KU blood drive this week

Kansas University students will roll up their sleeves this week for a campus blood drive.

Organizers hope to collect at least 1,000 pints of blood. The drive is sponsored by KU, Community Blood Center and the Douglas County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Blood can be donated:

Today, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Union Ballroom, and noon-7 p.m., Gertrude Sellards Pearson Hall.

Wednesday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Union Ballroom, Allen Fieldhouse; noon-6 p.m., McCollum Hall.

Thursday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse; noon-7 p.m., McCollum Hall.

Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse; noon-7 p.m. Oliver Hall.

Topekan gets probation in accidental shooting death

A Topeka man was sentenced Monday to three years of probation for his part in the accidental shooting death of his girlfriend during an illegal deer hunt.

Joseph R. Beier Jr., 24, pleaded no contest in August to one count of reckless involuntary manslaughter for his role in the death of Misty Taylor, 16, of Topeka.

Beier went to rural Douglas County near Lecompton during the night of Nov. 24, 1998, with Taylor and a friend, Donald Raymond Koch, of Topeka. The two men used a flashlight while taking turns shooting deer.

Koch said he was holding Beier’s rifle and crawling into the back of a pickup truck when the gun accidentally discharged. Taylor, who was sitting inside the truck, was shot in the head.

The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office contended Beier was responsible for the girl’s death because it was his rifle, his truck and his idea to shoot deer at night.

Koch was convicted in August 1999 of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy to commit illegal hunting. He was sentenced to three years probation. His probation was revoked in February 2001, and he is in prison.

Identity theft arrest made

It’s a case of heisted identity, and Lawrence police say it has been going on since 1997.

Officers on Sunday night arrested a 38-year-old Valley Falls man. He’s accused of stealing a Eudora resident’s identity. The two men have the same name.

Police say the suspect went to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Lawrence five years ago to get a Kansas identification. The department gave him an identification card with his photo, but it also contained the victim’s Social Security number and other personal information.

The victim says he’s had his driver’s license suspended, his insurance revoked and now the IRS is after him for not reporting his income, all because of the mix-up.

The suspect was booked into the Douglas County Jail on suspicion of misdemeanor theft, making a false writing and aggravated false impersonation, but not charged Monday.

Crop Walk raises money to fight world hunger

The annual Crop Walk benefit to raise money for the fight against world hunger is set for Sunday. It will begin at 2 p.m. at West Side Presbyterian Church, 1024 Kasold Drive.

The organizing committee has set a goal of $12,000. Last year’s walk raised $11,354. Any walker who raises $100 or more will receive a free T-shirt.

Twenty-five percent of the money raised will stay in Lawrence half going to the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen, half going to the Salvation Army.

For more information about Crop Walk, contact sponsor Church World Service at (888) CWS-CROP or visit www.churchworldservice.org.

Perry Lake at record low

Flow into Perry Lake was almost four times slower this year than normal, causing the lake’s elevation to be at an all-time low since it began filling in 1969, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The lake elevation dipped below 886.29 feet Sunday afternoon. On Monday it was 886.27 feet, more than 5 feet below conservation pool.

The Delaware River is the major water source for the lake, says Jim Putnam, USGS hydrologist, and from January to September the river’s streamflow, normally 326 cubic feet per second, was only 83 cubic feet per second near Muscotah.

Lack of precipitation caused the low flow of the river and the resulting low lake elevation. Other area lakes approaching record low elevations include Milford and Clinton lakes.

The previous record-low elevation for the lake was recorded Nov. 14, 1991.

Events help raise awareness of domestic violence

Domestic violence occurs every 29 minutes in Kansas, a statistic activists hope to draw attention to during October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“Domestic violence is a crime that occurs in every community, including ours,” said Lea B. Carland, outreach coordinator for Women’s Transitional Care Services Inc.

Last year, WTCS provided a temporary home to more than 300 women and children fleeing violence.

Below are events planned for the month:

Out of the closet, out in our communities 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Lawrence Arts Center. This panel presentation will touch on domestic and sexual violence within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer communities.

Speak-out and candlelight vigil 7 p.m. Oct. 24 near Potter Lake. The vigil is a chance for survivors and their allies to share how violence and abuse have affected their lives.

Clothesline project and silent witness display 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 7-16 at the Gallery in the Kansas Union. A visual display of the effect that domestic and sexual violence have on individuals and society.

KU official to speak at Hispanic Heritage event

Janet Murguia will give the keynote address Wednesday at a Kansas State University Hispanic Heritage Month observance.

Murguia, executive vice chancellor for university relations at Kansas University, will speak at 11:30 a.m. in the Student Union Little Theater in Manhattan.

On Saturday, Murguia will serve as deputy grand marshal of KU’s second annual Hispanic Heritage Month Parade. The grand marshal will be Richard Ruiz, president of El Centro, a Kansas City, Kan.-based organization that promotes educational, social and economic opportunities for families.

The parade will be at 2 p.m. on Jayhawk Boulevard, during KU’s open house.

Hispanic Heritage Month started on Mexican Independence Day, Sept. 16, and continues through Oct. 16.