Multimedia Reporting (Bradford)

The University of Kansas completed its construction of a $3.5 million addition to Wescoe Hall last week. The university enclosed the south-east side of Wescoe that faces Budig Hall into two floors of office space which added about 24,000 square feet to the inside of the building.

Steve Scannell, assistant director of the design and construction department, said the addition was made to accommodate the 80 to 100 new faculty recently hired.

"People are starting to move in now," said Scannell, as he helped with elevator inspections last week. "I think move-ins will be done by Monday, June 18th, but they may be finished sooner."

Faculty and staff on the first floor, are moving into the empty offices on the second and third floors in order to clear the area for a $4.8 million dollar project which is focused on the repair of the east side of the building's uneven first-floor.

"Our new offices are much better than what we had," said Clarice Amorim, a student assistant in the Spanish department. "They're at least three times bigger than our old ones."

Most of the Spanish and Portuguese department is moving to the second floor of the newly constructed wing, and most of the history department is moving to the third floor.

The philosophy department will occupy some of the Spanish department's former location on the third floor. The English administrative offices will also be on the third floor using the history department's vacated space.

"The new area for the English department will have only one entrance with a receptionist to guide students where they need to go," said James Gunn, a professor in the English Department, referring to his pending move. "The new area should be a lot more efficient and easier to interact with students."

While many faculty members were satisfied with their new locations, the moving process has made it difficult to communicate with students.

"A lot of our phones and computers haven't been moved yet," said Cindi Hodges, administrative associate in the philosophy department. "This disrupts the communication between faculty and students."

Another complication in the moving process has been the delivery of office furniture.

"The furniture salesman told us we would have our furniture two weeks ago," said Sandee Kennedy, office manager of the history department. Kennedy said the furniture should arrive by the end of the week.

Although few people consider moving an enjoyable experience, there was unanimous praise for the facility operations staff, which has moved more than 200 offices in less than a week.

"The movers have been extremely helpful and are very nice," said Iliana Raper, an office assistant in the Spanish Department."Honestly, we want to nominate them for an award or something."

The Life of a Lifeguard. Click the image above for an audio slideshow of the lifeguards of the Lawrence Aquatic Center.

When Serina Hearn purchased the house at 637 Tennessee last August, some neighbors in the area were skeptical of her intentions. Her reputation for leasing houses to college students coupled with the existence of a second kitchen in the basement of the house generated a fear that Old West Lawrence would be invaded by students.

After receiving several complaints, the city sent inspectors to the house who told Hearn that without a special-use permit she could not have the second kitchen, which existed before she purchased the house. She consulted the Historic Resources Commission, which recommended last month that she be allowed to apply for a special-use permit that would allow her to keep the kitchen. The City Planning Commission will hold a hearing on at 6:30 p.m. on July 25 at City Hall to discuss whether or not the City Commission should approve the permit.

"The question that has arisen is whether this second kitchen allows for some sort of rental situation," Sandra Day, city planner, said. "The crux of the issue is whether we’re going to allow multi-family rental in what is now zoned a single-family residential."

Day said that Hearn’s request was for an accessory dwelling. This allows for a second resident to live in the house as long as they are somehow connected to the homeowner’s family. This constitutes the need for a second kitchen. Accessory dwelling differs from a duplex because in a duplex, Day said, the two families are completely independent of one another. She said that the fine line between a duplex and accessory dwelling was what was causing the confusion in the neighborhood.

Mike Wildgen, president of Old West Lawrence Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood held a meeting in May, and their position was that they did not want the house to become a duplex.

“The owner applied to have a kitchen in the basement, and the neighbors don’t object to the kitchen,” Wildgen said. “There are houses all over Lawrence that have kitchens in the basement, but they don’t have people living down there. What they’re afraid of is that they’re going to turn it into a duplex.”

While the entire controversy revolves around the possibility of a duplex in a single-family neighborhood, Hearn said she had no intentions of leasing the house as a duplex. She said her intentions were to sustain the historic building that was built by James Green, the first Dean of the KU School of Law.

After she bought the house last August for $300,000, she and her husband spent another $300,000 on the restoration of the house. She wants the house to be sold with the kitchen so that the new homeowner would have the option of housing their extended family who could provide supplementary income to financially sustain the house, which is now being sold for $750,000.

"Houses of this size usually warrant more people than just the nuclear family to two parents and two children,” Hearn said. “This house could have extended family living in it which would justify the huge gas and electric bills moving towards a more environmentally friendly understanding of living.”

If the City Planning Commission approves the special-use permit, its recommendation will be sent to the City Commission where it will be voted on by a five-member panel and require a simple majority to pass. If 20 percent of the neighbors living within 200 feet of 637 Tennessee petition the recommendation, the permit will require a super majority vote by four members of the five member panel.

Workers will take a break from their construction of the city’s $1.9 million dollar waterline replacement project on July 19th for the city’s annual sidewalk sale.

Construction crews will also move the fences into the street on the 900 and 1000 blocks of Massachusetts Street, said Derek Parthemer, a superintendent at the downtown construction site.

The project is scheduled for completion on August 1st, however some downtown businesses speculate the work could end before the sidewalk sale, said Kenneth Etter, a superintendent at the construction site.

“We would like to be done by July 19th, but we’re telling everyone August 1st,” said Etter. “If we do get done by the sidewalk sale, we want it to be a surprise for everyone.”

Construction crews began the third phase of the project last week, about a month ahead of schedule. The project was moved from the east side of Massachusetts to the west side between Ninth and 11th Streets. A fence was put up and southbound traffic and parking were closed, inevitably causing a negative impact on some businesses in that area.

“Our business cut in half from the day the fences were down to the day they went up,” said Jill Carender, manager at Urban Outfitters.

This is the second year that construction has been halted because of the sidewalk sale, and downtown employees like Jessica Schmitt, a waitress at Aladdin's Cafe, welcome the break.

“It’s so loud and so dusty that people are less likely to come down here while they’re doing construction,” said Schmitt. “We’ve had nice weather, and people like to eat outside, but the dust and noise discourages them.”

Rick Marquez, executive director for Downtown Lawrence INC., said the halted construction during the sidewalk sale will lower noise pollution, and moving the fences into the street will help increase commercial traffic through that area. Some businesses are not worried about the construction and think the sidewalk sale will not be affected.

“Honestly, I’m not concerned,” said Earl Reineman, vice president at Weaver’s department store, located on the corner of Ninth and Massachusetts. “Last year the construction was down on the 800 block, and from what we understood, it didn’t affect their businesses. For us it will be business as usual.”

Some businesses on the 800 block were affected negatively by the construction last year.
Downtown Barbershop brought in their merchandise from the sidewalk at about two o’clock in the afternoon because of the lack of customers, said Jon Amyx, the store’s owner.

“I’ve gone to the sidewalk sale for 40 years, and last year was the worst one I’d ever been to,” said Amyx. “The wind was blowing, the dust was flying, and people on this block were miserable.”

The construction is undoubtedly an inconvenience for many downtown businesses, but many employees understand that it’s something they must cope with until the waterline replacement project is complete.

“If the city’s doing their job, you can’t really complain,” said Ryan Johnson, a Bartender at Louise’s at 1009 Massachusetts St.

Campers prepared to say goodbye on Friday as they presented their final projects for fellow campers participating in the second annual KU Survivor: Engineering Outback Camp, held July 22-27. The camp gave high school students interested in pursuing engineering careers the opportunity to sample the academic programs offered by the KU School of Engineering.

They could choose from five engineering disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, electrical and computer science, civil, and architectural engineering.

Twenty-seven campers attended the six-day camp, which was down from the 34 students who participated last summer. Camp director Dawnelle Prince said approximately 50 percent of past campers have since applied to attend the KU School of Engineering.

"We want students to get an overview of the engineering department," said Dawnelle Prince, director of recruitment for the KU School of Engineering. "Our goal is to get them interested in the school itself."

Campers divided into their respective fields of interest to participate in one of four academic sessions offered during the week. Four faculty instructors led the lab sessions which focused on projects relating to their engineering areas.

Mechanical engineering students built a class race car. Aerospace students constructed individual rockets and one giant class rocket. EECS students designed video game graphics and learned to write software code for video game development. Civil engineering and architectural engineering students combined efforts to build model houses, measure their indoor temperatures, and experiment with changes in the interior climate controls.

"The projects are similar to the ones real college students are doing here at the university," said Dr. Mario A. Medina, an associate professor in the Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Department. "We want students to get a feel for the college so they aren't so overwhelmed when they get here."

While lab sessions took up a large portion of the camp, Prince said much of the week was designed to be fun.

On Monday, students took part in the GPS-guided "Amazing Race." Equipped with hand-held global positioning devices, they ventured across campus for a scavenger hunt. Prince said the purpose of the activity was to familiarize the students with the KU campus. The Navy ROTC sponsored a Frisbee tournament in the afternoon.

Following Tuesday's lab sessions, campers gathered in a hangar at the KU Garrison Flight Research Center in north Lawrence. Dr. Ronald M. Barrett-Gonzalez, an associate professor in the KU Aerospace Engineering Department, gave them a guided tour of the hangar and allowed them to examine its inventory of airplanes and remote-controlled helicopters. Later that evening, campers made s'mores by roasting marshmallows over a roaring jet engine.

Photo: Andy Greenhaw

"My favorite part of camp was the jet engine marshmallow roasting extravaganza," said Vince Ciaramitaro, a camper interested in aerospace engineering. "It was really cool to see the engine change colors like that."

Campers traveled to the Kansas City area on Wednesday morning for a tour of the 358,000-square-foot Harley-Davidson Vehicle and Powertrain Operations. Following an industry luncheon, they toured Perceptive Software, Inc., located in Lenexa, and spoke with professional engineers involved in software design. The road trip concluded with a dodge ball tournament held in the basement of the software engineering complex.

Upon returning to Lawrence Wednesday afternoon, campers attempted the "Rock Climbing Challenge" on the 42-foot climbing wall at the KU Student Recreation Center.

The group traveled to Clinton Lake on Thursday to watch the aerospace engineering students launch their rockets into the morning sky.

Campers gathered in the parking lot of the KU Student Recreation Center on Thursday afternoon for the "Race Car Exhibition" and watched the mechanical engineering students showcase their newly-constructed machine.

The group will attend their final lecture sessions Friday morning and the camp will conclude with group presentations in the afternoon, after which students will check out of Oliver Hall and head for home.

"I think this is a very successful program," said Prince. "We hope to see many of the campers return as KU engineering students in the future."

When Midge Grinstead, director of the Lawrence Humane Society, entered Ernest Martin's garage 10 years ago, nothing could have prepared her for the horror inside.

A dead pit bull lay decaying on the garage floor. The animal was covered with garbage and its throat was ripped open from a fight. Five dogs tied up in the backyard suffered infected wounds, cropped ears, filed teeth, and other signs of the gruesome sport of dog fighting. Officials seized all 16 of Martin's pit bulls, including 11 puppies.

Authorities charged Martin with dog fighting, but the prosecutor could not build a strong enough case. In order to convict someone of dog fighting under Kansas law in 1997, the individual needed to be caught in the act. Instead, the court convicted Martin of animal cruelty and the judge sentenced him to a year in prison. He was released in six months.

Recent accusations against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and several others have once again shed light on the illegal sport.

Dog fighting in Lawrence has declined significantly since the Martin incident. Grinstead said the number of physically abused pit bulls brought to the Lawrence Humane Society dropped from 600 to two in the past 10 years.

"Dog fighting is not a problem in Lawrence," said Grinstead. "But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

Click HERE to watch a video about the decrease in local dog fighting.

Ten years ago, the Lawrence Humane Society took in mistreated pit bulls on an almost-daily basis. Grinstead said she received dogs with bones protruding through their skin, muscle tendons hanging from their limbs, and infected wounds covered in pus.

"It was obvious they were victims of dog fights," said Grinstead.

Before the year 2000, there wasn't much the City of Lawrence could do to stop dog fighting, according to Anthony Barnett, owner of Home Sweet Home Dog Resort, 2140 Haskell Avenue, who specializes in raising pit bulls. Barnett said the sport was much more organized than it is today and almost impossible to access.

"It used to be like infiltrating a drug cartel," said Barnett. "Dog fighting organizations are extremely close-knit groups."

The number of injured pit bulls dropped the year after Lawrence officials enacted the Dangerous Dog Ordinance in 2000. The ordinance requires that if the public perceives a dog as a threat to society, the owner must keep it heavily restrained. When an owner does not comply with the ordinance, officials can confiscate the dog and take the case to court. If the owner is found guilty, the dog is euthanized.

Since the 2000 ordinance was enacted, Grinstead said it has helped to bring about 30 cases of animal cruelty involving dog fighting to civil court.

Even though the 2000 ordinance helped identify dozens of dangerous animals and their owners, the Lawrence Humane Society still received more than 100 injured pit bulls in 2001.

Douglas County took a bigger bite out of the local dog fighting industry with the passage of its Vicious Dog Ordinance in 2003. The ordinance outlawed equipment that could be used to train dogs to fight, including jump cords, tread mills, weight harnesses, and injection steroids. The ordinance also allowed the search of property belonging to those possessing such equipment and permitted the houses of suspected dog fighters to be inspected.

"The Vicious Dog Ordinance gave us a way to get in the door," said Grinstead. "Before, it was almost impossible to investigate people we suspected of dog fighting."

The 2003 ordinance proved to be successful. Grinstead and her staff took in less than 25 battle-weary pit bulls in 2005.

The animals received another victory in July 2006, when she hired a lobbyist and pushed the Kansas Legislature to increase the crime of animal cruelty from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Grinstead said she accomplished this by demonstrating the positive correlation between people who beat their dogs and people convicted of violent crimes. After receiving thousands of e-mails from across the state and hearing hundreds of witnesses testify to that claim, the Senate voted unanimously to increase the severity of the law.

Today, those convicted of animal cruelty in Kansas must serve at least 30 days in jail and pay a fine ranging from $500 to $5,000. Since the tougher penalties were enacted, the Lawrence Humane Society has received only three injured pit bulls.

Stacy Hendricks, director of operations at the Topeka Helping Hands Humane Society, 2625 Rochester Road, said she was also very pleased with the new, tougher punishment for dog fighting in Kansas.

"Before it was just a slap on the wrist," said Hendricks. "Now we're hoping to see harsher punishments for these crimes."

In early July, President George Bush signed a bill that made dog fighting a federal crime. Wyoming and Idaho are now the only states in which dog fighting remains a misdemeanor.