25 years ago: City turns down halfway house proposal

A proposal to operate halfway houses in the 900 block of Connecticut Street was turned down by the Lawrence City Commission. The houses, which would have served women recovering from alcohol and drug dependency, had drawn opposition from neighbors, who presented commissioners with a petition signed by 80 percent of the surrounding property owners.

Lawrence had a narrow escape from a strong hailstorm that had struck other parts of the state before moving into Douglas County as a quieter .32 inch of rain. Strong winds had piled the hail into 3-foot drifts in northwest Kansas, blocking roads, shattering windows and downing power lines.

A study was underway on the feasibility of building a new Kansas Turnpike interchange west of Lawrence. The interchange would be the western terminus of the bypass proposed for south and west of Lawrence.