From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Dec. 14, 1972:

A cause had not yet been determined in an early-morning fire at the Aztec Inn, 807 Vermont. According to Capt. Donald Knight of the Lawrence Fire Department, the fire had started in one of the restaurant’s booths. “It is possible that someone could have left a cigarette in the booth last night,” Knight said, “or it is possible that one of the candles on the tables was left burning.” Restaurant owner Edward Roste estimated the damaged at $10,000.

Don Schaake, director of the Neighborhood Development Program, said today that neither salt nor other chemicals should be used on the new downtown sidewalks. Schaake said that shoveling was the only approved method of removing snow, as other methods could cause “pocketing” in the new concrete. Rumors that garden fertilizer was okay to use were false, he said, adding that icy areas could be treated with sand.