From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Jan. 3, 1989:

• Traffic accidents in Douglas County had been the cause of 12 fatalities in 1988, according to figures from the county sheriff’s department. Undersheriff Loren Anderson, who was to take over as sheriff next week, said he thought awareness of safe driving habits was on the rise. “People are starting to use their seat belts more. Three years ago they weren’t that big of a deal. And then the law required them and people tried them and it’s bound to have had some effect in the last year or so.” Public awareness was helping in another area, Anderson said: “We’ve had a little bit of an increase in people reporting erratic driving to us, which is an indication that the general public would like to make our roads a little safer.” His advice for drivers in 1989: “Be aware all the time.”
• Figures released today by Lawrence Memorial Hospital showed that LMH had assisted in the delivery of 1,096 newborns — 600 males and 496 females — in the previous year, making 1988 the third-largest year for babies in the hospital’s history. The all-time birth record remained 1962, when 1,118 babies had made their entrance into the world at LMH.