Lawrence Central Rotary

Category: News

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Department Annual Helmet Fair is This Weekend!

The Fire Medical Department will hold their annual Helmet Fair on Saturday, April 25th on the University of Kansas campus alongside the annual Spring Football Scrimmage. The event will be the parking lot just West of Memorial Stadium in Lot 58. The event will run from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and is free to attend.

Immediately following the Helmet Fair, the KU Spring Football Scrimmage will take place at 1:00 p.m. in Memorial Stadium.

At the event, public safety staff will be on hand to provide and custom-fit bike helmets for children age 15 and younger (with an adult, while supplies last). Participants can have their bicycle inspected and take a ride on the Safe Ride Course. Staff will provide information on bicycle safety tips, bike trail etiquette, booster seat safety and swimming safety.

The Hyvee Hawk Zone will be offered from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. featuring family-friendly inflatables, face painting, music and appearances by Big Jay and Baby Jay.

The city’s Police and Fire-Medical Departments and Kansas University Public Safety are joining efforts to provide this event, along with several private and non-profit business partners including Kansas Athletics, Laird Noller, Safe Kids Douglas County, McDonalds, Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop, Douglas County Medical Society, Lawrence Mountain Bike Club, Dillons, Ranjbar Orthodontics and Lawrence Pilot Club.

Contact the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Department at (785)
830-7000 for more information.

April 22, 2015
Janelle Williamson Explains Palliative Care to Lawrence Central

Janelle Williamson’s job description is that she provides pain and palliative care services through Lawrence Memorial Hospital—a simple description for a very complicated service. And, complex as the job is, Williamson, says she loves what she does because it’s “a wonderful and rewarding experience.”

Williamson has been a nurse for 13 years, receiving her Master’s Degree in Nursing from Washburn University in 200 7. She has an impressive string of initials after her name (APRN/NP-C) and has worked in private practice as well as with hospitals. But palliative care is her passion.

“Palliative care is not hospice, although many people think it is,” she told members of Lawrence Central Rotary on April 8. Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. The overall goal is to improve the quality of life for both the patient and family, not just help the dying as does hospice.

“Palliative care is a philosophy of medicine for someone with serious illness,” she said. “For each patient, working with his or her medical team, family, friends and sometimes social workers, we ask the patient ‘What do you want out of life? What’s quality of life for you?’ And then we try to help him or her achieve that.

“Sometimes a patient will say ‘I’ve done what I want to do and I’m tired. I’m done.’ We help the families accept that and we help the patient to make decisions without feeling guilty.”

Palliative care workers communicate patient’s wishes to family and other providers within the hospital and the community to ensure that they are heard. They also provide education and support to direct care staff. They discuss spiritual concerns with patient and family and provide bereavement follow-up.

“Our motto,” Williamson said “is to help you live each day as well as possible.”

April 9, 2015
Joanne Renfro Tells Lawrence Central About Hiking The Appalachian Trail
Known on the trail as “Johawk,” local artist Joanne Renfro decided to leave her family and small business here in Lawrence last spring to fulfill one of her life’s ambitions—hiking from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. Following the series of white blazes that marked the trail, she made new and lasting friends of all ages and explored all types of terrain.

The numbers Joanne cited about at her trek were impressive:
- 14 states
- 2,185 miles
- 15 miles per day, on average
- Backpack weighing 30 pounds
- 5 months and 5 days
- 318th finish for the season
The hike is sometimes referred to as “walking the spring,” since spring flowers and greenery are emerging as the hikers move from south to north along the trail. There was plenty of snow, fog, and rain, but also days of dazzling sunshine that revealed “the balds,” as the mountain tops above the tree line are called. In the north, views of mountain lakes and the call of loons punctuated the days.

The trails themselves included well-worn dirt paths, boardwalks, river fjords, and rock crevices called a “gap” in the south and a “notch” in the northern states. Wildlife was plentiful—including the bear that made a visit to Joanne’s tent area one night.

The trail is supported and maintained by volunteers all along the way. “Trail angels” leave “trail magic” for hikers—supplies of food, candy, and cool drinks hung from trees or a handwritten invitation to come off the trail for pizza and beer at the end of the day. Joanne told of boxes where you could swap gear with other hikers who had left things they didn’t need. Rides into town always seemed to appear when she needed one.

Only 25% of the people who begin this hike complete the entire Appalachian Trail. Joanne Renfro is proud to be among them!

If you would like so see some of Joanne’s art check out her Facebook page or at LawrenceIsCool.com
March 30, 2015
Susan Tate Discusses the Ninth Street Arts Corridor

Susan Tate, director of the Lawrence Arts Center, told Rotarians on March 18 that Central Rotary’s bike rack project is a microcosm of the Ninth Street Arts Corridor Project, currently in the planning stages in Lawrence.

“What Rotary has done for biking and walking has a deeper connection than just a practical way to store bicycles,” she said. “Creative place making is a new term,” Tate said, “that is sometimes criticized but is a way of getting urban design to incorporate art in the community.

“It’s not just a statue on a corner, but design of an area that is art itself and encourages use by those who live there, including walking, biking and using facilities.”

The Lawrence Arts Center team, headed by Margaret Weisbrod Morris, chief program officer, received a $500,000 grant from ArtPlace America that they wish to use to work on the art district on ninth street that stretches from New Hampshire St. to Massachusetts.

The Lawrence Arts Center has already worked on projects that build education and exhibits. Now, beginning with public workshops in April and a citizens’ advisory committee convening in March they want to start plans for a creative place.

“The city commissioners said if we got the grant, they would commit $3 million to the project,” Tate said. “We got the grant but there are shadows in that picture now. Part of those shadows are the controversy over the Rock Chalk Recreation complex and the voters’ defeat of a new police station. The makeup of the city commission will be changing and we don’t know how new commissioners will feel about the commitment.”

The Art Center has set up a team that includes well-known urban designers and engineers, an artist, conceptual urban landscape designers, an east Lawrence historian and a multi-media art technician.

“However,” Tate said, “nothing will happen until we’ve gotten the city’s commitment and input from the grass roots through our workshops.”

March 20, 2015
Patrick Kelly Gives An Update on Lawrence’s College & Career Center

USD 497’s Patrick Kelly is the director of the new Lawrence College & Career Center (located at 2920 Haskell).

The Center will be open for high school juniors and seniors in the Fall of 2015. It’s mission is to prepare students for their future through hands-on learning experiences in an innovative, engaging environment. With direct input from business and industry leaders, students will have access to technology and curriculum that is relevant and useful.
Earning college credit now, with an opportunity for free tuition, will give students a head start on their future.

Patrick shared that one of the goals was to provide students with a sequential set of classes to explore careers of interest and develop skills in preparation for college and a career.

All courses are two hours in length and students are provided an additional hour for transportation.

Introductory courses allow students to explore a wide variety of careers within the field. Technical level courses focus on specific skills that are needed within the career area. Students who have gained the technical skills within the pathway are eligible to enroll in Application level courses, which provide “real-world” experiences in the classroom with industry mentors or through professional workplace experience. Many courses are eligible for college credit.

USD 497 students also benefit from having The Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center located next door and can take advantage of programs and training offered offered through their consortium of community colleges and industries.

March 13, 2015