Our favorite kinds of stories to tell — highlighting good things happening in Lawrence and Douglas County.
The image at the top of this page is from the August 2022 Pooch Plunge. Check out the full gallery at this link.
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LATEST GOOD NEWS
Carter Gaskins/Lawrence Times
Here’s a sneak peek at Runner, service-dog-in-training and future Watkins Museum volunteer
Runner, the latest service-dog-in-training being raised by a Watkins Museum volunteer, stopped by the museum Thursday to greet her future colleagues.
MORE GOOD NEWS
Quail Run Elementary teacher wins Kansas Horizon Award for excellent teaching
Quail Run Elementary School teacher Julia Ferguson has been chosen to receive a Kansas Horizon Award for her positive impact on education in the state.
New Dogwatch series highlights cutest canines spotted around Lawrence
From Mutt Run Dog Park to Massachusetts Street, Lawrence Times TV is setting out to reveal the cutest dogs across town.
Tricia Masenthin/Lawrence Times
‘Mother of Dragons’ and her reptiles create welcoming space for culinary arts students
Chef Camille Eichorn promotes an open-door policy in her culinary arts classroom at the Lawrence College and Career Center. That’s mostly in the figurative sense, though — the room is home to bearded dragons Da Vinci and Mucha, and they mustn’t leave without a proper escort.
Chansi Long/Lawrence Times
Lawrence activist’s New Year’s Eve Unhoused Project aims to offer ‘a little hope’
Kevin Elliott-Snow will celebrate the new year at the Winter Emergency Shelter as part of his New Year’s Eve Unhoused Project. On that night, he will distribute up to 200 goodie-like gift bags for anyone experiencing homelessness.
Karrey Britt, Douglas County/Contributed Photo
Eudora machinist creates gear to fix Douglas County courthouse clock
Eudora machinist Wayne Neis wasted no time when it came to fixing the historic Douglas County courthouse clock.
‘Black Beyond Borders’ literary exhibit shows diversity of Black populations
Oftentimes, Black people are lumped into one box. An online literature exhibit by KU students works to show the range of cultures and lived experiences among Black people across the western hemisphere.
Tricia Masenthin/Lawrence Times
Family matriarch quilts stories, relives civil rights history with needle and thread
Mary Rials, 85, has designed, cut, pieced and quilted about 200 quilts since she retired from KU in 2000. Her latest, Dare to Dream, is her first quilt to tell the story of the civil rights movement.
Lawrence events center on spreading light to celebrate Hanukkah
Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, co-director of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life, hosted two events this week at the Lawrence Public Library to celebrate Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights.
Contributed photo
Mother and son ask community members to join them at North Lawrence campsite on Christmas Eve
Trina Tinsley and her 9-year-old son, Jax, want to fill the North Lawrence campsite for unhoused community members with love and support this Christmas Eve.
Chloe Anderson/Lawrence Times
Kids help rabbi press oil, make wicks for menorah candles at Lawrence library
Families gathered in the Lawrence Public Library auditorium Tuesday to hear Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel tell the story of Hanukkah, snack on latkes and applesauce, and help make olive oil and wicks to use in a menorah.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Lawrence author, musician Melvin Litton is driven by passion for creativity
Lawrence author and musician Melvin Litton walks his German shepherd, Jack, through the Barker neighborhood every evening. He might be shaping sentences in his head or exploring literary ideas as he walks, eager to scrawl them onto his sketch pad once he’s home again.
Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered
Photos: Lawrence High girls basketball celebrates Native American Heritage Night
The Lawrence High School girls basketball team celebrated Native American Heritage Night on Friday.
Lawrence school district alumni come back to coach, cultivate new wave of sports culture
These former Lawrence High and Free State student-athletes have returned to coach at their alma maters. They’re working to improve the culture of youth sports for their athletes today.
Tricia Masenthin/Lawrence Times
Averill family to stage Christmas show and ‘big party’ with vaudeville roots
The moment they’ve all been waiting for soon will arrive. Finally, Ric and Jeanne Averill will perform on stage at the same time with their children, Will and Trish. The big event will take place on the mainstage at Lawrence Arts Center à la “Drunken Christmas Carol.”
At Ampersand RadLab, KU students use design as a force for good
KU design professor Ryan Clifford works at the intersection of design and social impact. As the faculty lead for Ampersand RadLab, a new student-run project focused on community engagement, he’s helping young adults harness the power of visual art as a force for good.
Mac Moore, KSHSAA Covered/Contributed photo
Free State football standout commits to KU; ‘I can be near my support community,’ he says
Calvin Clements, a senior at Free State High School and Jayhawk fan growing up, is staying home for college.
Tricia Masenthin/Lawrence Times
At Nostalgia Room, Lawrence’s new nonalcoholic bar, sobriety and sentimentality mix together
Memories and feelings of family converge at Nostalgia Room, telling the story of Emily Kate Johnson’s sobriety — and of how she opened the new sober bar in East Lawrence.
Chansi Long/Lawrence Times
Angeles Panaderia, a new bakery in Lawrence, carries on family tradition
Six mornings a week at his new Lawrence bakery, Javier Angeles bakes the breads and pastries his father taught him to make in Mexico.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Santa rescued from Weaver’s rooftop yet again; Lawrence townspeople rejoice
Much to the relief of concerned Lawrencians, Santa Claus was rescued from a department store rooftop Friday following the kickoff celebration of the holiday season in downtown Lawrence.
Contributed
Lawrence to unveil its own PFLAG chapter for LGBTQ+ individuals, allies
Family members, friends and advocates of those identifying as LGBTQ+ soon will have a new local resource to help them and their loved ones.
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