WICHITA — As Halloween 2020 approaches, KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman wore his Colonel Sanders outfit and offered some ideas on things that you can do to celebrate safely, get creative and have fun.

In addition, AAA Kansas is raising concern for a dangerous traffic safety trifecta – increased pedestrian activity, drunk driving, and drowsy driving – all of which converge this Halloween weekend. The ghostly holiday falls on a Saturday this year, followed a few short hours later by “falling back” at the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) at 2:00 a.m. Sunday, November 1.

Halloween festivities amid the COVID-19 pandemic will likely look different for many communities, parents, trick-or-treaters, and party goers. Traditional indoor activities, like costume parties for children and adults, can move outside in small, socially distanced settings. However those planning to celebrate should not lose sight of safety first.

A scare in good fun is expected on Halloween, but AAA Kansas warns, not when it comes to child pedestrian safety.

Creative costumes, trick-or-treating and bags full of goodies are top Halloween priorities, but safety often becomes an afterthought. Excited trick-or-treaters can forget about safety, so drivers, party-goers and parents must be even more alert, as the risk of kids being injured by moving vehicles increases.

“With an increased risk of pedestrian crashes on Halloween night, AAA Kansas urges parents to take the time to make trick-or-treaters and their costumes safer and more visible to motorists,” said Shawn Steward, AAA Kansas spokesman.&nbsp; “In addition, motorists must eliminate distractions, slow down and watch for children, as well as have a completely sober designated driver if drinking is part of a Halloween celebration.”Halloween is also a statistically dangerous night for drunk driving. The combination of drinking and increased pedestrian traffic on Halloween is a deadly combination. AAA and the&nbsp;National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) found that:

WICHITA — As Halloween 2020 approaches, KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman wore his Colonel Sanders outfit and offered some ideas on things that you can do to celebrate safely, get creative and have fun.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I love Halloween, and there are things that we can do to celebrate safely this holiday season. Get creative and have fun. Follow your county&#39;s guidelines, and find more ideas on our website: <a href="https://t.co/7KEvXPCPa6">https://t.co/7KEvXPCPa6</a>. <a href="https://t.co/E8fnwszBQy">pic.twitter.com/E8fnwszBQy</a>&mdash; Lee Norman (@SecNorman) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecNorman/status/1320748334852747264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In addition, AAA Kansas is raising concern for a dangerous traffic safety trifecta – increased pedestrian activity, drunk driving, and drowsy driving – all of which converge this Halloween weekend. The ghostly holiday falls on a Saturday this year, followed a few short hours later by “falling back” at the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) at 2:00 a.m. Sunday, November 1.Halloween festivities amid the COVID-19 pandemic will likely look different for many communities, parents, trick-or-treaters, and party goers. Traditional indoor activities, like costume parties for children and adults, can move outside in small, socially distanced settings. However those planning to celebrate should not lose sight of safety first.A scare in good fun is expected on Halloween, but AAA Kansas warns, not when it comes to child pedestrian safety.<ul>
 <li>According to Safe Kids Worldwide,&nbsp;children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween as any other day of the year.</li><li>The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that&nbsp;Halloween is consistently one of the top three days of the year for pedestrian injuries and fatalities.</li>
 </ul>Creative costumes, trick-or-treating and bags full of goodies are top Halloween priorities, but safety often becomes an afterthought. Excited trick-or-treaters can forget about safety, so drivers, party-goers and parents must be even more alert, as the risk of kids being injured by moving vehicles increases.“With an increased risk of pedestrian crashes on Halloween night, AAA Kansas urges parents to take the time to make trick-or-treaters and their costumes safer and more visible to motorists,” said Shawn Steward, AAA Kansas spokesman.&nbsp; “In addition, motorists must eliminate distractions, slow down and watch for children, as well as have a completely sober designated driver if drinking is part of a Halloween celebration.”Halloween is also a statistically dangerous night for drunk driving. The combination of drinking and increased pedestrian traffic on Halloween is a deadly combination. AAA and the&nbsp;National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) found that:<ul>
 <li>One-fourth of all pedestrian deaths ranging in age from 5-14 occurred in the four days leading up to Halloween (October 28-31) in 2017.</li><li>On Halloween night 2017, 89 people were fatally injured in a traffic crash, with 13 percent involving alcohol.</li><li>In 2017, more than half of pedestrian fatalities on Halloween occurred with the pedestrian outside of a marked crosswalk.</li><li>From 2013 – 2017, 158 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes on Halloween night (NHTSA)</li><li>From 2013 - 2017, 22 percent of pedestrian fatalities on Halloween night involved a drunk driver. (NHTSA)</li><li>During that period, 42 percent of all people killed in motor vehicle crashes on Halloween night were in crashes involving a drunk driver. (NHTSA)</li>
 </ul><h2>AAA Halloween Safety TipsMotorists</h2><ul>
 <li>Do not use your phone while behind the wheel, so you can focus on the road and trick-or-treaters.</li><li>Slow down in residential neighborhoods and obey all traffic signs and signals. Drive at least 5 mph below the posted speed limit to give yourself extra time to react to children who may dart into the street. Broaden your scanning by looking for children left and right into yards and on front porches.</li><li>Look for children crossing the street. They may not be paying attention to traffic and may cross the street mid-block or between parked cars.</li><li>Carefully enter and exit driveways and alleys, taking extra care if you are backing up or turning.</li><li>Turn your headlights on to make yourself more visible – even in the daylight.</li>
 </ul><figure>
 <img src="https://us.vocuspr.com/Publish/523962/vcsPRAsset_523962_94848_e6aa352c-2292-413f-b873-8720597d00e4_0.jpg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Parents</h2><ul>
 <li>Make sure Halloween costumes are flame-retardant and light in color to improve visibility.</li><li>Be bright at night – have trick-or-treaters use glow sticks or wear retro-reflective tape on costumes and on treat buckets.</li><li>Ensure disguises don’t obstruct vision and avoid full facemasks.</li><li>Create face masks that coordinate with costumes rather than regular costume masks.&nbsp; This won’t obstruct vision and follows health and safety guidelines for COVID-19.</li><li>&nbsp;Instead, use nontoxic face paint. Also, watch the length of billowy costumes to help avoid tripping.</li><li>Ensure any props are flexible and blunt-tipped to avoid injury from tripping or horseplay.</li><li>Ask an adult or older child to supervise children under age 12.</li><li>Instruct children to travel only in familiar areas and along established routes.</li><li>Teach children to stop only at well-lit houses and to never to enter a stranger’s home or garage.</li><li>Review trick-or-treating safety precautions, including pedestrian and traffic safety rules.</li>
 </ul><h2>Trick-or-Treaters</h2><ul>
 <li>Stay on sidewalks and avoid walking in streets if possible.</li><li>If there are no sidewalks, walk on the left side of the road, facing traffic.</li><li>Look both ways and listen for traffic before crossing the street.</li><li>Watch for cars turning or backing up.</li><li>Cross streets only at the corner, using traffic signals and crosswalks, and never cross between parked vehicles or mid-block.</li><li>Trick-or-treat in a group if someone older cannot go with you.</li><li>Tell your parents where you are going.</li><li>Carry a flashlight containing fresh batteries. Never shine flashlights into the eyes of oncoming drivers.</li>
 </ul><h2>Party Goers</h2><ul>
 <li>Arrange a safe ride home and/or designate a driver before partaking in any festivities.</li><li>Always designate a sober driver.</li><li>If you are drunk, take a taxi or ride share service, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.</li><li>Before leaving for a party, load ride share apps or put numbers of local cab companies or your designated driver(s) into your phone.</li><li>Walking impaired can be as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to walk you home.</li><li>If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement.</li><li>If you know someone who is about to drive or ride impaired, take their keys and help them make safe travel arrangements to where they are going.</li>
 </ul>

🎥 Halloween weekend safety tips from Dr. Lee Norman

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs' Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Daniel Sorensen chat with the media during a Wednesday presser. From <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KansasCityChiefs">The Kansas City Chiefs Facebook</a> page:

You can listen to the Chiefs' games on KINA (910 AM and 107.5 FM) and 99KG (99.9 FM), your local Chiefs Radio Network stations.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs' Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Daniel Sorensen chat with the media during a Wednesday presser. From <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KansasCityChiefs">The Kansas City Chiefs Facebook</a> page:<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FKansasCityChiefs%2Fvideos%2F851898815551867%2F&show_text=true&width=560" width="560" height="429" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>You can listen to the Chiefs' games on KINA (910 AM and 107.5 FM) and 99KG (99.9 FM), your local Chiefs Radio Network stations.

📹Chiefs' Reid, Mahomes, Kelce, Sorensen chat with media Wednesday

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amy Coney Barrett was formally sworn in Tuesday as the Supreme Court’s ninth justice, her oath administered in private by Chief Justice John Roberts. Her first votes on the court could include two big topics affecting the man who appointed her.

The court is weighing a plea from President Donald Trump to prevent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-new-york-city-new-york-subpoenas-trump-investigations-ffdad3a4983088224245dbf761c6d113">the Manhattan district attorney</a>&nbsp;from acquiring his tax returns. It is also considering appeals from the Trump campaign and Republicans to shorten the deadline for receiving and counting absentee ballots in the battleground states of North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

It’s not certain Barrett will take part in any of these issues, but she will make that call.

Barrett&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-ruth-bader-ginsburg-amy-coney-barrett-82a02a618343c98b80ca2b6bf9eafe07">was confirmed Monday by the Senate</a>&nbsp;in a 52-48 virtual party line vote. She is expected to begin work as a justice on Tuesday after taking the second of two oaths required of judges by federal law. No justice has assumed office so close to a presidential election or immediately confronted issues so directly tied to the incumbent president’s political and personal fortunes.

At 48, she’s the youngest justice since Clarence Thomas joined the court in 1991 at age 43.

Other election-related issues are pending at the high court, which next week also will hear a clash of LGBTQ rights and religious freedoms.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-supreme-court-amy-coney-barrett-archive-courts-25cdbb056a83aa506af5c5b42943dbf6">The fate of the Affordable Care Act</a>&nbsp;is on the agenda on Nov. 10, and Trump himself last week reiterated his opposition to the Obama-era law. “I hope they end it,” he said in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-posts-unedited-60-minutes-3db1eb99671dc9549bae010ef7d024f2">an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”</a>

On Friday, Barrett, the most open opponent of abortion rights to join the court in decades, also could be called upon to weigh in on Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. The state is appealing lower court rulings invalidating the ban. Abortion opponents in Pittsburgh also are challenging a so-called bubble zone that prevents protesters from getting too close to abortion clinics.

The court put off acting on both cases before Barrett joined the court, without offering any explanation in the Mississippi case. It ordered Pittsburgh to file a response to the appeal filed by the protesters, who call themselves sidewalk counselors.

It’s not clear that the public will know how Barrett voted in the two abortion cases because the court typically doesn’t make the vote counts public when it is considering whether to grant full review to cases.

Barrett declined to commit to Democratic demands that she step aside from any cases on controversial topics, including a potential post-election dispute over the presidential results.

Barrett is joining the court at an unusual moment. The justices are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fe767ffb8833bb059f8eabfd529365a0">meeting remotely by telephone</a>&nbsp;because of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/virus-outbreak">the coronavirus pandemic</a>, both for their private conferences and public argument sessions, at least through the end of 2020. The public can listen to the arguments as they take place, a change also resulting from the court’s response to the pandemic.

After her first private conference with her new colleagues on Friday, two weeks of arguments begin on Monday. In an institution that pays strict attention to seniority, Barrett will go last in the private and public sessions.

As she settles into her new office at the court, Barrett will be joined by four law clerks, usually recent law school graduates who have experience working for federal judges.

When the court reopens to the public and the justices return to the courtroom, Barrett is expected to assume several duties reserved for the court’s junior justice. She will be a member of the committee that oversees the court’s public cafeteria, and the person who takes notes and answers the door when someone knocks during the justices’ private conferences.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603812401665.png" alt="&nbsp;During a formal ceremony Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts administers the Judicial Oath to Judge Amy Coney Barrett in the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court Building as Judge Barrett's husband, Jesse M. Barrett, holds the Bible -photo courtesy Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;During a formal ceremony Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts administers the Judicial Oath to Judge Amy Coney Barrett in the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court Building as Judge Barrett's husband, Jesse M. Barrett, holds the Bible -photo courtesy Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Amy Coney Barrett was formally sworn in Tuesday as the Supreme Court’s ninth justice, her oath administered in private by Chief Justice John Roberts. Her first votes on the court could include two big topics affecting the man who appointed her.The court is weighing a plea from President Donald Trump to prevent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-new-york-city-new-york-subpoenas-trump-investigations-ffdad3a4983088224245dbf761c6d113">the Manhattan district attorney</a>&nbsp;from acquiring his tax returns. It is also considering appeals from the Trump campaign and Republicans to shorten the deadline for receiving and counting absentee ballots in the battleground states of North Carolina and Pennsylvania.It’s not certain Barrett will take part in any of these issues, but she will make that call.Barrett&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-ruth-bader-ginsburg-amy-coney-barrett-82a02a618343c98b80ca2b6bf9eafe07">was confirmed Monday by the Senate</a>&nbsp;in a 52-48 virtual party line vote. She is expected to begin work as a justice on Tuesday after taking the second of two oaths required of judges by federal law. No justice has assumed office so close to a presidential election or immediately confronted issues so directly tied to the incumbent president’s political and personal fortunes.At 48, she’s the youngest justice since Clarence Thomas joined the court in 1991 at age 43.Other election-related issues are pending at the high court, which next week also will hear a clash of LGBTQ rights and religious freedoms.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-supreme-court-amy-coney-barrett-archive-courts-25cdbb056a83aa506af5c5b42943dbf6">The fate of the Affordable Care Act</a>&nbsp;is on the agenda on Nov. 10, and Trump himself last week reiterated his opposition to the Obama-era law. “I hope they end it,” he said in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-posts-unedited-60-minutes-3db1eb99671dc9549bae010ef7d024f2">an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”</a>On Friday, Barrett, the most open opponent of abortion rights to join the court in decades, also could be called upon to weigh in on Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. The state is appealing lower court rulings invalidating the ban. Abortion opponents in Pittsburgh also are challenging a so-called bubble zone that prevents protesters from getting too close to abortion clinics.The court put off acting on both cases before Barrett joined the court, without offering any explanation in the Mississippi case. It ordered Pittsburgh to file a response to the appeal filed by the protesters, who call themselves sidewalk counselors.It’s not clear that the public will know how Barrett voted in the two abortion cases because the court typically doesn’t make the vote counts public when it is considering whether to grant full review to cases.Barrett declined to commit to Democratic demands that she step aside from any cases on controversial topics, including a potential post-election dispute over the presidential results.Barrett is joining the court at an unusual moment. The justices are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fe767ffb8833bb059f8eabfd529365a0">meeting remotely by telephone</a>&nbsp;because of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/virus-outbreak">the coronavirus pandemic</a>, both for their private conferences and public argument sessions, at least through the end of 2020. The public can listen to the arguments as they take place, a change also resulting from the court’s response to the pandemic.After her first private conference with her new colleagues on Friday, two weeks of arguments begin on Monday. In an institution that pays strict attention to seniority, Barrett will go last in the private and public sessions.As she settles into her new office at the court, Barrett will be joined by four law clerks, usually recent law school graduates who have experience working for federal judges.When the court reopens to the public and the justices return to the courtroom, Barrett is expected to assume several duties reserved for the court’s junior justice. She will be a member of the committee that oversees the court’s public cafeteria, and the person who takes notes and answers the door when someone knocks during the justices’ private conferences.

Supreme Court considers high profile cases as Barrett begins

&nbsp; Phyliis (Kugler) McCosh was born 100 years ago, on September 14th, 1920, and died Saturday,&nbsp;October 24th in the Lakeview Village Rehabilitation Center in Lenexa, Kansas. Her good long&nbsp;life began as a child of John Musselman Kugler and Bertha Burkholder Kugler of rural Abilene. Some of her best childhood memories were fixing a snack when coming home from school and&nbsp;going to the barn while her Mother milked the cows. She talked of the many scrumptious&nbsp;meals her Mother would fix for large family holiday dinners, a tradition she continued. She also&nbsp;spoke fondly of practicing the piano as a child and especially loved playing hymns.

Phyllis&nbsp;attended East Buckeye grade school, Abilene High School and graduated from Bethany&nbsp;College in Lindsborg in 1941 with a degree in music education.

In 1937, she and another young man from the community, LeRoy McCosh, were two of three&nbsp;selected to attend the National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago. A relationship began that led to&nbsp;their marriage in 1943, with a wedding at her parents home at the Kugler farm. 

They were&nbsp;married 58 years and had six children: Ron McCosh (Cindy) of Beverly, KS, Patricia King (Gary)&nbsp;of Winfield,KS, Gordon McCosh (Sherryl), of Rockwall, TX, Nancy Wassenberg (Roger) of&nbsp;Shawnee, KS, Dennis McCosh of rural Abilene, and Cathy Matlack (Terry) of Shawnee, KS.&nbsp;Phyllis had 16 grandchildren, 41 great grandchildren and 2 great-great granddaughters. 

Phyllis&nbsp;was preceded in death by her husband LeRoy in 2002, her parents, her three siblings, Harold&nbsp;Kugler, Marie Wick and Laberta Simmons, a daughter-in-law, Lynn McCosh and a grandson,&nbsp;Joe McCosh.

Both LeRoy and Phyllis had many accomplishments, honors and awards through out their&nbsp;lives. Highlights were the Dickinson County Extension Council Appreciation award and they&nbsp;were also honored as members of the Master Farmer and Master Farm Homemaker award in&nbsp;1993, giving public recognition for excellence in farming, homemaking and rural citizenship.

Phyllis was honored with the Master Teacher award from the Chapman School District in 1977.

Music and the piano was Phyllis’ passion. She began giving piano lessons at the age of 16&nbsp;and continued until 80 years of age. She taught elementary music in the Chapman School&nbsp;District at Blue Ridge, Talmage and Upland schools from 1956 - 1988. She inspired many “next&nbsp;generation” music teachers who she continued to mentor and stay in touch with over the&nbsp;years. She loved hearing her grandchildren and great grand-children play the piano or their instruments and many mini concerts were given her while she listened with a broad smile.

Phyllis had a strong unshakable faith. She served her community of faith at the Buckeye&nbsp;Church of the Brethren by serving as pianist and organist for 48 years. She had youth choirs,&nbsp;did summer bible school and encouraged and accompanied many of her students who were&nbsp;ready to share their musical talents with the church community. 

She was known for her baking&nbsp;and her cinnamon twists were always one of the first things people would seek out at many church potlucks.

Services will be Saturday, October 31st, 11am, at Danner Funeral Home, 501 N. Buckeye St.,&nbsp;Abilene, KS. Due to the pandemic, attendees are encouraged to wear masks. Burial will follow&nbsp;the service at 12:15pm at the Union-Livingston Cemetery on Indy Road, south of Highway 18,&nbsp;north of Abilene. The service can be viewed online with this link, starting at 11am; http://www.phyllismccosh.com/ Memorial contributions may be made to the Phyllis McCosh Scholarship fund for Chapman&nbsp;graduates to pursue a degree in music. Make checks payable to the Irish Foundation, noting&nbsp;the Phyllis McCosh Scholarship fund. Send to The Irish Foundation, P.O. Box 249, Chapman, KS 67431. Donations can also be left at Danner Funeral Home in Abilene.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603844485346.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp; Phyliis (Kugler) McCosh was born 100 years ago, on September 14th, 1920, and died Saturday,&nbsp;October 24th in the Lakeview Village Rehabilitation Center in Lenexa, Kansas. Her good long&nbsp;life began as a child of John Musselman Kugler and Bertha Burkholder Kugler of rural Abilene. Some of her best childhood memories were fixing a snack when coming home from school and&nbsp;going to the barn while her Mother milked the cows. She talked of the many scrumptious&nbsp;meals her Mother would fix for large family holiday dinners, a tradition she continued. She also&nbsp;spoke fondly of practicing the piano as a child and especially loved playing hymns. Phyllis&nbsp;attended East Buckeye grade school, Abilene High School and graduated from Bethany&nbsp;College in Lindsborg in 1941 with a degree in music education. In 1937, she and another young man from the community, LeRoy McCosh, were two of three&nbsp;selected to attend the National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago. A relationship began that led to&nbsp;their marriage in 1943, with a wedding at her parents home at the Kugler farm. They were&nbsp;married 58 years and had six children: Ron McCosh (Cindy) of Beverly, KS, Patricia King (Gary)&nbsp;of Winfield,KS, Gordon McCosh (Sherryl), of Rockwall, TX, Nancy Wassenberg (Roger) of&nbsp;Shawnee, KS, Dennis McCosh of rural Abilene, and Cathy Matlack (Terry) of Shawnee, KS.&nbsp;Phyllis had 16 grandchildren, 41 great grandchildren and 2 great-great granddaughters. Phyllis&nbsp;was preceded in death by her husband LeRoy in 2002, her parents, her three siblings, Harold&nbsp;Kugler, Marie Wick and Laberta Simmons, a daughter-in-law, Lynn McCosh and a grandson,&nbsp;Joe McCosh. Both LeRoy and Phyllis had many accomplishments, honors and awards through out their&nbsp;lives. Highlights were the Dickinson County Extension Council Appreciation award and they&nbsp;were also honored as members of the Master Farmer and Master Farm Homemaker award in&nbsp;1993, giving public recognition for excellence in farming, homemaking and rural citizenship. Phyllis was honored with the Master Teacher award from the Chapman School District in 1977. Music and the piano was Phyllis’ passion. She began giving piano lessons at the age of 16&nbsp;and continued until 80 years of age. She taught elementary music in the Chapman School&nbsp;District at Blue Ridge, Talmage and Upland schools from 1956 - 1988. She inspired many “next&nbsp;generation” music teachers who she continued to mentor and stay in touch with over the&nbsp;years. She loved hearing her grandchildren and great grand-children play the piano or their instruments and many mini concerts were given her while she listened with a broad smile. Phyllis had a strong unshakable faith. She served her community of faith at the Buckeye&nbsp;Church of the Brethren by serving as pianist and organist for 48 years. She had youth choirs,&nbsp;did summer bible school and encouraged and accompanied many of her students who were&nbsp;ready to share their musical talents with the church community. She was known for her baking&nbsp;and her cinnamon twists were always one of the first things people would seek out at many church potlucks. Services will be Saturday, October 31st, 11am, at Danner Funeral Home, 501 N. Buckeye St.,&nbsp;Abilene, KS. Due to the pandemic, attendees are encouraged to wear masks. Burial will follow&nbsp;the service at 12:15pm at the Union-Livingston Cemetery on Indy Road, south of Highway 18,&nbsp;north of Abilene. The service can be viewed online with this link, starting at 11am; http://www.phyllismccosh.com/ Memorial contributions may be made to the Phyllis McCosh Scholarship fund for Chapman&nbsp;graduates to pursue a degree in music. Make checks payable to the Irish Foundation, noting&nbsp;the Phyllis McCosh Scholarship fund. Send to The Irish Foundation, P.O. Box 249, Chapman, KS 67431. Donations can also be left at Danner Funeral Home in Abilene.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Phyllis L McCosh (Kugler)

The Bennington State Bank (BSB) has opened a loan production office (LPO) in Abilene. 

The office is located at 418 West Third Street in Abilene, and is currently open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by appointment. The LPO will facilitate additional business opportunities and will offer a full suite of competitive business lending services.

“Expanding into the Abilene and Dickinson County market is a natural progression for our bank as The Bennington State Bank has many ties to the Abilene community,” said Burke Matthews, president. “Dr. Don Berkley, retired BSB Board member, resides in Abilene and is still very involved with the bank. BSB has many great customer relationships in the Abilene community, and this office will help us take better care of those customers while also being able to serve new customers in this market.”

BSB is pleased to announce the hiring of Mike Anderes to oversee the market expansion as vice president and loan officer. A Kansas native, Anderes is a commercial banking industry leader with over 25 years of commercial and ag lending experience.

“As a community focused bank, we believe our core values and relationship based banking philosophy, along with our unique financial expertise and diverse set of commercial products will meet the personal and business banking needs of the Abilene market,” said Darren Gragg, chief operating officer. “We are excited to welcome Mike Anderes who brings valuable leadership and experience to the team. Mike is an exceptional business lender who understands the Abilene and Central Kansas business market very well.”

The LPO is not a full-service branch office, but could eventually expand into a full-service banking location. Bennington State Bank currently has seven full-service banking locations in Kansas. BSB also offers leading edge online and digital banking solutions that enable customers to carry out many financial transactions through their computer or mobile device.

“We pride ourselves in listening to our customers, responding to their needs, and developing lasting relationships. This location is starting out as a Loan Production Office, and as we continue to expand our footprint in Kansas, we expect this location to eventually grow into a fullservice branch,” Matthews commented. 

Established in 1887, The Bennington State Bank (BSB) was founded on the principles of integrity, trust, and fostering long-term customer relationships through the delivery of excellence in customer service and financial products including state-of-the-art online and mobile platforms. BSB is a full-service financial provider, offering Consumer banking, Ag solutions, and Commercial banking, including Trust and Wealth Management, Portfolio Management and Employee Benefit Services. With nearly $800 million in total assets, BSB has locations in Salina, Bennington, Minneapolis, Lucas, Sylvan Grove, and Wamego. Always committed to local decision-making, excellent customer service and community investment, BSB is your trusted hometown bank. For more information, please visit bsbks.com.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603763142160.jpeg" alt="The Bennington State Bank loan production office in Abilene. Photo courtesy Bennington State Bank" />
 <figcaption>The Bennington State Bank loan production office in Abilene. Photo courtesy Bennington State Bank</figcaption>
 </figure>The Bennington State Bank (BSB) has opened a loan production office (LPO) in Abilene. The office is located at 418 West Third Street in Abilene, and is currently open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by appointment. The LPO will facilitate additional business opportunities and will offer a full suite of competitive business lending services.“Expanding into the Abilene and Dickinson County market is a natural progression for our bank as The Bennington State Bank has many ties to the Abilene community,” said Burke Matthews, president. “Dr. Don Berkley, retired BSB Board member, resides in Abilene and is still very involved with the bank. BSB has many great customer relationships in the Abilene community, and this office will help us take better care of those customers while also being able to serve new customers in this market.”BSB is pleased to announce the hiring of Mike Anderes to oversee the market expansion as vice president and loan officer. A Kansas native, Anderes is a commercial banking industry leader with over 25 years of commercial and ag lending experience.“As a community focused bank, we believe our core values and relationship based banking philosophy, along with our unique financial expertise and diverse set of commercial products will meet the personal and business banking needs of the Abilene market,” said Darren Gragg, chief operating officer. “We are excited to welcome Mike Anderes who brings valuable leadership and experience to the team. Mike is an exceptional business lender who understands the Abilene and Central Kansas business market very well.”The LPO is not a full-service branch office, but could eventually expand into a full-service banking location. Bennington State Bank currently has seven full-service banking locations in Kansas. BSB also offers leading edge online and digital banking solutions that enable customers to carry out many financial transactions through their computer or mobile device.“We pride ourselves in listening to our customers, responding to their needs, and developing lasting relationships. This location is starting out as a Loan Production Office, and as we continue to expand our footprint in Kansas, we expect this location to eventually grow into a fullservice branch,” Matthews commented. About Bennington State BankEstablished in 1887, The Bennington State Bank (BSB) was founded on the principles of integrity, trust, and fostering long-term customer relationships through the delivery of excellence in customer service and financial products including state-of-the-art online and mobile platforms. BSB is a full-service financial provider, offering Consumer banking, Ag solutions, and Commercial banking, including Trust and Wealth Management, Portfolio Management and Employee Benefit Services. With nearly $800 million in total assets, BSB has locations in Salina, Bennington, Minneapolis, Lucas, Sylvan Grove, and Wamego. Always committed to local decision-making, excellent customer service and community investment, BSB is your trusted hometown bank. For more information, please visit bsbks.com.

Bennington State Bank opens loan production office in Abilene

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid fielded media questions during a presser on Monday. From <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KansasCityChiefs">The Kansas City Chiefs</a> Facebook page:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid fielded media questions during a presser on Monday. From <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KansasCityChiefs">The Kansas City Chiefs</a> Facebook page:<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FKansasCityChiefs%2Fvideos%2F394673068380016%2F&show_text=true&width=560" width="560" height="429" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>You can listen to the Chiefs' games on KINA (910 AM and 107.5 FM) and 99KG (99.9 FM), your local Chiefs Radio Network stations.

📹Chiefs' Reid chats with media on Monday

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/10/26/secret-recording-exposes-three-wichita-politicians-to-demands-for-their-resignation/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Three members of the Sedgwick County Commission on Sunday denounced Republican colleague Michael O’Donnell after the <a href="https://www.kansas.com/article246669242.html">Wichita Eagle published a secret recording</a>
 of O’Donnell, a Wichita city councilman and a Kansas House member 
plotting to deceive the public about their role in a false campaign 
video accusing a Democratic candidate for mayor of sexual harassment.

Commissioners Lacey Cruse,
 David Dennis and Jim Howell made clear O’Donnell’s statements on the 
45-minute recording, including political advice to attack first and 
“avoid the truth at all expense,” made it impossible for him to continue
 serving the county.

In the at-times chaotic 
recording, made shortly before the November 2019 mayoral election and 
released to the public due to a pending lawsuit, O’Donnell said it might
 be possible to blame their sleazy campaign attack on a former Kansas 
Republican Party chairman. He also declared such coverups to be 
“standard political operations.” He expressed admiration for the good 
sense of Democrats to betray each other quietly. And, he said, there 
wasn’t a pro-life person unhappy with the assassination a decade ago of 
Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller.

“Michael O’Donnell has 
proven to be a risk and major liability to Sedgwick County,” said Cruse,
 a Democrat. “I’m not shocked by what we all heard on this tape because I
 have witnessed this type of unethical behavior for almost two years. 
I’m not willing to get in line and be quiet. This behavior is not okay 
and those who choose to be silent, those who are not willing to speak 
out about this publicly, are part of the problem.”

Howell, the GOP chairman 
of the county commission, went further and urged O’Donnell, Wichita City
 Councilman James Clendenin and Kansas House Rep. Michael Capps to 
immediately resign from public office.

“The people of Sedgwick 
county deserve representation that is ethical, above reproach and 
honest,” Howell said. “The actions of these men in the<a href="https://www.kwch.com/2020/08/28/man-behind-protect-wichita-girls-video-breaks-silence/"> ‘Protect Wichita Girls’ scandal</a> is reprehensible and embarrassing to our community.”

So far, the three Wichita 
politicians have chosen to cling to their jobs. O’Donnell is seeking 
re-election to the county commission on Nov. 3. In August, Wichita 
voters decided to end Capps’ career in the Kansas House effective in 
January. Capps was hammered in the GOP primary, receiving just 25% of 
the vote. Clendenin, a member of the city council since 2011, isn’t on 
the 2020 ballot.

In the recording, the 
three politicians and the producer of the video agreed to blame Sedgwick
 County Republican Party chairman Dalton Glasscock for orchestrating the
 commercial. They considered and rejected the idea of also fingering 
Kelly Arnold, who has served as Sedgwick County’s clerk since 2008 and 
was the Kansas GOP chairman from 2013 to 2019.

The malicious video, 
posted to Facebook and YouTube, featured unidentified women silhouetted 
against a menacing background who alleged without evidence sexual 
harassment by state legislators. The target was then-Democratic mayoral 
candidate Brandon Whipple, who by implication was accused of engaging in
 misconduct as a member of the Kansas House. In closing moments of the 
video, the women say, “Stop Brandon Whipple.”

The video was apparently 
viewed more than 400,000 times. It was traced to a New Mexico shadow 
company, Protect Wichita’s Girls LLC, that was linked to Capps.

Whipple, who said the 
video was part of a political misinformation campaign, easily won the 
November 2019 election. He defeated incumbent Republican Mayor Jeff 
Longwell by more than 10 percentage points. Longwell’s re-election was 
hampered by reports he intervened to award the new water plant contract 
for the state’s largest city to his political supporters and friends.

Shortly after the video 
began appearing online in October 2019, Whipple filed a lawsuit against 
video producer Matthew Colborn and two John Does. Colborn, who recorded 
the four-person conversation in which the coverup and misdirection was 
mapped out, was dropped from the suit in exchange for turning over the 
audio recording and other evidence to Whipple’s lawyers. The lawsuit has
 been amended to target O’Donnell, Clendenin and Capps.

Michael
 Shultz, the Wichita attorney for Colborn, said his client regretted 
participating in the underhanded assault and learned painful lessons 
about politics, relationships and business. Colborn is being scapegoated
 in the public eye by the scandal, Schultz said.

“Matthew
 was at the meeting where Michael O’Donnell, James Clendenin and Michael
 Capps planned to push the blame for this ad onto Dalton Glasscock and 
others,” Schultz said. “To protect himself, he recorded that 
conversation. We are releasing that recording now to demonstrate the 
accuracy of what Matthew has now said and to try and stop those who 
continue to attack him.”

The meeting that produced 
the secret recording was called to help Capps prepare for a 2019 radio 
interview on the video controversy with Wichita talk show host John 
Whitmer, a former Republican state legislator. Capps and O’Donnell 
sounded confident Whitmer would be sympathetic to their claims, 
asserting Whitmer was opposed to election of a Democrat as mayor and had
 a strong dislike for Glasscock.

“John, though, wants Dalton’s head. He doesn’t know how to hunt. He just wants to collect,” Capps said on the recording.

Capps, who was angry 
Glasscock had previously called for his resignation, could be heard on 
the recording practicing his talking points in advance of the radio 
interview, including: “Let me be clear to your listeners and to you 
John. I had nothing to do with the production of this video.”

O’Donnell advised Capps to
 claim firsthand knowledge that both Glasscock and Arnold spoke of plans
 designed to conceal information about who was responsible for the 
video. O’Donnell said linking the pair would deflect damage to the 
Sedgwick County Republican Party, because it would appear “more of a 
conspiracy by the party to cover itself.”

Later in the conversation,
 the group decided Arnold was too influential among Sedgwick County 
Republicans to accuse of misconduct. Backlash from Arnold could get out 
of hand, so they agreed Glasscock would be framed alone. They also 
agreed it would be useful to place responsibility at Glasscock’s feet if
 the Republican mayor lost the campaign to Whipple.

“Nobody questions Kelly 
(Arnold) being an ultra-party guy, a conservative,” O’Donnell said. “I 
just think naming him in this deal will bring added scrutiny that we, 
particularly James (Clendenin) and I don’t need.”

Clendenin, the Wichita 
city council member, said labeling Arnold as a responsible party could 
open an unsavory two-front political conflict. He also predicted 
maneuvering their way out of the Whipple video scandal by boxing in 
Glasscock wouldn’t “go as smoothly as we’re talking about it right now.”

“This is not an ideal 
narrative,” Capps said. “I’m going to accept the fact that it is not. 
But I’m also looking at this purely from a business/political 
perspective. That it’s either our necks or his.”

“I’m always learned in 
politics,” O’Donnell said, “it’s always avoid the truth at all expense. 
Right? And, just go on the attack.”

O’Donnell at several 
points in the recording recommended they each be vague when pointing 
fingers at other people, because specifics could come back to haunt them
 if a lawsuit went to the discovery stage or a trial.

In 2018, O’Donnell was 
indicted on federal charges that included 23 counts of wire fraud and 
three counts of money laundering. The allegations of campaign finance 
misconduct related to his campaign for the Kansas Senate and O’Donnell’s
 decision to write a series of checks from a campaign account to 
friends. He was acquitted last year of 21 counts and the jury couldn’t 
reach a verdict on five counts. He described the trial as the worst 
experience of his life.

“I don’t think we’re all 
culpable like for a lawsuit or something,” O’Donnell said on the audio 
recording, “but what I think — I just don’t ever want it to get into 
discovery mode.”

The
 Kansas Democratic Party jumped into the fray with a photograph of 
O’Donnell standing next to U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, a Republican in a 
tight race for U.S. Senate against Democratic Kansas Sen. Barbara 
Bollier.

“What
 games are Roger Marshall and Michael O’Donnell playing?” the Democrats 
claimed Kansans deserved to know. “Does Roger Marshall stand by his 
‘friend’ Michael O’Donnell’s actions?”

As if there wasn’t enough drama in Whipple’s life, a Wichita musician and retired firefighter was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/17/us/wichita-kansas-mayor-mask-arrest-trnd/index.html">arrested Oct. 16 on suspicion of threatening to kidnap and kill the mayor</a> due to frustration with the city’s COVID-19 mask ordinance.

Tim Carpenter has reported on Kansas for 35 years. He covered the Capitol for 16 years at the Topeka Capital-Journal and previously worked for the Lawrence Journal-World and United Press International.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603722521631.png" alt="From left: Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O'Donnell, Kansas House Rep. Michael Capps and Wichita City Councilman James Clendenin. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>From left: Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O'Donnell, Kansas House Rep. Michael Capps and Wichita City Councilman James Clendenin. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/10/26/secret-recording-exposes-three-wichita-politicians-to-demands-for-their-resignation/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Three members of the Sedgwick County Commission on Sunday denounced Republican colleague Michael O’Donnell after the <a href="https://www.kansas.com/article246669242.html">Wichita Eagle published a secret recording</a>
 of O’Donnell, a Wichita city councilman and a Kansas House member 
plotting to deceive the public about their role in a false campaign 
video accusing a Democratic candidate for mayor of sexual harassment.Commissioners Lacey Cruse,
 David Dennis and Jim Howell made clear O’Donnell’s statements on the 
45-minute recording, including political advice to attack first and 
“avoid the truth at all expense,” made it impossible for him to continue
 serving the county.In the at-times chaotic 
recording, made shortly before the November 2019 mayoral election and 
released to the public due to a pending lawsuit, O’Donnell said it might
 be possible to blame their sleazy campaign attack on a former Kansas 
Republican Party chairman. He also declared such coverups to be 
“standard political operations.” He expressed admiration for the good 
sense of Democrats to betray each other quietly. And, he said, there 
wasn’t a pro-life person unhappy with the assassination a decade ago of 
Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller.“Michael O’Donnell has 
proven to be a risk and major liability to Sedgwick County,” said Cruse,
 a Democrat. “I’m not shocked by what we all heard on this tape because I
 have witnessed this type of unethical behavior for almost two years. 
I’m not willing to get in line and be quiet. This behavior is not okay 
and those who choose to be silent, those who are not willing to speak 
out about this publicly, are part of the problem.”Howell, the GOP chairman 
of the county commission, went further and urged O’Donnell, Wichita City
 Councilman James Clendenin and Kansas House Rep. Michael Capps to 
immediately resign from public office.“The people of Sedgwick 
county deserve representation that is ethical, above reproach and 
honest,” Howell said. “The actions of these men in the<a href="https://www.kwch.com/2020/08/28/man-behind-protect-wichita-girls-video-breaks-silence/"> ‘Protect Wichita Girls’ scandal</a> is reprehensible and embarrassing to our community.”So far, the three Wichita 
politicians have chosen to cling to their jobs. O’Donnell is seeking 
re-election to the county commission on Nov. 3. In August, Wichita 
voters decided to end Capps’ career in the Kansas House effective in 
January. Capps was hammered in the GOP primary, receiving just 25% of 
the vote. Clendenin, a member of the city council since 2011, isn’t on 
the 2020 ballot.<h2>The blame game</h2>In the recording, the 
three politicians and the producer of the video agreed to blame Sedgwick
 County Republican Party chairman Dalton Glasscock for orchestrating the
 commercial. They considered and rejected the idea of also fingering 
Kelly Arnold, who has served as Sedgwick County’s clerk since 2008 and 
was the Kansas GOP chairman from 2013 to 2019.The malicious video, 
posted to Facebook and YouTube, featured unidentified women silhouetted 
against a menacing background who alleged without evidence sexual 
harassment by state legislators. The target was then-Democratic mayoral 
candidate Brandon Whipple, who by implication was accused of engaging in
 misconduct as a member of the Kansas House. In closing moments of the 
video, the women say, “Stop Brandon Whipple.”The video was apparently 
viewed more than 400,000 times. It was traced to a New Mexico shadow 
company, Protect Wichita’s Girls LLC, that was linked to Capps.Whipple, who said the 
video was part of a political misinformation campaign, easily won the 
November 2019 election. He defeated incumbent Republican Mayor Jeff 
Longwell by more than 10 percentage points. Longwell’s re-election was 
hampered by reports he intervened to award the new water plant contract 
for the state’s largest city to his political supporters and friends.Shortly after the video 
began appearing online in October 2019, Whipple filed a lawsuit against 
video producer Matthew Colborn and two John Does. Colborn, who recorded 
the four-person conversation in which the coverup and misdirection was 
mapped out, was dropped from the suit in exchange for turning over the 
audio recording and other evidence to Whipple’s lawyers. The lawsuit has
 been amended to target O’Donnell, Clendenin and Capps.Michael
 Shultz, the Wichita attorney for Colborn, said his client regretted 
participating in the underhanded assault and learned painful lessons 
about politics, relationships and business. Colborn is being scapegoated
 in the public eye by the scandal, Schultz said. 
“Matthew
 was at the meeting where Michael O’Donnell, James Clendenin and Michael
 Capps planned to push the blame for this ad onto Dalton Glasscock and 
others,” Schultz said. “To protect himself, he recorded that 
conversation. We are releasing that recording now to demonstrate the 
accuracy of what Matthew has now said and to try and stop those who 
continue to attack him.”<h2>‘Dalton’s head’</h2>The meeting that produced 
the secret recording was called to help Capps prepare for a 2019 radio 
interview on the video controversy with Wichita talk show host John 
Whitmer, a former Republican state legislator. Capps and O’Donnell 
sounded confident Whitmer would be sympathetic to their claims, 
asserting Whitmer was opposed to election of a Democrat as mayor and had
 a strong dislike for Glasscock.“John, though, wants Dalton’s head. He doesn’t know how to hunt. He just wants to collect,” Capps said on the recording.Capps, who was angry 
Glasscock had previously called for his resignation, could be heard on 
the recording practicing his talking points in advance of the radio 
interview, including: “Let me be clear to your listeners and to you 
John. I had nothing to do with the production of this video.”O’Donnell advised Capps to
 claim firsthand knowledge that both Glasscock and Arnold spoke of plans
 designed to conceal information about who was responsible for the 
video. O’Donnell said linking the pair would deflect damage to the 
Sedgwick County Republican Party, because it would appear “more of a 
conspiracy by the party to cover itself.”Later in the conversation,
 the group decided Arnold was too influential among Sedgwick County 
Republicans to accuse of misconduct. Backlash from Arnold could get out 
of hand, so they agreed Glasscock would be framed alone. They also 
agreed it would be useful to place responsibility at Glasscock’s feet if
 the Republican mayor lost the campaign to Whipple.“Nobody questions Kelly 
(Arnold) being an ultra-party guy, a conservative,” O’Donnell said. “I 
just think naming him in this deal will bring added scrutiny that we, 
particularly James (Clendenin) and I don’t need.”<h2>Narrative not ideal</h2>Clendenin, the Wichita 
city council member, said labeling Arnold as a responsible party could 
open an unsavory two-front political conflict. He also predicted 
maneuvering their way out of the Whipple video scandal by boxing in 
Glasscock wouldn’t “go as smoothly as we’re talking about it right now.”“This is not an ideal 
narrative,” Capps said. “I’m going to accept the fact that it is not. 
But I’m also looking at this purely from a business/political 
perspective. That it’s either our necks or his.”“I’m always learned in 
politics,” O’Donnell said, “it’s always avoid the truth at all expense. 
Right? And, just go on the attack.”O’Donnell at several 
points in the recording recommended they each be vague when pointing 
fingers at other people, because specifics could come back to haunt them
 if a lawsuit went to the discovery stage or a trial.In 2018, O’Donnell was 
indicted on federal charges that included 23 counts of wire fraud and 
three counts of money laundering. The allegations of campaign finance 
misconduct related to his campaign for the Kansas Senate and O’Donnell’s
 decision to write a series of checks from a campaign account to 
friends. He was acquitted last year of 21 counts and the jury couldn’t 
reach a verdict on five counts. He described the trial as the worst 
experience of his life.“I don’t think we’re all 
culpable like for a lawsuit or something,” O’Donnell said on the audio 
recording, “but what I think — I just don’t ever want it to get into 
discovery mode.”The
 Kansas Democratic Party jumped into the fray with a photograph of 
O’Donnell standing next to U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, a Republican in a 
tight race for U.S. Senate against Democratic Kansas Sen. Barbara 
Bollier.“What
 games are Roger Marshall and Michael O’Donnell playing?” the Democrats 
claimed Kansans deserved to know. “Does Roger Marshall stand by his 
‘friend’ Michael O’Donnell’s actions?”As if there wasn’t enough drama in Whipple’s life, a Wichita musician and retired firefighter was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/17/us/wichita-kansas-mayor-mask-arrest-trnd/index.html">arrested Oct. 16 on suspicion of threatening to kidnap and kill the mayor</a> due to frustration with the city’s COVID-19 mask ordinance.Tim Carpenter has reported on Kansas for 35 years. He covered the Capitol for 16 years at the Topeka Capital-Journal and previously worked for the Lawrence Journal-World and United Press International.&nbsp;

Resignation demands after recording exposes three Wichita politicians

I looked down on “Boundary Street” from my apartment in the Hong Kong peninsula of Kowloon in 1975. As my young son watched the jetliners scream past our window to land at Kai Tak airport, I was looking down at a street that could one day separate Hong Kong from the China Mainland. As a high school teacher at the international school, I knew the history of this last British colony.

The 1800s were the British century; they “ruled the waves.” Their navy won the “Opium War” and forced China to accept Western drug-running. Americans, including a family named Delano, participated in this drug trade as well. One part of the wartime settlement was that Hong Kong Island and a part of the Kowloon peninsula would belong to England in perpetuity. They soon realized they needed more farmland and leased the New Territories for 99 years. That lease would end in 1997. If Hong Kong was to remain a colony, they would have to build a Berlin-style wall down Boundary Street–not an option.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

England appointed Chris Patton as Hong Kong’s last British Governor. Hong Kong was a very limited “democracy.” Their legal system sent court appeals to London. Patton and his Foreign Service wanted to negotiate a more democratic system before it was handed over at midnight on June 31, 1997. It was not an easy negotiation. Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady,” had just come off of waging war in the Falkland Islands. On the China side was an equally dogmatic Chinese Foreign Service. The revolutionary leader Deng Xiao-ping had brought economic communism to an end and opened up a market system.

He proposed a “One Country, Two Systems” and negotiated an arrangement where China would provide national protection. Hong Kong would run its own internal affairs on its own “Basic Law.”

That Basic Law is based on the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed between China and the British government on December 19, 1984. It is easily accessed online. The limited socialism practiced in the rest of China does not extend to Hong Kong. Hong Kong will continue its capitalist system for 50 years after 1997. That has not changed. Nor have the fundamental rights of Hong Kong residents, the function of the branches of local government, or their ability to amend or interpret the Basic Law. The courts of Hong Kong were now the final arbiter. Appeals no longer went to London. But the governor of Hong Kong is vetted by Beijing, to ensure that no attempt is made too secede.

So what changed in Hong Kong? The case of a Taiwan husband who murdered his wife and fled to Hong Kong revealed a gap in extradition laws in the Basic Law. The extradition loophole would make it possible for Hong Kong to become a haven for criminals fleeing from certain regions. But a proposed extradition law also made it possible for mainland China to request extradition of persons for political crimes. Protests erupted. The extradition bill was withdrawn. But the protests continued, because they were really about promoting secession. The protests did not remain peaceful. Windows were shattered. Fire bombs were thrown. Hong Kong’s well-trained police were assaulted as they attempted to curtail the violence. On July 1 of 2019, protesters broke into and occupied the Legislative Council Complex, ransacking and vandalizing the facility.

Then in late November of 2019, the protests came to a halt as Hong Kong citizens went to the polls. While many pro-Beijing candidates lost, the Legislative Council still remained with its general duties to legislate and manage for Hong Kong. &nbsp;

Beijing passed the Hong Kong national security law on June 30, 2020. Inciting for secession became a crime, just as it is in the United States. Along with coercion with foreign governments, these crimes can now result in extradition to the mainland. Otherwise, Hong Kong continues to manage its own affairs with considerably more independence than U.S. states have from our federal government.&nbsp; By 2047, both Hong Kong and the Beijing governments and economies will have continued to evolve. &nbsp;

Nevertheless, the Western press continually referred to the demonstrators as “democracy demonstrators.” And the Western public swallowed this label even while the demonstrators stopped to go to the polls for elections! This propaganda labeling occurred without Western government directive. It demonstrates how easy it is for a press to follow political stereotypes and begin a drumbeat to war.

I listened closely to reporters for any evidence that any had read Hong Kong’s “Basic Law” or Deng Xiao-ping’s rationale “On the Question of Hong Kong.” None had done their homework.&nbsp;&nbsp;

John Richard Schrock has trained biology teachers for more than 30 years in Kansas. He also has lectured at 27 universities in 20 trips to China. He holds the distinction of “Faculty Emeritus” at Emporia State University.

<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 SCHROCKI looked down on “Boundary Street” from my apartment in the Hong Kong peninsula of Kowloon in 1975. As my young son watched the jetliners scream past our window to land at Kai Tak airport, I was looking down at a street that could one day separate Hong Kong from the China Mainland. As a high school teacher at the international school, I knew the history of this last British colony. The 1800s were the British century; they “ruled the waves.” Their navy won the “Opium War” and forced China to accept Western drug-running. Americans, including a family named Delano, participated in this drug trade as well. One part of the wartime settlement was that Hong Kong Island and a part of the Kowloon peninsula would belong to England in perpetuity. They soon realized they needed more farmland and leased the New Territories for 99 years. That lease would end in 1997. If Hong Kong was to remain a colony, they would have to build a Berlin-style wall down Boundary Street–not an option.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; England appointed Chris Patton as Hong Kong’s last British Governor. Hong Kong was a very limited “democracy.” Their legal system sent court appeals to London. Patton and his Foreign Service wanted to negotiate a more democratic system before it was handed over at midnight on June 31, 1997. It was not an easy negotiation. Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady,” had just come off of waging war in the Falkland Islands. On the China side was an equally dogmatic Chinese Foreign Service. The revolutionary leader Deng Xiao-ping had brought economic communism to an end and opened up a market system. He proposed a “One Country, Two Systems” and negotiated an arrangement where China would provide national protection. Hong Kong would run its own internal affairs on its own “Basic Law.” That Basic Law is based on the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed between China and the British government on December 19, 1984. It is easily accessed online. The limited socialism practiced in the rest of China does not extend to Hong Kong. Hong Kong will continue its capitalist system for 50 years after 1997. That has not changed. Nor have the fundamental rights of Hong Kong residents, the function of the branches of local government, or their ability to amend or interpret the Basic Law. The courts of Hong Kong were now the final arbiter. Appeals no longer went to London. But the governor of Hong Kong is vetted by Beijing, to ensure that no attempt is made too secede. So what changed in Hong Kong? The case of a Taiwan husband who murdered his wife and fled to Hong Kong revealed a gap in extradition laws in the Basic Law. The extradition loophole would make it possible for Hong Kong to become a haven for criminals fleeing from certain regions. But a proposed extradition law also made it possible for mainland China to request extradition of persons for political crimes. Protests erupted. The extradition bill was withdrawn. But the protests continued, because they were really about promoting secession. The protests did not remain peaceful. Windows were shattered. Fire bombs were thrown. Hong Kong’s well-trained police were assaulted as they attempted to curtail the violence. On July 1 of 2019, protesters broke into and occupied the Legislative Council Complex, ransacking and vandalizing the facility. Then in late November of 2019, the protests came to a halt as Hong Kong citizens went to the polls. While many pro-Beijing candidates lost, the Legislative Council still remained with its general duties to legislate and manage for Hong Kong. &nbsp; Beijing passed the Hong Kong national security law on June 30, 2020. Inciting for secession became a crime, just as it is in the United States. Along with coercion with foreign governments, these crimes can now result in extradition to the mainland. Otherwise, Hong Kong continues to manage its own affairs with considerably more independence than U.S. states have from our federal government.&nbsp; By 2047, both Hong Kong and the Beijing governments and economies will have continued to evolve. &nbsp; Nevertheless, the Western press continually referred to the demonstrators as “democracy demonstrators.” And the Western public swallowed this label even while the demonstrators stopped to go to the polls for elections! This propaganda labeling occurred without Western government directive. It demonstrates how easy it is for a press to follow political stereotypes and begin a drumbeat to war. I listened closely to reporters for any evidence that any had read Hong Kong’s “Basic Law” or Deng Xiao-ping’s rationale “On the Question of Hong Kong.” None had done their homework.&nbsp;&nbsp;John Richard Schrock has trained biology teachers for more than 30 years in Kansas. He also has lectured at 27 universities in 20 trips to China. He holds the distinction of “Faculty Emeritus” at Emporia State University.

ED FRONTLINES: Western Press Failure Over Hong Kong

KANSAS CITY (AP) —Preslie Paur breaks down in tears when she thinks of her state’s refusal to mandate face masks.

The South Salt Lake City, Utah, woman can’t work at her special education job due to an autoimmune disease. Her husband, also a special ed teacher, recently quit because his school district would not allow him to work remotely to protect her and their 5-year-old son, who has asthma.

“I feel forgotten,” Paur said. “We’re living in a world we no longer fit in. We did everything right. We went to college, we got jobs, we tried to give back to our community, and now our community is not giving back to us. And I’m very scared.”

As President Donald Trump barnstorms the swing states, often downplaying the coronavirus pandemic before largely unmasked crowds, the nation continues to lurch toward what his opponent Joe Biden, citing health experts, warned will be a “dark winter” of disease and death.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told CNN on Sunday that “we’re not going to control the pandemic.” Asked why, he said it’s “because it is a contagious virus just like the flu.”

Vice President Mike Pence will continue campaigning despite his chief of staff testing positive for COVID-19. His office said Pence and his wife both tested negative for the virus Sunday.

About half of U.S. states have seen their highest daily infection numbers so far at some point in October, and the country as a whole came very close to back-to-back record daily infection rates on Friday and Saturday.

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that 83,718 new cases were reported Saturday, just shy of the 83,757 infections reported Friday. Before that, the most cases reported in the United States on a single day had been 77,362, on July 16.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which federal health officials have used as a source for their pandemic projections, currently forecasts that the U.S. COVID-19 death toll could exceed 318,000 by Jan. 1.

As of Sunday, there were more than 8.6 million confirmed infections in the U.S., with deaths climbing to over 225,000, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

At least seven states — Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Oklahoma — saw record high infection levels Saturday. And some Northeastern states hit hard in the spring are seeing numbers bounce back; New Jersey’s toll of 1,909 new infections Saturday was the most it had seen in a day since early May.

The virus also is surging in the Mountain West, especially Idaho and Utah.

In Twin Falls, Idaho, new data suggest that 1 in 24 residents has contracted the coronavirus, said Dr. Joshua Kern, vice president of medical affairs at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center. Amid a crush of new cases, the hospital brought in nurses from Boise, scaled back elective surgery and, as of Friday, stopped admitting pediatric patients.

“It’s gotten kind of out of hand,” Kern told The Associated Press. “We’ve had something like a third of our total COVID cases in our community in the last two to three weeks. There are a lot of parts of the state suffering under the same burden.”

Kern said Twin Falls had been lulled into complacency after months of relatively low numbers, adding “going back to school was the signal to our communities that we can get back to normal.”

“It’s like the community said, ‘Oh, good. It’s over. We can party again,’ and we saw the virus increase,” he said. “This week, we went to the coffee shop to get pastries for our group, and it was closed because of COVID. And we knew that the week before, they had been in there unmasked.”

Mark Chidichimo, a retired FBI agent, said his sister, brother-in-law, brother, nephew and 92-year-old father in Idaho have all been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last three weeks.

Chidichimo, who lives in New Jersey, had nothing but praise for St. Luke’s in Twin Falls, but said his brother was told that if he needed hospitalization, he’d be sent to Seattle, more than 600 miles away.

“Hey, Idaho. This is coming from someone who has been there, done that: You really want to avoid this if you can,” he said. “It’s going to be really bad, and I pray to God that none of my family members have to be hospitalized. Because if they do, I don’t know if they’ll survive.”

After months of improvement, parts of Europe are going back into lockdown or ramping up restrictions again amid a spike in infections. Italy imposed at least a month of new restrictions across the country on Sunday, insisting that people outdoors wear masks, shutting down gyms, pools and movie theaters, and putting an early curfew on cafes and restaurants.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn, who tested positive Wednesday, pleaded with citizens to wear masks as the virus spikes across the country and hospital ICUs are filling up again.

“Please continue to help and don’t listen to those who play down (coronavirus),” he said. “It is serious.”

In New Mexico, which reported record numbers of additional COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in recent days, more than 350 doctors, nurses and other health care professionals signed a letter imploring residents to stay home as much as possible, wear masks and limit large gatherings to help prevent another wave of “lonely deaths.”

“Please help health care professionals help you,” said the letter, posted on the state Department of Health’s website. “Help us protect you. Help us ensure that we have the resources to treat the sick and care for the dying.”

On Saturday, New Mexico officials reported 875 new cases and five additional deaths, increasing the state’s totals to 41,040 cases and 965 deaths. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations increased to 264, up from a record 229 on Friday, which topped the previous high of 223 from mid-May.

Paur, whose brother and his girlfriend both recently tested positive for the virus, is worried about them, and herself.

“People need to know that our lives are on the line,” the Utah woman said. "We’re running out of money really fast.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603360957118.png" alt="Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said Wednesday that she will speak with House and Senate leaders to develop a bipartisan mask requirement&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said Wednesday that she will speak with House and Senate leaders to develop a bipartisan mask requirement&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) —Preslie Paur breaks down in tears when she thinks of her state’s refusal to mandate face masks.The South Salt Lake City, Utah, woman can’t work at her special education job due to an autoimmune disease. Her husband, also a special ed teacher, recently quit because his school district would not allow him to work remotely to protect her and their 5-year-old son, who has asthma.“I feel forgotten,” Paur said. “We’re living in a world we no longer fit in. We did everything right. We went to college, we got jobs, we tried to give back to our community, and now our community is not giving back to us. And I’m very scared.”As President Donald Trump barnstorms the swing states, often downplaying the coronavirus pandemic before largely unmasked crowds, the nation continues to lurch toward what his opponent Joe Biden, citing health experts, warned will be a “dark winter” of disease and death.White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told CNN on Sunday that “we’re not going to control the pandemic.” Asked why, he said it’s “because it is a contagious virus just like the flu.”Vice President Mike Pence will continue campaigning despite his chief of staff testing positive for COVID-19. His office said Pence and his wife both tested negative for the virus Sunday.About half of U.S. states have seen their highest daily infection numbers so far at some point in October, and the country as a whole came very close to back-to-back record daily infection rates on Friday and Saturday.Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that 83,718 new cases were reported Saturday, just shy of the 83,757 infections reported Friday. Before that, the most cases reported in the United States on a single day had been 77,362, on July 16.The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which federal health officials have used as a source for their pandemic projections, currently forecasts that the U.S. COVID-19 death toll could exceed 318,000 by Jan. 1.As of Sunday, there were more than 8.6 million confirmed infections in the U.S., with deaths climbing to over 225,000, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.At least seven states — Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Oklahoma — saw record high infection levels Saturday. And some Northeastern states hit hard in the spring are seeing numbers bounce back; New Jersey’s toll of 1,909 new infections Saturday was the most it had seen in a day since early May.The virus also is surging in the Mountain West, especially Idaho and Utah.In Twin Falls, Idaho, new data suggest that 1 in 24 residents has contracted the coronavirus, said Dr. Joshua Kern, vice president of medical affairs at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center. Amid a crush of new cases, the hospital brought in nurses from Boise, scaled back elective surgery and, as of Friday, stopped admitting pediatric patients.“It’s gotten kind of out of hand,” Kern told The Associated Press. “We’ve had something like a third of our total COVID cases in our community in the last two to three weeks. There are a lot of parts of the state suffering under the same burden.”Kern said Twin Falls had been lulled into complacency after months of relatively low numbers, adding “going back to school was the signal to our communities that we can get back to normal.”“It’s like the community said, ‘Oh, good. It’s over. We can party again,’ and we saw the virus increase,” he said. “This week, we went to the coffee shop to get pastries for our group, and it was closed because of COVID. And we knew that the week before, they had been in there unmasked.”Mark Chidichimo, a retired FBI agent, said his sister, brother-in-law, brother, nephew and 92-year-old father in Idaho have all been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last three weeks.Chidichimo, who lives in New Jersey, had nothing but praise for St. Luke’s in Twin Falls, but said his brother was told that if he needed hospitalization, he’d be sent to Seattle, more than 600 miles away.“Hey, Idaho. This is coming from someone who has been there, done that: You really want to avoid this if you can,” he said. “It’s going to be really bad, and I pray to God that none of my family members have to be hospitalized. Because if they do, I don’t know if they’ll survive.”After months of improvement, parts of Europe are going back into lockdown or ramping up restrictions again amid a spike in infections. Italy imposed at least a month of new restrictions across the country on Sunday, insisting that people outdoors wear masks, shutting down gyms, pools and movie theaters, and putting an early curfew on cafes and restaurants.German Health Minister Jens Spahn, who tested positive Wednesday, pleaded with citizens to wear masks as the virus spikes across the country and hospital ICUs are filling up again.“Please continue to help and don’t listen to those who play down (coronavirus),” he said. “It is serious.”In New Mexico, which reported record numbers of additional COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in recent days, more than 350 doctors, nurses and other health care professionals signed a letter imploring residents to stay home as much as possible, wear masks and limit large gatherings to help prevent another wave of “lonely deaths.”“Please help health care professionals help you,” said the letter, posted on the state Department of Health’s website. “Help us protect you. Help us ensure that we have the resources to treat the sick and care for the dying.”On Saturday, New Mexico officials reported 875 new cases and five additional deaths, increasing the state’s totals to 41,040 cases and 965 deaths. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations increased to 264, up from a record 229 on Friday, which topped the previous high of 223 from mid-May.Paur, whose brother and his girlfriend both recently tested positive for the virus, is worried about them, and herself.“People need to know that our lives are on the line,” the Utah woman said. "We’re running out of money really fast.”—-

Fear and anxiety spike in virus hot spots across US

Read the Report: Kan. officer needs de-escalation refresher

By JIM MCLEAN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2020-10-21/a-fear-of-the-other-party-fuels-culture-war-in-kansas-u-s-senate-race">Kansaas News Service</a>

EL DORADO, Kansas — The culture war issues that are polarizing
 national politics are also front and center in Kansas’ U.S. Senate 
contest: race, guns, abortion, climate change.

Supporters of 
Republican candidate Roger Marshall fear a wave of Democratic victories 
will trigger radical changes in the nation’s economy and culture; that 
capitalism will give way to socialism, undocumented immigrants will 
stream across the U.S.-Mexico border and individual liberties will be 
threatened.

Voters who favor Democratic candidate Barbara Bollier 
talk with similar alarm about what might happen if President Donald 
Trump wins a second term and Republicans keep their Senate majority — 
further erosion of democratic institutions and dire consequences for 
failing to act on climate change and long-neglected racial issues.

“No
 other Western democracy is remotely as polarized as America,” said 
Mugambi Jouet, an assistant law professor at Canada’s McGill University 
and author of the book, “Exceptional America: What Divides Americans 
From the World and From Each Other.”

A Democrat hasn’t won a U.S. Senate race in Kansas since the Great Depression, but <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/kansas/" target="_blank">several recent polls</a> suggest this year’s contest could be close.

Marshall,
 a two-term congressman from western Kansas, is urging GOP voters to 
close ranks behind him, warning them that the Kansas race could 
determine whether Republicans keep their Senate majority.

At an early October event in El Dorado, he rallied his base by 
ticking through a list of “radical” changes that he believes Democrats 
would make if given the opportunity.

“They want to take away our freedoms of speech, our freedoms of religion,” Marshall said.

Continuing
 down a list of hot-button issues, he said they also want to “take away 
our Second Amendment” and lift all restrictions on late-term abortions.

“But I’m going up there to stop all that from happening,” he said.

Bollier,
 a state senator from the Kansas City suburbs who switched parties in 
2018, is instead hoping to capitalize on voter frustration with 
Washington, D.C., and promising to bridge the partisan divide.

“I’m
 not interested in the big political fights that get us nowhere,” 
Bollier said in a speech after winning the Democratic nomination in 
August. “I’m going to roll up my sleeves, find partners across the aisle
 … and simply find ways to get things done.”

That’s easier said 
than done given that much of what she supports — expanding the 
Affordable Care Act and making changes to immigration policy and police 
departments — will likely encounter stiff opposition from Republicans.

Surveys
 from the Pew Research Center show divisions between Republicans and 
Democrats on a range of fundamental political values deepened during 
Trump’s presidency, surpassing once-record levels reached during Barack 
Obama’s two terms.

The vast majority of Republicans and Democrats,
 81% of respondents in both parties, have unfavorable views of the other
 side, according to a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2017/10/05/the-partisan-divide-on-political-values-grows-even-wider/" target="_blank">2017 Pew report.</a>
 That same survey showed Americans were increasingly less likely to 
interact with people who held different political views or to seek out 
information that challenged their beliefs.

Entrenched mindsets 
tied to the principles of individual liberty and religious freedom are 
contributing factors, said Jouet, the author of the book on 
polarization. They reinforce what he says is an anti-intellectual 
undercurrent that flows through American politics, which in recent 
decades has become stronger with the growth of Christian fundamentalism.

“Religion plays a much more important role in American politics than in other western democracies,” he said.

About 40 percent of Americans self-identify as evangelicals, according to a<a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/235208/things-know-evangelicals-america.aspx" target="_blank"> 2018 Gallup Poll.</a>

Hal Neukirch stood out at the 
Republican rally in El Dorado. Wearing a bright red “Kansas for Trump” 
hat, the retired aerospace worker said he’s backing the president even 
though it’s cost him friends — including one he’s known for 50 years — 
because he believes a Trump defeat would trigger “a massive swing to … 
socialism.”

“Some people have their heads in the sand to think that we wouldn’t go that way,” he said, “but I truly believe we will.”

At
 a GOP tour stop in Overland Park, Marian Stevens said she supports 
Trump because God chose him to “save this country.” His defeat, she 
said, would trigger the “end times”

“It would mean this country is asking to be removed from God’s grace and he would take his arms from around us,” Stevens said.

Democrats,
 independents and a smattering of moderate Republicans at a Bollier 
rally in Salina had different concerns if Trump is re-elected and 
Democrats don’t gain enough power in Congress to check him.

"I 
think our democracy is on the line," said Dee Williamston, a district 
leader for the United Methodist Church in Kansas. "Hands down, this is 
the most important election in the 21st century."

Williamston is 
Black, and pushed Bollier on whether she supports the Black Lives Matter
 movement and efforts to change policing. And overall, Williamston said,
 if Trump wins a second term, she believes there would be further 
attacks on voting rights and policies aimed at ending racial inequities.

“They have their head in the sand when it comes to issues around 
race, power and privilege,” Williamston said, referring to the president
 and Republicans in Congress.

But Marshall, whose father was the 
police chief of El Dorado for 25 years, decries “the violence” that he 
said Black Lives Matter protests triggered in some U.S. cities. In an 
interview, he said systemic racism and police violence against people of
 color might be a problem in some parts of the country, but not in 
Kansas.

“I don’t see that,” he said. “I just really, really don’t.”

There’s
 yet another divisive issue, brought back into the forefront with the 
U.S. Supreme Court nomination hearings, and that’s abortion. Pam 
McIntyre, a Bollier supporter from Salina, is concerned the Senate race 
could turn on the issue.

“I have some friends that are literally 
one-issue voters,” McIntyre said. “I try so desperately to get them to 
see that pro-life is so much more than just birthing a baby.”

Marshall, who is a retired obstetrician, and Republican political action committees are attacking Bollier in campaign ads for<a href="https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/119434/barbara-bollier/2/abortion" target="_blank"> voting against a 2015 measure</a> to ban a relatively rare procedure known as a dilation and evacuation abortion.

That
 measure was struck down in 2019 by the Kansas Supreme Court when it 
ruled that Kansans have a constitutional right to an abortion. And the 
Kansas House narrowly rejected a <a href="https://www.kcur.org/government/2020-02-07/four-kansas-republicans-stopped-their-partys-anti-abortion-bill-but-gop-says-its-not-over" target="_blank">proposed amendment </a>in the 2020 session that would have added language Constitution stating that there is no state right to abortion.

Bollier
 has consistently voted to protect Kansans’ abortion rights, saying 
women should be free to make their own choices in consultation with 
their doctors. A retired anesthesiologist, she also said it would have 
been malpractice for her to support an unconstitutional bill.

Jim McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jmcleanks?lang=en" target="_blank">@jmcleanks</a> or email jim@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603312925401.png" alt="El Dorado resident Hal Neukirch (right) attends an Oct. 3 rally for U.S. Senate candidate Roger Marshall and other Republican candidates. Jim McLean / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>El Dorado resident Hal Neukirch (right) attends an Oct. 3 rally for U.S. Senate candidate Roger Marshall and other Republican candidates. Jim McLean / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By JIM MCLEAN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2020-10-21/a-fear-of-the-other-party-fuels-culture-war-in-kansas-u-s-senate-race">Kansaas News Service</a>EL DORADO, Kansas — The culture war issues that are polarizing
 national politics are also front and center in Kansas’ U.S. Senate 
contest: race, guns, abortion, climate change.Supporters of 
Republican candidate Roger Marshall fear a wave of Democratic victories 
will trigger radical changes in the nation’s economy and culture; that 
capitalism will give way to socialism, undocumented immigrants will 
stream across the U.S.-Mexico border and individual liberties will be 
threatened.Voters who favor Democratic candidate Barbara Bollier 
talk with similar alarm about what might happen if President Donald 
Trump wins a second term and Republicans keep their Senate majority — 
further erosion of democratic institutions and dire consequences for 
failing to act on climate change and long-neglected racial issues.“No
 other Western democracy is remotely as polarized as America,” said 
Mugambi Jouet, an assistant law professor at Canada’s McGill University 
and author of the book, “Exceptional America: What Divides Americans 
From the World and From Each Other.”<h2>High stakes</h2>A Democrat hasn’t won a U.S. Senate race in Kansas since the Great Depression, but <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/kansas/" target="_blank">several recent polls</a> suggest this year’s contest could be close.Marshall,
 a two-term congressman from western Kansas, is urging GOP voters to 
close ranks behind him, warning them that the Kansas race could 
determine whether Republicans keep their Senate majority.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600877579297.png" alt="The Kansas News Service is a local partner with ProPublica's Electionland collaboration." />
 <figcaption>The Kansas News Service is a local partner with ProPublica's Electionland collaboration.</figcaption>
 </figure>At an early October event in El Dorado, he rallied his base by 
ticking through a list of “radical” changes that he believes Democrats 
would make if given the opportunity.“They want to take away our freedoms of speech, our freedoms of religion,” Marshall said.Continuing
 down a list of hot-button issues, he said they also want to “take away 
our Second Amendment” and lift all restrictions on late-term abortions.“But I’m going up there to stop all that from happening,” he said.Bollier,
 a state senator from the Kansas City suburbs who switched parties in 
2018, is instead hoping to capitalize on voter frustration with 
Washington, D.C., and promising to bridge the partisan divide.“I’m
 not interested in the big political fights that get us nowhere,” 
Bollier said in a speech after winning the Democratic nomination in 
August. “I’m going to roll up my sleeves, find partners across the aisle
 … and simply find ways to get things done.”That’s easier said 
than done given that much of what she supports — expanding the 
Affordable Care Act and making changes to immigration policy and police 
departments — will likely encounter stiff opposition from Republicans.<h2>Divide widening</h2>Surveys
 from the Pew Research Center show divisions between Republicans and 
Democrats on a range of fundamental political values deepened during 
Trump’s presidency, surpassing once-record levels reached during Barack 
Obama’s two terms.The vast majority of Republicans and Democrats,
 81% of respondents in both parties, have unfavorable views of the other
 side, according to a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2017/10/05/the-partisan-divide-on-political-values-grows-even-wider/" target="_blank">2017 Pew report.</a>
 That same survey showed Americans were increasingly less likely to 
interact with people who held different political views or to seek out 
information that challenged their beliefs.Entrenched mindsets 
tied to the principles of individual liberty and religious freedom are 
contributing factors, said Jouet, the author of the book on 
polarization. They reinforce what he says is an anti-intellectual 
undercurrent that flows through American politics, which in recent 
decades has become stronger with the growth of Christian fundamentalism.“Religion plays a much more important role in American politics than in other western democracies,” he said.About 40 percent of Americans self-identify as evangelicals, according to a<a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/235208/things-know-evangelicals-america.aspx" target="_blank"> 2018 Gallup Poll.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603313030746.png" alt="Marian Stevens shows her support for President Donald Trump at an Oct. 7 rally in Overland Park, Kansas, for U.S. Senate candidate Roger Marshall and other Republicans. Jim McLean" />
 <figcaption>Marian Stevens shows her support for President Donald Trump at an Oct. 7 rally in Overland Park, Kansas, for U.S. Senate candidate Roger Marshall and other Republicans. Jim McLean</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Voters’ concerns</h2>Hal Neukirch stood out at the 
Republican rally in El Dorado. Wearing a bright red “Kansas for Trump” 
hat, the retired aerospace worker said he’s backing the president even 
though it’s cost him friends — including one he’s known for 50 years — 
because he believes a Trump defeat would trigger “a massive swing to … 
socialism.”“Some people have their heads in the sand to think that we wouldn’t go that way,” he said, “but I truly believe we will.”At
 a GOP tour stop in Overland Park, Marian Stevens said she supports 
Trump because God chose him to “save this country.” His defeat, she 
said, would trigger the “end times”“It would mean this country is asking to be removed from God’s grace and he would take his arms from around us,” Stevens said.Democrats,
 independents and a smattering of moderate Republicans at a Bollier 
rally in Salina had different concerns if Trump is re-elected and 
Democrats don’t gain enough power in Congress to check him."I 
think our democracy is on the line," said Dee Williamston, a district 
leader for the United Methodist Church in Kansas. "Hands down, this is 
the most important election in the 21st century."Williamston is 
Black, and pushed Bollier on whether she supports the Black Lives Matter
 movement and efforts to change policing. And overall, Williamston said,
 if Trump wins a second term, she believes there would be further 
attacks on voting rights and policies aimed at ending racial inequities.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603313073801.png" alt="Dee Williamston (left) listens to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Barbara Bollier at a Sept. 26 rally in Salina. Jim McLean" />
 <figcaption>Dee Williamston (left) listens to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Barbara Bollier at a Sept. 26 rally in Salina. Jim McLean</figcaption>
 </figure>“They have their head in the sand when it comes to issues around 
race, power and privilege,” Williamston said, referring to the president
 and Republicans in Congress.But Marshall, whose father was the 
police chief of El Dorado for 25 years, decries “the violence” that he 
said Black Lives Matter protests triggered in some U.S. cities. In an 
interview, he said systemic racism and police violence against people of
 color might be a problem in some parts of the country, but not in 
Kansas.“I don’t see that,” he said. “I just really, really don’t.”There’s
 yet another divisive issue, brought back into the forefront with the 
U.S. Supreme Court nomination hearings, and that’s abortion. Pam 
McIntyre, a Bollier supporter from Salina, is concerned the Senate race 
could turn on the issue.“I have some friends that are literally 
one-issue voters,” McIntyre said. “I try so desperately to get them to 
see that pro-life is so much more than just birthing a baby.”Marshall, who is a retired obstetrician, and Republican political action committees are attacking Bollier in campaign ads for<a href="https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/119434/barbara-bollier/2/abortion" target="_blank"> voting against a 2015 measure</a> to ban a relatively rare procedure known as a dilation and evacuation abortion.That
 measure was struck down in 2019 by the Kansas Supreme Court when it 
ruled that Kansans have a constitutional right to an abortion. And the 
Kansas House narrowly rejected a <a href="https://www.kcur.org/government/2020-02-07/four-kansas-republicans-stopped-their-partys-anti-abortion-bill-but-gop-says-its-not-over" target="_blank">proposed amendment </a>in the 2020 session that would have added language Constitution stating that there is no state right to abortion.Bollier
 has consistently voted to protect Kansans’ abortion rights, saying 
women should be free to make their own choices in consultation with 
their doctors. A retired anesthesiologist, she also said it would have 
been malpractice for her to support an unconstitutional bill.Jim McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jmcleanks?lang=en" target="_blank">@jmcleanks</a> or email jim@kcur.org.

Fear of the other party fuels culture war in Kan. Senate race

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid and players fielded media questions Friday. From The Kansas City Chiefs Facebook page:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid and players fielded media questions Friday. From The Kansas City Chiefs Facebook page:<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FKansasCityChiefs%2Fvideos%2F808244513329213%2F&show_text=true&width=560" width="560" height="429" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>You can listen to the Chiefs' games on KINA (910 AM and 107.5 FM) and 99KG (99.9 FM), your local Chiefs Radio Network stations.

📹Chief's Reid, players chat with media Friday

I’ve been trying to get my sister and her husband on your plan, but they’re hesitant to try living on a budget. They make good money, and both of them think doing a budget every month would be too difficult and take too much time. Do you have any suggestions I could pass along that might make them realize that making a budget isn’t so hard or time consuming?

Believe me, I hear those excuses all the time. In most cases, the people who say these kinds of things&nbsp;don’t really understand&nbsp;<a href="https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/the-truth-about-budgeting" target="_blank">what a budget is</a>,&nbsp;or how to efficiently put one together. If you’ve followed my advice, you learned first-hand that budgeting isn’t scary once you get the hang of it. Household budgets don’t need to be about hours of tedious math and complicated formulas. Like most things in life, simple is usually best.

A good way to simplify budgeting, especially for couples, is by making it a team effort. It’s important to make sure your spouse is on board, and knows what’s up with the budget, because you’re just asking for problems when one spouse is doing all the planning and the other is doing all the spending.

Sit down together for a few minutes, once a month, and have a budget meeting where you look at your income, your outgo, and you both give every dollar a name and a job to do. It’s really that simple. Share your ideas, your hopes, and your dreams for the future, as well as the fears you have. The important thing is that you’re both in agreement and working together. That alone will make your lives, your budget, and your money easier to handle.

Also, make sure you have cut up all your credit cards and closed the accounts. No more credit cards means fewer bills to add to the budget, fewer complications, and zero worries about fees and interest rates. Stick to using a debit card and cash. After all, they’re both part of the plan!

Making a schedule for budget meetings and bill payments is a good idea, too. You can even make your budget meetings a fun time by including your favorite snacks. Set up auto drafts out of your checking account to pay bills, and buy your groceries on a set day every week or twice a month. When you know what to expect and when, it takes a lot of stress and potential pitfalls out of the budgeting picture.

There’s always some work and discipline that goes along with gaining control of your money. But a budget doesn’t need to be torture. A little planning, communication, and some basic math will go a long way—and it won’t be nearly as time consuming, or as difficult, as you think!

Dave Ramsey&nbsp;is a seven-time No. 1 national best-selling author, personal finance expert, and host of The Dave Ramsey Show, heard by more than 16 million listeners each week. He&nbsp;has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today Show, 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 for Ramsey Solutions.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596845065840.jpeg" alt="Dave Ramsey" />
 <figcaption>Dave Ramsey</figcaption>
 </figure>Dear Dave,I’ve been trying to get my sister and her husband on your plan, but they’re hesitant to try living on a budget. They make good money, and both of them think doing a budget every month would be too difficult and take too much time. Do you have any suggestions I could pass along that might make them realize that making a budget isn’t so hard or time consuming?KelseyDear Kelsey,Believe me, I hear those excuses all the time. In most cases, the people who say these kinds of things&nbsp;don’t really understand&nbsp;<a href="https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/the-truth-about-budgeting" target="_blank">what a budget is</a>,&nbsp;or how to efficiently put one together. If you’ve followed my advice, you learned first-hand that budgeting isn’t scary once you get the hang of it. Household budgets don’t need to be about hours of tedious math and complicated formulas. Like most things in life, simple is usually best.A good way to simplify budgeting, especially for couples, is by making it a team effort. It’s important to make sure your spouse is on board, and knows what’s up with the budget, because you’re just asking for problems when one spouse is doing all the planning and the other is doing all the spending.Sit down together for a few minutes, once a month, and have a budget meeting where you look at your income, your outgo, and you both give every dollar a name and a job to do. It’s really that simple. Share your ideas, your hopes, and your dreams for the future, as well as the fears you have. The important thing is that you’re both in agreement and working together. That alone will make your lives, your budget, and your money easier to handle.Also, make sure you have cut up all your credit cards and closed the accounts. No more credit cards means fewer bills to add to the budget, fewer complications, and zero worries about fees and interest rates. Stick to using a debit card and cash. After all, they’re both part of the plan!Making a schedule for budget meetings and bill payments is a good idea, too. You can even make your budget meetings a fun time by including your favorite snacks. Set up auto drafts out of your checking account to pay bills, and buy your groceries on a set day every week or twice a month. When you know what to expect and when, it takes a lot of stress and potential pitfalls out of the budgeting picture.There’s always some work and discipline that goes along with gaining control of your money. But a budget doesn’t need to be torture. A little planning, communication, and some basic math will go a long way—and it won’t be nearly as time consuming, or as difficult, as you think!Dave Ramsey&nbsp;is a seven-time No. 1 national best-selling author, personal finance expert, and host of The Dave Ramsey Show, heard by more than 16 million listeners each week. He&nbsp;has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today Show, 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 for Ramsey Solutions.

DAVE SAYS: Taking the dread out of budgeting

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/debates/?debate=second#past-debates">Click here </a>to watch a replay of the debate&nbsp;

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden fought over how to tame&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/virus-outbreak">the raging coronavirus</a>&nbsp;during the campaign’s closing debate, largely shelving the rancor that overshadowed their previous face-off in favor of a more substantive exchange that highlighted their vastly different approaches to the major domestic and foreign challenges facing the nation.

The Republican president declared the virus, which&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">killed more than 1,000 Americans on Thursday</a>&nbsp;alone, will “go away.” Biden countered that the nation was heading toward “a dark winter.”

“Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America,” Biden said.

With less than two weeks until the election, Trump portrayed himself as the same outsider he first pitched to voters four years ago, repeatedly saying he wasn’t a politician. Biden, meanwhile, argued that Trump was an incompetent leader of a country facing multiple crises and tried to connect what he saw as the president’s failures to the everyday lives of Americans, especially when it comes to the pandemic.

The president, who promised a vaccine within weeks, said the worst problems are in states with Democratic governors, a contention at odds with rising cases in states that voted for Trump in 2016. Biden, meanwhile, vowed that his administration would defer to scientists on battling the pandemic and said that Trump’s divisive approach on suffering states hindered the nation’s response.

“I don’t look at this in terms of the way he does — blue states and red states,” Biden said. “They’re all the United States. And look at all the states that are having such a spike in the coronavirus — they’re the red states.”

After&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-race-and-ethnicity-virus-outbreak-donald-trump-d8dd75752a0eef8c0311c6360d5d566a">a first debate defined by angry interruptions</a>, the Thursday event featured a mostly milder tone. And in a campaign defined by ugly personal attacks, the night featured a surprising amount of substantive policy debate as the two broke sharply on the environment, foreign policy, immigration and racial justice.

When Trump repeatedly asked Biden if he would “close down the oil industry,” the Democratic standardbearer said he “would transition from the oil industry, yes,” and that he would replace it by renewable energy “over time.” Trump, making a direct appeal to voters in energy producing states like Texas and the vital battleground of Pennsylvania, seized upon the remark as “a big statement.”

Perhaps sensing that the comment could soon appear in Trump campaign ads, Biden did a little clean-up boarding his plane after the debate, declaring, “We’re not going to ban fossil fuels. We’ll get rid of the subsidies of fossil fuels but not going to get rid of fossil fuels for a long time.”

As the debate swept to climate change, Trump explained his decision to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/0cafd1e56b124f5b9cf17ace7031d6d0">pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord</a>&nbsp;negotiated in 2015, declaring it was an unfair pact that would have cost the country trillions of dollars and hurt businesses.

Trump repeatedly claimed Biden’s plan to tackle climate change and invest in green industries was developed by “AOC plus three,” referring to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Biden chuckled during much of Trump’s answer and said, “I don’t know where he comes from.”

On race, Biden called out Trump’s previous&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-race-and-ethnicity-joe-biden-donald-trump-3f4d31aed98ca5080fb428d7cdc0c223">refusals to condemn white supremacists</a>&nbsp;and his attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement, declaring that the president “pours fuel on every single racist fire.”

“You know who I am. You know who he is. You know his character. You know my character,” Biden said. The rivals’ reputations for “honor and for telling to truth” are clear, he said.

Trump countered by pointing out&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/b59668424ae246bca00107943361ba79">his efforts on criminal justice reform</a>&nbsp;and blasting Biden’s support of a 1990s Crime Bill that many feel disproportionately incarcerated Black men. Staring into the crowd, he declared himself “the least racist person in this room.”

Turning to foreign policy, Biden accused Trump of dealing with a “thug” while holding summits with the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un. And closer to home, the former vice president laced into the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from their parents trying to illegally cross the southern border.

Biden said that America has learned from a New York Times report that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/archive-personal-taxes-donald-trump-f0e2af5f9f99de9d30dc6b9097121188">Trump paid only $750 a year in federal taxes</a>&nbsp;while holding&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax-records-china-f086bba3b691acdc51535412f77f2c8e">“a secret bank account” in China</a>. The former vice president then noted he’s released all of his tax returns going back 22 years and challenged the president to release his returns, saying, “What are you hiding?”

Trump said he closed his former account in China and claimed his accountants told him he “prepaid tens of millions of dollars” in taxes. However, as he has for the past four years after promising to release his taxes, he declined to say when he might do so.

Trump said that when it comes to health care, he would like “to terminate” the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, even amid a pandemic, and come up “with a brand new beautiful health care,” that protects coverage for preexisting conditions. Biden said the president has been talking about making such a move for years but “he’s never come up with a plan.”

He also denounced Trump’s claim that Biden wanted to socialize medicine, creating daylight between himself and the more liberal members of his party whom he defeated in the Democratic primaries.

“He thinks he’s running against somebody else,” the former vice president said. “He’s running against Joe Biden. I beat all those other people because I disagreed with them.”