Reception to honor inaugural Dole fellows

A reception today will honor the inaugural Dole fellows at the Dole Institute of Politics.

At 5 p.m. the institute will give the public a chance to meet Adam Taff and Steven Jacques, who, as institute fellows, will host weekly discussions on a range of political topics beginning in March and running through the spring semester. The sessions are free and open to the public, and a schedule will be announced in the next few weeks.

Taff, a Republican, is a former Navy pilot who lost to Rep. Dennis Moore in 2002 to represent the 3rd Congressional District. He also ran in 2004 but lost in the Republican primary.

Jacques served on White House staffs in the Carter and Clinton administrations, and also has worked in the departments of state and commerce. He has worked on eight presidential campaigns, most recently as senior advance consultant for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

Courts

Hearing in fatal police chase postponed

The driver in a deadly August 2003 police pursuit was expected to enter a plea in District Court Wednesday, but the hearing was postponed because Judge Robert Fairchild was out sick.

Nam Ouk Cho, 21, Lee’s Summit, Mo., is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Judith Vellucci, 56, Lawrence. Cho was speeding away from police when he struck and killed Vellucci at 31st Street and Nieder Road.

The hearing has been rescheduled for Monday.

Kansas Day

KU professor to give Kansas Day lecture

Don Stull, a Kansas University anthropology professor who studies the meat-packing industry, will present a Kansas Day lecture at

4 p.m. Friday in the Memorial Union at Washburn University in Topeka.

His topic will be “Meatpacking and Mexicans on the High Plains: From Minority to Majority in Garden City, Kan.” The event is free and open to the public.

Stull is co-author of the book “Slaughter House Blues: the Meat and Poultry Industry of North America,” published in 2003. He has published more than 50 scholarly articles and is also author of “Any Way You Cut It: Meat Processing and Small-town America,” published in 1995.

His research interests focus on the impact of the meat-and poultry-processing industries on workers and their host communities as they struggle to meet the challenges presented by rapid growth, rapid industrialization and increasing ethnic diversity.

The lecture is sponsored by the Center for Kansas Studies.