MONDAY,AUG.19,2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 3D
Cattle drive opens near Lawrence
Photos by John Nowak/Kansan
By Todd Smith
Kansas staff writer
Kansan staff writer
Just outside Lawrence; there's a place to ride alongside Texas longhorn cattle like a real cowpoke.
The cattle drives include 20 head of cattle and take about half an hour.
Rob Phillips, owner of Free State Farm,
1431 N. 1900 Road, is trying to bring tourists to the farm by providing cattle drives.
Phillips and his wife, Beverly, drive the cattle twice a day, at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. They began the cattle drives in June to attract business to their bed and breakfast on the farm just north of Interstate 70, the Victorian Veranda Country Inn. The couple opened the bed and breakfast in 1998. It has 10 guest rooms and about 1,000 guests stay at the inn each year. Phillips said.
Sixty-seven percent of tourists who come to Kansas want to know where they can have a cowboy experience, according to the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing.
"We are giving them a place in Kansas to see a cowboy." Phillips said.
tarah Herrington, Lawrence sophomore and backyard training instructor at Free State Farm, said she would be driving the cattle before the summer was done.
"This is the only place I know of where I can get on a horse and go cattle driving." Herrington said.
Phillips said the couple modeled their cattle drive after one at Stockyards Station in Fort Worth, Texas, a tourist attraction with daily cattle drives.
He said it worked well in Fort Worth and brought hundreds of tourists every year.
Since the farm started the cattle drives in June, about 80 people have come to watch or be a part of it. Phillips said.
"It's starting to be a steady flow of customers." he said.
People can watch the cattle drive for free. Riding along on a horse costs $40. To ride in a wagon pulled by horses during the cattle drive costs $10 for people over 12, $5 for children 6 to 12 and is free for children 5 and under. Horseback riding lessons are also available.
Private lessons cost $25 an hour and group lessons cost $75 an hour.
Above and right. Emma Phillips drives cattle around the trail recently at the Victorian Veranda Country Inn 1431 N. 1900 Road. Phillips owns the farm with her husband, Rob. In June, the couple began driving cattle twice daily to attract tourists to their bed and breakfast.
The farm offers two-hour trail rides that costed $38 for people who have been on a horse before. The trail rides are usually done on weekends by appointment.
Amber Kjelshus, Gardner senior and the lead horseback riding instructor, Kjelshus said learning to ride a horse could be a self-empowering experience that was better than sitting at home watching television.
"Galloping on a horse in a wide open field is the best feeling." Kjelshus said.
Contact Smith at editor@kansan.com.
This story was edited by Mike Gilligan.
Tenants should read fine print on new leases
By Jay Pilgreen Kansan staff writer
Now that students are settling into their apartments, they should take time to read the fine print on their lease agreements, legal experts say.
Automatic renewal clauses specify a date by which tenants must tell their landlords that they don't want to renew the lease, usually 60 days before the end of the lease. If tenants don't contact their landlords, they can be responsible for another full year of rent.
Tenants should be aware of clauses in their leases that restrict subletting and could require them to stay for another year if they don't declare their intention not to renew the lease, said Michele Kessler, associate director for Legal Services for Students.
Kessler also urged students make sure landlords don't unfairly deduct from their security deposits for damage that did not occur.
"A lot of landlords think: if I hold a hundred bucks, the students expect to not get it back anyway." Kessler said.
Kessler said sublessees also risk losing deposits for damage they didn't cause. Many landlords don't allow potential sublessees to sign a new lease instead.
"Landlords want as many people on the hook as they can." Kessler said.
Brian Culver, Wichita senior, said he had lost his deposit before and wished he had made arrangements prior to moving in.
"You need to work it out with the person your subleasing from, or through the organization your subleasing from to make sure your only going to pay the security deposit portion from the time you move in to the time that you move out," Culver said.
One alternative is for the sublessee to pay a deposit to the original tenant and have the tenant sign over their security deposit. A signed agreement between the two parties can protect each member from future legal problems.
Kessler said students put down a deposit for an apartment should get a copy of the lease before they sign it. She said students should plan for the coming year before they sign the lease because most leases in Lawrence are not negotiable after signing.
"If you plan to get a pet halfway through the year, you better check." Kessler said.
Also, signed agreements between roommates about paying utilities can help roommates avoid potential disputes. Kessler said.
Students can go to the Legal Services for Students office, located in the Burge Union, for advice and information about lease agreements. The Off Campus Living Resource Center is slated to open in the Kansas Union this fall. It will provide services like landlord ratings and reviews of leases.
Contact Pilgreen at editor@kansan.com
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