Fire damages Kappa Sigma house
Photo by Jim Ryun
Surveying the damage . . .
Surveying the fire damage to the Kappa Sigma fraternity house Saturday is Charles Brandt, KU alumnus from Prairie Village.
Members of Kappa Sigma fraternity, 1045 Emery Rd., were suddenly awakened early Saturday morning as a blaze swept through the top floor of the house causing major smoke and water damage to the bottom floors.
No injuries were reported in the fire which began before 5 a.m. Saturday. All 55 men in the house escaped as firemen arrived with three pumpers, an aerial and snorkle.
The fire was discovered by Andy Budka, Amsterdam,N.Y., freshman, who set the alarm in the house. Dave Steen, house president and Wichita junior, and Budka along with several other men fought the fire with extinguishers but were driven out by heavy smoke.
Fire Chief F.C. Sanders said the house received "pretty heavy damage," and speculated that the fire began in the attic. He said it was too early to estimate the cost of the damage.
Most of the damage from the fire was confined to the attic and the third floor but the east section of roofing was ripped open by flames where the fire was speculated to have started.
Faulty wiring could have been the cause, Sanders said, but unless someone is willing to tear out all the wiring upstairs "We probably never will know." Sanders said there is no reason to suspect arson but since the cause is unknown, arson still cannot absolutely be ruled out.
Lawrence firemen in an interview later said they wished to express their thanks to the Kappa Sigma students and nearby students for their help at the fire. Several firemen said that the men stayed out of the way during the actual fire fighting and only after they were through did students ask if they could go into the house. One fireman, acting as spokesman for the rest said, "We think most of the students at KU are real fine kids and we think we saw a good example of that today."
Robert Miller, Salina freshman, said all 55 men were out of the house in five minutes. However as soon as they realized where the fire was, they all rushed back in to save what items they could, he said.
Nearly 15 to 20 of the men lost everything in the fire. One of (Continued to page 16)
80th Year, No.112
The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas Monday, April 13, 1970
Apollo 13 'A-OK, outrunning IRS
SPACE CENTER, Houston (UPI)—Rookie astronaut John L. Swigert, who recalled halfway to the moon he had failed to file his income tax return, expertly lined up the Apollo 13 spaceship Sunday night for a pinpoint landing in the unexplored lunar highland foothills.
A 3.5 second rocket blast which Swigert triggered on the space-ship's main engine proved right on the money and put Apollo 13 on the desired course, but it also robbed Swigert and his companions, Navy Capt. James A. Lovell Jr., 42, and Fred W. Haise, 36, of their free roundtrip home.
The astronauts used their color television camera to show earthlings what was happening aboard the spacecraft during the vital rocket burn.
"That wasn't too much of a push there, man," Haise said following the rocket firing, which came at 8:54 p.m. (EST). "We didn't see the accelerometer do too much."
Lovell had rigged a pencil on a
string to show the change in acceleration the spacecraft encountered frim the rocket firing. When the rocket fired, the pencil swung gently backward.
The telecast, the third the Apollo 13 crew has beamed back from space, lasted 50 minutes 41 seconds, the longest to date.
Viewers were also treated to a spectacular show of ice crystals—caused by the freezing of dumped waste water—floating by outside the spacecraft with the crescent moon in the background. The crystals looked like large snow flakes strangely floating in the air.
"You know that new fad with long hair?" he asked. "It doesn't work too well in space. You can't comb your hair up here."
"Looks like your beards haven't come along to the point where you had to use the razor at all," ground control noted.
"Well we debated that," Lovell
At one point the camera zoomed in on Lovell, who was trying to comb his hair.
said, "we'll probably take care of our beards tomorrow and make that a part of the routine."
Swigert drew gales of laughter from his fellow crewmen and ground controllers Sunday when he suddenly recalled that he had forgotten to file his tax return.
He asked space officials to try and get him an extension and later was told that a 60-day grace was automatically granted anyone out of the country.
"That's good news," Swigert said. "I guess I qualify."
"Yes, we were just looking at the map and you're south of Florida, so you're not in the country now," ground control joked.
Before Swigert fired the rocket engine that changed Apollo's course, the astronauts were on a path that would have looped them around the moon and returned them to earth even if something had happened to the rocket engine on their command shin. Odyssey
But that course did not bring (Continued to page 16)
Threats spark reaction
One alleged bombing attempt, and several threatening phone calls have prompted John Spearman, Lawrence sophomore and president of the Black Students Union (BSU), to urge all Blacks on the university campus to arm themselves.
Spearman said in a Friday news conference the BSU is taking the responsibility for insuring the safety of all the Blacks on the KU campus.
The KU policy concerning arms on campus is outlined in a statement made by James Surface, former University provost on Feb. 7, 1969:
"Only persons authorized to do so by the Chancellor or his representative shall carry firearms on the University of Kansas campus. Violation of this rule will result in immediate dismissal from the University."
Spearman said numerous threats have been made on his life, and he had knowledge of threats on the well-being of BSU members. Spearman said no actual physical confrontations have resulted, but he knew of several "near-attacks" on members of the BSU.
A White man was apprehended by BSU members, (Continued to page 16)
By United Press International
UDK News Roundup
House probes My Lai
WASHINGTON—A special House subcommittee investigating the alleged My Lai massacre will open five to seven days of closed hearings this Wednesday, and plans to go to Vietnam next month to gather additional information.
Rep. F. Edward Herbert, D-La., the panel's chairman, said "this is no witch-hunt, nor is it a whitewash. It is a sincere effort to develop those facts which will permit a fair and objective evaluation of the so-called My Lai incident."
SST coverup charged
WASHINGTON—Rep. Henry S. Reuss, D-Wis., has accused the White House of hiding a report which he says shows the supersonic transport SST plane "is economically wasteful and environmentally harmful.
Kirk backs down
Reuss claimed the report was prepared at the administration's request. Dr. Lee A. Dubridge, President Nixon's science adviser, told Reuss the report is "not finalized and was used as part of direct input to the president."
BRADENTON, Fla.—Despite the hue and cry, 2,700 elementary school children and 107 teachers will shift Tuesday to thoroughly mix the races in Manatee County schools. Hundreds will be bused long distances.
Gov. Claude Kirk, in his highly-publicized showdown with the federal government, over desegregation of the schools, decided Sunday it would serve no good purpose for him to go to jail or pay a heavy fine.
Soviets offer arms freeze
LONDON—The Soviet Union has prepared a package plan for the strategic arms limitation (SALT) conference calling for a freeze on Russian and American nuclear rockets, Communist diplomats said today.
The plan broadly proceeds from a proposal that the superpowers "freeze" both offensive and defensive nuclear missiles as the first step toward possible subsequent wider strategic arms limitation measures, the sources said.