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THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012
WWW.KANSASCITY.COM
Holiday sounds at Union Station After singing a solo, Ximena Pecina, a junior, (lower left), joined fellow singers in the Chamber Choir from Lincoln College Preparatory Academy during a performance of holiday songs Thursday at Union Station in Kansas City. The choir is under the direction of Chuck Butler. TAMMY LJUNGBLAD | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
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Death of goat draws USDA flak KU Medical Center again is scrutinized for how it handles animal experimentation. The goat died of respiratory failure. By MARÁ ROSE WILLIAMS The Kansas City Star
Two years after paying a hefty fine for Animal Welfare Act violations, the University of Kansas Medical Center has been cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the death of a goat in a lab. A routine USDA animal and plant health inspection at KU in January also cited the medical center for inadequate
veterinary care, improper reporting and improper supervision of experimentation. The report from the USDA, which regulates animal research facilities, said the goat died of respiratory failure after a procedure involving anesthesia and the use of a paralytic drug. That paralyzing drug may not have been sufficiently reversed before the goat recovered from the anesthesia, the report said, noting that use of the of drug “must be appropriately monitored to ensure that adequate anesthesia is maintained when the drug is active and to ensure the drug is reversed prior to
anesthetic recovery.” C.J. Janovy, director of communications for KU Med, said the center’s attending veterinarian thought that the drugs had been administered according to standard veterinary practice and had appealed the citation. “To date,” Janovy said, “the USDA has not contacted KUMC regarding further investigation.” USDA officials said that not all citations in routine monthly inspections end up as full-blown investigations. “Some are immediately corrected by the institution and that’s the end of it,” said David Sacks, a USDA spokesman.
An Ohio-based animal rights group, Stop Animal Exploitation Now, has asked the USDA to investigate what it called “the negligent death” of the goat at the KU lab. Michael A. Budkie, the group’s executive director, accused KU staff of ignoring previous USDA enforcement actions. KU is in the midst of another USDA investigation not connected to the January 2012 inspection. Federal officials declined to release details of that investigation except to say that it involves a failure to provide
Can this river spare a few billion gallons? Kyle Jumper (left) of Kansas City, Kan., and his cousin, Nathaniel Wiggins of Leavenworth, didn’t think so as they prepared to go fishing Tuesday on the Missouri River at Kaw Point in Kansas City, Kan. “I’ve lived around here my whole life,” said Wiggins, “and I’ve never seen the river this low.”
ALLISON LONG | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
WATER PIPELINE? NOT LIKELY By DAVE HELLING The Kansas City Star
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Western states pipe dream got a cold splash of reality this week when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued a longawaited report on strategies to provide water to the parched states along the Colorado River.
Among the study’s conclusions: Importing billions of gallons of water from the Missouri River, as an anonymous Westerner suggested nearly a year ago, would be massively expensive and take decades to pull off. The report didn’t rule out the option, giving it high marks for the amount of water it would provide and its “technical feasiblity.” But high electricity costs and a 30-year permitting and building schedule prompted the bureau to give the
DRAMA AT A STATE OFFICE
idea a low rating compared with other water-generating and watersaving possibilities. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the trans-Kansas pipeline hurdles were probably too high to overcome. Instead, in a conference call Wednesday, he urged thirsty Westerners to focus on “solutions that are out there that will help us.” The bureau’s report, and Salazar’s comments, are likely to bring a sigh of relief from officials along the
TAMMY LJUNGBLAD | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
An apparently suicidal employee fired a gun Thursday inside the Missouri Division of Probation and Parole office, 1330 Brush Creek Blvd. No one was hit when the gun discharged; the employee surrendered. As workers waited outside, tactical police departed. The man was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Missouri River basin, and as well as several “I told you sos.” Almost to a person this week, interests along the Missouri River said the political, legal and practical problems associated with the pipeline made its construction highly problematic. “The political hurdles to overcome are gigantic,” said former Kansas Gov. Mike Hayden, now director of the Missouri River AssociSEE WATER | A6
Backpack snack program ‘saved my life’ By LAURA BAUER The Kansas City Star
The little girl put colorful hearts, some big and others small, on her letter. At the bottom of the page she drew a picture of what looked like a small house and wrote “the church.” Then there were her words to the members of Leawood’s Church of the Resurrection, which provided her and other students at her Kansas City elementary school with a backpack of food each Friday: “Thank you I love my backpack because it has saved my life. You are the best church I ever met.” Realizing that Harvesters alone can’t provide kids enough food to tide them over each weekend, the Leawood church started its own backpack program five years ago. The church provides food packs to nearly 1,500 students each week.
Musical with Midwest roots will be staged next spring at a prestigious off-Broadway theater. By ROBERT TRUSSELL The Kansas City Star
SEE KU MED | A9
U.S. BUREAU’S CONCLUSION | It would be too expensive and take too many years
Plan to send billions of gallons from the Missouri to the Colorado gets low marks compared to other options.
KC Rep’s ‘Venice’ gets New York run “Venice,” an original musical that received its world premiere in 2010 at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, will be staged at one of New York’s most prestigious off-Broadway theaters. While other shows carrying the Rep’s name as a co-producer — including “A Christmas Story” and “Tom Sawyer” — have played New York, this production will be a milestone for Kansas City’s leading nonprofit theater company. It was written by Eric Rosen, the Rep’s artistic director, and Matt Sax, who composed the music, and much of the early work on the show was done in Kansas City. “It feels like its DNA is in this town, and that was very different from ‘A Christmas Story,’ ” Rosen said. “ ‘Christmas Story’ originated in the mind of its producer, Jerry Goehring, and we were brought the project to develop. For this, Matt and I came up with the idea, and we wrote every word in it.” “Venice” is set in a city in the not-so-distant future. All the elders have died in a costly war, and now the younger generation is struggling to plot the city’s future. The music is a mashup of hip-hop, soul, pop and rock. “Venice” was commissioned by the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, where Rosen restaged the show after its Kansas City premiere. Both the Rep and the Center Theatre Group will receive prominent billing above the title when it plays the Public Theater. The Public announced Thursday that “Venice” would begin performances May 29 and officially open on June 13 in the 275-seat Anspacher Theatre, one of five venues operated by the Public in the former Astor Library in the East Village. The show runs through June 23. The production is part of the company’s Public Lab series, designed to expose the work of emerging artists to a New York audience in scaled-down productions with affordable ticket prices. Tickets for “Venice” will be $15, an exceptionally low price by New York theater standards. Rosen said he was confident that “Venice” would have a life after the Public Lab staging, SEE VENICE | A8
YOU CAN HELP For the third year, The Star is partnering with Harvesters to hold a virtual food drive. All money raised will go to Harvesters’ BackSnack program for kids. Go to feedingkckids. harvesters.org to make a donation. If you’d like, you can designate your donation in the honor or memory of a family member or friend. The Star will publish the dedications on Christmas Day.
Volunteers help pack the food, from Scout troops and youth clubs to individuals and business groups. Those who organize the program hold close the letters they receive from kids who are grateful for the weekend food. Especially the letter from the little girl,
SHORT TAKE THE X FACTOR |
Stevens is in the finals
A girl named Natasha wrote this heartfelt thank-you.
Natasha. The letter with hearts and a picture of a church. “I put my food away in the cupboard so I can eat in morning,” she wrote. “I take care of my backpack very good.” To reach Laura Bauer, call 816-234-4944 or send email to lbauer@kcstar.com.
Cass County country singer Tate Stevens made it to the finals of “The X Factor” on Fox, but not without some nail-biting moments Thursday night. Four acts were left, and the conventional wisdom was that girl group Fifth Harmony would fall. Instead, Fifth Harmony was the first act ushered into the Top 3. But the Belton street crew worker survived, as did teen phenom Carly Rose Sonenclar. The finals are at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday | Tim Engle, tengle@kcstar.com
FOR PHOTO ALBUMS OF EVENTS ACROSS KANSAS CITY, SEE COMMUNITY FACES AT WWW.KANSASCITY.COM