July 2009 Archives

Patient A is admitted into the ER. As she lays in the taut, paper-lined bed, she watches her assigned nurse punch numbers into a computer screen, not turning around to offer a quick smile or explanation of test results. Hours later, as Patient A is wheeled into an elevator on her way to her new room in the orthopedic wing, she lifts her good arm to notice a barcode on her identification wrist band. The next day, she pretends to understand the medical jargon her doctor is throwing at her and is discharged a day later after surgery. Curious, she has a desire to look at her EKG readings and X-Ray the medical staff took of her now casted arm. Instead of taking the trip back to the hospital and dealing with the administrative staff in the medical records department, she can now sit at her own computer in the comfort of her home and access her medically documented journey through the hospital - so can her nurse, doctor, and radiology techs.

     Gone is the day of charting at the end of shifts, frantic physician phone calls to overworked nurses, and working the maze of accessing the tree-killing closet of medical records. Now, with a simple log in, medical records are now at patients, nurses, and doctors' fingertips.

     EMR, Electronic Medical Records, are revolutionizing the way medicine is practiced, and locally, it has already made a huge impact on how Lawrence Memorial Hospital operates on a daily basis.

"We started this about 10 years ago," said Belinda Rehmer, Communications Coordinator at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. She reported that LMH is no longer in the beginning stages and is currently up and running on an EMR system throughout the hospital and in conjunction with practices that they own including Eudora Family Practice and Mt. Oread Family Practice. "We've been up and running for over a year now - at least a year".

     But it wasn't an easy process. Cost was one of the major roadblocks in jump-starting this process. "Implementing the software is not cost neutral because the physicians would have to buy the software out of their own expenses," said Rehmer.

     Dr. Stephen Myrick, general surgery, at LMH has yet to take advantage of the EMR system 10 years after the idea reached LMH. "I don't use EMR because I don't have the software or no-how to do it. I am, however, in the process of converting over. I'm the research phase and I need to know which way is most cost effective".

     Clinical Informatics Liaison and Nurse Administrator Jessica Wright believes that the end users are most affected by the new EMR system. The end users include physicians, nurses, and patients alike. Wright emphasized her frustration with the common misconception of the EMR. "We have to recognize that this is neither time saving or time neutral".  In the long run, using EMR is fast when pulling up these files, but now, Wright says, the end user has to log on, and sometimes transcribe what a machine reads.

     Down in the medical records department, Director of Health Information Management Nancy Knaggs gave another perspective. "We started the actual process in 2004," Knaggs said. "We are still building hybrid plans right now; we still have paper". At first, the department tried to compromise with unwilling-to-change physicians' requests by fulfilling both paper and electronic records, but after a year in 2005 the department stopped. "They've adapted fairly well and this is a huge change for physicians and some aren't very happy," Knaggs said.

     The main part of the challenge for the medical records department is that some things are still paper while another part of the record is electronic. "I still think we're moving the same amount of records, just less paper in each," Knaggs said.

Knaggs agrees with the step-by-step process it has taken LMH to get everyone on the EMR system. "It's too hard to change everything at once - especially for a community hospital like us. Our step by step process is better in the long run".

"It has also turned the nurses world upside down," Wright said. Rehmer noted that at first the nursing staff was 50% for the EMR conversion, but now it's about 98%. Before, nurses would go about their day, taking notes in their notebooks and charting at the end of the shift. Now, because of EMR, they must now chart in real time. Because of the mobility factor that comes with the EMR, physicians can log on at home and see their patients' updated statuses based on what the nurses are putting into the electronic chart. An EKG taken five minutes ago is now available to a doctor who may be on the opposite end of the hospital or at home and he or she no longer needs track down the paper chart and read the paper slip attached to the record.

     Likewise, reorientation of bedside manner is underway. "We have to teach the nurses not to be so focused on the computer in the patients' rooms. They have to learn how to both transcribe updates into the computer system and stay focused on the patients' needs and trust," Wright said.

     Elsewhere, Family Physician Dr. David Doran at the Heartland Clinic expresses his enthusiasm in going digital. "I never really liked the paper records. It would only be available to one person at a time. EMR has certainly changed our workflow and how we interact with each other in the office and with our patients. More than 75 percent [of our patients] are online and can log into the EMR to view their own records, communicate with us, schedule visits, etc".  Voran went on to explain that he didn't like in the past how only ten percent of his records couldn't be found because of misfiling and accidental shredding. "Those who don't change their workflows aren't seeing some of the same benefits we're seeing," Voran said.

     "I like the switch," Wright said. "Improving our overall charting decreases the likelihood of human error".

     Voran said that patients usually love the implementation of the EMR. "Having the same access to the same system that I do is key. Being able to see their records being created, managed and also to see digital X-rays and communicate electronically with us has been a huge satisfier."

     Wright, who has worked in the ICU as a nurse and has now focused her clinical skills into improving the healthcare system via technology, contemplates on the future. "My goal would to make everything automatic," Wright said. "Not to minimize nurse responsibility, but to eliminate human error. Imagine if the EKG could tell the computer what it was reading. Yes the nurse would have to verify the results, but the step of reading the monitor and entering that data into the computer by hand has now been erased."

     The EMR system and LMH is not perfect, and many of its users are still converting and making it better. But because LMH remains one step ahead of the game in the healthcare industry, they are now offering more efficient healthcare through the implementation of EMR

 

Alyssa Buecker, Overland Park Senior, sets the speed to 1.5. She chooses her favorite song, Break Down. She goes to choose her level of difficulty and moves the arrow back and forth between expert and challenge. She finally decides to start on expert and work her way up on her next song choice. As the TV asks "Are you Ready?" Alyssa takes her position, one foot on either side of the mat.

 

The arrows begin scrolling at what looks like an uncontrollable speed.  She scores one perfect after another. As the song goes on her heart races and she begins to break a sweat.

 

"It's a great workout!" Buecker said. "Play a couple songs in a row and I feel like I've ran a mile."

 

Alternative forms of exercise have given people who normally would not exercise the opportunity to do it in a fun and more creative way. With the help of Hoop Dancing and Game systems like Dance Dance Revolution and the Nintendo Wii people are really getting up on their feet and giving exercise a try.

 

"I hate exercise. Yoga and treadmills have never really been my thing, but if you put a DDR mat in front of me I will play till I almost can't move my legs anymore," Buecker said.

 

Dance Dance Revolution

 

Video game creator Konami created Dance Dance Revoultion in Japan. DDR is a video game that can be played at home on any Playstation, Xbox, Gamecube or Wii. It is also commonly found in arcades on a large DDR machine. A player can choose from around 50 songs, depending on the version of the game, and choose from five levels.  According to Konami's official website, 3 million copies of the game have been sold since it was introduced on American consoles in 2001.

 

There is also a "workout mode" on the game that allows players to track their progress.  Instead of showing players how many arrows were scored correctly, it tracks things like a players weight, calories burned, distance traveled, and minutes played.

 

"I've never really used the 'workout mode' but I get a good enough workout without doing that," Buecker said. "The higher skill level you are, the more of a workout you're going to get. I just love it."

 

This craze has caught the attention of many school officials in the past five years as a form of exercise to help get students excited about exercise. In fact, in 2006 school districts in West Virginia decided to make DDR a part of their physical education curriculum. It was decided that the game would be used in all of West Virginia's 765 public schools.

 

The University of Kansas has also added DDR to its curriculum. Taught by Susan Hoffman, the game is considered a Health Sport and Exercise Science class. The class can be taken for credit twice.

 

"I have several students who come back for a second round," Hoffman said.  "It gives a lot of students a break from their hectic class schedule and they get a great workout."

 

Nintendo Wii

 

The Nintendo Wii came out in 2006 and has sold more than 11 million consoles in America alone since its release.  With the Wii, players must use actual physical movements to play the games, forcing players to get up out of their seats. The game uses a wireless controller that can sense a player's motion.

 

In 2008 a team of scientists at the University of Wisconsin recruited 16 volunteers between the ages of 20 to 29 years old to test just how great the benefits are. The results of the study showed that some games, mostly the sports games, increased heart rate and the amount of calories burned. The study said that the golf game, which burned the fewest amount of calories, allowed players to burn two to three times the amount of calories as opposed to sitting a and playing a video game.

 

"I have a Wii and we use it all of the time," Brooke Maves, Overland Park mother, said. "It was expensive but I think it was worth it just so my kids aren't sitting around all of the time."

 

Since the Wii came out, Nintendo has also added the Wii fit to their list of games. The Wii fit, much like DDR, allows players to track their progress and participate in activities like yoga and down hill skiing, all in their living room.

 

"I love using it but it is a little weird when I step on the Wii fit and it says to me 'Hello Brooke, It has been a while'. It's so advanced it scares me," Maves said.

 

The game is also being used for what doctors are calling "Wii-Habilitation".  The game is being turned into a rehab tool for stroke victims or patients with brain injuries to help recover their motor skills. In 2008, the University of South Carolina was given a $2 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to research the effectiveness of these games on recovering motor skills and the research is still in progress.

 

Kim Brown, Topeka Cognitive Therapist, has also begun using the Wii on her patients. Overall she treats patients who have been in serious accidents and are in need of physical exercise but don't have the motor skills to do normal activities.

 

"I had a friend who used a Wii and I had read a lot about them and it just seemed like a no brainer to me," Brown said. "My patients needed something to do at home to speed up their recovery and this so far has been the best exercise I have come up with."

 

Brown wrote the state of Kansas for a grant in May of 2008 and after four months her first patient, who was the victim of a gunshot wound to the head, received a Wii for their home. Since then Brown has helped three other people with cognitive disabilities receive a Wii.

 

Hoop Dancing

 

Hoop Dancing is not a video game but it is an alternative form of exercise that is catching on particularly in Lawrence. Not only is it much cheaper than the other two options, it is something that can be done almost anywhere. Hoop dancing renovated from Hula Hooping and is all about incorporating large weighted hoops with dance.

 

Hoop dancing benefits the body in several ways for example building core strength, overall body toning, increases flexibility and develops balance and coordination. Ali Mangan started the only hoop dancing company in Lawrence, Hoop Mama's, three years ago. The company hosts free workshops at South Park on a weekly basis to get more people involved.

 

"It's one of those things that you can't knock until you've tried it," Mangan said. "Every week we have a different group of people. Of course we have our regulars but it seems there's always someone that wants to see what its all about."

 

 

Alyssa Buecker, the DDR enthusiast from above also decided to give hoop dancing a try after being contacted for this story. She attended one of the workshops in South Park this past week and she was shocked at what she got out of it.

 

"Its still a form of dance buts it's completely different from DDR!" Buecker said. "It is definitely something that gets you in touch with your inner self. You don't get that from a lot of things these days."

 

So whether it's exercising with the help of a game console or hoop dancing around South Park, these creative ways to stay fit are giving people more than enough to talk about.

 

 

 

            Laura Polucha, Downingtown, Pa., senior, is living a dangerous life.  She's not doing drugs or getting drunk every night but living a life without health insurance.

            It's not because she is careless or doesn't want it, it's because she can't afford it.  Polucha's mom is self-employed and also without health insurance, and Polucha doesn't feel she makes enough money to get health insurance on her own.

           She says she is constantly looking over her shoulders at time and refuses to do somewhat dangerous activities like skiing.

           "I really worry about it," said Polucha.  "I've never been sick or gotten hurt, but I know any day could be the day.  I want insurance, but I make like $7.50 an hour."

            Polucha is just one of the many students and young adults that don't have health insurance.   Rising costs as well as difficulty of receiving insurances has caused a large number of students and young adults to be uninsured and vulnerable for large unexpected medical bills.

Uninsured trends

            According to the United States Census, 8,000,000 people between 19 and 24 were uninsured in 2007.  That age group is the highest percentage of uninsured of any age group at 28.1 percent.

Source: U.S. census

            Kansas has a statewide uninsured rate of 12.7 percent, about 2.5 points lower than the national average of 15.3 percent according to U.S. census data.  The uninsured rate of 19 to 24 year olds is 29.4 percent in Kansas, 1.3 points higher than the national average. 

In 2007 Douglas County has the highest uninsured rate of any county in eastern Kansas at 18.8 percent.  The high rate is driven up by its high young adult population, compared to Johnson County and Shawnee County, which have uninsured rates of under 10 percent according to U.S. census data.  Riley County, which is where Manhattan is located, has an uninsured rate of 22.5 percent.

Source: U.S. census

Bankruptcy because of medical debt is also rising.  According to the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine, 62.1 percent of Bankruptcies were caused by medical issues in 2007, up from 46.2 percent in 2001.

According to the Center for Disease Control, 53 percent said that the reason they didn't have health insurance was because of the cost while 27 percent said it's because they either lost their job or changed jobs recently.  Six percent said the reason was because they recently left school or are ineligible because of their age.

Source: Kaiser/HRET Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits,2008.

In recent years health insurance premiums have increase sharply.  The average annual health insurance premiums have over doubled in the last year for single and family coverage.

            University of Kansas students are eligible for health insurance through the Kansas Board of Regents for $915 annually or $540 for both the fall and spring semesters as long as the student is taking at least six credit hours per semester.  The premiums for a family annually is $7,945.

Tommy's story

            Tommy Royal was 21 years old and a student at Johnson County Community College.  Exhausted with school and work, Tommy wanted to take a semester off and decide what he wanted to do in his life.

Irma Royal talks about her and her son's struggle with no health insurance.

            While Tommy was taking his break from school, he became ineligible for his parent's health insurance in January.  Irma and Thomas Royal, Tommy's parents, told him he would need to get insurance through his job.  Tommy agreed, although he wouldn't be eligible for health insurance until October.  .

            "He was one of the healthiest kids I knew," said Irma.  "He had never been sick."  Irma said that in March that Tommy became ill and started complaining of cold-like symptoms.

            "We thought that he just had a cold or sinus problems, but we took him to all kinds of specialist and no one was able to diagnose him," said Irma.  "Finally we took him to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, and they finally diagnosed him with Lou Gehrig's disease in September.  By that time he couldn't eat or breath on his own.  He had to be put on a respirator on his birthday."

            With hospital bills already piling up, Irma decided that she could not afford the around the clock nurses required to care for Tommy, so she learned how to care for him in her home.  She learned how to administer IVs and use the complicated machines that were helping to keep Tommy alive.  Her and her husband took turns taking shifts watching over Tommy.

            In the end Tommy lost his battle with Lou Gehrig's disease eight months after he was diagnosed and just over a year after he started to show symptoms.  In that time, Tommy racked up about a quarter million dollars in hospital bills.

            Irma didn't have to pay for it all though because of some advice a doctor gave her.  While she said she would sell her house and everything she owned to pay for his bills, she was told by the compassionate doctor not to sign for the bills as the debts would belong to Tommy since he was not a minor.

"I thank that doctor everyday because he said 'since your son was 21, do not sign anything for him since he would be liable for all the medical bills,'" said Irma.  While Irma and Thomas emptied out most of their savings account early on in Tommy's battle, they were not liable for most of the $250,000 of bills that had accumulated.

            As the sun sets on a hot summer's night, Jim Sack gets into his pickup and heads for the bar. Though he'd love to sit down and enjoy fresh made beer from the local brewery, Sack is preoccupied with gathering the pub's waste product: spent grain.

            He's got cows to feed.

            "Whenever they call, I'm ready to come pick up," Sack says. "The grain is valuable feed for our cattle."

            Sack is one of thousands of American farmers who partner with microbreweries to receive used brewer's grain for farming commodities. The partnership benefits farms and breweries alike by saving costs and providing valuable services for both sides. The resource sharing is especially important today for local dairy farmers who are suffering in a down-turned economy.  With the upcoming expansion of Lawrence's Free State Brewing Company, local farmers hope to tap more valuable resources for years to come.

            Jim and Nancy Sack, Baldwin, pick up spent grain from Free State Brewing Company, 636 Massachusetts St., two nights every week. The spent grain is a waste product of the brewing process and needs disposal after each brew. The Sacks pick up an average of 30,000 pounds per week to use as feed for their dairy farm.

            The pickup is no easy feat.

            "A barrel of brewer's grain weighs about 300 pounds," Jim Sack said. "We can get as many as 10 barrels in a single load. It adds up."

             A livestock nutritionist analyzes and and rations the grain into the cattle's daily feed. The grain from Free State makes up between 20 and 25 percent of their cattle's daily feed. They have more than 60 dairy cows that eat twice a day.

            The brewer's grain amounts to a large portion of the daily feed.

            "Grain is the most expensive of the ingredients in the cattle feed," Nancy Sack said. "Obviously this is a major cost saver."

            But farmers aren't the only benefactors. Brewers grain pickups save on transportation and disposal costs for breweries. Thousands of pounds of spent grain are produced after each brew. The grain must be removed from the brewery before the next batch is brewed.

            Other local breweries also realize the economic appeal of the farmer-brewer agreement. 23rd Street Brewery, 3512 Clinton Pkwy, gives weekly spent grain to local farmers for free.

            "We really have a win-win relationship with local farmers," said Matt Lllewellyn, owner of 23^rd Street Brewery, 3512 Clinton Pkwy. "We have huge disposal savings and they get free resources."

            The win-win relationship became increasingly important for local dairy farmers this year. According to the USDA, the average retail price for milk in Kansas City for July is $3.29, down from $3.84 in January. A national dairy surplus caused the dramatic drops in costs. This month the National Milk Producers Federation reported that 102,898 cows nationwide had been committed for slaughtering to combat the surplus.

            The brewer's grain helps to cut costs during such difficult times.

            "We'll use whatever cost saving methods we can," Nancy Sack said. "Reducing the costs of cattle feed is extremely important."

            The partnership is not unique to Lawrence. Kansas City's Boulevard Brewing Co. produces an average of 75,000 pounds of spent grain each week. The spent grain is sold to local farmers for $8 per ton, or approximately $1,200 per month. In 2002, the Property and Environment Research Center reported that Anheuser-Busch sold 1.7 million tons of spent grain to farmers.

            But in Lawrence, local brewers are content with dispersing their spent grain for free.

            "We help them and they help us," said Chuck Magerl, owner of Free State Brewing Co. "We save money and they do too. That's enough for me."

            Despite a gloomy economic horizon, local dairy farmers look forward to the upcoming expansion of Free State's brewing capabilities. Free State's new warehouse will produce nearly 10 times more beer each year. If the bottling takes off, the brewery is capable of brewing even more.

            Magerl said he plans to continue giving the spent grain for free.

            "We'll have more spent grain than ever before," Magerl said. "I am perfectly happy with the way we are doing business with local farmers now."

            The night is young for Jim Sack as he picks up Thursday night's load of spent grain from Free State. As the crowd inside of the restaurant consumes the day's concoction, Sack heads home to please another crowd with the fresh brew. 

            The herd awaits.

They've been seen on national television. They've been seen in newspapers. They've been seen by players and coaches, fans and reporters, and casual onlookers. They've been seen by 16,000 blue-clad Kansas fans at Allen Fieldhouse for the past few years.  But Andrew Stanley ran into a problem with the blow-up images he and his buddies made of Kansas Jayhawk basketball players and coaches faces that had become a mainstay in the Allen Fieldhouse student section.

"They kept falling apart," Stanley said. "They were hard to make and expensive to print.

Stanley needed more durable blow-up faces before it broke his bank. That's where 23rd Street Brewery came in. The local restaurant offered to make Stanley and his friends in the "KU Heads for Victory" group more sturdy blow-up faces, as long as the brewery could stamp its logo on the back of the heads for all of Allen Fieldhouse to see.

With Stanley and the KU Heads for Victory, 23rd Street Brewery found a marketing campaign far less expensive than constantly running television commercials or newspaper advertisements. This trend of businesses using college students for advertisement is peaking a face of its own onto the University of Kansas campus in tough economic times.

In return for displaying its company logo to thousands of hungry fans, 23rd Street Brewery gave Stanley and his friends $50 to use at the restaurant after every home men's basketball game as well. Stanley said the KU Heads for Victory also received pizzas while they camped at Allen Fieldhouse for front-row seats in the student section.

Stanley's crew isn't the only group of students at KU that have been used as marketing tools lately. When the KU Swim Club hosted its annual home swim meet at Robinson Gymnasium this year, they found themselves in a predicament. The club was in charge of hosting a horde of swimmers from Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas who had built up an appetite after competing in the meet. Jamie Padzensky, a member of the KU Swim Club, came up with an ambitiously simple plan to feed the group of famished swimmers after the meet.


"I went into Chipotle and asked for free burritos," Padzensky said.

The store's assistant manager, Taylor White, saw the perks of the deal and agreed to donate 100 free chicken and steak burritos, nearly $700 worth of food, to the swimmers. In return, fans and athletes at the meet not only saw the large Chipotle banner draped across the high-dive, but got to taste the product first-hand. For White, it was a no-brainer that fit perfectly with the company's advertising schemes.

"This is our target market, college students," White said. "What we've decided to do as a company is to spend our advertising money very wisely. We're not running television commercials."

While 23rd Street Brewery and Chipotle have been relatively new on the scene of using college students as cheap advertisement, Francis Sporting Goods has been using KU students as walking billboards for more than 60 years. According to Brent Hill, Store Manager, Francis Sporting Goods sells around 1,200 t-shirts per year with its company logo across the front predominantly to KU students for $5 per shirt. Hill expects sales of the t-shirts to surge when the new crop of KU students arrive for the fall semester.

"Here in about another 3 weeks, we'll have people coming in that don't even know who we are or what we are, but they've seen them up on campus and they've got to come in and get one," Hill said.

Thanks to those t-shirt sales, the store's logo has been seen throughout the world. According to Hill, John Francis, the store's founder, went on a family vacation to Hawaii and found his store's logo on the t-shirts of each player in a sand volleyball game. Francis Sporting Goods' marketing plan has worked well.

"People are paying $5 to advertise for you," Hill said.

While not every company has as perfect a set up as Francis Sporting Goods, many are finding the benefit to using students to spread the word at a minimal price. For students, the benefits are often worth the work, or lack thereof.

Andrew Stanley and the KU Heads for Victory were perfectly content getting free food and blow-up faces to cheer on their team.

Morgan Welch, an Overland Park senior, took a water sample two weeks ago of Potter Lake for a study in his chemistry class.

Needless to say, he was appalled at the condition.

"I really don't see how anything can live in there, the pH balance was low which means more bacteria is growing and it's obvious by the surface," Welch said.

Fortunately, Welch isn't the only student who has noticed how disgusting Potter Lake has gotten.  A group of students have recently formed a student group called the Potter Lake Project in hope of one day restoring Potter Lake to its regular, beautiful self.  As the group's creators move on from Lawrence, new students have also stepped up and taken newly open roles in the group.  Not only are students involved, but also faculty and alumni are trying to figure out the best way to make Potter Lake an enjoyable place to see again.

John Kenny, a recently graduated KU student, co-started the group called the Potter Lake Project back in the spring semester of 2008.  The group started out after Kenny and a colleague went to the student senate, urging the board to help them publicize their cause.  

Kenny said the student senate helped the group get the word out across campus about its intentions in the Kansan and Lawrence Journal World, but the publicity was short lived after the new student senate elections.  

After the new student senate, the group continued their work as an independent student group with little funding and little support.

"There was nobody in the administration or within facility operations who was really encouraging us or giving us any kind of support so it was definitely a student pushed cause at the beginning," Kenny said.

As the Potter Lake Project began to attract new followers, it started to see an increase in its ability to expand outward to more than just students.  Their first objective was to find out the history of Potter Lake, dating all the way back to 1911 when it was created.  Kenny said Potter Lake used to be a popular swimming pool to KU students, even having diving boards on the side.  

In the 1920s and 1930s, a few people died while swimming in the lake.  The University banned swimming in Potter Lake, turning it into a relaxing place to enjoy a nice day with park benches, grass areas and grills.  In the WW2 era, Potter Lake used to be a social setting for dances.  Over the years, Potter Lake became increasingly uncared for, resulting in the mossy swamp it appears to be today.

Kenny and the Potter Lake Project's goal is to restore this once clean and attractive area in the middle of KU's campus back to its original beauty.

"We saw a problem here and looked to see if other people saw the problem with the same sympathy, organized ourselves together and tried to find out what we could get done," Kenny said.  "This is something that I am very happy about exploring while I've been here."

The Potter Lake Project has gone to the university multiple times and has been redirected towards the support of alumni.

Kenny said the difficult thing about getting alumni to donate money towards the cleaning out and refurbishing of Potter Lake is that most alumni who make fairly large donations want their name on something.  

"Alumni tend to not want to donate towards landscape and natural things surrounding campus because they can't stick their names on there," Kenny said, "but we've been working on some ways that donators can be recognized."

Kenny graduated this past spring and leaves for South Korea next month to teach English to children for a year.  While the creators are leaving, other students that have joined the group are taking their places in the leadership of accomplishing the group's goals.

Matt Nahrstedt, who joined the group in the fall of 2008, will be taking over as president of the Potter Lake Project.  Nahrstedt was a freshman at the time he was introduced to the group and became an active member after attending his first meeting.

Nahrstedt said he received an email from the architecture school regarding any interested students wanting to help the community and the school to attend a Potter Lake Project meeting.  His reoccurrence at the meeting caught the eye of Kenny, who asked him to take a more prominent role in the group.

"Another member and I took responsibility of figuring out how the group was going to continue after John was gone and ended up being selected to lead the Potter Lake Project," Nahrstedt said.

As of last May, the group had accomplished its first real goal.  The Kansas Wildlife and Parks, which has become extremely helpful towards the Potter Lake Project, donated Grass Carp to the group to put in Potter Lake.  The Kansas Wildlife and Parks breed Grass Carp, which eat the plants growing in the water.  While this does not kill the problem, Nahrstedt said it was the first real accomplishment the group had done.

Nahrstedt said that the Potter Lake Project is a rapidly growing group and has now gotten the support of KU staff and some alumni.  Nahrstedt said that a lot of the progress that the Potter Lake Project is making is due to KU Professors.

One of these professors is Peg Livingood, the project manager of design and construction management at KU.  Several years ago, Livingood and other professors started a process for the Campus Heritage Plan to understand the history of KU's campus developments.  Once they finalized it in 2008, she had a great appreciation for that part of the university.

Livingood said that when she was approached by the group back in 2008, she did not hesitate to start helping.

"When the students came to me wanting to improve the water quality and aesthetics, it was not only a professional interest but a personal interest as well," Livingood said.

Livingood said that recently the KU Alumni magazine and the Endowment magazine had published articles about the project in which donors came forward and contributed a little over $20,000.  Livingood believes that the university cares about Potter Lake but does not have the money to support it right now with the recent budget cuts.

Livingood said that the group is looking towards putting an aeration system rather than chemicals to clear the moss and plants.  Using aeration, there would be no chance for toxic chemicals when the group cleans out the lake, costing more money to dispose of it.  

Other problems that Potter Lake faces are road runoff's.  Kenny and Livingood both stressed the issue of how water from many on-campus roads have led to water runoff into Potter Lake, bringing all sorts of tangible objects and different chemicals with it.  Recently, the university stopped using chemicals in the lawn around Potter Lake.

"We have a plan right now looking at the reconstruction of Jayhawk Boulevard.," Livingood said.  "The street brings salts from the winter, dirt, oil from cars and other things."

Livingood said that she is very confident and exited to see what the group gets accomplished this year.  

With the help of Peg Livingood and other KU professors, the Potter Lake Project has come up with a proposal to the university, regarding the importance of the situation and how they can work together to fix it.

If you are interested in the Potter Lake Project, check out the group's Facebook page or contact Matt Nahrstedt at swimpolo@ku.edu.

It takes a special brand of bravery to climb a teetering ladder onto a second story rooftop. It takes an even braver person to do it three times a week with a bucket full of water in one hand.

For Ben Fishman, KU student and downtown Lawrence resident, it's not bravery that compels him, but thrift. Ever since the economy took its downturn, Fishman, like many other students, has been looking for easy and fun ways to pinch pennies. For him a rooftop garden was the answer.

"I eat a lot of produce and after a while buying it from the grocery store can add up, this just seemed like an entertaining way to save money and still eat right," said Fishman.

Local gardening has made a revival in Lawrence. Thanks to the recession, more and more people are realizing how easy and affordable it can be to grow their own produce. The agricultural awakening hasn't been limited to individuals. Restaurants and business owners are all finding ways of using gardening to help evade the pains of the economy. Gardens of all sizes can be found around downtown if one knows where to look. Even for those who aren't blessed with a green thumb, fresh, affordable, locally grown produce is lining the shelves all over town.

The management at Tellers was quick to find ways to save money. At the beginning of last year when the recession was just on the horizon, they decided that because of the popularity of their infamous Margherita pizza, growing their own basil would be an easy way to cut costs. "We knew basil would be the plant to focus on, we use it in so many dishes and we always seem to be running out of it", said Shawn Miller executive chef.

Located atop their 9^th and Mass. rooftop are six large black tubs, each brimming with herbs and spices. Beyond the initial investment in supplies, sprouts and dirt the only other expense is their monthly water bill. All of their hard work paid off, and now Tellers has access to an ample supply of fresh, organic, and most importantly affordable basil.

Not all of Lawrence's growth is above street level. Community gardens throughout town are making a big impact for some local businesses. Jim Grimes owner of Headmaster Salon has been the driving force behind the garden that sits next to his shop at 8th and Vermont.

The once vacant lot, which belongs to former mayor Bob Schumm, was revamped 2 years ago. Grimes spearheaded the project along with his partner at Headmaster Lee Heeter and friend Josh Millstein who manages the Casbah Market. To the three the garden is more of a hobby than a means of living, but the three have noticed how the garden has helped Lawrencians keep eating well even when times get tough.

Most of the produce that is harvested from the Vermont St. garden is sold at the Casbah Market. The business prides itself on organic, locally grown vegetables sold at an affordable price. The increased flow of produce out of the garden has helped the shop cut down its costs and Millstein passes the savings onto his customers. "When we have stuff coming out of the garden we can price it lower and people like it" said Millstein.

Organic food has a bad reputation for being overpriced. That's a false stereotype according to Patrick Hangauer Casbah employee, " Organic food still has the stigma of being expensive, but when you incorporate the local factor in it, it actually ends up being really inexpensive because you're not having to throw in the traveling costs and all the gas prices." Local contributors like the community gardens allow shops like the Casbah to offer Lawrencians who aren't able to tend their own garden a way to eat healthy and save money at the same time.

The Casbah isn't the only store that focuses on locally grown food. The Community Mercantile at 9^th and Iowa has been doing it since 1974. While the Merc offers a wider range of produce than the Casbah, because they are a larger store they are not able to offer the same bargains.

 Items at the Merc are comparatively priced, meaning that an item from an organic farm in California will often be priced the same as the same item that is locally grown. The difference lies in where the money goes. A higher percentage of the locally owned sale will go to the farmer, while the imported item will devote more of the profits to the shipping. Shopping at the Merc still supports local businesses but if beating the economy is the goal, there are better ways.

The recession has made everyone more money conscious. However for people who aren't ready to start sacrificing the quality of their food and want to support their city, there's still hope. Summer's almost over and growing season is running short. For anyone who wants an inexpensive source of fresh produce now is the time to start working. If the responsibility of a garden seems like too heavy a burden to bear, fresh, affordable produce is only a storefront away.

The Lawrence Public Library is looking a little busier than it did last year, and all the years before, for that matter. On any given day, a person can walk through the front doors into an atmosphere of rustling pages, clacking computer keys and rambunctious children. These sounds are becoming ever more prominent as of late.

Both in Lawrence and nationwide, people seem to be re-discovering the value of their local public libraries. Numbers in all areas of usage are increasing, from the number of library visitors to the amount of materials being checked out. This significant increase parallels the decreasing state of the economy. All the while, libraries are trying to support themselves, as well as their patrons.


Over the past several years, the Lawrence library has noticed its numbers climbing. Its number of user visits increased by about 100,000 in 2007as compared to 2000. The total annual circulation almost doubled in that time span, with audio-video materials being the most popular. Their check-out frequency spiked by 10-15% each year. Program attendance skyrocketed, also doubling during this timeframe.



Numbers are even rising monthly this year. For example, while there were 42,194 library visits in January, there were 52,924 in June. Similarly, 112,990 materials were checked out in January, which increased to 131,168 in June. As for the cause of all this:

"I think the recession is a huge factor," Bruce Flanders, LPL director, said.
 
"People are just trying to economize," Sherri Turner, LPL assistant director, agreed. "People are realizing that they can get their entertainment materials free here."

Rebecca Smith, director of communications at Watson Library, offered another perspective. Building off of the recession backdrop, she thought the recent library increases might be another example of the so-called "Lipstick Index." This phenomenon was so named when economists noted that during times of recession, the number of women buying lipstick increased. The basis of this notion was that when times got harder, people looked for small reasons to be happy.

"People are looking for an escape," Smith said. "So they turn to books and movies."



There is one downside to all of the increased traffic to libraries, and that is the fact that the libraries themselves are not exempt from the recession. Across the nation, libraries are shutting down, unable to finance the services that people expect from them.

More locally, the Topeka public library recently had to cut its staff and, despite a relatively large budget, found itself struggling. Lawrence Public Library maintained itself well, actually getting an extra $9,000 added to its $3 million budget for 2010. However, this increase is coming from another budget that is usually reserved for capital improvements. Flanders also predicted a possible budget cut in 2011.

"Going back decades, public libraries have observed that when the economy goes down, the usage goes up," Flanders said. "The paradox is that the libraries are under pressure too."

As library usage grows, so does the need for more services. Lawrence Public Library director Bruce Flanders talks a bit about the projects that the library is taking on.

Sonya Thomas clings to her mother's legs, hiding from the teacher behind the desk who tries to ask for her name.

It's enrollment for new families at Langston Hughes Elementary -- one of the district's 15 elementary schools -- and second-grader Sonya isn't too confident in her new surroundings.

Her mother, Sarah, encourages her to speak up, but Sonya remains crouched and hidden behind her mother's calves.

"Her brother was shy, but never like this," Sarah said.

Sonya's brother, Michael, will be a ninth-grader at Southwest Junior High this year. After going to middle school for three years in Idaho, Michael was looking forward to high school. But in Lawrence, Kansas' only remaining district with junior highs, Michael will have to wait another year for high school.

"He was pretty bummed out when I told him about it," Sarah said. "Honestly, I didn't know schools still had ninth-graders down a level."

That may change as Lawrence once again considers a grade reconfiguration that originally popped up in 1985. Despite 24 years to discuss and research the issue, the grade argument in Lawrence still boils down to parents' unwillingness to change despite evidence that suggests moving ninth-graders into high school benefits students.

 

History

Moving ninth-graders into high schools started gaining popularity in Kansas in 1979.

That's when the Topeka School District became the first multi-high school district to make the move. Kansas City, Kan., and Shawnee Mission followed in 1980.

By 1990 Olathe was the only district with more than one high school that hadn't moved its ninth-graders into high school buildings.

In 1985 the Lawrence Board of Education formed a committee and started looking into the issue for its district. From September 1985 to February 1986, the Middle Level Steering Committee met more than a dozen times.

The members discussed research, visited middle level schools in other districts and debated the issues that needed attention.

The Board of Education received the Committee's recommendations and passed all but one of them unanimously. The one they held stated that it was in the best interest of the kids to move ninth-graders into high school.

"It was the most controversial of the recommendations we made," said Tom Erb, a former professor of education at the University of Kansas and a member of the committee.

The Board approved the other recommendations on March 24, 1986, but it wanted to gather input from the community before making a decision on the grade reconfiguration.

On April 13, 1986, school board member Bob Palmateer was quoted in the Lawrence Journal World, saying "we found out...they like things the way they are."

"That, to me, was an overgeneralization that didn't fit the facts," Erb said.

Erb, who came to KU in 1978 as a specialist in middle school education, wrote a letter to the editor detailing his committee's findings. It found, among other things, that the curriculum and extra-curricular activities offered at the high school level were much more beneficial to ninth-graders than those they found at junior high.

Lawrence citizens tossed the issue back-and-forth for more than a year. On July 20, 1987, the Board approved the recommendation to move ninth-graders into high school buildings.

Twenty-two years later, it still hasn't happened.

"Practically, they couldn't implement the plan for their own recommendations until they had another facility," Erb said. "And that became a political issue that took 10 years to resolve."

The Board liked the idea, but the district's lone high school, Lawrence High, couldn't accommodate an additional class. Despite housing only grades 10-12, Lawrence High's enrollment (1,832 in 1990) was often the largest in the state.

From there most of the discussion turned from middle level education to whether Lawrence really needed another high school. Proponents argued for the benefits of two, smaller high schools where kids could more easily stand out.

"To sell that, they kind of had to soft pedal the idea that ninth-graders ought to be part of the picture," Erb said. "So that proposal kind of fell by the wayside."

Now Lawrence is the only school district in Kansas, and one of the few remaining in the country, that doesn't teach its ninth-graders in its high schools.

 

Effects

A bulk of the discussion on grade configuration revolves around the effects it would have on the students.

"It's not that there's a right way or a wrong way," Lawrence Superintendent Rick Doll said. "It's asking 'Where does research trend?'"

Most studies in the last 30 years suggest that ninth-graders mature more quickly and would benefit from a real high school experience. Also, the studies conclude that sixth-graders are more prepared for explorative classes, which take place at the middle school level.

Currently, Lawrence must shuttle band and orchestra teachers around the elementary schools. If they were at middle school it would be easier to offer those courses.

These findings are evident in the near extinction of junior highs (grades 7-9) across the country. According to the National Middle School Association, the number of public junior high schools dropped 83 percent between 1970 and 2001.

Likewise, a 2001 national survey of middle and junior high principals found that only three percent favored the junior high school setting. Sixty-five percent of them said that a 6-8 middle school is the best system for adolescents.

On the other hand, Doll hears plenty of arguments from Lawrencians for keeping ninth-graders in junior high.

"They get to be kind of top dog, and that's a good place for them to mature as they prepare for the high school setting," Doll said.

Ed West, principal at Lawrence Free State High School, disagrees with that assessment. West said sophomores should be acclimated with high school and prepared to fully take-on academics and athletics. In Lawrence, though, the sophomores are new to the high school and must readjust themselves before going forward.

Lawrence resident Marcia Riley has often come out to oppose moving ninth-graders into high school. In 2000, when the issue resurfaced, she and fellow parent Margy Rose organized a group that helped deter the school board from voting on reconfiguration.

"Our children's education shouldn't be sacrificed because of money, even in a recession," Riley said. "It's important for kids to get that leadership experience in ninth grade before going into high school."

The Shawnee Mission School District implemented its K-5, 6-8, 9-12 system in the 1986-87 school year. Erb studied the kids directly affected by the reconfiguration. His study disproved the suggestion that seniors corrupt ninth-graders in a high school environment.

"What we found was that the ninth-graders were far more corruptive themselves when they were in the three-year junior high schools," Erb said.

Short-term suspensions dropped 23 percent at the ninth-grade level once they were moved to high school. Teachers who were moved from junior high to high school also noticted how much better behaved the new freshmen were compared to how they acted in junior high.

Erb and Doll also believe that because ninth-graders grades count towards their high school GPAs, the students really need a high school setting.

"That was one of the problems that the junior high teachers in Lawrence were pointing out 20 years ago," Erb said. "The ninth-graders weren't taking ninth grade seriously, because they didn't realize that the screwing up they were doing was going on their high school transcripts."

"It's a little harder to impress that upon kids when they're physically in a different building," Doll said.

 

Last One Standing

In 2008 the Olathe School District approved a plan to create more room at its four high schools to accommodate shifting ninth-graders up a level.

That means Lawrence has no one left to play with, literally.

While the addition of a second high school was held up largely because of Lawrence High's success on the gridiron, athletics figure into the district's equation differently now.

No other junior highs in the state means that Lawrence ninth-graders have to compete against seventh- and eighth-graders.

Money also plays a large role in this decision, especially considering the district's recent budget crisis. On the surface moving ninth-graders into high school and replacing them with sixth-graders doesn't seem like a money-saving venture. But it creates a domino effect that could help alleviate some of the district's financial concerns.

"We have lots of small elementary schools, and if you pull sixth grade out of those elementary schools you have to ask the question, 'Are there some consolidations of elementary schools that we could do?'" Doll said. "I don't know if the community wants to do that or not, but that's where the real cost-savings would come in that regard."

The district could also save money by not having to shuttle teachers from school-to-school.

When Mrs. Thomas heard that the issue had come up more than 20 years ago, she asked her daughter's future teacher why it had not been resolved.

The teacher's response: "How long do you have?"

Because of all his studies on middle school education suggest one thing, Erb still can't understand what holds Lawrence back from reconfiguration.

"That's always baffled me about this community," he said. "In many ways it's open to new ideas, and so often on the other hand there can be some of these traditions that are pretty powerful and part of the public psyche."

The Board of Education will request community input on grade configuration at its goal-setting session on Aug. 17.

While a few factors remain unknown, Doll believes that there's enough evidence in support that the board will pass it to his office for further investigation.

"You want to make the decision on what's best for the kids, but if there were some cost-savings that go along with that, that would probably move along the process a little faster," Doll said.

So, Aug. 17 will likely be the first step in a multi-year plan to finally implement the plan that originally passed the school board 22 years ago.

Of course, enough opposition to change from parents like Riley may run the issue underground once again. In Lawrence, as Mrs. Thomas will learn, you just never know.

Susan Klug, a Para for West junior high school, spent this summer unlike her previous two. Instead of working with students through summer school she stays busy taking care of her sick father.
    Even though she knows that she needed to take the summer off to care for her father, a summer away from her students reminds her of what could happen. Being without a job.
    "It makes me really nervous because I know that they've had to cut hours," Klug said.



    This past year a tight state budget has caused cuts in education funding. The Lawrence Public School system is feeling the effects and recently job layoffs due to budget cuts has become a reality to district officials. However there has been good news on the horizon.
    The Lawrence Public School system received $1.6 million in extra funding because they were able to include students from the virtual school in the district enrollment count. The extra students mean they can count them in the district budget, which means more money from the state.
    In a recent school board meeting district officials said that the extra money meant no more budget cuts for this year. Frank Harwood, chief operations officer said that although things look good for the year, future cuts are still a possibility.
    Although cuts won't be happening this year, the future still worries Klug because her Para job is a classified job and those are the first to go when the cuts happen. 
    According to Klug, classified employees make up the support staff of a school. These employees include secretaries, janitors and library aids.  Klug feels that even though they are the first jobs to be cut, they are still important.
    "The school could not function without the classifieds, they need us," Klug said.
    Nikki Freeman, a fellow Para at West junior high school said that even though she and Klug are classified employee's Para's tend to be the last cut jobs because schools are required to employee Para's in order to help special needs students.
    "They have to keep us to please the state but there still aren't enough of us to help all the students but we do our best," Freeman said.
    According to Klug, when classified jobs are cut, other staff members have to take on extra responsibilities in order to keep the school running. Klug agreed with Freeman that they often have to help each other just to get to all the students that they have.
    "Para's don't just help their own students, they often have to help fellow students because there aren't enough of us," Klug said.
    Klug said that she became a Para five years ago because she liked the idea of working with kids and the schedule worked for her family. She doesn't want to leave her school but said that if she were to lose her job she would try to get a job at another school because it is what she loves.
    Freeman and Klug both agreed that even though classified and even certified jobs are at stake, they are not the people most affected by the loss of crucial staff members.
    "Our kids are most affected because there are student that need the extra help and aren't going to be able to get it," Klug said.
    "It's a great disservice to our students that need that one on one time in order to learn better," Freeman said.
    With the extra money in place, the school board hopes that when the time comes in the future they won't have to make any cuts but realize it's always a possibility. Klug said that while she feels safe this year, her concerns would always stay with the kids.
    When we start cutting back, we just hurt the kids because they don't get what they need," Klug said.

Off 9^th street there is a Yellow house that many people pass by on a daily basis. It isn't the home of some rich family, or even a boring old office building. It is a factory, a factory for creativity and teamwork. It is a place where filmmakers and journalists alike can put their skills to the test.

One filmmaker in particular, Sean Saffold, sits in his edit bay making the final touches to his next masterpiece. A piece that will be premiered here in Lawrence in less than a month. A piece that Saffold knows will touch lives.

Saffold has had a connection with KU from the very beginning.  He was born in Kansas City at the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1970 to a very educated family. Both his parents were given the opportunity to go to college, which wasn't surprising considering his mother attended Sumner High School in Kansas City which was a legendary all black school before it was integrated that was known for sending kids to college.  When he was two, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he lived until leaving for college. While in high school he was very involved in extra curricular activities and even made the all-state football team. A member of the school choir as well, Saffold kept him self busy. He was the type who liked to keep his nose clean.

"Well you see, all of the girls were in choir so that's why we did it but I had a pretty decent voice" Saffold said. 

In high school Saffold was given the opportunity to participate in the school play when his drama teacher wrote a part specifically for him. There were not any African American roles in the play but his teacher saw Saffold's potential.

After graduation Saffold accepted a football scholarship to Ohio State University but after only a year had to leave the team due to a personality conflict with his coach. He transferred to Nassau Community College where he continued to play football. After a year he was eligible to transfer back to a D1 school and he began attending Ohio University.

Saffold decided to declare himself a radio and television production major. He always knew from a young age he wanted work in movies but the idea of having a career in them seemed very far-fetched to him.

"My mother says that ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a film maker. I just thought that working in television was more realistic," Saffold said.

 After graduating from college Saffold made a connection with a big executive at ABC news in New York. The executive happened to be a football fan, so he and Saffold hit it off right away. Saffold was offered an internship, working as a production assistant 12 to 16 hours a day with ABC. He also got the opportunity to work for CNN for a short time.

After completing his internships he moved to Vegas to continue working as a production assistant, but this time he got his dream of working in the movies. He worked on such films as Casino, Bogus, Leaving Las Vegas, and Showgirls.

While working on Casino, Saffold got to know Sharon Stone fairly well and really got a taste of what the Hollywood lifestyle was like.

"I lost a lot of respect for Scoresazy. He had us shoot one scene 70 times. I just thought it was such a waste," Saffold said. 

Though Saffold has made small appearances in some of his films, production has always been where his heart was. He decided to come to KU on a Pell grant in his late twenties. Saffold wasn't the first in his family to attend KU, 20 of his relatives had attended KU before him, and one of them was KU basketball player Butch Ellison.

He began studying film at KU and was introduce to Kevin Wilmont, who was in his early thirties at the time. Wilmont had just finished his masters at NYU in screenwriting. Wilmont came to Kansas to make his film 9^th street, which Saffold took a big part in as well.

"We have been together ever since," Saffold said. "I'd definitely say he is one of my closest friends."

Last year Saffold and Wilmont entered their most recent movie "The only good Indian" in The Sundance movie festival. Saffold is currently working on his masters here at KU and in his time here, has worked with a lot of prominent people in show biz. Some KU grads that he was given the opportunity to know include Neil Labute, Laura Kirk, and Paul Rudd.

"Paul was in a few of my classes. He told everyone he was leaving school to make it in Hollywood and we didn't hear from him for a while," Saffold said. "Before we knew it we saw him in '40 year old virgin'," Saffold said. 

Currently Saffold is working on a documentary tentatively titled "The Reunion". The movie is about the 1988 KU national championship basketball team. Recently the whole team came back for a reunion and Saffold and his team of people who are working on this project were able to get interviews with all of the players and coaches about their experiences.

"We are making this movie because this is a team that was never supposed to win. It was one of the greatest upsets of all time," Saffold said. "This movie just shows that sometimes it's not about talent. It's also about what you have in your heart and in your mind."

In the future Saffold plans to finish up his masters and go on to receive his doctorate here at KU. He ultimately hopes to become a professor of Afro American film history. 

"The thing about Sean is he has such a good presence about him. I mean people who hadn't seen each other for twenty years at time stayed with us for like an hour," Brendan Glad, Saffold's production partner, said. "I was amazed at how comfortable people become around Sean. He keeps me fired up "

"The Reunion" will premiere on August 28^th at Liberty Hall.  Saffold along side partner Brendan Glad shot nearly four hours of film and are still working to cut the film down to about an hour and twenty minutes.  They two still have a few interviews to complete but they expect to stay on schedule for the premiere. 

As fiddles play in the background, children play cards with their parents, dogs run to catch tennis balls and couples set up their blankets.  These Lawrence residents are preparing for another night of the Downtown Film Festival.

Each summer, Downtown Lawrence hosts a variety of free events to draw residents outside and together as a community.  The Downtown Film Festival offers everything from live music to massages, free popcorn and prize giveaways.

"It's kind of the next best thing to a drive-in movie and the dynamic of watching a movie outside with a bunch of people is a lot different than sitting at home watching a DVD," says Jane Pennington, director of Downtown Lawrence, Inc.

For six Thursday nights each summer, hundreds of Lawrence residents gather on the lawn beside the parking garage at 9th and New Hampshire Streets to enjoy a classic black and white film.  Downtown Lawrence, Inc. has hosted this free film festival for the past three years and has seen a steady increase in attendance, which is attributed to a variety of factors.

While Pennington likes to think that the increase in attendance is a result of Downtown having a great program and a fun event, she admits that the free admission is another attraction.  With the economy in the state it is, some residents are unwilling to spend big bucks on tickets at the movie theater.  According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, the total number of U.S. and Canada theater admissions dropped from 1.4 billion in 2007 to 1.3 billion in 2008.  The average U.S. movie ticket price in 2008 was $7.18.

"Maybe not for some people, but I'm a single mom and movie tickets are way too expensive for me," says Jacque Funk, film festival attendee.

Funk brings her 2 year-old son Narayan out to enjoy the movies Downtown has to offer. Though Narayan gets more enjoyment out of running around his mother's blanket and playing with dogs other onlookers have brought, Funk takes comfort in the fact that she can sit back and watch a movie without having to worry about it being age-appropriate.  The mass appeal of the genre of films shown this summer is one of the main things that attracts so many people.

"This was originally developed as a film noir festival but when we partnered with the Parks and Recreation Department we wanted it to be more family friendly, so we parted with film noir and changed to more classic black and white movies," Pennington says.

This summer, those who attend the festival will watch a variety of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy classics.  Attendees begin gathering around 8 p.m. and are greeted with live music from a different band every week.  Warm popcorn sits free for the taking while children and adults alike line up to partake.  While waiting for it to get dark enough for the movie to start, attendees read books, catch up with old friends and some even bring picnic dinners.  Eden Detrixhe, Lawrence resident, attends the festival each week with her friend Liz Crickerd.  The women bring lawn chairs and listen to the live music as they take some time off from their busy schedules.

"I like just seeing different parts of the community coming together for something very creative," Dietrixhe says.

Wide arrays of people attend the festival each week.  According to Pennington, organizers see quite a few families with young kids, college-age kids and a lot of older residents as well.   It is easy to tell that the children in attendance enjoy themselves.  8 year-old Kaelyn Weiss runs around doing cartwheels as she waits for the film to begin.  

"I like seeing everybody out here, listening to music and bringing my friends to play with," Weiss says.


There are several events like this held in the Kansas City metro area, but Pennington feels the Lawrence festival keeps attendance high by setting itself apart from similar activities.  

"We're working with a new theme each summer, this year we focused on Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy films, but next year we're thinking of doing classic screwball comedies.  Each year we get to pick a new focus," Pennington says.

It is widely known that several downtown businesses have recently closed.  There have been rumors that downtown Lawrence will soon consist mainly of just bars and restaurants.  However, Pennington insists that this is not the case. 


"I think what people don't recognize is that businesses aren't closing because downtown is a bad location or anything like that.  It's just that people are retiring and they're moving on, it's just part of the whole life cycle that an area like this goes through," Pennington says.

Downtown Lawrence, Inc. continues to offer an assortment of free entertainment each year.  Organizers feel that these types of family-friendly events will help make residents realize just how much downtown has to offer.

"Don't count downtown dead--it's far from it," Pennington says.

Across the country, college athletic departments make major cuts to their programs. Budget cuts force many big name schools to cut different sports teams out. Although the athletic department at The University of Kansas plans to cut around 5 percent of the budget, donations cushion this financial scissor.

            "Fans and alumni care very much about athletics. This year there was actually an increase in donations. Despite this we feel we should be cautious and plan ahead," Marchiony said.

Ways athletic departments attempt staying afloat with the recession: Texas A&M cut 17 employees Indiana State axed two sports completely UNLV started a daytime practice policy in order to reduce lighting costs Cincinnati decided to eliminate several player scholarships Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=4314195

 

Jim Marchiony, Associate Athletics Director for external affairs said the alumni and donor contributions at KU help budget problems. The KU athletic department's budget for purchasing goods for construction jumped $30 million more than the previous year.

While other schools resort to cutting sports teams entirely, KU has yet to resort to anything this drastic. Several schools cut back on expenses to aid in padding the budget in any way possible. KU receiving more donations than last year allows the current construction projects to continue. Marchiony said the first floor of Allen Fieldhouse, a basketball practice facility for both the men and women's basketball teams and Wagnon Student Athlete are a few of the construction projects going on right now.      

Only 2 percent of the athletic department's budget comes from university sources according to Marchiony. This leaves 98 percent of the department's budget to alumni and willing donors. Brandon Lytle, KU graduate attributes the increase in donations this year to the success of the department as a whole.

            "The more success that each of the programs has individually, the more that people are willing to invest," Lytle said. "Kansas just happens to have great leadership, great coaches, great timing and most important of all, and an amazing and wealthy alumni base."

           

            A news release on KU's website discusses the cuts the academic departments face for the coming school year. The athletic department plans on cutting close to 5 percent of its budget. The academic departments together cut 12 percent, almost $18 million. Lytle thinks budget cuts between the two departments don't need to reflect each other.

            "These are two different entities within the university and should be treated so. Despite this, each of these departments of the university work best when both are thriving," Lytle said.

 

            The department plans on adding more facilities within the next few years. Marchiony said the big project the department is currently raising money for is an Olympic village including a new track, softball field and soccer fields. Lytle said these additions are necessary to the success of the department.

            "If the department is staying stagnant then it will fall behind the curve. Great leaders and coaches understand that in order to increase success, it is important to increase funding and facilities constantly," Lytle said.

            KU may follow the national trend of budget cuts to their athletic department, but thanks to donors and alumni, the department's ability to offer new facilities remain in tact, for now.

            A family of six slowly squeezes through the bright red door of A.B.'s Crepe Shop. They're immediately greeted with a warm welcome that breaks the hypnotic smell of the frying batter that's filling the air.

 

            Three generations shuffle past the register and in two strides they've reached the back wall. Even though there's only two other people in the restaurant they quickly realize there's hardly enough room for them to stand, let alone eat. 

 

            It's 97 degrees outside and nearly all the food at A.B.'s is served hot, but the family doesn't think twice about the heat and with eager smiles they offer to sit out front. 

 

            It's obvious that the most collegiate of the bunch, like many of A.B.'s customers, is a regular to the shop. He also happens to be the namesake of one of A.B.'s most popular dishes, the Jason. However his family's easy-going behavior is not because of his mild culinary celebrity, in fact it's the norm at A.B.'s. 

Kasey Bowden sits at a table calmly in a plain red t-shirt and blue shorts. On the outside she looks like a college student relaxing for the day. After a typical workout and lunch in Lawrence with an old professor she checks facebook diligently. Friends at KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo. know Bowden as the nursing student who earned a 4.0 and free schooling through her commitment to academics. In Kiserian, Kenya the natives know her as "Muzungu."

 

Bowden's initial interest in nursing came from family. Her grandmother, who died from lung cancer, spent years working as a nurse for the army. Bowden would listen to stories from her grandmother's nursing days while she took care of her. When Bowden realized she could travel and help the underserved populations through nursing at the same time the profession stuck.

 

"It seemed like the perfect career for me," Bowden said.

 

Mary Bowden, Kasey's mother agreed. She remembers Kasey mentioning nursing at 10 years old. Mary already witnessed Kasey making a great nurse after watching her take care of her grandmother when she was diagnosed with cancer.

 

"She stepped up when she was needed in a very difficult situation. I think that situation definitely had an effect on her," Mary said.

 

Growing up Bowden traveled to different places with her family. Kasey's mother remembers her daughter's way of overcoming the obstacles that travels presented. The family traveled all over the United States together where they met several obstacles along the way. Through these, Kasey created new memories through stories.

           

"When we went white water rafting and she went flying out of the raft and we hauled her back in, cold and kind of scared, the first thing she said was, 'Well, now I have a Colorado story,'" Mary said.

 

Bowden learned at an early age to not let obstacles ruin her travels; a trait that helped her when interests in HIV and AIDS projects lead her to Kenya. Bowden worked closely with several of these organizations which sparked her interest in International medicine.

 

Inside Kiserian, Kenya, located in the slums of Africa, lies a Catholic Clinic where trained volunteers perform medical miracles. Bowden arrived at the clinic for seven-weeks of culture shock. In Kiserian. children run around the rough terrain barefoot and malnourished. For these kids seeing a white girl is a rarity. Bowden remembers crowds of children lining the streets that comprised the 45 minute walk she traveled to reach the clinic.

"It's really scary because you realize how much you stick out. In the places I was staying I was literally the only white person they had ever seen," Bowden said. "The things I saw on a daily basis were constantly shocking. It was a harsh realization of what limits you have as a nurse no matter where you are from."

 

Bowden grew up in Topeka, miles away from Kenya. Growing up, the only 'malnourishment' she experienced: too many glasses of Sunny Delight. Unlike children in Kiserian she wore shoes when playing outside and never dealt with "street justice."

 

Bowden's upbringing in a household where one parent is an engineer and the other with a masters in math, aided in her work ethic. Bowden balanced work, clinicals and volunteer work all throughout her years in college and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. None of that work prepared Bowden for the way the judicial system works in Kenya.

 

Bowden witnessed street justice while in Kenya. Unlike the United States, Kiserian law doesn't establish any rule regarding a person's innocence until proven guilty. Instead, the accused person is lynched and stoned by the citizens that live in Kiserian when anyone says they have committed a crime. Bowden experienced this rule first hand when a road rage incident turned horribly wrong.

 

A gun slams against the window of the car Bowden is traveling in. The gunman grabs the driver of the car and throws him to the ground moments before grabbing Bowden. The citizens all crowd around, watching the white girls' altercation with the police. The men throw Bowden and the people traveling with her in the back of a police van. As the police question one of the passengers at gunpoint, the crowd starts yelling "Give us one more."

The men then grab Bowden for questioning. A gun rests on the back of her skull while ideas race violently through her head. Her biggest concern: the police tossing her to the crowd for lynching.

 

The police then took all of passengers to their station where they explained that the road rage incident resulted in the other driver claiming their car contained guns. Kiserian law states only police are allowed to have guns in their possession. Bowden also received frightening details at the station regarding the incident.

 

"They told us the only reason that they didn't have shooting orders against us was because they knew that there was a white girl in the front seat of the car and assumed I might be a hostage or kidnapped," Bowden said.

 

After the police realized that Bowden and the other passengers didn't have guns they apologized with no emotion and let them go. Situations like this happen, legally, far too often in Kenya.

 

Even with this negative experience, Bowden still plans on moving to a third world country after attending Georgetown for graduate school. She says it's more than just a want to return to Africa and practically a necessity.

 

"I feel compelled to go back. I feel like I have to go back, almost. I want to be a part of bettering the lives or the health provisions for the people in Africa," Bowden said.

 

Bowden's future includes traveling to aid third world countries that need help with international healthcare. Mary attributes Kasey's personality for the top reason Kasey makes a successful nurse and sees international healthcare in Kasey's future.

 

"Her days will have purpose and meaning, but there will also be room for fun, to enjoy the good things in life," Mary said.

 

 

 

           

            Thom Alexander grins as he picks up the microphone during the Kill Kenny Music Festival in South Park. He already performed this afternoon. This can be considered his encore.

   The crowd is all ears.

            "We've almost sold two kegs," Alexander tells the crowd. "And don't worry, we've got more on the way."

            Thom Alexander is the executive director of the Americana Music Academy, 1419 Massachusetts St. Since first arriving in Lawrence and founding the academy, Alexander dedicates his life to keeping American roots music alive. Alexander's mission includes lessons, performances and workshops for community members, in addition to musical therapy for the mentally challenged. This summer the academy hosted the first ever Kill Kenny Music Festival to keep the academy afloat during tough economic times.

            Alexander arrived in Lawrence more than 15 years ago to receive the city's well-respected autism services for his son. While experiencing the local music scene, an idea began to sprout.

          Lawrence needed a music academy.

            "For all the wide-range of music that's here, there needed to be a clearinghouse," Alexander said. "That's what I want this school to provide."

            In late 2001 Alexander founded the Americana Music Academy.  He gathered regional musicians to teach anything from mandolin to harmonica, or what he calls "true roots instruments." Alexander began a mission to keep roots music alive.

            His successes can easily be seen.

            "We've seen hundreds of students," Alexander said. "We offer services that are otherwise unavailable."

            Alexander ensures that the non-profit academy is not limited in its instruction. When students come to the academy, they tell Alexander what they'd like to learn. He then places the student with an instructor that is capable of the lessons.

            If he doesn't have that type of instructor, he searches.

            "We try to teach anything someone wants," Alexander said. "I've only had trouble finding bagpipe and classical harp teachers. Otherwise we are extremely flexible."

             But Alexander's mission touches more than musically inclined students.

            Music therapy for the mentally disabled is a major part of the academy. The academy offers lessons and performances to treat this part of the community. A handful of the academy's instructors are trained music therapists from the University of Kansas.

            Alexander's experiences with his own son inspired this focus for the academy.

            "Dealing with my son's autism taught me how beneficial music therapy really is," Alexander said. "KU has one of the best music therapy programs in the country and it's produced some of my finest instructors."

            Despite such successes, Alexander sees regular challenges with the academy, especially in the current recession. Committed to being a non-profit organization, Alexander balances low costs with keeping the academy and its programs afloat. In tough economic times, Alexander is unable to lean on the city's support.

            Instead revenue comes from lesson fees and fund-raising.

            "We'd love to give free lessons to all students," Alexander says. "But right now this income is necessary to keep us alive."

            The academy lost a huge annual fund-raiser when the Wakarusa Music Festival left Lawrence this year. Previously, the academy hosted a beer tent at the festival and used profits to pay a large most of its yearly bills.

            When Wakarusa moved, Alexander took matters into his own hands.

            "The move leaves us without a major source of income," Alexander said. "I figured, 'what the hell?' I'll throw my own festival down the street at South Park."

            Alexander pitched the Kill Kenny Music Festival to City Hall in early 2009. The city approved. Alexander then petitioned to break city code and sell alcohol in the public park to generate income from the otherwise free event. Once again, the city approved.

            The event marked the first time an event sold alcohol in the city's central park.

            "I had no idea that we were making history when I put in the request," Alexander said. "Had I known, I'd have been a bit more nervous about making the request."

            Kill Kenny proved to be a massive success for the academy. Crowds gathered on July 18^th to celebrate local music and the academy's work in the community. The festival hosted 16 bands throughout the day.

            Community members and performers alike enjoyed the festival.

            "This whole thing is really inspirational," said Peter Longofono, a performer who played at the festival. "The academy is bringing the community together around something truly beautiful and positive: roots music."

            As the sun set on the festival, Thom Alexander glowed. Not only did the beer and t-shirt sales make up for the loss of Wakarusa, it showcased the academy's work for the community to enjoy.

            "This will be an annual event," Alexander said. "I'm so thankful to everyone who came out."

            But for now Thom is ready to sit back and enjoy some good old roots music. 

The sun shines, the birds chirp, and fairways stretch as far as the freshly-mowed rows of grass take them on a summer day at Alvamar Orchards Golf Course. A pair of golfers high-five after a two-putt for par, and another round is complete. Inside the clubhouse sits the course's owner, Edward White, on a business-as-usual July afternoon. White greets another golfer, and reminds him to grab a scorecard.

White has seen gorgeous summer days like these at his golf course for the past two decades. Most people go out to the golf course to escape the realities of monotonous everyday life for a few hours. White goes to this heaven-on-earth because it's his job. His passion.

"It's kind of like a dream to do something that you love," White says. "It's not even work."

As anxiety consumes the United States of America over increasing unemployment, disappearing 401k's, crime rates, potential wars in foreign nations, and volatile gas prices, Edward White chooses to live a life most anyone would envy. Edward White's story is one you don't hear of very often these days. The story of a simple life. A happy life. A life where friendships and customer satisfaction exceeds profits and revenue.

A three-sport star in high school, White pursued a major league baseball career. He spent two and a half years playing in the Boston Red Sox farm system. He would have made to Boston it too, said Emil Tonkovich, a long-time friend of White's, if Ted Williams hadn't played baseball into his 40s for the Red Sox. White returned to Kansas for college and played and coached basketball at Pittsburg State.

After coaching at Pittsburg State, White spent 29 years in California, where he found what many call success. He found money. He found a solid reputation. He did well in the aerospace industry. He started a lucrative business providing services for attorneys. But White didn't find the fulfillment in an uptight California he'd ultimately find upon his return to Kansas. It wasn't always flowers, butterflies, and under-par rounds on a golf course there.

"Generally speaking, people are angry out there. They have long hours. They have to commute. It's dog eat dog. It takes money to live there. Not everybody's in a good mood. It's not like Lawrence," White said.

While working for attorneys in California, he dealt with people suing each other and divorces. He had guns and knives put to him. He was robbed. And don't forget the traffic.

"Boy, you get on that freeway, and you've got to fend for yourself," White said.

The success White had in California wasn't what he was looking for, and on Valentine's Day of 1992, White and his wife, who are now divorced, returned to Kansas. White had to find a new job. His wife had invaluable advice for him on the job search.

"The wife suggested 'If we're going to move back, do something that you love,'" White said.

White found something he loved when he bought Alvamar Orchards Golf Course in 1992 from Bob Billings. He found a simple life with simple fun, and since 1992, White has run his business with those principles in mind. It's the type of business grandparents mention to grandchildren while reminiscing of the good old days. A type of business where "regulars" still exist. A type of business where a handshake goes further than a five-dollar bill. A fun business.

"This is a fun place. There's no reason to be anything but fun," White said.

White goes out of his way to make Alvamar Orchards a fun place to be, not so much for business, but for pleasure. When tee times are backed up, White will give college students waiting to tee off tests with topics ranging from the Great Lakes to Supreme Court Justices. The winner gets a soda or a few golf balls.

"That's the kind of thing I do," White said. "It doesn't cost me anything."

Walk into the clubhouse in the mornings and you'll find White enjoying coffee with clients and shooting the breeze. They talk about nothing important, he says, just the previous day's events. Running the golf course he says, has been about building friendships more than anything.

"I've never had so many close friends and friends than I've made through the golf course," White said.

Emil Tonkovich is one of the close friends White made at Alvamar Orchards. Tonkovich began golfing at White's course ten years ago, and still plays once a week at the course. His friendship with White is a large part of the reason Tonkovich keeps playing at the Orchards.

"It's different than most courses where the owner or even the managers don't know the people that well. It's a friendship thing," Tonkovich said.

Sure, business is still important, and for White, business is still decent. When the City of Lawrence built the 18-hole Eagle Bend Golf Course near Clinton Lake, White lost half of his business. But the regulars stayed. They preferred what White calls the "loosey-goosey" feel his course offers that others don't, despite the fact it only has nine holes. If he had more room, White thinks it would be different.

"The only negative about this place is that it's 9 holes. If it was an 18 hole course, I'd be kicking everybody's butt," White said. "That's a fact, Jack."

18 holes or not, White has found his simple home at Alvamar Orchards. Owning a golf course lets him be near his passion of sports. A lifestyle most would envy these days. A perfect set up for a people-person like White.

"It's kind of an ideal situation," Tonkovich said. "It's a fun job for him. He enjoys it."

For now, White plans to hold on to the golf course as long as he can. He plans to continue his optimistic outlook on life. To continue morning coffee and "bull" sessions with customers. He'll keep giving his tests to college students when the first tee box gets backed up. He has no intentions of leaving Lawrence.

"It's a hoot," White said. "I'll die here with my golf shoes on."

Ruth Stone's job description may sound like a nightmare. But for Stone, she is working her dream job.

 

The main parts of Stone's job description include nine bathrooms, 27 trash bags and 84 college women. If you are interested to find out where you can apply for a job like this, look no farther. Ruth Stone is the cleaning lady for a sorority house at the University of Kansas.

"People think I am crazy for enjoying my job, they don't get to see all the perks I get," Stone said.

 

No, she didn't actually dream of this job when she was growing up. Her long locks of wavy blonde hair, like the character Sandy, from the movie Grease, flow down the shoulders of Stone's petite frame. If you spotted her in a crowd, it's possible you wouldn't think of Stone as the type to pick up the messes of 84 women everyday.

She arrives at the sorority house around 5:00 a.m. Giving herself time to prepare for her day's work before all of the daily hustle and bustle begins in the house. If she isn't greeted with any late night or early morning stragglers, her first order of business is to begin brewing a pot of coffee. Once a slight buzz of caffeine hits her system she is ready to start cleaning. 

 

As the early birds begin to rise, conversations begin to flourish. The women can count on Stone's early morning smile, even if they have a look of disgust for having to be up early, they still manage to flash her one back.

 

"Ruth is cleaning our bathroom every time I wake up, she knows I am not a morning person but always says something to put a smile on my face,", Gamma Phi Beta member, Taylor Shainholtz said.

 

The messes of 84 college women do cause an occasional surprise to Stone.  She recalls times where she would be upset about some of the messes left after they would come home from nights out. Other than that, Stone couldn't think of any other complaints. Her favorite part of the job is taking breaks to chat with all of the girls.

 

"I have 84 interesting stories to hear about each day," Stone said. "I always love to hear what is going on in the girl's lives."

 

Stone, 64 years old, is a grandmother of five, member of the bridge club, and loves to play golf. She has been the cleaning lady for the same house for 10 years. She believes the key to a great job is being around great people. Stone credits the girls of the house for her continued love of her job.

 

"I take care of them, and they take care of me," Jennings said

The buzz

            A honey bee landed on Richard Bean's apron as if it was looking for something.  Maybe the bee smelled the honey in the air, or maybe it was plotting revenge.  It may have been just attracted to Bean's outfit. 

The bee sensing there was nothing for it left and moved on.  But Bean continued to dish out honey and other products like eggs and flowers to dozens of customers that are on first name basis with Bean.

Richard Bean makes price tags for the honey Saturday at the Farmer's Market in Lawrence.

Bean, 62, a man well over six feet, is dressed head to toe as a bee with a little hat with eyes and antennas.  He spends his Saturday's selling honey at the Lawrence Farmer's Market from his farm, the Blossom Trail Bee Ranch.

            The outfit brings a lot attention to his little booth as people give him smiles and comment on his outfit.  "Looking good," a woman yells as she walks by while a little girl giggles and points to Bean from the side before running to catch up with her mother.

But behind the yellow and black stripes it's all business for Bean who has been keeping bees since 1971.  Beekeeping and working the Farmer's Market is now his full time job.

            Bean started slow in the early 70s.  "I had a notion that I would like to try keep bees and fortunately there was a gentleman in my hometown who kept bees," said Bean.  "I went to talk to him, and even though he didn't like the length of my hair, he was willing to talk to me and give me some tips."

            Bean started off by taking out bee colonies from old farm buildings or wherever there were wild bee colonies.  Bean continued beekeeping through the years and now maintains about 60 beehives around the area.  Around 12 of the hives are swarms bees that he captured himself.

Helper bees   

Mark McCanon has been acquaintances with Bean for three years and for the last year has been assisting Bean.  "I've been beekeeping for about eight years now, but I just recently started working with Richard," said McCanon.  McCanon is often seen right next to Bean at the Farmer's Market dressed up like a bee as well.

Richard Bean helps customers Saturday mornings at the Lawrence Farmer's Market.

The partnership began when Bean started helping McCanon with some of his beekeeping problems and they became more and more involved with each other's work. 

            "Last season he started helping in the fields.  It helps out a lot to have an assistant," said Bean.  "I could do it on my own, but it makes it so much easier."

            The pair has also started an educational service called Bees 4 Us which teaches educational classes. 

            One of Bean's students is Tucker Saunders, 7, who sometimes helps Bean at the Farmer's Market when McCanon is unable to work.  Saunders' family runs the booth next to Bean, which sells meat, eggs and vegetables. 

Saunders said that the Bee Keeping classes were very fun and that it taught him a lot about bees.  Saunders also said that Bean is very nice and he likes to work with Bean at the Farmer's Market.  Bean's influences have spread around the interests of beekeeping as Saunders said he may one day like to be a beekeeper. 

Stings

            Beekeeping may seem like a daunting profession for some, especially those who are afraid of being stung.  Bean was slightly allergic to beestings when growing up.  "I would have most of my forearm completely swollen from getting stung in the hand," said Bean.   He said that his body is now slightly more used to bee venom so he doesn't swell up so much, but he also said the beestings still hurt.

Richard Bean places jars of honey at his booth Saturday morning at the Farmer's Market in Lawrence.

            "A lot of a times it's an accident even when I've finished up my chores and I'm about to walk away I'll get stung, said Bean.  "I hate those; an unprovoked sting."

            Even with stings still being painful, Bean says he usually only wears his beekeeping helmet.  "It'd be crazy not to, but in the summer time.  I try to be as comfortable as possible," said Bean.  Certain precautions can also be used such as using smoke to cover the pheromones in the air.

            McCanon also said a bee sting is suicide for them, so they usually leave you alone unless they feel threaten and releases pheromones into the air.

Past the honey          

It's not just about selling honey for Bean.  He is also trying to further organic beekeeping as beekeepers tend to use a lot of chemicals during the whole process.  "I'm try to try and figure out how to control mites in a sustainable fashion without using chemicals," said Bean.   

In addition to selling honey, Bean also sells the comb, which is becoming more popular with people and is the only place in the Farmer's Market to buy it.  "The comb is the whole product.  Everything is in it including the taste and nutrition," said Bean.  "There may be a few more health benefits to the comb honey too."

Bean also sells bee pollen, which many believe to have various health benefits, although the Food and Drug Administration does not allow providers to state that pollen can contain health benefits.

It is Friday morning, and she is ready to read. Tucked into the small recording room, she checks the mic, adjusts her chair. Today's book splays in front of her, this one a tale of a Long Island boy pining after the local coffee shop girl. She clears her throat and begins her introduction: "Hello, this is Eleanor Symons..."

Symons is just one of a couple hundred volunteer readers at the Baehr Audio-Reader center who donate their time and their voices. She has the unique distinction of volunteering the longest, though - 38 years, to be exact. She was with the program at its birth and has stuck with it as it has grown over the decades.

"I enjoy reading," she said. "I always have."

Audio-Reader is a radio reading service for blind people, or anyone else with a visual impairment that inhibits their print-reading abilities. It is the second of its kind in the nation, and its services are free to its over 5,000 registered listeners. A handful of University-paid staff runs the program, while a multitude of volunteers do the reading, keeping listeners entertained with everything from local news to poetry to movie reviews. They also cover the less glamorous material, like grocery ads and obituaries.

"There was one time where I read 100 obituaries in three hours," Symons said. "I wondered if there were any living people around."

Still, reading is what Symons loves, what she always loved. The English mystery novels she enjoyed as a schoolgirl are still her favorites.

"They keep a British accent going," she said.

This accent is a remnant of Symons' years in England. She grew up in Camborne, Cornwell, and attended the local primary and secondary schools there. She noted how much more reading students did there than in the states.

After graduating from the University of London Library School, she worked happily in area libraries for nine years. This changed one September day in 1957 when she opened the morning paper to the classifieds section. KU, on behalf of Watson Library, put a wanted ad in the British paper for a librarian.

"They just made KU and Lawrence sound so attractive," she said. She quickly applied for the opening, and she, along with a few other international individuals, got the position.

Thus began Symons' life in the U.S., her 37-year-long career at Watson, and her eventual involvement with Audio-Reader.

When the concept for Audio-Reader came about in 1971 and Symons caught wind of it, she felt compelled to get involved.

"I got in at the very start, because it sounded like a good thing," she said. "I didn't have money to donate, but I could read."

And that is what she has done ever since. She religiously goes into Audio-Reader a couple times a week, reading for a few hours at a time. Even when she had to stop driving a few years back, she began taking the bus so she could continue her efforts.

"They treat the volunteers well," Symons said. "We have a summer picnic and a Christmas banquet. There are always coffee and snacks around the common area."

Symons' dedicated years do not go unnoticed. Two years ago, Audio-Reader put her name forward as a candidate for the city's Volunteer of the Year award. She got it.

"I didn't expect to win," she said. "There were a lot of other people [who could have]."

Janet Campbell, Audio-Reader director and one of the people that nominated Symons, saw the winning qualities though.

"It's remarkable," she said. "Longevity aside, she's a terrific reader and ambassador. She has recruited a lot of other volunteers for us."

Campbell said that she has had new volunteers come to her from Symons' church and retirement community. They say that Symons talked up the program, and now they want to get involved as well.

"Her enthusiasm just spills over," Campbell said.

Even when she is not at Audio-Reader, Symons' hobbies still hover around words. She busies herself with crossword puzzles and participates in a weekly writing group. Of late, she writes about childhood memories, something she finds "therapeutic."

Of course, she enjoys a bit of light reading as well.

Becky Swearingen isn't a name you hear very often. If asked who she was, students probably shrug their shoulders and talk about maybe going to the Jaybowl later. Incidentally, they probably see her every day, especially if the Kansas Union is part of their daily campus routine.
Without fail, Becky sits ready and poised for whatever may come her way. As Business Manager of Union Programs, it is her job to be on the ready for anything from a fresh coat of paint at the Jaybowl to a superstar's hotel booking for an upcoming SUA event.
"She knows everything, she's a jack of all trades and very needed in our offices," said J.J. O'Toole-Curran, Director of Union Programs. "Her business office title does not do her justice".

Becky's coworkers' faces brighten at the mention of her name and are ready to pour the praises on her behalf, but seldom can say who she was before she came to level 4 of the Kansas Union.
"I grew up on a farm that has been in my family for over 100 years," said Swearingen. "I've lived in Lawrence my entire life".
After graduating high school, Swearingen decided to follow her life long dream of becoming a police officer. She doesn't know why, but for some reason she wanted to be a police officer her entire life. "I went to Johnson County Community College because I knew they had that degree there," said Swearingen. She studied criminal law and worked throughout college. In the end, she did not finish her degree and wound up in accounting. "I don't even know how I got there".

Swearingen has worked for the Union going on 17 years. She began her service to KU in the banking office, handling all the money for the Hawk Shops, dining services, and catering. From there, she went to work in Accounts Receivable handling money for room rentals and Union services. But she was dissatisfied. "I was dealing with numbers everyday; it just became monotonous".
Becky came into her current position five years ago as business manager. "Has it really been that long?" she asked, diving back behind her desk to check a saved email confirming her position. "It doesn't seem like that long at all".

Now, she admits, nothing is the same. Swearingen admires the amount and diversity of students running in and out of the office everyday. She is responsible for KJHK, Jaybowl, some aspects of SUA, and runs the Box Office. "I also see ourselves as an information booth, but my main job is to keep track of bills, payments and budget for Union programs.". She shared a frightful thought of handing a SUA student a credit card, but then quickly shuddered at the thought. "We would have double bookings, miscommunication, unpaid statements...no, I'm in charge of that".

Swearingen also oversees the display cases, updates the Memorial Unions' KU website, and has the opportunity to meet "pretty cool" people.
"I loved meeting Anderson Cooper, Lisa Ling was really nice, and I was totally impressed with Michelle Branch. But George Stephanopoulos was my favorite".

She remembers when Common came to KU and found it amazing how he took a student aside during his show and had them tell him about Lawrence. "Five minutes later he rapped an entire song about Lawrence and KU - just amazing".

Swearingen is proud of her students when the talent they bring in stays with them after the show. "The students put on these major events, so they should get a chance to meet the artist. Gabriel Inglesias did this, and Fluffy too!"

At work, Swearingen hangs with students and meets rock stars, at home is a different story. "I live in what you would call a hobby farm - it's my passion". She grows zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, green beans, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes and onions to name a few. Swearingen also has an 11-year-old daughter at home. "It would be great if she comes to KU, but she can be a die hard KU fan and get her education elsewhere". Swearingen hopes her daughter will finish college and study abroad as well. "I'll push for that [study abroad] and maybe for my own benefit, but I'd love to go to Alaska, Antarctica, the German countryside, Paris".

Down in the level 1 Jaybowl, Tim Fields, Recreational Coordinator, pauses for a comment on Swearingen. "Beside her being my direct supervisor, she is a tremendous source of motivation and support, and is always coming up with great ideas". Later he adds, "I like to poke fun at how organized she is; everything is color coordinated!"

"I love my job," said Swearingen, "There's nothing I dislike about it." The most fun she has is when she doesn't know what students are talking about. Swearingen enjoys popping her head over and saying, "What?" and quickly going to look it up on YouTube.

"Ten years ago, I would have gone back to school, but not now. There's no way. I'd miss seeing all the students and meeting all the interesting people".

Swearingen would definitely be missed if she decided to leave. "Our mission is to provide quality programs for the campus and Lawrence community," O'Toole-Curran said, "I hope she never leaves; it would be a personal loss".

At her desk, talking casually with Fields about Jaybowl's future prospects, Becky Swearingen does not seem the power-force her co-workers paint her to be. Instead, humble, she smiles and strikes up a conversation with those who enter her domain. You want to talk to her; how could you not?

"I'm not an unsung hero. I'm here to do my job the best I can and hopefully help someone along the way".
But where does she see her future self?
"In 10 years, I hope I'm still here in the union and that I'm not too old to enjoy SUA functions".

It's another slow and quiet summer afternoon at Larry's Barber Shop.

At this time of the year, customers don't line up at the door for a haircut.  Larry Franklin, owner of Larry's Barber Shop located at 924 Massachusetts St., sits in his waiting chairs which currently are hardly used but for him.  He watches the people of Lawrence walking past his shop.

One look inside Larry's Barber Shop and one can sense the passed time in the shop over the years and the Kansas Jayhawk spirit.  A two chair barber shop, Jayhawk memorabilia is displayed all over the walls, as well as a few of Larry's personal hat collection.

Just then, the door opens and in walks Ervin Hodges, former marine, mayor and city commissioner of Lawrence.  Greeting each other on a first name basis, Hodges and Franklin reminisce of their days serving the United States and the history of some of the local barber shops.  These are the type of customers Larry's Barber Shop relies on at this time of year, long time customers.

"I've been coming here way before Larry bought this place," Hodges said.  "I believe this place has been here since around the 1920s."

After Hodges leaves, Franklin goes back to sitting on his waiting chairs.  Franklin, who has owned the shop since 1994, has been a Kansan for almost his whole life.  Life hasn't always been this simple though, failed marriages, a life threatening addiction and currently a slow business have plagued Franklin in his past, but he has kept his head up high through the toughest of times.

Franklin was born in Iola, Kan., in 1947.  After graduating from high school in 1965, he immediately joined the Navy.  For four years, 1965-1969, Franklin served as a Yeoman on two U.S. ships which never left the continental waters of the United States.  Franklin said he really had no choice but to sign up for the Navy.

"It was either that or get drafted," Franklin said.  "I kind of made a choice to go ahead and join the Navy, rather than have someone choose for me."

After getting released from his duties in the Navy after four years of service, he decided to go to barber school.  Once he returned to to Kansas, he enrolled in a barber school in Hutchinson, Kan.  Franklin said to be licensed to be a barber back then, he had to go to barber school for a year, or 1500 hours of in-class study.  Here he learned the art of cutting hair, shampooing, shaving and other techniques required to be a barber.

As he recalls the events in his early life, Franklin continues to watch the people walking by the shop.

Franklin said he had to pass a state exam, then serve an 18 month apprentice to a barber before he could get licensed.  On June 2, 1970, he found a barber who he could apprentice for in Fort Scott, Kan.

"We had to stand in a corner or behind the barbers and do the motions in the air," Franklin said.  "No clippers, scissors or anything, we had to imagine we were cutting hair until we perfected the upward motion."

After a short period in Fort Scott, Franklin went back to Hutchinson to buy his own barber shop which he ran for a few years.  In 1973, he and his wife decided to move away from Kansas down to Dania, Florida with their two children.  Franklin didn't pursue his barber profession at all while living in Florida, working on a golf course.  

Larry takes a deep breath and is a bit hesitant talking about his time in Florida.  His first child, Larry Franklin Jr., and other son Bryan were just babies at this time.  He said after moving to Florida, two tough years ensued between him and his wife.  In 1975, Franklin returned to Kansas, leaving behind his wife and two children, ultimately ending in divorce.  

"Back then I was very young and irresponsible," Franklin said.  "I wanted to move back and she didn't."

When Franklin moved back to Kansas, he lost contact with his two sons for nearly 13 years.  Franklin had been married before the birth of his two sons, but had little to say about the short-lived marriage.  Larry went on to remarry in 1976, but this again ended in divorce.  Despite his failure in previous marriages, Franklin has been married to his current wife since 1982.  

"She's very satisfied being a barber's wife and I'm satisfied that she's satisfied,"  Franklin said.

Overall, he has 5 biological sons and one daughter, along with one stepson.  

When he moved back to Kansas, he moved to Lawrence working as dispatcher for a trucking company and a taxi cab driver.  When his wife became a manager at Greyhound Bus Depot in Topeka, they moved once again to Topeka where he worked as an assistant manager.  

Finally, after years of being out of the barber business, Franklin decided to try and get back into barbering.  Since he hadn't cut hair in years, his license to cut hair in Kansas was expired.  In order to get it back, he had to give two haircuts, a longer style and traditional, a shave and a scientific rest facial.

After receiving his license, Franklin landed a job in 1988 at Amix Barber Shop, located further down Massachusetts St.  John Amix and Mike Amix both worked for their father, who was a barber in Lawrence, who worked for his father in Lawrence.  When John Amix left his brother and father to open up his own shop, Larry was the man to fill the position.


In 1988, Larry and his first two sons who still lived in Florida started communicating again for the first time in years.  Larry Franklin Jr., or L.J., was 17-years-old when he decided to reunite with his father back in Kansas, ultimately going to barber school in Topeka.

When L.J. got his license, his father got him a job alongside him working at Amix Barber Shop.  The two cut hair on a daily basis together until 1994 when a barber shop opened up down the street, which would end up becoming Larry's Barber Shop.
L.J. said that when his father bought the shop in 1994, it wasn't until a few years later in 1997 when he finally left Amix Barber Shop to buy into his father's business.

"I wasn't comfortable enough to buy into a business with him at the time, plus they offered me a great deal to stay there," L.J. said.  "But after a while I realized that down there I would always be renting a chair, if I came up here I could eventually buy into the business and be a partnership.  

Since L.J. has been a part of Larry's Barber Shop, there has only been one other employee, who was fired back in 1999.  Since then, the shop has been a father-son business.

Giving an explanation of each piece of memorabilia on his walls, one in-store business card holds secrets of a dark past.  A small business card which gives a hotline number for people with gambling issues.  Franklin takes a deep breath, looks down and back up again.

"That's me," Franklin said.  "If you call that number, you'll get me."

About 14 years ago, Franklin fell into a hard addiction of gambling.  He described his temptation to gamble as intensively compulsive.  Franklin said that his addiction started when him and some friends occasionally went up to Nebraska to a place called Aks-Sar-Ben (Nebraska spelled backwards) in Omaha, Neb.  Aks-Sar-Ben is a race track where people can bet horse races.  Larry said that when the casinos opened up in Kansas City it became more opportunistic to supply his addiction.

"It got to be where I was spending more money than I had, taking legal risks,"  Larry said. "I almost lost my family, my business and if it would have continued I would have probably lost my life."

Franklin said the reason he thinks he got so addicted to gambling was because he started off winning thousands of dollars at a time.  He once took a trip out to the west coast with some friends, driving through multiple states gambling at every place they stopped along the way, winning several thousands of dollars.  

The luxury of staying at high class hotels and eating wherever they wanted took his addiction through the roof.

"There would also be times when we took trips, we had to come home because we had no money to pay for hotel rooms, we slept in cars and stuff like that," Franklin said.

Franklin decided one day that his gambling problem was taking over his life, and he could see the dark future gambling would bring if he kept on going.  Franklin said that he is lucky he realized what gambling was doing to him.  He started attending Gamblers Anonymous groups in Topeka on a weekly basis.  

"Without Gamblers Anonymous and that program you probably wouldn't be talking to me today," Franklin said.  "I'd either be locked up, dead, or running around like some of the people out here homeless or whatever."

After a while over in Topeka, Larry decided to start a Gambler's Anonymous in Lawrence, which was non existent before.  As the two year anniversary just passed, the group continues to help the community of all ages.

"I don't care if you spent $100,000 or $20, if you have no more money because of gambling then you have a problem."

Larry said that October 5, 2009 will mark his fourth anniversary being clean from gambling.  He said he hasn't even bought a scratch ticket in that time.  

Franklin has also been an avid bowler his whole life.  Later next month, he is taking a trip to Las Vegas with two of his sons to participate in a national bowling tournament.  With a small grin on his face, he said in any other circumstance he wouldn't go but being able to spend time with his kids and bowl in a national competition was something that he does not want to pass up.  "I going to depend upon my past experiences and my desire that I don't want to get back into that," Larry said.

As his business is seeing a decrease in customers due to the economic downfall, Franklin still has confidence in his shop.  Larry's Barber Shop just picked up some new products to put on the shelf like American Crew, something that has been absent from the shop for several years.  Franklin said that people would come in asking if they sold certain products and after being told they sell it at the other barber shops like Amix Barber Shop, would leave and take their business elsewhere.  

Franklin and his son, L.J., both said some people who used to get their haircuts every two weeks start going a month and some parents cut their own children's hair.  Franklin said the economic downturn is visible physically and on paper.

Larry's Barber Shop relies on a lot of students from the University of Kansas.  

"I think business is down as a whole, especially at this time of year," Franklin said.  "I've seen a marked reduction in my own income."

As opposed to other barber shops in Lawrence with five or six chairs at a time, Franklin's two chair business relies heavily on reoccurring customers.  Franklin said he still has customers from the first year he bought the shop.  Larry's Barber Shop doesn't do hair coloring but still offers the choice of a shave.  

Compared to the other barber shops on Massachusetts St., Franklin feels that those shops have an edge because shops owned by the Amix brothers have been cutting hair for close to 70 years.  

"We're the new kids on the block even though we've been here 15 years," Franklin said.

Over and above all, Larry Franklin says he is happy with his profession and the success that he has had with his shop.  Smiling, Franklin said he knows he'll never be rich with the business, but he enjoys the luxuries of meeting and developing relationships with so many different people.  

"If you can get a great haircut, you'll go back to that person all the time," Franklin said, "and thats what we pride ourself on.

Malcolm Miller is a busy guy. On this evening he sits and relaxes for the first time in days but it won't last for long. He is moving into his new house on 11th and Delaware. Surrounded by unpacked boxes and unarranged furniture he looks like a typical 22-year-old but unlike most this new house is important because it is the first house he has ever bought himself.
    As a lifetime Lawrence resident, Miller is able to afford his new house with the money he earns from his four jobs. He works as a barber, a doughnut maker and even earns free coffee by taking out the trash at Henry's every night.
    "I've always found ways to make money, even when I was little just selling Kool-Aid," Miller said.
    Although he loves all of his jobs, Miller says there is one in particular that he combines his ability to make money with his favorite hobby, watching movies.
    Miller says that when he was younger he remembers going to Liberty Hall to see special midnight showings of old cult classic movies. This didn't last long and the absence of the activity left him wondering what happened. So Miller contacted his friend Jeremiah Hansen at Liberty Hall. Hansen told him that a lack of interest caused the promoters to stop having the showings. That's when Miller asked Hansen to join up and bring Midnight Movie Madness back to Lawrence.
    Since their first showing in November 2007, Miller and Hansen spent the weeks leading up to the event doing the same thing. They start by agreeing on a movie and then contact their distributor to see if it is available. If it is, Hansen obtains the rights and rents out Liberty Hall. Once that is done Miller says his work begins.
He is in charge of promotion and getting the word out about Midnight Movie Madness. Millers says he uses social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to inform people, along with flyers and good old fashioned word of mouth.
    In his latest venture Miller came up with the idea of making shirts that people could buy that would count as admission to the film. The first time he tried out his idea was for the June 2009 showing of the Cohen brother's film, "The Big Lebowski." Miller had only two dozen shirts made and found that he underestimated the popularity of the film.
    "We made 24 shirts for 'The Big Lebowski' thinking they would sell out in two weeks but they sold out it 2 days, now we are making 48 for the next movie," Miller said.
    That showing turned out to be the best to-date selling out Liberty Hall with just fewer than 600 tickets sold, according to Miller. Abby Woody, an attendee of the showing and friend of Miller said it was very exciting to see such a great response from the community.
    "There were so many people there, it was so fun. Everyone was clapping and making jokes, it was awesome," Woody said.
 Although "The Big Lebowski" was a success, Miller says every showing isn't always that successful. Last year he and Hansen showed Stanley Kubrick's, "A Clockwork Orange," thinking it would be a success. They just forgot one simple rule of business: know what you're up against.
    ""Only about 100 people showed up, which was a little disappointing but I think anyone who was at the movies was at "The Dark Knight" because it was the opening weekend for that film," Miller said.
    Even though it isn't always as successful as he wants it to be Miller says that he continues to forge forward. For each of the 25 movies they have shown so far, Miller says he and Hansen either broke even or made less then $40 from their original investment. Although he has a love for movies Miller likes to think of himself as an entrepreneur and wants to make money.
    "For years we were lucky if we got $40 every month, it's truly a labor of love and we have always said we don't necessarily do it for the money but we wouldn't necessarily do it if we didn't get any money," Miller said.
    Miller says he doesn't see much in his future using his skills as an events promoter but says he is content putting on Midnight Movie Madness every month despite having little time for much else in his life.
    "What little time I have I don't mind putting towards this because it's movies that I love and want to see on the big screen," Miller said.
    His love of film began in high school, when he took a film studies class and fell in love with making movies. Miller considers making and watching films his biggest hobbies, along with photography. Woody says this has been the defining factor of Miller since they met.
    "I have known Malcolm for four years and he has always been the friend to want to go to the movies every weekend. It didn't surprise me that he wanted to do Midnight Movie Madness, he just loves movies," Woody said.


 
     Miller says he plans to do Midnight Movie Madness for as long as he is able to and wouldn't mind making it his career even if it meant having to hand over the reigns over to someone else in the future.
    "I don't mind letting it live on, especially if I know that whoever continues it has the same passion for films and putting this on as much as I do, especially if I could still make some money off it somehow," Miller said.
    Now Miller has more to do than ever, aside from promoting the next movie, he still has to move into his house. He will get a break next week though, Miller said he is taking a week long vacation to New York City. The success of Midnight Movie Madness is helping provide the money for the trip. Miller is looking forward to relaxing but knows when he gets back he has more work to do.
    "Another month means another and I don't have as much time to prepare but I'll get it done, just like I always do," Miller said.

As the July sun shines in through the picture windows behind his desk, Rick Doll sits in his office as the new superintendent of the Lawrence Public School District.  Sparsely decorated walls surround him as he flips through his full agenda for the coming weeks.  While he is very focused on the work ahead, Doll revels in the opportunity to reminisce about some of his favorite things.

In addition to education, Doll has two main passions in life: Family and travel.  He has had the opportunity to travel all over the world to spend time with his family and he cherishes every memory.

"It is such an awesome thing to get to experience so many different cultures and places and learn something along the way," Doll says.

Doll uses his life experiences to constantly find new ways to facilitate the best education for every child. Doll is extremely dedicated to his career in education and has high hopes for the future of the Lawrence district.  He plans to draw on lessons learned from his upbringing, the close relationships he harbors with his family members and the adventures he has made around the world.

Doll was the sixth of seven children born to his father, an eighth grade dropout, and mother in Wamego, Kan.  He grew up in poverty but says that at the time he and his siblings didn't realize how poor they were.  This rough beginning inspired Doll to dedicate himself to his education so that he could help others do the same someday.  He attended McPherson College and earned his MS and EdD from Kansas State University.  From a young age, he knew he wanted to have a career in education.  He worked as a teacher for many years, but he had no clue just how far his career would take him.

"I honestly don't think any kid dreams of being a superintendent when he grows up! All I knew was that I wanted to be a teacher," Doll says.



Having a family with such limited resources growing up caused Doll to make education a focal point in his family's lives.  Not only is he an educator, his wife Gayle is a professor at Kansas State University and is the director of the Center on Aging.  Doll and his wife wanted to ensure that each of their three sons could get a quality education and pursue their goals in life.

Doll's face lights up with pride as he talks about his sons. Jake just graduated from Columbia Medical School, Caleb is pursuing a PhD at Vanderbilt and Jesse recently graduated from the University of Denver.  They have all made their Dad very proud.  His boys have also helped Doll transition from Kansas State fan to KU fan.  The boys are all huge KU fans.  Doll was born and raised near Manhattan, Kan., and has always been a fan of the Wildcats.  His previous job as superintendent in Louisburg, Kan., reinforced this even more considering their use of the purple and white Powercat as a mascot.

"When people ask me the K-State question I just respond with 'I'm flexible,'" Doll says. "I will however say that my sons are thrilled that I'm working in Lawrence now."

Doll's wife Gayle is also happy that the family will soon be calling Lawrence home.   Doll shares a love of education with his wife.  Gayle's career success as a professor at Kansas State University takes her to Manhattan during the week.  Doll only gets to see his wife on the weekends and he takes full advantage of the time they get to spend together.  Weekends are reserved for what Doll refers to as "date time."  Maybe now that the couple will be nearly an hour closer to each other during the week they'll be able to squeeze in more of this bonding time.

Doll especially treasures the opportunities he gets to travel with Gayle.  Over the years the couple has traveled to a variety of countries.  Their oldest son Jake spent some time in the Peace Corps and his parents visited him at some of the exotic destinations where he worked.  

"We went to Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Victoria Falls.  For the first time in my life I was the minority and it was truly an incredible experience," Doll says.

Before coming to Lawrence, Doll worked as an educator in a variety of central and eastern Kansas communities including: Herington, Wamego, McPherson, Rock Creek and Louisburg.  

Rick Doll's career in education has taken him to a variety of communities over the
years before ending up in Lawrence.

"Rick is always interested in expanding his knowledge in efforts of education and understands the needs of students," says Scot Rogers, Louisburg School Board member.

No matter what his title, Doll tries to always work in time to do some teaching.  Though he is qualified to teach at a college level, Doll's favorite field to work in is primary education.  He loves to work one on one with students and is described by his peers as being very student-centered.  Doll hopes to be able to do some form of teaching in Lawrence, whether it be at the high school level, KU or even Haskell.

Those who have worked with Doll only have good things to say about him and his education techniques.  The Lawrence Public School District faced a major cut in state aid this year and in response Doll confronts this issue head on.  He has organized a goal setting session for the school board to take place in August to determine ways to make the district's budget stretch as far as it can.  

"Rick's perspectives on what needs to be accomplished may be different from past superintendents but I believe he will listen and then challenge those in the system to move forward," says Sharon Zoellner, Louisburg superintendent.

According to Doll, Lawrence is about five times larger than Louisburg, based on the number of students and the budget.  Doll feels that Lawrence has many characteristics of a small town and he is eager to sell his home in Louisburg so he can move here.  He welcomes the opportunity to get to know as many members of the Lawrence community as he can and is confident he will enjoy his time here.

"The Lawrence community has been very welcoming," Doll says. "I feel right at home already."

Nearly every Friday night Marge Etzig joins friends and strangers for a chance to have a drink and socialize at Conroy's Pub before heading out for a bite to eat.  Etzig and the others are members of a singles group for older-age people called the Lawrence Over 40 Singles Club. 

After her divorce in 1993, Etzig joined her first singles club and has been a member of at least six different singles groups ever since.

"If your really interested in looking for somebody you really have to get out amongst other people, in singles groups, in volunteer work, anything that's going to get you out where there's people your own age," said Etzig.

For women and men 40 and over such as Etzig, dating, relationships and even making new friends can sometimes be a challenge.  Living in a college town adds to this challenge, but fortunately singles clubs and online dating, which continue to gain in popularity, help connect single men and women around Lawrence with ease and success. 

Although Lawrence may at times be referred to as an art and music town or a border rival town, it is a college town at heart.  With the University of Kansas sitting in the center of Lawrence, it is inevitable that the rest of the city adjust and cater to the younger demographic of college students.   This means that many of the bars, night clubs and other hang out spots that facilitate social activities usually exclude people in their 40s and older looking for a place to mingle on a Friday or Saturday night.

"There isn't a general place that you can go and say this is where I need to go to try and find somebody," said Etzig.

As a result, singles clubs serve as a way for older-aged singles to date, form relationships, make new friends or simply socialize with others their own age.   According to Etzig, the clubs are a great way for singles to meet other singles and form connections.

Unfortunately, Lawrence does not have many of these clubs to offer to older citizens, and the few that are available sometimes lack in numbers.

"As far as singles groups in Lawrence, Over 40 Singles is the only one that I know of right now," said Etzig.

According to Etzig, some nights the club may have four people show up while other nights there may be 12.  In her opinion places like Kansas City have a lot more to offer because there are more clubs to choose from and more places to hang out that don't center on college-age students.

However, for those people from Lawrence who are a member of a singles group, whether through their local church or a specific organization, satisfaction is almost guaranteed.

For some, this satisfaction may come from finding a partner, but for others this could simply be in making new friends.  Contrary to what many people may think of singles clubs, they are not just to find men and women.  Many members are just looking for someone to spend time with, go out with or socialize with.

An online survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Chemisry.com between March 30 and April 3, 2007, among a nationwide sample of 2,549 U.S. adults age 18 and older revealed that close to 50 percent of those surveyed preferred to be single and dating rather than married.

"I try to get out and mingle with other people not because I want to date anybody, that's not my criteria," said Etzig.  "I joined the group to meet other people because the more people you meet the more diverse group you're going to have."

Perhaps for those people who are not extroverts like Etzig, online dating may be the answer. 

According to a Feb. 23, 2009, article by Belinda Luscombe for TIME based on U.S. census figures, 84 million Americans ages 20-75 are unmarried or separated.  This gives online dating sites a large number of potential clients. 

In college towns such as Lawrence where it's harder for people in there 50s and 60s to just go out and find someone, online dating sites provide a welcome alternative.  An article by Sheyna Sears-Roberts Alterovitz and Gerald A. Mendelsohn of the University of California Berkeley written in a 2009 article for the American Psychological Association said that, "it is increasingly common for single older adults to be involved in dating, and many are turning to computers to enhance their social networks."

Most people have heard of popular, nation-wide sites like eHarmony and Match.com, but there are also local online dating services.  Douglascosingles.net is a local online dating site specifically for people in Douglas County. 

And perhaps if dating sites don't do the trick, online personal adds may work better.  Popular shopping sites like Yahoo! and Craigslist also have personal add sections where users can place posts and look for companions that way. 

While Etzig admits that many of her friends use online dating services with success, she still prefers singles clubs and networking organizations that include more social interaction and incorporate not only dating but building friendships as well.

"There's a lot of uncertainty when you go online and try to hook up with somebody that way," said Etzig. 

Getting out and being a part of the community creates the best opportunity for meeting someone according to Etzig.  And for older adults, singles clubs and online dating can serve as helpful avenues in a town of college students.  

Almost every Friday at 12:30 p.m. 89-year-old Virginia Seaver sits behind a deck of cards starring at the array of suits, numbers and faces that she holds in her hand.  The Friday session is one of the four weekly games she attends as a member of the Kaw Valley Bridge Club that meets five times a week. 

After 10 years in the club and more than 75 years of bridge experience, Seaver never tires of the view behind the cards.

"Once you get interested it's hard to not stay interested," said Seaver.

For Seaver, Bridge is more than just a card game of bids and tricks.  Bridge is a history of shared memories, an everlasting hobby and a challenge to the mind. 

The memoires started from early childhood and continue to build.  Her interest in bridge stemmed from watching her parents play at the kitchen table of her Topeka home.  They not only played bridge, but rummy, casino, whist and many others.

As a child it was a form of cheap entertainment when television and computers weren't available.  According to Seaver, bridge was the social game of the 1920s through the 1980s.  It brought neighbors and friends together to enjoy a common interest.

Seaver remembers setting up book as a pretend card hands in order to participate in the games.  She also has fond memories of playing with her husband and his parents in California during WWII.

But her memoires don't stop there.  While her husband Jim Seaver was on sabbatical leaves she had the opportunity to travel to places like Israel, Italy, Great Britain and many others.  Wherever she went, bridge went too.  Seaver says she's played in several countries, on ships and with locals.

"Bridge is an international game," said Seaver.  "All you need is a deck of cards."

Her husband, a former KU history professor, is well recognized to many people in the community, but Mrs. Seaver is much apart of the community herself. Through bridge she has met lifelong friends and other people who share her enjoyment of the game.

The relationships she builds and the social interaction that accompany the game are more satisfying than winning in her opinion.  She also strives to connect younger generations to bridge.

"The challenge to me is to get people interested," said Seaver.  "It has been a very rewarding second career for me because the people here really appreciate it."

According to Seaver members of the club sometimes have nothing more in common but bridge.  Most are retired, but people from any age are welcome.

While anyone can join, skill doesn't come naturally.  One could listen to Seaver for hours and barely scratch the surface of the knowledge she holds.  From the history of the game to individual plays, Seaver is a dictionary of terms and situations.

She brings more than just a rulebook to the table though; she brings helpful coaching and an encouraging smile.  Winning is second to enjoyment.  As long as she plays well and tries her best to add to the benefit of the entire group, she feels satisfied no matter what the outcome.

According to her close friend and fellow bridge player Chris Lane, Seaver is quick to offer and provide support to everyone around her.  She is honest and proud, but never arrogant and never appearing to gloat.  

"She is always ready to teach, gently and with humor," said Lane. 

Lane describes Seaver as a mentor, co-worker, bridge partner and dear friend of boundless energy.  She also praises Seaver's dedication to bridge as limitless. 

However, Seaver will be the first to say that learning to play well does not come easy or fast.  Like any game or hobby, bridge takes time and experience to develop skill.  The game includes several different levels of difficulty to incorporate the diversity of players. 

Seaver describes the process as "starting vanilla and adding embroidery." The vanilla alludes to the vanilla color of the beginner scorecard.  As the difficulty level progresses, scorecards become increasingly detailed, just like embroidery is added to quilts or cakes.  

In order to eat from the five-tier wedding cake instead of $5 store-bought, as Seaver might say, reading about bridge is crucial.  So, when new players come to Seaver and tell her they've figured out how to play, she can't help but disagree.  She tells them that they will still be learning to play bridge for the next 80 years.

Part of her fondness for the game stems from the incredible possibilities the game features, from different hands to specific plays. With more possibilities come a greater excitement and a greater challenge for Seaver. This constant challenge that the game of bridge delivers captured her curiosity from the first hand she was dealt and will carry it to the last.

"It never gets boring, there's always something different," said Seaver.

It's a lifelong game that never gets old according to Seaver.  Some people will play until they are life masters.

For now, Seaver will continue to play with close friends and pass her 75 years of experience on to younger bridge players. 

"I think I can safely say that few have done more for the game of bridge anywhere and probably none in this area," said Lane.

Whether it is with deserved praise or gentle suggestions, Seaver's dedication to bridge touches everyone around her.

__________________________________________

Learn How to Play Bridge:

Visit the American Contract Bridge League

Alexandra Piatt, KU sophomore, first used the Plan B pill her senior year in high school, after both birth control and condoms proved unreliable. At that time, this pill was only available for women aged 18 and older, so she had a friend go to Walgreens and get it for her. It cost a steep $50.

The pill will be much more accessible and affordable now, thanks to the FDA's recent approval of a generic version. Dubbed "Next Choice," the drug, produced by Watson Pharmaceuticals, will be available over-the-counter to those 17 and older starting August 24^th.

"I'd use the generic form if the situation arose again," Piatt said. "I've used generics my whole life, and they work just the same."

This brand-to-generic turn of the Plan B pill is another instance of a growing trend. Once the patents come off brand name drugs and generics enter the market, consumers must decide between brand loyalty or lower prices. Despite Lawrence's distinction as an affluent city, its residents still join the rest of the nation in their preference for the latter.

 

The popularity of generic drugs started picking up during the last decade, transitioning from the minority to the majority of the type of prescriptions consumers buy. Courtney Brozik, a Lawrence CVS pharmacist, said that the most popular generics are antibiotics, hypertension medication and pain pills.

 

"We may have a wealthier population," Brozik said. "But if people can get things cheaper, then they're going to."

 

While many people think that brand drug companies must lower their prices to compete with generics, sometimes they do the opposite. As Ronald Caldwell, KU economics professor, said, this is because there are always a handful of people that refuse to buy anything other than the brandname drug they are used to taking. They will continue to buy it, no matter how high the price goes. The drug companies count on this and use the fact to get back some of the money that they used in the production of the drug, so that they might have money to start research on a new one.

 

"A lot of it can be in their heads," said Caldwell. "If people think that one drug works better than another - even if they're the same thing - then for them, it will."

 

Most of the time, though, brand drug prices will drop an average of 5 percent once a generic version hits the market, according to the most recent FTC Interim Report.

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As $60 billion of drugs will be coming off patent during  President Obama's first term, the demand for a competitive pharmaceutical market remains. A huge push for more generic subscriptions is a certain part of the pending health care reform, though a review of the FDA standards that regulate generics is not. More generic drug companies are outside the U.S., in countries like India and China, and they do not always adhere to these standards. Dr. Thomas Welty, chair of the KU pharmaceutical practice department, worried about what this could mean for brand companies.

 

"At first glance, drug companies may seem very profitable. But the pharmaceutical industry spends much more money on returning their profit to research than any other industry." Welty said."With a growing push for generic substitution, where does the money come from to fund new pharmaceutical research?"

Jeff Eden just wants people to slow down.

Eden, who lives at 2104 New Hampshire Street, has two young sons. His neighborhood grows younger by the year but he says people are overly-cautious on the sidewalks because most cars whiz by at high speeds.

As drivers encounter backed-up traffic at 23^rd and Massachusetts Streets, they often take New Hampshire as an alternate and speed down its straight-away.

"We just thought that people should feel a bit safer with so many little kids playing near the street," Eden said.

So, Eden and his neighbors signed a petition for traffic calming devices, in this case speed humps, and the Traffic Safety Commission passed it. However, they didn't know that getting it passed only put them at the end of a long line.

Traffic calming has log jammed in Lawrence. What started with a few requests turned into a movement. As requests continue to pile up, the City Commission possesses a long list of projects without any idea how to start.

 

History

Traffic calming devices, which most often include traffic calming circles or speed humps but excludes roundabouts, grew out of safety concerns. If a citizen worried that traffic rushed too quickly through their street, they could plead their case to the Traffic Safety Commission.

In 2001 Lawrence created its first traffic calming device, a partial diverter that prevented drivers from turning from Sixth Street onto Schwarz Road. The city's street division absorbed the low-cost project. Requests remained small and quiet for the first couple of years.

"We had some isolated requests here and there," Lawrence Traffic Engineer David Woosley said. "They weren't too extensive and most could be taken care of within the existing budget."

Requests became steadier in 2003, with the neighborhoods of University Place, Breezedale and Carmel Road all getting in line. But Woosley points to the extensive 2005 project along Harvard Road as the one that kick-started the calming craze in Lawrence.

"At that point we started getting more and more requests for traffic calming throughout the city," he said.

The city tore up much of Harvard Road from Wakarusa Drive to Monterey Way, placing in speed humps and traffic calming circles. A general obligations bond funded the project, which cost nearly $300,000.

Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods President Gwen Klingenberg helped propel the project.

"We were tired of people avoiding traffic congestion and speeding through our neighborhood," Klingenberg said. "The city's street design created the problem so we just asked them to fix it."

People most often request traffic calming devices if their street has become an escape route for cars to avoid congestion at major intersections. Neighborhoods with an abundance of children also often get together and decide that slower equals safer.

A study by the American Journal of Public Health found that kids who live within a block of a speed hump were 53-60 percent less likely to be struck by a vehicle.

"I don't think there's any problem with people wanting to feel safe," Klingenberg said.

As it became swamped with traffic calming requests in 2005, the Traffic Safety Commission decided to create a policy to judge the validity of each request.

They decided that local streets, which make up most of the city, had to meet one of three conditions while collector streets, which have higher traffic because of their proximity to popular destinations, had to meet one of four conditions.

Most requests met the policy guidelines. Thus, ranking the projects became the next major step for the Traffic Safety Commission.

"We had to come up with some plan of action as funding became available," said commission member John Ziegelmeyer. "The ranking system seemed to appease most people."

It only takes one citizen to make a request for traffic calming. The rankings, which factor in crashes, volume of cars and average speed, prioritize those requests on a points system. However, projects from as far back as 2004 remain on the list.

"The City Commission kept approving them, knowing that they didn't have any money that year and they would have to get to it some point in the future," Woosley said.

 

'What does 15 mean?'

When the Traffic Safety Commission put together its initial rankings in 2005, it had seven projects on the list. Four years later and the list has more than doubled. At least two more projects will likely tack on by the end of summer.

The City Commission originally expected to draw from the city budget to pay for the projects. In fact, in 2005 the commission made a special designation in the budget for traffic calming. That money evaporated quickly and the commission couldn't afford to set that money aside again in 2006.

Now it takes a stroke of luck to get a project completed.

When the Lawrence Avenue project passed in 2005 it ranked second on the list. However, the city slated the area for street and curb repair in the summer of 2008. While doing that work, contractors also placed two speed humps along the road.

"Anytime a project street is also set for repair we just kill two birds with one stone," Woosley said. "That's happened a few times in the past couple years."

But for projects that lack future plans for road work it could be a long wait. 

"I guess I didn't really think about how long it would take," Jeff Eden said. "Yeah we're in line, 15 back, but what does that really mean? What does 15 mean?"

The long wait counters the idea that the traffic calming benefits little kids in the neighborhood. The kids that parents worried about during the requests may be driving by the time it's completed.

However, that argument doesn't deter the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods.

"Traffic calming has done a lot of good for Lawrence," Klingenberg said. "The city won't always be hurting so much financially and eventually these and more projects will get done."

On the other hand, Robin Smith doesn't mind the quasi-work stoppage in traffic calming. As a member of the Traffic Safety Commission, Smith recently voted against Eden's New Hampshire project.

"The problem I have is that too often traffic calming devices are used to slow down traffic to an unreasonable level," Smith said.

Smith proposed that the commission revisit its policy at its June meeting. At that meeting Smith hashed out that his problem isn't with the policy but the implementation of it by the Public Works Department.

Smith jabbed Woosley with a few questions about the practices of the public works staff before deciding that he was fighting a losing battle.

Likewise, Eden believed he stood on the losing end of his request.

Data collected on New Hampshire in early February failed to meet policy standards, but the committee pushed it back to March in order to include University of Kansas students. The second data collection met the requirements and the Traffic Safety Commission passed it in March.

"I didn't think, frankly, that anything would happen," Eden said. "I just thought we'd bring awareness to the neighborhood."

 

'Get creative'

Vice Mayor Mike Amyx can see the problems ahead in traffic calming.

When the discussion of the New Hampshire project came to the City Commission in July, Amyx laid out the issue.

"Gentlemen, one of these days we're going to have to have a discussion about funding for this," Amyx said. "We're going to end up with a back log of 25 (projects) with expectations of residents, thinking, 'It's going to be our turn.'"

The commissioners admitted they realized what waiting residents have known for years: The system, in its current state, is flawed.

Tough economic times don't have much room for extra road work. Almost every project that reaches the Traffic Safety Commission passes, but none have ever had a plan for funding.

Designated money in the budget only lasted one year and the budget hasn't gotten any bigger since then.

"People care about the calming, not the approach," Mayor Robert Chestnut said. "We may need to take a more comprehensive approach and maybe we can get at a bunch of these if we just get creative."

The City Commission set a future agenda item to discuss the possible ways to fund traffic calming. Suggestions included researching different technologies for creating the devices or somehow packaging them together.

Woosley believes that item No. 6 on the traffic calming policy will become the focus of discussions. It states that the City Commission "may require 0-100% of the costs to be paid by the group of neighborhood making the request."

The City Commission first brought up this idea in 2005 to test how much people really cared about traffic calming. No neighborhood in Lawrence has ever been asked to fund a traffic calming device, but that could soon change.

Eden said he's confident the New Hampshire neighborhood would fund whatever percentage the city asked.

While completion dates and funding remain completely unknown, one thing is clear; the desire for these devices isn't going away.

All signs point to a calm road ahead.

              

         The Tribal masks lining the walls of The Global Café peer curiously down behind the coffee bar as owner Rafael Abrante prepares food for the lone customer in his restaurant. It's still early but Abrante has already been up for hours readying his kitchen for another long day of business.

            The worldly décor furnishing the whole of the restaurant is no accident; most of it is left over merchandise from Abrante's last commercial endeavor. "I used to have a store next door called Kimbari" said Abrante "It sold African art and woven baskets." When he decided to change locations and try his hand at the restaurant business, the masks on the wall and the overall exotic theme carried on, however not all parts of the transition were as smooth.

 

            For many eager entrepreneurs in Lawrence like Abrante the process of starting a business downtown can be daunting. The city's system for inspecting and ushering in new businesses is notoriously complex and drawn out, it can become a maze of expensive permit applications and long delays. The sharp rise in commercial vacancies downtown has left some parts of Massachusetts street looking nearly desolate. With such convoluted requirements for new business owners the storefronts may stay empty longer than expected.

           

The Process

            When reflecting on his changeover to the food industry Abrante recalls the process he went through, "It's just a lot of steps to get from point A to point B and it can be a lot easier, It's just paperwork." While this paperwork is essential to meeting national building codes and safety regulations, the system that business owners are required to navigate can delay their stores from opening for months. It's this idle period that appears to be the most frustrating for the aspiring businessman. "They charge you for every piece of paper and you end up paying a lot of money" said Abrante. Business owners are required to abstain from any construction until all the paperwork is sorted and building permits are approved. In The Global Café's case, Abrante was delayed six months before he was issued "the little yellow sign" that allowed him to begin renovations.

 

            The system's unnecessarily slow pace has a larger implication than simply potential business lost. "It was a bad experience because I was paying rent...I was loosing money," said Abrante. The lengthy process leaves store owners idle with bills to pay and no incoming revenue. Abrante made it clear that this situation is not the exception but rather the rule when he said, "I don't think I'm the only one [who has had this problem]."

 

             Unfortunately, the city does have a reputation for being unusually slow about processing applications and issuing permits. When asked about this problem Vice mayor and city commissioner Mike Amyx said, "I know that there's a lot of questions [ about] the number of things [business owners] have to do to get into business downtown. I'm planning on looking at some of those things...we shouldn't make it so complicated and so expensive just to get into business."

 

             Abrante discovered that building codes are another hurdle that business owners must jump before they can open their doors. Depending on the nature of the business, in this case food service, some storeowners are required to complete heavy construction projects in order to abide by building codes. In Abrante's case it was installing an additional bathroom, "I made a new bathroom because the code said [I had to], not by choice." This forced construction ended up costing him around $1,000 and further delayed his grand opening. 

 

             With such burdensome obligations to the city, it's not hard to believe that some potential storeowners might be apprehensive to about starting a new business in Lawrence. "When you decide you want to open a business [you have to ask yourself] what are the permits, and there are tons," said Abrante. This problem has not gone unnoticed by city officials, "We need to look into some of those things and make sure that the requirements we're having aren't deterring business from coming into downtown," said Amyx. 

 

The Economy

 

              The difficulties involved in establishing a business are a massive problem in themselves however there's other factors at work according to Amyx, "The economics of today probably have a lot to play in it." The current recession has left many with tighter budgets than they're used to, as a result people are less willing to risk large the amounts of money involved in owning and operating a retail business. The inefficiency of the permit process and the potential for six months of rent with no incoming revenue is a major deterrent for potential storeowners. 

                  

            With such obstacles it seems no surprise that so many storefronts are vacant in the downtown area. Yet, according to Amyx this is nothing new, "One of the things I see is that downtown goes through lots of changes from time to time. You'll see a turn over periodically." However, Amyx noticed a unique quality this time, "I don't think we've seen what I would consider the amount of big spaces [turning over]." Stores like Arensberg's and Blue Herron Home Furnishings are both casualties of this latest turnover, but according to Amyx that there are already interested parties looking at the spaces.

           

The Future

 

            Amyx shows little concern over the loss of so many retailers, he seems to understand the ebb and flow of the local market and is content to let it run its course. "The value of the real estate we have down here and the taxes the business owners have to pay through their rents makes this a pretty expensive place to do business. But at the same time it's a place where a lot of people are drawn to, so it works pretty well" said Amyx. His faith in Lawrence's ability to bounce back appears unwavering, "Downtown is a place where a lot of new businesses want to be, and with that said downtown is very successful, it's not only a retail and entertainment center it's our town square...there's a lot of activity." Amyx continues, "If you have a good product to sell, you should be able to do very well downtown"

 

            According to Amyx, "The market generally takes care of itself down here." Only time will tell if his optimism is well founded or naïve. However, it doesn't seem unlikely when downtown Lawrence is home to store owners like Rafael Abrante, who when asked if he would go through the whole lengthy process again replied, "Yeah sure, what other options do I have?"

 

            

            There's no spraying of champagne as Traci Florez and her softball team clinch the championship title of their summer softball division. Instead Florez walks casually to the parking lot for a modest celebratory beer with her teammates. Florez insists that even if her team lost she'd still celebrate.

            Florez and her team the Walk of Shames don't seem overly excited about their top seed standing. They're just enjoying a night with each other at the park.

            "I like getting dirty," Florez said with a smile. "This whole thing is about having fun with your friends. It's what the summer was made for."

            Florez is one of hundreds of adults causing skyrocketing enrollment numbers in Lawrence recreation programs this summer. Better marketing, more alternatives and the economy have caused an increase in adult enrollment for the first time in about a decade. Despite the positive enrollment, the increase in participation comes at a time when budget cuts threaten the future existence of these services.

            Ten years ago adult participation in the city's adult sports programs began a sharp decline. Fewer adults played sports and younger people were not filling the void.

            Bob Stanclift, adult sports supervisor of Lawrence Parks and Recreation, witnessed this decline throughout the past decade in Lawrence.

            "Older people dropped out and younger people weren't participating," Stanclift said. "Fewer people came out each year."

            Until 2008, that is.

            Last year adult sports participation grew for the first time in nearly 10 years. In fact every adult sports league grew in participation. Participation in softball alone grew by about 300 members in 2009.

            Stanclift and other Parks and Recreation officials offered unique hypotheses on the surprising growth: better marketing, new sports, and the national health movement. But all agreed that the economy is a likely culprit.

            "When the economy is down, people look local," said Roger Steinbrock, marketing director of Parks and Recreation. "People are looking for affordable entertainment in their backyards."

            Adult sports certainly have an affordable appeal. For a summer softball team, playing 10 games costs about $22 per person; a mere $2 per game. Games last around an hour, though most players allow themselves plenty of time before and after games to hang out with each other. 

            Players often forget about the competitive aspect.

            "I'm not sure if we won tonight," Rachel Wagner jokes after her Tuesday night game. "I'm ready to tailgate."

           But the economy can't tell the entire story. Officials from Parks and Recreation have worked hard to make adult sports  appealing to a larger audience. In recent years the city has offered new, less traditional sports such as kickball and dodgeball to attract a wider audience.

             These newer programs allow for a wide-range of people to play together.

           "It doesn't take a lot of skill and experience to pick up kickball," Stanclift said. "These newer programs offer a fun way to stay active and involved without much practice."

            The most noted increase is college students. Despite being a huge proportion of the city population, college students typically stick to University recreation programs like intramural or club sports. But this summer Stanclift said he's seen more college students sign up than ever before.

            Once again the economy is a probable suspect.

            "It's cheaper for students to stay here than leave for the summer," Steinbrock said. "If more students are here, the demand for city services goes up."

            The optimistic increase in participation comes at a troubling time for recreation services. Not only is City Hall debating a 5 percent budget reduction for every city department, the Kansas Legislature is considering withholding the Special Alcohol Fund, which gives money recreational facilities and programming. The fund accounts for around $575,000, or nearly 15 percent of the recreation budget.

            If the state withholds the fund, Lawrence Parks and Recreation will be hit hard.

            "This would have a tremendous impact on the department," Stanclift said. "We've come to a realization that this might be on the horizon."

           The department already faced this scenario once this year. Ernie Shaw, interim director of Parks and Recreation, testified before the State House on May 1 to lobby against the withholding.  The House decided to not withhold the fund, but the option will be reconsidered in late August.

            The 2010 Lawrence city commissioner's recommended budget mentions this scenario.

            "The state legislature has continued to discuss the idea of reducing or eliminating this sharing of liquor tax revenue in light of the state's budget woes," the commission wrote.

            Even if the state decides not to withhold, Parks and Recreation expects to receive less than average from the fund. The commission explains that though alcohol tax revenue historically rise each year, alcohol sales are expected to reduce below 2008 levels in 2010.

            Parks and Recreation officials are bracing for the worst. The department already implemented changes to increase revenue outside of tax increases. These changes include entrance fees at the nature center, increased fees for the public golf course and entrance fees for the city's wading pool.

            Next on the chopping block are personnel.

            "We've sliced most of the fat," Stanclift said. "We're close to the bone."

            Adult sports will be affected in a variety of ways. Potential changes include fewer officials at games, no first place awards and increased fees. 

            However, officials agree that cutting entire programs will be avoided by all means.

            "Programs like adult sports will continue," Stanclift said. "We will try to provide the same amount of programs no matter what happens."

            For now Parks and Recreation services like adult sports are thriving. Steinbrock said he expects the department to see a 5 percent growth in revenue for the year. But with a looming threat of the state's withholding of major funding, nothing is certain.

           But for now, Florez and the Walk of Shames are completely oblivious to these dire possibilities.

            "I can't wait for next week's game," Florez said. "It's the last one and we're going to have an awesome tailgate."

           After all, game nights aren't about worrying.

Business is good on a sunny summer afternoon for Doug Wahl as he hands a customer a large shotgun. The customer giddily examines the specs on his new weapon from top to bottom. For this gun-lover, it's another weapon to add to his growing collection. He's loading up on them while he still can, he says.

For Wahl, the owner of Lawrence Pawn and Jewelry, it's another gun transfer. Transfers like this have increased nearly 50 percent in recent months at Lawrence Pawn and Jewelry. Wahl and Ron Hamlet, who also sells guns at Wahl's shop, credit their recent flood of sales to the outcome of America's most recent presidential election.

"The requests spiked when it became apparent Obama was going to win," said Hamlet

The rise of Obama's Democratic party to the top of Washington, D.C. has gun fanatics around the nation stocking up on weapons in fear that Obama may institute tighter gun control in the nation. Gun shops in America like Wahl's are reaping the benefits of this fear.

Gun sales galore

The recent increase in gun sales seen by Wahl and Hamlet at Lawrence Pawn and Jewelry hasn't been limited to their store. John Geery, who manages Jayhawk Pawn and Jewelry, said he has also seen an increase in sales lately. Geery said his store recently increased its stock of handguns considerably. Democrats, he says, have helped many of them sell.

Lawrence Pawn and Jewelry is one of few gun shops around Lawrence, and deals not only with in-store customers, but with on-line shoppers. On-line merchants send guns through Lawrence Pawn and Jewelry as a transfer point for gun buyers. Business for Wahl has been coming from all angles.

Numbers indicate this trend is true throughout the country. FBI statistics report an increase of 1.5 million requests for background checks by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System from 2007 to 2008, the year Obama was elected. Those background checks are required in the United States in order for a person to purchase a firearm. November, the month Obama was elected, brought a 42 percent increase in background checks from the previous November. December of 2008 saw 24 percent more background checks than December of 2007. Kansas has already seen more than 62,000 background checks this year.

Hamlet said the increase in demand for guns and ammunition has created a shortage in the area. 9mm ammunition is almost impossible to find anywhere according to Hamlet. The shortage has also bumped up sales prices on guns and ammunition around the nation.

Obama named "Gun Salesman of the Year"

Wahl, Hamlet, and Geery aren't the only ones who attribute this increase in business to President Obama. TheOutdoorWire.com named Obama its "Gun Salesman of the Year," citing that if it weren't for Obama frightening customers into loading up on firearms, the gun industry may very well be experiencing the same economic problems as the rest of the nation.

Geery has seen this frenzy for firearms up close. "There have been people that walked right in here and said 'I'm buying a gun before Obama takes them away,'" Geery said. "It's not just Obama, they think it's the Democratic control."

Much of the speculation that Obama may enforce strict gun control laws comes simply because of the fact he is a Democrat. Former Democratic President Bill Clinton enforced the Assault Weapons Ban in 1994, which greatly limited the supply of guns in America. The ban required American gun manufactures to stop producing semi-automatic weapons as well as rounds that held more than ten bullets. As a result, a similar stockpiling of guns occurred.

Hamlet sees the logic behind the panic for gun owners. "It went from a republican president who was basically neutral on second amendment rights, and now we've got a democratic president, and historically, they're less than neutral on second amendment rights," Hamlet said.

An unclear future

President Obama still hasn't made a clear enough statement regarding gun control for gun buyers to feel comfortable enough waiting to but guns. For some gun owners, though, Obama's background of voting in favor of certain gun control laws in Illinois is enough to stock up on weapons. For other gun owners, memories of Clinton's Assault Weapons ban are enough to add a few more guns to the collection.

Regardless of what Obama ultimately decides to do regarding gun control in his presidency, Doug Wahl will have reaped the benefits of pure speculation.

Like many other uninsured Lawrencians, Spencer comes to Health Care Access, a community-based primary care clinic. Here they only treat the uninsured and rely heavily on outside help.

"Back when I was unemployed I came here. Way back. But now, for the past two years, this is where I come. I work with my hands and I injured one. Now, I don't have insurance." Spencer said.

Health Care Access strives to care for the uninsured. But this gallant effort offers little monetary gain. Always understaffed and overworked, this Lawrence based clinic survives off of outside help. This June however, they received a surprise: $20,000 more than anticipated from KDHE, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. With this money brings many prospects for the future.

Overworked and Understaffed

Lixel Barnhill sits in a cramped exam room. Her blue scrubs stretch comfortably around her broad frame and she changes the air with a quick smile. "You want to know my position here?" she teases innocently. "I'll tell you. I'm a certified medical assistant, a front desk assistant, a clinical nurse, a medications coordinator, and a translator. Need I go on?"

She explained that the clinic was an appointment only clinic and that they next available appoint is in September. Usually, before people began losing their jobs and their insurance coverage, a patient could get an appointment about three to four weeks out. Now, it's six to nine. "It's because we're understaffed." Barhill said. "And we don't have enough providers."

Providers for the clinic include two nurses, a certified nursing assistant, and 12 to 15 physicians that rotate through and take referrals.


A Friendly Surprise

"We've been planning to move into a new building." Director Nikki King said. "And with this new money means doubling our capacity."

Every year without fail, King applies for outside grants to fund the much used clinic. So do two other community-based primary care clinics. But this year, King was exstatic to receive $160,000, $20,000 more than usual.

"This means with the new building we can double the exam rooms and have more volunteers. An increase in funds makes a huge difference in hiring more part time staff and allows for more available appointments."

Within the recent past Health Care Access turned away 10 to 15 patients a day. The clinic does offer same day appointments, but they fill in less than 10 minutes of opening. "We tell them to call back tomorrow. You can only make same day appointments over the phone. No walk-ins."

The Road Ahead

Health Care Access plans to open its new doors mid September. The new site sits two doors down from the Douglas County Dental Clinic and across the street form Lawrence Memorial Hospital's ER.

"We have a handyman putting up the numbers on the building." King shared. "How could we forget the numbers?"

The old site will remain open. "We will offer wellness education at the old site. More on site classes and resources to ensure a more physically fit and healthier lifestyle." Another goal includes tapping all chronic diagnosis such as diabetes and high cholesterol.



Individual Concern

Stated by the Community Based Primary Care Clinic Grants Program Review Overview, "Grant funds are intended to make primary medical and dental care, prescription drugs, and preventative heal care services accessible and affordable to underserved and vulnerable Kansas residents.."

Sarah Wise of Lecompton sits in a tattered brown leather chair. She bites at her nails and runs her hands through her cropped hair. Her baggy pants and loose shirt feel out of place encircled by the pale grey walls. Wise fidgets as she waits for her free inhaler refill.

"I came in about four months ago with a sinus infection." said Wise. "They gave me an inhaler for no cost. They solve problems, medical problems."

A tired Barnhill emerges from behind a wooden door. "Wise?" she says, scanning the room. Wise stands, slouched with hands in pocket, and accepts the brown paper bag. She sits back down and examines her bitten nails.

"I think they should move to the east side of Lawrence. More people need this over there." Wise said. She quickly added, "Not that the East side is bad or anything."

Stats

This year, KDHE gave out $5,515,840 in grant money to support Kansas' community-based primary care clinics. $291,704 went to Douglas County. $51,704 went to Douglas County Dental Clinic, $80,000 to Heartland Medical Clinic, and $160,000 to Health Care Access. Wyandotte County received $834,000 in grant funds and Johnson County received $280,000.



King and Barnhill hope for the best now with their surplus money in tow. They look forward to opening the new clinic and believe that the extra $20,000 will serve the growing number of the poor in health and uninsured.

Eleven-year-old Mariah lifts the ball as she prepares to serve to her nine-year-old opponent.   If they're lucky the pair can volley maybe three times.  After another chase of the ball, she gets bored and joins others to play UNO.

Mariah is a regular at the East Lawrence Recreational Center where she spends time with other teenagers and young adults.  While she enjoys the center, she does wish there was more to do.

"I think there needs to be more activities," said Mariah.  "After awhile it kind of gets boring."

This is one of the many challenges the city Parks and Recreation Department faces with the teen population.  The department constantly struggles with ways to keep teens involved through recreational centers and teen programming, but more space and participation is needed.

Children aged 11 to 15 are a tough age group to please.  They are not old enough to get jobs or drive a car, but still seeking ways to be independent.

Most teens are looking for places to just hang out with friends and be themselves according to Brian Franklin, Boys and Girls Club teen programmer.

"There aren't enough places for teens to hang out," said Franklin. "There are the movies and bowling, that's about it."

Right now the City of Lawrence has three facilities used as recreational centers for the community; Holcom, the East Lawrence Center and the Community Building.

All three facilities have a gym, but only Holcom and the East Lawrence Center have a game room with ping-pong, pool and foosball.

After using these activities day after day, children like Mariah are ready for a change.  The problem for the Recreation Department is deciding what these changes should be.

Ernie Shaw, interim director of the Parks and Recreational Department, is still trying to figure out the answer to that problem even after 34 years working for the city.

"Teen programs have been a challenge from day one," said Shaw. 

• Fall/Summer Activities Guide 2009 http://www.lawrenceks.org/lprd/summer-fall/summerfall09

Part of the challenge is trying to develop programs that give teens independence but still provide necessary supervision.  The department is noticing that less supervision leads to more participation on the part of teens. 

Once the department finds a program that receives positive feedback from teens the challenge becomes keeping their interest. 

"It's very difficult because one month they may like this and the next month they may not," said Jo Ellis, Recreation Program Supervisor.

Many teenagers want change and independence, but when given the freedom don't know what to do with it.

Teens are so used to having activities or programs planned for them they are unsure how to react.  Going outside to play is not as easy as it seems. 

"Kids don't know how to just go out and be a kid anymore," said Ellis.

 

Technology in the form of video games, television and computers has partly contributed to this impairment.  While older generations have grown up on simple, outdoor activities, younger generations are more familiar with video and computer games than climbing a tree.

They are so used to having something else entertain them that they've forgotten how to entertain themselves according to Shaw. 

Because of this problem, it is even more important for the city to create ways for teens to stay involved and interact with other youth.

Younger children are easier to entertain compared to teens, who are changing as individuals and insistently seeking independence. 

"Once you pass that 12 to 13 age it's just like it falls off the side of the earth as far as numbers go," said Shaw.  "Where do they go?  I don't know."

Franklin of the Boys and Girls Club says trying to figure out what teens want to do is a balancing act.

He believes the city needs more places for teens to go hang out, especially since not enough funding has significantly cut many of the Boys and Girls Club summer programs for teens.

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While the Parks and Recreation Department would like to create more places for teens to socialize and programs for them to participate in, it comes down to an issue of space.

 Ellis rents rooms from local churches and senior centers, but lacks the space to create new teen programs.

"Generally, if you go to a facility from 4:30 to 5:00 on to 10:00, every single one of our facilities is booked," said Ellis.

This leaves little room for the department to improve summer involvement for teens.

In the future the Parks and Recreation Department would like to build more facilities and programs specifically geared toward teens, but with no easy solution teens may have to have fun the old fashion way.

"We've tried and tried for years and we will continue to try," said Shaw.

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Map of local recreation centers

Recent KU graduate England Porter has spent the last two years of her college career caring about the environment. Aside from graduating with a degree in Environmental Studies, she worked with many campus groups including the Potter lake project, student environment advisory board and green builders.

 

However it wasn't just her love of the environment that got her so involved during her junior year, it was the passion of a friend.

 

"I was involved with a rain garden project with my friend and he really encouraged me and everyone else to become involved in environmental programs and taught us why they are so important," Porter said.

 

The University has several programs through the center for sustainability that helps provide education and outreach for students to get involved. Now Jeff Severin, director of the Center for Sustainability, is reaching out to the city government to apply for a grant that would provide funding for a sustainability outreach partnership between the city of Lawrence and KU.

 

The grant is an E.P.A. sponsored grant called Climate Showcase Communities, which totals $10 million to fund the implementation of projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions while achieving other community and education benefits. Each program can apply for up to $100,000.

 

Cynthia Boecker, assistant city manager, has been working on applying for energy grants for the city following the final report of the mayor's climate protection task force, which was created at the end of last year, in order to come up with plans for future sustainability in Lawrence. Boecker said Severin approached her while working on applications.

 

"Jeff and I are working to put together a program to apply for the grant which would be ran by student volunteers that would consist of providing education to students about energy conservation," Boecker said.

 

The announcement of the grant by the E.P.A. comes only months following the final report of the climate task protection force, which was released in March. The final report detailed the main goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Lawrence 80 percent by 2050. Other goals included educational outreach through funding of Federal grants.

 

Porter says she thinks it is important for KU to work with the city of Lawrence because not all students live on campus but are part of the Lawrence community.

 

"KU is a large part of what defines Lawrence so it would be beneficial for them to work together," Porter said.

 

Although Boecker says she and Severin met for the first time last Wednesday, she is optimistic about the potential program. The deadline for application of the grant is July 22, 2009 and while only 20 to 30 grants will be awarded Boecker feels strongly about their chances.

 

"It's going to be competitive but I think we have a strong program," Boecker said.

                       It was November 11, 2007. We had just gotten home from the bars. We always seemed to fight when alcohol was involved. All of the sudden everything took a turn for the worse. Before I had a chance to move out of the way, a glass Bacardi bottle hit me right in the back of the head. When I woke up my roommate was applying ice to my head. I knew I had to call the police.

            That wasn't the first time Ricky Morena Jr. had been assaulted by his girlfriend. This became a common occurrence for the two, both 22 the time.

           

            "I knew our relationship was a bit dysfunctional but I never thought I would have to resort to calling the cops," Morena said. "She was my girlfriend!"

           

            When Morena called the police, two officers came to his apartment where he and his girlfriend lived together. She was arrested on the spot.

           

            His girlfriend was released from county jail the following evening and a restraining was automatically put in place for the safety of both of them. She was forced to move out and collect her personal belongings with the help of a police escort. Ricky was not allowed to be present while she was in the apartment.

           

            Morena said, "Cutting ties with her was harder than I ever thought it would be. But that's why were together as long as we were."

         Morena was able to move on after breaking ties with his girlfriend of three years but many men are not as lucky. Currently in Lawrence there are several facilities to help female victims of domestic violence but for men, well their resources are very limited.

            Domestic battery in the state of Kansas according to chapter 21, article 34 in the Kansas statutes is "intentionally or recklessly causing bodily harm by a family or household member against a family or household member by a family or household member." On July 1, 2008 the statute was expanded to include dating relationships as household member. The statute now reads "A family or household member means persons 18 years of age or older who are spouses, former spouses, parents or stepparents and children or stepchildren, and persons who are presently residing together or who have resided together in the past, and persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have lived together at any time. Family or household member also includes a man and a woman if the woman is pregnant and the man is the alleged to be the father, regardless of whether they have been married or have lived together at any time."

           

            The only place in Lawrence that is designated to help men in a violent relationship is the Lawrence Community Shelter.

 

            "If someone comes in with that problem we will always take them in," Loring Henderson, Lawrence Community Shelter Director, said. "Then all we can really do for them is refer them to a case manager."

 

            The shelter does see this situation on occasion but what Henderson has noticed is that many of the men who are being abused are homeless as well.  In fact, according to a survey done by the U.S. Conference of Mayors 46% of cities surveyed have identified domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness. Also, a 1990 Ford Foundation study found that 50% of homeless women and children were fleeing from abuse.  

 

            Although domestic violence against men is not a huge issue in Lawrence it is very common here in the United States. In the July 2000 Centers for Disease Control report of the 8,000 men called for a phone interview 7.5% of those men reported being raped or assaulted by a significant other at some time in their lifetime. From that same source, each year 834,000 men are raped or physically assaulted by intimate partners an average of 3.5 times a year.

 

            Domestic violence in homosexual's couples is incredible higher. In the same CDC report as above it was reported that 23% of men who had lived with a man as a couple reported being raped or physically assaulted by their significant other. The one advantage that homosexual men have over heterosexual men is that homosexuals have more resources when they are being abused by their partner. Even here in Kansas City, a homosexual man can go and receive more help than a heterosexual man could.

 

            In addition to all of the reports of domestic violence against men, a majority of the cases go unreported. Building on this reputation there have even been fact-based movies on the issue, one CBS TV even titled "Men Don't tell".  Many men are even inclined to find it amusing. MensStuff.org did a survey of college students that showed 20% of men who had been attacked by their girlfriends had found it funny.

 

            "At first I thought it was funny too," Morena said after being told about that survey. "It just wasn't very funny when she started throwing things at my head."

 

            If a man is being abused in Lawrence he has a few options. He can go to the Lawrence Community Shelter and get connected with a caseworker; he can contact the Alliance Against Family Violence in Lenexa. If he feels his life is in danger he can file for a Protection From Abuse Order. In fact, there were 7,942 Protection from Abuse Order filed in Kansas last year. And for those men who do not feel comfortable talking to someone in person there is also the National Domestic Abuse Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE).

 

            Advocates for this cause are doing their best to get the word out but until more men start coming forward their efforts may be halted.