From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Feb. 1, 1974:

• Douglas County was considering a $25,000 microfilming contract that would preserve the contents of 640 of its big ledgers. Officials of Lockwood Co., Atchison, who had presented the contract, recommended that the county keep one copy of the microfilms for everyday use and store the “security copy” in facilities rented in abandoned salt mines in western Kansas. The county would pay five cents for each page microfilmed. Commissioner Arthur Heck said there would be additional costs in purchasing two to three microfilm printer-readers and for loading the films onto cassettes for use in the readers. Commissioners said they had no intention of destroying the original records, which would be kept on hand until they could be placed in a historical library.
• With only 29 months left to go until July 4, 1976, a local Bicentennial Committee was seeking citizens’ suggestions for projects. About 20 people had attended a recent meeting on the topic, where they had agreed on an organizational framework. Clenece Hills, vice-chair of the committee, was appointed to draft a form to aid in soliciting ideas for three federally-designated categories — heritage, festival, and horizon. Several members urged haste in picking a major project, saying that the state commission was already dispensing funding.