Lawrence briefs

Lewis and Clark event features Lawrence teen

Nine blind or visually impaired Kansan teenagers, including Dustin Disque of Lawrence, are marking the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition by leading the public in painting a mural this weekend.

Events at Kaw Point in Kansas City, Kan., last from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Members of the public can join in painting the mural from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Kaw Point is where the Kansas River meets the Missouri River.

The mural, titled “The Flight of the Parakeets,” will depict now-extinct yellow and green Carolina parakeets rising out of the underbrush along the Missouri River, like the flock of parakeets Lewis and Clark saw 200 years ago.

Additional details and directions are available at www.lewisandclarkwyco.org.

Ham radio operators to stage field operations

Amateur radio operators across the country this weekend will participate in a weekend of emergency preparedness called Field Day.

The Douglas County Amateur Radio Club will set up operations Saturday and Sunday at Wells Overlook, two miles south of Lawrence on U.S. Highway 59.

The event is designed to test operators’ skills handling an emergency when power is unavailable. Operators will use generators, batteries and solar power to reach as many other radio stations as possible.

Set-up will begin at 7:59 a.m. Saturday at Wells Overlook, and transmission will last from 1 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday. A station will be set up for interested members of the public to get on the air with the help of an experienced radio operator.

Call Matt Hilt at 841-4303 for more information.