LJW_051312_01

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L A W R E NC E

JOURNAL-WORLD ®

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Cloudy

High: 73

After tragedies, a place to call home

Low: 46

Today’s forecast, page 8A

Find a complete list of this year’s KU graduates in a special section inside today’s Journal-World.

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Coupon value in today’s paper

INSIDE

Readers tell us why their mom is No. 1 The Lawrence Journal-World asked our readers why they think they have the world’s best mother, and they did not disappoint. Writers young and old submitted essays and poems that give funny and touching reasons for why we love mom. Page 1C

KU MEN’S BASKETBALL

3 Jayhawks among today’s graduates Kansas University senior basketball players Jordan Juenemann, Tyshawn Taylor and Conner Teahan figure to do a lot of reminiscing — and a lot of celebrating — this morning as they participate in graduation ceremonies. Page 1B

QUOTABLE

Being there in the garden is like being in church on Sunday morning.” — Margarete Johnson, a Lawrence master gardener, talking about the butterfly garden tucked behind Foley Hall on Kansas University’s West Campus. Hundreds of people turned out at Foley Hall on Saturday for the annual open house and plant fundraiser hosted by Monarch Watch. Page 3A

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo

LAWRENCE RESIDENT TERRY SMITH IS LOOKING FORWARD to having a place to call home. She and her daughter are moving into a new Habitat for Humanity house in North Lawrence. The Smith family has seen plenty of tragedy in recent years after Erica, the youngest of Terry’s three children, lost movement below her midchest after she was thrown from a vehicle in an August 2008 car accident. In 2009, Terry lost her husband, Eric Smith, to lung cancer.

Habitat for Humanity house ‘perfect’ Mother’s Day present By Shaun Hittle sdhittle@ljworld.com

It’s been a long wait for Lawrence resident Terry Smith. But she received a pretty nice Mother’s Day gift: a place to call home. “It’s hard to believe,” said Smith about her new Habitat for Humanity home in North Lawrence, which was dedicated Saturday. Smith and her family have endured several life-altering tragedies during the past few years. In 2006, Terry’s husband,

Eric, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. In August 2008, Erica, the youngest of Terry’s three children, was in involved in a rollover car accident that left her paralyzed from the midchest down. Eric died a few months later. “We had a lot going on,” Terry said. But before her husband’s death, the family was approved for a Habitat home that would be fully wheelchair-accessible for Erica. It provided Eric some piece of mind before his death, said Terry, who works as an office

manager for an Oskaloosa business. “He was just glad to know that the whole family could call this home,” she said. The family’s ability to fight through obstacles was noticed by Kate Blocker, a Habitat for Humanity and Women Build board member. Blocker, through Women Build, acted as the Smith’s “Family Partner,” helping with fundraising for the home. “They don’t let any hardship stop them,” Blocker said. “It Please see HOME, page 2A

Preschoolers share why they love their moms By Christine Metz cmetz@ljworld.com

No matter their age, moms do all kinds of things that deserve our love.

But to remind us of why we first started loving them, we visited the preschool room at Googols of Learning Child Development Center last week. There, teachers Alissa Garrett

and Becky Burns-Pisani were helping youngsters prepare cards that tell moms across Lawrence just why they are loved. Below are some of the reasons they gave.

COMING MONDAY We’ll be at KU’s Commencement this morning to talk with graduates and hear what speaker Alan Mulally has to say.

Bryce Fredendall, 4 “She fixes dinner.”

Irelyn Vail, 3 “She is silly.”

D’Marion Schwartz, 5 “She helps me clean my room.”

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INDEX Arts&Entertainment 1C-8C Books 4C Classified 1D-6D Events listings 8A, 2B Garden 8C Horoscope 7D Movies 4A Opinion 7A Puzzles 5C, 7D Sports 1B-8B Television 4A, 2B, 7D Vol.154/No.134 58 pages

Energy smart: The Journal-World makes the most of renewable resources. www.b-e-f.org

Julietta Otter, 5 “She gives me ice cream.”

Mackenzi Downing, 5 “She lets me roller skate in the house.”

Liam Gill, 5 “She reads books to me.” Please see MOMS, page 2A

Jobs outlook brighter for grads By Andy Hyland ahyland@ljworld.com

Ashley Bowser, who’s graduating from Kansas University today with a major in ceramics, is still looking for work in her chosen field. But fortunately for her, while she tests the art world, she’s already got another job waiting for her in Denver. She’ll start as a manager at a Dillard’s store there. While it’s not in her degree field, it is a full-time job with benefits. Bowser and Bowser about 4,800 other KU students walking down the hill today for their graduation are entering a job market that’s finally showing some signs of life after a long recession. “I was kind of pleasantly surprised,” Bowser said. “It does seem like things have gotten a little easier.” Employers plan to hire more than 10.2 percent more new college graduates than they did a year ago, according to an annual survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. And university staffers who help graduates find new jobs in Kansas indicate there’s been something of a rebound this year. “Things are looking much better than we had in the past couple years,” said David Gaston, director of the KU Career Center. “We’d gone so long without hiring recent grads, there’s a need for it.” The retail sector is doing much better, he said. Technology companies, too, are still interested in expanding. Although the outlook is better, it’s still not great. New graduates are competing with that glut Please see GRADUATES, page 2A ! KU graduate has passion

for volunteering. Page 3A

Traffic TV: Cameras tapped to help keep cars moving By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com

It always has kind of been like a soap opera. Starts and stops. Twists and turns (well, lots of turns anyway). Even an occasional overheating. It is the world of Lawrence traffic — and now it has become the newest thing in daytime television. City traffic supervisor James Risner, at his offices at Fifth and Mississippi, has a TV-viewing

Our goal with this is to move platoons of cars.” — James Risner, traffic supervisor for the city of Lawrence room that would make an “As the World Turns” junkie blush. On a single flat-screen TV, Risner can watch the traffic at nine intersections in real time. On another television, Risner can zoom in at a specific intersection and see a host of graphics, which include show-

ing when the traffic signals change from red to green and even when the crosswalks change from walk to don’t walk. “It shows you exactly what is going on at an intersection exactly at that moment,” Risner said. Of course, the city’s traffic command center

doesn’t exist to satisfy people’s curiosity about what is happening at the corner of Ninth and Iowa streets at any given moment. City leaders hope that all the cameras, TVs and high-tech equipment are the first step in creating a scene that may be worthy of a gasp much like when those soap fans found out the doctor’s half-brother really was the father of the maven’s long-lost identical twin who was lost at birth but then returned to claim

the family fortune. (Or something like that.) “The ideal situation will be when you can start driving on 23rd Street at Iowa heading east, and you won’t have to stop at a single light on your way out of town,” Risner said. “That’s the way traffic coordination can work. Our goal with this is to move platoons of cars.” Now that would be interesting daytime television. Please see TRAFFIC, page 2A


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