KU distributes more Kemper Awards

Five Kansas University faculty members received Kemper Awards for teaching excellence Friday.

David Shulenburger, provost and executive vice chancellor, made the second-day round of surprise visits to classes, distributing $5,000 prizes provided by the William T. Kemper Foundation and the KU Endowment Association.

Eight professors will receive prizes next week.

Friday’s winners were Robert Carlson, professor of chemistry; Caroline Jewers, associate professor of French and Italian; Paul Laird, associate professor of music and dance; Karen Nordheden, associate professor of chemical and petroleum engineering; and Lloyd L. Sponholtz, associate professor of history.

Democratic AG hopeful joins bluegrass festival

A Democratic candidate for attorney general will join the fiddling and picking at a Sunday bluegrass festival in Lawrence.

Chris Biggs, a Geary County prosecutor, will appear with Scott Tichenor at 12:30 p.m. Sunday on the north stage at the 22nd annual Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships. The event will take place at South Park, south of 11th and Massachusetts streets.

Biggs, the 1994 Kansas guitar and banjo champion, also will be judging at the event.

Also on Sunday, Biggs will meet with local Democratic leaders to organize his Douglas County campaign.

Driver arrested after ramming another truck

A 41-year-old rural Douglas County man was arrested Friday after allegedly ramming his truck into the truck of a Journal-World newspaper carrier.

Mark Vantuyl was charged with aggravated assault and criminal damage to property. He was released Friday afternoon from the Douglas County Jail after posting $3,000 bond.

According to a Douglas County Sheriff’s report, a 26-year-old newspaper carrier was delivering papers around 3:45 a.m. in the 900 section of East 1587 Road, south of Lawrence. He told officers a red Ford F150 pickup drove around him, turned to face his truck and began ramming it.

The carrier fled the truck and called 911 at a nearby house. Deputies located Vantuyl’s pickup at another nearby house and found him in a tree line on the property.

Sheriff’s Lt. Kathy Tate would not comment on why Vantuyl rammed the truck.

Owner cited for cruelty for leaving dogs in car

The owner of two dogs locked in a parked car was cited for animal cruelty Thursday.

About 10:40 a.m. Thursday, an animal control officer was called to the 200 block of Alabama Street and found two dogs a red chow mix and a white poodle mix in a car. The officer determined the temperature in the car was more than 100 degrees.

The dogs had a water dish but there was no water inside it.

The animals were removed from the car and turned over to the Lawrence Humane Society. The owner, a Lawrence woman, later claimed the dogs but was cited by Lawrence Municipal Court for cruelty to animals.

Lock-in program offers night off from parenting

Parents needing a night off can bring their fourth- through eighth-grade children to East Lawrence Recreation Center at 7 p.m. today for a lock-in program sponsored by the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department.

Parents whose children attend Saturday Nite’s Main Event are required to sign a consent form, and an adult must return and take responsibility for each child by 11 p.m. Admission is $6 per child.

Planned activities at the center, 1245 E. 15th St., include a live disc jockey, dance contests, basketball arts and crafts, Brain Drain quiz show, door prizes and raffles.

For more information, call Nathan Dixon at 865-1587.

Hot-air balloon workshop scheduled in Topeka

Topeka The proper setup, launching and recovery of hot-air balloons will be taught during a free workshop today at Lake Shawnee.

The workshop is sponsored by Topeka’s Great Plains Balloon Club.

Instruction begins at 6 p.m. at Tinman Circle, on the east side of the lake. If weather permits, the workshop will culminate with the launch of up to four balloons.

Those attending the workshop can participate as crew members during the annual Huff-n-Puff balloon rally Sept. 6-8 at Lake Shawnee.

To register, contact Darrin Harrison, (785) 554-4936. For more information, go to www.huff-n-puff.org.

Play to get reading at Community Theatre

A reading of a screenplay by Lawrence resident Betty Laird will be at 7:30 p.m. today at Lawrence Community Theatre, 1501 N.H.

“The Exchange” is a comedy about two elderly women who, through coincidence, temporarily change places. A cast of 14 actors, most of whom have appeared in productions at the theater, will present the reading.

The reading is free, but donations to the theater will be accepted.

Kansas University sets final exam

Kansas University has announced the following final examination:

Miguel Ortega-Huerta, geography, “Analyzing Patterns of Biodiversity, Landscape Fragmentation and Land Ownership in Northeastern Mexico,”

4 p.m. Monday, Gemini Room, Nichols Hall.