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Parents seek more exemptions to immunizations ——————
Health officials oppose bill that would give parents more choice about kids’ vaccinations By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
HEALTH
TOPEKA — Individual rights collided with the rights of society in a hearing Wednesday over whether to allow more children to bypass required immunizations.
Partly cloudy
High: 30
Monica DeGraffenreid, of Wichita, said parents should be allowed to decide whether their children should be vaccinated. “We are well-educated and well-informed adults,” DeGraffenreid said to the House Health and Human Services
Committee during a standingroom-only hearing. “We’re not asking for the world. We are simply asking for our parental rights to be respected.” State law requires children to be immunized against a number of diseases, such as chicken pox,
measles, mumps and rubella, to be enrolled in school. The law allows exemptions for religious or medical reasons. Under House Bill 2094, a parent or guardian would be allowed to exempt their child for reasons of conscience or personal belief.
A warm start to cold-weather months
Low: 10
Today’s forecast, page 10A
INSIDE KU women score 3rd Big 12 road victory The KU women’s basketball team gave Oklahoma State its first home loss this season Wednesday evening in a 65-60 victory. Aishah Sutherland scored 15 points and 22 rebounds, which Sutherland was the first time a KU women’s player had at least 20 rebounds in a game since 1981. Page 1B
Numerous websites, including Wikipedia, Reddit and one with local ties, advocated against SOPA and PIPA by blacking out their content. Some Kansas lawmakers also spoke out against the bills. Page 4A
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QUOTABLE
It just goes to show how caring people are when something happens. And everybody wants to help. They should all know that it’s all going to go to somebody who needs it.” — Lori Johns, director of the United Way Roger Hill Volunteer Center. Hundreds of items were donated for an 11-member family who lost their home in a fire. Items the family doesn’t use will be given to other area organizations. Page 3A
COMING FRIDAY We’ll be in court in Denver, covering the South Lawrence Trafficway lawsuit.
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INDEX Business Classified Comics Deaths Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion Puzzles Sports Television Vol.154/No.19
Please see VACCINES, page 2A
Kansas shows no progress in tobacco prevention ———
Report still gives state poor grades for policies and regulations By Karrey Britt kbritt@ljworld.com
NATION
Websites protest legislation in blackout
Supporters of the bill said that the religious exemption was too narrow and unfair. “In essence, if I do not belong to a religious denomination, I am apparently unworthy of an
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
SHAUN GIBBS, 12, RACKS HAY INTO A PEN OF BISON Wednesday at his grandfather Don Gibbs’ Lone Star Lake Bison Ranch and Meat Co., near Overbrook The herd of 18 bison, including 2,200-pound bull King Louie, left, have been moved from the pasture to the pen for the winter and get fed twice a day. According to data from the state climatologist, the November through mid-January average temperature of 39.5 degrees is three degrees above average.
Unseasonable temperatures in area have economic, agricultural effects By Shaun Hittle sdhittle@ljworld.com
ONLINE: See graphs created from compiled weather data at LJWorld.com
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There’s definitely a downturn in the winter market.”
— Linda Cottin, owner of Cottin’s Hardware, on fewer sales of winter-related items in the The past couple of days in Lawrence notwithstanding, it sure seems store like it’s been a pretty warm winter so far. upcoming growing season, said Bill And the numbers prove it. Wood, director of the K-State ReThe November through mid- search and Extension office in DougJanuary average temperature of las County. 39.5 degrees — about three degrees “It’s looking pretty dry right now,” above average — is the 16th warm- he said. est of that time frame in Lawrence And the warmer weather means since 1909, according to data com- that more insects may survive the piled by Mary Knapp, state clima- winter and could be something tologist at the Kansas State Clima- to watch out for this year, Wood tologist’s Office. said. But Wood said that overall he And while Lawrence has seen just doesn’t anticipate any huge proba touch of snow this winter, it’s actu- lems in the local agricultural world ally been the 12th-wettest from No- because of the weather. vember to January, with the area reNo snow also means no need for ceiving 8.36 inches of precipitation, snow shovels and other winter-relatnearly doubling the average precipi- ed items, creating a hole in sales at tation of 4.58 inches since 1909. Cottin’s Hardware, said owner Linda The weather has had both eco- Cottin. nomic and agricultural effects in the “There’s definitely a downturn in area. the winter market,” she said. Though statistically there’s been But there’s a positive aspect, Cotabove-average precipitation, a lack tin said, as they’ve been able to make of snow, which helps hold moisture up sales through an increased dein the soil, could be an issue with the mand for outdoor-related products,
7A 6B-10B 9A 2A 10A, 2B 9B 5A 8A By Andy Hyland 9B ahyland@ljworld.com 1B-5B Shenji Pan is helping to 5A, 2B, 9B plan a big celebration for 20 pages the Chinese New Year. In fact, the party is so big it’s outgrown its previous digs at Woodruff Auditorium in Energy smart: The the Kansas Union. It’ll be Journal-World makes the Sunday at the Lied Center, most of renewwhich seats more than 2,000 able resources. people. www.b-e-f.org Pan, a Kansas University junior from a small town near Shanghai in China’s Jiangsu province, said more than 900 of the event’s free tickets had already been spoken for, and he expected a larger crowd than that for
Weather by the numbers, from Nov. 1 to Jan. 17
Average temperature: 39.5 degrees.
Average temperature since 1909: 36.2 degrees.
The warmest on record was in 2001-02, with an average temperature of 43.9 degrees.
The coldest was 1976-77, with an average temperature of 27.9 degrees. — Numbers provided by the Kansas State Climatologist’s Office. For a graph of the numbers, visit LJWorld.com.
such as exterior paint and lawn and garden supplies. But they’ll keep winter products in stock just in case, Cottin said. This is Kansas, after all. And it’s only January. That’s a pretty good idea, Knapp said, as there’s no way to know if the current weather trends will hold. “In the plains, we can go pretty quickly from one temperature to another,” she said. — Reporter Shaun Hittle can be reached at 832-7173. Follow him at Twitter.com/shaunhittle.
The American Lung Association saw no progress last year in Kansas’ efforts to curb tobaccorelated disease, but at least it didn’t take a step backward as other states did. The association released its 10th annual “State of Tobacco Control” report card early today, and it noted that Kansas lawmakers defeated an effort to repeal the Indoor Clean Air Act that was passed in 2010 after listening to voters — 77 percent of whom said they supported the law. The law prohibits smoking in all public places and places of employment, including bars and restaurants. But in 2011 the Senate failed to pass a provision that would have strengthened the law by eliminating a smoking exemption for casino gaming floors. Last year was the first time that Kansas received an “A” in one of the four categories on the American Lung Association’s report card, and it was because the Indoor Clean Air Act was enacted. This year, it kept its “A” in the “smoke-free” category. Nevada was the only state to actually weaken its smoke-free law by voting to allow smoking in any bar that serves food — despite more than 83 percent of its voters opposing it. Thomas Carr, director of National Policy for the American Lung Association, said, “Effective policies against tobacco use are proven to be the best way to save lives and health care dollars. State policymakers must step up and close the gap.” Please see TOBACCO, page 2A
Lied Center to host KU’s Chinese New Year celebration the celebration featuring songs, dances and performances from Chinese and western culKANSAS UNIVERSITY ture. “It’s a dragon year, so it’s a big year,” he said. The growing Chinese New Year celebration corresponds with a rapidly growing Chinese student population at KU and across the country. Joe Potts, director of international student and scholar services for KU, has seen the growth firsthand. In 2005,
KU had about 30 undergrad- with the demand. And, he uates from China. This fall, said, the United States has there are more than 650. In made it easier for Chinese all, 895 students from China students to obtain visas in were enrolled in fall 2011. recent years as China’s deIndia is second with 163 stu- velopment has continued. dents. “There is He attri- CHINESE NEW YEAR less concern butes that CELEBRATION that students growth to will stay here,” When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday three main Potts said. Where: Lied Center, 1600 factors. First, The sheer Stewart Ave. he said, the volume of peoTickets: free, available at Lied growth of the ple living in Center box office Chinese midChina — more dle class has than 1.3 billion allowed for a greater number — also plays a role, Potts of families to afford sending said. A small-percentage intheir children overseas. Sec- crease in students studying ond, the educational capac- abroad means a lot more ity in China isn’t keeping up individual students than a
similar percentage increase in other countries. Pan, president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Friendship Organization, has worked with other groups inside and outside campus to plan the new year’s festival. It’s scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sunday (in China, as in the United States, New Year’s Eve is almost a bigger celebration than the actual day itself). Pan said the theme of the event is “One World, One Dream.” The event is open to the public, and free tickets are available at the Lied Center box office. Please see NEW YEAR, page 2A