Comments to be taken on contractor ordinance

City officials will conduct a second meeting to discuss a proposed contractor licensing ordinance at 6 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.

Officials with the city’s Neighborhood Resources Department will accept public comment and answer questions about the ordinance, which, if approved by city commissioners, would require many types of contractors to hold a city license.

A draft version of the ordinance is online at www.lawrence

neighres.org or can be picked up at the Neighborhood Resources office at 1 Riverfront Plaza, Suite 110.

Hall Center announces open house on Sunday

The Hall Center for the Humanities staff members will show off their new facility during an open house Sunday.

The open house will run from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Staff will be available to answer questions. A formal dedication is scheduled for April 9.

The building, which was completed last month, is 14,700 square feet and includes a 120-seat conference room, a seminar room and offices for staff and research fellows.

It was funded through a $4.07 million gift from the Hall Family Foundation, $1.89 million in state funds and $260,000 in other private donations.

The building incorporates walls from the 1887 powerhouse, formerly the oldest building on the KU campus.

For more information, call the Hall Center at 864-7826 or send e-mail to hallcenter@ku.edu.

Perry-Lecompton scheduling parent visits

Parents of children who will be entering kindergarten at Perry Elementary School or preschool at Grantville Early Childhood Center in August need to schedule a visit to the schools, according to officials with the Perry-Lecompton school district.

Children entering kindergarten must be 5 years old before Sept. 1. They should live in Grantville, Perry or Williamstown.

Children entering preschool must be 3 years old before Sept. 1. They should live within the district’s boundaries. Students age 4 have priority.

To schedule a visit, contact Vicki Sieve at (785) 597-5156. Evening appointments are available Wednesday and Feb. 21.

Housing authority gets job-training grant

The Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority has received a $27,400 grant to continue a program to provide job training and counseling to public housing residents.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will fund an existing position that provides “self-sufficiency” training to individuals who live in the various public housing facilities in the city, said Barbara Huppee, executive director of the housing authority.

Huppee said the program had been in place for six years in Lawrence and currently served 54 families.

Candidates reminded of sign regulations

As the local campaign season gets into full swing, city officials are reminding residents of the city’s regulations governing campaign signs.

Barry Walthall, codes enforcement manager, said there are three regulations that campaign workers and residents should follow:

• No sign can exceed 16 square feet in area.
• No sign shall be placed in the public right of way.
• No sign can be placed on private property without the permission of the owner or occupant of the property.

Walthall said signs in the right of way were particularly problematic. He said the signs were potential safety hazards because they created sight problems for pedestrians and drivers.

The city’s inspection’s staff will routinely remove signs that are placed in the right of way, Walthall said.

KU leadership lecture features federal judge

Deanell Reece Tacha, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, will deliver the annual Emily Taylor and Marilyn Stokstad Women’s Leadership Lecture next month.

Tacha will speak on “The Emily Imperative: Empowerment” at 7:30 p.m. March 3 at the Dole Institute of Politics at Kansas University. The free speech is open to the public.

Tacha, who lives in Lawrence, has served on the Court of Appeals since 1985 and became chief judge in 2001.