Multimedia Reporting (Kuhr-Volek)

Drivers face harsh road conditions during winter. Snow and ice aren't the only issues drivers worry about on the road. KUJH's Bill Walberg explains more about this bumpy situation.

Aly Rodee drove her white Honda sedan down 15th Street on the way to class, until she got lost--in a line of potholes.

“I find myself getting lost in more potholes this year than last year,” Rodee said. “My car is probably going to end up in the shop.”

The last few weeks of winter have given auto shops a boost in business, according to local auto mechanics. Residents made their way to tire and auto-repair shops when the spring-like weather melted the snow and exposed the potholes last week.

Trevor Locke, a service advisor for Laird Noller Auto Dealer, has already seen an increase of customers in the service department.

“This time of year we get a lot more people in for realignment cases. People drive over the potholes and it throws their alignment off. We don’t have exact numbers right now because the season isn’t over, but the trend is definitely there,” Locke said.

Alignment issues do cause for drivers problems, but cost less than other pothole problems, like rim and tire damage. Realignment costs ranges from $40 to $70 depending on the car, but fixing or replacing a rim or tire can range from $100-$250.

Mike Grammer, the Service Manager for Don’s Auto Shop, explained that during this time of year, it just takes one pothole to cost you a lot of money.

“If you just drive over one of these at around 45 mph you could throw your steering off; bend your rim; or even pop your tire which can cost you a lot more,” Grammer said.

Grammer offered some advice to save you, the driver, some money.

“Wait until the pothole season is over in about 30-45 days and then get your alignment done.”

Lawrence residents’ pothole problems will increase in numbers because there is still a chance for snow and ice in the upcoming weeks.

Dena Mezger, the associate director for infrastructure and maintenance of public works, says the numbers will probably increase from last year.

“The number of potholes went down last year probably because it was a warm winter. This year, because we did have a major freeze, it would not surprise me if the number of potholes continue to increase,” Mezger said.

The Public Works Department is going to dent its problem with their $2.7 million budget to repave roads, clear snow and ice, and fill the potholes.

The budget is down from last year because a decrease in city revenue. Mezger says the decrease in the budget will not prevent her department from fixing the problem.

“Since we had a major freeze this year, we have to watch our budget pretty closely. Our pothole situation has been a lot worse during the past few weeks because of the weather. But if we do need more money, there should be ways to get it,” Mezger said.

Lawrence has been working on the situation since the warm weather arrived. The Public Works Department has had their workers out in force to fill the holes temporarily.

City workers, like Rupert Holliday, have been filling approximately 20 holes each day. Rupert Holliday, known as the pothole king by his coworkers, explained his daily routine.

“We clean out the holes and fill them. Then we put a ‘wacker-packer’ layer on top that should make the temporary fix last until summer. When we get to summer, we’ll put some hot mix in and permanently fix it with hot asphalt,” Holliday said.

Aly Rodee was lost in a world of potholes, but has seen progress around Lawrence and the University of Kansas campus.

“I’ve seen people put some sort of asphalt in to fill the holes. It seems to work for a while, so it’s nice for a while. The only problem is that it doesn’t last that long,” Rodee said.

Residents, like Rodee, can help out with the problem by reporting potholes on the Lawrence Public Works pothole website or by calling 832-3456.

Lawrence had 10 travel agencies 10 years ago. One by one, the travel agencies disappeared like businesses during the Great Depression. In 2007, only four travel agencies remain: Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Travelers Inc., STA travel, and Lawrence Travel Center. The culprit for this loss of Lawrence travel agencies has been the internet.

“The internet has had a major impact on travel agencies around here. There used to be 10 or 11(travel agencies), and now there are three. For us, it’s been both good and bad. It’s been good for publicity, but it was hard on business for local travel,” Armstrong said.

He’s right. It’s been bad for business. The number of agencies in the US has dropped 6.2% over the past 10 years after being projected to increase by 24 percent by the Bureau of Labor Services. In fact, the Bureau predicts the industry to decline through the year 2014.

Airlines played the major role in this decline. In the mid ‘90s, Lawrence travel agencies focused on booking flights for their customers. Booking flights was easy money. The agents made 10% commission when they made a sale.

The airlines cut this commission to five percent in 1999. It did not hurt business because travel agencies were still booking 80 percent of the flights. But business did suffer a huge blow in 2002 when major airlines cut commissions completely.

Lawrence travel agencies needed to charge service fees in order to counterbalance the lack of commission. It didn’t work for seven of Lawrence‘s travel agencies. Most of them have disappeared in the past three years.

College students necessary for success in Lawrence?

The Travel Industry Association of America says seven out of 10 people who book with travel agents are aged 34 and up, while only one-third of their customers are aged 18-34. This is a problem for travel agencies trying to keep up with the younger generations.

. Source: Travel Industry Association

STA Travel has solved this problem. It’s office is located in the Kansas Union on the main floor. STA’s main goal: book flights and vacations for students. It’s main palce to advertise is the University Daily Kansan and in the residence halls. STA Travel has seldom sold flights and packages to anyone old enough to buy a beer.

Their fiscal year almost identically lines with the school year. Business usually increases a few weeks before breaks.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in business with Spring Break coming up. The students were actually ahead of themselves this year. Most of them already booked their trips back in January,” Tim Davey, an STA travel advisor, said.

The branch in the union hasn’t noticed any negative effect from the internet during the few years they’ve been in the Kansas Union.

“We actually haven’t really noticed a decrease in business. We’ve had about the same traffic at the same times of the year,” Davey said.

Past keeps companies alive

Two Lawrence travel agencies, Carson Wagonlit Travel and Travellers Inc., both have stayed in the business for one reason: history. Both of these companies have backgrounds that go back 30 plus years.

Carson Wagonlit Travel’s President, Chris Armstrong, explained how his company’s background with experienced employees gave his company a boost during tough times.

“Our employees know what they’re doing. Some of our employees have been around since our beginning. We have no specific target audience. We just cater to the Lawrence natives,” Armstrong said.

The other historical travel agency, Traveller’s Inc. goes back even further than Carson Wagonlit. Traveller’s Inc. began in the early ‘90s, but stems back to the early ’50s under a different name, Moppen Tour Travel. [The company changed it’s name because the owner, Moppen, passed away.]

John Novotny, Vice-President of Operations for Travellers Inc., said they outlived the internet’s influence by doing what they did before there was internet.

“We just focused on travel packages and targeted different local businesses. Some of our clients are the KU Athletics Department and Hallmark. We’ve had people who’ve worked with us for over 54 years,” Novotny said.

Novontny offered some advice for anyone trying to stay in business.

“This isn’t a hobby. You have to make it a business.”

Dr. Darren Rausch, a veterinarian for Gentle Care Animal Hospital in Lawrence, walked into the patient’s room to deliver some bad news to Rachel Barnes, Hutchinson junior, about her recently-adopted orange tabby cat, C.K., short for Calvin Klein. He tested positive for FIV, or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, the feline version of AIDS.

C.K. is among the average of three to five FIV positive cats adopted out the Lawrence Humane Society every year. Barnes and the few other owners of FIV infected cats can blame funding for this problem.

The Lawrence Humane Society currently has an estimated budget of around $700,000. The city of Lawrence only gives the Humane Society $280,000 annually. That budget doesn’t even include the $525,000 for the 5,000 square-foot extension and necessary annual repairs.

That leaves Midge Grinstead, the Executive Director of the Lawrence Humane Society, responsible for 60% of the budget, just to keep the place running.

“We get some funding from the county; but, for the most part, we have to fundraise ourselves. It’s tough,” Grinstead said.

Because their budget is tight, the shelter’s staff is also affected. Grinstead said that sometimes they are understaffed so they can’t work efficiently.

What does this mean for the Lawrence Humane Society’s cats? Shannon Keithley, a caretaker at the shelter, also known as “cat woman”, says it’s impossible to test every cat.

“We don’t test every cat because of a lack of funds. We only test the ones that get sick and don’t get better. Sometimes we test the tom cats, which are the more aggressive males,” Keithley said.

Cats that test positive for FIV in the shelter’s FIV/Feline Leukemia combo test are usually put down. Under current Kansas Law, animal shelters cannot knowingly adopt out FIV positive cats.

“If we know that a cat is FIV positive, we wouldn’t adopt it out. We do have to do that because of legality issues and to curb the FIV problem. Most shelters outside the state don’t even test for FIV,” Keithley said.

The lack of funding for FIV expands to state and federal levels.

Dr. H.D. Lewis, a veterinarian at Lewis Veterinary Clinic, says the government divides its testing and vaccines for cat diseases into two different categories: core and noncore.

“Several government organizations pay attention to core vaccines and tests, like cat distemperment. FIV is in the noncore category, so tests and vaccines for the virus are put on the backburner. The best thing we can do is to treat the symptoms and hope for the best, if cats do get diagnosed,” Lewis said.

How common is FIV?

FIV currently infects close to three percent of cats in the United States. Although still a serious virus for cats and mimics the human form of AIDS, FIV cannot affect humans.

Dr. Rausch sees hundreds of cats every year, while he only diagnoses a few cats a year with FIV.

“FIV isn’t all that common. I see about one or two cats every year with FIV,” Rausch said.

Rausch said the virus is common in aggressive male cats, like C.K., because cats transmit the virus through biting and scratching each other. It is uncommon for a cat to spread FIV sexually.

Worried about your cat? Get it tested!

There are two types of tests for FIV: the ELISA and the Western blot test. C.K. tested positive on both tests, confirming he had FIV.

The ELISA test runs around $40, but its result, although fast, can sometimes be a false positive. The Western blot test costs close to $200, but is 99.9% accurate. Both tests measure the number of FIV antibodies in the blood stream, which are the body’s defense against the virus.

Testing your cat will help you plan for the rest of your cat’s life. It will also reduce the chance of other cats getting infected.

How does it affect your feline companion?

FIV is similar to HIV because they can both stay dormant for years before being discovered. Veterinarians can usually detect the virus when cats are around five years old: the time when the virus will most likely progress throughout the body through the lymph system.

Sometimes FIV does not progress and the cat just stays a carrier for its entire life, but most of the time it will progress. Signs that the virus has progressed include poor coat condition, a fever, a loss of appetite, inflammation of the gums, recurrent infections, and, in extreme cases, seizures.

The intensity of these symptoms varies from cat to cat, depending on age and general health.

What can you do to help your cat?

FIV is a very difficult disease to treat because you can only treat the symptoms. It cannot be cured. The Cornell Feline Health Center says you can only do a few things for your cat, but they will extend your cat’s life span.

• You need to feed a nutritious diet. Do not give it any uncooked food.
• Do not let your cat outdoors. It will prevent the cat from spreading the disease with other cats and from catching diseases from other animals.
• Alert your veterinarian if your cat’s health changes.
• As a last result, there are some antiviral therapies to treat your cat, but currently there is no evidence to back up these therapies