Spinach is flying off the shelves at local stores, but it's not a new diet fad. An E. coli outbreak has led to recalls of the fresh produce. 4A The Kansas football team has the opportunity for more television appearances if it can rack up more tallies in the win column. 10A
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19,2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOL.117 ISSUE 24
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
PAGE 1A
CRIME
Stolen car hits officer as driver flees scene on Friday
BY DAVID LINHARDT
A person driving a stolen car struck a KU Public Safety officer early Friday morning during a successful attempt to flee with the stolen vehicle.
The driver of a silver 2002 Nissan Maxima hit officer Todd Carpenter with the vehicle when Carpenter tried to keep the driver from starting the car, said Maj. Chris Keary, KU Public Safety office spokesman.
The Maxima had been stolen from Wichita, Keary said. Dispatchers relayed the fact to Carpenter after he pulled the driver of the Maxima over for driving the wrong way on Ohio street.
After speaking to dispatchers, Carpenter approached the vehicle, which was not running and had been pulled over to the side of the road. As he neared the driver's side door, the driver re-started the car.
Firefighters begin clearing charred debris Monday afternoon after stabilizing the New Jersey street house structure. The house fire occurred early Sunday morning killing five of a six member family.
Carpenter reached in to try to turn off the car. The driver hit the accelerator and jerked Carpenter's arm around as the car sped north on Ohio before turning west onto 12th Street.
Keary said the suspect gave Carpenter a name but had not given the officer a driver's license before fleeing the scene.
The driver "could have pulled in somewhere and just shut down his lights," Keary said.
After the Maxina sped away, Carpenter ran back to his patrol car to pursue the vehicle. Keary said that after traveling two blocks toward campus, Carpenter lost sight of the stolen car.
Anthony Mattingly/KANSAN
The KU Public Safety office continues to search Kansas driver's license records for the name the suspect gave Carpenter, but Keary said there were no leads yet.
Kansan staff writer David Linhardt can be contacted at dlinhardt@kansan.com.
Edited by Aly Barland
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©2008 The University Daily Kansan
》 NEW JERSEY ST. FIRE
Three more bodies found
All members of the six-person family are now accounted for after a deadly house fire Sunday
BY JACK WEINSTEIN
Rescue workers removed the bodies of three boys from the remains of a house at 1205 New Jersey St.
Five people, including four children, died following a fire early Sunday morning.
Glover's wife, Learlean Hooks, was the only survivor. She remains in good condition at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
Mark Bradford, Lawrence Douglas County Fire Chief, said at a Monday afternoon press conference that, to his knowledge, "this is the largest loss of life" for a single-family or multi-family home in Lawrence.
Rescue efforts took a long time because the walls and ceilings of the house were unstable. Heavy equipment — including a crane — was used to sift through the rubble and debris during the recovery.
Bradford said the fire spread quickly because of the construction of the old house. Neighbors estimated the age of the house at 60 to 70 years old.
Davonte, Mario and Mariyana were Glover's grandchildren. Glover was their primary caregiver. He gained custody of his grandchildren after his daughter, Lois A. Brockman, was shot. Lois lived, but suffered debilitating injuries. Nolan was Hooks's grandson.
Relatives and neighbors also stood at the corner and waited for Bradford to speak.
"If you needed help, he was there to help," William Glover said of his older brother. "He was a great man."
Glover told stories about how his brother had changed his own life. He stopped drinking to take care of his kids. He devoted his life to his family and his faith and was a deacon at his church. He also worked at the University of Kansas as a groundskeeper for more than 20 years, William Glover said.
Glover was glad that he had a chance to see the children before they died when he ran into them at the Goodwill Store on Friday.
"They were beautiful kids," he
Look inside at page 3A to read an obituary of Charles Glover Sr., one of the victims of the New Jersey Street fire and an employee of the University.
said.
Jack Klinknett, who lived two houses down on New Jersey street, said he thought the fire was an accident.
"They were not the kind of family nor did they have the kind of lifestyle that would have drawn any type of revenge or harm," Klinknett said.
Paul Lampert, a neighbor, helped firefighters pull Glover, Hooks and Mariyana from the home early Sunday morning.
"It makes me mad I couldn't get in there to save that baby," he said.
reterring to the amount of smoke that prevented him from entering the house. "You couldn't see your finger in front of your face."
Lampert said he used to see the older boys riding skateboards and playing in the alley behind their house.
"They were nice kids," he said, "A quiet family."
Other members of the family were present, but declined to comment. Mayor Mike Amyx, City Commissioner Sue Hack and Interim City Manager Dave Corliss were also in attendance to show support.
Bradford said efforts had been shifted to determining the cause and origin of the fire. The investigation could take days or weeks, he said.
Kansan staff writer Jack Weinstein can be contacted at jweinstein@ kansan.com.
Edited by Nicole Kelley
Anthony Mattingly/KANSAN
After a house fire that occurred between midnight and 2 a.m. Sunday, firefighters sifted through wreckage and piled the charred belongings of the victims in search of their bodies. Of the five victims killed in the blaze, four were children, including a 13 month-old girl, and their 66 year-old grandfather; Learlean Hooks was the only survivor.
PROFILE
Life-long dream becomes reality for one puppeteer
BY DARLA SLIPKE
Student gets chance to learn from Sesame St. crew
Spencer Lott's mom still has the paper he wrote in first grade that reads, "When I grow up, I want to be Jim Henson."
The Lawrence freshman said he got serious about the idea in junior high, but friends and family said that he was resolute from the start.
Although most kids change their minds about their future careers, Lott never wavered from his original notion of someday becoming a puppeeter himself.
Blake Thames, Lawrence freshman, has known Lott since sixth grade. He said Lott had been making puppets and putting on shows ever since he's known him.
"He looks at things and sees how he can turn them into puppets," Thames said, citing broken umbrellas and furniture pieces as examples.
Lott's mom said he used to perform for her with stuffed animals at the foot of her bed.
"He would pop up and do little
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
SEE PUPPETEER ON PAGE SA
Spencer Lott, Lawrence freshman, surrounds himself with his handmade puppet creations, which he uses to perform in University shows as well as birthday parties, libraries and corporate events. "This is what I want to do," Lott said. "At the moment college is kind of getting in the way because I could be doing this profession."
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