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United Way still $700K short of goal ———
Organization provides funding for 29 social service agencies By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
WITH A GOAL OF COMPLETING 125 BED QUILTS for the new Lawrence Community Shelter by Christmas, a group of women have been piecing and stitching tirelessly. Working together Dec. 7 at the home of Karen Warner, from left, are Jan Fox, Warner, Mary Stein, Jean Shepherd, Dru Sampson and Bridget Law.
Women team up to make a quilt for every bed in new homeless shelter the new Lawrence Community Shelter opens toward the end of this month, they hope to put a new, handmade quilt on each of the shelter’s 125 beds. “I don’t know what was on my mind,” said Bridget Law, one of the organizers of the project, as she and several other quilters worked recently “tying” one of the many quilts together.
By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com
For the last few months, a dedicated band of women in Lawrence have spent afternoons, evenings and weekends hunched over large tables, needle and thread in hand, stitching together dozens upon dozens of quilts. Their goal was simple but ambitious. By the time
That’s one of the techniques quilters use to bind together the “sandwich” of a quilt — the flannel back sheet, the inner padding and the decorative top piece that typically includes a variety of fabric scraps carefully stitched together in a decorative pattern. It involves a short single or double band of thread stitched into the fabric and tied into knots
at about six-inch intervals, something much faster and simpler than hand- or machine-stitching the entire quilt together in ornate patterns. “The more people that work, you know, we could get this done in an hour and Please see QUILTS, page 2A
Women’s group receives
gift grant. Page 2A
icummings@ljworld.com
A 25-year-old Lawrence woman has been sentenced to three years of probation after being found guilty of manslaughter in connection with the death of her 5-year-old child in April. Rebecca Lynn Wynne was sentenced Thursday in Douglas County District Court after pleading no contest in November to a
charge of reckless invol- ne’s remaining two chiluntary manslaughter and dren, ages 6 and 4, who have two counts of aggravated been in protective custody child endangerment. since the April inciWynne’s child died dent. All three of the after ingesting opichildren were playates found in a purple ing with morphine plastic Easter egg on and Oxycontin pills April 27 at the home that Wynne obtained of Wynne’s parents the day before one of in the 1500 block of COURTS them was found dead. Delaware Street, acAt sentencing, cording to prosecutors. a state-licensed social The charges of child en- worker testified that dangerment involved Wyn- Wynne had demonstrat-
Please see UNITED, page 2A
DEADLY SHOOTINGS
Brownback: Focus on mental health, not guns By John Hanna Associated Press
Mother gets 3 years of probation in death of 5-year-old By Ian Cummings
Leaders of the local United Way are hoping the giving season won’t be over as Christmas comes and goes. The top fundraising official with the United Way of Douglas County confirmed Thursday the organization is still more than $700,000 short of its annual fundraising goal. Colleen Gregoire, United Way vice president and campaign manager, said the United Way was in the process of sending out a special appeal to area businesses asking them to help generate publicity for the need for more donations. “We’re hoping businesses will be able to put a message on their marquee signs or something like that,” Gregoire said. “We need to remind folks that we still have a ways to go.”
ed good behavior in supervised visits with her remaining children. The social worker said Wynne has been required to complete drug and alcohol treatment programs and would work to regain custody of those children in the future. Judge Paula Martin said Wynne posed no danger to the community and had shown a dedication to rehabilitating herself.
TOPEKA — Gov. Sam Brownback said Thursday that he wants to examine whether Kansas is providing adequate mental health services but is wary of jumping into a contentious debate over gun control following last week’s mass elementary school shooting in Connecticut. Brownback also said during an interview with The Associated Press that he believes responding to the shooting with proposals to rewrite gun laws is likely to prevent a serious examina- Brownback tion of mental health services. He said he believes the nation needs to look into mental health services and the Please see GOVERNOR, page 2A
Lawrence gun sales soar after school
massacre. Page 3A
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Chihuahua recovering A Lecompton resident’s Chihuahua is recovering from a life-threatening attack by a Rottweiler on Saturday, and people are coming forward to help. Page 3A
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Vol.154/No.356 28 pages