Shoe quilt auctioned for $1,775 for charity

A quilt auctioned online to raise money for the Social Service League’s children’s shoe fund for the 2005-2006 school year will stay in Lawrence.

The top bidder for the Shoefly Quilt was Lawrence podiatrist Christi Gilbert. Gilbert secured the quilt with a bid of $1,775.

Families are referred to the program by teachers, social workers, school nurses, counselors or other school officials. Parents are given vouchers to get shoes from Payless ShoeSource. The store then bills the school district, which pays for the shoes from its special fund.

Organizers Barbara Brackman and Deb Rowden are working on a quilt for funding the 2006-2007 year. The basketball shoe quilt will feature signatures of ex-KU basketball players.

The Shoefly quilt will be on display in Gilbert’s Lawrence office, along with a shoe bank for contributions to the children’s shoe fund.

New Kaw access point to be dedicated

The Friends of the Kaw and the city of Lecompton will dedicate a new boat access point on the Kansas River with a float trip.

The Lecompton boat ramp will be dedicated 1 p.m. on June 25. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Park officials put in the new boat ramp.

Participants in the float trip will meet at 11:45 a.m. at the North Lawrence River Front Park for transportation to the new boat ramp, which is located in Jefferson County just across the river from the city of Lecompton.

The Friends of the Kaw Educational Float Trip will leave from Lecompton following the dedication. The cost of the float trip is $25 per person and does include the cost of the shuttle.

Registration forms for the float trip can be found online at www.kansasriver.com and should by returned by Monday.

Canoe rentals also are on a first-come first-serve basis. For more information, contact Laura Calwell at 913-963-3460.

KU cardiologist receives fellowship

Kansas University cardiologist David Wilson was honored Thursday as the first recipient of the Delbert D. Neis, M.D., Professorship in Cardiovascular Diseases.

Wilson, director of the cardiology fellowship program at KU Medical Center, has mentored nearly 45 fellows during his tenure with the hospital. The professorship endowment will provide for Wilson’s salary, graduate researchers, equipment and travel expenses.

The Neis Professorship, which was established at the KU Endowment Association in 2000, is named after Delbert Neis, a 1945 graduate of the KU School of Medicine who practiced cardiovascular surgery in Omaha for many years. A gift from the Neis family allowed for the establishment of the professorship as well as the renovation of a 4000-square-foot laboratory at KU Medical Center.

Charity

Bachelor auction raises $6,200

The organizers of Thursday night’s Health Care Access bachelor auction reported Friday that they had raised $6,200, which is more than double last year’s total.

Last year’s event raised $3,000 for the organization.

This year’s priciest bachelor was Curtis Harris, a Lawrence businessman who works in real estate, who sold for $650. He will take the winner on a date to Chicago.

Nikki King, the executive director of Health Care Access, founded the event three years ago.