Three rifles taken from rural home

Authorities are investigating the theft of two shotguns and a rifle from a home near the Shawnee County line in western Douglas County.

The forced-entry burglary happened between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday at a home in the 90 section of North 1500 Road, said Lt. Kathy Tate, a spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

Missing are two Remington shotguns and a Marlin .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle. Whoever took the guns also took a digital camera, blank checks and other property worth a total of $2,150.

The items belonged to a 36-year-old man who lives at the home.

One injured in fight outside downtown bar

A 2 a.m. brawl Saturday outside Last Call, 729 N.H., sent one man to the hospital and another to Douglas County Jail on suspicion of aggravated battery.

Sgt. David Hubbel with the Lawrence Police Department said a 27-year-old Olathe man was walking out of the club with his girlfriend when a group of three to six men made comments to the girl. A fight ensued, and a man from the group hit the Olathe man in the face, knocking him to the ground. Hubbel said the other men in the group began kicking him in the body and face.

Most of the group fled as police arrived, although witnesses were able to detain one of the suspects, a 35-year-old Lawrence man, Hubbel said.

The victim was treated and released Saturday from Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

Three Indiana residents killed in 1-70 accident

Salina — Three people were killed and another was seriously injured Saturday when a van went off the side of Interstate 70 and rolled, authorities said.

The Kansas Highway Patrol identified the victims as the driver, Margaret Michael, 53; Mike Michael, 55; and Lyda Decker, 53. The Michaels were from Crawfordsville, Ind.; Decker was from New Ross, Ind.

The accident happened shortly after 7 a.m. when the van Margaret Michael was driving left the roadway and started to go into the ditch.

She overcorrected, the patrol said, and the van rolled several time, ejecting the Michaels and Decker.

Foster care service wins federal grant

The Farm Inc. of Douglas County has been awarded a federal grant for nearly $11,000 to help provide supervised visits between children in foster care and their relatives.

So far this year, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families has awarded nearly $150,000 to nine Kansas programs offering supervised visitation.

The Farm Inc. of Douglas County also will provide cooperative parenting classes for parents whose children are in foster care.

Teen participates in technology forum

A Lawrence teenager was accepted for enrollment and is currently attending the 2003 National Youth Leadership Forum on Technology in Silicon Valley in San Jose, Calif.

Hamilton Lewis, 16, a Free State School junior, was nominated by the Gifted Student Program to attend the technology forum, which began today and continues through Aug. 5.

During the forum, Hamilton will participate in group and independent projects, including workshops led by industry insiders.

He and 1,500 other students from across the country will visit a number of Silicon Valley companies, including Cisco Systems Inc., Hewlett Packard Labs and Oracle Corp.

Hamilton is the son of Robert Lewis, Larned, and Beckie Lewis, Lawrence.

KU professor elected to Brazilian academy

The chairman of Kansas University’s geology department has been elected as a foreign member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences.

W. Randall Van Schmus, who has taught at KU for 36 years, was one of six foreign members elected in 2003.

Since 1990, he has collaborated with geologists on studies in northeastern and southwestern Brazil. He and several colleagues are working to understand the geologic history of northeastern Brazil from 500 million to 3 billion years ago.

Van Schmus began a scientific exchange between KU and several Brazilian universities 15 years ago. The Brazilian Academy of Sciences, founded in 1916, supports 10 areas of scientific study and a number of exchange programs around the world.