Indoor Aquatic Center to offer free swimming

The city’s Indoor Aquatic Center will offer free admission from 5 p.m. to close Friday.

The center, north of Free State High School at 4706 Overland Drive, has a competitive pool and family pool with water slide and other play features.

For more information about the “Free Family Fun Friday,” call the pool at 832-7946.

Former library director faces felony charges

Tonganoxie — The former director of the Tonganoxie Public Library faces one felony count of misusing public funds in Leavenworth County District Court.

Beckie Borella, 44, will be arraigned July 11.

In April, Tonganoxie Police began investigating allegations that Borella misused public funds.

Reports from police and the library board indicated Borella allegedly misused a credit card for a sum between $5,000 and $8,000.

Monkeypox patient returns to hospital

Leavenworth — A Leavenworth County woman diagnosed last week with monkeypox was readmitted to St. John Hospital on Tuesday.

Cindy McGuire, marketing and volunteer services coordinator at St. John Hospital, Leavenworth, said the patient, whom she described as “an adult woman who lives in Leavenworth County,” was listed in fair condition Tuesday afternoon.

The woman had been released last week from St. John after spending five days in the hospital. While in the hospital, she was kept under quarantine.

It is the first confirmed case of monkeypox in Kansas, McGuire said. The woman developed symptoms after being bitten by a prairie dog.

County moves up budget hearings

Douglas County commissioners don’t want to waste any time digging their teeth into a proposed $45.6 million budget for 2004.

Commissioners intend to start discussing their ideas for budget changes beginning at 8:30 a.m. Monday — 30 minutes earlier than their usual 9 a.m. start. Another budget hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Both meetings will be at the county courthouse, 1100 Mass.

The proposed budget calls for hiring four new sheriff’s deputies, three new emergency dispatchers and restoring several construction projects to the budget after being postponed earlier this year.

Under the plan, the county would increase its property-tax rate by 2.89 mills, to 30.71 mills. A mill equals $1 in taxes for every $1,000 in a property’s assessed valuation.

The 10.4 percent boost in the tax rate would cost the owner of a $150,000 home an additional $49.85.

Blood drive to feature free sub sandwiches

Community Blood Center will stage a blood drive from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday in the Jayhawk Auditorium at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, 325 Maine. Donors will receive free sandwiches from Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich Shop and Independence Day T-shirts.

The center supplies blood to 73 hospitals, including LMH, in Kansas and Missouri.

Donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh 110 pounds or more and be in good health. Donors should bring identification.

Donors also receive health checks such as temperature, blood pressure, hemoglobin and cholesterol.

To sign up, call the hospital lab at 749-6176.

KU receives federal education grants

Kansas University has been awarded two grants from the U.S. Department of Education.

The first grant, worth $258,469, will help prepare disadvantaged students for doctoral study through tutoring, internship experience, academic counseling, mentoring and financial aid seminars. It is part of the Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program, which has a goal of increasing the number of Ph.D. degrees among students from underrepresented segments of society.

The second, $253,259, goes to KU’s Upward Bound program to assist low-income high school students in math and science curricula.

KU professors receive Steeples Service awards

Two Kansas University professors have been awarded Steeples Service to Kansans awards.

Eric M. Vernberg, professor of human development and family life, and Philip S. Baringer, professor of physics and astronomy, each will receive a $1,000 cash award and have $1,000 added to their annual base salary.

Vernberg was recognized for applying scientific methods to help children and families in Kansas. He developed the Peaceful Schools project in the Topeka school district, which aims to reduce the number of bully incidents, and helped develop the Intensive Mental Health Program in Lawrence public schools, which provides services for youths with serious emotional disturbances.

Baringer was recognized for being a faculty adviser to KU’s Society of Physics Students, which provides science-based magic shows for elementary school students. He also works with Kansas high school science teachers through Kansas QuarkNet Center, which helps bring modern physics and methodology into the classroom.

Nominations accepted for nursing awards

The Kansas University school of nursing is accepting nominations for its “Nursing: The Hearth of Healthcare” award program. Since 1989, the program has recognized outstanding registered nurses in Kansas and the Kansas City area.

Ten winners are chosen annually from approximately 500 nominees by a panel of health professionals, past winners and community and business leaders. Winners will be honored at a banquet Nov. 7 at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Mo.

Patients, families, colleagues, community members and health professionals may nominate registered nurses by calling (800) 308-0890 to obtain a nomination form. Entries are due by July 30. For more information, contact Kari Ziblut at (913) 588-1616 or kziblut@kumc.edu.