Lawmaker to speak at dedication event

U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., whose district includes areas east of Iowa Street in Lawrence, will be the keynote speaker Friday at the dedication of the new Free State Credit Union branch.

The event will be from 11 a.m. to noon at the corner of East 23rd Street and Haskell Avenue.

Other speakers scheduled to appear are Mark Kasson, credit union president and chief executive; Tom Burroughs, credit union board chairman and a state representative from Kansas City, Kan.; Jerel Wright, administrator of the Kansas Department of Credit Unions; Marla Marsh, president and chief executive of the Kansas Credit Union Assn.; and Mike Rundle, a member of the Lawrence City Commission.

Blood drive today at 31st St. post office

A blood drive will be conducted by Community Blood Center today at the Jayhawk Station post office, 1901 W. 31st St.

The drive will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The Blood Center supplies blood for 73 hospitals in 70 counties within Missouri and Kansas, including Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

Donors must be at least 17, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health.

Judge orders trial in child abuse case

Kansas City, Kan. — A Wyandotte County judge found sufficient evidence Tuesday to order a child-abuse trial for five members of a storefront church accused of binding four children as a punishment for such transgressions as disrespecting adults.

The alleged abuse was discovered after the December death of 9-year-old Brian Edgar, adopted son of the leaders of God’s Creation Outreach Ministry in Kansas City, Kan.

During a preliminary hearing, Judge Jan Way found there was sufficient evidence for the case to go forward against Idella A. Horton, 23; Renita D. Allen-Jackson, 41; Patricia A. Walker, 45; Barbara Clark, 45; and Julia Edgar-Montgomery, 55.