Section A · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Monday. October 25,1999
Salvation Army considers offering year-round shelter
By Derek Prater
writer@kanson.com
Kansas staff writer
Paul Bryant offered firsthand insights yesterday into the problems of homelessness sleep deprivation, malnourishment and social isolation.
"Brutal consequences for honest mistakes," said Bryant, a homeless Lawrence resident who ran for a city commission seat last spring.
Bryant spoke yesterday afternoon at the second of two public forums held by the Salvation Army, 946 New Hampshire St., to gather information in its plan to open a year-round homeless shelter in Lawrence.
Community members, representatives from a variety of social service organizations and homeless people attended the forums to give input to Salvation Army planners.
Katherine Dinsdale, a member of the shelter programming committee that developed the concept in conjunction with the Salvation Army Advisory Board, said a year-round shelter had been discussed for several years.
"Unfortunately, I think Lawrence has needed one for a while now," Dinsdale said.
The Salvation Army now operates a winter emergency shelter that provides homeless people with a place to sleep from October through early April.
Dinsdale said a year-round shelter with programs aimed at helping the homeless get permanent housing was needed.
"We're interested in making lasting changes in people's lives," she said. "When all you can give is a mat on the floor, you're not going to make lasting changes."
Chris Hess, Wichita senior, spoke at yesterday's forum and offered help on behalf of the University of Kansas Center for Community Outreach.
"Students really are concerned about homelessness in Lawrence." he said.
A number of speakers represented different social service organizations, such as the Community Drop-In Center, which wanted to offer input or help in the planning process.
Hess said he was encouraged by the coordination and open dialogue at the forum. Having homeless people involved with the planning and with the shelter is also important, he said.
"They are the experts on their own problems, and they are the experts on what they need to get out of their situations." Hess said.
Bryant said he would prefer a community-based volunteer shelter, but a Salvation Army shelter would be better than the situation now.
"Most of all you have to have stability." he said.
Bryant said that without that and a place to stay, homeless people were too involved with just staying alive to actually improve their situations.
Kelvin Heck, chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, said the Salvation Army was the
SALVATION ARMY SERVICES
Emergency Winter Shelter: Opens tonight and operates through early April. Shelter doors open at 9 p.m. and those planning to stay must be in at 10:30 p.m. The emergency winter shelter provides a safe, warm place, to sleep. A warm meal is provided each night as well as breakfast in the morning for people who stay in the shelter.
Feeding Program: Provides hot meals to all comers at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Social Services: Provides emergency and homeless prevention services. Services include food assistance, rent and utility assistance, transportation assistance and mail and telephone service.
most realistic candidate to build a new shelter.
"The Salvation Army is in the best position to get the most bang for the buck from a shelter," Heck said.
There are no definite plans on the size or location of the shelter, but Heck said the advisory board planned for it to serve roughly 50 people. Estimates for the cost of building the shelter range from $1 million to 5 million.
He said that he hoped to have a shelter up and running in 2001.
"But that's pretty much a shot in the dark right now," Heck said.
Physicist to address evolution
University is sponsor of free public lecture
By Jim O'Malley Special to the Kansan
The University of Kansas' commitment to science education is bringing the University into conflict with the State Board of Education.
Disagreement with the board's conception of science education has led the physics and astronomy department and the chancellor's office to sponsor a free lecture by Case Western Reserve University physicist Lawrence Kraus at 7:30 tonight at the auditorium in Central Junior High School, 1400 Massachusetts St. The title of the lecture is "Nonsense, Non-science and Science: From Aliens to Creationism."
krauss writes and lectures about science for the general public. The
title of one of his popular science books is *The Physics of Star Trek*.
Krauss said the board's decision prompted his trip to Lawrence.
"I think the board of education decision makes it clear that we, as scientists, have to do a much better job of explaining to the public, including journalists and legislators, just what science is all about," he said.
Hume Feldman, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, said the board's decision concerned his department because in addition to removing evolution from the standards, the board also removed basic physics such as the big-bang theory.
"it's going to affect everybody," he said. "If kids in Kansas are perceived by the nation not to be getting a good education, it's not going to help them in the marketplace or to get into good schools. It's not going to help getting people to come to Kansas. If I weren't
already here, I would think twice about coming."
Chancellor Robert Hemenway, said the chancellor's office was supporting the lecture by sponsoring the reception and refreshments scheduled to follow the lecture. She said this was one of the ways of carrying out the commitment the chancellor made in his Sept. 8 faculty convocation speech, which promised to use the state board's decision as an opportunity to promote scientific literacy in the general public.
Hemenway said the University's involvement in the issue wasn't political.
"The University is a marketplace of ideas and the exploration of any issue, even if it's one that's politically volatile, doesn't imply that the University is engaging in politics," he said. "The University's mission is education."
KC horrified by boys' deaths
Edited by Allan Davis
KANSAS CITY, Mo.— People just knew something was wrong in the two-story house on the corner at the top of a small rise in the quiet neighborhood.
The Associated Press
But no one suspected the horror of two 8-year-old boys — two-thirds of a set of triplies — being starved and burned with scalding water until they finally died.
The thought of one of the boys weighing less than 30 pounds when he was found unconscious by his mother Wednesday night has led to sleepless nights among the neighbors and shocked even a veteran homicide investigator.
was in court Friday to hear the ten charges of assault, abuse and neglect just hours after the second boy died.
A not guilty plea was entered for her as she trembled and mumbled to herself. Other charges could be filed when a coroner's report is received, Jackson County Prosecutor Robert Beaird said.
Bass called 911 Wednesday night after finding one of the boys, Larry, unconscious in the living room. He died in the house.
The mother of the boys, Mary Bass.
Gary was taken to the hospital in critical condition and died early Friday morning.
"It was just a skeletal structure; there was no muscle mass," Capt. Darryl Forte, commander of the homicide unit, said of Larry."It was
like something in a Third World country. It's just not something you want to see in this country."
Bass, who told police the boys were discipline problems, apparently locked them in an upstairs bedroom for days at time, feeding them bread and water and letting them out only to use the bathroom.
The three surviving children — a 12-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy and the surviving triplet — were found to be in good shape when they were taken to the hospital. They were immediately placed in foster care. Forte said.
"They were OK," Forte said. "They weren't shocked." They weren't screaming or anything when we told them we were going to take them.
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