Page Two
Tuesday, June 19, 1962
Summer Nebraskan
Poniilntion Exoloston Cows Graze By Su hurbia,
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Editor's note: The follow
ing article was written by a
University of Nebraska depth
reporting student. It concerns
the population explosion and
urban movement in Nebras
ka's smallest county the ef
fects on the farmer, the tax
payer, the teacher and the
school system. The story deals
with Sarpy County, but it
could be your county.
By Gerald Lamberson
Nine black and white Hol
stein cows graze quietly on
an eastern Nebraska hillside
near a big red barn. Just a
mile north, hundreds of beef
cattle are being fattened for
market.
But across the road from
these two scenes is1 subur
bia. Here hundreds of homes
of many colors spread over
the hillsides. Here is where
the population explosion be
gins. The cattle scene represents
rural life. Surburbia depicts
an urban movement. Near
many metropolitan areas ur
ban development has spread
out and taken over much
surrounding rural area. Ne
braska, traditionally the
"beef state" and known for
its agricultural products, is
one of the states experienc
ing such a movement.
But the Nebraska scene is
. perhaps a little unique at the
present. Here the urban
movement and population
explosion have been largely
concentrated in the smallest
county Sarpy County.
Sarpy County has only 236
square miles of area. How
ever, in population it now
ranks fourth in Nebraska
with 34,346 people. The 1950
census listed only 15,693 pop
ulation for Sarpy County.
The census jumped to 31,281
. in 1960, and the estimated
increase between 1960 and
1962 is ten per cent.
Sarpy County was listed
by census reports as an ear
ly population leader when
Nebraska was first settled.
But its position dipped to 59th
in the 1920's when the Legis
lature numbered the coun
ties according to population
for auto license plates.
. Just where is Sarpy's
growth? Belle vue, the larg
est city, has jumped fron
8,800 in 1960 to 10,169 in 1962.
Papillion, the county seat,
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SUBURBIA NEAR Construction activity in the background presses in on these peacefully
grazing Dvestock in northeast Sarpy County.
A GOOD TEACHERS AGENCY
DAVIS
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School Service ,
ENROLL NOW
Ettoblishad 1918 Serving the Mis-
souri Valley to the West Coast.
501, Stuart Bldg. Lincoln 8, Nebr.
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$100
SARTORS
1200 'O" Street ,
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soared from 800 a few years
is a new community, built
between Omaha and Papil
lion since 1960, which has a
population of about 2,000.
Omaha proper is spreading
into Sarpy County. Offutt
Air Force Base is expanding
its personnel.
With such tremendous
growth, Sarpy County resi
dents are being hemmed in
by a movement they cannot
escape, said Assistant Coun
ty Attorney Frank .Morse.
"The residents are almost
helpless with nowhere to
go,
lie auueu. vuiaua auu
its growing pains are to the
north. The Missouri River
serves as the eastern border
with the Platte River bor
dering Sarpy on the south
and west."
Farmers are not resenting
the urban movement. Mrs.
'Milton Fricke, a Papillion
housewife who lives on a
farm only one mile from su
burbia, said that "farm folks
are accepting the change. It
is a part of a movement that
we cannot stop. Therefore we
can sit tight only until the
time we are moved off our
places."
Morse noted that most
farmers who are being
forced away are turning to
urban areas to make a liv
ing. Most do not have the
desire to start up again
somewhere else, he said.
Those farmers whose land
lies near suburbia are not
using additional conserva
tion practices because of the
expectation that suburbia
will take their farm too,
Morse continued. Along with
the movement, the number
of farms in Sarpy County
has decreased from 801 in
1954 to 648 in 1960. The aver
age age of farm operators
has gone up from 47 to 48.5
years and only six to eight
new farmers have started
operation in the last five
years.
Changes have also been
noted in 4-H where the em-
phasis on beef and crops has ' bring population to a prev i
been switched to gardens ous rural area. They bring
and safety, he' said.
But these changes to ur
ban living are made to look
attractive. A sign near the
entrance of LaVista village
says "House of 9's on Easy
if-'-
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3
Summer Enrollment
Highest It's Ever Been
Summer session enrollment at the University of Ne
braska will definitely approach 4,000 students, an increase
of 212 over last year, Registrar Floyd Hoover reported.
He estimated that the additional 212 were primarily
the result of more undergraduate students going to school
the year around. Dr. Hoover said that 1,300 resident stu
dents registered early this year, compared to 1,100 a year
ago.
More than 6,000 students of
all ages are engaged in sum
mer studies under the direc
tion of the University, accord
ing to Dr. Hoover.
In addition to the 4,000 reg
ular students the largest
number in the history of the
school's Summer Sessions
there are 1,756 Nebraska high
school students on the Lin
coln campuses. Five hundred
ninety-five students are en
rolled in University High
School; 411 in All-State Fine
Arts Course; 375 in Boys'
State; and 325 in Girls' State.
Andther 175 elementary pu
pils are enrolled at Bancroft
School and 175 at Pershing
Grade School, both operated
this summer by the Universi
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NEW LOOK Houses by the dozens dot what once was open
new community between Omaha and Papillion.
Street in LaVista village."
As one enters he can see
approximately 600 painted
frame homes on the hill
sides. Another 75 homes, still
white, are being completed
in the valleys. Plans call for
more than 100 homes yet to
be built in the third addi
tion. While traveling along Easy
Street in LaVista, one can
notice husbands planting or
working on their lawns. The
oldest youngster, is on his
way to school while the
younger ones peer out of the
picture windows ta see what
changes have been made
since yc-sterday.
One home owner, George
Holder, 7306 Easy St., said,
"My family likes it here be
cause there is no uptown
traffic. It is only a ten-minute
drive to work in Omaha
and we have the feeling of
'aloneness' here."
But even as city workers
move to suburbia areas, they
children. And with children
come the school problems
that are plaguing Sarpy
County communities.
First there is reorganiza
tion of the county which has
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ty. These schools provide stu
dent teacher laboratories for
Teachers College.
Dr. Frank E. Sorenson di
rector of Summer Sessions,
said the steady increase each
year is based on three prin
cipal reasons : a feeling of ur
gency on thp part of the stu
dents to hasten their gradua
tion; a need for students in
specialized fields to broaden
their education through addi
tional courses; and the de
mand by society for more and
more education on the part
of its citizens.
The deadline for registering
at the Summer Sessions is
today.
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almost been completed in
Sarpy County, according to
Papillion School Superintend
ent Leslie George. The only
school districts now are at
Belle vue, Papillion, Platte
view and Gretna, plus tw6
rural districts in the central
and west part of the county.
The growth of LaVista in
the Papillion School District
has created many head
aches, said Superintendent
George. Despite a new high
school and two new elemen
tary schools, classes are
overcrowded. Fifteen cot
tages in the LaVista addi
tion are being used for
classes from kindergarten
through the sixth grade.
"School enrollment in the
Papillion district was 442 in
19571,200 in 1961 and ex
pected to reach 3,000 by
1965," George said. At the
same time the mill levy in-
eluding operational levy ha
' gone up from '29.4 to 50.2.
"This has put a tremendous
burden on the taxpayer," he
said.
The superintendent noted
that Papillion too is grow
ing, with some 750 homes
to be added in the future at
Tara Heights and Green
Acres Additions. Also a new
area west of LaVista -which
will be known as Parkview
Heights will have more than
300 homes in the next few
years.
Increase in students brings
the increase in need for
more teachers in Papillion.
"It would have been diffi
cult to get the teachers
needed, if the salaries had
not been raised," George
said. "Average salary in 1955
was $3,400 for high school
instructors, but today it is
$4,700. In 1957 only 21 teach
ers were numbered in the
Papillion schools. Today
there are more than 60.
As George works to solve
the present problems, he
looks to the future enroll
ment and sees many more
problems. The problems are
basically finance. A still
higher increase in the mill
levy would be outrageous to
the taxpayer, he said. The
superintendent sees three so
lutions to the financial prob
lem. They are:
1. State aid. Several
schools in the Papillion area
were seeking aid during the
past Legislative session but
as yet there have been no
funds allocated or agreement
made.
2. Loose confederation of
suburban districts. .Under
this plan, schools of the Oma
ha metropolitan area would
combine for monies and the
unit would somewhat equal
ize the industrial wealth of
the various districts. This
would be done by pooling all
the valuation and a common
identity applied. However,
individual districts would
maintain their own identity
and control.
3. One metropolitan dis
trict. All the schools com
bined into one district might
solve the financial problem
but would create an admin
istrative problem.
Bellevue too, has school
problems although they may
be slightly different from Pa
pillion's. Bellevue Superin
tendent Edwin Cramer said
that a long range plan has
been put into effect to keep
away from drastic changes
in the tax mill levy. Beile
vue's mill levy is 40 mills
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the Sarpy scene
countryside as
now as compared to 38 mills
five years ago.
Student enrollment is a
problem in Bellvue also. In
1955, Bellevue had 1,963 stu
dents in 1958, 3,050 stu
dents in 1960, 3,941 stu
dents this year, 5,600 stu
dents. Cramer said that tempo
rary facilities have been
rented repeatedly to relieve
the overflow of pupils. The
new Bellevue high school is
being built a portion at a
time as the money comes,
he said. Besides a senior
high and junior high, there
are seven elementary schools
at present. Bids have been
opened for another grade
school with plans for two
more within a year, Cramer
said.
Cramer, who has been su
perintendent for seven
years, said that Bellevue
schools have never been able
to carry the load Some of
the schools had to be built a
section at a time to meet
finances.
Bellevue expansion has
come via Offutt Air Force
Base which cpntributes about
45 per csnt of the pop
ulation to the city and area
northwest toward Oma
ha, said Chamber of Com
merce Manager Harold
Smock
Many Bellevue residents
work in Omaha which makes
an added burden, said Cra
mer. This cuts out large bus
iness and industry which con
tribute considerable funds to
schools, he said.
To further define the prob
lem, Cramer noted that a
$20,000 house has an as
sessed valuation of 35 per
cent or $7,000. At the rate
of 40 mills then each $20,000
home would provide $280
revenue for schools. This is
hardly enough to educate
one youngster let alone the
1 3 Bvorapft punils per house
hold. "
Smock said that Bellevue
All-State Chorus
To Give Concert
"Lerner and Loewe" will
be presented June 27, 8 p.m.,
in the Nebraska Union Ball
room by the All-State chorus.
The production will be di
rected by John Moran, who
is faculty member in charge
of All-State programs. The
program will consist of selec
tions from four well-k n 9 w n
musicals: "Brigadoon" Al
most Like Being in Love;
"Gigi" The Night They In
vented Champaign; "Came
lot" If Ever I Would
Leave You, March Fiom
Camelot; "My Fair Lady"
I Could Have Danced All
Night. About seventeen num
bers will be presented by the
All-State Chorus, Orchestra,
and selected soloists. The
public is invited to attend
this and other All-State events.
Need
Extra
Money?
Nebraskan
Want Ads
5 cents word: $1.00 mini
mum. Ads to be printed in
thi Summer Nebraskan munt
be accompanied by the name
of the person placing said
d and brought to room 306
Burnett.
4!
J
changes quickly. This -aerial
is beginning to attract some
industry. "Two small manu
facturing firms have begun
' and are expanding and a con
crete and chemical firm are
close by."
But Omaha is not the only
growing pain for Bellevue.
Offutt Air Base which comes
to the city limits has expan
sion plans to increase its
11,000 personnel to more than
12,000. Five years ago the
number was 8,000 according
to Maj. E. D. Jewett, offi
cer in charge of information
services. The boost in per
sonnel was needed with the
increased manning of Strate
gic Air Command (SAC), ad
dition to the joint strategic
target planning staff, air re
fueling squadron and Atlas
missile squadron.
Future building at Offut
has a $130,000 addition to
SAC headquarters and more
underground facilities. A new
medical building with 125
beds and 22 dental rooms is
in the planning stage, said
Major Jewett.
. According to Major Jew
ett, some 900 homes are now
under construction at the
base. This will 1 ng some
2,100 homes on the 2,000 acre
base site, he said. "Still
about 75 per cent of the per
sonnel live off the base with
Health Institute
Renews Grant
Dr. Carl E. Georgi, chair
man of microbiology at t h e
University of Nebraska, an
nounced today the renewal of
a $24,000 U.S. Public Health
Service grant to the depart
ment. The grant is a continuation
of a five-year grant first
awarded to the department in
161 by the National Insti
tutes of Health.
The purpose of the grant is
to strengthen the existing
graduate program, particular
ly at the doctoral level, Dr.
Georgi said. Funds from the
grant are made available to
four pre-doctoral trainees. A
sum is also made available
for the operation and main
tenance of the graduate train
ing program. A major part of
this maintenance sum is used
to purchase research equip
ment. The grant is awarded to the
department on the basis of
its research and teaching performance.
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view covers part of LaVista, a
the majority of them in
Omaha and Bellevue," he
added.
Maj. Jewett said Offutt
is one of the largest air
force bases in the nation and
the largest SAC base. Of
course, it is also the home
of the SAC headquarters.
Sarpy County is growing.
Where will it stop? Assistant
agent Morse and others say
the urban movement will ex
tend southward until it hits
the' Platte River, leaving
only a small area in the
western part for rural life.
Still other residents, are pre
dicting an urban complex
between Omaha and Lincoln
with Sarpy County becoming
completely urbanized.
But as suburbia continues
to develop in Sarpy Coun
ty those nine black and
white cows will probably
leave their quiet pasture. In
their place will be hundreds
of new homes of varied
colors.
Sculpture Given
To Art Galleries
A seven-foot sculpture, en
titled "Resurrection" and ex
ecuted in 1959 by Jack Zajac,
was presented to the Univer
sity of Nebraska Art Gal
leries as a gift from Mrs. A.
Bromley Sheldon of Lexing
ton. Director Norman Geske said
the piece, made of fiberglass,
was shown in Lincoln during
April and May as part of the
"Symposium on the Arts and
Religion."
"Resurrection" re
ceived first . prize, in the
"Church Art Today, Grace
Cathedral Show," held in San
Francisco in 1960.
Zajac, a native of Youngs
town, O., received the Rome
Prize Fellowship for painting
in 1954, 1956 and 1957. The 31-year-old
artist received a Gug
genheim Fellowship for the
1959-60 school year for study
in Southeast Asia and for
work in Rome.
He has exhibited in one
man shows in Los Angeles,
Chicago, New York, London
and Rome. His works also
have been shown at the Mu
seum of Modern Art, New
York; William Rockhill Nel
son Gallery, Kansas City, Mo.,
Los Angeles County Museum;
Santa Barbara Museum of
Art; and Milwaukee Institute
of Art.
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