By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

Difficult economic times mean some donors have less to give this holiday season, but more families are in need of the services provided by local charities, said Erica Berges, United Way of Ellis County executive director.

Giving Tuesday, which is celebrated the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is a global effort to encourage charitable giving.

Berges encouraged local residents to give today during Giving Tuesday and through the holiday season to help fill the revenue gap for charities.

The United Way is in the midst of its annual fundraising campaign, and Berges said giving is lagging behind where it was at the same time last year.

The campaign is only about 30 percent to goal, whereas in 2019 the campaign was 60 percent to goal at the end of November. The&nbsp;&nbsp;United Way is still waiting on several large employers's pledges to be received, but Berges said she is concerned about the numbers.

Many charities have also have seen decreases in revenue because they were unable to conduct fundraisers this year because of the pandemic.

"We are really needing the community to pull together and give this year," Berges said.

If United Way does not reach it's fundraising goal, less money will be available to distribute to its partner agencies and the agencies will be able to help fewer people, Beges said, adding there is a great need for services at this time.

"The support local, shop local is so important, so is giving local," she said.

You can see a list of the United Way's partner agencies for 2020 by <a href="https://www.liveunited.us/partner-agencies">clicking here</a>.&nbsp;

You can donate to the Unite Way at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.liveunited.us/">www.liveunited.us/</a>,&nbsp;bring a donation to the United Way office at 205 E. Seventh, Hadley Center, Suite 111, or mail checks to&nbsp;PO Box 367, Hays, KS 67601.

You can also buy tickets for the United Way's Dine Out raffle for a chance to win one of three baskets with gift cards to local restaurants worth $400 each. Tickets are $5 each or five tickets for $20. Those tickets can be purchased online or at United Way office. The raffle winners will be drawn at noon on Dec. 14&nbsp;on Facebook Live.

On Thursday Dec. 3 there will be a Dine Out Day at Professor's and on Dec. 14 there will be a Dine Day at Arthur's Pizza in Ellis with a portion of the proceeds on both days benefiting the United Way.&nbsp;

You can also donate to United Way if you are shopping online this holiday season using the Amazon Smile program. See the United Way's website for more details.

First Call for Help: Families struggle with the basics

First Call for Help, which provides food, rent and utility assistance, has seen an increase in need for its service, Linda Mills, executive director, said.

Many families had one or more household members out of work during the shutdown, and although many of those employees have gone back to work, families are struggling to catch up on bills.

In addition, families have been hit with losses of income because of quarantines.&nbsp;

First Call for Help received funds from the CARES Act to help cover the costs of expanded services.&nbsp;However, the longer the pandemic continues, the more need Mills said she thinks the agency will see.

First Call for Help is in the process of delivering non-perishable food from the annual Thanksgiving Feast grocery drive, so it does not need food donations at this time. However, the agency can always use diapers.

In addition to raising funds to support ongoing needs in the community, First Call for Help is also in the midst of a capital campaign to raise $250,000 for its <a href="https://archive.hayspost.com/2019/07/30/first-call-for-help-launches-housing-fundraising-campaign-2/">First Step transitional housing program</a>.

The agency is about half way to its fundraising goal. Concrete work on the project has already begun at the First Call building on 13th Street.

When the project is completed, it will include a four-bedroom housing unit with a small kitchen/common area, as well as a laundry area.&nbsp;Each room will be able to house up to three people.

To donate to First Call for Help or the First Step program go to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.firstcallelliscounty.com/">www.firstcallelliscounty.com/</a>&nbsp;or mail checks or deliver them in person to 607 E. 13th St., Hays, 67601. First Call's lobby is closed to facilitate social distancing. You will need to call ahead to 785-623-2800 if you wish to deliver a donation in person.

CASA: Raising funds harder during pandemic

Tabitha Keith, CASA of the High Plains executive director, said COVID has limited CASA's fundraising opportunities.

The organization, which provides advocates in court for children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect, conducts its annual No Show Tea in conjunction with Giving Tuesday.

It is a mail and social media fundraiser, and you don't need to leave your house to participate.

More than 100 children annually are removed from their homes within CASA of the High Plains coverage area, which includes Ellis, Rooks, Trego and Gove counties.

"With your help, we can continue to provide essential services to abused and neglected children in the court system," Keith said.

Donors can send funds via mail to&nbsp;107 W. 13th St., Hays, KS 67601 or online by <a href="https://events.eventgroove.com/event/2020-No-Show-Tea-Party-45850?fbclid=IwAR2tgba5uvCTeTxPp7Kqc0WCOMtnWHZkflNOfwOsxfghLLN16PP7wOLd2hU">clicking here</a>.&nbsp;

If you can't give financially, you could give of your time. CASA is looking for both volunteers to serve as advocates and volunteers to serve on the CASA board. CASA has recently had to turn down cases for which advocates were requested because not enough volunteers were available.

Contact Keith at the CASA office at 785-628-8641 for more information on becoming a volunteer.

ARC Park pushing to reach goal for playground, splash pad

The ARC Park project is 6 percent away from its goal for the the first two phases, an accessible playground and splash pad.

If the group can finish the fundraising for the first two phases soon, equipment for the splash pad can be ordered in time for a scheduled opening by July 4, said Brent Kaiser, Arc of the Central Plains activities director.

"We think [the splash pad] is really possible by July 4," Kaiser said. "A couple of our big donations were contingent on 'Let's get this done by next summer.' That's our goal, and I really think we're going to get there. It is just a matter of getting those last dollars to come in to be able to cover it."

The equipment has already been received for the accessible playground. It is waiting to be installed.

"For us there a couple of pieces to this," Kaiser said of Giving Tuesday. "No. 1&nbsp; is raising the funds. That is a really important piece to all of this because we know we have to have the funds to get there, but the other thing is to continue to raise awareness about our project, to continue to get it out there."

Kaiser said he and others with the project are aware some people in the community still don't know about the project.

"We know there are people who are looking to make donations at the end of the year," he said, "and we just want to be on that radar if possible. If not, then there are so many other great non-profits in our community as well."

Donation jars are available at all Hays Cerv's, as well as other area businesses.

The ARC Park is also sponsoring a Givebutter online fundraiser at&nbsp;<a href="https://givebutter.com/ARCParkGivingTuesday">givebutter.com/ARCParkGivingTuesday</a>. Givebutter is like GoFundMe, but is designed for non-profits. Click on the link and share. The top fundraiser will win an ARC Park T-shirt or hat.

You can also donate at Hays ARC Park website: <a href="http://www.haysarcpark.org/?fbclid=IwAR0fSx-FWSqO_U_JJpeT46Y3EtB1BEcusUuMjvnk4hdF7Y7IRgUWtrqOKUM" target="_blank">www.haysarcpark.org</a>, on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ARCCPThrift">The Arc of Central Plains Thrift Shop Facebook page</a>&nbsp;or mail or deliver donations to The Arc of Central Plains, 600 Main St., Hays, KS 67601

See below for a list of other community organizations who are asking for donations on Giving Tuesday.

High Plains Mental Health is seeing an increased need for mental health services in Northwest Kansas, partly due to pandemic-related stress.&nbsp; Tax-deductible donations can be made via <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HighPlainsMentalHealth">Facebook</a> or mailed to 208 E. Seventh St., Hays, KS 67601.

If you would like to give to Developmental Services, you can follow the link&nbsp;<a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mydsnwk.org%2Fdonate%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3rBKtYcQGPGLSK_bi2OBYRQorGL6gD7JcDT21qvQCWcxWaz1aYzY07_J0&amp;h=AT10pnGc0pNqkQh7vYvozELo5g4KbjgxbYiK7uKeNjfg6E9AyaWBb0TbbszhJfNsMO1iKVDgrWp2fIhU5OBpCxJMBoKc1PmVECo4EyIZnmd8w_DsZOpa5x59lFQzZYMXPMWfZCQsow&amp;__tn__=-UK-y-R&amp;c[0]=AT13Wzitm5UfRmO3xu8R5KNM0bQV79Jlo7oG25W7KpIXETCk07KxYmMvkJRsCSVnolEfgMcdoYsbMWpEIWEDMk6I1wWBVpOoZa1RvYAUfRb2AFJqZydhobbSF5ki-oWdJTnKYlQgxW3jjn2_sVPOD8nrgzdrauEfisq0sKtUUEW53WTIpVDwdfvywvXHbPnFOV3Yeug" target="_blank">https://www.mydsnwk.org/donate</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1606776364293.jpeg" alt="The ARC Park is partnering with Cerv's and other local businesses to accept donations on Giving Tuesday. See below for other ways to give to the ARC Park and other area non-profits. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>The ARC Park is partnering with Cerv's and other local businesses to accept donations on Giving Tuesday. See below for other ways to give to the ARC Park and other area non-profits. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostDifficult economic times mean some donors have less to give this holiday season, but more families are in need of the services provided by local charities, said Erica Berges, United Way of Ellis County executive director.Giving Tuesday, which is celebrated the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is a global effort to encourage charitable giving.Berges encouraged local residents to give today during Giving Tuesday and through the holiday season to help fill the revenue gap for charities.The United Way is in the midst of its annual fundraising campaign, and Berges said giving is lagging behind where it was at the same time last year.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1606776579622.jpeg" alt="United Way of Ellis County is at about 30 percent to goal. At this time last year, the campaign was 60 percent to goal." />
 <figcaption>United Way of Ellis County is at about 30 percent to goal. At this time last year, the campaign was 60 percent to goal.</figcaption>
 </figure>The campaign is only about 30 percent to goal, whereas in 2019 the campaign was 60 percent to goal at the end of November. The&nbsp;&nbsp;United Way is still waiting on several large employers's pledges to be received, but Berges said she is concerned about the numbers.The agency's goal this year is $380,000.Many charities have also have seen decreases in revenue because they were unable to conduct fundraisers this year because of the pandemic."We are really needing the community to pull together and give this year," Berges said.If United Way does not reach it's fundraising goal, less money will be available to distribute to its partner agencies and the agencies will be able to help fewer people, Beges said, adding there is a great need for services at this time."The support local, shop local is so important, so is giving local," she said.You can see a list of the United Way's partner agencies for 2020 by <a href="https://www.liveunited.us/partner-agencies">clicking here</a>.&nbsp;<h2>United Way: Many ways to give</h2>You can donate to the Unite Way at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.liveunited.us/">www.liveunited.us/</a>,&nbsp;bring a donation to the United Way office at 205 E. Seventh, Hadley Center, Suite 111, or mail checks to&nbsp;PO Box 367, Hays, KS 67601.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1606777008012.jpeg" alt="For $5 per ticket or five tickets for $20, you can enter to win the United Way Dine Out raffle for a chance to win one of three baskets with $400 of gift cards to local restaurants each. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>For $5 per ticket or five tickets for $20, you can enter to win the United Way Dine Out raffle for a chance to win one of three baskets with $400 of gift cards to local restaurants each. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>You can also buy tickets for the United Way's Dine Out raffle for a chance to win one of three baskets with gift cards to local restaurants worth $400 each. Tickets are $5 each or five tickets for $20. Those tickets can be purchased online or at United Way office. The raffle winners will be drawn at noon on Dec. 14&nbsp;on Facebook Live.On Thursday Dec. 3 there will be a Dine Out Day at Professor's and on Dec. 14 there will be a Dine Day at Arthur's Pizza in Ellis with a portion of the proceeds on both days benefiting the United Way.&nbsp;You can also donate to United Way if you are shopping online this holiday season using the Amazon Smile program. See the United Way's website for more details.<h2>First Call for Help: Families struggle with the basics</h2>First Call for Help, which provides food, rent and utility assistance, has seen an increase in need for its service, Linda Mills, executive director, said.Many families had one or more household members out of work during the shutdown, and although many of those employees have gone back to work, families are struggling to catch up on bills.In addition, families have been hit with losses of income because of quarantines.&nbsp;First Call for Help received funds from the CARES Act to help cover the costs of expanded services.&nbsp;However, the longer the pandemic continues, the more need Mills said she thinks the agency will see.First Call for Help is in the process of delivering non-perishable food from the annual Thanksgiving Feast grocery drive, so it does not need food donations at this time. However, the agency can always use diapers.In addition to raising funds to support ongoing needs in the community, First Call for Help is also in the midst of a capital campaign to raise $250,000 for its <a href="https://archive.hayspost.com/2019/07/30/first-call-for-help-launches-housing-fundraising-campaign-2/">First Step transitional housing program</a>.The agency is about half way to its fundraising goal. Concrete work on the project has already begun at the First Call building on 13th Street.When the project is completed, it will include a four-bedroom housing unit with a small kitchen/common area, as well as a laundry area.&nbsp;Each room will be able to house up to three people.To donate to First Call for Help or the First Step program go to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.firstcallelliscounty.com/">www.firstcallelliscounty.com/</a>&nbsp;or mail checks or deliver them in person to 607 E. 13th St., Hays, 67601. First Call's lobby is closed to facilitate social distancing. You will need to call ahead to 785-623-2800 if you wish to deliver a donation in person.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1606777163037.jpeg" alt="Letters ready to be mailed for CASA of the High Plains No Show Tea, which is held annually in conjunction with Giving Tuesday. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Letters ready to be mailed for CASA of the High Plains No Show Tea, which is held annually in conjunction with Giving Tuesday. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>CASA: Raising funds harder during pandemic</h2>Tabitha Keith, CASA of the High Plains executive director, said COVID has limited CASA's fundraising opportunities.The organization, which provides advocates in court for children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect, conducts its annual No Show Tea in conjunction with Giving Tuesday.It is a mail and social media fundraiser, and you don't need to leave your house to participate.More than 100 children annually are removed from their homes within CASA of the High Plains coverage area, which includes Ellis, Rooks, Trego and Gove counties."With your help, we can continue to provide essential services to abused and neglected children in the court system," Keith said.Donors can send funds via mail to&nbsp;107 W. 13th St., Hays, KS 67601 or online by <a href="https://events.eventgroove.com/event/2020-No-Show-Tea-Party-45850?fbclid=IwAR2tgba5uvCTeTxPp7Kqc0WCOMtnWHZkflNOfwOsxfghLLN16PP7wOLd2hU">clicking here</a>.&nbsp;If you can't give financially, you could give of your time. CASA is looking for both volunteers to serve as advocates and volunteers to serve on the CASA board. CASA has recently had to turn down cases for which advocates were requested because not enough volunteers were available.Contact Keith at the CASA office at 785-628-8641 for more information on becoming a volunteer.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1606777255108.jpeg" alt="Playground equipment being delivered for the ARC Park playground. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Playground equipment being delivered for the ARC Park playground. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>ARC Park pushing to reach goal for playground, splash pad</h2>The ARC Park project is 6 percent away from its goal for the the first two phases, an accessible playground and splash pad.If the group can finish the fundraising for the first two phases soon, equipment for the splash pad can be ordered in time for a scheduled opening by July 4, said Brent Kaiser, Arc of the Central Plains activities director."We think [the splash pad] is really possible by July 4," Kaiser said. "A couple of our big donations were contingent on 'Let's get this done by next summer.' That's our goal, and I really think we're going to get there. It is just a matter of getting those last dollars to come in to be able to cover it."The equipment has already been received for the accessible playground. It is waiting to be installed."For us there a couple of pieces to this," Kaiser said of Giving Tuesday. "No. 1&nbsp; is raising the funds. That is a really important piece to all of this because we know we have to have the funds to get there, but the other thing is to continue to raise awareness about our project, to continue to get it out there."Kaiser said he and others with the project are aware some people in the community still don't know about the project."We know there are people who are looking to make donations at the end of the year," he said, "and we just want to be on that radar if possible. If not, then there are so many other great non-profits in our community as well."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1606777364382.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Donation jars are available at all Hays Cerv's, as well as other area businesses.The ARC Park is also sponsoring a Givebutter online fundraiser at&nbsp;<a href="https://givebutter.com/ARCParkGivingTuesday">givebutter.com/ARCParkGivingTuesday</a>. Givebutter is like GoFundMe, but is designed for non-profits. Click on the link and share. The top fundraiser will win an ARC Park T-shirt or hat.You can also donate at Hays ARC Park website: <a href="http://www.haysarcpark.org/?fbclid=IwAR0fSx-FWSqO_U_JJpeT46Y3EtB1BEcusUuMjvnk4hdF7Y7IRgUWtrqOKUM" target="_blank">www.haysarcpark.org</a>, on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ARCCPThrift">The Arc of Central Plains Thrift Shop Facebook page</a>&nbsp;or mail or deliver donations to The Arc of Central Plains, 600 Main St., Hays, KS 67601 See below for a list of other community organizations who are asking for donations on Giving Tuesday.<h2>Ellis Alliance</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1606777589256.jpeg" alt="Ellis Alliance" />
 <figcaption>Ellis Alliance</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>High Plains Mental Health</h2>High Plains Mental Health is seeing an increased need for mental health services in Northwest Kansas, partly due to pandemic-related stress.&nbsp; Tax-deductible donations can be made via <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HighPlainsMentalHealth">Facebook</a> or mailed to 208 E. Seventh St., Hays, KS 67601. <h2>DSNWK</h2>If you would like to give to Developmental Services, you can follow the link&nbsp;<a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mydsnwk.org%2Fdonate%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3rBKtYcQGPGLSK_bi2OBYRQorGL6gD7JcDT21qvQCWcxWaz1aYzY07_J0&amp;h=AT10pnGc0pNqkQh7vYvozELo5g4KbjgxbYiK7uKeNjfg6E9AyaWBb0TbbszhJfNsMO1iKVDgrWp2fIhU5OBpCxJMBoKc1PmVECo4EyIZnmd8w_DsZOpa5x59lFQzZYMXPMWfZCQsow&amp;__tn__=-UK-y-R&amp;c[0]=AT13Wzitm5UfRmO3xu8R5KNM0bQV79Jlo7oG25W7KpIXETCk07KxYmMvkJRsCSVnolEfgMcdoYsbMWpEIWEDMk6I1wWBVpOoZa1RvYAUfRb2AFJqZydhobbSF5ki-oWdJTnKYlQgxW3jjn2_sVPOD8nrgzdrauEfisq0sKtUUEW53WTIpVDwdfvywvXHbPnFOV3Yeug" target="_blank">https://www.mydsnwk.org/donate</a>.

Giving Tuesday chance to donate as charities, community struggle

Linda LoRee Hiser, 77, passed from this life on November 3, 2020, at 
Morton County Hospital in Elkhart, KS. Linda was born December 15, 1942,
 in Liberal, KS, the only child of Lloyd Homer and Ada Viola Fowler 
Hiser. Linda was the granddaughter of two early pioneer families in the 
area, Charley A. and Tamer Ella Fowler and George and Luella Hiser. 
	Linda’s childhood was spent on a farm about halfway between Guymon, OK 
and Elkhart, KS. She had many pet dogs, her special horse, Jip, and 
chickens. One year Linda was able to participate in part of the annual 
Point of Rocks Trail Riders journey to Guymon. She was a farm girl and 
loved living in the country with the wide open spaces and beautiful 
sunrises and sunsets. She also loved to go fishing with the family on 
the weekends, usually at Lake Carl Etling or Clayton Lake. In her adult 
years, Linda had many faithful animal companions also. Her special dogs,
 Chai and Sunday Mae, were an important part of Linda’s life. Linda 
took over the management of the family farm after her father’s death and
 was still involved with running the family business at the time of her 
passing. 
	Education began for Linda in the Guymon Public schools where she spent 
12 years. After graduation from Guymon High School in 1960, Linda 
continued her education at Panhandle A &amp; M College in Goodwell, 
graduating in 1964 with a degree in Business Administration. Linda 
became a high school teacher and taught English and Business classes for
 6 years in the schools at Weskan, Norcatur and Jennings, KS. Linda 
furthered her education at Fort Hays University earning a Master’s 
degree in Business Education in 1970. 
	Family history was of special interest for Linda and her Mother and 
they spent several years traveling to various states and going to the 
courthouses to find the actual records and original documents that 
related to their family genealogy. Linda had an amazing knowledge of the
 family history going back several generations and frequently informed 
other family members of the family stories and people that were in the 
family ancestry. 
	Seeing new places and traveling to far off lands was in Linda’s blood. 
Her ancestors had moved frequently to various locations and Linda felt 
her desire to travel came about naturally. While Linda’s Mother was 
still living, they traveled to Hawaii, Niagara Falls, the Pacific 
Northwest, and several countries in Europe. This was in addition to all 
the exploring around the United States that they had done in their 
genealogical travel searches. 
	After Linda lost her father, Linda continued to take many exciting 
trips and learned much about the cultures and customs of many different 
countries. Linda was able to explore and enjoy many trips with Dr. 
Perido and his wife and friends. Their travels took them to Antarctica, 
South America, Canada, Egypt, Australia, Europe and other countries. 
	Many adventures and travels also were made with Linda’s cousins, 
Donnita and Gary Wilson and LaVern Daniluk. The group traveled to Europe
 and took a couple of river cruises through Hungary, Germany, Austria, 
Czech Republic, Slovakia and Luxembourg. Linda was also able to tour 
France including Normandy where she was thanked as an American for 
defending France during WWII by the grateful French citizens. Linda 
really enjoyed visiting Paris and Prague. Other adventures took Linda 
to Alaska. Through Linda’s years of travel she was able to experience 
and travel to each continent except the Arctic. 
	The Elkhart community and Texas County, OK were home for Linda. After 
moving back to the Oklahoma Panhandle in the 1970’s, Linda became a 
member of the Friendly Neighbors Home Extension Club. She later joined 
the Coterie Club and loved being a member and the fun of being one of 
the Red Hat Ladies. She was also involved with the Elkhart Chamber of 
Commerce. Linda loved baseball and was one of the Elkhart Dusters most 
ardent fans. 
	Linda was a faithful member of the First Christian Church in Elkhart. 
Declining health kept her from attending as much as she wanted in her 
last few years. 
	Linda is survived by first cousins Ella Durham, Donnita Wilson, LaVern 
Daniluk, Ruth Harrington, Pearl Turner, Linda Taylor, Marjorie Stritzke 
and Lois Luellen. She was preceded in death by her Father and Mother, 
many aunts and uncles – Lenora Ferguson, Bertha Fowler, Wardie Fowler, 
Austin Fowler, Mattie Fowler, Lillian Pugh, Harold Fowler, Maude Kyte 
and Everett Hiser. She was also preceded in death by many first cousins
 – Charlie Ferguson, Glen Ferguson, George Ferguson, Jr, Alice Cooper, 
Mary Hill, LeRoy Ferguson, Paul Fowler, Wayne Fowler, Oneta Underwood, 
Alice Willis, Kenneth Fowler, Lonnie Fowler, Leonard Fowler, Homer 
Fowler, David Pugh, Vernon Kyte, Marcella Vanergriffe, Margaret Crafts, 
and Ada Kyte. 
	Funeral service for Linda will be held at the First Christian Church in
 Elkhart, Kansas, with Pastor Jim Cunningham officiating on Monday, 
November 9, 2020, at 2:00 pm. Funeral service may also be viewed on 
Garnand Funeral Home Facebook Live. Interment will follow at the 
Elkhart Cemetery. Visitation will be at Garnand Funeral Home on Sunday, 
November 8, 2020, from 2:00 pm until 6:00 pm.

Linda has asked that 
memorial donations be made to the following organizations; Guiding Eyes 
for the Blind, Morton County Historical Society Museum, Morton County 
Library, or Oklahoma Panhandle State University Rodeo Program in care of
 Garnand Funeral Home, PO Box 854, Elkhart, KS 67950.  Condolences may 
be posted at www.garnandfuneralhomes.com.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1604692493705.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Linda LoRee Hiser, 77, passed from this life on November 3, 2020, at 
Morton County Hospital in Elkhart, KS. Linda was born December 15, 1942,
 in Liberal, KS, the only child of Lloyd Homer and Ada Viola Fowler 
Hiser. Linda was the granddaughter of two early pioneer families in the 
area, Charley A. and Tamer Ella Fowler and George and Luella Hiser. 
	Linda’s childhood was spent on a farm about halfway between Guymon, OK 
and Elkhart, KS. She had many pet dogs, her special horse, Jip, and 
chickens. One year Linda was able to participate in part of the annual 
Point of Rocks Trail Riders journey to Guymon. She was a farm girl and 
loved living in the country with the wide open spaces and beautiful 
sunrises and sunsets. She also loved to go fishing with the family on 
the weekends, usually at Lake Carl Etling or Clayton Lake. In her adult 
years, Linda had many faithful animal companions also. Her special dogs,
 Chai and Sunday Mae, were an important part of Linda’s life. Linda 
took over the management of the family farm after her father’s death and
 was still involved with running the family business at the time of her 
passing. 
	Education began for Linda in the Guymon Public schools where she spent 
12 years. After graduation from Guymon High School in 1960, Linda 
continued her education at Panhandle A &amp; M College in Goodwell, 
graduating in 1964 with a degree in Business Administration. Linda 
became a high school teacher and taught English and Business classes for
 6 years in the schools at Weskan, Norcatur and Jennings, KS. Linda 
furthered her education at Fort Hays University earning a Master’s 
degree in Business Education in 1970. 
	Family history was of special interest for Linda and her Mother and 
they spent several years traveling to various states and going to the 
courthouses to find the actual records and original documents that 
related to their family genealogy. Linda had an amazing knowledge of the
 family history going back several generations and frequently informed 
other family members of the family stories and people that were in the 
family ancestry. 
	Seeing new places and traveling to far off lands was in Linda’s blood. 
Her ancestors had moved frequently to various locations and Linda felt 
her desire to travel came about naturally. While Linda’s Mother was 
still living, they traveled to Hawaii, Niagara Falls, the Pacific 
Northwest, and several countries in Europe. This was in addition to all 
the exploring around the United States that they had done in their 
genealogical travel searches. 
	After Linda lost her father, Linda continued to take many exciting 
trips and learned much about the cultures and customs of many different 
countries. Linda was able to explore and enjoy many trips with Dr. 
Perido and his wife and friends. Their travels took them to Antarctica, 
South America, Canada, Egypt, Australia, Europe and other countries. 
	Many adventures and travels also were made with Linda’s cousins, 
Donnita and Gary Wilson and LaVern Daniluk. The group traveled to Europe
 and took a couple of river cruises through Hungary, Germany, Austria, 
Czech Republic, Slovakia and Luxembourg. Linda was also able to tour 
France including Normandy where she was thanked as an American for 
defending France during WWII by the grateful French citizens. Linda 
really enjoyed visiting Paris and Prague. Other adventures took Linda 
to Alaska. Through Linda’s years of travel she was able to experience 
and travel to each continent except the Arctic. 
	The Elkhart community and Texas County, OK were home for Linda. After 
moving back to the Oklahoma Panhandle in the 1970’s, Linda became a 
member of the Friendly Neighbors Home Extension Club. She later joined 
the Coterie Club and loved being a member and the fun of being one of 
the Red Hat Ladies. She was also involved with the Elkhart Chamber of 
Commerce. Linda loved baseball and was one of the Elkhart Dusters most 
ardent fans. 
	Linda was a faithful member of the First Christian Church in Elkhart. 
Declining health kept her from attending as much as she wanted in her 
last few years. 
	Linda is survived by first cousins Ella Durham, Donnita Wilson, LaVern 
Daniluk, Ruth Harrington, Pearl Turner, Linda Taylor, Marjorie Stritzke 
and Lois Luellen. She was preceded in death by her Father and Mother, 
many aunts and uncles – Lenora Ferguson, Bertha Fowler, Wardie Fowler, 
Austin Fowler, Mattie Fowler, Lillian Pugh, Harold Fowler, Maude Kyte 
and Everett Hiser. She was also preceded in death by many first cousins
 – Charlie Ferguson, Glen Ferguson, George Ferguson, Jr, Alice Cooper, 
Mary Hill, LeRoy Ferguson, Paul Fowler, Wayne Fowler, Oneta Underwood, 
Alice Willis, Kenneth Fowler, Lonnie Fowler, Leonard Fowler, Homer 
Fowler, David Pugh, Vernon Kyte, Marcella Vanergriffe, Margaret Crafts, 
and Ada Kyte. 
	Funeral service for Linda will be held at the First Christian Church in
 Elkhart, Kansas, with Pastor Jim Cunningham officiating on Monday, 
November 9, 2020, at 2:00 pm. Funeral service may also be viewed on 
Garnand Funeral Home Facebook Live. Interment will follow at the 
Elkhart Cemetery. Visitation will be at Garnand Funeral Home on Sunday, 
November 8, 2020, from 2:00 pm until 6:00 pm. Linda has asked that 
memorial donations be made to the following organizations; Guiding Eyes 
for the Blind, Morton County Historical Society Museum, Morton County 
Library, or Oklahoma Panhandle State University Rodeo Program in care of
 Garnand Funeral Home, PO Box 854, Elkhart, KS 67950. Condolences may 
be posted at www.garnandfuneralhomes.com.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Linda LoRee Hiser

The 2020 election is no laughing matter — except that it is, in the 
great American tradition of humor and satire that has marked virtually 
every election.

This time around: Jim Carey’s nascent “Joe Biden” and Alec Baldwin’s long-running “Donald Trump;” the late-nightly salvoes of Stephen Colbert
 and the daily — sometimes hourly — haranguing tweets from Trump 
himself; conservative talk radio’s sharp-edged verbal darts and the 
Lincoln Project’s wickedly humorous videos.

As it has since the 1970s, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” again steps 
into the role of the nation’s satirist, continuing a tradition that 
stretches back nearly 250 years, into the colonial era with its biting 
print depictions of King George III and frequent effigies burned or hung from trees in public squares.

The First Amendment’s protection of free speech shelters those who 
poke, prod and even anger those in power — via satire and parody — and 
elections bring out those efforts tenfold.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams 
tossed insults and satirized images of each other in competing 
newspapers in the 1800 presidential race. Blunt, single-sheet cartoons 
were hung in taverns and homes depicting Andrew Jackson
 as a ruthless authoritarian. One, published in 1830, showed him dressed
 as a king, complete with crown, trampling on the U.S. Constitution.

“Political satire has been used throughout American history as a more gentle way of commentary,” says Alison Dagnes,
 a Shippensburg University political science professor and author of the
 book “A Conservative Walks Into a Bar: The Politics of Political 
Humor.”

One recurring question: Why there are more liberal political 
satirists than conservatives, both today and in the past? Dagnes writes 
that “conservatism supports institutions and satire aims to take those 
institutions down a peg … the very nature of satire mandates challenges 
to the power structure.”

Two modern-day comedians exemplify those who have swum against that liberal tide: Dennis Miller,
 who pivoted to a conservative view after the Sept. 11 attacks, who said
 of his political views that he found “liberalism is like a nude beach —
 it sounds great until you get there.” And self-described “libertarian 
conservative” P.J. O’Rourke, who said the Obama administration was simply “the Carter administration in better sweaters” and supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 over Trump, saying “She’s wrong about absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”

How effective can satirists be in shaping events in the real world? William “Boss” Tweed,
 whose crime syndicate in the 1870s stole or extorted more than $2 
billion dollars (today’s value) in public funds, was the target of Harper’s Weekly cartoonist Thomas Nast.
 Nast drew the corpulent Tweed as a bulgingly fat character with a money
 bag in place of his head and historians often credit Nast as fueling 
the charge to bring Tweed to justice.

Another Nast cartoon of note, as seen to the left, from the Newseum 
collection, “The Only Thing They Respect or Fear,” shows Tweed doffing 
his hat to a row of hangman nooses, as his cronies cringe in fear.

Political cartoonists are credited with helping Abraham Lincoln win reelection in 1864 and a century later, The Washington Post’s Herblock (Herbert Block)
 was viewed by critics and admirers as a major reason the Watergate 
scandal remained in public view even as the administration worked to 
downplay it.

Block relished his work, writing that it was “an irreverent form of 
expression, and one particularly suited to scoffing at the high and the 
mighty. If the prime role of a free press is to serve as critic of 
government, cartooning is often the cutting edge of that criticism.”

Social media often focuses on the “cut” in cutting edge: When Trump 
returned to the White House from treatment for COVID-19, satirists 
immediately posted their own version of his purposeful balcony 
appearance and maskless salute — from titling single images as “Benito 
Trumpolini” (after a similar pose by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini)
 to a Lincoln Project video, “Covita,” parodying the lyrics from 
Broadway showtune “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” as “Don’t Cry For Me, 
White House Staffers.”

Trump has done his own part on social media to carry satire forward 
in history, with memorable tweeted nicknames such as “Sleepy Joe” 
(Biden), “Crooked Hillary” (Clinton), “Little Marco” (Rubio) and “Lyin’ 
Ted” (Cruz).

Mark Twain, often called the father of modern 
American satire, wrote such classics as “Huckleberry Finn” and “A 
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” using exaggeration and irony 
to make fun of closed-minded, corrupt officeholders and religious 
hypocrites.

A direct Twain descendant-in-humor, early radio celebrity and newspaper columnist Will Rogers
 used homespun language to jab politics in general. “I don’t belong to 
any organized political party,” he once said. “I’m a Democrat.” Another 
line from Rogers: “The trouble with practical jokes is that very often 
they get elected.”

“Saturday Night Live” (SNL) and “The Daily Show,” with comedians Jon Stewart and now Trevor Noah, have set the tone for modern political satire.

Each election cycle for more than 40 years, SNL has produced memorable political parody — from Chevy Chase’s devasting portrayals of Gerald Ford (actually an accomplished athlete) as a bumbler, to Phil Hartman’s cheeseburger-guzzling Bill Clinton, to Tina Fey’s remarkable and transformative skewering of 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Stewart’s prominence in political satire from 1999 to 2015 produced a
 unique form of praise: Some credited him and his program as a new form 
of journalism. While his staff of writers and researchers included 
former journalists as fact-checkers to ensure accuracy, Stewart 
consistently said he put comedy first. Still, as my Freedom Forum 
colleague Patty Rhule said of Stewart and his program in a New York Times
 interview about the show as centerpiece of the Newseum’s 2019 
“Seriously Funny” exhibit: “For a generation, he was their voice of the 
news.”

Stewart was the latest iteration of post-World War II comedians 
willing to take on social mores, censors and sometimes the courts: Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce
 both mocked powerful political figures of their era — with Bruce 
famously being prosecuted for using so-called “blue” language that today
 is a common feature across cable TV comedy specials.

For two seasons in the late 1960s, brothers Tommy and Dick Smothers used satire via a prime-time CBS variety show — prompting President Lyndon B. Johnson to make an angry late-night call to network President William S. Paley. The show later was canceled over fights with network censors.

“Doonesbury” cartoons have made fun of presidents and politicians and
 found humor and targets across American culture since the 1970s. But 
writing in 2015 in The Atlantic, cartoonist Gary Trudeau reflected on whether there are lines not to be crossed in satire.

In 2015, terrorists angered at French magazine Charlie Hebdo’s criticism of Islam and reprinting of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that had originally appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, attacked the magazine’s Paris office, killing 11 staffers and a security officer.

“Traditionally, satire has comforted the afflicted while afflicting 
the comfortable. Satire punches up, against authority of all kinds, the 
little guy against the powerful,” Trudeau wrote. “By punching downward, 
by attacking a powerless, disenfranchised minority with crude, vulgar 
drawings closer to graffiti than cartoons, Charlie wandered into the realm of hate speech.” Trudeau called the resulting violence a “bitter harvest.”

Whether they entertain or enrage, inspire or infuriate, comfort or 
inflame, humor and satire in a political setting often serve to bring 
out truths. From the subtle to the complex, satire focuses us on facts 
that otherwise might be lost in the daily horserace reporting that 
dominates modern-day election reporting.

As that 21st-century sage Homer Simpson once observed, and was quoted in a different Newseum exhibit, First Amendment freedoms of speech, <a href="https://www.freedomforum.org/petition/" target="_blank">petition</a>
 and assembly do not exist to protect “burping” — they are there to 
allow us to speak to our fellow citizens about matters of public 
importance.

Satire and parody provide information, a release from the seriousness
 of much of politics and are a means to express ideas that might not 
find audiences in other settings.

Humor with an edge has been part of American political life as long 
as there was life in American politics. There’s no requirement that we 
be polite, respectful or even tasteful in doing it — and there’s also no
 barrier to getting a laugh at the same time we make a point.

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1593729871227.png" alt="Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. " />
 <figcaption>Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. </figcaption>
 </figure>The 2020 election is no laughing matter — except that it is, in the 
great American tradition of humor and satire that has marked virtually 
every election.This time around: Jim Carey’s nascent “Joe Biden” and Alec Baldwin’s long-running “Donald Trump;” the late-nightly salvoes of Stephen Colbert
 and the daily — sometimes hourly — haranguing tweets from Trump 
himself; conservative talk radio’s sharp-edged verbal darts and the 
Lincoln Project’s wickedly humorous videos.As it has since the 1970s, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” again steps 
into the role of the nation’s satirist, continuing a tradition that 
stretches back nearly 250 years, into the colonial era with its biting 
print depictions of King George III and frequent effigies burned or hung from trees in public squares.The First Amendment’s protection of free speech shelters those who 
poke, prod and even anger those in power — via satire and parody — and 
elections bring out those efforts tenfold.Thomas Jefferson and John Adams 
tossed insults and satirized images of each other in competing 
newspapers in the 1800 presidential race. Blunt, single-sheet cartoons 
were hung in taverns and homes depicting Andrew Jackson
 as a ruthless authoritarian. One, published in 1830, showed him dressed
 as a king, complete with crown, trampling on the U.S. Constitution.“Political satire has been used throughout American history as a more gentle way of commentary,” says Alison Dagnes,
 a Shippensburg University political science professor and author of the
 book “A Conservative Walks Into a Bar: The Politics of Political 
Humor.”One recurring question: Why there are more liberal political 
satirists than conservatives, both today and in the past? Dagnes writes 
that “conservatism supports institutions and satire aims to take those 
institutions down a peg … the very nature of satire mandates challenges 
to the power structure.”Two modern-day comedians exemplify those who have swum against that liberal tide: Dennis Miller,
 who pivoted to a conservative view after the Sept. 11 attacks, who said
 of his political views that he found “liberalism is like a nude beach —
 it sounds great until you get there.” And self-described “libertarian 
conservative” P.J. O’Rourke, who said the Obama administration was simply “the Carter administration in better sweaters” and supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 over Trump, saying “She’s wrong about absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”How effective can satirists be in shaping events in the real world? William “Boss” Tweed,
 whose crime syndicate in the 1870s stole or extorted more than $2 
billion dollars (today’s value) in public funds, was the target of Harper’s Weekly cartoonist Thomas Nast.
 Nast drew the corpulent Tweed as a bulgingly fat character with a money
 bag in place of his head and historians often credit Nast as fueling 
the charge to bring Tweed to justice.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1602770181643.jpeg" alt="Credit: Newseum Collection" />
 <figcaption>Credit: Newseum Collection</figcaption>
 </figure>Another Nast cartoon of note, as seen to the left, from the Newseum 
collection, “The Only Thing They Respect or Fear,” shows Tweed doffing 
his hat to a row of hangman nooses, as his cronies cringe in fear.Political cartoonists are credited with helping Abraham Lincoln win reelection in 1864 and a century later, The Washington Post’s Herblock (Herbert Block)
 was viewed by critics and admirers as a major reason the Watergate 
scandal remained in public view even as the administration worked to 
downplay it.Block relished his work, writing that it was “an irreverent form of 
expression, and one particularly suited to scoffing at the high and the 
mighty. If the prime role of a free press is to serve as critic of 
government, cartooning is often the cutting edge of that criticism.”Social media often focuses on the “cut” in cutting edge: When Trump 
returned to the White House from treatment for COVID-19, satirists 
immediately posted their own version of his purposeful balcony 
appearance and maskless salute — from titling single images as “Benito 
Trumpolini” (after a similar pose by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini)
 to a Lincoln Project video, “Covita,” parodying the lyrics from 
Broadway showtune “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” as “Don’t Cry For Me, 
White House Staffers.”Trump has done his own part on social media to carry satire forward 
in history, with memorable tweeted nicknames such as “Sleepy Joe” 
(Biden), “Crooked Hillary” (Clinton), “Little Marco” (Rubio) and “Lyin’ 
Ted” (Cruz).Mark Twain, often called the father of modern 
American satire, wrote such classics as “Huckleberry Finn” and “A 
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” using exaggeration and irony 
to make fun of closed-minded, corrupt officeholders and religious 
hypocrites.A direct Twain descendant-in-humor, early radio celebrity and newspaper columnist Will Rogers
 used homespun language to jab politics in general. “I don’t belong to 
any organized political party,” he once said. “I’m a Democrat.” Another 
line from Rogers: “The trouble with practical jokes is that very often 
they get elected.”“Saturday Night Live” (SNL) and “The Daily Show,” with comedians Jon Stewart and now Trevor Noah, have set the tone for modern political satire.Each election cycle for more than 40 years, SNL has produced memorable political parody — from Chevy Chase’s devasting portrayals of Gerald Ford (actually an accomplished athlete) as a bumbler, to Phil Hartman’s cheeseburger-guzzling Bill Clinton, to Tina Fey’s remarkable and transformative skewering of 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.Stewart’s prominence in political satire from 1999 to 2015 produced a
 unique form of praise: Some credited him and his program as a new form 
of journalism. While his staff of writers and researchers included 
former journalists as fact-checkers to ensure accuracy, Stewart 
consistently said he put comedy first. Still, as my Freedom Forum 
colleague Patty Rhule said of Stewart and his program in a New York Times
 interview about the show as centerpiece of the Newseum’s 2019 
“Seriously Funny” exhibit: “For a generation, he was their voice of the 
news.”Stewart was the latest iteration of post-World War II comedians 
willing to take on social mores, censors and sometimes the courts: Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce
 both mocked powerful political figures of their era — with Bruce 
famously being prosecuted for using so-called “blue” language that today
 is a common feature across cable TV comedy specials.For two seasons in the late 1960s, brothers Tommy and Dick Smothers used satire via a prime-time CBS variety show — prompting President Lyndon B. Johnson to make an angry late-night call to network President William S. Paley. The show later was canceled over fights with network censors.“Doonesbury” cartoons have made fun of presidents and politicians and
 found humor and targets across American culture since the 1970s. But 
writing in 2015 in The Atlantic, cartoonist Gary Trudeau reflected on whether there are lines not to be crossed in satire.In 2015, terrorists angered at French magazine Charlie Hebdo’s criticism of Islam and reprinting of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that had originally appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, attacked the magazine’s Paris office, killing 11 staffers and a security officer.“Traditionally, satire has comforted the afflicted while afflicting 
the comfortable. Satire punches up, against authority of all kinds, the 
little guy against the powerful,” Trudeau wrote. “By punching downward, 
by attacking a powerless, disenfranchised minority with crude, vulgar 
drawings closer to graffiti than cartoons, Charlie wandered into the realm of hate speech.” Trudeau called the resulting violence a “bitter harvest.”Whether they entertain or enrage, inspire or infuriate, comfort or 
inflame, humor and satire in a political setting often serve to bring 
out truths. From the subtle to the complex, satire focuses us on facts 
that otherwise might be lost in the daily horserace reporting that 
dominates modern-day election reporting.As that 21st-century sage Homer Simpson once observed, and was quoted in a different Newseum exhibit, First Amendment freedoms of speech, <a href="https://www.freedomforum.org/petition/" target="_blank">petition</a>
 and assembly do not exist to protect “burping” — they are there to 
allow us to speak to our fellow citizens about matters of public 
importance.Satire and parody provide information, a release from the seriousness
 of much of politics and are a means to express ideas that might not 
find audiences in other settings.Humor with an edge has been part of American political life as long 
as there was life in American politics. There’s no requirement that we 
be polite, respectful or even tasteful in doing it — and there’s also no
 barrier to getting a laugh at the same time we make a point.Gene Policinski is a senior fellow for the First Amendment at the
 Freedom Forum, and president and chief operating officer of the Freedom
 Forum Institute. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:gpolicinski@freedomforum.org" target="_blank">gpolicinski@freedomforum.org</a>, or follow him on Twitter at&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/@genefac" target="_blank">@genefac</a>.

FIRST FIVE: Making the political ‘cut,’ from our earliest days

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden squared off, in a way, Thursday night in dueling televised town halls that showcased striking differences in temperament, views on racial justice and approaches to a pandemic that has reshaped the nation.

Coming just two and a half weeks before Election Day, the night offered crystalizing contrasts and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-sarah-silverman-jon-hamm-7b601886fd47cc937612f25352747991">a national, if divided, audience</a>. But it seemed unlikely to have produced a needed moment for a president running out of time or opportunities to appeal beyond his core base.

He was defensive about his administration’s handling of the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 215,000 American lives, and evasive when pressed about whether he took a required COVID-19 test before his first debate with Biden. Angry and combative, Trump refused to denounce the QAnon conspiracy group — and only testily did so regarding white supremacists.

The president also appeared to acknowledge revelations from a recent New York Times report that he was in debt and left open the possibility that some of it was owed to a foreign bank. But he insisted that he didn’t owe any money to Russia or any “sinister people” and suggested that $400 million in debt was a “very, very small percentage” compared to his overall assets.

Biden denounced the White House’s handling of the virus, declaring that it was at fault for closing a pandemic response office established by the Obama administration in which he served. Though vague at times, he suggested he will offer clarity on his position on expanding the Supreme Court if Trump’s nominee to the bench is seated before Election Day.

After Biden’s 90-minute town hall event formally concluded, the candidate spent another half-hour taking questions from those in the audience who didn’t get an opportunity during the televised program.

Trump and Biden were supposed to spend Thursday night on the same debate stage in Miami. But that faceoff was scuttled after Trump’s coronavirus infection, which jolted the race and threatened the health of the American president.

Trump wouldn’t say whether he had tested negative on the day of his first debate with Biden on Sept. 29, allowing only, “Possibly I did, possibly I didn’t.” Debate rules required that each candidate, using the honor system, had tested negative prior to the Cleveland event, but Trump spoke in circles when asked when he last tested negative.

The presidential rivals took questions in different cities on different networks: Trump on NBC from Miami, Biden on ABC from Philadelphia. Trump backed out of plans for the presidential faceoff originally scheduled for the evening after debate organizers said it would be held virtually following his COVID-19 diagnosis.

The town halls offered a different format for the two candidates to present themselves to voters, after the pair held a chaotic and combative first debate late last month. The difference in the men’s tone was immediate and striking.

Trump was Trump.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-ap-fact-check-joe-biden-donald-trump-9fb3c8e23ccb85bcf267b0990d49ca2b">He was loud and argumentative</a>, rebuking his FBI director, fighting with the host, Savannah Guthrie, complaining about the questioning — and eventually saying for the first time that he would honor the results of a fair election, but only after casting an extraordinary amount of doubt on the likeliness of fairness.

“And then they talk, ’Will you accept a peaceful transfer?’” Trump said. “And the answer is, ‘Yes, I will.’ But I want it to be an honest election, and so does everybody else.”

He again sought to minimize revelations from a New York Times investigation that he has more than $400 million in debt and suggested that reports are wrong that he paid little or no federal income taxes in most years over the past two decades.

Biden, meanwhile, took a far different, softer approach with audience questions. The former vice president, who struggled growing up with a stutter, stuttered slightly at the start of the program and at one point squeezed his eyes shut and slowed down his response to clearly enunciate his words. At times his answers droned on.

Holding a white cloth mask in one hand, the Democratic nominee brought a small card of notes onstage and referred to it while promising to roll back tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. He said doing so would save, as he consulted his notes, “let me see ... $92 billion.”

Biden vowed to say before Election Day whether he will support expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court if Democrats win the presidency and the Senate and hold the House after November.

He has for weeks refused to answer the question but went further Thursday night. He said, “I’m still not a fan” of expanding the court, but said his ultimate decision depended on how the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court “is handled” and “how much they rush this.”

Biden also blasted Trump’s foreign policy, declaring that “‘America first’ has made ‘America alone’” and “This president embraces all the thugs in the world.” He turned introspective when asked what it would say if he lost.

“It could say that I’m a lousy candidate, that I didn’t do a good job,” Biden said. “But I think, I hope that it doesn’t say that we’re as racially, ethnically and religiously at odds as it appears the president wants us to be.”

Biden said he plans to participate in next week’s debate but he would ask Trump to take a COVID-19 test before arriving. “It’s just decency” for everyone around him, including non-candidates like camera operators, Biden said.

The two men are still scheduled to occupy the same space for a debate for a second and final time next week in Nashville.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was evasive Thursday night when pressed if he took a COVID-19 test before his first debate with Democrat Joe Biden as the two men squared off again, in a way, after their scuttled second showdown was replaced by dueling televised town halls several channels apart.

Biden, appearing nearly 1,200 miles away, denounced the White House’s handling of the virus that has claimed more than 215,000 American lives, declaring that it was at fault for closing a pandemic response office established by the Obama administration. Trump, meanwhile, was defensive and insisted that the nation was turning the corner on the virus, even as his own battle with the disease took center stage.

Trump, less than two weeks after being diagnosed with COVID-19, dodged directly answering whether he took a test the day of the Sept. 29 debate, only saying “possibly I did, possibly I didn’t.” Debate rules required that each candidate, using the honor system, had tested negative prior to the Cleveland event, but Trump spoke in circles when asked when he last tested negative.

It was his positive test two days later that created Thursday’s odd spectacle, which deprived most viewers of a simultaneous look at the candidates just 19 days before Election Day. The moment seemed fitting for a race unlike any other, as yet another campaign ritual was changed by the pandemic that has rewritten the norms of society.

The presidential rivals took questions in different cities on different networks: Trump on NBC from Miami, Biden on ABC from Philadelphia. Trump backed out of plans for the presidential faceoff originally scheduled for the evening after debate organizers said it would be held virtually following Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis.

Trump was Trump. He was loud and argumentative, fighting with the host, Savannah Guthrie, refusing to outright condemn the QAnon conspiracy group, testily declaring he would denounce white supremacy but complaining about the questioning — and eventually saying for the first time that he would honor the results of a fair election, but only after casting an extraordinary amount doubt on the likeliness of fairness.

“And then they talk ’Will you accept a peaceful transfer,’” Trump said. “And the answer is, ‘Yes, I will.’ But I want it to be an honest election, and so does everybody else.”

Biden meanwhile, took a far different, softer, approach with audience questions. The former vice president, who struggled growing up with a stutter, stuttered slightly at the start of the show and at one point squeezed his eyes shut and slowed down his response to clearly enunciate his words. At times his answers droned on.

Dressed in a blue suit and holding a white cloth mask in one hand, the Democratic nominee also brought a small card of notes on stage and referred to it while promising to roll back tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

He said doing so would save “let me see... $92 billion.”

The two men are still scheduled to occupy the same space for a debate for a second and final time next week in Nashville. But the cancellation of Thursday’s debate still reverberated for both campaigns.

Trump and Biden battled on Sept. 29 in Cleveland in a debate defined both by the president’s constant hectoring of his opponent, which sent his support lower, and by its place on the calendar: just two days before Trump announced he had tested positive for coronavirus.

Trump was hospitalized for three days, and while he later convalesced at the White House the debate commission moved to make their second debate remote — which the president immediately rejected.

Earlier Thursday, Trump appeared at a rally in North Carolina, underscoring the challenge confronting him in the final weeks as multiple polls have shown him trailing Biden nationally and in many swing states. Trump has spent much of the week on defense, campaigning in states he won in 2016, such as North Carolina and Iowa, where he campaigned Wednesday.

But despite the polling, Trump predicted a “big, beautiful red wave” on Election Night, before referencing another one of his major challenges: A cash disadvantage to the Biden campaign, which just announced raising a record-breaking $383 million in September.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden will compete for TV audiences in dueling town halls on Thursday night instead of meeting face-to-face for their second debate as originally planned.

The two will take questions in different cities on different networks: Trump on NBC from Miami, Biden on ABC from Philadelphia.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-donald-trump-rush-limbaugh-campaigns-705e9f19162daa9c595b7a3c03f5a8d2">Trump backed out</a>&nbsp;of plans for the presidential faceoff originally scheduled for the evening after debate organizers said it would be held virtually following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-health-archive-hope-hicks-7fece2838ff7a9bd91ccf5ac287348b3">Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis</a>.

The town halls offer a different format for the two candidates to present themselves to voters, after the two held a chaotic and combative first debate late last month. But Trump, speaking on Fox Business on Thursday morning, launched early attacks on Biden, calling him “mentally shot,” a “liar” and a “corrupt politician.” He also said he had no plans to change his tone going forward.

“Many people said I won it, but some people said I was rude. But you have to be rude,” Trump said of the last debate. “The guy’s a liar.”

He also preemptively attacked NBC, charging that it went easy on Biden in a recent interview and asked questions geared for a child. Trump said NBC asked him to do the town hall.

“It’s a different audience and it’s good for me to have a different audience,” he said.

As the pace of the campaign speeds up in its final weeks, the two candidates first are taking care of other electoral necessities Thursday: Trump has a midday rally in battleground North Carolina, and Biden is raising campaign cash at a virtual event.

During his fundraiser, Biden warned supporters that Trump is “going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at me” and will deliver “an overwhelming torrent of lies.” Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, came under scrutiny this week following a New York Post report outlining an email Hunter allegedly received from a Ukrainian businessman discussing a meeting with the elder Biden. Biden’s campaign has said the meeting never happened, and experts have raised questions about the veracity of the emails.

Indeed, with just 19 days until Election Day, there remains ample time for unexpected developments to throw off the candidates’ plans — like they did Thursday, when Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon announced the campaign was canceling running mate Sen. Kamala Harris’ in-person campaign events through Sunday “out of an abundance of caution” after two staffers tied to the campaign tested positive for the coronavirus.

The campaign told reporters Thursday morning that Harris’ communications director and a flight crew member tested positive after a campaign trip to Arizona last week, during which Harris and Biden campaigned together throughout the state. Biden and Harris both have tested negative multiple times since then, and the campaign said Harris was never in close contact with the staffers. But in an effort to draw a contrast with Trump, the campaign has emphasized its strict protocols in dealing with the virus and said it’d be moving Harris’ campaign events online whenever possible in the next few days.

Meanwhile Trump, after recovering from his own bout with the coronavirus, has been trying to shore up support from constituencies that not so long ago he thought he had in the bag: big business and voters in the red state of Iowa.

In a Wednesday morning address to business leaders, he expressed puzzlement that they would even consider supporting Biden, arguing that his own leadership was a better bet for a strong economy. Later, the president held his third campaign rally in three nights, this time in Iowa, a state he won handily in 2016 but where Biden is making a late push.

“I know I’m speaking to some Democrats, and some of you are friends of mine,” Trump said in a virtual address to the Economic Clubs of New York, Florida, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Pittsburgh and Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Should Biden be elected, he continued, “you will see things happen that will not make you happy. I don’t understand your thinking.”

During his decades in the Senate representing Delaware, a center for the credit card and banking industries, Biden built relationships and a voting record in the business sector that has raised suspicion on the left but provides Wall Street with a measure of ease at the prospect of a Biden administration.

After being sidelined by the coronavirus, Trump resumed a breakneck schedule this week, with aides saying he is expected to travel and host campaign rallies every day through Nov. 3. Trump has appeared hale in his public appearances since reemerging from quarantine, though at moments during his economic address on Wednesday his voice was raspy.

In Iowa, Trump tossed away his tie and donned a red hat to fight off the stiff breeze on the airport tarmac. He made a direct appeal to the state’s farmers, saying that he was responsible for $28 billion in aid designed to help offset damage stemming from his trade war with China. “I hope you remember that on Nov. 3,” Trump said.

But after years of farmers supporting him despite the trade war, some Republicans say Trump’s renewable fuel policy has sown some doubt.

Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency granted dozens of waivers to petroleum companies seeking to bypass congressional rules requiring the level of the corn-based fuel additive ethanol that gasoline must contain. He has recently denied more waiver requests, but the EPA’s previous action removed about 4 billion gallons of ethanol demand, resulting in the closure — at least temporarily — of more than a dozen ethanol plants in Iowa.

While mostly laying low on Wednesday, Biden has stepped up campaign travel in the past week, with visits to Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Pennsylvania, where he drove his consistent campaign message focused on Trump’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1602793246633.png" alt="President Trump on NBC from Miami and Former Vice President Biden on ABC from Philadelphia-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>President Trump on NBC from Miami and Former Vice President Biden on ABC from Philadelphia-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden squared off, in a way, Thursday night in dueling televised town halls that showcased striking differences in temperament, views on racial justice and approaches to a pandemic that has reshaped the nation.Coming just two and a half weeks before Election Day, the night offered crystalizing contrasts and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-sarah-silverman-jon-hamm-7b601886fd47cc937612f25352747991">a national, if divided, audience</a>. But it seemed unlikely to have produced a needed moment for a president running out of time or opportunities to appeal beyond his core base.He was defensive about his administration’s handling of the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 215,000 American lives, and evasive when pressed about whether he took a required COVID-19 test before his first debate with Biden. Angry and combative, Trump refused to denounce the QAnon conspiracy group — and only testily did so regarding white supremacists.The president also appeared to acknowledge revelations from a recent New York Times report that he was in debt and left open the possibility that some of it was owed to a foreign bank. But he insisted that he didn’t owe any money to Russia or any “sinister people” and suggested that $400 million in debt was a “very, very small percentage” compared to his overall assets.Biden denounced the White House’s handling of the virus, declaring that it was at fault for closing a pandemic response office established by the Obama administration in which he served. Though vague at times, he suggested he will offer clarity on his position on expanding the Supreme Court if Trump’s nominee to the bench is seated before Election Day.After Biden’s 90-minute town hall event formally concluded, the candidate spent another half-hour taking questions from those in the audience who didn’t get an opportunity during the televised program.Trump and Biden were supposed to spend Thursday night on the same debate stage in Miami. But that faceoff was scuttled after Trump’s coronavirus infection, which jolted the race and threatened the health of the American president.Trump wouldn’t say whether he had tested negative on the day of his first debate with Biden on Sept. 29, allowing only, “Possibly I did, possibly I didn’t.” Debate rules required that each candidate, using the honor system, had tested negative prior to the Cleveland event, but Trump spoke in circles when asked when he last tested negative.The presidential rivals took questions in different cities on different networks: Trump on NBC from Miami, Biden on ABC from Philadelphia. Trump backed out of plans for the presidential faceoff originally scheduled for the evening after debate organizers said it would be held virtually following his COVID-19 diagnosis.The town halls offered a different format for the two candidates to present themselves to voters, after the pair held a chaotic and combative first debate late last month. The difference in the men’s tone was immediate and striking.Trump was Trump.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-ap-fact-check-joe-biden-donald-trump-9fb3c8e23ccb85bcf267b0990d49ca2b">He was loud and argumentative</a>, rebuking his FBI director, fighting with the host, Savannah Guthrie, complaining about the questioning — and eventually saying for the first time that he would honor the results of a fair election, but only after casting an extraordinary amount of doubt on the likeliness of fairness.“And then they talk, ’Will you accept a peaceful transfer?’” Trump said. “And the answer is, ‘Yes, I will.’ But I want it to be an honest election, and so does everybody else.”He again sought to minimize revelations from a New York Times investigation that he has more than $400 million in debt and suggested that reports are wrong that he paid little or no federal income taxes in most years over the past two decades.Biden, meanwhile, took a far different, softer approach with audience questions. The former vice president, who struggled growing up with a stutter, stuttered slightly at the start of the program and at one point squeezed his eyes shut and slowed down his response to clearly enunciate his words. At times his answers droned on.Holding a white cloth mask in one hand, the Democratic nominee brought a small card of notes onstage and referred to it while promising to roll back tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. He said doing so would save, as he consulted his notes, “let me see ... $92 billion.”Biden vowed to say before Election Day whether he will support expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court if Democrats win the presidency and the Senate and hold the House after November.He has for weeks refused to answer the question but went further Thursday night. He said, “I’m still not a fan” of expanding the court, but said his ultimate decision depended on how the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court “is handled” and “how much they rush this.”Biden also blasted Trump’s foreign policy, declaring that “‘America first’ has made ‘America alone’” and “This president embraces all the thugs in the world.” He turned introspective when asked what it would say if he lost.“It could say that I’m a lousy candidate, that I didn’t do a good job,” Biden said. “But I think, I hope that it doesn’t say that we’re as racially, ethnically and religiously at odds as it appears the president wants us to be.”Biden said he plans to participate in next week’s debate but he would ask Trump to take a COVID-19 test before arriving. “It’s just decency” for everyone around him, including non-candidates like camera operators, Biden said.The two men are still scheduled to occupy the same space for a debate for a second and final time next week in Nashville.___WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was evasive Thursday night when pressed if he took a COVID-19 test before his first debate with Democrat Joe Biden as the two men squared off again, in a way, after their scuttled second showdown was replaced by dueling televised town halls several channels apart.Biden, appearing nearly 1,200 miles away, denounced the White House’s handling of the virus that has claimed more than 215,000 American lives, declaring that it was at fault for closing a pandemic response office established by the Obama administration. Trump, meanwhile, was defensive and insisted that the nation was turning the corner on the virus, even as his own battle with the disease took center stage.Trump, less than two weeks after being diagnosed with COVID-19, dodged directly answering whether he took a test the day of the Sept. 29 debate, only saying “possibly I did, possibly I didn’t.” Debate rules required that each candidate, using the honor system, had tested negative prior to the Cleveland event, but Trump spoke in circles when asked when he last tested negative.It was his positive test two days later that created Thursday’s odd spectacle, which deprived most viewers of a simultaneous look at the candidates just 19 days before Election Day. The moment seemed fitting for a race unlike any other, as yet another campaign ritual was changed by the pandemic that has rewritten the norms of society.The presidential rivals took questions in different cities on different networks: Trump on NBC from Miami, Biden on ABC from Philadelphia. Trump backed out of plans for the presidential faceoff originally scheduled for the evening after debate organizers said it would be held virtually following Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis.The town halls offered a different format for the two candidates to present themselves to voters, after the pair held a chaotic and combative first debate late last month. The difference in the men’s tone was immediate and striking.Trump was Trump. He was loud and argumentative, fighting with the host, Savannah Guthrie, refusing to outright condemn the QAnon conspiracy group, testily declaring he would denounce white supremacy but complaining about the questioning — and eventually saying for the first time that he would honor the results of a fair election, but only after casting an extraordinary amount doubt on the likeliness of fairness.“And then they talk ’Will you accept a peaceful transfer,’” Trump said. “And the answer is, ‘Yes, I will.’ But I want it to be an honest election, and so does everybody else.”Biden meanwhile, took a far different, softer, approach with audience questions. The former vice president, who struggled growing up with a stutter, stuttered slightly at the start of the show and at one point squeezed his eyes shut and slowed down his response to clearly enunciate his words. At times his answers droned on.Dressed in a blue suit and holding a white cloth mask in one hand, the Democratic nominee also brought a small card of notes on stage and referred to it while promising to roll back tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.He said doing so would save “let me see... $92 billion.”The two men are still scheduled to occupy the same space for a debate for a second and final time next week in Nashville. But the cancellation of Thursday’s debate still reverberated for both campaigns.Trump and Biden battled on Sept. 29 in Cleveland in a debate defined both by the president’s constant hectoring of his opponent, which sent his support lower, and by its place on the calendar: just two days before Trump announced he had tested positive for coronavirus.Trump was hospitalized for three days, and while he later convalesced at the White House the debate commission moved to make their second debate remote — which the president immediately rejected.Earlier Thursday, Trump appeared at a rally in North Carolina, underscoring the challenge confronting him in the final weeks as multiple polls have shown him trailing Biden nationally and in many swing states. Trump has spent much of the week on defense, campaigning in states he won in 2016, such as North Carolina and Iowa, where he campaigned Wednesday.But despite the polling, Trump predicted a “big, beautiful red wave” on Election Night, before referencing another one of his major challenges: A cash disadvantage to the Biden campaign, which just announced raising a record-breaking $383 million in September.-------WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden will compete for TV audiences in dueling town halls on Thursday night instead of meeting face-to-face for their second debate as originally planned.The two will take questions in different cities on different networks: Trump on NBC from Miami, Biden on ABC from Philadelphia.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-donald-trump-rush-limbaugh-campaigns-705e9f19162daa9c595b7a3c03f5a8d2">Trump backed out</a>&nbsp;of plans for the presidential faceoff originally scheduled for the evening after debate organizers said it would be held virtually following&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-donald-trump-health-archive-hope-hicks-7fece2838ff7a9bd91ccf5ac287348b3">Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis</a>.The town halls offer a different format for the two candidates to present themselves to voters, after the two held a chaotic and combative first debate late last month. But Trump, speaking on Fox Business on Thursday morning, launched early attacks on Biden, calling him “mentally shot,” a “liar” and a “corrupt politician.” He also said he had no plans to change his tone going forward.“Many people said I won it, but some people said I was rude. But you have to be rude,” Trump said of the last debate. “The guy’s a liar.”He also preemptively attacked NBC, charging that it went easy on Biden in a recent interview and asked questions geared for a child. Trump said NBC asked him to do the town hall.“It’s a different audience and it’s good for me to have a different audience,” he said.As the pace of the campaign speeds up in its final weeks, the two candidates first are taking care of other electoral necessities Thursday: Trump has a midday rally in battleground North Carolina, and Biden is raising campaign cash at a virtual event.During his fundraiser, Biden warned supporters that Trump is “going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at me” and will deliver “an overwhelming torrent of lies.” Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, came under scrutiny this week following a New York Post report outlining an email Hunter allegedly received from a Ukrainian businessman discussing a meeting with the elder Biden. Biden’s campaign has said the meeting never happened, and experts have raised questions about the veracity of the emails.Indeed, with just 19 days until Election Day, there remains ample time for unexpected developments to throw off the candidates’ plans — like they did Thursday, when Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon announced the campaign was canceling running mate Sen. Kamala Harris’ in-person campaign events through Sunday “out of an abundance of caution” after two staffers tied to the campaign tested positive for the coronavirus.The campaign told reporters Thursday morning that Harris’ communications director and a flight crew member tested positive after a campaign trip to Arizona last week, during which Harris and Biden campaigned together throughout the state. Biden and Harris both have tested negative multiple times since then, and the campaign said Harris was never in close contact with the staffers. But in an effort to draw a contrast with Trump, the campaign has emphasized its strict protocols in dealing with the virus and said it’d be moving Harris’ campaign events online whenever possible in the next few days.Meanwhile Trump, after recovering from his own bout with the coronavirus, has been trying to shore up support from constituencies that not so long ago he thought he had in the bag: big business and voters in the red state of Iowa.In a Wednesday morning address to business leaders, he expressed puzzlement that they would even consider supporting Biden, arguing that his own leadership was a better bet for a strong economy. Later, the president held his third campaign rally in three nights, this time in Iowa, a state he won handily in 2016 but where Biden is making a late push.“I know I’m speaking to some Democrats, and some of you are friends of mine,” Trump said in a virtual address to the Economic Clubs of New York, Florida, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Pittsburgh and Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Should Biden be elected, he continued, “you will see things happen that will not make you happy. I don’t understand your thinking.”During his decades in the Senate representing Delaware, a center for the credit card and banking industries, Biden built relationships and a voting record in the business sector that has raised suspicion on the left but provides Wall Street with a measure of ease at the prospect of a Biden administration.After being sidelined by the coronavirus, Trump resumed a breakneck schedule this week, with aides saying he is expected to travel and host campaign rallies every day through Nov. 3. Trump has appeared hale in his public appearances since reemerging from quarantine, though at moments during his economic address on Wednesday his voice was raspy.In Iowa, Trump tossed away his tie and donned a red hat to fight off the stiff breeze on the airport tarmac. He made a direct appeal to the state’s farmers, saying that he was responsible for $28 billion in aid designed to help offset damage stemming from his trade war with China. “I hope you remember that on Nov. 3,” Trump said.But after years of farmers supporting him despite the trade war, some Republicans say Trump’s renewable fuel policy has sown some doubt.Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency granted dozens of waivers to petroleum companies seeking to bypass congressional rules requiring the level of the corn-based fuel additive ethanol that gasoline must contain. He has recently denied more waiver requests, but the EPA’s previous action removed about 4 billion gallons of ethanol demand, resulting in the closure — at least temporarily — of more than a dozen ethanol plants in Iowa.While mostly laying low on Wednesday, Biden has stepped up campaign travel in the past week, with visits to Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Pennsylvania, where he drove his consistent campaign message focused on Trump’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.___

Trump, Biden go at it -- from a distance -- in town halls

Phyllis Nadine Luerman, 81, passed away October 8, 2020, at her home 
in Hoisington.&nbsp; She was born June 30, 1939, in Hoisington, to Jesse and 
Bessie (Smith) Neal.&nbsp; Phyllis married John H. Luerman, Sr. Dec. 29, 
1962, in Hoisington.&nbsp; He survives.

Phyllis, a lifetime Hoisington area resident, was a member of the 
V.F.W. Post 7428 Auxiliary and American Legion Post 286 Auxiliary.&nbsp; She 
was a telephone operator in Hoisington for many years, also holding 
employment at Gibson's, Dairy Queen and Duckwall's.&nbsp; Phyllis was a 
member of the Red Hat Ladies, previously served on the Susank city 
council and enjoyed playing cards.

Survivors include her husband John of the home; three sons, John 
Luerman and wife Amy of rural Susank, Andy Luerman and wife Becky of 
Ashland and Billy Luerman of Susank; six grandchildren, Shyla Goodnight 
(Aaron), Anthony Luerman, Jay Luerman (Joanna), Shelby Luerman, Damon 
Luerman (Brooke) and J.J. Luerman; two great grandchildren, Lane Luerman
 and Tucker Goodnight; one sister, Sallie Hager of Claflin; and two 
brothers Cecil Neal of Oregon, Wis. and Willis Neal of Overland Park.

She was preceded in death by one brother, William Neal; four sisters,
 Glenna Schneider, Twila Miller, Jessie Kasselman and Penny McClung.

Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Monday, October 12, 2020, at 
Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, with Pastor Don Fisher.&nbsp; Interment will 
follow at Hoisington Cemetery, Hoisington.&nbsp; Visitation will be from 1:00
 to 8:00 p.m., Sunday, October 11, at Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home.&nbsp; 
Memorial may be given to Kindred Hospice, in care of Nicholson-Ricke 
Funeral Home, PO Box 146, Hoisington, KS&nbsp; 67544.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1602190403796.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Phyllis Nadine Luerman, 81, passed away October 8, 2020, at her home 
in Hoisington.&nbsp; She was born June 30, 1939, in Hoisington, to Jesse and 
Bessie (Smith) Neal.&nbsp; Phyllis married John H. Luerman, Sr. Dec. 29, 
1962, in Hoisington.&nbsp; He survives.Phyllis, a lifetime Hoisington area resident, was a member of the 
V.F.W. Post 7428 Auxiliary and American Legion Post 286 Auxiliary.&nbsp; She 
was a telephone operator in Hoisington for many years, also holding 
employment at Gibson's, Dairy Queen and Duckwall's.&nbsp; Phyllis was a 
member of the Red Hat Ladies, previously served on the Susank city 
council and enjoyed playing cards.Survivors include her husband John of the home; three sons, John 
Luerman and wife Amy of rural Susank, Andy Luerman and wife Becky of 
Ashland and Billy Luerman of Susank; six grandchildren, Shyla Goodnight 
(Aaron), Anthony Luerman, Jay Luerman (Joanna), Shelby Luerman, Damon 
Luerman (Brooke) and J.J. Luerman; two great grandchildren, Lane Luerman
 and Tucker Goodnight; one sister, Sallie Hager of Claflin; and two 
brothers Cecil Neal of Oregon, Wis. and Willis Neal of Overland Park.She was preceded in death by one brother, William Neal; four sisters,
 Glenna Schneider, Twila Miller, Jessie Kasselman and Penny McClung.Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Monday, October 12, 2020, at 
Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, with Pastor Don Fisher.&nbsp; Interment will 
follow at Hoisington Cemetery, Hoisington.&nbsp; Visitation will be from 1:00
 to 8:00 p.m., Sunday, October 11, at Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home.&nbsp; 
Memorial may be given to Kindred Hospice, in care of Nicholson-Ricke 
Funeral Home, PO Box 146, Hoisington, KS&nbsp; 67544.

Phyllis Nadine Luerman

Betty Elaine Messenger, 87, died on Saturday September 5, 2020 at her 
home in Garden City. She was born on May 20, 1933 at Scott City the 
daughter of Devere Augustus &amp; Florence Alice (Beeman) Smith. She 
married Arnold Lee Messenger on June 24, 1951 at Scott City. He died on
 January 28, 2013. 
Betty graduated from Scott City High School in 1951. She worked 
alongside her husband ranching, farming, and in various businesses in 
the Dighton area before moving to Garden City in 1979 where she pursued a
 degree in nursing. She worked at St Catherine Hospital as a Registered
 Nurse until her retirement in 1998. She was a member of the First 
United Methodist Church, volunteered at Garden Valley Retirement Village
 and was a member of the Red Hat Society. She enjoyed regularly playing
 cards with friends, participating in water aerobics at the YMCA, 
reading, cultivating her garden and keeping in touch with other nurses, 
classmates and friends. 
She is survived by her 3 Children- Evan Shane (Tori) Messenger of 
Columbia, Missouri, Tanya Leigh Thayer of Lander, Wyoming and Tara Lynne
 (Mark) Boaldin of Garden City, 10 Grandchildren and 13 
Great-Grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her Parents, Husband,
 Brother- Col. JD Smith, Sister- Violet Lamb, Grandson- Trevor Messenger
 and Niece- Betty Irene Lamb. 
Graveside Service will be at 2:00 PM Saturday, September 19 at Scott 
County Cemetery in Scott City. Memorials are suggested to First United 
Methodist Church or St Catherine Hospice in care of Garnand Funeral 
Home. Condolences may be posted at www.garnandfuneralhomes.com

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599682237606.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Betty Elaine Messenger, 87, died on Saturday September 5, 2020 at her 
home in Garden City. She was born on May 20, 1933 at Scott City the 
daughter of Devere Augustus &amp; Florence Alice (Beeman) Smith. She 
married Arnold Lee Messenger on June 24, 1951 at Scott City. He died on
 January 28, 2013. 
Betty graduated from Scott City High School in 1951. She worked 
alongside her husband ranching, farming, and in various businesses in 
the Dighton area before moving to Garden City in 1979 where she pursued a
 degree in nursing. She worked at St Catherine Hospital as a Registered
 Nurse until her retirement in 1998. She was a member of the First 
United Methodist Church, volunteered at Garden Valley Retirement Village
 and was a member of the Red Hat Society. She enjoyed regularly playing
 cards with friends, participating in water aerobics at the YMCA, 
reading, cultivating her garden and keeping in touch with other nurses, 
classmates and friends. 
She is survived by her 3 Children- Evan Shane (Tori) Messenger of 
Columbia, Missouri, Tanya Leigh Thayer of Lander, Wyoming and Tara Lynne
 (Mark) Boaldin of Garden City, 10 Grandchildren and 13 
Great-Grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her Parents, Husband,
 Brother- Col. JD Smith, Sister- Violet Lamb, Grandson- Trevor Messenger
 and Niece- Betty Irene Lamb. 
Graveside Service will be at 2:00 PM Saturday, September 19 at Scott 
County Cemetery in Scott City. Memorials are suggested to First United 
Methodist Church or St Catherine Hospice in care of Garnand Funeral 
Home. Condolences may be posted at www.garnandfuneralhomes.com

Betty Elaine Messenger

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans are likely to stress Kansas Rep. Roger Marshall’s service on the House Agriculture Committee as he runs for the Senate.

The two-term GOP congressman for western and central Kansas who sometimes calls himself “the only candidate who can sort heifers from steers” is treating his agriculture background as as a major asset in his race against Democrat nominee Barbara Bollier. They’re both doctors, but she grew up in the Kansas City suburbs, while he describes himself as a “fifth-generation farm kid” after starting life on a farm outside El Dorado in south-central Kansas.

Marshall and Bollier are running for the seat held by retiring four-term GOP Sen. Pat Roberts. He has served as Senate Agriculture Committee chairman since 2015, is a former House Agriculture Committee chairman and has been a key player on farm legislation for decades. Kansas agriculture groups put a premium on the state being represented on both committees.

Kelly Arnold, a former Kansas Republican Party chairman, said Tuesday that Marshall’s agriculture background is “obviously going to be pushed” during the campaign.

“This is one of the strong points that Roger Marshall has,” Arnold said.

Marshall&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/6646c990bce8bd3d93e2722015de87f0">won the GOP primary</a>&nbsp;comfortably over Kris Kobach, a former Kansas secretary of state and polarizing conservative known for advocating restrictive immigration policies. Marshall had endorsements from the Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Livestock Association.

Farm groups’ support was crucial to Marshall in 2016 when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/2672bddfba71409caf2a7e171f074cfb">he ousted</a>&nbsp;conservative tea-party Rep. Tim Huelskamp during the GOP primary. Marshall is an obstetrician and Huelskamp was a farmer and rancher, but Huelskamp had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/2885d5c77ae84233801402a7bb577abf">alienated agriculture groups</a>&nbsp;by getting booted from the House Agriculture Committee in 2012, costing Kansas a seat for the first time in nearly a century. Huelskamp had clashed with then-House Speaker John Boehner.

Marshall&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/c153fdbdb7c3455e84189f4c146d3d07/Kansas-regains-seat-on-House-agricultural-committee">immediately received a seat</a>&nbsp;on the House Agriculture Committee after taking office in 2017. He said after winning the Senate primary last week that it’s “vitally important” for Kansas to have a seat on the Senate committee and Bollier is “not qualified.”

“She wouldn’t know the difference between milo and soybeans,” Marshall said.

Bollier, a retired anesthesiologist, is a state senator who represents leafy and affluent suburbs in Johnson County, the state’s most populous county. Her father was an anesthesiologist and her mother, a nurse, but Bollier said in a post-primary interview that her father did own land near Chillicothe, Missouri, that he had farmed — growing soybeans — before it later became wetlands.

Bollier’s latest television spot features her with former GOP Rep. Tom Moxley on his Council Grove ranch, with him wearing a cowboy hat.

“I have served in the state Legislature for 11 years and have spent every year hearing about the needs of our agriculture community and voting for them,” she said. “I look forward to on that ag committee in Washington.”

And Kansas Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, said while Marshall’s agriculture background gives him a popular message in western Kansas, he’s not sure the issue plays as well in urban areas. He also said her message of bringing bipartisanship to Washington will resonate.

Political scientist Bob Beatty, of Washburn University in Topeka, said Marshall’s agriculture background is positive and will helps some voters feel more comfortable with him. But he also noted half of the state’s 1.85 million registered voters live in its five most populous counties.

“The farm credential in Kansas is more cultural than just pure votes,” Beatty said. “It’s been waning over the years, but it still has symbolic power.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597245429364.png" alt="Rep. Roger Marshall during a stop in southeast Kansas -courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Roger Marshall during a stop in southeast Kansas -courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNATOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans are likely to stress Kansas Rep. Roger Marshall’s service on the House Agriculture Committee as he runs for the Senate.The two-term GOP congressman for western and central Kansas who sometimes calls himself “the only candidate who can sort heifers from steers” is treating his agriculture background as as a major asset in his race against Democrat nominee Barbara Bollier. They’re both doctors, but she grew up in the Kansas City suburbs, while he describes himself as a “fifth-generation farm kid” after starting life on a farm outside El Dorado in south-central Kansas.Marshall and Bollier are running for the seat held by retiring four-term GOP Sen. Pat Roberts. He has served as Senate Agriculture Committee chairman since 2015, is a former House Agriculture Committee chairman and has been a key player on farm legislation for decades. Kansas agriculture groups put a premium on the state being represented on both committees.Kelly Arnold, a former Kansas Republican Party chairman, said Tuesday that Marshall’s agriculture background is “obviously going to be pushed” during the campaign.“This is one of the strong points that Roger Marshall has,” Arnold said.Marshall&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/6646c990bce8bd3d93e2722015de87f0">won the GOP primary</a>&nbsp;comfortably over Kris Kobach, a former Kansas secretary of state and polarizing conservative known for advocating restrictive immigration policies. Marshall had endorsements from the Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Livestock Association.Farm groups’ support was crucial to Marshall in 2016 when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/2672bddfba71409caf2a7e171f074cfb">he ousted</a>&nbsp;conservative tea-party Rep. Tim Huelskamp during the GOP primary. Marshall is an obstetrician and Huelskamp was a farmer and rancher, but Huelskamp had&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/2885d5c77ae84233801402a7bb577abf">alienated agriculture groups</a>&nbsp;by getting booted from the House Agriculture Committee in 2012, costing Kansas a seat for the first time in nearly a century. Huelskamp had clashed with then-House Speaker John Boehner.Marshall&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/c153fdbdb7c3455e84189f4c146d3d07/Kansas-regains-seat-on-House-agricultural-committee">immediately received a seat</a>&nbsp;on the House Agriculture Committee after taking office in 2017. He said after winning the Senate primary last week that it’s “vitally important” for Kansas to have a seat on the Senate committee and Bollier is “not qualified.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596590340401.png" alt="State Senator Barbara Bollier" />
 <figcaption>State Senator Barbara Bollier</figcaption>
 </figure>“She wouldn’t know the difference between milo and soybeans,” Marshall said.Bollier, a retired anesthesiologist, is a state senator who represents leafy and affluent suburbs in Johnson County, the state’s most populous county. Her father was an anesthesiologist and her mother, a nurse, but Bollier said in a post-primary interview that her father did own land near Chillicothe, Missouri, that he had farmed — growing soybeans — before it later became wetlands.Bollier’s latest television spot features her with former GOP Rep. Tom Moxley on his Council Grove ranch, with him wearing a cowboy hat.“I have served in the state Legislature for 11 years and have spent every year hearing about the needs of our agriculture community and voting for them,” she said. “I look forward to on that ag committee in Washington.”And Kansas Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, said while Marshall’s agriculture background gives him a popular message in western Kansas, he’s not sure the issue plays as well in urban areas. He also said her message of bringing bipartisanship to Washington will resonate.Political scientist Bob Beatty, of Washburn University in Topeka, said Marshall’s agriculture background is positive and will helps some voters feel more comfortable with him. But he also noted half of the state’s 1.85 million registered voters live in its five most populous counties.“The farm credential in Kansas is more cultural than just pure votes,” Beatty said. “It’s been waning over the years, but it still has symbolic power.”___

Farm ties key for GOP, Rep. Marshall in Kan. Senate race

Jimmy raised his arms higher and higher, a smile spreading across his face, as he, the enchanted tree, grew larger and larger.

Jimmy was one of about 30 individuals with developmental disabilities who became stars this week as part of the Center Stage Theatre Camp.

The story of the enchanted tree is one of the scripts Center Stage participants practiced this week in anticipation of a performance recorded for broadcast on YouTube on Friday.&nbsp;

In addition to three simple scripts, the group also performed "Lean on Me" in American Sign Language.

This is the second year Annie Wasinger, 17, a senior at Thomas More Prep-Marian, directed the camp.

This year's camp looked a little different from last year. All the participants and volunteers wore face shields. Brightly-colored dots were placed on the stage to promote social distancing. Individuals who lived together or had regular contact were grouped together to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Wasinger said she thought this year's camp is probably more important for the campers because COVID-19 has resulted in the cancellation of other activities, such as Special Olympics, in which they usually participate.

"They had a lot of disappointments where a lot of those got canceled or postponed, so for me personally, I wanted it to happen in any kind of way," she said.

She said the camp allows individuals to have a creative outlet.

"I think the most important thing they gain is being able to interact with each other and that we can do that safely," she said. "Also so they can be creative.&nbsp;

"There are so many who come in and they are really timid and shy. Then they get on stage and they completely come out of their shell. You will talk to their providers later and their family and they will say, 'We've never seen so and so do anything like that. We didn't know he had it in him.' "

People realize they can be like the people they see on TV, she said.

"I think it is also really, really important for me and for them to be able to come somewhere and just be authentically themselves," she said. "It's a safe space where you can be anybody. I try to tell people that on the first day."

Wasinger has been a part of local theater since she premiered in her first Hays Community Theatre production at the tender age of 3. She also is active in her school's theater productions.

Wasinger's parents took on the care of a man with cerebral palsy before Annie was born. Joel, who Annie considers a brother, is now in his 3os. He was unable to participate in the camp this year, but she said she felt she has always had a special connection to individuals with disabilities.&nbsp;

"That was the inspiration for it. I thought he should be able to perform and have the same opportunities I had," she said.

Wasinger is using an online curriculum, 4th Wall Backstage, for the camp that is geared for individuals with disabilities. She has also mixed in games she learned at theater camps and a couple of activities of her own design.

The campers play one minute of fame during which they can sing or perform anything they want. 

They play pass the hat. They also play a game called build the machine. On Wednesday, each camper was a part of a car with an assigned sound and motion to represent their part.&nbsp;

As Wasinger's graduation approaches this spring, she said she is leaning toward entering a career in the sciences, but she thinks people with disabilities will always be a part of her life.

"I never really thought of it as a career, but more of a lifestyle," she said. "Wherever I go, I think I will always engage with people with disabilities, and I will always remain best buds with everyone who is in this room."

The camp was sponsored by Hays Community Theatre; Celebration Community Church, which provided the location; JBW Services; and&nbsp; &nbsp;Gone Logo Screen Printing, which provided discounted T-shirts.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596745080059.jpeg" alt="Participants in the&nbsp;Center Stage Theatre Camp practice a script Wednesday at Celebration Community Church." />
 <figcaption>Participants in the&nbsp;Center Stage Theatre Camp practice a script Wednesday at Celebration Community Church.</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostJimmy raised his arms higher and higher, a smile spreading across his face, as he, the enchanted tree, grew larger and larger.Jimmy was one of about 30 individuals with developmental disabilities who became stars this week as part of the Center Stage Theatre Camp.The story of the enchanted tree is one of the scripts Center Stage participants practiced this week in anticipation of a performance recorded for broadcast on YouTube on Friday.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596745253229.jpeg" alt="Participants in the Center Stage Theatre Camp sign the song "Lean on Me" during camp on Wednesday morning. The camp ran Monday through Friday at Celebration Community Church.&nbsp;&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Participants in the Center Stage Theatre Camp sign the song "Lean on Me" during camp on Wednesday morning. The camp ran Monday through Friday at Celebration Community Church.&nbsp;&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>In addition to three simple scripts, the group also performed "Lean on Me" in American Sign Language.This is the second year Annie Wasinger, 17, a senior at Thomas More Prep-Marian, directed the camp.This year's camp looked a little different from last year. All the participants and volunteers wore face shields. Brightly-colored dots were placed on the stage to promote social distancing. Individuals who lived together or had regular contact were grouped together to prevent the spread of COVID-19.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596745371176.jpeg" alt="A camper practices a short play Wednesday during the Center&nbsp;Stage Theatre Camp. Campers' performances were recorded for YouTube. A link is available on the DSNWK website." />
 <figcaption>A camper practices a short play Wednesday during the Center&nbsp;Stage Theatre Camp. Campers' performances were recorded for YouTube. A link is available on the DSNWK website.</figcaption>
 </figure>Wasinger said she thought this year's camp is probably more important for the campers because COVID-19 has resulted in the cancellation of other activities, such as Special Olympics, in which they usually participate."They had a lot of disappointments where a lot of those got canceled or postponed, so for me personally, I wanted it to happen in any kind of way," she said.She said the camp allows individuals to have a creative outlet."I think the most important thing they gain is being able to interact with each other and that we can do that safely," she said. "Also so they can be creative.&nbsp;"There are so many who come in and they are really timid and shy. Then they get on stage and they completely come out of their shell. You will talk to their providers later and their family and they will say, 'We've never seen so and so do anything like that. We didn't know he had it in him.' "<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596745542063.jpeg" alt="Campers practice a short play about an enchanted tree. Jimmy, far right, is playing the tree." />
 <figcaption>Campers practice a short play about an enchanted tree. Jimmy, far right, is playing the tree.</figcaption>
 </figure>People realize they can be like the people they see on TV, she said."I think it is also really, really important for me and for them to be able to come somewhere and just be authentically themselves," she said. "It's a safe space where you can be anybody. I try to tell people that on the first day."Wasinger has been a part of local theater since she premiered in her first Hays Community Theatre production at the tender age of 3. She also is active in her school's theater productions.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596745600529.jpeg" alt="17-year-old Annie Wasinger, right, camp director, signs "Lean on Me" along with a camper Wednesday at the&nbsp;Center Stage Theatre Camp in Hays." />
 <figcaption>17-year-old Annie Wasinger, right, camp director, signs "Lean on Me" along with a camper Wednesday at the&nbsp;Center Stage Theatre Camp in Hays.</figcaption>
 </figure>Wasinger's parents took on the care of a man with cerebral palsy before Annie was born. Joel, who Annie considers a brother, is now in his 3os. He was unable to participate in the camp this year, but she said she felt she has always had a special connection to individuals with disabilities.&nbsp;"That was the inspiration for it. I thought he should be able to perform and have the same opportunities I had," she said.Wasinger is using an online curriculum, 4th Wall Backstage, for the camp that is geared for individuals with disabilities. She has also mixed in games she learned at theater camps and a couple of activities of her own design.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596745692476.jpeg" alt="A volunteer and camper sign "Lean on Me."" />
 <figcaption>A volunteer and camper sign "Lean on Me."</figcaption>
 </figure>The campers play one minute of fame during which they can sing or perform anything they want. They play pass the hat. They also play a game called build the machine. On Wednesday, each camper was a part of a car with an assigned sound and motion to represent their part.&nbsp;As Wasinger's graduation approaches this spring, she said she is leaning toward entering a career in the sciences, but she thinks people with disabilities will always be a part of her life."I never really thought of it as a career, but more of a lifestyle," she said. "Wherever I go, I think I will always engage with people with disabilities, and I will always remain best buds with everyone who is in this room."The camp was sponsored by Hays Community Theatre; Celebration Community Church, which provided the location; JBW Services; and&nbsp; &nbsp;Gone Logo Screen Printing, which provided discounted T-shirts.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596745814280.jpeg" alt="Participants in the Center Stage Theatre Camp sign the song "Lean on Me" during camp on Wednesday morning.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Participants in the Center Stage Theatre Camp sign the song "Lean on Me" during camp on Wednesday morning.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>

Center Stage Theatre offers creative outlet for disabled campers

CLEVELAND (AP) — Greg Holland struck out the top of Cleveland’s order to strand the tying run at second base and Maikel Franco hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give the Kansas City Royals a 3-2 win over the Indians on Saturday in just the third major league game decided by the debated extra-inning runner rule.

With Greg Allen on second, Holland fanned César Hernández and José Ramírez before getting All-Star Francisco Lindor to chase strike three in the dirt for the final out and the most unique save of his career.

“It’s kind of strange,” Holland said of Major League Baseball’s new rule designed to keep games from dragging in this condensed, 60-game season.

The Royals could be heard whooping it up as they poured out of the dugout, with Mike Matheny posting his first win as Kansas City’s manager — a win he knows some will say deserves an asterisk.

“I love it. I hope we do it tomorrow,” he said, referring to the automatic-runner rule, which has been used in the minors. “Though actually that’s not true. I hope we have a bigger lead. I know I have been a proponent for it, and I know baseball traditionalists are rolling over right now.”

Despite being 1 for 9 to open the season and not delivering in the clutch, Lindor likes the rule.

“It’s cool,” he said. “It’s kind of Little League-ish, but I like it.”

Indians starter Mike Clevinger is on the other side of the debate.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Greg Holland struck out the top of Cleveland’s order to strand the tying run at second base and Maikel Franco hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give the Kansas City Royals a 3-2 win over the Indians on Saturday in just the third major league game decided by the debated extra-inning runner rule.With Greg Allen on second, Holland fanned César Hernández and José Ramírez before getting All-Star Francisco Lindor to chase strike three in the dirt for the final out and the most unique save of his career.“It’s kind of strange,” Holland said of Major League Baseball’s new rule designed to keep games from dragging in this condensed, 60-game season.The Royals could be heard whooping it up as they poured out of the dugout, with Mike Matheny posting his first win as Kansas City’s manager — a win he knows some will say deserves an asterisk.“I love it. I hope we do it tomorrow,” he said, referring to the automatic-runner rule, which has been used in the minors. “Though actually that’s not true. I hope we have a bigger lead. I know I have been a proponent for it, and I know baseball traditionalists are rolling over right now.”Despite being 1 for 9 to open the season and not delivering in the clutch, Lindor likes the rule.“It’s cool,” he said. “It’s kind of Little League-ish, but I like it.”Indians starter Mike Clevinger is on the other side of the debate.“This isn’t travel ball,” he said. “You know how hard it is to get a runner on second base off the back end of any bullpen, how incredibly hard that is? I’m not happy about it. I’m sure when other teams face the situation and this happens to them, you’re going to get similar reactions.”Holland’s performance provided a fitting ending for the Royals, who got an excellent start from Brady Singer in his big league debut. Reliever Scott Barlow struck out two in the ninth to get the win.The Indians got just one hit after the third inning and finished with just four.“We have a good team,” Lindor said. “We’re going to hit. Their pitching staff was doing a good job. Hats off to them.”Jorge Soler and Salvador Pérez hit back-to-back homers in the first for Kansas City.Kansas City’s 10th began with pinch-runner Brett Phillips on second and he moved to third on pinch-hitter Erick Mejia’s perfectly placed sacrifice off James Karinchak (0-1). Franco then delivered a fly to deep center, easily scoring Phillips.Cleveland, which left the bases loaded in the ninth, went with a different strategy in the 10th as manager Terry Francona let leadoff hitter Bradley Zimmer swing away and he got hit. But Hernández couldn’t get down a bunt before Holland got him.The Indians still looked to be OK with Ramirez and Lindor coming up, but Holland didn’t let them make contact.Clevinger came in 9-0 in 13 career starts against the Royals, but two bad pitches — and a check-swing — in the first prevented him from getting his 10th win.With two outs, Soler checked his swing on a 2-2 pitch, and with the count full he pulled Clevinger’s slider into the left-field stands. Two pitches later, Pérez followed with a towering, 434-foot shot into the empty bleachers.The 23-year-old Singer held the Indians to two runs and three hits with seven strikeouts in five innings. The first-round draft pick in 2018 looked composed and comfortable in his first outing.“Exactly what the doctor ordered for our club,” Matheny said. “He didn’t get rattled in that third inning. A little bit unlucky, some balls found some holes and a couple calls didn’t go his way, but a lot of composure for 23 years old.”The Royals weren’t expecting to bring up Singer this quickly, but with starters Brad Keller and Jakob Junis both sidelined after testing positive for the coronavirus, the club decided it was time to see him.NEW JERSEYSThe Indians wore their red alternate home jerseys for Game 2. On Friday, the team donned its blue road jerseys with “Cleveland” on the chest for the opener in a show of support for minorities and the team considering changing its name.TRAINING ROOMIndians: OF Tyler Naquin was placed on the injured list with a hairline fracture in his right big toe. Naquin fouled a ball off his foot last week and needs more time to recover.UP NEXTIndians right-hander Carlos Carrasco makes his first since May 30 last season, shortly before he was diagnosed with leukemia. Carrasco returned to pitch in relief late in the season, but he’s back in Cleveland’s rotation. Matheny hasn’t announced his starter for Sunday’s series finale.