By STEPHAN BISAHA <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/kansas-teachers-say-hybrid-learning-no-better-all-virtual-classes">Kansas News Service</a>

Hybrid learning has become the go-to compromise for Kansas’ largest school districts to get students back in classrooms.

Districts
 in Lawrence, Topeka, Olathe and elsewhere rotate students between 
in-person and online lessons. Kids get physical time in front of a 
teacher without risking crowded classrooms during the pandemic.

But some Kansas teachers say the hybrid model isn’t much better than keeping students online full-time.

The
 constant shift from the classroom to the screen disrupts learning. 
Teachers say they have twice the workload while splitting their focus 
between online and in-person students, giving neither the attention they
 deserve.

Educators say hybrid makes it easier to help kids 
struggling the most, but both hybrid and online-only are leading to 
students falling behind.

Monique
 Goodeyon loves that students will soon return to her classroom. The 
high school calculus teacher at Shawnee Mission East got into education 
to teach students face-to-face, not face-to-screen.

Shawnee Mission went from <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://fox4kc.com/news/shawnee-mission-school-district-to-begin-hybrid-learning-for-elementary-students-beginning-in-october/&amp;sa=D&amp;ust=1611267009871000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1jI6QVYtYVsPzyIm53T95Q" target="_blank">hybrid</a>
 learning to full remote around Thanksgiving because of concerns that 
holiday travel would lead to further coronavirus spikes. Students will <a href="https://shawneemissionpost.com/2021/01/05/middle-and-high-schoolers-in-smsd-are-returning-to-in-person-learning-what-you-need-to-know-110138/" target="_blank">return</a> to school and hybrid learning Jan. 26.

But, like other teachers, Goodeyon’s not convinced it’s better for students.

“The kids are not learning as much as they should,” Goodeyon said.

Yes,
 when students actually sit in Goodeyon’s classroom two days a week, 
they do better than when they’re on a computer. But she said when those 
students return to online learning for the other half of the week, they 
do worse than when they stuck with online-only.

It’s difficult 
for teachers to give the proper attention to both kids in the classroom 
and those tuning in via the computer screen. Teachers say the split 
focus hurts all students.

Instead, Goodeyon spends her class time
 attending to the kids physically present. Those at home can tune in if 
they want, but they have their own independent work.

She’s also 
calculated — math teachers can’t help it — her students get about 90 
fewer minutes of instruction time from her a week compared to when the 
school is in full remote.

“Between remote and hybrid, it is hard 
to decide which one is better,” Goodeyon said. “The 90 minutes I have 
them is wonderful. But is that worth them having to learn 90 minutes of 
material on their own?”

Teachers also say hybrid doubles their 
workload. They must make one lesson plan for the remote kids and another
 for those learning in-person that day. Shuffling lessons doesn’t work 
for a subject like calculus where a student must understand concept A 
before moving onto concept B.

Educators and experts said hybrid learning does come with a few clear benefits — the largest being intervention.

A
 teacher can better provide help to struggling students in-person. 
Educators are also more likely to realize a student even needs help — 
for both individual lessons and larger problems. Early identification of
 learning disorders such as dyslexia can prevent problems from 
snowballing.

It also gives an outside adult a chance to notice signs of problems in the home.

“Teachers
 are the ones to see a kid come in with a bruise,” said Katharine 
Strunk, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University. 
“Teachers are the first people to notice when a kid is not OK.”

But
 teachers say many of those positive learning gains happening inside the
 classroom begin to disappear once students return to at-home learning. 
Neither remote or hybrid has kept students from slipping behind where 
they would be during a normal school year.

“I have no control 
over their environment,” said Shane Heiman, a third-grade teacher at New
 York Elementary in Lawrence. “They are becoming more behind because 
even though I’m providing content for them, there’s still limited ways 
where I can engage them.”

Blue Valley North High School English teacher Shelly Weir calls hybrid a mixed bag.

A back and forth discussion on Brave New World becomes a slog with half the class divided into squares on a screen.

“It takes the Zoom classroom twice as long to give their discussion because I have to physically call them out,” Weir.

But
 she’s found success keeping the discussion to just the in-person kids. 
Those at home get assigned their dystopian novel of choice to read 
before it’s their turn in the school building.

Weir surveyed her 
students about whether they preferred hybrid or all remote learning — 
and a slim majority preferred the remote option.

Her students 
told her school just didn’t feel like school, especially when your best 
friend attends on opposite days. Some students did not want to come back
 because they didn’t feel safe with coronavirus cases so high.

“They said ‘You know what? We know that coronavirus is escalating. Why are you bringing us back?’ ” Weir said.

Despite hybrid’s flaws, more of the state’s largest school districts are adopting the model.

School
 districts like Blue Valley and Wichita started the school year without a
 hybrid option — schools would either be all in-person or all remote.

Both
 districts eventually accepted the hybrid trend. The idea of some 
students not having any classroom time since March — excluding the 
elementary students that started the school year in-person — became 
unbearable for educators and parents.

New <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/students-kansas-largest-school-districts-return-classrooms-during-pandemic" target="_blank">research</a>
 also suggested having kids in school buildings — with students 
remaining masked and socially distanced — hasn’t led to the massive 
disease spread educators and health officials worried about over the 
summer.

Wichita School Board member Ben Blankley thinks hybrid 
learning is the worst option for teachers and students. But he voted to 
bring middle and high school students back under hybrid on Jan. 25 
anyway.

He said filling classrooms will let the district make the
 inevitable switch back to full in-person learning swiftly. Hybrid means
 cafeterias reopen. Security guards come back. Custodians reopen 
mothballed sections of school buildings.

“Even though it's got more drawbacks than remote, It’s on our way to getting to fully in-person,” Blankley said.

Moving
 to hybrid for the first time means Wichita North High School business 
teacher Brent Lewis will have three different sets of students in the 
same class — students at home on the hybrid schedule, students in-person
 and students who opted to remain remote full-time.

Lewis said 
the biggest challenge will be maintaining equity for all three groups. 
He can’t have the students in front of him collaborate on an involved 
mock business plan if the online students get left behind. So he’ll 
start the new semester teaching as if all students were on a computer 
screen.

“I can’t say for sure what success looks like,” Lewis 
said. “It’s going to take a lot of learning from what’s working, what’s 
not working to go beyond treating everyone like they’re remote.”

Lewis thinks he’ll eventually find some benefits to hybrid — but he’ll need the school district’s help to get there.

“We’re professionals,” Lewis said. “We’re going to rise to the challenge. But we’re going to need support.”

Stephan Bisaha reports on education and young adult life for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/stevebisaha" target="_blank">@SteveBisaha</a> or email him at bisaha@kmuw.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611328411099.png" alt="Chris Neal / For the Kansas News Service " />
 <figcaption>Chris Neal / For the Kansas News Service </figcaption>
 </figure>By STEPHAN BISAHA <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/kansas-teachers-say-hybrid-learning-no-better-all-virtual-classes">Kansas News Service</a>Hybrid learning has become the go-to compromise for Kansas’ largest school districts to get students back in classrooms.Districts
 in Lawrence, Topeka, Olathe and elsewhere rotate students between 
in-person and online lessons. Kids get physical time in front of a 
teacher without risking crowded classrooms during the pandemic.But some Kansas teachers say the hybrid model isn’t much better than keeping students online full-time.The
 constant shift from the classroom to the screen disrupts learning. 
Teachers say they have twice the workload while splitting their focus 
between online and in-person students, giving neither the attention they
 deserve.Educators say hybrid makes it easier to help kids 
struggling the most, but both hybrid and online-only are leading to 
students falling behind.<h2>Split attention</h2>Monique
 Goodeyon loves that students will soon return to her classroom. The 
high school calculus teacher at Shawnee Mission East got into education 
to teach students face-to-face, not face-to-screen.Shawnee Mission went from <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://fox4kc.com/news/shawnee-mission-school-district-to-begin-hybrid-learning-for-elementary-students-beginning-in-october/&amp;sa=D&amp;ust=1611267009871000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1jI6QVYtYVsPzyIm53T95Q" target="_blank">hybrid</a>
 learning to full remote around Thanksgiving because of concerns that 
holiday travel would lead to further coronavirus spikes. Students will <a href="https://shawneemissionpost.com/2021/01/05/middle-and-high-schoolers-in-smsd-are-returning-to-in-person-learning-what-you-need-to-know-110138/" target="_blank">return</a> to school and hybrid learning Jan. 26.But, like other teachers, Goodeyon’s not convinced it’s better for students.“The kids are not learning as much as they should,” Goodeyon said.Yes,
 when students actually sit in Goodeyon’s classroom two days a week, 
they do better than when they’re on a computer. But she said when those 
students return to online learning for the other half of the week, they 
do worse than when they stuck with online-only.It’s difficult 
for teachers to give the proper attention to both kids in the classroom 
and those tuning in via the computer screen. Teachers say the split 
focus hurts all students.Instead, Goodeyon spends her class time
 attending to the kids physically present. Those at home can tune in if 
they want, but they have their own independent work.She’s also 
calculated — math teachers can’t help it — her students get about 90 
fewer minutes of instruction time from her a week compared to when the 
school is in full remote.“Between remote and hybrid, it is hard 
to decide which one is better,” Goodeyon said. “The 90 minutes I have 
them is wonderful. But is that worth them having to learn 90 minutes of 
material on their own?”Teachers also say hybrid doubles their 
workload. They must make one lesson plan for the remote kids and another
 for those learning in-person that day. Shuffling lessons doesn’t work 
for a subject like calculus where a student must understand concept A 
before moving onto concept B.Educators and experts said hybrid learning does come with a few clear benefits — the largest being intervention.A
 teacher can better provide help to struggling students in-person. 
Educators are also more likely to realize a student even needs help — 
for both individual lessons and larger problems. Early identification of
 learning disorders such as dyslexia can prevent problems from 
snowballing.It also gives an outside adult a chance to notice signs of problems in the home.“Teachers
 are the ones to see a kid come in with a bruise,” said Katharine 
Strunk, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University. 
“Teachers are the first people to notice when a kid is not OK.”But
 teachers say many of those positive learning gains happening inside the
 classroom begin to disappear once students return to at-home learning. 
Neither remote or hybrid has kept students from slipping behind where 
they would be during a normal school year.“I have no control 
over their environment,” said Shane Heiman, a third-grade teacher at New
 York Elementary in Lawrence. “They are becoming more behind because 
even though I’m providing content for them, there’s still limited ways 
where I can engage them.”Blue Valley North High School English teacher Shelly Weir calls hybrid a mixed bag.A back and forth discussion on Brave New World becomes a slog with half the class divided into squares on a screen.“It takes the Zoom classroom twice as long to give their discussion because I have to physically call them out,” Weir.But
 she’s found success keeping the discussion to just the in-person kids. 
Those at home get assigned their dystopian novel of choice to read 
before it’s their turn in the school building.Weir surveyed her 
students about whether they preferred hybrid or all remote learning — 
and a slim majority preferred the remote option.Her students 
told her school just didn’t feel like school, especially when your best 
friend attends on opposite days. Some students did not want to come back
 because they didn’t feel safe with coronavirus cases so high.“They said ‘You know what? We know that coronavirus is escalating. Why are you bringing us back?’ ” Weir said.<h2>Hybrid semester</h2>Despite hybrid’s flaws, more of the state’s largest school districts are adopting the model.School
 districts like Blue Valley and Wichita started the school year without a
 hybrid option — schools would either be all in-person or all remote.Both
 districts eventually accepted the hybrid trend. The idea of some 
students not having any classroom time since March — excluding the 
elementary students that started the school year in-person — became 
unbearable for educators and parents.New <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/students-kansas-largest-school-districts-return-classrooms-during-pandemic" target="_blank">research</a>
 also suggested having kids in school buildings — with students 
remaining masked and socially distanced — hasn’t led to the massive 
disease spread educators and health officials worried about over the 
summer.Wichita School Board member Ben Blankley thinks hybrid 
learning is the worst option for teachers and students. But he voted to 
bring middle and high school students back under hybrid on Jan. 25 
anyway.He said filling classrooms will let the district make the
 inevitable switch back to full in-person learning swiftly. Hybrid means
 cafeterias reopen. Security guards come back. Custodians reopen 
mothballed sections of school buildings.“Even though it's got more drawbacks than remote, It’s on our way to getting to fully in-person,” Blankley said.Moving
 to hybrid for the first time means Wichita North High School business 
teacher Brent Lewis will have three different sets of students in the 
same class — students at home on the hybrid schedule, students in-person
 and students who opted to remain remote full-time.Lewis said 
the biggest challenge will be maintaining equity for all three groups. 
He can’t have the students in front of him collaborate on an involved 
mock business plan if the online students get left behind. So he’ll 
start the new semester teaching as if all students were on a computer 
screen.“I can’t say for sure what success looks like,” Lewis 
said. “It’s going to take a lot of learning from what’s working, what’s 
not working to go beyond treating everyone like they’re remote.”Lewis thinks he’ll eventually find some benefits to hybrid — but he’ll need the school district’s help to get there.“We’re professionals,” Lewis said. “We’re going to rise to the challenge. But we’re going to need support.”Stephan Bisaha reports on education and young adult life for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/stevebisaha" target="_blank">@SteveBisaha</a> or email him at bisaha@kmuw.org.

Kan. teachers say hybrid learning no better than all-virtual classes 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – First District Representative Tracey Mann has announced his Congressional staff for Washington, D.C., and Kansas.

Chief of Staff: Brandon Harder of Haven, Kan.&nbsp;Harder has worked in and around the Kansas Congressional Delegation for over a decade. He served as Senator Jerry Moran’s Agriculture and Trade Advisor and served Chairman Moran at the National Republican Senatorial Committee where he helped Republicans regain control of the U.S. Senate. Harder has spent the last six years representing agriculture, trade, and regulatory issues on Capitol Hill. Harder is a native of the Big First where he grew up on a hay and cattle operation before attending Kansas State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in animal science. He and his wife Kristina will split time between Washington D.C. and Kansas.

Legislative Director | Counsel: Riley Pagett of Woodward, Okla.&nbsp;Pagett was born in&nbsp;Liberal, Kansas and grew up 50 miles south of the border near his family’s cow calf operation. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural communications from Oklahoma State University and a Juris Doctor degree from American University. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s team, Pagett worked for the House Agriculture Committee, Senator James Lankford, the National FFA Organization, and most recently as the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement. Riley, his wife Lauren, and their son Ford live in Washington, D.C.

Communications Director | Military Legislative Assistant: Laura Schlapp of Wichita, Kan.&nbsp;Laura received a Bachelor of Arts in integrated marketing communication from Wichita State University. She worked for former Representative Mike Pompeo in Kansas and Senator Pat Roberts in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s team, Schlapp served in the administration for the Department of Defense and most recently served as Regional Media Director for Vice President Mike Pence. Schlapp and her husband Bryan reside in Alexandria, Virginia.

Deputy Legislative Director: Katherine Thomas of Wichita, Kan.&nbsp;Thomas received a Bachelor of Science in biology from the College of William and Mary and has worked in the Kansas delegation for seven-and-a-half years. She began her career working for former Representative Mike Pompeo in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s team, Thomas worked on agriculture issues for Senator Pat Roberts, both as a Legislative Assistant on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, &amp; Forestry and as Senior Agriculture Policy Advisor in his personal office.

Legislative Correspondent: Cale Beam of Topeka, Kan.&nbsp;Beam received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and economics from Washburn University. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s Washington, D.C. staff, Beam served as an intern for Kansas State Senator Rick Billinger and worked on the legislative relations team for the Kansas Contractors Association and for Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Staff Assistant: Michaela Todd of Baldwin City, Kan.&nbsp;Todd is a fourth generation Kansan who attended Highland Community College and received a Bachelor of Science in communication and political science from Emporia State University. Todd started her career as an intern for former Representative Lynn Jenkins and was selected for the America’s Future Writing Fellows Program and the Heritage Foundation Young Leaders Program. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s Washington, D.C. staff, Todd served as a Field Representative at Mann for Congress.

Staff Assistant: Brycen Gulick of Caney, Kan.&nbsp;Gulick received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Washburn University. Gulick started his career as an intern for Kansas State Senator Rob Olson and served as Legislative and Policy Assistant for Governor Jeff Colyer. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s Washington, D.C. staff, Gulick served as Political Director at Mann for Congress.

Scheduler: Emily Woods of Wichita, Kan.&nbsp;Woods attended Butler Community College where she was on the soccer team and received a Bachelor of Science in human resources management at Kansas State University. She also studied aboard in Prague, Czech Republic. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s Washington, D.C. staff, Woods was an intern for Governor Jeff Colyer and served as the Finance Director at Mann for Congress.

District Director: Reid Petty of Liberal, Kan.&nbsp;Petty received a Bachelor of Arts in education from Oklahoma Panhandle State University and was elected to serve on the USD 480 Board of Education. Petty also was elected and served in the Kansas House of Representatives for the 125th&nbsp;District. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s team, he worked as Senator Jerry Moran’s SW Kansas District Director. Petty and his wife Hannah have a son, Nicholas, and reside in Manhattan.

Constituent Services Director | Community Outreach: Martha Ruiz-Mendoza of California.&nbsp;Ruiz-Mendoza attended Cabot College in National City, Calif., but considers Kansas home. She has lived in Kansas for 26 years and worked for Senator Pat Roberts for 19 and-a-half years. Ruiz-Mendoza loves helping constituents and is excited to continue supporting Kansans in the First District. She is a mother to three children: Joe, Gio, and Alexyss.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – First District Representative Tracey Mann has announced his Congressional staff for Washington, D.C., and Kansas.Washington, D.C., staffChief of Staff: Brandon Harder of Haven, Kan.&nbsp;Harder has worked in and around the Kansas Congressional Delegation for over a decade. He served as Senator Jerry Moran’s Agriculture and Trade Advisor and served Chairman Moran at the National Republican Senatorial Committee where he helped Republicans regain control of the U.S. Senate. Harder has spent the last six years representing agriculture, trade, and regulatory issues on Capitol Hill. Harder is a native of the Big First where he grew up on a hay and cattle operation before attending Kansas State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in animal science. He and his wife Kristina will split time between Washington D.C. and Kansas.Legislative Director | Counsel: Riley Pagett of Woodward, Okla.&nbsp;Pagett was born in&nbsp;Liberal, Kansas and grew up 50 miles south of the border near his family’s cow calf operation. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural communications from Oklahoma State University and a Juris Doctor degree from American University. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s team, Pagett worked for the House Agriculture Committee, Senator James Lankford, the National FFA Organization, and most recently as the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement. Riley, his wife Lauren, and their son Ford live in Washington, D.C.Communications Director | Military Legislative Assistant: Laura Schlapp of Wichita, Kan.&nbsp;Laura received a Bachelor of Arts in integrated marketing communication from Wichita State University. She worked for former Representative Mike Pompeo in Kansas and Senator Pat Roberts in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s team, Schlapp served in the administration for the Department of Defense and most recently served as Regional Media Director for Vice President Mike Pence. Schlapp and her husband Bryan reside in Alexandria, Virginia.Deputy Legislative Director: Katherine Thomas of Wichita, Kan.&nbsp;Thomas received a Bachelor of Science in biology from the College of William and Mary and has worked in the Kansas delegation for seven-and-a-half years. She began her career working for former Representative Mike Pompeo in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s team, Thomas worked on agriculture issues for Senator Pat Roberts, both as a Legislative Assistant on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, &amp; Forestry and as Senior Agriculture Policy Advisor in his personal office.Legislative Correspondent: Cale Beam of Topeka, Kan.&nbsp;Beam received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and economics from Washburn University. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s Washington, D.C. staff, Beam served as an intern for Kansas State Senator Rick Billinger and worked on the legislative relations team for the Kansas Contractors Association and for Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.Staff Assistant: Michaela Todd of Baldwin City, Kan.&nbsp;Todd is a fourth generation Kansan who attended Highland Community College and received a Bachelor of Science in communication and political science from Emporia State University. Todd started her career as an intern for former Representative Lynn Jenkins and was selected for the America’s Future Writing Fellows Program and the Heritage Foundation Young Leaders Program. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s Washington, D.C. staff, Todd served as a Field Representative at Mann for Congress.Staff Assistant: Brycen Gulick of Caney, Kan.&nbsp;Gulick received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Washburn University. Gulick started his career as an intern for Kansas State Senator Rob Olson and served as Legislative and Policy Assistant for Governor Jeff Colyer. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s Washington, D.C. staff, Gulick served as Political Director at Mann for Congress.Scheduler: Emily Woods of Wichita, Kan.&nbsp;Woods attended Butler Community College where she was on the soccer team and received a Bachelor of Science in human resources management at Kansas State University. She also studied aboard in Prague, Czech Republic. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s Washington, D.C. staff, Woods was an intern for Governor Jeff Colyer and served as the Finance Director at Mann for Congress.Kansas staffDistrict Director: Reid Petty of Liberal, Kan.&nbsp;Petty received a Bachelor of Arts in education from Oklahoma Panhandle State University and was elected to serve on the USD 480 Board of Education. Petty also was elected and served in the Kansas House of Representatives for the 125th&nbsp;District. Prior to joining Rep. Mann’s team, he worked as Senator Jerry Moran’s SW Kansas District Director. Petty and his wife Hannah have a son, Nicholas, and reside in Manhattan.Constituent Services Director | Community Outreach: Martha Ruiz-Mendoza of California.&nbsp;Ruiz-Mendoza attended Cabot College in National City, Calif., but considers Kansas home. She has lived in Kansas for 26 years and worked for Senator Pat Roberts for 19 and-a-half years. Ruiz-Mendoza loves helping constituents and is excited to continue supporting Kansans in the First District. She is a mother to three children: Joe, Gio, and Alexyss.

Rep. Mann names members of his Congresional staff

MONTGOMERY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have made two arrests.

On January 16, deputies were called to the scene of two separate incidents involving burglary and theft, according to Sheriff Ron Wade.

On January 16, deputies were called to the east side of Independence when a witness from a previous case observed a truck pulling a trailer that the witness knew to be stolen. 

Upon further investigation it was learned the individual who possessed the trailer had just purchased it from a woman identified as Tanna Darnell, 36, of Independence and a man later identified as Terry “TJ” Werner, 39, Cherryvale, according to Wade.

It was also learned the individual that purchased the trailer also purchased other items that have been identified as stolen property from a separate incident.

Deputies responded to the location where the individual told deputies he purchased the property. While at that location a Deputy observed a blue ford F-150 being driven by Darnell and Werner as a passenger. The two entered a house near the location and deputies arrested them in the house. It was later determined that the home owner did not know Darnell or Werner and they did not have permission to be at the home.

Werner and Darnell are being held on requested charges to include Possession of stolen property, and Burglary. Werner also had multiple arrest warrants. Deputies also recommend drug charges after finding what is believed to be narcotic among her personal belongings.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611250176178.png" alt="Werner-photo Montgomery County" />
 <figcaption>Werner-photo Montgomery County</figcaption>
 </figure>MONTGOMERY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have made two arrests.On January 16, deputies were called to the scene of two separate incidents involving burglary and theft, according to Sheriff Ron Wade.On January 16, deputies were called to the east side of Independence when a witness from a previous case observed a truck pulling a trailer that the witness knew to be stolen. Upon further investigation it was learned the individual who possessed the trailer had just purchased it from a woman identified as Tanna Darnell, 36, of Independence and a man later identified as Terry “TJ” Werner, 39, Cherryvale, according to Wade.It was also learned the individual that purchased the trailer also purchased other items that have been identified as stolen property from a separate incident.Deputies responded to the location where the individual told deputies he purchased the property. While at that location a Deputy observed a blue ford F-150 being driven by Darnell and Werner as a passenger. The two entered a house near the location and deputies arrested them in the house. It was later determined that the home owner did not know Darnell or Werner and they did not have permission to be at the home.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611250104512.png" alt="Darnell photo Montgomery Co." />
 <figcaption>Darnell photo Montgomery Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Werner and Darnell are being held on requested charges to include Possession of stolen property, and Burglary. Werner also had multiple arrest warrants. Deputies also recommend drug charges after finding what is believed to be narcotic among her personal belongings.&nbsp;

Deputies find burglary suspects at rural Kansas home

JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a chase.

On Jan. 21, a&nbsp;Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputy observed a male subject in the Walmart parking lot in Holton who "appeared to be behaving in a suspicious manner," according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

The man left in a 1997 Honda passenger car and headed south&nbsp; on U.S. Highway 75 at a high rate of speed.&nbsp; The deputy observed the vehicle heading east on 162nd Road and allegedly committing traffic infractions.

 A short pursuit ensued into the City of Mayetta where the pursuit was terminated, according to Morse.

The driver and only occupant was identified as James Michael Costello Jr., 40, Valley Falls. Deputies arrested on requested charges of being in possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal carrying a weapon and eluding a law enforcement officer.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611281460930.png" alt="Costello has previous convictions for burglary, theft and flee or attempt to elude law enforcement, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections." />
 <figcaption>Costello has previous convictions for burglary, theft and flee or attempt to elude law enforcement, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a chase.On Jan. 21, a&nbsp;Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputy observed a male subject in the Walmart parking lot in Holton who "appeared to be behaving in a suspicious manner," according to Sheriff Tim Morse.The man left in a 1997 Honda passenger car and headed south&nbsp; on U.S. Highway 75 at a high rate of speed.&nbsp; The deputy observed the vehicle heading east on 162nd Road and allegedly committing traffic infractions. A short pursuit ensued into the City of Mayetta where the pursuit was terminated, according to Morse.The driver and only occupant was identified as James Michael Costello Jr., 40, Valley Falls. Deputies arrested on requested charges of being in possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal carrying a weapon and eluding a law enforcement officer.&nbsp;

Sheriff: Kan. felon arrested after high-speed chase

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County commissioners have decided to not fight the firing of Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman after Secretary of State Scott Schwab promised the county a role in choosing her successor. 

Lehman lost her job for violating a policy by remotely accessing the state’s voter registration database when working from home while fighting cancer during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Commissioners complimented Lehman for conducting a nearly flawless election, but opted not to propose legislation to scale back Schwab’s authority to pick the top election official in the state’s four most populous counties.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman says she is losing her job for violating a policy by remotely accessing the state’s voter registration database when working from home while fighting cancer during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Lehman said Wednesday that Secretary of State Scott Schwab informed her earlier this month that when her term as election commissioner expires on July 19, he did not intend to appoint her to another term. 

Lehman said she “knowingly chose” to violate Schwab’s policy in order to direct a fair and accurate Presidential election. Schwab says this was “not a hasty decision,” and they could not jeopardize the safety of Kansas election systems to the benefit of one.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1604060498738.png" alt="Voters waiting in line in Wichita -photo courtesy Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Voters waiting in line in Wichita -photo courtesy Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County commissioners have decided to not fight the firing of Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman after Secretary of State Scott Schwab promised the county a role in choosing her successor. Lehman lost her job for violating a policy by remotely accessing the state’s voter registration database when working from home while fighting cancer during the coronavirus pandemic. Commissioners complimented Lehman for conducting a nearly flawless election, but opted not to propose legislation to scale back Schwab’s authority to pick the top election official in the state’s four most populous counties.----------WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman says she is losing her job for violating a policy by remotely accessing the state’s voter registration database when working from home while fighting cancer during the coronavirus pandemic. Lehman said Wednesday that Secretary of State Scott Schwab informed her earlier this month that when her term as election commissioner expires on July 19, he did not intend to appoint her to another term. Lehman said she “knowingly chose” to violate Schwab’s policy in order to direct a fair and accurate Presidential election. Schwab says this was “not a hasty decision,” and they could not jeopardize the safety of Kansas election systems to the benefit of one.

Kansas county will not fight firing of election official

TOPEKA— Republicans on Friday pushed a proposed pro-life amendment to the Kansas Constitution through the state House on the 48th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision protecting abortion rights.

Governor Laura Kelly immediately responded to the news with a warning.

“I’ve always believed that every woman’s reproductive decisions should be left to her, her family, and her physician. While I know others do not share my belief, I don’t think those supporting this amendment are aware of the consequences it will have for the state of Kansas and our reputation.

“We already know how this ends – North Carolina’s notorious bathroom bill cost that state nearly $4 billion in economic development – and this amendment has the same potential to do irreparable damage to our COVID-19 economic recovery efforts and our long-term prospects to recruit businesses and workforce talent.”

<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hcr5003_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">The measure&nbsp;</a>was approved 86-38, giving abortion opponents two votes more than the two-thirds majority necessary for passage. It goes next to the Senate for debate, possibly next week.

The proposal would overturn&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a Kansas Supreme Court decision&nbsp;</a>in 2019 declaring access to abortion a “fundamental” right under the state’s Bill of Rights. It would declare that the state constitution does not grant a right to abortion.

Abortion opponents argued that the measure would simply allow the Legislature to regulate abortion as it has in the past and in line with U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

Abortion rights supporters argued that the measure would allow Kansas to ban abortion if a more conservative U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

If the measure is approved by two-thirds majorities in both chambers, it would go on the August 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-constitutions-kansas-general-elections-elections-56b272878ee505c44931b2a1840636b7">primary ballot.&nbsp;</a>Critics said abortion opponents are choosing that timing because the smaller primary electorate tends to be more conservative than a broader November general electorate.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611420285465.png" alt="The proposal would overturn&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a Kansas Supreme Court decision&nbsp;</a>in 2019 declaring access to abortion a “fundamental” right under the state’s Bill of Rights." />
 <figcaption>The proposal would overturn&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a Kansas Supreme Court decision&nbsp;</a>in 2019 declaring access to abortion a “fundamental” right under the state’s Bill of Rights.</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA— Republicans on Friday pushed a proposed pro-life amendment to the Kansas Constitution through the state House on the 48th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision protecting abortion rights.Governor Laura Kelly immediately responded to the news with a warning.“I’ve always believed that every woman’s reproductive decisions should be left to her, her family, and her physician. While I know others do not share my belief, I don’t think those supporting this amendment are aware of the consequences it will have for the state of Kansas and our reputation.“We already know how this ends – North Carolina’s notorious bathroom bill cost that state nearly $4 billion in economic development – and this amendment has the same potential to do irreparable damage to our COVID-19 economic recovery efforts and our long-term prospects to recruit businesses and workforce talent.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My statement on today&#39;s vote: <a href="https://t.co/nnTxhIgzrd">pic.twitter.com/nnTxhIgzrd</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1352684958666657799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hcr5003_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">The measure&nbsp;</a>was approved 86-38, giving abortion opponents two votes more than the two-thirds majority necessary for passage. It goes next to the Senate for debate, possibly next week.The proposal would overturn&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/3f479b218a6140719e1694fcfcdb8036">a Kansas Supreme Court decision&nbsp;</a>in 2019 declaring access to abortion a “fundamental” right under the state’s Bill of Rights. It would declare that the state constitution does not grant a right to abortion.Abortion opponents argued that the measure would simply allow the Legislature to regulate abortion as it has in the past and in line with U.S. Supreme Court decisions.Abortion rights supporters argued that the measure would allow Kansas to ban abortion if a more conservative U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.If the measure is approved by two-thirds majorities in both chambers, it would go on the August 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-constitutions-kansas-general-elections-elections-56b272878ee505c44931b2a1840636b7">primary ballot.&nbsp;</a>Critics said abortion opponents are choosing that timing because the smaller primary electorate tends to be more conservative than a broader November general electorate.___

Gov. issues warning on Kan. pro-life amendment to constitution

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A mythical, ape-like creature that has captured the imagination of adventurers for decades has now become the target of a state lawmaker in Oklahoma. 

A Republican House member has introduced a bill that would create a Bigfoot hunting season. Rep. Justin Humphrey's district includes the heavily forested Ouachita Mountains in southeast Oklahoma, <a href="https://www.honobiabigfoot.com/">where a Bigfoot festival </a>is held each year.

He says issuing a state hunting license and tag could help boost tourism. A spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, which oversees hunting in Oklahoma, says the agency uses science-driven research and doesn't recognize Bigfoot.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611435558538.png" alt="Photo courtesy Honobia Bigfoot Festival and Conference" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Honobia Bigfoot Festival and Conference</figcaption>
 </figure>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A mythical, ape-like creature that has captured the imagination of adventurers for decades has now become the target of a state lawmaker in Oklahoma. A Republican House member has introduced a bill that would create a Bigfoot hunting season. Rep. Justin Humphrey's district includes the heavily forested Ouachita Mountains in southeast Oklahoma, <a href="https://www.honobiabigfoot.com/">where a Bigfoot festival </a>is held each year. He says issuing a state hunting license and tag could help boost tourism. A spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, which oversees hunting in Oklahoma, says the agency uses science-driven research and doesn't recognize Bigfoot.

Lawmaker proposes 'Bigfoot' hunting season

LONDON (AP) — There is some evidence that a new coronavirus variant first identified in southeast England carries a higher risk of death .than the original strain, the British government’s chief scientific adviser said Friday -- though he stressed that the data is uncertain

Patrick Vallance told a news conference that “there is evidence that there is an increased risk for those who have the new variant.”

He said that for a man in his 60s with the original version of the virus, “the average risk is that for 1,000 people who got infected, roughly 10 would be expected to unfortunately die.”

“With the new variant, for 1,000 people infected, roughly 13 or 14 people might be expected to die,” he said.

But Vallance stressed that “the evidence is not yet strong” and more research is needed.

In contrast to that uncertainty, he said, there is growing confidence that the variant is more easily passed on than the original coronavirus strain. He said it appears to be between 30% and 70% more transmissible.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s technical lead on COVID-19, said studies were underway to look at the transmission and severity of new virus variants.

She said so far “they haven’t seen an increase in severity” but that more transmission could lead to “an overburdened health care system” and thus more deaths.

The evidence for the new variant being more deadly is i&nbsp;<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/955239/NERVTAG_paper_on_variant_of_concern__VOC__B.1.1.7.pdf" target="_blank">n a paper prepared by a group of scientists that advises the government on new respiratory viruses</a>, based on several studies.

The British scientists said that although initial analyses suggested that the strain, first identified in September, did not cause more severe disease, several more recent ones suggest it might. However, the numbers of deaths are relatively small, and case fatality rates are affected by many things including the care patients get and their age and health beyond having COVID-19.

The British scientists stress that the information so far has major limitations, and that they do not know how representative the cases included in the analyses are of what’s happening throughout the country or elsewhere.

One analysis did not find an increased risk of death among people admitted to a hospital with the new strain. In another, the odds of being admitted to a hospital with the new strain compared to the previously dominant one were no different.

There is a lag in reporting hospitalizations after infection, and a further lag from infection to death, so officials expect to learn more in several weeks.

Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia, said “there is quite a bit of difference in the estimated increased risk of death between the different analyses, though most, but not all, show increased risk of death,” he said.

Ian Jones, professor of Virology at the University of Reading, said “the data is limited and the conclusions preliminary. However, an increased case fatality rate is certainly possible with a virus that has upped its game in transmission.”

British officials say they are confident that the vaccines that have been authorized for use against COVID-19 will be effective against the new strain identified in the country.

But Vallance said scientists are concerned that variants identified in Brazil and South Africa could be more resistant to vaccines, adding that more research needs to be done.

Concerns about newly identified variants have triggered a spate of new travel restrictions around the world. Many countries have closed their borders to travelers from Britain, and the U.K. has halted flights from Brazil and South Africa.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there could be further restrictions.

“We may need to go further to protect our borders,” he said.

Britain has recorded 95,981 deaths among people who tested positive for the coronavirus, the highest confirmed total in Europe.

The U.K. is currently in a lockdown in an attempt to slow the latest surge of the coronavirus outbreak. Pubs, restaurants, entertainment venues and many shops are closed, and people are required to stay largely at home.

The number of new infections has begun to fall, but deaths remain agonizingly high, averaging more than 1,000 a day, and the number of hospitalized patients is 80% higher than at the first peak of the pandemic in the spring.

Johnson, who has often been accused of giving overly optimistic predictions about relaxing coronavirus restrictions, sounded gloomy.

“We will have to live with coronavirus in one way or another for a long while to come,” he said, adding that “it’s an open question” when measures could be eased.

“At this stage you’ve got to be very, very cautious indeed,” he said. Vallance agreed, “I don’t think this virus is going anywhere,” he said. “It’s going to be around, probably, forever.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/12/1608566572342.png" alt="Image courtesy GISAID" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy GISAID</figcaption>
 </figure>LONDON (AP) — There is some evidence that a new coronavirus variant first identified in southeast England carries a higher risk of death .than the original strain, the British government’s chief scientific adviser said Friday -- though he stressed that the data is uncertainPatrick Vallance told a news conference that “there is evidence that there is an increased risk for those who have the new variant.”He said that for a man in his 60s with the original version of the virus, “the average risk is that for 1,000 people who got infected, roughly 10 would be expected to unfortunately die.”“With the new variant, for 1,000 people infected, roughly 13 or 14 people might be expected to die,” he said.But Vallance stressed that “the evidence is not yet strong” and more research is needed.In contrast to that uncertainty, he said, there is growing confidence that the variant is more easily passed on than the original coronavirus strain. He said it appears to be between 30% and 70% more transmissible.Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s technical lead on COVID-19, said studies were underway to look at the transmission and severity of new virus variants.She said so far “they haven’t seen an increase in severity” but that more transmission could lead to “an overburdened health care system” and thus more deaths.The evidence for the new variant being more deadly is i&nbsp;<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/955239/NERVTAG_paper_on_variant_of_concern__VOC__B.1.1.7.pdf" target="_blank">n a paper prepared by a group of scientists that advises the government on new respiratory viruses</a>, based on several studies.The British scientists said that although initial analyses suggested that the strain, first identified in September, did not cause more severe disease, several more recent ones suggest it might. However, the numbers of deaths are relatively small, and case fatality rates are affected by many things including the care patients get and their age and health beyond having COVID-19.The British scientists stress that the information so far has major limitations, and that they do not know how representative the cases included in the analyses are of what’s happening throughout the country or elsewhere.One analysis did not find an increased risk of death among people admitted to a hospital with the new strain. In another, the odds of being admitted to a hospital with the new strain compared to the previously dominant one were no different.There is a lag in reporting hospitalizations after infection, and a further lag from infection to death, so officials expect to learn more in several weeks.Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia, said “there is quite a bit of difference in the estimated increased risk of death between the different analyses, though most, but not all, show increased risk of death,” he said.Ian Jones, professor of Virology at the University of Reading, said “the data is limited and the conclusions preliminary. However, an increased case fatality rate is certainly possible with a virus that has upped its game in transmission.”British officials say they are confident that the vaccines that have been authorized for use against COVID-19 will be effective against the new strain identified in the country.But Vallance said scientists are concerned that variants identified in Brazil and South Africa could be more resistant to vaccines, adding that more research needs to be done.Concerns about newly identified variants have triggered a spate of new travel restrictions around the world. Many countries have closed their borders to travelers from Britain, and the U.K. has halted flights from Brazil and South Africa.Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there could be further restrictions.“We may need to go further to protect our borders,” he said.Britain has recorded 95,981 deaths among people who tested positive for the coronavirus, the highest confirmed total in Europe.The U.K. is currently in a lockdown in an attempt to slow the latest surge of the coronavirus outbreak. Pubs, restaurants, entertainment venues and many shops are closed, and people are required to stay largely at home.The number of new infections has begun to fall, but deaths remain agonizingly high, averaging more than 1,000 a day, and the number of hospitalized patients is 80% higher than at the first peak of the pandemic in the spring.Johnson, who has often been accused of giving overly optimistic predictions about relaxing coronavirus restrictions, sounded gloomy.“We will have to live with coronavirus in one way or another for a long while to come,” he said, adding that “it’s an open question” when measures could be eased.“At this stage you’ve got to be very, very cautious indeed,” he said. Vallance agreed, “I don’t think this virus is going anywhere,” he said. “It’s going to be around, probably, forever.”

UK chief scientist says new virus variant may be more deadly

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Larry King, the suspenders-sporting everyman whose broadcast interviews with world leaders, movie stars and ordinary Joes helped define American conversation for a half-century, died Saturday. He was 87.

King died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Ora Media, the studio and network he co-founded,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kingsthings/status/1352960673978880000/photo/2" target="_blank">tweeted.&nbsp;</a>No cause of death was given, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-larry-king-coronavirus-pandemic-talk-shows-us-news-7cd892f589671d503a4d45de00890f64">CNN had earlier reported</a>&nbsp;he was hospitalized with COVID-19.

A longtime nationally syndicated radio host, from 1985 through 2010 he was a nightly fixture on CNN, where he won many honors, including two Peabody awards.

With his celebrity interviews, political debates and topical discussions, King wasn’t just an enduring on-air personality. He also set himself apart with the curiosity be brought to every interview, whether questioning the assault victim known as the “Central Park Jogger” or billionaire industrialist Ross Perot, who in 1992 rocked the presidential contest by announcing his candidacy on King’s show.

In its early years, “Larry King Live” was based in Washington, D.C., which gave the show an air of gravitas. Likewise King. He was the plainspoken go-between through whom Beltway bigwigs could reach their public, and they did, earning the show prestige as a place where things happened, where news was made.

King conducted an estimated 50,000 on-air interviews. In 1995 he presided over a Middle East peace summit with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He welcomed everyone from the Dalai Lama to Elizabeth Taylor, from Mikhail Gorbachev to Barack Obama, Bill Gates to Lady Gaga.

Especially after he relocated to Los Angeles, his shows were frequently in the thick of breaking celebrity news, including Paris Hilton talking about her stint in jail in 2007 and Michael Jackson’s friends and family members talking about his death in 2009.

King boasted of never over-preparing for an interview. His nonconfrontational style relaxed his guests and made him readily relatable to his audience.

“I don’t pretend to know it all,” he said in a 1995 Associated Press interview. “Not, `What about Geneva or Cuba?′ I ask, `Mr. President, what don’t you like about this job?′ Or `What’s the biggest mistake you made?′ That’s fascinating.”

At a time when CNN, as the lone player in cable news, was deemed politically neutral, and King was the essence of its middle-of-the-road stance, political figures and people at the center of controversies would seek out his show.

And he was known for getting guests who were notoriously elusive. Frank Sinatra, who rarely gave interviews and often lashed out at reporters, spoke to King in 1988 in what would be the singer’s last major TV appearance. Sinatra was an old friend of King’s and acted accordingly.

“Why are you here?” King asks. Sinatra responds, “Because you asked me to come and I hadn’t seen you in a long time to begin with, I thought we ought to get together and chat, just talk about a lot of things.”

King had never met Marlon Brando, who was even tougher to get and tougher to interview, when the acting giant asked to appear on King’s show in 1994. The two hit it off so famously they ended their 90-minute talk with a song and an on-the-mouth kiss, an image that was all over media in subsequent weeks.

After a gala week marking his 25th anniversary in June 2010, King abruptly announced he was retiring from his show, telling viewers, “It’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders.” Named as his successor in the time slot: British journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan.

By King’s departure that December, suspicion had grown that he had waited a little too long to hang up those suspenders. Once the leader in cable TV news, he ranked third in his time slot with less than half the nightly audience his peak year, 1998, when “Larry King Live” drew 1.64 million viewers.

His wide-eyed, regular-guy approach to interviewing by then felt dated in an era of edgy, pushy or loaded questioning by other hosts.

Meanwhile, occasional flubs had made him seem out of touch, or worse. A prime example from 2007 found King asking Jerry Seinfeld if he had voluntarily left his sitcom or been canceled by his network, NBC.

“I was the No. 1 show in television, Larry,” replied Seinfeld with a flabbergasted look. “Do you know who I am?”

Always a workaholic, King would be back doing specials for CNN within a few months of performing his nightly duties.

He found a new sort of celebrity as a plain-spoken natural on Twitter when the platform emerged, winning over more than 2 million followers who simultaneously mocked and loved him for his esoteric style.

“I’ve never been in a canoe. #Itsmy2cents,” he said in a typical tweet in 2015.

His Twitter account was essentially a revival of a USA Today column he wrote for two decades full of one-off, disjointed thoughts. Norm Macdonald delivered a parody version of the column when he played King on “Saturday Night Live,” with deadpan lines like, “The more I think about it, the more I appreciate the equator.”

King was constantly parodied, often through old-age jokes on late-night talk shows from hosts including David Letterman and Conan O’Brien, often appearing with the latter to get in on the roasting himself.

King came by his voracious but no-frills manner honestly.

He was born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger in 1933, a son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who ran a bar and grill in Brooklyn. But after his father’s death when Larry was a boy, he faced a troubled, sometimes destitute youth.

A fan of such radio stars as Arthur Godfrey and comedians Bob &amp; Ray, King on reaching adulthood set his sights on a broadcasting career. With word that Miami was a good place to break in, he headed south in 1957 and landed a job sweeping floors at a tiny AM station. When a deejay abruptly quit, King was put on the air — and was handed his new surname by the station manager, who thought Zeiger “too Jewish.”

A year later he moved to a larger station, where his duties were expanded from the usual patter to serving as host of a daily interview show that aired from a local restaurant. He quickly proved equally adept at talking to the waitresses, and the celebrities who began dropping by.

By the early 1960s King had gone to yet a larger Miami station, scored a newspaper column and become a local celebrity himself.

At the same time, he fell victim to living large.

“It was important to me to come across as a ‘big man,”’ he wrote in his autobiography, which meant “I made a lot of money and spread it around lavishly.”

He accumulated debts and his first broken marriages (he was married eight times to seven women). He gambled, borrowed wildly and failed to pay his taxes. He also became involved with a shady financier in a scheme to bankroll an investigation of President Kennedy’s assassination. But when King skimmed some of the cash to pay his overdue taxes, his partner sued him for grand larceny in 1971. The charges were dropped, but King’s reputation appeared ruined.

King lost his radio show and, for several years, struggled to find work. But by 1975 the scandal had largely blown over and a Miami station gave him another chance. Regaining his local popularity, King was signed in 1978 to host radio’s first nationwide call-in show.

Originating from Washington on the Mutual network, “The Larry King Show” was eventually heard on more than 300 stations and made King a national phenomenon.

A few years later, CNN founder Ted Turner offered King a slot on his young network. “Larry King Live” debuted on June 1, 1985, and became CNN’s highest-rated program. King’s beginning salary of $100,000 a year eventually grew to more than $7 million.

A three-packs-a-day cigarette habit led to a heart attack in 1987, but King’s quintuple-bypass surgery didn’t slow him down.

Meanwhile, he continued to prove that, in his words, “I’m not good at marriage, but I’m a great boyfriend.”

He was just 18 when he married high school girlfriend Freda Miller, in 1952. The marriage lasted less than a year. In subsequent decades he would marry Annette Kay, Alene Akins (twice), Mickey Sutfin, Sharon Lepore and Julie Alexander.

In 1997, he wed Shawn Southwick, a country singer and actress 26 years his junior. They would file for divorce in 2010, rescind the filing, then file for divorce again in 2019.

The couple had two sons, King’s fourth and fifth kids, Chance Armstrong, born in 1999, and Cannon Edward, born in 2000. In 2020, King lost his two eldest children, Andy King and Chaia King, who died of unrelated health problems within weeks of each other.

He had many other medical issues in recent decades, including more heart attacks and diagnoses of type 2 diabetes and lung cancer.

Early in 2021, CNN reported that King was hospitalized for more than a week with COVID-19.

Through his setbacks he continued to work into his late 80s, taking on online talk shows and infomercials as his appearances on CNN grew fewer.

“Work,” King once said. “It’s the easiest thing I do.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1609638834672.png" alt="Larry King moderated a presidential candidate debate in 2004 -photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Larry King moderated a presidential candidate debate in 2004 -photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Larry King, the suspenders-sporting everyman whose broadcast interviews with world leaders, movie stars and ordinary Joes helped define American conversation for a half-century, died Saturday. He was 87.King died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Ora Media, the studio and network he co-founded,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kingsthings/status/1352960673978880000/photo/2" target="_blank">tweeted.&nbsp;</a>No cause of death was given, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-larry-king-coronavirus-pandemic-talk-shows-us-news-7cd892f589671d503a4d45de00890f64">CNN had earlier reported</a>&nbsp;he was hospitalized with COVID-19.A longtime nationally syndicated radio host, from 1985 through 2010 he was a nightly fixture on CNN, where he won many honors, including two Peabody awards.With his celebrity interviews, political debates and topical discussions, King wasn’t just an enduring on-air personality. He also set himself apart with the curiosity be brought to every interview, whether questioning the assault victim known as the “Central Park Jogger” or billionaire industrialist Ross Perot, who in 1992 rocked the presidential contest by announcing his candidacy on King’s show.In its early years, “Larry King Live” was based in Washington, D.C., which gave the show an air of gravitas. Likewise King. He was the plainspoken go-between through whom Beltway bigwigs could reach their public, and they did, earning the show prestige as a place where things happened, where news was made.King conducted an estimated 50,000 on-air interviews. In 1995 he presided over a Middle East peace summit with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He welcomed everyone from the Dalai Lama to Elizabeth Taylor, from Mikhail Gorbachev to Barack Obama, Bill Gates to Lady Gaga.Especially after he relocated to Los Angeles, his shows were frequently in the thick of breaking celebrity news, including Paris Hilton talking about her stint in jail in 2007 and Michael Jackson’s friends and family members talking about his death in 2009.King boasted of never over-preparing for an interview. His nonconfrontational style relaxed his guests and made him readily relatable to his audience.“I don’t pretend to know it all,” he said in a 1995 Associated Press interview. “Not, `What about Geneva or Cuba?′ I ask, `Mr. President, what don’t you like about this job?′ Or `What’s the biggest mistake you made?′ That’s fascinating.”At a time when CNN, as the lone player in cable news, was deemed politically neutral, and King was the essence of its middle-of-the-road stance, political figures and people at the center of controversies would seek out his show.And he was known for getting guests who were notoriously elusive. Frank Sinatra, who rarely gave interviews and often lashed out at reporters, spoke to King in 1988 in what would be the singer’s last major TV appearance. Sinatra was an old friend of King’s and acted accordingly.“Why are you here?” King asks. Sinatra responds, “Because you asked me to come and I hadn’t seen you in a long time to begin with, I thought we ought to get together and chat, just talk about a lot of things.”King had never met Marlon Brando, who was even tougher to get and tougher to interview, when the acting giant asked to appear on King’s show in 1994. The two hit it off so famously they ended their 90-minute talk with a song and an on-the-mouth kiss, an image that was all over media in subsequent weeks.After a gala week marking his 25th anniversary in June 2010, King abruptly announced he was retiring from his show, telling viewers, “It’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders.” Named as his successor in the time slot: British journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan.By King’s departure that December, suspicion had grown that he had waited a little too long to hang up those suspenders. Once the leader in cable TV news, he ranked third in his time slot with less than half the nightly audience his peak year, 1998, when “Larry King Live” drew 1.64 million viewers.His wide-eyed, regular-guy approach to interviewing by then felt dated in an era of edgy, pushy or loaded questioning by other hosts.Meanwhile, occasional flubs had made him seem out of touch, or worse. A prime example from 2007 found King asking Jerry Seinfeld if he had voluntarily left his sitcom or been canceled by his network, NBC.“I was the No. 1 show in television, Larry,” replied Seinfeld with a flabbergasted look. “Do you know who I am?”Always a workaholic, King would be back doing specials for CNN within a few months of performing his nightly duties.He found a new sort of celebrity as a plain-spoken natural on Twitter when the platform emerged, winning over more than 2 million followers who simultaneously mocked and loved him for his esoteric style.“I’ve never been in a canoe. #Itsmy2cents,” he said in a typical tweet in 2015.His Twitter account was essentially a revival of a USA Today column he wrote for two decades full of one-off, disjointed thoughts. Norm Macdonald delivered a parody version of the column when he played King on “Saturday Night Live,” with deadpan lines like, “The more I think about it, the more I appreciate the equator.”King was constantly parodied, often through old-age jokes on late-night talk shows from hosts including David Letterman and Conan O’Brien, often appearing with the latter to get in on the roasting himself.King came by his voracious but no-frills manner honestly.He was born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger in 1933, a son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who ran a bar and grill in Brooklyn. But after his father’s death when Larry was a boy, he faced a troubled, sometimes destitute youth.A fan of such radio stars as Arthur Godfrey and comedians Bob &amp; Ray, King on reaching adulthood set his sights on a broadcasting career. With word that Miami was a good place to break in, he headed south in 1957 and landed a job sweeping floors at a tiny AM station. When a deejay abruptly quit, King was put on the air — and was handed his new surname by the station manager, who thought Zeiger “too Jewish.”A year later he moved to a larger station, where his duties were expanded from the usual patter to serving as host of a daily interview show that aired from a local restaurant. He quickly proved equally adept at talking to the waitresses, and the celebrities who began dropping by.By the early 1960s King had gone to yet a larger Miami station, scored a newspaper column and become a local celebrity himself.At the same time, he fell victim to living large.“It was important to me to come across as a ‘big man,”’ he wrote in his autobiography, which meant “I made a lot of money and spread it around lavishly.”He accumulated debts and his first broken marriages (he was married eight times to seven women). He gambled, borrowed wildly and failed to pay his taxes. He also became involved with a shady financier in a scheme to bankroll an investigation of President Kennedy’s assassination. But when King skimmed some of the cash to pay his overdue taxes, his partner sued him for grand larceny in 1971. The charges were dropped, but King’s reputation appeared ruined.King lost his radio show and, for several years, struggled to find work. But by 1975 the scandal had largely blown over and a Miami station gave him another chance. Regaining his local popularity, King was signed in 1978 to host radio’s first nationwide call-in show.Originating from Washington on the Mutual network, “The Larry King Show” was eventually heard on more than 300 stations and made King a national phenomenon.A few years later, CNN founder Ted Turner offered King a slot on his young network. “Larry King Live” debuted on June 1, 1985, and became CNN’s highest-rated program. King’s beginning salary of $100,000 a year eventually grew to more than $7 million.A three-packs-a-day cigarette habit led to a heart attack in 1987, but King’s quintuple-bypass surgery didn’t slow him down.Meanwhile, he continued to prove that, in his words, “I’m not good at marriage, but I’m a great boyfriend.”He was just 18 when he married high school girlfriend Freda Miller, in 1952. The marriage lasted less than a year. In subsequent decades he would marry Annette Kay, Alene Akins (twice), Mickey Sutfin, Sharon Lepore and Julie Alexander.In 1997, he wed Shawn Southwick, a country singer and actress 26 years his junior. They would file for divorce in 2010, rescind the filing, then file for divorce again in 2019.The couple had two sons, King’s fourth and fifth kids, Chance Armstrong, born in 1999, and Cannon Edward, born in 2000. In 2020, King lost his two eldest children, Andy King and Chaia King, who died of unrelated health problems within weeks of each other.He had many other medical issues in recent decades, including more heart attacks and diagnoses of type 2 diabetes and lung cancer.Early in 2021, CNN reported that King was hospitalized for more than a week with COVID-19.Through his setbacks he continued to work into his late 80s, taking on online talk shows and infomercials as his appearances on CNN grew fewer.“Work,” King once said. “It’s the easiest thing I do.”___

Larry King, broadcasting giant for half-century, dies 

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — One winning ticket was sold in Michigan for the $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot, making it the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-7c3e9ed1096d6adac44327a470710800">third-largest lottery prize</a>&nbsp;in U.S. history.

The winning numbers drawn Friday are: 4, 26, 42, 50, 60 and a Mega Ball of 24. The winning ticket was purchased at a Kroger store in Novi, Michigan — a city about 8 miles (13 kilometers) northwest of Detroit — according to the Michigan Lottery website.

The Mega Millions top prize had been growing since Sept. 15, when a winning ticket was sold in Wisconsin. The lottery’s next estimated jackpot is $20 million.

Friday night’s drawing comes two days after a ticket sold in Maryland matched all six numbers drawn and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-731-million-d968eb177fa0c89547ccff73d0997abe">won a $731.1 million Powerball</a>&nbsp;jackpot.

Only two lottery prizes in the U.S. have been larger than Friday’s jackpot. Three tickets for a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot were sold in January 2016, and one winning ticket sold for a $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot in October 2018.

The jackpot figures refer to amounts if a winner opts for an annuity, paid in 30 annual installments. Most winners choose a cash prize, which for the Mega Millions jackpot is $739.6 million.

The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are incredibly steep at one in 302.5 million.

The game is played in 45 states including Kansas and Missouri as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611410040393.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — One winning ticket was sold in Michigan for the $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot, making it the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-7c3e9ed1096d6adac44327a470710800">third-largest lottery prize</a>&nbsp;in U.S. history.The winning numbers drawn Friday are: 4, 26, 42, 50, 60 and a Mega Ball of 24. The winning ticket was purchased at a Kroger store in Novi, Michigan — a city about 8 miles (13 kilometers) northwest of Detroit — according to the Michigan Lottery website.The Mega Millions top prize had been growing since Sept. 15, when a winning ticket was sold in Wisconsin. The lottery’s next estimated jackpot is $20 million.Friday night’s drawing comes two days after a ticket sold in Maryland matched all six numbers drawn and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-731-million-d968eb177fa0c89547ccff73d0997abe">won a $731.1 million Powerball</a>&nbsp;jackpot.Only two lottery prizes in the U.S. have been larger than Friday’s jackpot. Three tickets for a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot were sold in January 2016, and one winning ticket sold for a $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot in October 2018.The jackpot figures refer to amounts if a winner opts for an annuity, paid in 30 annual installments. Most winners choose a cash prize, which for the Mega Millions jackpot is $739.6 million.The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are incredibly steep at one in 302.5 million.The game is played in 45 states including Kansas and Missouri as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

1 winner of Mega Millions $1B prize; 3rd largest ever in US

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-01-20/kansas-pharmacies-hire-and-train-more-workers-to-help-rollout-covid-19-vaccines-faster">Kansas News Service</a>

Hundreds, potentially thousands, of pharmacy workers could inject vaccines into the arms of Kansans in the coming months.

New
 rules, at least for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, now let an 
additional class of workers vaccinate more people faster.

Pharmacists could already give shots. But in Kansas, the pharmacy technicians that work alongside them couldn’t.

That changed <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/10/21/trump-administration-takes-action-further-expand-access-vaccines-covid-19-tests.html" target="_blank">in the fall</a>
 with new federal regulations that let technicians give vaccinations. A 
few states already allowed that before the pandemic, but many 
pharmacists across the country saw the expanding role of techs as a 
threat to their jobs.

As supplies of coronavirus vaccine increase,
 Kansas counts on pharmacies to help get it to the broader public. For 
now, the state remains in <a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/157/Availability" target="_blank">Phase One</a>
 of distribution, focused on health care workers and nursing home 
residents. Drug stores still don’t know when they will receive vaccine 
stock.

Pharmacy techs help manage inventory, fill pill bottles, unpack orders, schedule appointments.

Their
 role has come to involve more training and more tasks over the years. 
In 2017, a few dozen technicians in Idaho became the first in the 
country to start giving vaccines. Within half a year they gave <a href="https://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/supplements/2019/march2019/an-update-on-technicians-as-immunizers" target="_blank">1,000 shots</a>.

By the time the pandemic hit, <a href="https://www.pharmacist.com/article/pharmacy-technicians-gear-immunize#:~:text=States%20that%20currently%20permit%20pharmacy,Island%2C%20Utah%2C%20and%20Nevada." target="_blank">a handful of states</a> had followed Idaho’s path. The goal was to free up pharmacists from some of their most routine tasks.

Pharmacists
 in the retail world are notoriously busy. They struggle to find time 
for the kind of conversations with patients that can tease out important
 health issues before they escalate. In the worst cases, an 
investigation by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/health/pharmacists-medication-errors.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> found, excessive workloads can lead to prescription-filling errors.

By
 contrast, pharmacists with more time have more conversations with 
patients. That’s when they could learn that a medication has one of 
their customers feeling dizzy, and that another one hasn’t gotten his 
pneumonia shot yet.

“If you look at your average pharmacist” in 
retail, Washington State University pharmacotherapy professor Kimberly 
McKeirnan said, “they’re using such a small portion of the education 
that they have.”

McKeirnan developed <a href="https://pharmacy.wsu.edu/pharmacy-technician-immunization-training/" target="_blank">the training</a> for the first technicians in Idaho to give immunizations. That led later to a <a href="https://www.pharmacist.com/pharmacy-based-immunization-administration-pharmacy-technicians-0" target="_blank">nationally recognized certification</a> program.

The idea has stoked controversy. In recent years, the increasing ranks of newly minted pharmacists compared to <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/pharmacists.htm#:~:text=in%20May%202019.-,Job%20Outlook,percent%20from%202019%20to%202029." target="_blank">shrinking</a> job opportunities for them alarmed many in the field.

<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NSIGxMrdQeojIQtKusz29uyfQr9MhctQamcsiyhHFqc/edit" target="_blank">They warned</a>
 of the toll it would take on career and salary prospects for people who
 spent years in graduate school incurring hefty student debts.

Some
 pharmacists worried that simultaneously expanding the role of 
technicians could take the pressure off retailers to hire more 
pharmacists, whose salaries can cost more than three times as much. 
Others embraced the help of technicians with extra training as valuable 
support.

McKeirnan notes that technicians must work alongside 
pharmacists, who remain the clinical experts. For pharmacists, she sees a
 chance to get the time they need to work with customers at length. For 
technicians, she sees a door to growth and higher pay.

“They kind 
of hit a pay ceiling often at some point,” she said. “And then, maybe 
with the exception of just general cost of living adjustments, there’s 
not room to advance.”

In Kansas, the average <a href="https://klic.dol.ks.gov/gsipub/index.asp?docid=795" target="_blank">technician’s pay</a> comes out to about $34,000 a year.

It
 remains unclear, though, whether pharmacies in Kansas and elsewhere 
will raise the pay for technicians who complete training to give shots 
or do other new tasks.

CVS Health, for example, hasn’t committed 
to raising the pay of its technicians who join the massive immunization 
effort. That company says nearly 10,000 of its technicians have started 
or completed the training.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611179732999.png" alt="New federal rules aim to help pharmacies give the COVID-19 vaccine to more people faster. Carlos Moreno / KCUR" />
 <figcaption>New federal rules aim to help pharmacies give the COVID-19 vaccine to more people faster. Carlos Moreno / KCUR</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-01-20/kansas-pharmacies-hire-and-train-more-workers-to-help-rollout-covid-19-vaccines-faster">Kansas News Service</a>Hundreds, potentially thousands, of pharmacy workers could inject vaccines into the arms of Kansans in the coming months.New
 rules, at least for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, now let an 
additional class of workers vaccinate more people faster.Pharmacists could already give shots. But in Kansas, the pharmacy technicians that work alongside them couldn’t.That changed <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/10/21/trump-administration-takes-action-further-expand-access-vaccines-covid-19-tests.html" target="_blank">in the fall</a>
 with new federal regulations that let technicians give vaccinations. A 
few states already allowed that before the pandemic, but many 
pharmacists across the country saw the expanding role of techs as a 
threat to their jobs.As supplies of coronavirus vaccine increase,
 Kansas counts on pharmacies to help get it to the broader public. For 
now, the state remains in <a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/157/Availability" target="_blank">Phase One</a>
 of distribution, focused on health care workers and nursing home 
residents. Drug stores still don’t know when they will receive vaccine 
stock.<h2>Expanding role for techs</h2>Pharmacy techs help manage inventory, fill pill bottles, unpack orders, schedule appointments.Their
 role has come to involve more training and more tasks over the years. 
In 2017, a few dozen technicians in Idaho became the first in the 
country to start giving vaccines. Within half a year they gave <a href="https://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/supplements/2019/march2019/an-update-on-technicians-as-immunizers" target="_blank">1,000 shots</a>.By the time the pandemic hit, <a href="https://www.pharmacist.com/article/pharmacy-technicians-gear-immunize#:~:text=States%20that%20currently%20permit%20pharmacy,Island%2C%20Utah%2C%20and%20Nevada." target="_blank">a handful of states</a> had followed Idaho’s path. The goal was to free up pharmacists from some of their most routine tasks.Pharmacists
 in the retail world are notoriously busy. They struggle to find time 
for the kind of conversations with patients that can tease out important
 health issues before they escalate. In the worst cases, an 
investigation by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/health/pharmacists-medication-errors.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> found, excessive workloads can lead to prescription-filling errors.By
 contrast, pharmacists with more time have more conversations with 
patients. That’s when they could learn that a medication has one of 
their customers feeling dizzy, and that another one hasn’t gotten his 
pneumonia shot yet.“If you look at your average pharmacist” in 
retail, Washington State University pharmacotherapy professor Kimberly 
McKeirnan said, “they’re using such a small portion of the education 
that they have.”McKeirnan developed <a href="https://pharmacy.wsu.edu/pharmacy-technician-immunization-training/" target="_blank">the training</a> for the first technicians in Idaho to give immunizations. That led later to a <a href="https://www.pharmacist.com/pharmacy-based-immunization-administration-pharmacy-technicians-0" target="_blank">nationally recognized certification</a> program.<h2>Job market changes</h2>The idea has stoked controversy. In recent years, the increasing ranks of newly minted pharmacists compared to <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/pharmacists.htm#:~:text=in%20May%202019.-,Job%20Outlook,percent%20from%202019%20to%202029." target="_blank">shrinking</a> job opportunities for them alarmed many in the field.<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NSIGxMrdQeojIQtKusz29uyfQr9MhctQamcsiyhHFqc/edit" target="_blank">They warned</a>
 of the toll it would take on career and salary prospects for people who
 spent years in graduate school incurring hefty student debts.Some
 pharmacists worried that simultaneously expanding the role of 
technicians could take the pressure off retailers to hire more 
pharmacists, whose salaries can cost more than three times as much. 
Others embraced the help of technicians with extra training as valuable 
support.McKeirnan notes that technicians must work alongside 
pharmacists, who remain the clinical experts. For pharmacists, she sees a
 chance to get the time they need to work with customers at length. For 
technicians, she sees a door to growth and higher pay.“They kind 
of hit a pay ceiling often at some point,” she said. “And then, maybe 
with the exception of just general cost of living adjustments, there’s 
not room to advance.”In Kansas, the average <a href="https://klic.dol.ks.gov/gsipub/index.asp?docid=795" target="_blank">technician’s pay</a> comes out to about $34,000 a year.It
 remains unclear, though, whether pharmacies in Kansas and elsewhere 
will raise the pay for technicians who complete training to give shots 
or do other new tasks.CVS Health, for example, hasn’t committed 
to raising the pay of its technicians who join the massive immunization 
effort. That company says nearly 10,000 of its technicians have started 
or completed the training.<h2>Preparing for the rollout</h2>That includes more than 50 pharmacy techs for CVS in Kansas, where the chain operates about as many stores.In Lawrence, technician Shawn Yang jumped at the chance to help administer the shots that could help stop this pandemic.“It was an easy decision,” said Yang, who has worked for CVS for six years. “I definitely wanted to get vaccine-certified.”The store where he works already gets loads of phone calls from people wondering how and when they can get immunized.Yang
 sees a chance to help in a way that was previously closed to him. He is
 working through an American Pharmacists Association program that trains
 techs to give shots with pharmacist supervision.Nate Burrell, a 
CVS pharmacist who oversees the pharmacy teams at 18 stores in Kansas 
and Missouri, wants at least two workers with the extra training at each
 of those sites.“We know that they’re going to really be a huge asset,” Burrell said.Drug stores have been on <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-12-22/coronavirus-vaccines-are-coming-to-nursing-homes-soon-but-family-visits-likely-remain-months-away" target="_blank">a hiring spree</a>
 for months, snapping up more pharmacists, nurses and technicians as 
coronavirus testing rolled out, flu season arrived and clinical trials 
on COVID-19 vaccines progressed.Extra hands proved even more 
important when the federal government turned to pharmacies — primarily 
Walgreens and CVS — to send vaccination teams into <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-12-22/coronavirus-vaccines-are-coming-to-nursing-homes-soon-but-family-visits-likely-remain-months-away" target="_blank">nursing homes</a>, an effort that started last month (and that some say has <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/cvs-and-walgreens-under-fire-for-slow-pace-of-vaccination-in-nursing-homes/" target="_blank">moved too slowly</a>).In October, CVS alone said it needed an extra 10,000 pharmacy technicians nationwide. That hiring continues.Celia
 Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas 
News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @celia_LJ or email her at 
celia@kcur.org.