Faces & Places

Patty Kilkenny, registered physical therapist, has joined the staff at Neu Physical Therapy Center, 1305 Wakarusa Drive, Lawrence, and is currently located at the Baldwin satellite, 930 Ames St.

Kilkenny specializes in orthopedics, sports medicine and the evaluation and treatment of posture and muscle imbalances. She also has advanced training in craniosacral therapy for adults, children and infants. This very gentle manual therapy is helpful for treatment of symptoms associated with chronic head, neck and back pain after trauma, and can often be used in conjunction with traditional therapy for autistic children and children who have had orthopedic trauma at birth.

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Dr. Carl Inzerillo, DeSoto, attended the medical symposium on Medicine and Endurance Sports in Washington, D.C., Oct. 25-27.

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More than 1,000 foster children and other kids living in shelters have been able to stay in touch with their loved ones this holiday season, thanks to free long-distance service from Birch Telecom.

The company has completed distribution of 1,200 calling cards containing 70,000 minutes of service to 60 foster-care programs and children’s organizations across nine states: Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

The donation grew out of a request last year by a social worker at The Shelter in Lawrence. Birch thought it was such a great idea that the company launched what is now an annual program by donating cards to 13 foster-care centers across six states.

This year’s donation includes 47 more foster programs across three additional states, quadrupling last year’s effort.

Area agencies that received the phone cards included: Kaw Valley Center, St. Vincent’s Family Service Center, Catholic Charities, Temporary Lodging for Children, and The Shelter.

Honors & Awards

The Kansas Department of Transportation announced service awards for several employees. Individuals from the area who received awards include Michael Daniel, Lawrence, equipment operator specialists, and Michael Ramsey, Lawrence, senior engineering technician. Both men received awards for serving with the department for 20 years.

Coming events

Carol Marinovich, mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., will be the featured speaker at the International Council of Shopping Centers Missouri/Kansas Idea Exchange. The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 21 at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center, Kansas City, Mo.

The event will feature an outlook of retail activity in the greater Kansas City area. To register, contact the council at (646) 728-3800 or register online at www.icsc.org. Registration fees are $130 for members of the council, and $185 for nonmembers.

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A workshop that will look at the ethanol industry and how it could affect the economy of Kansas will be later this month in Topeka. The Kansas Ethanol Workshop: Fueling Opportunities in Kansas; Focusing on Utilization and Production, will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka.

The conference is open to anyone interested in ethanol production and use. The conference will include a national overview of the ethanol industry, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Biomass Initiative, and the potential effect the ethanol industry could have on rural communities.

Registration is $25 per person and includes the cost of meals and materials. Contact the Kansas Corn Commission for additional information at (800) 489-2676.

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Douglas County Farm Bureau will have a marketing meeting from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, Building No. 1.

The event will feature presentations on seasonal price data, the 2003 grain outlook, updates on crop insurance programs, and predictions on the state’s weather trends.

Reservations for the event are required by Friday. Reservations can be made by calling the Douglas County Farm Bureau office at 843-2395

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The Topeka Chapter of the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority, Building 620, Forbes Field.

The Chapter will tour the new airport control tower before the dinner meeting. A tour of the Combat Air Museum will occur after the dinner meeting. For registration information, call Randy Osburn, (785) 272-2252.