Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1997)
SPOBTS ABE_ Will they show up? Boom-boom April 29,1997 The Husker baseball team enters tonight’s game at “Volcano,” the second lava-laden disaster film to Creighton without postseason hopes, but Bluejay hit America’s movie theaters in as many months, RlDERS On The STORM Coach Jack Dahm said NU will be ready. PAGE 7 outdoes its earlier competition. PAGE 9 Stormy midday, high 70. Heavy rairi tonight, low 45. L | i Fire consunes unfinished building *' Jay Calderon/DN A LINCOLN FIREFIGHTER helps put out a two-alarm fire that leveled a multistory apartment building near 14th and Superior streets Monday evening. No one was injured in the blaze. Firefighters unable to save four-story Lincoln structure By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter A huge fire that was visible for miles engulfed an apartment building under construction Monday night near the intersection of 14th and Superior streets. The two-alarm blaze raged for hours, but the four engine companies and two ladder companies had only other structures to worry about. By the time fire trucks arrived around 6:30 p.m., minutes after the blaze started, the flaming building had already started collapsing. Wes Oestreich, general manager of CCC Construction, said the building was just wood framing. There were no windows installed and no utilities con nected in the 42-unit, four-story apart ment building. “It was quickly engulfed, and in a matter of minutes, it was gone,” he said. Oestreich could only guess at the damage estimate, a conservative num oer ne set at $z:>u,uuu. Acting Deputy Fire Chief Bruce Sellon said fire crews could do little to save the building. He said firefighters took up defensive positions, protect ing other structures near the fire and themselves from fuel tanks. Thirty-five firefighters focused their attention on a small building that had a pool inside of it and another apartment building west of the burning rubble. The foam-sheathing siding that covered the east wall of the identical structure had melted off. Other concerns were a fuel-oil tank that was near the fire and two propane tanks nestled to the south of the burn ing structure. Also a concern was four pieces of heavy equipment that were caught up in the flames. A crane and three Bob cat front loaders could be seen through the smoke. Sellon said that when the first alarm was dispatched from 18th and Q streets, he could see the flames. Please see BLAZE on 3 Class I elementary schools may see refinancing By Brian Carlson Staff Reporter Legislators unanimously advanced a proposal Monday that is designed to change the way money is distributed to the state’s Class I el ementary schools. Amendment 1754 to LB806 was sponsored by Sen. Ardyce Bohlke of Hastings, chairwoman of the Education Committee. The proposal in cludes a formula for determining the per-pupil cost for Class I schools, which are elementary only public schools. Currently, Class I schools are allowed to be affiliated with any number of school districts offering high schools. In past years, the Legisla ture has attempted to restrict these affiliations to one for each Class I school. The amendment allows Class I schools to maintain these affiliations, but contains a for mula for determining per-pupil costs once an affiliation has been entered into. Under the proposed formula, the new per pupil cost would be determined by taking the average of the per-pupil expenditures of the Class I school and the larger district. Per-pupil costs currently determine the amount of state aid a district receives. Class I school districts have resisted propos als that would limit their affiliations. Bohlke said these school districts’ major concern was the in convenience of holding a vote to determine the larger school district with which the Class I school would affiliate itself. “It really keeps the pressure on Class I schools to keep costs down without forcing them to go through a vote,” Bohlke said. Sen. Curt Bromm of Wahoo praised the amendment as cost-efficient and fair to the Class I schools. “I don’t expect Class Is to be jumping up and down, but they don’t want to go through a vote again,” he said. “It leaves them somewhat more intact as a district.” Senators voted 28-0 to adopt Bohlke’s amendment. They are still debating LB806, which would consolidate the state’s 656 school districts into 289 school systems. Politics mixes with dinner as students play mock roles By Jim Goodwin Staff Reporter Mama may have said that politics does not make good dinner conversation, but she prob ably never understood international diplomacy very well, either. Five University of Nebraska-Lincoln stu dents, all well-versed in the subject, proved __ Monday that politics does go well with chicken. The students — members of UNL Model United Nations — simulated a U.N. Security Council discussion following a luncheon with Lincoln members of the United Nations Asso ciation of the United States of America. Both groups study the role and effects of the 185-member United Nations in world politics. The mock meeting, at Northeast United Church of Christ, 6200 Adams St., featured stand-in delegates of the United States, United Kingdom, France, the Russian Federation and China — the United Nations’ five leading mem bers. For 20 minutes, the students presented to about 35 audience members the delicate and often tedious manner with which the U.N. reached consensus in passing resolutions. “We want people to learn about the negotia tions that are inherently necessary when dealing with the perspectives of so many different coun tries,” Becky Gould, a junior history major, said. As an example, the students discussed a pro posal involving the current Albanian civil war that urged the eastern European country’s people to work toward peace. Please see MODEL on 3 Future of citys inner core focus of town-hall meeting By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter Lincoln residents are being given a choice tonight in how they want the city’s inner core to look in the future, a member of an investment study group said Monday. Kent Seacrest said the Antelope Valley Ma jor Investment Study was a road map to Lincoln’s future, and citizens can influence its direction. The study group will have a town hall meet ing on revitalization, transportation and organi zation topics tonight at 6:30 in the Lincoln High School cafeteria, 2229 J St. The study is looselyjjased on flood control efforts along the Antelope Creek flood plain, which encompasses an area from about 27th to 16th streets along A Street and along Comhusker Highway from 27th to First streets. The area touches the University of Nebraska Lincoln City Campus, the Malone and Clinton neighborhoods, downtown, Woods Park, Ante lope Park, Near South neighborhood and North Bottoms neighborhood. The study focuses on this 600-,block area in the core of Lincoln and is being used as a com munity improvement and revitalization vehicle. Members of the study group have been gath ering ideas from a series of meetings and have put together 109 draft proposals, ranging from redrafting zoning laws to moving the State Fan Park. The study is being sponsored by the city of Lincoln, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Please see VALLEY on 3 Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http: I twww. unl.edu / DailyNeb ■ter:Vw . ' . ..... ' . .... . - -Seeds',.-r • . • ...
