News — In Brief: A look at East, Local and National news

Ella, the 4-year-old Shihpoo that roams the halls at East to provide support for students, had surgery on Nov. 9 to remove over five kidney stones.

Ella had been experiencing some abdominal pain and difficulty going to the restroom, so Environmental Education teacher and Ella’s owner Russell DeBey, took her into the vet.

The 45-minute surgery went well with no complications, however, she still had to stay at the animal hospital overnight to be monitored. She returned home the next day to recover.

“After surgery, she was fairly lethargic and she didn’t want to move much,” DeBey said. “She really became a lap dog then. And, of course, we had to put the cone of shame on her so she wouldn’t lick and tear out her stitches. Once she got outside, she was able to use the restroom without any issues.”

DeBey expects her to be back the week of Dec. 6, likely fully recovered by then. In the meantime, students are welcome to donate treats or any amount of monetary value — Mrs. Fishman and STUCO have already given Ella a “get well soon” card.

Two brand new Whataburger locations — a fast food chain new to the Kansas City area — opened in Lee’s Summit, Mo. and Independence, Mo. on Nov. 15 and Nov. 29, respectively.

Back in November of 2018, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes tweeted about his desire for the Texas-famous burger joint Whataburger to come to Kansas City. Three years later, that wish became reality when a Whataburger opened at 1460 NE Douglas St, Lee’s Summit, Mo., followed by one at 18811 E US Hwy 40, Independence, Mo. But those aren’t the only locations the KC area will see.

In addition to the company itself through an investment group called KMO Burger, Whataburger will open up to 30 new locations in the Kansas City area over the course of the next seven years, 10 of which are expected to open by the end of 2022, according to Whataburger press releases.

KMO Burger is what Whataburger describes on their website as an “expansion venture” or an “investor-led franchise group” dedicated to bringing their food to Kansas and Missouri. One of KMO Burger’s main investors is the Texas-raised Mahomes.

In an NBC Sports interview, Mahomes talked about his childhood attachment to the fast-food restaurant, inspiring him to bring it to his new home.

When the first two locations opened in November, they experienced such heavy traffic from the line to get into the restaurant that the police had to create a traffic control plan.

“[The line] was down the entire street and then started to go on the highway,” opening-day-Whataburger customer and junior Genesee McKenna said. “[My friends and I] all decided that we didn’t want to wait in the line, so we ended up parking across the street at Applebee’s and then running across the street and waiting in the line that was way shorter outside the door.”

A new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, found in South Africa was classified as a Variant of Concern by the World Health Organization on Nov. 26, and was discovered in California on Dec. 1.

The new variant was first detected on Nov. 9. Based on the higher number of mutations found in the variant, WHO suggests that this may indicate increased risk of reinfection — a higher risk of catching the variant again. At least 26 of the 50 mutations found in Omicron are unique to it.

Because of how little information we have on the possible dangers of omicron, neither WHO nor the Center of Disease Control have come out with definitive statements on transmissibility or severe symptoms.

President Joe Biden spoke on the discovery of Omicron, stating that it will end up in the U.S., and it’s a “cause for concern, not a cause for panic.” The U.S. has since confirmed a case in California.

With the recent move to go mask optional next semester, the school board will be keeping an eye on the new variant.

“I think it’s too early to make projections,” SMSD School Board President Heather Ousley said. “I don’t think anybody knows enough right now about the new variant — I don’t know that we know that it is in Kansas City. If there was data indicating that we were dealing with something that was more severe, I think that that is something that we would be following, but I just hate to project when we just don’t know yet.”