Wednesday, September 3, 1975
daily nebraskan
page 3
V
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t
ew ombudsman to use KRNU spots
Allan Dittmer, new UNL ombudsman,
former . teacher, funeral director and ;
ambulance driver will try his hand at
broadcasting commercial spots in
September on KRNU FM, the UNL-based ;
radio station. '
Dittmer, whose job as ombudsman is to
solve problems and answer questions for
students, staff and faculty members, said
his commercial spots will extend the
services of his office by "educating UNL
faculty and students on how to take care
of problems."
, Situational problems with step-by-step
procedures to possible solutions will be
presented on KRNU three times daily for
90 seconds each, he said.
Financial aid
"An example," Dittmer said, "would be
if a student were to lose financial aid and .
would not be able to continue school."
The first step would be to find out why
support was discontinued and then inform
the correct people of the student's
position, he said.
If aid was still denied, Dittmer said, the
next step would be to explore alternative
sources for support. ' .
"In many situations people are unaware
that help is avilable," he said.
According to Dittmer, publicizing a
problem is used as a last resort, but if
necessary, is used to make known a clearly
unfair situation.
He said his office has received many
valid and signficiant complaints. Although
80 per cent of his visits are from students,
he stressed that his office is open to UNL
faculty members and alumni as well.
UNL has had three ombudsmen since
os fa I g i c m a rket a c h i eves success
By Margy Meister
Nestled in the heart of downtown
Lincoln lies a relic of years gone by-the
old open-air market. Battered pickups are
parked alongside shiny new station wagons.
Card tables placed in front of them bear
fresh produce, honey, pinecone wreaths,
herbs and magnetic sponge flowers.
The - farmer's market has been open
every Saturday since June 28 from 9 ajn.
to noon. This Saturday it will close for the
year.
A block of 12th St. between N and O
Sts. is rented from the city and closed for
the market. Merchants then are rented
stalls for $2 per day or $15 per season.
Staff member Jorgensen cited three
main reasons for opening the market: first;
to provide a fun activity in the downtown
area; second, to encourage renewed growth
of the truck farming industry; and finally,
to make the image of the downtown area
more attractive to rural residents.
. First year
Because this is the first year for the
farmer's market, Jorgensen said the staff
was t4very pleased" with its outcorrie. He
said that the market would be in operation
again next year, but that the location has
not yet been decided. He added that he
expects other organizations to sponsor
markets next year.
There are 48 stalls for rent in the
market area, Jorgensen estimated that
300-500 people strolled through the
displays each Saturday. There were fewer
stalls filled Saturday than were filled earlier
in the summer because fresh produce is no
longer as available, he said.
Letha . Lengel of Lincoln sold her
painted sponge and magnet creations at the
market all summer. Prices range from 25
cents to $2, and Lengel estimates that she
sells between $15 and $.35 in merchandise
each week.
Herb stall
Herb" plants are the main feature of the
booth run by Gene and Muriel Stark, who
live just outside Lincoln. The Starks come
to the market most Saturdays, and
estimate that they have an average of 30
customers per day.
Charles Hedges of Pleasant Dale is
retired and does rock-grinding and
" alversmithing as a hobby. Hedges has
displayed and sold jewelry he has made, as
000
6
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Open weekmtes
til 9pm; Sat. til
9pm; Sun. 1-Spm
well as many colorful rocks he has cut and
polished, every Saturday for the last
month.. He also sold a few melons and
tomatoes. Prices on jewelry and produce
ranged from 10 cents to $5, and Hedges
estimated that he has 20 to 25 customers
per week.
On their "first and only" visit to the
market last Saturday, Linda Hemsath, Pat
Jorn and Bob Bussmann, all of Lincoln,
had an eye-catching display. A large table
was spread with home-grown honey, nail
pictures, crocheted coasters, pinecone
wreaths and magnetic flowers made from
chenille bumps decorated with pipe
cleaners, felt and sequins. Prices ranged
from 75 cents to $15, and the three
guessed .they had about 30 customers that
day.
The farmers market is sponsored by the
Downtown Lincoln Promotion Council in
cooperation with the Lancaster County
Extension Service. The Extension Service
lias its own stall which it donates for use to
4-H clubs and other youth organizations.
, Jorgensen said the staff has been
working on organizing and planning the
project since November 1974.
1972 when the program started, Dittmer
said, and the program has been different
each time because the office takes on the
personality of the ombudsman.
The only real power the ombudsman
has, Dittmer said, is the power of
persuasion. The ombudsman cannot make
' decisions or change' policies, but can make
recommendations to the chancellor if he
thinks change is necessary to achieve
equity, he said.
No legal advice
The major difference between the
Wayne State . and UNL ombudsmen,
Dittmer said, is that in addition to routine
problems, the Detroit program also dealt
with legal matters..
"The UNL ombudsman won't
necessitate this kind of background," he
said. "I've had eight calls today and none
of them have required legal advice. If I
receive a call where legal service is needed,
I refer the call to Dave Rasmussen,"
student legal adviser. .v
Although the major part of the
ombudsman's $32,000 budget will pay the
salaries of Dittmer and his two staff
members, the largest remaining portion will
go for advertising, he said. .
Ad sequence helps
The ombudsman will also receive some
free publicity. Albert Book, professor of
journalism, will have his students design
.. advertising campaigns to promote the
ombudsman, an idea Dittmer said will
benefit his program.
Dittmer said he plans to have informal
seminars and rap sessions with interested
students in residence halls, fraternities, and
sororities.
An evaluation of the ombudsman's
work by Dittmer and the UNL chancellor
next August will determine if Dittmer will
opt to continue as ombudsman for two
more years.
Correction
The president of Gateway Bank of
Lincoln is Karl E. Dickinson, not Roger
Dickeson as reported in the Aug. 28 Daily
Nebraskan.
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