Driver uninjured in rollover
A 34-year-old Lawrence man escaped injury Friday night when his vehicle overturned west of Lawrence.
Brian C. Birge was driving a Chevrolet Beretta on U.S. Highway 40 near its intersection with Douglas County Road 1029, about five miles west of Lawrence, when it rolled, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. Because Birge was not injured and refused medical treatment at the scene, a complete accident report was not written. Details about his direction of travel and the cause of the accident were unavailable.
Birge's vehicle bumped a utility pole at the scene and caused arcing electrical lines.
The accident occurred about 8:16 p.m.
State of State address to be broadcast on Web
Gov. Bill Graves' State of the State address will be broadcast live Monday over the state's official Web site, www.accessKansas.com. The broadcast begins at 7 p.m.
After the address, the site will post a text version of the governor's speech.
Throughout the 2002 legislative session, live audio from both the House and Senate chambers will be available at www.kslegislature.org.
Lawrence suspect arrested on sex charges
A 22-year-old Lawrence man was charged Friday with sex crimes against children under the age of 14.
The suspect is being held in the Douglas County Jail on four charges of aggravated criminal sodomy and one count of assault on a law enforcement officer. The Journal-World does not generally print the names of sex crime suspects until they have been convicted.
The suspect was arrested Thursday by Douglas County Sheriff's officers after an investigation that has been going on for several days, Sheriff Rick Trapp said. Because the investigation continues, Trapp declined to release additional information.
The Douglas County District Attorney's Office said more charges could be filed.
Douglas County Judge Pro-tem Peggy Kittle set the suspect's bond at $125,000. His next court appearance is 2 p.m. Thursday before Judge Paula Martin.
Ottawa school board to meet Monday
The Ottawa school board will discuss band uniforms, legislation and financial issues Monday.
Chris Reynolds, band instructor at Ottawa High School, has requested a new set of marching band uniforms because of the increased student participation in band.
In other matters, the board will discuss how Gov. Bill Graves' proposed budget and the proposed merger of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas could affect the school district.
The board also will meet in executive session for a regular review of Supt. Jan Collins' contract. Collins signed a two-year contract in 2000 when he replaced Kay Highbarger, interim superintendent.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at Ottawa Middle School.
Cottonwood Inc. honored by Defense Department
The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency on Wednesday recognized Cottonwood Inc. as an outstanding vendor for producing cargo tie-down straps for the Department of Defense.
Cottonwood Executive Director Sharon Spratt flew to Washington, D.C., to accept the Outstanding Javitz-Wagner-O'Day Program Vendor Award, the only one given to a National Institute for the Severely Handicapped nonprofit agency. The award is based on extraordinary customer support, superior product quality and on-time delivery.
Cottonwood is in its third year of a five-year contract with the Defense Department.
The organization's production of tie-down straps has more than doubled since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said Peggy Wallert, Cottonwood's director of community relations and development.
Cottonwood, which provides residential, employment and community support for people with developmental disabilities, handled more than 2,000 delivery orders in fiscal year 2000.
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