Lawrence Journal-World 04-02-13

Page 1

VOTE TODAY IN CITY, SCHOOL RACES; POLLS ARE OPEN FROM 7 TO 7

L A W R E NC E

JOURNAL-WORLD ®

75 CENTS

45%3$!9 s !02), s

Voter turnout may be unusually high

LJWorld.com

Drugs, affair, lies allegedly at heart of sheriff’s case ———

Franklin County official resigns, enters program similar to probation By Shaun Hittle sdhittle@ljworld.com

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo

DOUGLAS COUNTY ELECTIONS WORKER MARY MOFFITT readies cases containing ballots and clerical information to be delivered to supervising judges on Monday in the County Commission chambers of the Douglas County Courthouse. Moffitt and other Douglas County election workers spent Monday in preparation for today’s vote.

Advance voting numbers for today’s election look promising By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com

If advance voting is any indicator, Douglas County may be headed toward a higher than average turnout for a municipal election on Tuesday. Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said 1,583 advance ballots had been turned in by noon Monday, when in-person voting was closed. That’s the largest number of advance ballots cast in a spring municipal election since 2005, when Kansas voters also

were asked to decide on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. In that election, 1,619 advance votes were cast, leading up to a 38.6 percent turnout. By comparison, turnout in the three municipal elections since then ranged from 13.5 percent in 2011 to 19 percent in 2007. In addition, Shew said, 280 additional advance ballots were mailed to voters but had not been returned by noon Monday. The deadline for those ballots to be re-

turned to Shew’s office is 7 p.m. Tuesday. “Advance voting is getting more popular but there are other indications that may point to a slightly higher turnout,” Shew said. “I think we will have a larger turnout than the past couple of city and school election cycles and feel we are looking at a turnout similar to 2007, about 19 percent.” Douglas County voters this spring are electing city commissioners in Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin City and Lecompton,

as well as school board members in the Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin City, Perry-Lecompton, Wellsville, Shawnee Heights and Santa Fe Trail school districts. In addition, voters in the Lawrence school district will decide on a proposed $92.5 million bond issue for building improvements, technology upgrades and expansion of career and technical education programs. — Education reporter Peter Hancock can be reached at 832-7259. Follow him at Twitter.com/LJWpqhancock.

New law abolishes statute of limitations on rape TOPEKA (AP) — The five-year statute of limitations for prosecuting rape cases will be abolished under a bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Sam Brownback. The law takes effect July 1, and also removes the statute of limitations for prosecution of aggravated criminal sodomy. Currently, Kansas is among 10 states that required rape cases to be prosecuted within five years. The new law also allows for prosecution of a sexually violent crime within 10 years if the victim is at least 18

years old. For younger victims, prosecution would begin within one year of the date the suspect is identified through DNA testing, or within 10 years of the victim’s 18th birthday, whichever is later. Attorney General Brownback Derek Schmidt, who backed the legislation this session, said technological advances in forensic science had increased law enforcement’s

Business Classified Comics Deaths

Low: 28

Today’s forecast, page 10B

Please see STATUTE, page 2A

Senate advances abortion bill, plus

2A 5B-9B 10A 2A

Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion

Please see SHERIFF, page 2A

Storm of cheap meth said to be on the horizon By Ian Cummings icummings@ljworld.com

While clandestine methamphetamine labs sprouted like mushrooms across much of the state and the Midwest several years ago, Lawrence was largely spared. But times are changing, local police say. Investigators in Lawrence say they have found ominous signs that new forms of meth, including powerful drug crystals imported from “superlabs” in Mexico and new, do-it-yourself “one-pot” recipes

more legislative news. Page 8A

INSIDE

Partly sunny

High: 52

ability to prosecute cases with DNA material and that removing the statute of limitations would allow those cases to go forward “whenever sufficient evidence is available without an artificial time limit.” Rape victims said the change in the law helps them with their healing after the crime.

A sexual affair, lying to state investigators, and allegations that a former Franklin County Attorney bought methamphetamine were at the center of criminal charges against former Franklin County Sheriff Jeff Curry, according to documents released publicly for the first time Monday. Curry, whose resignation as sheriff was effective Monday, entered into a diversion program on two criminal charges Monday during a preliminary hearing in the case. The diversion pro- Curry gram, which is similar to probation, puts Curry under court supervision for a year. He also will lose his Kansas law enforcement certification. The court documents unsealed by Senior Judge John Sanders on Monday revealed the origin of the criminal charges and ouster petition filed against Curry and Deputy Jerrod Fredricks in February. The ouster petition, which had previously been sealed by a Franklin County judge, alleges that in May 2012, a confidential in-

2B, 10B Puzzles 9B Sports 4A Television 9A

9B 1B-4B 2B, 9B, 10B

All-area wrestling team The Journal-World’s list of the top 10 area high school wrestlers includes the first two-time state champion in program history. Page 3B

Join us at Facebook.com/LJWorld and Twitter.com/LJWorld

]s* <]l &lň s*ll lD]l& X

O l*X * Ds ]TTDnnD]X `e Z t© TV.< ŝC T|ê® ÏĒļ ź VêĒļ®|ĉ ÏĒļ <|ŷļ¼ĉ ¼Ī <ş|ĉĉ qêù ĒŹ© `ļ¼|ńşļ¼ļĪ

Please see METH, page 8A

Vol.155/No.92 20 pages


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Lawrence Journal-World 04-02-13 by Lawrence Journal-World - Issuu