Dentists treated 2,642 at weekend’s free clinic

More than 2,600 Kansans received free dental care during last weekend’s Kansas Mission of Mercy clinic at Kansas Speedway.

“The exact number of patients seen was 2,642,” said Niki Gustafson, operations coordinator at the Kansas Dental Assn.

Gustafson said 186 dentists, 117 hygienists and 150 dental assistants donated services worth $741,738.

“All total, there were 832 volunteers,” she said.

Area dentists who donated their services included N. Daniel Ranjbar and Jose Lopez-Reyes from Lawrence; Steven Pendleton and Grant Ritchey, Tonganoxie; Earl McColm, Oskaloosa; and Bill Burks and Steven Thompson, Ottawa.

Above, Harry Boydston, left, and his assistant Jennifer Copeland, work on Roger McGinty, of Wichita.

Gustafson said Kansas Mission of Mercy officials were planning a spring 2004 free clinic in Pittsburg.

Education

School board to meet for annual retreat

The Lawrence school board will gather Friday for a retreat that is part reflection and part projection about key educational issues in the district.

The seven elected board members and top district administrators will meet from 8 a.m. to noon in Spencer Research Library at Kansas University.

They’ll talk about staff development, strategic planning and organizational health of the 9,900-student school district.

Discussion also will touch on the future of vocational-technical and alternative school programs, the potential of finding new sources of revenue and options for addressing school facility needs.

The board has met for annual retreats for at least the past four years to discuss policy issues, first under then-Supt. Kathleen Williams and then under Supt. Randy Weseman.

Greek life

SETA women’s fraternity closes its KU chapter

Zeta Tau Alpha women’s fraternity closed its Kansas University colony on Tuesday.

Recruiting efforts were not as successful as officials hoped, said SETA national president Julia M. Hill, in Indianapolis.

The Kansas Panhellenic Assn. selected SETA to become the 14th national panhellenic conference group on the Lawrence campus in the spring of 2001. The fraternity conducted a colonization recruitment effort in September 2002, pledging more than 160 women.

The colony, however, struggled to maintain those membership numbers and returned this month with 85 members.

“We told prospective members, our colony members and the administration from the start that if we could not be competitive on this campus, we would not continue,” Hill said.

Gasoline prices

Pump Patrol seeks deals

The Journal-World has found a Lawrence-area gasoline price as low as $1.65 at Citgo in North Lawrence. Three other Lawrence stations — Citgo, 2005 W. Ninth St., Zarco Phillips 66, 900 Iowa; and Site Service Station, 946 E. 23rd St. — were selling at $1.66.

If you find a lower price, call Pump Patrol at 832-7154. Leave the business address and price.