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Sunday, March 24, 2013
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DEATHS
Issues CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Journal-World obituary policy: For information about running obituaries, call 8327151. Obituaries run as submitted by funeral homes or the families of the deceased.
JOAN DARBY EDWARDS Joan Darby Edwards, 92, Mission Hills, Kan., passed away peacefully at home, March 20, 2013. Funeral services will be 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 26 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1300 N. 18th St. in Kansas City, KS. A private burial will follow. Friends may call from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at Porter’s Funeral Home, 1835 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, KS. Joan was the second oldest of four daughters of United States Senator Harry Darby and Edith Cubbison Darby of Kansas City, KS. Joan was born May 11, 1920, in Kansas City, Kan, and was a lifelong area resident. She graduated from Wyandotte High School and attended the University of Kansas, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi. She met the love of her life, Roy A. Edwards, Jr., when she was six years old. They were married in 1943, and she lost her lifelong sweetheart when he died in December 1987. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Joan was active in many community organizations. She was a past president of the Junior League of Wyandotte and Johnson Counties. She served as the chairman of Bethany Medical Center Foundation. She was a past president of Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club. In addition, she volunteered for countless organizations, including the Sunflower Council Camp Fire Girls and the Boy Scouts. She was a former director of Gas Service Co. and Western Resources of Topeka. She was a member of the Wyandotte Chapter of DAR, an Honorary Board of Director of the American Royal and an Honorary Life Member of the BOTAR organization. She also was a member of the Mission Hills Country Club, Garden of the Gods Club, Colorado Springs, CO., and the Kansas City Club. She bled Crimson and Blue and loved every moment of March Madness. Every season until recently she was in the stands cheering at all post-season games. The University of Kansas recognized her with the Fred Ellsworth Medallion for unique and significant service to the University in 1991. She served as a member of numerous search committees, including the search for a
new vice chancellor and two athletic directors. She was a past member of the KU Athletic Corp. Board. In 1990 the Edwards Campus in Overland Park was named for Joan and her late husband, Roy. Joan was preceded in death by her husband of 44 years, Roy, her father and mother, Harry Darby and Edith Cubbison Darby, and her sisters, Harriett Gibson, Edith Marie Evans and Marjorie Alford. Joan is survived by her children, R.A. (Terry) Edwards, Hutchinson, KS., Barbara Edwards, Fairway, KS, and Susan (Doug) Miller, Mission Hills, KS.; her grandchildren, Ross Edwards, Lawrence, KS., Roy Edwards (Shelly), Boulder, CO., Carrie Edwards, Prairie Village, KS., Libby Baughman, Kansas City, MO., Dr. Darby (Gretchen) Miller, Bethesda, MD., Paige Miller, Fairway, KS., and Cameron (Eric) Schaumburg, Prairie Village, KS; her great grandchildren, Ashton and Luke Edwards, Boulder, CO., and Vai and Jolie Miller, Bethesda, MD; and many beloved nieces and nephews. “Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.� With that in mind, her family would like to specially thank Dee and Tom Bunch and Bernice Lucas for their many years of loving care. The family would like to also thank Mary Hamilton and her angels, especially Lavern, Onie, Bertha, Letitia, Retha and Terry for their wonderful care. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1300 N. 18th Street, Kansas City, KS. 66102, or to the KU Endowment, Attn: Becci Blaesing at P.O. Box 928, Lawrence, KS., 66044. This donation should be made in memory of Joan Edwards to benefit the Edwards Campus Scholarships. Please sign this guestbook at Obituaries. LJWorld.com.
early, the city’s population may not be large enough to justify the expense. If construction is started too late, the lack of additional sewage treatment capacity could hinder growth. — Taste and odor issues: The city currently is estimating it may cost about $19 million to add equipment to the city’s two water treatment plants to address periodic, harmless taste and odor issues that occur when certain algae levels are high at Clinton Lake or in the Kansas River.
Police needs: The department currently is split between two facilities — one downtown and one in west Lawrence. Questions about the size, condition and efficiency of the facilities have been raised by Lawrence Police Department leaders. The police chief also has warned the department needs more officers to maintain current levels of service.
Long-range planning: Questions have emerged over whether the city has created an adequate plan for future big-ticket projects. Here’s a summary of what each candidate had to say:
Mike Amyx Amyx, the lone incumbent in the race, voted for the recent increases in water and sewer rates. He said he disliked the increases but believed the projects they would fund represented a “long-term investment in the community.� Amyx A f t e r years of uncertainty, Amyx said he now believes it is the right time to proceed with the new sewer plant. He said he was swayed by the fact that the plant isn’t just needed for growth reasons but also to comply with EPA wet-weather regulations. Amyx said he wants to see more data on the idea to add equipment to address taste and odor issues at the water plants. He said the issue is worth considering, but “It is a great deal of money for a few events a year.� He said “there is no doubt� police department facilities are going to need to be upgraded. He said the City Commission “quickly needs to discuss the issue.� Amyx stopped short of saying that a tax increase would be needed to pay for the project, but said that is a possibility. He said he also wants to explore a joint facility with Douglas County or other agencies that could help defray costs. On planning, Amyx said he thinks the city has had good conversations about the community’s longrange plan. Instead, he ADELINE OUISE INCH said concerns over longrange planning probably Madeline L. Finch, 90, passed away at her home in have more to do with a Auburn, CA on March 18, 2013. Plans for a memorial “difference of opinion about what projects need service will be announced later this spring. to come first.�
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GERA LAURINE SAWYER
Rob Chestnut Chestnut said he sees the need for an increase in Gera L Sawyer, 91, died Mar 6 at Wellsville Retirement water and sewer rates, but Center. Memorial, 2 pm Sat, Mar 30, 2013 at Bruce will look for opportunities Funeral Home, Gardner, 913-856-7111. 1 pm Visitation. to defer some projects — particularly on the water side — which could allow the city to slow the rate of Lawmakers won’t investigate $2B error increase. Chestnut TOPEKA — Lawmakers said he befound its have decided not to investilieves the way into a gate an incorrect figure that new sewer chart the led Gov. Sam Brownback plant is a governor to make erroneous claims project that used to about state spending under needs to claim credit his Democratic predecesbe started for spendsor. now. ing cuts Chestnut The Wichita Eagle “There is that never Brownback reports that the Legislajust too much risk on misshappened. tive Post Audit Committee ing out on an economic Brownback declined to acrejected the audit request development project if we cept the resignation. Friday on a 5-4 party line. Senate Minority Leader start this too late,� he said. The vote followed a harsh He said he would reAnthony Hensley requestdebate over the integrity serve judgment on whethed the audit, saying the of the Republican governor error caused a “serious er to proceed with spendand Budget Director Steve ing to address taste and misrepresentation of the Anderson. odor issues in the water. truth.� Republican Sen. Anderson offered his He said the Police DeJulia Lynn, of Olathe, said resignation after the $2 bil- the request was politically partment has facility needs, lion error on a spreadsheet and a new facility ultimotivated.
mately may need to be constructed. But Chestnut said he also wants to look at alternatives — such as using existing space elsewhere in town — in an effort to cut down on the cost of the project. Chestnut said he was not ready to concede the project will need a tax increase. Chestnut said he does believe the city needs to add more police officers. On planning, Chestnut said the community hasn’t had enough dialogue about long-term projects, and community members often end up asking “what is next.� He said the city needs to create a more formal seven- to 10year plan for funding and building projects.
Scott Criqui Criqui said he understands the need for water and sewer rate increases, but believes past commissions “could have done a better job prioritizing spending so we could have held that increase down.� He said he’s heard compelling information from Realtors, builders and others that a new sewer plant Criqui is needed, but he said he still needed additional information before he could say if now is the right time to start the project. Criqui said the occasional taste and odor issues in the city’s water is worth studying more but that may be more of an “inconvenience� rather than something worth raising rates over. On police needs, Criqui said it is “pretty clear� facility needs will have to be addressed. But Criqui said it also is clear to him that the issue should be put to a public vote because of its price tag. He said he would hope there would be a way to do the project without a tax increase, but “I haven’t been presented with anything other than a tax enhancement to address that need.� Criqui said a lack of longrange planning by the city was one of the major reasons he entered the race. He said other communities have been successful with “community visioning processes� that create a real communitywide conversation about city priorities. Jeremy Farmer Farmer said the proposed rate increases will hurt low-income residents, but he believes waiting to fix water and sewer infrastructure will cost everyone more in the long run. He said several of the current projects should have been made a higher priority by past commissions. Farmer said now is the right time to start work on a new sewer plant in order to ensure the city has the necessary infrastructure to support future jobs. He said he is not yet convinced the city needs to undertake “wholesale changes� to address the water’s taste and odor issue. Farmer said the Police Department has “lots Farmer of needs,� and they are reaching the point where they will start affecting the service levels of the department. He said the city should commit to building a centralized police facility to house all operations of the department. “It is going to be one of those pay now or pay more later type of deals,� Farmer said. He said he would want a tax increase to be used only as a “last resort.� He said he hopes increased economic development activity will boost tax revenues to pay for a police facility. On long-range planning, Farmer said he wants to look at a more detailed multiyear funding plan for large projects, but he said the commission needs to do more to get residents involved too. “The saying is bud-
L AWRENCE J OURNAL -W ORLD gets reflect priorities, and those budget hearings are very lightly attended by the public,� he said.
Terry Riordan Riordan said a multiyear plan to increase water and sewer rates won’t be pleasant, but he understands the need for it. He “applauds the city for laying it out� so the public can know what to expect in the future. Riordan said now is “absolutely the right time� to begin work on a new sewage treatment plant. Riordan is less sure if a large investment to address taste and odor issues with the water is warranted. “I’m kind of 50-50 on that. Let’s do the other things and see if we can afford it,� he said. On the police issue, Riordan said he Riordan believes the city has done a good job of compensating police officers, but has done poorly in keeping up with facility needs. He said the current facilities are “inefficient and somewhat dangerous.� He also said staffing levels on the Police Department need to be increased. He said he would try to make Police Department improvements without a tax increase, but said, “I don’t think anybody knows where that money can come from right now.� He said the Police Department needs are an example of how the community could do better with long-range planning. “The library, the recreation center and the Police Department needs all should have been brought up at once so the public could have commented on all of them,� Riordan said. “We haven’t done as well with that as we should have.� Leslie Soden Soden said she is more likely to support the proposed water and sewer rate increases than oppose them, but she is disappointed in how the city has handled the process. She said she wanted the city to consider using some of the $25 million it proposes for the recreation center to instead reduce property tax bills. She said that would have lessened the blow of needed water and sewer rate increases. Soden said she also is leaning toward supporting the proposed sewer treatment plant, because she is “optimistic about our city growing.� She said she would take a more Soden cautious approach on the water taste and odor issue. She would propose installing equipment only at one of the city’s two watertreatment plants, in order to test the concept. Caution also is the word on a new police facilities building. “I don’t see an urgent need for a new police station right now,� Soden said. Instead she wants to monitor what the department has been able to do with the recent budget increase it received to add more officers and upgrade equipment. On long-term planning, Soden said she thinks the city has done a reasonable job of trying to project its future needs. — City reporter Chad Lawhorn can be reached at 832-6362. Follow him at Twitter.com/clawhorn_ljw.
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