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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 1998)
RHA to hold re-election ByIevaAugstums Assignment Reporter UNL’s largest residence hall com plex will be holding re-elections for RHA positions after the losing party declared that last week’s election was unfair. The Residence Hall Association’s ENHANCE party members asked for a review of April 8 election procedures. The election commission determined that a runoff election should be held only in Abel and Sandoz halls on April 22. ENHANCE presidential candidate Larry Willis said polls at Abel Residence Hall ran out of ballots during the election. The ballots were not replenished despite repeated phone calls to RHA Election Commissioner Kerry Stenger and the RHA office by Abel Election Commissioner Jay Saunders, Willis said. Saunders said he tried to contact Stenger; however, when she did not respond, he advised students to write ACTION or ENHANCE on their hall government ballots. Willis said because the ballots were unofficial, they shouldn’t have been counted. Stenger said approximately 19 stu dents voted on “unofficial” RHA bal lots. Originally, ENHANCE received 225 votes and ACTION received 88 votes, she said. Neihardt Residence Hall Election Commissioner Adrienne Merit said the election commission decided that the RHA voting at Abel-Sandoz was unfair. Stenger said both parties will be allowed to campaign in the two halls for the runoff election. “Both ENHANCE and ACTION must abide by the campaign regulations in chapter six of RHA bylaws,” she said. Willis said he thought it was a good decision. “It was the only decision they could come to,” he said. ACTION presidential candidate Ben Wallace agreed. “What this is ensuring is that we have a fair election,” Wallace said “I want the election to be as fair as possible.” Willis said he appreciated the opportunity to have a runoff election. If the runoff election reverses the April 8 RHA vote, Willis said the deci sion of the students will be beneficial to both parties. “It shows less voter apathy,” he said The RHA electoral commission dis cussed and voted on other allegations: ■ Stenger was found innocent in ENHANCE’s allegation that she did not fulfill her election commissioner duties by not ensuring individual hall election commissioners were well-informed Merit said after reviewing RHA’s bylaws, there wasn’t enough evidence presented by ENHANCE to agree with its complaint ■ TTie commission denied Smith Residence Hall President Amber Bourek’s allegation, which stated that the posting of door hangers in eight res idence halls is considered door-to-door campaigning. Stenger said even though ENHANCE party members traveled door-to-door, RHA’s bylaws are “too vague and they do not specify door-to door campaigning as verbal or nonver bal campaigning” ■ The ACTION party and the Daily Nebraskan were both found innocent of conducting news interviews about the campaign in the meeting room of the April 5 RHA Senate meeting. Stenger said the commission ruled in favor of ACTION and the Daily Nebraskan because the RHA meeting was adjourned, the meeting did not take place in the RHA office, and the ENHANCE party lacked evidence sup porting its complaint ■ Kristen Morrow, RHA treasurer, withdrew her complaint that the ENHANCE party was harassed to stop campaigning outside of Selleck Residence Hall. ■ ENHANCE’s allegation against election-site poll workers is tabled upon further investigation. Willis said ENHANCE is consider ing bringing some of their allegations to the student judicial board. UNL student injured in car crash From Staff Reports A woman lost control of her car Tuesday afternoon and rolled it three times before coming to rest blocking Interstate 80 eastbound near the Waverly exit. Jennifer Pleake, 26, a second-year architecture student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, suffered broken nos ana a oroxen wrisi in me acciaent that occurred while she was driving west on 1-80, Lancaster County Sheriff Sgt. Owen Yardley said. She was listed in serious condition with chest and arm injuries Wednesday night at Lincoln General Hospital. Police do not know what caused Pleak to lose control and veer into the median where her car bogged slid into me mud ana rolled, Yardley said. The car rolled two to three times before landing across the eastbound lanes of traffic. Eastbound traffic was reduced to one lane for more than an hour at the beginning of rush-hour traffic while police and emergency services worked to remove the wreckage. The Interstate was cleared by 5:30 p.m. and normal traffic resumed. New neighborhood to focus on nature ByAnneHeitz Staff Reporter Winding dirt roads weaving through a string of ponds and clusters of trees make up a secluded area that will soon be a new community in Lincoln. In a few months, the roads will be finished and new homes will be nestled among die trees in an unusually family and nature-friendly development, designed in part by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor. Alex Mailer, professor at the College of Architecture, helped design the Antelope Commons neighborhood, a new community that combines awareness of the environment with the needs of a local community. Antelope Commons is a 67-acre site near 78th Street and Pioneers Boulevard that has designated 60 per cent of its area for public use. These areas include a series of wetland ponds, large forest areas, neighborhood parks and trails for pedestrians. In addition to the increased com mon areas, there are community ser vice buildings and community gardens. Richard Speidell, owner and devel oper of Antelope Commons, approached Keith Dubas, a local archi tect, and Mailer with the idea of creat ing the development. “It’s very environmentally con scious,” Speidell said. “We looked at the existing resources and worked to preserve and enhance them as part of the project” Speidell said that Mailer and Dubas had great impact on the design process, and that die project is an expression of the expertise UNL brings to local busp? nesses. The cohaboi^eefiEbrtallowed' everyone to offer unique perspectives, Speidell said. “We wanted a socially pro-active, environmentally based community with a strong connection to the history of the site,” Speidell said. “Keith and Alex brought expertise and perspective to allow that to happen. “We realized that a positive connec tion between UNL and the knowledge base can be a positive influence.” Mailer said although there were homes of different sizes in the new development, houses were designed for all incomes. “The project allows for a diversity, of designs,” Mailer said. “We devel oped a variety of houses, including sin gle family houses, duplexes, town houses and condominiums.” Lots on the property are available for sale now, and homeowners can start construction in August. The first resi dents can move into their homes by next spring. Mailer said the main aspect of Antelope Commons that distinguishes it from other neighborhoods is the how the neighborhood combines the natural qualities of the land with die communi ty’s needs and preferences. “We were able to take the best of both and bring them together.” John Frank/DN Ireland pleads innocent Jeffrey E. Ireland, 25, pleaded innocent in district court Tuesday to charges of manslaughter and second degree assault. Ireland is charged in connection with a traffic accident last month that killed University of Nebraska Lincoln junior Laura Cockson and injured her two younger sisters, Erin, 16, and Sarah, 19, a UNL freshman. The car Ireland was driving ran a red light and slammed into the side of the Cocksons’ car. Police allege that Ireland was drunk at the time of the wreck. Child’s death blamed on SIDS Preliminary autopsy results showed that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome killed a 2-month-old boy at a Lincoln day-care center Monday. Samuel Hestermann, bom Feb. 5, was found not breathing at the Little Rascals Day Care Center, 7001 S. Wedgewood Dr., Lincoln Police Sgt. Ann Heermann said. Though no foul play was suspect ed, the Lancaster County Attorney’s office routinely orders an autopsy in the deaths of young children, County Attorney Gary Lacey said. Cause of death unknown Police are unsure what caused the death of a Lincoln woman found in her apartment Monday. Police do not suspect foul play. Police were called to apartments on the 2500 block of North Ninth Street by a neighbor who noticed an odor coming from the apartment, Heermann said. More than a week could have passed since Nadja Wright, 44, died, though police said they are unsure exactly when she died. Preliminary results of the autopsy performed Tuesday morning were unavailable by afternoon, Lacey said. Mayor involved in accident Mayor Mike Johanns was unin jured after being involved in a two-car accident Monday afternoon. Johanns was driving his 1996 Chevrolet Corsica west on L Street when a southbound car ran the stop sign at 18th Street, entering the intersection in front of Johanns, Heermann said. Police said Johanns braked but could not avoid the other car, driven by Phyllis Waite, 59. No one was injured. There was $2,500 damage to Johanns’ car and $1,300 damage to Waite’s car, a 1984 Chevrolet Corsica. Waite, a Lincoln resident, was cited for running the stop sign. Young bicyclist hit by car A bike helmet saved the life of a 9 year-old bicyclist hit by a car Monday, police said. The driver of the car was heading northbound on 48th Street in the inside lane when he saw the boy on the bike enter the street from a yard on the north side ofW Street, Heermann said. The driver braked and swerved before hitting the front of the bike. The boy was thrown from his bike and his helmet cracked, but he was able to walk away from the accident with minor injuries. Arrest made for shots fired Police arrested a Lincoln man in connection with two Sunday morning shootings at an apartment building. Eduardo Moreno, 20, was arrested after a witness reported seeing him fire a handgun five times into an upstairs apartment just before 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Heermann said. Earlier that same morning police were called to the same apartments on the 600 block ofNorth 26th Street after six shots were fired just after 3 a.m. Six shells were found in the park ing lot after the earlier shooting, but no damage was caused, and there were no witnesses to the first shooting. The later shots did hit the building, causing $250 damage. Moreno is charged with discharging a weapon at an occupied dwelling and the use of a weapon to commit a felony. Masturbator encountered Police received two reports of a naked man masturbating in the stair ways of two downtown parking garages last weekend. Friday evening around 11 a woman leaving work was walking to her car in the Ramada hotel parking garage, 141N. Ninth St., level C, when she saw a stairwell door swing open revealing the man masturbating, Heermann said. She could not provide a descrip tion, but in a similar incident at Gunny’s parking garage, 245 N. 13th St., Saturday morning another woman saw the man. The woman exited her car on the second level around 8 a.m. and started walking toward the stairs. The suspect opened the stairway door to reveal himself masturbating. The man is described as white, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, heavy built, in his 50s with unkempt gray hair. Police believe the two incidents are connected. Compiled by Senior Reporter Josh Funk • ■ i ip-';.. f<r --——
