Kansan Summer Weekly
Wednesday, July 22, 1987
Campus and Area
3
Local Briefs
K.C. man, 17 pleads guilty to two shootings
A 17-year-old Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty July 15 in Jackson County District Court to a felony criminal assault charge in connection with the shooting of a KU student last Halloween in Kansas City, Mo.
Richard L. Scott told judge Gene R. M. Martin that he shot Amy Thompson, 25, in her car outside a party in Kansas City, Mo., because she tried to drive away while he was trying to rob her.
The bullet entered the back of her neck and traveled up to her brain. To relieve pressure, part of Thompson's brain was removed.
Scott also pleaded guilty July 15 to another shooting that occurred six days after the Thompson shooting. He will be sentenced August 24.
Local man charged in trailer park death
A Lawrence man being held in the Douglas County jail has been charged in Douglas County District Court with first-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death last week of another Lawrence man.
Thompson was pursuing a master's degree in education at KU.
Gregory Howard Thomas is charged with stabbing Stephen Ray Howell with a bayonet early in the morning of July 15 at a party in a trailer at the Ridgwell Estates Trailer Home Park, 1908 E. 19th St.
Thomas' preliminary hearing,
originally scheduled for Monday,
has been rescheduled for 10 a.m.
Aug. 24.
Thomas was arrested about 3:30 a.m. July 15. His bail has been set at $150,000.
First-degree murder is a class A felony, punishable by life in prison and an unlimited fine.
Sorority formal rush set for Aug. 15-22
Students planning to participate in the KU sorority formal rush, scheduled for Aug. 15-22, must register with the KU Panellenic Association, 116 Burge Union, by Saturday.
Questions should be addressed to Shannon Parker, Panhelenic vice president for membership, at the association's office at 864-4643.
Former KU student killed skydiving
A former KU student was killed Sunday in a skydiving accident in Richmond, Mo.
Joel Alan Cluchey, 28, attended the University of Kansas and graduated from the Kansas City Diesel Mechanics School and from the Cummins Engine School, also in Kansas City.
Services will be at 1:30 today at the Rumsey Funeral Home in Lawrence.
Cluchey worked as a service technician for Knopke Brothers Contractors Supply Co. in Kansas City, Mo.
He had worked for Hillcrest Wrecker and Hallmark Cards, both in Lawrence.
He was a member of the Missouri River Valley Sky Divers Association, the National Sky Association and the Jaguar Club.
He was born in Lawrence and attended Lawrence schools. He graduated from Lawrence High School in 1977.
Disabled man will file suit if eviction is not reconsidered
By KRISTEN HAYS Staff writer
Staff writer
Michael Fargo, a disabled Lawrence resident facing eviction from his apartment complex, will file a discrimination suit against the complex's manager unless the manager reconsider his eviction. Fargo's adviser said Tuesday.
The adviser, Linda Niedbalski, who works for Independence Inc., a local group that helps disabled persons, said, "If Michael and I don't hear from the manager by Wednesday, we'll file a discrimination suit against her."
She said she and Fargo wanted to file the suit against the manager of Clinton Place, 2125 Clinton Parkway, because the eviction was proceeding despite widespread public support.
The manager of Clinton Place declined to comment on Fargo's case, and Fargo said yesterday that he wasn't feeling well enough to talk about it.
Elmer Binford, director of the state Housing and Urban Development office, said Fargo's dispute was between Fargo and his landlords and was not a matter for HUD.
Fargo does free-lance computer work in his federally subsidized apartment at Clinton Place, but operating a business in a federally subsidized dwelling violates his lease agreement, because the apartment is for residential use only.
Barbara Huppet, director of the Lawrence Housing Authority, said HUD subsidized residents of Clinton Place at the rate of 30 percent of the residents' gross monthly incomes. The subsidized housing was constructed with HUD funds and was intended for low-income people, she
Fargo has a neurological disorder that prevents him from working regular hours in an office, so he works on his own time in his apartment. His computer work has earned him about $1000 in the past six months.
said.
Niedbalski said she and Fargo had tried to compromise with the manager of Clinton Place, but to no avail.
"Even if Michael stops doing his computer work, the management told us the decision has already been made," she said. "They offered no options or waivers."
Niedbalski said she was aware that other residents of the complex also supplement their income with things such as crocheting or crafts.
"We're trying to be careful here, because these people shouldn't be persecuted. We don't know if they (the management) will start evicting people all over the place."
Niedbalski said Fargo wanted to keep living at Clinton Place, even though the management said they would move him to another comparable apartment.
"There are two problems with that idea. One, if they agree to relocate him to a comparable apartment, why evit him from this one? And two, Michael has chosen to live there. He has friends, the apartment's size is suited to his needs, and it has a prime location.
"It's close to food places and movies. Michael can't drive a car, so he has to rely on his feet, the bus system, or his bike," Niedbalski said."
Rising gas prices linked to increased crude oil prices
Prof blames gas prices on OPEC and war
By CARLA PATINO Staff writer
Staff writer
The increase in gasoline prices is linked to the increase in crude oil prices, a KU professor of chemical and petroleum engineering said recently.
The professor, Donald Green,
said that the efforts of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase oil prices and the effects of the Iran-Iraq war had more influenced the increase in gasoline prices.
"The OPEC has been operating more effectively for the last few months. They have a target price of $18 a barrel," he said. "Prices have risen to approximately $22 a barrel in the commodity market."
Green said that because the United States was a net importer of crude oil and depended heavily on other nations' decisions, U.S. citizens should be concerned with saving energy.
He said the public shouldn't expect prices to drop again soon, because he thought that in the long run, oil prices would remain high.
Kevin McGlocklin, manager of Quality 66 Service, 1540 W. Sixth St., said Monday that about two weeks ago the gasoline prices went up.
"The price for regular (self-service gasoline) was 85 cents (a gallon) a few weeks ago. Now it is 89 cents," he said.
McGlocklin said he supposed that gas prices would increase in
the next few weeks, but not much
Joel Jackson, manager of Vickers service station, 1846 Iowa St. said that in the last week of February, the price for regular self-service gasoline was 63 cents a gallon, and that it remained stable for a while. But since then, prices have increased.
Mike McGee, co-manager of Mac's 66 Service Inc., Kansas City, Kan., said the price for regular self-service gasoline there was 89 cents a gallon and that the price for the full-service regular gasoline was $1.01 a gallon.
Other stations in Kansas City, Mo., and in Topeka reported their prices to be 89 cents for regular self-service, and $1.09 for regular full service.
City, Mo., said Monday that the gasoline increase was not significant. However, because of the summer demand, prices usually went up.
"People drive more often in summer, and because of the demand, some stations charge more," he said.
David Abshear, spokesman for the Amoco district office in Kansas
Although gasoline prices have not increased dramatically, Aracelia Perez, Plainview, Texas, senior, has noticed it.
Abshear said he wouldn't speculate about what gasoline prices would do in the future.
Perez said she noticed the gasoline prices had been going up since the end of May.
No remedy in sight for nationwide nurse shortage
"I have a 1975 Chevy, and it used to take about $15 to fill it up," she said. "Now it takes about $25."
Staff writer
STORMY WYLIE
No quick cure is available for what ails the nursing profession.
Nursing directors at all three hospitals said they had nearly full nursing staffs.
In most of Kansas and the nation, the nurse shortage has become a serious problem. However, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Lawrence Memorial Hospital and Watkins Hospital have escaped the problem, at least for now.
Mary Anne Eisenbise, director or nursing at the Med Center, said last week that for the first time in five years, the Med Center had a full staff of 430 nurses. Lawrence Memorial Hospital and Watkins Hospital each are only about three nurses short of a full nursing staff, their directors of nursing said.
Eisenbise said the Med Center had less trouble finding nurses than many other hospitals because the School of Nursing is based at the Med Center. She said 75 of 120 new nurses hired this year by the Med Center were graduates of the School of Nursing.
Even so, the Med Center has had some problems finding registered nurses. Rita Clifford, assistant dean of nursing, said that earlier this year the nursing staff had up to 50 vacancies.
The Med Center, much like other nursing schools in the nation, has also seen a decrease in enrollment over the past four years. The highest enrollment at the Med Center was 316 students in 1980. Enrollment dropped to 302 in 1983, 299 in 1984, 298 in 1985, and 273 in 1986, enrollment records indicated.
However, Clifford said that applications to the School of Nursing for the fall 1987 semester were up 2.5 percent from the spring semester, and that the number of people requesting information about the nursing program was up 33 percent in the same time period.
A National Problem
Although area hospitals have fared reasonably well, a shortage of nurses has begun to take its toll nationwide. American Hospital Association figures indicated that the number of vacancies of registered nurses in hospitals doubled between 1985 and 1986.
'Many nurses are leaving the profession for higher paying and more prestigious jobs. Others are staying in the health field but are leaving hospitals for doctors' offices and home health-care agencies.'
Terri Rosselot executive director of the KSNA
At the same time, enrollment in nursing schools nationwide continues to drop. AHA figures indicated that 237,232 students were enrolled in nursing schools in the nation in 1984. In 1985, enrollment dropped 8.1 percent to 217,955, and in 1986, it dropped 10 percent to 196,160.
schools is even worse. The Kansas State Nurses Association reported that 1986 enrollment was down 35.5 percent from 1985.
but dropped to 1.300 in 1960.
What is at stake as a result of the nursing shortage is the quality o health care. Nurses handle the bulk of patient care in hospitals, said Terri Rosselot, executive director of the KSNA.
The intensive care and neonatal units of a hospital — jobs that tend to be more stressful to nurses — are most affected by nurse shortages, she said.
"What happens then becomes a cycle. Nurses leave and other nurses pull the hospital through the rough times until some new recruits arrive," she said. "Then the old nurses leave. It can become frustrating for the nursing staff."
Enrollment in Kansas nursing
Problems in Nursing
Enrollment or recruitment of nurses is only one problem, Rosselot said. Keeping them another.
KSNA indicated that there were 22,000 registered nurses in Kansas last year, but that 6,000 did not have jobs in the nursing profession.
"We believe there are a number of reasons people get out of the nursing profession," Roselot said. "Things like the pay is bad, they have to work holidays and weekends. And it is simply a stressful job."
The estimated nationwide pay scale for registered nurses starts at $19,000 and levels off at $30,000, she said.
fession for higher paying and more prestigious jobs," she said. "Others are staying in the health field but are leaving hospitals for doctors' offices and home health-care agencies."
Marcel Laupe, executive director of the Visiting Nursing Association, a home health-care agency in Lawrence, said nurses liked the flexible schedule and the freedom they had while caring for a patient.
"If their child is in a program at school, they can arrange to see their patients before or after the usual time," she said. "A nurse or a hospital staff can't do that. And doctors depend more on them because they are not in the home as much as the nurse is."
A nurse in the home health profession also has enough variety and challenge to use all of her nursing skills, Laupe said.
"They see people from babies to 100 years old," she said.
"Many nurses are leaving the pro-
The VNA has a staff of 15 nurses who care for about 800 patients annually.
Societal Change
The nurse shortage also reflects a societal change in attitudes about nursing.
Before the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s, only three careers were socially acceptable for women - nursing, teaching and secretarial, she said.
Today, women, who make up 97 percent of the nursing profession, have an unlimited number of career choices that offer not only more money, but also more prestige, Rosselot said.
And the image that many people have of nurses is not a flattering one;
Rosselot said.
"Many of the nurses on soap operas are blonde, sexy, dumb and subservient," she said. "This has given the public a warped perspective of nursing."
Lee Hough, assistant director of the VNA, said the truer image of today's nurse was "an aggressive and active person. These women are looking to establish a career; they are upwardly bound."
Another problem that affects the nursing profession is the decreased number of high school students, Roselot said. Kansas Department of Education figures indicate that the number of high school students has dropped from 150,569 in the 1976-77 school year to 121,667 in 1986-87.
Solutions
Although no quick fix can be found for the nursing profession's problems, the KSNA has initiated several programs to make people more aware of the problems facing nurses.
One is a media project, Rosseol said. The KSNA recently worked with four hospitals in the Wichita area to make several commercials and public service announcements to educate people about nurses.
The project's price tag was more than $35,000, which was paid by the four hospitals and by private contributions, she said.
The KSNA also has started a program to educate doctors and hospital administrators about nursing jobs and what causes nurses to leave them.
In order to make nurses more professional, the KSNA also has been pushing the state to require a nurse to get a bachelor's degree.
Lawrence, KS
SUMMER FOOD AND DRINK SPECIALS
All dinners include salad, fries, Texas toast. Served 4 p.m.to 10.
Served 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Mon.. 1/2 lb. sirloin $4.95.
Mon. ½ lb. sirloin $4.50.
Michelob and Michelob Light pitchers $3.00
Tues. Basket of stock finshes $4.05
Wed. — 12 oz. T-bone $5.95. Miller Lite $1.25.
Thurs.— Fried shrimp basket $5.95.
Michelob and Michelob Light Draws 75'
Fri. & Sat.—Prime Rib Sandwich $5.95.
Budweiser $1.25.
OPEN MON.-SAT. 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
LOWER LEVEL ELDRIDGE HOTEL 749-5011
---
SUMMER SPECIAL
With this coupon
Buy a lg. cup for the price of a reg Buy a reg.for the price of a small
SUPER FLAVOR MONEY SAVER
Twin Oaks Center 7 days a week 9th & Indiana 11a.m.-midnight Invalid during other specials.
Offer Expires 7/31/87