Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1998)
Senators may revise licenses one of the problems with the cur rent IDs is that people can easily make fake IDs - a frequent occur rence in college towns. The proposed card, however, should make it nearly impossible to tamper with the use of a digital pic ture and magnetic-strip backing. “There’s no excuse then (retail ers) can make for not knowing the person wasn’t 21,” Schellpepper said. Under a section of the bill, a minor would be given a driver’s license that would expire on the person’s 21st birthday, at which time the person would receive an adult ID. Although a license usually expires when a person reaches an age divisible by four, for example, when a 16-year-old turns 20, pro ponents o£ tlie bill discussed extending the limit to five years to allow for the one-year difference between being an adult at age 21. Another proponent, Kathy Siefken, executive director of the Nebraska Retail Grocers Association, said the organization favored the bill because it would help retailers reduce “human error” sales - times when the clerk thought the buyer was of age to buy tobacco or alcohol but wasn’t. “Anything you can do to help identify minors from adults will help the retailers,” she said. Siefken said some of the prob lems are happening because the dates are too small on the current IDs, so that during busy times the salesperson has a harder time read ing the IDs. She also said money states should receive from the federal government’s legal battles with the mmm tobacco companies would help pay for the necessary machines and equipment to make the IDs. A1 Abramson, director of the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, spoke neutrally, saying the system was a good idea, but that the department already had begun taking some steps to simpli fy the current IDs, For example, in September, the word “MINOR” was added for people under 21. He said the department also had talked about putting the date of the person’s 21st birthday on the card to eliminate the problem with figuring ages. Abramson said he liked the pro posed idea of making the IDs like credit cards because it probably would cost less in the long run. “I’m sure the return on the investment would be tenfold,” he said. The average card now costs about $1.05, and the new ones might cost about $1.50 because of the need for a digital picture and a magnetic stripe on the back, Abramson said.However, he said he did foresee one major problem with the bill. Since many counties have their own system for making up the cards, whether they use a type writer or a computers to process the cards, it would take some time to establish an interactive system for all 93 Nebraska counties. Abramson estimated that it would be October 1999 before the new system actually could be started. No action was taken on the bill. Drugs seized from truck A state patrol officer dis covered 467 pounds of marijua na hidden between furniture in the back of a Ryder truck Monday. The officer had stopped the truck for following too closely on 1-80 north of Lincoln Monday afternoon. Deyara Mason, 28, of Salinas, Calif., told the officer she was driving to St. Paul, Minn. But the officer became sus picious of her story and searched the back of the truck where he found bricks of mari juana wrapped in cellophane hidden between furniture, state p&trol spokesman Jeff Hanson said. Police seized the drugs, val ued at $400,000, as evidence and arrested Mason for the pos session of marijuana with the intent to deliver. Formal charges have not been filed by the Lancaster County Attorney. Mason’s two children, an 8 year-old girl and 4-year-old boy, were also in the truck and were turned over to social ser vices. Four teens arrested Four teen-agers went on a crime spree in south Lincoln Monday night, committing 15 different offenses of vandalism, burglary and trespassing during a period of two to three hours. After a resident reported a suspicious vehicle prowling the neighborhood near 3 fst Street' and Emerald Drive, Lincoln Police stopped the truck. The officer noticed several radar detectors and other stolen property, in the truck, which eventually led to the arrests, Sgt. Ann Heermann said. The two sets of brothers, aged 14, 15, 17 and 19, used a spark plug to break windows along Emerald and Tierra dri ves and in the surrounding neighborhood, Heermann said. The group caused $2,800 in damage and stole $840 of prop erty before police caught them. The 19-year-old, Emul Gull, was cited and released, as were the three juveniles arrested for the crimes. Compiled by Senior Reporter Josh Fnnk Scott McClurg/DN ELLIOT CAMPBELL, a senior math major, shops for a snack between class es at QwiKick, the new convenience store located In the southeast corner of the Big Red Parking Garage at Stadium Drive and T street Convenience store opens on campus By Eric Rineer Staff Reporter While many rely on restaurants in the Nebraska Union to satisfy their hunger, a new convenience store across campus will provide an alternative for students and faculty. QwiKick opened shop Tuesday on Stadium Drive in the southeast corner of the parking garage. The purpose of the store is to give students and faculty members another option for purchasing snacks, beverages and other sup plies, said Dick Williams, Nebraska Unions’ director of Food Services. Williams said the store was an idea that Parking Services intro duced to the union directors some time ago. buv £U1sjbeen.atlong process with .budget,” he said. * . The cost of building the store on the ground level of the garage was $149,000, said Daryl Swanson, director of Nebraska Unions. Williams said he’s not worried about a lack of customers. “I think the store will do great because there are no services for that side of campus,” he said. “Part of our goal has been to try and expand our services.” Williams said the store would add more to the building, which also., includes Huskers Authentic, the athletic ticket office and the ghrage. ' J “The convenience store is a high demand on most college cam By Joy Ludwig Staff Reporter A credit card-like identification card or driver’s license could help retailers identify minors and com bat underage drinking, said sup porters of a bill heard Tuesday. Retailers who sell tobacco products and liquor would be able to identify underage people who try to purchase these items because the card would be “obviously and distinctly different” from an adult’s card and better than the state’s cur rent IDs, supporters of LB1000 said Tuesday afternoon. Sen. Stan Schellpepper of Stanton, who introduced the bill, said retailers have a hard time determining who is a minor and who is not, especially during rush hour and in dark establishments like a bar, because of the small print and the need to figure out the age by the birth date mathematical ly “We need to make it more dis tinctive and get a separate license so the people that run these places don’t make mistakes,” he said. Schellpepper said the card could be run through a scanning machine and would show the per son’s age. Along with this, he said, the cards for minors would have a different background from the cards for adults. “Our concern is that if we don’t do something to make it real dis tinct we’ll continue to have prob lems,” he said. “Maybe it’s not the answer to everything, but it’s an idea we in the committee have heard that could help.” Schellpepper also mentioned u The convenience store is a high demand on most college campuses Dick Williams director of Union food services puses,” Williams said. Joyce Campbell, store manager, said the store would be a bonus for students who take classes on the west side of campus. “I think this is great for the uni versity because there is nothing in that area for people to grab a last minute item,” she said. Campbell said increased traffic since the construction of the park ing garage would ensure cus tomers. He said that QwiKick sells foods such as hot dogs, sandwich es, frozen pizzas and sodas. The store will also have a small selec tion of school supplies, she said. Susan Kulawik, assistant man ager, said QwiKick also includes a small patio so that customers can sit down and eat their food. “This will offer students and faculty members an enjoyable atmosphere,” she said. QwiKick will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. I C LULA RONE' | -express