University Daily Kansan, November 28, 1983
CAMPUS AND AREA
Page 8
Local self-service gas stations targeted by 'drive-off bandits'
By MICHAEL PAUL Staff Reporter
But they don't wear black masks, steal money and flee on horseback. Instead, they drive cars without license plates with gas and drive away without paying.
They are modern-day bandits
These "drive-off bandits" became active in Lawrence a few years ago when many gas stations started selling gas pumped by the customer. Since 1986, nearly all gas stations have been targets for bandits as have stations across the country.
"When they drive up," he said, either the tags on the cars will be off or not.
Jeff Pettjohn, manager of a new E-Z Shop at 23rd Street and Haskell Avenue, said recently that he already had had two drive-offs at his shop although it had been open for only a week and a half.
BOR THOMPSON, WHO works at the aPoe gas station at the Stop 2, Shop 1010 Third St., said that drive-off at his gas station occurred once a night during the weekend.
Thompson said that drive-offs were unpredictable but that some people were very likely to get hit.
"It happens," he said. "But it's not an unfair affair. They get $10 and up and they get $20."
Thompson said, however, that he did not understand why the police sometimes told him to give a report over the telephone.
"Sometimes the dispatcher will say,
'We'll get back to you,'" he said.
Maj. Ron Olin of the Lawrence Police Department said that what probably happened in those situations was that another call had come in that was more urgent.
"If a life threatening situation exists, we do not answer less important calls until the other call is handled," he said. HE SAID THAT it was standard protocol to respond to certain calls and that under some extreme circumstances, calls on non-
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life threatening situations could be put on hold for up to 45 minutes.
"If you called at 8 tonight, I could not tell you how long it would to respond to that call," he said. "But I call with an average response time is three minutes."
Pettjohn said that he had been a manager at a station in Oatley and that three drive-offs a week occurred there. A person who paid a system had stopped the drive-offs.
He said it was still too early to tell whether he would have to start a game.
if it will result in a decrease in sales, he will not 'use it unless things get out of control'
ANOTHER CONVENIENCE STORE manager said, however, that he would not use the pre-pay system because it was an inconvenience to the customer.
The manager said that he used an intercom system to try to stop drive-offs. He said that when the customer lifted the pump, a signal sounded that alerted the employee in the shop that someone was at the pump. The employee then used the intercom system to greet the customer.
This system, the manager said, made the customer aware that someone knew he was there and also made the employee aware of the customer.
THE MANAGER SAID that he still had about four to seven drive-offs a week, with an average weekly loss from $10 to $60. But he said that employees had been able to identify the cars of people who had driven off because they had noticed them when the intercom system signaled.
He said that if the drive-offs continued, the self-service system would change, although he was uncertain how.
Ballot validity to be examined by board
By SUSAN WORTMAN Staff Reporter
The Judicial Review Board will conduct an emergency meeting this week to decide whether ballots rulled invalid by the Elections Review Board should be counted in the recent student body presidential election
Momentum would present three complaints to the board.
Kevin Walker, presidential candidate for the Momentum Coalition, asked for the emergency meeting so he could present his side of the controversy. The ballots were invalidated because they were marked "Momentum" instead of with the candidates' names.
WALKER WILL ASK the board to review the deadline for election complaints, the question of whether Priority submitted an incomplete order after the ballots marked "Momentum" should be considered invalid, he said.
Russ Ptacek, campaign chairman of the Momentum Coalition, said that
Based on Student Senate rules the Elections Review Board set 5:30 p.m. the Friday after the election as the deadline for filing election complaints, he said. The deadline was extended to 9:30 a.m. Monday, but Ptacek said the extension was a violation of the Senate rules.
He also said that Momentum Coalition members would present evidence that the Priority Coalition
submitted an incomplete audit. Priority handed out pamphlets on Nov. 17 and Ptacek said that the pamphlets were not included in the audit that the coalition submitted before the election.
Mark McKee, Momentum's vice-presidential candidate, said he was confident that the review board would make a decision this week.
"They will almost have to act because they are under so much pressure," he said.
MCKEE SAMD THE JUDICIAL Review Board "was the last word," in the ballot issue at the University level.
Walker has said that the next step if the Judicial Board denied Momentum's request would be to take the
matter to Douglas County District Court.
Pitacek said that he was confident that after the board met Walker and McKee would be in office.
Priority's Scott Swenson and Dennis Strickland officially take office after the last Senate meeting Wednesday.
"But," Ptacek said, "I've heard that there will be a protest at the Senate meeting that night if they are still in office."
MCKEE SAID HE wanted to settle the ballot issue before the end of this semester so that students would not forget about it and administrators would not have the opportunity to let the issue die.
WOOLRICH.
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