Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, October 9,1997
Local cyclists peddle ideas for bike lanes to City Commission
Supporters report survey findings
By Ann Premer
apremer @kansan
Kansas staff writer
In the next step of the bicyclanes crusade, supporters have distributed surveys and reported the preliminary results of the completed surveys to the Lawrence City Commission.
Kip Curtis, New York graduate student, said that the group was conducting a bike-lanes survey in bike stores and other businesses in Lawrence. He said that of the 141 surveys completed, 94 percent of respondents said that Lawrence should develop bike lanes and 6 percent said that the city should not.
At a City Commission meeting
Tuesday night, Curtis presented
the surveys to the commissioners
during the public comments.
The survey asked if the person owned a bike, car or both and whether the person supported the development of bike lanes. It also asked cyclists how often they rode, where they rode and if they had been involved in any accidents involving automobiles.
Curtis said that 71 percent of those surveyed owned vehicles and bikes and 17 percent owned vehicles but not a bicycle.
Kip
Other bike-lane supporters attended the meeting reiterate the city's need for bike lanes.
"We want to be safe," said Marie Kelleher, Portland, Ore., graduate student. "This is an issue of public safety."
"I am concerned and disappointed with the lack of movement.I think it's time to stop stalling on this issue."
Curtis New York graduate student
Tuesday was the second time that supporters addressed the commission. Two weeks ago, cyclists held a rally in memory of Jon Hermes, who died after being hit by a dump truck while riding his bike. After the rally the cyclists rode to City Hall to demand bike lanes.
Kevin Locke, bike-lane supporter, presented the commissioners with bike and bike safety gear certificates from Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop to use for a week so that they could experience biking in Lawrence.
Curtis said that he had not seen evidence that the city had taken any initiative to develop bike lanes.
"I am concerned and disappointed with the lack of movement," Curtis said. "I think it's time to stop stalling on this issue."
Mike Wilden, city manager, said bike lanes were a major issue that would not be resolved in a short time.
Curtis said that KU Environs had been compiling information from other cities about laws, bicycle safety education and bike lanes.
Students work to end product tests on animals
Proponents of Animal Liberation kicked off its month-long compassionate product-testing campaign Tuesday.
By Ann Premer apremer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
The campus organization placed drop boxes at eight sites in Lawrence and is encouraging people to dump their Procter & Gamble Co. products in the boxes. Michael Schmitt, Harrisonburg, Pa., graduate student, said Procter & Gamble conducts tests on animals.
"People really care about animals and see that the tests are unnecessary and cruel, and they don't want to support that with their money," Schmitt said. "It's common for people to send back products once they realize that."
After collecting the disposed products, members are going to send the items back to the manufacturer with a letter that states that they will no longer buy Procter & Gamble products until the company stops testing on animals. Members of PAL will pay the
"The more we send back, the stronger the message to Procter & Gamble is," Schmitt said.
shipping costs.
Mindy Patton, a public affairs specialist at Procter & Gamble, said that to her knowledge no one had ever sent products back in protest as PAL plans to.
Schmitt said the group chose to target Procter & Gamble because the company manufactured so many products. Products include Tide, Crest, Secret, Folgers, Jiff, Pringles, Duncan Hines and Crisco.
"These aren't products necessarily tested on animals, but they are made by companies that do test on animals."
Michael Schmitt
Harrisburg, Pa. graduate student
"These aren't products necessarily tested on animals, but they are made by companies that do test on animals." Schmitt said.
Procter & Gamble is required by law to test
many of its products on animals, Patton said. But, she said, the company is trying to develop new methods of testing that do not require animals.
"Our long-term goal is to push the envelope of new testing methods," Patton said. "We hope to someday eliminate animal testing."
PAL also is displaying products at the Kansas Union made by companies that do and do not test on animals.
Sarah Yannaccone, Sterling freshman, said that she helped nut the display case together.
"I think it's really important to care just as much about animals as humans because we are all on the earth together," she said.
Pamphlets published by the American Anti-Vivisection Society are available at the drop boxes. The pamphlets list companies that test on animals and companies that do not test on animals
Drop boxes are located at the Union; 22 Strong Hall; McCollum Hall; The Love Garden, 936 1/2 Massachusetts St.; Juice Stop, 3514 Clinton Parkway and 812 Massachusetts St.; Sh*Boom, 924 Massachusetts St.; and the Casbah, 803 Massachusetts St.
Shootings may have been a part of cult activity
The Associated Press
PEARL, Miss. — A 16-year-old murder defendant and six friends charged with plotting to kill fellow students were known as a loose collection of intellectuals who called themselves "the group."
City and school officials yesterday brushed aside rumors that they were a devil-worshiping cult.
"There's all kinds of rumors flying around," said Mayor Jimmy Foster, who alleged that his son was among the students targeted.
"There are some things in this that could be considered satanic but to jump out there to say it is satanic, that they are devil worshippers, is jumping to conclusions a little bit."
Police said he stabbed his mother to death earlier that day.
The 16-year-old, Luke Woodham,
is charged with murder and aggravated assault in an Oct. 1 shooting spree at Pearl High School that left two girls, including his ex-girlfriend, dead and seven others wounded.
On Tuesday, police announced that they had charged six other students with conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly plotting to kill classmates and the father of one of those arrested.
"I am not insane! I am angry," Woodham allegedly wrote in notebook books to a friend, who shared the notebooks with "The Clarion-Ledger" of Jackson. "I am not spoiled or lazy, for murder is not weak and slow-witted, murder is gutsy and daring. I killed because people like me are mistreated every day."
Woodham made references to the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in a journal he allegedly gave to 16-year-old Justin James Sledge before the school shootings, Sledge told the newspaper. Sledge was among those arrested.
Acquaintances called "the group" a cult but had little firsthand knowledge of their beliefs or behavior.
Stephanie Whitfield, 15, said one of the accused, 18-year-old Delbert "Allan" Shaw, was a good friend who was invited to join but refused. He moved away to avoid further contact.
"He left town because of the cult.
He didn't want to get involved in it.
... I know he wasn't involved in it," she said.
Whitfield said the group was "demonistic" and its members "all extremely, extremely smart." She wouldn't elaborate.
The murders and arrests have unnerved many in Pearl, a town of 22.000 just outside Jackson.
"I pray to God every night to protect us," said 16-year-old Nikki Miller, a student at the school. "There were a few you could tell something wasn't right with. But there were a few you'd never guess.
... They'd draw weird things on their notebook, like skulls."
Along with Shaw and Sledge, police arrested Wesley Brownell, 17, Daniel Thompson, 16, Donald Brooks, 17, all of Pearl, and Grant Boyette, 18, of Brandon, Miss. Boyette attends Hinds Community College.
"I know that three or four of them were very intelligent," Foster said. "But I do understand it is being said that, just like the Woodham kid, some of them were being picked on or not cared about and all that.
"While there may be some in that group that fit into that category several of these kids come from good families. It's kind of a mixture. It just doesn't make sense," Foster said.
Principal Roy Balentine said he had never had discipline problems with any of the teen-agers, and many were apparently good students.
"They blended in with the student body," Balentine said.
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Application Deadline October 21,1997
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FREE INTERNET TRAINING
Academic Computing Services
October 14-16
HTML: Introduction - ----- Learn the language of simple Web page creation
You may also want to attend Publish your home page immediately following.
Tues. Oct. 14 | 3:30 p.m. / Computer Center Mac Lab
Publish your home page --Put your own Web page on the Web
Prequisite HTML Introduction
Tues. Oct 14 4-5 p.m / Computer Center Mac Lab
E-mail: Advanced ... Learn the advanced features of Eudora
Wed Oct 16 6:30 - 8 p.m / Computer Center Mac Lab
Windows 95: Demonstration - Overview of 'The Windows 95 system'
thurs Oct. 16 5-6:30 p.m./Computer Center Auditorium
All classes are held in the Computer Center located across from the Dole Center at Sunnyvale and Illinois. *Class schedules: Pick up a Driver's Ed. at the computer center or on an online at http://www.cc.uskans.edu/~acs/training/index.shtml*