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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'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.

Tim Thomasson, like hundreds of other parents in the Lawrence area, trusts the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence for multiple hours per week with their children during the summer and school year.

Thomasson, a skills trade supervisor for the University of Kansas, is one of many parents that have young children and a full-time job.  Thomasson said that his six-year-old son attends the Boys and Girls Club throughout the day in the summer at Pinckney Elementary School and after school during the school year until he can get off of work to come pick him up.

"It's definitely a great program," Thomasson said.  "He's involved, he's learning and having fun."

According to its website, the Boys and Girls Club of America leads one of the most successful nonprofit organizations in the nation. Each year, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) serves some 4.8 million girls and boys through membership and community outreach.

The Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence seeks small fees, donations, and state and city grants to help support its budget.  Recently, with the massive budget cuts going on around the United States and in Kansas, the organization had been preparing for a significant decrease in its budget which last year stood at about 1.2 million.  To the organizations surprise, the city and state have not changed funding and have even received massive state grants that will help put Boys and Girls Clubs in two more Lawrence elementary schools.

Erika Zimmerman, the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club development coordinator, said that the club had highly anticipated budget cuts for the 2009-2010 school year but so far have not seen any.

"We haven't seen any evidence of losing money for the upcoming school year," Zimmerman said.  "As of right now the city has not changed the plans in funding the Boys and Girls Club."

The Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence currently has eight active sites in Lawrence, all of these are in elementary schools except the main site, located at 15th and Haskell.  The kids who attend range from kindergarten through eighth grade.  When school gets out at about three o'clock in the afternoon, the Boys and Girls Club opens until 5:30 to give Lawrence parents a chance to get off of work and come pick up their children, rather than have them stay at home alone.

Janet Murphy, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, said the organization writes to local city government, the state government, the federal government and foundations for financial support.  Murphy said the club started writing the state in February, applied for a state grant in April, had a site visit in May, and was officially awarded the grant in June.   The grant from the state is a 21st Century Grant, which will enable the club to open up two more local sites.

Overall, three schools in the Lawrence school district will be opening Boys and Girls Clubs.  Murphy said Hillcrest and Broken Arrow Elementary School's will have new centers due to the state grants, and Quail Run will be a fee-based project.  For the schools being supported by the 21st Century Grant, the state reimburses the Boys and Girls Club for the money spent.

"We are very exited about the new locations because with these we will be able to serve over 300 more kids, putting our total kids served per day in Lawrence to about 1500," Murphy said.  "We are very pleased looking forward towards next year and very grateful for the city and state keeping those dollars in there for the Boys and Girls Club."

Murphy said the club has had funding for a number of years through the city of Lawrence through the alcohol tax funds and the outside agency funds.   Every year the club has to apply for these funds and are certain to receive the payments for the 2009-2010 school year.
 

The Boys and Girls Club's in Lawrence charge a weekly fee at all sites, which all help support the budget.  Murphy said the sites usually range from $10 per week to $60 per week.  The weekly fee depends on the location of the school and try to be based on what the parents can afford.  Although none have the sites have increased fees in the past six months, some locations will see a slight rise in these prices.

"The fees will be increasing at some of the more inexpensive sites to help with the budget in case we do lose any money,"  Murphy said, "but we offer scholarships to all of our kids as well which help out a lot of Lawrence parents."

For information on volunteering, donations, or other questions, the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence can be reached at (785) 841-5672.

    In part by the American economic recession, locally owned Checkers and corporate owned Dillons grocery stores have narrowed down their target market to one most important: families.
    Although Lawrence is filled with thousands of college students and the elderly, management at Checkers and Dillons are aiming to being known as a family friendly store.  This image can attract more customers during a time when feeding numerous mouths needs to be inexpensive.
    In a time when money is tight, some customers have become more picky as to which grocery store they purchase their food.  Attracting Lawrence families is not only a job for promoting inside the store, but also out of the store.  While advertising low prices and great deals is used to attract customers of all ages, getting involved in the community is also one of the major ways that local grocery stores reach out to families who do not witness these in-store promotions.
    Dave Dillon, CEO of Kroger, said a lot of the promotions done outside of the stores are to help attract low and middle class families to Dillons.  Dillon said that Dillons tries to do a number of things with the community.
    "We'll try to help with gifts of products from time to time when they need products for picnics or fundraisers," Dillon said, "but the biggest issue is helping out with events that involve mothers and fathers living in Lawrence."
    Both Checkers and Dillons have been competing grocery stores in the same vicinity for years.  Checkers, a locally owned company with only one store, is located on the corner of 2300 Louisiana Street.  Dillons, a grocery chain owned by Kroger, has four stores in Lawrence alone and two within a one mile radius of Checkers.
    Kroger is the fourth largest retailer in the United States.  Dillons offers many items discounted items in store, as well as out of store, that are used to try and help families cope with the hard economic time. 
    The Dillons chain promotes its discounted items throughout the store with a Dillons Plus Card, which attributes to a wide range of products.  Also, with the card customers can get discounted gas at specified locations.  Dillon said that a promotion started last summer to where if a customer spent $100 on groceries, they would receive 10 cents off of their next tank of gas.  He said that this was incredibly popular last summer with the high gas prices and is still a successful promotion with the price of gas not so high.  Kroger also owns Lawrence Kwik Shops and two of the Dillons stores on 6th St. have gas stations.
    Dillon said that Dillons adds new items every week to keep up with local demand.  Dillon said that the 23rd St. and 6th St. stores, which have recently been remodeled are experimenting with new categories of food.
    "Both of those stores have more emphasis on fresh food and some larger, already prepared meals which have not been seen much in our stores before," Dillon said.
    As Dillons does not release sales of specific stores or divisions, Meghan Glynn of Kroger's corporate communications, said that Dillons products are still selling very well in the Lawrence area.  Glynn said that Dillons offers more than 14,400 brand items in three different tiers. 
    In its own world, locally owned grocery store Checkers is undoubtedly kind to the community as well.
    Mike Smith, store director of Checkers, said that Checkers prides itself on its low brand-name food prices for Lawrence families.  "We really try to offer the best quality products at the lowest possible prices," Smith said. 
    While Checkers can't promote outside discounts like gas, Smith said that attracting Lawrence families to their low prices gives Checkers an extreme competitive edge over other stores.   To assure this, Checkers prices the items in other local grocery stores, which is entered into a computer.  When Checkers is ready to set their price, the computer automatically sets it less than the market price.  Each item in Checkers is compared to competitors prices and displayed for customers.
    As opposed to Dillons, Checkers does not have the excess services that other grocery stores have.  Smith said that since they do not have a full-line customer service counter, cash checks or have grocery baggers, the store keeps overhead down and enables them to keep low brand name prices.
    Smith said that the demand for organic foods is constantly rising through customer request and the market.  Checkers also has started going after locally produced products through locally owned and operated businesses like farmers.  Smith said that since Checkers is a family owned operation it gives the store a local, "family" tie.
    "We try to foster that relationship in the community that we are locally owned, operated and advertised and try to work with local producers as well," Smith said.
    Checkers, like Dillons, advertises not only in papers, television and radio, but with the community as well.  While Checkers may not have the resources to sponsor events to the ability of Dillons, the company tries its best to help out with local non-profit organizations as well.
    "We work with community groups and non-profits and try to help through donation requests like boy scouts and girl scouts to try and help them out as much as possible," Smith said.
    With the idea of saving money and food being a natural necessity, both Checkers and Dillons have shifted focus towards the concept of not only attracting one mouth to feed, but possibly four or five others.  As the David vs. Goliath story of these two grocery stores remains, their tactics for victory are undoubtedly the same.