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Teachers, district reach tentative deal on pay By Andy Hyland ahyland@ljworld.com
Lawrence school district and its teachers union announced on Friday they have reached a tentative agreement on a contract that would contribute $1.6 million for new teacher salaries. Kyle Hayden, assistant superintendent for business and op-
Hotter
High: 98
erations, said he was glad adjusted special educaa new contract could be tion state aid calculation in place before the start of resulted in $250,000 in the next school year. unanticipated new rev“That’s a positive for enue for the district, he everybody,” he said. said. Hayden said the dis- SCHOOLS Teachers are paid trict found additional based on a pay schedule money for teacher raises while that provides more money both completing the required budget for teachers with more educadocuments for publication. An tion and for teachers with more
years of service, up to a maximum amount. The two sides had reached an impasse when the district’s negotiating team stuck to its offer to increase each level on the schedule by $1,000, and the union stayed behind its offer that would have increased each level by $1,500. Under the new compromise,
Water usage way up in dire heat
Low: 72
Today’s forecast, page 10A
INSIDE
Olympics open with grand flourish Many of Britain’s most well-known figures, real and fictional, including the queen and James Bond, helped give the London Olympics a royal entrance like no other Friday. Roughly 10,500 athletes marched during the parade of nations to kick off the 2012 games. Page 1B NATION
Synthetic drugs still legal after bans The U.S. has seen a surge in the use of synthetic drugs made of legal chemicals that mimic the dangerous effects of illegal stimulants. And health professionals say lawmakers cannot keep pace with bath salt producers, who constantly adjust their chemical formulations to come up with new synthetic drugs that aren’t covered by new laws. Page 5A
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QUOTABLE
The main takeaway from today’s report, the specifics aside, is that the U.S. economy is barely growing. It’s no wonder the unemployment rate cannot move lower.” — Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at BTIG LLC. Weak consumer spending held growth to an annual rate of just 1.5 percent, even less than the 2 percent rate in the first quarter. And few expect the economy to accelerate in the second half of the year. Page 7A
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INDEX Business Classified Comics Deaths Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion Puzzles Society Sports Television Vol.154/No.210
7A 1C-6C 9A 2A 10A, 2B 5C 4A 8A 5C 10B 1B-8B 4A, 2B, 5C 26 pages
each salary level would increase by $1,200. David Reber, a Free State High School science teacher, served as lead negotiator for the teachers. “We were pleased that the board was able to essentially bridge that gap from where we were before,” Reber said. “We Please see CONTRACT, page 2A
County offers own voter ID system By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo
A YOUNG COUPLE WALK ALONG THE EDGE OF PERRY LAKE earlier this week. Water levels for the lake, which had been more than 10 feet higher than normal two years ago, are now two feet below normal.
Area treatment plants running at full steam to meet demand By Adam Strunk
Lake siltation process slows
astrunk@ljworld.com
Turning on the tap for a drink or a shower seems like a simple process. Providing the water isn’t. And one of the driest, hottest summers on record has only made it harder. During the last few weeks, the city of Lawrence has used 22 million to 23 million gallons of water a day. That’s about 10 million gallons more than its yearly average. These are the highest levels Charlie Ballenger, plant manager for both the Kaw River and Clinton Lake water treatment plants, has seen in his 22 years with the city. “Right now it’s just hustle and bustle,” he said. To keep up with demand, both water treatment plants are running near or at full capacity. The increased amount of water requires more water testing, treatment chemicals and manpower. For water treatment crews, it’s like taking a normal day and pushing the fast forward button. “There’s very little time to make a mistake,” Ballenger said. And this is when everything must function properly, which worries Ballenger at times. During other times of the year, sometimes even in the summer, treatment plants can be shut down
Adam Strunk/Journal-World Photo
CHARLIE BALLENGER, plant manager for both the Kaw River and Clinton Lake water treatment plants, explains the water treatment process. Ballenger said the city is using 22 million to 23 million gallons a day, the most he has seen in his 22 years on the job. for maintenance. With a thirsty city demanding that both plants run at full capacity, this is impossible. Ballenger said crews are doing as much preventive maintenance as possible, and the plants are holding up. But he keeps crews on call to help with maintenance and repairs just in case. These crews have, so far, kept the water flowing, which means Lawrence should count itself fortunate.
One of the very few positives of the drought is that the lack of rain has slowed the siltation process in both Clinton and Perry lakes. Engineers account for siltation when building the lakes. However, Clinton’s siltation pool is on track to fill 30 years ahead of its 100-year schedule. Perry Lake has been filling in normally. Park managers from both lakes said that the drought has yet to cause major problems at either lake. Clinton’s water levels are only a foot below normal. Water levels for Perry Lake, which had been more than 10 feet higher than normal two years ago, are now two feet below normal. Both park managers warned boaters to take into account the lower lake levels and be cautious when approaching shallow areas.
Douglas County will become the first county in the state to create its own system aimed at streamlining the process residents must go through to receive a photo ID needed to meet a new statewide voter identification law. Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said his office will start issuing photo voter ID cards on Monday to registered voters who bring in the proper d o c u m e n t a - Shew tion. The local system will allow voters who don’t have proper photo identification to avoid going through the system at the state’s Division of Motor Vehicles. The Douglas County ID card also won’t require voters to produce a birth certificate to receive a photo ID. Instead, Shew’s office will accept a current utility bill, bank statement, government check or other government documents that show a name or address. “This is just another way for people who don’t have a photo ID currently to get one so that they can vote,” Shew said. Shew said he began looking for a system to create the cards after hearing from several operators of nursing homes and other similar facilities. They expressed concern that several of their residents no longer have photo IDs, and a trip to the driver’s license office to get
Please see WATER, page 2A
Please see VOTERS, page 2A
97 KU employees taking buyouts, retiring by Dec. 31 By Andy Hyland ahyland@ljworld.com
Kansas University officials announced Friday that 97 university employees will take buyouts and retire by Dec. 31, resulting in a savings of $4.9 million. The positions will be held open for at least a year, then will be evaluated moving forward, said Gavin Young, a KU spokesman. “This is an opportunity for the individual areas to have a discussion as to whether the funding
can be directed to one of Kansas Open Records Act the strategic plan priori- if it wanted the names of ties or reallocated else- the people who will parwhere,” Young said. ticipate in the program. Young said 66 The Journaluniversity supWorld filed its port staff, 20 unrequest on Friday. classified staff Young said and 11 faculty about 650 of the members acceptapproximately ed buyouts. 5,000 employees He would not on the Lawrence KANSAS provide a list of UNIVERSITY and Edwards names of people campuses were who accepted, saying that eligible for the program. his focus was not on in- Of those, 149 people apdividuals but on the pro- plied, and the university gram as a whole. He sug- offered buyouts to 106 gested the Journal-World people. file a request under the “The biggest guide to
the decision was whether or not there would be a benefit to the university,” when deciding whether to accept an application, Young said. Those approved for the program received a lump sum payment of one year’s salary, up to $100,000. Charla Jenkins, director of public relations for University Theatre and the theater department, was one of the employees accepted for the program. She said she originally had planned to retire in September 2013, when
she turned 66. “I’m glad they gave us enough lead time to work everything out,” Jenkins said, saying she met with her financial adviser and looked at scenarios before deciding to accept the offer. “It’s going to be tough to walk away,” said Jenkins, who will have worked at KU for 35 years in November. “But the time has come. I’m glad I’m still young enough that I can enjoy it.” — Higher education reporter Andy Hyland can be reached at 832-6388.