Friday, February 14, 1986
Page 2
Daily Nebraskan
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Oup-pme
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LINCOLN - The Legislature killed
a measure Thursday that would have
permitted local governments to con
duct video lotteries, which one senator
said would perpetrate a "fraud on the
public" if they were legalized.
Supporters of LB1 44, which was killed
26-23, countered that many foes of
legalizing video lotteries followed in
consistent arguments because the state
encourages gambling at horse racing
events.
Sen. Peter Hoagland of Omaha, chief
sponsor of the kill motion, repudiated
video lotteries for "enticing the poor,
the hard working people to gamble
away their savings on the gossamer
thread of winning a jackpot, so others
don't have to pay so much in taxes."
The bill was killed during first-round
action by the full Legislature.
Hoagland and others said state govern
ment would be misapplying its respon
sibilities for protecting the public's
welfare if it legalized and even encour
aged video lottery gambling.
"Government in Nebraska can do
better than that," Hoagland said. "Pub
lic service in Nebraska can do better
than that. Let's stand tall in Nebraska.
we
It's simply not in the best interest of
the citizenry."
Sen. William Barrett of Lexington
said passage of LB1 14 would introduce
a "most unwanted influence" in Ne
braska, and would siphon money from
the low income looking for an escape
from their plight.
"Video slot gambling is a fraud on
the public," he said, "it preys on the
compulsive gambler, the poor, the des
perate. It has no business in the state
of Nebraska at this time."
Sen. James Pappas of North Platte, a
co-sponsor of LB144, rebutted that
many critics of video lotteries were fol
lowing a "two-face approach" by con
demning one form of gambling while
advocating another kind horse
racing.
Other co-sponsors of LB144, which
was introduced last year and under
went revisions to try to make it more
palatable, were Sens. Marge Higgins
and Vard Johnson, both of Omaha, Rex
Haberman of Imperial, Gerald Conway
of Wayne and Paul Hartnett of Bellevue.
Sen. Bernice Labedz of Omaha,
another supporter of setting up a lot
tery in the state, said a majority of
wide lottery Mi, 2623
Nebraskans have indicated their sup
port in statewide polls for lotteries.
She said Nebraskans pour money
into lotteries offered by surrounding
states and even states and nations far
away, such as Canada, that conduct
lotteries by mail.
'Video slot gambling
is a fraud on the pub
lic. It preys on the
compulsive gambler,
the poor, the desper
ate. It has no busi
ness in the state of
Nebraska at this time.'
Barrett
Supporters of LB144 had urged their
colleagues to defeat the kill motion
and consider an amendment that would
have overhauled the bill.
The amendment would have replaced
the existing language in LB144 with
LB1021, which calls for formation of a
five-member commission that would
determine what form of statewide lot
tery to establish. Labedz introduced
LB1021 earlier this session.
Under LB144, all communities and
Scottsbluff county could have con
ducted video lotteries, with regulation
being shared by the state Revenue
Department and the local governing
boards.
The local governing boards could
have placed the question of starting a
video lottery on the ballot, allowing
voters to decide.
The Revenue Department would have
regulated manufacturers and distribu
tors of video lottery machines, and the
state and local governments would
have licensed establishments contain
ing the machines.
The state would have received 2 per
cent of the gross proceeds and the local
governments would have collected at
least 5 percent. Between 65 percent
and 85 percent of the proceeds would
have gone into prizes.
Supporters of video lotteries have
said the machines could ease the
state's fiscal problems. But Hoagland
argued that video lottery revenue
wouldn't erase any shortfalls and would
slip once people realize their remote
chances for winning.
The debate began with a conlhmta
tion between Hoagland and HiRKjns
who objected to Hoagland's tondcncv
to dub video lottery machines as video
slots.
"That's a lie, it's not in the bill"
Higgins said of Hoagland's attempts to
refer to the machines as slot machines
She noted that they never are referred
to as slot machines in the bill.
Following is the roll call vote on a
motion that killed a measure that
would have legalized video lotteries
Senators voting "yes" supported tlie
kill motion, and those voting "no"
opposed killing LB144.
Yes (26): Abboud, Barrett, Beyer
Carsten, Chambers, Chronister, Eret'
Goll, Hefner, Hoagland, L. Johnson, R
Johnson, Lamb, Landis, Lundy, Marsh,
Miller, Morehead, Nelson, Peterson!
Pirsch, Remmers, Sieck, Smith, Warner!
Wesely.
No (23): Baack, Beutler, Chizek,
Conway, DeCamp, Goodrich, Haberman!
Hall, Hannibal, Harris, Hartnett, Hig
gins, V.Johnson, Labedz, Lynch, Nichol,
Pappas, Rogers, Rupp, Schmit, Sco
field, Vickers, Withem.
LPS group to discuss racism Sim 'Muck Hnn9
LINCOLN Concerns about possible racism
and prejudice in Mark Twain's "Huckleberry
Finn" will be discussed by the Lincoln School
System's Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee
next month.
Ann Irvine, education equity administrator for
the school system, said one of the purposes of
the committee is to review books and materials.
Next month's meeting will be devoted to discus
sion of "Huckleberry Finn," which is on the
school system's required reading list, Irvine
said.
She said some committee members are con
cerned that the book depicts a glimpse of a
not-so-proud era in our nation's past a time
when "nigger" was a household term and slavery
was an accepted part of the economy.
Irvine said 12 to 15 people attend meetings of
the committee. She said she didn't know how
many members were concerned about "Huc
kleberry Finn."
"We've never taken a vote on it," Irvine said.
The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the
book but not whether it should be removed from
the reading list, she said.
Nearly 100 years after "Huckleberry Finn"
first hit the bookstores, the book has a different
audience primarily teen-agers, too young to
wax nostalgic over childhood, critics said.
According to students in Judy Keller's Ameri
can Literature class at Lincoln High School, the
book forces modern-day students to confront
racism and prejudice issues that they other
wise might not talk about.
"I think it's a book that should be read," said
Courtney Willis, who is black. "It's something
that we should never forget about that time in
history. The only way you move ahead is to look
back and see how things were in the past."
The classic tale about the bond that develops
between 14-year-old Huck, a victim of child
abuse, and Jim, a runaway slave, has long been
required reading for students.
Over the years, there have been complaints
from parents about the use of the word "nigger"
it appears more than 100 times in the book
and the portrayal of Jim as a superstitious
buffoon who fits all the worst stereotypes about
blacks.
But students, black and white, who read the
book said they found it entertaining, thought
provoking and a strong statement against the
racist attitudes that were prevalent in Twain's
day.
All 23 students in Keller's class agreed that
the book should be read and discussed by teen
age readers.
"You can talk about slavery in history classes,
but it's more realistic in 'Huck Finn,' " said Shay
Davis, a black student.
"This book actually shows, from a young per
son's point of view, how they had to deal with
racism," said Nell Eckersley, who is white.
Several students said they didn't enjoy having
the word "nigger" flung in their faces, page after
page. Chelsea Harrison, who is black, liked the
book but found certain passages "degrading."
White students agreed that the term is dero
gatory and grates on modern ears, but as Alexa
Beutler put it, "You have to read the story like it
was back then. The use of that term was com
mon . . . When it was written whites thought
blacks were less, and blacks thought blacks
were less because they (the whites) told them
. so."
Several students said Huck's adventures have
a lot to say about the world of today. Prejudice
still exists, though perhaps not in as blatant a
form as in Huck's day, they said.
"The book was a statement about American
society at that time, and the hypocrisy of it," said
Randy Nuss, a white student. "The thing is, it's
really no different today. There's still a lot of
discrimination as far as jobs go, and against
women. We still haven't gotten to total equality."
Students agreed that the strong personal rela
tionship between Jim and Huck, which breaks
the bonds of race and custom, is a universal
theme that raises the book above mere social
commentary.
NetiraMcan
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Gramm-Rudman affects
state farm programs
r V
In Brief
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ALL KATEKAL CSPT&SSST. 13 DAILY IEBRASKA1
LINCOLN Growing up on a farm
outside Franklin during the Dust Bowl
of the '30s gave Bill Steinkruger more
than just a philosophical attachment
to the soil conservation program he has
worked with for the past 23 years.
"I used to sit up on the back porch
with my dad in 1934 and see a little red
cloud come up on the horizon. The
wind would shift and not a drop of rain
would fall," said Steinkruger, program
specialist for the state office of the
Agricultural Stabilization and Conser
vation Service.
Now the ASCS conservative program,
which for almost 50 years helped
farmers defray the costs of soil- and
water-saving practices, is threatened
by a Reagan administration proposal to
rescind its funds. A Washington memo
to Steinkruger said the cut was needed
to reduce the federal deficit.
Steinkruger estimates Nebraska will
lose more than $4 million in funds
unless Congress votes to restore the
program. A new Conservation Reserve
mandated under the 1985 farm bill will
carry on some conservation work, but
the program will be more narrow.
It will pay farmers to remove the
most erosion-prone land from crop pro
duction by planting grass or trees, but
unlike the older program, it won't pay
for land leveling, installation of under
ground irrigation pipes or ponds used
to catch and recycle irrigation runoff.
Those practices conserve water as much
as soil and "tended to maintain the
quality of our underground water sup
ply," he said.
Steinkruger views the problem of
groundwater contamination as just as
significant for Nebraska as soil erosion.
The loss of funds for ponds and for
the miles of terraces that made Nebras
ka and Kansas national leaders in per
manent conservation practices is just
one of the budget cuts headed for fed
eral farm programs in Nebraska. Con
gress could restore the Agricultural
Conservation Program, but the 4.3 per
cent cuts in all farm programs man
dated by the Gramm-Rudman balanced
budget legislation is viewed as in
evitable. Gramm-Rudman will trim $2.8 mil
lion from the $63.8 million Farmers
Home Administration has budgeted for
operating loans for Nebraska farmers
this year. It will trim every check for
farmers' deficiency payments and price
support loans by 4.3 percent, USDA
officials have said. State officials don't
yet know the value of that loss.
The Soil Conservation Service will
feel a double blow, losing an estimated
$546,000 from the Gramm-Rudman cuts
and another $200,000 of the $4 million
in lost Agricultural Conservation Pro
gram funds. Although most of those
funds go to farmers through the ASCS,
the SCS provides technical planning
for the ponds, terraces and other con
servation practices.
"Gramm-Rudman is what's really
going to kill us," said Ken Inglis, state
deputy conservationist for the SCS in
Lincoln. In Nebraska, the agency has a
$14 million budget, one that hasn't
changed from a year ago. The agency
has already delayed replacements of
vehicles and cut supply purchases.
Peace marchers here June 11
NORTH PLATTE In a demonstration to promote global nuclear disar
mament, 11 Nebraskans will join thousands of people in the Great Peace
March across the United States with a planned stop in North Platte on
June 1 1. The march begins in Los Angeles on March 1 and ends Nov. 15 in
Washington D.C. Pro Peace marchers are traveling the 3,245 miles on foot
to heighten awareness about the threat of nuclear weapons.
Billig performs courtroom surgery
WASHINGTON Navy doctor Donal Billig, defending his conduct in
open-heart operations that cost the lives of five patients, rolled up his
sleeves and demonstrated to jurors Thursday that he can sew surgical
stitches.
In an effort to show that an injury to his right eye hasn't hampered his
surgical ability, the former head of heart surgery at Bethesda Naval
Hospital slipped off his uniform jacket and sewed sutures as the nine
members of his court-martial jury stood around him.
Billig worked on two fingers cut from a surgical glove, simulating the
stitching of blood vessels in a coronary bypass operation. He worked with
his materials in an open box, one of the fingers embedded in a sponge and
the other loose like a replacement blood vessel.
He was aided by a bright lamp, resting on a game box that revealed its
title, "How to Host Murder."
At one point a defense attorney reached in and patted Billig on the
forehead, as a nurse might wipe sweat from a surgeon's brow. Afterward,
Billig asked for a recess.
"I'm sorry I shook a little bit, but I'm nervous," he said. ". , . That made
me very nervous.
Airlines join faro wars
OMAHA Continental and United Airlines say they will match the
new, lower fares announced Monday by Frontier Airlines. But unlike the
Denver-based Frontier, neither United nor Continental will start charging
passengers for checked baggage or for in-flight meals and beverages.
Frontier said it will begin charging fees for such services March 15.
United spokesman Joe Hopkins said United passengers how can fly
between Omaha and Denver for a one-way fare of $39, the same offered by
Frontier. He said United's one-way fare from Omaha to Los Angeles is $79,
which is $10 less than Frontier's rate. j'
David Messing, a Continental spokesman in Houston, said Continental
will offer fares competitive with any others in the marketplace. . .. . :
