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University Dalv Kansan, April 19, 1983
Group asks county to buy nursing home
By JOHN HOOGESTEGER Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
A local nursing home advocacy group yesterday asked the Douglas County Commission to buy a nursing home that was closed two weeks ago.
Petey Cerf, president of Kansans for Improvement of Nursing Homes, asked the commission to consider buying the home for Manor nursing home, 1800 W. 27th St.
The commission did not approve or reject the plan, but scheduled further hearings.
"We need a good nursing home for county residents." CEF said, "Having the county buy it and run it would be the best quality and guarantee the highest quality."
COMMISSIONER HOB NEES SAID he did not favor buying the home but would listen to further discussion. He should buy the private company should buy the home.
Autumn Manor was closed two weeks ago when the state revoked its operating license because it infringed state standards and needed remodeling to bring it up code. Ceri
sand that 19 patients from the nursing home were transferred to nursing homes outside the county and 16 were placed in another Douglas County
Cerf said the facility would be an ideal place to provide Medicare-certified care for the elderly. Patients must now go to Kansas City or Topeka to take advantage of Medicare's nursing home benefits, she said.
She said that using Medicare benefits would also be the most cost-efficient way to run the home. The home could be purchased by issuing individual payment payments could be made using patients Medicare payments, she said.
NEIS SAID THAT HE COULD see no gain in buying the 100-bed facility because the county already ran the 62-bed Valleyview Care Home,2518 Ridge Court, and that it would probably be if the county bought Autumn Manor.
Cerl said her organization would be happy to see Valleyview closed because it needed repairs that would cost several thousand dollars. Because it is not licensed to care for people who need special treatment and does not qualify
for Medicare benefits, she said, it would cost more to continue to operate than Autumn Manor would.
The owner of Autumn Manor, Howard Chapman, has not said he would sell the home. However, Cerf said that out-of-states firms had been in Lawrence to look at the home, and she expected Chapman to sell. He also said the firm outside the state run the home would lead to poorer service and higher costs.
CERF SAID THAT A county-run home would be more efficient because the profit motive would be removed, and because it would be easier to make money. But she did not refit. She also said more volunteers would be willing to work in the home.
"As of today, Autumn Manor is not for sale," Neis said. "I don't think we have anything to go on."
I don't think we should buy it. It's quite old and would cost several hundred thousand dollars to fix up. And when you do that the state has the right to come in and tell you how to fix it. We would have to ask the voters how they feel before I would support it."
NEIS SAID THAT DOUGLAS County already had several nursing homes and that he could see no reason for the county to buy another one. He also said the county could close Valleyview and not operate any homes.
The county also asked architect Larry Good to visit Valleyview and to report a fee for planning the remodeling and seeking renovation bids.
Seven people spoke out in favor of the purchase at yesterday's commission meeting, including State Rep. Jessie Branson, D-D Lawrence. She said that Valleyview was inadequate and that she favored buying Autumn Manor.
Commissioner Nancy Hiebent plans to meet today with an official from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to discuss the home.
Cert said she would now wait for the commission's decision.
"The commissioners will have to convince themselves," she said. "We've pointed out the advantages of buying the home. We also feel they have a responsibility to provide resiliency of Douglas County with good care."
Med Center walkway costs keep rising
By MICHAEL BECK
Staff Reporter
The partially constructed walkway at the University of Kansas Medical Center may cost nearly $1 million by the time it is completed, the director of facilities planning at the Med Center said yesterday.
Gerald Imming, the director, said that the walkway, which runs above 39th Street, on the north end of the Med Center complex, had already cost private and public sources $400,000 — nearly $150,000 over its projected use.
early $100,000 over its projected cost.
And an additional $500,000 might be needed to join the 132-foot structure to the Med Center complex on the south side of the street and the new Health Sciences library on the north.
THE MED CENTER WILL ASK the Legislature for the additional funds for fiscal year 1986, which starts in July 1985, because it has other projects that need to be financed before the walkway extension is. he said.
The cost of joining the walkway depends on which building it is linked with.
The south end of the walkway is now about 20 feet from the door of Wahl Hall East. Imming said to join the walkway with the building would entail excavating a tunnel and destroying the steps at the front of the building.
"If we join it directly with Wahl Hall East," he said, "we would have to tear up the steps, but we could build them back and include ramps for the handicapped."
People who use the walkway must enter from the outside, walk up four flights of steps, through the lighted chamber over the street and down another four flights of steps.
IMMING SAID THAT WITH the additional financing for the completion of the walkway, elevators might be installed to take students and faculty on the ground floor where a tunnel would take them to the connected building.
several people complained about the present status of the walkway because they must go outside to enter the enclosed walkway, he said.
"You hear some complaints from people about having to go outside to go inside the walkway," Imming said. "I don't understand the budgetary process to don't understand."
The original plan to connect the Med Center complex with the new library, Imming said, was to extend a tunnel from the old library to the new library and electrical lines under the street prohibited the extension. The original plan was to cost $300,000.
obtain the financing for the extension, "
THE REASON THE WALKWAY cost more than the original plan was that it was so large, he said. It was constructed in North Carolina and hauled in two pieces to the Med Center, where the pieces were joined.
Imming said all construction on the library except the walkway was going according to schedule. The new library, scheduled for completion this summer, is being furnished with $450,000 worth of shelves and other furniture.
Case to end soon for athlete charged with assault
By SUSAN STANLEY Staff Reporter
Coleman, Lawrence junior, is accused of smashing a glass on an employee's face at the Sanctuary, 1401 W.7th St.
Closing arguments will be heard today in the trial of Gary Coleman, a KU football player charged with assaulting a woman Dec. 21 in a local tavern.
The affidavit alleges that the glass cut the face of Virginia Johnson, the son of Martin Johnson, Jr.
THE CASE WAS CONTINUED until
today because Jerry Harper, Douglas County district attorney, did not bring a transcript from the preliminary hearing. Harper said he needed the transcript to show discrepancies between Coleman's testimony yesterday and his testimony at the preliminary hearing in January.
Coleman testified yesterday that the incident occurred after he had become angry when a waitress demanded he pay for a drink that he had not ordered. Coleman said he did not expect the fordrick after he had discussed the problem with the manager, he said.
He then returned to his table, he said,
Johnson, who works at the bar, then
came over and told him to quit harassing the waitresses.
Coleman said he was setting a wine glass down on a tray that Johnson was holding when she either bent her head in fear or broke herself itself in the face and breaking the glass.
COLLEEN TESTIFIED THAT AFTER the incident he left the bar to calm
"I remember leaving the place and walking outside and thinking 'Why do these things always happen to me?' " Coleman said. ^
James Phillips, Lawrence police officer, testified he saw Coleman as he fired a gun.
Street. Phillips said he arrested Coleman on 11th Street.
Harper and Dean Burkhead, the defense attorney, declined comment about the case until the jury reaches a verdict today.
Coleman has played football for the University of Kansas since his sophomore year after sitting out his freshman year with an ankle injury.
HE WAS NAMED CO-CAPTAIN of the team last spring and played strong in the NCAA.
Mike Fisher, the academic counselor to the athletic department, and Paul Sinclair, who is an alumni table testified as character witnesses for Coleman.
Funds scarce to cover replacing retired profs
By DAVID POWLS
Staff Reporter
Officials in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have been having trouble filling positions opened by retiring faculty members since they found they would receive less money next year.
Michael Young, associate dean of the college, said that no department had been authorized to fill positions with permanent full-time employ-
Some officials said yesterday they had not been authorized to fill faculty openings, and others said that faculty positions are for only a year.
"Most departments are making do with graduate teaching money," Young said.
ROBERT LICHTWARTD,
CHAIRMAN of the department of
botany, said his department was
advertising for a half-time temporary
faculty location, but said it
was too restrictive to be attractive to
most botany professors.
And Marlin Harmony, chariman of the department of chemistry, said, "We've put out an offer to fill Bricker's position, but we've not be able to get anybody. Now it's too late."
"We hope to try again next year, though"
Scott McNail, chairman of the department of sociology, said that his department had not been authorized to fill the position of E. Jackson's professor of sociology who retired December after teaching 35% years.
Other departments have been luckier.
Gerald Mikkelson, chairman of the department of Slavic Languages
and Literatures, has temporarily solved his faculty loss problem by rehiring Heinrich Stamler parttime next year. Stamler had said he was retraining from his job as professor of Slavic languages and literatures and Soviet and East European studies.
"We've been allowed to rehire Stammer as a part-time replacement for himself," Mikkelson said. "He is still retiring, and he will retain his professor emeritus status, and he will have the course 'a semester next year.'"
MIKELSON SAID THAT HE recognized Stamler's value to the Slavic department, so he opted to remain in part-time, for as long as he could.
"We also do not want to lose the faculty position, so in a few years, we will face the real battle when we ask to refill it." he said.
Another department might get a temporary full-time professor.
Cameron Hurst, chairman of the department of East Asian languages and cultures, said, "The odds on our department having a one-year visiting assistant professor are looking good.
"The dean has been very supportive. It's just a matter of getting the money approved by the vice chancellor for academic affairs."
At the end of this semester, the University of Kansas will lose George R. Waggoner, professor of English, who has taught for 32 years. He is also president of botany, 34 years; Clark Bricker, professor of chemistry, 20 years.
OTHERS RETIRING are J. Eldon Fields, professor of political science, 37 years; Heinrich Stamler, 23 years; and Grace Wan, associate professor of East Asian languages and cultures, 17 years.
Three KU employees who suggested sample money-saving savings were hired by the company to manage vending machines.
Monev-saving ideas saluted
ine employees, Anna Hines, a computer operator, Richard Smith, a welder, and Richard Freeman, a research instrument operator, received permission for their suggestions that were approved by the state's Awards Committee.
The state committee, which evaluates suggestions submitted by suggestion committees at all state agencies, approved seven suggestions this month, said Glen Yancey, chairman of the Awards Committee.
SMITH, WHO WORKS FOR facilities operations, said he came up with an idea that would be useful to the company.
removable poles that blocked cars from entering loading zones and other restricted areas around campus. The locks on the poles would be raised above ground level so the locks would remain wet and weather and would be easier to get at.
Freeman, who works in Malott Hall, said his office was often cold during the winter because some of the building's doors locked open. He suggested removing the locking mechanisms on more than 20 main doors.
HINES, WHO WORKS IN the climate-controlled computer room at the Computing Center, said everyone had always told her that the room had to be kept cold to protect the computers. She talked with a computer manufacturer's representatives, who said raising the temperature in the room from 68 to 72 degrees would be safe.
Athlete study finds KU at head of class
staff Reporter
By ANDREW HARTLEY Staff Reporter
FISHER SAID THAT FOOTBALL figures, which were a little lower than those for other sports, were used as a barometer of the student athletes of all major sports.
More than 75 percent of the KU football players over the past 20 years who have made it to their senior year have graduated and received degrees, the athletic department's academic adviser said yesterday.
The results of a comprehensive study conducted by Mike Fisher, the academic adviser, shows that 241 of 314 football players that spent four or five years at Kokoto High graduated over the 20-year period for an average of 77 percent.
The study was compiled from figures over the past five years and found that at KU, 84.3 percent of the football players who became seniors were graduated; at Kansas State University, 82 percent of the football seniors were
KU has higher graduation rates for athletes than any other Board of Regents school, according to another study conducted by the Wichita Eagle-Beacon and published last week.
The study was done at the request of several members of the University of Kansas Athletic Corporation board, and all those were presented to the board last week.
graduated; at Wichita State University, 57 percent of football seniors were graduated.
"When we sat down and visited with them and their parents, we told them that education was number one. And we followed through with that.
"Overall, I think our kids have done pretty well over the years," said Fisher, who has been the academic advisor to KU athletics. "They've played a lot of FOOTBALL COACH Dum Fambrough, who led the Jayhawks seven of the past 12 years, said. "I think it means that we've done what we said we would when we
"however, I still think there's room for improvement."
"It used to be fun to poke fun at athletes," Fisher said. "For a variety of reasons, I wanted to help the help of the University community to break that stereotype."
A study compiled by the Sporting News last year placed the graduation rate for football programs in the Big Eight Conference at 50 percent.
THE GRADUATION STUDY ONLY includes football players that spend 4 or 5 years at the University. However, Fisher also calculated a retention rate to determine how many football players had remained at the University.
He said recent publicity about the quality of education received by college athletes across the nation had helped to change the image of him. The student athletes "a dumb jocks," he said.
Fisher calculated that 78 percent of the football players in the 20-year period had returned to become seniors, and 14 percent required the rate for the University as a whole.
FISHER SAID, "WE DO have some problems. There are some student athletes who are undercompeted and compounded by the pressure and fatigue factor."
OVER THE LAST SIX YEARS, the percentage of football players retained has been 72 percent in 1977, 59 percent in 1978, 86 percent in 1979, 88 percent in 1980, 100 percent in 1981 and 96 percent in 1982.
Fambrough said, "I certainly think that retaining players starts with the coach. When the players had a chance at a professional contract, we encouraged them to come back to the University."
The retention rate was important to the coaching staffs because when more players were retained, the entire team became older and more experienced.
He said that the athletic department retained graduate assistant positions for former team members so that they could perform their duties without education after their eligibility ran out.
Board to hear students' requests for bus routes
By SARA KEMPIN Staff Reporter
For the first time in several years, the Student Senate Transportation Board today will conduct hearings to decide what changes and additions in bus routes KU students want the board to make.
Transportation boards in the past have asked students to give suggestions for ways to change the bus routes, said Buskirk, Wichita junior. But few have had hearings so students could give reasons for their requests.
Paul Buskirk, chairman of the board, said the route hearings would be at 7:15 p.m. in the Walnut Room of the Kansas Union.
Doyle Coons, Derby junior, said he wanted the board to start bus service to Woodcreek Apartments, 255 N. Michigan St.
STUDENTS WHO WANT ROUTE changes or additions should fill out a written request in the Senate office before the hearings begin, he said.
Each person will get 10 or 15 minutes to explain their problems to the board, he said.
David Attkins, acting coordinator of the board, said the original April 15 deadline for route change requests had been extended.
"We've only had about six suggestions for changes," said Adkins, Topka senior. "But it's important we work with it in the system. As new apartment complexes
are built and students move into them, bus routes have to change."
Members of the board recently talked with the comproiler of the University and learned that the board had more money than it thought.
IN THE HEARINGS, BOARD members will list current bus stops, change ineffective routes and clear up any problems, he said.
"So if students ask for major changes, that option is available," he said. "But to establish a brand new route is a significant expenditure."
Adkins agreed that big changes were possible, but said that students would have to justify their requests.
Any changes in bus routes will be decided before the end of next week, he said.
This semester, Adkins said, the board approved a proposal to put stickers on students' identification cards next year instead of issuing bus
Adkins said that the board recently had chosen Kevin Neal, Wichita junior, to replace him as Transportation Board coordinator. Neal will participate in the hearings and will officially assume his position June 1.
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LAST SEMESTER, THE BOARD made some changes, such as a night bus route, but Buskirk said it had decided to wait until spring to go through formal hearings.
And Buskirk said the board had decided to reprint maps showing bus routes.
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