Junior high vandalized

Vandals spray-painted exterior walls, windows and doors of West Junior High School, a school official said Wednesday.

Julie Boyle, the district’s director of communications, said Lawrence Police responded to a resident’s call late Tuesday night about vandals outside the school, 2700 Harvard Road.

“They did not catch any suspects,” she said.

Boyle said district staff worked Wednesday to remove obscene words painted on the outside of four portable classrooms and the gymnasium.

Meanwhile, Boyle said the west door of the junior high school was damaged at about 2 a.m. Tuesday in an apparent break-in. Nothing was reported taken from the school, she said.

Court to honor longtime employees

Three longtime employees of Douglas County District Court will have a little more time to spend with their families in the months ahead.

As a reward for the employees’ years of service in the county, District Court officials gave them each a certificate good for an extra day of vacation this year. They also received service pins from the state’s Office of Judicial Administration.

Here’s how they plan to spend the day off:

• Daunita Drake, secretary in Court Services probation office (20 years): “I’ll probably save it and spend it with my grandchildren.”
• Courts administrator Linda Koester-Vogelsang (10 years): “I’m probably going to work on my house or spend some time with my kids.”
• Debbie Hart, administrative assistant to Judge Jean Shepherd (10 years): “I probably will spend it outdoors, probably with my family.”

KU professor will work at University of Oxford

A Kansas University professor of public administration will spend the 2003-2004 academic year at the University of Oxford in England.

H. George Frederickson was appointed the John G. Winant visiting professor of American government in Oxford’s department of politics and international relations.

Frederickson plans to conduct research and lecture on contemporary practices of public administration in the context of globalization and declining national sovereignty.

He has taught at KU since 1987. Before that, he served as president of Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash.