From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Oct. 17, 1987:

• News-watchers around the world today cheered the dramatic rescue of “Baby Jessica,” the 18-month-old toddler who had slipped into an abandoned well in a Midland, Texas, back yard. Meanwhile, state health officials noted that thousands of wells remained unplugged in Kansas. Bob Moody, a spokesman for the state Department of Health and Environment, said that there were probably about 250,000 unplugged drilled or hand-dug wells in Kansas from the early days and that they were often simply covered with wooden planks that rot over time. Referring to the Midland accident, Moody said, “It really can happen here, and we want to prevent it.”
• Douglas County Clerk Patty Jaimes reported today that there had been a 1 percent increase in voter registration since the April elections. Jaimes said that 30,669 county residents were registered to vote in the Nov. 3 special 1-cent county wide sales tax election.