2A
The Inside Front
Wednesday September 2,1998
News
from city, the state. the nation and the world
LAWRENCE
Man with a handgun robs Shark's Surf Shop
Shark's Surf Shop, 813 Massachusetts St., was robbed shortly before noon yesterday by a man with a handgun.
Police said a man wearing khaki shorts and a light-colored shirt entered the store at 11:50 a.m., brandished a firearm and demanded money.
He then robbed the store, the store's three customers and a 22-year-old KU student who works there and got an undisclosed amount of money, police said.
Police are looking for a white, six-foot-tall, college-aged man with blond hair.
The man was last seen running west from the store.
The store's employee would not comment on the robbery, and no arrests have been made.
Keith Burner
KANSAS
TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Agriculture has closed four meat packing plants in northeast Kansas for failing to meet federal regulations.
Meat packing plants close in north Kansas
The four plants were closed Monday, although one later reopened.
State Agriculture Department representative Carole Jordan said the shutdowns follow a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture review that encouraged state inspectors to take a closer look at plants, especially those in northeast Kansas.
The Winchester plant reopened after correcting its problems.
Inspectors closed Valley Vista Locker Plant and Stoffle Meat Co. Inc. in Topeka, Winchester Locker in Winchester and Steve's Meat Market in DeSoto, Jordan said.
Richard Jones, who was negotiating to buy Valley Vista, said theclosures were fueled by political motives — to keep funding for the inspection program.
Jones said he was not informed of violations and couldn't get consistent answers from the state.
"We have had an inspector come in three days a week over the last 17 years," he said. "All of this time, we were of the opinion that we are maintaining standards. This inspector is to call us on deficiencies."
Boeing president quits after financial losses
There is no indication that any unsale meat products have left plants, Jordan said. She said the inspection program is a preventive one, designed to catch problems so they can be corrected.
NATION
SEATTLE — The head of Boeing's jet
liner business has been ousted because of production snarls and unprecedented financial losses for the aircraft giant, which has had more orders than it can handle.
Ronald Woodard, 55, submitted his resignation as president of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group after a series of weekend meetings, and it was approved Monday by Boeing's board of directors.
The group has been plagued in the past year by production snarls amid a surge in orders and trouble in bringing out new versions of the popular 737 jetliner.
The problems have resulted in more than $2 billion in charges against earnings and a $178 million loss last year, Boeing's first annual loss in 50 years.
In addition, The Seattle Times reported that a new cost overrun of hundreds of millions of dollars had emerged at Boeing's airplane-parts unit in Wichita, Kan., which reports to Woodard.
Woodard is being replaced by Alan Mulally, head of the company's military and space business.
Woodard is considering his options after being offered another position within the company, Boeing representative Sherry Nebel said. She would not specify the position.
Michigan passes law against assisted suicide
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan's ban on assisted suicide takes effect today, but voters in Dr. Jack Kevorkian's home state could repeal it when they head to the polls in two months.
Gov. John Engler signed the assisted suicide ban into law in July. The law makes assisting in a suicide a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Kevorkian: Vows to continue to assist people with suicides
However, a proposal on the Nov.
3 ballot would
legalize physician
assisted suicide and automatically repeal the ban.
Kevorkian, who has acknowledged attending more than 100 deaths, said he would not change his practice, no matter what law is on the books.
Michigan authorities repeatedly have failed to convict the 70-year-old retired pathologist of any crime in connection with the deaths.
Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said that because voters had a chance to repeal the assisted suicide ban, he was unsure whether he would pursue any charges against Kevkarian for any deaths Kevkarian is connected with between now and November.
Vietnam dissidents freed in amnesty deal
WORLD
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam's best-known dissident was freed yesterday along with at least two Vietnamese-Americans who had been jailed for alleged plots to overthrow the Hanoi government, officials said.
Doen Viet Hoat, who was serving a 15-year sentence for publishing pro-democracy newsletters, was freed from Hanoi Prison and put on a flight to Bangkok. Another top dissident, Nguyen Dan Que, also was being released and was expected to leave the country Monday for resettlement in the United States.
They were freed as part of an amnesty for 5,219 inmates to mark National Day today.
A government source said yesterday that Vietnamese-Americans Jimmy Tran and Ly Tong had been released. In September 1992, Tong — a former South Vietnamese air force pilot — hijacked a Vietnam Airlines jet from Thailand and dropped 50,000 anti-government leaflets on Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon.
He then parachuted to the ground, apparently intending to lead the revolution he hoped would follow, but was instead arrested.
Tran, a Vietnamese-American who also was opposed to the Hanoi government, was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 1993 for plotting to explode bombs in Ho Chi Minh City, the old South Vietnamese capital.
Mob attacks Chinese in Indonesian town
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Hundreds of ethnic Chinese fled a northern Indonesian town yesterday after stone-throwing mobs attacked their shops and homes in a second day of rioting. Residents said riot police shot and killed two people.
Looters, some of them shouting separatist slogans, rampaged through the business district of Lokseumawe, grabbing anything they could: sacks of rice and bottles of soybean ketchup, boxes of noodles, fans and electrical wiring. Many shops were empty, abandoned by their owners.
Ninety fugitives, meanwhile, were on the run after crowds stormed a prison Monday in Lokseumaew in the biggest riots since deadly unrest in May helped oust former President Suharto. Mobs burned buildings and stoned military trucks. Even children looted.
The violence was triggered by bitterness toward the armed forces but ended up targeting Indonesia's Chinese minority, a traditional scapegoat. The Chinese dominate business in Indonesia, which is struggling through its worst economic crisis in three decades.
-The Associated Press
ON THE RECORD
A Radio Shack home scanner owned by The University Daily Kansan was stolen between 6:30 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Sunday from 111 StaufferFlint Hall, the KU Public Safety Office said. The item was valued at $150.
- Two men were arrested for setting off fire extinguishers at 7:06 p.m. Saturday in Templin Hall, which caused a false fire alarm in the building, the KU Public Safety Office said.
Today: IN HISTORY
31 B.C. At the naval battle of Actium, Roman leader Octavian defeats the alliance of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Mark Antony and Cleopatra commit suicide the following year.
1666 - The Great Fire of London begins when Thomas Farninor, baker to King Charles II, neglects to turn off his oven inside his home on Pudding Lane. Strong winds spread the flames across the city. More than 10,000 buildings are destroyed and six people are dead.
1903- Alabama governor George C. Wallace prevents the racial integration of Tuskegee High School in Huntsville, Ala. Eight days later, President John F. Kennedy federalizes the Alabama National Guard, which forces Wallace to abandon his attempt to block the desegregation of Alabama public schools.
Senate to start year addressing legislative issues
By Seth Jones
Kansan staff writer
Student Senate's committees will kick off the year tonight with a full docket of organization and legislation.
Before addressing the legislation, all of the committees will meet at 6 p.m. at the Kansas Union Ballroom for a general orientation.
Vice President Scott Kaiser's desk holds several bits of legislation the committee needs to attend to. Among those items, there is a bill to allot more money to SUA to get the MTV show *Lovelite* to come to the University, a bill to fund the Pharmacy Fair and a bill to sponsor this year's American Red Cross Blood Drive
Kaiser said he was pleased with the results of the campaign to recruit more committee members.
The Multicultural Affairs committee has grown from last year's 10 members to this year's 35 members. Kaiser hopes the new members will stick around.
"It will be interesting to see how many students come back to the second and third meetings," Kaiser said. "We really campaigned hard to get all these people to sign up, but if the number erodes after a few meetings, it really has a negative effect on the committees."
For the first time, committee leaders have been elected prior to the first meeting. This year's leaders were elected by last year's committees after Senate voted to change the policy.
Emily Heath, Multicultural Affairs Vice Chairwoman, said she thought the change was a good idea.
"Electing the chairs last year has given the people elected all summer to organize and make plans for what they hope to accomplish." Heath said. "This will help committees move much smoother."
ON CAMPUS
Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship will meet at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Pioneer Room in the Burge Union. Call Wendy Brown at 838-3984 for more information.
- Delta Force will hold a living room from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today and tomorrow on the Stouffer Flint lawn. It will be an open forum for discussing campus issues. Call Emily Heath at 841-8127 for more information.
- The KU Ad Club will hold its annual barbecue at p. m. today at Centennial Park to kick off the year and recruit members. The barbecue is free, and membership, which includes a free T-shirt, is $20. Call Anne Ferrano at 841-2530 for more information.
- The KU Libertarians will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesdays at the Governor's Room in the Kansas Union. Call Rodger Woods at 841-6195 for more information.
- OAKS, a nontraditional student organization,
will have a brown bag lunch from 11:45 a.m. to
1:15 p.m. Wednesdays at Alcove A in the
Kansas Union. Call Simmie Berroya at 830-
0074 for more information.
■ The Office of Student Financial Aid is accepting applications for 1998-99 Child Care Grants. Call 864-4700 or stop by 50 Strong Hall for more information.
University Forum will present "William Jennings Bryan Oleander of Here, Kansas" from noon to 1 p.m. today at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oreed Ave. Call Thad Holcombe at 843-4933 for more information.
■ The Interavity Graduate Christian Fellowship will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays at Alcove F in the Kansas Union. Call Steve Swank at 841-521-124 for more information.
The Native American Student Association will have a poflock at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Multi-
cultural Resource Center.
The Proponents of Animal Liberation will meet at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Alcore A in the Kansas Union. Call Laura Ford at 841-2588 for more information.
Son Laura Ford at 841-2588 for more information.
The Proponents of Animal Liberation and the KU Enviros will have a vegetarian luncheon from 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries. Call Laura Ford at 841-2588 for more information.
ET CETERA
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