Wednesday, February 14, 2001
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Blood trail tells tale of cat's death
By Lauren Brandenburg and Amanda Beglin writer@kansan.com
Kanson staff writers
Five maintenance workers from Meadowbrook Apartment complex, located near 15th and Crestline streets, said they were disappointed that 22-year-old Brett Rizzo pleaded not guilty yesterday to killing a cat in the complex in January.
Rizzo was charged in Douglas County District Court with a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals, which could carry a sentence up to one year in jail.
John Huff, 25, said he and the other workers noticed every day that the bloodstains from the cat they had cared for still remained on sidewalks, fences, garage doors, the maintenance van and the dumpster where the cat's body was discarded.
Workers said the apartment where the cat was killed had been completely refurbished.
"We had to replace the carpet and padding." Huff said.
He said the cat's blood had been on the apartment's floor, wall, ceiling, doors, light switches and door knobs. Outside the apartment, the workers saw arcs of blood that indicated someone had swung the cat around.
Donny Howell, 17, said he and the other workers noticed every day that the cat was gone.
"It's so obvious." Howell said. "She would always be sitting on one of the chairs when you came in. She was petted all day."
Howell said he could not understand what would motivate someone to kill a cat in that way.
The workers used their breaks from work yesterday to attend Rizzo's appearance and said they planned to attend every hearing in the case.
The one question that remains in the workers' minds, they said, is why the tenants did not do anything to stop the crime.
The apartment's tenants were evicted within days of the incident, said Adam Holm, a Topeka junior who said he had not lived in the apartment since August even though his name was on the lease. He said he heard about the incident soon after it happened from another tenant's girlfriend.
One of the other tenants refused to comment, and another tenant could not be reached for comment.
Rizzo and his attorney refused to comment on the case after yesterday's hearing.
Rizzo's preliminary hearing will be at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6.
— Edited by Melinda Weaver
Students, youth fight violence
By Andrew Davies writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Six University of Kansas psychology graduate students want to supplement area schobls' violence-prevention programs and get parents, teachers and students involved.
The graduate students are assigned to one of seven area school districts, where they set up programs as separate forums for students, teachers and parents.
The students show each group a 20-minute video, *Warning Signs*, produced by MTV and the American Psychological Association. The video, aimed towards middle and high school students, discusses ways to prevent violence and lists warning signs for acts of violence.
After watching the video, a KU student leads a discussion about the video and reactions to it and discusses ways to prevent violence.
The KU students work under the supervision of a certified school pscholologist.
The project is helping participating KU students finish a oneyear College of Liberal Arts and Sciences practicum requirement.
Joe Nyre, assistant director of student services for the Lawrence School District, said the program was a chance for Mandy Goodnight, Lawrence graduate student assigned to the Lawrence school district, to complete her practicum.
He said if Goodnight's program was successful and passed certain criteria, the school district would adopt it for its existing program.
Nyre said the school had used violence-prevention programs for the past 10 to 12 years.
"If this turns out to be a good addition to our program, we'll certainly add it," he said.
School violence has become a concern in the last few years. Since 1997, shootings have taken
place in Pearl, Miss., West Paducah, KY, Jonesboro, Ark., Springfield, Ore., and Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
More recently, Royal Valley High School in Hoyt narrowly missed being added to the list. Acting on the tip of a student, officials were able to catch three students who were suspected of planning a Columbine-like attack.
Only two districts have started programs with the graduate students or have plans to conduct a forum. Erin Wiggs, Olathe graduate student who is assigned to the Paola and Louisburg school districts, has conducted a forum.
Jason Rehfeldt, Lawrence graduate student who is assigned to the Kansas City, Kan., school district, plans to hold a discussion.
Amanda Henry, Lawrence graduate student who is assigned to the DeSoto school district, said she would target the program at the middle school level. Henry
said she hoped the programs would help both students and teachers recognize behavior problems.
"It's scary anywhere when you hear teachers talking about behaviors kids have," she said, "But they don't recognize the damage of the behavior."
Steven Lee, associate professor of pre-psychology and research in education and director of the University school-pyschology program, said that the program would be evaluated for effectiveness at the end of the semester and that school district officials would be able to offer their reactions.
One concern that has already been raised, Lee said, is that the programs might inadvertently encourage violent behavior. The school districts want to increase awareness, he said, but they are concerned that discussing some of the issues might give an individual an idea to do something bad.
Edited by Jay Pilgreen
City tries corn-based alternative fuels
Three Ford Taurus cars that run on a 75 percent ethanol-25 percent gasoline mixture have hit the streets of Lawrence. City manager Mike Wildgen said the city was looking for alternative fuels to help reduce costs as energy costs increased. Photo by Nick Krug/KANSAN
CORN CARS
By Erin Adamson
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Three cleaner-burning cars that run on a blend of ethanol and gasoline have hit Lawrence streets.
Ethanol is a fuel made by fermenting grain, corn or other biological matter. The city will use ethanol made from corn alcohol in three Ford Tauruses.
Mike Wildgen, Lawrence city manager, said the city was looking for alternatives to gasoline fuel that would help save money as energy costs increased. He said the city was planning for the future and alternative fuels made sense.
"It's just basic good management to look for alternative fuel," Wildgen said.
The city is working in partnership with the Kansas Corn Growers Association to provide ethanol fuel for city vehicles. The association promotes the use of corn for food and industrial purposes.
Karl Birns, instructor in environmental studies, said ethanol was a good option.
- "Ethanol by and large burns cleaner than gasoline." Birns said. "From that perspective, it's good."
The three Fords are built to run on regular gasoline or a mixture of ethanol and gasoline. The mixture is called E-75 fuel, which means that the fuel is 75 percent ethanol and 25 percent unleaded gasoline.
The city also has bought three new sedans that will run on an ethanol-blend fuel.
Wildgen said the city was looking at a number of other alternative fuel options for its vehicles.
"There's even an electric truck out there by Ford you can only lease that we're looking at." he said.
Stan Loeb, director of the environmental studies department, said the city was taking
an interesting step.
"It's good to look and see how it works." Loeb said.
Birns said that although cars running on ethanol usually didn't go as far per gallon as cars runnin on gasoline fuel, ethanol was generally cheaper, which saved money even though it burned faster.
"For a lot of reasons, ethanol makes sense." Birns said.
Loeb said one possible downside to running cars on ethanol-blend fuels was that they would not be as efficient in the summer.
"When ethanol evaporates, you get a lot of debris in the atmosphere," Loeb said.
Birns said that an organization called Clean Cities encouraged local governments to start using alternative fuels such as alcohol, propane and electricity. Birns, who is also the co-chairman of the Kansas City region Clean Cities coalition, said that Lawrence could join Manhattan and Kansas City by being designated a clean city by the organization.
Edited by Melinda Weaver
Information fair to ease transition for nontrads
By Michelle Ward
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Dale Smith made a promise to himself that he intended to keep — to earn a college degree. After more than 20 years in the Navy, the retired officer is taking on his challenge at the University of Kansas.
While Smith, a Kansas City, Mo., junior, has learned the ropes through time, other nontraditional students still are adjusting to college life.
The Student Development Center will offer a one-stop informational program, "Nontrads" Campus Connections," from 2:30 to 5 p.m. tomorrow at the Big 12 Room in the Kansas Union.
"Primarily, we are trying to provide an opportunity for new and continuing nondrills to get information from various University offices," said Laura Morgan, assistant director of student development.
The afternoon will begin with greetings from administrators, followed by a short talk from student representatives, and then an individual question-and-answer session.
The student development center is sponsoring the informational forum in the middle of the semester rather than the beginning for a specific reason, Morgan said. Many students have one set of questions at orientation and a different set once classes have begun.
"It is a chance for folks who now have a few weeks of class under their belt to ask some new questions." Morgan said.
For Smith, the retired Navy man, the hardest adjustment is one that transcends nontraditional students to the entire student body.
"The most difficult transition for me was employing self-discipline in regards to putting in the hours of study needed to be successful." Smith said. "Working full time is in many ways easier than attending college full time."
Edited by Matt Daugherty
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