HUTCHINSON —There were no injuries after a fire at the Kansas State Fairgrounds Tuesday.

Just after 10a.m. Tuesday, fire crews responded to the Grandstand at the Kansas State Fair, according to&nbsp;Doug Hanen, Division Chief of Operations.

Kansas Highway Patrol advised flames and smoke were visible from the south end of the Grandstands. Fire was located in a vendor space that sold T-shirts and leather goods, called European Leather. 

Bystanders used fire extinguishers to knockdown the flames prior to fire department arrival. Firefighters overhauled the area and extinguished hot spots. Fire damaged was limited to the affected booth space. 

Fire Department remained on scene for a several hours assisting the vendor in removing salvageable items. Investigation found the cause to be a fault extension cord. Other vendors in the area remained closed as the cleanup continued. 

Fire Department personnel along with City of Hutchinson Street Department and Kansas State Fair employees worked to clean the affected area to allow vendors to reoccupy. 

Kansas Department of Health was called in to evaluate the food vendors in the grandstand. All food vendors have been allowed to reopen and vendors in the south part of the grandstand is in the process of reoccupying the spaces.

HUTCHINSON —There were no injuries after a fire at the Kansas State Fairgrounds Tuesday.Just after 10a.m. Tuesday, fire crews responded to the Grandstand at the Kansas State Fair, according to&nbsp;Doug Hanen, Division Chief of Operations.Kansas Highway Patrol advised flames and smoke were visible from the south end of the Grandstands. Fire was located in a vendor space that sold T-shirts and leather goods, called European Leather. Bystanders used fire extinguishers to knockdown the flames prior to fire department arrival. Firefighters overhauled the area and extinguished hot spots. Fire damaged was limited to the affected booth space. Fire Department remained on scene for a several hours assisting the vendor in removing salvageable items. Investigation found the cause to be a fault extension cord. Other vendors in the area remained closed as the cleanup continued. Fire Department personnel along with City of Hutchinson Street Department and Kansas State Fair employees worked to clean the affected area to allow vendors to reoccupy. Kansas Department of Health was called in to evaluate the food vendors in the grandstand. All food vendors have been allowed to reopen and vendors in the south part of the grandstand is in the process of reoccupying the spaces.

Bystanders put out fire under state fair grandstand

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Authorities have charges a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Detention Deputy for misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct, according to sheriff's department spokesperson Lt. Benjamin Blick.

The charge stems from an off-duty incident on August 26, 2021. The Detention Deputy, Aareon White, has been employed by the Sheriff’s Office for almost six months.

In addition to the criminal case, the Professional Standards Unit of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is also conducting an investigation. Deputy White has been placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of the criminal and internal investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595499501642.png" alt="Sedgwick County Detention Facility -courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Sedgwick County Detention Facility -courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Authorities have charges a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Detention Deputy for misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct, according to sheriff's department spokesperson Lt. Benjamin Blick.The charge stems from an off-duty incident on August 26, 2021. The Detention Deputy, Aareon White, has been employed by the Sheriff’s Office for almost six months.In addition to the criminal case, the Professional Standards Unit of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is also conducting an investigation. Deputy White has been placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of the criminal and internal investigation.

Kansas jail deputy charged for off-duty incident

Lawrence program struggles with quadrupling of homeless families under its care

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/09/13/homeless-advocate-covid-19-relief-insufficient-eviction-surge-puts-families-in-peril/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — A founder of the Family Promise organization dedicated to 
working with homeless families with children is alarmed at how COVID-19 
and the government’s response to the pandemic undercut vulnerable people
 in Lawrence.

Joe Reitz, a retired University of Kansas business professor who 
helped start the interfaith organization in 2008, told the Kansas 
Reflector podcast that Family Promise was providing emergency shelter 
and services to nearly two dozen families prior to the coronavirus 
outbreak. More recently, he said, the nonprofit was struggling to care 
for more than 85 families.

“At one point, we were serving four times as many people as we served before the pandemic. We went from 21 families in January of 2020 to 87 families a couple of months ago,”
 he said. “We cannot provide them with the counseling and training that 
we used to. We’re just keeping them alive. We’re just keeping them in 
shelter with food.”

The COVID-19 pandemic — now in it’s second tragic year despite 
availability of vaccines — is exacerbating a housing crisis that took 
root long ago. In 2020, spread of the deadly coronavirus into every 
corner of the country sparked economic upheaval that placed more 
Americans at risk of becoming homeless. Rise of the delta variant of 
COVID-19 this year triggered a surge in infections, hospitalizations and
 fatalities.

Kansas no longer has a prohibition on evictions. In May, Republican 
lawmakers in the state House and Senate rescinded an executive order 
from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly imposing the eviction ban.

An attempt by the administration of President Joe Biden to extend a 
federal eviction moratorium was derailed in August by the U.S. Supreme 
Court, but the legal wrangling delayed the day of reckoning for millions
 of families.

Resources for the homeless will be increasingly strained as the 
number of people desperate for assistance grows in Kansas, Reitz said.

Reitz, who taught business ethics at KU, said he sent a letter 
raising concerns to the state’s congressional delegation and the 
governor. He said the only reply was a form letter from U.S. Rep. 
Sharice Davids, who offered insights into legislation that didn’t 
address the homeless crisis.

“Homeless people are unreliable voters …&nbsp;and their kids certainly don’t vote,” Reitz said. “So, homeless families with children are on the bottom of the chart in terms of getting actual relief from, from a political perspective. How difficult it is to say, ‘Oh, we recognize the problem? We’re trying to do something about it.'”

At one point this year, he said, Family Promise of Lawrence was 
caring for families with 170 children, including infants and students in
 high school.

“It’s a great stigma to be homeless, whether you’re a child or parent,” Reitz said. “Everybody in the family is going to be traumatized.
 No parent wants their children to be homeless. I’ll guarantee you that.
 And, the children certainly don’t want to be homeless. I mean, they’re 
embarrassed by it.”

Reitz, who serves as a emeritus member of the Family Promise board, 
said moratoriums on evictions expired before the state distributed a 
majority of approximately $300 million available to help Kansas tenants 
with payment of rent. Only $5 billion of the $46 billion earmarked 
nationally for rental aid had been disbursed by the end of July as 
bureaucratic delays at state and local levels disrupted payouts.

The application process for rent aid is bewildering and the campaign 
to inform near-homeless families of available funding has been mediocre,
 Reitz said.

“The people who designed the application forms were obviously out of touch&nbsp;with the realities of people who are living on the margin,” he said. “I have no idea where we’re going to put more homeless families. We have a looming crisis.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631547823901.png" alt="Joseph Reitz, who helped launch Family Promise of Lawrence to assist homeless families with children, is alarmed state and federal aid has yet to take into account needs of the homeless. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector) " />
 <figcaption>Joseph Reitz, who helped launch Family Promise of Lawrence to assist homeless families with children, is alarmed state and federal aid has yet to take into account needs of the homeless. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector) </figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Lawrence program struggles with quadrupling of homeless families under its care</h2>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/09/13/homeless-advocate-covid-19-relief-insufficient-eviction-surge-puts-families-in-peril/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — A founder of the Family Promise organization dedicated to 
working with homeless families with children is alarmed at how COVID-19 
and the government’s response to the pandemic undercut vulnerable people
 in Lawrence.Joe Reitz, a retired University of Kansas business professor who 
helped start the interfaith organization in 2008, told the Kansas 
Reflector podcast that Family Promise was providing emergency shelter 
and services to nearly two dozen families prior to the coronavirus 
outbreak. More recently, he said, the nonprofit was struggling to care 
for more than 85 families.“At one point, we were serving four times as many people as we served before the pandemic. We went from 21 families in January of 2020 to 87 families a couple of months ago,”
 he said. “We cannot provide them with the counseling and training that 
we used to. We’re just keeping them alive. We’re just keeping them in 
shelter with food.”<div><iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1121983357&color=%232b7fb4&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast" title="Reflector Podcast" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Reflector Podcast</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast/homelessness-during-the-covid-19-pandemic" title="Homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic</a></div></div>The COVID-19 pandemic — now in it’s second tragic year despite 
availability of vaccines — is exacerbating a housing crisis that took 
root long ago. In 2020, spread of the deadly coronavirus into every 
corner of the country sparked economic upheaval that placed more 
Americans at risk of becoming homeless. Rise of the delta variant of 
COVID-19 this year triggered a surge in infections, hospitalizations and
 fatalities.Kansas no longer has a prohibition on evictions. In May, Republican 
lawmakers in the state House and Senate rescinded an executive order 
from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly imposing the eviction ban.An attempt by the administration of President Joe Biden to extend a 
federal eviction moratorium was derailed in August by the U.S. Supreme 
Court, but the legal wrangling delayed the day of reckoning for millions
 of families.Resources for the homeless will be increasingly strained as the 
number of people desperate for assistance grows in Kansas, Reitz said.Reitz, who taught business ethics at KU, said he sent a letter 
raising concerns to the state’s congressional delegation and the 
governor. He said the only reply was a form letter from U.S. Rep. 
Sharice Davids, who offered insights into legislation that didn’t 
address the homeless crisis.“Homeless people are unreliable voters …&nbsp;and their kids certainly don’t vote,” Reitz said. “So, homeless families with children are on the bottom of the chart in terms of getting actual relief from, from a political perspective. How difficult it is to say, ‘Oh, we recognize the problem? We’re trying to do something about it.'”At one point this year, he said, Family Promise of Lawrence was 
caring for families with 170 children, including infants and students in
 high school.“It’s a great stigma to be homeless, whether you’re a child or parent,” Reitz said. “Everybody in the family is going to be traumatized.
 No parent wants their children to be homeless. I’ll guarantee you that.
 And, the children certainly don’t want to be homeless. I mean, they’re 
embarrassed by it.”Reitz, who serves as a emeritus member of the Family Promise board, 
said moratoriums on evictions expired before the state distributed a 
majority of approximately $300 million available to help Kansas tenants 
with payment of rent. Only $5 billion of the $46 billion earmarked 
nationally for rental aid had been disbursed by the end of July as 
bureaucratic delays at state and local levels disrupted payouts.The application process for rent aid is bewildering and the campaign 
to inform near-homeless families of available funding has been mediocre,
 Reitz said.“The people who designed the application forms were obviously out of touch&nbsp;with the realities of people who are living on the margin,” he said. “I have no idea where we’re going to put more homeless families. We have a looming crisis.”

🎙 Kan. homeless advocate: Eviction surge puts families in peril

Too soon to tell whether declines were a one-time thing

By SUZANNE PEREZ <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/2021-09-13/3-000-kansas-kindergartners-and-untold-preschoolers-skipped-last-year-now-theyre-behind">Kansas News Service</a>

WICHITA — Armstrong Drees could have gone to kindergarten last year. He didn’t.

His
 mom, Lindsay, worried about COVID-19 outbreaks, particularly before a 
vaccine was available for the adults and teens around him. She briefly 
tried remote school, which was an option last year in the Wichita suburb
 of Goddard. Ultimately, she decided to keep the 6-year-old home an 
extra year.

This fall, like a number of Kansas kindergartners and first-graders, he’s experiencing school for the first time.

“There is no right decision,” said Lindsay Drees, a mother of four.

“Keeping them home is bad for their mental health,” she said. 
“Sending them to school is dangerous. They can get sick. ... You know 
you can’t get it right, so you just do the best you can.”

Lots of 
Kansas families opted not to send their preschoolers and kindergartners 
to school last fall. Kindergarten enrollment dropped by about 9% 
statewide. Preschool enrollment dropped nearly 21%.

That means this year’s kindergartners — if they even returned to classrooms this fall — are starting from behind.

In
 a typical year, more than half the students in Lisa Reeb’s kindergarten
 class at Wichita’s Colvin Elementary School would have a year of 
preschool behind them. They would know how to take turns, cut paper, 
line up for lunch, count to 10, and recognize at least some of the 
alphabet.

This fall, only four of Reeb’s 17 students attended preschool at Colvin.

“There has been a noticeable difference in what kids are able to do,”
 Reeb said. “They don’t know that they have to leave Mom on the first 
day, and that is kind of a scary situation for some of them. They don’t 
know how to even go to the bathroom, because they’re not familiar with 
the school bathrooms here. They’re just kind of lost a little bit 
because it’s a whole new experience.”

Amanda Petersen, the 
director of early childhood programs for the Kansas Department of 
Education, said children’s first years of school can set a course for 
their overall education.

Kids who attend preschool are <a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/releases/031115-podcast-reynolds" target="_blank">more likely to graduate and attend college</a>. They’re <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/146/6/e20200978" target="_blank">less likely to be arrested or struggle with substance abuse</a>.

“Quality
 early experiences make a huge difference,” she said. “We have a 
tremendous body of research that tells us that early childhood 
experiences are a critical period of brain development.”

It’s too 
soon to tell whether last year’s enrollment declines were a one-time 
blip or if they’ve stretched into this fall, as schools continue to 
struggle with <a href="https://cai.burbio.com/school-opening-tracker/" target="_blank">COVID-19 outbreaks and quarantines</a>.

Kansas districts will report their official headcounts Sept. 20.

It’s
 also unclear how many kids who missed kindergarten last year will skip 
straight to first grade. Kindergarten is not required in Kansas.

Petersen
 said her staff will continue to monitor trends and urge districts to 
pay special attention to the needs of their youngest students.

“It’s
 so important that schools use their relief funding and other resources 
available to make sure that they can provide support to those early 
elementary teachers and students who have experienced disruptions over 
this last year,” she said.

Wichita, the state’s largest district, <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/education/2021-04-26/wichita-schools-looking-to-recruit-back-students-after-enrollment-dips" target="_blank">hired two full-time staff members</a>
 to visit area preschools and day care centers and meet with families 
who didn’t enroll their youngsters last fall. The goal: Get kids back 
into schools.

Reeb said teaching kindergarten during the pandemic 
required adapting to new routines and restrictions, and that continues 
to prove handy.

“Not having as many kids where we thought they would be when they came in — we were kind of prepared for that,” she said.

“If
 you prepare yourself mentally, you don’t set yourself up for failure. 
You have to think positively and kind of go forward that way.”

Suzanne
 Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News 
Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT or email her at 
perez@kmuw.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631568859299.png" alt="Kindergarten enrollment dropped nearly 9% in Kansas last year, as thousands of families opted to keep kids home during the pandemic. Suzanne Perez / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Kindergarten enrollment dropped nearly 9% in Kansas last year, as thousands of families opted to keep kids home during the pandemic. Suzanne Perez / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Too soon to tell whether declines were a one-time thing</h2>By SUZANNE PEREZ <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/2021-09-13/3-000-kansas-kindergartners-and-untold-preschoolers-skipped-last-year-now-theyre-behind">Kansas News Service</a>WICHITA — Armstrong Drees could have gone to kindergarten last year. He didn’t.His
 mom, Lindsay, worried about COVID-19 outbreaks, particularly before a 
vaccine was available for the adults and teens around him. She briefly 
tried remote school, which was an option last year in the Wichita suburb
 of Goddard. Ultimately, she decided to keep the 6-year-old home an 
extra year.This fall, like a number of Kansas kindergartners and first-graders, he’s experiencing school for the first time.“There is no right decision,” said Lindsay Drees, a mother of four.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631568958854.png" alt="Lindsay Drees' son Armstrong, right, started kindergarten a year late this fall. Another son, Abraham, left, is a third-grader. Suzanne Perez" />
 <figcaption>Lindsay Drees' son Armstrong, right, started kindergarten a year late this fall. Another son, Abraham, left, is a third-grader. Suzanne Perez</figcaption>
 </figure>“Keeping them home is bad for their mental health,” she said. 
“Sending them to school is dangerous. They can get sick. ... You know 
you can’t get it right, so you just do the best you can.”Lots of 
Kansas families opted not to send their preschoolers and kindergartners 
to school last fall. Kindergarten enrollment dropped by about 9% 
statewide. Preschool enrollment dropped nearly 21%.That means this year’s kindergartners — if they even returned to classrooms this fall — are starting from behind.In
 a typical year, more than half the students in Lisa Reeb’s kindergarten
 class at Wichita’s Colvin Elementary School would have a year of 
preschool behind them. They would know how to take turns, cut paper, 
line up for lunch, count to 10, and recognize at least some of the 
alphabet.This fall, only four of Reeb’s 17 students attended preschool at Colvin.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631569001260.png" alt="Lisa Reeb teaches kindergarten at Colvin Elementary School in Wichita. Suzanne Perez" />
 <figcaption>Lisa Reeb teaches kindergarten at Colvin Elementary School in Wichita. Suzanne Perez</figcaption>
 </figure>“There has been a noticeable difference in what kids are able to do,”
 Reeb said. “They don’t know that they have to leave Mom on the first 
day, and that is kind of a scary situation for some of them. They don’t 
know how to even go to the bathroom, because they’re not familiar with 
the school bathrooms here. They’re just kind of lost a little bit 
because it’s a whole new experience.”Amanda Petersen, the 
director of early childhood programs for the Kansas Department of 
Education, said children’s first years of school can set a course for 
their overall education.Kids who attend preschool are <a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/releases/031115-podcast-reynolds" target="_blank">more likely to graduate and attend college</a>. They’re <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/146/6/e20200978" target="_blank">less likely to be arrested or struggle with substance abuse</a>.“Quality
 early experiences make a huge difference,” she said. “We have a 
tremendous body of research that tells us that early childhood 
experiences are a critical period of brain development.”It’s too 
soon to tell whether last year’s enrollment declines were a one-time 
blip or if they’ve stretched into this fall, as schools continue to 
struggle with <a href="https://cai.burbio.com/school-opening-tracker/" target="_blank">COVID-19 outbreaks and quarantines</a>.Kansas districts will report their official headcounts Sept. 20.It’s
 also unclear how many kids who missed kindergarten last year will skip 
straight to first grade. Kindergarten is not required in Kansas.Petersen
 said her staff will continue to monitor trends and urge districts to 
pay special attention to the needs of their youngest students.“It’s
 so important that schools use their relief funding and other resources 
available to make sure that they can provide support to those early 
elementary teachers and students who have experienced disruptions over 
this last year,” she said.Wichita, the state’s largest district, <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/education/2021-04-26/wichita-schools-looking-to-recruit-back-students-after-enrollment-dips" target="_blank">hired two full-time staff members</a>
 to visit area preschools and day care centers and meet with families 
who didn’t enroll their youngsters last fall. The goal: Get kids back 
into schools.Reeb said teaching kindergarten during the pandemic 
required adapting to new routines and restrictions, and that continues 
to prove handy.“Not having as many kids where we thought they would be when they came in — we were kind of prepared for that,” she said.“If
 you prepare yourself mentally, you don’t set yourself up for failure. 
You have to think positively and kind of go forward that way.”Suzanne
 Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News 
Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT or email her at 
perez@kmuw.org.

3,000 Kan. kindergartners skipped last year — now they're behind 

SEDGWICK COUNTY —The search continues for the suspect accused in the Tuesday morning nightclub shooting in Wichita that killed one man and injured five women. Police say 22-year-old&nbsp; Keshawn Dawson is armed and dangerous. He was released from prison in December of 2020 after serving time for weapons violations.

Just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a shooting call at the Enigma Club, 351 N. Mosley in Wichita.&nbsp; Upon arrival, officers located multiple victims.&nbsp; They were all transported to an area hospital for medical treatment.&nbsp; One victim identified as 34-year-old Preston Spencer of Wichita died from his injuries. Friends and family held his <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-kendra-and-the-spencer-family?fbclid=IwAR1CeDwwCQIfSCoQNv5hK0sgu10mWuhu3Tv8iapl8Qnv-1Q6hJWoNgFeDag">memorial service</a>&nbsp;on Monday.

The other victims, all women ages, 22, Two age 24, 28 and 40, received non life-threatening injuries, according to Stephens. Most of the injuries were to the legs. One had an injury to an arm and her lower back.&nbsp; All of the women are expected to survive.

The investigation revealed a male suspect identified as Dawson got into a disturbance earlier inside the club and was made to leave.&nbsp; Dawson returned a short time later and fired multiple rounds with a handgun through windows into the club from the outside, striking the victims.

Anyone with information on Dawson is asked to call 911.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631032156553.png" alt="Dawson photo from an earlier arrest in Sedgwick County. He is also&nbsp; wanted on two Felony Sedgwick County warrants and is prohibited from having a firearm, according to Police Captain Jason Stephens." />
 <figcaption>Dawson photo from an earlier arrest in Sedgwick County. He is also&nbsp; wanted on two Felony Sedgwick County warrants and is prohibited from having a firearm, according to Police Captain Jason Stephens.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —The search continues for the suspect accused in the Tuesday morning nightclub shooting in Wichita that killed one man and injured five women. Police say 22-year-old&nbsp; Keshawn Dawson is armed and dangerous. He was released from prison in December of 2020 after serving time for weapons violations.Just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a shooting call at the Enigma Club, 351 N. Mosley in Wichita.&nbsp; Upon arrival, officers located multiple victims.&nbsp; They were all transported to an area hospital for medical treatment.&nbsp; One victim identified as 34-year-old Preston Spencer of Wichita died from his injuries. Friends and family held his <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-kendra-and-the-spencer-family?fbclid=IwAR1CeDwwCQIfSCoQNv5hK0sgu10mWuhu3Tv8iapl8Qnv-1Q6hJWoNgFeDag">memorial service</a>&nbsp;on Monday.The other victims, all women ages, 22, Two age 24, 28 and 40, received non life-threatening injuries, according to Stephens. Most of the injuries were to the legs. One had an injury to an arm and her lower back.&nbsp; All of the women are expected to survive.The investigation revealed a male suspect identified as Dawson got into a disturbance earlier inside the club and was made to leave.&nbsp; Dawson returned a short time later and fired multiple rounds with a handgun through windows into the club from the outside, striking the victims.Anyone with information on Dawson is asked to call 911.---------------

Suspect still at large a week after fatal Kan. club shooting

BOSTON (AP) — Apple released a critical software patch to fix a security vulnerability that researchers said could allow hackers to directly infect iPhones and other Apple devices without any user action.

Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said the security issue was exploited to plant spyware on a Saudi activist’s iPhone. They said they had high confidence that the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire firm, Israel’s NSO Group, was behind that attack.

The previously unknown vulnerability affected all major Apple devices — iPhones, Macs and Apple Watches, the researchers said. NSO Group responded with a one-sentence statement saying it will continue providing tools for fighting “terror and crime.”

It was the first time a so-called “zero-click” exploit — one that doesn’t require users to click on suspect links or open infected files — has been caught and analyzed, the researchers said. They found the malicious code on Sept. 7 and immediately alerted Apple. The targeted activist asked to remain anonymous, they said.

“We’re not necessarily attributing this attack to the Saudi government,” said researcher Bill Marczak.

Citizen Lab previously found evidence of zero-click exploits being used to hack into the phones of al-Jazeera journalists and other targets, but hasn’t previously seen the malicious code itself.

Although security experts say that average iPhone, iPad and Mac user generally need not worry — such attacks tend to be limited to specific targets — the discovery still alarmed security professionals.

Malicious image files were transmitted to the activist’s phone via the iMessage instant-messaging app before it was hacked with NSO’s Pegasus spyware, which opens a phone to eavesdropping and remote data theft, Marczak said. It was discovered during a second examination of the phone, which forensics showed had been infected in March. He said the malicious file causes devices to crash.

Citizen Lab says the case reveals, once again, that NSO Group is allowing its spyware to be used against ordinary civilians.

<a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212807" target="_blank">In a blog post</a>, Apple said it was issuing a security update for iPhones and iPads because a “maliciously crafted” PDF file could lead to them being hacked. It said it was aware that the issue may have been exploited and cited Citizen Lab.

In a subsequent statement, Apple security chief Ivan Krstić commended Citizen Lab and said such exploits “are not a threat to the overwhelming majority of our users.” He noted, as he has in the past, that such exploits typically cost millions of dollars to develop and often have a short shelf life. Apple didn’t respond to questions regarding whether this was the first time it had patched a zero-click vulnerability.

Users should get alerts on their iPhones prompting them to update the phone’s iOS software. Those who want to jump the gun can go into the phone settings, click “General” then “Software Update,” and trigger the patch update directly.

Citizen Lab called the iMessage exploit FORCEDENTRY and said it was effective against Apple iOS, MacOS and WatchOS devices. It urged people to immediately install security updates.

Researcher John Scott-Railton said the news highlights the importance of securing popular messaging apps against such attacks. “Chat apps are increasingly becoming a major way that nation-states and mercenary hackers are gaining access to phones,” he said. “And it’s why it’s so important that companies focus on making sure that they are as locked down as possible.”

The researchers said it also undermines NSO Group’s claims that it only sells its spyware to law enforcement officials for use against criminals and terrorists and audits its customers to ensure it’s not abused.

“If Pegasus was only being used against criminals and terrorists, we never would have found this stuff,” said Marczak.

Facebook’s WhatsApp was also allegedly targeted by an NSO zero-click exploit. In October 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lawsuits-us-news-israel-spyware-a7ad0788b9e4498a878009d1a8c5a206">Facebook sued NSO in U.S. federal court</a>&nbsp;for allegedly targeting some 1,400 users of the encrypted messaging service with spyware.

In July, a global media consortium published a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-middle-east-israel-jamal-khashoggi-2b72451d84cd60fdcdfa37d8ee908784">damning report</a>&nbsp;on how clients of NSO Group have been spying for years on journalists, human rights activists, political dissidents, and people close to them, with the hacker-for-hire group directly involved in the targeting. Amnesty International said it confirmed 37 successful Pegasus infections based on a leaked targeting list whose origin was not disclosed.

One case involved the fiancee of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi just four days after he was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The CIA attributed the murder to the Saudi government.

The recent revelations also prompted calls for an investigation into whether Hungary’s right-wing government used Pegasus to secretly monitor critical journalists, lawyers and business figures. India’s parliament also erupted in protests as opposition lawmakers accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using NSO Groups’ product to spy on political opponents and others.

France is also trying to get to the bottom of allegations that President Emmanuel Macron and members of his government may have been targeted in 2019 by an unidentified Moroccan security service using Pegasus. Morocco, a key French ally, denied those reports and is taking legal action to counter allegations implicating the North African kingdom in the spyware scandal.

BOSTON (AP) — Apple released a critical software patch to fix a security vulnerability that researchers said could allow hackers to directly infect iPhones and other Apple devices without any user action.Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said the security issue was exploited to plant spyware on a Saudi activist’s iPhone. They said they had high confidence that the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire firm, Israel’s NSO Group, was behind that attack.The previously unknown vulnerability affected all major Apple devices — iPhones, Macs and Apple Watches, the researchers said. NSO Group responded with a one-sentence statement saying it will continue providing tools for fighting “terror and crime.”It was the first time a so-called “zero-click” exploit — one that doesn’t require users to click on suspect links or open infected files — has been caught and analyzed, the researchers said. They found the malicious code on Sept. 7 and immediately alerted Apple. The targeted activist asked to remain anonymous, they said.“We’re not necessarily attributing this attack to the Saudi government,” said researcher Bill Marczak.Citizen Lab previously found evidence of zero-click exploits being used to hack into the phones of al-Jazeera journalists and other targets, but hasn’t previously seen the malicious code itself.Although security experts say that average iPhone, iPad and Mac user generally need not worry — such attacks tend to be limited to specific targets — the discovery still alarmed security professionals.Malicious image files were transmitted to the activist’s phone via the iMessage instant-messaging app before it was hacked with NSO’s Pegasus spyware, which opens a phone to eavesdropping and remote data theft, Marczak said. It was discovered during a second examination of the phone, which forensics showed had been infected in March. He said the malicious file causes devices to crash.Citizen Lab says the case reveals, once again, that NSO Group is allowing its spyware to be used against ordinary civilians.<a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212807" target="_blank">In a blog post</a>, Apple said it was issuing a security update for iPhones and iPads because a “maliciously crafted” PDF file could lead to them being hacked. It said it was aware that the issue may have been exploited and cited Citizen Lab.In a subsequent statement, Apple security chief Ivan Krstić commended Citizen Lab and said such exploits “are not a threat to the overwhelming majority of our users.” He noted, as he has in the past, that such exploits typically cost millions of dollars to develop and often have a short shelf life. Apple didn’t respond to questions regarding whether this was the first time it had patched a zero-click vulnerability.Users should get alerts on their iPhones prompting them to update the phone’s iOS software. Those who want to jump the gun can go into the phone settings, click “General” then “Software Update,” and trigger the patch update directly.Citizen Lab called the iMessage exploit FORCEDENTRY and said it was effective against Apple iOS, MacOS and WatchOS devices. It urged people to immediately install security updates.Researcher John Scott-Railton said the news highlights the importance of securing popular messaging apps against such attacks. “Chat apps are increasingly becoming a major way that nation-states and mercenary hackers are gaining access to phones,” he said. “And it’s why it’s so important that companies focus on making sure that they are as locked down as possible.”The researchers said it also undermines NSO Group’s claims that it only sells its spyware to law enforcement officials for use against criminals and terrorists and audits its customers to ensure it’s not abused.“If Pegasus was only being used against criminals and terrorists, we never would have found this stuff,” said Marczak.Facebook’s WhatsApp was also allegedly targeted by an NSO zero-click exploit. In October 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lawsuits-us-news-israel-spyware-a7ad0788b9e4498a878009d1a8c5a206">Facebook sued NSO in U.S. federal court</a>&nbsp;for allegedly targeting some 1,400 users of the encrypted messaging service with spyware.In July, a global media consortium published a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-middle-east-israel-jamal-khashoggi-2b72451d84cd60fdcdfa37d8ee908784">damning report</a>&nbsp;on how clients of NSO Group have been spying for years on journalists, human rights activists, political dissidents, and people close to them, with the hacker-for-hire group directly involved in the targeting. Amnesty International said it confirmed 37 successful Pegasus infections based on a leaked targeting list whose origin was not disclosed.One case involved the fiancee of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi just four days after he was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The CIA attributed the murder to the Saudi government.The recent revelations also prompted calls for an investigation into whether Hungary’s right-wing government used Pegasus to secretly monitor critical journalists, lawyers and business figures. India’s parliament also erupted in protests as opposition lawmakers accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using NSO Groups’ product to spy on political opponents and others.France is also trying to get to the bottom of allegations that President Emmanuel Macron and members of his government may have been targeted in 2019 by an unidentified Moroccan security service using Pegasus. Morocco, a key French ally, denied those reports and is taking legal action to counter allegations implicating the North African kingdom in the spyware scandal.

Apple fixes security hole reportedly used to hack iPhone

By DAN MARGOLIES <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-09-10/overland-park-nurse-staffing-ceo-resigns-after-questions-about-his-sons-anti-mask-efforts">Kansas News Service</a>

The CEO of an Overland Park-based medical staffing company that 
provides traveling nurses for pandemic-stricken hospitals has resigned 
after questions arose about his support of anti-mask initiatives.

In
 a terse news release, Krucial Staffing said it had accepted Brian 
Cleary’s resignation “(i)n light of events outside our business.”

“Since this is a personnel decision, we have nothing further to say regarding this matter,” the release said.

Since
 it was founded two years ago, Krucial Staffing has supplied several 
thousand traveling nurses to hospitals in New York, Texas and Louisiana 
that have been overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the last 
month or so, Cleary’s son Jacob Cleary, 19, started an anti-masking 
group in Johnson County called Mask Choice 4 Kids. 

It has urged 
schoolchildren to resist school mask mandates and has sold T-shirts and 
other merchandise to promote its agenda. On its Facebook page on Sept. 
1, the group claimed to have 5,000 followers.

In a recent post on 
Mask Choice 4 Kids’ Facebook page, Brian Cleary wrote: “Hey guys, new to
 the group here. My 19 year old son had the idea of mask choice for 
kids, then a bunch of parents have run with it. Follow us on social 
media, we are going to be having a rally outside at the next board 
meeting. Monday September 13th from 5-630 pm. Got to have big numbers, we are shooting for 500-1000. Bring kids neighbors, everyone! Strength in numbers.” 

Brian Cleary, who is also a registered nurse, could not be reached for comment.

Jacob
 Cleary is a student at the University of Colorado in Denver. He 
resigned from Mask Choice 4 Kids a few days ago, saying in a Facebook 
post that he “could have never expected or could have predicted its 
growth.”

He said he was handing the reins to Tana Goertz, who 
appeared on Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” TV show and whose LinkedIn 
profile describes her as a “Personal friend of President Trump.” 

Neither Jacob Cleary nor Goertz could be reached for comment.

Court
 observers have suggested that Brian Cleary, along with his  
middle-school daughter, are the parties who filed a recent lawsuit 
against the Johnson County Board of Commissioners challenging its order 
requiring universal masking in all of the county's grade schools. The 
parties are identified in the lawsuit only by their initials, B.C. and 
M.M.C.

Ryan Kriegshauser, the attorney who filed the lawsuit, 
declined to confirm their identities, saying he was not authorized to 
disclose his clients’ names.

Although Krucial Staffing did not 
specify the reason for Cleary’s resignation as CEO, its news release 
suggests he was pushed out.

“Obviously being in the healthcare 
staffing business, we understand the importance of masks in hospitals 
and any medical setting,” the release stated. “As a company we work to 
ensure that all our healthcare personnel have the best protective 
equipment to keep them safe in their working environment.”

Krucial
 Staffing’s main shareholders include Kompass Kapital Holdings LLC, a 
private equity group in Overland Park, and one of Kompass’ principals, 
Bradley Berger. The phone lines at Kompass were tied up throughout 
Friday afternoon and neither Kompass nor Berger could be reached for 
comment.

Cleary and Krucial Staffing were sued last year in New 
York by three nurses who alleged that Krucial Staffing dispatched them 
to New York hospitals for jobs they weren’t trained for and for which 
they were not provided adequate personal protective equipment. Four 
additional nurses later joined the lawsuit, which is pending.

In a
 February deposition, the nurses’ attorney, Gregory Antollino, asked 
Cleary whether he believed people should be double masking.

“My 
personal opinion is, the more protection the better,” Cleary said. 
“Anything we can do as a country or community to stop the spread is a 
really good idea.”

Krucial Staffing deployed hundreds of nurses 
and nurse practitioners to New York last year when the state was at the 
epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Krucial Staffing promised them as 
much as $10,000 a week or more.

Cleary has been in the staffing 
business for more than 20 years. Until helping to launch Krucial 
Staffing in 2019, he was an executive with Favorite Healthcare Staffing,
 which lists its headquarters in the same office complex in Overland 
Park as Krucial Staffing. It’s unclear if and how the two companies are 
related. Favorite Healthcare Staffing’s president, Christopher Brink, 
did not return a phone call.

Krucial Staffing bills itself as a 
large volume staffing provider mainly for emergencies and disasters. 
Cleary, who worked in San Antonio, Texas, when he was employed at 
Favorite Healthcare Staffing, relocated to Overland Park in 2019 to 
launch Krucial Staffing.

It’s not clear what role he played in his
 son’s group, Mask Choice 4 Kids, which appears to have been founded in 
August. A Facebook posting by the group on Aug. 23 said its kickoff 
party the previous Sunday had drawn nearly 500 attendees “and everyone 
was passionate and committed to support the movement in giving our 
children the right to choose.”

Dan Margolies is senior reporter and editor at KCUR. He can be reached by email at dan@kcur.org or on Twitter @DanMargolies.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631540124138.png" alt="Krucial Staffing of Overland Park announced on Friday it had accepted CEO Brian Cleary’s resignation. Cleary’s 19-year-old son Jacob Cleary started an anti-masking group in Johnson County called Mask Choice 4 Kids. Photo Illustration-Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3" />
 <figcaption>Krucial Staffing of Overland Park announced on Friday it had accepted CEO Brian Cleary’s resignation. Cleary’s 19-year-old son Jacob Cleary started an anti-masking group in Johnson County called Mask Choice 4 Kids. Photo Illustration-Carlos Moreno / KCUR 89.3</figcaption>
 </figure>By DAN MARGOLIES <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-09-10/overland-park-nurse-staffing-ceo-resigns-after-questions-about-his-sons-anti-mask-efforts">Kansas News Service</a>The CEO of an Overland Park-based medical staffing company that 
provides traveling nurses for pandemic-stricken hospitals has resigned 
after questions arose about his support of anti-mask initiatives.In
 a terse news release, Krucial Staffing said it had accepted Brian 
Cleary’s resignation “(i)n light of events outside our business.”“Since this is a personnel decision, we have nothing further to say regarding this matter,” the release said.Since
 it was founded two years ago, Krucial Staffing has supplied several 
thousand traveling nurses to hospitals in New York, Texas and Louisiana 
that have been overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic.In the last 
month or so, Cleary’s son Jacob Cleary, 19, started an anti-masking 
group in Johnson County called Mask Choice 4 Kids. It has urged 
schoolchildren to resist school mask mandates and has sold T-shirts and 
other merchandise to promote its agenda. On its Facebook page on Sept. 
1, the group claimed to have 5,000 followers.In a recent post on 
Mask Choice 4 Kids’ Facebook page, Brian Cleary wrote: “Hey guys, new to
 the group here. My 19 year old son had the idea of mask choice for 
kids, then a bunch of parents have run with it. Follow us on social 
media, we are going to be having a rally outside at the next board 
meeting. Monday September 13th from 5-630 pm. Got to have big numbers, we are shooting for 500-1000. Bring kids neighbors, everyone! Strength in numbers.” Brian Cleary, who is also a registered nurse, could not be reached for comment.Jacob
 Cleary is a student at the University of Colorado in Denver. He 
resigned from Mask Choice 4 Kids a few days ago, saying in a Facebook 
post that he “could have never expected or could have predicted its 
growth.”He said he was handing the reins to Tana Goertz, who 
appeared on Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” TV show and whose LinkedIn 
profile describes her as a “Personal friend of President Trump.” Neither Jacob Cleary nor Goertz could be reached for comment.Court
 observers have suggested that Brian Cleary, along with his 
middle-school daughter, are the parties who filed a recent lawsuit 
against the Johnson County Board of Commissioners challenging its order 
requiring universal masking in all of the county's grade schools. The 
parties are identified in the lawsuit only by their initials, B.C. and 
M.M.C.Ryan Kriegshauser, the attorney who filed the lawsuit, 
declined to confirm their identities, saying he was not authorized to 
disclose his clients’ names.Although Krucial Staffing did not 
specify the reason for Cleary’s resignation as CEO, its news release 
suggests he was pushed out.“Obviously being in the healthcare 
staffing business, we understand the importance of masks in hospitals 
and any medical setting,” the release stated. “As a company we work to 
ensure that all our healthcare personnel have the best protective 
equipment to keep them safe in their working environment.”Krucial
 Staffing’s main shareholders include Kompass Kapital Holdings LLC, a 
private equity group in Overland Park, and one of Kompass’ principals, 
Bradley Berger. The phone lines at Kompass were tied up throughout 
Friday afternoon and neither Kompass nor Berger could be reached for 
comment.Cleary and Krucial Staffing were sued last year in New 
York by three nurses who alleged that Krucial Staffing dispatched them 
to New York hospitals for jobs they weren’t trained for and for which 
they were not provided adequate personal protective equipment. Four 
additional nurses later joined the lawsuit, which is pending.In a
 February deposition, the nurses’ attorney, Gregory Antollino, asked 
Cleary whether he believed people should be double masking.“My 
personal opinion is, the more protection the better,” Cleary said. 
“Anything we can do as a country or community to stop the spread is a 
really good idea.”Krucial Staffing deployed hundreds of nurses 
and nurse practitioners to New York last year when the state was at the 
epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Krucial Staffing promised them as 
much as $10,000 a week or more.Cleary has been in the staffing 
business for more than 20 years. Until helping to launch Krucial 
Staffing in 2019, he was an executive with Favorite Healthcare Staffing,
 which lists its headquarters in the same office complex in Overland 
Park as Krucial Staffing. It’s unclear if and how the two companies are 
related. Favorite Healthcare Staffing’s president, Christopher Brink, 
did not return a phone call.Krucial Staffing bills itself as a 
large volume staffing provider mainly for emergencies and disasters. 
Cleary, who worked in San Antonio, Texas, when he was employed at 
Favorite Healthcare Staffing, relocated to Overland Park in 2019 to 
launch Krucial Staffing.It’s not clear what role he played in his
 son’s group, Mask Choice 4 Kids, which appears to have been founded in 
August. A Facebook posting by the group on Aug. 23 said its kickoff 
party the previous Sunday had drawn nearly 500 attendees “and everyone 
was passionate and committed to support the movement in giving our 
children the right to choose.”Dan Margolies is senior reporter and editor at KCUR. He can be reached by email at dan@kcur.org or on Twitter @DanMargolies.&nbsp;

Kan. nurse staffing CEO resigns after questions about son's anti-mask efforts 

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas woman accused of a fatal hit and run shooting is scheduled for another court appearance Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office.

Charity Blackmon, 31, is charged with Murder in the 1st degree and criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and is due to attend a hearing on the status of her case.&nbsp; In July she was found competent to stand trial, according to the district attorney's office.

On March 26, police were dispatched to 13th&nbsp;Street North and Oliver Avenue in Wichita for a shooting call, according to officer Paul Cruz. Upon arriving, they located&nbsp;54-year-old <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/2blv6y22g0?qid=7f0e4807b16464f4303f8d95ed764ff1">Merrill Rabus of Wichita</a> unconscious and receiving life-saving measures.

Rabus had undetermined injuries, including what appeared to be a single gunshot wound. He was transported to an area hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

The investigation revealed Rabus was on his bicycle at the intersection of 13th&nbsp;Street North and Oliver Avenue when he was struck by a white Plymouth van driven by 31-year-old Charity Blackmon. 

Blackmon then got out of her vehicle and fired a shot from a handgun, striking Rabus. Blackmon fled the scene and was followed by witnesses who provided her location. She was located and arrested at 14th&nbsp;Street North and Green Street by a Wichita State University police officer, according to Cruz.

 Blackmon and Rabus were not known to each other. Officers also recovered a handgun through this investigation.&nbsp;

Blackmon is no longer in custody after posting bond this summer.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1616855135199.png" alt="Blackmon photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Blackmon photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas woman accused of a fatal hit and run shooting is scheduled for another court appearance Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office.Charity Blackmon, 31, is charged with Murder in the 1st degree and criminal possession of a weapon by a felon and is due to attend a hearing on the status of her case.&nbsp; In July she was found competent to stand trial, according to the district attorney's office.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1616871807743.png" alt="Police at the scene of the investigation on Friday -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police at the scene of the investigation on Friday -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>On March 26, police were dispatched to 13th&nbsp;Street North and Oliver Avenue in Wichita for a shooting call, according to officer Paul Cruz. Upon arriving, they located&nbsp;54-year-old <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/2blv6y22g0?qid=7f0e4807b16464f4303f8d95ed764ff1">Merrill Rabus of Wichita</a> unconscious and receiving life-saving measures.Rabus had undetermined injuries, including what appeared to be a single gunshot wound. He was transported to an area hospital, where he later died from his injuries.The investigation revealed Rabus was on his bicycle at the intersection of 13th&nbsp;Street North and Oliver Avenue when he was struck by a white Plymouth van driven by 31-year-old Charity Blackmon. Blackmon then got out of her vehicle and fired a shot from a handgun, striking Rabus. Blackmon fled the scene and was followed by witnesses who provided her location. She was located and arrested at 14th&nbsp;Street North and Green Street by a Wichita State University police officer, according to Cruz. Blackmon and Rabus were not known to each other. Officers also recovered a handgun through this investigation.&nbsp;Blackmon is no longer in custody after posting bond this summer.--------

Woman in fatal Kan. hit-and-run shooting due back in court

By KEN CARPENTER <a href="https://greatbendpost.com">Great Bend Post</a>

GREAT BEND — The Great 
Bend public school district has&nbsp;applied for funding&nbsp;from KDHE, the 
Kansas Department of Health and Environment,&nbsp;for a program&nbsp;to increase 
testing of students and staff for the COVID-19 virus.&nbsp;KDHE is calling 
the program “Test&nbsp;to Stay.”&nbsp;Its purpose is to keep students and staff 
in&nbsp;school&nbsp;after they have had close contact with someone who has tested 
positive for the virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Schools Superintendent Khris Thexton 
told members of Great Bend’s Board of Education&nbsp;last night&nbsp;that 
the&nbsp;testing&nbsp;program is an alternative to quarantining students and 
staff.&nbsp;

"The bottom line for me is...I want kids in school," said 
Thexton. "I don’t want kids missing.&nbsp;What was the answer?&nbsp;When I started
 talking to other districts that do this, they said,&nbsp;yes, it&nbsp;is a lot of
 work&nbsp;on the school side, but it keeps your kids in school.”&nbsp;

Thexton
 said parents must give permission&nbsp;before students can be tested. Also, 
students who are undergoing the testing protocol will be required to 
wear masks&nbsp;until the testing is concluded.&nbsp;Students and staff who test 
positive will still be quarantined.&nbsp;

Thexton&nbsp;said the “Test to Stay” program will be&nbsp;fully&nbsp;funded by the state.&nbsp;&nbsp;

"KDHE
 is willing to supply us with all the testing which is the Abbott 
BinaxNOW&nbsp;Rapid&nbsp;Antigen&nbsp;Test," said Thexton. "They give you the 
equipment. They set this up for you to actually run this process. No 
cost to the district.”&nbsp;

If Great Bend’s application is approved, 
the school district will receive a grant of approximately $240,000 to 
implement the program.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631629582494.jpeg" alt="Great Bend Board of Education discussed the "Test to Stay" program offered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment." />
 <figcaption>Great Bend Board of Education discussed the "Test to Stay" program offered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.</figcaption>
 </figure>By KEN CARPENTER <a href="https://greatbendpost.com">Great Bend Post</a>GREAT BEND — The Great 
Bend public school district has&nbsp;applied for funding&nbsp;from KDHE, the 
Kansas Department of Health and Environment,&nbsp;for a program&nbsp;to increase 
testing of students and staff for the COVID-19 virus.&nbsp;KDHE is calling 
the program “Test&nbsp;to Stay.”&nbsp;Its purpose is to keep students and staff 
in&nbsp;school&nbsp;after they have had close contact with someone who has tested 
positive for the virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;Schools Superintendent Khris Thexton 
told members of Great Bend’s Board of Education&nbsp;last night&nbsp;that 
the&nbsp;testing&nbsp;program is an alternative to quarantining students and 
staff.&nbsp;"The bottom line for me is...I want kids in school," said 
Thexton. "I don’t want kids missing.&nbsp;What was the answer?&nbsp;When I started
 talking to other districts that do this, they said,&nbsp;yes, it&nbsp;is a lot of
 work&nbsp;on the school side, but it keeps your kids in school.”&nbsp;Thexton
 said parents must give permission&nbsp;before students can be tested. Also, 
students who are undergoing the testing protocol will be required to 
wear masks&nbsp;until the testing is concluded.&nbsp;Students and staff who test 
positive will still be quarantined.&nbsp;Thexton&nbsp;said the “Test to Stay” program will be&nbsp;fully&nbsp;funded by the state.&nbsp;&nbsp;"KDHE
 is willing to supply us with all the testing which is the Abbott 
BinaxNOW&nbsp;Rapid&nbsp;Antigen&nbsp;Test," said Thexton. "They give you the 
equipment. They set this up for you to actually run this process. No 
cost to the district.”&nbsp;If Great Bend’s application is approved, 
the school district will receive a grant of approximately $240,000 to 
implement the program.&nbsp;

Great Bend schools hope to ramp up COVID testing with state grant

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Hundreds of people chanted and held signs outside a University of Kansas fraternity house where a member is accused of sexually assaulting another student. 

The Monday night protest outside the Phi Kappa Psi house came after the fraternity officials reported the allegations over the weekend. 

University officials could not be immediately reached by The Star for comment late Monday or by The Associated Press early Tuesday. A spokesman for the fraternity said the organization has been made aware of the allegations involving one of its new undergraduate members and the university was immediately notified.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631616617472.png" alt="photo courtesy WIBW-TV" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy WIBW-TV</figcaption>
 </figure>LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Hundreds of people chanted and held signs outside a University of Kansas fraternity house where a member is accused of sexually assaulting another student. The Monday night protest outside the Phi Kappa Psi house came after the fraternity officials reported the allegations over the weekend. University officials could not be immediately reached by The Star for comment late Monday or by The Associated Press early Tuesday. A spokesman for the fraternity said the organization has been made aware of the allegations involving one of its new undergraduate members and the university was immediately notified.

Protest over alleged sex assault at KU draws crowd

GREAT BEND — The classic 
P-51 gunfighter will be returning to Great Bend&nbsp;Airfest&nbsp;this 
weekend.&nbsp;Larry “Lumpy” Lumpkin will&nbsp;also be returning to fly the vintage
 aircraft.&nbsp;Lumpkin said&nbsp;the P-51 played a&nbsp;pivotal&nbsp;role for the Allies 
during the Second World War.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“It was originally designed&nbsp;for&nbsp;the
 British as a&nbsp;close air support, ground support aircraft, but once the 
British got to flying&nbsp;it,&nbsp;they said&nbsp;this American made Allison engine 
just kind of poops out at about 12,000 feet on us.&nbsp;If we could put one 
of these Merlin engines in it, we could really make a heck of an 
airplane out of it,”&nbsp;Lumpkin explained. “And that’s what&nbsp;they did.&nbsp;So&nbsp;it
 became a&nbsp;long-haul&nbsp;airplane to support the bombers all the way into 
Germany.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The plane that Lumpkin will be flying at&nbsp;Airfest&nbsp;was 
built in 1945 near the end of the war. It was retired from service in 
1957&nbsp;and is owned by the Commemorative Air Force&nbsp;in Texas.&nbsp;He thinks the
 crowd at&nbsp;Airfest&nbsp;will enjoy seeing the&nbsp;historic aircraft.&nbsp;

"We do
 about an&nbsp;eight-to-eight-and-a-half-minute&nbsp;acrobatic&nbsp;routine,” 
Lumpkin&nbsp;commented. “It’s not a lot like you see in these advanced 
acrobatic aircraft.&nbsp;It’s more like a graceful type of loop and roll and 
barrel roll.&nbsp;But it definitely gets you the idea of how graceful the 
airplane is.”&nbsp;

Lumpkin says he&nbsp;loves meeting school children when 
he comes to Great Bend.&nbsp;He retired three years ago as a pilot for United
 Airlines after a 32-year career. More&nbsp;information about Lumpkin and&nbsp;his
 plane can be found at&nbsp;P51gunfighter.com&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631625405478.png" alt="The P-51 gunfighter will be featured in this weekend's Great Bend Airfest (photo from P51gunfighter.com)" />
 <figcaption>The P-51 gunfighter will be featured in this weekend's Great Bend Airfest (photo from P51gunfighter.com)</figcaption>
 </figure>By KEN CARPENTER <a href="https://greatbendpost.com">Great Bend Post</a>GREAT BEND — The classic 
P-51 gunfighter will be returning to Great Bend&nbsp;Airfest&nbsp;this 
weekend.&nbsp;Larry “Lumpy” Lumpkin will&nbsp;also be returning to fly the vintage
 aircraft.&nbsp;Lumpkin said&nbsp;the P-51 played a&nbsp;pivotal&nbsp;role for the Allies 
during the Second World War.&nbsp;&nbsp;“It was originally designed&nbsp;for&nbsp;the
 British as a&nbsp;close air support, ground support aircraft, but once the 
British got to flying&nbsp;it,&nbsp;they said&nbsp;this American made Allison engine 
just kind of poops out at about 12,000 feet on us.&nbsp;If we could put one 
of these Merlin engines in it, we could really make a heck of an 
airplane out of it,”&nbsp;Lumpkin explained. “And that’s what&nbsp;they did.&nbsp;So&nbsp;it
 became a&nbsp;long-haul&nbsp;airplane to support the bombers all the way into 
Germany.&nbsp;&nbsp;The plane that Lumpkin will be flying at&nbsp;Airfest&nbsp;was 
built in 1945 near the end of the war. It was retired from service in 
1957&nbsp;and is owned by the Commemorative Air Force&nbsp;in Texas.&nbsp;He thinks the
 crowd at&nbsp;Airfest&nbsp;will enjoy seeing the&nbsp;historic aircraft.&nbsp;"We do
 about an&nbsp;eight-to-eight-and-a-half-minute&nbsp;acrobatic&nbsp;routine,” 
Lumpkin&nbsp;commented. “It’s not a lot like you see in these advanced 
acrobatic aircraft.&nbsp;It’s more like a graceful type of loop and roll and 
barrel roll.&nbsp;But it definitely gets you the idea of how graceful the 
airplane is.”&nbsp;Lumpkin says he&nbsp;loves meeting school children when 
he comes to Great Bend.&nbsp;He retired three years ago as a pilot for United
 Airlines after a 32-year career. More&nbsp;information about Lumpkin and&nbsp;his
 plane can be found at&nbsp;P51gunfighter.com&nbsp;

WW II fighter returns to Great Bend Airfest 

WASHINGTON — With many businesses facing a tight job market, the 
Internal Revenue Service reminds employers to check out a valuable tax 
credit available to them for hiring long-term unemployment recipients 
and other groups of workers facing significant barriers to employment.

During <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/small-business-week">National Small Business Week</a>,
 the IRS is highlighting tax benefits and resources designed to help new
 and existing small businesses. For any business now hiring, the Work 
Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) may help.

Legislation enacted in December extended the WOTC through the end of 
2025. This long-standing tax benefit encourages employers to hire 
workers certified as members of any of ten targeted groups facing 
barriers to employment. With millions of Americans out of work at one 
time or another since the pandemic began, the IRS noted that one of 
these targeted groups is long-term unemployment recipients who have been
 unemployed for at least 27 consecutive weeks and have received state or
 federal unemployment benefits during part or all of that time.

The other groups include certain veterans and recipients of various 
kinds of public assistance, among others. Specifically, the 10 groups 
are:

To qualify for the credit, an employer must first request certification by submitting IRS <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8850">Form 8850, Pre-screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit</a>, to their state workforce agency (SWA). Do not submit this form to the IRS.

Normally, Form 8850 must be submitted to the SWA within 28 days after
 the eligible worker begins work. But under a special relief provision, a
 November&nbsp;8, 2021, submission deadline applies to two groups of new 
hires—qualified summer youth employees living in Empowerment Zones and 
designated community residents living in Empowerment Zones.

To qualify for the Nov. 8 submission deadline, eligible employees 
must start work on or after January&nbsp;1, 2021, and before October&nbsp;9, 2021.
 Other requirements and further details can be found in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-21-43.pdf">Notice 2021-43</a> and the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8850.pdf">instructions to Form 8850</a>.

Eligible businesses claim the WOTC on their federal income tax 
return. It is generally based on wages paid to eligible workers during 
the first year of employment.

The credit is first figured on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5884">Form 5884, Work Opportunity Credit</a>, and then is claimed on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-3800">Form 3800, General Business Credit</a>.

Though the credit is not available to tax-exempt organizations for 
most groups of new hires, a special rule allows them to claim the WOTC 
for hiring qualified veterans. These organizations claim the credit 
against payroll taxes on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5884-c">Form 5884-C, Work Opportunity Credit for Qualified Tax Exempt Organizations</a>.

For more information about the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/work-opportunity-tax-credit">IRS.gov/wotc</a>.

Help spread the word-advance Child Tax Credit

The IRS encourages employers to help get the word out about the 
advance&nbsp;payments of the Child Tax Credit during Small Business Week. 
Employers have direct access to many who may receive this credit. More 
information on the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">Advance&nbsp;Child Tax Credit</a> is available on IRS.gov. The website has <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2021-child-tax-credit-and-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-resources-and-guidance">tools employers can use</a>
 to deliver this information, including e-posters, drop-in articles (for
 paycheck stuffers, newsletters) and social media posts to share.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — With many businesses facing a tight job market, the 
Internal Revenue Service reminds employers to check out a valuable tax 
credit available to them for hiring long-term unemployment recipients 
and other groups of workers facing significant barriers to employment.During <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/small-business-week">National Small Business Week</a>,
 the IRS is highlighting tax benefits and resources designed to help new
 and existing small businesses. For any business now hiring, the Work 
Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) may help.Legislation enacted in December extended the WOTC through the end of 
2025. This long-standing tax benefit encourages employers to hire 
workers certified as members of any of ten targeted groups facing 
barriers to employment. With millions of Americans out of work at one 
time or another since the pandemic began, the IRS noted that one of 
these targeted groups is long-term unemployment recipients who have been
 unemployed for at least 27 consecutive weeks and have received state or
 federal unemployment benefits during part or all of that time.The other groups include certain veterans and recipients of various 
kinds of public assistance, among others. Specifically, the 10 groups 
are:<ul>
 <li>Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients,</li><li>Unemployed veterans, including disabled veterans,</li><li>Formerly incarcerated individuals,</li><li>Designated community residents living in Empowerment Zones or Rural Renewal Counties,</li><li>Vocational rehabilitation referrals,</li><li>Summer youth employees living in Empowerment Zones,</li><li>Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients,</li><li>Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients,</li><li>Long-term family assistance recipients,</li><li>Long-term unemployment recipients.</li>
 </ul>To qualify for the credit, an employer must first request certification by submitting IRS <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8850">Form 8850, Pre-screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit</a>, to their state workforce agency (SWA). Do not submit this form to the IRS.Normally, Form 8850 must be submitted to the SWA within 28 days after
 the eligible worker begins work. But under a special relief provision, a
 November&nbsp;8, 2021, submission deadline applies to two groups of new 
hires—qualified summer youth employees living in Empowerment Zones and 
designated community residents living in Empowerment Zones.To qualify for the Nov. 8 submission deadline, eligible employees 
must start work on or after January&nbsp;1, 2021, and before October&nbsp;9, 2021.
 Other requirements and further details can be found in <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-21-43.pdf">Notice 2021-43</a> and the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8850.pdf">instructions to Form 8850</a>.Eligible businesses claim the WOTC on their federal income tax 
return. It is generally based on wages paid to eligible workers during 
the first year of employment.The credit is first figured on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5884">Form 5884, Work Opportunity Credit</a>, and then is claimed on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-3800">Form 3800, General Business Credit</a>.Though the credit is not available to tax-exempt organizations for 
most groups of new hires, a special rule allows them to claim the WOTC 
for hiring qualified veterans. These organizations claim the credit 
against payroll taxes on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-5884-c">Form 5884-C, Work Opportunity Credit for Qualified Tax Exempt Organizations</a>.For more information about the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/work-opportunity-tax-credit">IRS.gov/wotc</a>.<h2>Help spread the word-advance Child Tax Credit</h2>The IRS encourages employers to help get the word out about the 
advance&nbsp;payments of the Child Tax Credit during Small Business Week. 
Employers have direct access to many who may receive this credit. More 
information on the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">Advance&nbsp;Child Tax Credit</a> is available on IRS.gov. The website has <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2021-child-tax-credit-and-advance-child-tax-credit-payments-resources-and-guidance">tools employers can use</a>
 to deliver this information, including e-posters, drop-in articles (for
 paycheck stuffers, newsletters) and social media posts to share.

Renewed tax credit can help employers hire workers

STAFFORD COUNTY — School is closed this week in USD 350 St. John-Hudson
 due to increasing numbers of positive COVID cases and the shortage of 
staff and available substitutes, according to a social media report from
 the school district.

On Monday, the school board met in a special meeting&nbsp; to discuss a shutdown.

There is no remote learning this week and meals will not be served.

 School and school activities will resume on September 20th. COVID testing for students will be available on a limited basis.&nbsp;

STAFFORD COUNTY — School is closed this week in USD 350 St. John-Hudson
 due to increasing numbers of positive COVID cases and the shortage of 
staff and available substitutes, according to a social media report from
 the school district.On Monday, the school board met in a special meeting&nbsp; to discuss a shutdown.There is no remote learning this week and meals will not be served. School and school activities will resume on September 20th. COVID testing for students will be available on a limited basis.&nbsp;Cover image courtesy Pixabay

COVID, staff shortages close Kan. school district

By JULIANA GARCIA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-09-13/johnson-county-group-draws-more-scrutiny-as-it-plans-events-pushing-for-end-to-school-mask-rules">For the Kansas News Service</a>

Mask Choice 4 Kids, a Facebook group advocating for students and 
parents to have a choice on whether to wear masks at school, is planning
 several events, including a rally at Monday's Blue Valley school board 
meeting. Some of the group's signs began appearing in Johnson County 
earlier this month, though many were quickly taken down because they 
violated cities' codes for signage on public property. Photo via Ian 
Shea-Cahir Twitter.

A Facebook group advocating for students to 
have the choice to wear masks in Johnson County schools is planning a 
number of events over the next week, even as it faces growing scrutiny 
over its connections to the former CEO of a nurse staffing agency in 
Overland Park.

<a href="https://shawneemissionpost.com/2021/09/08/mask-choice-4-kids-signs-131798/" target="_blank">Mask Choice 4 Kids first popped up in August</a>, led by Jacob Cleary, the 19-year-old son of Brian Cleary, who until last week was the head of Krucial Staffing.

Krucial,
 founded in 2019, has deployed thousands of nurses to hard-hit areas of 
the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year-and-a-half.

On Friday, the company announced Brian Cleary’s resignation in a brief statement, days after a <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article254079423.html" target="_blank">Kansas City Star editorial</a> linked Mask Choice 4 Kids to Cleary and his son.

Krucial did not specify why Cleary left but said this in its statement:

“Obviously
 being in the healthcare staffing business, we understand the importance
 of masks in hospitals and any medical setting. As a company we work to 
ensure that all our healthcare personnel have the best protective 
equipment to keep them safe in their environment.”

Brian
 Cleary founded Krucial Staffing in 2019. An online bio says he has more
 than 20 years of experience in the staffing industry. He resigned from 
the company last week after questions were raised about his son’s role 
in Mask Choice 4 Kids.

Mask Choice 4 Kids says on its Facebook page that its mission is to 
“give children and parents the CHOICE to wear masks in school.”

The
 group was organized as a limited liability corporation with the Kansas 
Secretary of State’s office on Aug. 11. Jacob Cleary’s name appears on 
the filing as the organizer, and the group’s mailing address is listed 
in Wichita.

It remains unclear what, if any, role Brian Cleary has
 had with the group, though he recently posted in another private 
Facebook group, Blue Valley Parents for In-person Learning and Parent 
Choice, the following message:

“My 19 year old son had the idea 
for mask choice 4 kids, then a bunch of parents have run with it. Follow
 us on social media, we are going to be having a rally outside at the 
next board meeting. Monday September 13th from 5-630 pm. Got to have big
 numbers, we are shooting for 500-1000. Bring kids neighbors, everyone! 
Strength in numbers.”

Cleary and Krucial Staffing were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nurses-sue-after-state-of-ny-hospitals-worse-than-expected-2020-4" target="_blank">sued last year in New York</a>
 by three nurses who alleged that the company sent them to New York 
without adequate training or personal protective equipment. Four other 
nurses later joined the lawsuit, which is pending.

The Shawnee Mission Post reached out to both Jacob and Brian Cleary for comment for this story, and neither responded.

Krucial Staffing declined further comment beyond the statement it sent Friday.

Meanwhile, last week, Jacob Cleary, who is in college in Colorado <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-09-10/overland-park-nurse-staffing-ceo-resigns-after-questions-about-his-sons-anti-mask-efforts" target="_blank">according to KCUR</a>, announced on Mask Choice 4 Kids’ Facebook page that he would be stepping aside as the group’s leader.

In
 a video announcement posted on Tuesday, Sept. 7, he said he was 
“handing over the … movement” to Tana Goertz, a former contestant on the
 TV show “The Apprentice.

Goertz describes herself on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tanagoertz" target="_blank">her own Facebook page</a> as a “business consultant,” inspirational speaker” and “President Trump hype girl.”

“I’m
 also so proud of the message and that it’ll hopefully give (sic) 
parents and kids a choice,” Jacob Cleary said in his announcement. “Due 
to the growth, it has become necessary to turn the operation over to 
Tana Goertz. She is amazing and I thank her for volunteering.”

Goertz
 told the Shawnee Mission Post via email that she is donating her time 
to Mask Choice 4 Kids and is now the group’s “spokesperson.”

Goertz
 isn’t from Johnson County, and her only other recent connection to it 
appears to be an Aug. 28 Northeast Johnson County Republican Women’s 
Club annual membership luncheon at which she was the keynote speaker.

Goertz
 told the Post her brand — HeyTana— is “about positivity, youth 
mentorship, empowerment” and more, and that she’s spoken to hundreds of 
youth groups over the years.

“My brand is all about being unique, 
being unstoppable and being unforgettable,” Goertz said. “I believe 
strong confident parents produce strong confident children.”

Goertz
 did not respond to the Post’s specific questions regarding her exact 
role with Mask Choice 4 Kids. Instead, she pointed to a Facebook Live 
video she posted on Sept. 9 in which she explained how she had come on 
board.

When asked about where Mask Choice 4 Kids’ got the funding 
for several thousand T-shirts and signs, Goertz said “many parents made 
donations to fund the initial expenses.”

Goertz said Mask Choice 4 Kids’ goal is to have a chapter in all 50 states.

Until
 then, she said the group is encouraging those who share their “same 
passion and belief system” to use Mask Choice 4 Kids “as a sounding 
board and positive resource for their children who feel anxious, 
depressed and scared.”

Mask 
Choice 4 Kids’s Facebook page currently has more than 5,000 followers, 
which concerns Blue Valley parents like Annie Wishna.

Wishna, who 
has a second and fifth grader in the district, said she recently noticed
 Mask Choice 4 Kids signs up and down Roe Avenue from 119th Street to 
18th Street Expressway.

Mask Choice 4 Kids signs appeared in 
several northeast Johnson County cities earlier this month, but most 
were quickly taken down. Officials in Overland Park, Prairie Village and
 Roeland Park said the signs violated the cities’ codes for signage on 
public property.

For her part, Wishna said she thinks masks are 
“critical to keeping kids in schools,” and that concerns about Mask 
Choice 4 Kids are growing among other Blue Valley parents.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631542813664.png" alt="On its Facebook page, Mask Choice 4 Kids encourages supporters to wear the group’s branded T-shirts every Wednesday. Goertz said funds for thousands of shirts and signs came from “many parents” who made donations. Image via Mask Choice 4 Kids’s Facebook page" />
 <figcaption>On its Facebook page, Mask Choice 4 Kids encourages supporters to wear the group’s branded T-shirts every Wednesday. Goertz said funds for thousands of shirts and signs came from “many parents” who made donations. Image via Mask Choice 4 Kids’s Facebook page</figcaption>
 </figure>By JULIANA GARCIA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-09-13/johnson-county-group-draws-more-scrutiny-as-it-plans-events-pushing-for-end-to-school-mask-rules">For the Kansas News Service</a>Mask Choice 4 Kids, a Facebook group advocating for students and 
parents to have a choice on whether to wear masks at school, is planning
 several events, including a rally at Monday's Blue Valley school board 
meeting. Some of the group's signs began appearing in Johnson County 
earlier this month, though many were quickly taken down because they 
violated cities' codes for signage on public property. Photo via Ian 
Shea-Cahir Twitter.A Facebook group advocating for students to 
have the choice to wear masks in Johnson County schools is planning a 
number of events over the next week, even as it faces growing scrutiny 
over its connections to the former CEO of a nurse staffing agency in 
Overland Park.<a href="https://shawneemissionpost.com/2021/09/08/mask-choice-4-kids-signs-131798/" target="_blank">Mask Choice 4 Kids first popped up in August</a>, led by Jacob Cleary, the 19-year-old son of Brian Cleary, who until last week was the head of Krucial Staffing.Krucial,
 founded in 2019, has deployed thousands of nurses to hard-hit areas of 
the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year-and-a-half.On Friday, the company announced Brian Cleary’s resignation in a brief statement, days after a <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article254079423.html" target="_blank">Kansas City Star editorial</a> linked Mask Choice 4 Kids to Cleary and his son.Krucial did not specify why Cleary left but said this in its statement:“Obviously
 being in the healthcare staffing business, we understand the importance
 of masks in hospitals and any medical setting. As a company we work to 
ensure that all our healthcare personnel have the best protective 
equipment to keep them safe in their environment.”Mask Choice 4 Kids’ originsBrian
 Cleary founded Krucial Staffing in 2019. An online bio says he has more
 than 20 years of experience in the staffing industry. He resigned from 
the company last week after questions were raised about his son’s role 
in Mask Choice 4 Kids.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631542892618.png" alt="Brian Cleary founded Krucial Staffing in 2019. An online bio says he has more than 20 years of experience in the staffing industry. He resigned from the company last week after questions were raised about his son’s role in Mask Choice 4 Kids. -Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Brian Cleary founded Krucial Staffing in 2019. An online bio says he has more than 20 years of experience in the staffing industry. He resigned from the company last week after questions were raised about his son’s role in Mask Choice 4 Kids. -Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Mask Choice 4 Kids says on its Facebook page that its mission is to 
“give children and parents the CHOICE to wear masks in school.”The
 group was organized as a limited liability corporation with the Kansas 
Secretary of State’s office on Aug. 11. Jacob Cleary’s name appears on 
the filing as the organizer, and the group’s mailing address is listed 
in Wichita.It remains unclear what, if any, role Brian Cleary has
 had with the group, though he recently posted in another private 
Facebook group, Blue Valley Parents for In-person Learning and Parent 
Choice, the following message:“My 19 year old son had the idea 
for mask choice 4 kids, then a bunch of parents have run with it. Follow
 us on social media, we are going to be having a rally outside at the 
next board meeting. Monday September 13th from 5-630 pm. Got to have big
 numbers, we are shooting for 500-1000. Bring kids neighbors, everyone! 
Strength in numbers.”Cleary and Krucial Staffing were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nurses-sue-after-state-of-ny-hospitals-worse-than-expected-2020-4" target="_blank">sued last year in New York</a>
 by three nurses who alleged that the company sent them to New York 
without adequate training or personal protective equipment. Four other 
nurses later joined the lawsuit, which is pending.The Shawnee Mission Post reached out to both Jacob and Brian Cleary for comment for this story, and neither responded.Krucial Staffing declined further comment beyond the statement it sent Friday.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631542932680.png" alt="Tana Goertz, above, is now involved with Mask Choice 4 Kids, according to Jacob Cleary. Goertz is a former contestant on “The Apprentice” and calls herself a “President Trump Hype Girl” on her Facebook page. Photo via Tana Goertz Facebook. Photo via Tana Goertz Facebook page" />
 <figcaption>Tana Goertz, above, is now involved with Mask Choice 4 Kids, according to Jacob Cleary. Goertz is a former contestant on “The Apprentice” and calls herself a “President Trump Hype Girl” on her Facebook page. Photo via Tana Goertz Facebook. Photo via Tana Goertz Facebook page</figcaption>
 </figure>Group leadership changeMeanwhile, last week, Jacob Cleary, who is in college in Colorado <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-09-10/overland-park-nurse-staffing-ceo-resigns-after-questions-about-his-sons-anti-mask-efforts" target="_blank">according to KCUR</a>, announced on Mask Choice 4 Kids’ Facebook page that he would be stepping aside as the group’s leader.In
 a video announcement posted on Tuesday, Sept. 7, he said he was 
“handing over the … movement” to Tana Goertz, a former contestant on the
 TV show “The Apprentice.Goertz describes herself on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tanagoertz" target="_blank">her own Facebook page</a> as a “business consultant,” inspirational speaker” and “President Trump hype girl.”“I’m
 also so proud of the message and that it’ll hopefully give (sic) 
parents and kids a choice,” Jacob Cleary said in his announcement. “Due 
to the growth, it has become necessary to turn the operation over to 
Tana Goertz. She is amazing and I thank her for volunteering.”Goertz
 told the Shawnee Mission Post via email that she is donating her time 
to Mask Choice 4 Kids and is now the group’s “spokesperson.”Goertz
 isn’t from Johnson County, and her only other recent connection to it 
appears to be an Aug. 28 Northeast Johnson County Republican Women’s 
Club annual membership luncheon at which she was the keynote speaker.Goertz
 told the Post her brand — HeyTana— is “about positivity, youth 
mentorship, empowerment” and more, and that she’s spoken to hundreds of 
youth groups over the years.“My brand is all about being unique, 
being unstoppable and being unforgettable,” Goertz said. “I believe 
strong confident parents produce strong confident children.”Goertz
 did not respond to the Post’s specific questions regarding her exact 
role with Mask Choice 4 Kids. Instead, she pointed to a Facebook Live 
video she posted on Sept. 9 in which she explained how she had come on 
board.When asked about where Mask Choice 4 Kids’ got the funding 
for several thousand T-shirts and signs, Goertz said “many parents made 
donations to fund the initial expenses.”Goertz said Mask Choice 4 Kids’ goal is to have a chapter in all 50 states.Until
 then, she said the group is encouraging those who share their “same 
passion and belief system” to use Mask Choice 4 Kids “as a sounding 
board and positive resource for their children who feel anxious, 
depressed and scared.”Some parents concernedMask 
Choice 4 Kids’s Facebook page currently has more than 5,000 followers, 
which concerns Blue Valley parents like Annie Wishna.Wishna, who 
has a second and fifth grader in the district, said she recently noticed
 Mask Choice 4 Kids signs up and down Roe Avenue from 119th Street to 
18th Street Expressway.Mask Choice 4 Kids signs appeared in 
several northeast Johnson County cities earlier this month, but most 
were quickly taken down. Officials in Overland Park, Prairie Village and
 Roeland Park said the signs violated the cities’ codes for signage on 
public property.For her part, Wishna said she thinks masks are 
“critical to keeping kids in schools,” and that concerns about Mask 
Choice 4 Kids are growing among other Blue Valley parents.Still, she said she hopes the community will come together to fight 
COVID-19 instead of prolonging it, which is what she said will happen if
 Mask Choice 4 Kids gets its way and masks in schools become optional.“My
 hope would be that people would do the right thing and make the right 
decision and do what’s needed to end this pandemic,” Wishna said. “We’re
 all in this together. What’s best for all Blue Valley students is for 
people to wear masks as long as necessary, and get vaccinated.”Charlie
 Hunt, Johnson County Department of Health and Environment deputy 
director, said children accounted for more than 26% — or more than 
250,000 — of all reported COVID-19 cases nationwide the week of Sept. 2.Additionally,
 he said there are high numbers of COVID-19 cases being reported in 
Johnson County schools with hundreds of students across the county being
 quarantined in the school year’s opening weeks.Hunt said the CDC
 and the American Academy of Pediatrics both “consistently recommend the
 use of masks” to effectively reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.“Masks
 are an effective way to prevent the spread of the virus, so individuals
 don’t get sick, don’t have to stay home and don’t have to utilize 
hospital (or) medical resources,” Hunt said.A blitz of eventsMask Choice 4 Kids says its goal is to “peacefully and positively advocate for a choice on masks for kids by.”The
 group encourages middle and high school students to defy school rules 
and remove their masks after the first period every Tuesday.The group also calls for its supporters to wear “Mask Choice 4 Kids” T-shirts every Wednesday.In addition, several upcoming events and demonstrations are listed on the Mask Choice 4 Kids calendar on its Facebook page:<ul>
 <li>A
 rally at the Blue Valley school board meeting on Monday, Sept. 13. The 
group says it hopes to get 1,000 people outside the meeting, along with 
folks participating in public comments.</li><li>Attending the 
Johnson County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Thursday, Sept. 
16, where some group members plan to speak during public comments.</li><li>A rally at Blue Valley Southwest High School on Friday, Sept. 17.</li><li>A “sick out” day on Monday, Sept. 20 at Heritage Park from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.</li>
 </ul>Kaci Brutto, Blue Valley Schools director of communications, said the district is aware of the group. “The
 two driving forces influencing our decisions this school year amid a 
continuing pandemic continue to be the safety of our students and 
keeping our students in school — in-person — as it is critical to their 
long-term success and well-being,” Brutto said.Juliana Garcia is a reporter with the Shawnee Mission Post.&nbsp;