![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
In less than 24 hours this week, two unrelated shooting deaths took place within a two-mile radius of Lawrence High — marking continued violence that has often impacted teenagers.
Former LHS student Davin Gregory Kerr, 18, died after police say he was shot at about 10:40 p.m. March 5 in the 2900 block of Crestline Drive. Dawson Edward Paine, 21 of Topeka, has been identified as a suspect and was taken into custody around noon today by Topeka Police and is being held in the Douglas County Jail.
Kerr was the second Lawrence teenager to die from a shooting this year. Fifteen-year-old Brianna Rachelle Higgins died Jan. 19 in Olathe. Kerr had previously been an LHS student and Higgins was an LHS sophomore.
Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart said he worries about the impact of gun violence on teens.
“It’s senseless gun violence,” he said at a press conference today. “Somehow as a community we need to figure out how do we end gun violence, because it’s killing our young people and it’s not fair.”
Gun violence also took a life downtown this week.
At 5:10 p.m. Wednesday, 39-year-old Vincent Walker was shot and killed in the 700 block of Vermont Street. Police took 32-year-old Nicholas Beaver, of Topeka, into custody Wednesday night in connection with the shooting. He is being held in the Douglas County Jail.
The weapon believed to be involved in the incident was located using a “gun-sniffing dog,” named Shiloh, from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The shooting occurred after an argument between two people, according to a press release from the Lawrence Public Library. There were many witnesses, and police ask that anyone with information contact their non-emergency line (785) 832-7509.
Both the Lawrence Public Library and Climb Lawrence were closed by the LPD to help secure the scene.
“We’ll inevitably experience more ups and downs as a community,” Heather Kearns, the library’s marketing supervisor said in an email to patrons. “Like many of us, you may be navigating shock and sadness, feeling unsafe and scared, and struggling with frustration and anger. We’re here for you and we’ll get through this together.”
While there are many concerns about safety in the community, Lockhart said during a press conference today that Lawrence remains a safe place.
“I think it’s really important to keep in mind that violent crime overall in Lawrence is not very high,” Lockhart said. “So when it happens, it is something that we should react to. Violent crime is not something we should be desensitized to. But overall, it’s a very safe community.”
The downtown shooting involved those in the unhoused community. Lockhart said that two of the people killed in the city’s three recent homicides were experiencing homelessness. Among them, 51-year-old Crystal White was found dead in her tent on Feb. 22 near the North Lawrence camp for people experiencing homelessness. These incidents have sparked conversation regarding the cause of rising violence within the homeless community.
Lockhart told the media that Lawrence needs to push for better funding of mental health treatment programs.
“It’s difficult to get treatment when you don’t have a safe place to live,” Lockhart said. “If you didn’t have a home to stay in every night, you were worried about where your next meal or where your shelter was going to come from you’d have some emotional and mental issues as well.”
This story was originally published on The Budget on March 7, 2024.