A look back in time

60 Years Ago

November 1959

Glen O. McGuire of Iola has been promoted to manager of distribution and transmission of the Union Gas System by Harrison Johnson, president. McGuire is executive vice president and general manager of the Union LP Gas System, a wholly owned subsidiary. He will continue in that position and live in Iola until the school year is finished, upon which he and his family will move to Independence. He has been here with Union LP since 1948. He is president of Iola Industries, Inc., a director of the Security Savings and Loan and has been active in the Chamber of Commerce. He married Isabel Ashford in Iola in 1934 and they have a son, Pat, 17, a senior in Iola High School. 

*****

Preservation of Allen County’s renowned courthouse clock has been assured by the contribution of an anonymous Iola businessman which brings the fund to its initial goal of $3,000. The clock will be renovated, electrified and placed in a brick and stone structure in the southeast corner of the courthouse lawn.

Hong Kong: A city on the brink

Hong Kong is burning. The authorities continue to pour fuel on the fire. On Monday, the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist party, warned that there is “absolutely no room for compromise.” But it is not merely that Beijing and the Hong Kong government will not take a step back; they continue to escalate the crisis.

As the newspaper commentary was published, Hong Kong Polytechnic University was besieged by police, who fired round after round of teargas at protesters attempting to flee the scene. The message — no way out — was all the more disturbing given that officers had earlier threatened to use live fire if petrol bombs or weaponry were used against them again. Among the hundreds trapped were said to be secondary school pupils. Parents, lawmakers and a bishop who sought to talk to protesters and seek some kind of resolution were prevented from doing so, though the former head of Hong Kong’s legislative council was later allowed to enter. When tens of thousands more residents launched “save the students” marches converging upon the campus, they too faced rubber bullets and teargas, in some cases after people threw petrol bombs.

Excessive force and police brutality have accelerated and magnified these protests, turning what began as a rejection of the extradition bill into a far broader movement, and persuading a large section of the population that they should support it. The withdrawal of the bill was far too little, too late. Meanwhile, banning most rallies has closed off a peaceful avenue for challenging authorities.

Though many remain peaceful, a radical minority of protesters have responded with unacceptable violence. Many in Hong Kong will deplore that decision and were rightly repelled when a man was set on fire last week, apparently by a protester. Another man died after he was hit by a brick during a clash between protesters and police. But a large proportion of the population still blames those in power for this crisis, and it is likely that more stand by the cause: defending Hong Kong’s way of life, safeguarded in theory until 2047, but dramatically eroded in recent years. Meanwhile, they note that the People’s Liberation Army took to the city’s streets to clear barricades this weekend: a “voluntary clean-up activity” which acted as a reminder that the Chinese military could yet be called in, and which many saw as an attempt to normalise their presence.

The movement’s resolve in Hong Kong is also a response to events on the mainland: the increasing repression seen under Xi Jinping, most of all in Xinjiang. As government documents leaked to the New York Times have unveiled, the mass detention of a million or more Uighurs and other minorities originated in directives from Xi to “show absolutely no mercy” in the “struggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism.” Many in Hong Kong fear that to pause or seek compromise is to surrender entirely. Further repression in the region will provoke the kind of ongoing resistance, even insurgency, that some have called the “Belfastisation” of the city.

Further afield, the crisis has boosted, to Beijing’s chagrin, the prospects of Taiwan’s incumbent president, Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive party, as she faces next year’s election. And the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, under consideration by the US Senate on Monday, would impose economic sanctions and a travel ban on officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses.

China’s leaders may still believe all this is a price worth paying. Since 1989, when it crushed the pro-reform protests that began in Tiananmen Square, and witnessed the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union, Beijing has calculated that bloody suppression should be avoided if possible — but not by offering concessions. It will angrily dismiss any criticism, as it has that from Britain. Ignored or not, foreign leaders have a duty to remind China that they are watching.

 

Ambassador: Giuliani pushed for ‘quid pro quo’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ambassador Gordon Sondland told House impeachment investigators today that Rudy Giuliani was pushing a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine that he had to go along with it because it’s what President Donald Trump wanted.

“Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the president of the United States, and we knew that these investigations were important to the president,” Sondland testified.

Giuliani is Trump’s personal lawyer.

“I know that members of this committee have frequently framed these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: Was there a ‘quid pro quo?’ As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes.”

“We did not want to work with Mr. Giuliani,” the ambassador said. But he said Trump told him and other diplomats working on Ukraine issues “talk with Rudy” on those matters. “So we followed the president’s orders.”

Sondland also confirmed that he spoke with Trump on a cellphone from a busy Kyiv restaurant the day after the president prodded Ukraine’s leader to investigate political rival Joe Biden.

And Sondland, the most anticipated witness in the inquiry, said he kept Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other top administration officials aware of what was going on.

He said he specifically told Vice President Mike Pence he “had concerns” that U.S. military aid to Ukraine “had become tied” to the investigations.

“Everyone was in the loop,” Sondland testified in opening remarks. “It was no secret.”

Sondland described how demands became more serious with more conditions on any potential Ukraine meeting at the White House.

“As time went on, more specific items got added to the menu — specially Burisma and 2016 meddling,” he said, referring to the gas company where Joe Biden’s son Hunter served on the board. And, he added, “the server,” the hacked Democratic computer system.

The wealthy hotelier and Trump donor has emerged as a central figure in an intense week with nine witnesses testifying over three days. He has told lawmakers the White House has records of the July 26 call, despite the fact that Trump has said he doesn’t recall the conversation.

The ambassador’s account of the recently revealed call supports the testimony of multiple witnesses who have spoken to impeachment investigators over the past week.

Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to investigate Democrats as he was withholding military aid to the East European nation is at the center of the impeachment probe that imperils his presidency.

Democratic chairman Adam Schiff of California opened the hearing saying, “The knowledge of this scheme was far and wide.”

Schiff warned Pompeo and other administration officials who are refusing to turn over documents and testimony to the committee “they do so at their own peril.” He said obstruction of Congress was included in articles of impeachment during Watergate.

The top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes of California, decried the inquiry and told the ambassador, “Mr. Sondland, you are here to be smeared.”

Nunes renewed his demand to hear from the still-anonymous whistleblower.???

Kappa Alpha plans ‘Breakfast With Santa’

Jeanna Church hosted 14 Kappa Alpha members at their meeting Monday.

A pinning ceremony took place with Lucinda Stanley presiding. Receiving pins were Jessica Robb, Allie George, Kayla Wallace and Ashlyn Rowe.  

The next money-maker will be a “Breakfast With Santa,” on Dec. 7 at the Iola Recreation Community Building Little Theatre.

Members were asked to donate canned goods to the community pantry. Donations were made to The Gideons to purchase Bibles.

Suggestions were made for adopting a family for the holidays.

The next business meeting is Dec. 2. The annual Christmas gift exchange will be Dec. 14 at the Iola Elks Lodge.

Wildcats win despite first-half struggles

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Xavier Sneed had 21 points and six rebounds, Cartier Diarra had seven points and eight assists as Kansas State escaped a scare from Arkansas-Pine Bluff 62-51 on Tuesday night.

 The Wildcats continue to struggle in the first half and still haven’t led at intermission yet this season.

“If we continue to do that as the competition gets better, we won’t be able to come back,” coach Bruce Weber said. “We’ve had to grind out some things, but we are learning and growing from it.” 

Sneed had five 3-pointers and it was the first time he’d scored more than 20 points in a game since leading Kansas State past Kentucky in the Sweet 16 two years ago.

“We’re still getting better and a lot of our guys are learning still,” Sneed said. “We’re all being coachable and that’s the biggest thing right now.” 

Marquell Carter led the Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-4) with 20 points and nine rebounds as the Lions trailed by just six points with nine minutes left in the game.

 This was Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s narrowest margin of defeat this season.

 The Lions were without two of their top players, Shaun Doss and Terrance Banyard, who both got injured in the past few days. 

“I think we came in with the mindset of how this game would go, but credit to them,” Weber said.  

Makol Mawien finished with 10 points and Antonio Gordon provided nine as Kansas State ended with 24 points in the paint and 10 offensive rebounds. 

Neither team took care of the ball very well as Kansas State had 16 turnovers compared to Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s 20. 

Kansas State (4-0) has relied heavily on Diarra and his ability to see the floor as he set a school record for most assists in the first four games of a season with 27.  

“I try to get their eyes off me and make my teammates look better,” Diarra said. “Got to keep passing the ball and getting assists and if they’re making shots that’ll open more shots for me and allow me to attack.” 

A zone defense by the Lions proved to be troublesome and the Wildcats posted the fewest point total in a home game this season. 

Kansas State was able to make a season high eight 3-pointers and held the Golden Lions to just three. 

Both teams had a 12-0 run in the first half, and they were squared at 27 after 20 minutes. 

 

INJURY WATCH 

Montavious Murphy didn’t play for the Wildcats due to an injury he sustained against Monmouth last week. He averages five points and five rebounds this season. 

“He tweaked his knee in the game last week, but it’s nothing major,” Weber said. “We’re hoping for him to play next week, but we’re not going to push it.” 

 

BIG PICTURE 

Arkansas-Pine Bluff had too many turnovers to hang with the Wildcats but showed promise after a poor start to the season. 

Kansas State’s first half woes continued, but they were able to pull away in the second half. 

 

UP NEXT 

Arkansas-Pine Bluff plays its third game in six days Thursday when they face Pittsburgh. 

Kansas State will take part in the Fort Myers Tipoff in Florida when they take on Pittsburgh on Monday.

LeBron’s triple-double leads Lakers past OKC

 LOS ANGELES (AP) — To LeBron James, triple-doubles are not a goal.

They are only a side effect of the consistent, brilliant all-around play he has been dishing out for 17 NBA seasons, with no slowdown in sight.

Triple-doubles also don’t mean much to LeBron without wins attached to them, so James was pleased when his latest statistical superlative occurred during yet another successful night for the surging Los Angeles Lakers.

James became the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double against every team in the league, and Anthony Davis scored 34 points during the Lakers’ fifth straight victory, 112-107 over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

James finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to post a triple-double against his 30th opponent for the NBA-leading Lakers, who have won 12 of 13 after a perfect four-game homestand. James was more surprised than thrilled by his latest statistical achievement, particularly while a different statistic glared at him from the box score.

“Coach (Frank) Vogel came in here and said, ‘Congratulations,’ and I thought he was joking about my seven turnovers,” James said. “I really don’t know what to think about it. I just think it’s a pretty cool stat to know, and I’m glad it happened in a win.”

James has five triple-doubles in the Lakers’ last 10 games, getting four in victories. There’s a reason for this spree: Although James has constantly filled the stat sheet since he joined the league in 2003, he is leading the NBA this season with 11.1 assists per game, nearly four more than his career average. He has at least 10 assists in six consecutive games, the longest streak of his career.

Vogel has put the ball in James’ hands constantly on offense, and his playmaking acumen has grown along with his chemistry with Davis, as they demonstrated repeatedly against the Thunder. Seven of LeBron’s assists came on baskets by Davis.

“Amazing,” Davis said. “To be able to do that against every team is something special. I mean, (it’s) trippy that he’s been playing for a long time, so it was a matter of time before it happened, but just a tribute to all his hard work.”

James is fifth in NBA history with 86 triple-doubles, but the four players in front of him — Oscar Robertson, Russell Westbrook, Lakers great Magic Johnson and Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd — hadn’t done it against 30 teams. Kidd, who did it against 28 teams, has served as a role model for James’ efforts as a tall point guard

“He’s just playing terrific basketball,” Vogel said. “For him to be doing what he’s doing in his 17th year is just nothing short of remarkable. There’s no reason to believe he can’t sustain that for the rest of the season and help us make a real strong playoff push.”

Dennis Schröder scored 20 of his season-high 31 points in a phenomenal first half for the Thunder, who have lost four of five despite two solid performances at Staples Center. Danilo Gallinari added 25 points in his former home arena, and Nerlens Noel had 15.

“That’s why (James) is considered probably the best of all time, but I think we did a great job on him,” Schröder said. “They obviously hit some tough shots.”

One night after the Thunder barely missed an upset win over the Clippers thanks to a last-minute 3-pointer by former star Paul George, Oklahoma City couldn’t quite catch up to the powerful Lakers despite keeping the game close all night.

“There’s a lot of things we did well in there,” Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said. “But, you know, we came up short in all these games. I think the one sign you can point to is both teams, the Clippers and the Lakers, are really, really good teams, so we’re competing well at a high level. But we’ve just got to do more in order to be able to finish and close out games.”

The Thunder won’t have to wait long for a rematch: These teams meet again in Oklahoma City in three days.

 

TIP-INS

Thunder: F Hamidou Diallo missed his third straight game with a left knee sprain. … Schröder got a technical foul in the third quarter for confronting Davis at the free throw line after Davis dunked and was fouled.

Lakers: Kyle Kuzma left the court in the second quarter with an eye abrasion after teenager Darius Bazley hit him in the right side of his face with an elbow on a drive. Kuzma returned to the bench in the second half, but with obvious damage above his eye. He didn’t return to the game, although Vogel said he was available if necessary. The Lakers plan to re-evaluate him within the next 24 hours.

 

CLOSEOUT SEQUENCE

James’ 3-pointer put the Lakers up 109-98 with 3:08 to play, but the Thunder scored nine straight points to cut the Lakers’ lead to two on Gallinari’s free throws with 1:24 left.

After Danny Green got a key offensive rebound for the Lakers, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope drilled a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left. James missed two free throws moments later to keep the Thunder in it, but Oklahoma City couldn’t score again.

 

POINT GUARDS BEHAVE

Chris Paul had four points, 10 assists and five rebounds for the Thunder, and he didn’t appear to clash with Rajon Rondo, his opponent in a fight early last season while he was with the Rockets. Rondo had eight points and a season-high 10 assists.

 

UP NEXT

Thunder: Host the Lakers on Friday.

Lakers: Visit the Thunder on Friday.

Jayhawks thump East Tennessee

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The buzzer had just sounded on another win for Kansas when coach Bill Self collared East Tennessee State guard Bo Hodges in front of his bench and whispered something in his ear.

Then he did the same to the Buccaneers’ Tray Boyd III.

“He was just saying we’re a good team. We fight to the end. We’re tough to play,” Boyd said, long after the fourth-ranked Jayhawks weathered a second-half charge for a 75-63 victory Tuesday night.

“They’re the No. 4 team in the nation for a reason,” Boyd added, “but we didn’t back down.”

They sure didn’t.

Kansas (3-1) led by as many as 18 early in the game before the Buccaneers whittled the lead to 43-31 by the break. East Tennessee State kept charging the final 20 minutes, closing within 61-56 with just over 5 minutes to go, before the Jayhawks finally eased away.

“I thought the first punch they gave us really put us down,” Buccaneers coach Steve Forbes said, “and it was really hard to battle back from there. But our team, one of our mottos is we’re gritty, grimy, tough and together, and I thought we showed that most of the game.”

Udoka Azubuike pounded home 21 points on an array of dunks to lead the Jayhawks. Devon Dotson had 19 points, most of it coming early in the game, and Marcus Garrett finished with 13 points.

Hodges wound up with 22 and Lucas N’Guessan scored 11 for the Buccaneers (3-1), who were off to their best start since the 1998-99 season. Daivien Williamson came off the bench to add 10.

The game looked like it would be The Dotson Show from the opening tip, when the sprightly guard coasted in for a layup. He proceeded to hit the Jayhawks’ only 3 of the first half, threw an alley-oop to Silvio de Sousa for an easy dunk and knocked down a pair of free throws during a big early run.

“We wanted to jump on them early and really get that first hit in,” Dotson said, “so just bring the energy and tenacity from the start and that can sway a game.”

The Jayhawks pushed lead to 31-13 before Dotson checked out for the first time.

They never looked quite as good again.

N’Guessan, who had played in Allen Fieldhouse with Oklahoma State, began a second-half charge for the Buccaneers that trimmed their deficit to 45-36 by the first media timeout.

The Buccaneers began to take advantage of the turnover problems that plagued Kansas in its season-opening loss to Duke, too. Ochai Agbaji was stripped twice in a span of about a minute, and Garrett and Tristan Enaruna had their pockets picked on back-to-back trips.

Seven times in a span of 12 possessions the Jayhawks turned the ball over.

East Tennessee State’s confidence rose as shots started to fall. Boyd knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, then Patrick Good added two of his own, getting the Buccaneers within 61-56 with 5:52 left.

Azubuike kept hammering home answers.

His one-handed jam over N’Guessan raised the crowd to its feet, and the 7-footer’s two-handed dunk drew a foul and left the rim rattling as the teams retreated to their benches for a timeout.

“The guys did a good job of feeding me the ball,” Azubuike said, “so I went to work.”

Boyd was left marveling: “What do y’all feed him? Goodness,” he said.

It was still 61-56 when Garrett was fouled and made both free throws. Then, after Williamson turned the ball over for East Tennessee State, de Sousa threw down an alley-oop dunk in transition that helped to punctuate the win for the Jayhawks.

“I thought we played a really good team,” Self said. “I really like their team. They’re going to be really good. They’re veterans, they can stretch it and they made some hard shots late to get back in the game, but I thought we closed it really well.”

 

BIG PICTURE

East Tennessee State showed why it’s a good bet to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Buccaneers spotted the Jayhawks a big early lead — almost always a losing scenario in the Phog — yet relied on a senior-laden group that has won plenty of games to keep from getting blown out.

Kansas had chances to put the game away early. But its offense languished after a fast start, and even the sure-handed Dotson had turnover trouble. Those are issues that will accompany the Jayhawks to the Maui Invitational, where they could face Michigan State down the road.

 

UP NEXT

East Tennessee State plays Delaware State on Saturday.

Kansas faces Chaminade on Monday night in Lahaina, Hawaii.

Savonburg librarian attends wind energy workshop

Kathy Hale of Savonburg Public Library attended the LEAP into Science workshop presented by the Franklin Institute Science Museum of Philadelphia on Friday at the Fredonia Public Library.

Kimberly Patton featured speaker, presented information and strategies for conducting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workshops on wind.

Each participating library received $300 to help them hold at least three interactive workshops for children in the next year concerning wind energy.

The program was sponsored by the Southeast Kansas Library System. 

In other news, the Savonburg Library was awarded a grant of $1,352.36 by the SEKLS to help it improve its facility. The grant will be used to purchase furnishings as well as create an activity wall. 

Colony church is ‘Always thankful’

Howard Reiter gave the Communion meditation “Always thankful” at Sunday’s Carlyle Christian Church service.

We must remember to rejoice in the Lord regardless of what God gives or withholds, Reiter said. God stays the same, even when our circumstances change. Thankfulness needs to come from what is in our hearts, not in our hands.

Guest minister Sam Hershberger gave the sermon on the fifth week of our Overcomer series, “You Declare.”

When you declare something, you make it known, Hershberger said. God made it clear to Peter that his mercy and grace was for everyone… the Jews AND the Gentiles. God shows no favoritism. In every nation, God accepts those who fear Him and do right, and the Holy Spirit falls on those who listen.

Men’s Bible study is at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Youth group meets at 7 p.m. each Wednesday.

Chase, Jessica and Bruce will give a presentation on their trip to Israel at 6 p.m. Sunday.

 

MLB commissioner prepared to use broad authority against Astros

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred hopes the investigation into sign stealing by the Houston Astros will be complete by next season and says he has authority to impose discipline beyond the loss of amateur draft picks.

Oakland pitcher Mike Fiers says that when he was with Houston in 2017, the Astros stole signs during home games by using a camera positioned in center field, The Athletic reported last week.

“Any allegation that relates to a rule violation that could affect the outcome of a game or games is the most serious matter — it relates to the integrity of the sport,” Manfred said Tuesday ahead of an owners’ meeting. “People want the game played consistent with our rules, and feel it’s important that we figure out exactly what happened here and take steps to make sure that it doesn’t happen in the future by imposing appropriate discipline.”

Manfred fined the Boston Red Sox in September 2017 for using an Apple Watch to steal signals from New York Yankees catchers. At the time, only weeks before the Astros won their first World Series title, Manfred said “all 30 clubs have been notified that future violations of this type will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks.”

Loss of international signing bonus pool allocation also has been mentioned as a potential penalty.

“I’m not going to speculate on what the appropriate discipline is. That depends on how the facts are established at the end of the investigation,” Manfred said. “The general warning that I issued to the clubs, I stand by. It certainly could be all those things. But my authority under the major league constitution would be broader than those things, as well.”

Manfred said for now no other teams are being investigated.

“Right now we are focused on the information that we have with respect to the Astros. I’m not going to speculate on whether other people are going to be involved. We’ll deal with that if it happens,” he said. “I have no reason to believe that it extends beyond the Astros at this point in time.”

While there is no firm timeline for the probe, Manfred said, “I certainly would hope that we would be done before we start playing baseball again.”

There has long been speculation among teams about Houston breaking rules barring electronic sign stealing. The Astros won the American League pennant again this season before losing to Washington in Game 7 of the World Series at home.

“We have over time monitored various rumors that you hear throughout the industry, made preliminary investigations, tried to satisfy ourselves that we knew exactly what’s going on,” Manfred said. “But certainly not with the depth and detail that came out in the article.”

The commissioner spoke to reporters in a suite level hallway while taking a tour of the new Rangers ballpark, which is adjacent to the hotel where owners will meet through Thursday. The ballpark opens next season.

When asked what owners are saying about the situation with the Astros, Manfred said it was hard to characterize what they all were thinking.

“One obviously in a very different category, but the other 29 I think share my concern,” Manfred said.

Notes: Manfred’s tour of Globe Life Field came a day after the final steel piece for the retractable roof was installed. Construction workers signed that beam before it was raised into place atop the stadium. About 19,000 tons of steel were used to build the roof. The Rangers said Tuesday that construction is about 85% complete. Manfred made his first visit since being there for the groundbreaking in September 2017. He said it was “reasonable to assume” that the new ballpark would host an All-Star Game but offered no specifics on when. The first scheduled Rangers game is an exhibition March 23 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The first regular season game is March 31 against the Los Angeles Angels, and Manfred said he plans to be there. The Rangers played across the street at their previous ballpark for 26 seasons.