Milestone

KU alumna renowned as singer dies at 102

A Kansas University alumna who was the first black woman to sing at the White House died Friday in Chicago.

Etta Moten Barnett, a 1931 KU graduate, died of pancreatic cancer at age 102.

While at KU, Barnett helped establish Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and performed in all-black plays. She also had her own radio show, and more than 1,000 people attended her senior recital.

She also worked to end segregation at the Lawrence public swimming pool.

After leaving KU, Barnett appeared in several films and musicals. She sang as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced in the 1933 film “Flying Down to Rio,” and she was featured in the Broadway production of “Porgy and Bess” in the early 1940s.

Her appearances caught the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who invited her to sing at his birthday party in 1934 at the White House.

Kansas University

Sprinkler malfunction deluges engineering hall

Water from a malfunctioning fire sprinkler on Tuesday flooded the lobby of Kansas University’s newly finished Eaton Hall.

Lt. Schuyler Bailey, a spokesman with the KU Public Safety Office, said the sprinkler — which is between two sets of double doors near the main entrance — apparently froze, causing it to become activated shortly before noon.

Jill Hummels, a spokeswoman with the KU school of engineering, said water covered the stone floor and seeped into the carpets in the dean’s office and the Spahr Engineering Classroom, both of which have doors off the lobby.

She said workers hoped fans would dry the carpets without leaving damage. It took about half an hour for the sprinkler to be shut off, Hummels said.

City

Renovations planned for fire station on Sixth

Fire Station No. 3 will be getting a $400,000 makeover.

The station at 3708 W. Sixth St., which was built in 1968, has had minimal renovations since then. But now, with the addition of a new wing, the firefighter’s quarters will be turned into private rooms.

Required weight training for the firefighters will be easier with an expanded weight room. There also will be new bathrooms that meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

The fire station also will be equipped with a “safe room” designed to be a tornado shelter.

The City Commission approved the contract for the renovations. Deputy Fire Chief Mark Bradford said a timetable for the improvements hadn’t been decided yet but that the station would remain open during the construction.