Lawrence cemetery reports theft, vandalism

Ten bronze vases, valued at $3,000 total, were taken, and a concrete bench sustained $6,000 worth of damage at Memorial Park Cemetery, 1517 E. 15th St., according to a Lawrence Police report.

An employee discovered the crime Monday morning and called police. He told officers it happened sometime between 6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Monday.

The vases had been at grave sites throughout the cemetery.

It’s the second cemetery theft in Lawrence in recent weeks. Last month, someone stole a statue of a Labrador retriever from a grave at nearby Oak Hill Cemetery. The statue was later found by the side of the road near Eudora.

Former Haskell student sentenced in stabbings

A former Haskell Indian Nations University student was ordered to spend nearly five years in prison for stabbing two students in a fight earlier this year.

Douglas County District Judge Robert Fairchild sentenced Chadwick Noah, 23, to 56 months in prison on one count of aggravated battery and 12 months for the second count, but the sentence will run concurrently.

Jurors found Noah guilty at trial last month. The March 13 stabbing sent a 19-year-old and a 23-year-old student to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

The three were in a fight that broke out after they sneaked into the Coffin athletic complex to go swimming.

Chess players do well in national tournaments

Checkmate.

Brother and sister Deepyaman and Anjali Datta competed in chess tournaments that were part of the U.S. Open Chess Championship last week in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Anjali, 12, took second place in the Susan Polgar Invitational, which features the top girls under 19. Anjali shared the position with two other girls.

Deepyaman, 14, took fourth place in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions, which also was last week in Fort Lauderdale. Deepyaman shared the position with 11 other boys.

Both weeklong tournaments featured the top players from each state.

‘River City’ to focus on Quantrill’s Raid

Quantrill’s Raid of Aug. 21, 1863, the bloodiest day in Lawrence history, is the focus beginning tonight on “River City Weekly.”

Join host Greg Hurd with historian Katie Armitage, cartographer David Carttar, Kansas State Historical Society historian Virgil Dean, Kansas University assistant professor of history Jonathan Earle, author Tom Mack, historian Harold Reim, and historian and Lawrence High School history chair Paul Stuewe as they discuss the infamous raid.

“River City Weekly” premieres on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6 at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays with replays at 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m. Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Mondays, and 10 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays.

Group donates to school program

A Lawrence group has contributed $5,000 to the Lawrence Schools Foundation to help support the district’s early-childhood program.

The New Generation Society of Lawrence made the contribution, which will be used to educate at-risk 4-year-olds in the Even Start program and for the Parents As Teachers program at the East Heights Early Childhood Family Center, said Susan Hazlett, executive director of the LSF.

Tom Carmody, chairman of the NGSL, said the group had a history of giving to the school district’s early-education program and members thought it was deserving of the gift. Carmody said members also volunteer at East Heights.

Hazlett said about 40 percent of the foundation’s budget goes to support the early-childhood program.

Program to showcase ‘Civil War Sweetheart’

Maryanne Shutler will display her great-grandmother’s Civil War-era wardrobe and possessions and share her story in a special program called “A Civil War Sweetheart’s Story.” The program will take place at 7 p.m. today at Watkins Community Museum of History, 1047 Mass. It is part of events related to the Civil War on the Western Frontier.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information, call 841-4109 or visit the museum’s Web site, www.watkinsmuseum.org.