HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR
MARCHING ON
Handmade items featured at annual event
Eudora High to play for championship
Lawrence & State 3A
Sports 1B
L A W R E NC E
JOURNAL-WORLD ®
75 CENTS
Too windy for this work
Windy, warmer
High: 68
COUNTY
Tax bills coming for the holiday
Low: 27
Today’s forecast, page 8A
INSIDE Keep your kitchen safe for the holidays Cooking fires are one of the most common fires in our homes, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. We offer some tips to help keep your family safe and your turkey well-cooked over the Thanksgiving holiday. Page 3A
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LJWorld.com
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QUOTABLE
By Mark Fagan
I know he’s sorry for what he’s done because he told me so. So I do forgive him, and I love him because that’s what God teaches me, to be a forgiving person and to try to help those who have wronged us.”
mfagan@ljworld.com
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photos
WORKMEN FOR WILDCAT CONCRETE SERVICES FIGHT THE WIND Friday as they attempt to pour a 2-inch surface of concrete across a southbound lane of the Kansas River Bridge. After about 560 feet, however, they had to quit for the day because the 30 mph wind was drying out the concrete too fast. At left, the crew covers the road with a plastic tarp. The repaving work is expected to resume next week. Crews will return in the spring to complete the remaining northbound lane of the bridge. See the video at LJWorld.com
— Kay Sanders, grandmother of two boys who were abused by her daughter’s boyfriend, Stanley Burleson. Burleson was sentenced to three years on probation Friday for the crime. Page 4A
COMING SUNDAY
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TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT
Patrols increasing for Thanksgiving By George Diepenbrock gdiepenbrock@ljworld.com
Lawrence police will operate patrols from Monday through next Sunday, and sheriff’s officers plan four days of special enforcement next week. “Safe travel on our county roads is our goal, with reductions in property damage and injuries a side benefit,” said Sgt. Steve Lewis, a sheriff’s spokesman. Police advise people to arrange for a ride home with a sober designated driver and ensure everyone inside their vehicle wears a seat belt. AAA anticipates highways and airports will be busier than Thanksgiving 2010, with an estimated 4 percent more Americans expected to travel this year. That’s because the economy is somewhat better that there is pent up demand from consumers who had to forego travels plans last year. “Consumers can expect busy highways and airports as people make their way home during this important time of year,” said Jim Hanni, executive vice president for public and government affairs for AAA in Kansas.
An estimated 42.5 million people are expected to travel during the upcoming week for Thanksgiving, and police in Lawrence, Douglas County and across the state plan to beef up traffic patrols. A special section on Lawrence police and Douglas County officers will par‘Holiday Happenings’ ticipate Sheriff’s in the Kansas ThanksgivThe holidays are nearly upon us. ing Traffic Enforcement Campaign As you plan your holiday seastarting as early as Monday, thanks son, be sure to check out the Holi- to a grant from the Kansas Departday Happenings special section ment of Transportation. inside Sunday’s Journal-World. It will enable more officers to be We put together a calendar of on roads to enforce traffic laws, inholiday events, many of which are cluding violations for drunken drivunique to Lawrence. And you’ll ing, seat belt and child safety refind ideas for decorating your holi- straints and speeding. day table. Oh, and if you want to Lawrence police public affairs Sgt. give your time as a gift this year, Matt Sarna said typically the Thankswe asked local experts for ways giving holiday weekend from Wednesto help others. Happy holidays! day to Sunday produces more alcoholrelated crashes than other holidays. “Those driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs endanger not only themselves but also their passengers, other motorists and Business 8A pedestrians,” Sarna said. Classified 1C-6C Comics 8C Deaths 2A Events listings 8A, 2B Faith Forum 7B Horoscope 7C By Scott Rothschild Movies 5A srothschild@ljworld.com Opinion 7A TOPEKA — Organized labor was roughed Poll 2A Puzzles 7C up during the last legislative session. Union leaders say the next session, which starts in Sports 1B-4B, 8B January, will be even tougher. Television 5A, 2B, 7C “We are fighting back,” said Terry ForVol.153/No.323 24 pages syth, president of the newly formed Working Kansas Alliance. He was flanked on Friday by more than 50 union members during a news conference held in conjunction with the Kansas AFL-CIO biennial convention. Energy smart: The Forsyth said he will oppose efforts by Journal-World Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, and makes the most of renewmany Republican legislators to start a able resources. 401(k)-style plan for public employees. He www.b-e-f.org said that doesn’t fix the funding problem in the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, which was caused by the state failing to contribute enough into the system. He also predicted there will be a repeat of last session’s fight over a bill to limit the rights of union members to participate in political campaigns. That bill passed in the House with only Republican votes and
INDEX
— Reporter George Diepenbrock can be reached at 832-7144.
The Douglas County treasurer is about to mail 47,031 bills to collect $145,060,636.57 in taxes for the coming year. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. “I know that’s wonderful news,” said Paula Gilchrist, sympathetic yet sarcastic in her seventh year of assessing taxes. “And then having to pay off the bill right before Christmas? This was not our choice. We did not choose these dates. No tax collector It’s ever would.” The bills — nobody’s all 38,430 for fault. Most real estate, plus homeownanother 7,500 for personal ers anticiproperty, 646 pate this.” for large trucks and 455 for — Douglas County state-assessed Treasurer Paula utilities and other proper- Gilchrist ties — are set to go out Monday or Tuesday. That’s at least a week later than usual, as the county works through glitches with a computer system installed last year. More than 15,000 of the bills will be sent to banks and large mortgage companies electronically, so that escrow charges can be adjusted for mortgages. The rest will go out in the mail, destined to arrive in mailboxes throughout the county either just before Thanksgiving or on Friday, considered the biggest shopping day of the year. Gulp. “It’s nobody’s fault,” Gilchrist said of the unfortunate timing. “Most homeowners anticipate this.” All of the bills come due Dec. 20, so governments large and small can pay for their public-service
Underage drinking enforcement Officers with KU police, the Kansas Department of Revenue’s Alcoholic Beverage Control, Lawrence police and the Douglas County Sheriff’s office cited 32 people in Lawrence Thursday night as part of a patrol that targeted underage drinking. The operation is part of the Fake ID 101 task force. According to the New Tradition Coalition of Lawrence, some of the 32 people were cited for more than one charge as officers wrote up 22 violations for minors in possession of alcohol and 18 charges for possession or use of a fake ID, plus one count each of urinating in public and furnishing alcohol to a minor. The ABC also issued administrative citations at six bars or restaurants — Quinton’s Bar and Deli, The Hawk, Abe and Jake’s Landing, El Mezcal, Bullwinkle’s Bar and The Granada — accusing staff members there of allowing minors to possess alcohol.
Please see TAX bills, page 2A
New coalition forms to fight Brownback initiatives prompted a rare demonstration in the House gallery that resulted in union members being kicked out. Brownback has said he is working on improving the state economy and bringing more jobs to Kansas. He is set to unveil new tax and Brownback school finance plans. His spokeswoman, Sherriene Jones-Sontag, said, “Clinging to outdated ways of doing things won’t work and taxpayers can’t afford it.” She added, “In the last decade, Kansas actually lost private sector jobs. We’re starting to turn that around, but there’s a lot of work to do. To grow Kansas, we need to control spending while reforming taxes and regulation.” Forsyth also warned there will be an attempt in the 2012 legislative session, which starts in January, to do away with the state minimum wage law, which was increased in 2010 to match the federal minimum wage Please see COALITION, page 2A
Scott Rothschild/Journal-World Photo
TERRY FORSYTH, president of the new Working Kansas Alliance, speaks Friday in Topeka during a news conference announcing the formation of the group. The group opposes efforts by Gov. Sam Brownback and many Republican legislators to start a 401(k)-style plan for public employees, among other Brownback initiatives.