Posted by Terry Rombeck September 11, 2006 at 8:13 a.m.

Homeland Security dogs, football signs and a once-local band

¢ The city of Toledo, Ohio, is starting to enforce a city ordinance banning signs in rights-of-way, in part because of football season, according to the [Toledo Blade][1]. KU plays the Univeristy of Toledo on Friday.Another bad intersection, the mayor said, is Secor Road and Central Avenue, which will be traversed by hundreds of out-of-town visitors when the University of Toledo plays the University of Kansas next Friday."I don't want their first impression of our city being a sign telling them 'Lose weight, ask me how,'" the mayor said.¢ Mates of State, a husband-and-wife duo and indie band that formed when the couple was at KU nearly a decade ago, is the subject of this story in the [Boston Globe][2]._Since meeting at the University of Kansas in Lawrence nine years ago, Gardner and Hammel have slowly carved a niche with their intimate sound. Gardner, who plays organ and sings, weaves her sweet cooing around Hammel's walloping drum beats and yelping vocals. The two are a sort of family band, traveling the country with their 2-year-old daughter in tow.¢ A pair of dogs that previously were brought in for euthanization at Vom Kaiserhof Kennels in Lawrence have new life as Homeland Security dogs in Cheyenne, Wyo., the [Wyoming Tribune-Eagle][3] reports.It wasn't so long ago they were down and out, having fallen on hard times after failing to charm their owners beyond the first six months of puppy-hood. Those former owners wanted to euthanize the overly active dogs, and both had plans to do so when they called Vom Kaiserhof Kennels in Lawrence, Kan.¢ A former Lawrence resident who now plays baseball for Centenary College was quoted in the [Shreveport Times][4] over the weekend about a book sale in Shreveport._Blake Dickson, a 22-year-old Centenary psychology major and pitcher for the Gents baseball team, came straight from practice and a quick shower to be volunteer golf-cart driver at the bazaar.He carried books and shoppers in his cart throughout the Gold Dome's overflowing parking lots.The Lawrence, Kan., native said he enjoyed volunteering because it helps his "general outlook."But he wasn't so sure he would be looking at any books for himself._"I've got plenty of reading to do right now."¢ KU Athletic Director Lew Perkins is mentioned in this [Waterbury (Conn.) Republican American][5] story about the cost of UConn football._When former athletic director Lew Perkins first unsuccessfully proposed moving the football team to Division I-A in the early 1990s, he saw the financial future of college athletics. He saw that the financial health of the nation's best athletic programs was largely tied to football. It took years for him to finally convince state officials of that.¢ Mike McCarthy, the Green Bay Packers' coach, gets a mention in this story about new NFL coaches in the [Austin American Statesman][6]. McCarthy is a graduate of Baker University.A former tight end for Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan., McCarthy is the only current NFL head coach from an NAIA school. [1]: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060909/NEWS16/609090373/-1/NEWS [2]: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2006/09/09/mates_of_state_has_real_family_harmony/ [3]: http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2006/09/09/top_story/1local9-9-06.txt [4]: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060909/NEWS01/609090385/1002/NEWS [5]: http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=12351 [6]: http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/09/10/10newcoaches.html