tuesday, december 2, 2003
news
the university daily kansan 7
7A
Ample floral choices exist for designers, consumers
By Neil Mukka and Christine Kelly
editor@kansan.com
Special to the Kansan
Floral opportunities for University of Kansas students are blooming in Lawrence.
Englewood Florist, 1101 Massachusetts St., employs Lindsay Benedict, Overland Park sophomore, to create floral arrangements.
"I look for students with a background in color and design when hiring," said Cary Engle, co-owner of Englewood Florist.
Benedict has created floral arrangements for 10 years. The 19-year-old visual education major received her start when she was a 9-year-old at her parents' flower business.
"There is a lot to working in floral shops other than the design aspect," Benedict said, "I kind of like working Valentine's Day just because it's crazy and I like the stress."
Valentine's Day is the highest-grossing holiday for the floral industry, said Debbie Antes, senior floral designer at University Floral and Greenhouse, 2103 W. 28th St. Terrace. University Floral starts planning for
Valentine's Day as soon as Christmas is over.
According to CNN's Web site, 89 million roses will be sold on the three-day period before, during and after Valentine's Day. If all of those flowers were bought from Prairie Patches, 821 Massachusetts St., at $1.50 each it would total more than $130 million. Roses are a large part of an industry that takes in $19 billion annually.
Michaela DeMaria, Overland Park, senior, started working in a floral shop during the Valentine's day rush. Now DeMaria is employed at a Flowermana franchise, 1700 W. 23rd St., the newest floral shop in Lawrence.
"It's not a job where you sit around and look at the same four walls." DeMaria said. "Everything's changing. There's personal interaction, and I get to be more involved."
Judy Brashear, owner of the Flowerama franchise, said that despite being a part of a national chain, her store would include local flavor to avoid the uniformity that people associated with a franchise.
"We are here to serve the community," Brashear said. "We'll add stuff to suit the tastes of the
Brashear said she also hired certified floral designers for her shop.
Lawrence community. There will be KU gift baskets and flowers."
One way to become a certified floral designer is to attend a professional school offering floral design instruction, such as the Kansas School of Floral Design, 826 Iowa St.
Bill Nye, owner of the Kansas School of Floral Design, has graduated 1,300 students from 35 states and eight countries in the past 25 years.
The four-week long course covers every aspect of floral design. Nye said.
Nye, who has been in the floral industry for 48 years, described floral arrangement as an art that requires innovative ideas.
"You can't harness creativity, originality and imagination," Nye said. "You could have told Rembrandt he couldn't have painted the shaft of light. He could have done one of two things; he could have listened to you, or went ahead and did what he did. And he went ahead and did his thing, and was known for the shaft of light in his paintings."
Carmen Hocking, professional wedding consultant for A Beautiful Wedding, 2814 Trail Road., agreed with Nye. She looks for floral designers with a few extra ideas when it comes time to create displays for the weddings she plans.
"A good florist should be able to tell you what flowers are in bloom that month," she said. "They should also be able to bring in flowers that won't cost a lot of money."
The floral industry has become a multi-national industry. Nye said more than 50 percent of flowers came from overseas, mainly from South America and Italy.
"There are no greenhouses anymore because they are too expensive to heat," Nye said. "They can grow them cheaper overseas, they don't need heat, and they have the ideal growing conditions. As far as labor, it is much cheaper over in those countries, and they do have a quality product."
A quality product and a good price are at the top of Katie Rubottom's priority list when she is shopping in one of Lawrence's 18 flower shops.
Flower prices around Lawrence
For a dozen red roses
Wrapped In a vase
Prairie Patches $39 II/II
Flowerama $14.99 $19.99
Englewood Florist $14.99 $19.99
University Floral $45 $50
Dillons $35.99 $49.99
Hy-Vee $30 $30
The Flower Shop $49 $55
Bittersweet $59 $59
Owens $49.99 $55
The Flower Market $36 $47
Prices vary by season
Neil Mulka Keesan
"I buy flowers for my friends for their birthdays," said Rubbottom, Quincy, Ill., junior. "There are a lot of floral shops in Lawrence to choose from. J
usually call around to find out which shop has the best prices, and then go from there."
Edited by Nikki Overfelt
Pet allergies treatable but many go unnoticed
By Azita Tafreshi editor@kansan.com Special to the Kansan
Kody O'Neil's skin itches so much that he gnaws at until it is red and raw. His reaction to his allergies would seem extreme, if Kody were human.
At 5 years old, Kody, a Shih Tzu, is among an estimated 15 percent of dogs that suffer from atopy, a form of canine allergy. Mary Bagladi-Swanson, assistant professor at Kansas State University's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, said dogs were susceptible to three types of allergies. The most common form, flea-allergic dermatitis, is a reaction to flea bites. Food allergies are least common, and the third type, atopic disease, is caused by trees, pollen and house dust.
Jackie O'Neil, Kody's owner,
said when she adopted Kody he had rust-stained feet, a common
condition in dogs with atopy.
O'Neil said she had not heard of
this form of canine allergy until
she was referred to Jean Greek,
a veterinarian and dermatologist
at the Dermatology &
Allergy Clinic for Animals in
Overland Park.
Greek said sometimes owners did not realize their dogs had allergies because they were looking for the wrong symptoms.
affected part of the body.
"There's a lot of confusion," Greek said, "in part because the way dogs manifest allergies is different from the way humans manifest allergies."
Greek said humans usually exhibited respiratory problems as a result of allergies, but 95 percent of dogs showed signs of atopy through skin problems. Symptoms included biting, licking or scratching the
Lori Lowell, a technician at the animal allergy clinic, said a skin test was used to determine a dog's allergies. This technique involved injecting allergens into the skin. Lowell said hyposensitization therapy could take up to one year to be effective, but most cases saw results in four months.
"The biggest problem we have is getting people to stick with it long enough to give it time to work." Lowell said.
Canine allergies could also be treated with shampoos, antihistamines and steroids, but Greek said hyposensitization had a higher success rate than antihistamines without the side effects. Lowell said some pet owners had reservations about giving their dog its shots, but the dog's pain was minimal.
"The needle is so very tiny that it probably seems like a flea bite, but some dogs will really play their owners about it." Lowell said.
Greek said dogs usually developed atopy between the ages of 1 and 3, and purebred dogs, especially terriers, retrievers and bichons, had a high incidence of the allergy. Greek said dogs do not build up permanent immunity to their allergies over time, even with treatment.
"He's a much happier, healthier dog. We don't have the hot spots and the chewing on the skin, and he's not itching as much." O'Neil said. "His quality of life is much better, and we're happier because he's happier."
O'Neil said that although the process of maintaining Kody's comfort would be life-long, the shots were working.
- Edited by Scott Christie
The Associated Press
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The exwife of John Allen Muhammad said yesterday that she called 911 to report a car similar to the one used in the sniper spree near her home, bolstering a defense argument that she was the ultimate target.
Ex-wife of sniper claims she was ultimate target
Lawyers for teenage sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo contend last year's killing spree was part of a plan by Muhammad to kill his ex-wife, an argument the prosecutor called "nonsense."
Mildred Muhammad testified at Malvo's capital murder trial yesterday that she saw the car on Oct. 11,2002, one week after the Washington, D.C.-area sniper shootings began, near her home in the Washington suburbs as she left for work. The passenger concealed his face behind a newspaper.
"The driver just sat and stared," she said, though she apparently did not recognize him.
She called 911 and told the dispatcher that a dark car — either a Chevrolet Impala or a Caprice —
with New Jersey tags was outside her house and seemed suspicious. It was not immediately clear what action, if any, was taken by law enforcement.
Mildred Muhammad's description would match the car authorities say her ex-husband modified to serve as a "killing platform."
Malvo's lawyers are presenting an insanity defense, claiming the 42-year-old Muhammad brainwashed their teenage client and molded him into a killer. They contend Muhammad planned to kill his ex-wife and make it look as if she were the random victim of a sniper so he could regain custody of his children.
John Muhammad is refusing to testify in Malvo's trial, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Malvo defense lawyer Craig Cooley said yesterday.
Muhammad's trial ended last week with a jury recommending the death sentence, but he still faces prosecution in other states. The pair are charged or suspected in the killing of 10 people and the wounding of six in the Washington-area sniper
spree, along with shootings in Washington state, Arizona Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana.
Malvo's lawyers had hoped to put Muhammad on the stand this week, and asked yesterday that he still appear so jurors could see him.
"A picture speaks a thousand words. A human form standing in a courtroom speaks even more," Cooley said outside the courtroom.
Circuit judge Jane Marum Roush said she saw no need for Muhammad to make a silent appearance, though she urged the prosecution and defense to try to find a solution.
"Transporting (prisoners) around the state willy-nilly should be done sparingly" because of security risks, she said.
Fairfax County Commonwealth's attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. objected to much of Mildred Muhammad's testimony, saying the argument that she was a target is "nonsense."
"It is absolutely a red herring in this case." Horan said.
Malvo, in statements to police.
said the killings were part of a scheme to extort $10 million from the government.
Muhammad's prosecutors were prevented from making the argument about Mildred Muhammad because the judge ruled there was a lack of evidence to support it.
Horan was successful in barring testimony from Mildred Muhammad that her ex-husband had threatened to kill her in 2009 by telling her "you have become my enemy and as my enemy I will kill you." Prosecutors said the statement was hearsay.
Malvo's lawyers also played an audio tape of the event they say triggered the sniper rampage: the September 2001 custody hearing in which Muhammad lost his children.
Muhammad speaks very little during the hearing in Tacoma, Wash., in which a judge grants immediate custody of the three children to Mildred Muhammad. Authorities had taken the children from him and placed them in protective custody five days earlier.
The Associated Press
Exhibit chronicles Sept. 11 rubble recovery
NEW YORK — For hour after hour, day after day, month after month, they kept at it.
From the original mountains of debris down to the last quarter-inch, workers at the Fresh Kills landfill sifted through 1.8 million tons of rubble from the World Trade Center, looking to recover whatever they could.
Some of what they found from car parts to building remnants, makes up an exhibit chronicling the massive effort.
Recovery: The World Trade Center Recovery Operation at
The exhibit, featuring more than 50 objects and 65 photographs, is part of the institution's program that collects historical materials relating to the Sept.11 attacks.
The work at Fresh Kills, miles from ground zero and closed to the general public, was an important part of the Sept. 11 story that most people didn't know about, organizers said.
It took workers 10 months to accumulate the items, which range from a paperweight found during the sifting process to
vehicle parts to equipment used in the search, such as rakes and a bucket.
The photographs record the daily activities at the site, from the huge piles that had to be sorted to images of those who worked there, spending hours at conveyor belts watching for the smallest fragment of something vital to drift by.
Closed by the city in March 2001, Fresh Kills was reopened Sept. 12, 2001, a day after the attacks.
The landfill was the last stop for debris hauled by trucks and barges to be sifted one last time
for remains, personal property and criminal evidence.
At the height of the operation, 7,000 tons of material were processed each day as workers in respirators manned conveyor belts, poised to stop the flow when they spotted a bone fragment or other remains.
More than 54,000 pieces of personal property, including rings, watches, wallets and ID cards, were found.
Of the nearly 20,000 human remains recovered from the twisted ruins, more than 14,000 were found at the landfill.
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