Sex offender list on Web I
OFFENDER from page 1
of them have been classified as Level
ID, said Colonel Tom Nesbitt
“This is a tool to help us protect our
families,” Nesbitt said. “I trust the citi
zens to use this information.”
The service is supposed to aid fam
ilies in preparing safety plans for their
children, including using the buddy
system and refusing rifaes from
strangers, Nesbitt said.
Mario Scalora, University of
Nebraska-Lincoln assistant professor
of psychology, said factors such as
criminal history, level of violence, age
and sex of victims and the area in
which the crimes were committed
were considered in the classification.
Scalora estimated about two-thirds
of the sex offenders are classified as
Level HI.
Nesbitt said the list is not supposed
to be used to harass anyone on it.
In other states with similar services
already available, citizens have
harassed offenders, and he wanted to
avoid that, he said.
Level III offenders have their
names, dates of birth, addresses, possi
ble aliases and convictions posted next
I
to their photos on the Web site.
Of the 10 Level HI offenders, three
are living in Lincoln.
Though none of the offenders list
ed could be reached, neighbors have
mixed feelings about living near a con
victed sex offender.
Letitia Payne, a Lincoln neighbor
of registered offender Louise Morris
Dougherty, said she was surprised the
woman who lived in the same building
was a sex offender.
“Are you sure you have the right
building?” Payne asked. “She’s a nice
lady. She’s married, and her husband’s
really nice. They have kids. She
babysits.”
Morris-Dougherty has been con
victed on two counts of sexual assault,
but Payne wasn’t worried.
Daniel Dillard, the next-doof
neighbor of Michael Landis, who is
also on the list, agreed.
“I know Mike, and I like him,”
Dillard said. “He hasn’t done anything
to me or my kids.”
Dillard was not concerned for his
family about Landis’ having been con
victed of sexual assault of a child.
“I know what he did, and I don’t
agree with it,” Dillard said. “He made a
mistake, went to jail and paid his time.
“Everybody makes mistakes;
some people are worse than others. I
wouldn’t want anyone to make these
guys' lives more miserable than they
are. They’re the ones that are going to
have to live with it the rest of their
lives.”
Another neighbor, Jason Terrell, a
neighbor of Daniel Zegers, was not as
accepting of living next door to a sex
offender.
Terrell, who just moved into the
house next door to Zegers’ apartment,
said he was concerned for the safety of
his live-in giiiffiend’s 2-year-old child.
It was not the first time he had
moved into an area with a sex offender
living in the neighborhood, Terrell
said.
The same thing happened in a
north Lincoln neighborhood where he
previously lived.
Terrell was upset, but there was
nothing he could do.
“At least we know about it now,” he
said.
Information about sex offenders
can be found through a link on the
State Patrol’s Web site: www.nebraska
state-patrol.org.
Professor recognized
with research award
RESEARCH from page 1
I convey to my students the excite
ment of learning something new
because that’s what a lot of research is
all about.
I hope that’s what my teaching
does, so that even if a student never
becomes a researcher, they’ll at least
get a glimpse of what it’s like to do
research on such exciting things.
I really do believe that good
research and good teaching go
together. A lot of the passion that you
feel for your research can contribute
to that passion you feel as a teacher.
QWhat does it mean to you
B to receive this award?
Alt’s a great honor. Past
recipients of this award
■ have been among the most
distinguished faculty in
the university system, so I think it’s
humbling to be in this group.
I guess I would throw in one
other thing, too - it’s wonderful that
a university seeks to recognize fac
ulty in this way, but when a faculty
member is recognized, it’s also
wonderful to think of all the people
who’ve contributed to your work.
So, part of what this award does
is make me appreciate students who
have been part of my research and
other faculty who have been collab
orators and people at other universi
ties, too.
i
■ g SEARCH
Aits and Hunanites • Applied Science and Technology • Science • Psychology • Business and Economics
Education • Tolocommunications and Computing • Social Scionco • Rocroational Roading
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Ethicist urges action
in end-of-life plans
By Margaret Behm
Staff writer
A crowd was asked Thursday night
how they wanted to die.
Quickly, peacefully, at home, free
of pain and not now, were the answers
shouted back.
No one said that they wanted to be
hooked up to a feeding tube, have a
catheter or be in a hospital bed.
Dr. Cynthia Stolman, ethicist and
' assistant professor of pediatrics at New
Jersey Medical School, spoke
Thursday night about medical ethics
and end-of-life decisions.
Stolman encouraged people to
think about how they want to die.
Stolman also encouraged people to
have advance directives or living wills.
However, one study found that 23
percent of doctors ignore advance
directives, so patients need to find doc
tors who will respect them, Stolman
said.
This paperwork also is not valuable
unless it is available in an emergency,
so people should distribute it, Stolman
said.
It is also important to give power of
attorney to someone who will do what
you want without letting their own
emotions get in the way, Stolman said.
There are two main viewpoints on
whether to end life, Stolman said.
One is the sanctity-of-life principle,
which says it is better to possess a min
imal degree of life than to be dead The
second is the quality-of-life principl,
which balances the benefits and bur
dens of a life in deciding what to do.
James Thorson, UNO professor
and chairman of gerontology who did
n’t attend the speech, said he teaches a
class on medical ethics.
One day, a student mentioned that
she had given six hours worth of mor
phine in 20 minutes to a patient who
was dying.
Thorson said he then asked the
class if they knew of situations where
that happened. Half the hands went up.
“You could say this is first-degree
murder, euthanasia or you could say it’s
the better part of mercy,” he said.
Johanns cites goal for
fiscal stability in vetoes
VETOES from page 1
override.”
There are two weeks left in this leg
islative session, and Johanns said he
would veto any bill the body passes in
the remaining seven days that would
cost the state more money.
The minority scholarship program
will be expanded by $ 1 million because
of the bill, LB 1379, that Johanns
signed. The money will be divided
between the University of Nebraska,
state colleges and community colleges.
Despite cutting some of his other
programs Thursday, Johanns signed
into law a $55 million property tax
relief plan.
This is $ 10 million less than what
the governor proposed in his State of
the State address in January.
“(Property tax relief) is the number
one tax policy in the state of Nebraska,”
Johanns said.
The property tax relief plan will
give $30 million to community col
leges, so they can reduce their property
tax levy, and $25 million will go to a
direct property tax credit program.
Johanns did not approve funding
for a few of his own program ideas,
such as his mentoring and School-to
work programs. The governor said sen
ators need to adopt the same mentality
about some of their proposals.
“Today I am asking members of the
Legislature to join with me in exercis
ing spending restraint,” Johanns said.
“The more spending the Legislature
passes, the more I will veto.”
Johanns said he knew there were
people who were upset with his deci
sions Thursday.
“We can’t be all things to all peo
ple,” he said. “I needed to identify the
priorities and fund those priorities.”
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