KU law student group plans food drive

The Kansas University Black Law Students Assn. is collecting food for its 12th annual Thanksgiving Food Drive.

Canned and nonperishable food can be donated at grocery carts in Green Hall, 1535 W. 15th St. Money and gift certificates should be delivered to Robin Miller in Room 202 of Green Hall.

The KU group works with community organizations including Salvation Army, Pelathe Community Resource Center and First Step House to provide food to those in need.

All donations must be dropped off by 5 p.m. Friday. For more information, contact Dan Cranshaw, association president, at 864-9277 or cranshaw@yahoo.com.

Vandals break windows at two schools

It was a bad weekend for window panes at two Lawrence public schools.

A total of nine windows were broken at West Junior High, 2700 Harvard Road, and Deerfield School, 101 Lawrence Ave., in apparently unrelated incidents.

At 9:39 p.m. Saturday police were called to Deerfield, where someone reported people breaking windows at the building. Five windows valued at $350 were broken on a portable building.

They were called at 7:30 p.m. Sunday to West Junior High, where someone reportedly was throwing rocks at windows. The vandals caused $800 in damage by breaking four double-pane glass windows.

Police are looking for suspects in both incidents.

Sierra Club plans speaker, plant tour

The Wakarusa Group of Sierra Club will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt., for a program featuring Dave Murphy, a Kansas riverkeeper.

On Saturday the club will tour Bowersock Mills and Power Co., the oldest continuously operating producer of hydroelectric power. Tour participants will meet at 10 a.m. behind City Hall, east of the stairs on the Massachusetts Street bridge.

Both events are free. For more information, contact Lynn Anderson at 331-0881 or landerson@ku.edu.

Antiques program focuses on decorating

Angela Conrad, owner of My Father’s Daughter, 844 Mass., will present “Decorating with Antiques” from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. today at the Deal Six Auditorium at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St.

The program is free and open to the public.

University plans education career fair

More than 50 school districts from five states will be at Kansas University Wednesday for KU’s second annual Education Career Fair.

The fair will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Kansas Union Ballroom.

Metropolitan areas represented outside Kansas include Phoenix, Omaha, Neb., and Atlanta.

The fair is sponsored by University Career and Employment Services. For more information, including a list of schools scheduled to attend, visit www.ku.edu/~uces/edfair or call 864-3624.

Findley bows out of leadership team

State Rep. Troy Findley, D-Lawrence, recently said he wouldn’t be seeking a leadership position within the House Democratic caucus in the 2003 legislative session.

Serving on the leadership team would take away from time he wanted to spend on education issues and redistricting reform, he said.

Findley, who has served in the House since 1994, was the House Democratic policy chairman during the last legislative session.

He also was one of the main Democrats in the Kansas Legislature dealing with redistricting. He said he would push for legislation next year to try to depoliticize the redistricting process.

In addition, Findley said he expected to be busy dealing with school finance issues through his position on the House tax committee.

State GOP chairman to step down

Kansas Republican Party chairman Mark Parkinson said last week he would not seek re-election to lead the state party.

Parkinson, a former state senator from Olathe, has been chairman of the GOP for four years. He said he enjoyed the job but thought it was time for someone else to lead the party.

Bank offers to match United Way donations

As part of the annual United Way of Douglas County fund-raising campaign, Central National Bank is offering to match new and increased donations from small businesses. The bank will donate a cumulative total of $2,500.

For more information, call Colleen Gregoire at 843-6626.

Hospital receives award

The Kansas Award for Excellence Foundation has recognized Lawrence Memorial Hospital with its Performance in Quality Award.

The hospital received this same award in 2001 and 2000, and in 1999 it received a Level 1 Commitment to Excellence Award.

The hospital is one of four in Kansas receiving the award, which was presented Nov. 7 in Overland Park.

Olathe educator named Teacher of the Year

Olathe – Ruth Ann Gharst does not see herself as the top teacher in Kansas.

“I’m just a representative of all the teachers in Kansas,” said Gharst, the 2003 Kansas Teacher of the Year.

On Monday, she celebrated her honor with her 25 fifth-graders at Cedar Creek Elementary School in Olathe. Gharst, a 20-year veteran in the Olathe district, received her award Saturday in Wichita.