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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1995)
Campus bike trail may replace tracks By John Fulwider Staff Reporter The university plans to build a new bike trail through campus, but don’t get out your safety helmet yet. Paul Carlson, interim vice chan cellor for business and finance, said the bike trail was years down the road. A lot of things have to fall into place before administration can even consider building it, he said. The bike trail would replace the X Street corridor spur railroad track. The track runs through City Campus from Holdrege Street, past the Re union, to beyond 19th Street. The bike trail is only a small part of a larger project to improve pedes trian, automotive and railroad safety on City Campus. According to a Board of Regents agenda item, the project, if approved by the board, would do the following: • Close crossings on campus at 14th, 16th and 17th streets. This would remove danger to pedestrians from trains and provide additional campus parking and recreation areas. • Restore 14th, 16th, 17th and Holdrege streets grade crossings to city standards. • Construct new tracks to permit continued operation of the three rail road companies involved in the project. # Allow the University of Ne braska-Lincoln to purchase the sec tion of the Union Pacific track, which abuts university property between Holdrege and 19th streets, and re move the tracks. Carlson said he could not com ment on UNL’s share of the project’s cost, because so many details were still undecided. The project’s success requires co operation among six different par ties: the Lincoln-Lancaster County Railroad Transportation Safety Dis trict, Burlington Northern Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad, Omaha Lin coln & Beatrice Railway Co., UNL and the City of Lincoln. Carlson said the project would proceed in seven stages. If approved, the next stage would be to negotiate with Union Pacific on the price of the land along the track between Holdrege and 19th streets. Carlson said he hoped to complete negotiations by the summer. The construction portions of the project may begin during the 1996 construction season, Carlson said. Area police accept, refuse federal grant By Brian Sharp Senior Reporter A war on crime cannot be waged simply with more law-enforcement officers, UNL Police ChiefKen Cauble said. Such a plan accomplishes little, he said. So when the federal government promised grants to support enlisting additional officers as part of the 1994 Crime Bill, Cauble dismissed the of fer. Now, the U.S. House of Represen tatives also has dismissed the plan, replacing it with a $10 billion anti crime package that would make awards to local governments instead of law-enforcement agencies. The University of Nebraska-Lin coln would have been eligible for the Cops Fast program. The $200 million program, for departments serving communities of less than 50,000 people, recently awarded three-year grants to 40 Nebraska departments including the Lancaster County Sheriffs office. Cops Ahead, a program for larger communities, was turned down by the State Patrol, but accepted by the Lincoln Police Department. Acting Lincoln Police Chief Jim Baird said the ratio of law-enforce ment officers to population was low compared to other cities. Lincoln recently accepted another grant allowing for 15 additional of ficers, he said. Six of those were placed in local schools. In all, Cops First and Cops Ahead will grant $8.8 billion in aid to law enforcement agencies around the United States over five years. For Cauble, the decision not to take part in the program came down to need, and not getting stuck with personnel the department couldn’t afford when the grant ran out. Cauble said it cost more than $5,500 to educate and equip a univer sity officer. He said the starting salary of $16,282 was below average and should be increased. But Kevin Avery, assistant direc tor for communications at the cops office in the U.S. Department of Jus tice, said future costs hadn’t seemed to hinder the program nationwide. The Cops First program had been expected to draw responses from 15 percent of the eligible departments, Avery said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. When 49 percent of those eligible responded, asking for 18,000 officers, the pro gram was overdrawn and unable to fund all the requests, he said. President Bill Clinton has called for 100,000 additional police officers to be put on the streets. Since 1992, grants for 17,000 officers of 40,000 requested have been awarded, Avery said. “There is a real desire,” he said. “There is a need out there for more officers.” Baird now is faced with deciding how many officers to add to the Lin coln force. Under the Cops Ahead program, departments are eligible to increase their police forces by 2.2 percent. For Lincoln, that means up to seven new officers. “We’re right in the middle of the process at this point,” Baird said. A decision on the number of officers to hire should be made in the next 10 days, he said. Cauble said UNL police were staffed to handle everyday campus crime but had experienced short ages in emergency situations. In general, he said, other services could accomplish more with the same money — such as crime-prevention programs, witness and victim ser vices and civilian, non-commissioned personnel. With the GOP package, money could be used in a one-time capacity, he said, and that is more attractive. Cauble compared it to a research grant, where the investment or purchase would not require continued pay ments. The new crime package moves to the Senate next, where it is expected to face more opposition. President Clinton has said he would veto the measure if it passes. Thieves attack area Monday From Staff Reports More than $1,000 in personal prop erty was stolen from a local residence Monday afternoon. A suspect forced open the front door at the residence of Janice Lehl, 3093 Vine St., Lincoln police said. A CD player with remote control and a bracelet were taken, accounting for a total loss of $1,168. An automobile parked at 1200 Berkshire Court also was broken into Monday morning. The party responsible possibly used a slim jim to open the vehicle belonging to Heather Russell, po lice reported. A CD boom box and a collection of CDs worth $ 1,020 was taken. Jon Waller/DN Students cross the railroad tracks near 14th Street and Avery Avenue Wednesday morning. The university is considering purchasing the land from the Union Pacific. ASUN rejects revised grade scale By Melanie Brandert Staff Reporter ASUN senators voted Wednes day to oppose a revised grading scale change that would add minuses to the current nine-point systematUNL. The proposal, introduced by six University ofNebraska-Lincoln fac ulty members last week, would bring the grading system to 12 points. Last year, a similar proposal was pre sented but was narrowly defeated by the Academic Senate. Andrew Loudon, president of the Association of Students of the Uni versity of Nebraska, said the revised proposal would change students’ grade point averages. For example, he said, a student with a 4.0 GPA under the current system could have a 3.67 if most of the grades were in the 90th to 92nd percentile. He also said there were contradic tions with the proposal. “Halfthe time, they (faculty mem bers) say they are fighting grade inflation, then they turn around and make the argument that GPAs won t be affected,” Loudon said. Senators also voiced their con cerns about the proposal. Robert Caldwell, a law college senator, said the proposal would af fect the GPAs of students transfer ring from other schools within the University of Nebraska system. 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