University Daily Kansan / Thursday, November 10, 1988
3
Campus/Area
KU on Wheels embezzler still hasn't paid up
By Jay A. Cohen Kansan staff writer
A former coordinator of KU on Wheels who embezzled more than $257,000 from the Student Senate financed program has paid only $2.860 in restitution.
price paid.
Since then, he has made two additional payments, $100 in August and $50 in September.
$50 in September.
McCurry's payments and a $50,000 payment made by the insurance company that bonded him have been turned over to the KU on Wheels program, which is holding the money as part of a contingency fund, said Scott Russell, current coordinator of KU on Wheels.
KU on Wheels includes the bus system, Secure Shuttle and lift vans for disabled students.
Russell said that KU on Wheels' accounting procedures had been changed as a result of McMurry's embezzlement and that a recent audit found that no further changes needed to be made.
According to court records,
McMurry embezzled the money from the bus system between 1978 and 1982. He was arrested in September 1982 and charged with five counts of felony theft.
teacher. He was convicted in June 1983 and sentenced to one concurrent and four consecutive two- to five-year prison terms. The sentence was modified in November 1983 to five concurrent two- to five-year terms.
McMurry also was ordered to pay restitution of $257,051.17.
He was granted parole in February 1985 after spending 17 months in Kansas state prisons.
In 1884, the University of Kansas filed a civil suit and won a judgment against McMurry for that amount.
Mary Prewitt, KU assistant general counsel, said now that McMurry had completed his criminal sentence, the only hold the University had on him was through the civil suit.
She would not comment on what action the University was taking to enforce the judgment of the civil suit.
To pursue a civil judgment, the University would have to file a certified copy of the judgment in Colorado. McMurry's wages could be garnished or any non-exempt assets could be seized, Prewitt said.
Gimme shelter
Afternoon rain prompts Lisa Meiman, Fort Collins, Colo., junior, left, and Meg Porteous, Teopak junior, to huddle under an umbrella after
leaving class. KU Weather Service is calling for a high today of 53 degrees with clearing skies. The service predicts a low of 24 tonight.
Paralympian wins 4 medals
By Grace Hobson
Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
Tracy Miller did Danny Manning one better at the Seoul Olympics
In fact, she did Manning four better.
**In training:** She was in the 1988 Paralympics, Miller, Lawrence graduate student, brought four silver medals. Manning, competing in the Seoul Olympics with the U.S. men's basketball team, won a bronze medal.
Miller competed in track in the 800,1,500,5,000 meters and the marathon as part of the U.S. Disabled Sports Team. Miller said a woman from Belgium beat her in all four events.
To race, Miller uses a specially designed wheelchair, which costs between $1,000 and $2,000. The chair doesn't have arm rests and is lighter than regular wheelchairs.
have all tests and a right. Miller said that to prepare for the games, she did short workouts three or four days a week, one long day of about 20 miles, and one shorter day of 11 miles. She said she didn't start to train until about June when she found out she was eligible for the Olympics.
Bill Botten, Overland Park senior, trained daily with her for about seven weeks before the games. Botten, who introduced Miller to racing when he met her at the Rehabilitation Institute in Kansas City, Mo., said she did
even better than he had expected.
She improved her times even over what she did in training," he said. "You train so hard that you hope it pays off in the long run, but you just never know. She's progressing really fast."
Miller said her time in the marathon was her best ever. She completed the 26 miles in her wheelchair in 2 hours, 16 minutes, compared with her previous best of 2 hours, 37 minutes.
"Just from seeing my time in the marathon, I was really encouraged to continue racing." Miller said. "I have high hopes for the spring. I will work really hard this winter."
Miller said the competing year began in the spring, even though there were usually races year-round. Having been racing for less than two years, Miller said she was only one step behind her opponent and she will compete in a marathon in Columbus, Ohio
The support Koreans had for the paralympic athletes was the brightest part of her trip, Miller said. The 100,000-seat Olympic Stadium was packed during the week's events, held Oct. 16 through 24.
"We were lined up waiting for the opening ceremonies, and the stadium was so big that I thought that there would be only about 40 people there," she said. "That's how it would be here."
Student Senate grants $3,466 for printing of Disorientation
By Craig Welch
Kansan staff writer
The bill received lengthy debate with some senators complaining that the guide was a political publication — one that Senate should not finance.
Student Senate passed a $3,466 bill last night to finance the printing and publicity for Disorientation, a 32-page alternative resource guide.
Jay Gerber, liberal arts and sciences senator, said the publication had endorsed political opinions in the past, had failed to seek alternative financing before approaching Senate and contained information that, although interesting, could be found elsewhere.
An older edition of the guide included a listing of local restaurants
senator, quoted the Senate code.
"The Student Senate will work to further the cultural, social and political growth of KU students," he said. "The Student Senate shall strive to protect and enhance the student's right to free speech."
In response, Paul Leader, law
Leader said Disorientation fit under each of the headings. He also said that Disorientation had been financed by previous Senates.
In other business, Senate debated for almost an hour on a $197 bill to finance a newsletter and publicity for the newly formed Campus Vegetarian Society. The bill eventually was defeated.
debarated.
Christine Stanek, architecture senator, said the information the group wanted to disseminate can be obtained easily from Watkins Memorial Health Center. She also
suggested that the group wait a few months to ask Senate for money so that it could become better established.
Senate also took the following actions:
■ passed a $2,040 bill to help finance performances by the University Dance Club
■ passed a $1,200 bill to maintain the Senate typing room in Watson Library
■ passed a $1,092 bill to cover an increase in phone expenses for 11 student organizations
passed an $885 bill to finance the KU Sailing Club
- approved a $385 bill to finance the International Association of Students in Economics and Commerce.
KU Space Program's future remains up in the air after Senate kills bill
Bv Katv Monk
By Katy Monk
Kansan staff writer
The KU Space Program is fighting for its existence after a $10,000 financing request was killed Nov. 2 by the Student Senate Finance Committee.
At a meeting yesterday, program officers and school of engineering officials sought ways to save the program's 1989 space shuttle flight experiments. The program has a contract with NASA to send a canister containing five experiments into space.
containing two pieces.
About half of the $10,393 was requested for equipment for pre-testing and half for materials to be sent into space.
Maharya Rahbarrad, program president, said after yesterday's meeting that Carl Locke, dean of engineering, had proposed a challenge grant in which the school would match money the club raised, up to about $2.000.
Rahbarbad said other proposals included incorporating the program's needs into Campaign Kansas fund raising, approaching chairmen of departments that have students involved in the space program and looking to corporations with equipment the program could use.
Saeed Farokhi, the program's faculty adviser, said he found the finance committee's decision hard to believe
If no money can be found to support the project, Farokhi will have to contact NASA to cancel the experiment, which he said would be embarrassing, disappointing to the students involved and a bad signal to KU students and faculty.
Farokhi said the space program offered students hands-on experience not offered in KU classrooms. That experience can attract potential engineering students.
“Our relationship to NASA and the space shuttle puts us in the frontiers of space exploration and scientific research related to space,” he said. “This is a unique opportunity open to universities at a very low cost to participate in space research."
"There's not a question of the importance of that kind of effort," he said. "It's more a question of wise use of the activity fund."
But Paul Leader, co-chairman of the finance committee, said the program's significance alone did not warrant Senate funds.
Leader said the committee killed the bill for three reasons: The amount requested, $10,383, was too big a chunk of the $10,300 unallocated account; the club did not appeal to a broad base of students; and the committee considered the group's financial responsibility questionable.
Craig Citron, student body treasurer, said the group misused Senate last year in thinking that a $3,000 request granted by the Senate was for one time only.
But Farokhi and Rahbarrar said Senate had misunderstood that point. Farokhi said the program was intended to become a permanent feature of KU's space education and had never been intended as a one-time project.
before yesterday's meeting. Farokhi said no effort would be spared to assure the program's future.
"We have taken it so far," he said. "We can't just drop the ball."
Kansan Fact:
KU students spend over $4 million a month on discretionary items.
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