WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
New shelter to provide beds for intoxicated homeless
By JJ Hensley
jhensley@kansan.com
kansan staff writer
Vandalism and violence, housing and hygiene. These are just a few of the daily trials that workers at the Salvation Army deal with in their efforts to temporarily house and help the homeless, provided they haven't been drinking.
Lawrence Open Shelters Inc. will take on those problems and perhaps a few more at a new overnight homeless shelter the group plans to open at 944 Kentucky. The proposed shelter would provide about 20 places to sleep for Lawrence's homeless, even if they've been drinking.
Keeping those people from sleeping outside is reason enough for Lawrence lawmakers to forgo the usual procedures for granting occupancy. The city commission gave the shelter a
temporary permit at last night's meeting.
"We're ignoring our land-use laws because while we think those are of important value, there are other values here we think are more appropriate to attend to," said assistant city manager David Corliss.
No one at last night's meeting voiced any opposition to the shelter. Local homeless advocates have awaited the decision to grant a temporary permit that allows the shelter to house the homeless until the building is up to city code.
"I think the need is clearly there for an open shelter," said Jeff Kuykendall, Lawrence resident, works at the Community Drop-In Center next door to where the new open shelter would be housed.
The Drop-In Center already provides showers, laundry, counseling and career services for
many of Lawrence's homeless.
"There should be a place where every human being—no matter what choices you make—has a place to stay, provided they are nonviolent," Kuykendall said.
It's not the threat of violence or vandalism that keeps the Salvation Army from admitting homeless people to the shelter when they've been drinking. Those threats exist regardless of the shelter's policies. The Salvation Army's drinking policy is out of concern for those in the shelter who are trying to overcome their own problems with alcohol.
"We have to keep them separate from people who've been drinking," said Lawrence Salvation Army director Rich Forney. "We treat people like the adults they are and expect them to act accordingly."
At the Salvation Army shelter
acting accordingly includes abstaining from alcohol or forfeiting a spot on the floor for a night.
Forney said people who use the shelter understood the rules and when they'd violated them.
"They know if they want to stay in here for the night, they have to blow a .04 or lower," Forney said.
Dan Nelson/Kansan
The state's legal limit for intoxication is a blood alcohol level of.08.
This building at 944 Kentucky St. will soon house a homeless shelter. The issue was discussed at the Lawrence City Commission meeting yesterday.
"I think that's being generous," Forney said. "There are some shelters I know of in Kansas City where if they smell even a trace of alcohol on you, you're banned from staying there for a week."
Providing a place for the homeless to stay if they have or haven't been drinking is not a source of concern for the owner of the building that would house the proposed shelter — and he lives next door.
James Dunn is a member of the Lawrence Coalition for the Homeless and is well aware of the problems the Lawrence Open Shelters has run into while searching for a permanent home.
Dunn lives immediately north of the proposed shelter and owns both buildings.
"No one wants to sign off on
something and have there be an incident, so I guess maybe I'm the one." Dunn said.
— Edited by Christy Dendurent
Army judge shares wisdom and past with law students
By Lauren Airey lairey@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Retired Maj. General William K. Suter keeps two pieces of memorabilia from his 29 years in the military in his office at the Supreme Court building: a picture of himself shaking hands with Colin Powell and a picture of himself at 20 years old with a young Elvis Presley at Fort Hood, Texas.
in Green Hall.
Suter, the clerk of the U.S. Supreme Court shared that and other Army tales with University of Kansas law students yesterday
Between his junior and senior year at Trinity University, Suter trained for ROTC at Fort Hood and met Presley, who was in advanced training.
"He was a very generous fellow and a regular guy." Suter said. "I had a few beers and a haircut with him. He was a tough soldier."
A career Army judge, Suter served as an appellate judge, deputy staff judge advocate of the U.S. Army in Vietnam and commandant of the Judge Advocate General school before taking the position as clerk of the Supreme
Court in 1991
Suter spoke to two classes, answered questions and ate lunch with faculty members yesterday. He will visit at least two more classes and speak about career opportunities in the Judge Advocate General's Corps today at 12:30 p.m. at room 107 in Green Hall. By the end of his visit, he will have talked to more than 200 students, said Steve McAllister, dean of the School of Law.
"We have speakers here as often as we can get people of this caliber to come visit us," McAllister said. "I love to get these kinds
of visitors because it's an important part of a legal education to see and speak to leaders."
Jennifer Colaner, event planner for the School of Law, said the school was trying to keep up outside connections with different areas of law.
"Tomorrow's forum on the JAG Corps is an opportunity for different perspectives on law than mainstream lawyers and judges," Colaner said.
Suter, the 19th Supreme Court clerk in a line that stretches back to 1790, is responsible for the rules of the court, all legal paperwork, and Supreme Court Bar admissions. He processes about 5,000 applications for admissions each year.
"We get 8,000 petitions filed a year, and a lot are frivolous, but it says 'Equal Justice for All' on the courthouse and we believe that," Suter said. "Every case is looked and reviewed carefully."
College students regularly intern for the clerk's office answer phone calls and read all correspondence. Students earn 16 credit hours for their work.
filed by law firms or the state, are granted each year. Of the other 6,000 petitions, only .2 percent are granted. Most cases heard by the Supreme Court are important federal questions without answers or split decisions made by lower courts. The court hears arguments from October to April and opinions are written in May and June.
Suter said 3 percent of the 2,000 petitions, petitions
"We are the only governmental outfit in Washington that starts on time and ends on time," Suter said.
—Edited by Leah Shaffer
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