Fumes force evacuation of county law center

Employees working in the Douglas County Judicial & Law Enforcement Center got a brief scare Thursday morning.

The building at 111 E. 11th St. was evacuated about 10:30 a.m. after a sensor in an air intake valve detected fumes.

Law enforcement officials said the fumes were believed to have been from construction equipment running near the air intake valve.

Employees were able to return to the building after about 20 minutes.

Wedding ring stolen

A Lawrence woman says someone stole her 1/4-carat diamond wedding ring.

Wendy Daniels, 34, said the ring disappeared between Oct. 24 and Nov. 8 from her home in the 2100 block of Atchison Avenue.

The ring is from a past marriage in 1993. She and her husband later divorced, but they’re about to get remarried and have bought new rings.

The old ring, however, had sentimental value because it contained a diamond that belonged to her husband’s father, who died shortly before their first marriage, she said.

Two other rings also were taken. The three had a total value of $3,995, according to a police report.

Daniels kept the rings near other jewelry that wasn’t taken, including the rings for her upcoming wedding. There are no suspects, and Daniels said the only time she could think of when the rings might have disappeared was during a Halloween party.

“It’s like the person that did it really knew a lot about me,” she said.

More car owners report damage from BB gun

The number of cars damaged in Monday night’s BB gun shooting rampage continues to climb.

Police now are investigating reports that at least 27 cars had their windows shot out. That’s up from the 21 people who had reported damage to police earlier in the week.

Two businesses also sustained damage during the shooting spree — J.C. Penney Co. Inc., 3211 Iowa, and the Liz Claiborne Outlet, 1035 N. Third St. Both had windows damaged by BB pellets.

Officers questioned three suspects in connection with the vandalism and recovered a BB gun, but no arrests have been made.

Sgt. Mike Pattrick, a police spokesman, said the department had assigned additional officers to the case.

State court suspends Leavenworth attorney

Leavenworth — A Leavenworth attorney has lost his license to practice law for the next year.

The action stems from a case in which Terence A. Lober was representing Patricia Leach, Linwood, in a child-custody dispute with her ex-husband.

The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that Lober failed to communicate with Leach about court proceedings; that Lober violated his duties and caused potential injury to Leach and actual injury to the legal profession; and that Lober did not respond to a complaint filed against him.

Because Lober had been placed on probation by the court previously, “he should have had an understanding of its provisions and the consequences of a failure to cooperate with a disciplinary investigation,” the court’s ruling said.

The court said several factors played into its decision to suspend Lober from practicing law, including the fact Lober had been disciplined five times since 1994.

Retired K.C. attorney creates KU scholarship

A retired Kansas City attorney and Kansas University alumnus has announced plans to develop a $2 million scholarship fund at KU.

Irving Kuraner, who graduated in 1940 with a degree in political science, has donated $500,000 to the KU Endowment Association. Upon his death, he will establish a scholarship fund with an estimated value of $2 million.

Kuraner, who received a law degree from Columbia University, worked as legal counsel for what is now American Century Investments from 1958 to 1981, when he left his law practice to work for American Century. He retired in 1990 as executive vice president and general counsel.

Commission to hear KU parking concerns

Kansas University students, faculty and staff will have a chance to sound off about the university’s parking situation from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday in Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

KU’s Parking Commission will conduct its third-annual open forum, which will give the university community an opportunity to ask questions and share concerns.

For more information, call 864-7275.