2A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS IN BRIEF
MONDAY. OCTOBER 25, 2004
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Joshun Kendall/KANSAN
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Question of the Day
KU info exists to answer all
your questions about KU and
life as a student. Check out KU
info on kulu.edu/ku.
kinfo.lib.ku.edu; call it 864-
350-2977 or visit in person at
Where can I get wireless internet access for my laptop?
KU is rapidly expanding its wireless access zones on campus. Currently, you can access the wireless network in these locations: Anschutz Library, Budig Hall, Eaton Hall, Fraser Lawn, Wheat Lawn Library, Kansas Union, JRP 1st & 2nd florrs, Marvin Hall, Snow Hall, Spahr Library, Watson Library, Wescoe Beach & Auditoriums.
Dude, what happened to your car?
A car in the Sigma Nu fraternity parking lot caught fire Saturday afternoon. The car was previously destroyed by sledge hammers as a part of a fundraiser done by Delta Delta Delta sorority, before it was speculated that someone set it on fire. "The flames were about 20 feet high with black smoke everywhere," Tommy Whitehead, Leawood freshman, said.
LOCAL
Student cited for shotgun blast into neighbor's home
A 22-year-old KU student was cited for firing a gun within city limits Thursday evening.
Sgt. Dan Ward, Lawrence Police Department, said the student was reassembling his shot gun when it misfired. He was getting ready for a hunting trip, Ward said.
The misfire happened in an apartment building in the 1100 block of Louisiana Street.
The bullet went through a wall and into his neighbor's apartment.
His neighbor, a 25-year-old KU student, reported the misfire to Lawrence police.
Ward said the 22-year-old rushed to the neighbor's to make sure no one had been hurt.
The only damage reported was the hole the bullet caused when it went through the wall.
—Amanda O'Toole
STATE
Former Westar Energy Inc. executives loot electric bill
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — David Wittig was not the only executive at Westar Energy Inc. to take advantage of a life insurance policy the indicted former chief executive used to collect $2 million in 2002, a witness testified at Wittig's federal fraud trial.
During cross examination Thursday, Wittig's attorneys questioned the government's first witness, former Westar chief administrative officer Carl Koupal.
Wittig and former executive vice president Douglas T. Lake are on trial in Kansas City, Kan., accused of trying to "loot" the state's largest electric utility by manipulating the company's policies and board of directors.
Attorney Paula Junghans got Koupal to acknowledge that like Wittig, he and other executives took advantage of the same kind of so-called split-dollar life insurance policy.
Defense attorneys asked Koupal questions aimed at proving the duo's actions were approved by the board of directors, reported to securities officials in public filings and enjoyed by other executives, including Koupal.
The life-insurance policy had a "put" provision that paid executives $1 for every $1.50 in death benefits they sold back to the company. Koupal, who said he received $4.5 million when he exercised his put rights after leaving the company in October 2001, said that if all executives had exercised those rights, Westar would have actually seen a profit.
He added that the policy had been reviewed by company attorneys and accountants and was reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Investigators search farm, man asks them for apology
ELKHART — A southwest Kansas man says one of the investigators who came to his farm with a search warrant two weeks ago told him they were looking for about 16 bodies, at one point adding, "It's going to be a big deal."
"I said, 'it's not going to be a big deal because there's nothing here,'" Joe Bitter said in an interview Thursday evening.
The search, authorized by a judge in Topeka, ended without any bodies being found, Morton County Sheriff Loren Youngers said earlier this week. An attorney said the Bitner family deserve an apology for the way the search warrant was executed, and how
far the investigation went.
Bitner, 63, said he was in a shed Oct 8 when he saw three officers running up the driveway, wearing what looked like bulletproof vests and pointing what looked like assault rifles.
Bitner said he then saw two others, one a Kansas Bureau of investigation agent who put his pistol in its holster after coming around the shed.
At first, Bitner told The Wichita Eagle, he thought it was a mistake, or perhaps some type of training exercise.
Kansas National Guardleader holds ceremony about war
TOPEKA — War. Trouble on the home front. Citizens asked to leave their families to take up arms. That was the report from the state's adjutant general in 1865.
It also was the report Friday from the man currently holding that job as the Kansas National Guard kicked off a yearlong celebration of the 150th anniversary of its founding in 1855. Several hundred people participated in a ceremony at the Statehouse's south steps.
Like their early predecessors, Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting said today's soldiers are being pressed into service amid growing anxiety about whether the Guard can meet demands placed on it.
"No one knows what the future will bring out." Bunting said.
He said about 1,800 soldiers are mobilized or deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or Kosovo, about 40 percent of the Kansas Army National Guard's strength.
Bunting said the deployments — affecting 74 Kansas counties and more than 270 cities — have increased steadily for the Guard over the past decade, Even before the 2001 terrorist attacks, Guardsmen were deployed on active duty more than they were during the 1991 Gulf War, he said.
The Associated Press
Hall Center for the Humanities will hold a Poetics/Lifewriting Seminar today from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hall Center Conference Room.
ON CAMPUS
KU School of Fine Arts will present a Hallmark Synopsium Series featuring Micah Laeker, Graphic Designer, New York tonight at 6 p.m. at the Spencer Museum of Art.
KU School of Fine Arts will present a Visiting Artist Series featuring Julia Gaines, percussion tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Swarthout Recital Hall in Murphy Hall.
A 21-year-old KU student reported to Lawrence police that someone keyed her car either last Monday night or Tuesday morning in the 1000 block of Emery Street. Damage is estimated at around $1,000.
ON THE RECORD
NATION
Yellow Roadway Corp.to pay $15.5million to collision victim
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A federal court jury, after hearing testimony about a truck driver's lengthy accident record, awarded $15.5 million to an Atlanta teacher who suffered a leg injury in a head-on collision.
The verdict went against Yellow Roadway Corp., of Overland Park, in a suit filed by first-grade teacher Olivia Nix, who was hospitalized after the Jan. 19, 2002, collision on Interstate 20/59 in Tuscaloosa County.
One of Nix's attorneys, Matt Glover, said the eight-member jury deliberated Wednesday about two hours before settling on the amount
— $500,000 in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages.
She had not asked for a specific amount.
The trucking company is expected to appeal the ruling.
The company's attorney, David Wilson, of Birmingham, did not return a phone message seeking comment Friday.
The Associated Press
U. S. District Judge Scott Coogler is to review the jury's decision.
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