Sierra club chapter offers rally, picnic

The Wakarusa Group of Sierra Club will have a “Halt-the-Assault” rally and picnic from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at Burcham Park, Second and Indiana streets.

Sierra Club will provide information about the environmental records of candidates for state and national office. Some candidates will attend the event.

Bob Eye, environmental attorney, will speak about topics including the South Lawrence Trafficway.

The event will include a free picnic supper and music.

Topeka hospital offers free prostate screenings

Topeka — Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center will provide free prostate screenings next week.

The screenings will be provided from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the center, 1500 S.W. 10th Ave. The procedure, which will be done by urology physicians, takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

To schedule a free exam, call (785) 354-5225.

Crash near Ottawa kills 37-year-old driver

A 37-year-old Neosho Rapids man was killed Friday afternoon in a head-on collision near Ottawa.

Arthur G. Meade was killed after his 1994 Honda crossed the center line on U.S. Highway 59 and struck a 1998 Chevrolet driven by Andrew Potts, according to a Kansas Highway Patrol report.

The accident occurred at 1:31 p.m. about three miles north of Ottawa. Meade was traveling south, and Potts was traveling north.

Potts, a 21-year-old Richmond resident, was transported to the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan. A nursing supervisor said she could not confirm or deny that he was at the hospital.

Limousine rape case investigation continues

No arrests have been made in connection with an 18-year-old’s report that she was raped earlier this month after accepting a ride in a stretch limousine.

Police have not identified the vehicle involved in the alleged attack. They contacted five limousine companies known to operate in Lawrence but concluded that none was involved, said Sgt. Dan Ward, a Lawrence Police spokesman.

He said police continued to investigate.

The woman, a Georgia high school student who was visiting friends at Kansas University, told police she accepted a ride in the limousine after leaving The Hawk early Sept. 5. She said one man raped her while another held her down after she got into the limousine.

She reported the rape after returning to Georgia later that day.

Indian law enforcement agencies receive grants

Wichita — United States Atty. Eric Melgren announced this week that American Indian Law Enforcement Agencies in Kansas will receive $276,150 in grants.

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services awarded the funds to the following Kansas tribes: The Iowa tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, $44,956; the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, $95,116; the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians, $8,850; and the Sac and Fox Tribe of Missouri, $127,588.

Melgren said, “We believe these grants will enhance law enforcement infrastructures and community policing efforts in the Native American communities.”

The grants are intended to help pay for basic equipment, crime fighting technology systems, training and other items.

Pulitzer Prize winner to visit Lawrence

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Shirley Christian will visit Lawrence Monday to talk about her new book.

Christian will discuss “Before Lewis and Clark: The Story of the Chouteaus, the French Dynasty that Ruled America’s Frontier” at 7 p.m. in the Lawrence Public Library auditorium, 707 Vt.

The book examines the history of a fur-trapping and -trading family who traveled the Missouri River long before the famous explorers made their historic voyage.

The free program is open to the public. Signs of Life bookstore, which is co-sponsoring the event, will have copies of the book available for purchase.

Christian, a Kansas City native, won the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in 1981 for her work on war in Central America as a reporter for the Miami Herald. She also has worked for The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly and The Associated Press.