Candidates invited to attend open forum

Lawrence voters will have a chance to hear the views of the Lawrence City Commission candidates at a forum Wednesday.

All five remaining candidates are expected to participate in a forum at 7 p.m. at the Dole Institute of Politics on Kansas University’s west campus.

The forum is sponsored by the Voter Education Coalition and will feature questions from a panel of media and community members. The forum will be broadcast at 11 a.m. March 26 and 8 p.m. March 27 and April 3 and 4 on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6.

Voters can go to the polls April 5 to choose candidates to fill three at-large seats on the commission.

County commission

Land plat approved for church site

Douglas County commissioners on Monday approved the plat for a new church site.

Officials with First United Methodist Church, 946 Vt., plan to build a church on the 67-acre site south of U.S. Highway 40 and west of the South Lawrence Trafficway.

The site has been split into two lots. The new church will be built on a 43-acre site. The second lot comprises about 19 acres and will be used for future development by the church.

Church members purchased the land for a second campus in October 2001.

The land was acquired for $1.7 million from the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

U.S. Senate

Historic designation sought for state

U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback and Judy Billings, director of the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau, will be among a group testifying today in support of a proposed National Heritage Area for eastern Kansas.

The pair will testify during a 2:30 p.m. hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Sen. Pat Roberts also will offer written testimony in support of the designation.

The Bleeding Kansas and Enduring Struggle for Freedom Heritage Area would comprise 24 counties in eastern Kansas, including Douglas County. The designation would make the area eligible for federal funding to boost tourism and preserve historical sites.