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County GOP under new leaders By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
KU defenseless in 51-23 loss On Senior Night, the last home game of the season, the Kansas University football team couldn’t keep up with Iowa State’s offense, as the Cyclones pulled away early and didn’t look back, beating the Jayhawks, 51-23. Page 1B LAWRENCE
81st Habitat house christened Xueying Wang, pictured, has been waiting since 2008 to drive the ceremonial first nail in the construction of her new Habitat for Humanity home in North Lawrence. The day finally came Saturday for her and her family. Page 3A
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QUOTABLE
We’ve got to have a very brutally honest review from stem to stern of what we did and what we didn’t do, and what worked and what failed.” — Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who ran the GOP in the 1990s. Almost everyone asked about the Republicans’ Nov. 6 election drubbing seems to agree that a wholesale update is necessary for the party. Page 10D
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MARK MCMEANS, 51, OF MEEKER, OKLA., WAS A SEVENTH-GRADER at Arrowhead Junior High School in Kansas City, Kan., when he became a victim of sexual abuse by vice principal James Jackson. “Didn’t say a word, too scared, too embarrassed,” McMeans said. “In those days, you know, we were raised to respect your elders.” AT TOP: Jackson pictured in a yearbook photo in 1974.
Allegations followed ex-vice principal, Scout volunteer everywhere he went By Shaun Hittle sdhittle@ljworld.com
H
e built his life around children. As a teacher and later a vice principal in the Kansas City, Kan., school district in the 1960s and 1970s, James Douglas Jackson, now 72, interacted with hundreds of kids on a daily basis; thousands over the years. His Kansas City home was a stone’s throw from Kennedy Elementary School, and a block
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I can remember thinking, ‘You got to be kidding me. Nothing’s being done.’ It was all just swept under the rug.” — Mark McMeans, abuse victim of James Jackson from another middle school and city park. Years later, as his own children became teenagers, Jackson volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America in Kansas City, tagging along with dozens of boys on overnight camping trips.
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Please see ABUSE, page 8A ! A look at Kansas
ties to “perversion files.” Page 9A
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In the 1990s, Jackson and his wife opened a scuba supply store in Lawrence, later adding a pool where Jackson offered scuba lessons to kids. Nearly every step of the way, Jackson was accused of sexually assaulting boys. But little
was done to prevent him from abusing in the future. Last month, the Boy Scouts of America released thousands of its internal “perversion files” on offenders such as Jackson, drawing back the curtain on cases of sexual abuse involving the Scouting group in Kansas and
Fed up with the Obama administration, and what she saw as liberal media bias, Jana Rea jumped into Douglas County Republican Party politics during the recently completed election cycle. She and a like-minded group of people, calling themselves “The C r e w , ” went doorto-door working for Republican candidates. Rea said the group Rea didn’t think the leadership of the GOP in Douglas County was doing enough. “A number of us were concerned that even though Douglas County has a third registered Republican, we haven’t felt like the conservative voice has been detectable,” Rea said. “We got tired of it.” Now “The Crew” has taken over running the ship. During a party organizational meeting right after the Nov. 6 general election, Rea defeated incumbent county GOP chairman Richard Todd, and Win Campbell was elected vice chair over an incumbent. The new leadership team has a more conservative bend. Clay Barker, Kansas Republican Party executive director, was asked to attend the meeting. He said a splinter group formed, recruited precinct leaders and went to the meeting to vote their leaders in. “Groups have been doing that for 120 years,” he said.
Disease blamed for rise in number of dead deer By Ian Cummings icummings@ljworld.com
Hunters in Douglas and Franklin counties may find the local deer herds a little thinner this season. Dozens of the animals have been found dead near lakes and ponds this summer and fall, victims of a seasonal virus that hit the area harder with the help of this summer’s drought. Shane Hesting, wildlife and disease coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, said the overall effect on Kansas deer was negligible, with 400 reported deaths out of a total population exceed-
ing half a million. But, he said, the disease occurs in bunches, with some areas seeing more infection than others. This year, Douglas and Franklin counties saw more than most, with at least 30 reported cases between them. The culprit was epizootic hemorrhagic disease, one of a family of viruses that includes bluetongue virus that kills deer across the U.S. every year. The virus infects deer through biting midges, or tiny flies, that breed in mud flats. Hesting said the death toll Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo was higher this year beA LARGE BUCK STANDS IN A FIELD OF GRASS north of Lawrence on Thursday. Dozens of cause receding waters in the animals have been found dead near lakes and ponds this summer and fall, victims of a lakes and ponds exposed seasonal virus that hit the area harder with the help of this summer’s drought. Please see DEER, page 2A