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Deserted house haunts neighbors
BY AMANDA O'TOLE
aotole@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
The house at 1510 Sigma Nu Place looks like a relic of the past.
Windows are broken or boarded up, there are stains on the siding, and a weathered couch is the only thing in the parking lot.
No one has lived there for more than a year and a half, and some tenants of neighboring greek houses are getting nervous.
The house and the land are part of a legal suit between Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and Alpha Omicron Pi sorority.
Alpha Omicron Pi owns the land and rented the house to the fraternity from 2000 to 2003.
According to an article published in The University Daily Kansas in Sept. 2003, the house would have required about $850,000 for mechanical repairs and mold removal at the time the fraternity members moved out.
Chris Burger, the fraternity's lawyer, said, "the court is
determining the amount of monetary damage to award to Lamda Chi resulting from AO Pi's breach of lease and, once determined, is being appealed by AO Pi, hopefully concluded by June of "05."
Lamda Chi would tear the building down at that point, Burger said, so there would no longer be any concern regarding the unoccupied building.
Lance Weeks, Lambda Chi Alpha house corporation president, said the suit was ongoing.
He said the house had been abandoned since the 65 to 70 Lambda Chi Alpha members moved out of the house in May 2003. They are now living in building eight of The Legends, 4101 W. 24th Place.
The chance of a settlement between the two organizations is uncertain. Weeks said.
Members of Alpha Chi Omega regularly run past the abandoned house between their parking lot and the sorority house, Hannah Berns, vice president of risk management, said.
The Peabody senior has instructed members of her sorority not to go near the
house and to notify an executive member if they see suspicious activity there.
It's not uncommon for girls to sprint from their cars to the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house, which neighbors the empty house on Sigma Nu Place.
"The main concern is for the girls' safety," she said. "It's definitely become a safety issue because the house is not being taken care of and it could be housing unknown people."
Tenants of the Sigma Nu fraternity house, 1501 Sigma Nu Place, noticed increased police activity when the house was first abandoned in 2003, Jason Watson, Sigma Nu president said.
Watson said there were rumors of homeless people living in the house and said Lawrence police had taken care of the situation.
Sgt. Dan Ward, Lawrence Police Department, said there had been no arrests for trespassing since the house was vacated. But that doesn't mean that someone hadn't been in the house, he said.
Watson said there wasn't
much of a problem anymore.
"As far as where we live, it brings down the aesthetic value of the neighborhood," he said. "There is actually a pretty consistent surveillance route the police have. They're over there all the time."
Berns said Alpha Chi Omega members have called the police in several instances including responses to glass being broken and suspicious persons at the abandoned house.
Watson said he could understand if residents of the Alpha Chi Omega house don't feel safe because they are the closest neighbors to the empty house.
Officers responded to a burglary at the house July 8, Ward said.
Since July, Lawrence police have entered the building for building checks 10 times, a fairly high number, Ward said.
He said officers are trained to check buildings like the house at 1510 Sigma Nu Place whenever they feel it's necessary and whenever they have time.
Edited by Bill Cross
The old Alpha Omicron Pi house, 1510 Sigma Nu Place, sits dilapidated. Lamba Chi Alpha vacated the property in May 2003. There have been reports of vagrants squatting in the house since its closure 17 months ago.
Joshua Kendall/KANSAN
City and University to hold birthday party for Godzilla
BY STEPHANIE FARLEY
sfarley@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WINTER
Godzilla is storming back into Lawrence with a vengeance, but no need to worry because he's in a good mood. Mayor Mike Rundle proclaimed the week of Oct. 24-30 as "Godzilla Week" at last night's city commission meeting.
Godzilla has made an appearance in 28 feature films and this year marks the 50th anniversary of Godzilla's first film, Gojira. The Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Kansas is hosting
what it called the world's largest Godzilla birthday celebration, "In Godzilla's Footsteps: Japanese Pop Culture Icons on the Global Stage."
"The special effects aren't great. You laugh at them a little bit. The dubbing is terrible, but that's all part of the experience and so they're very endearing," Bill Tsutsui, acting director for the Center.
The celebration will include events such as a two-day conference with scholars and screenings of three Godzilla films. All events are free and open to the public.
In other city commission news
The commission received a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community award on behalf of the City of Lawrence.
The League looks at several factors when considering granting an award to a city: physical environment for bicycling such as trails and parking, educational programs promoting sharing
The League of American Bicyclists has now recognized 44 communities across the United States. The bronze award still leaves some room for improvement in encouraging more people to ride their bikes.
of the road between bicyclists and drivers, promotions encouraging people to ride their bicycles more often and equal enforcement of traffic laws for motorists and cyclists.
Lawrence is the second community in Kansas to receive the award, Shawnee was the first. Only 44 of the 98 applicants received the award, and no communities have received the highest achievement, platinum. Four communities have received the gold award, 11 the silver and 29 the bronze.
The month of September in Lawrence is dedicated to bicycle education for children and May
is Bicycle Awareness Month
A site plan for a new fire station was also approved. The plan was approved four to zero with Sue Hack, city commissioner, absent.
Fire Station No. 5 will be located at 19th and Iowa streets. This is the first additional station to be built since 1982 and is part of a three-station process. Station No. 4 was moved to the east part of Lawrence and Station No. 2 was moved to the west part of town.
The station will enhance protection for the University, because it will be closer to campus, said Jim McSwain, fire and medical chief for Lawrence and Douglas County.
The Endowment Association leased the land, three-and-a-half acres, to the city for $1 each year.
The City of Lawrence needed the station to be at 19th and Iowa streets, because Lawrence has grown so much the fire and medical departments needed to have a shorter response time. The University liked the idea of having the station there, said Daryl Beene, senior vice-president of property for the Endowment.
— Edited by Steve Vockrodt
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