Z
COOPER TABLE
Kansan
Weather
**Today:** Partly cloudy with a high of 63 and a low of 40.
**Tomorrow:** Partly cloudy with a high of 65 and a low of 40.
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Monday. October 9, 2000
Monday, October 9, 2000
Sports: The Kansas football team suffered another big loss to a Big 12, this time to K-State, 52-13.
SEE PAGE 1B
Inside: Professors and bookstores work together to try to make books more available.
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 111 NO. 30 For comments, contact Nathan Willis or Chris Borniger at 864-4810 or e-mail editor@kansan.con
SEE PAGE 3A
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Natural gas prices on the rise
By Meghan Bainum writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Increasing natural gas prices are going to hit KU students where it hurts — in the pocketbook.
According to figures from the Energy Information Association, gas prices are expected to increase 29.5 percent from last year. Natural gas cost $6.61 per mil
lion last year
hon last year,
and this year,
the EIA projects it will
average $8.58.
More information
The heat was turned on this weekend in University residence halls, but not in the Jawhaker Towers.
James Kendell director of Oil and Gas fore
See page 3A
casting for the EIA, said there was nothing that could be done about higher prices.
"It's just going to cost you more money to heat this winter," he said. "And that's something you really should be thinking about right now."
Students like Brian Adams, Overland Park senior, haven't figured out how to pay for the rising cost.
"We can't afford that, so most likely we
would do something—take different measures," he said. "We'll use space heaters or sleep at other people's houses."
The only thing they could do to keep the house at a comfortable temperature was to overheat, something that Adams said they couldn't afford to do — even when natural gas prices weren't as high.
But Adams said heating the Vermont Street house he and his three roommates lived in was always expensive. He said the house was old and didn't have insulation.
"We can't keep it warm enough." he said. When we work on our computers our hands get numb.
Kendell said the reason for the increase was that the amount of stored gas available was unusually low. He said that while this winter's prices would be high, prices should come down after the next heating season has passed.
"We're not running out of oil and gas," he said. "We're running out of people's willingness to pay for it."
Kendall said the biggest cost-savers were to set back thermostats, which could be set
Although gas prices will be higher, he said students could maximize the efficiency of their furnaces and save money.
WAYS TO SAVE MONEY
To minimize natural gas prices, students should:
- Get furnace checked and tuned by a professional.
- Install a setback thermostat to regulate temperature.
- Keep the thermostat set at 68 degrees.
- Close storm windows tightly. If the house does not have storm windows, put plastic across the windows.
Purchase a 90 percent-efficient furnace.
Source: James Kendell, director of Oil and Gas forecasting for the EIA
to run at a lower temperature during the day and at night when students aren't in the house. Caulking cracks in houses, keeping storm windows closed and making sure gas heaters are running properly will also help keep costs down.
Randy Ortiz, president of Advantage Heating & Air Conditioning, 406 N. Seventh St., recommended yearly furnace service. He said it was dangerous for students to service their furnaces by themselves.
Natural gas price increase
"If you clean your furnace annually, you can get a better burning efficiency rate."
Kvle Ramsev/KANSAM
Source: Energy Information Administration
Kule Ramsew / YANGAN
Ortiz said.
Grant Monroe, Prairie Village junior, said he and his roommates were going to rely on an old-fashioned way to keep warm during the cold winter months ahead.
"We wear sweaters," he said. "I usually sleep in a sweater during the winter."
Edited by John Audlehelm
Carbon monoxide found in many homes
By Melissa Davis
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
What you don't know might kill you.
Jill Thummel, Overland Park senior, bought a carbon monoxide detector last year, just to be safe, and was surprised when it started going off.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless, poisonous gas that many people don't realize is leaking into their homes. And if it goes undetected, it could have deadly consequences.
"I plugged it in, not thinking it was a big deal, then it went crazy by the furnace," she said.
Thummel called a gas company, and a serviceman came out the next day and confirmed through a test that her apartment had a carbon monoxide leak.
Randall Ortiz, president of Advantage Heating & Air Conditioning, 406 N. Seventh St., said he offered the landlords of apartment complexes in Lawrence free carbon monoxide tests. But only one responded. Ortiz said he thought this was a sign that many landlords didn't care about the safety of their tenants — especially students.
"I think a lot of the landlords don't care about students, they just want their money," Ortiz said. "It's going to take a death to make an ordinance so people will take this seriously."
Ortiz suggested students buy digital carbon mon
Josh Bentley, Olathe senior, checks his carbon monoxide detector to make sure it's in working order. Photo Illustration by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
oxide detectors and get a carbon monoxide test because many of his 3,000 to 5,000 clients had furnaces that leaked carbon monoxide.
"Of the apartment complexes we have looked at, at least 20 percent of them have had carbon monoxid
CARBON MONOXIDE FACTS
- Carbon monoxide is a byproduct combustion formed by incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels such as oil, propane, natural gas and wood.
Carbon monoxide is produced when there is not enough oxygen mixed with fuel.
When carbon monoxide is inhaled, it is absorbed into the bloodstream, taking the place of oxygen in the blood cells.
aches, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath and confusion.
Source: Bachrach Engineering Inc.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include head, nose, cough, dizziness, shortness of breath and confusion.
ide leaks," he said. "That is an incredibly high amount. Everyone should get a test because you can die within a matter of seconds."
Patty Dunn, registered nurse at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said symptoms of the poisonous gas were flu-like but could have fatal outcomes. She said carbon monoxide gas was dangerous because it prevented the blood from carrying oxygen to muscles and the brain.
Dunn also said she didn't think Watkins had ever seen a patient because of the gas, but suggested students educate themselves about the poisonous gas. "If a person becomes unconscious they could die," Dunn said. "Or if a patient recovers there could be nervous system involvement like blindness, spasms, or twitching."
Edited by J. R. Mendoza
Student denies sexual battery charges, faces upcoming trial
By Rob Pazell
writer@kanson.com
Kanson staff writer
Kevin J. Hoskinson will stand trial in December for a crime he says he didn't commit — and the victim's not so sure Hoskinson's the right guy either.
But KU Public Safety Officers arrested the 22-year-old Garden City junior in September, accusing him of kissing and fondling a female KU student as she slept in the sixth-floor lobby of Hashinger Hall.
Hoskinson is charged with one misdemeanor count of sexual battery.
The victim, who wished to remain unnamed, said she and five other residents were asleep in the lobby early Aug. 26. She said a male friend who had a build similar to the suspect's had been sleeping next to her — so she didn't suspect any trouble when, in the groggy stage of wakefulness, she saw a man beside her.
But she woke up when the man pulled her on top of him, kissed her and touched her breasts.
"The guy said, 'It's okay, it's ok', but I jumped up, grabbed my keys and ran into my room," she said. "My roommate went out to check, and he was gone."
The victim said she never got a good look at her attacker. However, she provided enough details to the public safety office for them to sketch a composite drawing of the suspect.
Hoskinson said he was asleep in his room when the attack took place. He said he didn't even know about the battery until he saw the Crimestoppers alert the following week. He was caught off guard when officers showed up at his fifth-floor room in Hashinger to arrest him.
"I was in my room doing my homework when the cops came," he said in an interview four days after his arrest. "They had a warrant, and they arrested me, but it really didn't look like a warrant to me."
Sgt. Troy Mailen said tips from informants who recognized the composite drawing of the suspect led to the arrest. Hoskinson was ejected from Hashinger a week later.
The victim said police had kept in close contact with her immediately after the attack, but once Hoskinson was arrested, contact tapered off. She said friends had pointed out Hoskinson as the man
See VICTIM on page 3A
Israel insists fighting end; peace talks in jeopardy
By Lori O'Otole editor@kansan.com
Kansas wire editor
Israel yesterday pressed its ultimatum to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat: order an end to the violence within a day or the peace talks are over.
But Abdullah Alshamrani, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, freshman, doesn't think the ultimatum will bring peace.
be enetered, he said. I don't imam that it's going to be ended soon. I think it will be later, but I don't know when later is. They can live peacefully with each other, 'but they ignore humane relationships and just fight each other."
Alshamrani, a Muslim, said religious barriers in Jerusalem caused more fighting and strife, to the extent of murdering children.
"They have been talking for very long that it's going to
"Let's not talk about being Muslim or be Jewish or being Christian," he said. "Let's talk about being humans. It's not fair for a human to do that to another human."
Fraafi: Palestinians have ordered him to end violence
human.
In Jerusalem, Israelis settled down to fast through Yom Kippur wondering whether their Day of Atonement, which ends at sundown today, would carry echoes of the same terrifying day 27 years ago when a surprise Arab attack launched a Mideast war.
The days of rage that have consumed Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since Sept. 28 have spread elsewhere: Israel was building up its forces on its northern border after Lebanese guerrillas seized three Israeli soldiers, shattering the calm that has prevailed there since Israel withdrew from Lebanon in May.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia dedicated Saturday's operation to the Palestinians who have
died in the recent clashes. The fighting has claimed 82 lives so far, most Palestinian.
Sue Shafer-Landau, Hillel adviser, said the conflict involved a struggle for power and autonomy and that both Jews and Muslims valued Jerusalem.
Barak's Cabinet secretary, Yitzhak Herzog, said Clinton had invited the sides to a summit tomorrow. U.S. officials said they knew of no such invitation.
"It's the holiest spot for both people," Shafer-Landau said. "They need to realize this is an incredibly important spot for Jews as well as for Muslims."
In one conciliatory sign, senior Israeli and Palestinian officers met under U.S. auspices in the Gaza Strip and agreed to coordinate security issues — restoring a degree of the cooperation that existed before the violence began.
President Clinton scrambled to prevent the crisis from escalating, calling Israel Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Arafat throughout the day.
Jack Winerock, professor of music and dance and member of the Jewish Community Center, 917 Highland Drive, said ultima-
Barka: will assume Arafat denied negotiations if violence continues
tums were not the answer to violence.
"The only thing that ends violence is moderation," he said. "The emotions now are not moderate, and it doesn't matter who started it, but only a nonviolent means will lead to peace."
Israeli soldiers yesterday found the body of Americanborn Rabbit Hillel Lieberman, in a cave near West Bank. The victim could be a distant cousin of Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Lieberman. But the senator's representative Kelly Moore issued a statement saying the senator was not aware of a relationship.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
— Edited by J. R. Mendoza
Clothesline project remembers victims
Lexi Fellers, Salina senior, looks at one of many different shirts hanging in front of the Kansas Union on Friday. The shirts symbolize acts of violence that happened to women, with each different color representing a different form of violence. Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN