—LAW AND ORDER—
Wiggins case may be ready
for trial in late January
Shevin Wiggins appeared in court
on Thursday morning to determine
when his case was ready to go to trial.
Terry Dougherty, Wiggins’ attor
ney, said the former Husker starting
receiver’s ease was not ready for the
first jury term beginning Jan. 10 but
hoped the case would be ready for the
second two-week term starting Jan. 24.
Wiggins is accused of committing
sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl
July 25 or 26.
The former football player pleaded
not guilty Aug. 22.
East Union burglarized
The Nebraska East Union was bur
glarized in the early morning hours of
Dec. 26.
The report was received by
University Police at 1:06 p.m. that day.
The intruders entered through a
window on the north side of the build
ing sometime between 3:03 a.m., the
last time the community service offi
cer checked the building, and 1:06
p.m., when the report was made.
The burglars stole a total of $556 in
merchandise from the bookstore,
including a $40 hooded sweatshirt, an
$80 coat, $342 worth of U.S. postage
stamps, two disposable cameras, two
Mariah Carey compact discs, a surge
protector and a roll of film, said
University Police Sgt. Mylo Bushing.
There were also $ 1,600 in damages
from broken windows in the bakery
and bowling alley and a damaged ATM
machine, from which no money was
missing.
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tipped on its side but unopened.
There also appeared to be no entry
or attempt at entry into the bookstore’s
cash registers, according to University
Police reports.
A university bowling coach
inspected the area and found no dam
age other than the broken window to
gain access into the alley, University
Police reports said.
Officers dusted for fingerprints but
had no suspects at this time.
Toxic fumes cause employees
to leave building
Toxic fumes from a floor sealant
forced nearly 200 employees out of
Centurion International, 3425 N. 44th
St., on Wednesday morning.
Fifty-two workers were sent to
Lincoln hospitals. Two employees
were admitted overnight and were
released Thursday morning.
The fumes were caused by outside
contractors who were sealing floors,
said Gary Kuck, president of
Centurion International.
The contractors used ventilation,
but it was “not good enough,” Kuck
said.
About 50 employees returned to
the building at 11 a.m. Wednesday
morning.
As of Friday morning all but six
employees returned back to work, and
all were out of the hospital, Kuck said.
Everyone who was treated on
Wednesday will be going back for a
checkup Friday, Kuck said.
The response of the fire depart
ment and police officers was remark
ably fast, Kuck said.
Bomb threat causes evacuation
of two UNL buildings
Both Oldfather Hall and the
Military and Naval Science building
were evacuated Thursday afternoon
after a bomb threat was reported to a
local television station.
University Police refused to release
the name of the station.
The 1:36 p.m. call informed the
station that there were two explosive
devices located in each hall, said Bill
Moody, Lincoln chief fire inspector.
University Police received a call
through the 911 center at 1:40 p.m. and
responded to the call.
The bomb squad and Lincoln
police searched the buildings for about
an hour but did not find any explosive
devices.
The full-time staff working in the
buildings were asked to check personal
areas and report anything that looked
unusual.
About an hour and 15 minutes after
the call came into the station, the build
ings were reopened.
Murder suspect waives right to
preliminary hearing
Russell W. Harms waived his right
to a preliminary hearing Thursday in a
Nemaha County Court.
Harms is charged with first-degree
murder and use of a weapon to commit
a felony in the Dec. 10 shooting death
of Tennyson Kelsay, 84, of Stella.
County Judge Curtis Maschman
set Harms’ arraignment for Jan. 26 in
Nemaha County District Court.
Kelsay was the grandfather eft" for
mer Nebraska football player Chad
Kelsay, now playing for the Pittsburgh
Steelers, and current Husker football
rush end, Chris Kelsay.
Task force meets to review
prison inmate medical care
A five-member task force appoint
ed by Gov. Mike Johanns last month to
review medical care for prison inmates
had its first meeting Friday.
The task force came after a report
from the State Ombudsman’s Office
said the medical care for inmates was
filled with inept staff and supplies and
a lack of care for patients.
It will be reporting on the medical
facilities in Lincoln, Omaha, York and
Hastings.
During Friday’s meeting, the task
force asked prison officials for the cre
dentials needed for medical staff, the
protocols for treating illnesses and
injuries, the amount workers in the
prison system earn, if prison officials
or the medical staff have a final say in
what kind of treatment, if any, is given
and the budget and appropriation of
money for treatment of inmates.
The next meeting is scheduled for
Feb. 11.
Compiled by staff writer
Michelle Starr
—LEGISLATURE
Legislature begins discussions
■ Property tax relief and
the state’s execution
method are hot topics.
By Veronica Daehn
Staff writer
The 96th Legislature began
Wednesday, and senators are mulling
over what they consider to be the
most important issues.
Sen. DiAnna Schimek of Lincoln
said property taxes'are a “huge issue”
this session.
“We might not accomplish any
thing, but discussion will get-started,”
Schimek said.
There are three major property
tax proposals, Sarpy County Sen. Jon
Bruning said.
Right now, owners of agricultural
land pay 80 percent of the land’s
value in taxes.
One proposal would make it so
that owners would pay 70 percent of
the land’s value, instead of 80.
Another proposal would, over a
period of 10 years, drop the amount
land-owners pay in taxes to 50 per
cent of the land’s value.
The final proposal would tax
agricultural land based on the income
it produces instead of on its value.
“Taxes are always a concern* and
the state is over-rgliant on property
tax now,” Bruning said. “We need to
cut the size of the government by cut
ting reliance on property taxes.”
The state collects income and
sales tax, while property taxes go
directly to local governments,
Bruning said. Local government offi
cials largely use that tax mohey to pay
for the public school system.
_ \
By cutting property taxes, local
government would receive less
money. f|
In order to continue to support
public education then, the state would
need to provide more state aid, or the
local government would need to cut
spending.
Bruning said he supports both of
those options in order to reduce prop
erty taxes.
Sen. Merton Dierks of Ewing said
the state should eliminate property
taxes all together. But, he doesn’t
think that’s very “do-able.”
Instead, he said, he supports the
proposal that would reduce property
taxes to 50 percent over 10 years.
Other senators, like Schimek,
said they don’t know what the solu
tion should be. But Schimek said she
is willing to look at any plan that
would make the entire tax system
more fair.
Changing the method of execu
- tion in Nebraska is another hot topic
among senators.
Nebraska is one of only three
states that still uses the electric chair,
Bruning said. If LB52 passes, the
state will switch to lethal injection.
“Some of us grudgingly support
(the death penalty) as a deterrent,”
Bruning said. “But, there is no reason
for us to be any more brutal than we
have to be. •
. “I’d like to see (the method of exe
cution) change, and I’m willing to
take the time to do it this session.”
Sen. Pam Brown of Omaha said
she is focusing on child care.
There are two bills focusing on
the issue, she said. One would change
the way child care is financed in
Nebraska, and one would change the
way child care providers are trained.
Another issue important to
Brown is the consolidation of local
governments.
Voters passed an amendment to
the state Constitution in the last elec
tion that allows local governments -
for example, Lincoln and Lancaster
County - to consolidate.
But Brown said the Legislature
needs to create a mechanism that
would make the structure of those
governments consistent.
Lincoln Sen. Chris Beutler said
there is a “broad array” of topics
important to him.
For one, he said he would like to
see the government become more
efficient.
LB414 would make the clerk of
the district court a non-elected posi
tion. Because clerks don’t make poli
cy decisions, they would be appoint
ed by a judge.
This bill would allow for the con
solidation of the clerk positions of the
county and district court’s office,
Beutler said, thereby making the gov
ernment more efficient.
He said he wbuld also like to look
at increasingliealth insurance for uni
versity employees.
“We need to see if we can do bet
ter there,” he said.
Bruning said he also wants to help
at-risk children. LB 1083 would pro
vide funds for mentoring programs
and would give state employees the
chance to volunteer one day a year.
The bill would also give anyone
certified as a volunteer the opportuni
ty to mentor one hour a week.
While the session’s pace is still
fairly slow, Bruning said he is eager
to see what it has to offer.
“I’m pretty excited about all of
these things right now,” he said.
• _ 1 .
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