Area officials practice emergency drill

Douglas County medical, law enforcement and emergency management officials met Wednesday to discuss how to handle a pandemic avian flu outbreak.

The discussion was part of a series of terrorism exercises in Douglas County at the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, 200 Maine.

“We need to know what it will take for all of us to work together and get through a situation like this if it were to happen,” Douglas County Emergency Management director Paula Phillips said. “It helps us understand the different parts of investigation for law enforcement and health officials and how those groups can help each other if this type of situation were to happen.”

Phillips said they selected a flu outbreak for the exercise because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considered it to be a huge threat to the country.

The exercise also included officials from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Shawnee County Health Department.

Kansas University

Emily Taylor center names award winners

Fourteen female students, faculty, staff and friends of Kansas University have been named the 2005 award winners by the Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center.

The awards will be given during an awards banquet at 7:30 p.m. April 21 in the Kansas Union Ballroom. The keynote speech will be given by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who will receive the Pioneer Woman award.

Four women — Polly Bales, Beverly Smith Billings, Linda Warren and Annette Stanton — will be inducted into the KU Women’s Hall of Fame.

Other recipients will be Alexandra Knudson Baldwin, outstanding woman in leadership; Caroline Smith, outstanding woman in athletics; Jee-Hae Lim, outstanding international woman student; Kristin Wilson, outstanding woman student in community service; Susan Twombly, outstanding woman educator; Judy Ross, outstanding woman staff member; Nicole Kansier, Sally Frost Mason award; Sara Cox, outstanding woman student in partnership; and Roberta Pokphanh, outstanding nontraditional woman student.

City government

Public invited to chat with mayor

Submit a question for the mayor

Lawrence’s new mayor, Boog Highberger, will respond to questions online today on the Journal-World’s Web site.

Highberger, who was named mayor Tuesday night by his fellow commissioners, will chat at 3 p.m. today on ljworld.com.

Participants can submit questions early, sign on during the live chat and participate, or read the transcript later.

Highberger, who was elected in 2003, has said his top priority for the next year would be resolving the South Lawrence Trafficway issue.

Kindergarten Roundup under way in district

The Lawrence school district’s Kindergarten Roundup has begun. Parents who have children who will be 5 years old on or before Aug. 31, 2005, are encouraged to contact their neighborhood’s elementary school to set up an appointment.

Parents are asked to bring a certified copy of their child’s birth certificate, immunization record and Social Security card.

Cordley, Langston Hughes and Prairie Park schools have had their roundups. Kennedy’s and Sunset Hill’s are set for Friday. Other roundups:

• April 18, Broken Arrow.
• April 19, Wakarusa Valley.
• April 20, Pinckney.
• April 22, Quail Run.
• April 22, Woodlawn
• April 25-26, Schwegler.
• April 27, New York.
• April 28-29, Deerfield.
• April 29, Hillcrest.
• May 5-6, Sunflower.