Lawrence Journal-World 09-25-12

Page 1

FIGHTING DRUG ABUSE

GOOD DAY GOLFING

Prescription medicine focus of campaign Lawrence & State 3A

KU women boost tournament position Sports 1B

L A W R E NC E

JOURNAL-WORLD ®

75 CENTS

45%3$!9 s 3%04%-"%2 s

Alumnus to world leader

LJWorld.com

KDOT maps its vision for SLT westside interchange By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com

ber of the Delta Upsilon fraternity helped form the political ideals he has used in fighting for economic reforms, opening up a peace process in a longrunning rebel dispute and cracking down on drug traffickers. It was at KU, he said, that he learned about the strong commitment to freedom,

A large crowd Monday evening got a glimpse at what city leaders are predicting will be a new gateway to Lawrence by late 2015. Engineers with the Kansas Department of Transportation unveiled the most detailed plans yet for a $17 million interchange at Bob Billings Parkway and the South Lawrence Trafficway in west Lawrence. “There is going to be a big safety improvement out here,” said Kris Norton, road design leader with the Kansas Department of Transportation, who was a presenter at the open house at Langston Hughes School. Plans for the interchange, which will be built where Bob Billings Parkway dead-ends with the trafficway, include:

A six-lane bridge over the trafficway that will have four standard lanes and two left-turn lanes.

A design that will accommodate traffic signals on both ends of the bridge, allowing motorists to have a signal to turn onto the entrance ramps to the SLT. The traffic lights won’t immediately be part of the bridge but will be added as traffic volumes grow.

Bike lanes, sidewalks and pedestrianfriendly railings on both sides of the bridge.

A rerouting of the existing SLT bike path that will include a plan to take the path underneath a rebuilt Bob Billings Parkway. Engineers said the new route will greatly reduce the chance of accidents involving motorists and bicyclists on Bob Billings Parkway.

An extension of Bob Billings Parkway west of the South Lawrence Trafficway. Plans call for the new road to be paved for about the first half-mile, and would include bike lanes and sidewalks. The road would tie into the existing North 1500 Road, which will be just south of the interchange.

A rebuilding and paving of North 1500 Road east of the SLT and west of George

Please see PRESIDENT, page 2A

Please see SLT, page 4A

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photos

COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT JUAN MANUEL SANTOS, right, laughs alongside Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute of Politics, as Santos recounts a story Monday from his days as an undergraduate at Kansas University. Santos, a 1973 graduate of KU, was in Lawrence to receive the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award. BELOW: Santos greets KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. See the video at LJWorld.com.

President of Colombia says he learned about American way of life while student at KU By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Monday captured the attention of more than 500 people as he spoke of his days at Kansas University and the progress his nation is making. A 1973 graduate of KU, Santos said his experiences as a student and mem-

KU establishes office to handle sexual harassment reports By Matt Erickson merickson@ljworld.com

For the first time, anyone at Kansas University who becomes a victim of discrimination or harassment has one central place to call. That would be the university’s office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, which opened at the beginning of the fall semester. And the number to call is 864-6414. Before this year, reports of sexual harassment or racial dis-

Training course mandatory for students, staff and faculty

crimination from students, faculty or staff would have been directed to the university’s Department of Human Resources, or they may have been handled internally by an academic department, said Jane McQueeny, the director of the new IOA office. “Now we have an office where this is what we do,” McQueeny said. “This is our passion.” The office first made its presence known to many people

partly by a letter last April from the U.S. Department of Education urging colleges and universities to take more action in response to sexual harassment and sexual violence, McQueeny said. And, of course, such issues on college campuses have received more attention since the football scandal at Penn State University broke last year, Rodriguez noted. The course addresses the def-

INSIDE

A.M. storm Business Classified Comics Deaths

High: 84

at KU with a mandatory online sexual harassment training course, sent out early this month to all students, faculty and staff at KU’s Lawrence campus and the Edwards Campus in Overland Park. That’s more than 30,000 people altogether. It’s the first-ever universitywide training course of any kind for KU, said Fred Rodriguez, KU’s vice provost for diversity and equity. The measure was prompted

Low: 61

IM P R O V

EM

H O ME

Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion

10A, 2B Puzzles 9B Sports 4A Television 8A

9B 1B-3B, 10B 10A, 2B, 9B

Join us at Facebook.com/LJWorld and Twitter.com/LJWorld

Today’s forecast, page 10A

ENT

DEALS

7A 4B-10B 9A 2A

STORE

inition of sexual harassment and sexual violence, relationships between students and faculty and KANSAS UNIVERSITY where incidents of sexual harassment should be reported: to IOA. So far, McQueeny said, 5,870 students of the 20,240 who were notified of the course have completed it, and 4,679 of Please see OFFICE, page 2A

Driver a repeat offender The man allegedly responsible for a head-on collision Sept. 7 near the intersection of Ninth and Maine streets has at least three prior drunken-driving convictions. Page 3A

WE HAVE GREAT DEALS FOR YOUR NEXT HOME PROJECT! River City Heating & Cooling, Cottin’s Hardware & Rental, Clinton Parkway Nursery, ES Lighting, Mobile Enviro-Wash & Critter Control

GO TO LAWRENCEDEALS.COM TO PURCHASE YOUR VOUCHER TODAY

This Print advertisement is not redeemable for advertised deal. Get your Home Improvement deals voucher online at Lawrencedeals.com

Vol.154/No.269 20 pages


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.