$1.50 / LJWorld.com
Tuesday • September 12
PUBLISHED SINCE 1891
• 2023
'HELPING PEOPLE
EVERY DAY' Out of the firehouse, one of Lawrence’s 1st female firefighters is still serving city By Chris Conde cconde@ljworld.com
D
igging through archives of old newspapers you’ll find dozens of stories about one of Lawrence’s first female firefighters. Rescuing a dog from a burning building. Overseeing a rescue of a fisherman from the Bowersock Dam. Bulking up as a competitive weightlifter. Being named captain at the department and, for a brief time, acting as fire chief. Lexie Engleman may be one of the most storied first responders in recent Lawrence history. Though she retired from fighting fires more than 10 years ago, she continues to serve her community working the front desk at the Douglas County Jail a few days a week — and they’re a busy few days. On a recent day, within a matter of minutes, a dozen inquiries were fired off in her direction, from a resident trying to register a vehicle, an attorney entering the jail to see a client, a co-worker trying to schedule a delivery of books for the library and a reporter trying to take her picture. Engleman’s story with the department starts in 1981 when she
was selected by Fire Chief Jim McSwain as one of two of Lawrence’s first female firefighters, but she said the story that led to her decision to join the department goes back a little further — to when she was fresh out of college and teaching in Linwood. “I was coaching all the women’s sports but only getting paid for one. And so, I didn’t think that was right. Especially when the men were getting paid more for coaching one sport. I took it to the KNEA (Kansas National Education Association) board and said, ‘You know this is wrong.’ That was before affirmative action and all of that kind of stuff. I went back to Linwood for my job and they said I was fired,” Engleman said. Around the same time Engleman and her then husband welcomed their son into the world, and she needed a job.
> HELPING, 3A
s Journal-World Photo
man poses at her TOP: Lexie Engle pt. 1 at the Douglas current job on Se E: Engleman poses County Jail. ABOVg her time with Fire for a photo durin ghth and Kentucky Ei Station No. 1 at ND: A variety of news OU GR CK d streets. BA s of Engleman an clippings tell storie t. the fire departmen
School board adopts new Site that used to house city’s largest budget amid some dissent private employer is on the market By Matt Resnick mresnick@ljworld.com
The Lawrence school board on Monday officially adopted a budget that increases the local property tax rate, while also providing approximately $6.6 million in raises for staff. As part of its agenda Monday, the board held its public budget hearing and unanimously adopted a resolution to exceed the revenue neutral rate. Its 2023-24 operating budget, which includes $242.73 in total expenditures — a
roughly $22.65 million increase from the 2022-23 budget, SCHOOLS passed on a 6-1 vote. Carole CadueBlackwood was the lone board member to oppose the budget — and was also the only one to cast a dissenting vote against a resolution to approve the local option budget (LOB) — which grants the district the authority to spend
the maximum amount allowed by the state finance formula. Before the vote on the operating budget, board member Shannon Kimball expressed concern that further opposition could potentially unravel months of hard work. “Because we approved those staff salaries and other expenditures all throughout this past year for this school year — based on projections our staff have given us about money generated in the
> SCHOOL, 8A
Don’t hang up on me. I feel like I should make that request because I’m getting ready to talk about call centers. The main message is: There are fewer of them in Lawrence than there used to be. Unless you enjoy talking about your car’s extended warranty, or lack thereof, you probably think that is good news. Maybe, maybe not. The industry has employed a lot of people in Lawrence over the years, and most of the time it has been for work far
TOWN
TALK Chad Lawhorn
clawhorn@ljworld.com
different from the annoying calls you get during dinner time. Among other projects, Lawrence call center workers have been the voices behind the helplines for federal student loans and federal health insurance programs, among other big topics. In fact, a call center
company that has had more names than my F150 has had denied warranty claims was the largest private employer in Lawrence for many years. The company, which has operated under the names NCS, Pearson, General Dynamics, Vangent and likely others that I have forgotten, has long occupied two large buildings in the East Hills Business Park. At various times, those entities employed more than 1,000 people in Lawrence.
> EMPLOYER, 2A
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