25 years ago: Dillons site plan approved

The back-to-school schedule had shifted for Fall 1985. Previously, Lawrence schools had started in late August, but earlier in the year, U.S.D. 497 had shifted the schedule in hopes of avoiding the worst of the late-summer heat. The first day of classes for most students was to be September 3, the day after Labor Day.

Operating costs at Valleyview Care Home, the county-owned nursing home in southwestern Lawrence, were under scrutiny by the Douglas County Commission. At an earlier discussion on the 1986 budget, the commissioners had questioned whether the county could afford continual increases in spending at the nursing home, which was located at 2518 Ridge Court.

A 90-minute discussion at the city commission meeting ended with the approval of the site plan for a Dillon “super store” at Sixth and Lawrence Avenue. Commissioners were concerned that the site would affect future development along west Sixth Street. They discussed the benefits of green space versus more parking for the store, as well as buried telephone cable versus overhead lines.