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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1988)
Three University Press employees arrested By Victoria Ayotte Staff Reporter Three University of Nebraska Press employees were arrested this week on charges of stealing books, said Jan Sharpe, deputy Lancaster County attorney. William Kelly, Bradley Purcell and Walter Bradford were arrested in connection with the thefts, Sharpe said. Two of the employees were ar rested Monday at their Nebraska Hall workplace, and the third was arrested Wednesday, according to University of Nebraska-Lincoln police reports. UNL police would not release the value of the stolen books. Bruce Currin, university director of person nel, said the information could not be released because ihc investigation has not been completed. Sharpe said Kelly was charged with two counts of Class III felonious theft, or theft of more than $1,000. The possible penalty for each charge is one to 20 years in prison, a $25,000 fine or both, he said. Purcell was charged with one count each of Class III and IV feloni ous theft, Sharpe said. The max imum penally is five years in prison, a fine of $10,(XX) or both. Sharpe said Bradford was charged with one misdemeanor theft — theft of $ 100 to $300. The possible penalty for this is a maximum of one year in jail, a $1 ,(X)() fine or both. Sharpe said Kelly was released on bond, and Purcell and Bradford were released with citations. Sharpe said he thought Kelly was arraigned Thursday. Purcell and Bradford will be ar raigned in Lancaster County Court March 2, he said. Kelly has been a supply control supervisor at University Press since October 1987, Currin said. Purcell was hired as a temporary supply control clerk in November 1987, and Bradford has been a supply control clerk since March 1987, Currin said. Supply control employees work in the shipping and receiving dock of University Press. Currin wouldn’t say whether dis ciplinary action would be taken against the employees. Bill killed prohibiting governmental competition By Mary Nell Westbrook Senior Reporter A bill that would have prohibited state agen cies such as the University of Nebraska from providing certain goods or services to the public was killed in committee Thursday. LB 1084, introduced by Sen. Chris Abboud of Omaha, was intended to restrict and regulate government competition with private enter prises. The Government, Military and Veterans Affairs committee killed the bill after a public hearing. Services such as the University of Nebraska Lincoln’s Printing and Duplicating Service in the basement of Nebraska Hall would be sub ject to examination by a committee that the bill would have set up, Abboud said. About $600,000 was requested to implement the bill. Under the Nebraska Privatization Act, UNL would have had to turn over its production to a local private company. The bill would have prohibited manufactur ing, processing, sale, leasing, delivery, dis pensing , distribution, or advertising of goods or services to the public, which are also offered by private enterprise. All state agencies would be subject to re view by the Private Entciprise Review Com mission. Abboud said the intent of the bill is to promote private enterprise in the state. Abboud said California reported saving $1 billion in 23 years by turning over many state agency functions to private companies. In 1984, New York reported saving $4 million, he said. Abboud said private contractors are more economical. He said the construed n of the new state office building, which vas turned over to the private sector, saved nr jney. “The bottom line is saving the state money,” Abboud said. William Hemann, associate vice president for administration at NU, spoke in a neutral position on the bill, but said he agrees with the bill’s intent Hemann, also director of finance and admin istrative systems, said the university does not conduct activities for the purpose of competi tion. The university is restricted to serve only students, staff and faculty members. The university holds contracts with private companies but also contracts internally. The university contracts privately when it is more cost effective to do so. Abboud considered exempting some state agencies from the bill, such as the Game and Parks Commission. He said parts of the univer sity may also have been exempted. The Daily Nebraskan, which some have said is in direct competition with local newspapers while being funded by the state, is an example of the types of agencies which would be ex empt, he said. Sam Seever, a representative of Harris Laboratories Inc. of Lincoln, said his labs compete with several university labs. He said the university has been able to make lower bids on projects because they are funded by the state. Seever said he thinks this is unfair. “When money gets tight the temptation to look for government bids is strong and threat ens the private sector,” Seever said. K--IV-AUK-JMM-—— M ' -m *■■■ ————1 Dave Hanaen/Daity Nebraekan 77je seventh inning stretch University of Nebraska maintenance worker Ron Harper replaces broken bulbs on the baseball scoreboard at Buck Beltzer Field Thursday afternoon. The Nebraska baseball team begins its season Saturday at home against Wyoming. Supporters laud nursing loan bill By Lisa Richardson Staff Reporter S upporters of a bil 1 to give loans to nursing students said the legislation would help decrease the shortage of nurses. Four people supported LB 1185, the Nursing Student Assistant Act, at the Health and Human Services Committee hearing Thursday. No one opposed the bill. Under the bill, the state would defer repayment and interest if the student becomes a registered nurse and works in a nurse shortage area after graduation. The bill is intended to help allevi ate a statewide shortage of nurses, said Sen. Arlene Nelson of Grand Island, who introduced the bill. Nelson cited a study that projected a shortage of at least 7,800 nurses in Nebraska by the year 1990. In order to qualify for the pro gram, a student would have to work one year in a shortage area for each year money was borrowed. The state would loan up to $3,000 a year at 5 percent interest, up to a maximum of $12,(XX). Only Nebraska residents attend ing accredited nursing schools in the state would be eligible. Nelson said two-, three- and four-year nursing programs are acceptable, as long as the student eventually becomes a registered nurse. She said the act is modeled after the state’s Medical Student Assistant Act, a similar loan program for medical students. Jean Beyer, dean of Methodist College of Nursing in Omaha, said southeast and Panhandle areas in Nebraska are in critical need of nurses. She said Methodist’s enrollment has dropped. Several supporters said grants or forgiveness for loans would be a big ger incentive than the current pro posal. Beyer was the first of three witnesses to advocate forgiving debts of nurses who serve in shortage areas. Joan Bowers of the University of See NURSING on 5 Condom use helps decline Cases of chlamydia decrease in Lincoln By Lee Rood Senior Reporter Despite a gradual rise in national statistics, fewer women in Lincoln have contracted chlamydia this year, area health experts said. Dr. Gerald Fleischli, medical di rector at the University of Nebraska Lincoln Health Center, said that while chlamydia is the No. 1 sexually transmitted disease at the center, in stances of chlamydia last year dropped 2.6 percent from 1985. While the health center only has statistics from July to December for the current academic year, Fleischli said, percentages are still declining for the third consecutive year. Fleischli said he can think of two possible reasons for the decline. Because of the seriousness of AIDS, more people may be using condoms, he said, which would ex plain the general reduction of all STDs at the center. Although the health center docs not have exact figures on the decline of STDs, Fleischli said, there is a definite reduction. When doctors tell students they have a curable STD, he said, they ask, “Now what if this had been AIDS?” Students arc starting to protect themselves, he said. There were 1,606 cases of ch lamydia, 28 cases of AIDS and 2,028 cases of gonorrhea reported in Ne braska in 1987, according to State Health Department statistics. Another reason for a decline in reported chlamydia cases at UNL may be a screening program recently started at the health center, Fleischli said. Because 60 to 80 percent of all women with the disease do not expe rience symptoms, many are unaware they have contracted the disease. Because of the program, more women are finding out and telling their partners, he said. When chlamydia replaced gonor rhea as the lop STD at the center, a doctor suggested testing every female student who came in for a Pap smear for both diseases instead of just gon orrhea, Fleischli said. In 1985-86, the center tested 1,208 women for chlamydia and 10.7 per cent had it. Only 8.1 percent of the 1,693 women tested in 1986-87 had the disease. Peg Brady, clinic director at Planned Parenthood of Lincoln, said the national average of women tested positive for chlamydia is from 12 to 15 percent. Planned Parenthood’s current average in Lincoln is less than 12 percent, she said. Brady said she did not have exact numbers. She said she believes the number of cases in Lincoln is lower than the national average because more local women have been in formed about the disease and more are tested for it. Neither Brady or Fleischli had statistics on males because few are tested for the disease in the Lincoln area. Brady said that if women with the disease notice symptoms, they usu ally experience swelling or a burning sensation near the vaginal area and heavy discharge or pain in the pelvic area. Fleischli said that while 25 percent See CHLAMYDIA on 5 -
