CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, April 26, 1995
3A
Blaze damages students' house
By Teresa Veazey
Kansan staff writer
Seven KU students were left homeless Friday night after a fire damaged two apartments in the same house at 1447 Massachusetts St. Damage was estimated at $80,000, according to the report.
The cause of the fire was believed to be a burning candle left unattended in an upstairs bedroom, he said.
The fire, which started in a northeast corner bedroom, moved up the walls and went throughout the ceiling to the southeast corner of the apartment, according to the report.
Stark said the fire was tough to fight because there was empty space between walls and ceilings. Older houses have the space because the frame of the house was built first, instead of floor by floor.
This allowed the fire to spread into the void space between walls and up into the attic, he said. Once inside the attic, the fire burned through several spots on the roof.
Susan Moffett, Overland Park junior, was one of five students who lived in the second floor apartment. Moffett and her roommate, Meagan Zimbeck, Olathe sophomore, arrived home around 5:30 p.m. and discovered the fire.
"I came in the back door and saw smoke coming out," Moffett said. "We yelled up to make sure nobody was there."
Moffett said she and Zimbeck knocked on the back door of the first-floor apartment after hearing two dogs barking inside. The two went next door to Headquarters and called police, who arrived soon after the call.
Donations
People wishing to make donations to Leslie Jones may bring their contributions to the philosophy department in 3052 Wescoe Hall or to the KU information Center in the Kansas Union. Donations for Michelle Bishop may be brought to the psychological clinic in 315 Fraser Hall or clinical psychology in 305 Fraser. There is a need for many items, including coats and cleaning supplies. Persons may call 864-4121 or 864-4131 to find out the student's immediate needs.
The police kicked down the door to the lower apartment to let the dogs out, Moffett said.
"It was so out of control and spreading so quickly," she said. "We all just stood on the lawn and watched."
Flames from the fire also spread down to the first floor apartment in one corner of the house, which damaged one of the inside walls, according to the report.
Leslie Jones and Michelle Bishop, Lawrence graduate students, lived in the first floor apartment but were not home at the time of the fire. Jones said he was playing softball at the time but noticed the smoke as he was driving home on 19th Street.
Vietnamese life remembered
"I thought jokingly to myself, "Gee, I hope my house isn't on fire," Jones said. "When I got close and I saw that it was, I was totally freaked out."
By Eduardo A. Molina
Kansan staff writer
Phu Van, Salina junior, escaped from Communist Vietnam 13 years ago. Orphaned as a baby, Van left the war-reckoned country and came to the United States — where he hoped to find the freedom he didn't have in Vietnam.
Those dreams of freedom inspired Van, who was a 7 years old at the time, to take the long trip that brought him to Kansas to live with an uncle.
Next Sunday is the 20th anniversary of the end of the 25-year-long Vietnam War, and Van, as well as many other Vietnamese Americans, will reflect upon the journey that brought them to the land of their country's former enemy.
"When I came to the United States, I didn't know what to say," Van said. "I started like a baby. I didn't feel rejected because people in Salina were great."
Van said that he found in this country all he dreamt about in Vietnam.
"I can have a higher education here," he said. "I can even drive a car. This was a good place to come."
Phu Huynh, Wichita sophomore, was 5 years
old when he left Vietnam on a boat in 1981 with his father.
"Escaping from the country was an illegal act." he said.
In the United States, Huynh found a different life. Because of his young age, he assimilated to the U.S. culture quickly but without losing his Vietnamese heritage.
"At school, I felt more American," he said. "But at home, I felt more Vietnamese. I think it depends on the setting."
Even though Huynh successfully learned to deal with the new culture, the transition for his parents wasn't easy, Huynh said.
"Even now my parents have a lot of problems with the language," he said. "Like in many families, the kids who went to school became their parents' translators."
Some other Vietnamese Americans, such as Le Nguyen, Topeka senior, came to the United States before the end of the war, and they also dream of going back to Vietnam in the future.
"I don't remember Vietnam at all," said Nguyen, who was 2 when she left Vietnam in 1974. "I assimilated easily to the culture. But one of my hopes is to go back to Vietnam. As an architectural engineer, I would love to do something there."
Yumi Chikamori / KANSAN
Russ Wheeler, Lawrence resident, and his business partner, Clint Bradley, Agra, junior, relax in the backseat the limo they own. They have been running a limo service in Lawrence for more than a year.
Limo business has its perks
Profitable enterprise cushions customers, pleases its proprietors
By Matthew Friedrichs
Kansan staff writer
When the passenger says, "Home,
James," Clint Bradley, Agra junior,
and his roommate, Russ Wheeler, start their
limo and hit the road.
The two chauffeurs met at Kansas State University. Wheeler, now a Lawrence resident, and Bradley decided to live together when Bradley transferred to the University of Kansas after sitting out of school for three years.
Last spring, an idea they discussed in a bar developed into Midwest Limousine, the business they run out of a spare room in their duplex.
They looked at two limousines that were for sale and talked to their friends about student interest in renting a limousine.
Amy Ross, Wichita sophomore, told Bradley her sorority would hire them to drive members to their formal if they had the car.
"We've already got it," Bradley said, even though they had not yet purchased the car. The next day Bradley and Wheeler bought a 1984 Cadillac limousine. Within a week, they were in business. They store the limousine in a shed
outside of Lawrence.
Since last spring, they have driven the five-person limo to and from parties, weddings and the Kansas City International Airport.
Midwest Limousine averages three customers a week. Bradley and Wheeler charge $50 for the first hour, $40 for each additional hour, or $200 for seven hours in Lawrence. For $250, they will drive for seven hours in Kansas City.
"We're not getting rich, but it's paying for itself." Bradley said.
The customer pays for a clean leather, interior, television, videocassette recorder, stereo, cellular phone, moon roof and the prestige of riding in a limousine.
Bradley and Wheeler even dress up suit and tie but no hat.
Limousines have special privileges, including prime parking spots at concerts and at Royals baseball games, Bradley said.
He knows the perks firsthand.
After leaving a customer at KCI last summer, Bradley and a friend drove to Kauffman Stadium. They parked in almost the front row, crawled in back, closed the tinted windows and changed from their suits to shorts, T-shirts and baseball caps.
When Bradley needed to pay his fees last fall, he convinced campus parking attendants that he was chauffeur of an important KU visitor. He parked the limousine in a convenient spot in front of Strong Hall.
Parking spots are not always so easy to find, but the limousine is not hard to drive, Bradley said. Surprisingly, the limousine averages 16 miles per gallon, and with experience driving farm trucks, both Wheeler and Bradley feel confident about their driving. And according to the Kansas Driver's License Examiner's Office in Lawrence, Bradley and Wheeler just need class C driver's licenses to operate their limousine.
"If you're in a limo, people have their eye out for you, and they give you a little leeway." Bradley said.
Russell, who drives to Kansas City the most. agreed.
He said the best jobs were surprise visits planned by friends and relatives for birthdays and anniversaries.
"When they see a limo, they say Wow." Wheelersaid.
People are fascinated by the limousine when they crawl inside, Wheeler said. Most people turn on the television and start looking for the phone.
"Nobody just gets in and sits," Wheeler said.
Although the partnership has been fun, Bradley said he soon would reduce his workload.
"The further I get in school, I have to spend a lot more time with that," Bradley said.
Bradley will continue to drive on occasion.
He may even drive it to class.
"To us, it's just another car," Bradley said.
Committee gathers ideas, opinions for new student recreation center
By Brian Vandervliet
Kansan staff writer
Horseshoe pits, softball diamonds, 10 indoor basketball courts and a 4,000-square foot martial arts room are some of the items listed in a first-draft proposal for a new student recreation facility.
"Right now, we are shooting for the moon, the stars
Four indoor tennis courts, an indoor elevated track and 10 racquetball courts also are included in the first draft.
and the sun," said Tyler Bergmeier, co-chairman of the Recreation Facility Planning Committee.
The committee was created by Student Senate in February to gather information and create a proposal for a new facility. The 12-person committee, made up of students, faculty and administrators, hopes to present its proposal to Student Senate by next October.
Now, students must wait in long lines at Robinson Center to use the basketball courts or to work out in the weight room because the center is closed for general recreation purposes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Bergierme
said.
"What we're planning is a new dedicated student recreation facility," he said. "That means that you could come in at any time from early morning to late at a night."
Last night, the committee sponsored a forum in Alderson Auditorium to gather student opinion for the proposal. Only six students were present at the forum, however, and discussion was minimal.
Eric Stehm, Wichita sophomore, said that he had attended the forum because he often had waited more
than an hour to play basketball at Robinson.
"When you house academics, athletics and students, Robinson is not big enough," he said. "I think a facility would bring new opportunities to students. I would love to be able to use a facility during the day."
Students who wish to make suggestions for the proposal can send them to Tyler Bergmeier, c/o Recreation Advisory Board, 208 Robinson, Lawrence, Kan., 66045.
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