Property-tax limits debated
OMAHA (AP) - Nebraska’s top
public school official said he is con
cerned that scheduled property-tax lids
could force some school districts to
close.
Nebraska Department of Education
Commissioner Doug Christensen said
some districts will have trouble pro
viding even basics like math and read
ing under the initial 1998-99 levy cap
of $1.10 per $100 of assessed valua
tion.
The $1.10 cap.drops to $ 1 in 2000
2001. School boards can seek voter
approval to exceed the caps, but
Christensen said voters might not give
the OK.
Christensen said the Legislature
needs to clarify how districts forced to
close because of funding problems
would be handled.
Two legislators said the tax caps,
will not put districts out of business.
“That’s ridiculous,” said State Sen.
Jerome Warner of Waverly, chairman
of the Legislature’s Revenue Commit
tee. Warner said the tax caps will pro
mote efficiency.
Speaker of the Legislature Ron
Withem of Papillion said school dis
tricts have enough money in their bud
gets to trim.
Warner said he plans to propose
partially replacing lost revenue for dis
tricts that have shown in the next two
years that they can operate more effi
ciently.
The Nebraska Association of
School Boards is considering a pro
posal that calls for it to support any
legislation that clarifies procedures for
schools to go out of business and the
authority of the state to take over a dis
trict.
The association’s executive direc
tor, John Bonaiuto, said if there were a
law specifying state takeover of insol
vent schools, it might make the Legis
lature think twice about adapting leg
islation that puts school districts in fi
nancial jeopardy.
Christensen said the state is ulti
mately responsible for educating stu
dents, but if a school district had to
close because it ran out of money, the
state probably wouldn’t take it over.
“The state would say, 'We’re go
ing to parcel your students out to other
districts,”’ Christensen said.
NARCOTICS
Two men were arrested for smok
ing marijuana during a Nine Inch Nails
laser-light show at the Mueller Plan
etarium at the University of Nebraska
Lincoln Friday night.
A staff member saw the two smok
ing during the show and approached
them to tell them they couldn’t when
he smelled burning marijuana, UNL
police Sgt. Bill Manning said.
Police searched the men and found
two marijuana cigarettes and metal
pipes, Manning said.
Ryan Boveia, 22, and Michael
Gray, 21, were arrested for possession
of narcotics and paraphernalia. Neither
are UNL students.
ARREST
Lincoln police arrested a 20-year
old Lincoln man Saturday for the
armed robbery of a Gas ‘N Shop that
was two blocks from his home.
Jay N. Schultz was accused of en
tering the Gas ‘N Shop at 28th and 0
streets with a hunting rifle and demand
ing money, Heermann said.
Police recovered part of the cash
at Schultz’s home where he was ar
rested.
BURGLARY
At least $5,000 worth of clothing
was stolen from the downtown Kep
Harding sporting goods store last
weekend.
The burglar broke in through a glass
block window from the alley behind
the store at 1332 P St., Heermann said.
The thief took coats, shoes, shorts,
caps and warm-up suits between 5 pjn.
Saturday and 11 a.m. Monday, she said.
In addition to the $5,000 loss, the
owners reported $400 damage.
EXPLOSIVE
DEVICE
The remains of a cardboard tube
and gunpowder were scattered about
the sidewalk after an explosion in front
of a north Lincoln apartment complex
Sunday evening. — - - -
A resident of the apartment build
ing at 5100 Emerald Drive reported
hearing a loud explosion at about 5:49
p.m. Sunday, Heermann said.
Fire investigators found a partially
burned cardboard cylinder between the
apartment and sidewalk, she said. They
also found two types of powder and a
fuse.
BURGLARY
About 20 pieces of precious jew
elry were taken from an elementary
school over the weekend.
The multicolored, insect-shaped
jewelry was taken from a display case
at Elliot Elementary School, 225 S.
25th St., between Friday night and Sat
urday morning, Lincoln police Sgt.
Ann Heermann said.
The thief entered the school by
kicking in a panel of a door on the
east side of the school, Heermann said.
Once inside, the thief smashed open a
glass display case and grabbed a tray
of jewelry, Heermann said.
The suspect also broke windows to
several offices, but took nothing else.
Phyllis Maly, an art teacher who
owned the jewelry, said her mother had
collected the pieces over 40 years while
traveling around the world studying
insects, Maly said.
Most of the pieces in the case were
not disturbed, she said. The pieces that
were taken were mostly shaped like
bees. Some were not extremely valu
able, such as those that were costume
jewelry or made from wood or enamel.
Maly estimated the 20 pieces to be
worth about $200.
Omaha expressway excites Fremont
OMAHA (AP) — An expressway
linking Norfolk to Omaha could in
clude a four-lane bypass near Fremont,
a prospect that has Fremont business
leaders excited about possible benefits.
“We’ll have more of an opportunity
to entice those travelers to come into
our communities and do business,” said
Toby Churchill, president of the Fre
mont Chamber of Commerce.
A faster connection to Omaha, 25
miles to the southeast, might persuade
more people to live in Fremont, a city
of 24,000, Churchill said.
An estimated 2,300 people already
commute daily from Fremont to work
in Omaha or nearby Valley.
That number could triple by the
year 2025 with a direct four-lane ex
pressway tying Fremont to Norfolk and
Omaha, Churchill said. Norfolk is
about 75 miles northeast of Omaha.
The expressway would include by
passes at Fremont and Valley to better
connect the communities in a route
along U.S. Highway 275. Construction
on the Valley bypass is scheduled to
begin in 1999, but the Fremont bypass
might not begin before 2002.
‘Blue eyes/brown eyes’
experimenter to talk at UNL
From Staff Reports
Jane Elliot, who started the
“blue eyes/brown eyes” experiment
to help people understand how ra
cial discrimination feels, will speak
at the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln Wednesday.
Elliot began the sensitizing ex
ercise in a third-grade, all-white, all
Christian classroom in Riceville,
Iowa, after the assassination of
Martin Luther King Jr. The experi
ment received national attention on
programs such as “The Today
Show,” “Tonight with Johnny
Carson,” “Donahue,” “The Oprah
Winfrey Show” and PBS’s “Front
line.” Elliot was also chosen as a
Peter Jennings’ “Person of the
Week.”
The show starts at 7 p jn. Tick
ets are available at the door for $3
for UNL students, $5 for faculty,
and $8 for the public.
Medical Center receives consent
for genetic research addition
From Staff Reports
The University of Nebraska
Medical Center received approval
from the Board of Regents for a
three-story, 35,000-square foot ad
dition for genetic research.
Construction will be funded by
a $7 million gift from the Hattie B.
Munroe Foundation. It is the fifth
UNMC project funded by the foun
dation.
Construction is currently being
designed. A four-week bid letting
process should take place by the end
of the year, and groundbreaking is
scheduled for the spring of 1997 and
completion by fall of 1998. Fran
Biskup of Keeler Raynor Hinz Ar
chitects of Bellevue is the project
architect.
Steven Hinrichs, M.D., an asso
ciate professor at UNMC, said the
addition would allow clinical scien
tists room to work along with ge
netic counselors and basic scien
tists.
Nominations need to be submitted
for two UNL award presentations
From Staff Reports
UNL students, faculty, staff
members or administrators are be
ing asked to submit nominations for
two awards by Jan. 17.
The Chancellor’s Award for Ex
emplary Service to Students is
awarded to one UNL staff member
at the Honors Convocation on April
11, 1997. The award is accompa
nied by a $1,000 cash stipend pro
vided by the University of Nebraska
Foundation. The award acknowl
edges extraordinary and sustained
service to UNL’s students.
The Student Foundation Build
ers Award for outstanding under
graduate academic advising and
counseling is given to one faculty
or advising staff member. The
award is accompanied by a $1,500
cash stipend provided by the UNL
Student Foundation and the All
University Fund.
Nomination forms can be picked
up at Student Involvement offices,
the ASUN Office or the Vice Chan
cellor for Student Affairs office, 106
Canfield Administration Building.
The new staff will be expected
to develop new areas of expertise
at UNMC such as chromosome
studies and molecular diagnostics.
The program will allow UNMC to
create first-rate doctoral and post
doctoral genetics programs.
load named to acting executive
director of university relations
From Staff Reports
Kim Todd, director of campus
planning at UNL, has been named
acting executive director of univer
sity relations. She replaced Michael
Mulnix, interim president of the
alumni association, on Nov. 11.
Todd will work with outside
agencies like the chambersof com
merce and the Nebraska Legisla
ture.
Both Todd and Mulnix will re
turn to their regular jobs when a new
alumni association president is cho
sen. .
Sr ■ -
November 20, 7 p.m.
Nebraska union
Founder of the
Blue Eyes,
Brown eyes
Discrimination
Experiment
H »; • . .
$3.00 - Students • $5.00 - UNL Faculty • $8.00 - Public |
E.N. Thompson
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with pressure from environmentalists, grass-roots
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