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Tuesday, January 11,2000 dailyneb.com Vol. 99, Issue 78 student exhibits, a&e, page io
Court
to review
abortion
■ The U.S. Supreme Court will
consider addressing a Nebraska
case about partial-birth abortion.
By MicheUe Starr
Staff writer
The U.S. Supreme Court will review a
Nebraska petition concerning a partial-birth abor
tion law and decide later this week if it will hear the
state’s case.
Among the issues raised by the petition are the
interpretation of Nebraska law and a state’s rights
to regulate abortion without placing an undue bur
den on the mother.
It would be the first of several cases concern
ing partial-birth abortions heard by the court and
would also help determine the degree to which a
state could restrict a woman’s right to end a preg
nancy. . 4
Nebraska law prohibits partial-birth abortions.
The statute has not gone into effect because of a
challenge by LeRpy Carhart, who performs abor- '1
tions in Bellevue. -Jamm
Carhart filed an appeal with the 8th U.S. j
Circuit Court of Appeals, stating that Nebraska’s
law concerning partial-birth abortions was so
vague that it potentially bans all abortions, which
is unconstitutional.
- Please see COURT on 3
Braving the horde
, Josh Wolfe/DN
DESPITE ONLINE booksellers’ steadily increasing advertising to college students, many students opted to wait in lines at the University
Bookstore on Monday to buy their books. One Website has started to compare online textbook prices. FOR STORY, PLEASE SEE PAGE 6.
Police: Party detail a success
Fewer problems, disturbances have been reported
By Michelle Starr
Staff writer
The crackdown on Lincoln parties
continues, and the Lincoln Police party
detail program is showing signs of suc
cess. "
In a press conference Monday, pro
gram initiators Sgt. Brian Jackson and
Sgt. Terri Lobdell said the project,
which began in the fall of 1998, has pro
duced positive results and continues to
be successful.
Police said there was a 65 percent
decrease in wild party calls from fall
1998 to spring 1999 for the center team
section, which patrols the near down
town area.
“I think we’ve had an impact,”
Jackson said. “We try to be more proac
tive than reactive.”
The project, known as party detail,
was created to help enforce the law at
laige gatherings and attempt to keep the
number of neighbor complaints to a
minimum
It started with a focus of infiltrating
parties and maintaining order from
within, and as those complaints
decreased, police turned their attention
to the partygoers themselves.
They are looking to decrease com
plaints by controlling loud music, dis
turbances and littering, decreasing the
number of people outside and control
ling parking violations, Lobdell said
Part of the detail includes sending
plain-clothed officers into parties, so
^ We try to be more proactive than
reactive
Sgt. Brian Jackson
Lincoln Police sergeant
police are able to determine if alcohol is
being sold at the parties and if minors
are drinking.
Once an offense is seen, the plain
clothed officers call for uniformed
police.
Sometimes the officers would card
people at die parties to make sure they
were drinking legally, Lobdell said.
This past semester, officers were
denied entrance into a home.
Police said it was a sign of improve
ment because it showed the tenants
weren’t letting unknown people into a
party.
The officers use tips from neighbors
to look for potential party sites and
sometimes use neighbors’ houses as
home bases to watch parties’ activities.
“When you have citizens making
complaints, it shows they’re interested,”
Lobdell said.
The party detail update showed that
during 12 nights, 90 citations were
given from August 1999 to December
1999.
These citations included 63 for
minor in possession, 11 for maintaining
a disorderly house, five for procuring
alcohol and five for selling alcohol
without a license.
The previous semester showed 91
citations in a period of six nights, police
said.
On Dec. 9,1999, eight of 24 liquor
stores sold to minors-during a compli
ance check.
The updated figures indicated that
parties tend to be seasonal, and Lobdell
agreed. ?
The greatest number of problem
incidents tend to happen during the
football season, especially in the begin
ning of the Ml semester.
The spring semester is not as busy
during the winter months but will begin
to increase as soon as the weather gets
warmer, Jackson and Lobdell said.
The officers also want to make sure
the hosts know that they are responsible
for their guests. Even if the hosrts don’t
know the guests, they are responsible
for anything that happens in their
homes.
The owners, if 21 years or older,
could be cited for procuring if minors
are caught drinking, but other guests of
legal age would not be charged, Lobdell
Please see PARTY on 3
Johanns, senators
support mentoring
By Veronica Daehn
Staff writer
In Scottsbluff, high school stu
dents help out at downtown busi
nesses to see what the work force is
really like.
In Lincoln, young adults shadow
workers at United Airlines to learn
more about life than they ever would
in a classroom.
And in Ogallalla, a program
called M-Team provides child care
for young mothers while they take
classes.
Gov. Mike Johanns said it’s time
for the state to help support these
programs.
To do that, Johanns wants the
state to dish out $ 1.5 million in gen
eral funds.
“The money I’m proposing is
literally an investment in the
future,” he said.
If legislation introduced
Monday by Omaha senators Jon
Bruning and Mark Quandahl were
to pass, mentoring and programs
called “school to career” would
grow with the additional money.
Under Johanns’ initiative, $2 mil
lion would be used to sppport
school-to-career programs across
the state.
An additional $1 million would
be used to support statewide men
toring programs.
State hinds would pay for half of
the $3 million, Johanns said, and the
other half would come from local
organizations involved with the pro
grams.
Mentoring programs, like Tom
Osborne’s TeamMates, are already
in place throughout Nebraska.
Last year, there were 1,400 men
tor matches in 24 Nebraska school
district? n
Johanns said he does not want to
rebuild those programs. However,
the additional state funding would
provide more resources and allow
the programs to benefit more young
people.
Mentoring and school-to-career
programs are crucial to the healthy
development of Nebraska’s youth,
the governor said.
With the shortage of skilled
workers in the state, the positive
training of young people has
become even more important.
“These programs promote more
effective learning and provide better
learning experiences,” Johanns said.
“But they require die cooperation of
employers and educators.”
Holly Pollyfeis, deputy commis
sioner of the State Board of -
Education, said mentors are a cru
cial part of young people’s lives.
“Most educators go into the
business thinking they can save the
world,” Pollyfeis said. “But, we’ve
found it’s one child at a time with a
mentor.”
