photo by: Mackenzie Clark
Chairs are spaced apart at the Flory Meeting Hall of the Douglas County Fairgrounds on Dec. 18, 2020. Douglas County District Court made plans to hold jury trials at the building beginning in 2021.
Jury trials that were set to begin this month in Douglas County District Court are going to be postponed, the chief judge said Thursday.
The court has a plan approved by the state Office of Judicial Administration and by Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health to resume holding jury trials safely amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Trials were set to begin Monday, Jan. 11, using the Flory Meeting Hall at the Douglas County Fairgrounds to provide adequate space for social distancing, among other precautions.
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Alexandria extends emergency declaration
Council member Todd Jensen voted against the extension. He said that approving the measure sends the wrong message to local businesses that are struggling to survive. Written By: Al Edenloff | ×
Alexandria City Hall
For the ninth time since the pandemic began, the city extended its declaration of a local emergency because of the COVID-19.
The city first ratified Mayor Sara Carlson’s declaration on March 18 and extended it monthly for nine months. This latest action extends it through Jan. 31, 2021.
Council member Todd Jensen voted against the extension. He said that approving the measure sends the wrong message to local businesses that are struggling to survive.
photo by: Contributed photo
Shannon Fletcher, a respiratory therapist at LMH Health, was the first person to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at Lawrence s hospital on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.
A leader at Lawrence’s hospital expressed disappointment in a local health center’s decision not to transfer its incoming vaccine doses to LMH Health, a choice the leader called a “wrinkle” in the vaccine distribution process.
Heartland Community Health Center announced Friday morning that it will receive 1,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine when it becomes available and that the health center plans to administer the vaccines itself, in accordance with Douglas County’s tiered strategy.
photo by: Mackenzie Clark
Douglas County District Court Chief Judge James McCabria stands at the table that will be the judge s bench during jury trials and discusses new technology to be used, including lapel microphones for attorneys, at the Flory Meeting Hall at the Douglas County Fairgrounds on Dec. 18, 2020. Although the building is large, McCabria demonstrated that the sound system amplifies even soft speech. Behind the black curtain is a small table for brief bench conferences outside of the hearing of the jury.
For all intents and purposes, the Flory Meeting Hall at the Douglas County Fairgrounds was ready on Friday afternoon to hold jury trials, though a few finishing touches aren’t yet in place.