photo by: Mike Yoder

A team from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical and the Lawrence Police Department earned awards of valor Tuesday for a life-saving rescue of a boy trapped under a log in the Bowersock Dam spillway. Honored at the first Valor Public Safety Awards banquet, from left, are Sgt. Clark Rials and Deputy Dale Flory with the sheriff’s office, Lawrence police officer Tony Garcia, and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical’s Mark Parker, Capt. Sandy Herd (retired), Leo Leiker and Troy Gourley.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Emily Mulligan supervises as her daughters Arbor, 6, and Prairie, 4, pick radishes Tuesday from Mellowfields Urban Garden for the Cordley Farm to School lunch Wednesday. The meal is a chance for students at the school to eat food that they harvested themselves. Cordley students and families harvested more than 10 pounds of lettuce and 13 pounds of cherry tomatoes Sunday at Pendleton’s Country Market. Tuesday’s harvest was 5 pounds of radishes.

photo by: John Young

Defense attorney, Pedro Irigonegaray argues before a panel of judges along side assistant attorney general Andrew Bauch during the appellate hearing for his client, Matthew Jaeger, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011 at the old Douglas County Courthouse. Jaeger was sentenced to nine years in prison in March of 2010 for kidnapping, aggravated battery and criminal threat from a 2007 attack on his then girlfriend, Francie Biggs. Among the items argued by the attorneys was whether or not it was permissible for Judge Robert Fairchild to have dismissed a juror for misconduct.

photo by: Mark Fagan

Laurie Scott, school resource officer at West Middle School, is leading the charge to provide kids with gifts and their families with food for the holidays through the new Lawrence Police Blue Santa Program. Scott joined leaders from several organizations Oct. 18, 2011, at Capital City Bank in downtown Lawrence to celebrate their organizations being chosen to receive proceeds from efforts conducted by the Lawrence St. Patrick's day Parade Committee.

photo by: Kevin Anderson

Jill Fincher of Lawrence watches as her daughter Zoe, 14, right, studies the manual while waiting in line, in this 2009 file photo. Service at the Douglas County Treasurer's office and the Department of Motor Vehicles will be suspended early next month as the offices upgrade their computer systems.

photo by: Courtesy Brett Ramey

Hubbard squash, a plant native to the region, is among the crops being grown by Brett Ramey on the Iowa Reservation near White Cloud. The squash will be used in a variety of dishes this weekend at the Haskell Indian Nations University indigenous food festival. The event is one of many being held over the next week and half in celebration of Food Day.