Wednesday, april 15, 1981
lincoln, nebraska vol. 106, no. 63
n
LnJ
Official asks chicken, egg question of vet school
By Patti Gallagher
The process and planning to build a regional College of
Veterinary Medicine at UNL has been a chicken and egg
business, according to Earl Dickinson, head of the UNL
department of veterinary science.
Talk of building a veterinary school in Nebraska has
been around since as early as 1892. This year in the
Nebraska Legislature, LB245 proposes funds to begin con
struction plans for a college.
The problem now, as in the past, is one of timing,
Dickinson said. LB245 has recently been amended to
stipulate federal funding must be secured by 1983 if the
school is to be completed.
Thus, the chicken and egg question: Which comes first,
the state money or the federal dollars?
Dickinson said he believes Nebraska should take the
lead in the project. Passage of the bill would indicate to
the federal government that state support does exist and
federal grants for the college should be allocated, he said.
"If Nebraska is going to take the lead spot, we've got
to take the lead. I think we're doing that with LB245,"
he said.
A timing problem exists however, because the U.S.
Congress is soon to end consideration of funding legisla
tion. Unless the Nebraska Legislature moves LB245 soon
the opportunity to gain federal funds will be lost until
next year.
Construction scheduled for 1982
That delay would move the construction date for the
college back a year, Dickinson said. Construction is
currently scheduled to begin in 1982, be completed by
1984, for enrollment of students that fall, he said.
"We haven't given up the hope that it will be in the
federal work-up for this year," he said. He added that
everyone he has dealt with on the project feels con
struction should not begin without a federal commitment.
"We're not going to make the possibility of wasting the
taxpayers' money," he said.
Dickinson said he is fairly sure the federal money will
be forthcoming, if not now. at least in the future.
"We are cautiously optimistic that we are going to get
the federal funds but they are not in hand."
Last week. Gov. Charles Thone sent a letter to state
senators warning that he does not favor allocations of
state dollars before federal ones are committed for the
veterinary school.
Dickinson said he doesn't want to second guess the
governor, but said he believes Thone has been a vet school
supporter all along. He said he hopes the governor doesn't
veto the bill, which is now ready for final floor approval
by the Legislature. If he does, Dickinson said he hopes it
is returned to the house for an override.
SI. 4 million allocated
LB245, in its current form, would allocate nearly S1.4
million for 1981-82 to draw up plans for the College of
Veterinary Medicine, to be located on UNL's East
Campus.
An amendment on the bill would terminate plans for
the college if the anticipated federal funds are not secured
by Dec. 31, 1982.
Of that SI. 4 million allocation, SI. 3 million is pegged
for drawing up formal architecture and engineering
designs and $119,000 is targeted for continued planning
by the Old West Regional Commission.
The Old West Regional Commission, composed of Ne
braska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming and
Montana, began drawing up plans for the veterinary
college in 1973. In 1974, a legislative committee and the
NU Board of Regents requested reports on the possibility
of building the college.
The total construction cost for the veterinary school
will be just under $30 million. Of that, $5 million will
come from Nebraska's general fund, $8 million from other
states' contracting fee payments, about $15 million is
expected from the federal government and $2 million has
been committed by private sources in the livestock and
agribusiness industries.
The current cost to NU for educating its students will
be $1,138,000 this year, according to Dickinson. It is
spent on contracting agreements with various mid-west
veterinary schools for 96 students. Additionally, nine
Nebraska veterinary students attend the University of
Missouri on a reciprocity agreement.
Dollars should stay home
Dickinson's objection to the contracting situation is
that Nebraska dollars being spent out-of-state could be
kept here to improve programs.
The proposed college will have between 60 and 94
seats, 35 of which will be for Nebraska students. Of other
states in the Old West Region, North Dakota and Wyom
ing have passed legislation supporting the idea of the
regional college.
South Dakota has terminated all plans for a school and
Wyoming and Montana, being part of a separate commis
sional division, have not committed themselves to the
college proposal.
Outside the Old West Region, the states of New Mexico,
Nevada and Arizona have expressed interest in sending
students to the veterinary college, Dickinson said. None
have formally agreed to participate yet, he said.
In 1979, the Legislature passed a bill for the veterinary
school contingent on receiving federal funds and commit
ments from two other states before beginning construct
ion. The federal government also approved the college con
struction in the 1977 farm bill. The bill would provide
50 matching funds for any state wanting to build a
veterinary college if the state has made an effort to
establish a regional school with other states and if the
school program includes programs for food producing
animals.
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Photo by Mark Billingsley
Mr. Robin's neighborhood
Lucky Mr. Robin takes time out to enjoy a cool spring day as he checks out a worm lunch.
Tenants petition commission to reject two permits
By D. Eric Kircher
Students, downtown employees and a retired woman
will protest the leveling of their apartment building at
the 1:30 p.m. City-County Planning Commission meeting
today.
Donald Bowman, together with Kenneth Juilfs, owns
the Orlo and Fanetta apartment buildings at 14th and K
streets. He is asking the commission to approve two
special permits which would allow a planned office
complex to exceed height restrictions of the area and to
be built next to the sidewalk. Buildings near the capitol
can be four stories high, or five stories with a special
permit.
The planning department has recommended the
commission approve the special permit allowing a taller
building and that it approve a request to eliminate a 20
feet front yard requirement along 13th Street, but that it
require a front yard along K and 14th streets.
At a strategy meeting Monday night, the tenants
decided to present to the commission more than 100
signatures on a petition that asks the commission to re
ject the permit applications. They also planned to show
that their apartments were not delapitated. Although they
acknowledged that the apartments could be demolished
without the permit, they said that blocking the permits
could make it less desireable to build the office bjiilding.
Traveling lunch
If the commission approves the permits, they discussed
asking state senators and council members to a "traveling
lunch" in their apartments to show the rooms and pro
test the destruction of downtown housing. The council
can approve or deny the commission's action.
One tenant, Jack Saltzman protests what he said was
a common assumption that anyone wanting to live down
town could afford only a small, cheap apartment.
Bowman wants to tear down the two "dilapitated"
apartment buildings and construct an underground park
ing garage and office building, but the residents of the
Fanetta took to the media pleas for more downtown
housing, starting with saving their apartments. They said
the buildings are solid structurally and show good exam
ples of historically significant architecture.
An earlier capitol environs study stated that the Orlo
was historically significant.
Bowman told the residents in a tenant-landlord meet
ing Monday night that he would like to remodel the build
ings, but the high cost makes it unprofitable. He said that
feasibility studies on remodeling the Orlo ranged from
$750,000 to SI J million. Rent would be more than $300
a month to pay for the remodeling, he said.
Studies were rigged
He protested rumors that the feasibility studies were
rigged. He said he spent SI 5,000 on the studies. He said
the only way to make money on downtown housing was
to "go up," and the rules forbid tall buildings near the
capitol.
The tenants told Bowman that their apartment didn't
need renovation. Saltzman's room in the Fanetta, where
the group met, was covered with beige curtains, mirrors
and was lit with a silver and crystal chandelier.
After the meeting, in which both sides listened but
neither side was convinced, the tenants said the two
buildings were allowed to run down. Janet Goebel, a UNL
graduate student and teacher's assistant, said Bowman
didn't raise the rent during the five years she lived there
so that he wouldn't have to repair the Fanetta.
"You haven't made us a compromise or anything,"
Goebel said. Bowman did promise to give the tenants
two-months notice before removing them. He said any
action could be up to five years away.
0KBO(
Wednesday
That's Entertainment: A UNL student has recently
written, directed and produced a melodrama, complete
with villians, heriones and heroes Page 6
A New Stage: The Glass Onion Restaurant has opened its
doors for the independently produced Bingsley-on-Sea
opening this Thursday Page 8
Florida Gold: Nebraska swiniming Coach Cal Bentz won
a recruiting battle with Indiana and Florida for Cliff
Looschen of Cocoa Beach, Fla Page 10