A Kansas University pole vaulter has been arrested for aggravated battery in connection with a beating last week that sent one of his teammates to the hospital. John K. McDonald, 19, a sophomore from Hays, is due in court for a first appearance Nov. 17. He was booked into jail Friday and later released on bond in connection with the beating of KU middle-distance and cross-country runner Tyler Kelly, who told police he was attacked and beaten by a group of men around 3:15 a.m. Oct. 28 outside his home in the 4700 block of Ranch Court.KU associate athletics director Jim Marchiony said Monday afternoon that McDonald had been suspended from the team.Kelly’s mother said the beating happened after her son had been out with other KU cross-country runners celebrating their performance in the Big 12 championships.A 19-year-old Lawrence man, Gregory A. Krupa, also has been arrested in the case.Other news:¢ Lighter causes fire: A child playing with a lighter was the cause of a fire this morning in a trailer at Easy Living Mobile Acres, 3323 Iowa St., Lawrence’s fire chief says. The fire, reported at 9:27 a.m. in lot No. 379, was confined to a laundry area and was quickly under control, said Mark Bradford, chief of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical. Firefighters were on the scene for about a half-hour. He said damage was estimated at $6,000. ¢ Clutter complicates Eudora fire: Possessions piled throughout a trailer complicated Eudora firefighters’ efforts during a blaze Sunday evening, Eudora fire chief Randy Ates said.A candle placed under a lamp shade was listed as the cause of the fire, which began about 7:15 p.m. in a trailer at 1029 Maple St. When firefighters arrived, there were flames coming from a rear bedroom. Ates said the resident’s possessions were piled throughout the home, which made it hard for firefighters to reach the source of the fire in the thick smoke.”It took us a while to be able to clear a path through the trailer,” Ates said. “They could barely get in through the front door.”The fire was under control at 9:45 p.m., and the last truck left the scene at 1:38 a.m. No one was injured. The structure of the trailer survived the fire, but it’s not inhabitable, Ates said. Burglaries and thefts:¢ 400 block of East Seventh Street: Police say they have interviewed two “persons of interest” in connection with the theft of 1,500 rail tie plates, valued at $22,500 total, belonging to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. The plates were taken from a storage area between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Thursday, according to a report.¢ 2100 block of West 26th Street: A 23-year-old Kansas University student’s 1997 Acura Integra, valued at $4,500, was stolen between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. Friday.¢ 1900 block of Stewart Avenue: A 19-year-old KU student’s 1993 Acura Integra, valued at $4,000, was stolen between 9 p.m. Oct. 31 and 8 a.m. Friday.¢ 2300 block of Iowa Street: A 35-year-old KU student reported $1,000 worth of clothes stolen between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday from Norge Village laundromat, 2346 Iowa.¢1300 block of West 24th Street: A 19-year-old woman reported $1,180 stolen in a computer crime between Oct. 20 and Thursday.¢ 700 block of California Street: A 45-year-old man reported two bicycles, worth $1,700 each, stolen from his home between Oct. 12 and Thursday.¢ Green Hall, Kansas University campus: A Dell laptop computer valued at $3,200 was stolen between 3:30 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. Wednesday from a locker in Green Hall.-contributed by Eric Weslander.