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Peltier supporters plan campaign of information

http://www.freeleonardpeltier.com

Supporters of Leonard Peltier, pictured above, are planning a new campaign to have 6,000 documents relating to Peltier's case released to the public.

Gina Chiala, co-coordinator for the Lawrence-based Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, said the documents could lead to acquittal for Peltier, who was convicted of killing two FBI agents during a 1975 standoff at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Peltier is serving two life sentences in the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth.

Chiala said supporters plan to lobby members of Congress to declassify the documents.

The committee filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the documents last summer.

The new campaign follows former President Bill Clinton's decision in the waning days of his presidency not to grant clemency to Peltier.

"Nobody is planning on giving up," Chiala said, "and we don't want that network to die down after it's been built up so much."

Public transit

Ticket books now available for rides on Lawrence buses

Riders of the Lawrence Transit System no longer have to dig around for change before getting aboard.

Tickets offering 10 rides on the bus system, better known as the "T," can now be purchased at Lawrence City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.

The tickets are available for the fixed route and paratransit services. The tickets will be punched by the bus drivers.

The cost is $5 per ticket for a fixed route and $10 per ticket for paratransit door-to-door service. Residents 60 and older and people with disabilities and Medicare cards can pay $2.50 for a similar fixed-route ticket.

The tickets were developed at the request of riders, said Karin Rexroad, Lawrence public transit director. Tickets can be purchased from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at the city's utility billing office, second floor of city hall, Sixth and Massachusetts.

Agencies wanting to buy tickets for clients can contact Rexroad at 832-3465.

Community

Salvation Army seeks block grant funds for shelter

The Salvation Army wants $200,000 in community development funds to help it build a new homeless shelter.

The request to the city's Community Development Grant Review Board would allow the Salvation Army to demolish a home on the site of its proposed shelter at 15th Street and Haskell Avenue.

The committee will review the request, along with others, when it meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the city commission room of city hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.

The city has $1.13 million available in Community Development Block Grant funds for capital improvement programs and $1.78 million worth of funding requests.

An additional $415,205 is available for public service projects, but only $168,750 in requests have been made.

Lt. Carolyn Schuetz of the Salvation Army said she will attend the meeting. Residents of the Brook Creek Neighborhood Assn. who are opposed to the new shelter have vowed to fight the funding.