New director named for schools foundation

A Lawrence lawyer accepted the job as director of the Lawrence Schools Foundation, officials said Monday.

The appointment of Susan Hazlett, who has lived in Lawrence for 12 years and is active in Deerfield School’s parent-teacher group, must be formally approved by the Lawrence school board and the foundation’s board of trustees.

The nonprofit foundation raises money to support the public school district programs and activities.

Hazlett replaces Lori Johns, who resigned in September.

Hazlett previously worked as an attorney with Amerus Annuity Group Co. in Topeka, the Kansas Department of Human Resources and the Kansas Insurance Department.

Hazlett has two daughters attending Kansas University and a child at Deerfield.

Landscape artist visits ‘River City Weekly’

Artist Paul Hotvedt is a master at capturing the elusive aspects of nature: the play of light on leaves and grass, blue sky fingers tugging on a quilt of cloud. Host Greg Hurd joins Hotvedt near Vinland this week on “River City Weekly.”

Then it’s an excerpt from Kansas University’s Symphony Orchestra performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony Number 4 conducted by Nicholas Uljanov.

“River City Weekly” premieres on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6 at 6:30 p.m. today with encore presentations at 7:30 weeknights, 8:30 weekday mornings and 9 a.m. Saturdays.

Gift packages sent to tire-slashing victims

Packages of gift certificates are in the mail and on their way to Nebraska football fans who were victims of tire slashings when their team was in town to play Kansas University.

“Hopefully it will be a nice gesture to encourage them to come back even if it’s for something different than a ball game,” said Judy Billings, director of the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau.

More than two dozen Nebraska fans staying at Lawrence motels and hotels the morning of Nov. 8 reported tire-slashing incidents to police.

Fire damages kitchen

A fire that started in a west Lawrence kitchen was extinguished Tuesday by Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical.

The fire at 1221 Monterey Way was reported at 2 p.m. Damage to the house, primarily from smoke, was estimated at $7,500, a fire spokesman said.