By The
Associated Press
Edited by Jeff Singer
NEWS DIGEST
Neljraskan
Wednesday, September 8,1903
Two U.S. soldiers
wounded in assault
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Two
U.S. Army Rangers were slightly
wounded Tuesday in a pre-dawn air
borne assault on a suspected com
mand and control center of fugitive
warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
About 50 of the elite troops stormed
a dozen buildings within a walled
compound the size of a city block,
engaging in several brief exchanges
of gunfire with armed Somali guards.
Two Somalis escaped after being
wounded and 17 others were captured
and detained for questioning, said
Capt. Tim McDavitt, a spokeman for
the U.N.-led multinational force in
Somalia.
The wounded soldiers were not
identified, but McDavitt said one was
treated and released from a military
hospital and the other was expected to
be released later in the day.
McDavitt and other officials would
not say whether Aidid was believed to
be in the compound at the time of the
raid, but acknowledged that no high
officials of the warlord’s faction were
among the detainees.
Troops have been trying to hunt
down Aidid since June, when his fight
ers killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in an
ambush. On Sunday, seven Nigerian
soldiers were killed in an ambush
blamed on Aidid’s forces.
Since the United Nations took over
the humanitarian effort in Somalia
from a U.S.-led military coalition in
May,47 peacekeepers have been killed
in clashes — including four Ameri
cans— and 175 wounded.
The Somali National Alliance, the
political wing of Aidid’s clan-based
militia, claimed five unarmed civil
ians were killed in the raid and 14
wounded.
That could not be independently
confirmed. U.N. officials insisted that
only adult males were found in the
compound, most of them armed, when
the rangers assaulted it from
Blackhawk helicopters.
The compound is near an old mil
itary parade ground used by Aidid’s
faction to stage almost weekly anti
American and anti-United Nations
demonstrations. U.N. troops have
come under small arms fire in the area
on several occasions.
McDavitt said a number of small
arms were confiscated in the raid, but
declined to say whether any commu
nications gear, documents or other
evidence was found to support the
suspicion the compound was a com
mand center
Elders confirmed as surgeon general
WASHINGTON — Dr.
Joycelyn Elders, President
Clinton’s choice for surgeon gen
eral, was confirmed by the Senate
Tuesday night, surmounting vigor
ous opposition from conservatives.
The vote was 65 to 34.
Senators debated her nomina
tion for more than six hours on the
first day of their return from a
summer recess.
Republicans had acknowledged
in advance of the vote that the
former Arkansas health chief would
be elevated to the position of sur
geon general, the nation’s No. 1
doctor.
Sen. Wendell Ford of Kentucky,
the second-ranking Democrat in
the leadership ranks, voted against
Elders. Three other Democrats,
including Sen. James Exon of Ne
braska, joined 30 Republicans in
opposing her confirmation. Thir
teen Republicans voted for Elders.
“It is time to look forward to a
time when all American children
are planned and wanted, when all
American children are immunized,
when all American citizens have
the security of quality health care,
and when all dreaded diseases are a
distant and haunting memory,” said
Elders, in a statement released by
the Department of Health and Hu
man Services.
Pair convicted in burning
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
Two white laborers were convicted of
all charges Tuesday in the burning of
a black tourist who said they taunted
him with racial slurs, doused him with
gasoline and set him on fire.
Mark Kohut and Charles Rourk
showed no reaction when the jury of
five whites and one black found them
guilty of attempted murder, kidnap
ping and robbery. The jury returned
its decision after a 10-day trial and 12
hours of deliberations.
Burning victim Christopher Wil
son sat looking straight ahead next to
his mother, Enid Plummer, who looked
upward as the first guilty verdict was
read and nodded her head yes. She
wiped away tears as Wilson whis
pered to her.
The two day laborers from Lake
land face life behind bars.
Gov. Lawton Chiles had moni
tored the trial because of fears it could
spark racial conflict in the Tampa
area, where the attack occurred. The
case was moved to West Palm Beach
after unsuccessful efforts to seat a
jury in June amid heavy publicity in
Tampa. .
“I am satisfied that our judicial
- it
Hate is a terrible
thing and so are the
crimes it spawns.
— Chiles
Florida governor
— -ft -
system worked and that Justice has
been done,” Chiles said. “Hate is a
terrible thing and so are the crimes it
spawns.”
Kohut and Rourk, both day labor
ers from Lakeland, face up to life in
prison. Sentencing was set for Oct.
22.
Wilson made no comment as he
left the courthouse, but his mother
said, “We are very happy to know
justice was served.”
“As a black mother, I would like to
say that never would I wish for any
one, whether black or white, to have
to undergo the pain and agony and
frustration we have been through and
are still going through.
“We will survive,” she added.
NetKra&kan
Manaflinfl E(filof
Assoc. News Editors
Sports Editor
Arts & Entertainment
Editor
Photo Chief
Editor JefenjfFKipetrick
Wendy Mott
Angie Brunkow
fiaTO"
Tom Mslnelli
Night News Editors Jeff Zeieny
Liee Sickert
Art Director
. Exec.
Kristine Long
Andres Kaeer
Dev Id Bidders
Bruce Kroese
Shaun Sertin
Senior Acct. r---tt—
Publications Board Chairman Doug Fiedler
Professional Adviser Don Walton
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AT THE
Grant boosts illiteracy battle
By Jody Holzworth
Stall Report* __—
The U.S. Department of Education recently
awarded a Nebraska gjpup- S42.000 to help
continue to wipe out illiteracy in the state.
The Nebraska State Literacy Resource Cen
ter, which opened last January and is partially,
funded by uNL, received the grant for another
year of services. The center assists 26 literacy
programs across the state as part of the Nebras
ka Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy.
Terri Laswell, the center’sproject coordina
tor, said the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
paid the director’s salary, provided office space
at Nebraska Hall and gave the center in-kind
contributions.
The grant, which kept the center from clos
ing this year, could help thousands of Nebras
kans to learn to read in a state where illiteracy
is a bigger problem than most people realize,
Laswell said.
“We tend to automatically assume everyone
can read and that they have basic skills,’ she
said. “Illiteracy is a bigger problem than any
one would estimate.”
Laswell said 60,000 Nebraskans could not
read or write, including several thousand peo
ple in Lincoln. The majority of those people are
m lower income profiles, but illiteracy exists in
all social backgrounds, she said.
“It continues to be a real stigma to be
-44
We tend to eutometlcelly
assume everyone can read
and that they have basic
skills. Illiteracy Is a bigger
problem than anyone
would estimate.
— Laswell
project coordinator, Nebraska State
Literacy Resource Center
-tf -
illiterate, and people in higher income profiles
are more reluctant to come forward,” Laswell
said. “But I have no doubt it exists.”
Laswell said learning to read was only a
small part of literacy. ,
“Basic skills aren’t enough,” she said, “you
need the ability for problem solving and critical
thinking.”
The funding for the center, she sai<J, would
help many learn these skills.
Laswell said the money would be spent on
staff training and expansion of the center’s
library. Most importantly, she said, the funding
would help improve state-wide community lit
eracy programs.
Union arcade gets new carper
By Jan Calinger
Sta/f Report*
Students who wanted to spend spare change
in the Nebraska Union’s game room Tuesday
had to wait until the arcade’s old carpet was
replaced.
Installers spent Tuesday morning and after
noon scraping the old carpet off the cement
floor and laying new material.
Frank Kuhn, assistant director for the Ne
braska Unions, said the carpet was replaced
because it was heavily worn.
“We replaced it when we couldn’t clean it
any more, he said. “It had a lot of cigarette
bums, Coke spills,... It’s a small, heavily used
area.”
Juan Santos, a carpet installer with Floors,
Inc., agreed the carpet was badly in neeu ui
repair. ,
“There were bums, all kinds of stuff, he
said. “It was real dirty."
Kuhn said the ban on smoking in Nebraska
Union would slow future wearing of the carpet.
While union workers try to take care of spills
as soon as possible, Kuhn said, problems inher
ent in a crowded area made maintenance dim
cult. _.
“The best way to keep stains off is to go in
right away, but that’s almost impossible,” he
said. “We do maintenance in there, but carpet
IS VB1 pvi. ,
Kuhn said the carpet had to be replaced
periodically because of damage. He said the
total cost of the arcade carpet replacement was
about $800.
