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State fights criticism of prison
Celebrating generations
By John Hanna Associated Press
Nick Krug/Journal-World Photos
FIRST-GRADER MAURA LANGLAND FLASHES A BIG SMILE to her grandmother, Jenay Weekly, of Topeka, as the two prepare to leave school together after a Grandparents Day celebration on Friday at Langston Hughes School, 1101 George Williams Way. Grandparents and special guests from near and far were treated to tours of the school from their special students along with activities, performances and snacks.
Grandparents go back to school By Alex Garrison acgarrison@ljworld.com
Who bakes us cookies just because? Who listens to our stories? Who snuggles us while we read? Grandparents do, and that’s why we love them. That’s at least according to the first-graders in Kristina Meyer-Szelewycz’s class at Langston Hughes School. They celebrated Grandparents Day on Friday with a special “fun cheer” about their favorite things their grandparents and older friends and neighbors do for them. The class prepared for the day with stories and songs about grandparents. It’s a schoolwide tradition, and the national grandparents day is Sunday. MeyerSzelewycz said that, in other classes, relatives had flown in from out of state just for the occasion.
grade,” Dave said. “That was a long time ago.” Their granddaughter, Kayden Pursley, was the designated helper for the day. After the song, a rendition of the ABCs in sign language, an audience participation number — the funky chicken — and lots and lots of giggles, Kayden said she was just happy to see her grandparents in school. First-grader January Jackson said her grandma was fun because “we play the ‘claw’ game she made up and she tickles me.” But January made no bones about what made the FIRST-GRADER AVA GRAY and her grandmother, Martha Gray, of annual Langston Hughes Topeka, work on an activity together as part of the Grandparents special event so very speDay celebration Friday at Langston Hughes School. cial. When asked her favorite part of the day, she said: “The lemonade and cookKathy and Dave Barkes “It’s a good way to get ies.” came just from Topeka, but grandparents involved in — Reporter Alex Garrison can be said they were excited to school; we don’t always get reached at 832-6314. Follow her at be in their first grandchild’s to,” Kathy said. Twitter.com/alex_garrison. school for the first time. “Plus, we relive first
English teacher honored for devotion to student fitness
MICHEL LOOMIS, an English teacher at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, visits with eighthgrader Artannian Luafalemana in her classroom Friday. Loomis has received a Kansas Health Champion Honorable Mention, which recognizes her efforts to go beyond her classroom responsibilities to promote youth fitness.
By Karrey Britt kbritt@ljworld.com
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Friday that Gov. Sam Brownback will recognize longtime Lawrence teacher Michel Loomis on Thursday at the Kansas State Fair for being a champion of health. Loomis, an English teacher at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, will receive an “individual honorable
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Property owners want answers on extra tax for more parking By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
City officials are going to have to provide some extra information before downtown property owners will consent to an extra tax to fund more parking near the expanding Lawrence Public Library. “There is no question that we need more parking in downtown,” said Mike Riling, a downtown attorney and member of the Downtown Lawrence Inc. board. “But the question is how much will this plan help to improve parking in downtown?” In early July, City Hall officials proposed creating a special benefit district that would charge a new assessment to downtown property owners CITY to fund a $1.2 million project COMMISSION to add another level of parking to a garage planned to be built next to the Lawrence Public Library at Seventh and Vermont streets. Under the plan, the extra level of parking would add 72 additional spaces to the garage — which is scheduled to have about 250 spaces if the city does not proceed with the extra level of parking. But to pay for the project, downtown property owners would have an extra assessment added to their property tax bills for the next 10 years. As currently proposed, property owners along much of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and parts of Kentucky Please see PARKING, page 2A
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mention” award for “going above and beyond her classroom responsibilities to promote youth fitness.” Loomis, 67, began working at Liberty Memorial Central 31 years ago as a physical education teacher, and then she taught English and physical education classes for many years until moving to just English a few years ago. But she still educates
TOPEKA — Federal officials who threatened to sue Kansas over what they say is rampant sexual abuse of inmates at the state women’s prison didn’t consider aggressive steps taken to address the problem, Gov. Sam Brownback said Friday. Brownback said he wants to meet personally with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder about the letter sent Thursday by the head of the Justice Department’s Division of Civil Rights. The letter said sexual misconduct by staff and inmates at the Topeka Correctional Facility violated inmates’ civil rights and warned a lawsuit was possible if the division didn’t feel Brownback the state was doing enough to correct the problems by late October. State Department of Corrections officials backed the governor up, saying incidents at the prison have been rare since the beginning of 2011. They said there’s been only one confirmed case of inmate-on-inmate sexual abuse, no confirmed incidents involving staff misconduct against inmates and no reports of inmates becoming pregnant while in the prison. Brownback’s office also released a February 2012 letter from the Justice Department’s Federal Bureau of Prisons, which said it
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Incubator leader leaving The leader of a highly praised technology and bioscience incubator on Kansas University’s West Campus is leaving his post for another career opportunity. Page 3A
Vol.154/No.252 26 pages