Section A · Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, August 24, 2000
Cigarettes, dry weather spark local fire danger
By Mindie Miller
writer@kansan.com
Kansas campus editor
Police and fire officials are urging smokers to think twice before flicking their cigarettes to the ground.
Dry weather, wood mulch and cigarettes have combined to spark three fires in two days — two on campus and one at a south Lawrence townhome.
KU Public Safety officers responded about 5:10 p.m. Tuesday to a small fire near the
east entrance of Strong Hall. Officers believe the fire started when someone tossed a burning cigarette into wood mulch.
It took officers just a few minutes to put out the fire with fire extinguishers, but Sgt. Troy Malen said that the fire could have spread to the building.
"There's always room for concern, especially when you're looking at possible structure fires," he said. "Strong Hall is a stone building, but so was the majority of Hoch when it burned."
Hoch Auditorium burned in 1991 and was
rebuilt as Budig Hall.
A similar incident occurred Monday near the same place. Employees working in Strong Hall noticed smoldering mulch near the ashtray at the east entrance. They doused the area with water before flames broke out.
Kristine Gregory, Lawrence junior, was forced to leave her townhome at 2214 Breckenridge Drive Tuesday afternoon after a fire burned an exterior wall and part of the roof.
Rich Barr, fire marshal for Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical, said
investigators thought the fire was caused by a discarded cigarette that ignited wood.
Investigators estimated the damage at $10,000. The fire department's occupant services and Red Cross workers helped Gregory and her roommates find other housing.
Barr said the hot, dry weather made it even more important that smokers dispose of their cigarettes in the proper receptacles.
- when the temperature is like it is today
- a hundred degrees plus or minus — for
combustible materials, if they're outside, their temperature is at 100 degrees," Bar said yesterday. "The amount of heat that needs to be introduced to that material to get it to flame is less than if it's 60 degrees out."
on. Barr and Mailen said several fires each year were caused by careless disposal of cigarettes.
"Everyone should take responsibility to dispose of cigarette butts properly," Mailen said.
- Edited by Clay McCuistion
University gets grant to study global warming
By Jay Krall
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
A $2.3 million grant will help University of Kansas researchers study new methods for reducing global warming.
The answer to reducing global warming may be to trap the gases that cause it, scientists say, and also inhaling the production of those gases at industrial sites.
Researchers will study methods for recovering the carbon dioxide released from smokestacks and trapping it in coal beds and abandoned mines in an effort to reduce global warming with the money.
"This is a very expensive proposition," said Kansas Geological Survey researcher Tim Carr. "The amount of carbon dioxide we're talking about is tremendous. It's more than all the natural gas we move. Our question is, where is it and where can we get rid of it?"
The KU Energy Research Center also will use the grant money to study recycling the gas. When converted to liquid, carbon dioxide can be used for withdrawing oil from rock in oil reservoirs, Carr said.
The University will contribute data to the Midcontinent Interactive Digital Carbon Atlas and Relational DataBase (MIDCARB), an organization that gathers information on carbon dioxide emissions. MIDCARB is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and a group of five state geological surveys, including Kansas.
"With MIDCARB, our goal is to gather all the information in one place and put it in a form that will allow planners to make informed decisions about how best to manage CO2," said Scott White of the Energy Research Center.
Gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are released in the breakdown of solid waste and fossil fuels, and they contribute to the greenhouse effect. The gases radiate the sun's light energy as heat causing temperatures to increase.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates global temperatures have increased by between 0.6 and 1.2 degrees in the last century. Global warming has occurred most dramatically since 1985, with 10 of the century's warmest years recorded in the last 15 years.
Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio will contribute just over $900,000 each in state funds toward the KU project. It also has received $672,000 in federal money.
- Edited by Shawn Hutchinson
E. J. Reedy, Topeka senior, and Jeff Severin, Robinson senior, help out at the Pélathé Community Resource Center during Hawk Week's Community Service day. Pélathé provides a pantry and garden and will soon offer low income housing. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
Student volunteers lend a hand
Jayhawks donate time help at area locations for Hawk Week event
By Karen Lucas
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The triple-digit heat did not keep Jeff Severin from cutting a pile of scrap wood Tuesday afternoon outside Pelathi Community Resource Center, 1423 Haskell Ave.
"I don't mind working in the heat," said Severin, Robinson senior. "I'm used to it and enjoy working outside." Severin and his wood-cutting partner, E.J. Reedy, Topeka senior, were among a group of more than 40 students who participated in Tuesday's Hawk Week Service Project, which
was organized by the Center for Community Outreach. The students volunteered for a few hours at various sites in Lawrence and elsewhere in Douglas County.
Douglas County While Severin and Reedy cut wood, several other students worked on projects inside the Pelatha center.
"I think it's fun to help out other people," said Candace Weltman, Topeka freshman, as she helped move and unpack boxes of food.
and stipulates
One block away, seven volunteers
worked at the Boys and Girls Club of
Lawrence. 1520 Haskell Ave.
During a break, Heather Greene, Olathe junior, said she chose to work at the club because she volunteered there before as a guitar instructor.
"I was familiar with the site," she said. "I liked my previous involvement with them."
Members of the group did various
odd jobs such as organizing materials in a storage room as well as picking up trash.
Several volunteers also did some gardening for the club.
gardening for the class
Greene; Mark Bradshaw, Walnut
senior; and Melissa Cline, Wichita
senior; pulled weeds in the club's
organic garden, which is used for
GROW, a volunteer program that
teaches children about gardening.
Other project volunteers worked at Serenata Farms School of Equestrian Arts, 1895 E. 56 Road; Head Start Community Children's Center, 925 Vermont St.; and Margaret Amini Scholarship Hall.
Sean Pearson, program director at the Boys and Girls Club, expressed his appreciation of the volunteers.
"When KU student volunteer hours of their day, it helps us out a great deal," he said.
— Edited by Lori O'Toole
Avid fans dissatisfied with series' outcome
Continued from page 1A
The announcement that Rich would be the winner instead of Kelly was met with loud boos and several dejected moans.
"It should have been Rich voted off." Thomas said. "We've hated him for two and a half months, and he won."
Though emotions ran high at the party, Rob Voelker, Lincoln, Neb., junior, said he was not impressed with the hype.
"I feel the people on the show took themselves way too seriously," he said, adding that he'd only watched 30 seconds of the show during the 13-week series.
However, Voelker may have been one of the only people not caught up in Survivor mania.
Experts predicted that about 40 million people would tune into the final episode, making it the most-watched show on Wednesday night.
Survivor is similar to other reality-based shows such as CBS' Big Brother and MTV's The Real World, but it takes place in a more primitive setting.
Josh Johnson said he enjoyed watching the castaways use strategy, wit and strength to overcome obstacles.
"it's like an athletic event, a game show and a social experience all in one," he said.
Though the hosts of the party said they were sad to see Survivor end, they said it definitely had brought them closer together.
"We've really bonded over our Survivor experience," Thomas said.
san.
The first Survivor series ended last night, but a second series in Australia already has been planned. Some fans at the party said they were looking forward to the next season's adventures.
James Brauer, Chicago junior, said he would even consider being on the show. However, Brett Logan, Olathe graduate student, was less excited about the idea of roughing it.
"I would try the rat," Logan said.
"But I wouldn't eat the bugs."
- Edited by Kimberly Thompson
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A touch of Irish in downtown Lawrence 944 Massachusetts 832-8228
INFORMATION TABLE:
9 am - 3 pm
Thursday, August 24th
Kansas Union, 4th floor Lobby
University of Kansas
FILM SHOW:
4 pm
Thursday, August 24th
Student Union, Walnut Room
Saturday, August 26th
FREE BAR-BQ! 5:30-7 p.m.
EVERYONE WELCOME!! Immanuel Lutheran Church & University Student Center
15th & Iowa 843-0620
Lutheran Student Fellowship www.ukans.edu/~lst