Multimedia Reporting (Bradford-Summer)

With the sound of a whistle, groups of 13-year-old girls rushed the Gatorade table, exchanging high fives and shouts of excitement. The full staff of coaches stood on the sidelines, talking about the progress of the players throughout this year’s KU soccer camp.

While many people in the U.S are still skeptical of soccer as a major sport, the high-spirited nature of soccer has been winning the respect of more and more U.S. sports fans in recent years. Even before this year’s World Cup became a huge hit with U.S. audiences, an increasing number of kids have picked up the sport as well.

The U.S. Soccer Organization reported that soccer is one of the country's most popular youth sports, with numbers of young players having risen from about 15 million in 1987 to more than 17.5 million in 2002. (the latest available data).

KU’s summer camp includes technical sessions in the morning, tactical sessions in the afternoon, and practice games in the evening. Running throughout June and July, the camp has grown to include four different programs for boys and girls ranging in age from 6 to18. This year, the camp is training 300 players, an increase of 80 from last year’s enrollment, and the most in its eight-year history.

Mark Francis,

KU soccer’s head coach, has run the summer program since it’s inception, and he realizes the boom in soccer’s popularity. Francis said, “The sport is so popular with kids because it doesn’t matter how big you are, how small you are, how tall you are… everyone gets to be creative.”

KU’s soccer program has benefited from the summer camp, and the way it’s organized structure gains determined soccer players at a young age. In fact, two of the six players from the recruitment class of 2007 have attended previous KU summer camps.

Across the nation, the youth-soccer movement began in the 1970s, when

The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) was formed to spread soccer among the youth of America. Their mission was successful, and since AYSO was established the number of teams have grown from nine in the first year to more than 50,000 teams today, with more than 650,000 players.

The organization has been instrumental in the huge growth in youth soccer, but playing soccer after the youth level means true dedication to the sport, and this dedication, while commonplace across the world, is still relatively obscure in the U.S.

In the book, “The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup, ” famed humorist and pop culture analyzer, Dave Eggers wrote about why he thinks soccer won’t succeed in the U.S.

“The most popular sports in America are those we conceived and developed on our own: football, baseball, basketball. If we can claim at least part of the credit for something, as with tennis or the radio, we are willing to be passively interested. But we did not invent soccer, and so we are suspicious of it.”

While this sentiment may remain true among many sports fans today, the trend seems to be changing.

After increased interest in soccer over the 1980s and early 90s,

the World Cup came to America in 1994. The tournament gained the attention of many players throughout the nation, and club teams sprang up all over the country.

This year’s World Cup on July 9 brought 16.9 million Americans viewers, (and over 1 billion world viewers), a nation-high record.

A major reason for the World Cup’s popularity this year is due to increased commercial interest, and the fact that all of the games were televised for the first time ever, a sign that soccer could be here to stay.

Maggie Ault, a thirteen-year-old at KU’s soccer camp is an adamant World Cup viewer, and a determined player since the age of three. “I like it here at this camp, because you get to talk to the players and meet KU’s coaches. I hope I can play for KU soccer someday, and what I really want to do is coach a college team when I get older.”

Ault summed up many people’s enthusiasm with the sport by saying, “Overall, soccer is good because it’s more of a speed game. You can use your feet, you get all dirty, you score goals, and you can tackle people, which is fun.”

Posted by Barton Vandever at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s May 21, 2006, just minutes before University of Kansas graduates will walk down the hill into Memorial Stadium.

As he makes his way through the students, he asks the graduates what they want the chancellor to say in the commencement speech.

Graduates tell Chancellor Robert Hemenway of a couple who got engaged the night before. Sure enough, during Chancellor Hemenway’s commencement speech titled “Chancellor Bob’s greatest hits”, Hemenway announced the couple’s engagement.

Hemenway later found out the couple was excited and honored that the Chancellor made a special announcement just for them.

Chancellor Hemenway writes his own commencement speeches. Although he begins preparing for the commencement speech three to four weeks in advance and spends about 15 to 20 hours on it, he still tries to make the speeches as spontaneous as possible.

“The curse of being both the chancellor and an English professor is you can’t trust anyone else with your prose,” said Chancellor Hemenway.

Hemenway sometimes gets ideas, thoughts, and phrases from other people. The speech is an important part of students’ life at KU and he always feels a special obligation to make sure the graduates last day on campus is an enjoyable day.

Although Chancellor Hemenway may not be an international celebrity, it is tradition for the chancellor to be the featured speaker at commencement.

Many universities today invite a wide-range of famous people to speak at commencement. This includes politicians, authors, actors, singers, journalists and other international icons. Last May, Oklahoma University paid $110,000 to have Katie Couric at commencement. And at Oklahoma State University President Bush gave the commencement speech.

Throughout KU’s history, governors, several other university presidents have addressed the graduates including the presidents of Princeton, Ohio University, University of Colorado and Cambridge. On June 6, 1934, William Allen White, editor of Emporia Gazette that addressed the class.

According to U.S. News & World Report’s rankings for 2006 commencement speakers at the top 100 colleges and universities, the University of Kansas is among three other universities including Columbia, Johns Hopkins and Purdue that have the president of the university addressing the graduates.

“I am sure you could find other speakers smarter than the chancellor, and that say more interesting things. You could get somebody like John Stewart or Kurt Vonngut, and it would be a lot funnier than the Chancellor. I’m sure, I don’t think that should be a reason enough in itself to change the tradition,” said Chancellor Hemenway.

According to the University Relations, website ‘walking down the hill’ at graduation has been tradition at the University of Kansas since 1907. It began when faculty and graduates walked from old Fraser Hall to Robinson Gymnasium. This is where Wescoe is now located. In 1924, after Memorial Stadium had been completed, the walk moved down Mount Oread and into the stadium.

KU may not pursue famous speakers for commencement in the future but having a famous face at commencement is not out of the question.

Chancellor Hemenway said never say never.

Posted by Shannon Mortimer at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

City crime troubles locals

She’s not really worried, unless she’s alone.

Emily Seifert, St. Mary’s, KS junior, is just one Lawrence resident concerned about the amount of crime in the city.

The problem isn’t so much theft, vandalism or arson, which have been on the decline. It’s rape.

“I don’t go out at night alone. If I’m at home and I need something in my car, I won’t go get it unless I really need to,” said Seifert.

Although rape incidents in Douglas County have not increased dramatically over the last few years, they are not decreasing either.

January through March of 2006 represent the highest number of rape cases since 2000. (Statistics past March have not yet been processed.)

Although reported rapes seem high this year, Lawrence police do not believe there is an alarming difference from past years.

“There are a couple of cases that are related, but we have not identified this as a trend,” said Kim Murphree of the Lawrence police records division.

Murphree, a statistician for the police department, said that certain variables, such as weather, can affect the amount of crime throughout the year.

The police department urges citizens to take every precaution against a possible crime anytime of the year.

Here are a few crime prevention tips:

Use deadbolts and window locks.
If you enter the house and something looks wrong or different, leave immediately and call the police.
Stay away from bushes and parked cars while walking.
Park near lights at night.
Plan several escape routes from your house.
Require ID of service or repair people.

As crime continues to take victims, everyone must safeguard themselves and others.

“For our apartment you have an electronic key, and the parking lots have cameras; it seems safer,” said Seifert about her current residence.

Likewise, the University of Kansas recently installed cameras for surveying campus parking lots.

Citizens must be aware of the dangers they face with criminal activity. A comprehensive list of crime statistics can be found at the Lawrence police department website.

“Unfortunately, we have people in the area that will do these kinds of things,” said Murphree. “They are crimes of opportunity.”

Crime rates have decreased slightly since 2004, as shown left. See link to crime statistics for information on 2006.

Posted by Katy Blair at 04:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Every year thousands of graduates clad in cap and gown eagerly await the anticipated walk down Campanile Hill at graduation. But the University of Kansas needs to make the "walk" more conducive for students using wheelchairs.

"The KU commencement is unique. It's the only one I know in which you encounter a life-changing experience simply by walking from the top of Campanile Hill to the stadium," KU chancellor, Robert Hemenway, said at the 2005 commencement.

KU's Disability Resource Center guides students using wheelchairs through the procession before graduation. The center holds a "rehearsal" walk before the actual ceremony so that students using wheelchairs know where to go, said Melissa Manning, associate director of Disabilities Resources.

"We don't want anything to happen to our students during the graduation ceremony," she said.

For a student wanting help with their wheelchair, Manning said the center provides aides that ensure their safety down the steep terrain. At last year's commencement, four students using wheelchairs made the descent.

"Even if the student says a friend will help them down the hill, we still provide an aide to help with the wheelchair," Manning said.

The paths that lead students down the hill have many stairs, making it inaccessible for wheelchair users. The Facilities Operations for KU, along with several different KU departments, build a ramp over the stairs. After going through the Campanile, wheelchair users go down the ramp and then rejoin the rest of their class down the steep hill.

Inside the stadium, the Facilities Operations always builds ramps on the left and the right sides of the platform, Manning said. Wheelchair users also have spaces reserved for them during the ceremony.

Manning said students do not get upset with the difficulty of the march. "They are determined to walk the walk because they are KU graduates and want to partake in the tradition," she said. The students realize that the hill is steep and that the journey will be difficult.

Should students fail to reach the disabilities center before graduation, they can still participate in the walk. "We never want to take that privilege away from them," Manning said.

Students risk the walk because of the rich history behind the KU tradition. The first commencement at KU was held in 1873, but students did not actually make the walk down the hill until 1924. It symbolizes graduates' achievement through college and their journey to the future.

Along with the hill, the Campanile holds great tradition for students as well. The tall structure was built in honor of those lost in World War II.

Before marching down the hill, students walk through the Campanile for the first time in four years. Tradition has it that if a student enters the Campanile before graduation, they will never actually graduate, so students avoid the structure at all costs.

The center's assistance does not stop at graduation.

It also provides sign language interpreters, equipment loans, assistive technology and transportation throughout the school year. We cater to the needs of all students no matter what their disability, Manning said.

The center also provides students using wheelchairs with a door-to-door service. An authorized lift van picks students up from their homes and takes them to each of their classes, Manning said. At the end of the day, the van takes the students home.

However, students do not like to use this service, vice president of
AbleHawks, Zach Coble said. "We've had a couple members use the service and they felt like there was a stigma behind it," he said. "When they get out on campus people see the van, and ask, 'why are you riding in the van?'"

Wheelchair users would rather be able to use the busing system at KU like everyone else, Coble said. The current busses used at KU do not have lifts for wheelchairs. However, next fall some Park and Ride busses will be equipped with lifts, Manning said.

Students do not want to feel like their disability makes them different. This is much of the reason why they wish to partake in the walk for graduation.

"I want people to know that a disability is not something to be scared of or pitied," Coble said. "People should look at the environment that surrounds the disabled and determine if it is welcome to people of disabilities."

Yet, Coble admitted that any type of transportation service is better than none at all.

If students do not contact the Disabilities Resource Center, they cannot assist them, Manning said. The center does not keep track of all the disabled students on campus. "We maintain their documentation but we don't keep track of them, it's not like in high school, it's their responsibility," Manning said.

Although those in wheelchairs are accommodated during the graduation ceremony, Coble said campus is not an easy place to maneuver through for the disabled. "The campus itself is not wheelchair friendly," he said.

Coble also said the buildings on campus have ramps, but that opening the doors while trying to maintain control of the wheelchair is extremely difficult.

He said the bathroom stalls in many of the halls are too narrow and hard to reach by wheelchair.

It is also nearly impossible for wheelchair users to maneuver through the stacks in Watson Library. "The changes would be extensive, but not to the point of reconstruction," he said.

AbleHawks is a student run organization that discusses such issues as making campus more accessible to wheelchair users.

Organization members like Coble, hold monthly meetings, run motivational speeches and organize interactive programs for students to participate on campus.

During Awareness Day on Campus, AbleHawks set up a display on Wescoe Beach. "We have people get in wheelchairs and use the ramps to try and navigate around campus," Coble said. "They were surprised at the difficulty."

Currently, 15 members make up the organization. It is comprised of both disabled and non-disabled students.

AbleHawks and the Disabilities Resource Center work together to provide for the disabled. Coble said the center helped coordinate events and helped get resources needed for Awareness Day on Campus.

Manning said there has been a recent growth of disabled students at KU. And in the future, those students will ideally never have to worry about their participation on graduation day.

Posted by Elyse Calderon at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A few KU students are keeping very close tabs on the fighting between Lebanon and Israel.

According to the KU Office of International Students and Scholar Services there are about 200 students registered at KU from the Middle East.

Rayana Adra, senior at the University of Kansas Medical Campus, lived in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, from the age of 3 months until she was four years old. She visits relatives there every few summers.

Adra remembers driving to school one day when a bomb fell in Beruit. She never went back to school there. A few months later her family moved to America.

On July 6 of this year, after a recent visit to see relatives, she flew out of Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport. Exactly one week later it was heavily bombed by Israeli forces.

Adra said she just got lucky by leaving Beirut when she did. She had to come home for a hospital internship, otherwise she said she might have stayed another week or two. She’s studying clinical lab sciences at KU.

So far over 350 Lebanese civilians have been killed in the conflict that’s not showing any signs of letting up.

Adra said her Beirut relatives are safe. They either live in parts of the city not being badly hit, or they’ve retired to summer homes in the mountains, away from fighting.

“I would still live in Lebanon if wars didn't occur there every few years,” Adra said. “Lebanon is beautiful, but the constant political instability makes it a scary place to raise a family or to live there.”

Conflicts with southern neighbor Israel are nothing new for Lebanon. Israel occupied parts of Lebanon from 1982-2000 during the Lebanon war.

On her recent trip Adra said she was proud to see lots of tourists in Beirut. “For Hezbollah to kidnap Israeli soldiers at this time is simply stupid. I realize that they just wanted to do a prisoner exchange, but their actions have destroyed the country,” she said.

According to a report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs, Hezbollah was created in 1982 as a response to Israeli invasion into Lebanon. They operate numerous hospitals, clinics, schools, and agricultural centers in Lebanon.

“Hezbollah is part of the government and they do have support of some Lebanese. I think that there are so many different types of people in Lebanon with many different opinions of Hezbollah. I cannot just lump them all together,” Adra said.

She said most of Hezbollah’s support comes from southern Beirut, a fairly poor area.

Daniel Coldham, senior engineering student, lived in Israel from nine years old until he left for college three years ago.

He remembers when Israel occupied Lebanon previously and recalls it as a “rough time” for both countries.

Coldham’s father is British and mother is Israeli. His parents and two younger brothers live near Tel Aviv. He said his family really hasn’t been affected by the fighting because it’s mostly to the north. Tel Aviv is about 80 miles south of the Lebanese border.

Since moving to America Coldham has gone back to Israel once a year. This year is no different; he leaves Thursday to see his family.

“A lot of people ask me why I want to go right now,” Coldham said. “In times like these you want to be with your family and help out as much as you can.”

Coldham said one thing that’s different about the fighting today is the distance south rockets have been fired into Israel.

“It’s very strange for Haifa to get hit. I can’t remember the last time Haifa got hit. It’s a big deal for us.”

Haifa is about 18 miles south of Lebanon’s border.

According to a Fox News report Tel Aviv residents have been put on alert and told to stay near sheltered areas in case Hezbollah’s rockets reach the city.

Still, Coldham isn’t worried about returning home.

“As soon as I get done with class I’m out of here.”

“You can’t let things like this control your life, I think that’s when you let the terrorists win,” Coldham said.

According to Leslie Dienes, KU professor of geography, the conflict between Israel and Lebanon is very complex and long. It’s never just between two countries.

According a Washington Post article today’s fighting is nothing new for the two countries. Israel bombed Lebanon in 1978 and 1982. In both of these attacks Israel was trying to destroy a terrorist infrastructure thought to be growing in Lebanon.

Adra said she wants what everyone else wants for the Middle East: peace. But, perhaps after considering the region’s history for a moment, she made a different prediction.

“Israel will probably just get sick of bombing Lebanon and this whole thing will repeat in about seven years.”

Posted by Anna Faltermeier at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bailey Hall is the home to Communications classes. Strong Hall is where you can track down the high-ranking university officials. Dyche Hall, more commonly known as the Natural History Museum, serves as the quintessential field trip for elementary school children.

Besides their connection as buildings on KU’s Lawrence campus, these locations are also registered as historic buildings by the National Register of Historic Places.

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States' list of locations approved for preservation. In order for a building to be included on national and state historic registers, it must be at least 50 years old and have a degree of historical significance.

And a grant from the Getty Foundation will not only help preserve these historic landmarks, but hallow the university to combine multiple campus master plans.

“We want to preserve places of historic importance to this community and region while continuing to acknowledge things are changing,” Jen Humphrey, KU Endowment spokeswoman, said.

Five buildings at KU are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Bailey Hall, Strong Hall, Spooner Hall, Dyche Hall and Lippincott Hall. KU’s historic architecture includes Romanesque, Beaux-Arts Classicism and Gothic styles.

The $130,000 grant to KU Endowment will allow KU to mesh the historic preservation with the campus master plan already in use, Humphrey said. KU Endowment, a nonprofit organization, handles KU’s fund-management.

To be eligible for the grant, the school’s master plan must include preserving historic components of campus and preparing conservation analyses.

The preliminary letter to determine eligibility was due April 10. Applicants had to describe the project, the budget, discuss any preservation research or planning and whether the buildings were classified as historic.

The Getty Foundation announced the recipients of the 2006 Campus Heritage Grant on July 18. The foundation awarded grants to universities wanting to preserve and enrich historic aspects of their campuses.

The Getty Foundation is part of the J. Paul Getty Trust, a cultural and philanthropic organization dedicated to visual arts.

The foundation selected 13 colleges and universities to receive grants totaling more than $2 million. Individual grants typically range from $25,000 to $250,000. The 2006 grant recipients each received funds ranging from $115,000 to $200,000.

Humphrey said the grant proposal process was competitive and that it’s very prestigious that KU was one of the universities selected.

KU will use the grant to hire consultants to work with Design and Construction Management to analyze the design and construction of the Lawrence campus.

Historic buildings can also be found throughout Lawrence and include private residences and city buildings. The Romanesque style of the Douglas County Courthouse, 11 and Massachusetts streets, was added to the National Register in 1975.

The English Lutheran Church, 1040 New Hampshire St., was added in 1995 and showcases Late Gothic Revival.

Recently, the Downtown Historic District, on Massachusetts Street from 6th Avenue to South Park Street, was added in 2004 for its Late Victorian and Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals.

The Kansas State Historic Preservation Office facilitates applications from Kansas wanting to be recognized on the National Register of Historic Places and oversees historic buildings for the entire state.

“Buildings give us a sense of history, where things came from,” Lonard said.

The Preservation Office receives calls everyday from people interested in applying, though not all of them come through, Lonard said.

The Preservation Office offers funding to help offset costs of maintaining a historic building.

“When you keep a building, it’s like a keeper of records of your past in a physical form,” Kristen Lonard, historic preservation specialist for the office, said.

The State Tax Credit Program offers a 25 percent tax credit for approved rehabilitation on a listed building.

The Heritage Trust Fund Credit Program will cover up to 20 percent of the cost for physical repairs of buildings listed on a state or national register.

Lonard said she’s found that people think if a building is historic, it can’t be used for anything. This isn’t the case, she said, though current buildings need to resemble their original intent.

One challenge in classifying a building as historic is changing this mindset to allow people to see new uses and possibilities of buildings, Lonard said.

Posted by Jacky Carter at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Many of North America's most published science fiction authors came to a discussion at the University of Kansas last week answering the question, "What is the current state of the science fiction novel?"

The topic, discussed as part of the university's annual Science Fiction Campbell Conference was one of the main themes of this year's science fiction camp, offered for aspiring writers and those needing extra critique on pre-published works.

"Dry reports of new facts pass by us each day by the thousands, but placing ideas about science or society in an engaging story wildly increases the chances of those ideas...making a difference in the world," Crafter said.

One of the great questions posed since the dawn of the technological age is what will happen to the written word, the novel?

Science fiction stories have always captured audiences with their unusual tales of the future and frightening descriptions of technology taking over the world.

The events from those stories many say now have come true, and ironically enough are the reason some science fiction authors are fearing the future.

"It's a good game to be in if you're middle aged, it's a scary game to be in if you're young because it's not one that you can foresee a thirty, forty, fifty year career being viable." Robert Sawyer, author of Mindscan, said.

Among others at the discussion, some believed that in addition to the frailty of the novel itself, the kind of work being produced in the science fiction genre these days is far inferior.

Robin Wayne Bailey, author of Shadowdance, said, “I think the product itself is becoming tame, not challenging.”

“The stories that are being published today are jingoistic military clap-trap,” he added. “The socially challenging science fiction that I was reading in the 70s and 80s is just not being published.”

But not all the authors agreed. George Zebrowski, a veteran author of such books as Macrolife, said, “In the last 25 years, I think the battle for better science fiction has been won.”

So what are publishers saying?

Lou Anders, editor and founder of the New York based science fiction publishing company Pyr is optimistic.

“Space Adventures, who previously sent three space tourists with extremely deep pockets to the international space station, has announced plans to build a $265 million dollar spaceport in the United Arab Emirates,” Anders said. “And Richard Branson is building a $225 million dollar spaceport in New Mexico for his Virgin Galactic.”

“Long-term, the real Space Age is only beginning, and the literature that charts our future there can only benefit,” he added.

But even with the optimism, science fiction sections in bookstores are getting noticeably smaller each year, said Sawyer, and one reason why, is that authors just aren’t writing for a wide enough range of people.

“We’ve contrived an art form that makes us feel superior…so we can be exclusionary,” he said.

But whether or not the novel is doomed, Crafter says science fiction itself has a healthy future.

“I love science fiction because that is where ideas about the interface of science and society get to dance together without stepping on any toes,” he said. “Comedy and comedians provides for a socially safe way to comment on current society, and Sci-Fi provides a way to comment and plan for future society.”

Posted by Taylor Miller at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For KU club sports, it's a struggle for both recognition and talent. The visibiltiy is low and it's hard to attract a full-time coach.

However, for the past eight years, one of the club teams has been slowly moving itself away from its swaddling clothes and beginning to find it’s legs as a legitimate sport. The KU Ice Hockey Club has its first full-time coach in Geoff Knight.

A former player for the team and Vancouver, British Columbia native, Knight was hired as the official coach at the end of June. He begins his duties with practice at the end of August. Now, he and Tim Veach, assistant coach and another former veteran, are planning on spending every bit of their energy to push the team into a golden age of hockey at KU.

“We’re very dedicated,” Knight said. “We’re probably more dedicated to KU hockey than anything else in our lives.”

After five years with the team, Knight took last season off in an attempt to take a break from the general grind of life. However, with the volunteer coach drifting in and out of practices, Knight found himself not just planning the party buses to the games. He was behind the bench himself on more than one occasion.

“I’ve seen us progress in every way,” he said. “We had better game presentation, we had better road trips and we had better attendance at games. Everything was better except for coaching.”

A lot of the problems had to do with both funding and the entire operation of the team. The organization is run top to bottom by the players themselves. Fundraising and every single detail of operation was in the hands of the players. And there wasn’t enough money to entice a full-time coach.

“The first step to improving the team is to have a year-round coach,” Knight said. “I really wanted to see that. I absolutely thought I was the best person for the job.”

Things have improved since he’s been involved, however. When he first joined the team in 2001, he only found out about it because one of the men’s recreational league players in Kansas City, Kan. had a “KU Hockey” bumper-sticker slapped to the back of his car.

“There really was no visibility,” Knight said. “You had to know people in the hockey circle. To an extent that’s still true. We’re really trying to change that.”

According to Veach, Knight wasn’t without his competitors for the job. After posting the job offer on the American Hockey Coach Association website, applications from all over the world came in.

“We got someone from Finland,” Veach said. “We got a guy from Robert Morris College. There really was quite a bit of interest in the position.”
Knight ended up with the position because of his pre-existing relationship with the players, he said.

“I recommended Geoff, but it really wasn’t up to me,” he said. “(The executive board) wanted to go with someone who knew the team, but was separated enough to still have authority.”

It was the club’s executive board that made the final decision. Ryne Tusten, senior forward and club president, said the decision to hire Knight was a relatively easy choice to make.

“We talked to a few of our guys and decided that Geoff Knight would be the best fit for the team right now,” Tusten said. “He’s been with the club for a long time. He knows how the league works, he knows the teams we play and he knows a lot of the guys on the team.”

Tusten added he felt strongly enough in Knight’s abilities there was a chance he could help the team make it to regionals for the first time in the history of the club.

“Or, who knows,” he added, “Maybe even nationals.”

The players themselves seem to stand by the decision as well.

Pepsi Ice Midwest
2006® Google Maps

Chris Beard, senior forward, said it was great just to have an actual coach in the first place.

“Last year we were rotating coaches the whole year,” he said. “Sometimes they couldn’t make it because they weren’t dedicated. Then we’d have a kid’s parent sub-in for the weekend.

“We’d be trying to lead ourselves, organize ourselves and fund ourselves the whole season. It was much more difficult than I think we had foreseen.”

The fact that Knight will be taking over the reins come the end of August is an even greater bonus in Beard’s opinion.

“He knows a lot about hockey,” Beard said. “If someone has a hockey question, you ask him. -- I really don’t think there would be a better coach.”

The team begins practices Aug. 24 at their rink in Overland Park. The season opens at home, Sept. 15.

Home hockey games are located at Pepsi Ice Midwest at 12140 W. 135th St. in Overland Park.

Posted by Mark Vierhaler at 09:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As the temperatures hit near-record degrees outside, a group of about 70 students sat in the Naismith commons room. The smell of sunscreen wafted into the air as everyone milled around, waiting to be sent off to his or her respective activities for the day.

This was the scene at the University of Kansas cross-country and track camp last week. And it was only a small sampling of the slow but sure movement of students from all areas of sports and athletics into track, field and cross-country.

More and more athletes are recognizing the advantages of the various activities included in these three sports on their overall conditioning.

According to Billy Steffens, Kansas Relays coordinator, the average turnout for the summer camps is somewhere in the 40s. This year, however, the camp saw over 70 young athletes taking part in the five-day clinic. There are numerous reasons for the increase in running, Steffens said.

“I know that in all different cities and towns there’s track clubs every summer,” he said. “Every sport requires running.”

Football players, he said, will often sign up for track in the spring and summer to keep themselves in peak condition for the upcoming season.

The camp, which ran from July 16 until July 20, was focused mainly on increasing physical endurance as well as showing high school athletes what is expected of college level competition. However, running isn't the only event the camp focuses on.

“There’s jumping too,” Steffens said. “Some of the crazy people like to do pole vault, where they’re flinging themselves 12-15 feet in the air just off of a stick going over a bar.”

The camp itself has the mission of taking these already motivated athletes and honing their skills down to a razor's edge. Everything can basically be boiled down to the basics, to the next level.

According to Steffens, it’s all technical work. Cross-country runners log in miles. Sprinters work on getting into and out of their blocks. Each person gets personal attention from each coach. And it’s all to mold the new generation of runners.

The fine art of running isn’t limited to athletes finding a way to keep in shape in off-season either. There’s a whole new generation of runners and track aficionados who are involved simply for the love of the competition.

For Adam Wetzel, Silver Lake, high school sophomore, track and field was nothing more than love at first jump. Three years ago, during his seventh grade season, he hit the long jump full blast and never looked back.

“I just fell in love with it,” Wetzel said. “I always wanted to do track. I don’t know why, but I’ve always just liked it more (than other sports).”

And although it’s not a sport that garners the same adoration and national attention as basketball or football, he said he is going to stick with it as long as his body allows him to.

“I’d like to do it past high school if that could happen,” he said.

When it comes to running, for some it goes beyond both the love of the sport and a handy tool for conditioning. For some, it’s both love and tradition.

Kassidy Porter, Bolivar, Mo., high school senior, first stepped into her running shoes almost a decade ago. She was in third grade, she said, and her dad simply told her to run. It’s been in her blood ever since.

“I think the first time I ran it was in our town meet,” Porter said. “From there I went to the Show-Me State Games and then I went into running school track.

“I just kind of got threw into it. My dad just told me to run and I did.”

Just like Wetzel, Porter wants to keep up with her own sport until she can go no longer.

“At least until college,” she said.

Posted by Mark Vierhaler at 09:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After 26 years, the KU Skills and Fitness summer camp welcomes 5-year-olds to the camp.

“We’ve had numerous parents ask to add 5-year-olds to the camp. In most pre-schools they don’t have teachers with a background in physical fitness, so it’s a good opportunity for the kids,” Dr. James LaPoint, professor and director of the skills and fitness camp said.

The skills and fitness camp is offered for only children ages 5-14. The camp gives kids an opportunity to try out various sports and physical fitness activities.

The children participated in group sports such as: soccer, tennis, racquet ball, hand ball and speed ball.

“I liked hand ball the best because I’ve never really played it before and everyone else like it too,” said Jazzy Stewart, 12, Lawrence. “This was my first year here but I for sure want to come back next summer.”

Archery, tumbling, aquatics, physical fitness, yoga and tae-bo are just a few of the individual activities the kids could participate in.

“The kids absolutely love swimming at the end of the day and I think it’s important for kids to know how to swim,” LaPoint said.

Because 5-year-olds have been introduced to the camp, a new activity has been added to the camp. Basic movement is a program designed just for the younger kids. It teaches them how to move their bodies and introduces them to new physical activities.

“Those kids need skill instruction more than anybody and to learn how to move their bodies. I think it’s great they’ve incorporated that,” said Melissa Greene, fitness camp instructor.

The camp is a one-month long session offered in June and July. This summer the camp has about 60 to 70 kids each day and up to 180 kids can enroll.

LaPoint said the camp started in 1980 and always had a full enrollment in the 80’s when it began.

The decrease in enrollment over the years is due to rules set up by the Lawrence public schools. In previous years, brochures about the camp were allowed to be distributed in schools. Local schools no longer let outside organizations advertise summer camps.

“We think that these camps should be promoted in schools and we would like to see our brochures in our local schools,” LaPoint said.

The purpose of the camp is to help children find some type of physical activity they might like. In the long run, the camp keeps kids active by helping them engage in various physical fitness activities. The camp also exposes kids to new activities that pre-schools and elementary physical education classes might not offer.

“It’s a program designed for kids to learn basic fitness skills and then we get into a lot of different activities that they sometimes don’t get a chance to experience in traditional physical education classes,” LaPoint said. “I know a lot of high school coaches want kids to start specializing when they’re in fourth or fifth grade. We have a little different philosophy. We want them to experience a lot of different things.”

The camp will be offered again next summer with two one-month long sessions.

“This is my second year here but since I’m 14 now I can’t come back next summer. I wish I could though,” said Jordan Bloom. “My sister came for the first year and she loves it. I’m sure she’ll be back.”

Posted by Stephanie Quante at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Turning the television from FOX News, to CNN, to MSNBC, Carol Wright, Topeka CASA Advisor, soon found herself confused and disheartened with the Middle Eastern conflict.

"It seems so complicated," said Wright. "Sometimes I just don’t understand what is going on."

According to Phillip A. Schrodt, professor of international relations and political science, the bulk of what is occurring in the Middle East today relates back to WWI, and the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, is the land of the Middle East, North Africa, and South-Eastern Europe. Wikipedia describes this area as 5.6 million Kilometers, and when the Ottoman government fell, many different republics were created.

"People think that all of this is happening because of a feud that has been going on forever between the Jews and the Arabs, which is not true," said Schrodt. "The Ottoman Empire fell after WWI, and then different groups, who were all hungry for oil, were created.

Kathryn Ault, Topeka junior, is skeptical about the war, and is not sure if it should be occurring.

“I’m not an expert or anything, but it just doesn’t seem right to me to have so many people being killed over there,” said Ault. “I just want everyone to be safe and all of this to be over with.”

Schrodt also explained the need for Americans in the war as unnecessary, and that oil and money motivate most of the action.

According to the Sustainability Institute, the world produces 61 billion barrels of oil a day. America, with five percent of the world’s people, burns almost 27 percent of the world’s oil; a fact that could hurt us.

Map Courtesy of: Magellan Geographix

Posted by Alexandra Kohake at 06:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Video: Zhou Xu's Chinese II class, Summer 2006

Chinese classes, which are open to the public, at KU’s new Confucius Institute are filling up quickly for the fall.

With a population of 1.3 billion, China is a rapidly growing country and Kansans want to be a part of the expansion.

“We have had countless phone calls and lots of e-mails from people wanting to learn Chinese through the institute,” Sheree Willis, associate executive director of the Confucius Institute, said.

China’s population makes up one-third of the world’s population and many American businesses are becoming more involved with China. Some major companies the U.S. does business in or with China are: Wal-mart, Starbucks, General Electric, McDonald’s, United Technologies, Best Buy, Proctor and Gamble and Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing.

Willis said that most of the people signing up for the class are mainly business people, families with adopted children from China, tourists and people who are just curious about the language.

“In my view, China is on the march and we retreat,” said Felix Moos, professor of Asian socio-cultural anthropology. “I think the U.S. is losing the world because we’re so disengaged.”

KU opened the Confucius Institute May 4 as a way for Kansans to become more engaged.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius made a trip to China and teamed up with China’s Vice Minister of Education, Wu Qidi, to start the program.

Source: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
Courtesy of Vivien Stewart

Source: Modern Language Association Survey
Courtesy of Vivien Stewart

Posted by Stephanie Quante at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The band played on…

The 14th annual jazz camp at the University of Kansas was one of the most popular in its history.

High-school aged children from all over the United States came to Lawrence to participate in the week-long camp from July 9 - 14. Each year, between 80 and 100 students participate in the camp. This year there were 90 campers.

Despite changes in the school districts of most of the children who attended the camp, the jazz camp continues to be increasingly successful each year.

“Our enrollment numbers have been great for over a decade,” said Daniel Gailey, jazz camp director. “The overall ability levels of the students this year was the highest in recent memory.”

For many of the students, jazz camp is their only opportunity to demonstrate their talents. Most of the campers attend public schools throughout Kansas and surrounding states. Many of their band programs have been adversely affected within the last few years.

Allegra Fischer, who will be attending Washburn University to major in piano performance and music therapy in the fall, attended jazz camp for the third time this year.

To her, jazz camp was an opportunity to perfect a talent that has been neglected in her secondary school, Le Compton High School.

“Our band program has been cut in the last couple of years,” Fischer said. “We just don’t have the same opportunity to perform that we used to.”

Many public schools have faced similar problems. No Child Left Behind has caused many schools to cut funding to their music programs to allow more money to go to other areas.

The No Child Left Behind Program requires public schools to meet certain testing criteria in order to receive federal funding. In order to do this, many schools are focusing their efforts on teaching math and English. Music programs are one of the many areas that being eliminated so that other areas can receive more attention.

“No Child Left Behind has affected us, just like it has affected most everything else,” said Gailey. “There is definitely a trickle-down effect, but we’re not going to let it stop jazz camp.”

In order to ensure that children have the opportunity to attend camp, the University of Kansas offers scholarships to students that might not otherwise be able to attend.

“We give scholarships to students who need them financially and those who we really want to encourage to come,” said Gailey.

Outside organizations, such as Save the Music, also offer funding to children to help offset some of the negative consequences caused by No Child Left Behind.

To some campers, jazz camp is their gateway to bigger things and a stepping stone to their college career.

“I got a scholarship to come here this year,” said Molly Ingram, 17. “Jazz is something that is all my own. This camp lets me show what I can do. This is what I want to go to college for. This is what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

Posted by Crissy Delpercio at 03:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Upward Bound Summer Program at the University of Kansas not only prepares students academically and socially for college, but also gives them the confidence to pursue a college education.Upward Bound is a federally funded program for either first generation college students or low-income students that meet the US Department of Education family income guidelines. The program helps students finish high school and give them the skills they need to pursue a successful college career.

“These students may not have the same opportunities that other students have. That’s what we want to give them, the tools they need to succeed despite their family’s financial limitations,” said Vincent Edwards, the academic advisor for KU’s Upward Bound program.

The program offers basic skills and enrichment classes in Science, Computer Science, Reading, Math, English and career and personal development.

“I am getting experience by doing this program,” said Kara Barajas, a junior at Turner High School in Wyandotte County. “ Having to be able to wake myself up every morning, walk to class knowing that I have to get there and that I have homework that I have to get done, and maintaining my time-I think that will prepare me a lot for college. I am kind of nervous, but I am ready.”

The students stay on campus during the six-week program and attend classes as well as cultural seminars, field trips, and other activities during the evenings.

“There is more to the program than just academics. There is a social side as well. Students are able to network with students from areas different from their own. They are given the opportunity to deal with situations they might not have to deal with in their own areas,” said Edwards.

Although students who participate in the Upward Bound program are there to improve themselves on both an academic and social level, some walk away with much more than that.

The program also works to give confidence and hope to students who never thought college was a possibility for them.

“Those are the types of things they don’t come to the table with, not the same confidence, family legacy, or resources. We try to give them the inspiration to even go to college, or hope to try to give that confidence to them on the social side. Those are the kinds of things they don’t have because of their social status,” said Edwards.

Posted by Stacey Couch at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The summer debate camp focuses on training high school students the fundamentals of debate technique. Students and counselors engaged during the two and three-week sessions, located on campus, to prep for the end-of-camp tournament where they tested their skills.

Time is running out.

That’s the lifestyle of a debater: speedy speeches, scribbled notes and rebuttals in less than three minutes.

High school debate students from all over the nation gathered at the University of Kansas this summer for the Jayhawk Debate Institute.

During the rigorous camp, debaters learned and perfected skills in communication, research and methods for presenting their argument.

“The debaters attend classes to learn research techniques and compete in the tournaments for feedback on their performance. We’re here to help them through the process,” said Jon Wright, senior camp counselor.

The camp, sponsored by the communications department, lasted for a two-week and three-week (intensive) session, both ending on July 8th.

During the first week of camp, students attended regular classes on campus. Most of the time was spent learning how to research a wide variety of debate topics, said Wright.

Students in both camp sessions were given one topic to focus their research. This year’s camp was about the foreign policy of President Bush’s administration.

The second and third weeks were devoted to debating tournaments. The students practiced their training on one another during late-night rounds in Wescoe Hall.

During the tournament, the camp counselors were in their element. Whether they were parading their groups down Wescoe corridors, cheering students on for their next competition or judging during the late hours, the counselors were upbeat and supportive of the students.

“It’s a great camp; Jon’s an awesome counselor. I’ve learned so much about how to do research for a debate. Now we’re actually in the debating part, which is what I really like, it’s interesting,” said Sierra Sheer, Oklahoma sophomore.

Wright said the camp was helpful for students new to debate, and veterans wanting to clean up their performance.

One aspect of the camp all students struggled with was learning to speak quickly during a debate.

“Speaking fast doesn’t come naturally to most people, but it’s an important part of debate, so we practice until it becomes easier,” said Wright.

As a veteran counselor, Wright saw students return to the annual camp, many having improved from last year.

On the other hand, debating can be discouraging for new-comers who have much to learn. The counselors offer support and training, and quickly become mentors of the students they lead.

When training gets tough, counselors can rely on debating experience to help the rookies succeed.

As some of his students gathered around him, seeking advice between tournament sessions, Wright simply smiled and said, “You can do it. It’s not about whether you win or lose; you’ll learn something for next time. Never give up.”

Posted by Katy Blair at 06:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Carolyn Cornett, 2006 graduate, does not take her future lightly. Cornett, an accounting and finance major, spent countless hours studying and doing homework each week in addition to her internship in Kansas City. During college, she also served as vice president of Habitat for Humanity and an officer for the American Business Women’s Association.

Cornett said in her experience with Habitat for Humanity and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, members are mostly female.

Cornett knew coming into college what she wanted to do with her life and made sure to earn the grades and participate in the organizations to achieve this goal.

She started work as a transfer pricing specialist for Ernest & Young in Kansas City, Mo. in July

Cornett is just one example of what national and local data show: college women are earning better grades and are more involved on campus than their male counterparts. The reasons for this include motivation factors, market equity and maturity, among others.

Kathryn Nemeth Tuttle, associate vice provost for Student Success, said the research KU has done on this is a phenomenon seen nationwide. There are more female students at KU who are graduating in less time and earning higher grades

The U.S. National Center for Educational Statistics research shows that more women are in college and earning degrees. In 2003, men accounted for 44 percent of college students and 43 percent of undergraduate degrees.

The Office of Institutional Research and Planning keeps track of enrollment, retention, grades and attendance at KU.

In 2000, men represented 45 percent of the freshman class. By 2004, only 24 percent of the males had graduated, compared with 36 percent of the females from the entering class of 2000.

Tuttle said that maturity and organizational skills have a lot to do with it.

“It’s puzzling, the factors that lead women to persist and study harder,” she said. “But it still needs to be researched to find out what’s there.”

Before her position as associate vice provost, Tuttle served as the director of the Freshman Sophomore Advising Center. She found that males waited longer to make advising appointments and their organization and time management skills weren’t as honed as females.

“I don’t want to make blanket judgments, but it all goes back to maturity,” Tuttle said. “They take longer to plan their lives and get them in order.”

The gender difference is also visible throughout the various schools. The School of Education had roughly twice as many women than men in fall 2004. And they also earned 14 percent more A’s than men.

In fall 2004, the School of Social Welfare had just 11 male students of its 133 total.

“We know this is the case all over the country,” Lori Messinger, director of the School of Welfare’s undergraduate program, said. “But it’s important to draw men into it.”

Melanie Hepburn, assistant dean of the School of Social Welfare, said that although there’s a big difference between the number of men and women in the program, there hasn’t been a change in the percent between them at KU.

Messinger said one reason for the imbalance is that social welfare is historically a female-dominated profession like nursing. Men see social welfare as something women do, she said.

“It’s not high profile like a doctor or lawyer where people go ‘oooooh’ or ‘aaaah,” Messinger said. “The rewards are emotional, feedback appealing to women.”

Messinger said she thinks men don’t think about a career in social work, but that they could find satisfaction in the profession because there’s a variety of things to do.

The school’s degree completion program, though, is attracting more men. This new program allows students to start undergraduate degrees at a community college. Once students finish the prerequisites, KU offers the last two years there. Most of the classes are offered at night and allow working parents and people with full-time jobs to take advantage of the program.

It’s KU courses through KU professors with a KU degree, Messinger said.

The School of Journalism is also dominated by females, with more than 60 percent.

On the other end of the spectrum, the schools of business and engineering are male-dominated.

“In the business school, there are many more males than females, with the exception of accounting, which is by far the hardest degree in the school,” Cornett said. “Finance was far easier, and probably 60 to 70 percent male.”

The number of women in the School of Engineering at KU is comparable to the nationwide average of women in undergraduate engineering programs, even if they make up just 19 percent of the total number of students.

To encourage women to pursue engineering, KU’s School of Engineering offers a variety of outreach programs. The school offers a summer camp for high school girls, as well as special events throughout the school year.

In addition to having higher enrollment, females are also earning better grades. Women in the School of Social Welfare earned an average GPA of 3.52 in fall 2004 compared to the men’s 3.07 average. Men earned higher GPAs than women in just two of the nine schools and tied in one another.

Across the boards – throughout all nine state schools – women earned more A’s than men in fall 2004. In 1992, men earned more A’s than women in four of the five schools.

It’s still a reality for men to have more job opportunities and a higher income with less education, Tuttle said. Some men think they have additional opportunities, like the military or union jobs. While Tuttle said there may be economic factors pulling men out of higher education, it won’t help them in the long run.

Tuttle said research of kindergarten through 12th grade students found that boys are more active in the class room, and test higher in math and science. She said women have higher verbal scores, and reading and writing are important in all aspects of college life.

Despite this research, Tuttle said the gap between men and women still needs more research, particularly in college.

The Kansas Board of Regents 2005 Data Book contains enrollment information for universities in the state of Kansas. From 1999 to 2004, male enrollment increased by 7 percent and female enrollment by 9 percent.

KU’s male enrollment actually increased more than female enrollment, close to 10 percent over five years, whereas women’s enrollment increased by just more than three percent.

Tuttle said that other colleges are much more concerned with male recruitment but that KU doesn’t have that problem because it has a fairly equal number of entering students.

Fort Hays State was the only other one of the eight universities to see a larger increase in male enrollment.

Wichita State University’s total enrollment decreased, but men decreased three percent more than women.

Emporia State University saw the largest gap in enrollment. Female enrollment was 10 percent higher than men’s.

Although KU is experiencing gender gap trends found nationwide, they’re not necessarily new and they won’t automatically cause administrators to reconsider how they recruit students.

“It’d be great if we had more men,” Hepburn said of the School of Social Welfare. “Do we recruit specifically to male students? No, not specifically.”

Posted by Jacky Carter at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Someone once said that for every neighborhood, there’s a purple house. Whether she had heard that or not, Brindy Supernaw, a massage therapist from California, agreed.

Inspired by the brightly colored houses of old San Francisco, Supernaw moved into a small three-bedroom house on Lyon Street in North Lawrence in April 2005 and immediately painted it.

White exterior siding, she painted deep purple, her living room a bright shade of teal, the kitchen and bathroom floor checkered in both. For her daughter Nina’s room, she chose a mixture of oranges and pinks, the computer room a cobalt blue, and for her and fiancé Jesse Fitzpatrick‘s bedroom, neon pink.

“The houses they build today are all white, off white, cream, beige…..taupe. They’re boring,” Supernaw said. “I like old houses with character, and certainly something that doesn't look like everything else on the block.”

Because her fiancé is too tall for the house, Supernaw, however, is moving. But her house, listed for $124,900, is not selling.

Although she doesn’t regret painting it, Supernaw is finding it difficult to sell her home, along with many others in Lawrence. In her neighborhood alone, 10 houses are listed. But does the color of a house really affect its attractiveness in the market? Absolutely, says local realtor Larry Northrop.

“Most of your builders and remodelers are going to stay in the safe zone which are the earth tones and not venture out into the purples and greens and blues,” Northrop said. “Those are what I like to refer to as love/hate colors. You either love them or you hate them, and if you hate them, you’re not going to buy the house.”

It may even affect the sell-ability of other houses in the neighborhood, he said. Neighbors many times like uniformity in the color of every house on their block.

Helen Smith, a neighbor to the home since 1943, doesn’t care for purple houses.

“I was disappointed when I saw it,” Smith said. “Somebody said it would grow on me, but it really hasn’t. I don’t like bright colors on a house.”

But not all people feel that way. Supernaw said one neighbor commented how she loved the color of the house, because every morning when she woke up and looked out her window, it made her smile.

Supernaw also said that when she was painting the house many people dropped by with positive comments on the color.

“We are having trouble selling the house,” Supernaw said. “I'm not sure it has so much to do with the color, but more with the way the market is right now.”

According to the results from the Census Bureau, between July 2004 and July 2005 Lawrence lost approximately 26 residents, the first time in 30 years it has recorded an annual population decline. Shattering the traditional 2% population increase recorded every other year.

Northrop said that he usually suggests to sellers of brightly colored houses that before listing them they should paint their homes a more neutral color.

“Especially if they want to maximize the amount they can make out of their house,” he added.

If you keep the house a bright color, you’re restricted to a smaller buying pool, he said.

“You might have 10 buyers look at it and nine of them not like the color, but maybe one loves the purple,” he said. “In the end, it affects the price of the property.”

But Supernaw is hopeful.

“I don’t think I should have to paint it,” she said. “I thought I would live here forever…I want someone who wants a purple house.”

In addition to her deep purple home, other non-neutral colored houses in her neighborhood include a baby yellow house, several shades of blue, two painted saffron orange, and one light avocado green.

Posted by Taylor Miller at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

Charts and graphs are great tools for presenting data within your story. They provide you with an opportunity to use some creativity in the design process to spruce up the visual appeal of your story. David Letterman has a recurring bit about charts and graphs that provides a good jumping off point for this section.

Using Excel can be quite tricky, so you can check out help documentation (PDFs) available through Academic Computing Services for additional help.

If you still find yourself lost, keep in mind there are free Microsoft Excel classes offered through Academic Computing Services.

Posted by Katerine Sullivan at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

Charts and graphs are great tools for presenting data within your story. They provide you with an opportunity to use some creativity in the design process to spruce up the visual appeal of your story. David Letterman has a recurring bit about charts and graphs that provides a good jumping off point for this section.

Using Excel can be quite tricky, so you can check out help documentation (PDFs) available through Academic Computing Services for additional help.

If you still find yourself lost, keep in mind there are free Microsoft Excel classes offered through Academic Computing Services.

Posted by Taylor Miller at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

Using Excel can be quite tricky, so you can check out help documentation (PDFs) available through Academic Computing Services for additional help.

If you still find yourself lost, keep in mind there are free Microsoft Excel classes offered through Academic Computing Services.

Posted by Anna Faltermeier at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

Using Excel can be quite tricky, so you can check out help documentation (PDFs) available through Academic Computing Services for additional help.

If you still find yourself lost, keep in mind there are free Microsoft Excel classes offered through Academic Computing Services.

Posted by Training Student at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Couples, and even singles, are hoping to get lucky on July 7, 2007 – 07-07-07.

“My sister joked about getting married on that date, but she’s 40 years old and single,” said Ashley Winters, Lawrence resident and employee at Bittersweet Garden and Floral Design. “She liked the date because of the three sevens, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

Brides-to-be are planning their weddings for 07-07-07 with hope that the date will bring them the luck of the sevens. Pythagoreans called it the perfect number, a combination of 3 and 4, and the triangle and the square, the perfect figures.

Brides must act fast, however, or lucky number seven could bring bad luck when trying to book wedding chapels, caterers and florists. Although July is not as popular for weddings as May or June, Danforth Chapel and the Eldridge Hotel already have reservations for that date.

“It’s common to have more than one wedding scheduled in a day and I definitely think that date will fill up,” said Twyla Jones, Parsons senior and employee for the Student Involvement and Leadership council, which books the chapel.

Because July 7 falls on a Saturday next year, it will be more popular than dates such as 06-06-06 or 05-05-05 have been.

“June 6 fell on a weekday this year. Plus sixes have a negative connotation, so it wasn’t very popular,” Winters said. “Sevens are supposed to be lucky.”

Seven is a popular number for more than wedding dates. Lucky Seven is the title of a movie starring Patrick Dempsey, Lucky 7 is the title of an album by The Reverend Horton Heat and Garth Brooks has an album called Sevens. There are seven wonders of the world, seven dwarfs and seven days in a week. Christopher Columbus sailed the seven seas and it took seven days for God to create the earth.

There will be seven books in the popular Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling and there is talk of releasing the book on 07-07-07. There are seven virtues and sevens deadly sins in the Christian Bible.

Posted by Barbara Smith at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Interior renovation began on Hastings Books Music & Video, located at1900 23rd St.

In addition to the scheduled tasks of replacing floor and ceiling tiles, removing carpet and replacing fixtures and wallpaper, the media retail store will also change its layout.

“Basically what they’re doing is putting a new store in without closing the doors. Everything’s going to change,” said Chris Jones, store manager.

The old floor plan featured a layout similar to a horseshoe. The music department was in the center while the book, movie and videogame departments were located around the outside. There was only one place to enter or exit the music department.

Under the new floor plan the center will be opened up for through traffic. Videogames will occupy the center, music will be relocated to the back wall and movies and books will remain in their original locations.

The store will also be expanding their book department in hopes of better serving their customers.

“What you’re going to see with Hastings is a bigger footprint in books. More space and about 30,000 more titles. We will be adding selection, but we’re going to carry what we’ve always carried,” said Jones.

Hastings will remain open during the construction period. Areas were blocked off with yellow tape, workers tiled the floors and rolls of carpet ready for disposal lied on the ground.

Jones said that traffic had not been affected by the construction until this weekend when the tiling of the entryway created a large detour. He is confident that the decline in traffic is only temporary and that the renovations will be worth it.

“We have the deepest selection of music in town and we carry used whereas Bestbuy or Target’s not going to carry used,” Jones said.

The renovation is scheduled for completion in early August.

Posted by Trevan McGee at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Downtown businesses finalize preparations for their busiest sale-day of the year, Thursday’s sidewalk sale.

“We’ve been working for the last few weeks to get the store ready looking new and fresh for fall and summer sales,” Megan Powell, The Buckle store manager said. “So, we are really excited.”

With up to 40,000 people expected to attend, downtown businesses have been planning ways to make the long lines at the cash register and hot weather easier for clients.

Downtown Maurices will offer free iced water for clients who attend the sidewalk sale regardless of the 105 degree weather predicted by The Weather Channel. The store also plans to have different activities such as gift drawings while people wait in line.

But Lawrence residents who attended the sale last year such as Charyne Rahjes have plans of their own to ease the hassles of the day.

“Its supposed to be really hot outside, so I am definitely taking a water bottle and staying hydrated,” Rahjes said.

Clients have also expressed concern about parking because of the waterlines construction taking over 60 parking spaces. However, Rick Marquez, Downtown Lawrence, Inc. director, said there will still be a few hundred spaces left.

In addition, people can ride Lawrence buses at no cost all day Thursday. Stores plan to have extended hours, but some have taken different measures to relive traffic.

“We are going to do an early sidewalk sale inside on Wednesday,” Kelli Cox, Maurices store manager said. “Everyone is really excited about it. The costumers that we’ve called are really excited they get to come a day early so they can avoid the traffic.”

Because of the demand for space, construction in downtown will stop for the day. The fences normally set up to protect residents from the construction site will be taken down to give more sidewalk space.

Stores enjoy not having to worry about construction.

“They just finished our side of the street so we are kind of excited about that, all the construction moved to the other side just in time for sidewalk sale which is good for us” Paul Davis, manager at Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop said.

Shops will need as much space and help as they can get. Most stores will bring employees from other stores in the area to help with the expected large amount of clients.

Downtown Lawrence, Inc. alone received around 700 telephone calls in the past six weeks asking the date of the sidewalk sale.

“Businesses do a tremendous amount of sales so everybody seems to be very, very excited” Marquez said.

In anticipation of the sale, attendants already have strategies to get the best sales.

“People should go in the morning because nobody has gone through all the clothes which means they can get better deals,” Rahjes said.

Posted by Alaide Vilchis-Ibarra at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Lawrence, tucked away in a strip mall on Wakarusa Drive, sitting next to pet groomer and a cigar shop is the bar Limerance.

Inside is Matt Baum, owner, sipping at a drink, typing on his laptop with one hand while his other is slung over the back of the chair next to him.

“It’s completely different out here,” Baum says. “I would say that 80 percent of our crowd that comes here lives west of Kasold. At least west of Iowa.”

Reports of violence and strife continue to flow out of downtown Lawrence. All the while, the west side of Lawrence has been growing economically. This movement of business is beginning to fuel a new nightlife. And it’s a scene drastically different from stroll downtown.

According to Baum, Limerance’s biggest Achilles heel is its need to become a unique destination point for the Lawrence night scene.

“When you’re in a new development, if you’re not a reason to be a destination point, no one’s going to come to your bar,” he says. “You have to be creative. And that’s what we are.”

It’s four in the afternoon and Baum is waiting for his bartender to arrive.

After setting up shop two years and three months ago, the former Louise’s employee says the increase in business heading out west is good for the bar, no matter what way you look at it.

“I’m for more restaurants, more bars, more actual competition out this side of town,” he says. “I think the more businesses in general that you have in one area, it creates an infrastructure of supporting businesses.

“It’s terrific. It will get people to stay out this side of town and live out this way.”

When Baum first opened his bar, he says the majority of housing west of Kasold was single-family homes. Now, there’s an increase in rentals, both houses and apartment complexes.

“You don’t want to focus on the family homes, but we don’t want to antagonize them either,” Baum says, glancing up at the art covering the concrete walls.

Around ten that same night, the lights have been turned down to a red glow, soft music is coming over the stereo system and, incongruous with the rest of the atmosphere, wrestling plays on the television over the bar.

Missy Patterson, bartender, offers another beer to the only other patron in the bar other than Baum himself. The man agrees and steps outside for a moment into the muggy July night for a quick breather.

Patterson rotates her time between both Limerance and On The Border, a Mexican restaurant at 3080 Iowa St. Both jobs are her first foray into bartending.

After coming to the bar regularly, Patterson says she hit it off with Baum and soon after he offered her a job manning his bar.

“It’s different scenery,” Patterson says. “People are coming out here, slowly but surely. It’s nice to go downtown all the time, but you start to see the same people and same faces, it’s nice for a change.”

Customers come and go, the door softly clicking as one person leaves, another comes in, never exceeding more than three patrons at one time.

According to Patterson, this is an ordinary night for the bar.

“On an average night we usually get 40 or 50 people in the entire night,” she says. “People tend to trickle in all night. Sometimes it’s slower and some nights it’s busier.”

And although violence seems to be increasing downtown, Baum doesn’t feel there’s any affect on his bar, either positive or negative.

“Those bars know exactly who they’re attracting,” he says, shaking his head. “No offense to the guys downtown, but it’s nobody’s fault but their own. I mean, I ran Louise’s and I didn’t put up with any s—t from anybody.

“We don’t attract that kind of crowd out here.”

Posted by Mark Vierhaler at 06:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Twenty-nine year old Josh Montgomery sits in his basement office, surrounded by broken computers and gadgets; this is the world headquarters of the forward-thinking Internet group, Lawrence Freenet.

Montgomery explained that he, and four college friends, came up with the idea of starting the non-profit organization last April, with the goal of offering free Internet access to all residents in the Lawrence area. Among Freenet’s lofty plans, the non-profit group is prepared to set up a free zone on Massachusetts street by August, where everyone downtown would be able to wirelessly access the Internet through any laptop or desktop computer for free. Currently the Historic Resources center is voting on the issue.

In response to this factor, Freenet has created a growing reputation by using volunteers to refurbish old donated computers, and deliver them, free of cost to low-income families, offering them their free Internet services as well.

Now, over one year old, Freenet has had to adapt and change to remain successful in servicing the community, making some potentially risky changes along the way.

Montgomery said, “We’re really the first people to exploit this model of business…since we came around, Philadelphia has adopted a similar, non-profit organization of our type.”

“We’re kind of a test case, and that makes it extremely important as an organization to be successful, to prove that this type of model can work.”

According to Market Data Retrieval, 45 percent of public schools now use wireless systems, up from 10 percent in 2001.

Freenet recognizes this potential, and next fall, the company hopes to gain the business of students by advertising in the Daily Kansan.

“The web is the most valuable educational tool ever developed by man…and we’re trying to make that more available.”

With their nine full time employees and fifty volunteers, the upstart company is considered miniature in size, compared to Lawrence’s Sunflower Broadband.

And while the company may only have one hundred users now, 500 apartments have activated Freenet’s services within the last week. Many more apartments in the student section are expected to follow.

Despite these encouraging factors, the bold premise of the company is in question, as a few new changes have been made to the company’s plans.

Montgomery said, “When we started off in April of last year, we made access free to all customers…we just suggested donations per month.”

“It was pointed out to us, by an Economics professor at KU that our economic model really wouldn’t work…given our expenses for setting up our pricey equipment.”

“And so now we charge $20 per month, while still offering free Internet service to low-income households.”

With this plan, the company hopes to break even by October of this year, and invest the money in expanding its operations to communities like Topeka and Gardener.

An on-going challenge the upstart company must face is the ever-present powerhouse Sunflower Broadband; the company that provides cable for about two out of five people that live in Lawrence.

Montgomery said matter-of-factly, “I wouldn’t put us in the same bracket as Sunflower.”

(click on the thumbnail to view a satirical cartoon first run on Lawrence Solidarity's website)

Currently, Sunflower Broadband offers high-speed cable for $45 dollars, and a slower, more basic Internet package for $29.95.

Patrick Knorr, the General Manager of Lawrence’s Sunflower Cable said, “Lawrence Freenet sound like they have a noble offer…but I’m disappointed that they market themselves as “Freenet,” while only allowing free service to a select few.”

Montgomery said, “The analogy that we always draw is the analogy between the Good Will store and Wal-Mart. I mean they both sell the same product essentially, but the Good Will has a much different mission than Wal-Mart, and in a very same way we have a different mission than Sunflower.”

And despite Freenet’s small staff, the company assures their customers of the reliability of their product by offering a tech line with a speedy reaction time.

Judi Kellas, an art appraiser, lives North of Lawrence, high on a hill surrounded by trees. Four months ago, she couldn’t access the Internet, and many of her neighbors had the same problem.

"When I called Sunflower, the company came out and charged me, and all of my neighbors to tell us they couldn’t get a signal here.”

"Once a Freenet ad came out in the Lawrencian...I called, and they came up the next week, and hooked us all up with no problem.”

The city of Lawrence has recognized Freenet’s potential when, in October of 2005, city commissioners allowed the company to place wireless Internet transmitters on city light poles, traffic lights, water towers and city buildings, in hopes of completing the $30,000 free zone project downtown.

Posted by Barton Vandever at 06:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Beginning this fall, students will find another place to feed at the Kansas Union.

Milton’s Restaurant, 920 Massachusetts St., plans to open a full-service restaurant on the third floor of the union on the first day of classes.

“Milton’s is already popular with [University of Kansas] faculty, staff and students because it is downtown,” said Pat Beard, Director of Building Services at the union.

The new Milton’s will replace West Side Deli, who had leased the space for more than two years.

West Side contacted the union last semester and requested to cancel the lease because they were not making enough money.

The campus location of West Side Deli served more KU faculty than students, according to Beard.

“Students make and break a place like that, for whatever reason they didn’t patronize it [West Side Deli],” Beard said.

After West Side Deli requested they no longer wanted to rent the space, the union approached David Lewis, Milton’s owner, and told him about the opportunity.

The union had spoken previously with Lewis about the possible opportunity of expanding Milton’s in the union, according to Beard.

Lewis and the union negotiated the lease throughout the summer, finalizing the agreement July 11.

“We’ve had good experience with KU in the past and look forward to working with them [KU] at the union,” Lewis said.

Lewis plans to keep the Milton’s union appearance consistent with the restaurant’s environment downtown.

The union location will serve breakfast from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

West Side served only lunch during the week. They tried serving breakfast, but decided it was not popular enough, according to Beard.

The new Milton’s menu will mirror that of downtown restaurant.

The new Milton’s will serve only brewed coffee. The union space is not large enough to house equipment to make the specialty espresso drinks that the downtown location serves.

The Milton’s coffee bar will stay open on the first floor of the union.

As part of the lease, the union has agreed to renovate the third-floor space before Milton’s moves in.

Lewis requested that the union replace the carpet, tabletops and paint in order to reflect the Milton’s downtown image, according to Beard.

Lewis plans to upgrade seating downtown and bring the old furniture to the union.

The wood panels will also be taken out of the glass separating the restaurant from the main corridor.

“We want to focus on the continuity and consistency of our image,” Lewis said.

Lewis hopes the renovations in the union will help update the location’s look.

Because the restaurant is already popular with Lawrence residents, Beard and Lewis hope that the transition to the union will prove to be profitable.

“For whatever reason, the students didn’t seem to patronize it [West Side Deli],” Beard said. “Were hoping students see the new Milton’s and say ‘I like the downtown [restaurant].’

Existing staff members and several new servers will work at the new location. New staff downtown will integrate with the existing staff before the union opens to assure the transition of current employees to the new restaurant.

Posted by Erika Bentson at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Increasing numbers of pests are becoming a concern for household pets this year. Veterinarians urge pet owners to take extra precautions against parasitic insects for the health of their animals.

Pesky insects are at large this summer – literally.

Parasitic insects such as mosquitoes, ticks and fleas are abundant in Kansas this year. These critters may be an annoyance during summertime fun, but they pose a serious risk for animals.

Whether they are jumping, flying or falling onto your family pet, this trio can leave a nasty, even fatal, infection.

Veterinarians are urging owners of dogs, cats and ferrets to use preventive medications against parasites because of their success.

“It’s gotten infinitely more easy, far more effective and really, probably better for the dog and environment,” said Dr. Tom Liebl of Clinton Parkway Animal Hospital, about the available treatments to ward off fleas and ticks.

Pet owners might be wondering why insects are such a problem this year. Look no farther than Mother Earth.

Mild winters have not provided the colder weather needed to kill insects, said Dr. Mary Burge of the Gentle Care Animal Hospital.

Warm winters allow more insects to survive and multiply as spring turns to summer. Veterinarians are concerned this cause-and-effect relationship will continue, or get worse.

Insects are a nuisance for humans and animals alike, but can be a large health concern for man’s best friends.

The risk lies during the insect bite. If infected, the pest will transmit parasites into the bloodstream of the host animal.

A number of animal parasites are transferred this way.

Intestinal worms are carried largely by fleas. Ticks transmit diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, giardia, and cytauxzoonosis.

Cytauxzoonosis is a feline disease that most often results in painful death, said Dr. Liebl.

Fatalities occur most often if mosquitoes transmit heartworms. If they are not diagnosed and treated in time, the infected animal may not survive.

Dr. Liebl warns pet owners to watch animal behavior for signs of an infestation.

Any unusual behavior or persistent symptoms, such as diarrhea or vomiting longer than 24 hours, is good cause for a check-up.
Veterinarians are pleased by the rising number of pet owners taking the right precautions for their animals.

“We have had a dramatic increase in income, about 30-percent from last year. We’re selling a whole lot more of this product,” said Dr. Burge.

The products Dr. Burge refers to, Advantix and Frontline, kill ticks and fleas before they transmit parasites.

Yearly heartworm medication also prevents heartworms and intestinal worms from living in the host body.

A visit to the vet will clear any suspicions of infection and get the antibiotic needed to get better right away.

Whether it’s a warmer winter or a hot summer, pests will always be a problem. The good news: medicine makes it bearable for humans and furry friends.

“Because medicine has improved over the years, animals are living longer. Their lives are healthier and happier thanks to the medications that are available,” said Dr. Burge.

###

Posted by Katy Blair at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Horace Creighton can’t figure out how farmers keep the worms off organic tomatoes. Instead of selling organic tomatoes, Creighton uses as few pesticides as possible.

“Hell, I eat them myself and I don’t want to eat that stuff,” he said.

Creighton is one of many farmers adjusting to the increasing demand for more natural foods.

Organic foods are made without pesticides, herbicides, or anything that alters the natural growing process.

According to the Organic Trade Association organic food sales have increased by about 20 percent a year since 1997.

Lawrence area farmers are working to keep up with demand and competition.

Avery Lominska and his father are organic farmers outside Lawrence. He said they grow about three times as much produce as they did ten years ago.

Without the use of pesticides it's hard to keep worms and bugs away from growing produce. Tomatoes and corn are among the most difficult things to grow organically according to Creighton. Lominska said for him tomatillos are the most challenging.

Creighton's seen more organic onions and greens sold at the Lawrence farmers' market in recent years, but not a lot of challenging produce, like tomatoes. "Nothing eats onions," he said.

In the U.S. the number of certified organic farmers increased from 5,201 in 1997 to 6,949 in 2001 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Kevin Irick grows organic, pesticide free and conventional crops outside of Lawrence. He began growing organic crops because of the high demand.

Irick said his pesticide-free tomatoes draw a lot of customers in the spring because a lot of tomatoes that time of year come from Mexico and California where they use a lot of chemicals.

"I don't know if the organic farmers can keep up with the demand," Irick said.

It seems everyone is getting in on the organic boom.

One place shoppers might not expect to find organic foods, Wal-Mart, is the world’s largest organic retailer.

“It’s shocking, but it’s true,” said Jeanie Wells, general manager of The Community Mercantile Co-op, also known as The Merc, 901 Iowa, an organic food store in Lawrence. She said Wal-Mart might not have the widest variety of organic foods, but what they have sells.

One thing Wal-Mart doesn’t have is local products.

The Merc carries organic produce, meat, dairy products, and honey, from local producers.

Wells doesn’t expect the new grocery section in the Wal-Mart on 33rd and Iowa Streets, set to open in September, to have anything to do with local producers.

“It’s inefficient and they’re all about efficiency,” she said

According to Wells most of the organic produce that Wal-Mart carries is imported from China. She said local producers aren’t set up to deal with big grocery chains like Wal-Mart.

“Usually when Wal-Mart picks up a line they force the producers to sell it to them for a lot less and a lot of times the producers can’t take it and they go out of business.”

Several farmers, including Irick and Lominska, think retail giants like Wal-Mart devalue the organic seal. Irick says he thinks they’ll eventually put local operations like The Merc out of business.

Wells agrees that Wal-Mart is heavy competition. “The entire market is dividing into ‘are you the cheapest or are you the highest quality?’ It’s almost going to be like a showdown between natural foods and Wal-Mart, but they still won’t be able to do local.”

According to Wells, The Merc is growing about ten percent a year in sales.

The organic label is taken very seriously. Farmers have to follow specific guidelines and complete several inspections from USDA-accredited organic certifiers to become certified organic producers.

Land must be farmed for three years without the use of any pesticides or herbicides before it’s considered organic quality. A specific organic soil must be used, and animals must be fed only 100 percent organic food. These are just a few guidelines.

At the Merc, where about 50 percent of what’s sold is organic, organic and conventional produce is stored on different shelves, washed in separate sinks, and even cut with different knives labeled green for organic and red for conventional.

With such detailed guidelines set for keeping organic food pure, only time will tell if Wal-Mart and other major retailers will be able to maintain organic quality.

Posted by Anna Faltermeier at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Summer has a way of altering one’s mindset to a relaxed, laid-back lifestyle. School’s out, vacations are on everyone’s minds and the constant desire for comfort and relaxation really sets in. Cold beverages have a way of finding themselves ranked high on shopping lists. But it’s not wine we crave during these sweltering months of summer. It’s not thick dark liquors either. It’s an ice-cold beer after a long day of yard work or taking the kids to the pool. Breweries everywhere prepare long and hard for this time of year, in which they release their new beers to help make the seasonal shift a little easier. While the wine industry is becoming more popular than ever, beer still remains the drink of choice for at least half of the people who enjoy alcoholic beverages.

“People love drinking beer in the summer just because it is so refreshing,” said Larry Johnson, manager at Cork & Barrel Wine and Spirits, 901 Mississippi St. “Summer beers are cool, crisp and often citrusy. They’re easy to drink because they have the perfect amount of bitterness.”

Summer beers are usually described as tangy, zesty, and smooth. The majority of breweries release a summer beer similar to a wheat beer, plus a little orange peel or lemon zest. These golden-colored beers are light in body with rich aromas that make them so enjoyable in the summer.

“We definitely see our beer sales increase in the summer,” Johnson said. “Two of our top three summer brews were already sold out before July 1st.”

Johnson speaks of Boulevard’s summer beer, Zon, and Sierra Nevada’s cold summer treat, Summerfest. Both disappeared halfway through the summer. Johnson hoped to get more in.

“I tried to get more Summerfest because people were just grabbing them off the shelf. But Sierra Nevada, a brewery out of California, wasn’t willing to sell any more to Kansas,” Johnson disappointedly said, shrugging his shoulders.

The number one seller of the season has been the summer brew from New Belgium Brewery, out of Fort Collins, Colorado. The makers of the popular Fat Tire Amber Ale released Skinny Dip for the 2006 season and liquor stores continue to order more shipments.

Boulevard Brewing Company, which began making beers right next door to Lawrence in Kansas City back in 1989, released Zon during the late spring. Now that Zon is sold out at most liquor stores, the ever-popular Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer continues being enjoyed by all. This cloudy, orange-colored refreshment always comes served with a fresh lemon slice, the perfect pair to ease a steamy July night.

John Davis, manager of the bar Louise’s Downtown, said he doesn’t really see much of a shift in overall sales during the summer.

“It is true people are drinking more beer than hard alcohol drinks. But overall, Boulevard Wheat is so popular throughout the entire year anyway, but maybe especially in the summer,” he added. “People love the hint of lemon.”

Down the street from Davis, Kevin Prescott is preparing for the Monday night special at Free State Brewing Company. Sold at only a $1.75 a pint, the Wheat State Golden brew will quench the thirst of many on this sweltering summer evening. Prescott, associate brewer of four years at Free State, said the brewery will go through nearly three barrels of his Wheat State Golden on a Monday night, while a typical evening only drains one-eighth of a barrel.

“Really it’s throughout the entire summer that we see our wheat beer sales increase an incredible amount, not just Mondays,” Prescott said.

“People don’t like to drink dark beers in the summer. Our stout sales will be dramatically lower during the summer months. So we brew wheat beers and pilsners because the sales of that do go up during the summer, dramatically. People want that nice refreshing type of beer. They don’t want real thick, heavily malty beers. They want something with a lighter palate,” he said.

Free State makes their Wheat State Golden beer with orange peel and pale malts, which make a lighter beer. Distribution sales of Wheat State kegs increase during the summer as well.
“People want this beer at their picnics, barbecues, and parties,” Prescott said. “It’s real thin and real flavorful, which makes it so drinkable during the summer.”

All summer gatherings call for cool, thirst quenching beverages and summer beers are the most frequent attendees. So head to the nearest liquor store and take a look at the variety of seasonal beers that brewers across the United States release to ease the burn of that hot summer sun. The labeling is almost always as attractive as the taste inside the bottle. Select a summer brew, throw some ice in the cooler, sit back, and drink responsibly.

Larry Johnson hardly drinks much beer anymore, but he always loves a cold beer around this time of year.

“Mowing a lawn, barbecuing, and a cold beer. It’s like hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolets. It’s pure American.”

Posted by Katerine Sullivan at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mike and Lori Worthington fell on hard times with the opening of chain auto and hardware stores. Now they also have to face the possible closing of a vital bridge that connects two towns.

Douglas and Jefferson county commissioners are debating a plan that could close the Lecompton-Perry Bridge for four months, effectively splitting the two towns that are dependent on one another. The bridge, built in 1949, runs across the Kansas River and needs to be resurfaced in order to prevent further deterioration.

“It’s terrible for us,” Lori Worthington, Bumper to Bumper Auto Part Specialists co-owner said. “Business is already down because of the big stores, and now we have to deal with this.”

Lori Worthington said that at least 30 percent of the couple’s business, which is in Perry, comes from Lecompton.

If the bridge were to close, residents from Lecompton and Perry, populations 608 and 901 respectively, would have to take a detour to either Topeka or Lawrence to get to the other town. Normally, the trip takes about two minutes but with an alternative route, the trip would take at least 30 minutes.

“It will hurt use because it would be silly for folks from Lecompton to drive 30 minutes to get here,” Cindy Brown, Thriftway manger said.

Citizens from each town would be able to travel to Topeka or Lawrence quicker, to find goods they would normally drive across the river for.

Mike Worthington, Bumper to Bumper Auto Part Specialists co-owner said that the small business side is only one economic difficulty that residents could face.

“Lots of people that work here are from Lecompton and people that live here work in Lecompton,” Mike Worthington said.

To further complicate the situation, an upsurge of violence in the Middle East and concerns over North Korea fueled gas prices to rise to all-time highs in recent weeks. Driving an extra 30 minutes to work will strain workers wallets just from gas prices.

Mike Worthington hopes Jefferson and Douglas counties will understand how important the bridge really is.

“They need to understand that it is the busiest road in the county,” Mike Worthington said. “People depend on that road to get to work everyday.”

The current controversy is between Douglas and Jefferson commissioners who disagree how the bridge should be repaired.

One plan calls for the bridge to be closed for four months while the resurfacing takes place. The downside to this plan is considered to be the isolation of the two towns. Officials estimate that the total cost of this plan would be $1.05 million.

The second plan calls for one lane to remain open. Several drawbacks to this plan include a nine month long process, a 15 to 20 percent increase in cost, and a four day closer for each of the planed eight concrete pours. Lori Worthington said that money should not be the deciding factor.

“They seem to find for everything else,” Lori Worthington said. “Why can’t they find money for this?”

Despite the need to maintain the bridge Perry and Lecompton residents believe there must be a way to keep the two towns connected. If county commissioners can not come to a consensus that is good for all parties involved, business owners agree with Lori Worthington.

“It’s going to hurt us a lot,” Lori Worthington said.

Posted by Steve Zawilinski at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Softball girls from all over the midwest traveled to Lawrence in hopes of picking up tips from the coaches that led the University of Kansas to a Big XII championship. Players of all ages showcased their talent at the KU Overnight Softball Camp.

The camp lasted during a four day period from July 9 to July 12. At the start of the program, coaches divided the girls into six teams depending on their age, Christi Musser, KU assistant coach said. Girls ranging from ages between 10 to 18 fine-tuned their talent throughout six hour practices. For convenience, the girls have the option of staying near campus at Naismith Hall.

Campers practiced on Arrocha Ballpark and at the Anschutz Sports Pavilion.

During their workouts, they scrimmaged against each other, practiced with counselors, worked on field positions specific to each girl and then practiced the fundamentals of hitting, Musser said.

Last spring, the KU softball team won their first ever Big XII championship. The team defeated Oklahoma for the championship, earning them an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. With a season average of 36-26, the Jayhawks maintained a year with the most wins since 1997.

The camp turn-out increased as a result of the success the team enjoyed. "This year's softball camp has been very successful, we've had the largest numbers we've had in six years," Musser said.

The softball team's recent success also affected the average age group of the girls. More of the older girls participated in the camp than in previous years. This year half the girls were either 16 or 17 years old, Musser said. Those with college softball in mind found the camp more appealing this year.

In the past, most campers that participated in the camp were either 12 or 13 years old, Musser said.

The older girls took the camp seriously in hopes of impressing the coaches. With college around the corner, older girls listened intently to the words of advice coaches offered.

"The KU coaching staff and players obviously have something to teach younger athletes and people that want to get to Division I ball," Amanda Baughman, Douglass, 18, said. "It would be a dream come true to one day play for KU."

However, coaches cannot officially use the camp as a recruiting tool, Musser said. "Some girls do get in touch with us before the camp and ask us to watch them and give them feed back," Musser said.

But the rules say that the camp can only act as a means for instruction. Coaches cannot make a pitch for their school at any time during the camp, Musser said.

According to the NCAA regulations for all Division I sports, "Athletes are not eligible if any staff member of a prospective institution contacted the athlete, relatives or legal guardians in person off the institution's campus before July 1 following the completion of the athlete's junior year in high school."

On the other hand, the younger girls used the camp as an opportunity to have fun and also receive advice from current KU players, rather than for college purposes. "The younger girls look up to our players because they watch them on television," Musser said.

"Me and my softball team went to KU softball camp this week, " Jamie Koziol, Overland Park, 13, said. "I came here because I want to get better for Nationals next week, and for the future."

At the end of the day, the girls packed up their equipment and walked back to Naismith Hall, pleased they attended the camp. "I would like to come to the camp again because it was really fun," Koziol said.

Musser looks forward to next year as well. "We got a great group of girls this year, and the talent level has been fantastic," Musser said.

Posted by Elyse Calderon at 02:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The city plans to relocate the Lawrence Community Shelter, 214 W. 10th, to the now vacated Lake View Manor Nursing Home property, 3015 W. 31st St., but not without a fight from the neighborhood.

Lawrence Community Shelter director, Loring Henderson, said most of the funding for the move would come from the city's support. Currently the city gives the shelter a small percentage of money and the shelter would ask for its ongoing comittment, he said.

"The shelter is a common community problem and we all are responsible for it," Henderson said. "We aren't relying on taxes, but the city's support, it's what they do."

City commissioners approved the plan to relocate the Salvation Army, 944 New Hampshire, west of Haskell. It will no longer be stationed near the downtown area.

The need for a bigger shelter increases with the move of the Salvation Army, Henderson said. "The shelter only sleeps 21 residents, this is not enough when the number of people coming from the Salvation Army will increase," he said.

To fight the move, Prairie Meadows residents posted signs around the neighborhood that read, "No Homeless Shelter in Area," president of Prairie Meadows Home Association, Paul Wilson, said. "One home that had been sold was put back on the market because the buyer saw the signs, and instantly backed out of the deal not wanting to live near a shelter," Wilson said.

Residents like Wilson, have many concerns in regards to the homeless and their possible substance abuse. "They will use [drugs or alcohol] in our neighborhoods near wherever they purchase the substance, like the trees behind the bike path, or they will use them in the Holcom Park and be fixed around numerous kids every day," Wilson said.

Wilson also said he would fear for the safety of his family should the homeless live right outside his backyard. "There is currently very aggressive panhandling downtown by homeless individuals," Wilson said. "I have encountered this many times while I was with my children. At least downtown you can say 'no' without an incident."

Henderson said the homeless do have issues such as mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, depression and anger. However, most of the police calls concerning the homeless deal with fights amongst themselves or with health issues, he said.

"I think it's unfair," Henderson said. "The homeless don't by definition attack women and harm children. That perception is not necessarily accurate or a fair evaluation."

Wilson and the rest of the Prairie Meadows Association plan to fight the city's proposal. The association meets at individual homes and discusses plans for their defense, Wilson said. "As a parent, we're going to exhaust every avenue in every court system," he said. "We will pool all resources to defend our stance."

Unlike the shelter's current downtown location, the shelter would be secluded from the city should the move be passed. Wilson said the Lake View Manor property cannot meet the homeless' needs because there are no resources nearby, specifically a hospital. "There's nothing out there for them," Wilson said.

But the need for more space relies as the primary factor for moving, Henderson said. The new facility sits on seven acres of land and with three wings in the building, it can house more people. "The nursing home offers more privacy," Henderson said. "The homeless are sick of having no privacy."

Some of the homeless support the move to the Lake View Manor property. "I think we should be able to move because it's so crowded and to where there's more area because there are a lot of places that people like to go but can't do it around here," a homeless woman residing at the shelter said.

The fight between the city and the Prairie Meadows neighborhood will continue until a final desicion is made.

Henderson finds it hard to please everyone. "No neighborhood wants us, downtown doesn't want us, no neighborhood in the city wants us" Henderson said.

And Wilson definitely does not want the shelter in his neighborhood. "Moving the Lawrence Community Shelter to the former Lake View Manor property will not happen," Wilson said.

Posted by Elyse Calderon at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

I've always said, "The worst day I ever spent with baseball was a great day." But 12 straight days?

Yes, 12 straight days at the College Baseball World Series in Omaha working for ESPN provides the content for the first chapter in Max's, "How I spent my summer vacation" book. My journey actually began in 1967 when I played baseball for Knox College. But Div. III of the NCAA does not send teams to the CWS. Shoot, we didn't even make the playoffs for the Midwest Conference.

Step two of the journey was when I spent my first year out of college teaching English in a suburban Minneapolis junior high. I became a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, then a powerhouse in the Big Ten. That's where I first heard about the College World Series.

My next stop was the University of Missouri where I began grad school in 1971 and joined the baseball staff as a volunteer grad assistant. I spent four years with theat program, but we never won the Big Eight and never had the chance to go to Omaha.

For the past 23 years I have lived some three hours from Omaha. I have followed college baseball religiously all of that time, but due to a variety of summer school and family obligations, I never had the chance to attend the CWS. And I had always wanted to.

That time finally came when an old grad school classmate connected me with the production manager of ESPN. When Ed Placey contacted me and asked if I knew anything about ptiching, I was tempted to give him the reply St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Bob Gibson gave his young catcher Tim McCarver on his first trip to the mound, "All you know about pitching is you can't hit it."

I can't hit it, and I have been proving that weekly as I play in my 20th season of Men's Senior Baseball. But I did convince Placey I knew enough about it to chart pitches, spot trends and suggest how that could best be presented on TV.

But that was pretty much the extent of my instruction. ESPN set up a work station in the equipment room right off the home team clubhouse. MY only contact with the outside world (and ESPN) was three monitors and a headset. Two hours into my work, two gentlemen from Omaha came in and started setting up computers. Greg and Steve were with a company called Game Plan and they were going to demnostrate for ESPN and the college pitching coaches a new piece of software that would help them analyze pitching.

While they had created, tested and sold similar software for football, basketball, and volleyball, this was their first time field testing the baseball program. The first two days were frustrating as I hand-charted the pitchers in the first four games. I offered almost nothing to the producers that they didn't already have from another source.

Posted by Alaide Vilchis-Ibarra at 02:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

I've always said, "The worst day I ever spent with baseball was a great day." But 12 straight days?

Yes, 12 straight days at the College Baseball World Series in Omaha working for ESPN provides the content for the first chapter in Max's, "How I spent my summer vacation" book. My journey actually began in 1967 when I played baseball for Knox College. But Div. III of the NCAA does not send teams to the CWS. Shoot, we didn't even make the playoffs for the Midwest Conference.

Step two of the journey was when I spent my first year out of college teaching English in a suburban Minneapolis junior high. I became a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, then a powerhouse in the Big Ten. That's where I first heard about the College World Series.

My next stop was the University of Missouri where I began grad school in 1971 and joined the baseball staff as a volunteer grad assistant. I spent four years with theat program, but we never won the Big Eight and never had the chance to go to Omaha.

For the past 23 years I have lived some three hours from Omaha. I have followed college baseball religiously all of that time, but due to a variety of summer school and family obligations, I never had the chance to attend the CWS. And I had always wanted to.

That time finally came when an old grad school classmate connected me with the production manager of ESPN. When Ed Placey contacted me and asked if I knew anything about ptiching, I was tempted to give him the reply St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Bob Gibson gave his young catcher Tim McCarver on his first trip to the mound, "All you know about pitching is you can't hit it."

I can't hit it, and I have been proving that weekly as I play in my 20th season of Men's Senior Baseball. But I did convince Placey I knew enough about it to chart pitches, spot trends and suggest how that could best be presented on TV.

But that was pretty much the extent of my instruction. ESPN set up a work station in the equipment room right off the home team clubhouse. MY only contact with the outside world (and ESPN) was three monitors and a headset. Two hours into my work, two gentlemen from Omaha came in and started setting up computers. Greg and Steve were with a company called Game Plan and they were going to demnostrate for ESPN and the college pitching coaches a new piece of software that would help them analyze pitching.

While they had created, tested and sold similar software for football, basketball, and volleyball, this was their first time field testing the baseball program. The first two days were frustrating as I hand-charted the pitchers in the first four games. I offered almost nothing to the producers that they didn't already have from another source.

Posted by Steve Zawilinski at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Steve Zawilinski at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

I've always said, "The worst day I ever spent with baseball was a great day." But 12 straight days?

Yes, 12 straight days at the College Baseball World Series in Omaha working for ESPN provides the content for the first chapter in Max's, "How I spent my summer vacation" book. My journey actually began in 1967 when I played baseball for Knox College. But Div. III of the NCAA does not send teams to the CWS. Shoot, we didn't even make the playoffs for the Midwest Conference.

Step two of the journey was when I spent my first year out of college teaching English in a suburban Minneapolis junior high. I became a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, then a powerhouse in the Big Ten. That's where I first heard about the College World Series.

My next stop was the University of Missouri where I began grad school in 1971 and joined the baseball staff as a volunteer grad assistant. I spent four years with theat program, but we never won the Big Eight and never had the chance to go to Omaha.

For the past 23 years I have lived some three hours from Omaha. I have followed college baseball religiously all of that time, but due to a variety of summer school and family obligations, I never had the chance to attend the CWS. And I had always wanted to.

That time finally came when an old grad school classmate connected me with the production manager of ESPN. When Ed Placey contacted me and asked if I knew anything about ptiching, I was tempted to give him the reply St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Bob Gibson gave his young catcher Tim McCarver on his first trip to the mound, "All you know about pitching is you can't hit it."

I can't hit it, and I have been proving that weekly as I play in my 20th season of Men's Senior Baseball. But I did convince Placey I knew enough about it to chart pitches, spot trends and suggest how that could best be presented on TV.

But that was pretty much the extent of my instruction. ESPN set up a work station in the equipment room right off the home team clubhouse. MY only contact with the outside world (and ESPN) was three monitors and a headset. Two hours into my work, two gentlemen from Omaha came in and started setting up computers. Greg and Steve were with a company called Game Plan and they were going to demnostrate for ESPN and the college pitching coaches a new piece of software that would help them analyze pitching.

Posted by Barbara Smith at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Steve Zawilinski at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

I've always said, "The worst day I ever spent with baseball was a great day." But 12 straight days?

Yes, 12 straight days at the College Baseball World Series in Omaha working for ESPN provides the content for the first chapter in Max's, "How I spent my summer vacation" book. My journey actually began in 1967 when I played baseball for Knox College. But Div. III of the NCAA does not send teams to the CWS. Shoot, we didn't even make the playoffs for the Midwest Conference.

Step two of the journey was when I spent my first year out of college teaching English in a suburban Minneapolis junior high. I became a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, then a powerhouse in the Big Ten. That's where I first heard about the College World Series.

My next stop was the University of Missouri where I began grad school in 1971 and joined the baseball staff as a volunteer grad assistant. I spent four years with theat program, but we never won the Big Eight and never had the chance to go to Omaha.

For the past 23 years I have lived some three hours from Omaha. I have followed college baseball religiously all of that time, but due to a variety of summer school and family obligations, I never had the chance to attend the CWS. And I had always wanted to.

That time finally came when an old grad school classmate connected me with the production manager of ESPN. When Ed Placey contacted me and asked if I knew anything about ptiching, I was tempted to give him the reply St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Bob Gibson gave his young catcher Tim McCarver on his first trip to the mound, "All you know about pitching is you can't hit it."

I can't hit it, and I have been proving that weekly as I play in my 20th season of Men's Senior Baseball. But I did convince Placey I knew enough about it to chart pitches, spot trends and suggest how that could best be presented on TV.

Posted by Mark Vierhaler at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Your entry has been saved. You can now make any changes to the entry itself, edit the authored-on date, edit comments, or send a notification.Your entry has been saved. You can now make any changes to the entry itself, edit the authored-on date, edit comments, or send a notification.Your entry has been saved. You can now make any changes to the entry itself, edit the authored-on date, edit comments, or send a notification.Your entry has been saved. You can now make any changes to the entry itself, edit the authored-on date, edit comments, or send a notification.Your entry has been saved. You can now make any changes to the entry itself, edit the authored-on date, edit comments, or send a notification.Your entry has been saved. You can now make any changes to the entry itself, edit the authored-on date, edit comments, or send a notification.Your entry has been saved. You can now make any changes to the entry itself, edit the authored-on date, edit comments, or send a notification.

Posted by Alexandra Kohake at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

I've always said, "The worst day I ever spent with baseball was a great day." But 12 straight days?

Yes, 12 straight days at the College Baseball World Series in Omaha working for ESPN provides the content for the first chapter in Max's, "How I spent my summer vacation" book. My journey actually began in 1967 when I played baseball for Knox College. But Div. III of the NCAA does not send teams to the CWS. Shoot, we didn't even make the playoffs for the Midwest Conference.

Step two of the journey was when I spent my first year out of college teaching English in a suburban Minneapolis junior high. I became a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, then a powerhouse in the Big Ten. That's where I first heard about the College World Series.

My next stop was the University of Missouri where I began grad school in 1971 and joined the baseball staff as a volunteer grad assistant. I spent four years with theat program, but we never won the Big Eight and never had the chance to go to Omaha.

For the past 23 years I have lived some three hours from Omaha. I have followed college baseball religiously all of that time, but due to a variety of summer school and family obligations, I never had the chance to attend the CWS. And I had always wanted to.

That time finally came when an old grad school classmate connected me with the production manager of ESPN. When Ed Placey contacted me and asked if I knew anything about ptiching, I was tempted to give him the reply St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Bob Gibson gave his young catcher Tim McCarver on his first trip to the mound, "All you know about pitching is you can't hit it."

Posted by Stephanie Quante at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

I've always said, "The worst day I ever spent with baseball was a great day." But 12 straight days?

Yes, 12 straight days at the College Baseball World Series in Omaha working for ESPN provides the content for the first chapter in Max's, "How I spent my summer vacation" book. My journey actually began in 1967 when I played baseball for Knox College. But Div. III of the NCAA does not send teams to the CWS. Shoot, we didn't even make the playoffs for the Midwest Conference.

Step two of the journey was when I spent my first year out of college teaching English in a suburban Minneapolis junior high. I became a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, then a powerhouse in the Big Ten. That's where I first heard about the College World Series.

My next stop was the University of Missouri where I began grad school in 1971 and joined the baseball staff as a volunteer grad assistant. I spent four years with theat program, but we never won the Big Eight and never had the chance to go to Omaha.

For the past 23 years I have lived some three hours from Omaha. I have followed college baseball religiously all of that time, but due to a variety of summer school and family obligations, I never had the chance to attend the CWS. And I had always wanted to.

That time finally came when an old grad school classmate connected me with the production manager of ESPN. When Ed Placey contacted me and asked if I knew anything about ptiching, I was tempted to give him the reply St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Bob Gibson gave his young catcher Tim McCarver on his first trip to the mound, "All you know about pitching is you can't hit it."

I can't hit it, and I have been proving that weekly as I play in my 20th season of Men's Senior Baseball. But I did convince Placey I knew enough about it to chart pitches, spot trends and suggest how that could best be presented on TV.

But that was pretty much the extent of my instruction. ESPN set up a work station in the equipment room right off the home team clubhouse. MY only contact with the outside world (and ESPN) was three monitors and a headset. Two hours into my work, two gentlemen from Omaha came in and started setting up computers. Greg and Steve were with a company called Game Plan and they were going to demnostrate for ESPN and the college pitching coaches a new piece of software that would help them analyze pitching.

While they had created, tested and sold similar software for football, basketball, and volleyball, this was their first time field testing the baseball program. The first two days were frustrating as I hand-charted the pitchers in the first four games. I offered almost nothing to the producers that they didn't already have from another source.

Posted by Stacey Couch at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

I've always said, "The worst day I ever spent with baseball was a great day." But 12 straight days?

Yes, 12 straight days at the College Baseball World Series in Omaha working for ESPN provides the content for the first chapter in Max's, "How I spent my summer vacation" book. My journey actually began in 1967 when I played baseball for Knox College. But Div. III of the NCAA does not send teams to the CWS. Shoot, we didn't even make the playoffs for the Midwest Conference.

Step two of the journey was when I spent my first year out of college teaching English in a suburban Minneapolis junior high. I became a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, then a powerhouse in the Big Ten. That's where I first heard about the College World Series.

My next stop was the University of Missouri where I began grad school in 1971 and joined the baseball staff as a volunteer grad assistant. I spent four years with theat program, but we never won the Big Eight and never had the chance to go to Omaha.

For the past 23 years I have lived some three hours from Omaha. I have followed college baseball religiously all of that time, but due to a variety of summer school and family obligations, I never had the chance to attend the CWS. And I had always wanted to.

Posted by Nicole Korman at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption

I've always said, "The worst day I ever spent with baseball was a great day." But 12 straight days?

Yes, 12 straight days at the College Baseball World Series in Omaha working for ESPN provides the content for the first chapter in Max's, "How I spent my summer vacation" book. My journey actually began in 1967 when I played baseball for Knox College. But Div. III of the NCAA does not send teams to the CWS. Shoot, we didn't even make the playoffs for the Midwest Conference.

Step two of the journey was when I spent my first year out of college teaching English in a suburban Minneapolis junior high. I became a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, then a powerhouse in the Big Ten. That's where I first heard about the College World Series.

My next stop was the University of Missouri where I began grad school in 1971 and joined the baseball staff as a volunteer grad assistant. I spent four years with theat program, but we never won the Big Eight and never had the chance to go to Omaha.

For the past 23 years I have lived some three hours from Omaha. I have followed college baseball religiously all of that time, but due to a variety of summer school and family obligations, I never had the chance to attend the CWS. And I had always wanted to.

That time finally came when an old grad school classmate connected me with the production manager of ESPN. When Ed Placey contacted me and asked if I knew anything about ptiching, I was tempted to give him the reply St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Bob Gibson gave his young catcher Tim McCarver on his first trip to the mound, "All you know about pitching is you can't hit it."

I can't hit it, and I have been proving that weekly as I play in my 20th season of Men's Senior Baseball. But I did convince Placey I knew enough about it to chart pitches, spot trends and suggest how that could best be presented on TV.

Posted by Training Student at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sitting on the corner of Ninth and Vermont Streets in the heart of downtown Lawrence, the Carnegie Library sits and gathers dusts in the empty hallways. For the past four years, this historic landmark, adorned with both a plaque of Andrew Carnegie and Langston Hughes, has been unused. Previously, the Lawrence Arts Center found their home in the century-old halls.

Within the last year, both Lawrence Parks and Recreation and the Americana Music Academy, a non-profit school of music located at 1419 Massachusetts St., had strived to lay claim to the building, ushering in a new era of use for the stone façade with “Lawrence Public Library” emblazoned on the arch over main entrance.

During the May 2 city commission meeting, Parks and Recreation was given the contract and Frank DeVictor, director of Parks and Recreation, began to plan the libraries life anew as a community center.

DeVictor said the department has two plans for the landmark: expand parks and rec programs and make the building available for various other uses including art shows and weddings.

“Of course, with a small fee,” DeVictor said.

The leading architect, David Dunfield of GLPM Architects in Lawrence, has headed up the renovations as the city looks forward to the revitalized building.

“We weren’t directly involved,” DeVictor said of the first phase of reconstruction. “I do know they have replaced all the windows.”

Although the first phase of construction has already finished, DeVictor said the facility would not be completely ready for use until 2008. The biggest elephant in the room is the stresses imposed by maintaining a historically accurate building while adapting to modern requirements.

“One thing we recommended was trying to define who will use it,” he said. “This way we can be involved in the final renovation. We don’t want to come in after all the changes have been made and not be able to get anything done.”

DeVictor said accessibility issues have also been a large concern. Elevators and handicap accessible entrances are currently within the plans.

David Corliss, interim city manager, said various key elements went into the city’s decision to choose the Park and Recreation proposal.

“(There were many factors) including interest in multiple public uses and public access to the building,” Corliss said. “Also, parks and recreation’s ability to use it for several public purposes, etcetera.”

Corliss did not have a precise date on the completion, but said the next phase of renovations is estimated to take one year to complete.

“The construction may begin later this year,” he said.

The next phase will put the final molding touches on the library.

According to the Lawrence Park and Recreation proposal, the increase in revenue from both rental space and increased meeting rooms would offset the required fees to maintain the building.

The proposal estimated $90,000 in yearly-generated revenue and $86,000 in general maintenance and operating costs.

As for the Americana Music Academy, according to Thom Alexander, executive director of AMA, the academy has not given up on moving from their current location on Massachusetts Street.

“We’ve began a capital funding campaign to find a new building,” Alexander said. “Or perhaps, to build a new one.”

Posted by Mark Vierhaler at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Incoming University of Kansas students living in the residence halls this fall are paying an extra $70 because of the rise in utility costs. The increase will affect all residence halls, scholarship halls and the Jayhawk Towers.

“This is the first year that we had to increase the cost of living in the residence halls. We didn’t take the matter lightly but the only money we have to operate with comes from the students. And we want the students to live comfortably,” Diana Robertson, interim director of the department of student housing, said.

In the fall of 2005 the Department of KU Student Housing proposed an increase utility assessment to the Kansas Board of Regents and was approved. All project proposals for rates have to be approved, by the board, one- year before they can take affect.

“We had anticipated the increase to occur with the rise in gas, water and other utility prices. That is why we had it written in all student housing contracts, before we were approved by the board, that an extra charge for utilities might be added at a further date,” Jennifer Wamelink, interim associate director of the department of student housing, said.

Letters were sent out in late June to all incoming residence hall members about the upcoming charge that would appear on their bill. The housing department was approved to charge each student up to $200 extra for the upcoming year.

“After all of our calculations, the department figured out that there was no need to charge students that much, that is why the extra charge is only a one time fee of $70,” Robertson said.

According to a press release from June 22, 2006 on the Kansas Board of Regents website, utility costs have increased over the past three years. Electric consumption has decreased by 9 percent on some campuses but the electric rates have increased as much as 26 percent. The same goes for natural gas, the rates have increased 78 percent and these are expected to continue going up.

“With a 13 percent increase on gas this past year, our bills were up to $260,000,” Robertson said.

This increase came from the high cost of commodities throughout the United States.

According to Aquila, gas company in Kansas, gas prices have increased 40 percent from last year. This causing gas bills for local homeowners to go up.

Wamelink said that the average cost of a traditional double room in a dorm is $2,997 plus the cost of meals. This year it will be $3,067 with the utility increase.

“We hope that this is going to be a one time increase for only this year. Unfortunately, we are anticipating this increase to continue,” Robertson said.

The department of student housing receives no tax dollars for funding. It operates solely on rent and room charges from students.

“We have received no complaints so far and we would not have implemented the price increase if we didn’t have to,” Wamelink said.

For more information or a copy of the letter that was sent out to residents, you can contact the Department of Student Housing at 785-864-4560. Or contact them on the web at www.housing.ku.edu

Posted by Nicole Korman at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The world of DVDs is changing and Lawrence stores can’t seem to keep up the pace.

Taking a cue from movies and televisions, DVDs are now available in a high-definition format, known as Blu-ray. Even though the players have only been available in stores since the end of June, the popularity of this format is growing quickly and so is the demand.

In Lawrence, the only place to get this new technology is Best Buy and even it can’t keep the new players in stock.

“We only have one unit in stock,” said Best Buy employee Tony Agusto. “We have players made by two companies, but we can’t seem to keep them in. This is a hot item here in Lawrence.”

Even the cost doesn’t deter customers from snatching up Blu-ray players and discs. The unit that plays the high-definition discs costs about $1,000. Movies cost about $30 apiece.

Many new movies, such as Underworld are being released in the traditional DVD format and Blu-Ray. Currently, there are only about 40 movie titles available in the Blu-ray format. According to Agusto, this will change in about six months when many more titles will be released.

“The price should go down when all the new movies come out around the first of the year,” he said.

Blu-ray is so popular that some people even went so far as to pre-order the units before they were available in the stores.

University of Kansas senior said he just couldn’t wait until the June 25th release date and bought his before it was in the store.

“It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. “You can see all the little details. You can read the headlines on the newspaper in the movie. I couldn’t imagine giving it up.”

But what is Blu-ray and why is it so desired?

Blu-ray is the generic name of both the high-definition DVD discs and the unit that plays them. They are named for the blue laser that reads the DVD. In a traditional DVD player, the laser is red.

One of the major factors in viewing these movies in full high-definition is the requirement of a high-definition television (HDTV). This is the only type of television that can be used with the new Blu-ray.

These new machines, in combination with the HDTV, deliver a super high resolution picture that allows the viewer to see a crisp, clear picture.

The Blu-ray discs look just like a normal DVD, but they are formatted to be read in high-definition. These discs can’t be read in a normal player, but regular DVDs can be played in the Blu-ray machine. The result is a higher resolution picture, but it is not as good as the Blu-ray movies themselves.

In addition, Blu-ray discs have a higher storage capacity. They can hold longer movies and more features than a standard DVD.

Blu-ray players and movies are made by several popular companies, including Samsung and Sony. More companies are set to join the current manufacturers beginning in 2007

Posted by Crissy Delpercio at 08:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Lawrence School District is fighting to increase the number of minority teachers in order to reflect the diversity of the student population.

The district currently employs 5.5 percent certified minority teachers while the percentage of minority students is 26.3 percent. As a state, Kansas employs only 4.2 percent minority teachers with a minority student percentage of 23.14 percent.“We have work to do to get our staff more balanced with our student body,” said Julie Boyle, the director of communications for the Lawrence school district.

The school district is recruiting minority educators to the district to close the gap. The Lawrence Equity Council is working with a recruiter appointed by the school district to go out and find minority educators and administrators and bring them back to the district. The recruiter, a former assistant principal and minority, attends job fairs and other similar events to get names of possible minority hires.

This will be the second year that the school district has sent out a recruiter to search for candidates. Thus far, the school district has hired two Hispanic principals and three African-American administrators. Hiring teachers has been much more difficult for the district.

“It’s challenging because you have places like San Antonio and LA that have huge Hispanic populations or Chicago and New Orleans that have huge African-American populations. We are competing with those markets for teachers as well,” said Leonard Ortiz, the President of the Lawrence Board of Education. “It is difficult in Lawrence because it is the Midwest and the minority population isn’t as large. Minority teachers that have turned us down in the past have cited a difference in culture from where they are from.”

The new minority figures in the school districts administration has helped bring the issue of diversity to attention. Administrators like Ortiz, have showed great concern for improvement by the school district and started working towards solutions.

Along with the awareness brought about by the new administration, the implementation of No Child Left Behind by President Bush in January 2002, forced the district to begin looking at more options to improve the academic performance of its subgroups, mainly African-Americans.

NCLB mandates that 100 percent of the nation’s students be proficient in reading and math by the year 2014. The African-American student population for the district did not meet the testing requirements in 2005.

At Lawrence Free State High School, 26.8 percent of the schools African-Americans were proficient in mathematics. The U.S. Department of Educations expectation for this subgroup was at least 46.8 percent. For the entire school district, 44 percent of its African-American students were proficient in reading, while the expectation for the group was 58 percent.

“There is research to suggest that minority students do better when there are minority teachers of their same background,” said Boyle.

In an assessment of diversity in America’s teaching force, The National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force studied the roles that ethnicity and cultural competence play in student achievement.

This study found that teachers from different ethnic groups have demonstrated that when students of color are taught with culturally responsive techniques and with content specific approaches, their academic performance improves significantly.

“Policymakers, teacher educators, members of ethnic communities, and school leaders agree that the education profession needs more teachers of color. More teachers of color would be able to enrich diverse students’ learning because of shared racial, ethnic, and cultural identities,” said the National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force.

The Lawrence administration has expressed a similar belief and need for diversity to improve the academic performance of Lawrence minority students.

“When you have a teacher that can’t identify with minority students, they may not offer literature that might be interesting to a certain minority. It is beneficial for a minority student to study authors from their prospective background so students can identify and have interest in the topic,” said Ortiz. “That might increase literacy rates.”

Posted by Stacey Couch at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Local fast food chains are feeling the effects of after hours eating with an increase in sales, out-to-the-street car lines, and occasional obnoxious behavior.

The 4th meal is characterized by that snack after dinner but before breakfast. Eating late is becoming more typical with college students these days whether they are up studying and need a quick refreshment, or are coming home from the bars and need some post-party nourishment.

According to the book "Power Sleep" written by Dr. James B Maas, high school and college students are among the most sleep-deprived people in our population; 30% fall asleep in class at least once a week. Ask any college student, and most of them will say that they usually never go to bed before midnight.

With more students staying up until the early morning, it’s no wonder that they get the munchies, which is where certain fast food chains come into play. Kary Dacunha, manager of the McDonald’s on 23rd Street says that the business they get after midnight is comparable to the amount of money they bring in at dinnertime.

"Lunch is our busiest time of the day, and it always has been," said Dacunha. "We pull in about $1,100 an hour during lunch. Dinner is around $700 an hour, and after midnight we usually do about the same; sometimes more depending on what day of the week it is. College kids love to eat late at night, and luckily we are open 24 hours a day."

Taco Bell, which is located on 23rd and 6th Street, is open until 3 a.m. every day. Most fast food restaurants in Lawrence close at an earlier time, nine or ten, but only a select few stay open late.

"When I am craving something greasy late at night, the only places that are open are Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Steak ‘n Shake, and Dunkin’ Donuts. These cover just about any type of food you could possibly want," said Rhodes Kelley, St. Louis Junior. "Mostly everyone goes to Taco Bell or McDonald’s though. The car lines in can be treacherous. Most students are coming home from the bars late at night, and need some food to fill their stomachs."

Delivery is also a popular option among college students. Pizza Shuttle, open until 2 a.m., offers affordable priced pizza, and free delivery, late at night. Brian Faucette, North Carolina Senior, works at Pizza Shuttle and often gets frustrated with his job because it can get hectic.

"Sometimes it gets so busy trying to answer all of the telephones at once, and making all of the pizza at the same time, that I get stressed out,” said Faucette. "Students definitely love pizza late at night, especially if it is delivered and they don’t have to drive to pick it up. Most of our business is after hours."

Working through the night isn’t an easy task. According to Dacunha, it is hard to find workers that will stay up all hours of the night to work. According to a study done by the University of Maryland, 2 in 5 employed Americans work the late hours, and the demand for late night employees are increasing due to the low-paying nature of the shifts.

"People need their sleep, too," said Dacuna. "Most normal people are not on a college student’s schedule, so it is difficult finding hard workers to fulfill positions. In the end, it is all worth it to be able to have fun with my job and see the students day-by-day; or should I say night-by-night?"

Posted by Alexandra Kohake at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Even though KU’s graduation was nearly two months ago, graduates can still cash in at car dealerships all over Lawrence.

There are a lot of things students want when they graduate: a job, financial security, a place to live and a brand new vehicle to send them off into the real world. What many graduates do not know is they can get special offers and discounts at almost any car dealership just for graduating.

“Wait a minute here, how come I never knew about this?” said Katie Morrison, Derby senior. “Now I have another reason why my parents should buy me a car when I graduate.”

Toyota, General Motors Company, Ford, Nissan, and Honda all participate in college rebate or incentive programs. These companies offer deals on new vehicles that only graduates can cash in on.

Posted by Stephanie Quante at 06:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Staci Martin-Wolfe at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Menus offer cool summer drinks for hot summer days. Several places in Lawrence feature summer drinks to offer customers colder drinks.

Aimee’s Coffee House located on 1025 Massachusetts Street features blended
coffees, iced coffee, and smoothies. Aimee’s offers these drinks all year round but advertises them more in the summer and sells more too.

“Coffee doesn’t take as big of a drop in summer like many people might think,” said Cary Strong, manager.

Aimee’s most popular featured drinks are the cappuccino icer and mocha icer. The blended drink, has a cold pressed mixture with no dairy vanilla mixed with a little bit of water and ice, blended and topped off with whip cream and shaved chocolate.

The cappuccino icer is $3.25 for a 16 ounce and $3.50 for a 20 ounce. A mocha drink is 25 cents more.

It’s important for Aimee’s to feature summer drinks because 10 to 15 percent of their coffee drinking customers switch from hot to cold coffee during the summer. Manager, Cary Strong said 10 to 15 percent is a big number to lose in business.

Aimee’s coffee house has featured the cappuccino icer when it first opened seven years ago and added the chai drink a couple of years ago.

J & S Coffee Co. is another local shop that puts summer drinks on the menu from mid June to mid September. Their five summer drinks include the almond mocha mudslide, neapolitan latte, tropical freeze latte, Italian ice and cranberry limeade.

J & S’s most popular drink is the almond mocha mudslide. It is made with Ghirardelli chocolate, almond flavoring and half-and-half. After all of the ingredients are combined, it is then blended up with ice.

The advantage of featuring summer drinks is an increase in sales according to Steve Hochthurn, manager.

The featured drinks range in price from $2.25 to $ 3.55 for the 16 ounce and $2.55 to $4.05 for the 20 ounce.

“The cold drinks are more popular in the summer because customers can still get their caffeine on a hot summer day,” Hochthurn said.

J & S is located at 4821 West Sixth Street and have been open for three years this August. They get their recipes from their syrup wholesaler, but most of drinks are different combinations they try until they find one they all like.

Local coffee houses are not the ones offering summer drinks. Starbucks has two phases of summer drinks. The first phase of summer drinks begins at the end of May.

The drinks are the banana and coconut frappuccino and the banana nut crème frappuccino. The second phase of summer drinks came out at the end of May: pomegranate frappuccino and tangerine frappuccino.

Lawrence’s Starbucks most popular drink is the banana coconut and pomegranate frappuccino.

Shift manager, Whitney Downum, said many customers end up ordering cold drinks in summer because of weather and they fit in with the “ridiculous heat outside”.

“It sounded refreshing on a hot day,” said Melina Fish, Lawrence resident decided to get the tangerine frappuccino at Starbucks.

Starbucks summer drinks will be featured on the menu until they run out of syrup; unless they are super popular, they may keep it on the regular menu.

Posted by Shannon Mortimer at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Whatever John Hudnall, Director of the Kansas Journalism Institute, had been doing to improve the camp for the past few years, it was on the money.

Well, if only Mount Oread wasn’t in the way of a smooth walk to class.

“Kids love the summer camp, but they absolutely hate walking up that hill,” said Hudnall.

Even with a tuition increase of $40, KJI, KU’s summer camp for high school students wishing to pursue journalism, kicked off this summer with more students enrolled than before.

“There were 165 students from 10 states,” said Hudnall. “Tuition was increased because we had lost money in the past few years, and we didn’t feel like we could continue to do that. Our enrollment was stable, so I guess the increase had little effect.”

Most parents didn’t even know about the price inflation according to Jackie Ferguson, mother of Kimberly Ferguson, Lawrence Free State High School Senior and KJI attendee.

“My daughter had a great experience at KJI,” said Ferguson. “Even if I would have known about the increase in tuition, I would have still sent her to the camp. She enjoyed learning at more of a college level.”

Students stayed in Ellsworth Hall, and were given a meal pass to eat at Mrs. E’s dining center. The campers were able to walk to class freely, and were allowed to go anywhere on campus as long as they didn’t drive. They were also paired up with another student to live in their own dorm room, which added to their short glimpse of college life.

“I went to a different journalism camp last summer that wasn’t worth the price, and it was two times more expensive,” said Sarah Smith, St. Thomas Aquainas senior. “I learned a lot and enjoyed every minute of it.”

Students were able to take many different classes such as Newspaper Design, Feature Writing, Sports Writing, Photojournalism, Yearbook Design, Page/Section Editors, and a Leadership Seminar. The newest edition to the camp was a class titled New Media. This course taught students how to blog and podcast, and was a hit.

“We only had about 5 students enrolled, but they had such a good time,” said Staci Martin-Wolf, New Media Instructor. “All of the other kids were jealous that they weren’t able to podcast. I even had a couple of my students add me as their friend on facebook. It is great when you can connect with students in that way; it makes everything you’ve done worthwhile.”

Along with taking classes, students enjoyed some recreational down time at the dorm as well. KJI was host to an ice-cream social, a karaoke concert/talent show, late night dance parties, an outdoor picnic, and an awards assembly held on the last day.

“As a counselor I just watched them at night to make sure they didn’t do anything, or go anywhere, they weren’t supposed to,” said Stephanie Quante, KJI counselor. “Those kids were a hoot. One night they decided to have a dance party, which actually turned into an early bed check for them. They had fun and learned at the same time, and that is what’s important.”

Posted by Alexandra Kohake at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Downtown patrons, bar owners and concert promoters met with the Lawrence City Commission yesterday to discuss the city’s downtown safety proposals.

While the purpose of the meeting was to gather feedback from the public regarding the proposed safety measures, for many attendants the focus was on the proposed camera system.

“I am profoundly disturbed with the notion that this community would install cameras in public places with public dollars. That seems unbelievably Drakonian to me in light of two alcohol related incidences, as tragic as they were, I do not believe that it warrants the level of security being proposed,” said Laura Ruth, Lawrence resident.

The incidences in question were the Feb. 5 shooting death in front of the Granada nightclub and the discharging of seven rounds inside the bar Last Call on May 14.

The proposed camera system would implement closed-circuit cameras in specific locations in the downtown area and would be monitored by Lawrence police, a separate organization or volunteers. While cost of the proposed camera system is uncertain, there is a similar system already in place on the University of Kansas campus. The cost to install that system was $250,000.

Bill Staples, Chairman at the Sociology Department at the University of Kansas said that, in his experience, camera systems are generally ineffective and that the money spent on the implementation and upkeep of a camera system would be better spent hiring more police or increasing foot patrols in the downtown area.

“We have really scant evidence that surveillance stop or prevent any type of crime. Whatever deterrent effect that we find when surveillance cameras are put up usually there’s some kind of rebound effect. Whatever activity that is being monitored it generally gets displaced somewhere else, out of the view of the cameras,” Staples said.

There was one vocal supporter of the system in the audience—Latonia Coleman, widow to Robert Earl Williams, the victim of the Granada shooting.

“To have security outside is so important because it’s having eyes that we can’t see from standing on the ground,” Coleman said.

Other suggested programs included hiring professional security, issuing entertainment licenses that would give city government more control over downtown establishments and Pubwatch, an integrated communication network between downtown bars.

The lack of public support for a camera system, was met with equal skepticism from the city commission.

“The camera proposal doesn’t mean much for me,” said Mike Amyx, Lawrence Mayor

Posted by Trevan McGee at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week children with communication challenges had a chance to work on their language capabilities while having fun at summer camp.

The University of Kansas Schiefelbusch Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic along with staff and students from the university’s Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences and Disorders department ran the camp.

“The basis of the camp is to have an opportunity for children with communication challenges to go to a camp, a lot of times they don’t have any opportunities because people don’t understand them or are maybe worried about behavior issues,” said Betty Bunce, clinical faculty member at Kansas University’s Schiefelbusch Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic.

More than 90 children, ages 4-12, attended the day camp, held at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds from June 19 to 30. Attendance grew since previous years.

This year, the camp’s theme ‘Around the World,’ allowed campers to get a sense of travel. The first Friday, children took a trip to the Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead in Overland Park.

“We went on a real trip [to Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead] so the children had the opportunity to go on a real trip and get on a bus.”

Throughout the week, children planned for their adventure by packing and getting a fake passport.

Campers traveled from South America, stopping at each continent, around the world and ended in North America. Each day, activities stemmed from where the children were in their journey. During their time in Asia, campers practiced tai chi, made paper lanterns and kites and built the ‘great wall’ of China.

The staff designed activities so children could interact and practice communicating while having fun making crafts or participating in physical activity.

“The whole point [of activities] is to really establish friendship and also do some of the work they need as far as sounds or structure,” Bunce said.

When campers arrive, they sing songs with visual aids and discuss the day’s activities, with sign language if needed, before splitting up into groups.

Each day, the camp brought in guest speakers to talk to the children and lead an activity. In Asia, a tae-kwon do expert taught campers basic movements and gave them a chance to tumble on mats.

Children with and without communication challenges participated in the camp. About one-quarter of children had no disabilities. Other campers had autism, were deaf or had difficulty articulating or structuring language.

“Even children with articulation difficulty sometimes have trouble interacting, because if another child doesn’t understand them, they will often just walk away,” Bunce said.

The camp strived to balance physical activities with basic arts and crafts. Through all activities, the staff encouraged and facilitated communication between children.

“What I like most [about working at camp] is the kids and helping them to learn to communicate with new friends and enjoy a camp experience,” Matt Gillispie said, KU Speech-Language-Hearing Instructor.

At the end of each day, the children and camp clinicians compiled pages in a scrapbook to remember what they learned. If children can’t talk about what they did, the scrapbook allows them to show what they accomplished at camp.

The Sertoma-Schiefelbusch camp has been around for six years, operating at the fairgrounds for three.

Posted by Erika Bentson at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By the end of August, the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department hopes to finalize renovation plans for the old Carnegie Library.

The city commission accepted the park department’s proposal to use the building, located at Ninth and Vermont streets, at a meeting in early May.

“We needed more indoor space,” said Fred DeVictor, Parks and Recreation Director.

The commission had previously accepted the Americana Music Academy’s proposal for the building, but opened the application process again when the academy could not provide funding.

The park department plans to transform the previous library into a community recreation center.

The local Historic Resources Commission, State Historic Preservation Society and the National Register of Historic Places must approve renovation plans before construction may begin.

“The historic preservation aspect is very sensitive,” said David Dunfield, architect in charge of the project, at GLPM Architects, 1001 New Hampshire St. “We had expected that would have all been resolved in the spring.”

If the process continues smoothly, Dunfield said the historical societies should approve the plans by August.

The department hopes to meet with the city’s historic resources commission at its meeting Jul. 20, according to Lynne Zollner, Lawrence Historic Planning Administrator.

Dunfield and other staff architects at GLPM have drawn up sample plans for the historical societies.

The main renovations that the parks department hopes to make concerns handicap accessibility.

The plans include a new accessible entrance facing Vermont St. and elevators providing access to upper floors.

The parks department plans to make the building less fitness oriented unlike other recreation centers.

They hope to make the building available to the public to rent for special functions.

The parks department will also use the building for some classes, but hopes to maintain availability for reservation purposes.

DeVictor speculates that the newly renovated building will attract reservations for art shows, music performances, dance classes and performances, wedding receptions, reunions and fundraisers.

“We want to have something downtown for the public to be able to use,” DeVictor said.

Although the city will provide initial funding for renovations, the building will draw income from reservations.

The Carnegie Corp built the library building in 1904 when steel entrepreneur Andrew Carnegie, endowed more than 1600 libraries around the world, 50 of them in Kansas.

The building housed the Lawrence Public Library until 1972, when it moved to its address at Seventh and Vermont streets.

The Lawrence Arts Center used the building following the library’s move, until they moved in 2002 to New Hampshire street.

The building has been vacant four years.

Posted by Erika Bentson at 08:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The city-sponsored 19th Annual Outdoor Downtown Sculpture Exhibition has decorated downtown Lawrence for more than a month but few residents know about it.

The exhibit consists of eight sculptures by artists from all over the country, including a KU graduate, displayed in the Lawrence downtown area for a year. Though people frequently walk pass the sculptures, there is a lack of information about the exhibit itself.

“Most people have seen it downtown and look at the sculptures, but I don’t think that most people know that it is an organized project,” Theresa Rohlfs, Lawrence resident, said.

The project, which is organized by the Lawrence Art Commission, costs the city about $13,000 per year. However, the commission has already asked for $15,000 in the 2007 budget.

The money is used to pay $750 to each selected artist and any other expenses related to the exhibit. But artists themselves have to pay for shipping of the pieces.

Residents agree that art is an important trait of the city of Lawrence.

“Art could help contribute to the city having culture and expression,” Chris Redford, downtown frequenter, said. “As long as the art is inspiring I think it is money well spent.”

As far as the lack of information about the exhibit, Redford suggests getting the city more involved by having the community vote to for the kind of art they would like to see displayed.

The Lawrence Art Commission says that the public’s response to the exhibit has been good.

“The response that I personally heard was that this is great and [people] love it.” City commissioner, Judi Geer Kellas, said. “This is from members of the community, people that I’m not sure generally go to at exhibits and openings.”

The opening took place on May 27 and attracted around 75 people who took a guided tour of the different sculptures.

The Outdoor Downtown Sculpture Exhibit has been running for 19 years making it one of the oldest in the nation and an example for other towns.

In order to participate, works go through a selection process guided by a juror chosen by the Arts Commission.

“We have never used an artist as a juror before which is good and bad,” Geer Kellas said. “It has things that would be very nice and other things that might be too bias.”

Last year 44 pieces of art entered the selection process. Of the 44, only eight are now shown downtown.

The artists come from all walks of life, some have been participating in exhibitions for years and this is the first time participating in one for others.

Regardless of experience, all artists sell their pieces to anyone interested. To buy a piece residents need to talk to the City Manager.

Posted by Alaide Vilchis-Ibarra at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The minor will give students exposure to business without having to major in it.

The biggest issue keeping the business school from implementing a minor was available resources: faculty and space.

“At this particular stage in our environment we are in pretty good shape to expand our borders a little bit to reach out to rest of the university,” said Ted Boone director of business minor, “It’s really just an opportunity that presented itself due to resources becoming available.”

The program courses have one instructor for each of the six courses. The school has specifically hired to support the new business minor. The program will accommodate as many students that are interested in the program, which we hope is a lot director of business minor, Boone said. As the program grows plans to assign or hire more faculty will occur.

For about two years, the business school has investigated the business minor. This past year the school has worked diligently with the curriculum on what to teach and the necessary resources needed.

Major business courses and classrooms are scheduled at certain days and times, so faculty that is busy during major scheduled courses will now be available for minor schedule courses.

“I think it’s nice for them to give me an option”, said Michaela Ayers, Omaha, Neb., junior. Ayers is an Art History major at the University of Kansas.

Both Boone and Forsyth agreed that a business minor is important to every student because no matter what their major is they will be dealing with businesses.

“Getting more formal exposure to terminology, concepts and basic business practice will be valuable for really any student,” Boone said.

The school researched minor class possibilities by meeting with all of the department’s chair people and the advising departments, to see what students pursue. They also talked to different professional schools around campus to see students’ interest and spoke to other universities in the country to see what issues they dealt with.

Students must complete six courses and maintain a 2.0 GPA to be awarded a business minor. The courses include accounting, information systems, marketing, finance, decision making, and management. The minor courses are designed for non-business students that are interested in getting a background in business said Boone.

English 101 and Math 101 are the two pre-requisites for minor program courses. The only two classes that will transfer from other universities are accounting and information systems. Students are required to take accounting before enrolling in finance.

The major and minor courses are different levels of difficulty academic advisor, Debbie Forsyth said. The business major has additional requirements. Students majoring in business are also required to take a business statistics course before marketing.

Five of the six courses will be offered in the fall and all six will be offered in the spring. There are still some spots available in the classes for the fall. Students who wish to make changes in their schedules to complete a business minor can add classes on August 1. If classes are full, students always have the option to petition.

The business advising center is still working with the registrar’s office on how students can declare a business minor. The plan is for students to be able to declare the minor online in the fall.

“It’s a good thing in the long run but I don’t think a lot of people know about it”, said Blair Schipper, Minneapolis, Minn., senior. Schipper is graduating at the end of summer but said that she might have looked into it.

Director of the business minor, Ted Boone plans to advertise the new program at larger advising meeting in the fall and by visiting introduction classes in other professional schools around campus to notify students that the minor is in existence.

The minor program hopes many KU students will take advantage of the opportunity and want to see the program grow in the future.

“Although it may be slow initially, there is huge potential there, so we’re all expecting a lot from the minor program,” Forsyth said.

For more information about the business minor program, visit the business minor website http://www.business.ku.edu/gen/bschool_generated_ns_pages/Business_Minor_m1146.html.

Posted by Shannon Mortimer at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dave Beck, a senior at KU, has seen his share of scrapes and bruises while cheering and flipping girls in the air during his two-year career…but he says this is to be expected with the tough and athletic spirit of the new collegiate cheerleader.

Unfortunately, the NCAA doesn’t see eye to eye with this popular point of view among cheering squads, and they are currently discussing an across-the-board ban of dangerous stunts, a controversial decision that has many college cheerleaders and coaches worried.

Schools across the nation like Colorado and Nebraska are being forced to “ground-bound,” meaning the cheerleaders would have to keep both feet on the floor at all times…thus preventing cheerleaders from doing many of their trademark moves, such as, tumbling, back handsprings, flips, pyramids, stunts, or baskets (where the girls are tossed in the air by the men).

It could serve as a horrible blow to the image and popularity of cheerleading at the college-level. Beck said, “If the rule was implemented at KU, there would definitely be a lot of uproar, and we would try to get it appealed. A lot of people would be very angry.”

Corey Stone, the head coach of the cheerleading team at KU said, "Being ground-bound would pretty much end college cheerleading as a sport.”

“It’s a shame, because we are considered one of the safest programs in the NCAA. We teach guys and girls to take spotting and safety seriously, but even so, we could be one big accident away from being ground-bound.”

According to the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (or AACCA), a recent statement by the NCAA’s insurance carrier indicated that approximately 25% of their catastrophic claims were from accidents involving cheerleading (the most claims across all sports), and due to this…cheering squads have experienced increased trouble with maintaining their insurance coverage.

On March 5 of this year, Kristi Yamaoka, a cheerleader at Southern Illinois University fell off of a human pyramid during a basketball tournament, 15 feet, landing on her head. She suffered a chipped neck vertebra, concussion, and bruised lung.

Hundreds of newspapers and online blogs picked up the story, including the Today Show, where she was featured as a guest.

Kristi’s accident in particular brought serious safety concerns to the AACCA’s attention.
Beck said, “All of the news about cheerleading seems to be negative. There are games all the time where people don’t get hurt, but when someone does slip, they show it on the news. Ever since the coverage of Kristi’s fall, the image of cheerleading has taken a hit."

Recently, the Pac 10 conference implemented a ground-bound rule for all cheerleaders across their division, causing a huge backlash, and scaring many coaches and cheering squads across the country.

Since then, back flips and basket tosses have been outlawed on all hard wood floors across the NCAA.

“It seems like even though the skill level of cheerleaders has continued to increase, the rules have become increasingly limiting.”

Until the updated rules have been finalized, the AACCA has required all schools to attend safety courses across the country. Coaches must also train to become safety certified before fall of this year.

Posted by Barton Vandever at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Steve Maceli loves his catering business, Maceli’s, 1031 New Hampshire St. that he began back in 1995. He also loves the alley behind his business that serves as a loading dock before and after various offsite events. Despite the narrow single lane dotted with overflowing dumpsters, the heavily cracked and easily flooded asphalt, and the chaos and commotion that comes from the other nine other businesses that line and use the alley, he treasures his alley space.

“We’re a catering business and so 2/3 of our business is held at other venues. The alley is crucial for us to load and unload food, dishes, and other equipment. We are constantly coming and going, stocking and restocking.” Maceli said.

Maceli knows the alley needs several repairs. The alley is crucial for his business, which is why he is now talking with City Manager, Dave Corliss, and the other food and drink businesses that use the same alley in an effort to change the city’s recent construction plans to redo the alley.

The city plans to repave the alley as well as install a new drainage system from 10th to 11th between Massachusetts and New Hampshire streets. Closing the alley for approximately three months, the city will cutoff the alley to all traffic and parking. Any deliveries will have to occur using New Hampshire or Massachusetts streets. For any business, this is a tremendous hassle.

“We can’t just use our front door. It’s not meant to be a loading dock,” he said. “It’s not like we can have people walking through the middle of a wedding reception carrying dirty plates and glasses back to the kitchen.”

The reconstruction project will be bid on July 25, 2006 and construction will begin in mid-August. The city will relocate all trash dumpsters to New Hampshire and 10th Street in the parallel parking area, and some will be placed on the Allen Press property between Einstein Bagel and the Allen Press Building on Massachusetts. The three months that the project is planning to take until completion is the key issue.

“Three months is almost a quarter of a year. For me, that’s about $400,000 worth of business, which is too much to be going through the front door,” Maceli said.

Mile Logan owns and manages the Granada, the popular bar and music venue that backs to the alley. He wants to see the city shorten the project time as well.

“There is no way we could get bands production equipments, speakers, and instruments through the front door,” Logan said. “It’s impossible.”

Not all of the businesses that use the alley feel as Maceli and Logan do. Tim Andrews, manager at Buffalo Wild Wings, said the construction didn’t matter to his business.
“We have over 400 stores and this is a small issue for us,” he said. “So we have to walk a little farther to throw away our trash. That’s really not that big of a deal.”

Maceli is also concerned about his employee’s safety when having to unload the vans after evening events in the middle of the street. Still, he knows the construction is necessary.

“We must have a new alley. But they could bid it and fund it in such a way so that they could get it done faster. Of course, it will cost more,” Maceli said. “But if you think about the business that is generated from this block, the city will make it’s money back.”

Maceli plans to contact all the area bar and restaurants and gather support. He feels the city should have held a meeting with the business owners to discuss the project.
Instead, Saturday morning he received a letter in the mail announcing the reconstruction project and the three-month long period it would take to complete. The city engineer for the project, Terese Gorman, was not available for comment.

“The letter should have come from the city instead of the engineer. It’s a political issue and a policy issue,” Maceli said.

He called the city manager, Dave Corliss, to talk about the letter and the project.

"I tried to give ideas to make this easier such as maybe doing half the block at a time or creating designated and resticted loading zones," Maceli said.

Corliss was not able to be reached to comment on the situation.

The letter did express, however, that the city was aware the project would be very inconvenient and that every effort would be made to minimize the inconvenience as much as possible.

Maceli said that it’s more than just an inconvenience.

“It’s a hardship and it’s in the best interest of the city to make sure that businesses, especially those downtown, are not hindered by this construction project.”

Posted by Katerine Sullivan at 05:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gold, money, jewelry, a Prada purse. Gift ideas? Nope, just a few things Jo Elliot has found in the dumpster. “I’ve found fabulous things in the dumpster,” said Elliot, who works as an assistant apartment manager in Lawrence.

July and August are prime months for dumpster divers. Leases are ending for many students and in a quest to move out, a lot gets left behind.

“This last year when we went after students left we found a ton of plastic storage units, we got about five different laundry baskets, lots of food that had never been opened, shampoo, and notebooks,” said Lawrence social worker Sheila Walker. “It’s very cool.”

But what about diving for good old fashioned trash? Instead of scavenging for what many would consider useful items, some people look for trash that can be exchanged for cash at recycle centers.

Aluminum cans, foil, car batteries, Christmas lights, parts from lawn mowers, and ceiling fans. All of these things are worth money at 12th and Haskell Bargain Center in Lawrence.

The center, 1146 Haskell, has been around for about three years and according to manager Bo Killough business is growing rapidly.

Killough said he thinks dumpster diving is a good deal.

“On trash days they’re lined up,” he said of his customers.

Prices change weekly and vary as to what kind of material a recyclable good is made of. This week aluminum cans are 48 cents a pound, steel is 50 dollars a ton, and car batteries are 2 cents a lb. These are just a few accepted items. Killough said some of the more rare metals can be sold for hundreds of dollars an ounce.

Killough has several regular customers, some who rely heavily on the money from recycled goods. “I write checks for $100 to $200 dollars for some of the regulars,” he said. He sells the recyclables to bigger recycling centers.

Despite its popularity Lawrence solid waster division Manager Bob Yoos says that dumpster diving is illegal in Lawrence.

City code states “the city shall have the exclusive right to collect and dispose of refuse within the city limits and no other person shall collect and dispose of refuse within the city unless authorized by license or other formal agreement with the city.”

Yoos said the law’s been in place since before he got his job 15 years ago. “I think the law mainly was written to protect people’s privacy and security. I don’t think the intent was so much to keep people from finding useless stuff,” Yoos said. He said most of the complaints he gets have to do with people scattering trash around.

Despite the law, most Lawrence residents don’t seem to have a problem with dumpster diving. Yoos said he received less than 10 complaints total last year. His department doesn’t try to catch people, it just responds to complaints.

Park 25 apartments property Manager Jeff Ridenour says he hasn’t received any complaints about dumpster divers on the property, located at 2401 W. 25th St. in Lawrence. He’s worked as a manager at Park 25 for seven years. “I think it’s just one of those things that people know happens in the summer in Lawrence,” he said.

A couple places that buy recycled goods in Lawrence are 12th and Haskell Bargain Center or Lonnie’s Recycling, 501 Maple. Wal-Mart Community Recycling Center, 3300 Iowa, accepts recycled goods, but doesn’t pay for them. For a complete list of recycling drop off centers click on the recycle centers link in the article.

Posted by Anna Faltermeier at 05:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With a new park and ride lot set to open this fall, the parking department is looking for cheap, new ideas to provide faster campus transportation in the future.

The University of Kansas is opening a new lot on west campus that it hopes will provide relief for the current traffic flow on campus. Parking officials are trying to ‘think outside of the box’ in order to provide better transportation without unreasonable price increases for students and faculty.

“We are trying to rethink the way we think about parking on campus,” Donna Hultine, Parking Department Director said.

According to Hultine, KU is currently set up in a way that no more parking can be added near campus. The landscape and layout makes it difficult to get around the campus easily.

“Really, the infrastructure on this campus is not such that you can bring more traffic to the main campus,” Hultine said.

One of the main goals of the parking department is to keep prices in check with the growing needs of KU without hurting students’ wallets too much. From 1976 to 2004, prices rose about 10 percent annually for commuter yellow permits. However, between 2004 and 2005 alone, permits rose by just over 16 percent for the same permits.

“I can understand why they raise prices, but it is hard for me because of all the other college expenses,” Jon Schmidtlein, Topeka junior said.

Despite concerns for raising prices, Hultine warns that further increases may be on the way. Maintenance costs for the lots, as well as new methods of mass transportation, mean the parking department needs more money to make campus traffic flows more efficient.

“We are a self supporting department and are completely funded through permit sales, parking tickets, and special events,” Hultine said.

Nic Cramer, Topeka Junior, said that the permit prices are getting out of hand; especially with high gas prices.

“I can’t afford higher priced permits and higher priced gas,” Cramer said. “It’s either one or the other right now.”

Even with last year’s 16 percent increase, KU still ranks among the bottom of Big XII schools for commuter permit pricing. According to KU’s Parking Strategy Report, only Oklahoma State, at $54 compared to KU’s $125, is cheaper when it comes to commuter permits. Cramer found it hard to believe that KU’s parking prices are cheaper than most other schools in the Big XII.

“It’s surprising to me that KU is so low,” he said. “I don’t know how people at other schools can afford higher prices than what we have.”

According to Hultine, the parking department spends $600,000 on repairs for all of the lots. With the new park and ride lot and the other lots around campus needing to be maintained, upkeep costs will continue to rise.

“Clearly [costs] will have to go up as we add more asphalt on this campus,” Hultine said. “The current $600,000 would cover a 24-year cycle for each lot to get resurfaced.”

Despite rising student fees and gas prices, the parking department is prepared to continue raising permit prices in order to upkeep the current assets in places for parking and transportation.

“I understand that they need to keep the lots in good condition,” Schmidtlein said. “I just wish I didn’t have to pay for it.”

Parking permit prices may once again be on the rise after the completion of the new park and ride lot.

Posted by Steve Zawilinski at 05:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Photographs of the house and property owned by Thorvald and Elaine Holmes. The property was sold this year, and will be developed into 17 single-family homes within the next two years.

When Thorvald and Elaine Holmes decided to sell their property, they didn’t realize it would create a controversy.

After planning to move to California, the couple found out the neighbors disliked their sale plans, through a petition.

“I can’t believe they have a say in what I can do with my own land,” said Thorvald.

The farmhouse and its 3.3 acres, on 2620 Haskell, had interested buyers until the 60-signature petition surfaced. It complained of possible neighborhood problems if the land was developed for multiple housing units.

With respect to the owners and neighbors’ requests, the land is now undergoing development plans for 17 single-family homes.

Although the Holmes’ property was sold, it did not come without a price.

Friendly communication between the Holmes and their neighbors ended after the petition. The disgruntled neighbors never spoke to the couple about their concerns, before or after the petition, said Elaine.

Although the petition was disappointing for the Holmes, Haskell residents presented their concerns as a serious problem for the neighborhood.

“One of their worries is all this new traffic on Haskell into their neighborhood, and on their streets,” said Mary Miller, a city/county planner for Prairie Wind, the new housing development.

Miller said in addition to the increased traffic, neighbors of the Holmes are concerned about flood water in their yards.

The Holmes’ land is on higher ground than the housing units surrounding it, and has created downhill flooding for many years.

Although still in the planning stages, the new development will help with the current flooding problem. A retention pond will guide flood water away from the neighbors’ land and nearby streets.

Even though the couple did not know about the flooding problem beforehand, it delayed the sale of their property. Thorvald and Elaine were “flummoxed” when they discovered the reason.

“Neighborhood associations are really pretty powerful,” said Miller, while explaining the influence residents have on what happens to nearby property.

In addition to the neighbors’ concerns, the Holmes also had one stipulation for the sale of their property.
“We started planting trees around 1989, and have planted over 400, mostly to attract birds. We asked that they stay on the land,” said Elaine.

The planning commission agreed on a design that includes most of the trees on the property.
The various species of trees are located around the entire plot of land, and scattered throughout the yard as well.

Thorvald and Elaine have enjoyed the tall trees as a visual barrier, windbreaker and nature scene throughout the years, and want them to remain for others to enjoy.

The planning commission continues to resolve development issues to suit everyone’s needs. If the plan is passed by the city commission on July 18th, Prairie Wind Single-Family Homes will be ready to budget and build.

The sale has been a learning experience for Thorvald and Elaine, and they are eager to build a new house near their family in California.

“Mary did a great presentation to the planning commission; we’re pleased with the final plans for the property,” said Elaine.

Posted by Katy Blair at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When Stacy Riggins runs, and she runs quite often, she knows how important her lungs are. She’s aware of how hard her body is working and of the deep breaths she’s taking.

Riggins, who has been a member of the Dog Days running group for six years, says she runs through Lawrence parks at least three times a week, sometimes more in the summer. Because she spends so much time running through the city, she thinks a lot about what her body is ingesting.

And pesticides aren’t something on her list of things she wants to inhale.

If we can keep the environment free of artificial things like that, we should, Riggins said.

Riggins said she is glad that some parks have stopped using pesticides, and hopes that the rest will follow because it is important for everyone’s health.

The Pesticide-Free Parks Project, a Lawrence group advocating for all parks in the city to be pesticide free, plans to propose expanding the program to city commissioners later this summer.

Marie Stockett, one of three coordinators for the volunteer program, said that the year-long pilot program went so well that the group will recommend additional parks to add to the pesticide-free list.

“I was blown away by how much support we had,” Stockett said. “I knew in my heart it was here, but people overwhelmed me.”

Crystal Miles, horticulture manager for the Lawrence Parks and Recreation District, said the program has received relatively positive feedback; some people are indifferent and others want whatever is available to homeowners to be available to the public.

Although the selection process for picking new parks fluctuates, Miles said the program would continue because it’s doable.

Stockett, a stay-at-home mom and community activist, said her group has received requests from citizens for South Park to be the next high profile park. Veterans Park is also a possibility.

The Pesticide Free Parks Project was influential in initiating the pilot program. Members compiled nearly 150 pages of information on the dangers of pesticides, especially those used by the Parks and Recreation District, as well as alternatives, cost-effectiveness and expert opinions.

The year-long pilot program began in May 2005 and includes 34 Lawrence parks. Watson Park was selected as the only high-profile park based on its landscaping and usage. Thirty-three low-profile parks with less landscaping and fewer visitors were also maintained without pesticides.

Volunteers tended to Watson Park. Some people adopted flower beds, which needed to be weeded every one to two weeks. Thanks to a rotation, the time commitment was just 15 minutes for one weekend a month.

One reason for switching to pesticide-free maintenance in parks is children.

Riggins, whose three children range from 15 to 23, said she wished these parks had been around when her children were younger.

“I didn’t even really think about it then,” Riggins said. “Now you just have to wait and see what happens and hope for the best.”

Riggins said it’s important because parents encourage children to get outside and enjoy themselves and then can feel better doing that knowing that the parks are pesticide free.

Stockett said that as a mother of two small children, she’s concerned about pesticides in parks because of the way children play. Their hands have contact with the ground, faces, mouths and eyes and they can easily ingest things, Stockett said.

“It’s not a good feeling that children are being exposed to pesticides and parents don’t know,” Stockett said. “They’re invisible and the public has a right to know when they’re applied.”

Although Stockett would like every park in Lawrence to be pesticide free, she said the city commission would only pick one high profile park to kick off the program in 2005.

Miles said that pesticide-free parks are more expensive because they need more labor and more seed for turf areas. The seed is used to keep weeds out.

Normally, LPRD uses products like Round-Up or weed killer in parks. Miles said that these products are used minimally and nothing is blanket sprayed.

LPRD also uses an environmentally-friendly horticulture oil to spray for insects.

The LPRD staff has also been using greener products, including a flamer machine and horticulture vinegar. Miles said the flamer machine has been very successful, but the vinegar just burns weeds down.

To fight off weeds, LPRD has added more mulch and plants to the landscape to make the weeds competitive.

Across the nation, other parks are opting to switch to pesticide free care. According to www.pesticide.org, Seattle, Wichita and a few cities in California all have pesticide-free park programs in place.

Last year’s pesticide-free pilot program wasn’t the first initiative in Lawrence to rid play areas of toxins.

Riggins said she volunteered to plant trees, bushes and flowers when Hillcrest Elementary school built a new playground in 1988. Riggins says the playground was created pesticide free and has been maintained that way ever since. The ground of the play area is covered with recycled, spongy material so that when children fall, the layer would cushion their fall.

Although the Lawrence Parks and Recreation District launched the pilot program in May 2005, the city has been researching pesticide long before this. In February 2002, Dr. Jamyar Enshayan, an agricultural engineer, pesticide consultant and environmental studies professor from the University of Northern Iowa, visited Lawrence to access the situation.

Enshayan said that LPRD had some pesticide-free procedures in place, but there were still other pesticide-free options available.

Three months later, in May 2002, the city created the Pesticide Free Parks Program based on Enshayan’s recommendations. The program included three small parks – Parnell, Ludlam and Clinton Parkway.

Only two remained pesticide free 18 months later.

But this time around, activists and city officials both said they foresee the program sticking around.

People or organizations interested in pulling weeds or mulching may contact the LPRD.

Riggins, who is out in her own yard pulling weeds every other day, said she’d volunteer for the program in order to make everyone healthier.

Posted by Jacky Carter at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The success of the University of Kansas women’s basketball team boosts attendance at the Bonnie Henrickson Basketball camp while hoping to increase their own attendance by inspiring young players.

The second annual Bonnie Henrickson Summer camp kicked off on June 16 and will continue with nine different sessions throughout the summer. The camp has a staff of more than 50 individuals. This staff consists of coaches, KU staff and managers. However the heart of the camp comes from the Kansas women’s basketball team.

“The players stay in the dorms with the campers. It is a great way for the girls to get to know the players and form relationships. The players provide inspiration for the campers,” Bonnie Henrickson, Kansas University women’s head coach, said.

The team finished last season with 17 wins and 13 loses. This placed the team 10th in the league standings. With the team’s success, came a raise in attendance.

According to University of Kansas women’s basketball season review, the increase was over 900 fans per game from the 2004-2005 season. This making the home game attendance average 3,041 fans per game.

“Our numbers in attendance are up because of our success last year and our growing program. Also, our success has made the numbers of participants in the camps go up,” Henrickson said.

The individual camp had 300 campers that ranged from fifth to eleventh grade. The camp emphasized the development of fundamental skills. Each day campers broke up into groups and worked on individual improvements. In the evening campers would participate in contests and practice games.

Throughout the camps, the women’s basketball team signs autographs, answers questions, and helps to teach the game of basketball.

“The campers really enjoy themselves and enjoy working with the players. Since the players have summer school during the week, most of their interaction with the campers is in the evenings. Also, the campers get to see what the girls do everyday as a KU player,” Karen Lange, Kansas University women’s assistant coach, said.

Over the course of the camp a connection is made between the campers and the players. Henrickson said this connection is what also helps boost attendance. A camper will think that a player is really nice, the camper will come to a game to see that player, have fun and continue going to games.

“I learned a lot from the camp and it gave me a boost of confidence to want to play in high school. I have enjoyed getting to know the KU players and I think I will attend games just to see them play,” Jordan Gagne, 15, said.

Trying to recruit new fans is just a by product of Henrickson’s camp. Creating a fun educational opportunity and maybe some interest on our program is our main