MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2006
NEWS
AMESS
Anne Waltmar/KANSAN
day. Heavy winds from the storm blew over the tree that maimed his black Dodge Dakota Sport and two other cars early that morning.
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Winds contort ballparks, complex
BY ERIC JORGENSEN
ejorgensen@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Twisted metal bleachers, a demolished backstop, uprooted trees, an exploded port-a-potty 200 feet from its base and dozens of onlookers shaking and staring all happened in a couple minutes.
What once was a sporting complex on southwest campus, home to Arrocha Ballpark, Hoglund Ballpark and Jayhawk Sports Complex, is now a mangled disaster.
Tornadic winds swept through the area that contains the baseball, softball and soccer fields around 8:15 Sunday morning. It destroyed most of the region, along with much of Lawrence.
Ryan Bulger, Wichita freshman, who lives in Oliver Hall, was awake before the storm hit. He watched the events unfold through his dorm window.
He said he woke up just as the thunder started rumbling. He stood at his window, watching as a 'black wall of lightning' tore through West Lawrence, bearing down on the soccer, softball and baseball fields.
"It was calm as hell, then it just started spinning," Bulger said.
He said it was still, and then the air turned violent.
Then the wind peaked, and the fixtures gave.
The wind accelerated, pushing the bleachers and scoreboards surrounding the field.
The bleachers adjacent to the soccer field were twisted in a helix and thrown on the Oliver Hall lawn.
Bulger watched as the stands behind home plate at Arrocha Ballpark were jostled, then blown through the backstop, landing and settling on the infield.
"The wind tossed the bleachers like a tow." Bulger said.
"I thought a tornado hit the parking lot," Bulger said. "It was pretty violent."
Some spectators compared the scene to the movie "War of the Worlds," with the dark clouds, lightning bursts, strong winds and widespread damage.
When the winds finally subsided, those awake began wandering toward the field. Many played parazzi, snapping photos at the garbled images.
The Athletics Department acted fast to assess the damage. Jim Marchiony, Associate Athletics Director, stood on Hoglund's infield as he and the department staff tried
Ryan Raymond, Buffalo Grove Ill., freshman, said he saw some people climbing on the overturned bleachers and outfield fences to look into the softball and baseball fields.
Hoglund Ballpark did not sustain the same damage that Arrocha did.
to decide what to do next.
"We're working on it now," Marchiony said. "We're trying to assess everything, then we will find a course of action."
Marchiony said there were no plans on where the softball team would play in the coming games.
The Kansas softball team's game against Minnesota was postponed with no makeup scheduled yet.
Bill Sward, father of Minnesota outfielder Chrisy Sward, came to town from Maplewood, Minn., to watch the game. After hearing about the damage, he and his family came to view it for themselves.
"This is pretty extensive," Sward said. "I didn't imagine it to be this bad."
It is unclear what happens next. Clearing the fields and getting them ready to play is the goal, but when that will be is undetermined.
- Edited by Lindsey Gold
Rachel Sevmour/KANSAN
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 7A
Several student houses, apartment complexes and vehicles, like this house and these cars located on the 1200 block of Louisiana Street, were damaged by a storm Sunday morning.
BY KRISTEN JARBOE
kjarboe@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITE
Picking up the pieces
At the Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts St., the reported 70 to 90 mph winds tore away the front window facing 10th street, frame and all.
Broken signs, ripped-up awnings and smashed windows lined the streets and sidewalks of Lawrence from the downtown area to Clinton Parkway Sunday after a strong storm struck the city.
"I've never seen anything this bad," co-owner Nick Carroll said. "The wind must have hit it just right."
An employee at the Eldridge Hotel, 701 Massachusetts St., reported that the storm knocked a satellite dish off of the roof. The dish, which hadn't been used for some time, was found on the next block north in front of Liberty Hall. The storm didn't cause any major damage to the building.
of several stores whose signs lay shattered in the street. Part of its sign lay in pieces across the street from the restaurant.
At Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St., two spires fell onto the sidewalk. Signs were posted around the taped-off area, cautioning people not to enter.
The storm also caused damage in west and south Lawrence. Lawrence Internal Medicine, 3310 Clinton Parkway, lost an entire section of its roof. The displaced piece landed directly in front of the building. Broken wooden fences were also found on 31st Street and Kasold Street along with broken telephone polls.
Other damage downtown included torn awnings at stores, including Weaver's Department Store, 901 Massachusetts St. Buffalo Wild Wings Bar and Grill, 1012 Massachusettsets St. was one
At Clinton Place Apartments,
2125 Clinton Parkway, hundreds of bricks from the front wall fell onto a parked car, smashing in the hood and windshield. The wall was next to the gas meters, but the bricks missed them.
"It's weird, the wind didn't even move the patio furniture in the back," said Matt Gammill, maintenance supervisor and resident.
Edited by Matt Wilson
David Noffsinner/KANSAN
This sign in front of South Park was one of many signs that were damaged in downtown by Sunday mornino's high winds.
Roofs sustained the most damage on campus. The storm knocked out power on campus shortly after 8 a.m. Jim Scribner, Facilities Operations assistant director, said the department began slowly returning power to buildings on the main campus after all Facilities Operations employees were called to work this morning.
Campus
Vince Avila, associate director for maintenance for student housing, said the Daisy Hill residence halls, Stouffer Place and Oliver Hall had power when he reported to work at 11 a.m.
Numerous glass windows were blown out on campus, with the most window damage occurring in residence halls and the west end of lavakh Boulevard.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
The department started with research buildings, museums and libraries and first restored power slightly after 1 p.m.
Rhynn Malloy, Holden, Mass., freshman, woke up Sunday morning in her Naismith Hall dorm room to what she called "crazy-loud wind."
Malloy had no idea of what could be going on, but woke up her roommate anyway. As the
Kristen Kearney, McPherson sophomore, joined other Daisy Hill residents later Sunday morning in taking pictures of vehicle damage and exchanging their stories from the storm.
She lost the back windshield of her car, parked near Templin Hall. With no large trees nearby, Kearney is not sure what caused the damage.
Cars parked in residence hall parking lots sustained damage ranging from cracked windows to being smashed by trees and a fresh air unit dropped from the Templin Hall roof.
Avila said maintenance workers were able to secure all of the broken windows in University residence halls, but not all were fully repaired on Sunday.
Bretz said the only injury was an unidentified male who suffered minor head injuries. He sought treatment off campus and has been released.
wind grew louder, the window began to rattle before eventually cracking. The pieces of shattered glass fell into Malloy's room as her roommate sprinted out.
Nicole Kelley contributed to this article.
- Edited by Hayley Travis