Lawrence Ski Slope To Open In December
By Charles Corcoran
According to plans students and area residents will have the opportunity to go skiing this winter in Lawrence's own back yard!
"We are doing everything possible to get this thing rolling and as far as we know now Mont Bleu, as we have rechristened Blue Mound, will be open for skiing sometime between December 1 and 15," said William Dunaway, Topeka businessman and one of the slope's developers.
MONT BLEU, located 5 miles southeast of Lawrence, will feature a 300-foot beginners' slope and a 1,400-foot advanced skiers' slope. Plans also call for the addition of
side trails, once the initial operation is established, which would range up to 2,100 feet in length.
Unique in the operation is the fact that it need not snow for skiers to be able to ski.
"A Massachusetts firm has a methods-process patent on a system that turns out snow that is better than nature's." Dunaway said. "Water with air are sprayed into the air through special nozzles at the rate of 240 cubic feet per minute. If the temperature of the air is 32 degrees or lower, the mixture turns to snow."
THE SNOW CAN be created with any water content desired and thus can be created to suit weather conditions and requirements of the slope. It can be sprayed exactly where and when it is needed.
Dr. William Triplett, Topeka allergy specialist and the other slope developer, said the snow cannot be considered artificial. "It is the same thing as natural snow, just manmade," he said.
The project includes plans for two rope tows. One will run two lines to the top of the beginners' slope and the other will begin at that point and run one line to the Mont's 230-foot peak.
which will have about 3,000 square feet of floor space. The center of the building's main room will have a large, open fireplace.
AT THE BASE of the slope and about 160 feet to the left an A-frame type of Swiss chalet will be built
A balcony will surround the upper story of the room and will lead out on to a sundeck which will face the ski area. The chalet will also house a snack bar and ski rental shop.
The slope will be entirely lighted and tentative hours of operation include night skiing seven days a week. The proposed hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. on weekends and from 1 to 9 p.m. on weekdays.
STUDENT TOW rates between
$2.50 and $3.00 a day will be in effect during the week, and KU students will be asked to use their student identification cards when they use the slope. Weekend rates will be about $4.00 for everyone.
At present no special transportation means has been arranged, but the developers are looking into the possibilities of having a local bus company make special trips to the site.
A professional ski instructor will be available to give skiers group lessons or private instructions. Depending upon temperature conditions, the slope will be open for 90 to 120 days this winter.
Daily Hansan
61st Year, No. 10
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
Thursday, Sept. 26, 1963
Wheat to Russians Could Cut Surplus
WASHINGTON—(UPI)—If moves by U.S. traders to negotiate sales of wheat to Russia produce results, shipments to the Soviet Union would bite into an American surplus now big enough to meet nearly all normal domestic and export demand for a full year.
Practically all of the $2.3 billion surplus is owned by the government, piled up under farm price support programs. It has been costing taxpayers nearly $300 million a year in storage and handling charges.
THE SURPLUS has declined after reaching a peak of more than 1.4 billion bushels in mid-1961. But when the 1963-crop marketing year began in July, warehouses were still bulging with nearly 1.2 billion bushels of wheat carried over from earlier crops which traders and government officials hadn't been able to sell swan, or even give away.
By next summer, even if no U.S. wheat is sold to Russia, the surplus is expected to drop about 1 billion bushels because exports to other buyers are up. Even this would be far above the 600 million bushels which experts believe is needed for national security reserves and protection against the possibility of a poor crop.
Student Accused Of Manslaughter
(In comparison with the current surplus of 1,189,000,000 bushels, total domestic and export sales in the marketing year ending last June 30 were about 1.2 billion. Total U.S. wheat production in 1562 has been estimated at a below-average 1,150,-000,000 bushels.)
The problem of too much wheat has been plaguing U.S. farmers and farm policymakers since the late 1940's. Production control programs, sometimes backed up by government
KU freshman, John P. Ritchie, Jr., 19, was arraigned in Douglas County Court Tuesday morning by Judge Charles V. Rankin and charged with two counts of fourth-degree manslaughter.
A preliminary hearing was set for 10:30 a.m. Oct. 18 at the Douglas County courthouse. Ritchie's bail was set at $1,500.
Ritchie was the driver of one of the two cars involved in an accident early Sunday morning at 19th and Massachusetts streets in which two persons were killed.
The victims were Arthur J, Cobb, 40, Eudora, and David Ray Helm, 15. 627 Ash St.
Ritchie suffered minor injuries and was released from Watkins Memorial hospital Tuesday morning.
payments to farmer for voluntarily cutting acreage below federal planting allotments, have been in force since the early 1950's.
LAST MAY, however, farmers rebelled against controls and voted down a proposal to adopt stiffened planting regulation coupled with high support prices for the 1964 crop.
The vote left farmers free to plant all the 1964 wheat they pleased, with government price supports chopped from $2 a bushel this year to $1.25 next year. Even the lower support will be available only to producers who voluntarily comply with federal planting allotments.
The return to a program in which farmers can plant unlimited amounts of wheat without facing federal marketing penalties undoubtedly is at least partly responsible for recent interest in farm circles in reviewing the idea of possible exports to Russia.
There is no firm indication yet of the size of the 1964 wheat crop, and some farm leaders believe it will not be much bigger—if any bigger—than the 1963 crop. If production does rise, domestic wheat prices will be depressed below the new support rates unless wheat exports also rise.
American wheat production in recent years has been averaging about 1.2 billion bushels a year. With domestic needs holding steady at about 300 million bushels, this means that markets must be found for 300 million bushels or more annually to prevent the piling up of price-depressing surpluses.
Exports for dollars, made with the aid of a government export subsidy covering the gap between U.S. supports and the world price—currently about 50 cents below U.S. prices, have been pushed hard. The biggest volume customers for U.S. wheat have been countries such as India which get it under the government's Food-For-Peace Aid Program.
Exports of wheat are made, in most cases, by private grain traders who draw supplies from the current year's crop which has not yet gone into government hands, or from federal stockpiles.
No wheat exports have yet gone to the Soviet Union which, until this year, generally has been a net exporter of wheat. Agriculture Secretary Orville L. Freeman said recently that on the heels of recent crop reverses, the Soviets are certain to increase their investments in agriculture and should be able to increase production in the future.
IN RECENT YEARS, experts have ranged between 500 million and 700 million-plus bushels annually, with two-thirds or more of the shipments moving under government aid programs.
YOUR CUE—Sharpening up for Saturday's free billiards night at the Kansas Union is Constance Crum, Manhattan sophomore, and Davy Briery, Topeka freshman. The day provides an opportunity for the women to try their hand at pool, formerly considered one of the least feminine
—Photo by Don Black
sports, and saves their escorts the price of a Saturday date. Parents are also invited to step into the students shoes and bowl, shoot pool take in a movie and go to a dance. (See story p.12.)
Liaison Committee To Investigate Medical Service, Fees, Traffic
By Fred Frailey
The Student Liaison Committee announced last night that it will investigate KU's medical service and traffic control booths and a proposal for installment payment of tuition fees.
the liaison group, an arm of the All Student Council, began functioning this year to convey student opinion on city, state and University actions which affect them.
The decision to study the three areas was made at the committee's first meeting last night in the Kansas Union.
Richard King, Kansas City sophomore and committee member, said the studies arise from suggestions given the committee by students.
He would not elaborate on the comments — either favorable or unfavorable — given the committee by the students.
"We want to get a better idea of how the student body and faculty feel about these three issues." King said. "We're trying to see if problems exist in these areas and how they affect the student body.
In other words, do students have
egitimate complaints against the medical service and traffic control booths or are they gripping for the sake of griping? How do students feel about paying their tuition by installments? What are the ideas of the faculty in these areas?"
King said the liaison committee may take a stand later on the issues if it feels it has discovered definite trends of opinion.
"If we do find that problems exist, we plan to speak to the State
Weather
Warm afternoons will be followed by chilly evenings today and as the cold weather season nears.
The forecast is generally fair today, tonight and Friday. Although the thermometer registered between 82 and 86 degrees today, the weather bureau predicts a low dropping into the middle 50's toonight as students begin airing the moth balls out of woolen coats and jackets and preparing for nippy football season.
Board of Regents, the chancellor or whomever has the authority to help solve these problems," King said. "We will try to convince them to accept our views, which we think will be the views of the student body."
Because the Student Liaison Committee must work with both students and administrators, King asked that the faculty members also make their opinions known to the committee.
"We feel that the Student Liaison Committee can work effectively for the good of the students of KU. We have been given the support of the University administration and the state government. What we need now is cooperation from the students in investigating these problems."
Jim Thompson, Hugoton senior,
is committee chairman. Other members are King; Larry Bast, Topeka sophomore; Mike Minor, Lawrence junior; Peggy Conner, Sacramento, Calif.; senior; Jack Croughan, Novato, Calif.; senior; Sharon Mell-rath, Hugoton sophomore, and John Sapp, Havana, Ill., sophomore.