Former firefighter sentenced for committing arson
A former Eudora firefighter was sentenced Monday to 20 months probation for setting her house on fire and trying to collect insurance money.
Jill Lavin, 29, Perry, was ordered by Douglas County District Court Judge Paula Martin to serve 12 months probation for arson and eight months for making a false writing. The probation will be served under the supervision of Douglas County Community Corrections.
Lavin also was ordered to pay more than $46,800 restitution to an insurance company.
On Nov. 28, Lavin pleaded no contest to the charges. In return, a second arson charge was dismissed.
In March and February 2000, three fires were extinguished at the Eudora home Lavin and her husband, Russell Lavin, owned at 1533 Sycamore. Both of the Lavins were volunteer Eudora firefighters at the time. Russell Lavin was never charged in connection with the fires.
Chimney ash starts fire
Eudora Fireplace ash dumped into a trash can started a fire Monday that caused $35,000 in damage to a garage and two cars in the 1700 block of Hawthorn Street.
The fire started about 10:50 a.m. and was under control by 11:14 a.m., said Spencer McCabe, chief of the Eudora Fire Department.
A 1992 Saturn parked in the garage was destroyed, and the interior of the attached garage had smoke and fire damage. The rest of the house received smoke damage, McCabe said.
A car parked outside the garage received some heat damage. The total loss is estimated at $35,000.
"The occupants were home at the time, but nobody was injured," McCabe said.
State travel guides available
If the temperatures have you dreaming about vacations and day trips, then you might want to check out the 2002 Kansas Travel Guide.
The recently released guide includes themed driving tours, familiar attractions, unique locations, lodging options, golf courses, campgrounds, and hunting and fishing recreation areas.
For a Kansas guide, call (800) 2KANSAS or visit the Web site, www.travelks.com.
Volunteers to receive movie passes for blood donations
The Community Blood Center, 535 Gateway Drive, is giving out movie passes in an effort to attract more donors and increase a dwindling blood supply.
The blood center, in conjunction with Wallace Theaters, owners of South Wind 12 Theatres, 3433 Iowa, is giving movie passes to those who give blood Thursday and Friday. The blood center will be open from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday.
Before Thanksgiving, the blood center had a five-day supply of blood. That has dwindled to two days, blood center officials said. Yet the need for blood is expected to increase over the next few weeks because many surgeries were postponed until after the holidays.
DeSoto plans open meeting to discuss ammunition plant
Developers of the would-be Oz theme park have thrown in the towel, so DeSoto Mayor Dave Anderson wants to talk about what's next for the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant and its 9,063 acres.
"We need to come up with a consensus on what it is we as a community want to see happen out there," he said.
To reach that consensus, Anderson has scheduled a "community open house meeting" for 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at DeSoto's Lexington Trails Middle School.
After the meeting, Anderson said he'll reach out to other city, county, state and federal officials.
If necessary, Anderson said, he's willing to propose that DeSoto annex part of the site if it would spur desirable development. "Once I know what the consensus is, I'm willing to go out and take the lead on this," he said. "I'll start the discussion."
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