Lawrence Mayor Boog Highberger thinks it is well worth $5,000 of taxpayer money to help area residents hear stories about the days when segregation was still common in the city and racial discrimination was a fact of life.

Other city commissioners agreed. Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously supported a $5,000 request from organizers of the Second Annual Juneteenth Celebration.

Highberger told commissioners that he went to last year’s inaugural event, which is designed to celebrate the end of slavery, and was particularly struck by the oral history presentations.

“I heard some stories I had not heard before, and a lot more people need to hear those stories,” said Highberger, who said he heard accounts of past decades when black athletes were denied opportunities to participate on Kansas University teams, and black women were not allowed in certain areas of the hospital.

This year’s celebration, scheduled for June 12-18, again will have an oral history session, along with a three-on-three basketball tournament, prayer breakfast, essay contest and a family festival that will wrap up the celebration June 18 at Burcham Park. More details on each session will be finalized closer to the celebration.

Donna Bell, an organizer of the event, said the group needed $5,000 from the city to help cover the estimated $10,000 cost to put on the celebration. Other funding is expected to come from KU and private sources.

“The focus of Juneteenth is really to celebrate the end of slavery in this country,” Bell said. “Given the history of this community, we really think it is important for our community to emphasize Juneteenth.”

Bell said that more than 200 cities across the country celebrate Juneteenth.

City to seek funding for changes to Kasold

City commissioners agreed to move forward with plans to apply for state funding to rebuild a major portion of Kasold Drive toward the end of this decade.

Commissioners at their meeting Tuesday unanimously approved a request to apply for Kansas Department of Transportation funding to rebuild Kasold Drive from Sixth to 15th streets. The $3.5 million project would begin in 2010 if the state funding is approved.

The project would be in addition to an already approved project that will rebuild Kasold Drive from 15th to 22nd streets. Work on that project is expected to begin next year.

Chuck Soules, the city’s director of public works, said he hoped the city would receive $2.5 million in state funding for the project. Soules said the street currently has 20,000 cars per day on it, with traffic volumes expected to grow to 30,000 cars by 2025.

ECO2 gains funding for public education

Members of the city-county group ECO2 will now have funding to move forward on developing a plan to preserve open space and create new industrial park areas.

City commissioners unanimously approved $12,500 in funding to help pay for a part-time administrative assistant, contract mapping services and education and outreach efforts by the group. The Douglas County Commission on Monday also approved a $12,500 request from the group.