From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Jan. 5, 1974:

• As part of a continuing effort to save energy, Kansas University had recently turned off the refrigeration units in the campus’ 400 to 500 drinking fountains. Richard Perkins, KU’s energy conservation officer, said he didn’t know yet quite how much this move would save. Keith Nitcher, vice chancellor for business affairs and also the man in charge of the energy conservation movement at KU, said he had not received any complaints so far about the warm drinking water.
• The City of Lawrence announced today that it was “open season” on a large woodpile that had been stacked at the end of East Eighth Street after the summer windstorms. The city had originally intended to burn the wood after it had dried, but decided instead to make the wood available to the public after a city backhoe had been used to scatter the pile to make it more accessible.
• Figures were released today for attendance at the 10 operating Corps of Engineers lakes in the Kansas City District in 1973. The total number of visitors to the sites was 13,436,000, down from 14,161,000 in 1972. The decrease was thought to be due to flooding in the spring and fall and also to the recent gasoline shortages. Perry Lake, 16 miles northwest of Lawrence, had registered 1,715,000 visitors in 1973, down 15 percent from the previous year.