L A W R E N C E
JOURNAL-WORLD
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75 CENTS
SATURDAY • FEBRUARY 19 • 2011
Cooler and rainy
High: 53
Low: 46
Today’s forecast, page 12A
INSIDE KU looks to rebound after loss to K-State Last seen suffering an embarrassing 8468 loss against in-state rivals the Wildcats, the Jayhawks return home to take on the Colorado Buffaloes today at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas, which narrowly defeated Colorado in Boulder on Jan. 25, have beaten the Buffs 27 straight times in Lawrence. Page 1B LAWRENCE
Cold weather helped cause fewer potholes There was a silver lining to all those days recently when the high temperature never eclipsed freezing: fewer potholes. The constant cold meant fewer potholecreating freeze-and-thaw cycles. Page 3A NATION
Wisconsin Democrats still on the run On Friday, Wisconsin’s 14 Senate Democrats who’d left the state threatened to stay away for weeks in order to stall a proposal to cut government workers’ pay. The state’s Republican leaders, including Gov. Scott Walker, said the strategy wouldn’t work. Meanwhile, protesters filled the Capitol building to show their displeasure with the proposal. Page 9A
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QUOTABLE
The American people have spoken. They demand that Washington stop its out-of-control spending now, not some time in the future.” — U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., one of the 87 newly elected Republicans who have moved aggressively to attack federal deficits and reduce government’s reach. Page 6C
COMING SUNDAY Lawrence likes to be as green as possible, and that includes planning for local residents buying electric cars.
New police chief named 19-year LPD veteran Tarik Khatib to lead force By George Diepenbrock
The choice Corliss, who has the
Justices weigh in — again — on capping damages for malpractice suits By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo
TARIK KHATIB GETS HUGS FROM HIS SONS, from left, Colton, 9, and Drake, 6, Friday at City Hall, where Khatib was named as Lawrence’s new police chief. authority to make the selection, picked Khatib after conducting a national search that attracted 41 applicants from eight states. Khatib and three other finalists — police administrators from Olathe, Overland Park and Lincoln, Neb. — interviewed and met the public last week in Lawrence. The three other finalists were Brian Jackson, a Lincoln, Neb., police captain; Mark Kessler, a deputy chief in Overland Park; and
By Mark Fagan
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Central Junior High School looks to go old school when it becomes a middle school this summer. A committee of parents, staffers, students and community members is recommending that the building at 1400 Mass. combine Central with its original name, Liberty Memorial, to form a new name, one expected to be designated July 1. Options being recommended to the Lawrence school board for consideration:
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Please see KHATIB, page 2A
Tarik Khatib in brief Name pronunciation: (Tare-ick Kuh-teeb) Age: 43 Born: Beirut, Lebanon Grew up: Lake Forest, Ill., in suburban Chicago. Education: Earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Kansas University in 1991. Career: Spent his entire law enforcement career in Lawrence — nearly 19 years — and has worked in several areas within
the department, including leading a joint citycounty drug investigations task force. Administrative experience: Worked as a captain for the last several years until he was named interim chief in September. Graduated in 2010 from the FBI National Academy, a prestigious law enforcement training institute.
TOPEKA — A damage award to a woman whose ovary was removed by mistake could be determined by whether the Kansas Supreme Court believes the Kansas Legislature violated the constitutional right to a jury trial by capping damages in injury claims. “What the Legislature cannot do is change the Constitution,” attorney Lynn Johnson, who is representing Amy Miller of Eudora, said Friday. But Bruce Keplinger, an attorney representing Dr. Carolyn Johnson, who removed Miller’s left ovary by mistake, said the Miller Legislature can change the Constitution. Justice Carol Beier asked Keplinger, “Is there any constitutional limit on the Legislature’s power to amend the common law?” Keplinger replied there wasn’t. Asked if it would be constitutional if the Legislature capped malpractice damages at $10 or $1, attorneys for Dr. Johnson said it would, and if citizens were upset with what legislators did they could try to vote them out of office. The two sides argued for more than three hours in a rare re-hearing before the Kansas Supreme Court in the case that has pitted businesses, insurance companies and doctors against labor groups and trial lawyers. The court first heard arguments in the case in October 2009. Last month, the court ordered a second round of Please see SUPREME, page 2A
In nod to history, Central may include ‘Liberty’ in name
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Court observers riveted by medical case ——
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At the conclusion of a nationwide search, City Manager David Corliss on Friday announced his choice for police chief: Tarik Khatib, a 19-year veteran of the Lawrence Police Department. During an afternoon news conference at City Hall in which Corliss made the announcement, Khatib stepped up — without notes — to address the officers and city staff members who’d gathered. “A lot of what we do in the community as police officers is based on doing things from the heart,” he said. “I’m very humbled and honored to be selected.” Corliss said Khatib stood out during the search process and interviews. “I wanted the best person in the position,” he said. “I wasn’t so much concerned about where they were from. It was about where they were going.” Khatib, who has served as interim chief since September, pledged to work to improve the department while at the same time paying respect to the man he replaced: longtime Chief Ron Olin, who retired last year to become director of security and internal controls for Kansas Athletics Inc. “We’ll continue to build upon the great department Chief Olin left for us,” Khatib told the audience, which included Olin. “And we’ll continue to add and look to the future and increase our public interactions as we’ve been doing lately to try to communicate more with the community about the challenges we face.”
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● Central Liberty Middle School. ● Liberty Central Middle School ● Central Middle School,
graders and will no longer have ninth-graders. Committees and adminisLiberty Memorial Building. trators at South and South“There could be some way west junior highs already to cleverly combine the have concluded that the two,” said Anna Stubblenames basically should stay field, Central’s principal. the same: South Middle The committee’s recomSchool and Southwest Midmendation comes as naming dle School. West Junior studies are nearly complete High’s committee still hasn’t SCHOOLS for the Lawrence school disdecided, although parents, trict’s junior highs, which are recon- boosters and staffers already have figuring into middle schools for the “resoundingly” indicated support 2011-12 academic year. For the first for retaining the “West” name, Printime, the schools will have sixth- cipal Myron Melton said.
“We’ll see if the students agree,” Melton said. “If I talk to students around the building, they favor keeping the name. But we’ll give them all a chance to weigh in.” The naming discussions started Jan. 13, as the Lawrence school board decided — on a 4-3 vote — to pursue changing the names of all four schools. The recommendation from administrators simply had been to change “junior high” to “middle” in each name, and call it good. Please see CENTRAL, page 5A
Hello! Study says cell phone, driving sometimes do mix By Christine Metz cmetz@ljworld.com
For years, Kansas University researcher Paul Atchley’s studies have pointed to the dangers of texting and talking on a cell phone while driving. So, when Atchley’s latest research revealed that talking on a cell phone can actually cause drivers to perform better at the end of long trips, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. “I had some trepidation in getting the message out that sometimes it’s OK to talk and drive,” Atchley said. “But, as a scientist you report the data, even if it is something you are not completely comfortable with.”
Atchley said people should never talk on a cell phone while driving if they can avoid it. And the best thing to do when fatigued is to pull the car over and get some rest. But when stopping isn’t an option, talking on a cell phone at the end of a drive can cause people to be more attentive to what is happening around them. Atchley, an associate professor of psychology, adds some rather significant caveats to his findings. For starters, people should never talk on a cell phone if they can avoid it. And the best thing to do when fatigued is to pull the car over and get some rest. But when stopping isn’t an option, talking on a cell phone at the end of
a drive can cause people to be more attentive to what is happening around them. Atchley’s research —being published in next month’s issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society — has caused a bit of a controversy.
“It’s a message that people want to hear and a message that people don’t want to hear,” he said. KU graduate student Mark Chan co-authored the study. The two measured the attention levels of 45 students while they simulated driving on what Atchley called the world’s most boring video game. For 30 minutes, students drove a car on a straight stretch of highway similar to the mind-numbing drive on Interstate 70 through western Kansas. During that time, they had to stay within the lanes, steer clear of intruding cars, avoid radical maneuvers and remember road signs. Please see STUDY, page 5A