Lawrence Journal-World 08-29-2015

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Loaded backfield

USA TODAY

Jayhawks have plenty of firepower at running back. The trick will be deciding who gets the majority of the carries.

Deadly tropical storm takes aim at Florida. 1B

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SATURDAY • AUGUST 29 • 2015

JUST FOOD

FROM FOOTBALL FIELD TO PRAIRIE A shot in

the arm; new salary questions

Free State, KU shape landscape By Rochelle Valverde Twitter: @RochelleVerde

T

he Grassland Heritage Foundation is offering a tour to educate the public on how Free State High School and Kansas University instructors and students turned an unused football practice field into a prairie restoration site. The Free State Prairie project includes a demonstration prairie with more than 40 species of plants that FSHS students grew from seeds. “The demonstration prairie can give the public an idea of what native Kansas prairie looks like, as well as some information about the types of plants,” said FSHS biology and environmental science instructor Julie Schwarting, who helped lead the project. The event will take place from 9 to 10:30 a.m. today at Free State High, 4700 Overland Drive. The tour will include information about the project’s history, the research occurring there and a plant walk through the restoration area. Identification and species specialists will provide information about some of the plants and prairies in general, Schwarting said. “This is the first time the public has been invited,” she said. “I think it’s a great opportunity.” Starting in 2013, participants

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Nonprofit raises $9,000 in ‘very good evening’ as issues arise over ex-director’s pay

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photos

An old goalpost, above right, presents an unusual backdrop to a prairie located on a former football practice field at Free State High School. The public can tour the prairie from 9 to 10:30 a.m. today at the school, 4700 Overland Drive. from KU, Free State and the Lawrence community collaborated on the restoration projects on the FSHS campus, which include the demonstration prairie as well as an experimental area with 18 plots, Schwarting said. The goal was to create natural areas that are easily accessible to K-12 students. The areas provide opportunities for students from both KU and Lawrence schools to learn about the natural heritage of Kansas and be involved in handson ecological research. “What we’re trying to do is do real science with ordinary people, and make that available to people in the community, so they can go and observe,” Schwarting said, noting that

the area is open to the public. Schwarting led the project along with Helen Alexander, a KU ecology and evolutionary biology professor. This project received financial support from the Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund, as well as assistance from several organizations, including Applied Ecological Services, Douglas County Conservation District and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. To reach the site, park on the west side of Free State High, walk through the gates to the athletic fields and follow the sidewalk around the back of the football stadium. When the sidewalk ends, head northwest across the grass, and the prairie sites will be obvious after a short walk.

By Chad Lawhorn Twitter: @clawhorn_ljw

Fundraising for the embattled Douglas County food bank Just Food is off to a fast start, but answers to questions about how the nonprofit managed to let more than $60,000 in payroll taxes go unpaid are coming more slowly. Lawrence attorney Dan Watkins, who is serving as a spokesman for Just Food during its financial struggles, said Just Food received strong community support at a Thursday evening fundraiser that featured gourmet meals and wine prepared by area chefs. Watkins said the Farmer event sold out all 100 tickets at $100 per ticket. Watkins estimated the nonprofit probably raised around $9,000 after expenses were paid. “It was a very good evening,” he said. “It was a very good showing of support.” The Chef’s Table event had been scheduled prior to the surprise resignation earlier this month of former executive director Jeremy Farmer, who also resigned as a Lawrence city commissioner, following revelations that he failed to pay $61,000 in federal and state payroll taxes for the food bank. Please see QUESTIONS, page 10A

Education groups gear up for next finance battle By Peter Hancock Twitter: @LJWpqhancock

Judge to rule soon on judicial selection lawsuit By Peter Hancock Twitter: @LJWpqhancock

Topeka — A Shawnee County judge said Friday that he will rule “in the very near future” on a lawsuit that some legal experts say cuts to the very heart of an independent judicial system. Judge Larry Hendricks heard oral arguments Friday in a case in which another judge, Larry Solomon of Kingman County, is challenging the constitutionality of a new law that

The only motivation is the Legislature’s and the governor’s desire to gain a political advantage.” — Pedro Irigonegaray, plaintiff’s attorney changes the way chief judges in district courts are selected. But he is also challenging the method by which Kansas lawmakers

Business Classified Comics Deaths

Low: 61

Today’s forecast, page 10A

Please see LAWSUIT, page 7A

Please see EDUCATION, page 2A

INSIDE

Mostly sunny

High: 80

enacted that change. That’s because it was inserted as a proviso in a 2014 bill that also provided funding for the court system. And it was referenced again this year in a bill that funds the courts for each of the next two years. In both of those bills, lawmakers inserted a “nonseverability clause,” meaning that if any part of the bill, such as the new system for selecting chief judges, is struck down by

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Topeka — Within the next two years, Kansas lawmakers are expected to craft a new school finance formula to replace the one they repealed earlier this year. On Friday, more than 100 public school officials, education advocates, and even some lawmakers gathered in Topeka to begin talking about what SCHOOLS that formula should look like. “It’s really about trying to start the conversation by giving the people here more information, more data,” said Mark Tallman, a lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, which hosted the summit meeting. Rep. Boog Highberger, D-Lawrence, the only elected official from Lawrence to attend the gathering, said he came “to get a better

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Tech infusion A deal is brewing for a new manufacturer that will make high-tech walls and panels to locate in the East Hills Business Park. Page 3A

Vol.157/No.241 30 pages


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