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MONDAY • FEBRUARY 23 • 2015
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‘In return, it’s also giving to myself’
John Young/Journal-World Photo
YUDEL MILMAN, OF OVERLAND PARK, HOLDS ON TO THE END of the feather quill that Rabbi Berel Sosover uses to pen one of the final letters in a Torah scroll for Milman while Eddie Tamir, 10, of Brooklyn, N.Y., watches Sunday at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 1203 W. 19th St.
John Young/Journal-World Photo
MARLA WELCH WORKS ON HAND-STITCHING a quilt Saturday morning at her home in Lawrence. When finished, the quilt, along with the dozens of others that surround Welch, will be donated to children at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
Marla Welch puts Pieces together for children at Lawrence Memorial By Rochelle Valverde Twitter: @RochelleValverde
M
arla Welch keeps a folder filled with about two dozen handwritten thankyou notes from people she’s never met. Some — with large, round print — are written by children. Others are penned by their parents. But all thank her for the same thing: a hand-knit quilt given to them when
they were sick. Welch is the founder of Pieces, a group that makes quilts for donation to the pediatric department at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Because of her multiple sclerosis, Welch said, she had to stop working but started Pieces in 2010 to give herself something to focus on. “I think that everybody has something to give, and this is my chance to give to someone else,” she said. “In return, it’s also giving to myself.”
Any child admitted overnight at LMH is given one of the quilts. Four-year-old Leah D’Alfonso received a quilt when she was recently hospitalized with the flu. Ann D’Alfonso, Leah’s mother, said the quilt helped her daughter feel more comfortable. “We were unable to go home to get any of Leah’s night things,” she said. “It gave her something to hold onto.” Please see PIECES, page 2A
ONLY IN LAWRENCE
An occasional feature highlighting the behind-the-scenes stars and unsung heroes who make Lawrence a special place to live. To suggest someone for an Only in Lawrence feature, email news@ljworld.com. Put Only in Lawrence in the subject line.
Lawrence welcomes 1st Torah scroll By Rochelle Valverde Twitter: @RochelleValverde
The crowd at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life overflowed the approximately 100 seats, filling the aisles and the entry way of the tent set up to celebrate the completion of Lawrence’s first Torah scroll Sunday morning. With the dedication of the Torah, the Jewish community here and at Kansas University has reached a new plateau, said Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, director of the Chabad Center. “What we are experiencing right now is not just another event,” Tiechtel said. “Future generations will read and use this Torah.” A scribe from Israel inked the final words of the scroll as part of the celebration. Various community members, including Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little, Mayor Mike Please see TORAH, page 2A
Wetlands fans anticipate Baker discovery center opening
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and a lifelong birdwatcher, was much more thrilled about the unidentified raptor’s presence than was the upset kestrel. “I don’t know what it is, and that disturbs me,” Boyd said. “It’s The newcomer glided among black. It’s not a red tail. I need to trees and shrubs, ignoring a kes- get my binoculars out and see.” trel’s feigned attacks and cries. Right now, wetlands visits are Journal-World File Photo As he watched, Boyd, director of Please see WETLANDS, page 3A FLOWERS FROM A HALBERD-LEAF Rosemallow bloom in July 2012 at the Baker Wetlands. natural areas for Baker University By Elvyn Jones
We are Twitter: @LJWorld going to do Baldwin City — A feathered everything to visitor to the Baker Wetlands had show it off.” Roger Boyd puzzled last week. — Scott Kimball, Baker University biology professor
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