Pauline Meis, age 76, of Catharine, 
Kansas passed away Friday, December 31, 2021, at Redbud Village in 
Plainville, Kansas. She was born July 31, 1945, in Hays, Kansas, to 
Gerhardt and Agnes (Brown) Rohr. On June 27, 1964, she married Ernest E. 
"Ernie" Meis, in St. Catherine Catholic Church. He preceded her in death
 April 3, 2010.

Pauline attended Yocemento Elementary 
School, Ellis Grade School, Jefferson West (Kennedy) Middle School, 
graduated from Marion High in 1963 and the IBM School in Dallas, Texas.

Pauline was a homemaker and had worked 
in food service at the North McDonalds and St. John’s Nursing Home. She 
was a member of St. Catherine Catholic Church, St. Catherine Christian 
Mothers and Youth 4-h.

Pauline enjoyed working outdoors and 
outdoors activities. She had been Elk hunting, panned for gold and 
fished with her younger brother, Leroy, helping out at fair time, 
painting things and gardening, baking cakes for all occasions including 
birthdays and weddings, raising farm animals and traveling whenever 
possible. It was known that she loved all of God’s things except snakes.
 Pauline was extremely fond of her grandsons.

She is survived by two sons, Paul Meis 
and wife Theresa of Hays, Eddie Meis of Catharine; a daughter, Rose 
Hammersmith of Hays; a brother, Leroy Rohr and wife Kim of LaCrosse, 
Kansas and two grandsons, Karl and Jacob Meis.

She was preceded in death by her 
parents; her husband; a daughter, Paula; two infant sons; two brothers, 
Gilbert Rohr and wife Jeneice, Julius Rohr; a sister, Evelyne Hatfield 
and husband Donald; and a son-in-law, Dean Hammersmith. &nbsp;

Funeral services will be 11:00 AM 
Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Catharine, 
Kansas. Inurnment at a later date in St. Catherine Cemetery. Due to 
Covid concerns masks are encouraged.

Visitation will be Monday 4:00 PM – 
8:00 PM and Tuesday 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM all Brock's-Keithley Funeral 
Chapel and Crematory 2509 Vine Hays, KS 67601.

A combined parish vigil and St. Catherine Christian Mothers Rosary service will be Monday at 7:00 PM at the funeral chapel.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the family to be designated at a later date. Checks may be made payable to Paul Meis.

Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or by email at keithleyfuneralhomes@gmail.com

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641146421997.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Pauline Meis, age 76, of Catharine, 
Kansas passed away Friday, December 31, 2021, at Redbud Village in 
Plainville, Kansas. She was born July 31, 1945, in Hays, Kansas, to 
Gerhardt and Agnes (Brown) Rohr. On June 27, 1964, she married Ernest E. 
"Ernie" Meis, in St. Catherine Catholic Church. He preceded her in death
 April 3, 2010.Pauline attended Yocemento Elementary 
School, Ellis Grade School, Jefferson West (Kennedy) Middle School, 
graduated from Marion High in 1963 and the IBM School in Dallas, Texas.Pauline was a homemaker and had worked 
in food service at the North McDonalds and St. John’s Nursing Home. She 
was a member of St. Catherine Catholic Church, St. Catherine Christian 
Mothers and Youth 4-h.Pauline enjoyed working outdoors and 
outdoors activities. She had been Elk hunting, panned for gold and 
fished with her younger brother, Leroy, helping out at fair time, 
painting things and gardening, baking cakes for all occasions including 
birthdays and weddings, raising farm animals and traveling whenever 
possible. It was known that she loved all of God’s things except snakes.
 Pauline was extremely fond of her grandsons.She is survived by two sons, Paul Meis 
and wife Theresa of Hays, Eddie Meis of Catharine; a daughter, Rose 
Hammersmith of Hays; a brother, Leroy Rohr and wife Kim of LaCrosse, 
Kansas and two grandsons, Karl and Jacob Meis.She was preceded in death by her 
parents; her husband; a daughter, Paula; two infant sons; two brothers, 
Gilbert Rohr and wife Jeneice, Julius Rohr; a sister, Evelyne Hatfield 
and husband Donald; and a son-in-law, Dean Hammersmith. &nbsp;Funeral services will be 11:00 AM 
Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Catharine, 
Kansas. Inurnment at a later date in St. Catherine Cemetery. Due to 
Covid concerns masks are encouraged.Visitation will be Monday 4:00 PM – 
8:00 PM and Tuesday 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM all Brock's-Keithley Funeral 
Chapel and Crematory 2509 Vine Hays, KS 67601.A combined parish vigil and St. Catherine Christian Mothers Rosary service will be Monday at 7:00 PM at the funeral chapel.Memorial contributions are suggested to the family to be designated at a later date. Checks may be made payable to Paul Meis.Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or by email at keithleyfuneralhomes@gmail.com

Pauline Meis

Today is Sunday, Jan. 2, the second day of 2022. There are 363 days left in the year. 

On Jan. 2, 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts launched his successful bid for the presidency. 

In 1900, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay announced the "Open Door Policy" to facilitate trade with China.

In 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. 

In 1811, Sen. Timothy Pickering, a Federalist from Massachusetts, became the first member of the U.S. Senate to be censured after he'd improperly revealed the contents of an executive document. 

In 1929, the United States and Canada reached agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls.

In 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II.

In 1967, Republican Ronald Reagan took the oath of office as the new governor of California in a ceremony that took place in Sacramento shortly just after midnight. 

In 1971, 66 people were killed in a pileup of spectators leaving a soccer match at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland. 

In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 miles an hour as a way of conserving gasoline in the face of an OPEC oil embargo. (The 55 mph limit was effectively phased out in 1987; federal speed limits were abolished in 1995.) 

In 2007, the state funeral for former President Gerald R. Ford began with an elaborate service at Washington National Cathedral, then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

In 2015, California began issuing driver's licenses to immigrants who were in the country illegally. Little Jimmy Dickens, a diminutive singer-songwriter who was the oldest cast member of the Grand Ole Opry, died at age 94. 

In 2016, a heavily armed group led by Ammon and Ryan Bundy seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, beginning a 41-day standoff to protest the imprisonment of two ranchers convicted of setting fires on public land and to demand the federal government turn over public lands to local control. 

In 2018, Sen. Al Franken formally resigned from the Senate a month after the Minnesota Democrat announced his plan to leave Congress amid a series of sexual misconduct allegations. NBC News announced that Hoda Kotb would be the co-anchor of the first two hours of the "Today" show, replacing Matt Lauer following his firing due to sexual misconduct allegations. 

Ten years ago: Gordon Hirabayashi, a Japanese-American sociologist who spent 90 days in jail for refusing to be interned during World War II, died in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at age 93. (Hirabayashi's conviction was overturned in 1987 by a U.S. court which concluded that the U.S. government's internment policies had been based on political expediency, and not on any risk to national security.)

Five years ago: A suicide bomber driving a pickup loaded with explosives struck a bustling market in Baghdad, killing at least 36 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group hours after French President Francois Hollande arrived in the Iraqi capital.

One year ago: President Donald Trump, in a phone call with Georgia's Republican secretary of state, pressured Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn Joe Biden's win in the state, repeatedly citing disproven claims of fraud; in a recording of the conversation, Trump was heard raising the prospect of a "criminal offense" if officials did not change the vote count. Joining Trump's effort to overturn the election, eleven Republican senators and senators-elect said they would vote against certain state electors on Jan. 6 unless Congress appointed a commission to audit the results. International inspectors said Iran planned to enrich uranium up to 20% at an underground nuclear facility; Iran's program would then be a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Paul Westphal, a Hall of Fame basketball player who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and later coached in the league and in college, died in Arizona at the age of 70.

Today's Birthdays: Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert is 80. TV host Jack Hanna is 75. Actor Wendy Phillips is 70. Actor Cynthia Sikes is 68. Actor Gabrielle Carteris is 61. Movie director Todd Haynes is 61. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher David Cone is 59. Baseball Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez is 59. Actor Tia Carrere is 55. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is 54. Model Christy Turlington is 53. Actor Taye Diggs is 51. Actor Renée Elise Goldsberry is 51. Rock singer Doug Robb (Hoobastank) is 47. Actor Dax Shepard is 47. Actor Paz Vega is 46. Ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff (TV: "Dancing with the Stars") is 44. Rock musician Jerry DePizzo Jr. (O.A.R.) is 43. R&amp;B singer Kelton Kessee (IMX) is 41. Pop singer-musician Ryan Merchant (Capital Cities) is 41. Actor Kate Bosworth is 39. Actor Anthony Carrigan is 39. Actor Peter Gadiot is 37. Jazz singer-musician Trombone Shorty is 36. Singer-songwriter Mandy Harvey (TV: "America's Got Talent") is 34. R&amp;B singer-rapper Bryson Tiller is 29. San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. is 23.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSToday is Sunday, Jan. 2, the second day of 2022. There are 363 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Jan. 2, 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts launched his successful bid for the presidency. On this date: In 1900, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay announced the "Open Door Policy" to facilitate trade with China.In 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1811, Sen. Timothy Pickering, a Federalist from Massachusetts, became the first member of the U.S. Senate to be censured after he'd improperly revealed the contents of an executive document. In 1929, the United States and Canada reached agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls.In 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II.In 1967, Republican Ronald Reagan took the oath of office as the new governor of California in a ceremony that took place in Sacramento shortly just after midnight. In 1971, 66 people were killed in a pileup of spectators leaving a soccer match at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland. In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 miles an hour as a way of conserving gasoline in the face of an OPEC oil embargo. (The 55 mph limit was effectively phased out in 1987; federal speed limits were abolished in 1995.) In 2007, the state funeral for former President Gerald R. Ford began with an elaborate service at Washington National Cathedral, then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2015, California began issuing driver's licenses to immigrants who were in the country illegally. Little Jimmy Dickens, a diminutive singer-songwriter who was the oldest cast member of the Grand Ole Opry, died at age 94. In 2016, a heavily armed group led by Ammon and Ryan Bundy seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, beginning a 41-day standoff to protest the imprisonment of two ranchers convicted of setting fires on public land and to demand the federal government turn over public lands to local control. In 2018, Sen. Al Franken formally resigned from the Senate a month after the Minnesota Democrat announced his plan to leave Congress amid a series of sexual misconduct allegations. NBC News announced that Hoda Kotb would be the co-anchor of the first two hours of the "Today" show, replacing Matt Lauer following his firing due to sexual misconduct allegations. Ten years ago: Gordon Hirabayashi, a Japanese-American sociologist who spent 90 days in jail for refusing to be interned during World War II, died in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at age 93. (Hirabayashi's conviction was overturned in 1987 by a U.S. court which concluded that the U.S. government's internment policies had been based on political expediency, and not on any risk to national security.) Five years ago: A suicide bomber driving a pickup loaded with explosives struck a bustling market in Baghdad, killing at least 36 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group hours after French President Francois Hollande arrived in the Iraqi capital. One year ago: President Donald Trump, in a phone call with Georgia's Republican secretary of state, pressured Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn Joe Biden's win in the state, repeatedly citing disproven claims of fraud; in a recording of the conversation, Trump was heard raising the prospect of a "criminal offense" if officials did not change the vote count. Joining Trump's effort to overturn the election, eleven Republican senators and senators-elect said they would vote against certain state electors on Jan. 6 unless Congress appointed a commission to audit the results. International inspectors said Iran planned to enrich uranium up to 20% at an underground nuclear facility; Iran's program would then be a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Paul Westphal, a Hall of Fame basketball player who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and later coached in the league and in college, died in Arizona at the age of 70. Today's Birthdays: Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert is 80. TV host Jack Hanna is 75. Actor Wendy Phillips is 70. Actor Cynthia Sikes is 68. Actor Gabrielle Carteris is 61. Movie director Todd Haynes is 61. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher David Cone is 59. Baseball Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez is 59. Actor Tia Carrere is 55. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is 54. Model Christy Turlington is 53. Actor Taye Diggs is 51. Actor Renée Elise Goldsberry is 51. Rock singer Doug Robb (Hoobastank) is 47. Actor Dax Shepard is 47. Actor Paz Vega is 46. Ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff (TV: "Dancing with the Stars") is 44. Rock musician Jerry DePizzo Jr. (O.A.R.) is 43. R&amp;B singer Kelton Kessee (IMX) is 41. Pop singer-musician Ryan Merchant (Capital Cities) is 41. Actor Kate Bosworth is 39. Actor Anthony Carrigan is 39. Actor Peter Gadiot is 37. Jazz singer-musician Trombone Shorty is 36. Singer-songwriter Mandy Harvey (TV: "America's Got Talent") is 34. R&amp;B singer-rapper Bryson Tiller is 29. San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. is 23.

Today in History - Jan. 2

By RON WILSON Kansas State University

A crew from the Guinness Book of World Records is recording a video of a new world record holder. And where do you suppose this world record holder is found? Would you believe, in rural Kansas?&nbsp;

Today we’ll meet a family which is producing longhorn cattle that are setting global records.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Joe Sedlacek is the owner of Lazy J Longhorns near Greenleaf, Kan. He was born in the nearby rural community of Frankfort, population 726 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;

Joe grew up around cattle as his father ran an Angus cowherd. But Joe became interested in another kind of cattle: Texas longhorns.&nbsp;

“I was always fascinated with longhorns,” Joe said. “I’d watch every old western just to catch a glimpse of a longhorn. If we were traveling and happened to see a longhorn, we’d have to stop and take a picture.”&nbsp;

In August, 1996 when Joe was 15, he bought three longhorns as a hobby. “By Christmas of that year, I had 50 head,” Joe said. That is definitely a hobby that grew. After graduation, Joe did accounting work to keep books for several companies while growing his longhorn herd.&nbsp;

“Those book-keeping skills would come in handy (for the longhorn business) because you have to track a lot of data and measurements,” Joe said. In 2005, he married Stephanie who had grown up in nearby Hanover. They bought ground and built a home near Greenleaf.&nbsp;

“I figured this could be a viable business if I could devote myself to it full-time,” Joe said.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2008, he left another job to concentrate on his registered Texas Longhorn cattle breeding business. He called it Lazy J Longhorns.&nbsp;

Today, Lazy J Longhorns has approximately 150 head of longhorns. Lazy J sells longhorn bulls, cows, steers and heifers as well as a specially designed working chute.&nbsp;

The longhorn breed has rich history. After the Civil War, these hardy animals were running free in Texas, yet there was high demand for beef in the eastern markets.&nbsp;&nbsp;Entrepreneurial Texans gathered those longhorn cattle and drove them north to railroads in Kansas where they could be shipped to markets in the east. Of necessity, those animals learned to survive and raise calves in harsh wilderness conditions. Those traits of hardiness and mothering ability remain with the breed today.&nbsp;

The greatest fascination is with the huge horns that grow naturally on the heads of both males and females. Breeders are continually seeking to raise cattle with longer horns.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America even conducts an annual Horn Showcase and sale with prizes for the animals with the longest horns.&nbsp;

“Buyers want the big horns. If an animal has distinctive color and good disposition, that adds to the value even more,” Joe said.&nbsp;

One year, Joe’s herd raised a blue roan colored steer that he named Lazy J’s Bluegrass.&nbsp;&nbsp;The steer grew to have horns that were 10 feet 2 inches long, a world record at the time.&nbsp;&nbsp;In fact, Lazy J’s Bluegrass won the world record three years in a row.&nbsp;

Not only did the longhorn set the world record in the Guinness Book of World Records, he was chosen to be one of only 10 world record holders for which Guinness sent a video crew to record his story.&nbsp;

Lazy J’s Bluegrass became quite the celebrity. Joe brought him to Fort Worth for the annual longhorn sale and posted a video of Bluegrass walking into his pen on Wednesday evening. By the time of the sale on the following Friday night, the video had reached 4 million hits. On that night, Lazy J’s Bluegrass sold for a record $48,000.&nbsp;&nbsp;“The horn race is definitely on,” Joe said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

For more information, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.lazyjlonghorns.com/" target="_blank">www.lazyjlonghorns.com</a>.&nbsp;

A video crew came to Kansas and recorded footage of Lazy J’s Bluegrass, the world record-setting longhorn steer. We commend Joe and Stephanie Sedlacek for making a difference with their commitment to this unique breed. The legacy of these cattle is truly long.&nbsp;

And there’s more. Remember the specially designed working chute? We’ll learn about that next week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1623560862487.jpeg" alt="Ron Wilson. Photo courtesy KSRE" />
 <figcaption>Ron Wilson. Photo courtesy KSRE</figcaption>
 </figure>By RON WILSON Kansas State UniversityA crew from the Guinness Book of World Records is recording a video of a new world record holder. And where do you suppose this world record holder is found? Would you believe, in rural Kansas?&nbsp;Today we’ll meet a family which is producing longhorn cattle that are setting global records.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Joe Sedlacek is the owner of Lazy J Longhorns near Greenleaf, Kan. He was born in the nearby rural community of Frankfort, population 726 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;Joe grew up around cattle as his father ran an Angus cowherd. But Joe became interested in another kind of cattle: Texas longhorns.&nbsp;“I was always fascinated with longhorns,” Joe said. “I’d watch every old western just to catch a glimpse of a longhorn. If we were traveling and happened to see a longhorn, we’d have to stop and take a picture.”&nbsp;In August, 1996 when Joe was 15, he bought three longhorns as a hobby. “By Christmas of that year, I had 50 head,” Joe said. That is definitely a hobby that grew. After graduation, Joe did accounting work to keep books for several companies while growing his longhorn herd.&nbsp;“Those book-keeping skills would come in handy (for the longhorn business) because you have to track a lot of data and measurements,” Joe said. In 2005, he married Stephanie who had grown up in nearby Hanover. They bought ground and built a home near Greenleaf.&nbsp;“I figured this could be a viable business if I could devote myself to it full-time,” Joe said.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2008, he left another job to concentrate on his registered Texas Longhorn cattle breeding business. He called it Lazy J Longhorns.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641093739748.jpeg" alt="One of the Lazy J longhorns. Photo courtesy KSRE" />
 <figcaption>One of the Lazy J longhorns. Photo courtesy KSRE</figcaption>
 </figure>Today, Lazy J Longhorns has approximately 150 head of longhorns. Lazy J sells longhorn bulls, cows, steers and heifers as well as a specially designed working chute.&nbsp;The longhorn breed has rich history. After the Civil War, these hardy animals were running free in Texas, yet there was high demand for beef in the eastern markets.&nbsp;&nbsp;Entrepreneurial Texans gathered those longhorn cattle and drove them north to railroads in Kansas where they could be shipped to markets in the east. Of necessity, those animals learned to survive and raise calves in harsh wilderness conditions. Those traits of hardiness and mothering ability remain with the breed today.&nbsp;The greatest fascination is with the huge horns that grow naturally on the heads of both males and females. Breeders are continually seeking to raise cattle with longer horns.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America even conducts an annual Horn Showcase and sale with prizes for the animals with the longest horns.&nbsp;“Buyers want the big horns. If an animal has distinctive color and good disposition, that adds to the value even more,” Joe said.&nbsp;One year, Joe’s herd raised a blue roan colored steer that he named Lazy J’s Bluegrass.&nbsp;&nbsp;The steer grew to have horns that were 10 feet 2 inches long, a world record at the time.&nbsp;&nbsp;In fact, Lazy J’s Bluegrass won the world record three years in a row.&nbsp;Not only did the longhorn set the world record in the Guinness Book of World Records, he was chosen to be one of only 10 world record holders for which Guinness sent a video crew to record his story.&nbsp;Lazy J’s Bluegrass became quite the celebrity. Joe brought him to Fort Worth for the annual longhorn sale and posted a video of Bluegrass walking into his pen on Wednesday evening. By the time of the sale on the following Friday night, the video had reached 4 million hits. On that night, Lazy J’s Bluegrass sold for a record $48,000.&nbsp;&nbsp;“The horn race is definitely on,” Joe said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For more information, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.lazyjlonghorns.com/" target="_blank">www.lazyjlonghorns.com</a>.&nbsp;A video crew came to Kansas and recorded footage of Lazy J’s Bluegrass, the world record-setting longhorn steer. We commend Joe and Stephanie Sedlacek for making a difference with their commitment to this unique breed. The legacy of these cattle is truly long.&nbsp;And there’s more. Remember the specially designed working chute? We’ll learn about that next week.

NOW THAT'S RURAL: Joe Sedlacek, Lazy J Longhorns

BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged burglary and have a suspect in custody.

Just before 4:30p.m. Tuesday, police were dispatched to the 1300 block of Odell Street in Great Bend reference to a subject breaking into a garage, according to a media release. Officers were advised the suspect, later identified as Trenton Stueder, age 21, was running from the area.&nbsp; Officers were able to locate him and began questioning him in reference to the burglary.&nbsp; After providing officers with a fake name, officers obtained evidence from the burglary on Stueder’s person and&nbsp;in the area.&nbsp; Stueder was placed under arrest&nbsp;and booked into the Barton County Jail.

On Dec. 29, officers obtained information that there was possibly additional stolen property inside a residence Stueder had been staying at in the area. Officers and detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence, located in the 2500 block of 12th&nbsp;Street. Inside the residence, officers located previously reported stolen&nbsp;property, which was subsequently returned to the owners. &nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640897663765.png" alt="Stueder photo Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Stueder photo Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged burglary and have a suspect in custody.Just before 4:30p.m. Tuesday, police were dispatched to the 1300 block of Odell Street in Great Bend reference to a subject breaking into a garage, according to a media release. Officers were advised the suspect, later identified as Trenton Stueder, age 21, was running from the area.&nbsp; Officers were able to locate him and began questioning him in reference to the burglary.&nbsp; After providing officers with a fake name, officers obtained evidence from the burglary on Stueder’s person and&nbsp;in the area.&nbsp; Stueder was placed under arrest&nbsp;and booked into the Barton County Jail.On Dec. 29, officers obtained information that there was possibly additional stolen property inside a residence Stueder had been staying at in the area. Officers and detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence, located in the 2500 block of 12th&nbsp;Street. Inside the residence, officers located previously reported stolen&nbsp;property, which was subsequently returned to the owners. &nbsp;

Kansas man gave officers fake name during burglary arrest

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary.

On Thursday morning, police were dispatched to the 300 block of SE 21st Street in Topeka on the citizen report of an overnight burglary to a business captured on video, according to Lt. Shane Hilton.

Officers, going off of the suspect vehicle description,&nbsp;located the vehicle behind another business on SW Topeka Boulevard. The occupant identified as&nbsp;Curtis Callarman, 43, of Topeka, was questioned and taken into custody without incident.

Callarman, 43, of Topeka, was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of burglary, according to Hilton.

In October, police arrested Callarman in the 3800 block of SW Topeka Blvd. in connection with Burglary and Theft from businesses in the Topeka area.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640894137857.png" alt="Callarman photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Callarman photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary.On Thursday morning, police were dispatched to the 300 block of SE 21st Street in Topeka on the citizen report of an overnight burglary to a business captured on video, according to Lt. Shane Hilton.Officers, going off of the suspect vehicle description,&nbsp;located the vehicle behind another business on SW Topeka Boulevard. The occupant identified as&nbsp;Curtis Callarman, 43, of Topeka, was questioned and taken into custody without incident.Callarman, 43, of Topeka, was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of burglary, according to Hilton.In October, police arrested Callarman in the 3800 block of SW Topeka Blvd. in connection with Burglary and Theft from businesses in the Topeka area.

Police use video of Kan. business burglary to track down suspect

Today is Saturday, Jan. 1, the first day of 2022. There are 364 days left in the year. 

On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states shall be "forever free." 

In 1892, the Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opened. 

In 1942, the Rose Bowl was played in Durham, North Carolina, because of security concerns in the wake of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor; Oregon State defeated Duke, 20-16.

In 1953, country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, was discovered dead in the back seat of his car during a stop in Oak Hill, West Virginia, while he was being driven to a concert date in Canton, Ohio. 

In 1954, NBC broadcast the first coast-to-coast color TV program as it presented live coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. 

In 1959, Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries overthrew Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista, who fled to the Dominican Republic. 

In 1975, a jury in Washington found Nixon administration officials John N. Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman and Robert C. Mardian guilty of charges related to the Watergate cover-up (Mardian's conviction for conspiracy was later overturned on appeal). 

In 1979, the United States and China held celebrations in Washington and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 

In 1984, the breakup of AT&amp;T took place as the telecommunications giant was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement. 

In 1985, the music cable channel VH-1 made its debut with a video of Marvin Gaye performing "The Star-Spangled Banner."

In 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. 

In 2006, President George W. Bush strongly defended his domestic spying program, calling it legal as well as vital to thwarting terrorist attacks. The Medicare prescription drug plan went into effect.

In 2014, the nation's first legal recreational pot shops opened in Colorado at 8 a.m. Mountain time. 

Ten years ago: A second NASA probe braked into orbit around the moon, a day after its twin probe executed the same maneuver; it was part of the latest mission to understand how Earth's closest neighbor formed.

Five years ago: Antonio Guterres took the reins of the United Nations as its new secretary-general. A gunman killed 39 New Year's revelers at a crowded nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, in an attack claimed by Islamic State. At least 57 inmates were killed in a prison riot in the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas.

One year ago: The number of confirmed U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed 20 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. At a rare New Year's Day session, Senate Republicans rejected President Donald Trump's demand for $2,000 COVID-19 aid checks. The Senate overrode Trump's veto of a defense policy bill after an earlier House vote to override; it was the first time Congress had overridden a Trump veto, and it came just weeks before he was to leave the White House. Floyd Little, the versatile running back who starred at Syracuse and for the Denver Broncos, died at his Nevada home at 78 after a long bout with cancer. Top-ranked Alabama beat Notre Dame 31-14 in the Rose Bowl, and No. 3 Ohio State beat Clemson 49-28 to reach the national championship game.

Today's Birthdays: Documentary maker Frederick Wiseman is 92. Actor Frank Langella is 84. Rock singer-musician Country Joe McDonald is 80. Writer-comedian Don Novello is 79. Actor Rick Hurst is 76. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is 68. The former head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, is 66. Rapper Grandmaster Flash is 64. Actor Renn Woods is 64. Actor Dedee Pfeiffer is 58. Country singer Brian Flynn (Flynnville Train) is 56. Actor Morris Chestnut is 53. R&amp;B singer Tank is 46. Model Elin Nordegren is 42. Actor Jonas Armstrong is 41. Actor Eden Riegel is 41. Olympic gold medal ice dancer Meryl Davis is 35. Rock musician Noah Sierota (Echosmith) is 26.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSToday is Saturday, Jan. 1, the first day of 2022. There are 364 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states shall be "forever free." On this date: In 1892, the Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opened. In 1942, the Rose Bowl was played in Durham, North Carolina, because of security concerns in the wake of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor; Oregon State defeated Duke, 20-16.In 1953, country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, was discovered dead in the back seat of his car during a stop in Oak Hill, West Virginia, while he was being driven to a concert date in Canton, Ohio. In 1954, NBC broadcast the first coast-to-coast color TV program as it presented live coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. In 1959, Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries overthrew Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista, who fled to the Dominican Republic. In 1975, a jury in Washington found Nixon administration officials John N. Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman and Robert C. Mardian guilty of charges related to the Watergate cover-up (Mardian's conviction for conspiracy was later overturned on appeal). In 1979, the United States and China held celebrations in Washington and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In 1984, the breakup of AT&amp;T took place as the telecommunications giant was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement. In 1985, the music cable channel VH-1 made its debut with a video of Marvin Gaye performing "The Star-Spangled Banner."In 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 2006, President George W. Bush strongly defended his domestic spying program, calling it legal as well as vital to thwarting terrorist attacks. The Medicare prescription drug plan went into effect.In 2014, the nation's first legal recreational pot shops opened in Colorado at 8 a.m. Mountain time. Ten years ago: A second NASA probe braked into orbit around the moon, a day after its twin probe executed the same maneuver; it was part of the latest mission to understand how Earth's closest neighbor formed.Five years ago: Antonio Guterres took the reins of the United Nations as its new secretary-general. A gunman killed 39 New Year's revelers at a crowded nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, in an attack claimed by Islamic State. At least 57 inmates were killed in a prison riot in the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas. One year ago: The number of confirmed U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed 20 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. At a rare New Year's Day session, Senate Republicans rejected President Donald Trump's demand for $2,000 COVID-19 aid checks. The Senate overrode Trump's veto of a defense policy bill after an earlier House vote to override; it was the first time Congress had overridden a Trump veto, and it came just weeks before he was to leave the White House. Floyd Little, the versatile running back who starred at Syracuse and for the Denver Broncos, died at his Nevada home at 78 after a long bout with cancer. Top-ranked Alabama beat Notre Dame 31-14 in the Rose Bowl, and No. 3 Ohio State beat Clemson 49-28 to reach the national championship game.Today's Birthdays: Documentary maker Frederick Wiseman is 92. Actor Frank Langella is 84. Rock singer-musician Country Joe McDonald is 80. Writer-comedian Don Novello is 79. Actor Rick Hurst is 76. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is 68. The former head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, is 66. Rapper Grandmaster Flash is 64. Actor Renn Woods is 64. Actor Dedee Pfeiffer is 58. Country singer Brian Flynn (Flynnville Train) is 56. Actor Morris Chestnut is 53. R&amp;B singer Tank is 46. Model Elin Nordegren is 42. Actor Jonas Armstrong is 41. Actor Eden Riegel is 41. Olympic gold medal ice dancer Meryl Davis is 35. Rock musician Noah Sierota (Echosmith) is 26.

Today in History - Jan. 1

By DANA GENTRY <a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/holidays-are-no-holiday-amazon%C2%A0">States Newsroom</a>

It’s called ‘peak season’ – the time 
of year when 10-hour days for some of the nation’s more than one 
million Amazon employees extend into eleven-hour shifts packed into a 
backbreaking blur of six-day work weeks.

“They work us like crazy with hardly any days off, especially during the holidays. They
 don’t care about the safety of their employees,” says Johnny Acejo, who
 spent five years employed at an Amazon facility in Phoenix.&nbsp;

Amazon declined to answer the majority of questions posed for this story.

Unwinding after a long shift while 
facing the prospect of doing it again involves video games, booze, or 
weed, according to about a dozen employees interviewed by the Current. 
Others turn to the sleep aid Unisom, purchased online from Amazon.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“They literally keep track of your 
restroom time,” Acejo says of a scanner worn by employees that allows 
Amazon to track their movements. “I took five minutes in the restroom 
because I had real bad stomach pains and I was throwing up. I got a 
write up. All they care about is the numbers.”

Ecommerce sales in the U.S. topped $800 billion in the last year. As of October, Amazon owned 41% of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/274255/market-share-of-the-leading-retailers-in-us-e-commerce/">market share</a>, followed by Walmart at 6%, according to Statista.

Amazon’s net income for the twelve months ending September 30, 2021 was $26.263 billion, up&nbsp; 51.14% year-to-year.

Amazon is the second largest employer
 in the U.S. (behind Walmart) with more than a million workers. Amazon 
employs more than 10,500 Nevadans at more than a dozen warehouses, 
distribution facilities, and fulfillment centers throughout the state, 
mostly in Southern Nevada.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Amazon is changing the nature of 
work in our country,” says a resolution passed by the International 
Brotherhood of Teamsters last summer, which noted the company “presents 
an existential threat to the standards we have set” in Teamster-related 
industries Amazon has disrupted, such as parcel delivery, freight, food 
distribution, and movie production.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

The resolution says the union 
“recognizes that there is no clearer example of how America is failing 
the working class than Amazon. From its start as a book retailer, Amazon
 has grown to become an ecommerce giant and has disrupted industry after
 industry and displaced hundreds of thousands of jobs.”

“Amazon is very rightly worried that 
if one fulfillment center were to organize and unionize, it could start a
 domino reaction that would cause all others to fall in line,” says 
Avery, a former Amazon worker and host of the podcast The Amazon.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Amazon exploits its employees, 
contractors, and employees of contractors via: wage theft, fraudulent 
classification, intense production quotas, dehumanizing work 
environments, unsafe workplaces and production standards, low wages, 
high turnover, no voice on the job, lack of job security and outsourced 
jobs,” says the Teamsters’ resolution.&nbsp;

But the union’s effort to organize Amazon workers appears stalled.&nbsp;

“We are not discussing specific locations or strategies at this time,” said a national spokesperson for the Teamsters.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Members of local Teamsters chapters 
say they’re unaware of any efforts to unionize Amazon workers in Nevada,
 as is a spokeswoman for the AFL-CIO of Nevada.

For the last two decades, Amazon has deflected union overtures – most recently in Bessemer, Alabama, when it turned back the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents poultry plant workers in that state.

Last month, a judge <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/29/22565851/amazon-bessemer-union-vote-nlrb-appeal-overturned-second-election">ruled</a> Amazon interfered in the vote and ordered a do-over.&nbsp;

“I’d say the ability to organize is a
 slim chance due to attrition, union busters, and Amazon’s brazen 
ability to not break but obliterate labor law with little to no 
consequences,” says Avery of The Amazon podcast. “Every chip is stacked 
against the workers and through pure grit a large number of them are 
still fighting the good fight.”

“Organizing is hard due to the fact 
that no one stays,” he says. “Union organizers at Bessemer estimated 
they lost 60 ‘yes’ ballots a day due to attrition and Amazon’s ability 
to legally prolong the organizing attempt. People simply don’t stay in a
 shit hole long.”

A group of Whole Foods employees unsuccessfully <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/06/whole-foods-workers-seek-to-unionize-says-amazon-is-exploiting-our-dedication/#:~:text=Since%20the%20Amazon%20acquisition%2C%20several%20hundred%20Whole%20Foods,have%20saved%20millionsas%20a%20result%20of%20the%20shake-up.">attempted to organize </a>in
 2018 after Amazon laid off several hundred employees and increased the 
cost of doing business for suppliers, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-era-at-amazons-whole-foods-grates-on-some-suppliers-employees-1530526964">Wall Street Journa</a>l, when it purchased the grocery chain for $13.7 billion in 2017.

“Amazon won’t allow that because it 
will cost them more in the long run,” said one Whole Foods delivery 
driver in San Diego who asked not to be named. Paying union dues will 
just be a burden to workers, she fears.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

In February, Amazon <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/02/amazon-pay-617-million-settle-ftc-charges-it-withheld-some">agreed</a> to pay $61.7 million to settle charges leveled by the FTC that it withheld tips from its delivery drivers. Another <a target="_blank" href="https://www.classaction.org/news/amazon-illegally-withheld-tips-from-flex-drivers-class-action-claims">suit </a>with similar allegations followed within days.

“We do not believe unions are in the 
best interest of our customers, our shareholders, or most importantly, 
our associates,” says an anti-union <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRpwVwFxyk4">vide</a>o
 produced by Amazon for its employees. “Our business model is built upon
 speed, innovation, and customer obsession—things that are generally not
 associated with union. When we lose sight of those critical focus areas
 we jeopardize everyone’s job security: yours, mine, and the 
associates’.”

“Does your Chair take comfort in the 
outcome of the recent union vote in Bessemer? No, he doesn’t,” Jeff 
Bezos wrote earlier this year in his 2020 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/2020-letter-to-shareholders?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=tw&amp;utm_term=amznnews&amp;utm_content=2020shareholderletter&amp;linkId=116261313">letter</a> to shareholders. “I think we need to do a better job for our employees.”&nbsp;

Bezos went on to say that even though
 the vote was in Amazon’s favor, “it’s clear to me that we need a better
 vision for how we create value for employees – a vision for their 
success.”

Bezos rejected the notion that Amazon
 employees are “desperate souls and treated as robots. That’s not 
accurate. They’re sophisticated and thoughtful people who have options 
for where to work. When we survey fulfillment center employees, 94% say 
they would recommend Amazon to a friend as a place to work.”

Avery, host of The Amazon podcast, says job satisfaction is elusive at an Amazon fulfillment center.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Satisfaction isn’t near what most 
people get from a job at Amazon, it’d be hard to be satisfied when 
Amazon averages a 150% turnover rate and near double the average of 
serious accidents in the workplace,” he says.

He’s referring to a Washington Post 
investigation that revealed Amazon reported twice as many accidents to 
OSHA as other warehouse and storage companies.&nbsp;&nbsp;

OSHA is currently investigating the 
storm-related deaths this month of half a dozen Amazon employees at an 
Indiana warehouse.&nbsp; Some employees say they were not allowed to leave 
the warehouse to seek shelter.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“As soon as there was a tornado 
warning, the team took immediate action to move to shelter in place 
locations,” Amazon spokeswoman Alisa Carroll told the Current via 
email.&nbsp;

“When a site is made aware of a 
tornado warning in the area, all employees are notified and directed to 
move to a designated and marked shelter in place location,” she said. 
“This is the safest approach to ensure no one is on the road or outside 
during a tornado.”

Carroll said the site got warnings 
between 8:06 and 8:16, and “leaders directed people on site to 
immediately take shelter. At 8:27, the tornado struck the building.”

Validated OSHA complaints from 
Amazon’s Nevada workers the last year range from safety concerns, some 
resulting from a reduced workforce certain days of the week, to 
violations of COVID protocols.

“Scanners and carts used by employees
 for order picking are not being sanitized after being used,” says one 
complaint to OSHA, echoed frequently by workers interviewed 
nationwide.&nbsp;&nbsp;

But the most common complaint from Amazon workers in Nevada was the heat.&nbsp;&nbsp;

A complaint of “poor air quality” prompted an OSHA inspection of DLV 7, a facility in North Las Vegas ,on April 27.

“There is poor air quality in the 
workplace. The air filters are dirty,” says the complaint. “It is very 
hot in the building. Employees are experiencing headaches due to the 
heat and wearing a mask.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Employees in the warehouse are not 
provided with enough water or rest and are being potentially exposed to 
heat stress related illness,” says a complaint that brought OSHA to DLV 2
 on Alexander Rd. in North Las Vegas on June 1. “The warehouse fans are 
operational but are not providing adequate airflow for the given volume 
of the warehouse.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Inside the warehouse employees are 
exposed to heat stress,” says a complaint that resulted in an inspection
 of LAS 1 on Bermuda Rd. in Henderson on June 22. “There is only one fan
 and no air-conditioning in the building.”

On June 28, inspectors visited the 
LAS 7 fulfillment center on Tropical Pkwy. in North Las Vegas,&nbsp; after 
receiving complaints that employees were “experiencing heat issues since
 the summer began due to the lack of air conditioning on the south end 
of the warehouse. Operation managers have advised that fans would be 
installed at each station throughout the warehouse however that has yet 
to occur for all stations. It is warm on the north side of the 
warehouse, but it is hot on the south side of the warehouse.”&nbsp;

OSHA records say the complaint was resolved.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Employees are working under heat 
stress up to 100 degrees inside the establishment,” says a complaint 
filed in July by a worker at LAS 1 in Henderson. “The employer does not 
allow employees to use the fans in the trailers. The fans are locked up 
and employees that unlock the fans face retaliation including 
termination.”

The same substantiated complaint says
 workers “are rarely able to take breaks during their shifts. Employees 
typically do not receive any breaks during their shifts.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

Amazon is among hundreds of companies
 that have agreed to pay a statutorily approved average wage and certain
 benefits to be eligible for incentives to do business in Nevada.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In 2014, the state ponied up a 
combination of incentives and tax abatements expected to save Amazon 
$1.365 million over the course of several years, while generating a 
projected $393 in economic impact for every dollar of abated tax.&nbsp;

“The proposed plan will bring a new non-sort operation to the Reno area. The state incentive program is a critical factor in the company’s decision for this expansion,” Amazon said in its proposal.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The company noted the majority of 
jobs would pay under the $20.62 per hour dictated by Nevada law to 
qualify a firm for the abatements.

“500 of the 600 positions will make 
an annual wage of $29,100 ($14/hr at 40 hrs/week). Of the remaining 100,
 50 will earn $41,600/yr ($20/hr) and the other 50 is above the 
statewide wage requirement,” its proposal said.

Companies that receive abatements are
 audited after two years and again after five years, according to Greg 
Bortolin, spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.&nbsp;

“The company projections in 2014 
estimated they would produce 600 jobs at an average wage of $16.50 per 
hour and make a capital expenditure of $10 million,” he said via email. 
“The audit findings found they created 533 jobs at an average wage of 
$23.37 per hour and made a capital expenditure of $15,295,110.”

A second <a target="_blank" href="https://www.diversifynevada.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Amazon.com_.kydc_Board_Packet_4.pdf">contract</a>
 with Amazon in 2016 bestowed benefits valued at $1.8 million on Amazon 
in return for building and operating a warehouse in Clark County.&nbsp; The 
company estimated the economic impact at $707 for every dollar of tax 
revenue sacrificed by the government.&nbsp;

“The
 company projections in 2016 estimated they would produce 1,000 jobs at 
an average wage of $14.64 per hour and make a capital expenditure of $18
 million,” says Bortolin. “The audit findings found they created 704 
jobs at an average wage of $52.63 and made a capital expenditure of 
$7,439,082.”

Both the jobs and wages generated were in compliance with the abatements, Bortolin says.

When Amazon was looking for a second national headquarters, then-Gov. Brian Sandoval <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/100-free-acres-in-las-vegas-part-of-bid-for-amazons-2nd-hq/">offered </a>to pony up $800 million in incentives toward the effort.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Avery of The Amazon podcast says the 
idea behind subsidies that employees “would reinvest all of their 
paycheck back into the city via housing and taxes and just going 
downtown to buy stuff,” is questionable. “In reality, it’s hard to say 
that that would happen. Those employees work for Amazon. They have the 
biggest company store known to man where anything can arrive to them 
faster than ever, no matter how much subsidizing is done.”

Why does a company valued near $2 trillion need public money from the states where it does business?&nbsp;

Nevada Democratic state Sen. Dina Neal attempted in 2019 to create a legislative committee to oversee incentives and abatements.&nbsp; Gov. Steve Sisolak vetoed the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/80th2019/Bill/6857/Overview">bill</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The state’s arrangement with Amazon 
has put it at odds with its own interests, as it incentivizes higher 
wages from private employers while failing to invest in its own critical
 workforce.&nbsp;

In a letter to Sisolak in October, 
the Governor’s Committee on Behavioral Health lamented that pay for 
“…front line staff working with the intellectually disabled and 
psychiatrically ill adults is far below that of large local employers 
such as Amazon and Walmart,” the Current <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2021/10/14/sisolak-asked-to-make-mental-health-worker-pay-competitive-with-other-local-employers/">reported</a>.&nbsp;

While Amazon offers subsidies to 
employees to cover part of a health plan for workers who can purchase 
through an exchange, it has the most workers of any Nevada employer 
enrolled in Medicaid – 3,648 employees and 4,244 dependents at a cost of
 $ 21,326,448 in 2020, according to a<a target="_blank" href="https://dhhs.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/dhhsnvgov/content/Programs/Office_of_Analytics/Nevada%20Medicaid%20Recipients%20Employed%20by%20Employers%20with%2050%20or%20More%20Employees%20SFY%202020%20SB%20366.pdf"> state report</a>.&nbsp;

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders <a target="_blank" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/3410#:~:text=Stop%20Bad%20Employers%20by%20Zeroing%20Out%20Subsidies%20Act,employees%20on%20business%20days%20during%20the%20preceding%20year.">attempted</a>
 unsuccessfully in 2018 to impose a tax on companies with 500 employees 
“equal to the amount of federal benefits received by their low wage 
workers.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640715507348.png" alt="An Amazon employee in a fulfillment center. (Amazon press photo)" />
 <figcaption>An Amazon employee in a fulfillment center. (Amazon press photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>By DANA GENTRY <a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/holidays-are-no-holiday-amazon%C2%A0">States Newsroom</a>It’s called ‘peak season’ – the time 
of year when 10-hour days for some of the nation’s more than one 
million Amazon employees extend into eleven-hour shifts packed into a 
backbreaking blur of six-day work weeks.“They work us like crazy with hardly any days off, especially during the holidays. They
 don’t care about the safety of their employees,” says Johnny Acejo, who
 spent five years employed at an Amazon facility in Phoenix.&nbsp;Amazon declined to answer the majority of questions posed for this story.Unwinding after a long shift while 
facing the prospect of doing it again involves video games, booze, or 
weed, according to about a dozen employees interviewed by the Current. 
Others turn to the sleep aid Unisom, purchased online from Amazon.&nbsp;&nbsp;The job is consuming.&nbsp;&nbsp;“They literally keep track of your 
restroom time,” Acejo says of a scanner worn by employees that allows 
Amazon to track their movements. “I took five minutes in the restroom 
because I had real bad stomach pains and I was throwing up. I got a 
write up. All they care about is the numbers.”The numbers are good.&nbsp;Ecommerce sales in the U.S. topped $800 billion in the last year. As of October, Amazon owned 41% of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/274255/market-share-of-the-leading-retailers-in-us-e-commerce/">market share</a>, followed by Walmart at 6%, according to Statista.Amazon’s net income for the twelve months ending September 30, 2021 was $26.263 billion, up&nbsp; 51.14% year-to-year.Amazon is the second largest employer
 in the U.S. (behind Walmart) with more than a million workers. Amazon 
employs more than 10,500 Nevadans at more than a dozen warehouses, 
distribution facilities, and fulfillment centers throughout the state, 
mostly in Southern Nevada.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>Union no</h2>“Amazon is changing the nature of 
work in our country,” says a resolution passed by the International 
Brotherhood of Teamsters last summer, which noted the company “presents 
an existential threat to the standards we have set” in Teamster-related 
industries Amazon has disrupted, such as parcel delivery, freight, food 
distribution, and movie production.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The resolution says the union 
“recognizes that there is no clearer example of how America is failing 
the working class than Amazon. From its start as a book retailer, Amazon
 has grown to become an ecommerce giant and has disrupted industry after
 industry and displaced hundreds of thousands of jobs.”“Amazon is very rightly worried that 
if one fulfillment center were to organize and unionize, it could start a
 domino reaction that would cause all others to fall in line,” says 
Avery, a former Amazon worker and host of the podcast The Amazon.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Amazon exploits its employees, 
contractors, and employees of contractors via: wage theft, fraudulent 
classification, intense production quotas, dehumanizing work 
environments, unsafe workplaces and production standards, low wages, 
high turnover, no voice on the job, lack of job security and outsourced 
jobs,” says the Teamsters’ resolution.&nbsp;But the union’s effort to organize Amazon workers appears stalled.&nbsp;“We are not discussing specific locations or strategies at this time,” said a national spokesperson for the Teamsters.&nbsp;&nbsp;Members of local Teamsters chapters 
say they’re unaware of any efforts to unionize Amazon workers in Nevada,
 as is a spokeswoman for the AFL-CIO of Nevada.For the last two decades, Amazon has deflected union overtures – most recently in Bessemer, Alabama, when it turned back the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents poultry plant workers in that state.Last month, a judge <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/29/22565851/amazon-bessemer-union-vote-nlrb-appeal-overturned-second-election">ruled</a> Amazon interfered in the vote and ordered a do-over.&nbsp;“I’d say the ability to organize is a
 slim chance due to attrition, union busters, and Amazon’s brazen 
ability to not break but obliterate labor law with little to no 
consequences,” says Avery of The Amazon podcast. “Every chip is stacked 
against the workers and through pure grit a large number of them are 
still fighting the good fight.”“Organizing is hard due to the fact 
that no one stays,” he says. “Union organizers at Bessemer estimated 
they lost 60 ‘yes’ ballots a day due to attrition and Amazon’s ability 
to legally prolong the organizing attempt. People simply don’t stay in a
 shit hole long.”A group of Whole Foods employees unsuccessfully <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/06/whole-foods-workers-seek-to-unionize-says-amazon-is-exploiting-our-dedication/#:~:text=Since%20the%20Amazon%20acquisition%2C%20several%20hundred%20Whole%20Foods,have%20saved%20millionsas%20a%20result%20of%20the%20shake-up.">attempted to organize </a>in
 2018 after Amazon laid off several hundred employees and increased the 
cost of doing business for suppliers, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-era-at-amazons-whole-foods-grates-on-some-suppliers-employees-1530526964">Wall Street Journa</a>l, when it purchased the grocery chain for $13.7 billion in 2017.“Amazon won’t allow that because it 
will cost them more in the long run,” said one Whole Foods delivery 
driver in San Diego who asked not to be named. Paying union dues will 
just be a burden to workers, she fears.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In February, Amazon <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/02/amazon-pay-617-million-settle-ftc-charges-it-withheld-some">agreed</a> to pay $61.7 million to settle charges leveled by the FTC that it withheld tips from its delivery drivers. Another <a target="_blank" href="https://www.classaction.org/news/amazon-illegally-withheld-tips-from-flex-drivers-class-action-claims">suit </a>with similar allegations followed within days.“We do not believe unions are in the 
best interest of our customers, our shareholders, or most importantly, 
our associates,” says an anti-union <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRpwVwFxyk4">vide</a>o
 produced by Amazon for its employees. “Our business model is built upon
 speed, innovation, and customer obsession—things that are generally not
 associated with union. When we lose sight of those critical focus areas
 we jeopardize everyone’s job security: yours, mine, and the 
associates’.”“Does your Chair take comfort in the 
outcome of the recent union vote in Bessemer? No, he doesn’t,” Jeff 
Bezos wrote earlier this year in his 2020 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/2020-letter-to-shareholders?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=tw&amp;utm_term=amznnews&amp;utm_content=2020shareholderletter&amp;linkId=116261313">letter</a> to shareholders. “I think we need to do a better job for our employees.”&nbsp;Bezos went on to say that even though
 the vote was in Amazon’s favor, “it’s clear to me that we need a better
 vision for how we create value for employees – a vision for their 
success.”Bezos rejected the notion that Amazon
 employees are “desperate souls and treated as robots. That’s not 
accurate. They’re sophisticated and thoughtful people who have options 
for where to work. When we survey fulfillment center employees, 94% say 
they would recommend Amazon to a friend as a place to work.”Avery, host of The Amazon podcast, says job satisfaction is elusive at an Amazon fulfillment center.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Satisfaction isn’t near what most 
people get from a job at Amazon, it’d be hard to be satisfied when 
Amazon averages a 150% turnover rate and near double the average of 
serious accidents in the workplace,” he says.He’s referring to a Washington Post 
investigation that revealed Amazon reported twice as many accidents to 
OSHA as other warehouse and storage companies.&nbsp;&nbsp;OSHA is currently investigating the 
storm-related deaths this month of half a dozen Amazon employees at an 
Indiana warehouse.&nbsp; Some employees say they were not allowed to leave 
the warehouse to seek shelter.&nbsp;&nbsp;“As soon as there was a tornado 
warning, the team took immediate action to move to shelter in place 
locations,” Amazon spokeswoman Alisa Carroll told the Current via 
email.&nbsp;“When a site is made aware of a 
tornado warning in the area, all employees are notified and directed to 
move to a designated and marked shelter in place location,” she said. 
“This is the safest approach to ensure no one is on the road or outside 
during a tornado.”Carroll said the site got warnings 
between 8:06 and 8:16, and “leaders directed people on site to 
immediately take shelter. At 8:27, the tornado struck the building.”Validated OSHA complaints from 
Amazon’s Nevada workers the last year range from safety concerns, some 
resulting from a reduced workforce certain days of the week, to 
violations of COVID protocols.“Scanners and carts used by employees
 for order picking are not being sanitized after being used,” says one 
complaint to OSHA, echoed frequently by workers interviewed 
nationwide.&nbsp;&nbsp;But the most common complaint from Amazon workers in Nevada was the heat.&nbsp;&nbsp;A complaint of “poor air quality” prompted an OSHA inspection of DLV 7, a facility in North Las Vegas ,on April 27.“There is poor air quality in the 
workplace. The air filters are dirty,” says the complaint. “It is very 
hot in the building. Employees are experiencing headaches due to the 
heat and wearing a mask.”&nbsp;&nbsp;“Employees in the warehouse are not 
provided with enough water or rest and are being potentially exposed to 
heat stress related illness,” says a complaint that brought OSHA to DLV 2
 on Alexander Rd. in North Las Vegas on June 1. “The warehouse fans are 
operational but are not providing adequate airflow for the given volume 
of the warehouse.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Inside the warehouse employees are 
exposed to heat stress,” says a complaint that resulted in an inspection
 of LAS 1 on Bermuda Rd. in Henderson on June 22. “There is only one fan
 and no air-conditioning in the building.”On June 28, inspectors visited the 
LAS 7 fulfillment center on Tropical Pkwy. in North Las Vegas,&nbsp; after 
receiving complaints that employees were “experiencing heat issues since
 the summer began due to the lack of air conditioning on the south end 
of the warehouse. Operation managers have advised that fans would be 
installed at each station throughout the warehouse however that has yet 
to occur for all stations. It is warm on the north side of the 
warehouse, but it is hot on the south side of the warehouse.”&nbsp;OSHA records say the complaint was resolved.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Employees are working under heat 
stress up to 100 degrees inside the establishment,” says a complaint 
filed in July by a worker at LAS 1 in Henderson. “The employer does not 
allow employees to use the fans in the trailers. The fans are locked up 
and employees that unlock the fans face retaliation including 
termination.”The same substantiated complaint says
 workers “are rarely able to take breaks during their shifts. Employees 
typically do not receive any breaks during their shifts.”&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>Paying for the privilege</h2>Amazon is among hundreds of companies
 that have agreed to pay a statutorily approved average wage and certain
 benefits to be eligible for incentives to do business in Nevada.&nbsp;&nbsp;In 2014, the state ponied up a 
combination of incentives and tax abatements expected to save Amazon 
$1.365 million over the course of several years, while generating a 
projected $393 in economic impact for every dollar of abated tax.&nbsp;“The proposed plan will bring a new non-sort operation to the Reno area. The state incentive program is a critical factor in the company’s decision for this expansion,” Amazon said in its proposal.&nbsp;&nbsp;The company noted the majority of 
jobs would pay under the $20.62 per hour dictated by Nevada law to 
qualify a firm for the abatements.“500 of the 600 positions will make 
an annual wage of $29,100 ($14/hr at 40 hrs/week). Of the remaining 100,
 50 will earn $41,600/yr ($20/hr) and the other 50 is above the 
statewide wage requirement,” its proposal said.Companies that receive abatements are
 audited after two years and again after five years, according to Greg 
Bortolin, spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.&nbsp;“The company projections in 2014 
estimated they would produce 600 jobs at an average wage of $16.50 per 
hour and make a capital expenditure of $10 million,” he said via email. 
“The audit findings found they created 533 jobs at an average wage of 
$23.37 per hour and made a capital expenditure of $15,295,110.”A second <a target="_blank" href="https://www.diversifynevada.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Amazon.com_.kydc_Board_Packet_4.pdf">contract</a>
 with Amazon in 2016 bestowed benefits valued at $1.8 million on Amazon 
in return for building and operating a warehouse in Clark County.&nbsp; The 
company estimated the economic impact at $707 for every dollar of tax 
revenue sacrificed by the government.&nbsp;“The
 company projections in 2016 estimated they would produce 1,000 jobs at 
an average wage of $14.64 per hour and make a capital expenditure of $18
 million,” says Bortolin. “The audit findings found they created 704 
jobs at an average wage of $52.63 and made a capital expenditure of 
$7,439,082.”Both the jobs and wages generated were in compliance with the abatements, Bortolin says.When Amazon was looking for a second national headquarters, then-Gov. Brian Sandoval <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/100-free-acres-in-las-vegas-part-of-bid-for-amazons-2nd-hq/">offered </a>to pony up $800 million in incentives toward the effort.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Avery of The Amazon podcast says the 
idea behind subsidies that employees “would reinvest all of their 
paycheck back into the city via housing and taxes and just going 
downtown to buy stuff,” is questionable. “In reality, it’s hard to say 
that that would happen. Those employees work for Amazon. They have the 
biggest company store known to man where anything can arrive to them 
faster than ever, no matter how much subsidizing is done.”Why does a company valued near $2 trillion need public money from the states where it does business?&nbsp;Nevada Democratic state Sen. Dina Neal attempted in 2019 to create a legislative committee to oversee incentives and abatements.&nbsp; Gov. Steve Sisolak vetoed the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/80th2019/Bill/6857/Overview">bill</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The state’s arrangement with Amazon 
has put it at odds with its own interests, as it incentivizes higher 
wages from private employers while failing to invest in its own critical
 workforce.&nbsp;In a letter to Sisolak in October, 
the Governor’s Committee on Behavioral Health lamented that pay for 
“…front line staff working with the intellectually disabled and 
psychiatrically ill adults is far below that of large local employers 
such as Amazon and Walmart,” the Current <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2021/10/14/sisolak-asked-to-make-mental-health-worker-pay-competitive-with-other-local-employers/">reported</a>.&nbsp;While Amazon offers subsidies to 
employees to cover part of a health plan for workers who can purchase 
through an exchange, it has the most workers of any Nevada employer 
enrolled in Medicaid – 3,648 employees and 4,244 dependents at a cost of
 $ 21,326,448 in 2020, according to a<a target="_blank" href="https://dhhs.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/dhhsnvgov/content/Programs/Office_of_Analytics/Nevada%20Medicaid%20Recipients%20Employed%20by%20Employers%20with%2050%20or%20More%20Employees%20SFY%202020%20SB%20366.pdf"> state report</a>.&nbsp;U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders <a target="_blank" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/3410#:~:text=Stop%20Bad%20Employers%20by%20Zeroing%20Out%20Subsidies%20Act,employees%20on%20business%20days%20during%20the%20preceding%20year.">attempted</a>
 unsuccessfully in 2018 to impose a tax on companies with 500 employees 
“equal to the amount of federal benefits received by their low wage 
workers.”

The holidays are no holiday at Amazon 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, whether as a man-crazy TV hostess on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” or the loopy housemate on “The Golden Girls,” has died. She was 99.

White’s death was confirmed by her longtime agent Jeff Witjas in a phone call Friday with publicist Pam Golum. White would have turned 100 on Jan. 17, 2022.

She launched her TV career in daytime talk shows when the medium was still in its infancy and endured well into the age of cable and streaming. Her combination of sweetness and edginess gave life to a roster of quirky characters in shows from the sitcom “Life With Elizabeth” in the early 1950s to oddball Rose Nylund in “The Golden Girls” in the ’80s to “Boston Legal,” which ran from 2004 to 2008.

But it was in 2010 that White’s stardom erupted as never before.

In a Snickers commercial that premiered during that year’s Super Bowl telecast, she impersonated an energy-sapped dude getting tackled during a backlot football game.

“Mike, you’re playing like Betty White out there,” jeered one of his chums. White, flat on the ground and covered in mud, fired back, “That’s not what your girlfriend said!”

The instantly-viral video helped spark a Facebook campaign called “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!,” whose half-million fans led to her co-hosting “Saturday Night Live” in a much-watched, watch-hailed edition that Mother’s Day weekend. The appearance won her a seventh Emmy award.

A month later, cable’s TV Land premiered “Hot In Cleveland,” the network’s first original scripted series, which starred Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick as three past-their-prime show-biz veterans who move to Cleveland to escape the youth obsession of Hollywood. They move into a home being looked after by an elderly Polish widow — a character, played by White, who was meant to appear only in the pilot episode.

But White stole the show, and the salty Elka Ostrovsky became a key part of the series, an immediate hit. She was voted the Entertainer of the Year by members of The Associated Press.

“It’s ridiculous,” White said of the honor. “They haven’t caught on to me, and I hope they never do.”

By then, White had not only become the hippest star around, but also a role model for how to grow old joyously.

“Don’t try to be young,” she told The AP. “Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won’t live long enough to find out about, but I’m still curious about them.”

Such was her popularity that even White’s birthday became a national event: In January 2012, NBC aired “Betty White’s 90th Birthday Party” as a star-studded prime-time special. She would later appear in such series as “Bones” and Fireside Chat With Esther” and in 2019 gave voice to one of the toys, “Bitey White,” in “Toy Story 4.”

White remained youthful in part through her skill at playing bawdy or naughty while radiating niceness. The horror spoof “Lake Placid” and the comedy “The Proposal” were marked by her characters’ surprisingly salty language. And her character Catherine Piper killed a man with a skillet on “Boston Legal.”

But she almost wasn’t cast as “Happy Homemaker” Sue Ann Nivens in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in 1973. She and her husband, Allen Ludden, were close friends of Moore and Moore’s then-husband, producer Grant Tinker. It was feared that if White failed on the show, which already was a huge hit, it would be embarrassing for all four. But CBS casting head Ethel Winant declared White the logical choice. Originally planned as a one-shot appearance, the role of Sue Ann (which humorously foreshadowed Martha Stewart) lasted until Moore ended the series in 1977.

“While she’s icky-sweet on her cooking show, Sue is really a piranha type,” White once said. The role brought her two Emmys as supporting actress in a comedy series.

In 1985, White starred on NBC with Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty in “The Golden Girls.” Its cast of mature actresses, playing single women in Miami retirement, presented a gamble in a youth-conscious industry. But it proved a solid hit and lasted until 1992.

White played Rose, a gentle, dim widow who managed to misinterpret most situations. She drove her roommates crazy with off-the-wall tales of childhood in fictional St. Olaf, Minnesota, an off-kilter version of Lake Wobegon.

The role won her another Emmy, and she reprised it in a short-lived spinoff, “The Golden Palace.”

After her co-star Arthur died in 2009, White told Entertainment Tonight: “She showed me how to be very brave in playing comedy. I’ll miss that courage.”

White’s other TV series included “Mama’s Family,” as Vicki Lawrence’s irascible mother; “Just Men,” a game show in which women tried to predict answers to questions directed to male celebrities; and “Ladies Man,” as the catty mother of Alfred Molina.

“Just Men” brought her a daytime Emmy, while she won a fourth prime time Emmy in 1996 for a guest shot on “The John Larroquette Show.”

She also appeared in numerous miniseries and TV movies and made her film debut as a female U.S. senator in Otto Preminger’s 1962 Capitol Hill drama “Advise and Consent.”

White began her television career as $50-a-week sidekick to a local Los Angeles TV personality in 1949. She was hired for a local daytime show starring Al Jarvis, the best-known disc jockey in Los Angeles.

It was then she got a tip to start lying about her age.

“We are so age-conscious in this country,” she said in a 2011 interview with The Associated Press. “It’s silly, but that’s the way we are. So I was told, ‘Knock four years off right now. You’ll be blessing yourself down the road.’

“I was born in 1922. So I thought, ‘I must always remember that I was born in 1926.’ But then I would have to do the math. Finally, I decided to heck with it.”

White proved to be a natural for the new medium. She was bright, pretty and likable, with a dimpled, eye-crinkling smile. A 1951 Los Angeles Times headline said: “Betty White Hailed as TV’s Busiest Gal.”

“I did that show 5½ hours a day, six days a week, for 4½ years,” she recalled in 1975. Jarvis was replaced by actor Eddie Albert, and when he went to Europe for the film “Roman Holiday,” she headed the show.

A sketch she had done with Jarvis turned into a syndicated series, “Life With Elizabeth,” which won her first Emmy. For a time she did interviews on “The Betty White Show” in the daytime, filmed the series at night and often turned up on a late-night talk show. She also appeared on commercials and every New Year’s narrated the Pasadena Rose Parade.

With the glib tongue and quick responses nurtured in the Jarvis years, she was a welcome guest on “I’ve Got a Secret,” “To Tell the Truth,” “What’s My Line” and other game shows — all the way up to the 2008 “Million Dollar Password,” which revived the game once hosted by Ludden, whom she had met when a contestant on his original “Password.”

That was in 1961, and the next year, while touring in summer theater during television’s off season, she starred with Ludden — by then a widower with three children — in the comedy “Critic’s Choice.”

White, who had claimed to be “militantly single” since a 1947-1949 marriage, weakened in her resolve.

“I had always said on `The Tonight Show’ and everywhere else that I would never get married again,” she told a reporter in 1963. “But Allen outnumbered me. He started in and even the children got in the act. And I surrendered — willingly.”

The marriage lasted from 1963 until his death from cancer in 1981.

Off-screen, White tirelessly raised money for animal causes such as the Morris Animal Foundation and the Los Angeles Zoo. In 1970-1971, she wrote, produced and hosted a syndicated TV show, “The Pet Set,” to which celebrities brought their dogs and cats. She wrote a 1983 book titled “Betty White’s Pet Love: How Pets Take Care of Us,” and, in 2011, published “Betty &amp; Friends: My Life at the Zoo.”

Her devotion to pets was such that she declined a plum role in the hit 1997 movie “As Good As It Gets.” She objected to a scene in which Jack Nicholson drops a small dog down a laundry chute.

In her 2011 book “If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t),” White explained the origins of her love for dogs. During the Depression, her dad made radios to sell to make extra money. But since few people had money to buy the radios, he willingly traded them for dogs, which, housed in kennels in the backyard, at times numbered as many as 15 and made White’s happy childhood even happier.

Are there any critters she doesn’t like?

“No,” White told the AP. “Anything with a leg on each corner.”

She was born Betty Marion White in Oak Park, Illinois, and the family moved to Los Angeles when she was a toddler.

“I’m an only child, and I had a mother and dad who never drew a straight line: They just thought funny,” she told The Associated Press in 2015. “We’d sit around the breakfast table and then we’d start kicking it around. My dad was a salesman and he would come home with jokes. He’d say, `Sweetheart, you can take THAT one to school. But I wouldn’t take THIS one.′ We had such a wonderful time.”

Her early ambition was to be a writer, and she wrote her grammar school graduation play, giving herself the leading role.

At Beverly Hills High School, her ambition turned to acting, and she appeared in several school plays. Her parents hoped she’d go to college, but instead she took roles in a small theater and played bit parts in radio dramas.

Explaining in 2011 how she kept up her frantic pace even as an octogenarian, she explained that she only needed four hours of sleep each night.

And when asked how she had managed to be universally beloved during her decades-spanning career, she summed up with a dimpled smile: “I just make it my business to get along with people so I can have fun. It’s that simple.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, whether as a man-crazy TV hostess on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” or the loopy housemate on “The Golden Girls,” has died. She was 99.White’s death was confirmed by her longtime agent Jeff Witjas in a phone call Friday with publicist Pam Golum. White would have turned 100 on Jan. 17, 2022.She launched her TV career in daytime talk shows when the medium was still in its infancy and endured well into the age of cable and streaming. Her combination of sweetness and edginess gave life to a roster of quirky characters in shows from the sitcom “Life With Elizabeth” in the early 1950s to oddball Rose Nylund in “The Golden Girls” in the ’80s to “Boston Legal,” which ran from 2004 to 2008.But it was in 2010 that White’s stardom erupted as never before.In a Snickers commercial that premiered during that year’s Super Bowl telecast, she impersonated an energy-sapped dude getting tackled during a backlot football game.“Mike, you’re playing like Betty White out there,” jeered one of his chums. White, flat on the ground and covered in mud, fired back, “That’s not what your girlfriend said!”The instantly-viral video helped spark a Facebook campaign called “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!,” whose half-million fans led to her co-hosting “Saturday Night Live” in a much-watched, watch-hailed edition that Mother’s Day weekend. The appearance won her a seventh Emmy award.A month later, cable’s TV Land premiered “Hot In Cleveland,” the network’s first original scripted series, which starred Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick as three past-their-prime show-biz veterans who move to Cleveland to escape the youth obsession of Hollywood. They move into a home being looked after by an elderly Polish widow — a character, played by White, who was meant to appear only in the pilot episode.But White stole the show, and the salty Elka Ostrovsky became a key part of the series, an immediate hit. She was voted the Entertainer of the Year by members of The Associated Press.“It’s ridiculous,” White said of the honor. “They haven’t caught on to me, and I hope they never do.”By then, White had not only become the hippest star around, but also a role model for how to grow old joyously.“Don’t try to be young,” she told The AP. “Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won’t live long enough to find out about, but I’m still curious about them.”Such was her popularity that even White’s birthday became a national event: In January 2012, NBC aired “Betty White’s 90th Birthday Party” as a star-studded prime-time special. She would later appear in such series as “Bones” and Fireside Chat With Esther” and in 2019 gave voice to one of the toys, “Bitey White,” in “Toy Story 4.”White remained youthful in part through her skill at playing bawdy or naughty while radiating niceness. The horror spoof “Lake Placid” and the comedy “The Proposal” were marked by her characters’ surprisingly salty language. And her character Catherine Piper killed a man with a skillet on “Boston Legal.”But she almost wasn’t cast as “Happy Homemaker” Sue Ann Nivens in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in 1973. She and her husband, Allen Ludden, were close friends of Moore and Moore’s then-husband, producer Grant Tinker. It was feared that if White failed on the show, which already was a huge hit, it would be embarrassing for all four. But CBS casting head Ethel Winant declared White the logical choice. Originally planned as a one-shot appearance, the role of Sue Ann (which humorously foreshadowed Martha Stewart) lasted until Moore ended the series in 1977.“While she’s icky-sweet on her cooking show, Sue is really a piranha type,” White once said. The role brought her two Emmys as supporting actress in a comedy series.In 1985, White starred on NBC with Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty in “The Golden Girls.” Its cast of mature actresses, playing single women in Miami retirement, presented a gamble in a youth-conscious industry. But it proved a solid hit and lasted until 1992.White played Rose, a gentle, dim widow who managed to misinterpret most situations. She drove her roommates crazy with off-the-wall tales of childhood in fictional St. Olaf, Minnesota, an off-kilter version of Lake Wobegon.The role won her another Emmy, and she reprised it in a short-lived spinoff, “The Golden Palace.”After her co-star Arthur died in 2009, White told Entertainment Tonight: “She showed me how to be very brave in playing comedy. I’ll miss that courage.”White’s other TV series included “Mama’s Family,” as Vicki Lawrence’s irascible mother; “Just Men,” a game show in which women tried to predict answers to questions directed to male celebrities; and “Ladies Man,” as the catty mother of Alfred Molina.“Just Men” brought her a daytime Emmy, while she won a fourth prime time Emmy in 1996 for a guest shot on “The John Larroquette Show.”She also appeared in numerous miniseries and TV movies and made her film debut as a female U.S. senator in Otto Preminger’s 1962 Capitol Hill drama “Advise and Consent.”White began her television career as $50-a-week sidekick to a local Los Angeles TV personality in 1949. She was hired for a local daytime show starring Al Jarvis, the best-known disc jockey in Los Angeles.It was then she got a tip to start lying about her age.“We are so age-conscious in this country,” she said in a 2011 interview with The Associated Press. “It’s silly, but that’s the way we are. So I was told, ‘Knock four years off right now. You’ll be blessing yourself down the road.’“I was born in 1922. So I thought, ‘I must always remember that I was born in 1926.’ But then I would have to do the math. Finally, I decided to heck with it.”White proved to be a natural for the new medium. She was bright, pretty and likable, with a dimpled, eye-crinkling smile. A 1951 Los Angeles Times headline said: “Betty White Hailed as TV’s Busiest Gal.”“I did that show 5½ hours a day, six days a week, for 4½ years,” she recalled in 1975. Jarvis was replaced by actor Eddie Albert, and when he went to Europe for the film “Roman Holiday,” she headed the show.A sketch she had done with Jarvis turned into a syndicated series, “Life With Elizabeth,” which won her first Emmy. For a time she did interviews on “The Betty White Show” in the daytime, filmed the series at night and often turned up on a late-night talk show. She also appeared on commercials and every New Year’s narrated the Pasadena Rose Parade.With the glib tongue and quick responses nurtured in the Jarvis years, she was a welcome guest on “I’ve Got a Secret,” “To Tell the Truth,” “What’s My Line” and other game shows — all the way up to the 2008 “Million Dollar Password,” which revived the game once hosted by Ludden, whom she had met when a contestant on his original “Password.”That was in 1961, and the next year, while touring in summer theater during television’s off season, she starred with Ludden — by then a widower with three children — in the comedy “Critic’s Choice.”White, who had claimed to be “militantly single” since a 1947-1949 marriage, weakened in her resolve.“I had always said on `The Tonight Show’ and everywhere else that I would never get married again,” she told a reporter in 1963. “But Allen outnumbered me. He started in and even the children got in the act. And I surrendered — willingly.”The marriage lasted from 1963 until his death from cancer in 1981.Off-screen, White tirelessly raised money for animal causes such as the Morris Animal Foundation and the Los Angeles Zoo. In 1970-1971, she wrote, produced and hosted a syndicated TV show, “The Pet Set,” to which celebrities brought their dogs and cats. She wrote a 1983 book titled “Betty White’s Pet Love: How Pets Take Care of Us,” and, in 2011, published “Betty &amp; Friends: My Life at the Zoo.”Her devotion to pets was such that she declined a plum role in the hit 1997 movie “As Good As It Gets.” She objected to a scene in which Jack Nicholson drops a small dog down a laundry chute.In her 2011 book “If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t),” White explained the origins of her love for dogs. During the Depression, her dad made radios to sell to make extra money. But since few people had money to buy the radios, he willingly traded them for dogs, which, housed in kennels in the backyard, at times numbered as many as 15 and made White’s happy childhood even happier.Are there any critters she doesn’t like?“No,” White told the AP. “Anything with a leg on each corner.”Then what about snakes?“Ohhh, I LOVE snakes!”She was born Betty Marion White in Oak Park, Illinois, and the family moved to Los Angeles when she was a toddler.“I’m an only child, and I had a mother and dad who never drew a straight line: They just thought funny,” she told The Associated Press in 2015. “We’d sit around the breakfast table and then we’d start kicking it around. My dad was a salesman and he would come home with jokes. He’d say, `Sweetheart, you can take THAT one to school. But I wouldn’t take THIS one.′ We had such a wonderful time.”Her early ambition was to be a writer, and she wrote her grammar school graduation play, giving herself the leading role.At Beverly Hills High School, her ambition turned to acting, and she appeared in several school plays. Her parents hoped she’d go to college, but instead she took roles in a small theater and played bit parts in radio dramas.Explaining in 2011 how she kept up her frantic pace even as an octogenarian, she explained that she only needed four hours of sleep each night.And when asked how she had managed to be universally beloved during her decades-spanning career, she summed up with a dimpled smile: “I just make it my business to get along with people so I can have fun. It’s that simple.”___

Betty White, TV’s Golden Girl, dies at 99

BARTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects for a series of burglaries in Barton County.

Over the past few weeks, police responded to several residential and business burglaries in Great Bend, according to a media release.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640901075542.jpeg" alt="Garrett Roddey-Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Garrett Roddey-Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects for a series of burglaries in Barton County.Over the past few weeks, police responded to several residential and business burglaries in Great Bend, according to a media release. Items taken during these burglaries included business checks, cash, firearms, a vehicle and miscellaneous personal property items.On Dec. 22, the Barton County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an abandoned vehicle along U.S. Highway 56, southwest of Great Bend. Deputies found stolen property from some of the previous burglaries inside the vehicle. Great Bend Police Department detectives impounded the vehicle and obtained a search warrant to recover the stolen property.On Dec. 24, detectives received information about the location of a stolen Ford Mustang Cobra. With this information, the police and the sheriff’s deputies were able to recover the vehicle from a rural residence in Barton County.On Dec. 29, the police department was able to obtain search warrants for two residences in Great Bend, where additional stolen property was possibly located. Search warrants were executed at 1821 Jackson and 2624 27th Street, Apartment A.&nbsp; Police located additional stolen property, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia during their search.Police arrested Garrett Roddey, at 2624 27th in Great Bend and booked him into the Barton County Jail on requested charges of burglary, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and no drug tax stamp.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640901109415.png" alt="Gefferey Palacio-Barton Co." />
 <figcaption>Gefferey Palacio-Barton Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Gefferey Palacio, age 18, who was already in custody at the Barton County Jail on unrelated charges, was booked on an additional requested charges of burglary.