) (7-3).

Round 2 – Carson Bell (Wellsville) won in sudden victory (7-5).

Round 3 – Cloud won by fall over Levi Corley (Anderson County (1:34).

Xander Sellman, 1st, 14 team points

Round 1 – Sellman won by fall over Caleb Griner (Burlington) (0:45).

Round 2 – Sellman won in sudden victory over Caden Hartpence (Burlington) (4-2).

Round 3 – Sellman won by decision over Christian Galan (Cherryvale) (7-6).

Zander Dickerson, 4th

Round 1 – Easton Wettstein (Anderson County) won by fall (1:34).

Round 2 – Braxton Spencer (Anderson County) won by fall (2:38).

Round 3 – Chance Profit (Jayhawk-Linn) won by decision (9-7).

Damian Wacker, 3rd

Round 1 – Wacker won by fall over Josh Coats (Cherryvale) (1:34).

Round 2 – Aidan Gound (Osawatomie) won by fall (2:25).

Round 3 – Kane Shepard (Uniontown) won by fall (0:25).

Josh Perez, 2nd, 10 points

Round 1 – Rylee Clark (Anderson County) won in sudden victory (8-6).

Round 2 – Perez won by decision over Damon Estes (Osawatomie) (12-6).

Round 3 – Perez won by forfeit.

Titus Jones, 4th

Round 1 – A.J. Schaffer (Anderson County) won by fall (2:39).

Round 2 – Rick Abbott (Bluestem) won by decision (10-4).

Round 3 – Blaze Forman (Cherryvale) won by fall (1:37).

Gage Skahan, 1st, 14 points

Round 1 – Skahan won by tech fall over David Bumgarder (Anderson County) (18-3).

Round 2 – Skahan won by decision over Christian Smith (Burlington) (12-8).

Round 3 – Skahan won by fall over Bryon Westbrook (Humboldt) (2:32).

Brigham Folk, 3rd

Round 1 – Jake Robinson (Cherryvale) won by major decision (0:41).

Round 2 – Brennen Nussen (Humboldt) won by fall (0:38).

Round 3 – Folk won by decision over Damon Cook (Burlington) (10-6).

Brock Sander, 1st, 14 points

Round 1 – Sander won by major decision over Wyatt Miller (Fredonia) (10-0).

Round 2 – Sander won by major decision over Trenton Medlock (Cherryvale) (10-0).

Round 3 – Sander won by fall over Dylan Cole (Wellsville) (0:19).

Gage Scheibmeir, 2nd, 10 points

Round 1 – Scheibmeir won by fall over Wyatt Kind (Anderson County) (0:34).

Round 2 – Kaiden Gravatt (Osawatomie) won by fall (2:39).

Round 3 – Scheibmeir won by decision over Jeremiah Couch (5-1).

Franklin Johnston, 3rd

Round 1- Johnston won by decision over Mo Allen (Burlington) (5-3).

Round 2 – Davis Smother (Osawatomie) won by fall (0:38).

Round 3 – Dominic Samuels (Eureka) won by fall (0:46).

Jake Skahan, 1st, 14 team points

Round 1 – Skahan won by fall over Garreth Plamer (Burlington) (0:59).

Round 2 – Skahan won by fall over Noah Wheeler (Anderson County) (1:19).

Round 3 – Skahan won by tech fall over Kesten Watson (17-2).

Holden Barker, 2nd, 10 points

Round 1 – Barker won by decision over Ethan Boles (Eureka) (3-0).

Round 2 – Barker won by fall over Griffen Peck (Caney Valley) (0:28).

Round 3 – Dakota Becker (Galesburg) won in sudden victory (10-8).

Justin McCullough, 1st, 14 points

Round 1 – McCullough won by fall over Marcus Britain (Eureka) (0:29).

Round 2 – McCullough won by fall over Eli Waiters (Caney Valley) (1:19).

Round 3 – McCullough won by fall over Jackson Hageman (Burlington) (1:40).

Danny Boeken, 2nd, 10 points

Round 1 – Boeken won by fall over Cole Burtin (Eureka) (0:58).

Round 2 – Dylan Friend (Fredonia) won by fall (0:18).

Round 3 – Boeken won by fall over Kolby Hebb (Bluestem) (2:41).

Emily Atwell, 4th

Round 1 – Jailee Reister (Cherryvale) won in sudden victory over Atwell (7-5).

Round 2 – Layla Tindle (Fredonia) won by fall (0:33).

Round 3 – Laikyn Turner (Eureka) won by fall (1:33).

Heidi Folk, 3rd

Round 1 – Jayden Risenhoover (Fredonia) won by fall (2:54).

Round 2  – Destiny Romiti (Cherryvale) won by fall (2:21).

Round 3 – Folk won by decision over Madison Ender (Galesburg) (14-11).

Micayla Moen, 2nd, 10 points

Round 1 – Moen won by fall over Kathryn Malone (Galesburg) (1:25).

Round 2  – Miracole Walters (Caney Valley) won by fall (0:17).

Round 3 – Moen won by fall over Stevi Bennett (Eureka) (2:27).

Bender has breakthrough moment

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender had heard all the criticism the past couple years.

He heard it about him. About the Jayhawks. About his embattled coach.

Most of it was fair, too, given that the highly touted prospect had struggled to nail down the starting job for the Jayhawks, who in turn had struggled to win for coach David Beaty.

But on a sun-splashed afternoon at Memorial Stadium, with the leaves turning brilliant colors of auburn and gold on the hill leading to the campanile, the senior quarterback answered all those critics with a gutsy performance that delivered a much-needed win over TCU.

He threw for 249 yards with a pair of touchdowns to Pooka Williams, and he lowered his shoulder and plowed for a crucial first down in the closing minutes that helped to earn the victory.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the kid,” Beaty said. “He’s a guy that’s taken a lot of criticism along the way and there’s a good reason we stick with him. We believe in him. We know he’s got some real ability. He made as good a play as I’ve seen him make since he’s been here when he scrambled and got the ball down there to Pooka for that touchdown in the third quarter.”

Indeed, that may have been the highlight of Bender’s day.

It was early in the third quarter and the Jayhawks were trailing 10-7, and had marched right downfield against the Horned Frogs. Bender was under pressure when he rolled to his right and, keeping his eyes on the end zone, spotted his freshman running back coming open.

The touchdown pass not only gave the Jayhawks the lead but the feeling they might finally win.

Bender kept making crucial plays throughout the second half. He led another nice drive that ended with a field goal, then hit Williams for the go-ahead touchdown pass with 6:13 left that allowed Kansas to give Beaty just his second Big 12 victory and the Jayhawks’ first over TCU since 1997.

“I think as a unit, as a whole, we played a much more efficient game. Our coaches put in a great game plan to attack them where we thought was their most vulnerable spot,” Bender said. “We just had to go up there and execute, and that’s what we’ve been saying all year, we just need clean execution.

“That’s something we haven’t done,” he said. “I feel like every week we have a very good game plan, we just haven’t executed the way we really want to. I thought (against TCU) it was pretty clean execution and it gave us a chance to win. There’s still some stuff we need to improve on, we’ll go back and look at the film, diagnose it and get ready to go.”

That’s because for the first time since 2016, the Jayhawks (3-5, 1-4) will be trying to win two straight conference games when they face Iowa State on Saturday.

It has been a long, winding road for Bender. He was a touted prospect coming out of Florida when he signed with Washington State, where he was expected to be the next catalyst of coach Mike Leach’s spread offense. He redshirted his first year and appeared in five games as a freshman, but he ultimately decided to transfer following the season.

He landed at Itawamba Community College in Mississippi, and played well enough during a season there that several schools came calling. He signed with the Jayhawks with the knowledge that the long-rebuilding program would give him an opportunity to start right away.

Bender did that, too. But he never really solidified his job last season, starting only eight games and watching Carter Stanley share plenty of snaps. The two continued their close competition into this season, and even at halftime last Saturday it wasn’t certain Bender would play the second half.

He wasn’t very good over the first 30 minutes against TCU.

But the polite, soft-spoken quarterback got the nod from Beaty for the third quarter and rose to the occasion, batting back the skeptics once again with a performance he will long remember.

“I can’t say enough about him,” Beaty said. “I thought he did a terrific job.”

Authors to share their stories

Featured authors at the Iola Public Library’s Family Reading Festival, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Iola High School, inlcude:

– Keynote author Brian McTavish, 10 a.m., “Comic Genius: Masterworks of American Graphic Storytelling.”

– Stephen Gilpin, 11 a.m., illustrator of “Wires and Nerve” graphic novel series. An Iola native, he’s been working as an illustrator and cartoonist for 18 years.

– Michael Graves, 11 a.m., “To Leave a Shadow” and “Shadow of Death,” mysteries set in 1930s Kansas. He recently retired from Emporia State University.

– Ian Michael Spurgeon, noon, “Soldiers in the Army of Freedom: the 1st Kansas Colored, the Civil War’s First African American Combat Unit.” He is a military historian with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Washington, D.C.

– Roderick Townley, noon, “The Great Good Thing,” “A Bitter Magic” and other young adult novels. He has written numerous children’s books, works of criticism and poetry, and has earned a number of honors.

– Marc Tyler Nobleman, 1 p.m. “Boys of Steel,” “Bill the Boy Wonder,” and other graphic novels (via Skype).

– Mark Eberle, 1 p.m., “Kansas Baseball, 1858-1941.” He teaches biology and scientific writing at Fort Hays State University.

– Carol Murray, 2 p.m., “Cricket in the Thicket.” A poet and author of books for children, she taught English and speech for 25 years at Hutchinson Community College and also has taught writing, communications and literature classes.

– Josh Cotter, 2 p.m., “Skyscrapers of the Midwest” and other graphic novels. He is a cartoonist and author who lives in rural northwest Missouri.

 

Positive messages shared

Thanks to a grant from DCCCA, a statewide substance abuse prevention organization, the Allen County Multi-Agency Team was able to land New York-based inspirational speaker Shaun Derik, who delivered speeches ?advocating positive thinking, self-love, and clean living to students at schools in Iola, Humboldt and Moran. Among his proverbs: “Don’t just be good, be great.” “Practice makes better.” “Actions speak louder than words.” “Be brave.” “Choose your friends wisely.” “Don’t do drugs.” “What’s bigger — a car’s windshield or its rear-view mirror?”

“Now, there’s a reason why a windshield of a car is bigger than a rear-view mirror,” Derik told the packed bleachers at Iola Middle School, “and that’s because what’s in front of you is so much more important than what’s behind you. I don’t care what you did before you got here. I just care what kind of decisions you make from this moment on.”

 

Richard Wood

Richard Wiley Wood passed away Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, at his apartment in San Diego, Calif., at the age of 91 after a bout with several illnesses.

Richard Wiley Wood was the last of seven children born to Gladys Linden (Thomas) and Lawrence Vivian Wood on July 7, 1927 at the Harper, Kan., hospital. After Richard’s father was shot over a land dispute on the Moffett Ranch in Harper, circumstances forced the family to move back to the Elsmore, Allen County area around 1936. His father, L.V. Wood, was originally from the Allen County area.

Richard was graduated from Iola Senior High School in 1945. On July 9, 1945, shortly after his 18th birthday, he entered the Air Force (Army Air Corps) and was stationed in Alaska. After his discharge from the Air Force, he studied at the University of Kansas and graduated in 1953 with a major in history and a minor in German.

On July 11, 1955, he started working for Edison Electric in San Diego and retired on Nov. 30, 1990 as a budget analyst developer. During his retirement years, he volunteered at the Veterans Administration and enjoyed attending various art festivals. He devoted his time and energies to various charities, especially those associated with veterans.

No services will be held. Trident Society, San Diego, was in charge of the cremation and Richard’s wishes are that his ashes be scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents and six siblings: Joseph H. Wood, Muriel Bohrer, Aileen Ballenger, Virginia Albright, Thomas B. Wood and Dorothy McCoy. He leaves behind a close friend, Ruben Aceves of San Diego and 11 nieces and nephews.

Dave Holman

Dave Holman, age 76, of Welda, died Monday, Oct. 29, 2018, at Stormont-Vail Health Center in Topeka.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Feuerborn Family Funeral Service Chapel, Garnett. Burial will follow in the Welda Cemetery. The family will greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday evening at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Alzheimer’s Association and left in care of the funeral home.

Dottie Barham

Dorothy “Dottie” Lucille (Smith) Barham, age 85, died Oct. 17, 2018. She recently lived in Iola with her daughter, Robin “Renee” Diviney.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday with services at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dickson Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Dickson, Tenn.