Herpetological group plans spring field trip

The Kansas Herpetological Society will make its annual spring field trip today and Sunday at Shawnee County State Fishing Lake northwest of Topeka.

Participants will hunt for turtles, frogs, snakes, lizards and other amphibians and reptiles. Nonvenomous animals will be taken to a checkpoint, identified and documented. Most animals will then be released where they were found, although some species might be kept and taken to an accredited research institution for study.

People of all ages are welcome to join in the event and assist scientists, but young children should be accompanied by an adult. Tonight after the field trip a “Kid’s Corner” session will be conducted by a herpetologist.

For more information, see the society’s Web site at www.ku.edu/~khs/.

Mother hopes to raise awareness of tumors

A former Lawrence resident will discuss her 3-year-old son’s ongoing battle with a brain tumor during an 8:15 a.m. Monday appearance on “According to the Record” on KLWN AM 1320.

Jill Wagner’s son, Tucker, was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was 14 months old. The tumor was removed, but a second tumor was discovered. It was not removed.

Wagner, a 1996 graduate of Lawrence High School, is trying to raise awareness of the need for more medical research on tumors. She will participate in the May 1 “Run for Hope” in Washington, D.C.

Wagner and her husband, Aaron, live between Perry and Oskaloosa.

City offers free T rides for Earth Day, relays

Rides on the city’s public transportation system, the T, will be free today in honor of Earth Day celebrations and the Kansas Relays.

City officials are urging residents to use the T to cut down on traffic congestion related to an Earth Day parade that begins at 10:45 a.m. downtown.

Public transit officials also think the bus may be a convenient option for people attending the Kansas Relays at Kansas University’s Memorial Stadium.

Rides will be free all day. The bus system operates from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Information on routes can be found at www.lawrencetransit.org.

Community service

Scouts to collect food for pantries today

Lawrence Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts are asking area residents to help fill the shelves of local food pantries.

For the 18th year in a row, the scouts are hosting the “Scouting for Food” canned food drive. The scouts will be collecting food bags from front porches throughout the city today, starting at 9 a.m.

To donate food for the drive, leave a plastic or paper bag marked “Scouting for Food” with canned goods on your front porch.

The food collected in the drive will be distributed to five area food pantries: the Salvation Army, Penn House, Pelathe Community Center, Ballard Center and ECKAN.