The Eudora Parks and Recreation Department had a good turnout Saturday for the community picnic it hosted in Bluejacket Park and gave those in attendance news that there soon would be more reason to return to the park at 12th and Cedar streets.

It was announced at the picnic that Hamm Inc. and CFS Engineers are partnering with the city to replace the deteriorated paving on Bluejacket Trail that winds through the park. Eudora Assistant to the City Manager Leslie Herring said the city unsuccessfully made a grant application to replace the asphalt pathways in the nearly 20-year-old trail.

CFS Engineers, a Midwest firm with an office in Lawrence, will provide the design and engineering for the project, and Hamm, of Perry, will provide the materials and labor, said Justin Eddings, president of the Eudora Parks and Recreation Foundation. The two companies’ in-kind contributions are estimated to total $125,000, he said. Although dependent on the weather, the project should be done this summer, Eddings said.

Baldwin City has a new city councilman. On Wednesday, the City Council approved Mayor Marilyn Pearse’s nomination of A.J. Stevens to fill the unexpired term of Steve Bauer. The seat has been open since Bauer and his wife, Alison, were killed in a May automobile accident in Anderson County. Bauer was elected to serve on the Council until December 2019.

Pearse nominated Stevens after she announced Shane Starkey had withdrawn from consideration for the appointment. The mayor’s nomination of Starkey at the City Council’s June 10 meeting was tabled when council members said they wanted more time to gauge community response to the nomination.

Starkey and Stevens were among the six candidates to file for the two City Council seats that will be on the Nov. 7 ballot. Stevens is the assistant athletic director of Ottawa University. He told the Journal-World when he filed for the City Council in May that he and his wife decided to move to Baldwin City when he took his position with OU because they liked the schools and community.

Both Starkey and Stevens remain on the Nov. 7 ballot. Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew told the Journal-World a state statute the Kansas Legislature passed in 2015 makes it very difficult withdraw from the ballot after the June 1 filing and withdrawal deadline. Should Stevens be one of the two candidates receiving the most votes in November, he would have to resign from that position or the seat he was appointed to on Wednesday

The Baldwin City Chamber of Commerce will have its monthly meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Lumberyard Arts Center, 718 High St. Baldwin High School coach Mike Spielman, whose teams have won multiple 4A girls and boys cross country and boys state track titles, will speak on building a winning team. Maceli’s Banquet Hall and Catering will cater the luncheon.

The Baldwin City Community Senior Mix, which suspended its monthly activities last winter, will return with a reunion gathering Wednesday at Ives Chapel United Methodist Church, 1018 Miami St. Lunch will be served at noon and will be followed with musical entertainment from Gary Gourd and the Odds ‘n Ends.

The Eudora Chamber of Commerce will have the first of two summer socials from 5 to 8 p.m Friday at the Sweet Acres Inn, 103 E. Seventh St. The second summer social will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Kaw Valley Bank, 739 Main St.