• Posted on Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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Cross burned in yard of man who helped troubled youth

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After he beat the odds and survived quintuple bypass surgery more than a year ago, Wally decided to use the rest of whatever time he has left to help young people who are just like he used to be:

Caught up in drugs or gangs, headed nowhere.

For the past year, he has offered his small clapboard house in southwest Wichita as a place for young adults to hang out, crash on the couch, get a bite to eat or take a quick shower -- or just talk about how life's going, and how they can turn things around.

But someone's not happy with what Wally and his wife are doing.

A caller to Wally's home on Saturday afternoon demanded that they stop, and later that night someone set a cross on fire in the front yard and scorched the wheelchair ramp on their front porch.

"They poured gasoline from the cross onto the ramp," said Wally, who doesn't want his last name used out of concern for his safety, pointing to the blackened grass in the center of his yard.

Arson investigators were going door to door Monday afternoon, talking to neighbors and searching for tips that might lead to those responsible.

Read the complete story at kansas.com

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