Community invited to County Government Day event on April 23 at the fairgrounds | |
Come celebrate Douglas County Government Day on Tuesday, April 23. Our inaugural event will be from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 21st and Harper Streets, in the Open Pavilion.
Bring the kids! We will have lots of touch-a-truck activities with equipment from Public Works, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, Consolidated Fire District No. 1, Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Management, Emergency Communications and Maintenance. These Douglas County departments will also be at the event: Sustainability, Youth Services, District Attorney, Clerk/Elections, GIS, Appraiser, Treasurer, Register of Deeds and Administration.
The Common Ground program manager will be handing out seeds and will have information about how to get involved in community gardens. Emergency Management staff will have safety information and a "Wheel of Misfortunes" game, and they plan to showcase their new trailer. District Court staff will be available to talk about the Self-Help Office and Citizen Review Board.
There will be live music from Great Plains Media’s stations 105.9 KISS FM and 92.9 The Bull, and family-friendly activities, including:
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5 p.m. and 6 p.m. — Reading of a children's storybook, "Impatient Pamela Calls 911," by Emergency Communications staff.
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5:30 p.m. — Life jacket safety demonstration by the Sheriff's Office staff.
Local food trucks Barbwire Barbecue and Torched Goodness will have food available for purchasing. There will also be information available about the Treatment & Recovery Center and Engage Douglas County. Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health will have their mobile vehicle at the event and will be offering free blood pressure checks along with general health information.
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The Douglas County Correctional Facility | |
Douglas County ready to begin local mental competency restoration treatment program April 1 | |
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Douglas County is set to begin a local process for evaluating mental competency of defendants and offering outpatient treatment for restoration. The process is believed to be the first to begin at the county level in Kansas and would help address the statewide backlog that has delayed numerous criminal cases in recent years due to the shortage of bed space at Larned and Osawatomie state hospitals.
Members of the Competency Restoration work group presented the detailed plan at the Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council’s meeting on Tuesday, March 12. The new local process at the Douglas County Jail is expected to begin April 1.
“It should come as no surprise that Douglas County is striving to be a leader in the state, but coming up with a plan to take on this work is a testament to the relationship the Sheriff’s Office has with the courts and the agencies providing mental health services in our community, including years of skilled mental health providers being embedded in the Douglas County Jail,” Sheriff Jay Armbrister said. “Being able to offer this evaluation and treatment here should open doors to more people to complete the competency restoration process more quickly and being able resolve more cases as well.”
Media coverage:
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Commission to consider Kansas Sky Energy Center during special business meeting on April 13 | |
The Board of County Commissioners will have a special business meeting on Saturday, April 13, to consider a request from Kansas Sky Energy Center for a conditional-use permit, or CUP, for a commercial/utility scale solar energy conversion system use, commonly referred to as a solar farm, on 1,105 acres of property north of Lawrence in Grant Township.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Public Works/Zoning and Codes Building, 3755 E. 25th St., in the training room. The meeting will also be available by Zoom. Commissioners will receive a presentation from staff and the applicant, hear public comment, discuss the CUP, and consider action on the item.
Public comments can be submitted at https://www.douglascountyks.org/county-commission/contact or by emailing publiccomment@douglascountyks.org.
A work session was held March 27 about the project, and it can be viewed here.
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About your Board of County Commissioners | |
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Douglas County Commission meetings are at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Public Works/Zoning and Codes Building, 3755 E. 25th St, in the training room. Meetings are also available on Zoom. Commission meetings are taking place in the Public Works/Zoning and Codes building due to renovation of the Commission meeting room in the historic Courthouse. There will be no Commission meeting on Wednesday, April 10. A special business meeting about the proposed Kansas Sky Energy Center project will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 13.
County Commissioners took the following action on regular business agenda items in March. They unanimously approved:
- a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Lawrence detailing the obligations for the city's and county's local participation with the Kansas Department of Transportation for the South Lawrence Trafficway west leg expansion project.
- approved a one-year site plan extension for Veritas Christian School, 960 E. 1296 Road.
- a contract for construction with Icon Structures Inc. in the amount of $1.2 million for the Douglas County Treasurer satellite office remodel project and a total project budget of $1.6 million.
- the 2024 Tow Operators agreement.
** Recordings of the meetings can be found on the Douglas County YouTube channel.
Work sessions
County Commissioners have work sessions to study and discuss various topics throughout the year. No action is taken during work sessions. The following work sessions are scheduled for 4 p.m. in April:
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April 17 – 988 and mobile response data review and update on the Government Performance Lab process
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April 24 – Wind regulations
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Commission to consider wind energy regulations during business meeting on May 1 | |
The Board of County Commissioners will consider a text amendment to the Zoning and Land Use regulations for the unincorporated areas of Douglas County on Wednesday, May 1. The text amendment - TA-22-00031 - is regarding Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) standards.
The regulation changes were initiated by the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission in January 2022. This came from an interest in better aligning the wind regulations with the recently adopted solar regulations. On a 6-3 vote in January, the Planning Commission passed a recommendation of approval to the Board of County Commissioners for the revised Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) regulations with one key modification: the setback distances from non-participating property owners be set at 2,500 feet from the property line.
County Commissioners will have a work session at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, about the revised regulations. No action or public comment will be taken by Commissioners during the work session.
On Wednesday, May 1, Commissioners will consider the revised Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) regulations during their business meeting at 5:30 p.m.
The work session and business meeting will be held at the Public Works/Zoning and Codes Building, 3755 E. 25th St., and they will be available by Zoom.
|  | Sheriff's Office offering reentry simulation training | |
Do you work in the criminal justice or social services field?
DGSO Reentry staff is offering a reentry simulation from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, April 17, at Flory Meeting Hall, 2120 Harper St., at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
During the exercise, participants are assigned an identity and set of circumstances, and then they work to accomplish tasks like obtaining a government-issued identification, getting a job and utilizing services in the community.
“These exercises can be eye opening for people who don’t have familiarity with the system or the challenges people face when they don’t have access to things most of us take for granted, like government identification forms,” Sheriff Jay Armbrister said.
- Listen to Sheriff's Office staff talk about the DGSO Reentry program and the upcoming training during an interview on KLWN. Click here.
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The Douglas County Elections Office is located at 711 W. 23rd St., Suite No. 1 | Special school bond election for USD 348 is May 14 | |
There will be a special school bond election for USD 348 Baldwin School District on Tuesday, May 14. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Here are some key dates for this election:
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April 23 – Deadline to register to vote.
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April 24 – First day of advance voting by mail or in-person.
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May 13 – In-person advance voting ends at noon.
| Emergency Management offering free training | |
Are you ready to become a Disaster Asset? Register for the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Weekend Training April 19-21. This hands-on training will cover topics such as first aid, fire safety, disaster psychology, medical operations, and more. Don't miss this opportunity to learn essential disaster response skills! | Engage Douglas County hosting virtual town hall in April about substance misuse, youth prevention | |
Join local public health leaders for a community discussion on substance misuse and youth prevention from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 23. This is your opportunity to ask questions and share insights during a virtual and collaborative event.
Guest speakers will be:
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Monica Jackson, of Haskell Indian Nations University, on substance use prevention with college students.
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Shannon VanLandingham, of Be More Like Claire, on relationship violence prevention.
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Meg Hasselman, of HeadQuarters Kansas, on suicide prevention.
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Ariel Cohn, of DCCCA, on substance use prevention.
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Bob Tryanski, of Douglas County, on behavioral health prevention.
To register for the event, visit: engagedouglascounty.org.
| Sheriff's Office participating in Drug Take Back Day with drive-through collection site on April 27 | |
Safely remove expired and unneeded medications from your homes as the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office will operate a National Drug Take Back Day collection site on Saturday, April 27, in downtown Lawrence.
The DGSO drive-through site will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the parking lot outside the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St., and the Sheriff’s Office will accept expired or unused prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Visit DEATakeBack.com to find a collection site anywhere across the country.
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Join the Engage Douglas County coalition in April for its first 5K Run\Walk & Festival! All proceeds from this event benefit youth suicide prevention and mental health efforts in Douglas County. There will be food, music, activities and more!
The 5K Run/Walk begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 27, at Broken Arrow Park, 2800 Louisiana St., in Lawrence. The route goes through the beautiful wetlands area.
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Planting ceremony with Fruit Tree Community Choir set for April 6 at Lawrence Public Library | |
Lawrence Fruit Tree Project will be planting an orchard at the Lawrence Public Library lawn, 707 Vermont St., on Saturday, April 6, from noon to 3 p.m.
The ceremony will include a performance by Fruit Tree Community Choir, a collaborative artwork led by geographer Hazlett Henderson, song-leader Lyndsey Scott and orchardist Skyler Adamson.
The event is free and open to the public. All are welcome to let their voices harmonize and get some dirt under their nails, or simply be present at the ceremony. Refreshments and children’s activities will be provided.
Sign up to participate (singing, planting, observing the event) by contacting fruittreecommunitychoir@gmail.com. Lawrence Fruit Tree Project is a part of the Common Ground community gardening and urban agriculture program.
Support for the community artwork is provided by Rocket Grants project award, a program of Charlotte Street and the Spencer Museum of Art. Funding is provided by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
In case of rain, the event will be held on April 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Food service staff Rebecca Knight and Kari Mesik serve lunch on March 3 at the Douglas County Correctional Facility to staff before preparing meals to serve to those in custody. Gary Bell, custodian at the Douglas County Jail, is in the background. | Cook-Food Service worker among job openings | |
The Sheriff’s Office is hiring a Cook-Food Service worker to be part of the kitchen staff team to assist in the preparation, cooking and storage of food and help coordinate cooking activities to have meals ready to serve at scheduled times. The staff works alongside screened inmate workers.
"As long as you are willing to be a team player and be patient, you can go home at the end of the day with a sense of accomplishment," Tara Miller, Food Services Director at the Sheriff's Office, said. "You are working with people who have made mistakes and who are here trying to make better of themselves. The success stories that we occasionally hear from the inmate workers when they get out after they have been here working so hard also feel good."
Douglas County also has openings for positions that include:
- Assistant District Attorney
- Public Works temporary laborer
- Building and Grounds temporary laborer
- Juvenile Corrections Officer
- Part-time, on-call Juvenile Intake Officer
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Courthouse:
1100 Massachusetts Street
Lawrence, KS 66044
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Judicial and Law Enforcement Center:
111 East 11th Street
Lawrence, KS 66044
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