Monday, November 11, 1985
Page 2
Daily Nebraskan
'Dig
est
Bv The Associated Press
New
Education report cites progress,
hope for national teacher crisis
WASHINGTON - The nation is mak
ing "slow, but steady progress" recruit
ing more and better teachers as salary
increases are outstripping inflation,
the Carnegie Foundation reported Sun
day. Ernest Boyer, the president of the
foundation, said its new review of
school statistics from each state pro
vides "grounds for cautious hope."
But he added, "the challenge con
fronting teaching in this country is far
greater than its achievements." He
urged immediate action to tighten pro
fessional standards, boost teachers'
pay further and recruit stand-out stu
dents for the profession.
Boyer released an update of a report
called, "The Condition of Teaching: A
State by State Analysis," first issued in
August 1983.
Its author, C. Emily Feistritzer,
director of the National Center for
Education Information, said the latest
data on teacher salaries, test scores
and other topics "dramatically demon
strates that all the brouhaha over
teaching is paying off in slow, but
steady, progress."
Arafat vows PLO won't give up
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates
PLO chief Yasser Arafat, responding
to criticism that he favored peace with
Israel, said in an interview broadcast
Sunday that the Palestinian people
will "never let the gun fall from their
hands."
And in Jordan, King Hussein told a
military graduating class that "the
Arab flag" will soon fly over Jerusalem.
Arafat's statement on Abu Dhabi
television followed a declaration he
made only last week in which he
denounced violence against unarmed
civilians anywhere and pledged to pun
ish violators of a PLO commitment
against terrorism outside Israeli-occupied
territory. The interview with
Abu Dhabi television was conducted
Friday in Cairo, Egypt.
Arafat, chairman of the Palestine
Liberation Organization, said in the
interview that his earlier Cairo decla
ration was "a diplomatic riposte to the
fierce U.S. and Zionist campaign against
the PLO."
Harvest increases elevator blasts
OMAHA Nebraska State Fire
Marshal Wally Barnett warns that the
large volume of harvested grain being
poured into elevators increases the
chance of grain-elevator explosions at
this time of year.
Robert Frye, vice president of a Kan
sas City company that manufactures
elevator-safety equipment, agrees, say
ing last weekend's elevator explosion
that killed three people in Marion,
S.D., is not likely to be the last explo
sion of this fall.
A member of the National Academy
of Science study group on elevator
explosions, Frye said none of the study
group's 1982 recommendations for ele
vator safety has been implemented at
the federal level.
Proposed Occupational Safety and
Health Administration regulations have
not been approved for nearly three
Budget trimming continues this week
LINCOLN Trimming at least $17
million from the $828 million state
budget appears certain, although state
senators are cautious in predicting
what new revenue bills may be passed
during the special session of the Ne
braska Legislature this week.
Sen. Jerome Warner of Waverly, chair
man of the Appropriations Committee,
said the failure of both a proposed
income tax increase and an increase in
the state cigarette tax would require
lawmakers to look to massive program
cuts and tax increases when they
return for their regular session in
Teachers lost 12 percent of their
purchasing power in the previous 10
years, but their salaries rose 6.2 per
cent in 1984-85 and 6.9 percent last
year, when inflation was only 3 to 4
percent each year, the report said.
Citing National Education Associa
tion figures, the report said the average
classroom teacher made $23,546 in
1984-85. The median household income
for teachers was about $30,000 in 1983,
or roughly "the same as that for all
college graduates," it said.
Four percent of teachers 85,000
had a household income of $15,000
or less, compared with 16 percent of
the working public, it said. At the
opposite end of the income scale, 13
percent of teachers 275,000 were
in households with incomes of $50,000
or more, compared with 20 percent of
the working public.
"Teacher salaries are higher than
those of state and local goverment
employees, and both are outstripping
the inflation rate," it said. "Yet a
smaller portion of ever-increasing
school spending goes for teacher's
The declaration was criticized by
some Arabs who contended he had
dropped the Palestinian armed strug
gle in favor of peaceful accommodation
with Israel.
Arafat said the contents of the dec
laration represented "truthful respect
for international legitimacy, which dis
tinguished between resistance against
an enemy and terrorist operations against
innocent civilians outside the occu
pied land."
But, he said, Palestinian resistance
remained committed to "escalating
armed struggle inside the occupied
territories."
In Amman, Jordan, Hussein said in a
speech that Arabs will soon rule Jerus
alem, a city with a population of
400,000. Israel captured the Old City of
eastern Jerusalem from Jordan in the
1967 Arab-Israeli War and later annexed
it.
"It will not be long before the day
years, he said.
"It will take another major tragedy
to get us off dead center," Frye said.
The danger of explosions is high
now, said Frye, Barnett and Donald
Richards, regional vice president for
the Grain Dealers Insurance Co. The
more grain there is and the more it is
moved, the more likely an explosion,
they said.
At an elevator, grain dust serves as
explosive fuel. It is created every time
grain, especially corn, is moved between
bins, trucks, grain cars or wagons.
With constant use of machinery at
harvest, a hot bearing, worn conveyor
belt or hot metal can cause the spark
needed to ignite a blast.
"It's a nervous time for us," said
Richards. "In spite of all the precau
tions, you can't entirely eliminate the
risks."
January.
Even if both are enacted, senators
will need to consider $12 million to $13
million in program eliminations or
revenue steps during the next budget
go-round, he said. Without the two
bills, the figure climbs to $44 million.
If all goes as Speaker William Nichol
of Scottsbluff plans, the Legislature
will finish Friday with its second 1985
special session, which began Oct. 17.
Senators are to return from a three
day weekend Tuesday to take up the
income and cigarette tax bills on
salaries."
Last year, 36.6 percent of public
school budgets went for teachers' pay,
compared to almost 42 percent in
1972-73.
"The SAT scores of prospective
teachers are edging up faster than the
national averages," it said. "The gap
between the SAT scores of high school
students who say they are going to
major in education...and the national
average SAT score narrowed from 80
points in 1982 to 70 points in 1985.
"More people seem to be going into
teaching than was predicted," the
report said. "The number of teacher
graduates in 1983 was smaller than the
estimated number of additional teachers
needed in 1984-85.
Center for Education Statistics, a
federal agency, has projected the nation
needs 1.65 million additional public
and private school teachers between
now and 1993, or two-thirds of today's
teacher workforce of 2.4 million.
The Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching is based in
Princeton, N J. Ms. Feistritzer's center
is headquartered here.
that the Arab flag will fly over Jerusa
lem and the voices (from the mosques)
will cry 'God is great' and the bells will
ring from the churches there,'-' Hussein
said Sunday at the Royal Military
Academy in the Jordanian capital.
The king, in alliance with the PLO, has
proposed peace with Israel in exchange
for Israel's withdrawal from all lands
occupied since the 1967 war.
Peace, the king said, should be
based on "right and justice" and should
restore "the occupied territories to
their legitimate owners."
Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres
has expressed willingness to negotiate
with Hussein and with Palestinians
who renounce violence. But Israel says
it will never give up Jerusalem, which
is a holy city for Jews, Christians and
Moslems.
Israel also opposes Hussein's call for
a U.N.-sponsored peace conference, al
though Peres has indicated he would
accept some sort of U.N. support for
direct talks with Israel.
In 1980, there were 45 elevator
explosions nationally, causing 10
deaths and 57 injuries. In 1981, there
were 50 percent fewer blasts but 12
deaths. In 1983 and 1984, there were 14
elevator explosions each year.
Since 1980, there have been 15 ele
vator explosions in Nebraska, killing
10 people and injuring 18. Four people
were killed in a Nov. 16, 1982, blast at
the Raymond elevator.
Many grain companies are willing to
install new safety equipment but are
waiting for the proposed OSHA rules to
be approved, said Frye.
Rep. DougBereuter, R-Neb., said it is
time to move on the safety rules. It
should not have taken this long to set
tle on regulations to make elevator
explosions less likely without being so
tough they put small feed and grain
dealers out of business, he said.
second round, then consider motions
to bring the budget bill back from final
reading for amendments.
LB10 would increase the state income
tax rate from 19 percent to 20 percent
of federal liability for 1985 only. It
would generate an extra $17 million in
revenue during the rest of the fiscal
year.
LB3, which would increase the state
cigarette tax from 18 cents a pack to
23, failed to advance to final reading
last week in part because a number of
senators were absent. It will have a
second chance Tuesday.
f In Brief
Farm groups form
ct oat'1 Minn In what, thev
legislative clout, leaders of 15 farmer organizations representing 1 1 states
Sunday announced the formation of a single national group.
"There are many farmers and ranchers in the U.S. who see an enormous
and immediate credit crisis in rural America, and as we see it there are no
solutions that really address the problems from a farmer's perspective,"
Toni Kelley, co-chair of the newly formed Farmers' Fair Credit Campaign,
told reporters at a news conference.
The announcement of the new group followed a weekend meeting
attended by 40 farm activists from such groups as Groundswell, COACT,
the Dakota Resource Council, and the Nebraska Center for Rural Affairs.
Farmers' Fair Credit Campaign has been established on four principles;
Farmors should retain the title of their land and lenders should remain
solvent; the program should" be tied to increasing commodity prices; the
program should address a need for a debt readjustment, and the program
shoul-i be developed immediately and should be targeted to the family
farm.
The group's main objectives are to reform the farm credit system and to
pass comprehensive debt-relief legislation written by farmers, Kelley said.
Half approve of unproven cancer clinics
NEW YORK Half of all Americans believe cancer clinics should be
allowed to operate in the United States, even if the treatments they offer
are opposed by established medicine, according to a Media General
Associated Press polL
The nationwide telephone poll of 1,4 12 respondents also indicated that
slightly more than half would seek treatments rejected by the medical
community if they were stricken by serious diseases.
Fourin 10 of the respondents said they feared one deadly disease more
than any other; for the vast majority, that disease was cancer.
The second most commonly feared disease was AIDS, acquired immune
deficiency syndrome.
Each year, hundreds of Americans receive unproven cancer treatments,
from drug therapy to massive doses of vitamins, If the unproven treat
ments involve drugs, the patients generally have to leave the United
States to receive them.
Many of the patients of these clinics contend the treatments saved
their lives. But others die, and some doctors fear that patients who
abandon traditional treatments may be shortening their lives.
If stricken by a serious disease, 52 percent of the respondents said they
would seek "a medical treatment that promised a cure" even when the
treatment was rejected by the established medical community.
Girls to rejoin boys on playground
WARWICK, R.I. Segregation by sex on a school playground to protect
boys from the kicks and punches of girls may be ending, now that a treaty
has been worked out.
Principal Richard Sousa agreed Friday to aliow the boys and girls of
Oakland Beach ElementarySchool to play together again on a trial basis
beginning Tuesday, students said.
The agreement followed a meeting between a Sousa-appotnted commit
tee of fifth- and sixth-grade boys and girls.
"He left us alone for 15 minutes or so to work on solutions on how we
thought we could solve the problem," said sixth-grader Leslie Fudge.
Under the agreement, the schoolyard will be united as of Tuesday, but
will be segregated again if fighting resumes. If that happens, Sousa told
the students he would set aside a portion of the playground for peaceful
mixing of boys and girls.
The segregation was imposed when boys at the 430-pupU school com
gained they were being "kicked where it counts" and beaten up by girls
vhen they went outside during recess periods. Sousa said the boy-girl
fights were going on almost daily since the school year began.
Royal couple 'touched' by U.S. welcome
WASHINGTON Prince Charles said Sunday that he and Princess
Diana are "enormously touched" by their welcome in America and hint ed
that they may head for the wide open spaces of the West on a future visit.
"There are lots of places I'd like to get to," the future king of England
told reporters in his first news conference in years. "I'd love to go to
Wyoming the Queen has told me about it." Queen Elizabeth II visited
Wyoming in 1984
The prince and princess of Wales worshipped earlier Sunday with
thousands of Americans, toured a museum full of British art treasures,
then visited the Virginia hunt country estate of Paul Mellon, the philan
thropist whose father once served as ambassador to the court of St.
James's.
Both Charles and Diana appeared somewhat tired midway in her first
visit to the United States, coming on the heels of a two-week tour of
Australia.
Charles said he hoped the couDle's visit would serve "to show the
strong bond between the British and the Americans." And "We're very
much overwhelmed by the reaction" so far, he said.
Spanish demonstrate against NATO
MADRID, Spain Thousands of people marched and danced down the
streets of four Spanish cities on Sunday in festive protests against Spain's
membership in NATO and the presence of U.S. troops in leased bases.
1 he demonstrations began Saturday night and were organized by a
committee representing
Jtiands Dlaved and vmitVie AmnaA
liands played and youths danced
Madrid. Barcelona Vnlon a mu
, , , .vnviu ttliu UiiUlL
"""f w.e visioie along march routes.
VlA?imates varied widely- Madnd authorities put the crowd there
at 15,000. Organizers sniH noortw ka nnA ,
. .v vunj uu.VW WViS. UMl.
v uhuw uGiunsi government. 1,
miiiurawai rom MTO and a referendum on the issus.
; ,,,8 ouice, nowever, Socialist Prime Minister Felipe uonzaie
nas said Spain should remain in NATO although outside its military .
command structure. The government premised to held the referendum by
early next year.
national coalition
called a move to strenehten f.Mr
r, .,, Atm ctrc
as protesters moved down streets in
!yoa No incidents were reported, and
1.
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