Lawrence Central Rotary

Category: News

LJWorld’s Chad Lawhorn Stops By Lawrence Central For A Little In Person “Town Talk”
Chad Lawhorn, reporter for the Lawrence Journal-World, writes about everything from city commission meetings to new businesses in town to Lawrence history visited Lawrence Central to give an impromptu in person “Town Talk”, his popular online column on LJWorld.com.

Lawhorn has a long history in local journalism and told Lawrence Central Rotarians that journalism is not a dying art. “People are still interested in information–more than they have ever been,” he said. “It’s just that there are so many ways to get it now. And newspapers have created a problem for themselves by offering it free online. They should have figured out some way to charge for it.”

His coverage of the city commission prompted one Rotarian to ask him how he sits through a commission meeting without wanting to “set himself on fire.”

“City Hall is an acquired taste,” he said. “ It takes a certain type of person to cover it. I usually have a sense of how things will go before I get there.”

He said there are four major issues in Lawrence right now:
- A new city commission, chosen in 2015, may change registration for rentals.
- A second issue is buying land to build a new police headquarters to consolidate all police work in one place. The question will be if the city decide to pay for it with new sales tax.
- A third issue is commercial development near the South Lawrence Trafficway–what will the city approve to be built there.
- The last issue is a building a large conference center for Lawrence. He said it could be downtown or close to campus.
“I’m keeping an eye on all these things,” he said. “It’s an exciting time for Lawrence.”
April 28, 2014
Kick off Bike Month With City Leaders May 6th

Artwork Bicycle Typogram is a product of Aaron Kuehn http://aaronkuehn.com/art/bicycle-typogram

Help Lawrence/Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee, local bicyclists and even a few members of Lawrence Central for a short bike ride with Lawrence Mayor Amyx and City Commissioners before the Bike Month Proclamation at Lawrence City Hall.

When: Tuesday, May 6th, 2014 @ 5:30pm
Ride starts at City Hall, 6 E 6th Street

Proclamation at 6:35

**Bring your Own Bicycle**

For more information contact 785-832-3165 or jmortinger@lawrenceks.org

April 25, 2014
Kristin Scheurer Discusses Current & Future Needs of Seniors in Lawrence

Kristin Scheurer, executive director of the Lawrence Senior Center, says she loves her job and the people she works with.

“It’s challenging,” she said in her presentation on April 16 to Central Rotary members “because the population of senior citizens is changing as the ‘baby boomer’ generation reaches retirement age.”

People born before 1928 are a generation of savers, she said. They survived the depression and World War II. They value health care and a safe environment.

The new retirees, born around 1946 and after are looking for a gradual transition. Many of them want to work part time, maybe find a second career. They’re not slowing down, want to be physically active. They know how to use facebook and twitter. They travel, are even open to relocation, and want to pursue hobbies.

“Which means,” she said “that the board of the Senior Center is preparing to look at the marketplace, at trends that will attract the boomers, at what this generation will need.

“We, want to increase awareness of the challenge, gather community input and share resources with other agencies. Lawrence provides a great deal of what this new group wants: social and intellectual choices, physical activities, access to the arts, entertainment and competitive sports, being close to an airport.

“We have a vibrant retirement community already,” she said. “Now our strategy is to retain current retirees, make services available, and work to incorporate wants and needs, such as transportation, counseling, and information on health care. The board at the senior center has a strong vision and is working on a marketing campaign to attract those retiring.

“It’s an exciting time and I feel blessed to be doing this work,” she said.

April 19, 2014
Michael Steinle Discusses Environmental Infrastructure

A rise in sea levels may not seem like a problem that would concern Kansans, but Michael Steinle told his fellow members of Central Rotary Club that it’s a situation that could affect everyone.

Steinle is Principal Management Consultant with ARCADIS, a privately owned company that deals with risks in the infrastructure, with water, the environment and in buildings. ARCADIS provides risk assessment in all these areas. He said rising sea levels along the coasts are going to be a major problem

“In evaluating situations such as this, we go through several steps,” Steinle said. “We identify risks and then work on ways to mitigate them.

“We repair damage, getting specialists in many areas to help us.”

Steinle said the company studies responses to situations and provides training , for example, simulating search and rescue exercises.

“And then,” he said “we work on helping with recovery from incidents.”

Steinle said the company is also looking at resilience as the infrastructure is aging and at asset management. They do earthquake planning,, especially studying providing shelters for quake victims. They have grant applications out to FEMA on behalf of clients and they work with the highway patrol in several states on crash response.

“Our clients are starting to understand the sea water rise and we’re currently looking at a project in New York to provide water barriers.

“We’re working hard on getting everyone to be aware and follow the necessary guidelines,” he said.

April 16, 2014
Topeka Community Cycle Project Speaks to Lawrence Central

Ben Alford and Karl Fundenberger, volunteers representing the Topeka Community Cycle Project shared the history of the Topeka initiative with Lawrence Central Rotary. The (TCCP) is a non profit volunteer organization committed to the reclamation and distribution of recycled bicycles and in the process promotes self-reliance, sustainability, and healthful living.

The TCCP work space is open on Thursday evenings and mid-day on Saturdays providing opportunities for members of the community to volunteer their time and/or have access to the free bicycle maintenance work space. The work space includes shop stands and tools in their downtown Topeka location. There are also opportunities for people to learn from shop volunteers how to repair and maintain bicycles. Through an Earn-a-Bike (EAB) program, volunteers refurbish bicycles that would otherwise take up space in a landfill, giving new life and utility to bicycles. Once an individual has invested 10 hours of volunteer time at TCCP, they may pick out a donated bicycle and work with a shop mechanic to refurbish it for their own use. The organization also gives away bicycles and helmets to children and serves as an information source about all forms of cycling and cycling events in the area.

TCCP welcomes donations of time, money, and used bicycles, bicycle parts, and tools. The group is located at 423 S. Kansas Avenue in downtown Topeka. They are renovating a historic space for use as their permanent community bicycle work space.

Locally there is some interest in creating a similar work space to refurbish bikes and teach maintenance skills. There is a local group, called Lawrence Unchained Bike Coop that is currently working on the creation of a similar project in Lawrence. For more information about their work and/or to get involved email lawrenceunchained@gmail.com.

March 31, 2014