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NEWS / MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
ODD NEWS
Man escapes police and steals handcuffs
LONGVIEW,Wash.—A 26-year-old Washington state man managed to escape from a Department of Corrections car while handcuffed.
Police aren't just looking for him. They also want him to
be charged with stealing the handcuffs.
Associated Press
Reports say that Eric Mitchell Lair was arrested Oct. 1 on a felony warrant. He was hand-cuffed behind his back, but still was able to open the door of the car that was taking him to Cowlitz County jail and run off.
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ENVIRONMENT
Ben Pirotte/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Chavez works on dredging out Potter Lake on KU's campus. The University has decided to dredge the lake of the sediment that has piled on the bottom of the lake in order to restore its depth. The sediment is caused by runoff from surrounding areas that drain into the lake. The project, which was approved last semester and was scheduled to be finished before the beginning of this semester, is now scheduled to be finished by next Friday.
Potter Lake Project works toward removing plant from lake's surface
BY SAMANTHA COLLINS
scollins@kansan.com
On snowy days during her childhood, Katy Wichman, a senior from Lawrence, and her family used to visit Potter Lake. They sled down the hills and played in the snow. If Potter Lake was frozen enough, she would skate and slide around the edges. Now, Wichman has no plans to spend a day sliding on the ice above the polluted water this winter.
and kill the fauna below its surface. Volunteers for the Potter Lake Project however, don't want the pesky plant to ruin the lake.
The lake's surface is still covered with a small green plant called watermeal, whose dense colonies can consume the water's oxygen
"It's still pretty nasty now," Wichman said. "I would not want to fall into the dirty water."
Although the lake's dredging was finished about two weeks ago, it didn't help the clarity of the water, said Melissa Allen, vice president of the Potter Lake Project. The next step of the project is to help clear the lake of the watermeal. The project's volunteers worked Saturday to remove as much of the plant as possible.
Matthew Nahrstedt, president of the Potter Lake Project, said the only thing the group can do now is
to help beautify the lake with their own hands.
"The bigger goal is awareness," said Nahrstedt, a senior from St. Peters, Mo.
More than 30 students showed up to help with the cause. A few volunteers used rowboats to push the watermeal toward the shoreline with nets and plastic piping while others used pool nets to gather and place the rootless plant in trash bags.
"We are really hoping to make a dent," said Allen, a senior from St. Louis. "It's a start."
Deb Spencer, a Lawrence resident and volunteer, said that even with pool nets and row boats, the volunteers couldn't clean up
the entire lake. Spencer also added that nature played a large role in the cleaning process. It will take a couple of years for the life in the lake to settle and become more balanced.
Marion Paulett, project manager, said this effort was just one more step in a long process of renovating the lake. She said the University's Facilities Operations would place the gathered watermeal into their compost pile for now.
Paulett said she hoped this day would be the start of an annual clean-up day because the lake was important to the University.
"It's an icon," she said.
Edited By Kelsey Nill
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ODD NEWS
Associated Press
'Scream' poser tries to rob doughnut shop
An employee tells the New York Post that he turned the water on
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — A man wearing a "Scream" thriller movie mask tried to hold up a doughnut shop on New York's Long Island.
Nassau County police say the thief walked into a Dunkin' Donuts in Farmingdale just before midnight Tuesday brandishing a silver handgun and demanding money.
the bandit, hitting the mask. The thief, clad all in black, fled empty handed.
Police ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. Calls are confidential.