From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 1, 1988:

• Dick and Connie Warkins were pictured on the front page of today’s Journal-World, but they might have hoped it had been under happier circumstances. The couple, who lived about a half-mile east of Lone Star, were pictured cleaning mud out of their home after about eight inches of rainfall had flooded nearby Washington Creek, causing an estimated $652,000 in damages to 27 affected properties in the Lone Star area. Floodwaters had receded this morning, but “it’s a mess. There’s mud everywhere,” Connie Warkins said. “It’ll take a few days to get all of this mud out of here, and then we’ll figure out what’s salvageable. I don’t think we’ll ever get that smell out of the carpet and everything.” Volunteer firefighters from Wakarusa, Palmyra, and Willow Springs were in the area 10 miles southwest of Lawrence today, helping pump and sweep water from houses. The Lawrence Salvation Army canteen truck was also at the site, distributing meals and coffee.
• The recent rainstorm had probably been the only thing preventing the month from being the driest on record for Lawrence, according to Ed Levy, a forecaster for the Kansas University weather service. Only .07 of an inch of precipitation had been recorded at the KU station before the June 29 deluge bumped the city’s official June tally up to 2.55. (Surrounding areas had received a greater share of this week’s storm, with some outlying towns recording over a foot of rain.) But “we’re not out of the woods,” Levy said, adding that the monthly total was still 2.94 inches below normal. The six-month total for 1988 rain was also behind; at 11.43 inches it was still 6.41 inches below average, Levy added.