OUT OF REACH
TOP TO BOTTOM
TCU holds off KU, 27-17 Sports 1B
Painter decorates restaurant ceiling with art A&E 1C
L A W R E NC E
JOURNAL-WORLD ®
$1.50
35.$!9 s /#4/"%2 s
LJWorld.com
Official: 2-tiered voting a possibility
Way more than a nice set of pipes
———
Kobach proposal would keep some Kansans from casting votes in state contests By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo
LAWRENCE RESIDENT TOM WATGEN, a 25-year voicer for the Reuter Organ Co., adjusts an organ pipe Wednesday. As a voicer, Watgen uses his acute sense for correct musical tones to fine-tune the pipes of the organs.
Members of elite occupation make organs incredibly precise
T
he radio that constantly plays classical music is the first clue that this workshop may include some out-of-the-ordinary tools. Sure, the workshops at the Reuter Organ factory in northern Lawrence include a lot of the normal hand tools that may be in your own toolbox. But perhaps the most valuable tools hang from the sides of the heads of the workers in these shops: finely tuned ears. We’re talking about ears that can instantly tell the difference between a D and a D sharp, that understand how a G note should
Lawhorn’s Lawrence
Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
relate to an A, and that can detect one note that may be just a few decibels higher than another. It’s not surprising that the men responsible for
MORE ONLINE See the video of Reuter Organ Company voicer Tom Watgen talking about perfecting the tones of their pipe organs with this story at LJWorld.com. making a pipe organ sound like a pipe organ need a good set of ears. But human hair? Now I’m told they need to understand that as well? If you want to make it in what has become the increasingly rare profession of “organ voicer,” it is a good tool to have in your box. “That’s how we describe
it many times,” said JR Neutel, president of the Reuter Organ Co. “We’ll say you’re off by a blonde hair or you’re off by a red hair. In this business, an adjustment that is the thickness of a hair can make a tremendous difference in the sound of the instrument.” That’s why you couldn’t blame Tom Watgen — a 25-year veteran of the Reuter factory — for laughing when he hears people talk about sports or activities that come down to a “game of inches.” An inch? That might as well be the Atlantic Ocean in this workshop. Please see ORGANS, page 8A
Fairgoers get schooled on Mother Earth smontemayor@ljworld.com
Bryan Welch believes we are living in “the human moment.” No other species has been tasked with managing its own impact on its habitat, said Welch, publisher and editorial director of Mother Earth News magazine. He called this the “defining human achievement” as he prepared to lecture on the subject Saturday during the magazine’s sustainable living fair in Watson Park. “I think that’s the most exciting thing about being alive right now,” said Welch, who moved to Lawrence in 1996 after founding Topeka-based Ogden Publications. Welch’s lecture was one
Partly sunny
of the more than 150 sessions at the fair’s inaugural Lawrence visit. On Saturday, the city became the third stop of the publication’s national two-day event as scores of vendors lined Watson Park and lectures ranged from salvaging the human habitat to making your own cheese. The fair concludes today with a 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. slate that includes a talk from the actor Ed Begley Jr. and animal welfare expert Temple Grandin. Organizers expected about 10,000 people to attend the event this weekend. Jennifer Kongs graduated from Kansas University in 2009 with a degree in environmental studies. After interning for Mother Earth News shortly after graduation, Kongs moved to full time and was named man-
Low: 50
Today’s forecast, page 12A
Woman makes self-advocacy her life’s work By Giles Bruce gbruce@ljworld.com
she sought to capture her own wild yeast for a sourdough bread while as a KU freshman and became interested in fermentation while Please see FAIR, page 8A
Please see ADVOCATE, page 7A
“
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
LILLY PANKAU, 6, OF ROCKPORT, MO., LAUGHS as she pets her Vietnamese pig Charlotte during the Mother Earth News Fair Saturday in Watson Park. The fair continues today with many demonstrations and hands-on workshops. Lilly was with her family who had a booth for their Farm 2 Fork Ranch. aging editor last summer. Now a regular presence at Mother Earth News Fairs, Kongs hosted a seed-starting workshop for children Saturday and will lecture today on fermenting food. Kongs said
INSIDE Arts&Entertainment 1C-8C Events listings Books 6C Horoscope Classified 1D-8D Movies Deaths 2A Opinion
High: 73
Please see VOTING, page 7A
Kathy Lobb wants everyone to have the same opportunities she has: their own place, a job, independence. But some people need a hand to get there. Lobb is one of those people. Born with cerebral palsy, Lobb has a job and lives Kathy does a on her own but still great job of bringrelies on help from others for things ing the voice of like transportation the consumer to and hygiene. our policy makers “I have my own and our legislaplace here in Lawrence. I’ve been tors.” a taxpayer since 1999,” she said. “I’m — Craig Knutson, director of real proud to be a self-advocacy services for homeowner. I also the Self Advocate Coalition pay property taxes of Kansas and income taxes, just like everybody else.” She has spent decades advocating for people like herself on the local, state and national levels, serving for the past 12 years as the legislative liaison for the Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas, based in Lawrence. During that time, Lobb, 57, has testified at numerous
Thousands turn out to event that continues today in Watson Park By Stephen Montemayor
Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said it is possible to conduct elections — as Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has proposed — where some voters would be allowed to vote in all races, while others would be limited to only federal contests. But Shew said such a plan would require different sets of ballots, add to the bureaucracy of voting and may depress turnout. In recent years, there have been more forms to fill out and requirements Kobach to fulfill to vote, he said. “As we add layers, does that discourage your casual voter from participating?” he asked. The possibility of a two-class voting system in Kansas has arisen in the ongoing controversy over a new state requirement that people registering to vote show documents, such as a birth certificate, that prove they are U.S. citizens.
2B, 8C Puzzles 7D Sports 2C Television 11A
Join us at Facebook.com/LJWorld and Twitter.com/LJWorld
7C, 7D 1B-12B 2B, 8C, 7D
Marching bands take over stadium Marching bands from 24 Kansas and Missouri high schools rocked out Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Page 3A
Vol.155/No.286 40 pages