Drainage in N. Lawrence topic of open house

An open house to discuss a drainage study for North Lawrence will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Lawrence Visitor Center, 402 N. Second St.

The North Lawrence drainage area covers approximately 9,100 acres and is generally bordered by the Kansas River levee along the west and south, and the Mud Creek levee to the north and east.

The drainage study will be used as a guide for development planning, maintenance work and future capital improvement projects.

For more information about the project, call the Lawrence Public Works Department at 832-3143.

Appeals Court nominees forwarded to governor

Topeka — Three attorneys are finalists for a seat on the Kansas Court of Appeals.

The names of Nancy Anstaett, Michael Buser and Nancy Caplinger went Monday to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has until Aug. 27 to make the appointment. Anstaett and Buser are from Overland Park; Caplinger is from Topeka.

A seat on the court is open because Judge Robert Lewis Jr. died last month.

The names were submitted to Sebelius by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission, which screens applications for the appellate courts. Fifteen people applied to fill the vacancy.

It will be the fifth appointment Sebelius has made to the 11-member court since taking office in January 2003.

Russell County crash yields Ecstasy bust

Wilson — Authorities said they found $2.25 million worth of illegal drugs, including 69,000 tablets of Ecstasy, after a car crashed while being pursued by a sheriff’s deputy.

The Russell County Sheriff’s Department said a deputy pulled over the car Sunday morning on Interstate 70, 10 miles west of the Wilson exit, for a minor traffic violation. The driver of the car gave the deputy permission to search it after the deputy became suspicious, but the driver then sped off while the car was being searched, the department said.

The deputy pursued the 2001 Lexus, which got off I-70 at Wilson, then tried to get onto Kansas Highway 232. That’s when the car flew into the air and rolled several times before stopping, authorities said. The driver and a passenger were thrown from the car and were taken to hospitals.

Authorities said officers also found 39 pounds of cocaine.