DEERFIELD, Kan. (AP)— An 8-year-old Garden City boy died when an ATV he was riding on rolled over. 

Kearny County authorities say the crash occurred around noon Sunday about 7 miles northeast of Deerfield. 

Twenty-year-old Daniel Rodriguez and 8-year-old Aiden Hernandez were riding on the ATV in a field next to a house when it rolled at least once. 

The Kearny County Sheriff's Office says Rodriguez and Aiden were both thrown from the vehicle. They were not wearing helmets. Aiden died at a hospital. Rodriguez was not injured.

DEERFIELD, Kan. (AP)— An 8-year-old Garden City boy died when an ATV he was riding on rolled over. Kearny County authorities say the crash occurred around noon Sunday about 7 miles northeast of Deerfield. Twenty-year-old Daniel Rodriguez and 8-year-old Aiden Hernandez were riding on the ATV in a field next to a house when it rolled at least once. The Kearny County Sheriff's Office says Rodriguez and Aiden were both thrown from the vehicle. They were not wearing helmets. Aiden died at a hospital. Rodriguez was not injured.

8-year-old Kansas boy dies when ATV rolls in field

SALINE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man after a chase and crash into a house in Saline County.

According to Sheriff Roger Soldan, a deputy was eastbound on East Crawford Street shortly before midnight Saturday when he clocked a westbound 2005 Jeep at 60 mph. The deputy attempted to stop the Jeep, which turned south onto Roach Street and was traveling at speeds in excess of 90 mph.

The Jeep left the road in the 2100 block of Roach, where the street curves near Stewart Elementary School,&nbsp; traveled through three yards and took out shrubbery and a rock display. 

The Jeep then crossed Belmont Boulevard and struck a wooden fence and house at 2202 Roach. No one in the house was injured, according to Soldan.

The driver, Nathan Rogers, 27, of Overland Park, fled on foot but was located Sunday and arrested on requested charges include Felony flee and elude, Felony damage to property, Felony interference, Reckless driving, Duty to report an accident and Transporting an open container.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589211771385.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Photo Saline County Sheriff's OfficeSALINE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man after a chase and crash into a house in Saline County.According to Sheriff Roger Soldan, a deputy was eastbound on East Crawford Street shortly before midnight Saturday when he clocked a westbound 2005 Jeep at 60 mph. The deputy attempted to stop the Jeep, which turned south onto Roach Street and was traveling at speeds in excess of 90 mph.The Jeep left the road in the 2100 block of Roach, where the street curves near Stewart Elementary School,&nbsp; traveled through three yards and took out shrubbery and a rock display. The Jeep then crossed Belmont Boulevard and struck a wooden fence and house at 2202 Roach. No one in the house was injured, according to Soldan.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589199149943.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Nathan Rogers&nbsp;The driver, Nathan Rogers, 27, of Overland Park, fled on foot but was located Sunday and arrested on requested charges include Felony flee and elude, Felony damage to property, Felony interference, Reckless driving, Duty to report an accident and Transporting an open container.

Kansas man arrested after crashing Jeep into house

TOPEKA&nbsp; – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt on Monday said his office has been asked for its formal legal opinion on whether a state law that authorizes criminal prosecution of Kansans who violate emergency orders issued by the governor is constitutional and enforceable. 

&nbsp;The announcement came a day after two business owners in Linn County in eastern Kansas filed a federal lawsuit over an order requiring them to track who enters their premises. County officials did not immediately respond.&nbsp;

The attorney general issued the following statement:

“I continue to encourage all Kansans to follow the recommendations of public health professionals to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as our economy and communities reopen. At the same time, a local prosecuting attorney has requested our office review whether violations of emergency orders issued by the governor may lawfully be enforced and punished as crimes. We have agreed to conduct that legal review.&nbsp;

“An unprecedented 27 statewide emergency executive orders have been issued in the past eight weeks on subjects ranging widely from stay-home, mass gatherings and business closures to alcohol sales, evictions and trash collection. The Kansas constitution grants the legislature, not the governor, power to define what behavior may subject Kansans to potential arrest, criminal prosecution, fines or imprisonment. No appellate court has determined whether the legislature, through provisions of the Kansas Emergency Management Act, has lawfully delegated that power to the governor. Even if delegation is generally permissible, we have been asked specific legal questions that could affect the ability of law enforcement and prosecutors to&nbsp;criminally enforce emergency orders under authority of K.S.A. 48-939. We are working diligently and will issue our formal legal opinion on these&nbsp;important questions as soon as possible.”

Governor Kelly's office did not immediately respond to the statement from the attorney general.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1585442211571.jpeg" alt="Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly explains her decision to mandate a statewide stay-at-home order -photo by&nbsp; Jim McLean / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly explains her decision to mandate a statewide stay-at-home order -photo by&nbsp; Jim McLean / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA&nbsp; – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt on Monday said his office has been asked for its formal legal opinion on whether a state law that authorizes criminal prosecution of Kansans who violate emergency orders issued by the governor is constitutional and enforceable. &nbsp;The announcement came a day after two business owners in Linn County in eastern Kansas filed a federal lawsuit over an order requiring them to track who enters their premises. County officials did not immediately respond.&nbsp;The attorney general issued the following statement:“I continue to encourage all Kansans to follow the recommendations of public health professionals to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as our economy and communities reopen. At the same time, a local prosecuting attorney has requested our office review whether violations of emergency orders issued by the governor may lawfully be enforced and punished as crimes. We have agreed to conduct that legal review.&nbsp;“An unprecedented 27 statewide emergency executive orders have been issued in the past eight weeks on subjects ranging widely from stay-home, mass gatherings and business closures to alcohol sales, evictions and trash collection. The Kansas constitution grants the legislature, not the governor, power to define what behavior may subject Kansans to potential arrest, criminal prosecution, fines or imprisonment. No appellate court has determined whether the legislature, through provisions of the Kansas Emergency Management Act, has lawfully delegated that power to the governor. Even if delegation is generally permissible, we have been asked specific legal questions that could affect the ability of law enforcement and prosecutors to&nbsp;criminally enforce emergency orders under authority of K.S.A. 48-939. We are working diligently and will issue our formal legal opinion on these&nbsp;important questions as soon as possible.”Governor Kelly's office did not immediately respond to the statement from the attorney general.

AG reviews if violations of Gov's executive orders can be prosecuted

By LYNN HORSLEY <a href="https://www.kcur.org/community/2020-05-11/here-is-what-people-can-and-cant-do-as-johnson-and-wyandotte-counties-begin-to-gradually-reopen">Kansas News Service</a>

Johnson and Wyandotte Counties begin to gradually reopen their 
economies on Monday, May 11, following weeks of stringent stay-home 
orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They follow Kansas City, Missouri, which began allowing some non-essential businesses to reopen Wednesday, May 6.

<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-05-06/heres-what-people-can-do-and-not-do-in-kansas-city-missouri-as-stay-at-home-order-partially-lifts" target="_blank">Read KCUR’s “Here’s What People Can Do – And Not Do – In Kansas City, Missouri, As Stay-At-Home Order Partially Lifts”</a>

Health
 officers in Johnson and Wyandotte counties said they thought a May 11 
start date was safer for their communities. They still are strongly 
urging people who are out and about to wear cloth masks in public 
settings.

Johnson County is mostly following Kansas Gov. Laura 
Kelly’s phased approach in reopening statewide, while Wyandotte County 
is taking a more restrictive approach.

In
 Johnson County, here are some of the places that residents and 
customers can start to visit that they couldn’t before. You can read the
 county’s reopening plan <a href="https://jocogov.org/sites/default/files/documents/CMO/Phased%20opening%20in%20Johnson%20County%202.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.

However, here are the things you still can’t do:

Those types of businesses can’t open at least until May 18 under <a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Reopen-Kansas-Framework.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas’ reopening plan.</a> That second phase depends on virus data trends improving.

Johnson County Library is also developing a phased reopening plan and more information will be <a href="https://www.jocolibrary.org/" target="_blank">at the Library’s website.</a>

Wyandotte County has a more gradual plan for reopening. The details can be read <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/RestartWYCOGuidanceDocument043020.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.

In the first phase, most people are still urged to stay at home as much as possible. Here are some important details:

As in Johnson County, many 
businesses and functions will remain closed in the first phase, 
including haircare places, gyms, community centers, libraries, museums 
and entertainment venues.

In Wyandotte County, elective dental procedures are discouraged for now.

Government
 offices remain closed although people can do various services online, 
including vehicle titling and registration. More information is at the <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/auto" target="_blank">Unified Government’s website</a>.

Lynn Horsley is a freelance writer in Kansas City. Follow her on Twitter @LynnHorsley.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589205232552.png" alt="Restaurants and many other mom-and-pop stores in downtown Overland Park will be allowed to open Monday, May 11, with some restrictions still in place. Sam Zeff / KCUR" />
 <figcaption>Restaurants and many other mom-and-pop stores in downtown Overland Park will be allowed to open Monday, May 11, with some restrictions still in place. Sam Zeff / KCUR</figcaption>
 </figure>By LYNN HORSLEY <a href="https://www.kcur.org/community/2020-05-11/here-is-what-people-can-and-cant-do-as-johnson-and-wyandotte-counties-begin-to-gradually-reopen">Kansas News Service</a>Johnson and Wyandotte Counties begin to gradually reopen their 
economies on Monday, May 11, following weeks of stringent stay-home 
orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.They follow Kansas City, Missouri, which began allowing some non-essential businesses to reopen Wednesday, May 6.<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-05-06/heres-what-people-can-do-and-not-do-in-kansas-city-missouri-as-stay-at-home-order-partially-lifts" target="_blank">Read KCUR’s “Here’s What People Can Do – And Not Do – In Kansas City, Missouri, As Stay-At-Home Order Partially Lifts”</a>Health
 officers in Johnson and Wyandotte counties said they thought a May 11 
start date was safer for their communities. They still are strongly 
urging people who are out and about to wear cloth masks in public 
settings.Johnson County is mostly following Kansas Gov. Laura 
Kelly’s phased approach in reopening statewide, while Wyandotte County 
is taking a more restrictive approach.<h2>Johnson County</h2>In
 Johnson County, here are some of the places that residents and 
customers can start to visit that they couldn’t before. You can read the
 county’s reopening plan <a href="https://jocogov.org/sites/default/files/documents/CMO/Phased%20opening%20in%20Johnson%20County%202.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<ol>
 <li>Offices
 such as law firms and advertising agencies that don’t usually serve the
 public can open with social distancing among workers.</li><li>Restaurants can offer dine-in service for parties of 10 or fewer people but tables must be at least 6 feet apart.</li><li>Farmers markets are allowed, with social distancing.</li><li>Retail stores such as clothing and gift shops can serve shoppers, with social distancing.</li><li>Churches can hold services with more than 10 people but social distancing is required between families.</li><li>The motor vehicle offices in Olathe and Mission are open on a limited basis, but reservations are required. (You can make them <a href="https://www.jocogov.org/residents/vehicles" target="_blank">here</a> in order to secure a place in line.) Still, the county strongly urges patrons to conduct as much business online as possible.</li><li>The New Century and Executive airports are also open as of Monday, May 11.</li>
 </ol>However, here are the things you still can’t do:<ol>
 <li>Visit a bar or nightclub except for curbside or carryout.</li><li>Get a haircut or a massage.</li><li>Visit a gym, library, playground or community center.</li><li>Attend a theater or other indoor entertainment venue.</li>
 </ol>Those types of businesses can’t open at least until May 18 under <a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Reopen-Kansas-Framework.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas’ reopening plan.</a> That second phase depends on virus data trends improving.Johnson County Library is also developing a phased reopening plan and more information will be <a href="https://www.jocolibrary.org/" target="_blank">at the Library’s website.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589205343951.png" alt="Businesses like this family owned cupcake store in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, have been closed to walk-in business since the shutdown started in mid-March. Laura Ziegler photo" />
 <figcaption>Businesses like this family owned cupcake store in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, have been closed to walk-in business since the shutdown started in mid-March. Laura Ziegler photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Wyandotte County</h2>Wyandotte County has a more gradual plan for reopening. The details can be read <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/RestartWYCOGuidanceDocument043020.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.In the first phase, most people are still urged to stay at home as much as possible. Here are some important details:<ol>
 <li>Offices, manufacturing and logistical businesses can open with social distancing among workers and customers.</li><li>No
 dine-in restaurant service is allowed and farmers markets are 
discouraged. Carry out and curbside service are allowed with 6-foot 
social distancing, as are food trucks.</li><li>Hotels and motels can operate at no more than 25% capacity.</li><li>Church
 services, including weddings and funerals, can only accommodate 10 
percent of capacity as determined by the fire marshal, and personal 
greetings are discouraged.</li>
 </ol>As in Johnson County, many 
businesses and functions will remain closed in the first phase, 
including haircare places, gyms, community centers, libraries, museums 
and entertainment venues.In Wyandotte County, elective dental procedures are discouraged for now.Government
 offices remain closed although people can do various services online, 
including vehicle titling and registration. More information is at the <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/auto" target="_blank">Unified Government’s website</a>.Lynn Horsley is a freelance writer in Kansas City. Follow her on Twitter @LynnHorsley.

What the reopening of Johnson, Wyandotte counties looks like

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a century’s progress in science, 2020 is looking a lot like 1918.

In the years between two lethal pandemics, one the misnamed Spanish flu, the other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak">COVID-19</a>, the world learned about viruses, cured various diseases, made effective vaccines, developed instant communications and created elaborate public-health networks.

Yet here we are again, face-masked to the max. And still unable to crush an insidious yet avoidable infectious disease before hundreds of thousands die from it.

As in 1918, people are again hearing hollow assurances at odds with the reality of hospitals and morgues filling up and bank accounts draining. The ancient common sense of quarantining is back. So is quackery: Rub raw onions on your chest, they said in 1918. How about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7f0a9a77dad8c8722aa54fef45e8667b">disinfectant in your veins</a>&nbsp;now? mused President Donald Trump, drawing gasps instead of laughs over what he weakly tried to pass off as a joke.

In 1918, no one had a vaccine, treatment or cure for the great flu pandemic as it ravaged the world and killed more than 50 million people. No one has any of that for the coronavirus, either.

Modern science quickly identified&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak">today’s new coronavirus</a>, mapped its genetic code and developed a diagnostic test, tapping knowledge no one had in 1918. That has given people more of a fighting chance to stay out of harm’s way, at least in countries that deployed tests quickly, which the U.S. didn’t.

But the ways to avoid getting sick and what to do when sick are little changed. The failure of U.S. presidents to take the threat seriously from the start also joins past to present.

Trump all but declared victory before infection took root in his country and he’s delivered a stream of misinformation ever since. President Woodrow Wilson’s principal failure was his silence.

Not once, historians say, did Wilson publicly speak about a disease that was killing Americans grotesquely and in huge numbers, even though he contracted it himself and was never the same after. Wilson fixated on America’s parallel fight in World War I like “a dog with a bone,” says John M. Barry, author of “The Great Influenza.”

The suspected ground zero of the Spanish flu ranges from Kansas to China. But it was clear to U.S. officials even in 1918 that it didn’t start in Spain.

The pandemic took on Spain’s name only because its free press ambitiously reported the devastation in the disease’s early 1918 wave while government officials and a complicit press in countries at war — the U.S. among them — played it down in a time of jingoism, censorship and denial.

Like COVID-19, the 1918 pandemic came from a respiratory virus that jumped from animals to people, was transmitted the same way, and had similar pathology, Barry said by email. Social distancing, hand-washing and masks were leading control measures then and now.

<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-opinion-flashback-1918-flu-pandemic-timeline-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">Medical advice from then&nbsp;</a>also resonates today: “If you get it, stay at home, rest in bed, keep warm, drink hot drinks and stay quiet until the symptoms are past,” said Dr. John Dill Robertson, Chicago health commissioner in 1918. “Then continue to be careful, for the greatest danger is from pneumonia or some kindred disease after the influenza is gone.”

In the manner of the day, there just had to be a catchy rhyme in circulation, too: “Cover up each cough and sneeze. If you don’t you’ll spread disease.”

But there were also marked differences between the viruses of 1918 and 2020. The Spanish flu was particularly dangerous to healthy people aged 20 to 40 — the prime generation of military service — paradoxically because of their vibrant immune systems.

When such people got infected, their antibodies went after the virus like soldiers spilling from the trenches of Europe’s killing fields.

“The immune system was throwing every weapon it had at the virus,” Barry said. “The battlefield was the lung. The lung was being destroyed in that battle.”

Young soldiers and sailors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/pandemic-timeline-1918.htm" target="_blank">massed at military camps</a>&nbsp;in the U.S., sailed for Europe on ships stuffed to the gunwales with humanity, fought side by side in the trenches and came home in victory to adoring crowds. The toll was enormous, on them and the people they infected. The Spanish flu could just as easily have been called the U.S. Army or U.S. Navy flu instead. Or the German or British flu, for that matter.

Among those who died in the pandemic was Friedrich Trump, Donald Trump’s paternal grandfather. Among those who contracted it and recovered were the wartime leaders of Britain and Germany as well as of the United States, British and Spanish kings and the future U.S. president, Franklin Roosevelt, when he was assistant Navy secretary.

But the toll was heavier on average people and the poor, crowded in tenements, street cars and sweaty factories.

They could not all live by the words of the 1918 U.S. surgeon general, Rupert Blue: “Keep out of crowds and stuffy places as much as possible. ... The value of fresh air through open windows cannot be overemphasized. ... Make every possible effort to breath as much pure air as possible.”

An estimated 675,000 Americans died in the pandemic, which is thought to have infected one-third of the global population.&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Tracking by Johns Hopkins University</a>&nbsp;shows the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 250,000 people globally, more than 68,000 in the United States.

In 1918, the surgeon general noted in a handbill that “a person who has only a mild attack of the disease himself may give a very severe attack to others.” The warning is just as applicable to the coronavirus, especially as scientists learned large numbers of people with COVID-19 may spread it despite no obvious symptoms. Exactly how often the new virus kills can’t be determined without better counts of the infected; some estimates&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3291398/" target="_blank">put the 1918 flu’s death rate at 2.5%.</a>

Blue’s public notice also warned people to avoid charlatans and only get medicine from doctors.

Physicians, though, didn’t always know what they were doing. Medical journals at the time describe a rash of unusual treatments, some in the league of Trump’s amateur theories about disinfectant, blasts of lights and an unapproved drug that has both potential benefits and risks.

One 1918-era doctor recommended that people sniff a boric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) powder to rinse out nasal passages. Others prescribed quinine, strychnine and a poisonous garden plant called Digitalis to help circulation, as well as drugs derived from iodine for “internal disinfection,” according to Laura Spinney, who wrote the 2017 book “Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World.”

Popular theories spread that warming your feet would prevent infection, or gobbling brown sugar, or getting the onion rubdown. A “clean heart” was one supposed preventive, though it is not clear whether that meant the organ or the heart of love.

“There was no Tony Fauci back then,” Barry said in a remote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-9104/" target="_blank">Library of Congress interview</a>&nbsp;in April.

We have Fauci now — a federal immunologist who has been regarded as the truth-teller in White House briefings, singularly immune to Trump’s positive spin and falsehoods. Plus, we know so much more than people did in 1918.

Yet we’re still hearing lots of Dark Ages nonsense.

Conspiracy theorists have blamed COVID-19 on the development of 5G networks, just as they say radio waves caused the 1918 flu. Arsonists recently torched more than a dozen British cell towers after that falsehood circulated.

Over the months of this pandemic, The Associated Press has debunked a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/Fact-checking">series of bogus remedies&nbsp;</a>that spread on Facebook, Twitter and the like. No, blasting hot air up your nose from a hair dryer won’t protect you. Nor will drinking tonic water, eating high-alkaline foods, stuffing antibiotic ointment up your nose, downing vodka or any home elixir.

No, it’s not true that if you can’t hold your breath very long, you have COVID-19. Or that a vaccine from a lab only works on a disease created by a lab.

Social distancing has not come with social-media distancing. Over a century of science, we haven’t gone back to the future, but ahead to the past.

In September 1918, as the Spanish flu’s second and by far deadliest wave hit in the U.S., Philadelphia’s public health chief disregarded advisers and let a massive war-bond parade proceed through downtown. The H1N1 virus raced through the masses in what has been called the world’s deadliest parade. As officials insisted there was nothing to be alarmed about, people were seeing neighbors sicken and die with astonishing speed and mass graves being dug.

“It’s just the flu” had worn thin as the mantra of officialdom.

Late that November, sirens wailed in San Francisco to sound the all-clear after six weeks of lockdown and tell people they could remove their masks. San Francisco, like many cities in the West, had been largely spared the first wave and spent the interval preparing for Round 2, mandating masks and jailing people who didn’t comply.

They had a rhyme for that, too, of course: “Obey the laws, and wear the gauze. Protect your jaws from septic paws.”

<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/influenza-san-francisco/" target="_blank">The precautions paid off&nbsp;</a>with a death rate lower than in afflicted cities elsewhere. But the city relaxed too soon.

In December, thousands of new cases erupted. A wave spilling into the new year was underway. San Francisco’s death toll mounted by more than 1,000. It was the last lashing by the Spanish flu, and a less lethal one.

The brutal lessons of 1918 and 1919? To Barry, who was enlisted 15 years ago in a Bush administration drive to prepare all levels of government for pandemics, they are to respond early, relax cautiously, tell people the truth.

Instead he has seen denial followed by a chaotic federal response and leadership vacuum as Washington and the states compete for the same medical essentials and now move fitfully toward reopening.

“Now we have plans, even war-gamed the plans, spent billions preparing for just what is happening, federal agencies have been tasked to handle all these things, and we get ... next to nothing,” he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a century’s progress in science, 2020 is looking a lot like 1918.In the years between two lethal pandemics, one the misnamed Spanish flu, the other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak">COVID-19</a>, the world learned about viruses, cured various diseases, made effective vaccines, developed instant communications and created elaborate public-health networks.Yet here we are again, face-masked to the max. And still unable to crush an insidious yet avoidable infectious disease before hundreds of thousands die from it.As in 1918, people are again hearing hollow assurances at odds with the reality of hospitals and morgues filling up and bank accounts draining. The ancient common sense of quarantining is back. So is quackery: Rub raw onions on your chest, they said in 1918. How about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7f0a9a77dad8c8722aa54fef45e8667b">disinfectant in your veins</a>&nbsp;now? mused President Donald Trump, drawing gasps instead of laughs over what he weakly tried to pass off as a joke.In 1918, no one had a vaccine, treatment or cure for the great flu pandemic as it ravaged the world and killed more than 50 million people. No one has any of that for the coronavirus, either.Modern science quickly identified&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak">today’s new coronavirus</a>, mapped its genetic code and developed a diagnostic test, tapping knowledge no one had in 1918. That has given people more of a fighting chance to stay out of harm’s way, at least in countries that deployed tests quickly, which the U.S. didn’t.But the ways to avoid getting sick and what to do when sick are little changed. The failure of U.S. presidents to take the threat seriously from the start also joins past to present.Trump all but declared victory before infection took root in his country and he’s delivered a stream of misinformation ever since. President Woodrow Wilson’s principal failure was his silence.Not once, historians say, did Wilson publicly speak about a disease that was killing Americans grotesquely and in huge numbers, even though he contracted it himself and was never the same after. Wilson fixated on America’s parallel fight in World War I like “a dog with a bone,” says John M. Barry, author of “The Great Influenza.”The suspected ground zero of the Spanish flu ranges from Kansas to China. But it was clear to U.S. officials even in 1918 that it didn’t start in Spain.The pandemic took on Spain’s name only because its free press ambitiously reported the devastation in the disease’s early 1918 wave while government officials and a complicit press in countries at war — the U.S. among them — played it down in a time of jingoism, censorship and denial.Like COVID-19, the 1918 pandemic came from a respiratory virus that jumped from animals to people, was transmitted the same way, and had similar pathology, Barry said by email. Social distancing, hand-washing and masks were leading control measures then and now.<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-opinion-flashback-1918-flu-pandemic-timeline-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">Medical advice from then&nbsp;</a>also resonates today: “If you get it, stay at home, rest in bed, keep warm, drink hot drinks and stay quiet until the symptoms are past,” said Dr. John Dill Robertson, Chicago health commissioner in 1918. “Then continue to be careful, for the greatest danger is from pneumonia or some kindred disease after the influenza is gone.”In the manner of the day, there just had to be a catchy rhyme in circulation, too: “Cover up each cough and sneeze. If you don’t you’ll spread disease.”But there were also marked differences between the viruses of 1918 and 2020. The Spanish flu was particularly dangerous to healthy people aged 20 to 40 — the prime generation of military service — paradoxically because of their vibrant immune systems.When such people got infected, their antibodies went after the virus like soldiers spilling from the trenches of Europe’s killing fields.“The immune system was throwing every weapon it had at the virus,” Barry said. “The battlefield was the lung. The lung was being destroyed in that battle.”Young soldiers and sailors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/pandemic-timeline-1918.htm" target="_blank">massed at military camps</a>&nbsp;in the U.S., sailed for Europe on ships stuffed to the gunwales with humanity, fought side by side in the trenches and came home in victory to adoring crowds. The toll was enormous, on them and the people they infected. The Spanish flu could just as easily have been called the U.S. Army or U.S. Navy flu instead. Or the German or British flu, for that matter.Among those who died in the pandemic was Friedrich Trump, Donald Trump’s paternal grandfather. Among those who contracted it and recovered were the wartime leaders of Britain and Germany as well as of the United States, British and Spanish kings and the future U.S. president, Franklin Roosevelt, when he was assistant Navy secretary.But the toll was heavier on average people and the poor, crowded in tenements, street cars and sweaty factories.They could not all live by the words of the 1918 U.S. surgeon general, Rupert Blue: “Keep out of crowds and stuffy places as much as possible. ... The value of fresh air through open windows cannot be overemphasized. ... Make every possible effort to breath as much pure air as possible.”An estimated 675,000 Americans died in the pandemic, which is thought to have infected one-third of the global population.&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Tracking by Johns Hopkins University</a>&nbsp;shows the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 250,000 people globally, more than 68,000 in the United States.___BAD SCIENCEIn 1918, the surgeon general noted in a handbill that “a person who has only a mild attack of the disease himself may give a very severe attack to others.” The warning is just as applicable to the coronavirus, especially as scientists learned large numbers of people with COVID-19 may spread it despite no obvious symptoms. Exactly how often the new virus kills can’t be determined without better counts of the infected; some estimates&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3291398/" target="_blank">put the 1918 flu’s death rate at 2.5%.</a>Blue’s public notice also warned people to avoid charlatans and only get medicine from doctors.Physicians, though, didn’t always know what they were doing. Medical journals at the time describe a rash of unusual treatments, some in the league of Trump’s amateur theories about disinfectant, blasts of lights and an unapproved drug that has both potential benefits and risks.One 1918-era doctor recommended that people sniff a boric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) powder to rinse out nasal passages. Others prescribed quinine, strychnine and a poisonous garden plant called Digitalis to help circulation, as well as drugs derived from iodine for “internal disinfection,” according to Laura Spinney, who wrote the 2017 book “Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World.”Popular theories spread that warming your feet would prevent infection, or gobbling brown sugar, or getting the onion rubdown. A “clean heart” was one supposed preventive, though it is not clear whether that meant the organ or the heart of love.“There was no Tony Fauci back then,” Barry said in a remote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-9104/" target="_blank">Library of Congress interview</a>&nbsp;in April.We have Fauci now — a federal immunologist who has been regarded as the truth-teller in White House briefings, singularly immune to Trump’s positive spin and falsehoods. Plus, we know so much more than people did in 1918.Yet we’re still hearing lots of Dark Ages nonsense.Conspiracy theorists have blamed COVID-19 on the development of 5G networks, just as they say radio waves caused the 1918 flu. Arsonists recently torched more than a dozen British cell towers after that falsehood circulated.Over the months of this pandemic, The Associated Press has debunked a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/Fact-checking">series of bogus remedies&nbsp;</a>that spread on Facebook, Twitter and the like. No, blasting hot air up your nose from a hair dryer won’t protect you. Nor will drinking tonic water, eating high-alkaline foods, stuffing antibiotic ointment up your nose, downing vodka or any home elixir.No, it’s not true that if you can’t hold your breath very long, you have COVID-19. Or that a vaccine from a lab only works on a disease created by a lab.Social distancing has not come with social-media distancing. Over a century of science, we haven’t gone back to the future, but ahead to the past.___LESSONS OF 1918 (and 1919)In September 1918, as the Spanish flu’s second and by far deadliest wave hit in the U.S., Philadelphia’s public health chief disregarded advisers and let a massive war-bond parade proceed through downtown. The H1N1 virus raced through the masses in what has been called the world’s deadliest parade. As officials insisted there was nothing to be alarmed about, people were seeing neighbors sicken and die with astonishing speed and mass graves being dug.“It’s just the flu” had worn thin as the mantra of officialdom.Late that November, sirens wailed in San Francisco to sound the all-clear after six weeks of lockdown and tell people they could remove their masks. San Francisco, like many cities in the West, had been largely spared the first wave and spent the interval preparing for Round 2, mandating masks and jailing people who didn’t comply.They had a rhyme for that, too, of course: “Obey the laws, and wear the gauze. Protect your jaws from septic paws.”<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/influenza-san-francisco/" target="_blank">The precautions paid off&nbsp;</a>with a death rate lower than in afflicted cities elsewhere. But the city relaxed too soon.In December, thousands of new cases erupted. A wave spilling into the new year was underway. San Francisco’s death toll mounted by more than 1,000. It was the last lashing by the Spanish flu, and a less lethal one.The brutal lessons of 1918 and 1919? To Barry, who was enlisted 15 years ago in a Bush administration drive to prepare all levels of government for pandemics, they are to respond early, relax cautiously, tell people the truth.Instead he has seen denial followed by a chaotic federal response and leadership vacuum as Washington and the states compete for the same medical essentials and now move fitfully toward reopening.“Now we have plans, even war-gamed the plans, spent billions preparing for just what is happening, federal agencies have been tasked to handle all these things, and we get ... next to nothing,” he said.Not even a jingle.

Virus-afflicted 2020 looks like 1918 despite science's march

OVERLAND PARK —The Salute To Blue Sunday night honored fallen Overland Park Police Officer Mike Mosher who died May 2 during an exchange of gun fire during pursuit with a reported&nbsp; hit-and-run suspect. People lined the street in Overland Park and hundreds of officers in their cars provided a driving&nbsp; vigil for Mosher.&nbsp;

The police cars then gathered in the Oak Park Mall parking lot&nbsp; to pay&nbsp; respects to the service and sacrifice of Mosher who&nbsp;had been with the Overland Park department for nearly 15 years.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588597817471.png" alt="Officer Mike Mosher" />
 <figcaption>Officer Mike Mosher</figcaption>
 </figure>OVERLAND PARK —The Salute To Blue Sunday night honored fallen Overland Park Police Officer Mike Mosher who died May 2 during an exchange of gun fire during pursuit with a reported&nbsp; hit-and-run suspect. People lined the street in Overland Park and hundreds of officers in their cars provided a driving&nbsp; vigil for Mosher.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Thank you for your sacrifice, Officer Mosher. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaluteToBlue?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SaluteToBlue</a> <a href="https://t.co/o9hqFAgWvg">pic.twitter.com/o9hqFAgWvg</a>&mdash; Shawnee KS Police Department (@shawneeKSpolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/shawneeKSpolice/status/1259670759838015488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The police cars then gathered in the Oak Park Mall parking lot&nbsp; to pay&nbsp; respects to the service and sacrifice of Mosher who&nbsp;had been with the Overland Park department for nearly 15 years.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SalutetoBlue?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SalutetoBlue</a> for Officer Mosher <a href="https://t.co/wKsfk5z2mC">pic.twitter.com/wKsfk5z2mC</a>&mdash; Lenexa Police (@LenexaPolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/LenexaPolice/status/1259656558218301445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Hundreds gather to honor fallen Kansas officer 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence was self-isolating Sunday after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus last week, but he planned to return to the White House on Monday.

An administration official said Pence was voluntarily keeping his distance from other people in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19 since his exposure but was following the advice of medical officials.

His action came after three of the nation’s top scientists took their own protective steps following possible exposure to a White House staffer infected by the coronavirus.

“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine,” spokesman Devin O’Malley said Sunday. “Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow.”

Pence has been at home since returning to Washington from a day trip to Iowa on Friday and did not appear at President Donald Trump’s meeting with military leaders Saturday at the White House. Pence was informed of the aide’s positive test shortly before departing for that trip.

An official initially said Pence planned to continue working from home, before Pence’s office clarified that he planned to work from the White House on Monday. It was not immediately clear how Pence’s steps to self-isolate would impact his professional or public engagements.

Pence has led the White House coronavirus task force for more than two months. Top officials who have gone into quarantine because of exposure to a person at the White House who tested positive for the virus are Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC; and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn.

Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week.

A military service member who acts as a valet to the president tested positive on Thursday, the first known instance where a person in close proximity to the president at the White House had tested positive.

After Miller was identified as having tested positive, Trump said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.

The three other task force members have indicated varying plans for dealing with their exposure. None has announced testing positive for the virus and, taking into account what has been described as limited exposure to the infected person, are considered at relatively low risk for infection.

Fauci’s institute said he was “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to others while still carrying out his duties, teleworking from home but willing to go to the White House if called. Officials said both Redfield and Hahn will be self-quarantining for two weeks.

The three officials were expected to testify by videoconference before a Senate health committee on Tuesday. On Sunday night, the office of the chairman of the committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced that the senator would be self-quarantining in Tennessee for two weeks after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Alexander too will participate in the hearing by videoconference.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1586429670186.png" alt="Vice President Mike Pence answers questions during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing last month-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Mike Pence answers questions during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing last month-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence was self-isolating Sunday after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus last week, but he planned to return to the White House on Monday.An administration official said Pence was voluntarily keeping his distance from other people in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19 since his exposure but was following the advice of medical officials.His action came after three of the nation’s top scientists took their own protective steps following possible exposure to a White House staffer infected by the coronavirus.“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine,” spokesman Devin O’Malley said Sunday. “Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow.”Pence has been at home since returning to Washington from a day trip to Iowa on Friday and did not appear at President Donald Trump’s meeting with military leaders Saturday at the White House. Pence was informed of the aide’s positive test shortly before departing for that trip.An official initially said Pence planned to continue working from home, before Pence’s office clarified that he planned to work from the White House on Monday. It was not immediately clear how Pence’s steps to self-isolate would impact his professional or public engagements.Pence has led the White House coronavirus task force for more than two months. Top officials who have gone into quarantine because of exposure to a person at the White House who tested positive for the virus are Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC; and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn.Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week.A military service member who acts as a valet to the president tested positive on Thursday, the first known instance where a person in close proximity to the president at the White House had tested positive.After Miller was identified as having tested positive, Trump said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.The three other task force members have indicated varying plans for dealing with their exposure. None has announced testing positive for the virus and, taking into account what has been described as limited exposure to the infected person, are considered at relatively low risk for infection.Fauci’s institute said he was “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to others while still carrying out his duties, teleworking from home but willing to go to the White House if called. Officials said both Redfield and Hahn will be self-quarantining for two weeks.The three officials were expected to testify by videoconference before a Senate health committee on Tuesday. On Sunday night, the office of the chairman of the committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced that the senator would be self-quarantining in Tennessee for two weeks after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Alexander too will participate in the hearing by videoconference.<a href="https://bttrack.com/Click/Native?data=AFVDc9wbmOGpfzAhFqm7EIQtJ_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" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PAI</a>

Vice Pres. expected back at work after exposure to infected aide

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement arrested eight registered offenders in Shawnee County following a sweep on last week by the Offender Compliance Task Force.

With children out of school in relation to the ‘Safer at Home’ orders, Sheriff Brian Hill implemented an Offender Compliance Task Force to conduct residential verifications and follow-up investigations related to non-compliant offenders. 

The Offender Compliance Task Force was comprised of 11 members of the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office and 4 members of the Topeka Police Department.

The task force completed checks on 118 including 60 sex offenders, 15 violent offenders, 43 drug offenders.

The following 7 offenders were arrested for failure to comply with registration:&nbsp; Harold M. McGee, 43, Violent Offender; Joshua D. Baker, 39, Drug Offender; Lashad P. Hill, 37, Drug Offender; Livia R. Banuelos, 62, Drug Offender; Jerome K. Kelley, 64, Drug Offender; Aaron J. Larson, 36, Drug Offender and Austin W. Detimore, 20, Sex Offender

In addition, Steven P. Bouton, 48,&nbsp; was arrested on a warrant following a compliance check.

The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office reminded registered offenders in Shawnee County that quarterly registration as well as any offender compliance registration updates are a mandatory obligation by law that have not been postponed or extended by any state or county health orders.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589040356772.png" alt="Detimore has two convictions for aggravated indecent liberties with a child, according to the KBI offender registry." />
 <figcaption>Detimore has two convictions for aggravated indecent liberties with a child, according to the KBI offender registry.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement arrested eight registered offenders in Shawnee County following a sweep on last week by the Offender Compliance Task Force.With children out of school in relation to the ‘Safer at Home’ orders, Sheriff Brian Hill implemented an Offender Compliance Task Force to conduct residential verifications and follow-up investigations related to non-compliant offenders. The Offender Compliance Task Force was comprised of 11 members of the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office and 4 members of the Topeka Police Department.The task force completed checks on 118 including 60 sex offenders, 15 violent offenders, 43 drug offenders.The following 7 offenders were arrested for failure to comply with registration:&nbsp; Harold M. McGee, 43, Violent Offender; Joshua D. Baker, 39, Drug Offender; Lashad P. Hill, 37, Drug Offender; Livia R. Banuelos, 62, Drug Offender; Jerome K. Kelley, 64, Drug Offender; Aaron J. Larson, 36, Drug Offender and Austin W. Detimore, 20, Sex OffenderIn addition, Steven P. Bouton, 48,&nbsp; was arrested on a warrant following a compliance check.The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office reminded registered offenders in Shawnee County that quarterly registration as well as any offender compliance registration updates are a mandatory obligation by law that have not been postponed or extended by any state or county health orders.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Offender compliance task force makes arrests in Kansas amid pandemic

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A high school teacher was charged after allegedly blackmailing a 14-year-old girl to force her to send him sexually explicit photos and videos, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Brandon Lane McCullough, 31, of Branson, Missouri, was charged in a criminal complaint with sexual exploitation of a minor, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.

His defense attorney did not immediately return a message left at the public defender's office.

McCullough was formerly a business teacher at Cassville High School and had accepted a position at Hollister High School for next year.

Prosecutors allege McCullough posed as a 15-year-old boy when he began chatting via Kik with the girl in May 2019. He is accused of threatening to send sexually explicit images to the girl's family and friends, demanding additional images and videos.

On Thursday, law enforcement officers executing a search warrant at McCullough's home seized an external hard drive containing dozens of Kik chats as well as images and videos that were self-produced by child victims.

Prosecutors allege McCullough told officers he could not recall how many minors he had chatted with or how often he had done it because he engaged in the conduct so frequently.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588982931043.png" alt="McCullough photo Greene Co.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>McCullough photo Greene Co.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A high school teacher was charged after allegedly blackmailing a 14-year-old girl to force her to send him sexually explicit photos and videos, federal prosecutors said Friday.Brandon Lane McCullough, 31, of Branson, Missouri, was charged in a criminal complaint with sexual exploitation of a minor, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.His defense attorney did not immediately return a message left at the public defender's office.McCullough was formerly a business teacher at Cassville High School and had accepted a position at Hollister High School for next year.Prosecutors allege McCullough posed as a 15-year-old boy when he began chatting via Kik with the girl in May 2019. He is accused of threatening to send sexually explicit images to the girl's family and friends, demanding additional images and videos.On Thursday, law enforcement officers executing a search warrant at McCullough's home seized an external hard drive containing dozens of Kik chats as well as images and videos that were self-produced by child victims.Prosecutors allege McCullough told officers he could not recall how many minors he had chatted with or how often he had done it because he engaged in the conduct so frequently.

Teacher allegedly blackmailed teen to get sex videos

KANSAS CITY, KAN. –&nbsp;A Kansas man who was arrested after a high-speed chase from Miami County to Linn County is facing a federal charge, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

David W. Kellner, 31, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., alleges that about 3:30 a.m. May 1 a Miami County Sheriff Department deputy spotted Kellner driving without headlights or taillights on K68 Highway near the Louisburg Cider Mill. 

When the deputy activated his lights to make a stop, Kellner fled south on U.S. 69 Highway at speeds up to 110 mph. Kellner fired at the deputy, who could hear the shots and see sparks when the bullets hit the highway.

Deputies from the Linn County Sheriff’s Department joined the pursuit and followed Kellner’s vehicle until it ran into a fence at 403rd&nbsp;Street and Somerset Road. Kellner fled on foot, discarding a Century Arms Model RAS47 military-style rifle before deputies arrested him. They recovered the rifle, more than $5,500 in cash, and small amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine.

Kellner, who had a prior felony conviction in 2008, was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. 

The Miami County Sheriff’s Department, the Linn County Sheriff’s Department and the ATF&nbsp;investigated.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588619491496.png" alt="Kellner photo Miami County Kansas Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Kellner photo Miami County Kansas Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, KAN. –&nbsp;A Kansas man who was arrested after a high-speed chase from Miami County to Linn County is facing a federal charge, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.David W. Kellner, 31, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., alleges that about 3:30 a.m. May 1 a Miami County Sheriff Department deputy spotted Kellner driving without headlights or taillights on K68 Highway near the Louisburg Cider Mill. When the deputy activated his lights to make a stop, Kellner fled south on U.S. 69 Highway at speeds up to 110 mph. Kellner fired at the deputy, who could hear the shots and see sparks when the bullets hit the highway.Deputies from the Linn County Sheriff’s Department joined the pursuit and followed Kellner’s vehicle until it ran into a fence at 403rd&nbsp;Street and Somerset Road. Kellner fled on foot, discarding a Century Arms Model RAS47 military-style rifle before deputies arrested him. They recovered the rifle, more than $5,500 in cash, and small amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine.Kellner, who had a prior felony conviction in 2008, was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Miami County Sheriff’s Department, the Linn County Sheriff’s Department and the ATF&nbsp;investigated.&nbsp;

Fired shots, 110mph Kan. chase leads to federal charges

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas harvester Mike Keimig is growing increasingly anxious about whether the foreign seasonal workers he needs to run his nine combines and drive his grain trucks will arrive in time for the start of the winter wheat harvest, which is just weeks away.

His regular crew mostly comprises farm kids from South Africa who return to work for him every year, but they are stuck overseas. The paperwork for about half of the 20 agricultural worker visas he has applied for remains in limbo at the shuttered U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg.

The closure of embassies and consulates due to the coronavirus pandemic is not the only obstacle to bringing in seasonal workers. Governments have closed their borders. Overseas workers who have visas cannot get on a flight. And once they arrive, they would face weeks of quarantine before they could work.

“It will definitely have a big impact on our finances ... if we can’t get help to run our equipment,” Keimig said.

“It would even have an effect on the farmers. Well, maybe they can find somebody besides us to do it, I don’t know?” he said. “But I think it would be a little tough because there are a lot of us in the same situation.”

Harvester crews typically traverse the nation with their combines and grain trucks taking on work where the crops are ripening. They usually work the same farms every season, saving the farmers the cost of investing in harvester equipment.

About 30% of U.S. harvest operations use foreign workers on their crews, according to Mandi Sieren, operations manager for the industry trade group U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc.

Temporary agricultural worker H-2A visas have been largely spared from immigration rollbacks because agriculture is an essential industry, but the workers can’t travel to the U.S. right now because of the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Sieren said.

As for hiring locally, harvesters “would absolutely love to hire Americans but there are not very many Americans who would leave home for six to nine months at a time,” she said.

As many as half of the workers who harvest U.S. wheat and other grain crops are seasonal foreign workers, said Ryan Haffner, a Kansas harvester and board member for U.S. Custom Harvesters.

“We are always looking for American workers. I mean, that is a constant search,” Haffner said. But many Americans are “disconnected from agriculture” and lack interest or the skills required to work in farming.

“There are more people overseas really that have an interest and still a working knowledge of agriculture,” he said.

Modern harvesting machines are computerized and sophisticated, so it’s not easy for the city-dwelling unemployed to just pick up, adapt and learn to operate them, Haffner said.

Typically, a third of Haffner’s crew of up to 20 workers is American, while the rest come from South Africa, Europe and South America. He has the agricultural worker visas for his foreign workers for this harvest season, but was only able to get a few of them into the U.S. before coronavirus restrictions effectively shut the others out.

The harvest season begins in mid-May in north-central Texas, before moving into Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota. In the summer, they cut mostly wheat. In early fall, they harvest peas, canola, soybeans, grain sorghum and corn. Haffner can’t afford to miss a season.

“I have got $5 million worth of equipment — I can’t not be there,” Haffner said. “So we are going to be there. We are going to get to our customers. It is just going to be much more difficult than usual. We intend to get through it.”

Some harvesters are turning to relatives and friends to work for a few weeks or more until the foreign workers can arrive. Some have been able to hire Americans for the whole season. Others are trying to do as much as they can themselves.

Don Kotapish, a 72-year-old farmer who also does a bit of cutting for others on the side, usually brings in a couple of workers from South Africa to help him on his 6,500-acre property in Blue Rapids, Kansas. He said he has been working from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. or later every day because he hasn’t been able to hire any help.

“Not only are we short on help, but we aren’t getting anything for our products,” Kotapish said. “The cattleman and the grain farmers are all in the same situation. That adds more stress.”

Texas harvester Shorty Kulhanek usually hires fewer than five seasonal workers, and he has been able to pick up some workers from Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin and Washington this season. He said it was easier to find Americans to join his crew because so many people are out of work.

Furthermore, Kulhanek’s applications for seasonal agricultural worker visas have yet to be approved, and he was told that might not happen until July 15.

“I can’t wait that long,” he said. “I have to proceed with what I can get.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589039066122.png" alt="Farmer cuts a northwest Kansas wheat field in 2019" />
 <figcaption>Farmer cuts a northwest Kansas wheat field in 2019</figcaption>
 </figure>BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas harvester Mike Keimig is growing increasingly anxious about whether the foreign seasonal workers he needs to run his nine combines and drive his grain trucks will arrive in time for the start of the winter wheat harvest, which is just weeks away.His regular crew mostly comprises farm kids from South Africa who return to work for him every year, but they are stuck overseas. The paperwork for about half of the 20 agricultural worker visas he has applied for remains in limbo at the shuttered U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg.The closure of embassies and consulates due to the coronavirus pandemic is not the only obstacle to bringing in seasonal workers. Governments have closed their borders. Overseas workers who have visas cannot get on a flight. And once they arrive, they would face weeks of quarantine before they could work.“It will definitely have a big impact on our finances ... if we can’t get help to run our equipment,” Keimig said.“It would even have an effect on the farmers. Well, maybe they can find somebody besides us to do it, I don’t know?” he said. “But I think it would be a little tough because there are a lot of us in the same situation.”Harvester crews typically traverse the nation with their combines and grain trucks taking on work where the crops are ripening. They usually work the same farms every season, saving the farmers the cost of investing in harvester equipment.About 30% of U.S. harvest operations use foreign workers on their crews, according to Mandi Sieren, operations manager for the industry trade group U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc.Temporary agricultural worker H-2A visas have been largely spared from immigration rollbacks because agriculture is an essential industry, but the workers can’t travel to the U.S. right now because of the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Sieren said.As for hiring locally, harvesters “would absolutely love to hire Americans but there are not very many Americans who would leave home for six to nine months at a time,” she said.As many as half of the workers who harvest U.S. wheat and other grain crops are seasonal foreign workers, said Ryan Haffner, a Kansas harvester and board member for U.S. Custom Harvesters.“We are always looking for American workers. I mean, that is a constant search,” Haffner said. But many Americans are “disconnected from agriculture” and lack interest or the skills required to work in farming.“There are more people overseas really that have an interest and still a working knowledge of agriculture,” he said.Modern harvesting machines are computerized and sophisticated, so it’s not easy for the city-dwelling unemployed to just pick up, adapt and learn to operate them, Haffner said.Typically, a third of Haffner’s crew of up to 20 workers is American, while the rest come from South Africa, Europe and South America. He has the agricultural worker visas for his foreign workers for this harvest season, but was only able to get a few of them into the U.S. before coronavirus restrictions effectively shut the others out.The harvest season begins in mid-May in north-central Texas, before moving into Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota. In the summer, they cut mostly wheat. In early fall, they harvest peas, canola, soybeans, grain sorghum and corn. Haffner can’t afford to miss a season.“I have got $5 million worth of equipment — I can’t not be there,” Haffner said. “So we are going to be there. We are going to get to our customers. It is just going to be much more difficult than usual. We intend to get through it.”Some harvesters are turning to relatives and friends to work for a few weeks or more until the foreign workers can arrive. Some have been able to hire Americans for the whole season. Others are trying to do as much as they can themselves.Don Kotapish, a 72-year-old farmer who also does a bit of cutting for others on the side, usually brings in a couple of workers from South Africa to help him on his 6,500-acre property in Blue Rapids, Kansas. He said he has been working from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. or later every day because he hasn’t been able to hire any help.“Not only are we short on help, but we aren’t getting anything for our products,” Kotapish said. “The cattleman and the grain farmers are all in the same situation. That adds more stress.”Texas harvester Shorty Kulhanek usually hires fewer than five seasonal workers, and he has been able to pick up some workers from Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin and Washington this season. He said it was easier to find Americans to join his crew because so many people are out of work.Furthermore, Kulhanek’s applications for seasonal agricultural worker visas have yet to be approved, and he was told that might not happen until July 15.“I can’t wait that long,” he said. “I have to proceed with what I can get.”

Harvesters struggle to recruit foreign crews during pandemic

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged attempted kidnapping and have made an arrest.

Just before 4p.m. Saturday police responded to an attempted abduction call at a home in the 2500 block of South Roosevelt in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.&nbsp; 

Upon arrival, officers contacted a 28-year-old woman and her 12-year-old daughter.

The investigation revealed the girl was walking alone in the area of 31st&nbsp;and Clifton when a suspect identified as 28-year Victor Lara-Aguilera approached her on foot and said she was coming with him.&nbsp; 

Lara-Aguilera then grabbed her arm and started to pull her with him, according to Davidson.&nbsp; The girl screamed loudly, pulled away from Lara-Aguilera, and ran to her grandmother's house.&nbsp; The girl notified her mother of what occurred, and the police were called.

Officers obtained a description of Lara-Aguilera from the girl, and he was located in the 2900 block of South Hillside in Wichita and arrested without further incident.&nbsp;

&nbsp;He is being held on requested charges of attempted kidnapping and possession of methamphetamine, according to Davidson.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589112915018.png" alt="Lara-Aguilera photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Lara-Aguilera photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged attempted kidnapping and have made an arrest.Just before 4p.m. Saturday police responded to an attempted abduction call at a home in the 2500 block of South Roosevelt in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.&nbsp; Upon arrival, officers contacted a 28-year-old woman and her 12-year-old daughter.The investigation revealed the girl was walking alone in the area of 31st&nbsp;and Clifton when a suspect identified as 28-year Victor Lara-Aguilera approached her on foot and said she was coming with him.&nbsp; Lara-Aguilera then grabbed her arm and started to pull her with him, according to Davidson.&nbsp; The girl screamed loudly, pulled away from Lara-Aguilera, and ran to her grandmother's house.&nbsp; The girl notified her mother of what occurred, and the police were called.Officers obtained a description of Lara-Aguilera from the girl, and he was located in the 2900 block of South Hillside in Wichita and arrested without further incident.&nbsp;&nbsp;He is being held on requested charges of attempted kidnapping and possession of methamphetamine, according to Davidson.

Police: Kan. man attempted to kidnap 12-year-old

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 233 to a total of 6984, the state health department reported Sunday afternoon.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE

Note: Starting May 11, the KDHE will stop releasing daily updates of counts of coronavirus cases and move to releasing the information on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

He said department employees need a combined total of 10 hours a day to produce the data and post it on its coronavirus website.

“We can spring free our precious epidemiology staff to do their work, which is actually to push down the disease,” Norman said.

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 233 to a total of 6984, the state health department reported Sunday afternoon.&nbsp;Coronavirus deaths were reported at 157<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589134712386.png" alt="May 10, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>May 10, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>Note: Starting May 11, the KDHE will stop releasing daily updates of counts of coronavirus cases and move to releasing the information on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.He said department employees need a combined total of 10 hours a day to produce the data and post it on its coronavirus website.“We can spring free our precious epidemiology staff to do their work, which is actually to push down the disease,” Norman said.

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ top public health official on Friday encouraged medical personnel to sterilize N95 masks for reuse to preserve their supplies as the state prepared to update the public less often about the virus’ spread.

Dr. Lee Norman, the head of the state health department, said it is borrowing massive sterilizing equipment for six months from Battelle, an Ohio-based nonprofit research and development company deploying such equipment across the U.S. Norman said the equipment is based in a state warehouse south of Topeka and can sterilize up to 10,000 masks a day. He hopes that capacity will jump to 18,000 a day.

Norman said he wants hospitals, nursing homes, first responders, local health departments and state agencies to send in N95 masks, which have filtration to block 95% of particles, so they can be used up to 20 times. He said the state had recommended that institutions keep a 90-day supply but is now suggesting larger stockpiles against a possible surge in coronavirus cases later.

“This a free service,” Norman said during a Statehouse news conference with Gov. Laura Kelly. “We have a shortage of the N95s and will continue to.”

The state began gradually reopening its economy this week, with Kelly lifting a stay-at-home order at midnight Sunday. Norman said hospitals have the bed and ventilator capacity to handle a surge of cases but acknowledged that a second wave of the coronavirus could be more intense than the one that began in Kansas in early March.

“I think we need to enjoy the summer in a way, because I think what’s coming is likely going to make what we’ve seen not seem that bad,” said Dr. Beth Oller, a family physician in Rooks County in northwest Kansas. “I think we are going to be called to pull back again.”

The state health department reported Saturday that the state had 6,751 confirmed or probable cases of coronavirus, up 250 from Friday. It reported an additional five COVID-19-related deaths, total of 157 since early March.

A Johns Hopkins University site lists the number of deaths for Kansas as 168, and Norman acknowledged that the number of coronavirus cases is likely higher than the state’s tally because of limited tested early in the state’s outbreak and because people can be infected and show no symptoms.

The state began Thursday to include probable cases in its counts. Those have laboratory blood evidence from people with symptoms or people who have been linked to a confirmed case, or they’re cases in which a person shows symptoms but hasn’t been tested after being linked to a confirmed case.

For some infected people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness or death. But for most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks.

Nursing homes have been hit especially hard, with 22 clusters accounting for 540 confirmed or probable coronavirus cases and 85 deaths, or 56% of the state’s reported total.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/community/2020-05-07/a-covid-19-hot-spot-in-prairie-village-now-accounts-for-57-known-cases-and-9-death?mc_cid=d355748d5e&amp;mc_eid=45fc700640" target="_blank">KCUR-FM reported</a>&nbsp;that the Brighton Gardens senior living facility in the Kansas City suburb of Prairie Village, Kansas, now accounts for 57 confirmed cases and nine deaths.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589025873324.png" alt="Dr. Lee Norman discussed the sterilization during the governor's Friday press conference" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Lee Norman discussed the sterilization during the governor's Friday press conference</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ top public health official on Friday encouraged medical personnel to sterilize N95 masks for reuse to preserve their supplies as the state prepared to update the public less often about the virus’ spread.Dr. Lee Norman, the head of the state health department, said it is borrowing massive sterilizing equipment for six months from Battelle, an Ohio-based nonprofit research and development company deploying such equipment across the U.S. Norman said the equipment is based in a state warehouse south of Topeka and can sterilize up to 10,000 masks a day. He hopes that capacity will jump to 18,000 a day.Norman said he wants hospitals, nursing homes, first responders, local health departments and state agencies to send in N95 masks, which have filtration to block 95% of particles, so they can be used up to 20 times. He said the state had recommended that institutions keep a 90-day supply but is now suggesting larger stockpiles against a possible surge in coronavirus cases later.“This a free service,” Norman said during a Statehouse news conference with Gov. Laura Kelly. “We have a shortage of the N95s and will continue to.”The state began gradually reopening its economy this week, with Kelly lifting a stay-at-home order at midnight Sunday. Norman said hospitals have the bed and ventilator capacity to handle a surge of cases but acknowledged that a second wave of the coronavirus could be more intense than the one that began in Kansas in early March.“I think we need to enjoy the summer in a way, because I think what’s coming is likely going to make what we’ve seen not seem that bad,” said Dr. Beth Oller, a family physician in Rooks County in northwest Kansas. “I think we are going to be called to pull back again.”The state health department reported Saturday that the state had 6,751 confirmed or probable cases of coronavirus, up 250 from Friday. It reported an additional five COVID-19-related deaths, total of 157 since early March.A Johns Hopkins University site lists the number of deaths for Kansas as 168, and Norman acknowledged that the number of coronavirus cases is likely higher than the state’s tally because of limited tested early in the state’s outbreak and because people can be infected and show no symptoms.The state began Thursday to include probable cases in its counts. Those have laboratory blood evidence from people with symptoms or people who have been linked to a confirmed case, or they’re cases in which a person shows symptoms but hasn’t been tested after being linked to a confirmed case.For some infected people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness or death. But for most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks.Nursing homes have been hit especially hard, with 22 clusters accounting for 540 confirmed or probable coronavirus cases and 85 deaths, or 56% of the state’s reported total.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/community/2020-05-07/a-covid-19-hot-spot-in-prairie-village-now-accounts-for-57-known-cases-and-9-death?mc_cid=d355748d5e&amp;mc_eid=45fc700640" target="_blank">KCUR-FM reported</a>&nbsp;that the Brighton Gardens senior living facility in the Kansas City suburb of Prairie Village, Kansas, now accounts for 57 confirmed cases and nine deaths.

Kansas official pushes sterilization of N95 masks for reuse

Foster families have faced extra challenges during the pandemic

By NOMIN UJIYEDIIN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-05-07/coronavirus-is-the-latest-strain-on-kansas-foster-families">Kansas News Service</a>

Foster parent Mitzi Monson feels lucky she can stay at home.

Yet since the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-03-18/kansas-becomes-the-first-state-to-end-in-person-classes-for-the-year#stream/0" target="_blank">coronavirus closed schools</a>,
 Monson has had few breaks from the three children in her care. At least
 extra money from the state’s foster care agency, awarded since the 
start of the pandemic, helps pay for groceries.

Monson keeps a consistent schedule for the kids: three meals a day, in bed by 9 p.m., up by 8 a.m. They spend 90 minutes a day going to <a href="https://www.kcur.org/education/2020-03-19/the-rest-of-the-school-year-in-kansas-will-be-short-days-with-limited-screen-time#stream/0" target="_blank">school through video conference</a>, and the rest of the day on less conventional lessons, like skipping stones and putting up a hummingbird feeder.

Her
 kids all have special needs and individualized education plans at 
school. Learning from home has been easier because it avoids social 
interactions that can be difficult for them.

But some things are 
harder. Summer camp plans are up in the air, so brand-new sleeping bags 
might go unused. And now that social distancing is in effect, her kids 
see their birth families less frequently.

“Their lives have been 
such chaos, this really isn’t that big a deal. And that’s 
heartbreaking,” Monson said. “They’re just used to going along with 
life.”

Through the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/health/2020-04-14/updated-regularly-what-kansans-need-to-know-about-the-covid-19-coronavirus" target="_blank">COVID-19 lockdown</a>, foster families have faced extra challenges.

Parents
 and advocates say staying at home has been hard for some kids — but 
good for others who have trouble in traditional school environments. 
Therapy, common for foster children, takes place over video calls rather than with toys in offices.

Like
 all parents, those with foster kids can struggle with working from home
 while taking care of children. But foster children, who come from the 
havoc of unstable families and then get handed off to strangers, often 
need even more attention.

And as Kansas opens up from its 
coronavirus lockdown, the foster system braces for a possible surge in 
reports of child abuse, an even greater shortage of foster parents and 
the unknown consequences of pandemic trauma.

Schools and families 
had little time to prepare for that, said Pamela Cornwell, clinical 
director a St. Francis Ministries, one of the state’s largest private 
foster care contractors.

“Kids know that something big has 
happened,” she said. “There will be some children that will have 
significant traumatic effect from this.”

Many children now fear 
that their families — biological or foster — could die from the 
coronavirus, said Kay Heikes, a child and family therapist who works 
with children in foster care. She typically conducts therapy through 
playing with toys in her office, but she has had to find substitutes now
 that she sees clients through videoconference. She and the children 
play games by drawing on whiteboards and telling stories with puppets 
through the screen.

The abrupt end to school has also contributed 
to a sense of uncertainty among children whose lives were already filled
 with disruptions and separations, she said.

“Now there’s a big 
question of, ‘Is the world safe?’” Heikes said. “It’ll take much longer 
for children to come around … much longer than adults.”

For
 many parents, the challenges of raising foster children have been 
exacerbated by working from home, the closure of day care centers and 
the pandemic’s other drastic changes to daily life.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588947538579.png" alt="Foster parents say virtual learning has been good for some children who have difficulty learning at school, but harder for others. Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Foster parents say virtual learning has been good for some children who have difficulty learning at school, but harder for others. Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Foster families have faced extra challenges during the pandemic</h2>By NOMIN UJIYEDIIN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-05-07/coronavirus-is-the-latest-strain-on-kansas-foster-families">Kansas News Service</a>Foster parent Mitzi Monson feels lucky she can stay at home.Yet since the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-03-18/kansas-becomes-the-first-state-to-end-in-person-classes-for-the-year#stream/0" target="_blank">coronavirus closed schools</a>,
 Monson has had few breaks from the three children in her care. At least
 extra money from the state’s foster care agency, awarded since the 
start of the pandemic, helps pay for groceries.Monson keeps a consistent schedule for the kids: three meals a day, in bed by 9 p.m., up by 8 a.m. They spend 90 minutes a day going to <a href="https://www.kcur.org/education/2020-03-19/the-rest-of-the-school-year-in-kansas-will-be-short-days-with-limited-screen-time#stream/0" target="_blank">school through video conference</a>, and the rest of the day on less conventional lessons, like skipping stones and putting up a hummingbird feeder.Her
 kids all have special needs and individualized education plans at 
school. Learning from home has been easier because it avoids social 
interactions that can be difficult for them.But some things are 
harder. Summer camp plans are up in the air, so brand-new sleeping bags 
might go unused. And now that social distancing is in effect, her kids 
see their birth families less frequently.“Their lives have been 
such chaos, this really isn’t that big a deal. And that’s 
heartbreaking,” Monson said. “They’re just used to going along with 
life.”Through the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/health/2020-04-14/updated-regularly-what-kansans-need-to-know-about-the-covid-19-coronavirus" target="_blank">COVID-19 lockdown</a>, foster families have faced extra challenges.Parents
 and advocates say staying at home has been hard for some kids — but 
good for others who have trouble in traditional school environments. 
Therapy, common for foster children, takes place over video calls rather than with toys in offices.Like
 all parents, those with foster kids can struggle with working from home
 while taking care of children. But foster children, who come from the 
havoc of unstable families and then get handed off to strangers, often 
need even more attention.And as Kansas opens up from its 
coronavirus lockdown, the foster system braces for a possible surge in 
reports of child abuse, an even greater shortage of foster parents and 
the unknown consequences of pandemic trauma.Schools and families 
had little time to prepare for that, said Pamela Cornwell, clinical 
director a St. Francis Ministries, one of the state’s largest private 
foster care contractors.“Kids know that something big has 
happened,” she said. “There will be some children that will have 
significant traumatic effect from this.”Many children now fear 
that their families — biological or foster — could die from the 
coronavirus, said Kay Heikes, a child and family therapist who works 
with children in foster care. She typically conducts therapy through 
playing with toys in her office, but she has had to find substitutes now
 that she sees clients through videoconference. She and the children 
play games by drawing on whiteboards and telling stories with puppets 
through the screen.The abrupt end to school has also contributed 
to a sense of uncertainty among children whose lives were already filled
 with disruptions and separations, she said.“Now there’s a big 
question of, ‘Is the world safe?’” Heikes said. “It’ll take much longer 
for children to come around … much longer than adults.”<h2>Parental hardships</h2>For
 many parents, the challenges of raising foster children have been 
exacerbated by working from home, the closure of day care centers and 
the pandemic’s other drastic changes to daily life.Foster parents
 can request and receive respite if they need it — a night or weekend 
during which other families volunteer to take care of foster children. 
But it’s been harder to find people willing to offer respite care now, 
Cornwell said.Foster parents say there’s also been a drop in 
people willing to become parents at all. Jonathan Stahl, a foster parent
 who trains families, said fewer people are showing up to training — now
 conducted online rather than in person.“People are stressed 
out,” Stahl said. “They’re, like, ‘This is the last thing I want to 
think about, adding one more person to what’s going on right now.’”Pamela
 Robbins, executive director of the Kansas Foster and Adoptive Parent 
Association, helps conduct support groups for foster parents. She said 
single parents have told her the pandemic has been especially hard on 
them.“They have no or very little in-person support,” she said. “Some of the stories were just heartwrenching.”One
 single mother has had to take care of a child with high medical and 
behavioral needs without help from health care providers because all of 
the boy’s appointments had been canceled. Another said she had 
trouble going to the grocery store because she had no one to leave her 
kids with. Many parents in rural areas, Robbins said, don’t have the 
luxury of grocery delivery.She said many new parents who signed up for virtual training dropped after just a few sessions.Foster
 parents worry that a lack of people training right now could lead to a 
shortage of parents in the future, especially once the pandemic slows 
down, children return to school and reports of child abuse and neglect 
spike.Typically, <a href="http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Documents/FY2019DataReports/CPS/CPSintakereports_ReceivedFY19.pdf" target="_blank">reports to state child welfare services</a>
 decline in the summer, when children aren’t in school, and rise in the 
fall. Reports have gone down during the state’s COVID lockdown as well.For
 the week of April 19-25, the Kansas Department for Children and 
Families received an average of 149 child welfare reports on weekdays. 
The week before, the weekday average was 137 — lower than 200, the daily
 average for fiscal year 2019.That’s not because there’s less 
child abuse, Robbins said. In fact, it may happen more frequently 
because children are stuck at home with families who are stressed about 
losing their jobs and social connections.“They’re not in 
daycares, they’re not in programming, they’re not out in the community. A
 lot of them aren’t even out in their neighborhoods,” Robbins said. “So 
the things that would be reported and seen by others aren’t being seen 
or reported.”Nomin Ujiyediin reports on criminal justice and 
social welfare for the Kansas News Service. You can email her at nomin@kcur.org and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/nominuj" target="_blank">@NominUJ</a>.