Iraq war vet, legislator to thank KU for troop support Wednesday

To thank the University of Kansas for its support of U.S. troops serving in the Middle East, a state legislator who served in Iraq for a year will present an American flag to KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway at a ceremony March 15 in the Statehouse.

The flag, which flew over an air base near Baghdad on July 4, 2005, will be presented by state Rep. Lee Tafanelli, R-Ozawkie, in the rotunda as part of KU in the Capitol events. Paul Carttar, KU executive vice chancellor for external affairs, a KU music ensemble and the Baby Jay mascot also will attend.

Tafanelli, a lieutenant colonel in the Kansas National Guard, is the commander of the Iola-based 891st Engineer Battalion. He resigned his seat in the House of Representatives when his unit was deployed in January 2005. He returned shortly before Christmas and was re-appointed to the legislature earlier this year.

Tafanelli will present to Chancellor Hemenway a trifolded flag in an oak frame featuring the 891st’s unit coin. The flag was flown over Camp Sapper II, Ali Air Base in Tallil, the headquarters of the 891st located south of Baghdad. The flag is being presented in appreciation for KU giving Tafanelli KU Jayhawk flags to take to Iraq for troop morale.

The third annual KU in the Capitol event, which is free and open to the public, will take place in and around the rotunda on the first and second floors of the Capitol from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 15. More than 30 booths will offer literature, giveaway items, posters and other information that helps tell how KU serves Kansas.

Among the many KU programs planning to participate this year are:

 Kansas Audio-Reader Network
 KU Alumni Association
 Kansas Athletics
 Center for Service Learning
 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
 KU Continuing Education
 Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics
 KU Edwards Campus (Overland Park adult education campus)
 Information and Telecommunication Technology Center
 Kansas Geological Survey
 Kansas Biological Survey
 Kansas Public Radio
 KU Medical Center
 Policy Research Institute
 School of Business
 School of Education
 School of Engineering
 School of Journalism and Mass Communications
 School of Law
 School of Fine Arts and the
    Lied Center of Kansas performing arts center
 School of Medicine-Wichita
 School of Pharmacy
 Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies
 Spencer Museum of Art
 KU Student Success
 Technology Transfer and the KU Center for Research