A new computerized system designed to remove politics from the decisions of highway funding allocation met with some grumbling when Douglas County was assigned less than 1 percent of state funds. The amount was judged by some to not be in line with the county’s population and amount of highway travel.

Assistant City Manager Mike Wildgen and about 20 other people participated in a hands-on demonstration on how to repair Lawrence traditional brick sidewalks. Working in a section of the 1000 block of Tennessee Street, the group learned how to pull up sidewalk bricks, remove part of a dead tree root, fill in the section with sand, and replace the bricks in their original pattern. Several homeowners attended the workshop and found it very helpful, in light of the city’s ordinance stating that owners are responsible for keeping their own sidewalks in good repair.

U.S.D. 497 members were scheduled to consider nine recommendations for school reorganization in the coming week.