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18 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY9, 2003
DEVELOPMENT
A present for Lawrence? Committee proposes amphitheater, plaza
By Maggie Newcomer
mnewcomer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The committee in charge of Lawrence's 150th birthday has an idea for a gift that would keep on giving.
The Lawrence Sesquicentennial Committee, made up of Lawrence residents, proposed a Sesquicentennial Amphitheater and Plaza be built northwest of Clinton Lake as a birthday gift for the community when Lawrence turns 150 years old on Sept. 18, 2004. Yesterday, the city commission gave unanimous approval to raise money for the plaza but placed the amphitheater under consideration.
Fred DeVictor, director of Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department, said the outdoor amphitheater and plaza would be part of a long-term plan to develop 1500 acres above the dam at Clinton Lake.
"It would be a future venue for the community to enjoy," DeVictor said.
Fred DeVictor Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department director
"Who knows where the city's going to be in 50 more years?"
DeVictor said Lawrence was expanding westward toward Clinton Lake. Centennial Park at Sixth and Rockledge streets was established in 1954 for the city's 100th birthday, he said.
"Fifty years ago that was the edge of town," DeVictor said. "Who knows where the city's going to be in 50 more years?"
In the proposal submitted to the city commission last week, the amphitheater would seat 5,000 and hold events such as concerts and theater productions. The committee estimated that the combined costs of the plaza and amphitheater would be $1.67 million. DeVictor said the project would be privately funded but that they
were waiting for the city commission's approval before raising the money.
Doug Pickert, project manager from Landplan Engineering in Kansas City, Mo., said, "It would have a commanding view of the park land and the Wakarusa valley."
DeVictor compared the proposed amphitheater to Johnson County's Theater in the Park. The plaza would also display the history of Lawrence and Douglas County, Pickert said.
By combining the two attractions, DeVictor said he thought visitors to the area would increase.
Lawrence's 150th birthday celebration was officially kicked off on Friday with a parade, said Susan Henderson, representative of the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Henderson said the celebration would continue with parades, parties and historical activities until Sept. 18, 2004.
- Edited by Ehren Meditz
NATION
Nichols won't be charged for killing fetus in bombing
OKLAHOMA CITY — A murder charge accusing bombing conspirator Terry Nichols of the death of an unborn fetus was dismissed yesterday by a state judge who refused to throw out 161 other murder counts against Nichols, including the death of a second fetus.
The state charges are for the 160 other victims as well as two of the victims' unborn fetuses. Nichols trial is scheduled for March 1.
Nichols' preliminary hearing judge ruled that two bombing victims, Robin Huff and Carrie Ann Lenz, were carrying fetuses that could have survived outside the womb. Huff was 32 weeks pregnant and Lenz was 26 to 28 weeks along.
Nichols, 48, is already serving a life sentence on federal bombing charges for the death of eight federal law enforcement agents in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, which killed 168 people.
The Associated Press