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FRIDAY • JANUARY 28 • 2011
Settlement reached in medical gas accident case Photos special to the Journal-World
A BROCHURE RECOGNIZES the 100th birthday of Kansas on Jan. 29, 1961. Saturday will be the 150th birthday.
As our 150th nears, look how we celebrated our 100th
gdiepenbrock@ljworld.com
The family of a 20-year-old Tonganoxie High School graduate who suffered brain damage during a 2009 dental procedure in Lawrence reached a $3 million settlement Thursday with a Lawrence plumbing company. But legal action is pending against several defendants, including the city of Lawrence, in the case that was filed on behalf of Austin Stone. A trial is scheduled for November. The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of Stone and his guardians, Tara Passmore and Stone Lance Stone, alleges that oxygen and nitrous oxide lines were crossed during design and construction of Dr. Kirk Vincent’s office at 4811 Bob Billings Parkway. In a settlement agreement, Action Plumbing, which installed the medical gas lines, denied liability. Chief Douglas County District Judge Robert Fairchild approved the settlement in court Thursday. According to testimony and court records, a major portion of the $3 million will be used to help pay for Stone’s future care and expenses. Stone was in a coma after the incident, and he is now legally blind and has other health issues. The lawsuit alleges: Stone visited Vincent’s office on March 30, 2009, to have four wisdom teeth removed. During the
cmetz@ljworld.com
ONLINE: See a gallery of Centennial photos at LJWorld.com
The centennial seal
Journal-World/Spencer Research Library
LEFT: Earl Higgins stands between Miss America, left, and Miss Kansas during Eudora’s June 1961 celebration of the Kansas Centennial. According to the Lawrence Journal-World, the group was going to tackle buffalo sandwiches next. RIGHT: From among 82 contestants, these six men won centennial awards for having the best (or worst) beards of Douglas County. Seated from left are Raymond Ingle (most colorful), Dale Barnard (longest) and Bob Bagby (thickest). Standing from left are Fred Tucker (undoubtedly the ugliest), Raymond Pippert (most unique) and Ralph Hoffman (prettiest). Lawrence and still recalls men in beards gathering near his hometown in southeast Kansas. In 1961, the celebrations kicked off at the state Capitol with a 1,100-pound cake in the shape of Kansas. It was followed later that year by a cast of more than 1,000 local and national actors performing on seven stages the musical extravaganza “The Kansas Story.” There was the Kansas Centennial Ball and Founders Day Banquet. Stamps, dolls, coins
and even napkins were made to commemorate the event. Here in Lawrence, the centennial was celebrated with a joint visit from Miss America and Miss Kansas. And Kansas University had its own theater production, “Hello, Kansas!”, whose opening performance the Lawrence Journal-World called a “dazzling local success.” But it was the beards that stick in the minds of most Kansans.
Plumbing company denies liability but will pay $3M By George Diepenbrock
By Christine Metz
Virgil Dean can still envision his grandmother riding on floats that paraded through downtown Ottawa. Mike Amyx remembers seeing Miss America wearing a big black hat and pretty black dress in South Park. John Clinger recalls the stamps his mother made him collect commemorating the event. And many, many others talk about the beards that men all across Kansas grew to celebrate the state’s 100th birthday. On Saturday, Kansas turns 150 years old. And while plenty of festivities will take place commemorating the anniversary, they will undoubtedly pale in comparison to the year’s worth of celebrating Kansans did 50 years ago as they rang in the state’s centennial. “It just seemed like a bigger event than what we are making of the 150th celebration,” said Clinger, who lives just outside of
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Please see PLUMBING, page 2A
Kansas Historical Society Photo
THE KANSAS ANTIQUE Doll Club designed this Kansas Centennial doll to resemble the ones children carried while traveling through Kansas in the state’s early years. The 1961 Kansas Centennial inspired the manufacturing of many souvenirs like this one, according to the Kansas State Historical Society.
Please see KANSANS, page 2A
In mourning
A postage stamp celebrating the state’s 100th birthday
Another ex-ticket manager pleads guilty ——————
Charlette Blubaugh latest in string of defendants to admit role in multimillion-dollar scam By Mark Fagan mfagan@ljworld.com
W I C H I T A — Another former ticket manager for Kansas Athletics Inc. has admitted in federal court that she took part in a scheme that converted stolen KU basketball and football tickets into tax-free cash through sales by ticket brokers and others. Charlette Blubaugh pleaded
guilty Thursday morning to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, a crime that carries a potential prison term of 20 years and a Blubaugh $250,000 fine. She now is responsible for paying up to $2 million to the gov-
attorneys, after the 47-minute hearing. Blubaugh is the latest in a string of former colleagues at Kansas Athletics to plead guilty in connection with the scam, which prosecutors say ran from Pablo Monsivais/AP Photo 2005 to 2010. Already having pleaded guilty to conspiracy: KANSAS UNIVERSITY basketball playerThomas Robinson ● Kassie Liebsch, a former and his 7-year-old sister, Jayla Robinson, arrive for the systems analyst who took over funeral of their mother, Lisa Robinson, Thursday at Antioch Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. Please see ANOTHER, page 2A See story, Page 1B.
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ernment, to cover her share of ill-gotten gains. She admitted her guilt and entered into a plea agreement approved during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown in federal court in Wichita. Sentencing is set for 10 a.m. April 14. “Charlette’s happy to get this matter behind her, and she accepts responsibility,” said John Rapp, one of her defense
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