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75 CENTS
Sunny but cooler
High: 57
Low: 33
Today’s forecast, page 10A
INSIDE Former A.G. may become federal judge Lawrence attorney Steve Six, who served as Kansas attorney general, may be in line to replace 10th Circuit Court of Appeals judge Deanell Tacha, who is retiring to take a position as Pepperdine University’s dean of law. Page 3A SPORTS
KU baseball starts season today Kansas University baseball opens its season with a threegame weekend series at No. 1 TCU starting at 6:30 p.m. today. “We like being the underdog. We’re actually looking forward to it,” KU coach Ritch Price said of his Jayhawks. Page 1B NATION
Senators press Obama on Boeing contract Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., implored “everybody who’s out there tweeting, chirping and Facebooking” to contact the White House immediately and stress the importance of getting the Air Force to award a $35 billion aerial tanker contract to Boeing, which has facilities in Wichita. Page 7A
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QUOTABLE
I do not believe that our Kansas Constitution and our Kansas statutes should be used to condone discrimination on the basis of an individual exercising their freedom of religion. I would hope that you not keep this clause in the bill.” — State Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, speaking against a major part of House Bill 2260, which, its opponents say, would allow discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Page 3A
COMING SATURDAY The cold weather we had actually had a plus side: fewer potholes.
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FRIDAY • FEBRUARY 18 • 2011
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Painting ‘with iron and fire’ Young artists learn old art to help build gate for Black Jack site By Christine Metz cmetz@ljworld.com
ONLINE: Watch the video at LJWorld.com
The young adults at Van Go Mobile Arts are best known for their pieces of brightly painted furniture. But on Thursday, a crew of four put down their paintbrushes and picked up hammers to learn the ancient art of blacksmithing. It’s an art that requires both a forceful hand and a delicate touch. “You are painting something, it’s just with iron and fire,” said 19-year-old Heng Liu. Every other Thursday since December, the Van Go students have been making the short trip to Walt Hull’s forge in Pleasant Grove. They will become Walt Hull part of a group of blacksmiths from across the world that will craft a gate at the site of the Black Jack Battlefield, just outside Baldwin City. Like most people, the Van Go artists were at first nervous around the blazing fires and were timid with the hammering, instructor and local blacksmith artist Kate Dinneen said. But then they picked up the key to blacksmithing. “It’s a really good way to get out your aggression,” Dinneen said. It’s a skill that 20-yearold Tandy Myers never thought she’d acquire. But her friends think it’s pretty cool since they are into heavy metal (the musical variety, not the trade). “You have to be very fast and you have to be very precise,” Myers said. Please see VAN GO, page 2A
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Parents anxious about transition By Mark Fagan mfagan@ljworld.com
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
DANIELLE VOLLE, 20, AN ARTIST with Van Go Mobile Arts, forges a piece of iron, which will become part of the Black Jack Gate, at Walt Hull Ironworks on Thursday. Students from Van Go have visited the studio four times to learn how to work with iron and to help create the gate, a drawing of which appears BELOW.
$30,000 STILL NEEDED TO MAKE BLACK JACK GATE A REALITY This May, Kate Dinneen hopes to gather more than 50 blacksmiths to build a gate to welcome visitors to the site of the Battle of Black Jack near Baldwin City. The gate would mark the 155th anniversary of the battle and the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Before the gate can be built, more than
$30,000 needs to be raised in the next few weeks. A rough economy coupled with the state’s recent cut for art programs has dampened fundraising efforts. “We are desperately in need of money at this point,” Dinneen said. Contributions to the Black Jack Battlefield can be made online to blackjackbattlefield.org.
Turns out the anticipation for leaving elementary school is no different after fifth grade as it is following sixth grade. For the parents, anyway. “She’s my baby,” said Linda Jadlow, and she wasn’t talking about the 4-week-old sleeping beside her in a car seat Thursday night in the auditorium at West Junior High School. “I love the change, just because that’s what I grew with, but she’s still my baby.” The “change” SCHOOLS she’s talking about actually involves Jadlow’s other daughter, Alexa, and the hundreds of other fifth-graders in the Lawrence school district who will graduate from elementary school this spring and then enroll in reconfigured junior high schools — to be known as middle schools — as sixth-graders for the fall. It’s a reconfiguration that’s been in the works for more than a year, will send all ninth-graders onto high school campuses for the first time in Lawrence and will continue to spur transitions in the coming months: teachers relocating, programs adjusting, perhaps even school names changing. But during Thursday’s Parent Information Night at West — a scene repeated at South and Southwest junior highs, and one that already had been conducted Tuesday at Central Junior High School — Jadlow and dozens of other moms, dads, grandparents, brothers and sisters had a chance to learn what prospective middle schoolers should count on: advisory periods, core classes, Please see PARENTS, page 4A
Loan program can lead to more energy-efficient homes By Christine Metz cmetz@ljworld.com
Since November, Jessi Asmussen and her husband have had a to-do list of energy-efficient upgrades for their drafty, 100-year-old Lawrence home. But before they could cross anything off the list, the couple were waiting on the Kansas Corporation Commission to grant approval to Westar Energy so the utility could participate in its $38 million revolving loan program. Earlier this month, Westar Energy announced that the KCC did just that, allowing
Before homeowners can receive a loan they must pay for a home energy audit, which is being offered at a highly reduced cost of $100. Asmussen and hundreds of other Westar customers to take out a loan so they could make upgrades to improve their home’s energy efficiency. Customers would then pay off that loan through their utility bill. The revolving loan is part of a state program known as Efficiency Kansas, which is
funded through federal stimulus dollars. When the program began more than a year ago, the intent was to reach thousands of homeowners. So far, just 180 people have taken advantage of the state loan program. Until now, the loans were with smaller utility companies or through banks. Those bank loans, which came with a 4 percent interest rate, often required homeowners to take out a second mortgage, have a high credit score and 20 percent or more equity in their home. The agreement with the Please see PROGRAM, page 2A
Part of Lawrence-Manhattan challenge Participation in Efficiency Kansas, which includes a revolving loan program and a home energy audit, is among the categories where Lawrence and Manhattan residents are competing against one another in the Take Charge Challenge. The competition, which runs until fall, will see which town can save the most energy. “This is a really important part of the challenge that Lawrence residents
should look at doing if they want to help us win … and if they want to save money,” said the Lawrence Take Charge Challenge coordinator Margaret Tran. As of now, Manhattan is in the lead. For residents interested in participating in Efficiency Kansas through Westar Energy, an open house will take place in Topeka from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday in the Emerald Ballroom at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, 1717 SW Topeka Blvd.
Just Food service to close if $100,000 not raised soon By Karrey Britt kbritt@ljworld.com
Just Food, a Douglas County food program that served 2,000 people last month, needs to raise $100,000 in 60 days or it faces closure. “We have a tremendous program and we are meeting the needs of the people, but we are in a critical need for funding to continue,” said Ace Hickey, a longtime Just Food volunteer and board member. Hickey, a retired Lawrence mail carrier, has been involved with Just Food since
2005 when it was just a concept among a handful of community leaders. They wanted a bigger pantry that would allow them to store perishable and nonperishable items and that also would serve as a distribution center for smaller pantries. In 2009, the concept became a reality when East Central Kansas Economic Opportunity Corp., a commu-
nity action agency, received a one-year $250,000 grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to start the program. In October 2009, Just Food began operating out of a warehouse at 1200 E. 11th St. Since then, it has served 25,327 people, including 3,084 children under age 6. Just Food is part of the Harvesters Community Food Network in Kansas City, Mo., and is able to obtain nonper-
ishable and perishable items at a reduced cost. It can provide a complete meal for 74 cents. The program also gets donations of fresh produce from Douglas County farmers and the Lawrence Farmers’ Market. The food program operates on $132,000 annually, or $11,000 per month. That pays for two employees, rent, utilities and other necessities. It has 15 active volunteers who help write grants, enter data, store food and help clients. Please see JUST FOOD, page 2A
HOW TO HELP Just Food, a Douglas County food program that serves about 60 people per day, needs to raise $100,000 to continue operations. Donations can be made online at www.justfoodfund.org or by mailing a check to Just Food at 1200 E. 11th St., Lawrence 66046. For more information, contact Just Food at 8567030 or visit www.eckan.org/justfood.