Parents win quest to add son’s name to memorial

In November, Shirley and Stanley Harris, above, received approval to add their son’s name, Russell Lee Harris, to the Kansas Vietnam Memorial in Junction City. Now, after months on top of the years of requesting the correction, the Harrises will be able to see their son’s name on the Lawrence Vietnam Memorial outside the Samuel J. Churchill Army Reserve Center at 21st and Iowa streets. See the full story, page 5B.

Freedom Forum program to include KU professor

Kansas University political guru Burdett Loomis will be among the speakers at a conference Monday at the Freedom Forum headquarters in Arlington, Va.

The Stennis Congressional Fellows Program, for senior-level congressional staffers, is a bipartisan leadership development program.

Loomis, chairman of KU’s political science department, will be joined by Brian Lamb, president and chief executive officer of C-SPAN.

Loomis will discuss “Esteemed Colleagues: Civility and Deliberation in the U.S. Senate,” a book he edited in 2000.

K.C. Indian community seeks scholarship fund

Members of the Indian community in Kansas City are raising funds for an aerospace engineering scholarship at Kansas University to honor Kalpana Chawla, an Indian astronaut killed during the Feb. 1, 2002, Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

The drive is being spearheaded by Kottarappat Dileepan, a faculty member at the KU Medical Center. It also includes the Indian Association of Kansas City, the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center and the Indian Political Forum.

So far, $5,000 has been raised. More than $25,000 is required to establish an endowed scholarship at the KU Endowment Association.

To contribute to the fund, send a check to the KU school of engineering, in care of the KU Endowment Association, P.O. Box 928, Lawrence 66044-0928. “Kalpana Chawla Scholarship Fund” should be written in the check’s memo section.

Medicare forum to focus on prescription coverage

Prescription drug benefits will be the topic of a forum on changes to Medicare.

The event, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Monday in the Sylvester Powell Community Center, 6200 Martway St. in Mission, will discuss the “doughnut hole” in Medicare that hurts coverage of midrange prescription drug costs, a news release from U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore said.

Moore, a Democrat whose district covers the eastern half of Lawrence, is scheduled to attend the forum. Other speakers include Priscilla Chatman of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare; Bob Day, director of the state Office of Health Planning and Finance; Ace Allen, expert on Canadian drugs; and Marcia Nielsen of the Kansas University school of medicine.