County News

Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez today announced that Erick Ogwangi, 36, of Lawrence was sentenced to 147 months for one count of Rape.

The charge stemmed from an incident early Jan. 27, 2017, in which Ogwangi forced himself on a woman who was staying in his home. He was convicted for assaulting the woman under circumstances when she was overcome by force or fear.

In her first six months, District Attorney Suzanne Valdez wasted no time creating an office that adheres to her vision of a fair and equitable administration of justice for victims and defendants.

“I’m proud of our work to create a victim-focused approach while proceeding with compassion and empathy for all people involved in our cases,” Valdez said. “By pursuing alternatives to incarceration where appropriate, we can reduce our criminal justice footprint.”

In celebration of Independence Day and our community’s perseverance during the pandemic, the City of Lawrence and its Unified Command partners: Douglas County, LMH Health, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, the University of Kansas and the Lied Center of Kansas have coordinated support of the Lawrence Jaycees’ community fireworks display, creating a Fabulous Fourth.

The proposed 2022 Douglas County budget is $150 million with a mill levy of 48.198 mills, which is an increase of 1.768 mills from last year. One mill is one dollar per $1,000 dollars of assessed value. A 1.768 mill levy increase would cost the owner of a $200,000 home $40.66 next year.

The increased mill levy is being proposed to cover $2.8 million in a cost transfer of ongoing expenses associated with the joint cooperation agreement between the City of Lawrence and the county to finance the operation and maintenance of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical.