The namesake for Delmar Place Apartments is Delmar Jackson, a beloved Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority maintenance employee.

Groundbreaking ceremony for low-income senior apartments is set for Oct. 1

Join Douglas County and the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority for a groundbreaking ceremony for Delmar Place Apartments, 2125 Clinton Parkway, at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1.

The building, which will be owned and operated by the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority (LDCHA), will have 32 one-bedroom apartments for low-income seniors. The project will be constructed with accessibility features and access to supports to allow participants to age in place as long as possible. It will be located just north of LDCHA’s existing Clinton Place apartments.

The name Delmar Place was selected to honor Delmar Jackson, an outstanding LDCHA maintenance employee who has taken care of Clinton Place since it was purchased in 2006. “LDCHA employees overwhelmingly voted to name it after Delmar because of his deep dedication to serving our tenants," Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority CEO Shannon Oury said. "Delmar is currently the Housing Authority’s longest serving employee. He is beloved by the staff and the tenants of Clinton Place."



The cost of the project is $4.7 million. It is being funded through a federal American Rescue Plan Act grant of $3 million that was awarded by the Board of County Commissioners and $1.4 million from the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority reserve funds.

Full news release: https://dgcoks.gov/news/092624

KDOT hosting open house about construction project for South Lawrence Trafficway

The Kansas Department of Transportation is hosting an open house Wednesday, Oct. 9, about a construction project on the K-10/South Lawrence Trafficway (SLT) portion that extends from Sixth Street (Highway 40) to Iowa Street (Highway 59). The open house will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Southwest Middle School, 2511 Inverness Drive.

KDOT representatives will provide an overview focusing on the project's construction phasing and schedule. Participants will have the opportunity to review information and speak with members of the project team. Minimal right-of-way and utility work is currently happening. Greater impacts to traffic are expected to begin in early 2025. 

This bridge carries North 1800 Road (Farmer's Turnpike) over Baldwin Creek. It is scheduled to be replaced in 2025 due to aging concrete and limited load capacity.

KDOT awards Douglas County $1.4 million for bridge replacement project on Farmer's Turnpike

The Kansas Department of Transportation has awarded Douglas County $1.4 million in funding through the Kansas Local Bridge Improvement Program. Douglas County Public Works applied for the funds to replace Bridge 1800-1124, which is on North 1800 Road, commonly called the Farmer’s Turnpike, and located 0.76 miles west of East 1200 Road. The bridge carries the road over Baldwin Creek northwest of Lawrence.

The bridge was built in 1970 and has been listed in the county’s ongoing bridge replacement program due to aging concrete and limited load capacity. A truck accident in March 2024 damaged the southwest guardrail and bridge rail. The estimated total cost of the bridge replacement project is $1.7 million.

Public Works Director Chad Voigt said construction would occur in 2025 and require about 5 to 6 months to complete, weather permitting.

KDOT announced in August that it received 92 applications requesting assistance for projects totaling $108 million in construction costs. Douglas County was one of the 19 award recipients that received a total of $19.8 million. The last time Douglas County was selected for this state program was in 2014 when it received $120,000.

About your Board of County Commissioners

Chair Karen Willey

Vice Chair Shannon Reid

Patrick Kelly

Douglas County Commission meetings are at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Public Works/Zoning and Codes building, 3755 E. 25^th 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.

The County Commission took the following action on regular business agenda items in September. They unanimously approved:

• an extension of the cooperation agreement with the City of Lawrence for the joint operation and maintenance of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical.
• a special event permit to allow an outdoor Halloween-themed festival to operate daily and a zombie paintball hunt to operate Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings between Sept. 26-Nov. 3 on property located at 1387 E 1650 Road.
• a contract with Restoration & Waterproofing Contractors Inc. for $791,000 for stone masonry restoration work at the historic Courthouse in downtown Lawrence.
• an additional $75,000 for the Douglas County Treasurer’s Office new location on Sixth Street, bringing the total anticipated budget to $1.6 million.
• the renewal of a temporary business use permit request from NextEra Energy Resources for a solar meteorological measurement device on property near the Johnson County border until Sept. 4, 2027.

* Recordings of the meetings can be found on the Douglas County YouTube channel.

Work sessions

County Commissioners also 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 October:

• Oct. 2 - Heritage Conservation Council update

Please note: The Commission will not have a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Raintree Montessori School students recite the Preamble to the Constitution from memory.

District Court hosts Constitution Day event

On Sept. 23, the Douglas County community commemorated Constitution Day (observed annually on Sept. 17) with a reading of the U.S. Constitution by Douglas County judges, attorneys, community leaders, students, and members of the Sons of the American Revolution. Students from Cordley Elementary School, Raintree Montessori School, and Bishop Seabury Academy participated in the reading and some students toured the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.

The event was sponsored by the Federal Bar Association Chapter for the Districts of Kansas and Western Missouri, The Judge Hugh Means American Inn of Court, and the Douglas County Bar Association.

A Bishop Seabury Academy student reads from the U.S. Constitution.

Deputy Payton Schaefer, center, and Sgt. Dale Flory, right, talk about how the Sheriff's Office transports inmates for court appearances.

Felix Kirkland, this year's Douglas County Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC) first-place winner, tables at the state competition in April in Manhattan. Felix won a total of $2,950 from the local and state competition. Students who are interested in participating in the YEC Challenge in February 2025 are encouraged to attend an Oct. 18 webinar.

Join the Warm-Up Webinar on Oct. 18 to learn about the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge

Are you a student in grades 6-12 in Douglas County? Do you have a business idea, invention or solution for a real-life problem?

If you answered yes, community business leaders encourage you to learn more about the annual Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC), where you can win cash prizes ranging from $250 to $1,250 for presenting your ideas and concepts.

There will be a YEC Warm-Up Webinar at noon Friday, Oct. 18. Webinar topics and presenters include:

• “What is an entrepreneur?” – Kristina Edwards, regional director of the KU Small Business Development Center
• “Entrepreneur mindset” - Carrie Poe, business advisor in the KU Small Business Development Center
• “Pitch basics” - Kyle Johnson, founder of CORE

The one-hour webinar is free to attend. To register, click on https://dgcoks.gov/form/yecwebinar

The Douglas County Elections Office is located at 711 W. 23rd St., Suite 1. It's in the shopping center at the southwest corner of 23rd and Louisiana streets.

Voting information for the Nov. 5 general election

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Key dates to know:

• Oct. 15 – Deadline to register to vote or update your voter registration information.
• Oct. 16 – First day of in-person advance voting. Advance ballots are mailed.
• Oct. 29 – Last day to apply for an advance voting mail ballot.
• Nov. 4 – In-person advance voting ends at noon.

Links to information for the most frequently-asked questions:

Q: Am I registered to vote and is my registration information up to date? 

A: https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/voterview

Q: How can I vote?

A: https://www.dgcoks.gov/county-clerk/voting-and-elections/ways-to-vote

Q: Who is running for office?

A: https://www.dgcoks.gov/county-clerk/voting-and-elections/current-candidates

Douglas County team helps clean up Lone Star Lake while practicing underwater training

The Douglas County Underwater Search and Recovery Team under the Sheriff's Office conducted its annual public service project on Sept. 10 to remove debris from Lone Star Lake. 

The team incorporates the cleanup into its training every year. Divers practiced recovering objects from the water near the swim beach and bagged the trash.

The dive team includes members of the Sheriff’s Office Operations and Corrections divisions as well as officers from the Lawrence Police Department and Eudora Police Department.

Other highlights from the Sheriff’s Office include:

• They donated an older vehicle to the Baldwin City Police Department to use as a School Resource Officer vehicle.
• Sheriff’s Office employees Capt. Josh Kellerman and Capt. Chris Johnston were selected to participate in the Leadership Lawrence Class of 2025. The program of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce is a professional development program that provides participants first-hand exposure to the inner workings of Lawrence and Douglas County.
• The Sheriff’s Office created this video to help spread awareness and education about the new diverging diamond interchange at Kansas Highway 10 and U.S. Highway 40/Sixth Street in west Lawrence. Deputies remind drivers to take it slow if they are unfamiliar with the intersection, which is designed to shift traffic to the left side of the road between the ramps to allow for left turns onto the highway without facing oncoming traffic.

Front row, from left, are: Behavioral Health Court Defense Attorney Karen Ebmeier, Adult Services Officer Katrina Hayes and Adult Service Officer Latisha Harmon; back row, from left, Senior Assistant District Attorney James Carpenter, and Adult Service Officers Jolene Cullen, Catherine Darrah and Adelle Runnebaum. They recently attended the 2024 Kansas Specialty Court/Community Supervision Conference in Salina.

County employees attend Specialty Court/Community Supervision conference

Douglas County employees recently attended the 2024 Kansas Specialty Court/Community Supervision Conference in Salina. Topics included: new standards of specialty courts, Cares Inc. Canine, addressing homelessness, compassion fatigue, treatment team roles and more.

Among the keynote speakers:

• Tony Hoffman, who went from addiction and homelessness to professional BMX racing and coaching at the Olympics.
• Dr. Marlene Carson, who was trafficked and exploited daily. She is now an author, minister, publisher and CEO of The Switch Anti-Trafficking Network.

Among those who attended were: Senior Assistant District Attorney James Carpenter and Douglas County Adult Service Officers Jolene Cullen, Catherine Darrah, Adelle Runnebaum, Latisha Harmon and Katrina Hayes.

To learn more about Douglas County specialty courts, visit our Criminal Justice Services webpage at dgcoks.gov/criminal-justice-services.

About 200 people attended Sunday's Recovery Walk event in South Park.

Drug Court team hosts Recovery Walk event

The Douglas County Drug Court team and Alumni Group hosted the annual community Recovery Walk event on Sunday evening, Sept. 29, in South Park. An estimated 200 people attended the event, and the Alumni Group raised $704 through raffle ticket sales for two fall baskets. They will use the money to host prosocial sober events in 2025.

The Recovery Walk event included fun contests and activities as well as messages of hope. Shawn Phillips, of Lawrence, kicked off the event by sharing his recovery journey. The event was held in conjunction with National Recovery Month.

The egg toss contest was fun for all ages.

Individuals participate in the cake walk, one of the most popular activities. Special thanks to all of the businesses that donated cookies, cakes and other treats.

Lawrence resident Shawn Phillips, center, shares his recovery journey.

Individuals compete in the doughnut eating contest. They couldn't use their hands.

These three received the most votes and a prize for their creative Recovery Walk posters. From left, are: James, second place; Amanda, third place; and Lee, first place.

For more photos, visit the County's Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Judicial and Law Enforcement Center:

111 East 11th Street

Lawrence, KS 66044