Friday, October 6, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 7
Drivers ignore warnings
Continued from page 1A
the same thing as a concrete median for less cost.
Keith Browning, engineer for Douglas County, said that the county had not looked into a similar system but that it might be something to pursue as traffic grew.
Mitchell said he wondered what 19-year-old wouldn't have driven around the rate.
"I don't know what his thoughts were that night, whether he was tired, whether he wanted to get home fast." Mitchell said.
A Douglas County Sheriff's deputy who worked the accident said he was informed that a car behind Jeffrey Mitchell's drove around the Mitchell's car and through the intersection without incident. That's
when Mitchell made his attempt.
"I don't hold the railroad responsible because our son chose to drive across the tracks when the gates were down," Mitchell said, but added that the railroad company needed to take preventative measures before anyone else was killed.
Three weeks after the accident, a 35-year-old Lawrence man died at a Union Pacific railroad crossing northeast of town.
Steven Forsberg, general director of public affairs for Burlington Northern Sante Fe, said railroad employees gave 8,000 presentations a year about how to be safe near railroad crossings. He said the problem was not with the railroad but with drivers who ignored warning signs.
"The most disturbing thing is when there are active gates and
lights, and someone looks down the track and sees a train and thinks, 'I can beat it.' They are taking their lives and the lives of their friends into their own hands."
Forsberg said engineers could do nothing more than lock on the brakes and blare the horns
He said Burlington Nothern Santa Fe worked with states to reduce risks by rerouting roads to keep them from crossing railroad tracks. However, Forsberg said, drivers who go around the gates are breaking the law.
Mitchell said some people would argue that it costs a lot of money for gates across all those roads.
"But it all goes back to which is more important," Mitchell said. "It costs a lot of money for funerals, too." — Edited by Kathryn Moore
Valerie Stone, Louisburg senior, left, and Jason Vanblarcum, Lawrence junior, are among dozens of student workers who will be left jobless after their employer, Sailie Male, shuts down its operations in Lawrence in December.
Photo by Matt L. Daugherty/KANSAN
Merger prompts SallieMae to leave
Continued from page 1A
pays well and is sympathetic to the college student's schedule is highly impossible," he said.
The decision to close the Lawrence office was made largely because of Sallie Mae's June merger with USA Group, another player in the student-loan game. Employees were told that some of the facilities would be closing because of the 20 percent overlap in departments between the two companies. Sallie Mae, however, didn't announce that its Lawrence office would close until late August.
Nelson, who has been at the Lawrence office since its opening, said the decision to relocate to Indianapolis was based on the ability to expand USA Group's existing facilities in Indiana, not on Lawrence Sallie Mae employee performance.
"This operation closed because of redundancy in operations and is no reflection of staff here in Lawrence." Nelson said.
going to be laid off by Sallie Mae.
Nelson said the Sallie Mae building was expected to sell by Jan. 1 for about $6 million. She wouldn't disclose possible buyers but said she had received about 15 inquiries from interested buyers.
Nelson said she hoped a business would move in that could help employ the 300 employees who were
Nelson said the company was sympathetic to the needs of all its employees and would offer a substantial severance package that included a 401(k) plan, stock options and a minimum of four weeks' pay after the last day of work. She said the severance packages were unusually extensive but well-deserved.
To help those being laid off find new jobs, Sallie Mae will hold meetings between more than 30 area businesses and Sallie Mae employees. The company also is offering classes
to its employees that focus on resume writing and Internet job searches.
Nelson said that she wanted the job search for Sallie Mae employees to be as effortless as possible but that she didn't expect those being laid off would have difficulty finding new employment.
"Our employees are PC literate, have good customer interaction and should be good for jobs like banking, mutual funds and other back-office services," she said.
Intramural Floor Hockey
Edited by Shawn Hutchinson
Managers' Meeting
7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8
156 Robinson
(Teams with a representative at
the meeting receive priority when
choosing times to play at Instant
Scheduling.)
Officials' Meeting
8 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8
156 Robinson
(We offer paid training — play in the league and still officiate!)
Play begins October 16
For more information, stop by:
KU Recreation Services
208 Robinson
785.864.3546
www.ukans.edu/~recserv/
20% off Almost Everything
with coupon only
expires 10/15/00
23rd & Louisiana
841-5885
Lawrence Jewish Community Center
* Kolnidre at KU Student Union Ballroom, Sunday October 8th, 7 pm
* Yom Kippur morning Service, 9:30 am, Monday, October 9th at LJCC
- Yom Kippur Children's Service October 9th, 10-11 am at LJCC
* Afternoon study session with Rabbi, October 9th at 3:30 pm at LJCC
* Neileh Afternoon Service at 5 pm at LJCC
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