Category: News

Lawrence Central Rotary’s newest member, Melissa Sieben, is the Director of Municipal Services and Operations for the City of Lawrence. She has been on the job for a year and brings with her over twenty years of city government experience. Most recently she served as Assistant Administrator of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and also held positions in Illinois and Iowa. Melissa holds an MA in Public Administration from the University of Kansas and a BA in History from Iowa State University. She is also active in and has held positions of responsibility in various professional organizations. Melissa is also a past President of the Kansas City Kansas Rotary Club.

Melissa is responsible for all aspects of maintaining and developing City infrastructure, a big challenge, as much of that infrastructure is aging and the city continues to grow. She stressed the importance of good communications and data driven change. She also commented on various projects in the City Capitol Improvement Program, noting that more federal funds have become available to assist cities. East 23rd Street improvements, street maintenance and storm water management are some of the projects scheduled for work.

Lawrence Central’s own Officer Daniel Palen presented an overview of the City of Lawrence Police Department and his role as a Commissioned Officer. Daniel studied environmental science and history in college. A year of study in England encouraged an interest in travel and he has visited over thirty countries. Daniel was enthusiastic about his topic, starting with departmental history, beginning with two officers in 1866. Today the department employs 138 commissioned officers and 41 civilians. The department has two main divisions. Operations involves patrolling and investigating and training. Support includes professional accountability, public affairs and training. He spoke highly of the the department’s In House Academy and the training he received. The department works closely with numerous community partners. Daniel has many responsibilities, including accident investigation, commercial vehicle safety, field training instructor, radio programmer and drone pilot. In addition, he serves on the Employee Relations Council and the Public Engagement Team. Daniel works a night shift which makes it possible to be an active club member.

Ben Terwilliger, Executive Director of the Eudora Community Museum, spoke about the history of Eudora and how the area was impacted by the near-by Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant and expected impact of the new Panasonic Battery Plant. The Museum is located at 1720 Main Street and has a collection of historical artifacts and an archive. Eudora was settled in 1857 by German immigrants who bought the land from a Shawnee Indian Chief. Eudora was rather a small town in 1942 when the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant was constructed in nearby De Soto. The plant would become the world’s largest producer of military propellant powder and required employee housing for 4,000 to 6,000 workers in the area. High wages drew workers from all over the region and Eudora quickly doubled in size and local businesses operated round the clock. At war’s end the plant was made inactive, however, many workers stayed in the area. The plant was reactivated for Korea and Viet Nam and then was closed permanently leaving a significant environmental hazard problem. Presently, a huge Panasonic Battery Plant is under construction on the site. It is also expected to have a large impact on surrounding communities. Terwilliger believes that local communities will be better prepared for such challenges than they were in 1942.

• February 10, 2023

Peaslee Technical Center is a unique post secondary educational resource for the region, located at 2920 Haskell Avenue in Lawrence.  Dr. Kevin Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, provided an overview of the center’s training opportunities. The center is intended to be a catalyst for economic growth by providing technical training to meet the needs of local businesses and the larger community. An excellent staff provides customized training in fourteen different apprenticeship programs, including carpentry, auto repair, plumbing, home HVAC, pharmacy technician and more. Certification classes are available in areas such as health care, paralegal, dental assistant and bookkeeping. Kelly noted that program participants usually have job offers before they complete their training. Peaslee trained 2700 individuals last year and is the biggest provider of apprenticeship training in the state.