Relay for Life raises more than $100,000

More than $100,000 was raised through the annual Relay for Life event last week, organizers said. An exact figure wasn’t available because organizers still were expecting money from a few food vendors and relay teams.

Every Douglas County American Cancer Society program is funded with the money, said relay chairwoman Maggie York. The programs might include support groups, free wigs and help with medical supplies, she said.

Remaining funds, typically about 40 percent of the total raised, go to national headquarters to be put toward education, grants and research. Even that money, however, often makes it back to the state or regional level for research projects taking place at institutions like Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, Kan.

About 750 people took part in this year’s relay Friday.

Douglas County assigns new Highway Patrol troopers

Two new Kansas Highway Patrol troopers have been assigned to patrol Douglas County.

Troopers John Burns and Aaron Klaassen recently completed a 20-week law enforcement course at the Highway Patrol Training Academy in Salina.

Burns is a graduate of Jayhawk-Linn High School in Mound City. Before joining the Patrol, he served as a police officer in Arma and Yates Center.

Klaassen is a graduate of Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, Ill. Before joining the Highway Patrol, he was a correctional officer with the Jackson County Department of Corrections in Kansas City, Mo.

Former Leavenworth official may plead to nudity charges

Leavenworth  A former Leavenworth County commissioner charged with violating nudity laws stemming from his operation of a strip-tease club may enter into a plea agreement with the prosecutor.

Wayne Eldridge is to be in Leavenworth County District Court for a plea hearing June 20, a representative from the County Attorney’s Office said.

In March 2001 Eldridge was charged with misdemeanors, including aiding and abetting nudity, promoting prostitution and promoting obscenity.

Eldridge operates Whispers, a private club near Basehor that features female dancers.

Mrs. Kansas to promote platform at reception

Ottawa  Vicky McCurdy, Mrs. Kansas International 2002, will have a reception from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Carnegie Cultural Arts Center, 515 S. Main.

She will talk about her platform of promoting and protecting positive American families. Representatives of two agencies she works with, Women’s Transitional Care Center in Lawrence and Ottawa, will be on hand.

KU humanities professors receive fellowships

Four Kansas University faculty members have received fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies.

The number is the most ever received by KU faculty in one year.

Winners were:

 Arienne Dwyer, assistant professor of anthropology and linguistics, who will develop an interactive CD-ROM of historic and modern language materials for Uyghur, the native language of 9 million people in China and Kazakhstan.

 Maryemma Graham, professor of English, who will examine newly available materials on poet, novelist and critic Margaret Walker to produce the first full-length study on the author’s life and work.

 Margaret Rausch, assistant professor of religious studies, who will study religious expression among Moroccan women. Part of her fellowship will fund fieldwork in Morocco.

 Daniel Stevenson, associate professor of religious studies, who will complete a book-length study on the Buddhist Pure Land cult during China’s Song Dynasty.