The Olathe Daily News from Olathe, Kansas • 5

s'i JHE OLATHE DAILY NEWS StaieNamon Monday July 20 1998 5A Resort community wins Jet Ski fight farmers with a Personal watercraft which resemble snowmobiles use water jets created by high-speed pumps which are powered by often noisy gasoline engines They can hit speeds up to 60 mph and are agile enough for tight turns and jumps across the wakes created by other boats Although made by several companies commonly known by brand name of Jet Ski The industiy estimates there are 1 million personal watercraft' also known as water bikes or scooters in use nation- tiwAmocUmh wide including 20000 Yacht broker Brian Calvert a Its on his 40-foot yacht named the Oriana on registered in Washington Thursday July 16 In Friday Haiter Wash Calvert supports a ban of par-state sonal watercraft In the San Juan Islands The Washington DC- case law to support what ally coming or going she said' Th oclHd Pm FRIDAY HARBOR Wash 1 The straits around die San Juan Islands are big enough for tall sailboats big luxury cabin cruisers' and high-speed cigarette boats But not those pesky little JetSkis San Juan stand against wateijet-powered personal watercraft came to a head July 9 when die state Supreme Court affirmed local authority to ban the machines from the vast waterways northwest of Seattle The 7-2 ruling came just two days after the National Park Service proposed rules that would ban personal watercraft from many parks nationwide And one Florida county has imposed restrictions i The county approved the ban in 1996 in response to complaints that cited noise and safety con- cents as well as potential damage to the fragile marine environ-ItnenL view the right to ride an obnoxious machine in circles in front of house as a constitutional said Brian based Personal Watercraft Industry Association fought die ban arguing it was too restrictive and violated a constitutional to The case also was followed in Florida where Monroe County Commissioners approved rules Calvert a yacht salesman and last month prohibiting water legislative candidate who lives on bikes from operating at high first year more than two-thirds of the North Dakota counties have been declared disasters in three of the last five The top Democrat in the Senate Tom Daschle of South Dakota said farmers deserve even more help are making progress but we have to keep pushing until we get prices Daschle said For their part House Republicans plan to pass legislation before the August recess that could put $55 billion in the pockets of financially strapped fanners before die November elections have a very genuine ter that is building Speaker Newt Gingrich R-Ga said Friday "When faced with some of the conditions we' see around die country you have to be The Agriculture Department estimates dial cash farm income for 1998 will be down $59 billion from record high even while farm production costs rise an estimated $43 billion The problem is a combination of increased farm production and falling farm exports -The GOP proposal would per- -mit fanners to receive ahead of schedule some or all of die they are due in fiscal year 1999 which begins Oct 1 The payments bring used to wean farmers gradually off Depression-era subsidies by 2002 are normally paid in December or January and again in September each year have an immediate prob- lem today with cash said Rep John Thune R-SD pulse gets weaker and weaker by die day in our part of die In a briefing on die aid program being undertaken Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman told reporters in Washington that die government intends to donate wheat in addition to Sudan to Ethiopia Eritrea and North Korea He said others might be added 1 a boat in the Friday Harbor marina only asset we have left is die frail remote pristine and qui-! et added Steve Simpson die resort port director we lose that 1 lost a major economic asset and some of the spirit of the San a Iha LITTLE ROCK Ark Responding to a for American farmers President Clinton said Saturday die government is buying 23 million tons of wheat to push up prices The wheat will be donated to starving populations in Sudan and elsewhere farm families flue a crisis and we have an obligation to Clinton said in his weekly radio address which he taped in Little Rock where he is spending the weekend visiting friends playing golf and helping Arkansas Democrats raise campaign money fanners face a difficult and dangerous Clinton said noting that falling prices have taken a toll on fanning communities across the country including in his home state farm families have been pushed off their land and many more could suffer the same fate unless our nation revives its commitment to helping farmers weather hard he said As a first step Clinton said die government will buy within days 80 million bushels of wheat or about 23 million tons which he said could lift prices as much as 13 cents a bushel A bushel of wheat sells for about $275 down sharply this year as domestic supplies soared and economic crisis depressed important wheat export markets Clinton said the United States would donate die 23 million tons to hard-pressed countries such as Indonesia which has been hit by economic and civil turmoil and Sudan where as many as 26 mil- lion people face starvation brought by war and drought He also urged Congress to take additional action to help fanners Among his suggestions: expand eligibility for direct and guaranteed loans and help replenish die International Monetary Fund to stabilize Asian economies Responding to announcement Rep Earl Pomeroy D-ND said he was pleased die president took action so quickly after meeting at the White House last week with members of Congress from farm zero in die crisis is die Northern Plains because here had terrible crop yield due to too much water flooded acreage and crop he said in' a telephone interview from North Dakota not just die Long AARM4tt Investigations A Full Service Agency Find Lost Loved Ones 3995 (913) 856-7816 Special flares could help bring rain to Kansas The picturesque San Juan Islands are accessible only by fer-ry or plane and the region is dominated by sailboats cabin cruisers fishing boats and kayaks Localitre happily figure most owners of water bikes' were scared off by the ordinance even though it expired while the issue moved through the courts Supporters hope to have a new ordinance enacted this summer Carol Ford who works in an art gallery overlooking the harbor said she hardly notices the buzz from the occasional float plane or die drone of state ferries and pleasure boats They are usu 46 percent said Darrel Ecklund water resource manager for the Kansas Water Office His analysis have enough measuring points to determine how much additional rainfall was produced but Ecklund said other studies have shown substantial increases in rain Hygroscopic flares have produced 40 to 60 percent increases in rainfall in South Africa said Roelaf Bruintjes a research scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder Colo He is conducting a four-year study on the effectiveness of die flares in Mexico and said early results there are similar to what he observed in South Africa But Bruintjes warned that the new technology work as a drought-buster because moisture-bearing clouds must be present to seed before die process can work Smith said silver-iodide seeding is usually beneficial only when actively growing storm clouds reach 25000 to 30000 feet and and run at lew speeds In contrast the occasional water bike spins noisily around the harbor for hours at a time she said Visitors crucial to the economy have mixed views see a lot of difference between a guy on a Jet Ski and a guy on a big fast yacht They both can be said Mark Button vacationing with his family on a boaL But die little watercraft get no support from Scott Philips whose family rented a 35-fbot sailboat -1 like the fact relatively quiet why I like to crane Philips said temperatures aloft fall to about degrees creating airborne ice crystals that form die nucleus of hailstones Hie new flares work in warmer temperatures and at lower altitudes and will start framing raindrops at around 74 percent relative humidity Smith said Silver iodide requires 95 percent relative humidity to form raindrops That means clouds that previously had low rainfall potential can now be targeted Hygroscopic flares tend to produce larger raindrops that evaporate in extremely hot conditions before they hit the ground a common occurrence in western Kansas Smith said The weather modification program experimented with 20 of the new flares last year Smith said hygroscopic flares produced stronger heavier rain shafts visible both on radar and to die naked eye The weather modification pro-' gram spent about $9400 on 400 of the new flares of die 1200 acres needed for die track complex just northwest of Interstate 435 arid Interstate 70 Officials hope to break ground by late summer within 1200 feet of shore in parts of die Florida Keys certainly were very interested in the legal challenge in San Juan Monroe County Commissioner Keith Douglass said people shoot from the hip and say this will never stand up in court we can say it has stood up in court There is recorded in years Lebbin said Although rainfall has increased this month die cloud-seeders can put the pew flares to work areas that still need more rain said Curt Smith director of the weather modification program based in I JilHn For the past 23 years the weather modification program has concentrated primarily on hail suppression using silver-iodide gener-1 ators mounted on the wings of planes to seed threatening storm clouds to produce rain instead of hailstones The program which serves 16 western Kansas counties ports of six others and three townships in eastern Colorado will continue to use silver-iodide crystals to fight hailstorms Smith said But the cloud-seeding flares represent a shift toward producing more rain on purpose rather than as a side effect of controlling haiL A study covering 15 years of die weather modification program showed it reduced hail damage by take to the The residents win lose their homes when the $208 million track is constructed in western Kansas City Kan Wyandotte County District Court Judge John Bukaty on Friday issued a summary judgment in favor of die racetrack and government Bukaty said in a brief court hearing Friday said that Kansas Supreme Court made a comprehensive on the Speedway project 1 The residents will appeal to die US Supreme Court on two major points: They were not allowed to be an equal partner in the Kansas Supreme Court case Borich argued the residents should have had that right because their proper- iTTw 4 LAKIN Cloud seeders will be literally shooting the sky in western Kansas in a new effort to makeitrain Starting sometime this week pilots from the Western Kansas Weather Modification program will shoot Safes holding salt and potassium chloride particles into the base of the clouds The tradi-jdonal approach has been to drop silver-iodine crystals into the clouds from above The hygroscopic flares operate on die same principle that causes salt to clump together in extremely humid weather dry particles attract moisture 2 was in response to the -1 abnormally hot dry weather adversely affecting a large area of the High said Keith Leb-bin executive director of Western Kansas Groundwater Management District 1 Much runs the weather modification program rainfall totals in western 2 Kansas were among the lowest Residents KANSAS CITY Kan The fight to stop construction of the Kansas International Speedway Racetrack will go to the US Supreme Court 2 Joseph Borich attorney for Kansas City Kan residents Opposing the track site said he Expects the highest court Lvill decide in three to four months whether to review a Kansas Supreme Court decision that Allowed die track construction to Proceed On July 10 the state court Rejected all claims by residents Jvho had sued the Kansas International Speedway Corporation and She Unified Government of Wyan- Sdotte CountyKansas City Kan JOHN LEE ARENDALE Graveside services 10 Mb Monday at Leavenworth National Cf lartrry with full military honor UCaMawrtiwfcliMl ROBERTA BURGESS There will be no Krvicc far Mr Burge at the Wl Frye Son Funnel Home Mn Burge has been cremated WJ1 Uue Son MORTUARY AND CREMATORY US Supreme Court ty can be taken by die government through eminent domain The residents believe the taking of private property through eminent domain to give that property to a private company for a' profit-making enterprise is uncon-stitutionaL Borich said Another lesser issue is that the 123 percent of appraised value the residents are guaranteed for their property is diluted because relocation benefits were lowered Borich said Last week the Unified Government began condemnation proceedings against 18 properties at the Speedway rite The properties are where roads in the immediate track area are to be built Government officials said the properties cover about 10 percent ATF investigating fire in west KC S5 KANSAS CTTY Mo Federal agents on Sunday Jwere investigating a mammoth fire that destroyed a Vacant warehouse and damaged at least nine other building on die western edge The blaze started about 2 ajn Saturday in an area jjsar downtown known as die West Bottoms 5 Agents with die Bureau of Alcohol Tbbacco and Streams were on the scene Sunday investigating die fire along with die Kansas City Fire Department fire llivision chief Chris Bosch said He refused to comment on the investigation Police took a man into custody Saturday but did not sty whether he was a suspect The blaze apparently started in a building that was jrited before for fire code violations fire officials said im il -a 1 jwf tkn i iniliniruio of the warehouse's internal Demolition was likely though Bosch said an official decision on the fate should come early this week Meanwhile firefighters continued to work in shifts Sunday to douse hot spots Intense heat and embers spread die fire to at least nine adjacent buildings As many as 130 firefighters from both rides of die Missouri-Kansas state line fought the fire Saturday before containing it just before 7:30 am At least two firefighters were injured Bosch said One suffered bums on his neck and back while another had to hove a metal shard removed from his eye Both were treated and released from die hospitaL Several firefighters were treated on rite for heat exhaustion Damage was expected to reach into the millions of an exact estimate likely won't be The fire destroyed most structure weakening it beyond repair Bosch said ready untjl later dollarfc though' this week Bosch said 1 tr -A a i.