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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1999)
Island a fossil paradise England’s Isle of Wight hot spot for dinosaur bones BROOK, England (AP) - Nestled off southern England, a picturesque island is evolving into one of the world’s great dinosaur fossil discovery sites. Mention the Isle of Wight to most Britons, and they’ll think only of sail boats and beach holidays. But to pale ontologists hunting for fossilized dinosaur bones, the small island is about as good as it gets. “If you are European, this is the place you have got to be,” says paleon tologist Steve Hutt, clambering over the rocks along the island’s southwest beach. In many of the world’s best fossil sites in China, Mongolia and the United States, remains are found over thousands of square miles. The Isle of Wight’s fossils are con centrated in two tiny strips, one six miles long along its southern coast and the other just half a mile on its eastern coast. The island, which lies three miles off the English mainland, doesn’t pre tend to compete in terms of quantity - just quality. Its rocks are yielding fossils from the early Cretaceous period -from 100 million to 140 million years ago - which are rarely found elsewhere. Most sites produce fossils from the late Triassic period, between 200 mil lion and 225 million years ago, or the Jurassic period, 135 million to 200 million years ago. “The island is a window on the Cretaceous world, which doesn’t occur anywhere else in the world,” says Hutt, employed by the local government as the island’s sole paleontologist. David Norman of Cambridge University’s Department of Earth Sciences says the island is important not only in historical terms, but also because “new dinosaurs continue to be discovered there and are well-pre served and articulated - that is, then bones are joined together.” Last year, a previously unknown cat-like, flesh-eating dinosaur was dis covered in a crumbling cliffby an ama teur fossil collector. And in 1997, another previously unknown dinosaur, Neovenator salerii, a smaller version of Tyrannosaurus rex, was found on the island. While many excavations in the United States are backed by big-name universities with budgets to match, the Isle of Wight’s digs are on a much smaller scale. Hutt does most of the work him self, aided by a volunteer or two. Every summer, he picks from the best of paleontology interns, both from Europe and die United States. And while other institutions have major museums to house their collec tions, the Isle of Wight’s finds are kept in much more modest surroundings - one floor above a town library. Hutt has one ally most other digs don’t have - the sea. Every fall and winter, the ebb and flow of the tides, together with the gales that blow north from the English Channel, remove layers of rock from the cliffs, unearthing new fossils. “The rocks are exposed continual ly, so the goodies fall out,” Hutt says. Wandering along the coast at Brightstone Bay, where dinosaur foot print casts lie on the beach, Hutt points to the 50-foot cliff face, striped with white, red and dark brown wealden rock, which is one of his favorite areas for digging. In 1998, a local collector found a turtle’s skull there dating back 120 mil lion years. “Looks like we’ll have to name that, too,” Hutts says, referring to the tradition of naming newly discovered dinosaurs after the people who found them. “It’s our way of saying thank you.” Liquor control ignores club query LUjUUR from page 1 Assistant City Attorney Joel Pedersen testified in opposition to the petition but urged the commis sion to make a ruling because of the question’s statewide impact. “You are charged and have the ability to interpret the Liquor Control Act,” he said. “I encourage you that you have jurisdiction over the issue. I believe it does ask for an interpretation of the act you are charged to enforce.” When asked to comment after die ruling, Pedersen said he would have to review what the commission had done. Other city and UNL officials continued to protest the idea of the bottle club in their testimony before the commission. “When we heard about the pro posed bottle club adjacent to our campus, we became concerned,” said University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs James Griesen. “The last thing we need is a place where students can drink three nights a week into the early morning hours.” The petition, filed March 3, stat ed that the hypothetical club would specifically target UNL students. Members of the club would be allowed to consume their own alco hol on the premises between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Griesen testified that, if passed, the petition would compromise the university’s fight against binge drinking. This year the university was awarded a $700,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to reduce high-risk drinking among UNL students. “We’ve been working on this for a long time,” Griesen said. “We have more people coming to the realiza tion that education alone just doesn’t work. We need a combination of approaches to successfully reduce high-risk drinking opportunities.” Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady said he was concerned about the impact the petition would have, if passed, on both the UNL andLincoln communities. “Aside from the university’s con cerns, I have the additional problem to provide police protection to the city,” Casady said. “I don’t want this type of activity in our community at all hours in the morning.” UNL Chancellor James Moeser said he was delighted to hear the commission’s decision. He said he appreciated the efforts of Griesen, coalition members, students, the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska and the Academic Senate in opposing the / bottle club idea. “I think a lot of people helped kill this,” Moeser said. “I am very pleased to see community concern and support.” An employee at Barry’s said Webb was out of town until Monday and unable to comment. Webb’s legal counsel, Terry Schaaf, said he agreed with the com mission’s stance. “I’m interpreting that to mean that they don’t think it involves a liquor license matter,” he said. Schaaf said he was surprised by the response from city and university officials. “It seems like much ado about not very much,” he said. Schaaf said he is not an advocate for Webb on this issue. He merely helped Webb write the question for the commission. Webb was exploring whether or not a bottle club would be a legal, viable business opportunity, he said, but he was not saying whether or not a bottle club was a good idea. “The time to debate the propriety of the proposal is later,” Schaaf said. “He just asked if it was legally possi ble.” NEBRASKA Spirit Squad Try-outs Mascot, Yell Squad & Dance Team Try-outs April 15-17 in Mable Lee Hall Registration & First Cuts on April 15 @ 5:00 pm *For more information call Trace or Beth @ 472-0775 L AAA '4^ KFRX Friday, April 9th 9:00 pm to 1:0O am Fun. Food and Frizes s 2.00 in advance $ 3.oo at the door Charity sale to fund child’s wheelchair lift ■ The benefit is being sponsored by the Lincoln Family Resource Center and will primarily be made up of donated items. By JoshKnaub Staff writer A benefit yard sale Friday and Saturday could give one Lincoln girl the lift she needs. The sale, sponsored by the Lincoln Family Resource Center, will raise money toward the purchase of a van with a wheelchair lift for 3-year old Taralynn Worrell. Dan and Sheila Worrell, Taralynn’s parents, rely on a 1984 Chevrolet Cavalier for transportation. Taralynn was left unable to walk at age 1 after contracting encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, said Sheil^ Worrell. Chellotte Snyder of Lincoln Developmental Disabilities Services said the family had a definite need for the van. “It is becoming very difficult for them,” she said. Taralynn has several weekly phys ical therapy and doctor’s appoint ments, Snyder said. Snyder said the height of the spe cial seat Taralynn needs made it diffi cult not to bump her head against the ceiling of the car. Additionally, the van would pro vide more safety and better support for Taralynn, Snyder said. Ann Widoe of Lincoln Family Services said the van and lift acces sories would cost nearly $20,000. She said local businesses had donated more than $2,100 as of Thursday afternoon. Widoe said Sheila Worrell sent more than 900 letters about the yard sale to various businesses, officials and citizens. The response has been very good so far. “Anything you could ever imagine has been donated,” Widoe said. Items include chairs, couches, a TV set, books, adult and children’s clothing and toys. Widoe said donations were tax deductible. The sale, located at 511 West Belmont, will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. A raffle for a Beanie Baby will be held during the sale. j" COUPON "| j LASER SHOWS i I Buy One Ticket - Get One Free i I This weekend Only (April 9-10, 1999) I I PHISH I Shows at 8 & 9:30 j Mueller Planetarium j www.spacelaser.com i_____i Women’s GynNHjp NCAA Regional* Arizona * llinois * Iffinois-Chkl Michigan * Nebraska * Oklahi Sat, April 10 at ? pm at Bob Devaney Sports Ce i*s Tennis vs. .April 10 at 10 am " ir-Pound Tennis Courts Baseball vs. f| Oklahoma St.p Fri., April 9 at 7 pm Sat., April 10 at 2 pm Sun., April 11 at 1 at Buck Beitzer Stadium n’s Tennis vs. Oklahoma toril 11 at 10 am Softball vs. Old Sat., April 10 at at NU Softball C< 1-800-8 flGpEI SOFTBALL STUDENT PROMOTIONS: