City to study construction noise

A proposal to restrict excessive construction noise to certain times of the day will be studied by the Lawrence City Commission and city staff.

The issue was brought before city officials by Commissioner Mike Rundle. He said he thought the issue was worth looking at, including allowing certain provisions and appeals for exceptions to such an ordinance.

Other commissioners said they welcomed discussion on the issue, but thought changes should be made with caution.

Bobbie Flory, executive director of the Lawrence Home Builders Assn., and Steve Glass, a representative of LRM Industries Inc., spoke out against a construction noise ordinance. They said the certain types of construction work should be done during late or early hours because of weather and the safety of both construction workers and the public.

Commissioners directed city staff to study the issue and to discuss possible options with local firms in the construction industry.

Event offers resources for families of disabled

The Douglas and Jefferson County Transition Council is sponsoring a Disability Support Seminar and Resource Fair from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. today at Free State High School.

The seminar and fair will provide first-hand information about available services and providers. The audience will be able to make contact with agencies after the seminar until 7:30 p.m.

Health conference focuses on minorities

The state’s first minority health conference will be today at the Lawrence Holidome, 200 McDonald Drive.

Dr. David J. Williams, a senior research scientist at the Institute for Social Research and professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, is the featured speaker.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is scheduled to speak at noon.

The conference will run from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Nobel Prize winner returning to KU campus

Vernon Smith, the Kansas University alumnus who won the 2002 Nobel Prize for economics, will return to campus this month for a lecture.

Smith will deliver “World Issues and the Role of the Economist” at 7 p.m. April 27 in Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

Smith, well-known in the field of experimental economics, recently participated in the Copenhagen Consensus, which drew some of the world’s top economists to answer the question, “How would you spend $50 billion on the world’s most pressing issues?”

Smith received his degree from KU in 1952 and is the only KU graduate to have received a Nobel Prize.

This is his second return to campus since winning the award. He received a Distinguished Service Citation from the university in October 2002.

Flasher reported at Naismith Valley Park

Naismith Valley Park is on the map again as a problem spot for sex crimes.

A 22-year-old Lawrence woman told Lawrence Police she was jogging on a trail in the park about 7:45 p.m. Thursday when a man exposed himself to her. The incident happened near 24th Street and Naismith Drive.

She described him as a balding, heavyset white male between 45 and 50 years old with brown hair, a black jacket, denim jeans and white shoes, according to a report.

There have been at least five attempted or completed sexual assaults along the park’s trails since July 2002. On June 5, 2004, a stranger lured a 5-year-old girl away from another child and tried to remove her pants.

Police investigating student sex at school

Lawrence Police have taken a report that two students had consensual sexual contact after school outside South Junior High School, 2734 La.

The case is classified as a rape because the girl was age 13. The boy was 15.

Contact between the two began Feb. 14 and continued for three to four weeks.

Police became involved after the girl told a sibling about the contact and the sibling told the girl’s parents. No arrests have been made. Police have notified the state’s Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and sent a copy of the report to the District Attorney’s Office.

Museum updates vertebrate checklist

Kansas wildlife buffs now have access to an updated version of the definitive guide to the state’s vertebrate populations.

The Sternberg Natural History Museum at Fort Hays State University has printed a third edition of its “A Checklist of the Vertebrate Animals of Kansas.” Joseph T. Collins of Lawrence, adjunct herpetologist for the Kansas Biological Survey, helped write the book.

The guide, which was first published in 1991, contains entries on all 798 known vertebrate species in Kansas. The guide’s authors have added 52 species to the list since the 1991 version was published.

Copies of the guide may be ordered from the Sternberg Museum. The guide is free, but people who request a copy must include a self-addressed, 6.5-by-9.5 inch envelope with $1.29 of postage affixed to it. Send requests to: Publications, Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University, Hays 67601.

Commander nominated for new Army post

The commanding officer at Fort Leavenworth is in line for a promotion and move to Fort Monroe, Va.

Army Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace has been nominated for the rank of general and assignment as commanding general, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe.

The nomination, subject to U.S. Senate approval, was made by President Bush and announced April 5 by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

David Howey, Fort Leavenworth’s public affairs officer, said it was not clear when Wallace’s new assignment would begin.

Training and Doctrine Command operates 33 schools and centers at 16 Army installations. It is responsible for all of the Army’s basic training and combat training centers.

Wallace assumed command of Fort Leavenworth on July 14, 2003. Prior to coming to Fort Leavenworth he commanded U.S. ground forces during the 2003 invasion of Iraq until June 14, 2003.

Howey said there has been no word from the Pentagon on Wallace’s replacement at Fort Leavenworth.