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GPS MARKS THE SPOT
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 43
Geocaching uses GPS systems to follow coordinates that lead to a destination. Once a geocacher finds the destination and collects the prize, he or she leaves something in its place and continues on to hunt another.
Photo illustration by Tanner Grubbs/KANSA
Geocaching lets adventure-seekers use technology to search for prizes
BY ABIGAIL BOLIN abolin@kansan.com
F-4 fighter jets lie like tossed toys, fragile and insignificant, filling trivial space. These are the fallen heroes that paint the scene of the airplane junk yard in Rantoul, Kan.
Paul Bickford's GPS shrieks a high-pitched whine signaling the next direction, which he obediently follows. An urgent message informs Bickford that his destination is under one of the planes decorating the barren field.
Bickford, Olathe junior, gingerly checks out the target he's been hunting; a relic F-4 fighter
jet of the Vietnam War. Running his hand down the cool, metallic belly of the beast, he reaches into the engine's air intake valve. Crammed inside is the cache — the treasure Bickford had bean searching for.
This high-tech version of a treasure hunt is called geocaching, where hand-held GPS devices and specific coordinates have replaced the crayon-colored maps hanging on the refrigerators of childhood.
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The treasure is different, too. Hidden containers called geocaches, or caches, bear unknown secrets such as logbooks, objects for trade or more clues to continue the chase on to the
next mysterious location. Caches linger not just in the backyard, but around the world in anticipation of the next visitor.
On May 2, 2000, the government removed the selective availability on its satellites, making them available to anyone wanting to pinpoint an exact location.
"The first time I tried geocaching, my GPS said the cache was in the middle of a large lake." Bickford said. "I eventually found it hidden in a rock wall. I myself took an old Army patch and left a keychain I picked up in Colorado."
SEE GPS ON PAGE 3A
GEOCACHING BEGINNERS TOOLKIT
1. GPS receiver
2. Good shoes
3. Bug spray
4. Extra batteries
5. Water
6. Flashlight
7. Compass
8. Pen and paper
9. Camera
10. Something to leave
Geocacher Paul Bickford, Olathe junior, advises beginners to really open their eyes.
"My advice would be not to look only on the ground. I've found so many caches and clues in trees or buried in logs and stumps. And don't expect it to be extremely noticeable. It'll probably blend in well so if you have to, use a flashlight to look into small openings. Also be careful of ticks, snakes, and especially spiders."
— Abigail Bolin
CAMPUS
Class teaches students to defend themselves
BY ALEX GARRISON agarrison@kansan.com
Like so many moms, Emily Thompson's pushes her to do stuff from time to time. This time, she encouraged her daughter to devote at least two hours of her precious potential study or relaxing time to taking a self-defense class put on by The Ali Kemp Foundation at Robinson Center.
Thompson was one of 307 women who participated in the TAKE self-defense class Tuesday, and she was certainly not the only one interested in increasing her preparedness for the "worst-case scenario" of a physical attack.
"I want to try to become prepared for the worst. If I'm put in a situation, I'm not sure what I would do," Thompson said of the possibility of being physically attacked.
But Thompson, Topeka junior, didn't decide to take the class just to appease her mother.
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Garrison at
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about crime in Lawrence, it's never a bad idea to prepare yourself for the worst case," Megan Burgardt, Wichita junior, said.
"With all of the stories you hear
TAKE, founded after the murder of 19-year-old Ali Kemp in Leawood, holds classes across the country to help promote violence awareness in women and girls.
Roger Kemp, Ali's father, spoke at Robinson of his desire to prevent the victimization of women through community education programs such as the TAKE self-defense classes.
"Every night, you can turn on the news and see stories of women being attacked," Kemp said. "We need to put a stop to this."
The event was sponsored by Pi
SEE DEFENSE ON PAGE 3A
KU Students had a chance to learn self-defense Tuesday at the Robinson Center Gym in an event sponsored by The Ali Kemp Educational Foundation. The Ali Kemp Foundation was founded in memory of Alexandra Kemp of Kansas State University who was murdered in 2002 at the Johnson County Pool where she worked.
Howard Ting/KANSAN
CAMPUS
Former student's joy will be missed
BY MICHELLE SPREHE
msprehe@kansan.com
Former KU student Rachel Leek will be remembered by those who knew her as a unique individual overflowing with enthusiasm.
Twenty-year-old Leek was the victim of a fatal hit-and-
run accident when a car struck her bicycle in the 1000 block of Tennessee Street about 2:30 a.m. Friday.
Leek and
Leek
Leek and her boyfriend, Sam Goodell, Lawrence non-traditional student studying American Studies, were dating for about 13 months, he said.
"I don't know why she chose me but I was always so proud and so lucky." Goodell said. "We were so perfect together and we balanced each other out perfectly."
Goodell said Leek was on her way to meet him and some friends when she was struck. When he got to the scene, he said he recognized her bike.
"She really liked her bike and had just given it a paint job — blue and yellow stripes," he said. "She was so proud of it."
One of 11 siblings, Leek followed some of her sisters' paths and worked with them at Wheatfield's Bakery for two years.
Goodell said he admired her enthusiasm for the simplest things in life.
"She just really knew how to be content in her life," he said. "She was a treasure."
Martin Jiminez, Hayes senior, worked with Leek and two of her older sisters.
"She was just a solid human being," Ijminez said. "She just set the mood with her attitude and she was just so calm, cool and collected."
Jiminez described her as a joy to be around and to have on their team at the bakery.
"She was kind of a glue for us and she kind of kept us balanced," Jiminez said. "She was a wonderful, wonderful person."
Her family will hold a wake for Leek from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight at the Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Olathe. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the same location.
Edited by Samantha Foster
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