Douglas County staff got a consensus from commissioners Wednesday evening to move forward on design plans for an estimated $23 million to $25 million expansion of the local jail. Interim County Administrator Sarah Plinsky asked the commission to determine that the latest proposed design concept is the one that staff should continue to study and develop. The new design would add a four-floor south tower to the ...
County staff hopes to get a consensus from Douglas County commissioners on updated design plans for an expansion of the local jail. On Wednesday, at its 6 p.m. meeting time reserved for items of public interest, the commission will hear an update from Interim County Administrator Sarah Plinsky and Undersheriff Gary Bunting on the Douglas County Jail expansion project. “(Commissioners have) asked for ...
A Lawrence man has been ordered to serve 17 months in prison after being convicted in a shooting that injured a 17-year-old girl. Rashan Gill, 21, was sentenced Tuesday in Douglas County District Court for the incident that took place in the early morning hours of July 5, 2018. On that night, the girl was in a car with friends who had been aiming Roman candles at the apartment building where Gill, then 20, ...
With 3 1/2 projects down and 3 1/2 to go, the Lawrence school district is spending more than the $87 million it projected to voters as part of the 2017 bond issue. At the halfway point, an updated document provided to the Journal-World shows that budgeted spending for the seven school projects now totals $90.66 million. District officials, though, say the additional spending is a good thing. It's not creating ...
Since his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren relocated about six months ago, 71-year-old Jerry Barnes, a lifelong Lawrence resident, doesn’t really have any family in town. “They bought a house and moved down to Jenks, Okla., and poor ol' Grandpa, I'm here all by myself,” he said. But he’s able to stay in his own home, and that’s significant to him. He said he’s OK with not having someone ...
Story last updated at 8:43 p.m. Friday Administrators at Lawrence High School confiscated a Taser from a student after it discharged on school property Thursday morning, district spokeswoman Julie Boyle said in an email to media Friday afternoon. In a news release sent at 12:21 p.m. Friday, Boyle said a staff member “reported hearing the student discharge it while showing it to another student on campus as ...