L A W R E NC E
JOURNAL-WORLD ®
75 CENTS
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Warm, windy
High: 64
LJWorld.com
Elected delegates hear local concerns
All but 1 county a disaster area
Low: 31
Today’s forecast, page 8A
INSIDE
By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
Ottawa in national basketball spotlight Ottawa high school senior and Duke University signee Semi Ojeleye is the class of 2013’s No. 33-ranked recruit in the nation by Rivals.com. Ojeleye’s talent has drawn national attention. Staff from USA Today and Sports Illustrated, not to mention Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski, have flown halfway across the country to attend Cyclones practices this season. Page 1B STATE REVENUE
Budget picture looks a bit brighter Kansas is seeing its projected budget shortfall shrink because of betterthan-expected revenue collections last month, according to a new estimate released Thursday by the Legislature’s research staff. Page 3A
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo
DOWNTOWN PEDESTRIANS break out the umbrellas Thursday as Lawrence receives some badly needed precipitation.
80 percent of Kansas in extreme drought ——
Region was 12 inches short of average precipitation in 2012 By Ian Cummings icummings@ljworld.com
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QUOTABLE
Families with mentally ill loved ones face daily challenges the rest of us can only imagine.” — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, speaking about a $10 million initiative to boost mental health services to targeted populations. Page 3A
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As drought conditions continue into the new year, nearly all of Kansas has been declared a federal disaster area in 2013. The disaster-area designation, announced Wednesday by the United States Department of Agriculture, makes low-interest federal emergency loans available to farmers in droughtaffected areas. All Kansas counties, with the exception of Doniphan County, are included. Almost 80 percent of the state is experiencing extreme drought conditions, including parts of Douglas, Franklin and Jefferson counties, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a partnership of federal and academic agencies. Northeastern Kansas has missed out on more than 12 inches of precipitation over the past year compared with the average, and experts say there is no good news in the immediate forecast. “Not much has changed,” said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist who
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
AFTER SOME DIFFICULTY opening her umbrella, Brandy Johnson, a stylist at Amyx Barber Shop, 842 Massachusetts St., steps out into the rain Thursday. “It’s the first time I’ve used an umbrella in a long time,” Johnson said.
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I think we’ll be dealing with this drought for a significant portion of 2013, unless the pattern changes.” — Climatologist Brian Fuchs tracks drought conditions at the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb. “I think we’ll be dealing with this drought for a significant portion of 2013, unless the pattern changes,” he said. The light snow and rain Lawrence has seen in recent months haven’t made a dent in that shortfall, Fuchs said. It takes 15 inches of snow in northeastern Kansas to equal one inch of liquid water, and the immediate Lawrence area was more than 11 inches below average for 2012. The entire state of Kansas was declared a disaster area in
July 2012, and Wednesday’s announcement covers farmers for another year of drought. The emergency loans will be available to farmers to help cover losses throughout 2013. Today, the interest rate on those loans is 2.15 percent. It’s not usual for counties and states to immediately be designated federal disaster areas with the start of a new year, said farm loan specialist Lee Hartford at the USDA Kansas Farm Loan Office in Manhattan. Since July, areas of severe to exceptional drought have automatically become eligible for disaster relief. Along with Kansas, parts of 13 other states were included in Wednesday’s declaration, including Missouri and Oklahoma. These are the first federally designated disaster areas of the year. Gov. Sam Brownback will meet today with state and federal officials charged with responding to the drought in Kansas.
Representatives of local organizations on Thursday brought their requests, concerns and ideas to Douglas County legislators in preparation for the 2013 legislative session that starts Monday. Mitzi McFatrich, executive director of Kansas Advocates for Better Care, detailed recommendations aimed at helping improve care for the elderly. She urged legislators to push for passage of legislation that would require nursing facilities to notify residents or their families when a registered criminal offender is living in the facility. “That is a serious issue,” McFatrich said. LEGISLATURE In addition, she urged maintenance of funding for long-term care service and increasing the minimum requirement of nursing staff hours at nursing facilities. She also expressed concern about last year’s reorganization of social welfare agencies in which the former Kansas Department on Aging took on numerous other functions. The new Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services is “no longer focused solely on aging issues,” she said. Representatives of the Kansas University Classified and Support Staff Council asked that the Legislature approve a 2.5 percent cost of living adjustment for employees. Rep. Barbara Ballard, DLawrence, said, “We will deliver the message and argue the point.” Ballard said state employees are long overdue for a pay raise. Sharon Spratt, chief executive officer of Cottonwood Inc., which provides
INDEX Business Classified Comics Deaths Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion Puzzles Sports Television Vol.155/No.11
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Please see LEGISLATORS, page 2A
LEGISLATURE
Changes to judicial selection process to be considered By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
TOPEKA — Attempts to change the way appellate judges are selected will be considered during the first week of the 2013 legislative session. The session starts Monday, and the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled hearings for Wednesday and Thursday on a proposed consti-
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to confirmation by the Senate. A related bill would establish a Kansas Commission on Judicial Qualifications that would assess the qualifications of the governor’s selections and issue a report to the Senate Judiciary Committee. — House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence State Sen. Jeff King, R-Independence, who is tutional amendment that Kansas Supreme Court chairman of the Judiciary would allow the governor and judges to the Kansas Committee, said Thursto select justices to the Court of Appeals, subject day that debate over the
The current system was put in place to try to minimize the amount of political influence that goes into the selection of judges, and I think it has worked very, very well.”
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way judges are selected has been going on for years. “The parties are very ready to be heard,” King said. The House Judiciary Committee will also conduct hearings on judicial selection proposals next week, King said. Chairman Lance Kinzer, ROlathe, did not return a Please see JUDGES, page 2A