Homecoming

Barbecue to celebrate Marine’s return from Iraq

If you happen to know Robert Kelm, you should plan to attend a barbecue from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at his sister’s house, 3507 W. Seventh Court.

“My brother just got back from Iraq,” Ann Barone said. “He’s only going to be in town for a couple days, so we’re putting on a barbecue for him. Anyone who wants to see him is invited.”

Barone said the barbecue was being sponsored by a local support group for relatives of men and women stationed in Iraq.

Kelm, 22, graduated from Free State High School in 1999. He’s now a staff sergeant assigned to a firefighting and hazardous materials unit with the U.S. Marine Corps.

Health

KU Med to be featured on TLC television show

Doctors at KU Med will be featured Saturday on a program on The Learning Channel.

The show, “Ultimate Operation: Deep Brain Stimulation,” is at 3 p.m. on TLC, Sunflower Broadband Channel 42.

It features Rajesh Pahwa, a neurologist, and Steven Wilkinson, a neurosurgeon, and their team in the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Center.

Patient JoAnn Robinson, of Emporia, allowed a TLC camera crew to film the preparation and aftermath of an operation to regulate her Parkinson’s disease. Doctors implanted a device resembling a cardiac pacemaker into her chest. Wires leading deep into her brain deliver mild electrical stimulation to targeted areas, which appears to block the signals that cause disabling motor symptoms.

Law enforcement

DUI checkpoint planned on U.S. Highway 59

Three law enforcement agencies will team up to operate a sobriety checkpoint June 19 on U.S. Highway 59 in northern Franklin County.

The checkpoint will be set up from 11:30 p.m. Thursday until 1:30 a.m. Friday just south of the Douglas-Franklin county line.

The drivers passing through the checkpoint will be stopped so officers can determine whether they have been drinking, Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Dennis Shoemaker said.

Assisting the Highway Patrol will be sheriff’s officers from Douglas and Franklin counties.

Crime

Off-duty officer helps catch police impersonator

Kansas City, Mo.– A man was charged with impersonating a police officer Wednesday, a day after he was arrested, police said, for pulling over a motorist who turned out to be a real police officer.

Clifford P. Holloway, 30, was charged Wednesday with impersonating an officer and resisting arrest, among other charges.

The real police officer, who was off duty, was tipped off because the lights on the car that pulled him over about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday were blue. Kansas City police use a combination of blue and red flashing lights, said police spokesman Capt. Rich Lockhart.

The officer called dispatch for assistance, and police caught the suspect after a six-mile chase by car.