Faces and places

McDonald’s of Lawrence, owned and operated by Tom and Marilyn Dobski, is donating more than $1,600 to schools in Lawrence and Eudora. The funds are part of McTeacher’s Night which was May 6. During McTeacher’s Night, school faculty members worked at various restaurants from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 20 percent of the sales were donated. Schools that participated were South Junior High School, Southwest Junior High School, Central Junior High School and Eudora Nottingham School.

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More than 105 optometric assistants attended the 2003 Kansas Optometric Association’s 103rd Convention and Seminar in Topeka. Assistants were able to receive eight hours of continuing education. Among those who attended were: Hayley Daugherty and Theresa Shetler Logan of Crandon & Crandon in Lawrence.

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Mark Marling and Mary Franzen, owners of the Marling stores in Topeka and Lawrence, have authorized their store managers to make special allowances for the victims of the recent storms that damaged homes and property in Douglas and Osage counties. The Marling stores will provide special price allowances and no charge for deliveries for replacement of damaged furniture, appliances and bedding. Store employees also will remove and haul away damaged or replaced items. For additional information or help, call Mike Dunn in the Topeka store at (785) 273-6970 or Jennifer Karmazin in the Lawrence store at 843-4400.

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Sheri Fleming, Lawrence, recently became a consultant for Tastefully Simple Inc., a national direct sales company based in Alexandria, Minn. As a consultant, Fleming conducts in-home presentations of upscale, convenience-driven gourmet foods.

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The Kansas City T-Bones hired Jennifer Olson as director of media relations. Olson previously worked in public relations for the Kansas City metro office of the American Cancer Society. She has a master’s degree from Kansas University.

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Small businesses with essential employees returning from active duty in the armed services still have 90 days to apply for Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The filing period ends 90 days after the date the employee or owner is discharged from active duty.

The program provides loans to eligible small businesses to cover operating costs that would have been covered, but cannot be met because an essential employee was called to active duty during a period of military conflict in his or her role as a military reservist.

For more information, contact the SBA disaster area office at (800) 366-6303.

Honors and awards

The first student-run credit union in Kansas, which was operated by sixth-graders at Hillcrest School and supported by Free State Credit Union, was honored Wednesday for its receipt of the Kansas Partners in Education Award.

Each year, Kansas Partners in Education recognizes exemplary partners in Kansas public education for collaborative planning and attainment of goals that support student learning.

Students who helped operate the union were: Kyle Consolver, Rosie Hull, Maggie Hull, An Tien, Matthew Green, Sara Yilmaz, Kelly Chadwick, Zachary Mehl, Maude Thomas, Cody Knapik, Louisa Hussein, Jennifer Nyguyen, Margot Taylor, Amelia Firns-Hurbert, Armel Massissou, Doug Bittinger, Nash Riggins, Jessie Zhu, Taylor Morgan, Samantha Rose, Cameron Hughes, Horacio Aguilar, Courtney Griffin, Julian Kuszmaul, Winston Heilman, Sam Wessels and Hannah Bailey. Mary Ann Hubbard, Hillcrest counselor, and Michelle Stizza, education director at Free State Credit Union, headed the operation.

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Several area students were honored during the Youth Entrepreneurs of Kansas awards ceremony Tuesday in Topeka. James Thomas and Tyson Williams, both Lawrence High School students, won scholarships. Thomas won a $22,500 four-year award from Capital City Bank to attend Kansas University. Williams was awarded $1,000 by the Washburn University School of Business. Jeremy Long and Emily Alterman, both LHS students, were named Venture Capital winners. Long won $1,000 for his J&J Fireworks idea. Alterman won $200 for her SUKA Designs & Piercing idea.

Coming events

The Douglas County Livestock and Ranch Tour is set for July 12 in western Douglas County. Some of the topics and sights planned include: genetics, best management practices, intensive grazing, estrus synchronization, purebred beef cattle and Country of Origin Labeling.

The tour is sponsored by the Douglas County Livestock Assn. and K-State Research and Extension of Douglas County. It is open to anyone with an interest in the beef cattle industry.

Four cattle operations will be featured on the tour, which will begin at 1 p.m. and end about 7 p.m. after a picnic. The cost is $17.50 per person, which includes transportation and the evening meal. Registration is due by June 27. For more information, contact the Douglas County Extension office at 843-7058.

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Landlords of Lawrence Inc. will sponsor its third Landlord Information Fair at 6:30 p.m. June 2 in Building 21S at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds. The event is free for landlords or potential landlords. Information will be available on the regulations of offering dwelling units to the renting public. Representatives from a number of supporting agencies will be present for questions and information.

Ed Jaskinia, president of The Associated Landlords of Kansas, will provide an analysis of the 2003 Kansas Legislative Session. He will give an explanation of new laws affecting residential housing providers.