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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1988)
TNJ OTA7C FI "I C 'K Associated Press X t, w W i^iv l5 \r Edited by Bob Nelson Helicopter crashes at NU Med Center OMAHA — A medical helicopter crashed just after taking off from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and burst into flames Wednesday, injuring the pilot and a nurse. “He started going up, then he started to fly all over the place,” said witness Leo Rognlie. “Maybe the wina just caught him.” The injured pilot and male nurse, the only people aboard the SkyMcd helicopter, were in fair condition at the hospital just after the 5 p.m. accident, said spokeswoman Mary Asher. There were no injuries on the ground. Dave Ogden, another hospital spokesman, said the pilot suffered facial bums and that the nurse was shaken up. “They both walked to emergency,” Ogden said. “We could not determine how they got out.” Ms. Asher said the chopper was taking off for nearby Clarkson Hospital to make room for an other medical helicopter operated by St. Joseph Hospital that was about to land at the Medical Center. Rognlie, 24, who was dropping off a friend at the hospital, said he saw the SkyMcd Helicopter lift off the helipad, veer toward the hospital and then fly erratically before crashing about 15 yards from the helipad. The helipad is near the main entrance to the hospital complex. Rognlie said he ran to the chopper and saw a man he believed to be the pilot crawling from the wreckage. Rognlie said he and another person pullfed the man away from the helicopter. The helicopter was in the air for less than 30 seconds, he said. Ms. Asher said the names of the pilot and the nurse were being withheld pending notification of relatives. The SkyMed helicopter is owned by Rocky Mountain Helicopter Service Co. and leased by the hospital, Ogden said, adding that he did not know where the company was based. Stock market plunges to early 1988 low NEW YORK — The stock market tumbled to an early 1988 low Wednesday as a barrage of selling hit many of the high-technology issues. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials fell 57.20 points to 1,879.14 j —its lowest close since it stood at 1,867.04 on Dec. 11. Declining issues outnumberedadvancesbyabout4to 1 on the New Stock Exchange, with 333 up, 1,329 down and 335 unchanged. Reagan: U.S. must support Nicaraguan rebels WASHINGTON — President Reagan said Wednesday that Con gress will commit “one of America’s most tragic mistakes” if it refuses to give more money to Nicaraguan rebels. House speaker Jim Wright, D-Texas, accused Reagan of pursuing a military victory and the overthrow of the Sandinista regime. There was a sharpening of rhetoric on both sides as supporters and opponents of rebel aid tried to marshal forces for a showdown vote next month that will sustain the Contra force or effectively pul it out of business. White House officials angrily rebutted charges that the administra tion was trying to sabotage the peace process in Central America. Murder suspect used teller machine in California COLUMBUS — A Columbus man accused of murdering his wife used an automatic teller machine in San Diego during the weekend, according to Police Chief David Purdy. Kuntzelman used the machine to withdraw from his Columbus checking account, Purdy said. The chief said he didn’t know how much cash was taken from the account. Kuntzelman, 29, named in a warrant charging him with first-degree murder, is accused of killing Hazel Kuntzelman. More shots fired from homestead of polygamist MARION, Utah — A barricaded clan of polygamists opened fire at police floodlights early Wednesday for the third time in 14 hours, as officers surrounded the mountain compound for a fifth day, authorities said. No one was injured and police did not return fire. Six to eight rounds were fired about 6 a.m. from the log house on the group’s homestead, officials said. About 30 rounds of gunfire greeted police as they turned on floodlights late Tuesday, and officers said they crawled 15 to 20 yards through the snow to safety. Israel warns of curfews in Arab sector JERUSALEM — Israel said Wednesday it might use curfews fior the first time to quell riots in Arab east Jerusalem, where a police jeep stoned by children ran down a protester and crashed, injuring two officers. Increasing numbers of Jerusalem’s Arabs have been caught up in the nationalist fervor generated by six weeks of violence in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Nebraskan Editor Mike Reilley 472 1766 Managing Editor Jen Oeselms Assoc News Editors Curt Wagner , Chris Anderson Editorial Paqe Editor Oiens Johnson Wite Editor Bob Nelson Copy Desk Chief Joan Razac Sports Editor Jell Apel Arts & Entertain ment Editor Charles Lleurance Asst. Arts & Enteitamment Editor Geoll McMurtry Graphics Editor Tom Lauder Asst Graphics Editor Jody Beam Photo Chief Mark Davis Night News Editors Joeth Zucco Scott Harrah Art Director Brian Barber General Manager Daniel Shattll Production Manager Katherine Policky Advertising Manager Marcia Miller Asst Advertising Manager Bob Bates « Publications Board Chairman Don Johnson. 472 3611 Professional Adviser Don Walton. 473-7301 The Daily Nebraskan (USPS 144-080) is published by the UNL Publications Board. Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb 68588 0448. weekdays during academic year (except holidays), weekly during the summer session Subscription once is $35 for one year. Postmaster bend address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34, 1400 R St. Lincoln, Neb 68588-0448 Second-class postage paid at Lincoln, NE ALL NATE RIAL COPYRIGHT 1988 DAILY NEBRASKAN € Potato farmer harvests gem FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — A potato fanner dug up one of the largest diamonds ever found in this mineral-rich country, a government official said Wednesday. The stone was broken into three pieces, after the farmer and a friend argued whether the stone was genu ine. The unidentified farmer found the 307-carat gem Friday while digging up what he thought was a stone in his potato patch in the eastern Kono dis trict. Officials of the National Diamond Mining Corporation confirmed it was a diamond. The pieces were deposited in the central bank in the capital, Freetown, while government officials tried to sort out the ownership claims. The corporation said the stone belonged to them since it was found on their leased property. The farmer and a third party, a group calling itself “supporters” of the farmer, both claimed they were the rightful own ers. Assessors from the Government Gold and Diamond office did not put a monetary value on the pieces. Shiites end siege of camps BEIRUT, Lebanon — Shiite Mos lem militiamen withdrew Wednesday from all positions ringing Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, ending a nearly 3-year-old siege. Syrian troops immediately rolled into buffer zones around the Chatilla and Bourj el-Barajneh shantytowns to enforce the newly established peace between guerrillas of Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization and militiamen of Lebanese Justice Minister Nabin Bern’s Amal. Reporters saw Amal irregulars pull away in trucks and jeeps from sand bagged positions and carthmounds surrounding the two camps, home for an estimated 30,000 refugees. The move came to enforce a deci sion declared by Bcrri on Saturday to lift the military blockade in what he called a unilateral initiative to end the so-called “camp war” that had killed more than 1,600 people and wounded 3,600 by Lebanese police count. Bern said his move was a gift to the “heroic people” who have been pro testing Israel’s occupation of the West Back and Ga/a Strip. The Shiite withdrawal brought the two Beirut refugee camps under the direct control of the Syrian army. Eight killed in plane crash DURANGO, Calif. — A com muter plane carrying 17 people crashed in a mountainous area near Durango Tuesday night, killing eight and forcing survivors, including one carrying a toddler, to wade through waist-deep snow to summon help. The plane’s nose was demolished and most of the survivors were seated near the rear of the plane, officials said. The pilot and co-pilot were among those killed, authorities said. The nine survivors of the crash were taken to Mercy Medical Center with injuries that ranged from lacera tions, frostbite and hypothermia to head and internal injuries, said hospi tal spokesperson Jane Brown. Two people, including a 23 month-old girl, were treated and re leased. Five were in good condition, one was in serious condition and one was critically injured, she said. Rescuers were led to to the twin engine, turboprop’s wreckage by the footprints of one survivor who walked about 1 1/2 miles through snow meas uring up to 4 feet before reaching a road, authorities said. Snow tractors and a bulldozer were used to cut a trail through the scrub oak and brush along the rolling hills. Four people trapped • inside the wreckage were alive when rescuers arrived, but two died as they were being brought out, said Keith Rousch, a member of the sheriffs volunteer search and rescue team. The other seven survivors walked from the plane. He said rescuers talked to all four of those trapped. ‘‘I don’t recall any discussion of the crash,” Rouseh said. “They were more cold and hurl... but they managed to hang on under very difficult condi tions.” Greg Feith,a National Transporta tion Safety Board investigator who was at the crash site before dawn, said it was hard to learn much about the crash because of darkness and snow fall. Official says Nebraskans need balanced info on nuclear waste KEARNEY — The filament in a camping lantern gives off more radiation in seven hours than a low level nuclear waste disposal facil ity would release in a year, a Ne braska Public Power District offi cial said. NPPD spokesman Wayne Jacobson told the Kearney Rotary Club that Nebraskans are exposed to various forms of background radiation daily. “Practically everything in this world is radioactive to a degree,” he said. “ It docs not necessarily have to do with man tinkering with the atom. It’s part of the earth’s natural environment, so you can’t totally avoid exposure.” NPPD’s interest in the regional low-level nuclear is lied to the waste material produced by the 800-kilowatt Cooper Nuclear Sta tion on the Missouri River near Brownville. The state’s other nuclear power plant is the Fort Calhoun plant operated by the Omaha Public Power District. Although NPPD produces 90 percent of the low-level nuclear waste material in the state. Jacob son said other sources include hospitals, which use radiation for diagnosis and treatment programs and some industries. “We’re trying to knock down some of the fears people have about this site . . . trying to present a balanced program of information so people can later make a judg ment if they are asked to sign a referendum,” he said. Jacobson would not comment on Gov. Kay Orr’s guidelines that will allow communities to vote on whether or not they will accept the waste facility. “We shou Idn ’ t cons ider it onl y a troublesome byproduct,” he said of low-level nuclear waste. Nebras kans need to consider the uses of radiation in hospitals, industries and power plants. Nebraska has been chosen to Andy Manhart/Dally Nebraskan host the facility, in part, because it produces the most nuclear waste of the states in the Five-state compact, Jacobson said. The design of the above-ground storage facility, plus a multitude of monitoring devices can nearly ensure environmental safely, he said. “I don’t think you’ll ever find a reputable scientist who could say this could never happen . . . “ he said about damage to the environ ment, “but it would be very, very unlikely.” Chambers introduces media legislation ben. hrme Chambers ot umaha introduced a bill Wednesday that would erase certain privileges given to the news media. Under LB 1150, the media would no longer be exempt from police search warrants and the option of not revealing sources in an article. Chambers said the media should not be placed in a privileged position. U<r’er current law, a newsroom cannot be searched unless the indi vidual is believed to be involved in the crime. The shield law permits a reporter to not disclose sources unless the disclosure would lead directly to a verdict. Chambers said editorializing by certain newspapers prompted the legislation. He said they have said that state senators should be granted certain arrest immunities. If the senators do not deserve the privileges, Chambers said, then neither do the media. Under the bill, the media would be no more privileged than the ordinary citi zen. “It wouldn’t cripple it any more than it cripples me if someone searches my home, which is my kingdom,” Chambers said.