Tuesday was <a href="https://nationalvoterregistrationday.org/" target="_blank">National Voter Registration Day</a> — an election-year effort since 2012 to encourage all of us to vote.

Ironically, the idea of voter registration started with the opposite 
idea in mind: Creation of a system to deny voting to certain people, 
such as recent immigrants, Blacks and even those just deemed low-income.

The registration system — actually “systems,” since each state 
controls how its voters register — also has been used to spur 
participation: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 voided a number of Southern
 states’ Jim Crow discriminatory practices, such as requiring 
prospective Black voters to state exactly, “How many bubbles are there 
in a bar of soap?” or to name obscure federal office holders.

Mail-in and “motor-voter” provisions made it easier to register, or 
extensions of the time period to qualify overwhelmed occasional attempts
 to exclude groups of poorer working people who often were not at home 
when registrars visited.

In 1993, President Clinton signed the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/about-national-voter-registration-act" target="_blank">National Voter Registration Act</a>,
 which mandated that states allow citizens to register to vote by mail, 
at motor vehicle/licensing branches or local public offices. More than 9
 million new voters registered once the act took effect in 1995, 
according to Alexander Keyssar’s in “The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States,” published in 2000.

If you need information on where to register for the upcoming elections on Nov. 3, <a href="http://www.NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org" target="_blank">www.NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org</a>
 provides a list of events and resources nationwide and online that can 
help. The organization says nearly 3 million Americans in the last eight
 years have used the day to register and it expects to exceed the record
 participation of 2018, when more than 800,000 signed up on National 
Voter Registration Day.

Voting and being able to register to vote seem obvious extensions of 
First Amendment rights. Of what ultimate good are the rights to freely 
think, speak and write, gather and seek change in our government if we 
are unable to participate in the actual decision about the people who 
carry out its policies?

Still, as my colleague Lata Nott <a href="https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/2020/02/27/the-first-amendment-protects-activities-adjacent-to-voting-but-stops-short-of-voting-itself/" target="_blank">observed in a First Five column</a>
 in February, “The First Amendment protects so many activities that are 
adjacent to voting — spending money to influence voters, expressing 
political views near polling stations, signing petitions to put 
initiatives on a ballot — but stops short of voting itself.”

At the time the column was written, courts were deep into battles 
over gerrymandered districts aimed at splitting certain voter groups 
into differing districts to dilute those groups’ influence. It also was 
clear that voter registration would be another contentious issue during a
 primary season extended, due to COVID-19 delays and measures, well into
 summer. Now, mail-in voting is the subject of presidential attacks, as 
largely Republican state leaders defend limits on certain registration 
efforts seen as more favorable to likely Democratic voters.

To the disappointment of some, the U.S. Supreme Court has not risen 
as the champion of registration and voter rights, either directly under 
the First Amendment or through the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of due process for all. (The 15th Amendment does make it clear that racial discrimination in registration and voting is illegal.)

The high court generally uses a doctrine called “strict scrutiny” in 
deciding most election-related amendment cases such as restrictions on 
campaign finance and even the wearing of election-related T-shirts in 
polling places. But it has used a lesser standard in direct registration
 and voting cases, allowing authorities to offer so-called “compelling 
public interest” arguments — sometimes accepting unsupported claims of 
potential registration and/or voter fraud — in deferring to those 
officials on restrictive state laws.

Writing on the Pacific Standard blog, author Noah Berlatsky notes “in 2013, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/qa-voting-rights-five-years-after-supreme-courts-shelby-county-decision" target="_blank">invalidated key sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965</a>,
 making it possible for Southern states to pass restrictive voter ID 
laws and erect other barriers … In 2016, Wisconsin’s strict voter ID law
 prevented many poor and marginalized people from voting … (and) just 
before 2018 mid-terms, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/supreme-court-voting-rights-735696/" target="_blank">upheld a law in North Dakota</a>
 that required voters to provide a residential street address — 
effectively disenfranchising many Native American voters on 
reservations, who often don’t have street addresses.”

Still, efforts like National Voter Registration Day are buttressed by
 dozens of national state and local “get-out-the-vote” campaigns, 
ranging from ongoing work by the League of Women Voters and the NAACP to
 more partisan efforts by both major parties to independent groups such 
as Rock the Vote and ServiceVote Challenge. Most are available online.

The inherent values of voting and being registered to vote have been hailed since the nation’s early days. Alexis de Tocqueville’s “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/815/815-h/815-h.htm" target="_blank">Democracy in America</a>,” first
 published in 1835, had great hopes for American democracy to succeed, 
based on a principle of constitutionally protected independent thinking 
and actions and what he called “the reconciliation of personal interests
 and the public good.”

Starting with our First Amendment freedoms, the nation’s founders 
devised a system on the free exchange of views to create an informed 
body of citizens, who then could exercise self-governance through the 
process of elections.

Registering to vote is the first step in that reconciliation of 
measuring our individual views and needs against the overall needs of 
our society. Voting on Nov. 3 is the next step — the ultimate expression
 of our First Amendment right “of the people peaceably to assemble, and 
to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

So don’t let Tocqueville — or your fellow citizens and democracy — down. Register. Vote.

Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the
 Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom
 Forum Institute. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:gpolicinski@freedomforum.org" target="_blank">gpolicinski@freedomforum.org</a>, or follow him on Twitter at&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/@genefac" target="_blank">@genefac</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1593729871227.png" alt="Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. " />
 <figcaption>Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. </figcaption>
 </figure>Tuesday was <a href="https://nationalvoterregistrationday.org/" target="_blank">National Voter Registration Day</a> — an election-year effort since 2012 to encourage all of us to vote.Ironically, the idea of voter registration started with the opposite 
idea in mind: Creation of a system to deny voting to certain people, 
such as recent immigrants, Blacks and even those just deemed low-income.The registration system — actually “systems,” since each state 
controls how its voters register — also has been used to spur 
participation: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 voided a number of Southern
 states’ Jim Crow discriminatory practices, such as requiring 
prospective Black voters to state exactly, “How many bubbles are there 
in a bar of soap?” or to name obscure federal office holders.Mail-in and “motor-voter” provisions made it easier to register, or 
extensions of the time period to qualify overwhelmed occasional attempts
 to exclude groups of poorer working people who often were not at home 
when registrars visited.In 1993, President Clinton signed the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/about-national-voter-registration-act" target="_blank">National Voter Registration Act</a>,
 which mandated that states allow citizens to register to vote by mail, 
at motor vehicle/licensing branches or local public offices. More than 9
 million new voters registered once the act took effect in 1995, 
according to Alexander Keyssar’s in “The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States,” published in 2000.If you need information on where to register for the upcoming elections on Nov. 3, <a href="http://www.NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org" target="_blank">www.NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org</a>
 provides a list of events and resources nationwide and online that can 
help. The organization says nearly 3 million Americans in the last eight
 years have used the day to register and it expects to exceed the record
 participation of 2018, when more than 800,000 signed up on National 
Voter Registration Day.Voting and being able to register to vote seem obvious extensions of 
First Amendment rights. Of what ultimate good are the rights to freely 
think, speak and write, gather and seek change in our government if we 
are unable to participate in the actual decision about the people who 
carry out its policies?Still, as my colleague Lata Nott <a href="https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/2020/02/27/the-first-amendment-protects-activities-adjacent-to-voting-but-stops-short-of-voting-itself/" target="_blank">observed in a First Five column</a>
 in February, “The First Amendment protects so many activities that are 
adjacent to voting — spending money to influence voters, expressing 
political views near polling stations, signing petitions to put 
initiatives on a ballot — but stops short of voting itself.”At the time the column was written, courts were deep into battles 
over gerrymandered districts aimed at splitting certain voter groups 
into differing districts to dilute those groups’ influence. It also was 
clear that voter registration would be another contentious issue during a
 primary season extended, due to COVID-19 delays and measures, well into
 summer. Now, mail-in voting is the subject of presidential attacks, as 
largely Republican state leaders defend limits on certain registration 
efforts seen as more favorable to likely Democratic voters.To the disappointment of some, the U.S. Supreme Court has not risen 
as the champion of registration and voter rights, either directly under 
the First Amendment or through the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of due process for all. (The 15th Amendment does make it clear that racial discrimination in registration and voting is illegal.)The high court generally uses a doctrine called “strict scrutiny” in 
deciding most election-related amendment cases such as restrictions on 
campaign finance and even the wearing of election-related T-shirts in 
polling places. But it has used a lesser standard in direct registration
 and voting cases, allowing authorities to offer so-called “compelling 
public interest” arguments — sometimes accepting unsupported claims of 
potential registration and/or voter fraud — in deferring to those 
officials on restrictive state laws.Writing on the Pacific Standard blog, author Noah Berlatsky notes “in 2013, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/qa-voting-rights-five-years-after-supreme-courts-shelby-county-decision" target="_blank">invalidated key sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965</a>,
 making it possible for Southern states to pass restrictive voter ID 
laws and erect other barriers … In 2016, Wisconsin’s strict voter ID law
 prevented many poor and marginalized people from voting … (and) just 
before 2018 mid-terms, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/supreme-court-voting-rights-735696/" target="_blank">upheld a law in North Dakota</a>
 that required voters to provide a residential street address — 
effectively disenfranchising many Native American voters on 
reservations, who often don’t have street addresses.”Still, efforts like National Voter Registration Day are buttressed by
 dozens of national state and local “get-out-the-vote” campaigns, 
ranging from ongoing work by the League of Women Voters and the NAACP to
 more partisan efforts by both major parties to independent groups such 
as Rock the Vote and ServiceVote Challenge. Most are available online.The inherent values of voting and being registered to vote have been hailed since the nation’s early days. Alexis de Tocqueville’s “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/815/815-h/815-h.htm" target="_blank">Democracy in America</a>,” first
 published in 1835, had great hopes for American democracy to succeed, 
based on a principle of constitutionally protected independent thinking 
and actions and what he called “the reconciliation of personal interests
 and the public good.”Starting with our First Amendment freedoms, the nation’s founders 
devised a system on the free exchange of views to create an informed 
body of citizens, who then could exercise self-governance through the 
process of elections.Registering to vote is the first step in that reconciliation of 
measuring our individual views and needs against the overall needs of 
our society. Voting on Nov. 3 is the next step — the ultimate expression
 of our First Amendment right “of the people peaceably to assemble, and 
to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”So don’t let Tocqueville — or your fellow citizens and democracy — down. Register. Vote.Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the
 Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom
 Forum Institute. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:gpolicinski@freedomforum.org" target="_blank">gpolicinski@freedomforum.org</a>, or follow him on Twitter at&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/@genefac" target="_blank">@genefac</a>.

FIRST FIVE: Speak, assemble, petition — and register to vote

Fall is in the air and that is exciting. For many families it means the start of a new school year with a schedule of extra-curricular activities that could make your head spin. For others it is a time of slowing down, and preparing your home and garden for cooler weather. For the Cottonwood Extension District, fall is a time when educational programs abound.&nbsp;

Are you a life-long learner? Moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas are never too old to learn something new. I don’t mean you have to enroll in a formal class, complete with a syllabus and a final exam. I am talking about the many educational programs offered by the Cottonwood Extension District. Whether you are a farmer interested in controlling honey locust trees in your pastures, or you have youngsters who are ready to join the 4-H and youth program, Extension has something for everyone. One program I am excited to share in the month ahead is about fermented foods. (Next weeks’ column will provide all of the details) &nbsp;

The year 2020 has created challenges for many. In Extension, our Administrative team has encouraged us to turn these challenges into opportunities. When our face-to-face meetings were restricted for a few months, our use of technology kicked into high gear. While Zoom meetings and webinars became the norm, our Cottonwood Extension Educators found ways to stay connected.

And just a reminder that our offices in both Great Bend and Hays are open and ready to serve you. We do ask that you wear a mask when entering our offices. If your questions can be answered through an e-mail or phone call we encourage that.

I would also like to encourage you to check out our Cottonwood website and like our Facebook page. Then you will see first hand the many learning opportunities that are highlighted. We are currently working on our fall quarterly on-line newsletter which will be posted to the web site in early October. I hope you will make time in your schedule to learn something new!&nbsp;

Donna Krug is the District Director and Family &amp; Consumer Science Agent in the Cottonwood Extension District. You may reach her at: (620)793-1910 or <a href="mailto:dkrug@ksu.edu">dkrug@ksu.edu</a>&nbsp; K-State Research &amp; Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573141404420.png" alt="Donna Krug is the District Director and Family &amp; Consumer Science Agent in the Cottonwood Extension District. " />
 <figcaption>Donna Krug is the District Director and Family &amp; Consumer Science Agent in the Cottonwood Extension District. </figcaption>
 </figure>Fall is in the air and that is exciting. For many families it means the start of a new school year with a schedule of extra-curricular activities that could make your head spin. For others it is a time of slowing down, and preparing your home and garden for cooler weather. For the Cottonwood Extension District, fall is a time when educational programs abound.&nbsp;Are you a life-long learner? Moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas are never too old to learn something new. I don’t mean you have to enroll in a formal class, complete with a syllabus and a final exam. I am talking about the many educational programs offered by the Cottonwood Extension District. Whether you are a farmer interested in controlling honey locust trees in your pastures, or you have youngsters who are ready to join the 4-H and youth program, Extension has something for everyone. One program I am excited to share in the month ahead is about fermented foods. (Next weeks’ column will provide all of the details) &nbsp;The year 2020 has created challenges for many. In Extension, our Administrative team has encouraged us to turn these challenges into opportunities. When our face-to-face meetings were restricted for a few months, our use of technology kicked into high gear. While Zoom meetings and webinars became the norm, our Cottonwood Extension Educators found ways to stay connected.And just a reminder that our offices in both Great Bend and Hays are open and ready to serve you. We do ask that you wear a mask when entering our offices. If your questions can be answered through an e-mail or phone call we encourage that.I would also like to encourage you to check out our Cottonwood website and like our Facebook page. Then you will see first hand the many learning opportunities that are highlighted. We are currently working on our fall quarterly on-line newsletter which will be posted to the web site in early October. I hope you will make time in your schedule to learn something new!&nbsp;Donna Krug is the District Director and Family &amp; Consumer Science Agent in the Cottonwood Extension District. You may reach her at: (620)793-1910 or <a href="mailto:dkrug@ksu.edu">dkrug@ksu.edu</a>&nbsp; K-State Research &amp; Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.&nbsp;

KRUG: Be a lifelong learner

By GLENN BRUNKOW Pottawatomie County farmer and rancher

We are clearly in the middle of fall and that means harvest. Harvest is one of the most thrilling, rewarding, happiest time of the year. Of course, that is when things go right. It can also be the most maddening, frustrating, disappointing times of the year when they do not. If you are in agriculture and you do not look forward to this time of the year you might be in the wrong business. Fall is our Super Bowl.

Good or bad, harvest is all about the rush, time crunch and stress. We are always in a hurry, and it must be done yesterday. I know we do not have any free time during this time of the year, but I want you to take just a moment. Think about what you are a part of. In just a few short weeks we will harvest enough food to feed most of the world. You are part of a well-oiled machine that feeds more people, with fewer resources and less of an impact to our environment than any where else in this world.

As a Kansas Farmer you utilize the best technology along with the latest research and techniques to produce more grain from a single acre than our grandfathers could have ever imagined 50 years ago. I am pretty sure we are all on the run so much that we don’t ever take a minute to just sit back and think about what we are doing, much less do we share what amazing work we are doing.

Look out across those acres of the best hybrid technology in your fields be it corn or soybeans. How many bushels would those same acres have produced 20 years ago or even 10. What farming methods are you using? It is stunning to think about how far our business has come in just a few short years, and I guarantee you that we will be stunned again 10 years from now. We are part of one of the most innovative, progressive industries, and we have to be.

In the next 50 years we must find a way to produce more food than we have ever produced. You know what — I have no doubt we will do it. Those of us in agriculture have always risen to the challenge and we always will. No one is more productive than the American farmer, we are without a doubt the best in the business. We do not often acknowledge it because that is the kind of people we are. We have our nose the grindstone, do our job and wake up the next day and do it all over again.

I challenge you to take a moment and think about the work we all do, go ahead, and stick your chest out, you deserve it. While you are at it, tell others about it. Take pride in it. The last few months have proven just how important agriculture is. After the moment is over, get back to work, you have a lot to get done.

"Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1576508626397.png" alt="Glenn Brunkow" />
 <figcaption>Glenn Brunkow</figcaption>
 </figure>By GLENN BRUNKOW Pottawatomie County farmer and rancher We are clearly in the middle of fall and that means harvest. Harvest is one of the most thrilling, rewarding, happiest time of the year. Of course, that is when things go right. It can also be the most maddening, frustrating, disappointing times of the year when they do not. If you are in agriculture and you do not look forward to this time of the year you might be in the wrong business. Fall is our Super Bowl.Good or bad, harvest is all about the rush, time crunch and stress. We are always in a hurry, and it must be done yesterday. I know we do not have any free time during this time of the year, but I want you to take just a moment. Think about what you are a part of. In just a few short weeks we will harvest enough food to feed most of the world. You are part of a well-oiled machine that feeds more people, with fewer resources and less of an impact to our environment than any where else in this world.As a Kansas Farmer you utilize the best technology along with the latest research and techniques to produce more grain from a single acre than our grandfathers could have ever imagined 50 years ago. I am pretty sure we are all on the run so much that we don’t ever take a minute to just sit back and think about what we are doing, much less do we share what amazing work we are doing.Look out across those acres of the best hybrid technology in your fields be it corn or soybeans. How many bushels would those same acres have produced 20 years ago or even 10. What farming methods are you using? It is stunning to think about how far our business has come in just a few short years, and I guarantee you that we will be stunned again 10 years from now. We are part of one of the most innovative, progressive industries, and we have to be.In the next 50 years we must find a way to produce more food than we have ever produced. You know what — I have no doubt we will do it. Those of us in agriculture have always risen to the challenge and we always will. No one is more productive than the American farmer, we are without a doubt the best in the business. We do not often acknowledge it because that is the kind of people we are. We have our nose the grindstone, do our job and wake up the next day and do it all over again.I challenge you to take a moment and think about the work we all do, go ahead, and stick your chest out, you deserve it. While you are at it, tell others about it. Take pride in it. The last few months have proven just how important agriculture is. After the moment is over, get back to work, you have a lot to get done."Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.

Kansas Farm Bureau Insight: Taking pride in agriculture

This is a modified version of a letter I sent to a school board member expressing concerns about how an outbreak of coronavirus has been handled at our son’s elementary school. There were two confirmed cases in his class. Sunday morning, we found out he was the third positive case in the class. Incidentally as of this writing, we have yet to be informed from the school or teacher that there is a third confirmed case. I suspect now that the class has gone to online learning, parents will not know about this third case, or the others that I am afraid are inevitable. It is this concern that forces me to write.

Wednesday night, we received a call from a health official with the school district informing us of the first positive case. Expecting to hear that the class would be canceled immediately, we were surprised to learn that, upon consultation with the Ellis County Health department, the determination was made that there were not close enough contacts to justify closing the classroom. We went back and looked at the protocols the school had distributed before school started and concluded this action was not consistent with those protocols. We decided to hold our son out of school on Thursday, even though we called the school principal, nurse and teacher and received mostly nervous assurance and were told that if our son was not symptomatic he should return to school. On Thursday, our son developed a cough, head congestion, a slight fever and a sore throat. He went to the doctor Friday morning and he was tested for COVID. We found out Sunday morning the test was positive. 

Saturday afternoon, we were told the decision had been made to send the class to remote learning for two weeks, which we were happy about, but wished that decision had been made two days earlier. Let me be clear, we do not blame the school for our son getting COVID. We knew this was a possibility when we sent him back to school in August. We thought the school had a good plan and were reassured by the mask wearing and some of the other protocols that were put in place. Unfortunately, they were not all followed.

Our concerns are the decision to continue class, and most specifically the decision to rely on the Ellis County Health Department in making this decision, and the communication and transparency, or lack thereof from the school and district. The reason I am concerned with the school’s reliance on the county is that instead of giving health advice, the Ellis County Public Health director has appeared at public meetings of both the county and city commissions and said that while masks help, a mandate would not work and should not be implemented because people do not follow direction when they are dictated to. This is not medical advice. 

Given how flippant and dismissive Ellis County commissioners have been about mask mandates, shutdown orders, testing and all other related issues, it is not surprising county staff would likewise downplay the virus and the response thereto. To be clear, I know USD 489 cannot control who the county commissioners or the county health officer is or how they perform their duties. I do think the district can be more proactive and listen to others when it has become clear Ellis County has no desire to act transparently or with a clear intent to protect the public. 

For instance, I have tracked testing and results numbers through the state’s website that publishes information counties report. Here are the statistics dating back to August:

Week of 8/9: 13 positive tests; 3.16% positive rate; 412 total tests

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 8/16: 86 positive tests; 13.83% positive rate; 622 total tests

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 8/23: 196 positive tests; 28.12% positive rate; 697 total tests

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 8/30: 195 positive tests; 17.15% positive rate; 1,137 total tests

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 9/6:&nbsp;&nbsp; 72 positive tests, 12.44% positive rate; 579 total tests

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 9/13: 55 positive tests, 22.18%; 248 total tests.

When you read the county’s much-touted pandemic plan you learn that transitioning to Phase 1 requires an upward trajectory of documented cases over a 14-day period. That certainly occurred between Aug. 9 and Aug. 23. The threshold for entering Phase 2, where a mask mandate would be recommended, is an upward trajectory of documented cases for at least 14 days after entering Phase 1. Ellis County was two cases away from having an upward trajectory on August 30, and then there was a drastic decrease in the number of positives and tests for the week of 9/6 and then another approximately 50 percent reduction in tests last week. 

Is the number of tests that are conducted based on the percentage rate of positive tests, understanding that more testing does indeed reveal more positive cases? Was testing stopped after the 1,137th test in the week of 8/30 so that there would not be a third straight week of upward trajectory of positive results or were positives for that week reported in the following week? Is there any public health explanation for having 1,100 tests, 550 tests, and then 250 tests in consecutive weeks? These are questions that I think should be answered.

Again, I realize the school district is a separate entity from the county and its health department. But given how the county has consistently downplayed the virus, it concerned us the district and its schools are relying on the county. Out of parents of schoolchildren alone I’m sure a panel of knowledgeable and well-intentioned health professionals can be assembled across the district to study this matter and make recommendations. If by law the district must consult with the county, then at least I would suggest that consultation be taken “with a grain of salt."

My other concern is communication and transparency. I understand HIPAA, but that shouldn’t be used to allow people to get hurt, and it has exceptions for public health emergencies. We were “told," after the consultation between the school and the county that our child did not have sufficient contacts with the first positive case to require him to quarantine. After speaking with our son, we concluded that information was incorrect and we decided to keep him home from school, against the advice of the “experts."

I fear the response to the virus is not being managed in order to keep people safe; it is being managed to protect elected officials and to keep people from complaining. That is not the job of the Ellis County Health Department or USD 489. Parents and community members should be given information necessary to protect themselves and their families. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>This is a modified version of a letter I sent to a school board member expressing concerns about how an outbreak of coronavirus has been handled at our son’s elementary school. There were two confirmed cases in his class. Sunday morning, we found out he was the third positive case in the class. Incidentally as of this writing, we have yet to be informed from the school or teacher that there is a third confirmed case. I suspect now that the class has gone to online learning, parents will not know about this third case, or the others that I am afraid are inevitable. It is this concern that forces me to write.Wednesday night, we received a call from a health official with the school district informing us of the first positive case. Expecting to hear that the class would be canceled immediately, we were surprised to learn that, upon consultation with the Ellis County Health department, the determination was made that there were not close enough contacts to justify closing the classroom. We went back and looked at the protocols the school had distributed before school started and concluded this action was not consistent with those protocols. We decided to hold our son out of school on Thursday, even though we called the school principal, nurse and teacher and received mostly nervous assurance and were told that if our son was not symptomatic he should return to school. On Thursday, our son developed a cough, head congestion, a slight fever and a sore throat. He went to the doctor Friday morning and he was tested for COVID. We found out Sunday morning the test was positive. Saturday afternoon, we were told the decision had been made to send the class to remote learning for two weeks, which we were happy about, but wished that decision had been made two days earlier. Let me be clear, we do not blame the school for our son getting COVID. We knew this was a possibility when we sent him back to school in August. We thought the school had a good plan and were reassured by the mask wearing and some of the other protocols that were put in place. Unfortunately, they were not all followed.Our concerns are the decision to continue class, and most specifically the decision to rely on the Ellis County Health Department in making this decision, and the communication and transparency, or lack thereof from the school and district. The reason I am concerned with the school’s reliance on the county is that instead of giving health advice, the Ellis County Public Health director has appeared at public meetings of both the county and city commissions and said that while masks help, a mandate would not work and should not be implemented because people do not follow direction when they are dictated to. This is not medical advice. Given how flippant and dismissive Ellis County commissioners have been about mask mandates, shutdown orders, testing and all other related issues, it is not surprising county staff would likewise downplay the virus and the response thereto. To be clear, I know USD 489 cannot control who the county commissioners or the county health officer is or how they perform their duties. I do think the district can be more proactive and listen to others when it has become clear Ellis County has no desire to act transparently or with a clear intent to protect the public. For instance, I have tracked testing and results numbers through the state’s website that publishes information counties report. Here are the statistics dating back to August:Week of 8/9: 13 positive tests; 3.16% positive rate; 412 total tests&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 8/16: 86 positive tests; 13.83% positive rate; 622 total tests&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 8/23: 196 positive tests; 28.12% positive rate; 697 total tests&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 8/30: 195 positive tests; 17.15% positive rate; 1,137 total tests&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 9/6:&nbsp;&nbsp; 72 positive tests, 12.44% positive rate; 579 total tests&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 9/13: 55 positive tests, 22.18%; 248 total tests.When you read the county’s much-touted pandemic plan you learn that transitioning to Phase 1 requires an upward trajectory of documented cases over a 14-day period. That certainly occurred between Aug. 9 and Aug. 23. The threshold for entering Phase 2, where a mask mandate would be recommended, is an upward trajectory of documented cases for at least 14 days after entering Phase 1. Ellis County was two cases away from having an upward trajectory on August 30, and then there was a drastic decrease in the number of positives and tests for the week of 9/6 and then another approximately 50 percent reduction in tests last week. Is the number of tests that are conducted based on the percentage rate of positive tests, understanding that more testing does indeed reveal more positive cases? Was testing stopped after the 1,137th test in the week of 8/30 so that there would not be a third straight week of upward trajectory of positive results or were positives for that week reported in the following week? Is there any public health explanation for having 1,100 tests, 550 tests, and then 250 tests in consecutive weeks? These are questions that I think should be answered.Again, I realize the school district is a separate entity from the county and its health department. But given how the county has consistently downplayed the virus, it concerned us the district and its schools are relying on the county. Out of parents of schoolchildren alone I’m sure a panel of knowledgeable and well-intentioned health professionals can be assembled across the district to study this matter and make recommendations. If by law the district must consult with the county, then at least I would suggest that consultation be taken “with a grain of salt."My other concern is communication and transparency. I understand HIPAA, but that shouldn’t be used to allow people to get hurt, and it has exceptions for public health emergencies. We were “told," after the consultation between the school and the county that our child did not have sufficient contacts with the first positive case to require him to quarantine. After speaking with our son, we concluded that information was incorrect and we decided to keep him home from school, against the advice of the “experts."I fear the response to the virus is not being managed in order to keep people safe; it is being managed to protect elected officials and to keep people from complaining. That is not the job of the Ellis County Health Department or USD 489. Parents and community members should be given information necessary to protect themselves and their families. Todd Powell, Hays

LETTER: Virus must be managed to protect health, not officials

In the next few weeks, we’re going to see the start of dramatic expansion of access to the Internet from border to border in Kansas.

And surprisingly -- or disappointingly -- it is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and about $1 billion in federal funds from which more than $100 million will be spent by Dec. 30 on connectivity, getting fast and reliable Internet access to everyone in Kansas that should have taken place years ago.

Now, that’s probably not what most of us were thinking about when the pandemic struck the nation this spring. We were drawn first to the hundreds of Kansans who are dying of COVID-19, and the thousands who lost their jobs and their access to food and shelter, and the concern about how children would spend their time away from school and how parents would care for them from home while trying to maintain their&nbsp; paychecks remotely.

The first instinct was to help those Kansans. To make sure that our first-responders would be safely masked- and gloved-up to find those ill citizens, get them to health-care facilities, and to boost the supplies at those hospitals so that care-givers could save more lives.

But we also started to take a unified, statewide look at just what communications, and we’re talking Internet, services would be available to allow parents to work from home, for businesses to expand their reach, for the economy to grow so that we have the facilities to care for ill Kansans.

It quickly became apparent that increased Internet access and speed and volume were going to be keys to not only dealing with the current health problems but the economic crises that they spawned.

With issues ranging from how to educate children at schools where conventional teacher-student contact suddenly became dangerous to providing tele-health services so that rural Kansans don’t have to drive for hours to get simple check-ups or have illnesses defined and treatment started, Internet connectivity quickly became essential to every town and every suburb and even every city where crowded living conditions and tall office buildings stymie the new age of communication.

Look for millions of dollars of contracts to be made in the upcoming weeks, largely through the governor’s Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) task force which is dispersing that $1 billion-plus in federal pandemic assistance.&nbsp;

The connectivity assistance will range from subsidized Internet connections for the poor and their children to high-speed and high-volume connections that will allow rural Kansas to become part of the international economy and the intellectual marketplace to tap Kansans with technical skills that will provide high-paying and sought-after industries and jobs.

Nope, that’s not what most of us were thinking about back in the spring, when the pandemic opened. But that’s the way for Kansans to not only get health care to those who need it, to track where COVID-19 cases are being detected, but to allow Kansans to keep their jobs when crowding tech-savvy workers in offices isn’t safe anymore.

Expect, of course, that the Legislature is going to be reading those contracts, considering whether the expenditures are actually going to increase Kansas’ ability to respond to catastrophes and make the state less likely to see the spread of health dangers and prepare for whatever arises next.

Strange that a pandemic that has cost hundreds of lives and thousands of illnesses will likely see an expansion of Internet services that for many is just a frill. But it clearly isn’t a frill in this economy, and the health aspects of that communication ability is likely to be also an economic boost for the state.

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver's Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hawvernews.com/">www.hawvernews.com</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573141234707.png" alt="Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver's Capitol Report." />
 <figcaption>Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver's Capitol Report.</figcaption>
 </figure>In the next few weeks, we’re going to see the start of dramatic expansion of access to the Internet from border to border in Kansas.And surprisingly -- or disappointingly -- it is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and about $1 billion in federal funds from which more than $100 million will be spent by Dec. 30 on connectivity, getting fast and reliable Internet access to everyone in Kansas that should have taken place years ago.Now, that’s probably not what most of us were thinking about when the pandemic struck the nation this spring. We were drawn first to the hundreds of Kansans who are dying of COVID-19, and the thousands who lost their jobs and their access to food and shelter, and the concern about how children would spend their time away from school and how parents would care for them from home while trying to maintain their&nbsp; paychecks remotely.The first instinct was to help those Kansans. To make sure that our first-responders would be safely masked- and gloved-up to find those ill citizens, get them to health-care facilities, and to boost the supplies at those hospitals so that care-givers could save more lives.But we also started to take a unified, statewide look at just what communications, and we’re talking Internet, services would be available to allow parents to work from home, for businesses to expand their reach, for the economy to grow so that we have the facilities to care for ill Kansans.It quickly became apparent that increased Internet access and speed and volume were going to be keys to not only dealing with the current health problems but the economic crises that they spawned.With issues ranging from how to educate children at schools where conventional teacher-student contact suddenly became dangerous to providing tele-health services so that rural Kansans don’t have to drive for hours to get simple check-ups or have illnesses defined and treatment started, Internet connectivity quickly became essential to every town and every suburb and even every city where crowded living conditions and tall office buildings stymie the new age of communication.Look for millions of dollars of contracts to be made in the upcoming weeks, largely through the governor’s Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) task force which is dispersing that $1 billion-plus in federal pandemic assistance.&nbsp;The connectivity assistance will range from subsidized Internet connections for the poor and their children to high-speed and high-volume connections that will allow rural Kansas to become part of the international economy and the intellectual marketplace to tap Kansans with technical skills that will provide high-paying and sought-after industries and jobs.Nope, that’s not what most of us were thinking about back in the spring, when the pandemic opened. But that’s the way for Kansans to not only get health care to those who need it, to track where COVID-19 cases are being detected, but to allow Kansans to keep their jobs when crowding tech-savvy workers in offices isn’t safe anymore.Expect, of course, that the Legislature is going to be reading those contracts, considering whether the expenditures are actually going to increase Kansas’ ability to respond to catastrophes and make the state less likely to see the spread of health dangers and prepare for whatever arises next.Strange that a pandemic that has cost hundreds of lives and thousands of illnesses will likely see an expansion of Internet services that for many is just a frill. But it clearly isn’t a frill in this economy, and the health aspects of that communication ability is likely to be also an economic boost for the state.Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver's Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hawvernews.com/">www.hawvernews.com</a>

HAWVER: Virus-sparked broadband expansion set to begin

Kansas crude prices rose 75 cents a barrel Friday to start the week Monday at $31.25 per barrel, nearly $4 higher than a week ago, but $20 cheaper than at the beginning of the year. Kansas prices joined a rally last week in the national markets, but both are reversing course.

By lunchtime Monday, futures contracts were down five percent. Analysts blamed the price collapse on the return to the marketplace of Libyan oil, along with fears of more COVID-19 shutdowns. It's not entirely clear when Libya could actually resume significant production, but Reuters does report a tanker on its way to a Libyan export terminal for what would be that country's first crude exports in nine months.

The Kansas Independent Oil &amp; Gas Association (KIOGA) announces another in its series of online seminars. On September 28, KIOGA will host a webinar on the basics of oil and gas leases during this period of shut-in production. The event is scheduled from 10-11 am on Monday September 28. Another Webinar, featuring Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has been rescheduled September 24. For more information and to register for either event, contact Kelly at 316-263-7297 or by E-mail:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:kelly@kioga.org">kelly@kioga.org</a>.&nbsp;

U.S. weekly crude-oil production topped ten million barrels per day for the first time in three weeks. The Energy Information Administration reports output for the week ending September 11 increased by more than 900,000 barrels per day over the week before.&nbsp;

EIA says U.S. refineries imported five million barrels of crude last week, down 416,000 barrels from the week before. Average imports over the last four weeks are down more than 20% from the same period a year ago.

The government says U.S. crude stockpiles dropped by more than four million barrels last week. At 496 million barrels, domestic inventories are about 14% above the five-year average for this time of year.

Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports four active drilling rigs in eastern Kansas, which is unchanged on the week, while the count west of Wichita was down one at six active drilling rigs. Baker Hughes reported 255 active drilling rigs across the U.S., an increase of two gas rigs, but a decline of one rig drilling for crude oil. The count in New Mexico was down three. Texas was up one.

There were six new drilling permits filed across Kansas last week, four of them east of Wichita, and two wildcat plays in Ellis County. So far this year, Kansas regulators have okayed just 304 permits for drilling at new locations, less than half the total last year at this time.

Operators completed eleven wells last week. Independent Oil &amp; Gas says that makes 644 so far this year, down from nearly 1,000 completions at this time last year.

Production is bouncing back in the second biggest crude-producing state. North Dakota regulators this week report July output topped one million barrels per day for the first time since April. Output was up more than 116,000 barrels per day over the June report. The state's operators are also meeting their anti-flaring goals, capturing more than 91% of the natural gas produced at oil wells. That's just within the new, tougher standard which kicks in next month.

The Colorado oil-and-gas industry is ramping up its opposition to proposals that would dramatically increase so-called drilling setbacks. The state is considering raising to 2,000 feet the minimum distance between well sites and homes, schools and other public facilities. The state’s two largest trade groups say the proposal is driven by politics instead of data, science and facts. According to The Denver Post, more than 180 companies sent a letter Friday to the Governor saying the rule would significantly limit where operators can drill and could undermine the industry's economic recovery. The proposal is one of several being considered as the state implements a 2019 law that mandates revamping regulations to prioritize public health, safety and the environment.&nbsp;

Weekly oil-by-rail traffic in the U.S. is up by more than 300 rail cars, but remains more than eleven percent below the totals from a year ago. The Association of American Railroads reports 10,376 tanker cars hauling petroleum or petroleum products during the week ending September 12. The running year-to-date total is down more than 12 percent year-over-year.

Gasoline demand last week dropped for the second week in a row, and reached its lowest level since mid-June. Gasoline supply levels were also lower. Triple-A says the national average pump price for a gallon of regular was just over $2.18 Thursday. That's down two cents on the week and more than 40 cents a gallon cheaper than a year ago. With a statewide average at just over $1.98, Kansas is once again among just a dozen states nationwide with average prices below two dollars. Prices were down to $1.99 a gallon in Great Bend, and as low as $1.89 in Hays. filling up a 15-gallon tank will cost you nearly seven dollars less than it did a year ago at this time.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592847975802.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN P. TRETBAR Kansas crude prices rose 75 cents a barrel Friday to start the week Monday at $31.25 per barrel, nearly $4 higher than a week ago, but $20 cheaper than at the beginning of the year. Kansas prices joined a rally last week in the national markets, but both are reversing course.By lunchtime Monday, futures contracts were down five percent. Analysts blamed the price collapse on the return to the marketplace of Libyan oil, along with fears of more COVID-19 shutdowns. It's not entirely clear when Libya could actually resume significant production, but Reuters does report a tanker on its way to a Libyan export terminal for what would be that country's first crude exports in nine months.The Kansas Independent Oil &amp; Gas Association (KIOGA) announces another in its series of online seminars. On September 28, KIOGA will host a webinar on the basics of oil and gas leases during this period of shut-in production. The event is scheduled from 10-11 am on Monday September 28. Another Webinar, featuring Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has been rescheduled September 24. For more information and to register for either event, contact Kelly at 316-263-7297 or by E-mail:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:kelly@kioga.org">kelly@kioga.org</a>.&nbsp;U.S. weekly crude-oil production topped ten million barrels per day for the first time in three weeks. The Energy Information Administration reports output for the week ending September 11 increased by more than 900,000 barrels per day over the week before.&nbsp;EIA says U.S. refineries imported five million barrels of crude last week, down 416,000 barrels from the week before. Average imports over the last four weeks are down more than 20% from the same period a year ago.The government says U.S. crude stockpiles dropped by more than four million barrels last week. At 496 million barrels, domestic inventories are about 14% above the five-year average for this time of year.Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports four active drilling rigs in eastern Kansas, which is unchanged on the week, while the count west of Wichita was down one at six active drilling rigs. Baker Hughes reported 255 active drilling rigs across the U.S., an increase of two gas rigs, but a decline of one rig drilling for crude oil. The count in New Mexico was down three. Texas was up one.There were six new drilling permits filed across Kansas last week, four of them east of Wichita, and two wildcat plays in Ellis County. So far this year, Kansas regulators have okayed just 304 permits for drilling at new locations, less than half the total last year at this time.Operators completed eleven wells last week. Independent Oil &amp; Gas says that makes 644 so far this year, down from nearly 1,000 completions at this time last year.Production is bouncing back in the second biggest crude-producing state. North Dakota regulators this week report July output topped one million barrels per day for the first time since April. Output was up more than 116,000 barrels per day over the June report. The state's operators are also meeting their anti-flaring goals, capturing more than 91% of the natural gas produced at oil wells. That's just within the new, tougher standard which kicks in next month.The Colorado oil-and-gas industry is ramping up its opposition to proposals that would dramatically increase so-called drilling setbacks. The state is considering raising to 2,000 feet the minimum distance between well sites and homes, schools and other public facilities. The state’s two largest trade groups say the proposal is driven by politics instead of data, science and facts. According to The Denver Post, more than 180 companies sent a letter Friday to the Governor saying the rule would significantly limit where operators can drill and could undermine the industry's economic recovery. The proposal is one of several being considered as the state implements a 2019 law that mandates revamping regulations to prioritize public health, safety and the environment.&nbsp;Weekly oil-by-rail traffic in the U.S. is up by more than 300 rail cars, but remains more than eleven percent below the totals from a year ago. The Association of American Railroads reports 10,376 tanker cars hauling petroleum or petroleum products during the week ending September 12. The running year-to-date total is down more than 12 percent year-over-year.Gasoline demand last week dropped for the second week in a row, and reached its lowest level since mid-June. Gasoline supply levels were also lower. Triple-A says the national average pump price for a gallon of regular was just over $2.18 Thursday. That's down two cents on the week and more than 40 cents a gallon cheaper than a year ago. With a statewide average at just over $1.98, Kansas is once again among just a dozen states nationwide with average prices below two dollars. Prices were down to $1.99 a gallon in Great Bend, and as low as $1.89 in Hays. filling up a 15-gallon tank will cost you nearly seven dollars less than it did a year ago at this time.

News From the Oil Patch: Libya's return puts pressure on prices

&nbsp;By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;

“Food fight!” Don’t worry, I’m not referring to a riot in the school cafeteria. This food fight is a friendly challenge to generate more food for local families who need a hand. This worthwhile competition went so well that it won recognition as an Ag Hero.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Matt Case is the manager of the Farmers Co-op in Columbus, Kansas. He grew up working on farms around Columbus and married his high school sweetheart. After being trained in precision machining, he worked in industry and then had the opportunity to come back and work for the Farmers Co-op in his hometown. In 2016, he became general manager.&nbsp;

The Farmers Co-op generates around $80 million in annual sales with seven locations in Cherokee County. It is also community spirited, hosting an annual food drive, for example.&nbsp;

One day in spring 2020, Matt got a call from Christina Holmes, the family and consumer sciences agent for K-State Research and Extension in Cherokee County. Christina explained that food pantries in the county were largely depleted due to the pandemic. A county-wide food drive was being planned to gather donated, non-perishable food items for the pantries. She asked if they could use the co-op’s truck scales to weigh the pounds of donated food. The more Matt learned about the project, the more he wanted to get involved.&nbsp;

“After she explained it, I said, ‘The only way you can use our truck scales is if I’m part of it,’” Matt said. He volunteered that the co-op would match up to the first 2,000 pounds.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Oh, there’s no way we’ll get that much,” Christina said. Matt said to put them down to match 2,000 pounds anyway.&nbsp;

This first-time event was called the Cherokee County Food Fight. It was a challenge between the towns in the county. Each town had two weeks in which to collect and donate food. The one with the most donations would win the first-place trophy.&nbsp;

“I like a little friendly competition,” Matt said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“It was an amazing opportunity,” Christina said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Collection points were set up in each community. The project took off.&nbsp;

The towns in Cherokee County got into the competition. “People were posting pictures of piles of cans in their towns,” Christina said. “One organization was willing to go door-to-door to pick up donations.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

In the end, donations exceeded expectations by nearly five times. More than five tons, or 10,780 pounds, of foodstuffs were donated to food pantries in eight locations in Cherokee County. “When we pulled in with a trailer to deliver the donations, some of those ladies would just cry,” Christina said.&nbsp;

Columbus won the competition by donating 3,480 pounds. Baxter Springs was second with 2,760 pounds. On a per-capita basis, the smaller towns in the community did even better. The rural community of Weir donated 1,880 pounds. Weir has a population of 686 people. Now, that’s rural. This community was definitely punching above its weight class.&nbsp;

“Our local people and churches really respond where there’s a need,” Matt said. “The extension office came up with this idea and they knocked it out of the park.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“When the rules of the pandemic kept (extension staff) from getting out to do things in person, I could help. I credit Christina; she’s a rock star,” he said.&nbsp;

“The co-op was great, and everyone stepped up,” Christina said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without all the partners.”&nbsp;

The results were so remarkable that Matt Case of the Farmers Co-op was recognized by the Kansas Department of Agriculture as an Ag Hero during the 2020 Kansas Ag Summit. We’ll feature more of these Ag Heroes in coming weeks.&nbsp;

“Food fight!” No, it’s not a riot in the school cafeteria and you won’t have to duck a flying burrito. This friendly food fight generated literally tons of food for the county’s food pantries. We commend Matt Case, Christina Holmes, and all those who helped make a difference through this project. So, who won the food fight? Columbus got the trophy, but it was the residents of Cherokee County who were the winners.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600262970161.png" alt="Matt Case" />
 <figcaption>Matt Case</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;“Food fight!” Don’t worry, I’m not referring to a riot in the school cafeteria. This food fight is a friendly challenge to generate more food for local families who need a hand. This worthwhile competition went so well that it won recognition as an Ag Hero.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Matt Case is the manager of the Farmers Co-op in Columbus, Kansas. He grew up working on farms around Columbus and married his high school sweetheart. After being trained in precision machining, he worked in industry and then had the opportunity to come back and work for the Farmers Co-op in his hometown. In 2016, he became general manager.&nbsp;The Farmers Co-op generates around $80 million in annual sales with seven locations in Cherokee County. It is also community spirited, hosting an annual food drive, for example.&nbsp;One day in spring 2020, Matt got a call from Christina Holmes, the family and consumer sciences agent for K-State Research and Extension in Cherokee County. Christina explained that food pantries in the county were largely depleted due to the pandemic. A county-wide food drive was being planned to gather donated, non-perishable food items for the pantries. She asked if they could use the co-op’s truck scales to weigh the pounds of donated food. The more Matt learned about the project, the more he wanted to get involved.&nbsp;“After she explained it, I said, ‘The only way you can use our truck scales is if I’m part of it,’” Matt said. He volunteered that the co-op would match up to the first 2,000 pounds.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Oh, there’s no way we’ll get that much,” Christina said. Matt said to put them down to match 2,000 pounds anyway.&nbsp;This first-time event was called the Cherokee County Food Fight. It was a challenge between the towns in the county. Each town had two weeks in which to collect and donate food. The one with the most donations would win the first-place trophy.&nbsp;“I like a little friendly competition,” Matt said.&nbsp;&nbsp;“It was an amazing opportunity,” Christina said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Collection points were set up in each community. The project took off.&nbsp;The towns in Cherokee County got into the competition. “People were posting pictures of piles of cans in their towns,” Christina said. “One organization was willing to go door-to-door to pick up donations.”&nbsp;&nbsp;In the end, donations exceeded expectations by nearly five times. More than five tons, or 10,780 pounds, of foodstuffs were donated to food pantries in eight locations in Cherokee County. “When we pulled in with a trailer to deliver the donations, some of those ladies would just cry,” Christina said.&nbsp;Columbus won the competition by donating 3,480 pounds. Baxter Springs was second with 2,760 pounds. On a per-capita basis, the smaller towns in the community did even better. The rural community of Weir donated 1,880 pounds. Weir has a population of 686 people. Now, that’s rural. This community was definitely punching above its weight class.&nbsp;“Our local people and churches really respond where there’s a need,” Matt said. “The extension office came up with this idea and they knocked it out of the park.&nbsp;&nbsp;“When the rules of the pandemic kept (extension staff) from getting out to do things in person, I could help. I credit Christina; she’s a rock star,” he said.&nbsp;“The co-op was great, and everyone stepped up,” Christina said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without all the partners.”&nbsp;The results were so remarkable that Matt Case of the Farmers Co-op was recognized by the Kansas Department of Agriculture as an Ag Hero during the 2020 Kansas Ag Summit. We’ll feature more of these Ag Heroes in coming weeks.&nbsp;“Food fight!” No, it’s not a riot in the school cafeteria and you won’t have to duck a flying burrito. This friendly food fight generated literally tons of food for the county’s food pantries. We commend Matt Case, Christina Holmes, and all those who helped make a difference through this project. So, who won the food fight? Columbus got the trophy, but it was the residents of Cherokee County who were the winners.&nbsp;

Now That’s Rural: Matt Case, Cherokee County Food Fight

The number 40 appears 146 times in the Bible.&nbsp; One instance I want to focus on was Moses guiding his people, the Israelites, in the wilderness.&nbsp; They wandered for 40 years.&nbsp; I suspect there was a lot of second guessing going on.&nbsp; But in the end, people still had faith to keep Moses as their leader and to lead them to the Promised Land.

Forty years ago was huge for me.&nbsp; That year (1980) I graduated law school; I studied, took and passed the law bar exam.&nbsp; I bought my first house.&nbsp; I started my first job as an attorney.&nbsp; And (the biggest event) I proposed and married my wife, Barbara.&nbsp; All of that occurred between May and September of 1980. &nbsp;

This September Barb and I will celebrate my 40 years of marriage.&nbsp; A lot has happened in 40 years. &nbsp;

There were though times: struggling financially; changing jobs three times; starting a business on my own; watching loved ones going through chronic illness or aging; other loved ones dying unexpectedly; and watching our kids struggle with life and their own heartbreaks.&nbsp;

There were good times: the birth of three sons; getting to do work we both love; traveling; camping; kids’ sports; finding a church home; and many friends along the way.

One thing remains steady:&nbsp; my wife.&nbsp; She always focused on keeping things together; to get to a better day; to a better place.&nbsp; She always picked up the pieces, kept them organized and put them back together. She has always been there to support me, to give me wise advice, and to keep me grounded.

Oh, I don’t want to mislead you.&nbsp; I’m sure that if she did not feel like killing me at times, she certainly was tempted to drop me off in a wilderness area 100 miles from any place without food or provisions, just to see if I could make it, and to get me out of her hair for a while.

I don’t suspect that anyone goes through a 40 year relationship with a spouse or any other relationship, without ups and downs. Someone has to be strong enough to make it work, even in difficult moments.&nbsp;

Second, you can make the memories of the good things what you remember most. That choice is yours. (Heck, I can remember like it was yesterday the dress my wife wore for our couples shower that was hosted for us. I can remember like it was yesterday yelling, “it’s a boy” upon the birth of our first child. And posing for all those wedding pictures.)

So, my wife and I have made it 40 years – just as the Israelites made it through 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.&nbsp; Then they entered the Promised Land.

My wife may feel like there were periods where we were wandering in the wilderness, but she hung in there.&nbsp; I hope now she feels like we are about to pass into the Promised Land.&nbsp; I know I could not think of a better companion.

I hope you all have a great companion on your journey.&nbsp;

Randy Clinkscales of Clinkscales Elder Law Practice, PA, Hays, 
Kansas, is an elder care attorney, practicing in western Kansas. To 
contact him, please send an email to randy@clinkscaleslaw.com. 
Disclaimer: The information in the column is for general information 
purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is different 
and outcomes depend on the fact of each case and the then applicable 
law. For specific questions, you should contact a qualified attorney.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1578498921842.png" alt="Randy Clinkscales" />
 <figcaption>Randy Clinkscales</figcaption>
 </figure>The number 40 appears 146 times in the Bible.&nbsp; One instance I want to focus on was Moses guiding his people, the Israelites, in the wilderness.&nbsp; They wandered for 40 years.&nbsp; I suspect there was a lot of second guessing going on.&nbsp; But in the end, people still had faith to keep Moses as their leader and to lead them to the Promised Land.Forty years ago was huge for me.&nbsp; That year (1980) I graduated law school; I studied, took and passed the law bar exam.&nbsp; I bought my first house.&nbsp; I started my first job as an attorney.&nbsp; And (the biggest event) I proposed and married my wife, Barbara.&nbsp; All of that occurred between May and September of 1980. &nbsp;This September Barb and I will celebrate my 40 years of marriage.&nbsp; A lot has happened in 40 years. &nbsp;There were though times: struggling financially; changing jobs three times; starting a business on my own; watching loved ones going through chronic illness or aging; other loved ones dying unexpectedly; and watching our kids struggle with life and their own heartbreaks.&nbsp;There were good times: the birth of three sons; getting to do work we both love; traveling; camping; kids’ sports; finding a church home; and many friends along the way.One thing remains steady:&nbsp; my wife.&nbsp; She always focused on keeping things together; to get to a better day; to a better place.&nbsp; She always picked up the pieces, kept them organized and put them back together. She has always been there to support me, to give me wise advice, and to keep me grounded.Oh, I don’t want to mislead you.&nbsp; I’m sure that if she did not feel like killing me at times, she certainly was tempted to drop me off in a wilderness area 100 miles from any place without food or provisions, just to see if I could make it, and to get me out of her hair for a while.I don’t suspect that anyone goes through a 40 year relationship with a spouse or any other relationship, without ups and downs. Someone has to be strong enough to make it work, even in difficult moments.&nbsp;Second, you can make the memories of the good things what you remember most. That choice is yours. (Heck, I can remember like it was yesterday the dress my wife wore for our couples shower that was hosted for us. I can remember like it was yesterday yelling, “it’s a boy” upon the birth of our first child. And posing for all those wedding pictures.)So, my wife and I have made it 40 years – just as the Israelites made it through 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.&nbsp; Then they entered the Promised Land.My wife may feel like there were periods where we were wandering in the wilderness, but she hung in there.&nbsp; I hope now she feels like we are about to pass into the Promised Land.&nbsp; I know I could not think of a better companion.I hope you all have a great companion on your journey.&nbsp;Randy Clinkscales of Clinkscales Elder Law Practice, PA, Hays, 
Kansas, is an elder care attorney, practicing in western Kansas. To 
contact him, please send an email to randy@clinkscaleslaw.com. 
Disclaimer: The information in the column is for general information 
purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is different 
and outcomes depend on the fact of each case and the then applicable 
law. For specific questions, you should contact a qualified attorney.

CLINKSCALES: 40 years 

When this outdoor column was born some sixteen years ago, I swore it would only and always be about the outdoors; on rare occasions an outdoor topic or adventure from another state, but the outdoors non-the-less. My wife has often suggested I venture into other genres, but I have resisted. Here in the waning days of an absolutely tumultuous year 2020, I find myself needing badly to say some things that will deviate from the outdoors, and hoping that after sixteen years you readers will allow me this detour. Besides, I fear if I don’t say them soon, I’ll explode, then there will be no more outdoor columns for sure. Plus, unless the USA “rights our ship” soon, all our campgrounds and woods may be camped full of people fleeing burning cities. I see three specific things, that if corrected soon, might save our bacon.&nbsp;

First and foremost, as a country and as a people we need God back in our lives. We have succeeded in pushing God out of our homes, our schools, our government and I fear He is barely welcome in some churches anymore. Now, don’t read into this more than I intend. I’m not blaming all this unrest and devastation on God, suggesting He brought it on us or is allowing it to happen, although I believe that is a distinct possibility. What I am suggesting is that the only way for us as a nation to conquer all this turmoil is through a personal relationship with Jesus and by allowing God to be the God of the USA again. And by the way, without God there would be no Kansas Outdoors to write about.

Secondly, we as a nation must regain a respect for authority. I see a tremendous lack of respect in our country for authority figures, parents, school teachers, coaches, work supervisors, law enforcement officers and even government officials and our president. Now I can hear the argument already “if those in authority respect me, I’ll respect them.” No, that’s not how this works. You can use that excuse with your siblings, your coworkers and your friends, but not with those in authority over you. Yes, it’s wonderful to have authority figures who are kind and also give us respect, but those in authority over us are due our respect even if it’s only for the position. Being a person of authority is not a popularity contest, nor are they there to be your best friend.&nbsp;

Thirdly, we as a people need to begin making decisions and forming opinions based on facts. Today in our world, far too many decisions are made and opinions formed based on emotions alone. Yes, there is a place for emotions in that process, but factual information needs to be the driving force. Today’s media plays on our emotions and makes it terribly hard to stick to the facts. I can hardly stand to watch the commercials showing dogs that are skin and bones anchored to a tree with a log chain. The facts are that its extremely rare to find dogs like that; the vast majority of dogs in our nation are treated as well or better than some humans. But those pictures make the viewer tear-up and reach for their wallet to contribute to their cause. These tactics are used by organizations in all walks of life to get us to throw facts to the wind and go full-tilt ahead based on our emotions alone.

I don’t mean to make this all sound oversimplistic, and while changing the latter two will have a profound effect on the attitudes and demeaners of us as United States citizens, it will probably do little to cease the wildfires and calm the hurricanes. But renewing or establishing a personal relationship with Jesus and making God the God of the USA again, will humble us before Him and invite Him to heal our land. See you again next week from the Kansas Outdoors!

Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>When this outdoor column was born some sixteen years ago, I swore it would only and always be about the outdoors; on rare occasions an outdoor topic or adventure from another state, but the outdoors non-the-less. My wife has often suggested I venture into other genres, but I have resisted. Here in the waning days of an absolutely tumultuous year 2020, I find myself needing badly to say some things that will deviate from the outdoors, and hoping that after sixteen years you readers will allow me this detour. Besides, I fear if I don’t say them soon, I’ll explode, then there will be no more outdoor columns for sure. Plus, unless the USA “rights our ship” soon, all our campgrounds and woods may be camped full of people fleeing burning cities. I see three specific things, that if corrected soon, might save our bacon.&nbsp;First and foremost, as a country and as a people we need God back in our lives. We have succeeded in pushing God out of our homes, our schools, our government and I fear He is barely welcome in some churches anymore. Now, don’t read into this more than I intend. I’m not blaming all this unrest and devastation on God, suggesting He brought it on us or is allowing it to happen, although I believe that is a distinct possibility. What I am suggesting is that the only way for us as a nation to conquer all this turmoil is through a personal relationship with Jesus and by allowing God to be the God of the USA again. And by the way, without God there would be no Kansas Outdoors to write about.Secondly, we as a nation must regain a respect for authority. I see a tremendous lack of respect in our country for authority figures, parents, school teachers, coaches, work supervisors, law enforcement officers and even government officials and our president. Now I can hear the argument already “if those in authority respect me, I’ll respect them.” No, that’s not how this works. You can use that excuse with your siblings, your coworkers and your friends, but not with those in authority over you. Yes, it’s wonderful to have authority figures who are kind and also give us respect, but those in authority over us are due our respect even if it’s only for the position. Being a person of authority is not a popularity contest, nor are they there to be your best friend.&nbsp;Thirdly, we as a people need to begin making decisions and forming opinions based on facts. Today in our world, far too many decisions are made and opinions formed based on emotions alone. Yes, there is a place for emotions in that process, but factual information needs to be the driving force. Today’s media plays on our emotions and makes it terribly hard to stick to the facts. I can hardly stand to watch the commercials showing dogs that are skin and bones anchored to a tree with a log chain. The facts are that its extremely rare to find dogs like that; the vast majority of dogs in our nation are treated as well or better than some humans. But those pictures make the viewer tear-up and reach for their wallet to contribute to their cause. These tactics are used by organizations in all walks of life to get us to throw facts to the wind and go full-tilt ahead based on our emotions alone.I don’t mean to make this all sound oversimplistic, and while changing the latter two will have a profound effect on the attitudes and demeaners of us as United States citizens, it will probably do little to cease the wildfires and calm the hurricanes. But renewing or establishing a personal relationship with Jesus and making God the God of the USA again, will humble us before Him and invite Him to heal our land. See you again next week from the Kansas Outdoors!Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: In my humble opinion

Since my computer spent some time in the hospital this week with the “Geek Squad" kids, I decided it was OK to reshare a story from a few years ago about Nature’s rain predictors.&nbsp;

During a hot, dry spell a few years back, a friend told me she’d been hearing the call of a “rain crow” and asked me if I knew what kind of bird it was. She also said she had been seeing “sundogs” in the evening and that they were both supposedly predictors of rain. Now I remember someone’s grandpa talking about a rain crow when I was a kid, or storm crow as he called it, and I knew absolutely zero about sundogs, but given their supposed rain prediction powers, I delved deeper.&nbsp;

I found numerous references to a “rain crow” and all seemed to agree that it was in fact a Yellow- Billed Cuckoo. Few, however wanted to stick their neck out concerning its rain prediction ability; one website tossed around the figure of 3 days from first hearing one until rain. Sundogs on the other hand, were quite a popular subject, and are ice crystals high in the atmosphere that, when sunlight shines through them can give the illusion of a second or third sun on each side of the actual sun. I’ve seen sun dogs a couple times over the years in the winter. But once again, however, sundogs ties to predicting rain were sparse.&nbsp;

My search turned up so many proverbs and “old wives tales” concerning rain that I decided to enlist the help of Ross Jansen, Meteorologist at KWCH TV channel 12 and play an Exploring Kansas Outdoors version of Myth Busters. I read several rain prediction fables to Ross over the phone and got his take on each. Concerning sundogs, Ross said there is some correct science in tying sundogs to rain, in that the same ice crystals that cause them have the ability to form clouds containing rain. But as far as them predicting rain, Ross was hesitant to agree to that. Next I asked him about a ring around the moon predicting rain, and again he said that a ring around the moon indeed meant there was moisture at some level, but said it was so high up that the chance of it finding its way to us in the form of rain was nil. “Red sky at night, sailors delight; red sky in morning, sailors take warning” is another widely quoted proverb about rain. Since weather patterns typically move across the country from west to east, the gist of the explanation is that a red morning sky means we are seeing sunlight through a weather system yet to come, while a red evening sky means we are seeing a weather system moving away from us. Ross said he has indeed noticed that morning thunderstorms often bring with them a red morning sky, and that there was again some correct science accompanying the tale. But also like the previous two fables, he felt it was a stretch to say that they actually predicted rain. We agreed to call these three myths SEMI-BUSTED.

Another proverb I found read “When grass is dry at night, look for rain before the light; when grass is dry at morning light, look for rain before the night.” This one uses the presence or absence of dew at certain times to predict rain. Ross says that the presence or absence of dew depends solely on night time temperatures and dew point temperatures and saw no link between them and a prediction for rain. We declared this one BUSTED. The next was an Indian proverb that says “If the moon is red, of rain she speaks.” Ross said a red moon is red only because of smoke or dust; again BUSTED. Next I asked him about something I’ve always thought to be a rain predictor, that being the fact that birds fly lower and congregate on power lines just before a storm because the lower air pressure preceding a storm makes it tough for them to attain lift and fly. He debunked that also by telling me that when air pressure is low, the air as a whole actually rises; BUSTED again.

I could literally spend the next month cussing and discussing all the old time weather fables and proverbs I found while writing this piece. To those of you who put stock in any of the rain predictors I cast doubt upon, I’m sorry to have rained on your parade (yes, most certainly pun intended) even though I’m certain some of these hold true some of the time. Ross even told me that his mom swears by an old tale that says it will rain 100 days after a fog; she even keeps track of it on her calendar. Maybe that will win me back some points and make you feel better again about your favorite weather tales knowing that the weather guy’s mom even believes them! …Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve&nbsp;Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve&nbsp;Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>Since my computer spent some time in the hospital this week with the “Geek Squad" kids, I decided it was OK to reshare a story from a few years ago about Nature’s rain predictors.&nbsp;During a hot, dry spell a few years back, a friend told me she’d been hearing the call of a “rain crow” and asked me if I knew what kind of bird it was. She also said she had been seeing “sundogs” in the evening and that they were both supposedly predictors of rain. Now I remember someone’s grandpa talking about a rain crow when I was a kid, or storm crow as he called it, and I knew absolutely zero about sundogs, but given their supposed rain prediction powers, I delved deeper.&nbsp;I found numerous references to a “rain crow” and all seemed to agree that it was in fact a Yellow- Billed Cuckoo. Few, however wanted to stick their neck out concerning its rain prediction ability; one website tossed around the figure of 3 days from first hearing one until rain. Sundogs on the other hand, were quite a popular subject, and are ice crystals high in the atmosphere that, when sunlight shines through them can give the illusion of a second or third sun on each side of the actual sun. I’ve seen sun dogs a couple times over the years in the winter. But once again, however, sundogs ties to predicting rain were sparse.&nbsp;My search turned up so many proverbs and “old wives tales” concerning rain that I decided to enlist the help of Ross Jansen, Meteorologist at KWCH TV channel 12 and play an Exploring Kansas Outdoors version of Myth Busters. I read several rain prediction fables to Ross over the phone and got his take on each. Concerning sundogs, Ross said there is some correct science in tying sundogs to rain, in that the same ice crystals that cause them have the ability to form clouds containing rain. But as far as them predicting rain, Ross was hesitant to agree to that. Next I asked him about a ring around the moon predicting rain, and again he said that a ring around the moon indeed meant there was moisture at some level, but said it was so high up that the chance of it finding its way to us in the form of rain was nil. “Red sky at night, sailors delight; red sky in morning, sailors take warning” is another widely quoted proverb about rain. Since weather patterns typically move across the country from west to east, the gist of the explanation is that a red morning sky means we are seeing sunlight through a weather system yet to come, while a red evening sky means we are seeing a weather system moving away from us. Ross said he has indeed noticed that morning thunderstorms often bring with them a red morning sky, and that there was again some correct science accompanying the tale. But also like the previous two fables, he felt it was a stretch to say that they actually predicted rain. We agreed to call these three myths SEMI-BUSTED.Another proverb I found read “When grass is dry at night, look for rain before the light; when grass is dry at morning light, look for rain before the night.” This one uses the presence or absence of dew at certain times to predict rain. Ross says that the presence or absence of dew depends solely on night time temperatures and dew point temperatures and saw no link between them and a prediction for rain. We declared this one BUSTED. The next was an Indian proverb that says “If the moon is red, of rain she speaks.” Ross said a red moon is red only because of smoke or dust; again BUSTED. Next I asked him about something I’ve always thought to be a rain predictor, that being the fact that birds fly lower and congregate on power lines just before a storm because the lower air pressure preceding a storm makes it tough for them to attain lift and fly. He debunked that also by telling me that when air pressure is low, the air as a whole actually rises; BUSTED again.I could literally spend the next month cussing and discussing all the old time weather fables and proverbs I found while writing this piece. To those of you who put stock in any of the rain predictors I cast doubt upon, I’m sorry to have rained on your parade (yes, most certainly pun intended) even though I’m certain some of these hold true some of the time. Ross even told me that his mom swears by an old tale that says it will rain 100 days after a fog; she even keeps track of it on her calendar. Maybe that will win me back some points and make you feel better again about your favorite weather tales knowing that the weather guy’s mom even believes them! …Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: Of rain crows and sundogs

The Jayhawker Liberation Front is in the news.&nbsp;&nbsp;Among other things, these ambitious KU students demand closing campuses to all in-person learning until COVID is contained, along with an end to both capitalism and white supremacy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those last two demands are beyond the scope of this column, but what about the first one?

I am opposed.&nbsp;&nbsp;I bring a different perspective.&nbsp;&nbsp;I teach at Emporia State, a smaller, more rural campus with a lower percentage of students in fraternities and sororities.&nbsp;&nbsp;A recent&nbsp;Axios&nbsp;report shows that smaller, more rural campuses like ESU are doing better at containing COVID than larger schools and urban campuses.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In addition, our affordable tuition means that the school is less hard-hit in the pocketbook.&nbsp;&nbsp;ESU’s official enrollment numbers were just released, showing little change from the same time last year, pre-COVID.&nbsp;&nbsp;My position undoubtedly biases my perspective, but when possible, I support keeping campuses open to on-campus learning while carefully, thoroughly monitoring the spread of COVID and vigorously encouraging responsible behavior.

A recent EDUCAUSE survey showed that 70% of students prefer their courses on campus.&nbsp;&nbsp;This trend is just as pronounced among the young “digital natives” as among the older, nontraditional students.&nbsp;&nbsp;In addition, struggling students have the most to lose from remote learning.&nbsp;&nbsp;

As the editors of&nbsp;Education Week&nbsp;note, evidence shows that students with special needs fall further behind than their peers when learning migrates away from physical classrooms.&nbsp;&nbsp;Furthermore, many of my peers are noticing another problem:&nbsp;&nbsp;lacking the funds to purchase a computer or WiFi service, many lower-income college students are attempting to do all their remote work from smartphones, often with poor results.&nbsp;&nbsp;The threat of COVID is very real, but from K-12 to the university, many at-risk students are not so much learning remotely as losing a year of school.&nbsp;&nbsp;Keeping the campus open is their best shot at keeping up.

In addition, some activities are impossible to do remotely.&nbsp;&nbsp;For example, a great deal of scientific research happens at universities.&nbsp;&nbsp;Insuring that professors and students have access to our extensive campus laboratories not only advances the progress of science generally, it specifically promises breakthroughs in the treatment of infectious diseases.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In fact, one of today’s most-promising potential COVID vaccines is being developed from a partnership between Aztra-Zeneca and Oxford University scientists. These researchers and their students need access to their facilities to continue their research.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kansas scientists need this as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;For example, Dr. Erika Martin here at ESU is doing collaborative research with students on the impact of microplastics on fish populations here in Kansas.&nbsp;&nbsp;This research requires both in-person field work and access to the lab.&nbsp;&nbsp;This research is critical to understanding the health of our fish populations and our waterways, as well as training our future aquatic biologists.

The primary reason university re-openings spread COVID is student behavior after hours.&nbsp;&nbsp;The universities need to be aggressive about countering this.&nbsp;&nbsp;This means frequent and repeated testing, immediately quarantining on- or off-campus houses where anyone has tested positive and disclosing all COVID-related information to the public and local health authorities.&nbsp;&nbsp;Provisions must also stay in place for students who cannot or choose not to come to class for safety reasons.&nbsp;&nbsp;Social distancing is in place, while mask-wearing is required and ubiquitous, as it should be.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yet closing the campus completely means that at-risk students fall further behind, financially struggling students rely on phones for activities that require a computer, and laboratory research stops.&nbsp;&nbsp;

When possible, campuses should remain at least partially open, but with extensive testing and safety precautions in place and responsible behavior vigorously enforced.

Michael Smith is a professor at Emporia State University.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1579108824567.jpeg" alt="Michael Smith is a professor at Emporia State University." />
 <figcaption>Michael Smith is a professor at Emporia State University.</figcaption>
 </figure>The Jayhawker Liberation Front is in the news.&nbsp;&nbsp;Among other things, these ambitious KU students demand closing campuses to all in-person learning until COVID is contained, along with an end to both capitalism and white supremacy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those last two demands are beyond the scope of this column, but what about the first one?I am opposed.&nbsp;&nbsp;I bring a different perspective.&nbsp;&nbsp;I teach at Emporia State, a smaller, more rural campus with a lower percentage of students in fraternities and sororities.&nbsp;&nbsp;A recent&nbsp;Axios&nbsp;report shows that smaller, more rural campuses like ESU are doing better at containing COVID than larger schools and urban campuses.&nbsp;&nbsp;In addition, our affordable tuition means that the school is less hard-hit in the pocketbook.&nbsp;&nbsp;ESU’s official enrollment numbers were just released, showing little change from the same time last year, pre-COVID.&nbsp;&nbsp;My position undoubtedly biases my perspective, but when possible, I support keeping campuses open to on-campus learning while carefully, thoroughly monitoring the spread of COVID and vigorously encouraging responsible behavior.A recent EDUCAUSE survey showed that 70% of students prefer their courses on campus.&nbsp;&nbsp;This trend is just as pronounced among the young “digital natives” as among the older, nontraditional students.&nbsp;&nbsp;In addition, struggling students have the most to lose from remote learning.&nbsp;&nbsp;As the editors of&nbsp;Education Week&nbsp;note, evidence shows that students with special needs fall further behind than their peers when learning migrates away from physical classrooms.&nbsp;&nbsp;Furthermore, many of my peers are noticing another problem:&nbsp;&nbsp;lacking the funds to purchase a computer or WiFi service, many lower-income college students are attempting to do all their remote work from smartphones, often with poor results.&nbsp;&nbsp;The threat of COVID is very real, but from K-12 to the university, many at-risk students are not so much learning remotely as losing a year of school.&nbsp;&nbsp;Keeping the campus open is their best shot at keeping up.In addition, some activities are impossible to do remotely.&nbsp;&nbsp;For example, a great deal of scientific research happens at universities.&nbsp;&nbsp;Insuring that professors and students have access to our extensive campus laboratories not only advances the progress of science generally, it specifically promises breakthroughs in the treatment of infectious diseases.&nbsp;&nbsp;In fact, one of today’s most-promising potential COVID vaccines is being developed from a partnership between Aztra-Zeneca and Oxford University scientists. These researchers and their students need access to their facilities to continue their research.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kansas scientists need this as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;For example, Dr. Erika Martin here at ESU is doing collaborative research with students on the impact of microplastics on fish populations here in Kansas.&nbsp;&nbsp;This research requires both in-person field work and access to the lab.&nbsp;&nbsp;This research is critical to understanding the health of our fish populations and our waterways, as well as training our future aquatic biologists.The primary reason university re-openings spread COVID is student behavior after hours.&nbsp;&nbsp;The universities need to be aggressive about countering this.&nbsp;&nbsp;This means frequent and repeated testing, immediately quarantining on- or off-campus houses where anyone has tested positive and disclosing all COVID-related information to the public and local health authorities.&nbsp;&nbsp;Provisions must also stay in place for students who cannot or choose not to come to class for safety reasons.&nbsp;&nbsp;Social distancing is in place, while mask-wearing is required and ubiquitous, as it should be.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yet closing the campus completely means that at-risk students fall further behind, financially struggling students rely on phones for activities that require a computer, and laboratory research stops.&nbsp;&nbsp;When possible, campuses should remain at least partially open, but with extensive testing and safety precautions in place and responsible behavior vigorously enforced.Michael Smith is a professor at Emporia State University.

INSIGHT KANSAS: Universities should stay open — responsibly

By C.J. JANOVY <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/09/18/listen-to-this-kid-who-worked-to-make-kansas-better-for-everyone/">Kansas Reflector</a>

Here’s a story about a promising young teenager with a heart of gold who fell into some real deep state stuff in Kansas.

The kid is Ashton Rickford, who just started ninth&nbsp;grade at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RCHSBuffaloes/">Rawlins County Junior/Senior High School</a> in Atwood, a town of about 1,200 people up near the Nebraska line.

When Ashton’s family moved
 to Atwood three years ago, they left what he describes as the “really 
big” town of Hays. He likes the small town better.

“Mom wouldn’t let me walk 
to the grocery store during the summer to get something to eat in Hays 
because it’s really big,” he says. “There are a lot of fun things you 
can do in a big town, but you don’t have the freedom when you’re a kid.”

In Atwood it’s easy to 
walk to friends’ houses or the youth center, or go to the lake to kayak 
at night. He likes the fact that everyone in Atwood knows each other.

That’s where the Kansas government bureaucracy comes in.

Last summer, four state 
agencies that provide care and education for Kansas kids — the 
Department for Children and Families, the Department of Education, the 
Department of Health and Environment and the <a href="https://kschildrenscabinet.org/">Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund</a> — wanted to do a better job of coordinating all of their services throughout the state’s 105 counties.

That’s complicated not 
only because of differing needs in various places but also because all 
levels of government — federal, state, county, local — as well as 
private businesses and philanthropic organizations are involved in 
providing children’s education and services, explains <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/24/kansas-vulnerable-children-cant-afford-to-absorb-state-budget-cuts/">Melissa Rooker</a>, executive director of the Children’s Cabinet.

They didn’t want to make 
any wrong assumptions about what Kansans needed. So they created a 
website where everyone could upload their stories — anonymously — and 
explain how they did, or didn’t, get help.

For the project to work, they needed lots of stories. That’s where Ashton came in.

He was 13 when he heard about the project from his dad, the executive director at <a href="https://www.livewellnwk.org/">Livewell Northwest Kansas</a>, a nonprofit in Colby. Ashton wanted to help.

They emailed everyone at the farm equipment company where his mom works and contacted all of her Facebook friends.

“They just have to write a story, if they’re thriving or just surviving,” Ashton told people.

He went door-to-door with 
print-outs, offering to enter people’s stories into the computer and 
then shred the paper so everything stayed anonymous.

Raising
 our family in a close-knit community has allowed our family to thrive 
most of our days. However, we recently experienced an unforeseen chapter
 in our lives when my husband became extremely ill. We almost instantly 
went from thriving to surviving. The days and months have been long, but
 with the support of our family and community, many have chosen to rally
 around us. Many eyes were on our family, but different individuals were
 led to support in different ways. Casseroles, driving, laundry, money, 
prayers, and listening ears were just a few things offered our family 
from the community. Once again, because of this community, our family 
has been able to thrive when we could have just survived.&nbsp;&nbsp; – Anonymous

&nbsp;&nbsp;I
 feel like this winter and summer our family was just surviving. Mother 
nature played a huge role in our agricultural lives that there was very 
high stress. During this time the were many ups and downs and some 
depression. However we all worked together and supported each other and 
made it through.&nbsp;&nbsp; – Anonymous

“Some people had very, 
very good stories,” he says. “There were stories about people who went 
through trauma and financial problems, even out here — farmers whose 
crops don’t grow good and they don’t get enough money from farming, they
 have to pay a lot for their equipment, and don’t make enough to support
 their families.”

He learned something a lot of us might have forgotten: You never know what someone’s going through.

“I didn’t know so many 
people were struggling on farms, had financial problems, family members 
dying, trauma,” he says. “It really opens your eyes, because you don’t 
think right away that person’s going through something.”

Ultimately, the stories he collected helped shape the state’s <a href="https://kschildrenscabinet.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/All_in_for_Kansas_Kids_Strategic_Plan_4.10.20.pdf">early childhood strategic plan. </a>

“Ashton talked to families
 who live a pretty isolated lifestyle on their farms and ranches, who 
are generally not heard from when there are big studies done and data 
collected,” she says. “Ashton <a href="https://kschildrenscabinet.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Needs-Assessment-2020.pdf">brought the voice of rural Kansas to life</a>.”

In March, when the pandemic hit, the state <a href="https://kschildrenscabinet.org/share-a-story/">opened the story portal again</a>.
 People just needed to share what they were going through and, Rooker 
says, agencies could see needs emerging in real time and try to help.

In April, for example, 
they steered $500 grants to childcare providers who suddenly needed to 
buy personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies or come up with 
educational materials for kids in age groups they hadn’t served.

&nbsp;&nbsp;It
 is hard to find needed supplies for cleaning and healthy foods to 
provide for the children in my care. Health officials warn you to only 
go out as little as possible, but when the shelves are empty of needed 
items you need to go back and look again. Also I went from 8 children in
 care to 3 which limits my income and it is a struggle to get needed 
supplies and also keep up on monthly Bill's. I realize that utility 
companies will not disconnect services during this time, but when it is 
over, will I be able to catch up with one a reasonable amount of time 
... &nbsp;&nbsp; – Anonymous

Next time you see some 
conspiratorial hooey about a government “deep state,” remember this 
story. In reality, government is an incredibly complex structure where 
generally decent people use common resources to try to help each other.

Ashton doesn’t know too much about politics yet. Until I mention it, he hasn’t heard the term “urban-rural divide.”

I’m a little sad to even bring it up with him, but he tries to address my question.

“Obviously in big towns, 
people don’t know what it’s like to live in the country, and country 
people don’t know what it’s like to live in the big town,” he says.

He’s been to Wichita 
enough to know that you have to drive farther to get around. But moving 
from Hays to Atwood, he didn’t notice much difference in people.

“I feel like they’re the same,” he says.

C.J. Janovy is a veteran journalist with deep roots in the Midwest. Before joining the Kansas Reflector, she was an editor and reporter at Kansas City’s NPR affiliate, KCUR. Before that, she edited the city’s alt-weekly newspaper, The Pitch.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600437268528.png" alt="Ashton Rickford, 14, has just started 9th grade at Rawlins County Junior/Senior High School, where he plays for the Buffaloes. (Submitted by Travis Rickford to Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Ashton Rickford, 14, has just started 9th grade at Rawlins County Junior/Senior High School, where he plays for the Buffaloes. (Submitted by Travis Rickford to Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By C.J. JANOVY <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/09/18/listen-to-this-kid-who-worked-to-make-kansas-better-for-everyone/">Kansas Reflector</a>Here’s a story about a promising young teenager with a heart of gold who fell into some real deep state stuff in Kansas.The kid is Ashton Rickford, who just started ninth&nbsp;grade at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RCHSBuffaloes/">Rawlins County Junior/Senior High School</a> in Atwood, a town of about 1,200 people up near the Nebraska line.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>When Ashton’s family moved
 to Atwood three years ago, they left what he describes as the “really 
big” town of Hays. He likes the small town better.“Mom wouldn’t let me walk 
to the grocery store during the summer to get something to eat in Hays 
because it’s really big,” he says. “There are a lot of fun things you 
can do in a big town, but you don’t have the freedom when you’re a kid.”In Atwood it’s easy to 
walk to friends’ houses or the youth center, or go to the lake to kayak 
at night. He likes the fact that everyone in Atwood knows each other.That’s where the Kansas government bureaucracy comes in.Last summer, four state 
agencies that provide care and education for Kansas kids — the 
Department for Children and Families, the Department of Education, the 
Department of Health and Environment and the <a href="https://kschildrenscabinet.org/">Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund</a> — wanted to do a better job of coordinating all of their services throughout the state’s 105 counties.That’s complicated not 
only because of differing needs in various places but also because all 
levels of government — federal, state, county, local — as well as 
private businesses and philanthropic organizations are involved in 
providing children’s education and services, explains <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/24/kansas-vulnerable-children-cant-afford-to-absorb-state-budget-cuts/">Melissa Rooker</a>, executive director of the Children’s Cabinet.They didn’t want to make 
any wrong assumptions about what Kansans needed. So they created a 
website where everyone could upload their stories — anonymously — and 
explain how they did, or didn’t, get help.For the project to work, they needed lots of stories. That’s where Ashton came in.He was 13 when he heard about the project from his dad, the executive director at <a href="https://www.livewellnwk.org/">Livewell Northwest Kansas</a>, a nonprofit in Colby. Ashton wanted to help.They emailed everyone at the farm equipment company where his mom works and contacted all of her Facebook friends.“They just have to write a story, if they’re thriving or just surviving,” Ashton told people.He went door-to-door with 
print-outs, offering to enter people’s stories into the computer and 
then shred the paper so everything stayed anonymous.Raising
 our family in a close-knit community has allowed our family to thrive 
most of our days. However, we recently experienced an unforeseen chapter
 in our lives when my husband became extremely ill. We almost instantly 
went from thriving to surviving. The days and months have been long, but
 with the support of our family and community, many have chosen to rally
 around us. Many eyes were on our family, but different individuals were
 led to support in different ways. Casseroles, driving, laundry, money, 
prayers, and listening ears were just a few things offered our family 
from the community. Once again, because of this community, our family 
has been able to thrive when we could have just survived.&nbsp;&nbsp; – Anonymous&nbsp;&nbsp;I
 feel like this winter and summer our family was just surviving. Mother 
nature played a huge role in our agricultural lives that there was very 
high stress. During this time the were many ups and downs and some 
depression. However we all worked together and supported each other and 
made it through.&nbsp;&nbsp; – Anonymous“Some people had very, 
very good stories,” he says. “There were stories about people who went 
through trauma and financial problems, even out here — farmers whose 
crops don’t grow good and they don’t get enough money from farming, they
 have to pay a lot for their equipment, and don’t make enough to support
 their families.”He learned something a lot of us might have forgotten: You never know what someone’s going through.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600437346333.jpeg" alt="Ashton Rickford answers questions at a conference in 2019. (Submitted by Travis Rickford to Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Ashton Rickford answers questions at a conference in 2019. (Submitted by Travis Rickford to Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>“I didn’t know so many 
people were struggling on farms, had financial problems, family members 
dying, trauma,” he says. “It really opens your eyes, because you don’t 
think right away that person’s going through something.”Ultimately, the stories he collected helped shape the state’s <a href="https://kschildrenscabinet.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/All_in_for_Kansas_Kids_Strategic_Plan_4.10.20.pdf">early childhood strategic plan. </a>His service was invaluable, Rooker says.“Ashton talked to families
 who live a pretty isolated lifestyle on their farms and ranches, who 
are generally not heard from when there are big studies done and data 
collected,” she says. “Ashton <a href="https://kschildrenscabinet.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Needs-Assessment-2020.pdf">brought the voice of rural Kansas to life</a>.”In March, when the pandemic hit, the state <a href="https://kschildrenscabinet.org/share-a-story/">opened the story portal again</a>.
 People just needed to share what they were going through and, Rooker 
says, agencies could see needs emerging in real time and try to help.In April, for example, 
they steered $500 grants to childcare providers who suddenly needed to 
buy personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies or come up with 
educational materials for kids in age groups they hadn’t served.&nbsp;&nbsp;It
 is hard to find needed supplies for cleaning and healthy foods to 
provide for the children in my care. Health officials warn you to only 
go out as little as possible, but when the shelves are empty of needed 
items you need to go back and look again. Also I went from 8 children in
 care to 3 which limits my income and it is a struggle to get needed 
supplies and also keep up on monthly Bill's. I realize that utility 
companies will not disconnect services during this time, but when it is 
over, will I be able to catch up with one a reasonable amount of time 
... &nbsp;&nbsp; – AnonymousNext time you see some 
conspiratorial hooey about a government “deep state,” remember this 
story. In reality, government is an incredibly complex structure where 
generally decent people use common resources to try to help each other.Ashton doesn’t know too much about politics yet. Until I mention it, he hasn’t heard the term “urban-rural divide.”I’m a little sad to even bring it up with him, but he tries to address my question.“Obviously in big towns, 
people don’t know what it’s like to live in the country, and country 
people don’t know what it’s like to live in the big town,” he says.He’s been to Wichita 
enough to know that you have to drive farther to get around. But moving 
from Hays to Atwood, he didn’t notice much difference in people.“I feel like they’re the same,” he says.C.J. Janovy is a veteran journalist with deep roots in the Midwest. Before joining the Kansas Reflector, she was an editor and reporter at Kansas City’s NPR affiliate, KCUR. Before that, she edited the city’s alt-weekly newspaper, The Pitch.

Listen to this NW Kan. kid who worked to make Kan. better for everyone

In the latest of dozens of such incidents just this year, a Los 
Angeles radio journalist was attacked by sheriff’s deputies while 
recently reporting on a protest outside a hospital.

Yes, attacked. Not the legalistic “taken into custody,” or the softer if-accurate, catch-all term “arrested.”

Reporter Josie Huang of radio station KPCC and its 
sister site, LAist — despite video proving she repeatedly identified 
herself as a reporter — was thrown violently to the ground by several 
officers while observing the arrest of a protester authorities said was 
being “uncooperative.”

The first statement by the sheriff’s department said Huang “ran 
toward deputies, ignored repeated commands to stay back … and interfered
 with the arrest.” A police spokesperson also said she failed to 
identify herself as “press.” She was taken to a local jail.

When confronted with multiple videos and audio from Huang’s own 
cellphone refuting each of those allegations, the spokesperson refused 
to respond directly, saying the matter was under investigation.

The event is as disgusting as it was unnecessary. The police conduct 
appears as unwarranted as the official account is contradicted by what 
can be seen and documented. The incident now joins a trendline that is 
as an appalling insult to individual rights as it is to the First 
Amendment freedoms that protect us all.

Huang was at a hospital earlier on the day of her arrest to attend a 
press conference regarding two deputies who had been shot in a cowardly 
ambush by an as-yet unknown assailant.

Huang was in her car in the hospital garage, typing notes from the 
press event, when she heard shouting outside. In a series of Facebook 
posts, she said she “saw a commotion ahead of me. Deputies rushed one 
man and chased another. I was filming an arrest when suddenly deputies 
shout ‘back up.’ Within seconds, I was getting shoved around. There was 
nowhere to back up.”

Video from other news operations shows Huang takes a few steps 
backward, but is grabbed and thrown to the ground by an officer. Her 
cell phone is knocked from her hand and several officers pile onto her.

“After my phone drops, it keeps recording and it captures two 
deputies damaging my phone by kicking and stepping on it. I can hear 
myself in the background shouting: “You guys are hurting me” and “Stop 
it.” Not only did Huang shout her KPCC affiliation, a press ID card on a
 lanyard around her neck is clearly visible in video of the attack.

It is understandable that deputies might be on edge after a vicious 
assault on two of their own. But the attack on Huang took place hours 
later, away from the scene of the shooting. Emotions should be in check 
and training should take over at such a point.

Granted, civil disturbances create chaotic moments. But by all 
accounts, the protest group was small — and only one demonstrator was 
being arrested.

What cannot be understood, and what should not be taken for granted, 
is that police nationwide have shown repeated, and at times vicious and 
life-threatening disregard for the First Amendment right of journalists 
to document their actions, even at the most challenging moments.

“Assault” is a crime — whether committed by a coward who slinks up to
 a patrol car and shoots two officers, or by those in uniform and 
wearing badges in full view of news cameras. For that matter, so is 
“testi-lying” — a word even authorities use to describe official 
accounts in which facts are twisted or simply invented to mask illegal 
conduct.

A hallmark of repressive regimes is their “secret” police, 
unaccountable to anyone but despots and operating out of sight and 
without accountability. The thousands of police officers who deserve our
 respect and admiration should not be tarnished by those who would act 
in violation of laws out of anger, disrespect or baser instincts.

Attacks on journalists certainly are nothing new worldwide. From the 
murder of abolitionist editors by pro-slavery mobs in the 1800s to 
bigoted assaults in the 1950s and 1960s on reporters covering the civil 
rights movement, to the insane 2018 shooting of five staffers at The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., journalism has been — and is — a dangerous profession.

But this year, the <a href="https://pressfreedomtracker.us/" target="_blank">U.S. Press Freedom Tracker</a>
 (a watchdog coalition to which the Freedom Forum belongs) reports as of
 Sept. 15 that 191 journalists have been attacked, 61 arrested, with 
some “812+ reported aggressions against the press.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1593729871227.png" alt="Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. " />
 <figcaption>Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. </figcaption>
 </figure>Enough is enough — and too much.In the latest of dozens of such incidents just this year, a Los 
Angeles radio journalist was attacked by sheriff’s deputies while 
recently reporting on a protest outside a hospital.Yes, attacked. Not the legalistic “taken into custody,” or the softer if-accurate, catch-all term “arrested.”Attacked.Reporter Josie Huang of radio station KPCC and its 
sister site, LAist — despite video proving she repeatedly identified 
herself as a reporter — was thrown violently to the ground by several 
officers while observing the arrest of a protester authorities said was 
being “uncooperative.”The first statement by the sheriff’s department said Huang “ran 
toward deputies, ignored repeated commands to stay back … and interfered
 with the arrest.” A police spokesperson also said she failed to 
identify herself as “press.” She was taken to a local jail.When confronted with multiple videos and audio from Huang’s own 
cellphone refuting each of those allegations, the spokesperson refused 
to respond directly, saying the matter was under investigation.The event is as disgusting as it was unnecessary. The police conduct 
appears as unwarranted as the official account is contradicted by what 
can be seen and documented. The incident now joins a trendline that is 
as an appalling insult to individual rights as it is to the First 
Amendment freedoms that protect us all.Huang was at a hospital earlier on the day of her arrest to attend a 
press conference regarding two deputies who had been shot in a cowardly 
ambush by an as-yet unknown assailant.Huang was in her car in the hospital garage, typing notes from the 
press event, when she heard shouting outside. In a series of Facebook 
posts, she said she “saw a commotion ahead of me. Deputies rushed one 
man and chased another. I was filming an arrest when suddenly deputies 
shout ‘back up.’ Within seconds, I was getting shoved around. There was 
nowhere to back up.”Video from other news operations shows Huang takes a few steps 
backward, but is grabbed and thrown to the ground by an officer. Her 
cell phone is knocked from her hand and several officers pile onto her.“After my phone drops, it keeps recording and it captures two 
deputies damaging my phone by kicking and stepping on it. I can hear 
myself in the background shouting: “You guys are hurting me” and “Stop 
it.” Not only did Huang shout her KPCC affiliation, a press ID card on a
 lanyard around her neck is clearly visible in video of the attack.It is understandable that deputies might be on edge after a vicious 
assault on two of their own. But the attack on Huang took place hours 
later, away from the scene of the shooting. Emotions should be in check 
and training should take over at such a point.Granted, civil disturbances create chaotic moments. But by all 
accounts, the protest group was small — and only one demonstrator was 
being arrested.What cannot be understood, and what should not be taken for granted, 
is that police nationwide have shown repeated, and at times vicious and 
life-threatening disregard for the First Amendment right of journalists 
to document their actions, even at the most challenging moments.“Assault” is a crime — whether committed by a coward who slinks up to
 a patrol car and shoots two officers, or by those in uniform and 
wearing badges in full view of news cameras. For that matter, so is 
“testi-lying” — a word even authorities use to describe official 
accounts in which facts are twisted or simply invented to mask illegal 
conduct.A hallmark of repressive regimes is their “secret” police, 
unaccountable to anyone but despots and operating out of sight and 
without accountability. The thousands of police officers who deserve our
 respect and admiration should not be tarnished by those who would act 
in violation of laws out of anger, disrespect or baser instincts.Attacks on journalists certainly are nothing new worldwide. From the 
murder of abolitionist editors by pro-slavery mobs in the 1800s to 
bigoted assaults in the 1950s and 1960s on reporters covering the civil 
rights movement, to the insane 2018 shooting of five staffers at The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., journalism has been — and is — a dangerous profession.But this year, the <a href="https://pressfreedomtracker.us/" target="_blank">U.S. Press Freedom Tracker</a>
 (a watchdog coalition to which the Freedom Forum belongs) reports as of
 Sept. 15 that 191 journalists have been attacked, 61 arrested, with 
some “812+ reported aggressions against the press.”By virtue of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and a pledged 
allegiance to the rule of law, all of us — police, protesters and public
 officials — should be better than that.Huang is charged with interfering with the arrest. If a formal 
inquiry bears out her account and the video evidence, that charge will 
be dropped. Perhaps a settlement will occur. It’s unlikely the officers 
involved will be prosecuted, as anyone else who grabbed and tackled a 
person on the street would certainly be.City officials and Los Angeles County Inspector General Max Huntsman,
 an independent monitor for the sheriff’s department, have opened their 
own investigations into the attack on Huang. Said Huntsman, “What 
surprises me the most is that once she was identified as a reporter that
 they transported her, that they cited her.”In this year of attacks again and again on journalists simply for 
doing their jobs on behalf of the public, we can only wish we could be 
as surprised as Huntsman.Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the
 Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom
 Forum Institute. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:gpolicinski@freedomforum.org" target="_blank">gpolicinski@freedomforum.org</a>, or follow him on Twitter at&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/@genefac" target="_blank">@genefac</a>.

Opinion