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sunday • december 1 • 2013
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Licensing program raises issues of privacy
‘So much more than I bargained for’
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Rental units in city would be subject to inspection By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Nick Krug/Journal-World Photos
Shelley hickman clark iS pictured in the oldeSt portion of her home, built in 1855 by Joseph Savage, one of the city’s earliest settlers. The home, which has undergone various additions and renovations, sits at 1734 Kent Terrace — near 23rd and Iowa streets — and is believed by many to be the oldest in Lawrence.
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House dating from 1855 likely the oldest one in Lawrence
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ometimes a house will just steal your heart. About 30 years ago, Shelley Hickman Clark’s heart crossed the threshold at 1734 Kent Terrace and was had. “When we came to look at it for the first time, it was 8 o’clock at night, and I hadn’t even really seen the house,” Clark recalls. “I hadn’t even walked upstairs, but I walked through the door and just said, ‘This is my house.’” As the years began to pile up, it seemed that the house began to talk back. No, this isn’t a ghost story — I don’t think — but Clark always felt that something odd was going on whenever she entered a small room on the backside of the house. It’s not really big enough to be a living room, and it’s not really ornate enough
Lawhorn’s Lawrence
Please see RENTal, page 10a
Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
to be considered anything grand. And yet, there always was this feeling when Clark entered it. “It always felt like the heart of the house,” Clark says. “I always felt like I had settled somewhere. I don’t know how that is, but I’ve always had the feeling that when I’m in there, I’ve arrived.” A few years passed
Teacher who introduced therapy dogs now uses one
Shelley hickman clark’s house at 1734 kent terrace before Clark got her first clue as to why. Although small for a living room by today’s standards, with its old, cracked brick chimney in the corner, it once was a living room. In fact, it very likely is the oldest living room in all of Lawrence. Clark found documents that indicate her home
was the first woodenframed house built in Douglas County — constructed during 20 days in May 1855. That’s just 10 months after the first settlers arrived in what is now Lawrence. Until someone proves her otherwise, Clark
By Giles Bruce
Please see HOUSE, page 12a
gbruce@ljworld.com
Nativity has graced shopping center roof for more than 50 years By Giles Bruce gbruce@ljworld.com
On the Hillcrest Shopping Center roof the other day, Peter Dahl used liquid nail adhesive to reattach the head of a 75-pound fiberglass camel. He then returned the animal to its proper place, next to one of the three wise men. These Nativity statues have required a lot of stitching up and repainting over the years, though that’s understandable, given that baby Jesus and friends have
graced the roof of the Lawrence strip mall for more than a half-century. “I’ve had to patch these things up so many times it’s amazing,” Dahl said on a chilly afternoon on the roof at Ninth and Iowa streets. “The wind does a number on them.” Still, the life-size figures have survived vandals, snowstorms and would-be thieves Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo to be a Lawrence tradition peter dahl putS up the Nativity Tuesday at the Hillcrest shopping since the late 1950s. “For us Center at Ninth and Iowa streets. The life-sized figures have been a Please see NaTIvITy, page 2a Lawrence tradition since the late 1950s.
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Some Lawrence landlords may want to check their smoke alarm batteries. Some Lawrence tenants may want to check their smoking bongs. If Lawrence city commissioners approve a new citywide rental licensing program, One of both types of items may the best catch the eyes arguof city building ments inspectors. As commis- against sioners con- this ordisider giving nance is final approval to a citywide scope creep.” rental licensing program, some — lawrence Mayor Mike Dever commissioners and members of the public are expressing concerns the inspections that come with it may create privacy concerns for tenants. “One of the best arguments against this ordinance is that it could result in scope
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Topeka — When Lisa Clark lifted her left leg several inches off the ground for the first time since the accident, her beloved Tally was there to see her do it. You might call it a coincidence that she accomplished this feat while her 8-year-old boxer, a certified therapy dog, was sitting nearby. But Clark and her loved ones might disagree. The dog’s ability to help people through challenging times is why Clark, who teaches first and second grade at Lawrence’s Schwegler School, introduced therapy dogs to the local district about 20 years ago. She’s seen them comfort students suffering from conditions like anxiety, cerebral palsy and autism. Now things have come full circle, as those same dogs help her recover from a serious spinal injury. Clark was riding horseback near Clinton Lake in early October when her horse stepped into a hornet’s nest and “started bucking like a rodeo horse.” “Luckily, I was wearing my helmet,” said Clark, 58. Regardless, the impact of the fall broke
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Vol.155/No.335 40 pages