DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Fatima Garcia donned a headscarf and a black abaya — a long, loose-fitting robe — over her clothes as she walked into a mosque in Doha to learn about Islam.

In Qatar to enjoy the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a>&nbsp;with friends, the Salvadoran visitor took a day off from soccer to go sightseeing at the Katara mosque, where preachers have been introducing Islam in multiple languages to curious fans from around the world.

“Qatar is my first exposure to Islam,” Garcia said inside the house of prayer, also known as the blue mosque for its beautiful turquoise tiles. “Qatar has been a life-changing adventure because it gives you a perspective on different cultures.”

Hundreds of thousands of visitors have come to Qatar during the World Cup. For many it’s their first visit to a Muslim country. Those who don’t venture far beyond the stadiums and Doha’s glitzy hotels will have only limited exposure to the country’s religion, such as hearing the call to prayer at a distance or witnessing Muslims prostrate at prayer rooms in stadiums, airports and hotels. But for those who are curious to find out more about Islam, Qatari authorities and religious officials are eager to help.

Local mosques offered multilingual tours to visitors and the Islamic Cultural Center in Doha offers a virtual reality tour of the holy city of Mecca. Booths at tourist sites hand out free copies of the Quran and brochures about Islam are available in hotel lobbies. Billboards have been set up across Doha featuring U.S. Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammed and other Muslim personalities as part of a campaign encouraging people to explore Islam.

“Why during the World Cup? Everyone came here from across the world to Qatar, a Muslim country, and it’s an opportunity to educate people about the faith,” said Abu Huraira, a volunteer for the campaign by the Explore Islam Foundation and the Islam &amp; Muslims Initiative.

Qatari officials say they hope the tournament helped provide visitors with a better understanding of their culture and that of the larger region.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-womens-soccer-sports-religion-b397b8b6cabd5948da9d398e9a4aac63?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_medium=APMiddleEast&amp;utm_source=Twitter">Qatar follows</a>&nbsp;an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism. But unlike neighboring Saudi Arabia, where adherence to Wahhabism led to strict segregation of unmarried men and women, banned women from driving and kept concerts, cinemas and even yoga off-limits for decades, Qatar has long sponsored the arts, allowed women to participate in high levels of governance and encouraged tourists to feel at ease.

The World Cup host, though, has faced intense criticism over human rights issues, including the treatment of migrant workers, and accusations of “sportswashing” or attempting to use the event’s prestige to remake its image.

Qatari officials have argued that the nation’s progress and achievements are being overlooked. The ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, said some of the criticism against the first Arab and Muslim country to host the World Cup included “fabrications and double standards.”

The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs and the host country’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy did not respond to requests for comment.

Back inside the ornate Ottoman-style Katara mosque, Riffat Ishfaq, a guide from Pakistan, told Garcia that it was designed by Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadillioglu, whose first name is the Turkish form of the name of the eldest daughter of the Prophet Muhammed. The tiles had been handmade, Ishfaq said; the columns were covered with leather and the domed roof contained gold. By the end of the tour, Garcia also learned why women dress modestly in Islam and the origins of the religion.

“We want to tell people about Islam. We feel pride in our identity,” Ishfaq said, before telling Garcia to keep the abaya as a parting gift. “This helps to dispel misconceptions.”

Nearby, Sergio Morales, a Guatemalan who had come for the whole tournament, finished listening to a tour and walked out of the mosque to a booth located at the entrance where he asked for a free copy of the Quran.

“Today I became interested because the guided tour was in Spanish and I could understand it all,” he said. “There should be guides in Spanish in every mosque because there are so many Latin American people coming to these countries.”

Booths with free Qurans and booklets introducing the religion in several languages are also available in the winding cobbled alleys of Souq Waqif, the capital’s oldest bazaar where stores hawk spices and perfumes, scented oils and silk scarves.

Just steps from there, World Cup visitors walked into the spiral-like building of the Abdullah Bin Zaid Al-Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center, for a tour and a visit to the mosque, where people gathered for Friday prayer.

Carlos Bustos, Mireya Arias and their sons, 8-year-old Jacobo and 13-year-old Matias toured the cultural center. The Colombian family read information on large placards about the contributions of the Islamic world to medicine, science, math and architecture.

“What we’ve seen is that they’ve made an effort to change the image that we have in the West of seeing Islam. It’s breaking that barrier,” said Carlos Bustos, who along with his sons had dressed in traditional Qatari clothes.

“They’ve told us that we’re very different but we see more similarities than differences,” he said.

His wife, Mireya Arias, admired the devotion of Muslims to their faith and how they follow the call to prayer. She also appreciated the efforts made by Qatar to introduce visitors to Islam.

“They’ve used a lot of strategies to get closer to visitors, for us to understand and learn,” she said. “When you’re on the buses that take you to the (World Cup) stadiums, you point to a QR code and it gives you explanations about the Quran.”

Doha’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-sports-soccer-religion-27f3262261592a5d811704145a4a79bc">Museum of Islamic Art</a>&nbsp;also offers glimpses into religious beliefs and rituals. Visitors can read about the five pillars of Islam — the profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting and hajj or pilgrimage — or learn about hajj rituals and different funerary practices in the Islamic world.

“The more you understand this Islamic culture, the more fascinating it is,” said Jose Antonio Tinoco, a Brazilian museum visitor, who wore his country’s soccer jersey. “The most important part of the museum for me was the part on Islam.”

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Fatima Garcia donned a headscarf and a black abaya — a long, loose-fitting robe — over her clothes as she walked into a mosque in Doha to learn about Islam.In Qatar to enjoy the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a>&nbsp;with friends, the Salvadoran visitor took a day off from soccer to go sightseeing at the Katara mosque, where preachers have been introducing Islam in multiple languages to curious fans from around the world.“Qatar is my first exposure to Islam,” Garcia said inside the house of prayer, also known as the blue mosque for its beautiful turquoise tiles. “Qatar has been a life-changing adventure because it gives you a perspective on different cultures.”Hundreds of thousands of visitors have come to Qatar during the World Cup. For many it’s their first visit to a Muslim country. Those who don’t venture far beyond the stadiums and Doha’s glitzy hotels will have only limited exposure to the country’s religion, such as hearing the call to prayer at a distance or witnessing Muslims prostrate at prayer rooms in stadiums, airports and hotels. But for those who are curious to find out more about Islam, Qatari authorities and religious officials are eager to help.Local mosques offered multilingual tours to visitors and the Islamic Cultural Center in Doha offers a virtual reality tour of the holy city of Mecca. Booths at tourist sites hand out free copies of the Quran and brochures about Islam are available in hotel lobbies. Billboards have been set up across Doha featuring U.S. Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammed and other Muslim personalities as part of a campaign encouraging people to explore Islam.“Why during the World Cup? Everyone came here from across the world to Qatar, a Muslim country, and it’s an opportunity to educate people about the faith,” said Abu Huraira, a volunteer for the campaign by the Explore Islam Foundation and the Islam &amp; Muslims Initiative.Qatari officials say they hope the tournament helped provide visitors with a better understanding of their culture and that of the larger region.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-womens-soccer-sports-religion-b397b8b6cabd5948da9d398e9a4aac63?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_medium=APMiddleEast&amp;utm_source=Twitter">Qatar follows</a>&nbsp;an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism. But unlike neighboring Saudi Arabia, where adherence to Wahhabism led to strict segregation of unmarried men and women, banned women from driving and kept concerts, cinemas and even yoga off-limits for decades, Qatar has long sponsored the arts, allowed women to participate in high levels of governance and encouraged tourists to feel at ease.The World Cup host, though, has faced intense criticism over human rights issues, including the treatment of migrant workers, and accusations of “sportswashing” or attempting to use the event’s prestige to remake its image.Qatari officials have argued that the nation’s progress and achievements are being overlooked. The ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, said some of the criticism against the first Arab and Muslim country to host the World Cup included “fabrications and double standards.”The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs and the host country’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy did not respond to requests for comment.Back inside the ornate Ottoman-style Katara mosque, Riffat Ishfaq, a guide from Pakistan, told Garcia that it was designed by Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadillioglu, whose first name is the Turkish form of the name of the eldest daughter of the Prophet Muhammed. The tiles had been handmade, Ishfaq said; the columns were covered with leather and the domed roof contained gold. By the end of the tour, Garcia also learned why women dress modestly in Islam and the origins of the religion.“We want to tell people about Islam. We feel pride in our identity,” Ishfaq said, before telling Garcia to keep the abaya as a parting gift. “This helps to dispel misconceptions.”Nearby, Sergio Morales, a Guatemalan who had come for the whole tournament, finished listening to a tour and walked out of the mosque to a booth located at the entrance where he asked for a free copy of the Quran.“Today I became interested because the guided tour was in Spanish and I could understand it all,” he said. “There should be guides in Spanish in every mosque because there are so many Latin American people coming to these countries.”Booths with free Qurans and booklets introducing the religion in several languages are also available in the winding cobbled alleys of Souq Waqif, the capital’s oldest bazaar where stores hawk spices and perfumes, scented oils and silk scarves.Just steps from there, World Cup visitors walked into the spiral-like building of the Abdullah Bin Zaid Al-Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center, for a tour and a visit to the mosque, where people gathered for Friday prayer.Carlos Bustos, Mireya Arias and their sons, 8-year-old Jacobo and 13-year-old Matias toured the cultural center. The Colombian family read information on large placards about the contributions of the Islamic world to medicine, science, math and architecture.“What we’ve seen is that they’ve made an effort to change the image that we have in the West of seeing Islam. It’s breaking that barrier,” said Carlos Bustos, who along with his sons had dressed in traditional Qatari clothes.“They’ve told us that we’re very different but we see more similarities than differences,” he said.His wife, Mireya Arias, admired the devotion of Muslims to their faith and how they follow the call to prayer. She also appreciated the efforts made by Qatar to introduce visitors to Islam.“They’ve used a lot of strategies to get closer to visitors, for us to understand and learn,” she said. “When you’re on the buses that take you to the (World Cup) stadiums, you point to a QR code and it gives you explanations about the Quran.”Doha’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-sports-soccer-religion-27f3262261592a5d811704145a4a79bc">Museum of Islamic Art</a>&nbsp;also offers glimpses into religious beliefs and rituals. Visitors can read about the five pillars of Islam — the profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting and hajj or pilgrimage — or learn about hajj rituals and different funerary practices in the Islamic world.“The more you understand this Islamic culture, the more fascinating it is,” said Jose Antonio Tinoco, a Brazilian museum visitor, who wore his country’s soccer jersey. “The most important part of the museum for me was the part on Islam.”__

Qatar offered World Cup visitors an introduction to Islam

WASHINGTON&nbsp;– U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) announced he sponsored the&nbsp;Afghan Adjustment Act.

“The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a dark day in American history,”&nbsp;said Sen. Moran. “The rushed and chaotic evacuation from Kabul resulted in the deaths of American servicemembers and stranded thousands of our Afghan allies behind enemy lines. For two decades countless Afghans stood by our servicemembers and risked their lives and their families’ lives to support our troops in Afghanistan. Veterans of the Afghan War are now calling for Congress to provide safety and certainty for their allies and friends who assisted them in battle. We must answer that call and establish a pathway for our Afghan partners to begin a new life. This legislation will put a program in place to protect our national security while also keeping our promise to those who risked their lives for America.”

“As a constituent and Afghan veteran, I applaud Sen.&nbsp;Moran for endorsing the Afghan Adjustment Act,”&nbsp;said 1SG (ret.) Slade Deister,&nbsp;from&nbsp;Leavenworth, Kan. “I am grateful that he has listened to veterans, and this is a critical piece of legislation that supports our nation's veterans and warfighters by ensuring that we honor our allies during America’s longest war. If Congress does not act to support its allies by passing the Afghan&nbsp;Adjustment&nbsp;Act, potential allies in future combat zones are going to be less likely to support the U.S. mission after seeing our Afghan partners abandoned.”

After U.S. troops were pulled out of Afghanistan, Afghanistan fell to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, resulting in a humanitarian and global security crisis. In the months following the collapse of Afghanistan, thousands of Americans, Afghans and foreign nationals sought refuge from the Taliban. The U.S. assisted in the evacuation of thousands of Afghans to the U.S. and other countries.

The&nbsp;Afghan Adjustment Act&nbsp;would:

1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Establish a task force to develop and implement a strategy for supporting Afghans who were left behind or outside of the United States who are eligible for SIV status and require the Department of State to respond to congressional inquiries about SIV applications;

2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Allow Afghans on humanitarian status who submit to additional vetting to apply for permanent legal status. For these Afghans, the primary options under current law to gain permanent status are through our asylum system or the burdensome SIV process;

3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Expand the SIV program to include previously omitted groups, including the Female Tactical Teams of Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command, the Afghan Air Force, and the Special Mission Wing of Afghanistan.

The legislation has received the endorsement of organizations including the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Veterans for Foreign Wars, the American Legion, Veterans for American Ideals, With Honor Action and the Association of Wartime Allies

This legislation is also sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629403212055.png" alt="-Afghan evacuees boarding a military transport plane in Kabul last month-photo U.S. Dept. of Defense." />
 <figcaption>-Afghan evacuees boarding a military transport plane in Kabul last month-photo U.S. Dept. of Defense.</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON&nbsp;– U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) announced he sponsored the&nbsp;Afghan Adjustment Act.“The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a dark day in American history,”&nbsp;said Sen. Moran. “The rushed and chaotic evacuation from Kabul resulted in the deaths of American servicemembers and stranded thousands of our Afghan allies behind enemy lines. For two decades countless Afghans stood by our servicemembers and risked their lives and their families’ lives to support our troops in Afghanistan. Veterans of the Afghan War are now calling for Congress to provide safety and certainty for their allies and friends who assisted them in battle. We must answer that call and establish a pathway for our Afghan partners to begin a new life. This legislation will put a program in place to protect our national security while also keeping our promise to those who risked their lives for America.”“As a constituent and Afghan veteran, I applaud Sen.&nbsp;Moran for endorsing the Afghan Adjustment Act,”&nbsp;said 1SG (ret.) Slade Deister,&nbsp;from&nbsp;Leavenworth, Kan. “I am grateful that he has listened to veterans, and this is a critical piece of legislation that supports our nation's veterans and warfighters by ensuring that we honor our allies during America’s longest war. If Congress does not act to support its allies by passing the Afghan&nbsp;Adjustment&nbsp;Act, potential allies in future combat zones are going to be less likely to support the U.S. mission after seeing our Afghan partners abandoned.”After U.S. troops were pulled out of Afghanistan, Afghanistan fell to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, resulting in a humanitarian and global security crisis. In the months following the collapse of Afghanistan, thousands of Americans, Afghans and foreign nationals sought refuge from the Taliban. The U.S. assisted in the evacuation of thousands of Afghans to the U.S. and other countries.The&nbsp;Afghan Adjustment Act&nbsp;would:1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Establish a task force to develop and implement a strategy for supporting Afghans who were left behind or outside of the United States who are eligible for SIV status and require the Department of State to respond to congressional inquiries about SIV applications;2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Allow Afghans on humanitarian status who submit to additional vetting to apply for permanent legal status. For these Afghans, the primary options under current law to gain permanent status are through our asylum system or the burdensome SIV process;3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Expand the SIV program to include previously omitted groups, including the Female Tactical Teams of Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command, the Afghan Air Force, and the Special Mission Wing of Afghanistan.The legislation has received the endorsement of organizations including the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Veterans for Foreign Wars, the American Legion, Veterans for American Ideals, With Honor Action and the Association of Wartime AlliesThis legislation is also sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Moran sponsors bill to help resettle Afghanistan refugees

Is it even worth it to buy a house these days? I’ve always been told buying a house is the adult thing to do and that it’s a great investment, but I can’t find anything decent and livable in my area for less than $350,000. My wife and I are debt-free, and we’re expecting our first baby in January. I was hoping to get your advice.

I can understand how things might feel a little hopeless in your current situation. You’re probably feeling the weight of the responsibility a new life brings to the picture. Things are getting real really fast, aren’t they? Believe me, I get it.

The truth is you may not be ready to buy a house today. And that’s okay. Having a new baby on the horizon doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy a home. That little boy or girl isn’t going to know the difference between a house and an apartment for a long time. Right now, giving your child a safe, loving environment is the most important thing.

Now, looking down the road, is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/real-estate/how-much-house-can-i-afford" target="_blank">owning a house</a>&nbsp;worth it? Yes. But it’s not worth doing it at the wrong time or in a stupid way. You first need to make sure the income is there. Then, you need an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses in place along with a strong down payment. So, what if you don’t buy a home for another two or three years? Home buying should always be done with patience and wisdom.

There are two or three things that make buying a home a great long-term investment versus renting your whole life:

A house is a great wealth-building tool, and it can also stabilize the biggest line item in your budget—housing.

Dave Ramsey&nbsp;is an eight-time national bestselling author, personal finance expert and host of “The Ramsey Show,” heard by more than 18 million listeners. He&nbsp;has appeared on “Good Morning America,” “CBS This Morning,” “Today,” Fox News, CNN, Fox Business and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth, and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO of Ramsey Solutions.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1635524005597.png" alt="Dave Ramsey" />
 <figcaption>Dave Ramsey</figcaption>
 </figure>Dear Dave,Is it even worth it to buy a house these days? I’ve always been told buying a house is the adult thing to do and that it’s a great investment, but I can’t find anything decent and livable in my area for less than $350,000. My wife and I are debt-free, and we’re expecting our first baby in January. I was hoping to get your advice.CraigDear Craig,I can understand how things might feel a little hopeless in your current situation. You’re probably feeling the weight of the responsibility a new life brings to the picture. Things are getting real really fast, aren’t they? Believe me, I get it.The truth is you may not be ready to buy a house today. And that’s okay. Having a new baby on the horizon doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy a home. That little boy or girl isn’t going to know the difference between a house and an apartment for a long time. Right now, giving your child a safe, loving environment is the most important thing.Now, looking down the road, is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/real-estate/how-much-house-can-i-afford" target="_blank">owning a house</a>&nbsp;worth it? Yes. But it’s not worth doing it at the wrong time or in a stupid way. You first need to make sure the income is there. Then, you need an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses in place along with a strong down payment. So, what if you don’t buy a home for another two or three years? Home buying should always be done with patience and wisdom.There are two or three things that make buying a home a great long-term investment versus renting your whole life:<ol>
 <li>Rents go up every year. If you lock in a good, fixed-rate mortgage, that payment will stay the same.</li><li>The value of your home will increase. When you rent, you don’t own your residence, and you won’t benefit from the value of it going up.</li><li><a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/the-national-study-of-millionaires-research" target="_blank">Our study</a>&nbsp;of 10,000 millionaires showed that most say two things were integral parts of their ability to build wealth: Good retirement investments and a paid-off home.</li>
 </ol>A house is a great wealth-building tool, and it can also stabilize the biggest line item in your budget—housing.God bless you guys, Craig!DaveDave Ramsey&nbsp;is an eight-time national bestselling author, personal finance expert and host of “The Ramsey Show,” heard by more than 18 million listeners. He&nbsp;has appeared on “Good Morning America,” “CBS This Morning,” “Today,” Fox News, CNN, Fox Business and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth, and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO of Ramsey Solutions.

DAVE SAYS: Wait until the time is right

Southeast of Saline is traveling to Hillsboro for a bonus Trojan War Thursday night! If you can't make it to the games, we've got you covered!

The girls play at 6 p.m. Thursday and the boys at approximately 7:30 p.m.

You can listen to the basketball games on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM). Devin Hanney has the call. You also can watch a live stream of the games right here on Salina Post, thanks to Smart Insurance!

Click the QR code or the link below to watch the games Thursday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671140056586.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Southeast of Saline is traveling to Hillsboro for a bonus Trojan War Thursday night! If you can't make it to the games, we've got you covered!The girls play at 6 p.m. Thursday and the boys at approximately 7:30 p.m.You can listen to the basketball games on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM). Devin Hanney has the call. You also can watch a live stream of the games right here on Salina Post, thanks to Smart Insurance!Click the QR code or the link below to watch the games Thursday.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671140388234.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HqqkG-WgFRA"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

🎥Watch live as Southeast of Saline takes on Hillsboro tonight!

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia's Foreign Ministry warned Thursday that if the United States confirms reports that it plans to deliver sophisticated air defense missiles to Ukraine, it would be "another provocative move by the U.S." that could prompt a response from Moscow.

Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a weekly briefing that the U.S. had "effectively become a party" to the war in Ukraine, following reports that it will provide Kyiv with Patriot surface-to-air missiles, the most advanced the West has yet offered to help repel Russian aerial attacks.

Growing amounts of U.S. military assistance, including the transfer of such sophisticated weapons, "would mean even broader involvement of military personnel in the hostilities and could entail possible consequences," Zakharova added.

She did not specify what the consequences might be.

U.S. officials said Tuesday that Washington was poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles that have crippled much of the country's vital infrastructure. An official announcement is expected soon.

Operating and maintaining a Patriot battery requires as many as 90 troops, and for months the U.S. has been reluctant to provide the complex system because sending American forces into Ukraine to operate the systems is a nonstarter for the administration of President Joe Biden.

Even without the presence of U.S. service members to train Ukrainians on use of the system, concerns remain that deployment of the missiles could provoke Russia or risk that a fired projectile could hit inside Russia and further escalate the conflict.

Before reports emerged on the delivery of Patriot systems, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council, which is chaired by President Vladimir Putin, warned that if Patriots enter Ukraine "along with NATO personnel, they will immediately become a legitimate target for our armed forces."

Asked Wednesday whether the Kremlin backs that threat, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov answered yes, but added in a conference call with reporters that he would refrain from more detailed comment until the U.S. officially announces the Patriot delivery to Ukraine.

Ukraine has so far been cautious in reacting to the reports. Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, told reporters Thursday in Kyiv that the delivery of such weaponry remains "sensitive not only for Ukraine, but for our partners," and that only President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov would make any official announcement on such an agreement.

White House and Pentagon leaders have said consistently that providing Ukraine with additional air defenses is a priority, and Patriot missiles have been under consideration for some time. As the winter closed in and the Russian bombardment of civilian infrastructure escalated, official said, the idea became a higher priority.

Ukraine's electricity provider said Thursday that the country's energy system had a "significant deficit of electricity," and that emergency shutdowns had been applied in some areas as temperatures hover around or below freezing.

The state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo warned in a statement on Facebook that damage caused to energy infrastructure by Russian attacks is being compounded by harsh weather, including snow, ice and strong winds.

Maximum temperatures in the capital were forecast to barely climb above freezing heading into the weekend, with even colder weather expected early next week.

The southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was left completely without power following Russian shelling on Thursday, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, who wrote on Telegram. He added that two people were killed in the attacks.

Heavy shelling of the city's Korabelny district was still underway in the afternoon, and Russian shells hit 100 meters (yards) from the regional administration building, he said.

Amid the infrastructure attacks and power outages across the country, seven civilians were killed and 19 wounded on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a report issued by the Ukrainian president's office.

The head of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province, Pavlo Kyrylenko, reported that Russian strikes the previous day had killed two civilians and wounded seven.

Kremlin-backed authorities in the region, which was illegally annexed by Moscow in September, announced that Russia had taken control of 80% of the city of Marinka, seen as critical to Ukrainian hopes of retaking the Russian-held regional capital, Donetsk.

The Moscow-installed mayor of Donetsk, Aleksei Kulemzin, said Thursday that the city center had been hit by "the most massive strike" since the area came under the control of Russian-backed separatists in 2014.

Writing on Telegram, Kulemzin said 40 Ukrainian rockets struck Donetsk on Thursday morning, noting that multistory residential buildings were hit and that fires broke out at a hospital and university campus.

— Russia continued to build up its military presence in Belarus, a senior Ukrainian military official said. According to Brig. Gen. Oleksiy Hromov, Russian units "are undergoing training and combat coordination" in Belarus, with the Kremlin using Belarusian officers and training grounds to improve the combat capability of existing units, as well as to train newly created units.

Speaking at a press briefing, Hromov said the probability of a Russian offensive from Belarus "remains low," but he highlighted that the transfer of Russian weapons to Belarus is ongoing, including three hypersonic missile-carrying aircraft, a set of tanks and a long-range radar-detection aircraft.

— Russia's Foreign Ministry says the Vatican has apologized for a statement Pope Francis made in a recent interview in which he singled out two Russian ethnic minorities — the Chechens and the Buryats — as being "the most cruel" participants in the war in Ukraine.

At a briefing on Thursday, Zakharova quoted from what she said was a message from the Vatican that "apologizes to the Russian side" for the pope's comments. Zakharova praised the message, saying that it showed the Vatican's "ability to conduct dialogue and listen to interlocutors." A Vatican spokesman would say only that there had been diplomatic contacts on the matter.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663760963726.jpeg" alt="Image from a video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, Russian President Vladimir Putin via AP" />
 <figcaption>Image from a video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, Russian President Vladimir Putin via AP</figcaption>
 </figure>By JAMEY KEATEN Associated PressKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia's Foreign Ministry warned Thursday that if the United States confirms reports that it plans to deliver sophisticated air defense missiles to Ukraine, it would be "another provocative move by the U.S." that could prompt a response from Moscow.Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a weekly briefing that the U.S. had "effectively become a party" to the war in Ukraine, following reports that it will provide Kyiv with Patriot surface-to-air missiles, the most advanced the West has yet offered to help repel Russian aerial attacks.Growing amounts of U.S. military assistance, including the transfer of such sophisticated weapons, "would mean even broader involvement of military personnel in the hostilities and could entail possible consequences," Zakharova added.She did not specify what the consequences might be.U.S. officials said Tuesday that Washington was poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles that have crippled much of the country's vital infrastructure. An official announcement is expected soon.Operating and maintaining a Patriot battery requires as many as 90 troops, and for months the U.S. has been reluctant to provide the complex system because sending American forces into Ukraine to operate the systems is a nonstarter for the administration of President Joe Biden.Even without the presence of U.S. service members to train Ukrainians on use of the system, concerns remain that deployment of the missiles could provoke Russia or risk that a fired projectile could hit inside Russia and further escalate the conflict.Before reports emerged on the delivery of Patriot systems, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council, which is chaired by President Vladimir Putin, warned that if Patriots enter Ukraine "along with NATO personnel, they will immediately become a legitimate target for our armed forces."Asked Wednesday whether the Kremlin backs that threat, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov answered yes, but added in a conference call with reporters that he would refrain from more detailed comment until the U.S. officially announces the Patriot delivery to Ukraine.Ukraine has so far been cautious in reacting to the reports. Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, told reporters Thursday in Kyiv that the delivery of such weaponry remains "sensitive not only for Ukraine, but for our partners," and that only President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov would make any official announcement on such an agreement.White House and Pentagon leaders have said consistently that providing Ukraine with additional air defenses is a priority, and Patriot missiles have been under consideration for some time. As the winter closed in and the Russian bombardment of civilian infrastructure escalated, official said, the idea became a higher priority.Ukraine's electricity provider said Thursday that the country's energy system had a "significant deficit of electricity," and that emergency shutdowns had been applied in some areas as temperatures hover around or below freezing.The state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo warned in a statement on Facebook that damage caused to energy infrastructure by Russian attacks is being compounded by harsh weather, including snow, ice and strong winds.Maximum temperatures in the capital were forecast to barely climb above freezing heading into the weekend, with even colder weather expected early next week.The southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was left completely without power following Russian shelling on Thursday, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, who wrote on Telegram. He added that two people were killed in the attacks.Heavy shelling of the city's Korabelny district was still underway in the afternoon, and Russian shells hit 100 meters (yards) from the regional administration building, he said.Amid the infrastructure attacks and power outages across the country, seven civilians were killed and 19 wounded on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a report issued by the Ukrainian president's office.The head of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province, Pavlo Kyrylenko, reported that Russian strikes the previous day had killed two civilians and wounded seven.Kremlin-backed authorities in the region, which was illegally annexed by Moscow in September, announced that Russia had taken control of 80% of the city of Marinka, seen as critical to Ukrainian hopes of retaking the Russian-held regional capital, Donetsk.The Moscow-installed mayor of Donetsk, Aleksei Kulemzin, said Thursday that the city center had been hit by "the most massive strike" since the area came under the control of Russian-backed separatists in 2014.Writing on Telegram, Kulemzin said 40 Ukrainian rockets struck Donetsk on Thursday morning, noting that multistory residential buildings were hit and that fires broke out at a hospital and university campus.In other developments Thursday:— Russia continued to build up its military presence in Belarus, a senior Ukrainian military official said. According to Brig. Gen. Oleksiy Hromov, Russian units "are undergoing training and combat coordination" in Belarus, with the Kremlin using Belarusian officers and training grounds to improve the combat capability of existing units, as well as to train newly created units.Speaking at a press briefing, Hromov said the probability of a Russian offensive from Belarus "remains low," but he highlighted that the transfer of Russian weapons to Belarus is ongoing, including three hypersonic missile-carrying aircraft, a set of tanks and a long-range radar-detection aircraft.— Russia's Foreign Ministry says the Vatican has apologized for a statement Pope Francis made in a recent interview in which he singled out two Russian ethnic minorities — the Chechens and the Buryats — as being "the most cruel" participants in the war in Ukraine.At a briefing on Thursday, Zakharova quoted from what she said was a message from the Vatican that "apologizes to the Russian side" for the pope's comments. Zakharova praised the message, saying that it showed the Vatican's "ability to conduct dialogue and listen to interlocutors." A Vatican spokesman would say only that there had been diplomatic contacts on the matter.___

Russia warns of 'consequences' if US defense missiles go to Ukraine

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Railroad workers who are fed up with demanding work schedules and disappointed in the contract they received aired their frustrations this week at rallies across the country and in a leadership vote at one of their biggest unions.

Workers gathered in Washington D.C. and nearly a dozen other locations across the country Tuesday to emphasize their quality of life concerns and fight for paid sick leave after Congress intervened in the stalled contract talks earlier this month and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-pete-buttigieg-strikes-congress-c95510555dcd4cdc2d839e61d1195b06">imposed a deal</a>&nbsp;on four unions that had rejected it. And thousands of engineers voted to oust their long-time union president although that result won't be final until next week.

The five-year contract that roughly 115,000 workers in 12 unions received includes 24% raises, $5,000 in bonuses and one additional paid leave day, but the unions say it didn't&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-strikes-congress-d2ae4d3aecb27f176418518d977e69e1">do enough</a>&nbsp;to address workers'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-government-and-politics-207229bcd558b6a6c1d58f3f85e2d804">quality-of-life concerns</a>. President Joe Biden urged Congress to get involved because the potential&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-strikes-climate-and-environment-government-politics-92ea7632a29f807ccc0e2658c50d731e">economic damage</a>&nbsp;that would come with a railroad strike was too great to bear, but their action left many workers disappointed because lawmakers opted not to require the railroads to add sick time.

“The American people should know that while this round of collective bargaining is over, the underlying issues facing the workforce and rail customers remain,” said the Transportation Trades Department coalition of the AFL-CIO that includes all the rail unions. “Over the last seven years, the freight railroad industry has moved to a business model that has cut their workforces to the bone, devastated worker morale by creating unsustainable working conditions across the industry, and put the safety of their workers and the American public at risk.”

The unions have said that the roughly 45,000 job cuts across the industry as railroads&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-aab7d3084a8d17d8d721d2cb750be323">overhauled their operations</a>&nbsp;over the past several years have increased the workload for everyone who remains and prompted the railroads to adopt strict attendance policies that make it hard for workers to take a day off. Railroads say they don't need as many workers as they used to because they have cut down on the number of trains and locomotives they are using by relying on longer trains with a mix of freight that run on a tighter schedule.

The railroads did agree as part of the contract to try to improve the way regular days off are scheduled through ongoing additional negotiations at each railroad. But it's not yet clear how much of a difference those changes will make to engineers and conductors who say they are now essentially on call 24-7.

One of the other concessions railroads made was to offer engineers and conductors three unpaid days off a year to tend to medical events as long as they schedule their appointments at least 30 days ahead of time.

The engineers union narrowly approved the deal while the union that represents conductors rejected it. But more than half of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union members who voted this week backed challenger Eddie Hall over Dennis Pierce, who had led the union since 2010.

BLET officials say those results won't be certified until Monday after any challenges to the vote are resolved. Pierce, who was one of the leaders of the large bargaining coalition that represented the unions in the contract talks with all the major freight railroads over the past three years, declined to comment on the election results.

Hall said he thinks the vote clearly shows that engineers just aren't “satisfied with our leadership,” The win is remarkable given that Hall was little known among the union nationally before he was nominated by workers in his division in Arizona.

“This is like a club fighter knocking out Muhammad Ali," Hall said. "I’m a vice local chairman out of Division 28 in Tucson. This is unprecedented. It’s never happened before and it’ll probably never happen again.”

Hall said there is definitely still a lot of work to do to help improve workers' quality of life, but he doesn't have a long plan of what he will do if he does take office. He said the first thing on his agenda will be getting out and meeting with engineers all across the country to listen to their concerns.

Regardless of who leads the BLET for the next four years, all the unions have pledged to continue pressing the railroads to add sick time and ease some of their restrictive rules.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671055776665.png" alt="Workers gathered in Washington D.C. and nearly a dozen other locations across the country Tuesday to emphasize their quality of life concerns-photos courtesy Senator Bernie Sanders" />
 <figcaption>Workers gathered in Washington D.C. and nearly a dozen other locations across the country Tuesday to emphasize their quality of life concerns-photos courtesy Senator Bernie Sanders</figcaption>
 </figure>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Railroad workers who are fed up with demanding work schedules and disappointed in the contract they received aired their frustrations this week at rallies across the country and in a leadership vote at one of their biggest unions.Workers gathered in Washington D.C. and nearly a dozen other locations across the country Tuesday to emphasize their quality of life concerns and fight for paid sick leave after Congress intervened in the stalled contract talks earlier this month and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-pete-buttigieg-strikes-congress-c95510555dcd4cdc2d839e61d1195b06">imposed a deal</a>&nbsp;on four unions that had rejected it. And thousands of engineers voted to oust their long-time union president although that result won't be final until next week.The five-year contract that roughly 115,000 workers in 12 unions received includes 24% raises, $5,000 in bonuses and one additional paid leave day, but the unions say it didn't&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-strikes-congress-d2ae4d3aecb27f176418518d977e69e1">do enough</a>&nbsp;to address workers'&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-government-and-politics-207229bcd558b6a6c1d58f3f85e2d804">quality-of-life concerns</a>. President Joe Biden urged Congress to get involved because the potential&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-economy-strikes-climate-and-environment-government-politics-92ea7632a29f807ccc0e2658c50d731e">economic damage</a>&nbsp;that would come with a railroad strike was too great to bear, but their action left many workers disappointed because lawmakers opted not to require the railroads to add sick time.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671055751999.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>“The American people should know that while this round of collective bargaining is over, the underlying issues facing the workforce and rail customers remain,” said the Transportation Trades Department coalition of the AFL-CIO that includes all the rail unions. “Over the last seven years, the freight railroad industry has moved to a business model that has cut their workforces to the bone, devastated worker morale by creating unsustainable working conditions across the industry, and put the safety of their workers and the American public at risk.”The unions have said that the roughly 45,000 job cuts across the industry as railroads&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-aab7d3084a8d17d8d721d2cb750be323">overhauled their operations</a>&nbsp;over the past several years have increased the workload for everyone who remains and prompted the railroads to adopt strict attendance policies that make it hard for workers to take a day off. Railroads say they don't need as many workers as they used to because they have cut down on the number of trains and locomotives they are using by relying on longer trains with a mix of freight that run on a tighter schedule.The railroads did agree as part of the contract to try to improve the way regular days off are scheduled through ongoing additional negotiations at each railroad. But it's not yet clear how much of a difference those changes will make to engineers and conductors who say they are now essentially on call 24-7.One of the other concessions railroads made was to offer engineers and conductors three unpaid days off a year to tend to medical events as long as they schedule their appointments at least 30 days ahead of time.The engineers union narrowly approved the deal while the union that represents conductors rejected it. But more than half of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union members who voted this week backed challenger Eddie Hall over Dennis Pierce, who had led the union since 2010.BLET officials say those results won't be certified until Monday after any challenges to the vote are resolved. Pierce, who was one of the leaders of the large bargaining coalition that represented the unions in the contract talks with all the major freight railroads over the past three years, declined to comment on the election results.Hall said he thinks the vote clearly shows that engineers just aren't “satisfied with our leadership,” The win is remarkable given that Hall was little known among the union nationally before he was nominated by workers in his division in Arizona.“This is like a club fighter knocking out Muhammad Ali," Hall said. "I’m a vice local chairman out of Division 28 in Tucson. This is unprecedented. It’s never happened before and it’ll probably never happen again.”Hall said there is definitely still a lot of work to do to help improve workers' quality of life, but he doesn't have a long plan of what he will do if he does take office. He said the first thing on his agenda will be getting out and meeting with engineers all across the country to listen to their concerns.Regardless of who leads the BLET for the next four years, all the unions have pledged to continue pressing the railroads to add sick time and ease some of their restrictive rules.

Rail workers air their frustrations with rallies, vote

By JACKIE MUNDT Pratt County farmer and rancher The Christmas season is a time of joy and anticipation. For weeks the Christmas Spirit grows with every decoration hung, carol sung and sweet treat consumed. The ultimate height of anticipation, especially for children is drafting a wish list for Santa. I vividly remember the anticipation that came each year of my childhood with the arrival of the JC Penny “Wish Book.” My brother and I spent hours examining every page and letting our imaginations run wild with just how cool and glamorous our lives would be with each toy. By the time we were done that poor book was marked and highlighted with so many circles even Santa couldn’t figure out what we wanted. There is a sad nostalgia for me in knowing “Wish Books” have faded away. Children today really don’t understand what they are missing. That is one of the beautiful things about children, they can manifest anticipation, imagination and joy just about everywhere they look. It rarely matters the cost of quality of the gift, in their mind the cheapest items can be great treasures and expensive gifts may not be any better at holding attention any longer. Children are quick to joy, imagination and seeing the possibility in all things.&nbsp; At some point though our ideas about gifts change. Teenage desires are fueled by the coolest brands and newest electronics, but as most of the world can’t really understand them you are almost better giving them a gift card. In our early adult years, our desires move to more practical things motivated by the gaps in our lives left by the new world of adulting. I remember when I was first out of college asking for exciting things like new tires for my car, a vacuum cleaner and a whole list of kitchen appliances. At some point in the last decade, I reached the point where I have everything I need to be happy. Gifts stopped being a source of anticipation, and a wish list became more a chore than a dream. My anticipation at the holidays has shifted from dreaming about what I want to give. Giving has become a source of great joy for me. My anticipation builds each year while I search and puzzle over gifts that will make my loved ones light up with joy. It isn’t always easy, we all have that one person who wants things that are completely unrealistic like a time-travel machine, world peace or a new sports car. The best gifts are rarely expensive or trendy, they are usually practical and may seem a bit strange to anyone but the recipient. However, they show your loved ones how much you listen to them and want them to be happy. Great gifts feel so good because it is like being told, “I like you exactly as you are.” None of the items on my Christmas list will make or break my holiday season. I make my list so my loved ones can have the joy of getting me something that shows their love, even though I really only care about spending time together. As you finish your holiday shopping this year don’t stress over the perfect gift, remember it really doesn’t matter if you buy them a smart phone, muck boots or a nice dinner together. The true joy of the season will come from participating in traditions, making memories and knowing how blessed we are to be together with people we love.

"Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;Copyright © 2022 Kansas Farm Bureau, All rights reserved.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575406519723.jpeg" alt="Jackie Mundt. Photo courtesy Kansas Farm Bureau" />
 <figcaption>Jackie Mundt. Photo courtesy Kansas Farm Bureau</figcaption>
 </figure>By JACKIE MUNDT Pratt County farmer and rancher The Christmas season is a time of joy and anticipation. For weeks the Christmas Spirit grows with every decoration hung, carol sung and sweet treat consumed. The ultimate height of anticipation, especially for children is drafting a wish list for Santa. I vividly remember the anticipation that came each year of my childhood with the arrival of the JC Penny “Wish Book.” My brother and I spent hours examining every page and letting our imaginations run wild with just how cool and glamorous our lives would be with each toy. By the time we were done that poor book was marked and highlighted with so many circles even Santa couldn’t figure out what we wanted. There is a sad nostalgia for me in knowing “Wish Books” have faded away. Children today really don’t understand what they are missing. That is one of the beautiful things about children, they can manifest anticipation, imagination and joy just about everywhere they look. It rarely matters the cost of quality of the gift, in their mind the cheapest items can be great treasures and expensive gifts may not be any better at holding attention any longer. Children are quick to joy, imagination and seeing the possibility in all things.&nbsp; At some point though our ideas about gifts change. Teenage desires are fueled by the coolest brands and newest electronics, but as most of the world can’t really understand them you are almost better giving them a gift card. In our early adult years, our desires move to more practical things motivated by the gaps in our lives left by the new world of adulting. I remember when I was first out of college asking for exciting things like new tires for my car, a vacuum cleaner and a whole list of kitchen appliances. At some point in the last decade, I reached the point where I have everything I need to be happy. Gifts stopped being a source of anticipation, and a wish list became more a chore than a dream. My anticipation at the holidays has shifted from dreaming about what I want to give. Giving has become a source of great joy for me. My anticipation builds each year while I search and puzzle over gifts that will make my loved ones light up with joy. It isn’t always easy, we all have that one person who wants things that are completely unrealistic like a time-travel machine, world peace or a new sports car. The best gifts are rarely expensive or trendy, they are usually practical and may seem a bit strange to anyone but the recipient. However, they show your loved ones how much you listen to them and want them to be happy. Great gifts feel so good because it is like being told, “I like you exactly as you are.” None of the items on my Christmas list will make or break my holiday season. I make my list so my loved ones can have the joy of getting me something that shows their love, even though I really only care about spending time together. As you finish your holiday shopping this year don’t stress over the perfect gift, remember it really doesn’t matter if you buy them a smart phone, muck boots or a nice dinner together. The true joy of the season will come from participating in traditions, making memories and knowing how blessed we are to be together with people we love."Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;Copyright © 2022 Kansas Farm Bureau, All rights reserved.

INSIGHT: The greatest gifts

Salina Public Schools (SPS) conducted a community phone survey in October 2022. The statistically reliable sample size included 300 randomly selected adults who were head of household and balanced by geographic location.

Participants had the opportunity to provide feedback about district services, identify district strengths and areas for improvement, share concerns, rate the relevance of district goals and more. The community survey, administered by ExcellenceK12, a Kansas City-based market research firm, helped the district better understand community members’ perceptions of SPS. 

“Salina Public Schools belongs to the community,” said Linn Exline, superintendent at USD 305. “Feedback about the goals, priorities and community concerns help keep the district aligned with community expectations.”

Results were shared at the Tuesday Board of Education meeting. Rick Nobles, president of ExcellenceK12, told board members that overall, the data revealed some terrific scores on the grading questions. Areas that received the highest scores were:

●Preparation of students for college, career/technical training or employment. 

●District’s efforts to communicate with patrons. 

●Value received for the tax dollars spent

Additionally, teachers topped the list of strengths based on an open-ended question. 

“We are incredibly proud of our teachers’ caring, expert and professional work with students,” said Exline.

The survey asked about the relevancy of the three long-term goals that are a part of the Strategic Plan, adopted in 2020. Derived from community input during strategic planning sessions, the goals aim to build students’ skills:

●Critical thinking (math, science, social studies). 

●Communication (reading, writing, listening, speaking). 

Ninety-nine percent of the phone survey participants considered the goals to be very relevant or somewhat relevant.

Other results included participants’ view of SPS as a workplace. Eighty-four percent indicated it was an excellent or good place to work. When asked what participants would like to hear more about from the school, top answers were:

Survey results are being incorporated into district plans. A school safety information campaign has launched, including a series of videos hosted by Exline. Work on the Strategic Plan goals continues with implementation of Project Based Learning, a strategy to harness the power of classroom teaching to meet the three learning goals. In 2023, measures will be in place to monitor student performance and growth toward the goals.

“We are grateful to everyone who took the time to participate,” added Exline. “Our schools are a fine example of community partnerships in Salina. Together, we make SPS a great place to learn and work.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595606933685.jpeg" alt="The Salina Board of Education offices. Salina Post file photo" />
 <figcaption>The Salina Board of Education offices. Salina Post file photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Salina USD 305Salina Public Schools (SPS) conducted a community phone survey in October 2022. The statistically reliable sample size included 300 randomly selected adults who were head of household and balanced by geographic location.Participants had the opportunity to provide feedback about district services, identify district strengths and areas for improvement, share concerns, rate the relevance of district goals and more. The community survey, administered by ExcellenceK12, a Kansas City-based market research firm, helped the district better understand community members’ perceptions of SPS. “Salina Public Schools belongs to the community,” said Linn Exline, superintendent at USD 305. “Feedback about the goals, priorities and community concerns help keep the district aligned with community expectations.”Results were shared at the Tuesday Board of Education meeting. Rick Nobles, president of ExcellenceK12, told board members that overall, the data revealed some terrific scores on the grading questions. Areas that received the highest scores were:●Quality of school facilities. ●Performance of teachers. ●Preparation of students for college, career/technical training or employment. ●Quality of education. ●Performance of school principals. ●Safety of students. ●District’s efforts to communicate with patrons. ●Value received for the tax dollars spentAdditionally, teachers topped the list of strengths based on an open-ended question. “We are incredibly proud of our teachers’ caring, expert and professional work with students,” said Exline.The survey asked about the relevancy of the three long-term goals that are a part of the Strategic Plan, adopted in 2020. Derived from community input during strategic planning sessions, the goals aim to build students’ skills:●Critical thinking (math, science, social studies). ●Communication (reading, writing, listening, speaking). ●Social-emotional learningNinety-nine percent of the phone survey participants considered the goals to be very relevant or somewhat relevant.Other results included participants’ view of SPS as a workplace. Eighty-four percent indicated it was an excellent or good place to work. When asked what participants would like to hear more about from the school, top answers were:●School safety measures. ●Future district/school plans. ●Success stories of students and staffSurvey results are being incorporated into district plans. A school safety information campaign has launched, including a series of videos hosted by Exline. Work on the Strategic Plan goals continues with implementation of Project Based Learning, a strategy to harness the power of classroom teaching to meet the three learning goals. In 2023, measures will be in place to monitor student performance and growth toward the goals.“We are grateful to everyone who took the time to participate,” added Exline. “Our schools are a fine example of community partnerships in Salina. Together, we make SPS a great place to learn and work.”

Survey reveals awareness of USD 305 initiatives, support for work being done

Abilene is coming to Southeast of Saline tonight to take on the Trojans. If you can't make it to the games, we've got you covered!

The girls play at 6 p.m. Tuesday and the boys at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Click the QR code or the link below to watch the games Tuesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670950884499.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By SALINA POSTAbilene is coming to Southeast of Saline tonight to take on the Trojans. If you can't make it to the games, we've got you covered!The girls play at 6 p.m. Tuesday and the boys at approximately 7:30 p.m.You can listen to the basketball games on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM). Devin Hanney has the call. You also can watch a live stream of the games right here on Salina Post, thanks to Smart Insurance!Click the QR code or the link below to watch the games Tuesday.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670951170560.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AjXTkzV8Gbg"></iframe>
 <figcaption>Video by Bryan Dennett</figcaption>
 </figure>

🎥Watch live as Southeast of Saline takes on Abilene tonight!

By NATE KING Salina Post

Citizens of central Kansas, Kansas State University students, alumni, and community leaders discussed K-State Salina's role in K-State's overall strategic plan, high school education pathways to encourage students to pursue a college degree or post-secondary training, and the future of land grant schools during a community conversation on Dec. 5.

The morning visit to K-State Salina for the community forum is part of the <a href="https://www.k-state.edu/president/initiatives/regional-community-visits/">university’s plans</a> to hear from Kansans all across the state for the 2022-2023 academic year. During their visit, K-State President Richard Linton, Provost Charles Taber, and dean of student life Thomas Lane joined a group of current K-State students collectively known as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.k-state.edu/president/initiatives/regional-community-visits/connected-cats/">Connected Cats. </a>

Linton said that the Connected Cats is a group of student leaders who have a diverse range of K-State experiences, a meaningful connection to engaged community work, and personal ties to Kansas' geographic regions. 

"So you probably have seen some of the billboards that say, 'Kansas State is the university for Kansas' well, we're for Kansas, but we're also for the nation and the world," Linton said. "We're trying to be able to make a very important statement that we are the only university that's in all 105 Kansas counties and communities and we want to let folks know that Kansas is always first." 

After Linton’s brief presentation and remarks, which included applause for the K-State football team winning the Big XII Championship game, K-State junior Ethan Brown, a graduate of Salina Central High School and one of the two current K-State Student Ambassadors; K-State sophomore Adelaide Easter; and K-State junior Yulissa Hernandez, a graduate of Salina South High School, discussed their college search experiences and why they selected K-State as their school of choice.  

"When I was in high school, I started looking at colleges my sophomore year," Brown said. "When I tell you, I looked everywhere in Kansas, I looked everywhere. I wanted everything. I wanted to have great people, I wanted to have great academia, I wanted great athletics. They had everything that I wanted. The main thing I wanted was accessibility. For me, that breaks down into three things affordability, campus access, and then just general academic accessibility."  

Easter spoke about the interdisciplinary connections she made at K-State. 

"I started as a freshman majoring in bakery science and food science. Through my involvement, and through self-discovery connections, I was able to be exposed to the global food system secondary major, which talks about food policy and how we can make the world a better place and make sure that people have access to food," Easter said. "Being in food security scholars and organizations like the alumni board, I've gotten connected to alumni that are just as passionate about food issues as I am." 

Hernandez, a student pilot at K-State Salina talked about how she switched her major from respiratory therapy, to aviation.&nbsp;

"When I was looking into coming to K State, I was a freshman in college at the time and I was working as a nurse assistant," Hernandez said. "I was doing my prerequisites for respiratory therapy - that same year, I met a pilot. He introduced me to aviation and at the time, I didn't know really any pilots. So it was all so new to me."

Hernandez said that her pilot friend took her on a discovery flight in a jet which made her decision easier to make.&nbsp;

"I was convinced I was just going to change my major completely, which was pretty scary at the time, because I thought I had it all figured out. But I thought a flying was just way more fun then respiratory therapies," Hernandez said.

The forum transitioned into a community conversation where community entrepreneurs, business leaders, regional high school educators, parents, and citizens were asked to discuss what they wanted to see from K-State. Topics discussed included increasing the presence of veterans affairs at the K-State Salina campus, eliminating roadblocks for transfer students, continuing to expand the local network of private industry partners, and meeting the current workforce demands.  

Following the forum, Salina Post sat down for an interview with Linton, where he discussed how students should always be the center of enrollment strategies. 

"When we started thinking about doing community visits, we reached out to other university presidents around the country and the message that came back is you have to take students and you have to take students from those communities," Linton said. "Parents and students aren't really there to listen to presidents and provosts because they can relate so much more to student stories."&nbsp;

Linton also spoke about the university's new initiative, Next-Gen K-State.

"We 're trying to develop a new strategy, a new strategic plan, for what we're calling the <a href="https://www.k-state.edu/strategic-planning/process/">Next-Gen Land Grant</a>," Linton said. "We haven't defined exactly what the next generation land grant university means yet, but we want to be the model land grant university that other land grants are looking to. When you take a look at one of those things that I know, will be an important part of the Next Gen Land Grant is better connectivity with communities around economic growth, and creation of jobs and support for every single community."

Ellsworth County Health Center: Because We Care Mental Health Summit  

Linton and the Connected Cats, traveled to Ellsworth County Medical Center, 1604 Aylward Avenue in Ellsworth, for a mental health summit hosted by K-State Extension. Midway Extension Director Jessica Kootz said that a group of individuals in the Ellsworth community started meeting virtually on a weekly basis to talk about COVID-19 updates and mental wellness. 

"This group of individuals, community stakeholders decided that we needed to focus a lot more on mental health. The COVID-19 update group became a 'Because We Care' group, and that has evolved within the last six months into a coalition that's centered around mental health," Kootz said.  

The summit featured a panel of experts including Rachel Clews, family and consumer science extension specialist in the Southwest Research Extension Center; Jennifer Kaufman, director of community support services for Central Kansas Mental Health; Derek Knopp, school-based clinical coordinator for Central Kansas Mental Health; Kerianne Ehrlich, Ellsworth County Health Department; and Jim Kirkbride, CEO at Ellsworth County Medical Center. 

"Most of our communities aren't just rural, they're considered frontier. It's that born and bred mentality that - you just pull yourself up by your bootstraps, you just push it down, and you keep going," said Clews. "When I worked with farmers, I tried to tell them that I'm a fourth generation farmer, my husband's a fourth generation Kansas farmer. I understand those issues. But I tell them, when your livestock is sick, you don't just say 'Oh, push it down, and you'll get over it.' I tell farmers, that they take better care of their machinery and their livestock than they do themselves. A lot of times they don't think to ask for help themselves because farmers are really great at helping others." 

Kootz said that in the last two months, Ellsworth had faced tragedies relating to mental health causing their group to push harder to be focused and intentional on making sure there is a comprehensive approach to addressing mental health in rural communities. 

Linton asked the panel if it could provide him with any statistics to help give context to the Kansas mental health crisis.  

"We have hired over 50 new staff at Central Kansas Mental Health, just within the past year," Kaufman said. "Trying to be able to provide services that range from front desk staff that are inundated with phone calls every day trying to get intake staff to be able to provide that initial service and if you're aware, there's a workforce shortage in most areas, and that includes social work, case managers, all lines." 

Clews added that according to the State of Mental Health in America 2023 Report, Kansas ranked last in the country, following the District of Columbia.  

"Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death for Kansas," Clews said. "Between the years 2000 and 2018, suicide rates in Kansas increased by 70 percent."  

Clews also added that suicide is the second leading cause of death for Kansans in the 15 to 34 age range.  

An obstacle that was highlighted during the summit was the lack of educational resources directing Kansans on where to turn when they needed mental health assistance.  

"As far as regional scale, the last few years, I think, especially since 2020, we've seen an increase in people who are seeking services for mental health, and we've seen is a big increase in anxiety and depression," said Knopp. "People are recognizing the need that when they are struggling there are resources available - if you know how to access them. One of the things that we [Central Kansas Mental Health] have done, we've done a lot of work in providing education on how to access mental health services, because unless you have a family member or direct connection with somebody who has accessed services before, you don't always know how to go about that."  

Linton recognized the need for more social work professionals and mentioned the recent partnership between K-State Salina and the University of Kansas. K-State Salina will offer a Master of Social Work that will be instructed at the K-State Salina campus. 

The cooperation between K-State Salina and KU will increase the availability of graduate-level social work education in rural areas of Kansas while meeting the gaps in coverage that human service agencies in rural areas of the state have been experiencing.  

"K-State Salina is committed to responding to the needs of our region by providing a trained workforce for our social service partners," said Deb Marseline, assistant dean for diversity and student success at K-State Salina, earlier this month. "Qualified, experienced social workers play an integral role in the success of any community by working with people to improve their circumstances in a variety of situations. This opportunity furthers our mission by training students to be leaders and make an impact on our state."  

Linton also stopped by Great Plains Manufacturing, 1525 E. North Street, Salina, to take part in a facilitated conversation about ways that education in the Salina region is partnering to meet the needs of industry. Dean and CEO of K-State Salina, Alysia Starkey spoke to the importance of these types of open conversations and how industry advisory boards are working to meet workforce demands.  

"How do you stay connected to the workforce needs in your region, it has to do with our industry advisory boards and making sure we're engaged with what the needs of the industry are," Starkey said. "So regardless of whatever field you're in - each of our programs, and each of our colleges and each of our degrees at the university has industry advisory boards that help correlate where it is that they're [the student] going in the future. Industry advisory boards are a key way that you all can get involved with helping to drive your workforce needs."  

Starkey also mentioned that K-State Salina has partnered with Salina USD 305 to provide an opportunity for high school students to earn industry-recognized credentials, receive college credit for general education requirements, and complete dual credits for an associate degree while in high school and graduate at the same time as their peers. The program is called the<a href="https://www.salina.k-state.edu/admissions/apply/polycats-academy/"> PolyCats Academy.</a>

"Here we have a high school program that will allow a student to get an associate's degree while they're still in high school, graduate at the same time as high school with an associate's degree, which reduces the time of entry into the career field, and it also helps to reduce the overall cost and affordability for students as well," Starkey said.  

David Disberger, executive vice president for Great Plains Manufacturing, spoke at the discussion about the<a href="https://www.salina.k-state.edu/academics/scholars-programs/"> scholar's program</a> being offered by Great Plains manufacturing.

"The scholar's program is something that came out of discussions that Dean Starkey and I had to address our needs and also address the needs of Kansas State," Disberger said. "What we've done is we've taken your traditional manufacturing engineering technology type degree, where the college student would go to school for four years to get their bachelor science degree, instead, they'll go to college for three years, and have that same BS degree."

The Great Plains Scholars Program is for students who want to earn a bachelor's degree in one of K-State Salina’s engineering technology programs and acquire first-hand knowledge of specialized industry technology by working part-time at Great Plains Manufacturing. This provides high-level learning opportunities in advanced manufacturing, basic manufacturing, advanced robotics programming, and engineering design. 

"We're able to get those workforces beginning with us at a younger age. By the time they graduate, they have over 2,400 hours of experience, and to kick this whole program off this year, we agreed to start with three students to make sure we've worked out the kinks - which we have, and it's going very well," Disberger said. "We are very pleased with the results that we're seeing thus far, we intend to continue to grow this program up to where we have 12 new students entering this program every year. Hopefully, the 12 graduating come to work for us." 

Linn Exline, Salina USD 305 superintendent, spoke about how the work field is changing the way educators prepare students for their careers after high school.  

"Over 70 percent of the jobs that we're preparing students for today will require either a two-year degree a four-year degree or some kind of industry-recognized credential," Exline said. "To that end, USD 305 has really been working on Career Exploration and career planning with students. We start that process with a semester-long class at middle school. And during that class, students use an online platform where they explore their interests. They explore their aptitudes, they explore different careers, and they try to identify a career field of interest."  

Exline also shared the successes of the Building Bridges program at USD 305.  

"Building Bridges is an effort for us to bring industry leaders, public schools, faculty, staff, our students, and business together to talk about workforce needs and how we can work together to better meet those needs," Exline said. "We are encouraging our students to understand what jobs are available here in our community because many times our students think they need to go away to get the kinds of positions that they're being trained for." Exline said that USD 305 has worked to ensure that the Building Bridges program matches with local job demands and industry standards.

"As a result of these efforts, we are seeing increased jobs. We're seeing increased internships, and we're also seeing increased number of partnerships."

Linton's visit concluded with a stop at the Salina Public Library, 301 W. Elm Street, where he and Lane read a book to children. The book selected to be read was K-State: An Alphabet Journey Across Kansas, by Debbie Mercer and Loretta Larson.&nbsp;

K-State president visits central Kansas as part of community tour

By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/11/lawmakers-plan-to-introduce-medical-marijuana-legislation-at-start-of-session/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — After months of meetings, 
compiling data and listening to research, lawmakers say they’re ready to
 take another shot at legalizing medical marijuana.

Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, and chair 
of the 2022 Special Committee on Medical Marijuana, said he planned to 
introduce a medical marijuana bill at the beginning of the January 
legislative session. Olson said passing legislation out of committee 
would be too difficult, and he planned to introduce it in the Senate as 
an alternative approach.

“I think what I’m going to do is — 
and any member is more than welcome — is to take this information and 
create the bill,” Olson said. “And I’m going to work on a bill with a 
couple members and then if anybody wants to sign on in the Senate, 
they’ll be more than able to sign onto that bill, and introduce it at 
the beginning of session.”

He encouraged lawmakers in the House to introduce similar legislation.

“I think that’s probably the best way forward,” Olson said.

The road to legalizing medical 
marijuana has been a long and rocky one, with Kansans and lawmakers 
divided. During Friday’s committee meeting, several members of the 
audience wore stickers reading, “Kansas says ‘No,’ ” to register their 
disapproval of limited legalization.

“Opening up that window leads to all 
kinds of corruption,” Wichita resident Denise Meirowsky said. She said 
her experiences with her 19-year-old son, who uses marijuana as 
self-medication for mental and emotional issues, showed her the negative
 influence of marijuana.

“It causes him not to have any 
ambition, not want to work, not want to do anything because of the abuse
 of marijuana. I haven’t been convinced yet of the medical benefits. 
I’ve seen personally what it’s done to my own son,” Meirowsky said.

On the other side of the room, 
Wichita State University senior Laura Cunningham, who was there as part 
of a school assignment, said she supported legalization of medical 
marijuana as a step forward for Kansas.

“I feel like a lot of people who do 
smoke marijuana are very productive members of society, and actually 
function better because of it. I think a lot of people have found this 
balance that is appropriate for them as an individual, and that’s what 
really matters. I don’t think that legalizing marijuana is going to 
necessarily cause this huge influx of people not having the motivation 
to participate in society,” Cunningham said.

During the meeting, lawmakers were 
given overviews of research on marijuana product packaging and labeling,
 limitations to amounts of medical marijuana that one person can 
possess, local taxation for marijuana and procedures for allowing 
medical marijuana access for incarcerated people. The feeling in the 
room seemed to be that the lawmakers had been given all the necessary 
information, with the meeting ending about three hours earlier than 
expected.

“You’ve had eight state agencies 
visit with you, you’ve had nine or 10 research memos by the legislative 
research department, you’ve had over 60 conferees that have testified in
 two days before this committee and you have reviewed a couple of bills 
that were alive last session and so on. In other words, you’ve been 
inundated with information,” said Mike Heim, a staff member in the&nbsp; 
Office of Revisor of Statutes, while giving his overview to lawmakers.

In 2021, the Kansas House approved medical marijuana legalization, but <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.com/li/b2021_22/measures/sb560/">Senate Bill 560</a>,
 which would have allowed for the cultivation, distribution, processing,
 dispensing and purchase of marijuana and paraphernalia, died in 
committee during the last days of the legislative session.

Senate President Ty Masterson said budget and school funding legislation were a higher priority to him than medical marijuana.

Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park,
 said she hoped medical marijuana legalization legislation would pass 
the Senate this time, but she remembered of last year’s failure.

“The whole issue is last year, we had
 a very strong bill that passed the House, and Senate President Ty 
Masterson wouldn’t allow it to move forward. So I know there are 
different parties who have been reaching out to him to remind him of how
 important an issue this is to a lot of different people. So time will 
tell,” Holscher said.

The last meeting of the medical 
marijuana committee will be held Nov. 16, with committee proposals 
expected to be finalized then. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670780372422.png" alt="Sen. Rob Olson said a medical marijuana bill should be ready to go at the start of the Kansas legislative session. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Sen. Rob Olson said a medical marijuana bill should be ready to go at the start of the Kansas legislative session. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By RACHEL MIPRO <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/11/lawmakers-plan-to-introduce-medical-marijuana-legislation-at-start-of-session/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — After months of meetings, 
compiling data and listening to research, lawmakers say they’re ready to
 take another shot at legalizing medical marijuana.Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, and chair 
of the 2022 Special Committee on Medical Marijuana, said he planned to 
introduce a medical marijuana bill at the beginning of the January 
legislative session. Olson said passing legislation out of committee 
would be too difficult, and he planned to introduce it in the Senate as 
an alternative approach.“I think what I’m going to do is — 
and any member is more than welcome — is to take this information and 
create the bill,” Olson said. “And I’m going to work on a bill with a 
couple members and then if anybody wants to sign on in the Senate, 
they’ll be more than able to sign onto that bill, and introduce it at 
the beginning of session.”He encouraged lawmakers in the House to introduce similar legislation.“I think that’s probably the best way forward,” Olson said.The road to legalizing medical 
marijuana has been a long and rocky one, with Kansans and lawmakers 
divided. During Friday’s committee meeting, several members of the 
audience wore stickers reading, “Kansas says ‘No,’ ” to register their 
disapproval of limited legalization.“Opening up that window leads to all 
kinds of corruption,” Wichita resident Denise Meirowsky said. She said 
her experiences with her 19-year-old son, who uses marijuana as 
self-medication for mental and emotional issues, showed her the negative
 influence of marijuana.“It causes him not to have any 
ambition, not want to work, not want to do anything because of the abuse
 of marijuana. I haven’t been convinced yet of the medical benefits. 
I’ve seen personally what it’s done to my own son,” Meirowsky said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670780460994.png" alt="Wichita State seniors Laura Cunningham and Dallas Grimes said their generation has a different view about marijuana than previous ones. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Wichita State seniors Laura Cunningham and Dallas Grimes said their generation has a different view about marijuana than previous ones. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>On the other side of the room, 
Wichita State University senior Laura Cunningham, who was there as part 
of a school assignment, said she supported legalization of medical 
marijuana as a step forward for Kansas.“I feel like a lot of people who do 
smoke marijuana are very productive members of society, and actually 
function better because of it. I think a lot of people have found this 
balance that is appropriate for them as an individual, and that’s what 
really matters. I don’t think that legalizing marijuana is going to 
necessarily cause this huge influx of people not having the motivation 
to participate in society,” Cunningham said.During the meeting, lawmakers were 
given overviews of research on marijuana product packaging and labeling,
 limitations to amounts of medical marijuana that one person can 
possess, local taxation for marijuana and procedures for allowing 
medical marijuana access for incarcerated people. The feeling in the 
room seemed to be that the lawmakers had been given all the necessary 
information, with the meeting ending about three hours earlier than 
expected.“You’ve had eight state agencies 
visit with you, you’ve had nine or 10 research memos by the legislative 
research department, you’ve had over 60 conferees that have testified in
 two days before this committee and you have reviewed a couple of bills 
that were alive last session and so on. In other words, you’ve been 
inundated with information,” said Mike Heim, a staff member in the&nbsp; 
Office of Revisor of Statutes, while giving his overview to lawmakers.In 2021, the Kansas House approved medical marijuana legalization, but <a target="_blank" href="http://kslegislature.com/li/b2021_22/measures/sb560/">Senate Bill 560</a>,
 which would have allowed for the cultivation, distribution, processing,
 dispensing and purchase of marijuana and paraphernalia, died in 
committee during the last days of the legislative session.Senate President Ty Masterson said budget and school funding legislation were a higher priority to him than medical marijuana.Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park,
 said she hoped medical marijuana legalization legislation would pass 
the Senate this time, but she remembered of last year’s failure.“The whole issue is last year, we had
 a very strong bill that passed the House, and Senate President Ty 
Masterson wouldn’t allow it to move forward. So I know there are 
different parties who have been reaching out to him to remind him of how
 important an issue this is to a lot of different people. So time will 
tell,” Holscher said.The last meeting of the medical 
marijuana committee will be held Nov. 16, with committee proposals 
expected to be finalized then.

Medical marijuana proposal expected in Kansas Legislature

“Dad? Did those early horseless carriages have big gas tanks?” I asked. I was about seven years old and sitting in the front seat of our old Packard car in the early 1950s. It was a really neat big car that my dad could drive down the road with one finger on the steering wheel, the camber of the road curves making driving easy. We were at a gas station and Dad was still in the driver’s seat because at that time, we didn’t fill our gas tanks ourselves. And if I remember right, gas was about 29 cents a gallon. But then some candy bars were 5 cents, a Coke in a glass bottle sitting in a cold water chest was 10 cents, and a new car was only two thousands dollars.

Dad didn’t know. His childhood didn’t go back that far. But he of course asked his little boy, “Why do you ask?”

“Well,” I replied, “When they switched from horses to cars using gas, why would you buy a car if there were no gas stations, and why would you build a gas station if there were no cars? So I figure cars must have had big gas tanks when they started.”&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

“Sounds like a chicken-and-egg thing,” he replied after paying for the gas and we headed down the road.

“I bet the first cars were city folks,” I continued. “That way there might soon be enough for a gas station. And they would be close to it. And the city streets might be better to drive on. Bet the country roads weren’t good like today.”

Dad worked in summers for a road construction company, driving a truck that first held asphalt but soon would haul dry concrete, sand and gravel for mixing on site to build the Eisenhower interstate system.

“Yep,” he said. “The roads in towns were better than in the country back then.” He could remember in his childhood that some rural folks were the last to give up driving horse-and-wagon. And rural roads often had lots of ruts.&nbsp; &nbsp;

A few years later, by the time I was to fifth grade, Dad bought a three-shelf-feet set of bound “Scribner’s Magazine” at a yard sale and brought it home to his son who asked too many questions. Because I finished my assignments early, my teachers always sent me to the back of the room to read through the World Book encyclopedia. Now at home, I had a wonderful set of articles to go through, page-by-page, that chronicled most of the last of the 1800s.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

After the Civil War, we had shifted to metal ships in our Navy. Our first submarines were shooting torpedoes that trailed two electric lines and the submarine could control the torpedo going left or right with those lines. And the difference between city streets and rural roads was obvious. It took years to evolve into what we see today.

Today, we are undergoing another change in transportation power, not from horse-muscle-to-gasoline but from gasoline-to-electric (and perhaps some hydrogen). It was interesting to detect the early nay-saying in the Scribner’s articles. To some extent this is being repeated today by gasoline addicts who find a hundred reasons to question today’s transition. But our charging stations are being built faster. And “gas stations” are increasingly expanding into small convenience stores with high prices.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573490075841.jpeg" alt="John Richard Schrock" />
 <figcaption>John Richard Schrock</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN RICHARD SCHROCK “Dad? Did those early horseless carriages have big gas tanks?” I asked. I was about seven years old and sitting in the front seat of our old Packard car in the early 1950s. It was a really neat big car that my dad could drive down the road with one finger on the steering wheel, the camber of the road curves making driving easy. We were at a gas station and Dad was still in the driver’s seat because at that time, we didn’t fill our gas tanks ourselves. And if I remember right, gas was about 29 cents a gallon. But then some candy bars were 5 cents, a Coke in a glass bottle sitting in a cold water chest was 10 cents, and a new car was only two thousands dollars. Dad didn’t know. His childhood didn’t go back that far. But he of course asked his little boy, “Why do you ask?” “Well,” I replied, “When they switched from horses to cars using gas, why would you buy a car if there were no gas stations, and why would you build a gas station if there were no cars? So I figure cars must have had big gas tanks when they started.”&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; “Sounds like a chicken-and-egg thing,” he replied after paying for the gas and we headed down the road. “I bet the first cars were city folks,” I continued. “That way there might soon be enough for a gas station. And they would be close to it. And the city streets might be better to drive on. Bet the country roads weren’t good like today.” Dad worked in summers for a road construction company, driving a truck that first held asphalt but soon would haul dry concrete, sand and gravel for mixing on site to build the Eisenhower interstate system. “Yep,” he said. “The roads in towns were better than in the country back then.” He could remember in his childhood that some rural folks were the last to give up driving horse-and-wagon. And rural roads often had lots of ruts.&nbsp; &nbsp; A few years later, by the time I was to fifth grade, Dad bought a three-shelf-feet set of bound “Scribner’s Magazine” at a yard sale and brought it home to his son who asked too many questions. Because I finished my assignments early, my teachers always sent me to the back of the room to read through the World Book encyclopedia. Now at home, I had a wonderful set of articles to go through, page-by-page, that chronicled most of the last of the 1800s.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; After the Civil War, we had shifted to metal ships in our Navy. Our first submarines were shooting torpedoes that trailed two electric lines and the submarine could control the torpedo going left or right with those lines. And the difference between city streets and rural roads was obvious. It took years to evolve into what we see today. Today, we are undergoing another change in transportation power, not from horse-muscle-to-gasoline but from gasoline-to-electric (and perhaps some hydrogen). It was interesting to detect the early nay-saying in the Scribner’s articles. To some extent this is being repeated today by gasoline addicts who find a hundred reasons to question today’s transition. But our charging stations are being built faster. And “gas stations” are increasingly expanding into small convenience stores with high prices. As I walked the streets of Hangzhou, China in 2019, where they eliminated gas-powered motorcycles (as they have in many Chinese cities) and have an increasing number of electric cars and buses, the quietness of Hangzhou city is a pleasant surprise. And that brings up another question for which there are no survivors to answer: “Was the switch&nbsp; from clopping horse-and-buggies to the loud engines of the new&nbsp; horseless carriages as disturbing as I suspect?” No one alive today can answer that, and I didn’t find it in Scribner’s Magazine either. For those unhappy with the change underway, there is little to do but wait, watch and listen. As they said long ago, “Just hold your horses!”&nbsp;&nbsp;John Richard Schrock has trained biology teachers for more than 30 years in Kansas. He also has lectured at 27 universities during 20 trips to China. He holds the distinction of “Faculty Emeritus” at Emporia State University.