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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 1997)
[sports_ n * * e_ FRIDAY The games go on Romance done right April n,1997 The Nebraska men’s tennis team will play at home “Inventing the Abbotts” is a film that explores a this weekend despite the poor weather. NU plays familiar love story genre, but manages to do so in a Frost Bites __ host to Texas Tech on Saturday. PAGE 9 _ manner that makes it worth seeing. PAGE 12 Lots of snow, high 30. More snow tonight, low 22. Crash kills 15-yaar-oM Lincoln boy By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter A spring snowstorm that blanketed most of Nebraska Wednesday was blamed for more than 30 accidents, including one fatality in southeast Lincoln. And more of the frozen white flakes are on the way. Lincoln police and city public works officials were warning motorists to slow down and drive carefully. Lincoln police officers were scrambling Thursday morning to keep up with all the acci dents. One accident had South 84th Street between O and A streets closed for more than three hours as police investigated a fatal crash. Mari Eckhout, of 8200 Beachwood Ave., was driving southbound at about 7:40 a.m. with her 15-year-old son, Clint Eckhout. As they approached 84th Street and Lancashire Drive, her 1989 Plymouth Acclaim, which was in the right lane, spun out of control, Lincoln Police Sgt. Ann Heermann said. Please see SNOW on 7 Snow business _ Lane Hickenbottom/DN STEPHANIE ARTZ, a sophomore speech pathology major, right, and other freshman and sophomore army ROTC cadets perform snowshoe drills Thursday afternoon in the City Campus Loop east of Memorial Stadium. Bill spares mentally retarded By Erin Schulte Senior Reporter Mentally retarded people will be spared from being sentenced to execu tion under an amended bill advanced Thursday by the Nebraska Legislature. Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha of fered the amendment to LB422, which would make killing an on-duty police officer an aggravating circumstance when contemplating a death penalty sentence. Chambers said if his amendment was adopted, he would give up his battle against the bill, which was de bated for eight hours each in first- and second-round debate. The bill was be ing heard on final reading when Cham bers proposed his amendment. Sen. Don Wesely of Lincoln sup ported the amendment, which passed by a 26-5 vote, and noted the impor tant difference between mental retar dation and mental illness. A person who is legally, mentally retarded has an IQ lower than 70. “These are going to be individuals that have had this condition most of their lives,” Wesely said. “They’re not going to be OK a few years later and be released to the public.” Sen. Paul Hartnett of Bellevue said sending a mentally retarded person to the electric chair would be equivalent to putting a child in the electric chair. But Sen. Gerald Matzke of Sidney, who introduced the bill at the request of the governor after the death of Omaha police officer Jimmy Wilson Jr., said the amendment was a related but separate issue. “We’re losing our focus,” Matzke said. “There are people who think they have no way out except to shoot their way out of it. “That is the purpose of this bill.” Sen. Jon Bruning of Omaha said the bill was unnecessary because possible mental defects are considered mitigat ing circumstances when deciding sen tencing. Other senators came back to say that a mitigating circumstance is much different than an outright prohibition. Sen. Curt Bromm of Wahoo said senators could expect expensive con Please see OFFICERS on 7 Jay Calderon/DN TWO DRESSES by Michael Mamp are on display In the Textiles, Clothing and Design Gallery. Oa the right Is a design project made by Margarethe Kaczmarczyk. Tha gallery is located In the Human Resources Building on East Campus. Gallery to unclothe textile, design works By Jim Goodwin Staff Reporter Gold lam6 probably has seen finer days; however, other materi als on display in an East Campus gallery may prove functional form didn’t share a similar fate. Nestled in a second-floor comer of the home economics building, the Textiles, Clothing and Design Gal lery features the work of students and professionals alike. Rita Kean, chairwoman of the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design, said the gallery show cased the importance of clothing and its components in society. The concept is one not always Please see TEXTILE on 3 Latina officer to speak on success By Lindsay Young Staff Reporter The Mexican American Student As sociation is wrapping up Xicano Aware ness Week with a keynote speaker who has reached success and wants to share that experience with others. Lt. Col. Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch of San Antonio will speak at the closing banquet tonight in the Nebraska East Union. She will speak Saturday at the Youth Day and Rally in the Nebraska Union. Kickbusch is the highest-ranking Latina officer in the U.S. Army. She will speak on “Envisioning Success” for the high school students who will be com ing from across die state for Youth Day. Chandra Diaz, MASA president, said hearing Kickbusch speak will be a treat for those who attend. “She’s a success story for Latinos but even more for women because she came from the barrio (Mexican neighborhood), and she moved up quickly. She is quite a role model for women,” said Diaz, a semor middle-level education major. Kickbusch has been a motivational speaker for more than 10 years and has more than 50 citations from local schools, social agencies and city pro grams for volunteering. She has been inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame and has re ceived several awards for her service in the U.S. Army. She is presently a technical adviser for the Command and Control Warfare Center. The closing banquet is open to the public, with tickets costing $10 at the door. The banquet will begin at 7 p.m. with food from the Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant. —---:----—*-•---1----— . - " ' . Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http: / / www.unl.edu /DailyNeb v t