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KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PO BOX 3585
TOPEKA, KS 66601-3585
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Kansan
Wednesday November 5,1997
Cool and dry tomorrow.
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http://www.kubasketball.com
Sports today
Vol. 108·No.55
The Kansas women's basketball team will feature its second-tallest player ever in Nikki White, a 6-foot-4-inch freshman from Memphis, Tenn.
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
(USPS 650-640)
FCC search brings law down on KAW
Investigators silence station for 5 minutes
By Rachelle Detweiler and Ann Premer
rdetweiler @kanson.com
apremer @kanson.com
Kansan staff writers.
Lawrence's community radio station KAW88.9 FM was taken off the air for five minutes yesterday morning by the Federal Communications Commission.
Two field representatives from the FCC searched the station, located in the basement of Liberty Hall. The representatives were investigating whether the community-based radio station was operating without a license.
"We are still not sure what they are trying to determine," Steve Stemmerman, KAW volunteer, said.
Magalie Salas, acting chief of compliance for the FCC, said that inspecting stations in question was FCC procedure.
"Apparently, they have received reports that they are operating without a license," Salas said. "They were proceeding to look into the operation."
Rich Wenzel, KAW volunteer, said he gave the FCC permission to search the station and inspect the equipment without a search warrant. He said the two men from the FCC searched through the station but did not disclose any of their findings to station volunteers and had not taken any action.
Wenzel said he thought the FCC wanted to verify that KAW operated with a transmitter with less than 100 watts of power.
Wenzel said that KAW broadcasted on a 10-watt transmitter. The FCC does not license stations that use less than 100 watts. Such stations are called microstations and are illegal unless their broadcast does not exceed 100 feet. Salas said.
Lawrence's community radio station has a broadcast range of five miles.
use against it, which said.
Wenzel said that KAW, which has been
"They were digging for information to use against us," Wenzel said.
operating since March, had applied for a license, but it was not granted because of the wattage requirement.
He said the requirement of 100 watts censored speech because it excluded stations that didn't have much money. He said that the transmitters for the required 100 watts cost about $100,000.
"The FCC is saying that you can get up on your soap box but that your box has to be made out of gold." Wenzel said.
Other microstations across the country also are facing similar FCC threats.
The FCC issued a warning more than a year ago to Free Radio Berkeley, a microstation in northern California. The case has been lugging through federal district court since then.
Wenzel sees hope for KAW from the situ-
Since KAW began broadcasting six months ago, 600 community members have broadcast their interests on KAW, Wenzel said.
Community support is the best defense against termination of the radio station, Wenzel said.
A benefit at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Varsity Theater, 1015 Massachusetts, will give Lawrence residents a chance to learn more about community radio.
Several local bands will play, including Mike Morgan and Lee McBee & The Crawl. Admission is $7 at the door or $5 with an invitation.
"Community support at this point in time is absolutely vital." Wenzel said. "We are going to continue to broadcast."
aking HIV tests no longer a pain
Watkins offers new no-needle exams
By Sarah Chadwick
schadwick@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Blood tests for HIV and AIDS have been around for years, but many people do not know there is a painless, no-needle procedure available that is just as accurate.
Susan Iversen, Watkins lab supervisor, said only two people had used the procedure since its introduction at Watkins Memorial Health Center last spring. Nearly 20 people are tested at Watkins each week using the blood-test method.
All HIV tests do not require needles or vites of blood. OraSure takes a tissue sample from inside the cheek and that sample is analyzed. Watkins Memorial Health Center administers the oral test for $40.
Photo illustration by Eric B. Howell/KANSAN
"I think a lot of it is price," Iversen said.
"Since we have to pay so much for it, we can't cut the price. Also, probably a lot of people don't know about it."
The OraSure test, which uses a cotton swab to take a fluid sample from the mouth, costs $40. The more common blood test costs $19.
For the test, a swab is placed firmly between the cheek and the gums to take a sample of oral mucosal transudate, a fluid that travels across the membranes, Iversen said. This fluid, which differs from saliva, contains a higher concentration of antibodies if the virus is present.
All HIV tests first go through a highly sensitive screening test. If a sample comes back positive, it matches a strain of the disease, meaning the patient may have HIV. The sample then is confirmed with the Western Blot test. The oral test can be confirmed by the same method.
"You don't have to do a blood test to confirm with the OraSure," Iversen said. "The fluid can go through the Western Blot test without drawing blood. From all the literature and studies I've seen on it, it appears to be just as accurate."
"By making it so very sensitive, it will sometimes react with something else in the person's blood," Iversen said. "They might have another thing that might make it say it is positive, so we always confirm with the Western Blot."
The first laboratory test that samples go through, called Enzyme Linked Immunoabsorbant Assay, was created to detect very small amounts of the viruses. Confirmation is necessary because the test is so specific.
Despite differing testing methods, all samples are analyzed in the same way.
The patient never is notified of a positive ELISA test until it has been confirmed, said Patty Dunn, a Watkins nurse who counsels patients before and after the test.
"The reason they don't just do that right off is because it's too expensive," Iverson said. "Also, it's time consuming. They get very few false positives even on the ELISA, but it's even more rare on the Western Blot."
"The lab automatically kicks in the Western Blot test if the ELISA is positive," Dunn said.
The second test checks more specifically for the HIV antibodies but is used only after a positive ELISA test.
If a patient tests positive for HIV, Watkins
To be tested at home, a person pricks a finger and puts the blood on a paper filter provided in the kit. The person then sends the sample to a lab.
"This is to rule out human or mechanical error." Dunn said.
will recommend that the patient return to take a second test.
Patients who choose not to go to the doctor for an HIV test have other options; home testing kits are available at most pharmacies or can be ordered from the Internet.
These kits are more than 99 percent reliable and cost from $30 to $50.
Using an identification number, the patient calls back later to obtain test results.
"The home tests are accurate, but you probably don't get the personal touch that you would in the clinic," said Deb Hewes, health educator at Watkins. "How would you like to be told you
have AIDS over the phone? I think that's something you would want to be with someone for."
April Ramos, executive director of the Douglas County AIDS Project, said that she shared Howes's concerns but that the home tests were a good idea anyway.
"A person who might not go into a public place to be tested would get tested with a home kit," Ramos said. "That way they would protect themselves and others from infections."
Watkins offers anonymous or confidential testing.
The difference between the two methods is that the anonymous test requires cash payment, an appointment instead of walk-in and it takes two weeks to get results because the specimen is mailed to the state laboratory. Dunn said.
The confidential testing can be done on a walk-in basis and can be paid for by cash or check. Results take only two to three days.
Suspect charged with manslaughter in Sunday stabbing
The 18-year-old man wanted by police in connection with the stabbing death of a 23-year-old Lawrence man turned himself in to Lawrence police yesterday afternoon.
Cosby had not posted bond as of last night. The Douglas County district attorney's office had issued a warrant for Cosby's arrest Monday.
Lafayette D. Cosby, who does not reside in Lawrence, turned himself in shortly before 1 p.m. at the Lawrence police station without incident, police said. Cosby has been charged with voluntary manslaughter.
Cosby was arrested in connection with the death of David E. Walker, Lawrence. Walker bled to death early Sunday morning after receiving wounds from what police describe as a sharp-edged object. Police have not found a weapon.
Cosby: Turned himself in yesterday.
The stabbing took place in the parking lot of building K in the Colony Woods apartment complex, 1301 W. 24th St. Police said a fight that had begun in an apartment moved into the parking lot, where it escalated. Police found bloodstains in the parking lot Sunday morning.
The case has been turned over to the district attorney's office, but police still are looking for others who attended the party or who might have been injured in the fight.
Anyone with more information concerning the case should contact the Lawrence Police Department Investigations Division at 832-7512 or Crime Stoppers at 843-TIPS.
Toxic haulers
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997 would bring thousands of shipments of radioactive waste through 43 states, including Kansas along Interstate 70. The shipments, destined for Nevada's Yucca Mountain, would not be without risk to drivers and others in the state.
The waste is hauled in a multi-purpose container, which limits radioactive emissions.
The truck used to carry the hazardous waste is reinforced with impact limitors, which prevent the cargo from being jostled.
Still, if the truck stops for a two-to-four-hour traffic jam, nearby passengers could receive a dose of radiation equal to several medical X-rays.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Energy
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Andrew Rohrback / KANSAN
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