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Local Briefs
Commission to approve a BID during meeting
Campus and Area University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, February 3. 1987
The Lawrence City Commission will probably establish a downtown Business Improvement District tonight at its regular meeting.
The commission last week unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance to establish a BID downtown. Under the ordinance, all businesses and businesses fees, and the money would be used to promote and maintain the downtown shopping area.
Some downtown business people opposed the BID at last week's meeting, saying the BID's advantage was not nearly among downtown merchants.
Because the commission approved the first reading unanimously, the ordinance will not be discussed further before tonight's vote. By majority vote, the commission could allow discussion of the ordinance tonight.
Financing for the proposed $4.4 billion "superconducting super-collider" nuclear accelerator are not in President Reagan's budget for this year, even though he endorsed the project Friday.
Accelerator project gets no financing
Steve Coen, legislative assistant to Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, said yesterday that Reagan made the money in next year's budget.
The Department of Energy which will operate the collider, will use money from other programs to finance the collider site selection process this year. gambilas released on Tuesday, where she the financing in 1988. Coon said.
Secretary of Energy John S. Herrington will have a news conference Feb. 11 in Washington, D.C., to outline the selection process. More than 40 states, including Kansas, are expected to compete for the project.
Coen said aides to Dole would attend the news conference.
Essay contest marks centennial of leader
To celebrate the 100th birthday of Israel's first prime minister and founder, the David Ben-Gurion Centennial Committee is sponsoring essay contests for college and high school students.
Winners in each competition will receive David Ben Gurion Scholarship, college winners will receive $2,500 for second and $1,000 for third.
Essays must be between 1,500 and 2,000 words and be written on one of five topics provided by the committee. For more information, call the committee at (212) 883-9500, or write to Suite 318, 823 United Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10071-3510.
The deadline for entering is March 15, and winners will be announced May 1.
Oriental rug grants available for 1987
The Oriental Rug Retailers of America are accepting requests for their 1987 scholarship and grant applications.
Inquiries from institutions,
museums and individuals should
be addressed to ORRA, P.O. Box
4728, Medford, Ore.
From staff and wire reports.
Local groups rally to save historical depot
By CAROLINE REDDICK
Staff writer
Many historical buildings in Lawrence have been razed in the name of development, but concerned citizens hope to save the old Union Pacific Railroad depot from a similar fate.
Members of the Save the Depot Task Force stand in front of the right, Cliff Elliot, Richard Kersenbaum, Nancy Shontz, Steve railroad station they are trying to preserve. The members are, left to Hamburg, Dennis Brown and Betty Alderson.
L. A. Rauch/KANSAN
The Save the Depot Task Force, the Lawrence Preservation Alliance and the KU Crew have initiated a drive to raise $200,000 for the relocation and renovation of the historic depot.
The depot is east of Second Street, between Locust and Maple street, in north Lawrence.
The depot, built of native limestone and brick in 1888, was designed by Henry Van Brunt, one of the period's most renowned architects, said Craig Patterson, chairman of the task force.
"This is an important local landmark because of all the Lawrence history that revolved around the railroad," said Richard Kershenbaum, a member of the task force. "It's an important national landmark because of Van Brunt, who was a great architect."
Union Pacific gave the groups a tentative June 30 deadline to move the depot. If they can't raise money to relocate it, the depot will be demolished.
The company wants the boarded-up building, vacant since 1984, removed from company property.
"The depot is on a curved section of track with extremely heavy traffic," said John Bromley, spokesman for Union Pacific. "We're very concerned about having people close to the track. We don't want anyone hurt. Also, we don't want the depot to become an eavesdrover."
Union Pacific had contracted the building's destruction at a cost of $10,000 before the construction.
Last week, the groups sent 1.000 letters asking for donations from individuals in the community. Elliott said the groups were
"When we proposed relocating the building, Union Pacific told us we could have it, and the $10,000, if we could get it off the site," Patterson said.
pleased with the immediate response in cash donations they received from several people.
The groups will mail about 200 letters Saturday to area businesses and foundations.
The proposed move involves separating the building's two sections and placing them on hydraulic jacks on wheels similar to the landing gear of 747s. The depot will then be
driven south of the river to one of several sites being studied.
Cliff Elliott, a member of the task force and coach of the KU Crew, said the building, if relocated, would be used as headquarters for the KU Crew and the Lawrence Rowing Association. A storage building will be built adjacent to it and serve as a boathouse. After renovation, the depot would also be available for public meetings.
The Task Force and the National Trust for Historical Preservation hired Rusty Gorman, an expert recommended by the national trust, to determine the feasibility of moving the depot. Patterson said Gorman approved the move.
Pre-spring break inquiries can prevent travel rip-offs
Staff writer
By BENIAMIN HALL
A little background work could prevent a spring break travel rip-off, a consumer affairs specialist said yesterday.
Students concerned about a tour company's reliability should consult consumer affairs offices, travel agencies and better business bureaus, said Clyde Chapman, president of the Consumer Affairs Association, 819 Vermont St.
Chapman said his office last heard complaints about a spring break trip about three years ago, when several KU students paid money in advance to reserve a space on a trip that never left.
"Somebody took the money and ran," Chapman said. He said the money was in the bank.
"Generally speaking, we haven't run into problems with spring break trips," he said. "We have expected the company. We expect the companies are fairly reputable."
Chapman said students could contact his office with questions about a particular travel company. He said the office would check out the company's own files, better business bureau files and the attorney general's office.
"In a sense, that's about the only way to do it," he said. "That holds true for dealing with any company that you are not familiar with."
Chapman said information might not be available about a company that had only been in business a short time.
"You could end up getting burned on that." he said.
Bill Colgan, Lawrence junior and representative for Echo Travel, a Chicago company, said he had seen some groups sit in hotel lobbies with their luggage for five hours before their rooms were ready.
said they had seen problems in past trips, especially problems with hotel arrangements.
Mark Petry, a representative for Orion Tours, a Lawrence company, said a group he escorted for another company was forced to move to a different hotel after a mistake in reservations.
Some tour groups book certain hotels in advance. Others don't assign hotels to campus groups until a few days before the trips.
Some local tour representatives
"One of the students' main concerns is the hotel they're going to stay at. They're apprehensive," said Lisa Patrese, Overland Park senior. Parthe is the local representative for an Inter-Campus Programs trip to Daytona Beach. Inter-Campus is a Chicago company.
Most tour groups require a deposit to reserve a space on a bus and in a hotel.
Tom Black, Lawrence senior and a representative for Designers Travel, a Brookfield, Wis., company, said a $50 deposit would guarantee a space on the trip he is escorting to Daytona Beach.
Black said tour bus breakdowns weren't likely because charter bus companies used newer buses to avoid problems.
"They can't afford to have it happen," he said. "After they drop people off, they have to be at another school in about two days."
Computer coder locks up system
By JENNIFER WYRICK
Staff writer
The residents and staff of Naismith Hall, 1800 Naismith Drive, experienced some inconvenience recently after someone illegally accessed the hall's computer system and locked in their own code.
The vandalism made it temporarily impossible for anyone else to use the system.
The computers were not damaged and were inaccessible only Thursday afternoon, and possibly through the evening, said Sandy Hill, general manager of Naismith Hall.
Hill said a student in the hall worked with the computers until the correct access code was found and the system was unlocked.
"We considered the incident a prank and not really that big of a deal
Naismith officials still don't know who illegally entered the computers, Hill said.
Tim Boller, service manager at EZ Comp Computer Center, 536 Fireside Court, said Naismith usually didn't have access codes for its computers, so anyone could sign on to the computer and use the system
The person who broke into the Naismith system apparently put in a personal code and pressed the save button. Then it opened the machine to store it. Boller said.
EZ Comp will work with Naismith to make the system safe from spam.
The store plans to install a key-lock button, he said. The button would make it impossible to access the system without the use of a key, even
if the code was discovered. Boller said.
The key would be given only to hall staff members, he said.
Jim Flory, Douglas County district attorney, said a statute that had been on the books for a little more than a year made unauthorized access of a computer illegal. The offense is a class A misdemeanor, he said.
Flory said the misdemeanor carried a maximum jail sentence of one year and a $2,500 fine.
Boller said it was relatively easy for EZ Comp to reset a computer once someone had illegally gained access to the computer's system.
"The code is stored in memory, so we would discharge the computer chip where the access code was store and reset the computer." he said.
Lawrence firemen get new trucks
Staff writer
By TIM HAMILTON
The Lawrence City Commission joined more than 50 people yesterday in welcoming the city's two newest additions.
Both are more than 40 feet long,
lime-green and weigh about 34,000 pounds.
Their names are Engine 1 and Engine 2.
The new fire engines will replace aging engines at Fire Station No. 3, 3708 W. Sixth St., and No. 2, 1941 Haskell Ave. Together, they cost more than $293,000.
Pearson said the new engines were great improvements over the old engines because they were built by a truck manufacturer and distributed through a firefighting equipment company.
"Now the oldest truck we have on the first line is only four years old," said Monte Pearson, captain at station No. 4. "We're in good shape."
Fire engines purchased from automobile manufacturers require more maintenance and aren't as durable, he said.
"This is a fire truck from the ground up," Pearson said.
Among the features on the trucks are automatic transmissions, single-stage water pumps, pump enclosures for lighting and enclosed cabs for firefighters.
designed hydraulic racks that allow firefighters to store ladders on the trucks' tops instead of sides, providing more room for other equipment.
Although Pearson has been fighting fires for 29 years, he said it would be his first time to ride a lime-green engine.
The new trucks also have custom-
"Lime green is a color people see better in poor light conditions." he said. Studies have shown that more traffic accidents occurred involving red engines than green ones.
Pearson said that within two years all the city's fire engines would be painted green.
"No more red trucks." he said.
AVOID THAT LONG BUS RIDE--FLY
ORION TOURS Spring Break 87 March 14-21
South Padre
$429*
Cancun, Mexico
Fort Lauderdale
All packages include round trip air; Morning departures; Afternoon returns; Round trip transfers; 7 nights luxury beachfront; Hotel accommodations; Welcome party.'services of Orion Tours Tourmanager
S549
$399*
or Drive Yourself
South Padre $180
Fort Lauderdale $180
Nassau, Bahamas $525
Air space is going fast... So Call 841-0098
Ask for Mark
union
RENOVATION
SIXTY-YEARS AND GETTING BETTER
Make your own. . at the Prairie Room Soup & Salad Bar
11:00 am----1:30 pm M----F
Kansas Union Food Services also at Big 8 Deli/Snack Bar (level 5) Hawks Nest Cafeteria (level 2)