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Thursday. December 9, 1993
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Desks, Beds, Chests and Bookcases Everything But Ice 936 Mass.
842-2442 840 Massachusetts
THE GRANADA
•Giant Indoor Moon Bounce •
•DJ and Lights •
Friday December 10th
Bring a can of food for those less fortunate
and the groove is $1.00 cheaper
1020 Massachusetts
WAYNE'S WORLD 2
Lawrence residents still battling flood
By Carlos Tejada
Kansan staff writer
Last summer's flooding is more than just a memory for some homeowners in North Lawrence.
In fact, for Cynthia Butler, Lawrence resident, the flood is as close as her own basement.
Butler's basement and the basements of several homes near Lake Street have been filled by rising ground water. Butler said her basement has had at least an inch of water on the floor.
"I've put all my life savings and all my efforts into this," she said, indicating the house she is remodeling. "I don't know what I'm going to be forced to do."
The rising ground water level is the result of last summer's heavy rains, which dumped more than 18 inches of rain on the Lawrence area. Much of that water has lingered in the North Lawrence soil. Because the area once provided drainage into the Kansas River, the soil consists of materials that naturally absorb water.
And Butler said the city had not done enough to address the problem.
"You can kind of think of it as a deep trough that for years has been filled with sand, gravel and clay," said Jim McCauley, a geologist for the Kansas Geological Survey.
In places where the water table is higher than the ground, the rising level has given Lake Street's name a measure of irony. Ponds created by last summer's rain lie east and north of Butler's house.
McCauley said the result was a higher water table, which is the level at which water instead of air fills spaces in the ground. According to the United States Geological Survey, the water table is five feet higher than average.
Butler said the city should pump the water out of the ground or buy out the properties of the affected homeowners. She said different city officials had given her conflicting information about what the city would do.
Lawrence resident Cynthia Butter contemplates the damage inflicted to her property by this summer's flood. Her house is in northeast Lawrence near city limits, where residual flood water is still visible.
"The right hand does not know what the left hand
is doing," Butler said.
Bob Moody, city commissioner, said the city probably would do nothing. He said the city did not have the funds to either remove the water or buy the property. He also said such actions were not the city's responsibility.
"The city cannot protect all people from all things," he said.
Home-buyers should be aware that most of North Lawrence lies on a 100-year flood plain, which means it has a one-in-a-hundred chance of flooding each year.
100-year flood plains to be built two feet above the ground. But houses such as Butler's — which survived a disastrous flood in 1951 — were excluded because the regulations went into effect in the late 1970s.
Gene Shaughnessy, chief building inspector for the city, said current regulations require houses on
Requiring houses to be built at a certain level above the water table is impossible, Shaughnessy, said.
"Anything in North Lawrence damaged by the rising water table is out of our hands," he said. "There's no way we can predict water table levels."
Shaughnessy said the best solution for Butler and her neighbors was to pump the water out of their basements and hope for less rain.
'Oodles' of high-tech games draw in shoppers
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan staff writer
Some KU students might secretly wish they could once again sit on Santa's lap and ask for toys like they did when they believed in the man in the red suit with the full white beard.
Wishes still come true; and the toy industry is doing all it can to keep up with the demand of adults who are still kids at heart.
Burt Hochburg, senior editor of Games magazine, said the magazine even hired people to test games.
"They're hired to play the games on the market to determine if each game is worthy of being a part of our top-100 list," he said.
The list is compiled annually to inform game lovers about what is hot on the market. Hochburg said party games were the trend this holiday season.
Hochburg said one of this year's most popular games among college students was "Oodles," a game new to the store shelves this season.
Mark Morris, public relations manager for Milton Bradley, said "Oodles" was unlike any trivia game.
"It's the opposite of Trivial Pursuit in that you're using the oodles of
knowledge already in your head — asked in a creative way, "he said.
Another game that might become popular among KU students is the electronic board game, "Omega Virus," which comes complete with sound effects and timer.
The purpose of the game, Morris said, is to find the virus which is hidden in a space station room on the game board. If the virus is not found before time runs out, the space station explodes. "Omega Virus," sells for $37.
At MicroProse, a company specializing in computer software, Gary Almes, director of public relations, said the top game for computer buffs was an award-winning game called, "Civilization."
Civilization is a game that begins with the first civilization and goes through to the space age. Almessaid it was fast-paced and almost realistic.
"It has virtually no end and no limits," Almes said. "You can play it as long as you want and create your own world. But it's addictive."
At Fun and Games, 816 Massachusetts St., manager Larry Cornelius said the demand for toys by students varied from complex electronic board games to stuffed animals.
"The 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Board Game, with sound effects, is a new popular item with students," Cornelius said. "The demand is high. We ordered it in June, and we just got it in."
BASKETBALL TICKETS
ATTN: STUDENTS REDEMPTION PERIOD
GROUP #5
DECEMBER 13 - DECEMBER 15
8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
GAMES:
JAN. 10 - OKLAHOMA SOONERS
JAN. 17 - KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
JAN. 26 - OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
Athletic Ticket Office
East Lobby
8:00 a.m.
Allen Fieldhouse
5:00 p.m.
** YOU MAY ONLY REDEEM ONE COUPON PER PERSON.
** YOU MUST HAVE A BLUE FALL 1995 OR KEE STICKER ON YOUR KUID TO RECEIVE YOUR TICKETS.
** WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST OR STOLEN COUPONS.
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