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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 1998)
Abortion protest debate to continue Bt Brian Carlson Staff writer City lawmakers met late into the night Tuesday to consider whether anti abortion protests directed at a Lincoln church constitute legal free speech or harassment that should be curbed by a city ordinance. The Lincoln City Council heard tes timony on a proposed ordinance that would require protesters from Rescue 1 the Heartland, an anti-abortion group, to move its protests across the street from Westminster Presbyterian Church from 30 minutes before services until 30 min utes after their conclusion. Rescue the Heartland has targeted the church for the past 20 months because a member of the churchb gov erning body, Dr. Winston Crabb, per forms abortions. Protesters have wield ed large signs depicting bloody, mutilat eaooaiesoiaooneafetuses. . Cad Horton, an associate pastor at Westminster, 210 Sheridan BlvcL, said the protesters had overstepped their right to free speech by harassing churchgoing children. ‘The children of our church are being intentionally taigetedby and subjected to . the reprehensible tactics of Rescue die Heartland,” he said. “They have been spir itually and emotionally banned.” A queue of Westminster parish ioners made its way to the podium Tbesday to describe their run-ins with protesters, accusing the picketers of ver bally abusing churchgoers, including children, and shoving 6-foot pictures of aborted fetuses into their feces. Church members who testified, some of whom said they were lifelong members, said they were concerned about the psychological harm done to their children by the protesters. They said they worried their children would be discouraged from attending church. Some, such as Jane Sievers, who attended the hearing, said she and her fam ily had made the “agonizing” decision to leave Westminster because dealing with protesters had become too burdensome. Westminster member Maureen Allman, who also was at the city hear ing, said she had arrived at church late one day when she was confronted by a protester who lambasted her for attend ing church with an abortionist She said the protester then told her, in the pres _- ^1 j uir « 1 T\ cuvc ui uci umu, iuu ic ui. Crabb didn’t abort your child.” “The church is being held hostage by terrorists whose demands Westminster cannot meet,” Horton said. But Larry Donlan, director of Rescue the Heartland, called the testimo ny of those in favor of the buffer zone a “dog and pony show” and said he did not believe the alleged incidents had taken place. He said church members should have filed more reports with the police if they felt their rights had been violated Church members had filed one complaint with the Lincoln police. No charges were filed in that complaint He downplayed church members’ accusations that the group’s tactics were harmful to children, saying his group would continue to draw attention to its opposition to the practice of abortion. “It is very ironic that the whole argument here is couched in terms of protecting children,” he said He said the group would cease its protests if Crabb discontinued his abor tion practice and repented Alan Peterson, a Lincoln lawyer representing Westminster Presbyterian Church, urged protesters to “picket on somebody your own size.” He said the ordinance would meet the tests for con stitutional restriction of speech. The ordinance is content neutral, he said, meaning it addresses the conse quences of speech rather than the mes sage itself. It serves a significant gov ernmental interest and is narrowly tai lored, he said Although inspired by the Westminster incidents, the ordinance would apply to any church, synagogue, temple or mosque m Lincoln. But Bill Austin, aLincoln city attor ney, and Rick Duncan, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln law professor, said at the hearing that die ordinance would be unconstitutional. Austin said the ordinance could be found to be directed against a particular viewpoint and could fail to allow pro testers with adequate channels to pro mote their message. Duncan said the ordinance amounted to “criminating one side of a religious dispute.” The City Council will hold another hearing on the ordinance at next week’s meeting, 'when it is expected to vote on the measure. Accessibility an issue for Wendy’s owners By Kim Sweet Staff writer As Wendy’s restaurants across the ’ nation try to cook the best burger, they also will try to make those burgers more accessible. i ■ But Wendy *s establishments in Lincoln will be a little slower in making restaurants more convenient for people with disabilitiesin an out-of-court set tlement in late August, the Wendyfc cor poration agreed to either widen or remove die serpentines, or zigzag rail ings that lead up to the counters, in their 1,700 corporate-owned or leased loca tions across the nation. The goal is to make the ordering lines more accessi Die 10 people wno use wneeicnairs. As Wendy’s establishments nation wide scramble over the next 18 months to make the renovations, Lincoln-area Wendy’s restaurants will not be as quick to make die changes, said Drew Harris, franchise owner. Because the restaurants in Lincoln are locally owned, they are not required to make changes in line with any agree ments made by the corporate office. But that doesn’t mean the changes won’t take place, Harris said. Renovations started this summer in a Wendy fc restaurant on 930 N. 48* St The purpose of the renovations was not to make the lines more wheelchair accessible, but to remove die salad bar; Harris said. Although a new serpentine layout is in the works, the contractors’ plans most likely do not contain the new mea surements. This happened because the renovations began, before the agree ment, said Rebecca Lusk, spokes woman for Wendy’s International. Those measurements were approved by the U.S. Justice Department after the out-of-court agreement The downtown location on 1336 Q St., which is up for renovation next l/AQt iirill o nn/Ior ntola all Wendy's blueprints contain new measurements after die Department of Justice approved than, Lusk said. The plans for renovations at local restaurants are drawn up by the corpo rate office, Harris said. Though renovations are only being made at two of the four locations, Harris stressed that the Lincoln Wendy’s establishments strive to be handicapped-accessible. She has received no complaints from cus tomers. Currently, the stores’ serpentines contain removable chains, which allow wheelchairs to navigate through the line. Hosts and hostesses are available to help if the customer desires, Harris said. She said customers have been . appreciative of the special treatment “I believe they are all grateful,” Harris said. “To my knowledge we haven’t received complaints from any one”. ; . r I 7.;,^ L:,' , Jonathon Gonasis, assistant manag er of the Wendy’s on 3210 Corhusker Highway, said the restaurant’s policy keeps customers happy. “We’ve generally got a way to treat diem really well,” he said. Hams said the serpentines are nec essary for customer control. “Wendy’s concept was always first in line, first served,” he said. Lusk said that most corporate owned or leased restaurants will opt for the wider serpentine rather than remov ing diem completely. Currently, all Lincoln Wendy’s stores comply fully with Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, Harris said. If the changes in the out-of-court agreement alter ADA guidelines, the Lincoln Wendy’s stores will comply, Harris said. “We’ll be there in the future,” Harris said. “If the government asks us to change codes, we’ll change diem.” * Friends, family mourn loss of professor By Ckyotie Nichols Staff writer Albert Stone, a professor of interior design, will be affectionately remem bered by his students and colleagues at die University ofNebraska-Lincoln. < Stone died June 8 in Lincoln after suffering a heart attack. He was 47. He had a great impact on many of his interior design students, including senior interior design major Sara Tf-4. raster. “He was the most influential profes sor I’ve ever had,” she said. “I teamed more in his class than any other in my past three years. He was vary passionate about interior design and for his students to achieve the knowledge and understanding of the concepts of design.” A ceremony will be held to remem ber Stone’s life Friday at 6 p.m. at Cornerstone, 640N. 16* St “He was an honest man who would go out of his way to help anybody” said his father; Elmer Stone ofYictoi; Idaho. Stone’s father received a stream of letters from his son’s students and col leagues. He learned his son was well appreciated in Lincoln: He said one letter from a fellow pro fessor stated, “UNL was a better place because he associated among us.” Stone’s father was proud ofhis son’s awards, especially the Who’s Who Outstanding Teacher^ Award. Albert Stone was an assistant pro fessor of architecture. He resigned last semester to move back to his hometown in Idaho to help take care of his par ents.“The college will be lacking and he is going to be missed,” said Krista Hottovy, a former student of History of Design. Stone was bom May 28,1951, in Driggs, Idaho, to Elmer and Annie Sterne. He graduated from Teton High School in 1969. He then served with a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission in Japan from 1971-73, according to an obituary that appeared in the Teton Valley (Idaho) News in June. He received his associates degree from Rides College in Rexbuig, Idaho, in 1973. He then attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and received his bachelor of arts in 1976. He earned his master of Science from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater in 1982. Along with his love for teaching, Stone had an extensive antique collec tion, which included his 1938 Chevrolet sedan that he had restored. . His Ideh adventures included trav els to Europe and white-water rafting. He also was an accomplished mnsiciffli who touched many lives with his music, the newspaper article stated He is survived by his parents, Elmer and Annie Stone of Victor, Idaho; his sisters - Louise Wrathall and ho* hus band Don of Las Vegas; Beth Osborne and her husband A1 of Bhifldale, Utah; and numerous nephews and nieces. , Funeral services were June 13 in the Victor Second Ward Chapel in Idaho. ■ ■ ■ ' 321 Apple Creek Rd. 475-3469 WWW.SUNVALLEYLANES.COM Only 2 minutes from downtown BRIN6 this ad in for >1 off_ Rett Assured. Be insured. Your University Health Center, together with GM Southwest of Danas,IX, offers UNL students a com prehensive and affordable medical insurance plan specifically designed to suit the needs of undergraduate and graduate students. 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If you don’t want to appear in the directory, you must restrict your directory information before Friday, Sept 11,1998. You can restrict directory information by going to the Records Office, Service Counter 107C, Canfield Administration Building. Please have your student ID available. If you have previously requested directory restriction on a Change of Address Form, you do not need totakgany further action.