Kansas, Nebraska educators to gather at KU conference

About 200 educators from Kansas and Nebraska are coming to Kansas University for a conference on psychological and educational research.

The program today and Saturday at J.R. Pearson Hall is a joint meeting of the Nebraska Psychological Society and the Association for Psychological and Educational Research in Kansas.

Terrorism will be the focus of a presentation at 8:30 a.m. Saturday by Lawrence Police Chief Ron Olin and Felix Moos, a KU professor of anthropology. Their talk on “Terrorism Against a Free Society” is in 201 Joseph R. Pearson Hall.

Angela Lumpkin, KU dean of education, will lecture at 11:25 a.m. Saturday in the Joseph R. Pearson Hall auditorium on “Predicting the Future of Education and Teaching.”

Ottawa Middle School schedules craft fair

Ottawa Middle School will stage its fourth annual Homemade Holidays Craft Show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the school, 13th and Ash streets in Ottawa.

The show features more than 90 booths with artists from across eastern Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. A variety of crafts will be available and everything is homemade, organizers said.

Money raised will go to the school’s Triple A program, which stands for attitude, academics and attendance. The program rewards students who show particularly positive attitudes or good grades with coupons for free treats or restaurants around town. The perfect attendance prize is a trip to a Kansas City Royals baseball game.

Children’s agency executive resigns, eyes consulting

Melissa Ness, executive vice president in charge of services and advocacy at Kansas Children’s Service League, resigned earlier this week.

Ness said she would be “working in the field of advocacy” for The Farm and DCCCA in the coming weeks. Eventually, she plans to start a consulting firm.

The Farm and DCCCA have state contracts for foster care and family preservation services, receptively. KCSL is one of the state’s five foster care contractors. It’s also the state’s sole adoption contractor.

KCSL spokeswoman Tina Long said Ness was leaving the agency in “good shape.”

Lawrence resident appointed to state library commission

Gov. Bill Graves appointed Stella Bentley, Lawrence, and reappointed Marcella Kille, Hutchinson, to the Kansas State Library Advisory Commission.

Bentley is dean of libraries at Kansas University. She holds a master’s degree in library science and a Ph.D. in library and information science from Indiana University.

Kille has been assistant director of the Hutchinson Public Library since 1987 and has served as business manager of the library and served as treasurer of the Kansas Library Assn. since 1985.

The eight-member board promotes the establishment and development of publicly supported free library services in Kansas. They report to the governor and state librarian on policies, management and services that advance the state library and its extension services.

LHS fund-raiser to help defray new student fees

Lawrence High School students are organizing a fund-raising party Saturday to help defray the cost of new district academic and athletics fees.

The benefit starts with Big Woodies Blues Band performing from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at The Granada, 1020 Mass. There will be a cash bar.

Students will be allowed into The Granada at 9:30 p.m. The cash bar will be shut down and a DJ will play dance music until midnight.

Tickets are $10. The goal is to raise $10,000 at the event.

The Lawrence school board instituted about $800,000 in new fees to help balance the 2002-2003 budget. Money collected at The Granada event will be used to moderate the effect on students of the new fees.