Tomorrow's weather
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PO BOX 3585
TOPEKA, KS 66601-3585
kansan
Wednesday
July 8, 1998
Section:
A
Warm tomorrow with partly sunny skies.
Online today
Check out this hot site of the day for cat lovers.
http://www.imagine.co.uk/freddie
Vol.108·No.156
Sports today
The Women's basketball team announced the verbal agreement of Kristen May, one of the top high school point guards in the nation.
SEE PAGE 2B
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Residents safe after potential hostage situation
(USPS 650-640)
Kansan staff writer
Lawrence police responded to a potential hostage situation in West Lawrence late last night.
Sgt. Mark Warren of the Lawrence police department said that at 10:08 p.m., police received a call that one or two armed subjects had entered a house at 804 Murrow Ct. The residents of the house, both males, said that they saw two male suspects enter their house with a gun and the residents sought safety in a separate
room of the house behind a locked door, Warren said.
Sgk. Kirt Fultz said that the suspects were described as two white males, one wearing jeans, the other wearing denim shorts and army boots. Both are considered to be in their early 20s, and one of the suspects was believed to be armed with a pistol.
Fultz said that the residents of the house were suspected to be in their early 20s but could not confirm whether they were University of Kansas students.
mately 10:09 p.m. to find the back door of the home open, Warren said. They found no signs of forced entry and no signs of intruders.
Police inspected the neighborhood, found no suspects, and shortly thereafter told the neighbors that the scene was secure.
Cheryl Wonnell, 805 Murrow Ct., lives directly across the street from the scene of the incident.
She said that at approximately 10:45 p.m., she was escorting a friend from her house and was interrupted by police.
"Police came running through my yard and said, 'get back in the house.' There were police cars everywhere," she said. "It was very, very scary."
After being interviewed at the scene, the residents of the house were taken from the scene by police to the Law Enforcement Center for further questioning, Warren said.
By 11:40 p.m., police had secured the scene, he said.
"Police came running through my yard and said, 'get back in the house.' There were police cars everywhere. It was very, very scary."
Cheryl Wonnell Neighbor of the victims
Splashdance!
Maggie Heck, Lawrence junior, and Ryan Stein, Smithville, Mo., senior, play in the Chi Omega fountain with their dog, Indy. The muggy weather yesterday had people seeking cooler temperatures. Photo by Lizz Weber / KANSAN
Students may find shelter scarce during tornadoes
By Michael Martin
Kansan staff writer
In the midst of tornado season, many students living in apartment buildings or older houses have few options for immediate shelter — a situation city officials say there are no plans to change.
Students who do not live in groundfloor apartments or houses with basements often are forced to look elsewhere for shelter when tornado sirens sound.
John Peckham, Lyons senior, lives on the top floor of a three-story apartment building at 10th and Mississippi streets. The building has no basement or shelter area, he said. During a recent tornado warning, Peckham left his apartment and drove to a friend's house to take cover in its basement.
He said that the prospect of the next tornado warning — when he might not have time to drive to shelter — makes him nervous. He said that adding tornado shelters or distributing safety instructions would be a good idea.
"I've lived in Kansas all my life, but I'm sure there are a lot of people from back East who don't get worried." Peckham said. "There should be a shelter or instructions on how to get where."
Many of Lawrence's largest property management companies have little to say about the issue.
"The owners run the buildings. That's something they'd have to pay for," said the representative, who refused to give his name after being interviewed. "They try to spread out costs to other things."
A representative of A & S Rental Solutions, a property-management company, said that A & S did not distribute tornado safety instructions to residents and that their buildings lacked specific shelter areas because they were constructed without them.
Gene Shaughnessy, chief building inspector for the City of Lawrence, said that the city had no statutes, either current or pending, that would require apartment landlords to provide shelter areas or give safety instructions to residents.
However, the city requires trailer park operators either to provide shelters or
First Management, Mastercraft Corp., Meadowbrook Apartments and Colony Woods Apartments did not return phone calls. Property Management Services declined to comment.
Tornado safety tips:
- Listen to local radio or watch television for tornado warnings and instructions.
- If you hear a tornado warning or a storm threatens, seek shelter immediately.
- If you are in a building, go to a designated shelter, a basement, or an interior room, such as a bathroom or closet.
- If you are in a mobile home, leave it for a more substantial structure.
- if you are in an automobile, abandon your vehicle and seek shelter in a ditch or depression.
- Protect your head and body from debns.
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www.noa.gov
M. D. Bradshaw/KANSAN
to post the location of the nearest shelter, a compromise that resulted from limited shelter space. Shaughnessy said
"They realized there was no way they were going to get 500 people in a space made for 75," he said.
Mobile homes are held to the higher standard because they are less structurally stable than apartment buildings and less likely to have basements or lower levels, Shaughnessy said.
However, he said the number of apartment buildings with basements or lower levels was unclear.
City Manager Mike Wildgen said that the city did not have plans to add public shelters but that certain city buildings were available for that purpose.
"We've never constructed tornado shelters every other block," he said. "I don't anticipate that happening."
The Lawrence Community Building, 115 W. 11th St., and the East Lawrence Center, 1245 E. 15th St., have basements that can be used during building hours. Fire stations and the Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St., are open 24 hours a day, Wildgain said.
"Other than that, it's not any different than if you were in the countryside," he said. "You go to the lowest areas, you get to the drainage areas."
Many apartment dwellers have access to windowless, lower-level laundry rooms, Wildgen said.
"You do what you can to stay out of harm's way," Wildgen said. "There's no absolute way to protect yourself, even in areas that are tornado shelters."
Universities and city to fight underage alcohol abuse
Lawrence mayor universities intend to improve safety
By Duane Wagler
Kansan staff writer
Leaders from the two Lawrence universities and the city are working together to combat alcohol abuse among young people
Kennedy held a news conference last week to announce the joint effort.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway, Haskell Indian Nations University President Robert Martin and Lawrence Mayor Marty
Hemenway said that the task force would pool the resources of the city and its universities to gather data about alcohol use such as incidences of driving under the influence.
"We do have national statistics about alcohol use," Hemenway said, "Do we have local statistics? Yes, we have some. Do we have enough? Probably not."
by planting undercover police in liquor stores. He said that a similar program could be installed in bars to discourage underage drinking.
Hemenway said that preventing alcohol consumption by minors would be pricier.
"We want this to be a safe and livable and drivev community for everyone in Lawrence," he said.
"We want this task force to particularly pay attention to the incidence of underage drinking," he said.
Kennedy said that the city had battled underage drinking and the use of fake IDs
Hemenway said that no specific incident prompted the formation of the task force.
"I've been a chancellor for nine years—six years at Kentucky, three years at Kansas," he said. "Every year that I've been a chancellor at a university there have been various incidents where students have been harmed or have been placed at risk because of alcohol use."
Hemenway said it was important for the
community to explore options to prevent alcohol-related incidents.
"I'm not sure that you can totally eliminate all those occasions, but I think you have an obligation to do what you can to try to minimize the negative effects," he said.
The addition of high school students to the task force was important. Hemanway said.
The task force members will include representatives from the universities and business and community leaders as well as university and high school students.
Provost David Shulenburger, chairman of the task force, that said no date had been
"We have a lot of students who come to our institutions already fairly experienced drinkers from high school," he said.
Preyost David Shulenburger
Dr Shulenburger
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs David
Ambler
TASK FORCE MEMBERS
Director of KU Office of Public Safety Ralph Oliver
Associate General Counsel Karen Dutcher Student Body President Kevin Yoder One more undetermined student
set for the first meeting. He said that the meetings would be open to the public.
Hemenay said that the task force would be asked to present specific recommendations by Dec. 15.