Cougars crush Crest

LOST SPRINGS — Crest High’s 2019 season ending came to a disappointing end Friday.

Host Centre High took control early of their Kansas Eight Man-II playoff contest, rolling to a 46-0 victory.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Lancers (6-4), who now look toward returning a strong nucleus in 2020.

Zach Beckmon’s high school career ended with a team-leading 29 rushing yards on seven carries. Freshman Stetson Setter tossed for 60 yards through the air. Tyson Hermreck had 60 yards receiving on two catches.

Setter and Cody Nolan were Crest’s leading tacklers.

No.1 LSU travels to Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama and LSU are ready for another 1 versus 2 November get-together.

It took eighåt years, seismic offensive shifts and two Heisman Trophy-contending quarterbacks, but they’re back for another massive meeting between the nation’s two top-ranked teams in the AP poll.

No. 1 LSU (8-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 2 CFP) meets No. 2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0, No. 3 CFP) Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, just like the so-called Game of the Century in 2011. Well, not just like it since those comparatively plodding offenses never reached the end zone and now the Tigers and Crimson Tide have two of the nation’s best .

“It’s very exciting, 1 vs. 2, it’s the best of the best,” Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy said. “Everybody wants to play their best game because it’s 1 vs. 2. You want to go out there and show that you’re the best. So there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of anxiety, just ready to go out and play.”

The big question leading up to the game is the status of Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his surgically repaired right ankle. Coach Nick Saban has said that will be “a game-time decision,” but Tagovailoa has been practicing and ‘Bama remains a 5-1/2-point favorite.

If he’s healthy, it has the makings of an epic quarterback showdown: Tagovailoa and LSU’s Joe Burrow rank among the top three nationally in completion percentage and passing efficiency. Burrow is second in passing yards per game and Tagovailoa is seventh.

The offenses bear scant resemblance to those in the 2011 field goal festival, won 9-6 by LSU in overtime. Alabama won the rematch 21-0 in the national championship game and hasn’t lost to its SEC West rival since then — an eight-game win streak.

Both teams again have their sights set on SEC championships and playoff berths. LSU has polished its resume with three wins over Top 10 teams, and perhaps could overcome a loss in Tuscaloosa or the SEC championship game. Alabama hasn’t faced anybody currently ranked, and might not have that luxury.

“We went on the road and (played) a really good Texas team, played Florida, Auburn,” Burrow said. “So we’ve been challenged, and I think that’s going to help us a lot this week, facing the adversity we’ve had this year … We have a really mature team.”

Some other things to know heading into the LSU-Alabama showdown:

TUA TALK

Saban has been cautious, or maybe just coy, in public comments about Tagovailoa’s status. The 2018 Heisman Trophy runner-up has missed the past six-plus quarters since getting injured against Tennessee and had a surgical procedure on his right ankle.

Mac Jones took his place.

“Tua’s worked hard to try to get back where he has an opportunity to play,” Saban said Wednesday night. “He’s been able to practice some. We still don’t know what his status for the game is going to be. We’ll make it when the game comes. We don’t know what kind of setbacks he’s going to have and how he’s going to continue to progress. So, there’s nothing else I can really say about it.”

COACH TALK

LSU is “extremely explosive on offense, still play really good on defense. It’s going to come down to the same old things — playing with discipline, blocking, tackling, basic fundamentals, not turning the ball over, explosive plays and people have to maintain their poise so they can do that for 60 minutes in the game.” — Alabama’s Nick Saban.

 

SHOOTOUT?

LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton doesn’t buy into talk that this will be a shootout.

“I mean, that’s crazy, because I think we’ve both got pretty good defenses,” Fulton said. “I know it won’t be that high for sure, but I’m not really looking into the media about that.”

 

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT

 

President Trump is visiting his third sporting event in recent weeks, having attended Game 5 of the World Series and an Ultimate Fighting Championship match in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The president’s decision to attend Alabama-LSU, Tide receiver Henry Ruggs III said “shows the magnitude of the type of game that this could be.”

Added Burrow: “Regardless of your political views, that’s pretty cool, having the president at the game.”

 

REMEMBER THE RUNNERS

Alabama’s Najee Harris and LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire are still threats, even if they’ve been overshadowed by the quarterbacks and wide receivers. Edwards-Heilaire has run for 683 yards and eight touchdowns while Harris has gained 642 yards with five scores. Both are also receiving threats out of the backfield.

Bowlus show promises thrills, fun

Cirque Mechanics 42FT will bring a menagerie of mechanical marvels to the Bowlus Fine Arts Center stage at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The unique show brings a cadre of circus performers within a 42-foot ring full of thrills, laughs and excitement, including a galloping mechanical metal horse, and a rotating tent frame for strongmen, acrobats and aeriealists.

Tickets for Cirque Mechanics are available online at bowluscenter.org.

‘Strong culprit’ ID’d in vaping illnesses

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials announced a breakthrough Friday into the cause of a mysterious outbreak of vaping illnesses, reporting they have a “very strong culprit.”

The same chemical compound was found in fluid taken from the lungs of 29 patients across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The compound — vitamin E acetate — was previously found in liquid from electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices used by many of those who got sick.

This is the first time they’ve found a common suspect in the damaged lungs of patients, officials said.

“We are in a better place in terms of having one very strong culprit,” said the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat.

But agency officials cautioned they cannot rule out all other toxic substances, and it may take animal studies to clearly show vitamin E acetate causes the lung damage that’s been seen.

More than 2,000 Americans who vape have gotten sick since March, many of them teens and young adults, and at least 40 people have died. The bulk of the cases occurred in August and September but new cases are still being reported.

Vitamin E acetate has only recently been used as a thickener in vaping fluid, particularly in black market vape cartridges. While vitamin E is safe as a vitamin pill or to use on the skin, inhaling oily droplets of it can be harmful. It’s sticky and stays in the lungs — the CDC’s Dr. Jim Pirkle likened it to honey.

Many who got sick said they had vaped liquids that contain THC, the high-inducing part of marijuana, with many saying they got them from friends or bought them on the black market.

E-cigarettes and other vaping devices heat a liquid into an inhalable vapor. For years, most products contained nicotine, but THC vaping has been growing more common.

Symptoms of the vaping illness include trouble breathing, chest pain, fatigue and vomiting. Imaging tests show lung injuries and doctors can’t find infections or other causes.

About two months ago, New York drew attention to vitamin E acetate when the state’s public health lab discovered it in samples of vaping products from sick patients. In some instances, it made up more than half of the liquid in the cartridges.

The chemical has shown up in tests in other labs, too, including a U.S. Food and Drug Administration lab in Cincinnati that found vitamin E acetate in half of the more than 400 THC samples.

For the latest test, the CDC used fluid extracted from the lungs of 29 patients in 10 states, including two who died. Lab workers looked for a range of substances that had been found in various vaping devices, including nicotine, THC and other marijuana components, plant oils, mineral oil and cutting agents used on the black market.

It was an exhaustive list of more than 1,000, said Pirkle, who oversees agency’s chemical analysis labs.

The one substance that came up in all 29 was vitamin E acetate.

“To me what’s important here is both what they found, and what they didn’t find” said Scott Becker, head of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. “This was the only thing they found.”

Pirkle said animal testing is now a priority and might produce results within a year.

“We really need the animal study to nail down cause and effect,” he said.

Prehistoric historian

Paleontologist Evan Jevnikar delights Lincoln Elementary School fourth-graders Friday with an interactive description of dinosaurs. Jevnikar, a University of Kansas graduate now attending North Carolina State University as a master’s student, spoke about the different traits dinosaurs used to survive. This year is the fourth consecutive year Jevnikar has paid a visit to Lincoln. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Former BOE member dies

DEERFIELD, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have identified the victims of a western Kansas fire as a former Kansas State Board of Education member and her husband.

The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office says the fire started early Tuesday in the garage of a home near the small Kearny County town of Lakin. It killed Jim and Reta Dale, who were both 84 years old. Two others escaped without serious injuries. The cause of the fire was classified as undetermined. 

Vendor takes blame for unsual text

If you woke up to a weird text that seemed totally out of place, you aren’t alone. A mysterious wave of missives swept America’s phones overnight, delivering confusing messages from friends, family and the occasional ex.

Friends who hadn’t talked to each other in months were jolted into chatting. Others briefly panicked.

A telecom vendor called Syniverse said a server failed on Feb. 14, and nearly messages from multiple carriers didn’t go through. When that server was reactivated Thursday, those messages got sent.

Syniverse initially estimated about 170,000 messages, but the company now says it’s higher, without saying how many. Syniverse said it is reviewing internal procedures so this doesn’t happen again. Syniverse typically deletes messages that don’t go through.

The sudden release of messages sometimes had a dramatic effect.

Letter to the editor

Dear editor,

The past several years, the Iola Kiwanis Club has organized the bell ringing for the Salvation Army and the Iola Walmart has been gracious in allowing us to do this event at their location.

We are reaching out to our community for support. Just giving one hour of your time can make a large impact on the success of this worthwhile cause, supporting our neighbors in the Allen County area in their time of need.

Several Iola High School organizations and Allen County 4-H clubs have helped us in this effort in the past and continue to do so.

If you would like to give an hour to ring the bell for the Salvation Army, please contact the Iola Kiwanis Club at kiwanisiola@gmail.com.

We would be happy to work with you on arranging a time this holiday season.

This year’s schedule includes the first three Saturdays and Sundays of December.

Regards,

Lonnie Larson,

Kiwanis Club of Iola

A look back in time

30 Years Ago

November 1989

The sales tax in Iola will increase half a cent to 5.75 percent on Jan. l, voters decided Tuesday. The additional city tax revenue will be used to maintain and improve the city’s streets and highways. The county half-cent sales tax increase was defeated by more than two-to-one.

*****

“Kids care about little guys and gals.” That’s the title that fifth-graders in Betty McCammon’s class at Lincoln Elementary School came up with for a project they started Wednesday. The 22 fifth-graders will spend eight half-hour sessions after school this month tutoring first- and second-graders in reading skills.

*****

Allen County Hospital is one of 180 hospitals nationally with fewer than 100 beds to receive a $100,000 Health Care Financing Administration Rural Health Care Transition grant to be paid over a two-year period to help expand its older adult services through the “Best Years” program. Jacki Chase, R.N., director of the ACH wellness program, and Nancy Maier, R.N., administrator of home health at the hospital, prepared the application with the assistance of the Research Development Group.

*****

An auction Sunday marked the last day of business at Fritz Auto Supply on the west side of the square. The store, owned by the Womacks — first Fritz and then his son, John — had been at the same location for 45 years.

Iolan warns of scam

Iolan Renee Cooper called Thursday afternoon to warn locals that it appears scam artists are at work.

Cooper said she has been called twice in the last month asking for large sums of money in return for even larger sums by Publisher’s Clearing House.

In Cooper’s case, she was to mail a check for $8,000 in return for $4.5 million. 

When Cooper contacted the business, they informed her “they never call anyone to notify them of possible winnings.”