Lenexa driver injured in truck accident

A 35-year-old Lenexa man was injured Thursday evening in a one-vehicle accident south of Eudora.

The man was driving westbound in a large flatbed truck, pulling a trailer with a large cement mixer on it, in the 2100 section of North 1300 Road when the vehicle went off the north side of the road and struck a culvert, Douglas County Sheriff’s Lt. Kathy Tate said.

He was taken by helicopter to KU Med, Kansas City, Kan. His name and medical condition were unavailable late Thursday.

The accident occurred at 5:56 p.m.

City provides free lunch for United Way drive

City officials are helping this year’s Douglas County United Way Fund Drive by treating city employees to a free lunch today and by sponsoring a bake sale and chili contest.

Hotdogs and hamburgers will be grilled by cooks from City Hall, including Mayor Sue Hack, Commissioner Marty Kennedy, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical Chief Jim McSwain and City Manager Mike Wildgen. The event will be 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at South Park.

City employees also participate in a bake sale and chili contest, which will be at the South Park Community Building. First prize for chili will be four tickets to the Kansas University-Texas A&M home football game.

All proceeds and pledges will go toward the 2002 United Way of Douglas County Campaign.

Bert Nash license renewed

The Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center’s state operating license was renewed Thursday for another two years.

Bert Nash officials received the good news during a conference with three officials from the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.

The SRS reviewed the mental health center’s operations under standard licensing renewal procedure that takes place every two years.

“It went really smooth,” Bert Nash spokeswoman Pat Roach-Smith said.

Barn party to raise funds for Veritas School

Veritas Christian School is staging its annual Barn Party from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday in Building 21 of the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.

Activities at the party include dinner, a bake sale, square dancing, face painting and games for children. The party also will feature both live and silent auctions with Tracy Bunge, head softball coach at Kansas University, as guest auctioneer.

Tickets are $8 at the door, with children under 3 admitted free. Proceeds benefit the school. Call 749-0083 for more information.

KU festival features Latin American films

A Kansas University film series beginning Saturday will feature Latin American films in the auditorium at the Helen Foresman Spencer Museum of Art.

The series, sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies, is free and open to the public.

Films scheduled: Saturday, “A Day without a Mexican” from Mexico; Oct. 5, “Telenovelas: Love TV and Power,” from Venezuela and Brazil; Oct. 12, “The Track of the Ants,” from Venezuela; Oct. 26, “Colombia’s Guerrilla War: A Sundered Nation” from Colombia; Nov. 2, “Port-Au-Prince is Mine” from Haiti.

NYC firefighter plans speech at Kansas University

A New York City firefighter who survived the World Trade Center collapse will speak next month at Kansas University.

Richard “Pitch” Picciotto is the highest-ranking firefighter to survive the collapse and the last firefighter to escape the collapsed buildings. He was on a stairwell between the sixth and seventh floors of the North Tower when it collapsed.

Picciotto will speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Lied Center. Tickets are $5 for KU students and $7 for the public.

The speech is sponsored by Student Union Activities. For more information, call 864-SHOW or visit www.suaevents.com.

Greeks to get dirty for charity

Kappa Sigma fraternity and Kappa Delta sorority will have their fourth annual Mud Volleyball Tournament at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 5700 W. Sixth St.

Proceeds raised from the tournament will go to Brookcreek Learning Center, a nonprofit United Way agency. Brookcreek is an early-intervention care center for at-risk children.

Funds were raised through team registration fees and from monetary donations from area businesses. Prizes donated from those businesses will go to the top three teams. The event will also feature a disc jockey.

KU alumna wins engineering award

A 2002 graduate from the Kansas University School of Engineering recently earned second place in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ student design competition.

MaeLuen Kuo, Lenexa, kept a KU streak alive at the competition. Since 1980, KU students have won 16 awards.

Kuo’s project was “Reactor Design for Polyether Synthesis.” She now is a process engineer for ExxonMobil.

DeSoto plans special school board meeting

The DeSoto school board will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. Monday in the boardroom at the district’s administrative offices, 35200 W. 91st St. in DeSoto.

A moderator from the Kansas Association of School Boards will hold a goal-setting and work session for the board. They will discuss how school boards operate, the duties of members, and how to work together productively. No action will be taken at this meeting.

For more information, call the school board clerk at (913) 583-8300.