Civil War group to have meeting today

The Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War will have its monthly meeting today at Watkins Community Museum of History, 1047 Mass.

The meeting will start at 7 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., following a business meeting, SUVCW members will discuss their Civil War ancestors. The public is invited to attend and talk about their ancestors as well.

County planning to pave district roads

Residents in the Hesper Community near Eudora could have paved roads by fall.

On Wednesday, Douglas County commissioners — acting as the board of directors of the Hesper Charter Road Improvement District — unanimously approved contracting with LRM Industries Inc. for the project.

Residents in the Hesper community want to pave about three miles worth of road located by the intersection of North 1100 and East 2300 roads paved because of dust and the growing population in the area.

LRM put in a project bid of $248,575. The bid was more than the engineer’s estimate of $240,162. But residents attending the meeting stated they wanted to move forward with the project despite the additional cost.

The road improvement project will be funded by the residents. They also will pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the roads.

Construction should begin at the beginning of June or early July and be completed in about two months.

District honors school retirees

A districtwide retirement ceremony for employees of Lawrence Public Schools took place Wednesday afternoon at Lawrence High School, 1901 La.

Thirty teachers, representing more than 700 combined years of service, were recognized for their work in USD497; more than half of whom have worked in the district for 25 years or more.

Thirteen “classified” employees — people who work for the district but are not under contract — were also honored for their combined 193 years of service.

Lawrence School District 497 departing staff

Certified staff and number of years with the district:

Jayne Polcyn, 36 years; Carolyn Wiles, 34 years; Steven Wiles, 33 years; Valerie Howland and Arthur Sloan, 32 years; Russell Blackbird and Sarah Carttar, 31 years; Stephen Grant, Linda Lawrence and Robert Lominska, 28 years; Kathy Carlsen and Gretchen Lehman, 27 years; Pamela Nuzum, 26 years; Marion Anderson, Katherine Becker and Janet Magnuson, 25 years; Lynn Beets, Anne Fowler and Ted Juneau, 24 years; Mary Grant, 21 years; Cheryl Chaput and Judy Juneau, 20 years; Paul Stuewe, 19 years; Dianna McKenzie, 17 years; Climetine Clayburn and Janeal Krehbiel, 15 years; Joy Clumsky and Kathryn Lewis, 11 years; Charles Mosley, 9 years; and Donna Black, 3 years.

Classified staff and number of years with with the district:

Gary Johnson, 29 years; Alcenia Shepard, 23 years; Wayland Lankford, 23 years; Celeste Tipton, 21 years; Sharon Wiggins, 20 years; Evelyn Burkart, 18 years; Martha LaRue, 13 years; James Winchester, 12 years; Alice Terry, 10 years; Perthinia Paul and Loretta Roth, 9 years; Loretta Gantenbein, 3.5 years; and Erma Dieker, 3 years.