Pharmacy graduating class passes test in entirety

For the second year in a row, the entire graduating class of the Kansas University School of Pharmacy passed a test that is a major step toward licensure.

All 87 May 2001 graduates passed the North American Pharmacy Licensure Examination administered by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The national average pass rate was 93 percent.

The test, combined with state-specific pharmacy law examinations, are the two major hurdles students must pass before receiving a license.

Jack Fincham, dean of the School of Pharmacy, said having a complete class pass the exam two years in a row is “quite rare.”

Federal funds available to recoup ice-storm costs

Douglas County governments are now eligible to begin applying for federal funds to help them recoup some of their costs associated with last month’s ice storm.

An official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency visited Lawrence to tell cities, school districts, townships, water districts and the county how they may qualify for up to a 75 percent reimbursement of storm-related expenses.

The federal program allows for reimbursement of overtime for emergency service personnel responding to the storm, debris removal and repair or replacement of damaged public facilities.

Douglas County Emergency Management Director Paula Phillips said local governments have compiled a list of more than $300,000 in storm related expenses, but it was uncertain how many of those costs would qualify for reimbursement.

KU sets final examinations

Kansas University has announced the following final examination:

Joseph Emery Andrew, geology, “The Mesozoic and Tertiary Tectonic History of the Panamint Range and Quail Mountains, California,” 11 a.m. Tuesday, 118 Lindley.

Pannirselvam Kanagaratnam, electrical engineering, “Airborne Radar for High Resolution Mapping of Internal Layers in Glacial Ice to Estimate Accumulation Rate,” 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Gemini Room, Nichols Hall.

Tourism attraction grants issued to area cities

The Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing has announced more than $1 million in Attraction Development Grant Program awards.

A $45,000 award to Protection, hometown of Lawrence artist Stan Herd, will aid in the construction of a Stan Herd Gallery in the Protection Township Library.

The Franklin County Convention and Visitors Bureau will receive $4,000 to help create an audio-guided walking tour of Ottawa’s Main Street.

Twenty-six communities and tourism entities will share grants for projects. The grants are administered through the travel and tourism development division of the Commerce and Housing Department.

Attraction development grants provide for the development of new tourist attractions and the enhancement of existing ones. The grants provide funding for up to 40 percent of a project’s cost.