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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1997)
8 p o ■ t 8 *AJ-_ FRIDAY .Fast track Minneapolis’ three sons February 7,1997 The Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational — one of The Wonsers, a Minneapolis-based rock trio maHe --- the premier track meets in the nation — will be at up of three toothers, perform at Knickerbockers b The Clear? the Bob Devaney Sports Center track. PAGE 7 Saturday night in a 21-and-over show. PAGE 9 Diminishing snow, VOL. 96 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 . 96 By Brian Carlson Staff Reporter i Allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed handguns would re duce violent crime without increasing the number of guns on the street, sup * porters of LB465 argued Thursday. But opponents expressed concern about introducing weapons into poten tially violent situations and questioned the proposed criteria for obtaining gun concealment permits. i Governor recommends cutting taxes By Erin Gibson Senior Reporter Congress and the state Legislature should “cut back and give back” to the people of Nebraska, Gov. Ben Nelson said Thursday. The state treasury has a surplus, he said, and the federal government has been collecting Nebraskans’ money in ahighway trust fund and not returning it fully to the state. In both cases, Nebraskans should have money coming back to them from the government, he said. The state treasury has collected more tax dollars than it needs to run the government, and the surplus should go back to Nebraskans in the form of tax cuts, Nelson said. This would mean an annual $225 back in the wallet of the average Ne -braskaij, he smd^ ^ do it,” Nelson said. “It’s time to cut bade and give back to the people of Nebraska.” Nelson has officially proposed the tax cuts through two legislative bills, LB493 and LB401. The first bill would give all resident homeowners a $160 state tax credit. The second would pro vide an average income-tax reduction of 5.5 percent to Nebraskans, he said. Income-tax savings would equal about $65 for a family of four making about $46,000 a year, he said. The governor will testify on behalf of both bills during a Legislature Rev enue Committee hearing at die Capitol Fridav afternoon. Legislators have given Nelson’s two tax-cut bills a “lukewarm reception,” he said. Many are afraid that such cuts are not sustainable over two or more years, because they would mean a $ 106-million annual loss to the state. Some legislators said the $106 mil lion could go to funding other state programs, Nelson said. But he said the money should not be spent to increase programs. “We don’t need to grow govern ment to grow Nebraska,” he said. But Nelson said Nebraskans do need money deposited in the federal Highway Trust Fund to help the state grow. During the National Governor’s Conference in Washington this week, state governors unanimously agreed a portion of funds raised by die federal gas tax should be returned to the states, Nelson said. In 1994, Congress raised the fed eral gas tax by 4.3 cents to help fund budget-reduction efforts. Money raised by gas taxes goes into the Highway Trust Fund, Nelson said, and should not be earmarked for other purposes. Currently, for each dollar in gas taxes Nebraskans put into the trust fund, only 80 cents is returned for high way improvement projects, he said. Hll^p The Legislature’s Judiciary Com mittee heard testimony on the Con cealed Handgun License Act, spon sored by Sen. Stan Schellpeper of Stanton. The proposal would allow citizens to obtain permits to carry a concealed weapon following background checks of criminal records and mental health conducted by the state patrol. Schellpeper said experts had told him LB465 would be stricter than other states’ laws allowing gun concealment. Bill supporters backed their argu ments with die testimony of John Lott of the University of Chicago Law School. Lott recendy completed a nation wide study that found a consistent de crease in violent crime following the passage of laws allowing gun conceal ment The study examined the period from 1977 to 1992, and Lott said the size and scope of the study allowed for control of other factors such as demo graphics and sentencing policies. “In most areas we studied, crime rates were generally increasing until the law was passed, then were fol lowed by a leveling off and a de crease,” he said. Lott’s findings showed an overall decrease of 6 percent in the incidence of violent crime. Murders dropped by 8 percent, aggravated assault by 6 per cent and rape by 5 percent. The rate of crimes against women Please see GUNS on 3 Recovering •cheerleader i I attends game sr -r------ ' LByMikeKluck SmmJBfljprter BOULDER, Colo.—Tracy Jensen % has received many mementos and gifts from family and friends to make her \ third-floor room at Craig Hospital in ; Englewood, Colo., feel more like l home. Despite the posters, teddy bears, l Precious Moments figurines and pic ■ tures of her home in Lyons, Jensen | could never completely forget she was ! still in a hospital room. Wednesday night Jensen left the * hospital room, in which she has been e for nearly two months, and attended the Nebraska-Colorado women’s bas ketball game at the Coors Event Cen ter in Boulder, Colo. It was the UNL cheerleader s first trip out of her hospital room since ar riving at Craig in December. Jensen, a junior, injured her neck during a basic tumbling routine during practice Dec. 4. She was treated and stabilized at Lincoln General Hospital before being transported to Craig Hos pital, which specializes in spinal cord injuries. At Craig she has undergone physi cal therapy and rehabilitation, which * has helped her progress. In December she was able to move only her toes, f Now she can stand and support her own weight. “I can’t walk yet,” Jensen said. Her voice was weakened by stress, but she was enjoying her first outing. “I’ve been - working out on a stationary bike and ii I’m able to pull my wheelchair to me and get in it on my own.” Two weeks ago, her progress had improved enough that Jensen’s doctors told her she might be able to make trips outside die hospital. When Jensen noticed that the Huskier women’s basketball team was playing Colorado pn Feb. 5 in nearby Boulder, Colo., she seta goal to be at the game. “The CU cheerleaders have kind of adopted me and invited me to attend Please see JENSEN qn 3 Rwi Soderlin/DN RICHARD CREES, a tour guide at the State Capitol, answers a question from a Rrlnlty Lutheran Elementary student. Crees explained who built the Capitol, why It was built and the symbolism behind its art. A Capitol idea for agood time: Tbur the tower of Nebraska By Jim Goodwin Staff Reporter In the maze and tower of the Ne braska State Capitol, a trio Of work ers links Nebraskans with the sym bol of their statehood. Those three elements — Rich ard Crees, Gloria Witherspoon and Angie Turner — are the building’s official tour guides. In an atmosphere thick with con cerns of property taxes and naming the official state fish, the guides are the casual tourist’s relief from what can be government vertigo. Whether visitors arrive by the pairs or by the hundreds, the guides said they offer tours full of infor mation about history, architecture, craftsmanship and symbolism. “We enjoy showing and sharing the building with the public,” guide supervisor Roxanne Smith said ‘To get them beyond saying, ‘You could stack a lot of hay in here,’ to under standing the nuances of the Capitol’s architecture is quite fulfilling.” Enjoying the building and con versing with those who visit it are two of the many highlights Witherspoon cited about the seven years she’s been showing the Capi tol. r' •; “I want my tours to reach out and grab people,” Witherspoon said. “I enjoy having action in the build ing because I get to interact with people.” Witherspoon said her favorite spot in the Capitol depended on the time of day, the season and her own - mood. For example, following a tir ing flurry of tours, she energizes in the powerful ambience of the Su preme Court. The Rotunda, with its tile-mo saic representations of “The Virtues of the State,” is Ibmer’s area of choice. ' Turner said she was drawn by the floor’s more than 25,000black and-white, hand-cut pieces of marble representing Mother Earth and the four elements of classical Please see TOURS on 6 ' -