CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, July 21, 1993
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KU Parkinson's research earns $500,000
Med Center gets grant
By Dan England Kansan staff writer
William Koller, who directs Parkinson's research at the University of Kansas Medical Center, is proud of the teamwork he and his scientists have accomplished.
"We have studied Parkinson's for a
long time, and I think our team approach is what has made us one of the top research programs in the country." Koller said.
Last week the American Parkinson Disease Association showed that it agreed with Koller. By giving the research team a $500,000 grant, the association bestowed the Med Center with an honor only three other university medical schools across the nation received.
"KU's team of researchers is one of the finest in the country," said Kimberly Kirkland Seidman, the association's West Coast director.
Seidman said KU was one of the few
that had a substantial amount of research about recent issues of the disease.
The grant will be awarded in $100,000 increments during the next five years. The association's board of directors, with more than 20 scientists and doctors renowned for their work in the Parkinson's field, votes on who will receive the grant, she said.
The board bases the decision on the university's research and accomplishments in the field, Seidman said. Other centers financed by the association are Emory University in Atlanta, Robert Wood Johnson University in
New Brunswick, N.J., and Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Ore.
Kollar said the grant was not much money for research. Some grants can total $10 million. But this grant can be used for whatever the team needs, unlike some grants, which require research on one topic.
"I wouldn't say it's a lot of money, but it's not peanuts, even for research," he said. "And the flexibility the grant offers is a major blessing."
Parkinson's disease affects more than 1 million Americans. Although it is most common in the elderly, it can strike people in their 20s or 30s.
The condition occurs when certain brain cells, called the substantia nigra, are damaged. These cells produce dopamine, an important substance that aids in the transmission of nerve impulses in the brain.
Symptoms of the disease progress from fatigue and weakness in the early stages to tremor, slow body movement and near-total loss of movement control in the later stages.
KU's study has focused for years on issues like environmental factors that may affect whether people get, or do not get, the illness and what can be done to stop the disease's symptoms, Koller said.
"It is our hope that if we continue to learn more about Parkinson's, we can learn more about other diseases we study, such as Alzheimer's disease," he said.
The accomplishments of the research team include a study of Kansas residents. The study revealed that those who live in rural areas and drink well water are twice as likely to get Parkinson's disease.
Eventually, Koller said he would like to find a cure to the illness.
Matt Bond, KU graduate, throws a bag full of newspapers into a recycling bin at the Wal-Mart community center, 3100 Iowa St.
"Cure is a pretty strong word in medicine, but that's the ultimate goal," he said.
Wal-Mart recycles conveniently
New center able to take in wide variety of items; sees growing amount of usage
By David Stewart Special to the Kansan
Special to the Kansan
Build it and they will come — with their trash.
Recent counts indicate that between 3000 and 4000 vehicles a week have been pulling up to the Lawrence Wal-Mart's community recycling center, said Patty Perez, the store's environmental coordinator. One Saturday Wal-Mart counted more than 1,500 vehicles.
Lawrence area residents drop off all types of trash brown beer bottles in moldy cardboard boxes, plastic sacks filled with crushed soda cans and torn paper bags stuffed with month-old newspapers.
For many, the recycling center has become a one-stop disposal site.
"I had to go to three different places to recycle before," said Kerry Townsend, Lawrence resident, after she dropped her newspaper bundles in one of the center's plastic bins. "It a lot less trouble for me to take it all here just once a month."
"About 50 percent of my trash can be recycled," she said. "This place makes it a lot more convenient."
"They take everything," said Debbie Hopkins, Newton senior, as she unloaded plastic bags of aluminum cans from her car.
As Robert Van Hercke, Shawnee junior, cleared out the plastic bags of cans and boxes of bottles that covered the back of his pick-up truck, he said that he had waited until he and about 20 friends had saved up enough goods to fill the truck and drive out to the center.
He estimated 60 to 80 percent of the items he threw away could be recycled.
"I figure I'll be out here whenever we can't handle all the stuff anymore" Van Hercke said.
Some people who recycle said convenience was one of the center's main benefits. While Lawrence has several centers that accept certain
types of recyclable items, Wal-Mart is the only drop-off site that takes almost every household recyclable item, from junk mail to plastic milk jugs, Perez said.
"When we first opened back in May, people would come in with three years' worth of stuff they had been waiting to recycle," said Joshua Freeman of Community Living Opportunities, the Lawrence-based non-profit group that operates the center.
Freeman said corrugated cardboard made up the greatest volume of recycled material. Glass makes up most of the weight.
The volume of recyclable items has decreased from the opening week's onslaught, but the number of patrons at the center has remained steady. Freeman said.
"We're always busy, especially during lunch hours and right after work," Freeman said. "Between 2:30 and 3:00 in the afternoon we usually get a big rush of parents and kids getting out of school."
Freeman said the center sent out a tractor-trailer full of goods about every three days.
The truckloads of paper, cardboard, and aluminum that the center collects go to Batliner Paper Stock Co. of Kansas City, Mo. Nick Sterbach, spokesperson for Batliner, said his company could pay Wal-Mart a good price for its collected goods because the center's employees kept the different products well-separated.
"The quality of the merchandise is very good so they're paid top-dollar for it," said Sterbach. "They do a good job. The contamination rate in their products is very low."
Perez said she did not have a definite figure for how much money Wal-Mart has received so far from its recycling center.
Scott Schulte, a waste reduction specialist for the city of Lawrence, said he was pleased with the
response that the center had received.
"The Wal-Mart center has been great. It's just what Lawrence needed," Schulte said. "If people in Lawrence want to recycle now, they have a convenient way to do it."
Schulte said a recycling advisory board had examined the possibility of instituting a city-wide curbside recycling program, but decided it was not worth the additional expense. The city decided to let private firms provide recycling in Lawrence, he said.
"If there are private companies
willing to get into recycling in Lawrence, we want to help them do it." Schulte said.
The store's center also has received praise from the Kansas Land Trust, a local environmental group. Joyce Wolf, a representative of the group, said she was impressed by the initiative and commitment a large company such as Wal-Mart showed by creating and running this center.
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"I'm really excited by the fact that they were addressing the concerns of the environment firsthand," Wolf said.
Native-American ceremony focuses on racial problems
By Carlos Tejada
Kansan staff writer
Despite the mud and the humidity, about 70 Lawrence residents turned out Thursday evening for a Native-American ceremony addressing modern American problems.
The Second Gathering for Peace and Healing, held Thursday afternoon at the Medicine Wheel at Haskell Indian Junior College, was sponsored by Haskell and Lawrence Alliance, an anti-racism coalition.
Lisa Blair, coordinator of the coalition, said such an activity was the best way for members of Lawrence's different ethnic groups to meet one another.
"We wanted to provide opportunities to get to know people on a one-on-one basis," she said.
The Gathering began with the participants walking sing file around
The ceremony began with Smith singing in the language of the Cherokee nation and throwing holy water in the four directions. The crowd turned when he did, so that all participants faced in the same direction.
the medicine wheel, a series of symbolic lines cut into the grass in the shape of a wheel. They then stood in a circle in the center of the wheel while Benny Smith, assistant dean of students at Haskell, performed the ceremony.
Smith then poured holy water into the left hands of the participants. Participants dipped their right fingers in the holy water and cast droplets over their heads.
Snith, who called himself a participant in the ceremony rather than a leader, said such rituals cleansed the mind of the thoughts that lead to racism.
The ceremony served its purpose for one group of participants, said Sarah Terwelf, parent-child specialist for the First Step House. Ten residents of the shelter for women and children recovering from drug addiction, attended the ceremony.
Benny Smith, a sharer at the Second Gathering for Peace and Healing, pours holy water into the hands of participants.The ceremony was held Thursday at the Medicine Wheel at Haskell Indian Junior College.
"We took them to see what another culture is like, so they can look at and appreciate their own culture," she said.
Women's shelter provides safety
Giving confidence to shun abuse is goal
By Lisa Cosmillo
Kansan staff writer
Abused women have choices.
This is the philosophy of the Women's Transitional Care Service, said Michaela Hays, WTCS volunteer.
"We try to give the control back to them and let them take care of their own lives," Hays said.
WTCS is a shelter for women and children who are in transition because of violence in their homes. The location of the shelter is confidential to insure the occupants' safety. Haws said.
"Our mission is to end violence in the world by ending violence in our homes," said Connie Burk, child advocate coordinator at the shelter.
Burk said that violence had a broad definition at the shelter, including racism, homophobia, sexism and ageism.
"Domestic violence cuts across all lines that we use to categorize, name and differentiate people." Burk said.
About 500 women from a variety of backgrounds find help at the shelter each year.
"Our purpose is to offer safe housing to women and children who are survivors of domestic violence." Burk said.
Women can stay at the shelter for 30 days, which is subject to extension, and are provided lodging, food, toiletries and supplies for children, Burk said. The shelter offers a variety of services including public speaking, crisis counseling and weekly support groups that meet for both women and children. But mostly it offers advocacy, both personal and legal, and a safe place for women to figure out their next step.
It is all about empowerment, Burk said.
"We believe that women know what they need to do," said Burk. "Maybe a woman comes in and needs to sleep for two weeks, because she has been up every night or locked in a room for 16 days. Who am I to say what she needs to be doing?"
The center is staffed by four full-time staff members and volunteer advocates, who go through extensive training and screening, said Burk. Only women can staff the crisis line and work in the shelter with the residents. However, men may serve as child advocates.
Leslie Jones, Lawrence graduate
Are you a batterer?
Do you threaten to harm your partner, family members, friends pets or possessions?
Do you deprive your partner of money, sleep or affection?
Do you harass your partner at work or at home?
Do you use verbal insults or other verbal abuse?
Do you force your partner to have sex?
Do you push, slap, punch or kick your partner?
Do you use an object or weapon on your partner?
Do you use any other physical force that causes pain or injury?
student, is a volunteer child advocate and enjoys working with the children.
"It's fun. I get to be a kid for a while, but it can be quite stressful," Jones said. "They come out of various situations, violent homes where they get used to being hit. They don't take you seriously unless you're violent."
Jones said the advocates tried to teach the children that violence was not a good option.
In the shelter there is a rule that no violence is allowed, Burk said. Mothers are not allowed to yell at their children or hit them, and the children are not allowed to hit one another. The advocates and support people help think of other forms of communication and discipline when necessary.
"Anytime there is someone in empowered-down position without real autonomy or power in the system there is the potential for abuse of that power," said Joyce Davidson, staff psychologist at Counseling and Psychological Services at Watkins Memorial Health Center.
Some students at KU are victims of abuse, Davidson said. She advises people to listen to their feelings.
This could happen economically or physically, making children, women, disabled or older people particularly vulnerable, she said.
"If you're feeling like you may get physically hurt or emotionally hurt or physically intimidated, find a way to increase your confidence, to set limits or to get out," Davidson said.
The shelter depends on about $150,000 in donations each year to operate.
it may be reached by calling 841 6887 or by calling Headquarters at 841-2345.
Associate vice chancellor post filled
Kansan staff report
Sandra Gautt, assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs, has been promoted to associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.
David Shulenburger, vice chancellor for academic affairs, announced the promotion earlier this month.
Gautt's primary responsibilities will be faculty development and faculty policy matters. She will be
involved with matters of promotion and tenure, sabbatical leaves and the teaching commons committee.
the teaching course to KU in 1990 from the University of Missouri, where she was an associate professor of special education. In 1984 she was an American Council on Education fellow at KU.
Gautt earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from MU.
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