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University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, February 7, 1989
9
Electric supply inadequate
Many Lawrence residences maintain outdated systems
by Candy Niemann Kansan staff writer
When Andrea Anders turns on an appliance, she worries about what her neighbors are up to.
Sone wonders what appliances her neighbors are using and whether the electrical system can handle one more thing.
Anders, an Oklahoma City graduate student, lives in one of four apartments in an old home in the 900 block of Ohio Street. It is an area that Lawrence electrician Michael Lipp has said is full of fire hazards and inadequate electrical systems.
The home Anders lives in was built in 1900, and the meter in the back says that each apartment is supplied with 30 ammeses of electricity.
According to 1887 codes, a single-family dwelling should be equipped with a minimum of 100 amperes. An ampere is the standard unit for measuring the strength of an electrical current.
Anders lives alone, so she hopes that 30 amperes will be enough for her needs. Her apartment is heated by natural gas.
Each time electrical codes are updated, they apply only to homes that will be built or remodeled after the codes are adopted. The older the home, the more likely it is to have an inadequate electric supply, especially if it was turned into a multi-unit dwelling many years ago.
"They are being used for something they weren't designed for." Lipp said.
Electricians encounter the problem in older homes throughout Lawrence.
throughout Lawrence.
"There's a world of them out there," said Joe Bales,
Lawrence electrician. "And it is like pulling teeth to get
the owners to do anything about them."
Bales said he does almost all his work on older homes that can't handle an adequate amount of electricity. "We need to get better," Fire
The inadequate wiring taxes the Lawrence Fire
Department, too.
Ten of Lawrence's 135 residential fires in 1987 were caused by electrical distribution equipment, said Richard Barr, fire marshal. He cited improper use, overload and age as primary factors.
overload and age. Anders' electrical system supports a radiator, a radiator, a television, a space heater and four lamps. There is one smoke detector in the living room, but the batteries are dead.
batteries
you've never about it sometimes, but there's not a whole lot
I can do," she said.
Residents should direct their complaints to their landlord and Tim Pinnick, the city electrical inspector. If the residence has inadequate wiring, the owner must upgrade it to the city's standards.
upgrade it to the city's standard.
Mary Jacobson, owner of Property Management Services, which owns Anders' apartment, had no comment on the electrical systems.
Teresa Murphy, minimum housing and environment inspector, said she received about three complaints each week. But she said that many of the complaints came from students who wanted to break their leases.
four students
"I tell them that's not what I'm here for," Murphy said.
Murphy said the electrical requirements varied,
depending on the residence. Repair costs also differ
widely, depending on the extent of the problem and the
residence's wiring.
In addition to the problems on Ninth and Ohio streets, Murphy has received complaints from residents in the 1000 block of Tennessee Street, the 1400 block of Ohio Street, the 1300 block of Louisiana and New Jersey streets, Indiana Street, and North Lawrence.
The problem is compounded by the fact that some contractors refuse to work on the older wiring systems for fear of injury, Lipp said.
Meanwhile, Anders continues to live in her 30-ampere bone — waiting, watching and crossing her fingers.
Paraguay's leader promises elections
The Associated Press
ASUNCION, Paraguay — Gen. Andres Rodriguez, who seized power in a violent coup last week, denied links with the drug traffic and announced yesterday that elections will be held May 1, with only Communists excluded.
Four friends of ousted President Alfredo Stroessner, who ruled Paraguay for nearly 35 years until the coup, were accused of using public money and graft to obtain "luxurious mansions, expensive apartments abroad and sumptuous automobiles."
"Belleve me, total casualties, dead plus wounded, do not exceed 50." Rodriguez said.
The general spoke about casualties that occurred during eight hours of fighting Thursday night on Friday that ousted Stroessner.
Earlier estimates by embassies and civilian witnesses put the number of dead alone at nearly 300, but no official figures have been released.
Rodriguez also said Congress had been dissolved and that the new president would take office immediately upon election. Some opposition leaders said they didn't have enough time to prepare for
Stressores was given asylum in neighboring Brazil and was staying in Imbiaria, a remote city 270 miles southwest of Brasilia. He is living in a house owned by the government power company, which operates a dam on the nearby Paranaiba River.
At the first presidential news conference Paraguayans could remember, Rodriguez said rumors of his involvement with the drug trade were spread by people trying to defame him.
"I detest drugs," he said. "I swear as a Catholic and as a family man, I swear on my child. I have no connections with drugs."
Paraguay has become a way station for cocaine produced in neighboring Bolivia.
Poland begins historic talks
The Associated Press
WARSAW. Poland — The government's top delegate to historic talks with the opposition opened the first session yesterday by offering to legalize Solidarity if the union agreed to economic and political reforms.
Interior Minister Gen. Czeslaw Kiszczak, seated opposite Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, called for the government to participate in Poland's government.
Fifty-seven delegates from the government, the opposition and the Roman Catholic Church gathered for the talks at the orate Council of Ministers Palace, the building where the Warsaw Pact was created.
one delegates met for about three hours and issued a short communique that said talks by three working groups would resume tomorrow. One group will consider economic and social reforms and the third the issue of allowing more than one union to exist.
"We were brought together here by the sense of responsibility for the future of our motherland," Kiszczak told the participants, the state-run news agency PAP reported.
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