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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 1993)
University of Nebraska •4A&E Love on campus A new public access show deals with issues in relationships atUNL. Page 6 Wednesday 50/35 Today, mostly sunny. Thursday, partly sunny with highs In the lower 70s. Vol. 93 No. 47 Police arrest one suspect for assault By Jeff Zeleny Senior Editor_ One suspect in the beating of a UNL international student was cited on third degree assault charges in Omaha Mon day night, Police Chief Ken Cauble said Tues day. Cauble said because the suspect was a juve nile his name would not be released. Cauble said he was not a UNL student. The juvenile arrested is one of three suspects in the Oct. 17 assault of Boon-Chung Ong, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student from Malaysia. Another suspect was interviewed by UNL police Tuesday night, Cauble said. The suspect was aware of the assault, but offered a different account of what happened, Cauble said. The man, who is not a university student, was not cited during the interview. Because of the additional information given to police, the investigation will continue before more arrests are made, Cauble said. The UNL student suspected in the assault has sought legal advice, Cauble said, and has chosen to remain silent. See ASSAULT on 3 Judge allows 15 photographs into evidence judge ruled Tuesday that 15 photo graphs of the autopsy and burial site of UNL student Candice Harms would be allowed as evidence in the first-degree murder trial of Roger Bjorklund. Lancaster County District Judge Donald Endacott reviewed about 50 photographs in a closed meeting during the trial with Chief Public Defender Scott Helvie, Lancaster Coun ty Attorney Gary Lacey and Bjorklund. The ruling came during the second day of Bjorklund’s trial. Bjorklund, 31, who wore a blue shirt with gray stripes, blue jeans and white tennis shoes Tuesday, has been charged along with Scott Barney, 24, in the slaying.During Tuesday’s hearing, prosecuting and defending attorneys questioned witnesses about sets of tire tracks at 27th and Bluff Road where Harms’ 1987 By Dionne Searcey Senior Reporter See TRIAL on 3 University bii Odd events common . in ‘haunted’ house, UNL employees say Editor’s note: These stories are a part of the Halloween week series about Lincoln ghost stories. By Dionne Searcey Sinter Report*__ Things go bump even during the day at the Lewis-Syford House, employees in the building said. Jim Wankech, a counselor for UNL’s Em ployee Assistance Program, which is a confi- < dential counseling program for UNL employ- , ees, said strange noises were commonplace at the house, 700 N. 16th St. “Sometimes there will be noises like ma- , chines turning on and off in the basement that we can’t figure out,” Wankech said. The front door sticks or pops open for no reason, he said, and lights sometimes blink. Kiley Timpertey/DN Alex Carper of Lincoln, right, was one of many riders along the Walton Bike Trail near Walton Sunday afternoon. Business thrives, so does town Walton Trail Company offers hiking, biking, good time By Rebecca Oltmans Staff Reporter WALTON — Walton’s main street ends and begins in a cornfield; the post off ice is considered the hub of activity. So why are 100 people — half of them students—coming to this town almost every day? To get to the Walton Trail Company. The Walton Trail Company sits on the corner of Main Street in a 100-year-old building. Outside are wooden bike racks; inside is an old-fashioned store where one can get anything from specialty coffees to bike repairs. The store also serves as a promoter and fundraiser for the Walton bike trail. The bike trail has been open since 1990 when the Great Plains Trails Network bought an abandoned railroad line and turned it into a hiker-biker trail. In January 1993, Rich Rodenburg and Richard Conradt formed the company to tap some of the potential of the trail. Rodenburg said bike trails were a grow ing business opportunity. “There’s a constant stream of business,” Rodenburg said. That stream becomes a river of bikers during weekends. During the trail’s peak season—February to September—the trail is trod by up to 500 people, mostly families, Conradt said. Money isn’t the only thing the bike trail brings to the little town, Conradt said. “It brings a lot of capital into a 1 ittlc town, but it’s also a great way to revive a town that’s ailing,” Conradt said. “It kind ofbrings them together and makes them less depen dent on other towns.” Walton might not be the only small town to benefit from the trail, as 23 more miles of bike trail are being developed, Conradt said. The additional trail will run through Eagle, Elmwood and Wabash. “Weather permitting, they will keep working on the trail through the winter and the projected completion date is next sum mer,” Conradt said. A horseback riding trail and landscaping also are in the works, he said. “The farther away the trail gets from Lincoln, the more beautiful and rustic it gets,” Conradt said. The Trail Company expects more busi ness in the winter because of cross-country skiing, but already the trail hasdrawn people from all over Nebraska and even other coun tries. “People come from all over, Europe, South America, Asia, everywhere, and they all have a story to tell,” Conradt said, “and a lot of them say how much the store reminds them of their old hometown.” “It’s just a good way to get away from it all,” Conradt said. “You can get on a bike, ride out and have a sandwich and a cup of coffee, and be back to town in an hour and a half.” Despite the positive results of the trail so far, Rodenburg said a lot of things have yet to be seen because the “rails to trails” project, although a national one, is new to Nebraska. “Rails to trails” is planned for many more parts of Nebraska, Conradt said. lildings go bump with mysterious ghosts The house, located between the Cornerstone Church and Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, was built in 1878 for Rev. Elisha Moshcr-Lewis, a Presbyterian minister. When Lewisdied in 1891, the property shifted hands several times until Dewitt and Amanda Syford bought the home in 1904. Their daughter,Constance, a Uni versity ofNebraska-Lincoln graduate, willed the house to the historical society in 1967. According to state histor cal records, the oldest Syford child was Ethel rorrine, a successful writer and musician and in active republican. Corrine died in the home Nov. 3, 1955. “We think that Ethel might be with us from ime to time,” Nancy Myers, director of the imployee Assistance Program, said. Eerie experiences are not uncommon in the See HOUSE on 2 Thespian apparition tap dances, clamors in Temple Theatre By Paula Lavlgne Staff Reporter _ _ Discarded couches, chairs, swords and even coffins covered by a thin film of dust and cobwebs fill most of the Temple Theatre props attic. But the attic is said to host another relic — the theater’s resident ghost. Pat Overton, theatre manager, said Temple ghost stories and sightings had been circulating for years. Overton said she’d heard several first-hand accounts of the ghost, but had never had an encounter herself. “I’m not afraid of ghosts,” she said, “so maybe that’s why they don’t haunt me.” Overton said two custodians who were work ing the late shin years ago heard tap dancing and chairs moving in the Howell Theater. When they went to check, she said, nothing was there. About 15 years ago, a former faculty member. Dr. Morgan, said he thought “Dallas” was haunting the theater. Overton said“Dallas” was the late Dallas Williams, who was chairman of the theater department for 15 years. “Dr. Morgan said while he was having a rehearsal, he heard folding chairs being thrown around in the Howell Lob by,” Overton said. “He said he went to check it out, and there was nothing. “He said his rehearsal wasn’t going so well and he joked that Dallas was passing judgment on his directing." Overton said although the ghost had raised havoc around the theater, she didn’t think it was anything to fear. “No one was ever hurt, and there were never See GHOST on 2