Friday, January 21, 2000 The University Daily Kansan Section A · Page 5 Public Safety Officers complete training By Sara Shepherd writer@kansan.com Kansas staff writer After Reid Walter completes a shooting drill, several paper targets are riddled with holes. Empty cartridges from his 9 mm Gloc pistol have clattered to the ground. When Walter turns around after completing the drill, Travis Lightie gives him a thumbs-up. "He is an awesome shot," Lightle savs. Walter and Lightle started new jobs at the KU Public Safety Office Jan. 10. Both have worked in law enforcement before, but they will be patrolling the streets of the Oread neighborhood as commissioned police officers after a 14 weeks of training. "These two fill these two vacancies and bring us back up to full strength." Set. Troy Mailen said. back up to full strength." Sgt. Troy Mailen said. Lightle, 26, graduated in December 1996 from Washburn University, with a degree in criminal justice. He worked for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in KU Public Safety Officer Reid Walter takes careful aim as he fires multiple shots at his target. Walter is excited to be returning to the University of Kansas after graduating in 1998. Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN Toppea for four years before being hired by the public safety office. Walter, 23, graduated from the University of Kansas in 1998, with degrees in psychology and crime and delinquency. Before moving back to Lawrence, he worked at the Topeka Juvenile Correction Facility. Sgt. Rose Rozmiarek, firearms instructor and shift supervisor at the public safety office, said that after this week the officers would receive instruction in patrol tactics, city ordinances, report writing and alternative defense tactics. Mailen said the rest of the in-house training would directly relate and apply to the KU community to help strengthen relationships with the student body. "We're not just here to make arrests and write traffic tickets," Malen said. "There should be a positive interaction with the community as a whole." Rozmlarek agreed. She said the officers would be introduced and familiarized with different campus groups that were unique to the University. "It gives them a better understanding of the type of community they're going to be dealing with,' Rozmiarak said. After five weeks of in-house training, the officers will travel to Yoder, a small community near Hutchinson, for nine weeks at the state's police academy — not to be confused with the one in the movies, Rozziarek said. She said the new officers would undergo more than 360 hours of basic law enforcement training at the academy. Mailen said both officers' law enforcement backgrounds should benefit the public safety office. Lightle and Walter both said they were looking forward to working with students in the University's environment. They also said that their previous experiences and young age would help them relate to college students. Walter said that as a KU alumnus, he was comfortable on campus. After working at a juvenile correctional facility, Walter said, it would be a relief to work with college students. Animal byproduct fuel could fatten ag industry By Katrina Hull writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer The day vehicles run on beef fat, soybean oil and fast-food grease may not be too far away. This is what researchers told the Kansas Senate Agriculture and House Environment committees yesterday, adding that the alternative fuel, biodiesel, which would use Kansas' beef and soybean byproducts, couldatten the state's agriculture industry. The non-cancer-causing, biodegradable fuel may be the fuel of the future, said Sen. Stephen Morris, R-Hugeton and chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. New national regulations will require more fuel-efficient vehicles, including trendy sport utility vehicles. He said a switch to diesel engines, which are up to 40 percent more efficient, is one possibility for better gas mileage. Steve Hallow, a biodiesel consultant from Mark-IV, said farmers who tried biodiesel in their tractors did not mind the side effects. Hallow said the fuel was ready for use in all diesel engines — without normal diesel's bad smell or thick, black smoke. "Some say it smells more like French fries or cooking oil than diesel fuel — and that is a welcome change," Hallow said. "They complain it has increased their weight because they're hungry more often, but that's a personal problem." However, to make the fuel affordable researchers have tested a mix of 80 percent diesel and 20 percent biodiesel. A $20,000 grant from the Kansas Corporation Commission paid for the study of biodiesel, which Hallow said is non-toxic and burns cleaner. Hallow said that using animal fat naturally conserved energy without harming the environment. "It makes sense, because mother nature's preferred way of storing energy is in triglycerin, or a fat — that's our energy reserve and how mother nature stores energy." Hallow said. Kansas has the agricultural resources to be a major producer, said Richard Nelson, a Kansas State University professor of engineering who has researched biodiesel for the last eight years. Plus, biodiesel use is on the rise nationally, he said. "The Kansas economy is still very much tied to the agricultural sector," said State Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence and member of the House Environment Committee. "Innovations that add value to our basic agricultural communities help farmers and all citizens of Kansas." As the top beef-slaughtering state in the country, Kansas slaughters 9 million to 10 million cattle a year. Nelson said. Biodiesel mostly uses inedible beef tallow, or fat, that normally sells cheaply for animal feed or lubricants and sometimes is discarded. Although soybean meal sales are rising, soybean oil sales are not, making soy oil a bvproduct as well. Nelson proposed that Kansas build a $3 million to $15 million dollar plant in Liberal, close to four of the state's five slaughterhouses. He has not asked for any legislative support yet. Although environmentally and agriculturally friendly, biodiesel costs more than regular diesel — up to 40 cents per gallon for a 20 percent biodiesel mix and up to a $1.50 increase for pure biodiesel. Plus, mother nature's fuel doesn't flow when the weather gets cold. Hallow said. "Tallow freezes up in the winter faster than soybean oil," he said. "That will have an affect on its ability to be used either as a pure fuel or as a blending fuel." Although the fuel still may have its kinks, Howell said the time for biodiesel was now, and Kansas agriculture could use the boost. Even if it costs more, the long-term benefits to health and the environment could be worth it, he said. "How do you put a price on reducing cancer?" Howell said. "A lot of the benefits of biodiesel are valued more in macro terms." Rv Mindie Miller writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer It happens at Lawrence gas stations every day. A customer waits for the clerk to turn his head. At the first sign of inattention, the customer sets the nozzle on the ground, hops in his car and speeds off without paying for the gasoline in his tank. Perpetrators make off with hundreds of gallons of stolen gasoline from Lawrence service stations every year. The heists are known as "gas-and-gos" or "drive-offs", and in many cases, businesses must eat the cost of the stolen fuel. But some local stations have had better luck than others catching the bad guys. "Ninety percent of the time, I get the plate number," said Charlie Groat, a clerk at University Phillip's 66, 2434 Iowa St. "I'm standing looking right at my pumps the whole time." He said that if he got the plate number, Lawrence police were good about apprehending the thief. Sgt. George Wheeler of the Lawrence police department said that with the correct information, thieves could be caught. "If we receive the call in a timely manner, and we've got a good description of the vehicle, then we'll put out an attempt to locate over the radio," he said. Joan Fowler, an assistant manager at the Texaco station at 1415 W. Sixth St., said distraction often played a role in apparent gasoline thefts. "Sometimes I think people get busy doing other things," she said. She said that her store also had a video camera, making it easier to catch thieves. In one incident, Fowler said she recognized a man on the video as one of the store's regular customers. She said she showed him the video the next time he came in to gas up, and he reimbursed the store. Wheeler said the police considered intention when they caught a suspect. If they just drove off and forgot to pay, he said, then they allowed them to go back to the "Gas-and-gas" happen every day in Lawrence. All it takes is a good video camera or an attentive clerk to catch the license plate numbers or description of the vehicle. Photo illustration by Nick Krug/KANSAN store and take care of it. But if the officer determined that the theft was intentional, then the suspect was arrested on charges of misdemeanor theft. Dave Zabel, assistant Douglas County district attorney, said the maximum penalty for the charge was one year in jail and a $2.50 fine. Both Groat and Fowler said that gas-and-gos were not a huge problem at their stores, but would-be thieves should beware. Even if police can't chase down the car, the plate number leads them to a phone number that could lead them to the suspect. Fowler said that an incident at Texaco had been resolved in that way. "We had to notify a father because a college student did it, and the vehicle was registered in his father's name," she said. "His dad was not happy. We got our money back." 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