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Recent rains may be too little, too late for trees By Adam Strunk astrunk@ljworld.com
April showers have helped lawns and flowers, but the jury’s still out on the trees. A relatively wet few weeks — Lawrence has received 5 inches of precipitation since March 1
— have left the city in a sea of green, pink, yellow and purple. But many tree branches remain brown — visible scars left by some of the driest and hottest years since the Dust Bowl. There’s no definitive answer on how much this wet weather will help area trees. The
drought’s effects there have yet to become totally clear. “Still, any moisture helps,� said Ann Peuser, owner of Clinton Parkway Nursery, 4900 Clinton Parkway. The wet weather “is providing adequate moisture for photosynthesis to take place and
normal growth,� said Crystal Miles, the city’s horticulture and forestry manager. “It’s doing much more for us than any watering we could do.� That’s for living trees. Brown trees and tree limbs are beyond saving, Peuser said, even in trees that have withstood
Kansas weather for years with little care. Owners must be prepared to part with those trees. “Even though Junior planted it in kindergarten, what good is a 20-foot-tall tree with one branch?� she asked. Please see TREES, page 2A
Turnpike president steps down
A look inside the chancellor’s house
By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photos
House has special meaning to many women of KU By Matt Erickson merickson@ljworld.com
For most, the 28-room mansion tucked back on the southeast edge of Mount Oread is where Kansas University’s chancellor lives. But for many of the women who stepped through its doors Friday afternoon, it was something else: the former home of the woman who made it possible for them to go to college. About 30 women paced through the Outlook, as the house is called, on Friday, each of whom has lived in Watkins or Miller scholarship halls at KU sometime between Please see TOUR, page 2A
TOP PHOTO: From left, former scholarship hall residents Mary Emerson, Keeleigh Smith, Katie Kutsko and Erin Christianson stand next to a portrait of benefactress Elizabeth Miller Watkins that hangs in the KU chancellor’s residence, where Watkins used to live. At BOTTOM LEFT is the exterior of the house on the KU campus, and at BOTTOM RIGHT is the chancellor’s husband, Shade Little, who gave visiting alumnae of Watkins and Miller scholarship halls a tour of the home Friday.
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TOPEKA â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Michael Johnston, the president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Turnpike Authority, who was thrust into the middle of a political battle this legislative session over control of the turnpike, announced on Friday he plans to retire from his position. The announcement came one week after Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law a bill that would make his appointed secretary of transportation the director of operations of the Turnpike Authority, which oversees the 236-mile Kansas Turnpike. Johnston said the new law was a factor in deciding to retire, but a â&#x20AC;&#x153;fairly minorâ&#x20AC;? one. At age 68, Johnston said he had already been contemplating retirement. Johnston said he notified the turnpikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s board and employees Friday that he intended to leave, making his last day Johnston June 15. Brownback and Kansas Department of Transportation Secretary Mike King have maintained that the new law will produce savings through efficiencies. But critics of the legislation called it a power grab by Brownback, a Republican, aimed at forcing out Johnston, who served in the Legislature as a Democrat. Some Republicans also argued against the bill, saying the turnpike was efficiently run and should be left alone. Others feared turnpike revenue would be used to pay for other areas of the state budget, which faces large revenue shortfalls because of tax cuts signed into law by Brownback. Johnston said he wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t asked to leave, and he declined to comment on the new law, saying it was a policy decision within the prerogative of the Legislature and governor. Brownbackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office issued a statement that said Brownback and Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer thanked Johnston â&#x20AC;&#x153;for his many years of service to our great state and to wish him all the best in his retirement.â&#x20AC;? Johnston joined the KTA in 1995. Prior to that, he served as KDOT secretary from 1991 through 1994. He served in the Legislature for 14 years.
Earthy theology
Vol.155/No.117 26 pages
Larry Rasmussen says people of faith must go back to their roots â&#x20AC;&#x201D; way back. Ancient religions recognized the oneness of man and nature. Page 3A
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