Eight Chanipi<
Pafrts & Entc
Professor tries to spice up
classical concerts, page 9
February 22, 1995
NU athletics face internal audit
By Jeff Zeleny
EShor --
An alleged misuse of funds
prompted a one-month internal audit
into the NU Athletic Department, the
Daily Nebraskan learned Tuesday.
The possible abuse of funds was
behind the examination into the of
fice of Chris Peterson, associate ath
letic director for external affairs.
Linda Enck, University of Ne
braska-Lincoln director of operations
analysis, confirmed Tuesday that she
had been auditing Peterson’s office
for one month.
Peterson said Tuesday that his of
fice cooperated with the audit, and all
issues surrounding it had been re
solved.
“There was not much of a matter
to discuss,” Peterson said.
“Everything’s fine.”
In addition to Peterson’s office,
three to four areas of the athletic
department also were involved in a
personnel audit, said Paul Carlson,
interim vice chancellor for business
and finance. He declined to say if the
audit of Peterson’s office was con
nected to the personnel audit.
The athletic department is audited
annually to comply with NCAA regu
lations, Carlson said. But Carlson
said he ordered the personnel audit.
“Based on information received, I
ordered the audit about a month ago,”
he said.
The alleged abuse of funds was
discussed Saturday in a closed ses
sion of the NU Board of Regents
meeting by Athletic Director Bill
Byrne and Chancellor Graham
Spanier, two sources said. It is the
board’s policy to discuss personnel
issues behind closed doors.
When contacted by the Daily Ne
braskan Tuesday, Spanier refused to
comment. Spanier discussed the situ
ation with athletic department offi
cials during a Tuesday afternoon con
ference call.
Byrne did not return calls Tuesday
but released the following statement:
“Matters raised in a closed session of
the regents meeting have since been
resolved.
“Furthermore, it is the policy of
the University of Nebraska Athletic
Department not to make public com
ment on personnel matters.”
See ATHLETICS on 2
Peterson is in
his second
year as
associate
athletic director
for external
operations. He
oversees the
development,
marketing, sports information
and ticket offices.
He has watched the
school’s fund-raising revenues
double in his tenure and has
established a marketing
department.
Peterson had worked in his
same position at Kansas State.
Water woes
Water is pumped from a hole outside Harper-Schramm-Smith residence hails Tuesday morning after a water main
proke, leaving all of the residents in the halls without water or food service. Workers wait in the background for
the water to go down so they can fix the pipe. The break started around 1 a.m. apd flooded a nearby parking lot.
Acidic soil eats 1
away water main
at HSS complex
By John Fulwider
Staff Reporter "
Bad hair days were the rule Tuesday for
Harper-Schramm-Smith residents after the
city water main servicing the complex broke
earlier that morning.
Water for showers, brushing teeth and
flushing toilets was unavailable all day.
Residents were encouraged to eat lunch at
other halls and shower at the Rec Center or
at Abel Hall. A picnic-style dinner was
served in the evening.
The problem was caused by a 12-inch
water pipe that broke at 1 a.m. By 1:30 pan.,
a repair crew from Lincoln Water System
had found several holes in a 20-foot length
of the pipe, located just south of the Smith
Hall between the building and the HSS
tennis courts.
LeRoy Meints, LWS assistant superin
tendent, said the acid in the surrounding soil
eating away at the pipe over time caused the
break.
Mike Kansier, HSS maintenance man
ager, said Smith Hall received no damage.
John Frese, a senior history major, was
prepared for the drought at HSS.
“I took a shower in a 32-ounce glass of
water this morning,” he said. “I used it to
wash my hair.”
Ann Johnson, a freshman general studies
major who also lives in Smith Hall, took a
shower at the Rec Center. When she got up
Tuesday morning, she didn’t see the signs
about the water main break. She said she
thought it was a joke at first.
“I went into all the restrooms and they all
had something in them,” she said. “It wasn’t
a joke.”
Senatorspass
incentives for
Micron plant
By J. Christopher Hain
Senior Reporter ~
State legislators took their talk to late night
Tuesday trying to pass legislation enticing an
Idaho computer chip company to build a plant
in Omaha.
Meeting at night, lawmakers voted 30-12
for first-round advance
ment of LB830, an eco
nomic incentive package
that is one of three bills
primarily designed to lure
Micron Technology, Inc.,
to build a 3,500-job, com
puter chip plant near
Omaha.
LB830, the Nebraska
Redevelopment Act, al
LEGISLATURE
lows cities to designate property as blighted or
substandard so that companies wishing to de
velop it can receive tax incentives.
“Were taking a traditional approach toward
redevelopment and broadening it,” Speaker
Ron Withem of Papillion said.
Withem, who sponsored all three bills, said
he would do whatever he can to get the bills
considered as quickly as possible.
Micron will decide by March 1 whether to
locate its $1.3 billion plant in Omaha, Okla
homa City, Okla., or Utah County, Utah.
Withem said Omaha did not get into the
final three locations being considered without
his package of incentives.
He said Omaha’s proposal to Micron antici
pated the consideration by the Legislature of
these economic incentives.
Senators almost didn’t get to vote on the
bilL After eight hours of debate, Withem mo
tioned to end debate on the bill at 9:01 p.m.
At least 33 votes were needed to end debate.
Only 32 votes for the motion were initially
cast, but Sen. David Bemard-Stevens of North
Platte changed from abstaining to a yes vote,
and the motion passed 33-9.
Earlier in the day. Gov. Ben Nelson met
See MICRON on 6
State begins preparation for Williams’ execution
By Brian Sharp
$pn!or Reporter
The execution of Harold Lamont Otey
marked the first time in 36 years that Nebraska
carried out a death sentence.
Today, fewer than six months later, offi
cials at the State Penitentiary begin prepara
tions again.
Robert E. Williams is scheduled to die in
the electric chair shortly after midnight on
March 22. Williams was convicted for the
1977 murders of two Lincoln women.
Charles Hohenstein, administrative assis
tant to the warden, said prison officials and the
Nebraska State Patrol had instituted some subtle
changes because of the scene that surrounded
the Otey execution on Sept. 2.
“We are making some changes,” he said.
“But it’s not going to be something that we’re
going to talk about at length ahead of time.”
Williams was convicted for the murders of
Patricia McGarry and Catherine Brooks. Both
were found dead Aug. 11, 1977 in McGarry’s
apartment with numerous bullet wounds to the
head, back and neck. A medical examination
found McGarry had been raped, possibly fol
lowing her death.
Williams w$s sentenced to death in 1978.
Williams was also tied to three other rapes
in Iowa and Minnesota. Two of the rape vic
tims were murdered. His execution was
stayed by a court order only once.
On March 22, Hohenstein said windows
would be covered in the room where Williams
will spend his final hours before the scheduled
execution. Otey waved to the crowd from
those windows throughout the night before he
was taken to the death chamber.
A greater attempt will be made outside the
prison to distance death penalty supporters and
opponents, he said.
In the next 30 days officials will choose
media representatives and prison staff to su
pervise Williams on a 24-hour death watch
before the execution and escort him to the
death chamber. x
Two weeks before the scheduled execution,
prison and state patrol officials coordinate
crowd control. With 24 hours to go, officials
test the electric chair and support equipment.