Lawrence Journal-World 04-22-13

Page 1

L A W R E NC E

JOURNAL-WORLD ÂŽ

75 CENTS

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Storm chance

High: 65

Family Promise celebrates 5 years in city

Low: 40

Today’s forecast, page 10A

INSIDE

Fashion at your fingertips Mickey Mouse, Christmas trees, stars and stripes, snowmen, rhinestones, Easter egg designs, even a Taiwanese flag — Lawrence nail salon owner Tracy Le has had customers request all of them, small enough to fit on a fingernail or toenail.

LAWRENCE

Creative incubator closer to reality A local group that advocates for artists and inventors is finalizing a deal to lease an industrial building along East Ninth Street to house a spot that tentatively is being called the Lawrence Community Workshop. Page 3A

“

QUOTABLE

We have reason to believe, based upon the evidence that was found at that scene ... that they were going to attack other individuals. That’s my belief at this point.� — Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis. Page 6A

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INDEX Business Classified Comics Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion Puzzles Sports Television Vol.155/No.112

5A 6B-10B 9A 10A, 2B 9B 4A 8A 9B 1B-5B 10A, 2B, 9B 32 pages

LJWorld.com

Debate persists on drug testing of poor By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photos

BRANDY YOHE HELPS HER SON SCHYLUR OAKES, 8, button his shirt while they get ready at Family Promise’s Day Center, 906 Tennessee St., to go to a prepared dinner at First United Methodist Church, 946 Vermont St., earlier this month. Yohe and her three children are among several homeless families who have sought help through Family Promise, which pairs families with local churches for shelter, food and counseling. On Yohe’s lap is her 1-year-old daughter, Legacy Oakes.

Program meets pledge to help participants gain self-sufficiency By Giles Bruce gbruce@ljworld.com

Brandy Yohe has hope. You can tell by her attitude, her energy, the way she smiles and makes eye contact with you when she talks. This wasn’t always the case. Just a few weeks ago, the 23-year-old was homeless and unsure where her life was headed. And it wasn’t just herself she had to worry about. She had three other mouths to feed, ranging in age from 1 to 8. Yohe then enrolled in Family Promise, a local nonprofit that enlists volunteers and churches to feed, house and otherwise support homeless families. In its five years of existence, Family Promise has not only transformed the lives of countless families like Yohe’s, but also those of its volunteers, helping them see poverty and homelessness in a new light. Many of Family Promise’s former guests (more than 80

percent) now volunteer for the program. “It’s actually exceeded my expectations,� said Joe Reitz, founder of the Lawrence chapter of Family Promise, which has graduated more than 400 families into permanent housing over the past five years. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever been involved with in my life.� Reitz, a former Kansas University business professor, wasn’t aware that family homelessness was a problem in Lawrence until he started running a local social-services facility and saw the strains poverty put on residents. That’s when he learned about Family Promise, a national organization that had a track record of getting families off the streets by using something many churches have but usually don’t need during the week: space. Also, those congregations often have an abundance of generous people willing to donate Please see FAMILY, page 2A

BRYCE FULLER, 6, son of Brandy Yohe, helps Family Promise volunteer Sula Teller chop peppers for a recent weeknight dinner in the kitchen of First United Methodist Church.

TOPEKA — By next year, applicants for welfare and unemployment benefits who are suspected of taking illegal drugs will be tested, and if they fail the test they will lose their benefits. Some groups see this as mean-spirited hassling of the poor, but Gov. Sam Brownback and supporters of the new law said it will help break the cycle of poverty because those who fail will be required to take substance abuse and jobs training. “Drug addiction is a scourge in Kansas. This is a horrific thing that hits so many people,� Brownback said. “What this effort is about is an attempt to get ahead of it. And instead of ignoring the problem, is to start treating the problem.� Senate Vice President Jeff King, R-Independence, who shepherded the bill through the Legislature, described the measure as “familyfriendly, family-focused.� On the welfare side, the law deals with those who receive cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF, which is federally funded and administered by the Kansas Department for Children and Families. Those suspected of drug use and who fail the drug test will be required to complete programs for substance abuse and job skills paid for by the state. If they fail a second time, cash assistance is Please see TESTING, page 2A

Recent rains wash away worst fears about drought ————

Below-average temperatures now greatest cause for concern to area farmers By Adam Strunk

“

It’s probably the most unusual spring development we’ve seen. It promises to be Last summer, record challenging later in the year.� astrunk@ljworld.com

heat and drought wreaked havoc on Douglas County crops. This spring has been just the opposite. Chilly temperatures and a wet weather cycle have kept farmers out of the fields and buds off of the fruit trees. “We’re kind of stymied by the cold, and it’s definitely taking its toll,� said Bruce Curtis, who operates Fieldstone Farm and

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— Bruce Curtis, of Fieldstone Farm and Orchard in Overbrook Orchard in Overbrook. Normally by mid-April his apple and pear trees would be covered in leaves and blossoms. Instead they stand bare. His asparagus crop and has yet to poke through the soil, making it four weeks behind schedule. “Not

even weeds are coming up in our asparagus,� he said. Overnight freezes late last week did not help matters. “It’s probably the most unusual spring development we’ve seen,� Curtis said. “It promises to be

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challenging later in the year.� Just how cold has it been? Lawrence saw snow flurries last week. National Weather Service meteorologist Jenifer Bowen said April high temperatures have been about 5 degrees below average. March highs hovered around 49 degrees, 7 degrees below average. With the chilly temperatures has come the moisture that local corn farmers begged for last

summer as they watched their crops wither and the state become a disaster area. At that point, rain could have saved the crop. Now precipitation 12 out of the last 19 days has muddied the fields, preventing planting and threatening future yields. “Usually a farmer in east-central Kansas plants their corn the first two weeks of April,� Matthew Vajnar, grain merchandiser Please see WEATHER, page 2A

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