Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 1996)
_ Matthew Waite/DN LINCOLN FIRE INVESTIGATOR BILL MOODY is helped out of his bomb suit Thursday morning. Moody set up the water > -cannon that destroyed a box believed to be a bomb. Bomb hits mansion No explosives found in box at governor’s home By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter A mysterious shoe box topped with a na ked baby doll bearing satanic markings was destroyed outside the governor’s mansion Thursday morning by Lincoln Fire Depart ment bomb technicians. The message “Sometimes they only tell LIES” was scrawled in black marker on the box’s side. One day after Gov. Ben Nelson closed an anti-terrorism conference, the package was found in the mansion’s southwest park ing lot along 14th Street by staff members coming to work. Authorities treated the device as a bomb, and used a cannon to shoot water into the box to disable any potential explosive de vice. The device was a box wrapped in duct tape with a plastic tube extending 14 inches from the carter of the box. Pentagrams were etched on the doll’s feet and an inverted cross was on its head. Both are considered satanic markings. The box was placed near a hedgerow more than 50 feet from the west side of the house. An aaxa the size of one city block was evacuated. Nelson was not in the mansion at 14th and H streets Thursday. Dara Troutman, Nelson’s spokeswoman, said he spent Wednesday night in Omaha and had several appearances thoe Thursday. None of Nelson's family were in the Matthew Waite/DN THE BABY DOLL that topped the mysterious box had pentagrams on its feet and an inverted cross on its head. house, but several staff members were. They were moved to the east side of the state owned mansion. Investigators at the scene speculated that the message on the box related to abortion. . The device was found the mining after fcftancesKissl w*. night Last spring, a Lincoln Archdiocese order prohibited Catholics from associating with pro-abortion rights groups or face excom munication. Also on Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration said approval of the French abortion pill RU-486 was likely by the middle of 1997. “(The message onthebox) is a sad-com ment with everything that’s going on of late in the news,” said Deputy Fire Chief Ron Kennett, who made reference to the abortion issues. Troutman said the message on the box was a “strong anti-abortion” view. She said whoever put it there did not know the governor’s anti-abortion rights stance. Troutman said the state has increased se curity in all its buildings, but there was only so much it could do. The parking lot near the mansion is open and public sidewalks run next to the building. “Not only is it a public sidewalk, it’s a public residence,” she said. “We’re comfort able with the security of the governor.” Lincoln Fire Investigator Bill Moody approached the device wearing a large pro Please see SCARE on 3 Some clinics to evaluate abortion pill The French drug RU-486 is given tentative FDA approval, and Lincoln women’s centers will start reviewing the option. By Erin Gibson Staff Reporter Despite opposition from Nebraska Right to Life, the controversial French abortion pill RU 486 could be available in Lincoln soon, but not at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Several Nebraska women’s clinics an nounced they would evaluate providing the pill to women after the Federal Drug Administra tion Wednesday tentatively approved the pill for use in the United States. The FDA said the pill was safe and effec tive when used under a doctor’s supervision. Final approval was withheld pending informa tion on marketing and labeling of the drug. Final approval is expected in mid-1997. , Peg Blake, director of the University Health Center, said that the center had not discussed using the drug. “We would not consider using it at this time,” Blake said. John Keller, director of patient services for Planned Parenthood of Lincoln, said Planned Parenthood would most likely offer the drug after final FDA approval is received. Planned Parenthood has offices at 2246 O St. and 3705 South St. in Lincoln. Please see PILL on 3 GQ writer challenges Osborne By Esin Schulte Senior Reporter An “epic character” was how Tom Junod, writer for GQ magazine, described Tom Osborne when he met him four years ago. Now, he claims the head Comhusker foot ball coach may in fact be a deity. Tom Osborne is God That’s how Junod blasphemously begins his stark, nine-page profile of a stoic, weather beaten, wise Osborne in the October issue of GQ magazine, which will hit newsstands Oct. 1. He doesn’t mince words and say “God of me, fom Osborne was God,” Junod said. “And I don’t mean that in an ‘Oh, gee whiz’ type of way, I mean the way I think of God is the way I think of Tom Osborne.” Junod, who lives in Atlanta, spent about three weeks in Nebraska researching the Osborne article, “What if Tom Was One of Us?’ for GQ. He also spent two days on the road with Osborne visiting Comhusker football recruits. Recruits who will someday come into Please see GQ on 2
