Police patrol park where molester targeted child

Lawrence Police are stepping up neighborhood patrols and canvassing door-to-door after the latest in a series of sexual assaults and child molestations on the trails at Naismith Valley Park in south Lawrence.

Officers Leo Souders, left, and Patrick Orrick patrolled the park Thursday, but Saturday's suspect has not been found. The assailant has been described as a white male in his late 20s or early 30s and 5-feet-10 with a medium build. He was wearing a blue and gray T-shirt, blue shorts and black tennis shoes.

The latest assault happened Saturday afternoon when a man lured a 5-year-old girl away from an 8-year-old boy and tried to molest her, police said.

It’s at least the fifth attempted or completed sexual assault since July 2002 along the tree-lined, isolated pathways of the park at 1400 W. 27th St.

Real estate

Developer buys Riverside to use as office space

The Lawrence school district has completed the sale of the former Riverside School.

Doug Compton, of First Management Inc., purchased the old elementary school and nearly three acres of land at 601 N. Iowa for $700,000. The building will be used for office space.

Proceeds from the sale will be used for building construction, maintenance and repair, and the purchase of land, technology, furniture and equipment for the Lawrence school district.

Riverside was closed in May 2003; its students were reassigned to Pinckney and Deerfield schools.

Oklahoma City

Cowboy museum to honor KU benefactor

A longtime Kansas University benefactor will be honored today by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

Dwight Sutherland, Mission, will be the 48th deceased member of the museum’s board of directors honored in a “Hanging of the Hat” ceremony.

Sutherland served on the museum’s board from 1993 until his death in October 2003. He served as president of the board for three years, 1997-2000.

“Mr. Sutherland provided important leadership to the museum during some of its most stressful periods,” said Judy Dearing, a museum spokeswoman. One of the gardens surrounding the museum bears the name of Sutherland’s widow, Norma.

The museum honors the men and women who helped establish the West as an integral part of America’s cultural heritage.

One of Sutherland’s sons, Todd, is president of Lawrence-based University National Bank.

Gasoline prices

Pump Patrol seeks deals

The Journal-World has found gasoline prices as low as $1.89 a gallon at Citgo, 2005 W. Ninth St., Miller Mart, Wakarusa Drive and Clinton Parkway, and Zarco 66, 900 Iowa.

If you find a lower price, please call the Pump Patrol at 832-7154.