K-State LGBT Resource Center to host Transgender Day of Remembrance event
K-State’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center will host an event for the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance today at 7 p.m. in the K-State Alumni Center, according to an announcement on K-State Today from Brandon Haddock, coordinator for the LGBT Resource Center.
According to the announcement, “The Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day dedicated to memorializing those who have lost their lives due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.”
Theresa Sparks, a well-known transgender advocate, is a former K-State student and will return to speak to students, faculty, staff and administration about the topic. After Sparks’ presentation, there will be the Reading of the Names, an annual occurrence at the Transgender Day of Remembrance event, during which transgender individuals who have been killed will be memorialized.
Community members are invited to attend.
Friends of Animals to hold fundraiser for medical costs of shelter animals
Friends of Animals, an organization associated with the Junction City Animal Shelter, will host an event during which Manhattan-area residents may bring their pets to take a photo with Santa Paws.
For $7, attendants will receive a copy of their pet’s photo with Santa Paws, who will be dressed in a blue suit to match the theme “A Royal Christmas” in honor of the Kansas City Royals’ World Series victory. All proceeds collected during the event will be put toward funding veterinary costs for animals with Friends of Animals in need of vet care, according to a press release about the event.
Friends of Animals “operates on a no-kill basis,” relocating pets from Junction City Animal Shelter into homes, according to the release.
“Every day, we receive new animals that all have different reasons for needing vet care,” Sally Mayes, Friends of Animals director, said. “Events like Santa Paws ensure we can have adequate funding to help these animals.”
Conservationists attend water conference in Manhattan
According to 13 News, more than 600 conservationists attended this year’s Governor’s Water Conference at the Hilton Garden Inn Conference Center Wednesday. During the conference, Gov. Sam Brownback, among others, spoke about the state’s water conservation efforts, past, present and future.
In 2013, Brownback developed a plan for water conservation that is now in effect. State officials said that 75 percent of the plan’s Phase I projects have been implemented, 13 News reported. The plan’s next phase involves continuation of the state’s efforts to slow the Ogallala aquifer’s decline, as it is western Kansas’ water source.
According to Brownback, the preservation of the aquifer will require the creation of more conservation tools to be sure people use less water.
Work on “dredging” Coffey County’s John Redmond Reservoir begins today, the state announced. Forty percent of the lake’s capacity to sedimentation has been lost, and it is a backup source of water for the Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station.
