CAMPUS/AREA
University Daily Kansan / Thursday, January 23;1992
3
Daron Bennet:/KANSAN
Out in the rain
Megan Joyce, Lawrence sophomore, sits in the rainfall outside of Strong Hall. Yesterday's rain made 'the walk to class less than fun for many students.
City ordinance to regulate crowd behavior in bar areas
By Andy Taylor
Kansan staff writer
Some neighbors say their yards are littered with passed-out patrons, excrement and trash.
Lawrence bar and club owners will not pop any corks when a proposal to regulate crowd behavior and bar occupancy becomes law within the next couple of weeks.
If a club or bar has three municipal violations in one year, the Lawrence City Commission would decide whether to suspend the bar's operating license.
The proposed ordinance would give the city the authority to revoke or suspend a bar's license for ongoing nuisances.
: The ordinance states that a club or bar is troublesome when it operates in a manner that habitually harms the public health, safety or welfare.
'The proposed ordinance is expected to be approved after a second reading at Tuesday's city commission meeting. It would become effective after publication in the official city newspaper.
Mike Wilden, city manager, said the ordinance was created because of problems that occurred around several area drinking establishments. The ordinance probably will not affect bars that cooperate, he said.
He also said that most first-class dities in Kansas had enacted forms of bar ordinances.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control
division, an agency that regulates state lour laws, liked the Lawrence proposal, Wilden said.
"ABC certainly hasn't discouraged us from having our own ordinance," he said. "It'll be our job to enforce the policy."
City commissioner Bob Schumm said punishment for violations would depend on the cooperation and action taken by a club or bar owner.
"If the bar owner cooperates and does the things that we ask them to, they will stay out of trouble," he said. "If they don't do the things we ask them, they'll be representing themselves in front of the commission."
Schumm said the ordinance was designed to foster cooperation between the city and bar owners.
"We didn't draft the ordinance to put one single person out of business," he said. "We will not see more than one year for revocation by the city staff."
"The commission is not elected as a judgment committee," he said. "If someone throws a Burger King sack in front of me, the police are going to blame Burger King or me?"
Don Schmidt, co-owner of the Power Plant, 901 Mississippi St., said the commission was going beyond its duties.
But some bar owners disagree
Some neighbors of Lawrence taverns have a different opinion.
Robert and Sharon Hollady, 503 Elm St., said patrons at Los Amigos Saloon, 508 Locust St., situated across the alley from their house, had caused numerous nuisances in the past four to five years.
erned, then all business should be governed the same way,' he said.
Schmidt said he thought all businesses in Lawrence should be held to the same amount of scrutiny as the drinking establishments.
"The ordinance won't put away the problems in any way, shape or form," Sharon Hollady said. "But it will make the bar owners tell their patrons, 'Hey, this is the way you should act.'"
Nancy Kapfer, 913 Illinois St., said that her property had been vandalized many times in the past 15 years. She lives near the Power Plant.
"If one business is going to be gov-
With neighborhood organizations and individuals promoting the ordinance, one bar owner said the issue had been thrown into a political arena.
Bob Grunewald, owner of the West Coast Saloon, 2222 Iowa St., said he foresaw added expenses for his business.
"My tires have been slashed, my cars have been vandalized."
Finney's plan would raise school funding
"When you get neighborhood groups involved, it becomes a political issue," said Chuck Magerl, owner of the Free Press Journal Company, 636 Massachusetts St.
"It appears that I'm going to have to hire a doorman all the time so that we don't have any problems," he said. "We got a really good clientele, though, and I don't see any problems."
By Gayle Osterberg
Kansan staff writer
Lawrence public schools would receive more money than last year,
estimated that the Lawrence district would receive $480,000 more than last year.
see a drop in property taxes if Gov. Finney's proposed school finance plan is approved, a study revealed
Mary Loveland, president of the
The State Board of Education on Tuesday released a report outlining the impact of Finney's proposed statewide 45-mill property tax levy to finance public schools.
According to the report, the levy would decrease Lawrence property taxes from $69 to $45 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The study
Lawrence School Board, said that she would applaud the increase in revenue, but that she was not ready to believe it.
"We get this type of reading every few days." Loveland said.
"I've learned from experience not to get too happy too soon."
District Superintendent Dan Neuenswander said he had not been able to review the numbers and could not comment.
Neuenswander said the important figure was the amount of money spent on each student. If enrollment
increased, the district's spending on each student could decrease.
A 45-mill levy would meet the mandate of Judge Terry Bullock, of the Shawnee County District Court, requiring the state to make property taxes more equitable. Under the proposal, 253 of Kansas' 304 districts would have decreases in property taxes.
The result would be a $217 million,
shortfall that Finney has recommended
be made up by video lottery
sites and repealed sales
lax exemptions.
Loveland said the shortfall was her main concern.
"I'm not sure they have come up with a sufficient method of making up this money," she said. "I personally would be opposed to financing public education with gambling proceeds."
State representative urges legislation to help children
By Greg Farmer and Gayle Osterberg
Kansan staff writers
The Legislature and all Kansans should be more concerned about the future of children in the state, said State Rep. Sandy Paraeger, R-Lawrence.
"If this state is to remain competitive and continue to prosper, we need to recognize that seeing children develop to their potential helps us all," she said.
Praeger spoke to about 60 people at Ecumenical Christian Ministries during the semester's first weekly University Forum.
Praeger is a member of the Legislature's Interim Committee on Children's Initiatives. On Tuesday, the committee issued a report to lawmakers recommending legislation that would mandate health care to benefit Kansas children
Sandy Praeger
Praeger said the committee placed a high priority on preventing problems such as teen-age pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, gangs and suicide.
Praeger said one of four children was raised by one parent and nearly 20 percent of Kansas students who entered
The committee report, titled "Facing the Future: A Blueprint for Kansas Children and Families," said one of seven Kansas children was living below the federal poverty level.
ninth grade never would graduate from high school.
She also said nearly 35 percent of U.S. families would fall below the poverty level if women quit working.
"The numbers indicate that we have a lot of problems that need to be solved in order to help our children." Praeger said. "Women are working out of financial necessity, not because they are feeling liberated."
Praeger said dedicating e forts and resources to help Kansas children would benefit everyone.
She said that in the population distribution, there were three workers for every retired person. In 1950, there were 16 workers for every retiree.
"I want those three to get a good education and a good job," Praeger said. "Even if we want to improve the way children are treated for only selfish reasons, it's still in our best interests to see that the children of today are able to become productive in the world tomorrow."
She said that the committee had designed more than 50 pieces of legislation that could be debated within the next
"The Legislature has dec'd that children must be a priority," Praeer said. "Our committee took the first steps. Now it will be up to the full body to decide how far we really want to go."
State Rep. Elizabeth Baker, R-Derby, said the House Federal and State Affairs Committee held its first discussion about children's issues Tuesday. Baker said 13 bills and one resolution relating to children's issues were recommended.
New Regent member appointed
By Janet Rorholm
Kansan staff writer
KU alumnus and ex-football player Frank Sabatini, 59, is the newest member of the Board of Regents.
Gov. Finney appointed Sabatiniearlier this month to replace Bob Creighton, another KU alumnus, who retired at the end of December.
Mary Holladay, the governor's daughter and appointment secretary, said that Finney had known Sabatiin for years and that the two shared similar beliefs. Finney also respects Sabatiin's position in the Topeka business and financial community, Holladay said.
"He's got some inside experience on how to manage large budgets, and he has lots of resources to turn to," Holland said.
Del Shankel, interim executive vice chancellor, said he thought Sabatini would bring a wealth of intelligence to the department's intensive fiscal and business expériemens.
"I noticed at the first board meeting he was already well prepared," Shankel said. "He played a vigorous part in the discussion on the board,
He is now the president of Capital City Bank & Trust Co. in Topeka. Sabatini also is an investor and is involved in restaurant and convenience store businesses.
After graduating from the University of Kansas in 1954 with a B.S. in industrial management, Sabatini went to the KU School of Law. He moved to Topeka in 1988 to practice law where he began his own law firm. He practiced law for 25 years before entering the banking industry.
which indicates to me that he'll be a liberal and productive member of the Board of Regents."
Sabatini said he always had been concerned about education and believed that business and academics went together.
Serving on the Board of Regents was his opportunity to do that, he said.
"To have a successful business, you have to have very intelligent people so you've got to nurture the education side," Sabatiin said.
Sabatini said he wanted to become more involved in public service to give something back to the state.
Sabatini already has some goals he would like to accomplish as a Regent.
"I think our whole future of the country is the rejuvenation of students wanting to excel in the sciences and engineering," Sabatini said.
One is to improve the freshman dropout rate by raising grade school and high school requirements, so students are more prepared to enter college. Another is to encourage students to stay in Kansas after graduation. He would like to make the science and engineering programs more desirable career choices, he said.
He said he would definitely like to see Hoch Auditorium restored either by private or state financing.
"I think the problem right now is with finances," Sabatini said. "You can either spend it on educational subjects or spend it on brick and mortar."
Sabatini came to KU from Chicago on a football scholarship. He lettered three years as a fullback and was a member of Phi Kappa fraternity, which is now Phi Kappa Theta. Sabatini said other schools tried to recruit him, but he liked the homeeton atmosphere of KU.
Sabatini is married and has four sons. Three attended KU and one went to Pittsburgh State University.