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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1999)
Senators debate merits of seat-belt bill By Shane Anthony Staff writer A bill that would allow law enforcement officers to stop motorists for not wearing seat belts strapped sen ators into intense debate Wednesday. Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers opposed LB356, saying it would lead to racist police harassment. But Beatrice Sen. Dennis Byars stuck by his bill, saying safety was the major concern. Debate ran back and forth between Chambers and Byars with other senators chiming in until the Legislature adjourned at noon. i win not oe aeierrea, LmamDers said. “I will not be dissuaded, and I certainly will not be intimidated.” He offered, debated and withdrew a motion to indefinitely postpone the bill; offered an amendment - which failed - that would have returned the bill to reflecting current law; and moved to bracket the bill until March 30. “This is one of those matters where I’m going to have to use die opportuni ty to educate my colleagues,” he said. During part of the debate, Chambers said he might have to spend more time on issues where he was against the majority of the Legislature and less time on bills such as those introduced by the Agriculture Committee that target meat packers. I “I will have a lot more time if I leave these rural issues alone,” he said. “Let them take care of their own.” In addition to making seat belt vio lations primary offenses, the bill would also count one point against a person’s drivers license for being con victed of a seat-belt violation and require convicted persons to pay court costs. Byars said he wanted to keep peo ple from dying. “What I’m about, what this bill is about, what my motivation is about is saving lives,” he said. Byars drew support from Wahoo Sen. Curt Bromm and Eddyville Sen. Jim Jones. Bromm said he did not discount Chambers’ arguments about harass ment and racism. But an increase in fatal accidents concerned him. “I’m not content to sit here as a legislator and do nothing,” he said. Chambers spoke at length about police harassing black motorists. He cited the shooting death of Marvin Ammons by an Omaha police officer as an example. Police pulled Ammons over for a minor offense, he said. “This is how the police operate,” he said. Ord Sen. Jerry Schmitt and Lincoln Sen. LaVon Crosby supported Chambers. Schmitt, a retired Nebraska State Patrol Officer, said he respects law enforcement, but some officers would use the law as an excuse to stop peo ple. Byars said that was not the bill’is intent “This isn’t a bill to discriminate,” he said. “This is not a bill in any way that will give law enforcement a tool to harass. It is to save lives.” Crosby said seat belt laws already exist and felt Byars was trying to lay a guilt trip on other senators. “I understand what you are talking about,” she said. “But I don’t like die guilt laid on me” The Legislature adjourned without taking any action on the bill. The issue is scheduled for debate again today. Senior staff writer Jessica Fargen contributed to this report. Landis pushes for cigarette tax By Brian Carlson Staff writer Sen. David Landis of Lincoln was skeptical when first asked to sponsor a bill to deter youth smoking by raising cigarette taxes from 34 cents to $1 per pack. After all, he had received vigorous complaints and pokes in the ribs from constituents angry about previous cig arette tax hikes of just a few cents. Surely a tax hike of 66 cents would be just too controversial. But as Landis mulled over the idea, he reached a new conchisioa “The facts were clear,” he said. “First, if tobacco costs more, youth consumption goes down. Second, if youth do not start smoking, they live longer. “Would it be worth the political downside?” he asked Wednesday in a hearing before the Legislature’s Revenue Committee. “Of course it would.” , LB505 would implement that 66 cent-per-pack cigarette tax hike and create the Tobacco Prevention, Control and Enforcement Fund to conduct anti-smoking programs. At Wednesday^ hearing, a group of ninth-graders from Luke County Public Schools in Taylor told the Revenue Committee that a tax hike would deter youth smoking and save lives. Errin Van Diest said 90 percent of smokers start die habit as teen-agers. At Luke County Public Schools, she said, about one-third of students in grades 7 through 12 are smokers. Orrin Backhmd said he had seen a reduction in smoking among Taylor students since federally negotiated cigarette price hikes went into effect He said he believed steeper state ciga rette hikes would deter even more young smokers. Andrew Nelson said that by pass ing LB505, the Legislature could take an important step to protect young people from the dangers of smoking. “Who could be against anything this important in the fight against teen age smoking?” he said. Chris Caudill of the Nebraska Medical Association said teen-age smoking has risen 70 percent since 1990. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control have firmly established a link between higher cigarette prices and lower youth smoking, he said. Thus the state should pass LB505 to protect young smokers from effective market ing that has billed smoking as some thing that is “cooL, macho, the thing to do,” Ik said. “Simply put, this bill will save kids’ lives.” Death penalty opponents speak DEATH from page 1 in prison has led to an unfounded basis for keeping the death penalty, said Carter Van Pelt, state coordina tor of Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty. “I think there’s a hysteria that life sentences are not served,” he said. “That’s not true.” LB76 safeguards against early release of a person sentenced to life in prison without parole, he said. The bill states that “a person so sen tenced shall not under any circum stances whatsoever be paroled.” The hysteria put aside, Alex Wolf, a member of the Omaha Indian Tribe, said the racial dispari ties in the death penalty are reason enough to abolish it The recent case of convicted murderer Randy Reeves, who is American Indian, has sparked pub lic outcry that the death penalty is racially discriminatory. Two days before Reeves was scheduled to die in the electric chair earlier this year, he was granted a stay of execution by the Nebraska Supreme Court. “Randy Reeves is an example of our ingracious, unequal judicial system here in the state of Nebraska,” said Wolf, who said he was also speaking on Reeves’ behalf. He noted that two of the three people executed in Nebraska in the 1990s have been minorities. Pat Knapp, a Lincoln attorney, said the death penalty was racist, and that she saw Nebraska politi cians using a pro-death penalty stance to gain political clout we are Killing people in Nebraska because the issue can be used on a statewide level to further political careers,” she said. “No one should die because someone is run ning forU.S. Senate.” Former Gov. Frank Morrison saw disparity in the way county prosecutors sentence people to die. Morrison, who is also a former prosecuting attorney, said he has seen an 18-year-old given the death penalty and seen other murderers escape any penalty at all. “I’ve always marveled at the stu pid things intelligent people do,” he said. Greg Keller, journalism and American history teacher at Lincoln High, disagreed with holding the state to a different standard than « I think there's a hysteria that life J-..- I .0.1(11, .•!•••• • t • «' • • sentences are not served. That's not true." Carter Van Pelt Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty State Coordinator society. “Why is it acceptable for the state to commit homicide?” he said. “Why don’t we hold the justice sys tem to the same standard?” In related death penalty bills: ■LB391, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. David Landis, aims to com mute death sentences to life in prison if racial discrimination was shown in the sentencing. ■ LBS2, sponsored by Omaha Sen. Kermit Brashear, would change the method of execution from the electric chair to lethal injection. Testimony continues in foster-home murder case , GALLIGO from page 1 The two teen-agers who discov ered Schmader’s body Dec. 22,1995, when they were digging a fort with a shovel, also testified Wednesday. Michael GlaSer, 19, and Adrian Doan, 17, told the jury how they uncovered Schmader’s head when they were digging dirt to fill sandbags fortheirfort Schmader’s body was found in the farthest south of three tunnels in the 48th Street underpass. A bike trail runs through the north tunnel, Antelope Creek flows through the middle tunnel and die southern tunnel is for overflow. Lancaster county coroner Mattias Okoye said Schmader died from a deep stab wound in the middle of his back and a skull fracture that ran from ear to ear across die base of his skull. 1 Okoye said Schmader also had several cuts on his right hand that showed he had been fighting off his attacker. In Beggs’ testimony, she said that Hopkins and Galligo were very close when they lived in her house. “Where you saw Tim you usually saw Tony,” Beggs said. The Beggses have run a foster home at 2155 S. 52nd St for 32 years, where they are licensed to care for nine boys. Brandon Pickinpaugh, 17, anoth er resident of the Beggs foster home, was found murdered last Thursday in a McDonald's parking lot, 48th and Van Dorn streets, a few blocks from where Schmader’s body was buried. At the time ot scmnader s murder, seven boys were living in the house.’ Hopkins and Galligo roomed together in the Beggs’ sun room, which is connected to the room Schmader was staying in. Several months before Schmader’s murder, some other boys in the house accused him and two other boys of sexual assault. Beggs said that when she heard about the problem from a counselor who was working with the boys, she addressed the problem and it stopped. Hopkins is scheduled to testify today, and die trial is expected to run into the middle of next week. -—— Editor: Erin Gibson Managing Editor: Brad Davis Associate News Editor: Sarah Baker Associate News Editor: Bryce Glenn Assignment Editor: Lindsay Young Opinion Editor: Cliff Hicks Sports Editor: Sam McKewon A&E Editor: Bret Schulte Copy Desk Chief: Tasha Kelter Asst Copy Desk Chief: Heidi White Photo Co-Chief: Matt Miller Photo Co-Chief: LaaeHickenbottom Design Chief: Nancy Christensen Art Director: Matt Haney Web Editor: Gregg Steams Asst Web Editor: Amy Buike Questions? Comments? Ask for the appropriate section editor at (402) 472-2588 or e-mail dn@unl.edu. General Manager: DanShattH Publications Board Jessica Hofmann, Chairwoman: (402) 466-8404 Professional Adviser: Don Walton, (402)473-7248 Advertising Manager: Nick Partsch, (402)472-2589 Asst Ad Manager: Andrea Oeltjen Oassifieki Ad Manager: Mary Johnson Fax number: (402) 472-1761 - World Wide Web: www.dailvneb.oom The Daily Nebraskan (USPS144-060) is published bytte^L Publications Board, Nebraska Union 34,1400 RSL, Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, Monday through Friday during the academic yean weeldy during the summer sessions.The public has access to the Publications Board. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by caling (402)472-2588. Subsections are $55 for one year. Postmaster Send address changes to the Daly Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St, Lincoln NE 68588-0448. Periodicalpostagepaid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1999 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN Career fair to begins at UNL today By Bernard Vogelsang Staff writer Students looking for summer jobs, internships or permanent employment can connect today with 155 employers from across the nation. The employers will recruit stu dents and provide them with career information at the Three-in-One Career Fair from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Nebraska Union. Geri Cotter, acting director of UNUs Career Services, said the fair is the last chance for students to get into contact with employers this semester since there will not be a summer job fair this year. The fair welcomes private busi nesses, nonprofit and government employers and summer employers. Cotter said she is excited that more federal agencies will participate in the fair this year. Both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation agencies will send recruiters. Cotter said students should pre pare well before they attend the fair. She recommended students bring several copies of their resumes and wear business attire. “Students don’t have to wear a suit,” she said, “but they should dress the way they think an employer wants to see them.” Cotter said students also should prepare a one-minute introduction of who they are and what they are inter ested in. The fair will conclude with a recruiter reception from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. to provide students, particularly minority students, an opportunity to interact with employ ers in a relaxed atmosphere. Prior to the fair, the Criminal Justice Students Association will sponsor a discussion about career opportunities in law enforcement and corrections at noon in the union. Human Resources Assistant Jean Campbell of the L.A.-based William M. Mercer, the world’s largest human resource management consulting firm, said his company would recruit students at the fair. Campbell said Mercer also attended the fair to increase the firmfe name recognition among students. She said she hoped more students would consider starting their careens at Mercer after the fair. “The fair gives the company a lot of good exposure.”
