WEDNESDAY
WEATHER:
| < Today - A 30% chance of
rain. Northwest wind 15 to
20 mph.
Tonight - Partly cloudy.
Low around 20.
February 14, 1996
Sneaking a peek
„ Matt Miller/DN
Freshman education major and Alyssa Utecht and freshman English major Lisa Jorgensen sort through the
Valentine’s Day cards Tuesday at the University Bookstore.
Halftime Hitch
Couple to say 7do’s’ at Valentine's Day game
By Emily Wray
Staff Reporter
Valentine’s Day wedding bells will be ring
ing for one Lincoln couple at tonight’s Ne
braska women’s basketball game.
Lori Everson and Randy Chrastil will say
their vows during halftime of the NU-Colorado
contest, courtesy of a Valentine’s Day promo
tion by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and
radio station 102.7 KFRX-FM.
Fifteen couples will also renew their vows in
a separate halftime ceremony.
Everson and Chrastil each have two sons by
previous marriages and have been together for
four years.
They had been planning on eloping this
summer, until a friend of Everson’s from work
dared her to call KFRX, Everson said.
“I’m in total shock,” she said. “We don’t win
anything. There are a lot of things to do in a
“I'm in total shock. We don't
win anything. There are a lot
of things to do in a short
amount of time."
LORI EVERSON
Bride-to-be at halftime of the NU women's
basketball game.
short amount of time.” Lack of time meant that
Everson had to find a wedding gown in hurry.
She did find a dress and had it altered Tuesday.
“It’s pretty formal, with a short train and lots
of pearls and flowers,” she said.
Since the wedding was on such short notice,
w V*_r
the couple will be attended by only a best man
and a maid of honor, she said. An official
reception will be held later.
Tracie Morris, an administrative assistant at
the Nebraska Athletic Department, developed
the idea for the contest last Tuesday.
“I did it to help with Valentine’s Day promo
tions. “It’s an event that’s something different
and out of the ordinary,” Morris said.
“I had heard of people getting married at
baseball games and half-court at basketball
games,” she said. “I thought if we married
somebody, it would be unique.”
During the 13 minutes of halftime, the min
ister, bride, groom, attendants and those renew
ing vows will step out onto the floor. The
wedding will take five minutes, and the vow
renewals will be four minutes, Morris said.
See WEDDING on 6
Legislature
may toughen
MEP penalties
By Ted Taylor
Senior Reporter “
Strong support from Nebraska young people
may have helped seal the deal for stiffer penal
ties against minors in possession of alcohol.
~ij . . . In a 6-2 vote Tuesday af
LegiSiatlire ternoon, the Legislature’s
'96 tfe A wi Transportation Committee
advanced Elkhom Sen. Dwite
Pedersen’s bill to full legisla
tion.
Pedersen told the commit
tee about a youth drug-free
rally last summer at the Capi
tol, and he said the large
crowd showed him that young
people careu aooui me issue.
“When they asked me to introduce legisla
tion to stiffen the penalties for their peers who
were found guilty of violations or our statutes
with regard to MIP, I was more than happy to
offer my sponsorship,” he said.
More than 20 youths from various organiza
tions were on hand to show support of the bill,
but only three testified.
The penalties outlined in Pedersen’s bill
include:
•A $250 fine that may be waived by a judge if
the offender successfully completes a substance
abuse education class.
•A second offense could warrant a $500 fine
and a possible Class III misdemeanor.
•A mandatory minimum of 25 hours of com
munity service.
•A lengthy drivers license revocation: The
first offense would result in a 90-day impound
ment, the second would warrant a year’s revo
cation, and a third offense would yield two
years impoundment.
•Parent or legal guardian notification of any
MIP violation-related arrests.
Pedersen said when the young people of the
state asked him to introduce the bill, he re
quested input directly from them.
He wanted to know how they wanted the
Legislature to deal with their friends who vio
lated Nebraska MIP laws.
“These young people believe that the current
penalties amount to little more than a slapon the
wrist,” he said.
Joline Jager, a former member of the Ne
braska Network of Drug-Free Youth board of
directors, said she was “amazed” the bill had
come so far.
“During my time with the board, I have had
the opportunity to see the ideas behind this bill
in their infancy, when they were merely con
cerns of youth, to seeing it develop to the stage
it is at now,” she said.
Jager, now a member of the Wayne FRIENDS
drug-free youth group, said watching the youth
take such an active role in government had been
a remarkable experience.
See MIP on 2
Lincoln possible home to pro hockey team
By Chad Lorenz
Senior Reporter
A professional Lincoln hockey team
may be on the ice by September if an
Omaha investor can bring a proposed
ice skating rink to the State Fair Coli
seum.
Irving Dana III, a certified public
accountant from Omaha, is part of a
potential three-person ownership look
ing to start a U.S. Hockey League
franchise in Lincoln.
Dana said he and his two partners
and lifelongfriends, Dr. Kent Recewey
and Dr. Tom Tegt of Lincoln, decided
to start the franchise because of a per
sonal interest in hockey.
“We thought it would be fun to get
involved in hockey in the Midwest,”
he said.
The three were at an Omaha Lanc
ers game more than a year ago and
talked about how they wanted to start
their own team, Dana said.
He looked into the idea, and they
decided it made sense economically,
he said, so he scouted for a city to plant
their dream.
Lincoln seemed like a good loca
tion for hockey to become popular, he
said.
“I see Lincoln similar to Omaha in
the sense that they’re looking for good
entertainment in the winter months.”
Dana said the cost was estimated at
$2.5 million to $3 million, which the
owners would pay through personal
funds.
Dana said he wanted the rink open
to the public and available for youth
hockey clubs, figure skating clubs, the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
hockey club, and university physical
education classes.
Dana, a 1976 graduate of UNL,
said he and his partners had set aside
seats for students, written fight songs
and decided on team colors and a mas
cot.
But Dana said he feared that all
might be premature until he has a sheet
of ice.
“It all really hinges on the rink,”
Dana said.
John Skold, State Fair Park general
manager, said part of the franchise
deal would convert the State Fair Coli
seum to an ice rink available for public
use when not used by the team.
“On the whole, I think it’s a posi
tive,” Skold said.
The State Fair Board needed to
reach an agreement with the owners to
finalize when and where the team would
play and what share of the franchise’s
revenue the State Fair would receive,
Skold said.
He would like all the details taken
care of quickly, Skold said.
“We’ll certainly help out in any
way we can,” he said.
Because the coliseum is a state prop
erty, the State BuildingDivision would
have to approve the deal, Skold said.
The board also would have to move
other winter events — such as the
See HOCKEY on 2