Wahoo boos idea to delay Halloween
WAHOO (AP)—Trick-or-treaters
are already saying boo, but not in
preparation for Halloween.
They are booing the mayor instead.
Parents and young children are up
set with Donald Virgl for postponing
the holiday so it will not conflict with
the high school football playoffs. Wa
hoo High School and Wahoo Neumann
High School are both scheduled to play
in away games in the state Class C-l
playoffs that night.
Bowing to pressure from sports
fans and school administrators, Virgl
issued a statement this week urging
local parents tc not allow their children
to go trick-or-treating on Thursday. He
is asking them to wait until Friday in
stead.
“At first I didn’t want to do it, but I
had a lot of calls over the weekend”
asking to postpone the holiday, Virgl
said. “The schools put the heat on me.”
Since his decision, Virgl has re
ceived calls from angry parents who
believe their children are being cheated
out of Halloween.
“My kids have been spending the
last three weeks getting ready for Hal
loween. This is a children’s holiday,”
said Coleen Koehler, a mother of three.
Koehler’s children found out at
school Tuesday that they will have to
wait until Friday to go door-to-door in
their costumes. Being Roman Catho
lics, the Koehlers believe that Nov. 1
is All Saints Day, a holy day when they
attend Mass at church, not a day for
Halloween frivolity.
“If he runs for re-election, I won’t
vote for him,” Koehler said.
In 1991, Virgl postponed the holi
day because of an ice storm with little
protest from parents. But this time
around is different.
“One woman called and said,
'Since when does sports have to run
everything?”’ Virgl said. “But another
mother said she liked it better to not
have Halloween on a school night.”
Virgl said his main motivation for
the postponement was that most resi
dents of the town of 3,500 will be at
one of the two out-of-town games, and
will not be hone to offer candy to trick
or-treaters. Wahoo High School will
play at West Point, while Wahoo
Neumann travels to David City
Aquinas.
“If the federal government can
switch Memorial Day and Armistice
Day to make three-day weekends, why
can’t we change Halloween?” Virgl
said.
“I’ll accept the flak.”
Public hearing to precede AKsarben plans
OMAHA (AP) — The public will
get to voice its opinion on First Data
Resources’ development plans at
AKsarben before a final agreement is
made.
Hie Douglas County Board voted
unanimously Tuesday to hold a public
hearing on the plan before taking a fi
nal vote on the proposal.
The County Board in July approved
the concept of the First Data project
that envisioned a high-tech office park
and a University of Nebraska at Omaha
technology campus on AKsarben prop
erty in central Omaha.
Commissioner George Mills said
he wanted assurances from negotiators
that the development would not com
promise recreation at AKsarben, which
includes a race track and auditorium.
He wanted to know if Douglas County
would get $2.5 million from First Data
—as pledged in July—at the time of
land transfer to the company.
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( November 1 & 2
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The Spankers
Comer of 11th & K
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Parents in Hall County
face charges for truancy
GRAND ISLAND (AP)—Par
ents of seven youths have been
charged with misdemeanors and
could face jail time or fines because
their children have missed too much
school.
The seven adults were charged
in Hall County Court with compul
sory education attendance viola
tions, Class HI misdemeanors. If
convicted they could face a maxi
mum $500 fine and three months in
jail.
The students are 9 through 15
years old and attend Walnut Junior
High, Barr Junior High or Jefferson
Elementary School, court docu
ments said.
Court documents list the parents
and students as Judy Meston, par
ent of Tim Meston and Tina
Meston; Prisilla Maese, parent of
Jessica Maese; John and Cynthia
Resto, parents of Joshua Resto;
Cindy Rosas, Victor Villa; Delores
Whiting, Donald Ocampo; and
Brenda Xayvongsa, Christopher
Rundel.
Deputy Hall County Attorney
Michael Burns, who filed the
charges late last week, estimated the
students had missed at least half of
the school days through mid-Octo
ber.
The state’s Compulsory Educa
tion Attendance Law provides that
parents of children ages 7 to 16 who
have unexcused absences and are
habitually truant from school can be
charged with the misdemeanor.
Once students reach 16, they can
not be required to attend school.
The Hall County attorney’s of
fice in April also charged parents
of eight other Grand Island students
under the truancy law. Two of those
parents pleaded guilty and were sen
tenced to two or three days in jail.
Charges were dismissed against
four parents when their children re
turned to school. Trials are pend
ing in the remaining cases.
“I think we’ve had some success
with the cases we’ve filed,” Bums
said Tuesday. “Our objective was
to get students back in school.”
Pastor says metal detectors
will not solve gun problem
OMAHA (AP) — Metal detectors table,
won’t solve the problem of guns in ^ 4 4 .
schools but loving God would, tke pas- . c T
tor at Trinity Christian School said af- “i h
ter two eighth-grade boys were ex- fr
pelled for havmj a loaded pistol. "u?*er rem°v®d-and a slx'™and cllP
A student reported the boys to I^y!f "°d ^ was(arrHes?d °? Ius‘
school authorities late Friday after the P™* ofpossession of a defaced fire
toys bragged about having the gun,
said the Rev. Les Beauchamp, senior The school sent a letter Monday to
pastor at Trinity Church Interdenomi- the families of its 635-student body,
national. informing them of the incident and the
“One boy brought it to school and expulsions. It also held a chapel ser
was giving it to the other boy,” vice so students could pray for the boys
Beauchamp said. The second boy and their families, all of them mem
showed the gun to others at the lunch bers of other churches.
pi mi i in
Halloween Thursday, October 31
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