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SUNDAY • SEPTEMBER 20 • 2015
Records: School inspections flawed By Karen Dillon Twitter: @karensdillon
The Douglas County inspector charged with overseeing a large portion of the Lawrence school district’s $92.5 million bond project to ensure the work was done according to buildings codes had no enforcement authority, the Journal-World has learned.
Inspector had no power to enforce code at construction sites A contract between Douglas County and the Lawrence school district to provide inspection services for free said that the inspector, Jim Sherman — who at the time was the county’s zoning and codes director — would serve only in an advisory role, said Sarah
Plinsky, assistant county administrator. Sherman was tasked with inspecting key items such as plumbing, electrical and mechanical work on the school buildings. But the contract between the county and the school district makes it clear
the inspector — unlike a standard city of Lawrence building inspector — has no authority to order changes to the projects. “The district and the county agreed that the county would provide certain advisory services to the district in con-
Welcome to the wetlands
nection with the construction projects,” Plinsky told the Journal-World in a written response to questions. “The county did not agree to ensure compliance with building codes or enforce violations.” Please see SCHOOL, page 2A
KU prof calls ‘front porch’ college sports unsustainable in new report By Sara Shepherd Twitter: @saramarieshep
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photos
ABOVE: THE BAKER WETLANDS DISCOVERY CENTER IS SEEN FROM THE AIR. The center will hold an invitation-only ribbon cutting on Sept. 30, followed by open houses for the public on Oct. 3 and 4. BELOW LEFT: Roger Boyd, left, and Jon Boyd discuss the center’s features in the main building. BELOW RIGHT: A small observatory sits near the building. It will be used to study the night sky away from the lights of the city.
Baker Wetlands Discovery Center readies for debut
By Conrad Swanson Twitter: @ConradSwanson
Roger Boyd, education coordinator at the Baker Wetlands, estimates that a dedicated and diligent bird-watcher might be able to spot about 150 different species at the Baker Wetlands over the course of a year. “If you worked really hard at it you might see 165,” he said.
— Roger Boyd, Baker Wetlands education coordinator
Please see WETLANDS, page 2A
Please see ATHLETICS, page 5A
INSIDE
Mostly sunny Arts&Entertainment 1D-6D Classified 1E-7E Deaths 2A Events listings 2C, 6D
High: 75
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It’s a focal point. This is about the last wetlands in Douglas County. They can learn about the value of the wetlands, why they’re important to save and that being in nature is fun.”
Low: 55
Power Five schools — Kansas University included — generally make plenty of money off sports to sustain their respective athletics programs. Between television contracts, ticket sales and donations, KU and its fellow large-conference universities have healthy and sustainable funding models, a KU scholar says. In contrast, health, sport and exercise sciences assistant professor Jordan Bass’ recently published research focuses on a different cat- Bass egory of schools: those that are questing for the same high level of athletics recognition but may not have the funding to back it up. So-called “front porch” athletics programs are the focus of a 109-page monograph authored by Bass, KU doctoral student Claire Schaeperkoetter and Kyle Bunds of North Carolina State University. The authors argue that in the cases of many schools outside the Power Five conferences, their athletics “front porches” may look impressive and gain the desired attention for the schools but that their funding models are not sustainable. “A lot of people wouldn’t know Boise State existed if not for football,” Bass said, citing one example. “But we wanted to examine where the money comes from to fund these athletic departments. For example, are we taking away from academic programs if we chase this dream of having a front porch program?”
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Vol.157/No.263 42 pages
A bank and an anonymous donor have pledged to match a total of $30,000 in community contributions to the struggling food bank. Page 3A
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Today’s forecast, page 8C
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