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Entering 3rd year, Final Fridays bigger than ever ‘When artists are visible, it makes a place more interesting’ By Sara Shepherd sshepherd@ljworld.com
Journal-World File Photo
PATRONS FILL Lawrence Creates Marketplace
during August’s Final Fridays event. See the photo gallery at LJWorld.com.
Lawrence artist and gallery owner Louis Copt describes the early days of Final Fridays as “sparse.” That goes for participating venues and foot traffic alike. “Nowadays, it’s impossible for everybody to get to all the galleries in one night,” Copt said. “You kind of have to pick and choose — which is, I guess, a good problem.”
Final Fridays, which celebrated its third anniversary last month, has grown into a buzzworthy monthly event for downtown Lawrence. Organizers hope the momentum will continue, boosting exposure for local artists plus increasing the kind of vibrancy that attracts visitors and new residents to town. Final Fridays is an event that people have come to expect, which fulfills a ma-
jor goal, said Susan Tate, executive director of the Lawrence Arts Center, which established the event with the city and Downtown Lawrence Inc. “We are all committed to it and committed to its growth,” Tate said.
By the numbers Participating venues have multiplied from a handful Please see FINAL, page 2A
If you go Venues around downtown are planning open houses during the September Final Fridays event, scheduled for 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. today. For the Journal-World’s monthly Final Fridays preview, a complete list and map of participating locations, and other Final Fridays coverage, go online to Lawrence.com. Click on ‘Arts,’ then ‘Final Fridays.’
Lawrence students outscore national SAT average
Lessons from a lost era
By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com
Nick Krug/Journal-World Photos
ST. MARY’S ACADEMY FIFTH-GRADERS Stephen Goulard, from left, Andrew Thibeault and Thomas Greene try playing flutes carved from wood during the Bald Eagle Rendezvous at Bald Eagle River View Park in Lecompton. Thursday was the opening day for the event, which goes through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The rendezvous features authentically attired re-enactors from the fur-trading era who demonstrate period tents, lodges, cooking and skills such as gunsmithing, beadworking, knife making and leather working, among many other crafts. RIGHT PHOTO: Re-enactor Randy Hittle, of Mayetta, demonstrates how trappers would start a fire.
KANSAS UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
Alzheimer’s grant to focus on exercise By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
Joe Gittemeier has seen several members of his immediate family die of Alzheimer’s disease. “It is just awful,” the Prairie Village resident said. So, when Gittemeier, 71, heard about research at the Kansas University Medical Center on Alzheimer’s prevention, he jumped at the chance to enroll in the study. The retired stockbroker will be the first participant in a new $3 million project announced Thursday to test the role of exercise in preventing the disease. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is one of the first of its kind
More than 5 million Americans are living with the disease, HEALTH and it is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. in the country. “This is the first time we can really test the impact of exercise on prevention of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Jeffrey Burns, professor of neurology at KUMC and associate director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Center. Burns needs 100 healthy people 65 or older for the trial.
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impairment of judgment, disorientation, personality change, difficulty in learning and loss of language skills. More than 5 million Americans are living with the disease, and it is the sixthleading cause of death in the United States. Gittemeier said he was naturally interested in the study given that his father, brother, sister and aunt all developed the disease. He wants to forestall the potential onset of Alzheimer’s and increase knowledge about the disease to help other people, he said. People interested in learning more about how to participate in the program may call the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at 913-588-0555.
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Those applying will undergo a brain scan, and those with molecular changes associated with amyloid protein in the brain will be selected. The protein doesn’t mean the person has or will have Alzheimer’s but those with Alzheimer’s show signs of the protein. Participants in the trial will be put on a regimen of cardiovascular exercise, such as walking on a treadmill, for one year. Brain scans will show whether the exercise is reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is a progressive, irreversible neurological disorder. Most victims are older than 65, but Alzheimer’s can strike in the 40s or 50s. Symptoms include gradual memory loss,
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High school seniors in Lawrence who took the SAT exams last year appeared to be better prepared for college than their peers in the rest of the country. While the SAT exam is not nearly as popular as its competitor, the ACT test, in Kansas, new statistics show that students at Lawrence High School and Free State High School outscored the national average on the SATs, as they did on the ACT. In Kansas, generally, average scores were higher than the national average, and have actually grown, with the biggest gains occurring in critical reading and math scores. Nationwide, however, average SAT scores for the Class of 2013 were virtually unchanged from the previous year, with more than half of the students taking the exam falling below the benchmark for college readiness set by the College Board, the nonprofit corporation that administers the tests. Nationwide, average scores on the SAT have remained relatively flat for the last five years, with only 43 percent of those taking the test meeting the college readiness benchmark. Please see SAT, page 2A
Class of 2013 average SAT scores CRITICAL READING
MATH
WRITING
Free State: 624
Free State: 611
Free State: 597
LHS: 564
LHS: 585
LHS: 541
Kansas: 589
Kansas: 595
Kansas 568
U.S: 496
U.S: 514
U.S: 488
Hall of Honor Two federal judges, a Special Olympics gold medalist and a Colorado state senator will be inducted on Sunday into the Lawrence High School Hall of Honor. Page 3A
Vol.155/No.270 32 pages