L A W R E NC E
JOURNAL-WORLD ®
75 CENTS
45%3$!9 s !02), s
LJWorld.com
Inmate seeks reduced sentence in tickets case By George Diepenbrock gdiepenbrock@ljworld.com
A former Kansas Athletics Inc. consultant convicted for his role in the Kansas University ticket scandal is asking a judge to shave a year off his 46-month federal prison sentence, according to court records. Thomas Ray Blubaugh, 48,
alleges that when a federal judge sentenced Blubaugh in April 2011, the judge relied heavily on “hearsay, assumptions and inferences” about football and basketball tickets found in a Lenexa storage shed. Blubaugh further alleges that U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown erroneously determined the tickets were evidence that Blubaugh and
his wife, Charlette Blubaugh, a former director of the department’s ticket office, had stored to conceal a crime. Thomas Blubaugh argues in his motion, filed without an attorney, that he made “numerous, concerted efforts” to ensure the tickets were given to federal investigators to ensure full compliance with his plea agreement.
During 2011, Brown, who died last January at age 104, sentenced the Blubaughs and three other former athletics department employees — Ben Kirtland, Rodney Jones and Kassie Liebsch — to federal prison after their guilty pleas in the cash-for-tickets scam. The illegal sale or misappropriation of basketball and football tickets, which
occurred from 2005 to 2010, cost KU more than $2 million. Blubaugh is asking a judge to reduce his sentence in an El Reno, Okla., prison to 33 months, which would be in line with Liebsch’s sentence. According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, Blubaugh is projected to be released in October 2014.
In Cainan’s memory
Partly sunny
Low: 48
High: 72
Today’s forecast, page 10A
INSIDE
Thomas Blubaugh says his sentence was too long.
540 buyouts offered at KU
By Andy Hyland
ahyland@ljworld.com
New QB injects shot of confidence Former Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist has reunited with coach Charlie Weis at KU. During spring practice, Crist’s mere presence has brought back hope to KU football. Page 1B
“
QUOTABLE
We let the boss down.” — Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on an unfolding investigation into alleged misconduct by Secret Service agents and military personnel during President Barack Obama’s trip to Colombia for a Latin America summit. Page 7A
FOLLOW US Facebook.com/LJWorld Twitter.com/LJWorld
INDEX Business Classified Comics Deaths Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion Puzzles Sports Television Vol.154/No.108
7A 6B-10B 9A 2A 10A, 2B 9B 4A 8A 9B 1B-5B 4A, 2B, 9B 20 pages
Energy smart: The Journal-World makes the most of renewable resources. www.b-e-f.org
Nick Krug/Journal-World Photos
TOMMY AND ALI SHUTT, parents of 5-year-old Cainan Shutt of Eudora, stand Monday near a roadside memorial of crosses placed by community members to represent those killed on Kansas Highway 10. Monday was a year to the day after Cainan was killed in a crossover crash on K-10. Friends and family members gathered for a cleanup along the stretch of the highway where Cainan was killed between the Church Street exit and mile marker 12. Carie Lawrence, grandmother to Cainan, right photo at front, was among those participating in the cleanup.
End-of-life planning eases survivor burden By Karrey Britt kbritt@ljworld.com
Dr. Richard Sosinski has seen the devastating consequences when families do not talk about their wishes when it comes to end-of-life care. Families are torn apart. Children are making difficult decisions in time of crisis. Spouses are left wondering if they made the right decision. Sometimes, cases end up in court. If there’s not a plan of care, the process can go on for years, he said. “I think the last thing people want when they die is for their family to
be fighting over what they would have wanted, and I’ve seen that,” Sosinski said. Sosinski, of Internal Medicine G r o u p , s p o k e during a 90-minute program Monday Sosinski night at the Lawrence Public Library that was attended by about 40 people. The event was held by the Lawrence-area Coalition to Honor End-of-Life Choices and Lawrence
Memorial Hospital to mark National Healthcare Decisions Day. To start the program, they showed a segment from the documentary “Consider the Conversation.” It was the story of a doctor who had Lou Gehrig’s disease, a neurodegenerative disease. He talked frankly about the progression of the disease and how he went from losing the ability to use his fingers and legs to speech. He said while he might be ready to die, his family might not be ready to say goodbye. That’s why he had the conversation about his wishes. He didn’t want feeding tubes or venti-
lators; he wished for a peaceful death. His story brought tears to many attending the Lawrence event. It was a story that Lawrence resident Jo Bryant could relate to. She said her mother who was a nurse had talked to her about her wishes. She made it clear that she didn’t want heroic measures taken. Not only did she talk to her daughter, but she had all of the proper paperwork filled out, including that she wanted to be an orPlease see BUYOUTS, page 2A gan donor. “I never really wanted to talk with her about it,” Faculty salaries at KU are below average. Page Please see FORUM, page 2A 2A
BODY BOUTIQUE Fit & Beautiful Package: 1 Month Membership, 30 minute massage and 30 minute facial for
$140 VALUE! SAVE 50% Deal Ends 4/23
Kansas University is offering buyouts to 540 of its more than 4,800 faculty and staff members on its Lawrence campus. In an email to the KU community on Monday afternoon, Provost Jeff Vitter outlined the voluntary separation program, which is open to 11.25 percent of employees. Those who are approved for the program would receive a lump sum cash payment equal to one year’s base salary, up to a maximum of $100,000. “The (program) is intended to prioritize our funding towards investment in the goals and strategies identified by the KU community in Bold Aspirations, our strategic plan,” Vitter said in the email. Faculty, unclassified staff and university support staff are KANSAS eligible for the buyout, UNIVERSITY provided they meet certain criteria. Generally, employees would qualify if they were 62 years old or older at the time of their separation and had at least 10 years of service working for a Kansas Board of Regents institution or at the Kansas Board of Regents office, said Gavin Young, a spokesman for the provost’s office. Instead of being 62 years old or older, employees also could qualify if they had 85 points under the KPERS retirement plan. Employees earn one point for every year of service and one point for each year of age. Eligible employees must apply for approval. Young said the intent is to allow as many faculty and staff to participate as possible. “Each application will be granted based on whether there’s a benefit to the university,” Young said. The program was not
Only
70
$
This Print advertisement is not redeemable for advertised deal. Get your deals voucher online at Lawrencedeals.com