The day in photos, June 3, 2011

photo by: Richard Gwin

Giving each other a big hug, McClouth seniors Kayle Blevins 16, left, and Katy Taylor 16, console each other as the town of McClouth mourned on Thursday, June 2, 2011, at the McLouth United Methodist Church. The community was honoring Justin Johnston, a McClouth junior who was shot and killed on a school trip to Costa Rica.

photo by: Scott Rothschild

Kirk Thompson of Topeka was introduced Thursday as new director of Kansas Bureau of Investigation

photo by: AP Photo | Edwards Funeral Home

Jeff Edwards stands next to an alkaline hydrolysis device that uses lye and heat to dissolve a body as an alternative to burial or cremation. Proponents say it’s more environmentally friendly than traditional cremation, but skeptics question the safety and social implications of sending someone’s remains down the drain.

photo by: Scott Rothschild

Sidewalk chalk on the south side of the capitol building expresses the feelings of Kansas Arts Commission supporters.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Jillian Rodrigue, assistant director of Douglas County Emergency Management drops a plumb line gauge into the Kansas River to measure the river's flood stage Thursday, June 2, 2011. The county will take measurements every four hours until Saturday morning to monitor the river level. Rodrigue measured the river level at 15-feet, 8-inches at 2:30 p.m., up from 15-feet, 3.5-inches at 10:30 a.m.

John Hawkes, who was nominated for a best supporting actor Academy Award for his role in "Winter's Bone" plays Lawrence artist Stan Herd, who in 1994 attempted a massive earthwork on a piece of land in New York's Upper West Side.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Sara Brown and her husband, Paul Steinle, prepare for a video interview with the publisher and editors at the Lawrence Journal-World Thursday, June 2, 2011. Brown and Steinle are with WhoNeedsNewspapers.org and are visiting one newspaper in each state to report how newspapers are recasting themselves in the digital age and to document what unique community roles newspapers fulfill.