University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, July 10, 1991
Campus/Area
3
K-State fire left problems similar to those at Hoch
By Kelley Frieze Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
The situation KU officials face with Hoch Auditorium is similar to one dealt with by K-State officals more than 20 years ago.
When Nichols Gymnasium at Kansas State University burned down in 1968, almost two decades passed before it could be used again. Gutted by fire, Nichols was not completely rebuilt until 1986.
The problem the K-State administration encountered after the fire was not where to get the money, but where to rebuild or to raze the building.
"It took them about 10 to 12 years to really decide what they wanted to do," said Warren Corman, Board of Regents director of facilities.
At first, K-State moved departments that had been housed to other buildings. When necessary, they made additions to the buildings.
Vince Cool, director of K State architectural and engineering services, said money from student bonds and state funds was used to relocate the equipment and to replace destroyed material such as broadcast equipment.
Corman said he thought the state had appropriated emergency money to replace equipment lost in the fire.
denied emergency money for Hoch cleanup.
The issue of rebuilding Nichols Gymnasium was left unaddressed for several years. Cool said.
The University of Kansas was
The administration decided to rebuild Nichols to accommodate various departments instead of expanding two other buildings.
When the K-State administration decided in 1978 to raze Nichols, students protested on the steps of the state Capitol, Cool said.
He said alumni also pressured K State to save the building.
The Legislature appropriated $45,000 in 1978 for a study of what could be done with Nichols, $120,000 in 1981 for preliminary restoration planning and $322,640 in 1982 for final planning.
For construction, $7.1 million was appropriated in three legislative ses-
sions.
Nichols was a four-story building made of wood, plaster and stone walls before it was set on fire by an arsonist.
Although the building was gutted on the inside, the stone walls stayed sound and most of them were kept when the building was replaced.
Now Nichols is used for computer laboratories, the K-State speech department, library storage and a 300-seat auditorium.
Cleanup funds for Hoch receive verbal approval
Kansan staff report
had been allocated for the repair of a stone barn
The University has not received written approval to transfer the students to other universities.
The University has received verbal approval to use money from the repair and improvements fund for Hoech Auditorium cleanup.
The $0.000 was requested July 1 by Chancellor Gene A. Budig to pay for structural engineering tests, the construction of a new fire fence, the installation of a security fence.
Theresa Klinkenberg, associate director of business affairs, said Stanley Koplik. Board of Regents approved approval to use almost $60,000 that
Pedestrians and bicyclists plagued by Oread neighborhood sidewalks
This uneven sidewalk between 10th and 11th streets is typical of some in the Oread neighborhood.
By Cathy Garrard
Kansan staff writer
On certain blocks east of campus, it may be safer to walk in the street than on the sidewalks.
Pedestrians and cyclists in the Oread neighborhood often take their chances when traveling along the sidewalks. Uneven pavement, missing bricks and inadequate footing can lead to a potentially dangerous route.
However, according to state law,
the property owners, not the city,
are responsible for sidewalk
repairs.
Sae Kupfer, board member of the Oread Neighborhood Association, said the sidewalks should be a high quality city because of all the foot traffic.
"A lot of people live in this area because it is close to campus and downtown, so they don't have cars," Kapfer said. "It's imperative that we have safe, unobstructed sidewalks."
The Oread neighborhood's boundaries are Ninth Street on the north side, Massachusetts Street on the east, 17th Street on the south and the east side of the KU campus on the west.
Although the responsibility usually falls on the homeowner, the Lawrence Community Development Department helps low- to moderate-income homeowners with repair costs.
Lynn Goodell, director of the department, said a single person with an income of less than $19,700 a year may be upgraded at the city's expense.
Unfortunately, Goodell said that because of federal regulations, the city would not contribute money for cleaning up after the owner did not live in the house.
This leaves many KU students who rent houses walking on shaky ground.
Kari Scott, Shawnee junior, rents a house on the 1000 block of Tennessee Street. She said she had fallen because of the sidewalk's gaps and ridges.
Goodell said the Oread Neighborhood Association had proposed a sidewalk renovation program to the city this year that requested financial assistance to help maintain the brick sidewalks.
"I like to run in the morning, but I’ve tapped on the uneven parts," Scott said. "I like the fact that the walls are not high enough so the brick needs to be kept up."
Theresa Gorman, city engineer, said the city's main involvement with sidewalk repair was responding to residents' complaints.
man said. "We probably only receive around 10 a year. Not a lot of people realize that the property owners must repair their own side."
"A person can send us a complaint about any place in the city they feel may be dangerous." Gor
She said that once a year the city inspected the sidewalks to find those in violation of the city's standards.
Violators are notified and have 60 days to repair the sidewalk. If they do not comply, the city makes the repairs and sends the homeowner the bill. If they do not pay within 30 days, the city will move on to the violator's property taxes.
Gorman said repair costs varied depending on the size of the area
needing repair and whether the walk was brick or concrete.
The city must replace a brick sidewalk with bricks, but the home owner has the option of repairing the walls with either bricks or concrete.
Kapfer, member of the neighborhood association, said the cost could be kept down if the homeowner made the repairs.
"We did ours ourselves, and the cost was under $200," she said. "It would cost two to three times that if a contractor was hired, and three to four times that if the city comes out and does it for you."
Intruder shatters night's sleep, nerves
By Cathy Garrard
Kansan staff writer
It was nearly 2:30 a.m. when I saw the man standing in the bedroom doorway. The light from the street illuminated his face, and I knew instantly he was a stranger.
for that seemed my only problem.
My screams were not enough. He didn't run.
I screamed, clutching the comfor
My entire apartment was dark and my roommate was out of town.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm looking for a party. Do you know where John is?" My entire apartment was dark and
I thought the apartment was locked, but I remembered I had not turned the deadbolt.
cal evidence
He sat on my bed. He began to ask me things: My name. If I'd take money to step with him I'd give him a ticket. If I gave钱. We talked for about 15 minutes.
"What would you do to me if I were here to hurt you?" he finally asked.
That's when I began screaming again. He finally left.
I was lucky. He didn't physically harm me. From the legal standpoint, it seems I would have been better off if he had.
Lawrence police said they could not do much in these cases. Even if they had found the intruder from my sketchy description, he left no physi-
Victim-assistance experts said this type of crime could cause as much emotional trauma as a violent crime. But emotional victims do not always receive equal treatment from the police.
John Stein, deputy director of the National Organization for Victim Assistance, said one-on-one crimes needed to be treated with caution and evidence needed to be treated seriously.
"They should be treated as personal violations that can, perhaps, cause as much harm as a violent assault." Stein said. "People are beginning to realize that it is the emotional injuries, the psychic violence, that does the last harm. You must look at a crime's potential for hurt and deal with it on that basis."
Cheryl Tyiska, director of victim services at NOVA, said, "The degree of the crime shouldn't matter. It's important, the victim feels that is most important."
Lawrence police Sgt. Kevin Harman said that what people expected from police often was more than the department could accomplish.
"Oftentimes our hands are tied by the Legislature and court systems." Harmon said. "You can't make arrests without probable cause, and
one prosecutors won't take the cases when they know they won't be able to prove them.
"It always helps to have some sort of evidence of who did the crime or who was responsible," she said.
Stein said crimes with seemingly little physical evidence could yield clues if police took the proper approach.
"Every cog should ask, 'Was there better information that I could have gotten out of the victim?' Undoubtedly, there was," he said.
Tysika said that some police officers treated victims differently if no blood, damage or destruction was found at the crime scene.
"If there is not a lot of evidence, the officers aren't rude, but often they are not interested," she said. "They ask questions quickly and then leave. They need to take their time and pay attention."
Stein said that although some people still did not consider one-on-one crimes serious, more arrests were made in the past year. Many cases were prosecuted each year.
In some places, attitudes already may be changing.
"Just because there were no fing
physicists, no seismologists,
it doesn't mean
However, most victims do not win their cases, he said.
you dismiss what happened as a non event." Stein said.
Harmon said crimes of this nature should be reported to the police immediately because each passing made the cases more difficult to solve.
He said police left most of these cases open indefinitely in case more citizens were in the area.
Stein said a victim also should seek counseling as soon as possible.
He said that the victim's focus should not be on forgetting the incident but on accepting it as part of their life experience.
A few days after my encounter I was walking home alone at night. A scruffy-looking man was standing on the front of my apartment complex.
I froze. His simple question triggered the same panicked, vulnerable feeling that I had hoped never to feel again.
"Hey, do you know what street I'm on?" he asked.
I hurried into my apartment without answering him. I quickly locked the deadbolt in the door behind me.
I leaned against the door for a moment. With my heart pounding in the silence of my apartment, I walked across and used to be friendly to strangers.
Union bookstore remodeling done
By Eric Swanson
Kansan staff writer
The dust has settled from the remodeling of the Kansas Union Bookstore.
Workers started remodeling the south side of the store in February and finished July 5, said Michael Reid, manager of the bookstore. The remodeling cost $500,000, all of which was raised by bookstore sales.
"There won't be any more renovations because there's no place else to go." Reid said.
Reid said that the purpose of the remodeling was to install new mechanical equipment and remodel the building would match the north end of the store.
He said the remodeling had affected business only slightly.
"We were able to provide the same service throughout the whole project, so we're pretty happy with that," he said.
The recent remodeling was the second phase of a two-phase project that began in February 1988. During the first phase, the Mount Oread Bookstore was moved from the Union's fourth floor to the second and
the textbook department was moved from the first floor to the second.
Reid said the bookstore remodeling was part of a plan conceived in 1984 to improve the condition of the building.
Phase I, which cost $6.5 million and began in Fall 1987, covered remodeling the student organizations center, food services and the bookstore, as well as electrical, plumbing and airconditioning systems.
The second phase, which is expected to cost $4 million, will remodel the fourth floor, including the main lobby and the candy counter. This phase will begin in February 1992.
Long said the second phase was designed to increase the size of the lobby and service area. Entrances to the building are located on the outdoor patio on the third floor.
The entire project is financed with revenue bonds to be paid off by student fees. The Union Memorial Corporation, a non-profit organization affiliated with KU, also provided some money for the project.