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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PUBLISHED SINCE 1889 BY THE STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8. 1989
(USPS 650-640)
Explosive found next to road
by Angela Clark
Kansan staff writer
People in southwest Douglas County might have had a blast if Glenn Rosebrough Jr. hadn't gone hunting.
"We were traveling down a dirt road, looking for coyotes," Rosebrough said. "And we saw a thermos on the side of the road. My friend needed a lid for his thermos, and so he got the right kind, so we opened it."
In the two-gallon thermos, Rosebrough found four pounds of the explosive ammonium nitrate and some booster caps.
"It was an everyday drinking thermos," he said. "I opened it and saw plastic caps and three white sausage-like tubes of gel. I knew what it
was, and it seared me. One of the tubes was open and it was leaking all over the caps."
Rosebrough and his friend left the thermos by the side of the road, 1/2 miles southwest of Globe and two miles north of Rosebrough's line, and went home to call the police.
"I didn't want any kids or a farmer standing by it if it exploded," he said. "So I decided that I should report it."
VOL.99, NO.88
The sheriff did not know what to do with the explosives, so he called the Topeka police's Alcohol, Tax and Firearms bomb unit.
Gary Ross, a lieutenant with the Topeka Police bomb unit, said that four pounds of the explosive was a considerable amount.
"It is a lot, really," he said. "It could easily demolish a house if you
put it in there."
Ross said that the boosters and ammonium nitrate were confiscated by the bomb unit and would be disposed of in a Topeka rock quarry. He said an investigation would begin immediately.
"It's a safe explosive as explosives go," Landgrebe said. "It's not that easy to detonate. You need a good bomb or detonator to get it to explode."
Ammonium nitrate is not the most volatile explosive, said John Landgrebe. KU professor of chemistry.
"Nowadays it is common because it is being mixed with nitroglucerin to save money. It makes it not so, and probably cheaper, too," he said.
explosive, said Landgrebe. in detonated, particles move at a rate of 1,100 meters per second, as opposed to the more dangerous nitroglycerin, which moves at a rate of 8,500 meters per second.
He said it would explode if tightly confined and heated.
Ross said ammonium nitrate was in the form of a slurry, meaning gel-like.
"It is basically the consistency of Jell-O." Ross said. "This particular sample was silver, but it could be dark and smell like fish or be black in color. It depends on the company that makes the nitrate."
Ross said that the gel found in the field could not have exploded on its own.
"It takes a booster, the nitrate and
Hunters find explosives
caps to explode," he said. "You need a set of the three, and there was only two at the scene."
Source: Topeka Police Bomb Squad
KANSAN Graphic
No blasting caps were found at the
Ammonium nitrate gel and boosters cannot be bought over the counter, Ross said.
Bush plan for S&Ls approved
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators wasted no time yesterday implementing portions of President Bush's savings and loan rescue plan as members of Congress pledged quick action on the parts of the package that would require congressional approval.
Officials of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which insures deposits at commercial banks, and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp, which performs the same function for savings and loans, put into effect an interim supervisory program for insolvent S&Ls.
Bush's plan to overhaul the SAL industry, which the president unveiled Monday, calls for the FDU to take control of the SAL insurance fund.
While the funds contributed by banks and SSLs would be kept separate, the FDIC would manage both funds under Bush's proposal. The total takeover of the SSL insurance would require congressional approval.
Both Democrats and Republicans yesterday pledged to seek a bipartisan solution to the SAL crisis and the state budget. It is the early days of his administration.
However, federal regulators yesterday said they did not have to wait to begin coordinating certain supermarket functions of the two insurance funds.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Donald Riegle, D-Mich., said and Sen. Jake Garn of Utah, the panel's ranking Republican, would
SeeS&Ls p. 6, col. 3
Shadows and light
Mid-afternoon sunlight shines into the fifth floor stairwell of Malott Hall as Mike Wahweotten, Topeka freshman, heads toward the meteorology lab.
Bush OKs pay raise rejection
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Bush says he still wants some sort of pay raise for Congress, judges and top federal officials, even though he signifies the death warrant for a 51 percent increase he initially endorsed.
Bush was "inviting suggestions" for future raise proposals at a meeting with Republican senators vestering to Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.
And in a White House statement released after he signed the resolution defeating the raise, Bush said, "I believe that some level of pay increase is in order, and I will be working with the House and Senate leadership to develop proposals to make it easier for me to express my special concern about the level of compensation for members of our federal judiciary."
The House voted 380-48 yesterday, and the Senate followed suit, 94-6, in
passing legislation to reject a pay raise plan for lawmakers, top bureaucrats and members of the federal bench.
Bush signed the measure several hours before the midnight deadline that would have allowed the raises to become law, including a boost in congressional salary from $89,500 to $135,000.
The pay issue got the 101st Con-
SeeBUSH, p. 6, col. 3
Students should wear extra layers to prevent frostbite, doctors agree
bv Jennifer Corser
Kansan staff writer
Although the weather may seem cold enough to freeze
and gaze, *U* students usually do not frostbite.
However, there are some precautions to take, just in case.
Charles Yockey, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said frostbite usually occurred when the temperature was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit or lower and someone was outside for 17 to 18 hours. Poor blood circulation also increases the chances of getting frost-bite.
Students usually have good blood circulation and are not outside for long periods of time. Yockey said.
"Fortunately, frostbite in this age group is very rare." Yockey said.
Frostbite occurs when a body part is unable to get enough oxygen, Yockey said. When the tissue becomes cold, the blood moves sluggishly through the blood vessels and causes redness. Frostbite can be ice crystals that can form in the tissue and cause damage.
Although one has received treatments for frostbite recently at Watkins, students still should avoid frostbite by wearing layers of clothing, keeping dry and not smoking. Yoycke said.
Smoking constricts blood vessels and slows the blood flow, he said. If a person is a smoker and is diagnosed
with frostbitte, the physician will prevent him or her from smoking until after recuperation.
Common myths about frostbite treatment can make the problem worse. Yockey said. These myths include: 1) It is not true that frostbite is caused by exposure to cold.
"If someone does suspect frostbite, prompt medical attention is mandatory," he said.
The frostbitten area should be warmed slowly and treated like a burn, he said. Burn creams are usually applied to the area to prevent infections from open wounds, but there is several weeks for frostbite wounds to heal completely.
Frostbite is classified as either superficial or extendive. Yockey said. If the frostbite is severe enough, the bib will be removed.
Anytime someone gets frostbite, however mild or
increase let the chances of getting it again in the future
Jody Woods, nurse practitioner, said the worst case of frostbite she had seen was when a KU student had come back from a ski trip with third-degree frostbite. He had to keep his feet wrapped for about two months.
Woods said that she had treated people who were drunk and had gotten frostbite. Alcohol is not antiriease, as some people believe, but it dulls the senses so that they don't do not realize they are getting frostbite, she said.
Sensitivity the best approach for Turner
by James Farquhar
Skip Turner, director of the office of affirmative action at KU
Kansan staff writer
James A. Turner is quick to insist that you call him Skip.
His vigorous handshake and wide smile are indicative of the way he lives and of the way he has changed KU's office of affirmative
His boss, Judith Ramaley, said that the office had made strides to improve its relationship with the team, which he said since Turner had taken the helm.
In June 1987, Turner was appointed director of the office, after serving as its associate director for three years. As director, he guided the organization's dispatched mediation to the tools the office uses to resolve clashes.
"Skip and I have tried to turn the emphasis of the affirmative action office around," said Ramaley, executive vice chancellor. "The office is trying to work more with people from the people it serves. And I think much in the University appreciate the change."
The office exists to resolve grievances involving alleged violations of University equal opportunity and affirmative action programs.
With mediation, affirmative action officials talk with the parties involved before filing cases and determine the discrimination hearing board.
Tom Berger, program assistant and mediator for the office, said that the new procedural changes
Janet Koch, a co-worker of Turner's, said the new procedures helped in several ways. As office specialist, Koch manages the day-to-day activities in the office of affirmative action.
"Last year all the complaints filed were mediated." Berger said. "None went through to the discrimination hearing board."
had added to the office's effectiveness. In previous years, he said, the discrimination hearing board handled about 15 cases each year.
"Mediation works because we work with the people directly instead of shuffling them through the formal process." Koch said. "It's an indication that we really want to help them."
As a result, she said, the percep-
tpeople have of KU's office of affirmative action has improved
affirmative action has improved. However, affirmative action offices around the country, which now are required by Congress at major state colleges, bring sour thoughts to the minds of many.
"Sometimes they're viewed as watchdog organizations, and they might have viewed us as stimulators when they tried to use." Koch said.
"But now, it's not so much like we're telling them what to do," she said. "I think University offices feel more like they're working with us to improve the environment of the University."
Turner came to the University of Kansas in 1977 from the office of affirmative action at Central
Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. Moving to KU was a positive turning point in his life because of the progressive attitudes of many people in the region, he said. The school's creative culture is nurtured by its top administrators, was another strong point.
"Compared to Michigan, the atmosphere of Kansas is extremely humane and non-prejudicial," Turner said. "I have a lot of respect for Judith Ramaley. She is an exceptional teacher who provide an open and honest atmosphere I haven't found in other parts of the country."
Grade school politics
Get Turner talking politics and you may find yourself in an all-day discussion. Politics, particularly the politics of civil rights, almost always have been a staple of Turner's life.
"I've been in civil rights since I was a kid." he said.
In fact, at age 11, Turner was one of the "Norfolk 17," a group of 17 black elementary students who were the first blacks to attend a previously all-white school amid national controversy in Norfolk, Va.
The city's school district decided to close its doors in defiance of federal-court ordered desegregation.
A full semester passed without public education in the Navy town
See SENSITIVITY, p. 6, col. 6
Commission starts fire code proposal
Kansan staff writer
by Carrie Harper
University of Kansas fraternities and sororites will have to install complete sprinkler systems if the Lawrence City Commission adopts the proposed 1988 Uniform Fire Code.
The commission began discussion last night on the fire code, which would include an amendment requiring sprinkler systems in newly constructed apartments and hotels with elevated levels or containing 15 living units.
The proposed fire codes would not affect KU residence halls because they are state-owned, said Jim McSwain. Lawrence fire chief
MeSwitain said that the extensive damage in the 1987 Sigma Phi Epison fire could have been prevented by a sprinkler system.
McSainn said that 21 KU Greek houses already had installed, or were planning to install, full or partial sprinkler systems by the end of the
John Eauu, a member of the Delta Upsilon board of directors, said that the student organizations office had not been notified by the fire department that the ordinance was to be presented last night.
At the beginning of the discussion,
the commission said it would continue listening to public comment on the fire code at next week's meeting because it had been told they had not been notified.
The Chelsea Group had revised a design presented to the commission two weeks ago to comply with commissioners' requests for a decorative promenade deck and facade changes.
The commission also approved the Chelsea Group's final design for the riverfront factory outlet shopping centre, which means construction can begin.
The commission no longer will be involved with the project unless design problems arise, Commissioner Sandra Praeger said.
"We're done," she said. "The wrecking ball can fall."
Protect Our Eagles' Trees, a local environmental environment, announced today that it would file a lawsuit in federal court in 60 days if federal agencies did not take further action to protect the bald eagles that spend the winter on the Kansas River in Lawrence.
John Lungsturm, attorney for the Chelsea Group, said that he was disregarding the possible lawsuit because experts had unanimously agreed that the necessary preservation steps had been taken.
"It is difficult for us to take that 'it very seriously in light of the thought that has gone into dealing with pre-urban eagle habitat'. Langurum said.