A hurdle tO TeDatriation cleared • ■ *£’*&'&*?**’ '*¥ *; ■ Ponca Tribe chairman had expressed discontent with the timetable. By Kimberly Sweet Staff writer American Indian tribes are anx ious to get remains back from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln - several months after signing an agreement in which the university agreed to repatriate all remains. But after an 18-month wait for the federal government’s answer on the fate of hundreds of remains, UNL Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Coordinator Priscilla Grew said she hopes the process will speed up. “The ball is in our court now, and we have, to move forward very carefully,” Grew said. Grew said the university finally received a response fropiTederal officials on March 27 op a\draft sent by the university in September 1998. i The draft was sent after 17 tribes met and signed an agreement in which the university promised to return remains. Grew said the university will now work to write up the tribes’ claims, which will have to be pub lished in the federal register before they are eligible for repatriation. The university is responsible for defending a challenge to the claims. Consequently, the universi ty has to be precise in their reports, Grew said. Grew said she expected the next • ■> : - *rrv^.y.- £.w* . .. v * 1- —3,110- • r .—•■•fe '- *'* - remains inventory to the National Park Service and turn them over to the affiliated tribes upon request. The remains under question recently are those that the universi ty has identified as culturally unaf filiated. Nebraska is the first insti tution to submit a claim to the National Park Service asking that the culturally unaffiliated remains be eligible for repatriation. In his letter, Smith said there is controversy over whether the uni versity should return the remains and said Grew thinks this could be the cause in the delay of the National Park Service’s giving the go-ahead for repatriation. “It is Dr. Grew’s impression that the potential controversy surround ing our precedent-setting notices may have contributed to the delays in the (National Park Service) staff review,” Smith wrote. Morgan said she didn’t want to comment on Smith’s letter. In his letter, Smith also said Grew had agreed to extend the deadline for comments on the memorial planned on East Campus to commemorate the spot where American Indian bones were incin erated in the 1960s. Morgan said the tribal leaders planned to discuss it at the next meeting. She said she wasn’t sure what would come out of a potential May meeting but wanted at least one outcome: “My hope is the university will get out of the Indian remains busi ness and respect our remains as much as they would any other peo ple’s.” utt& Mop,' Warh & bender . COTMAN fllb. 8.1501b. ZZW rheet Brwher 8ml. Tuber WATERCOLOR PAPER 15% OFF 62% OFF 15% OFF our regular low price/ hggerted Retail! our regular low price! NOW NOW ONLY 72Lb. blow iso 4z60-45.18 4.15 p«2r tube l3ab ^ 4,1(9 suggested price 6>’b.Os5 Satetn 1300 Q Sued * Uacota,NE68 fl&T .'■yjgfev-V. *!!aBtiSfe3m«K3£' «**• •! idSSiS&fcSfe: '■'• — -***'- - '• -r^f- ' •“ ■ • survive Legislature; H n ^ i • « ^ i ' & ■ senators tnea 10 save seven bills rejected by Gov. Mike Johanns. ByJillZeman Staff writer Tuesday was a good day to be Gov. Mike Johanns, as all but one of his vetoes were sustained despite efforts of state senators. The governor issued 13 vetoes, and senators motioned to override seven. The only bill to survive was LB480, which will create a Women’s Health Initiative within the Health and Human Services Department. Money was the underlying issue in most of the vetoes, and senators in support of overriding Johanns’ deci sions had a difficult time convincing their peers the state could afford the new legislation. Lawmakers couldn’t muster enough votes to override Johanns’ veto on LB 1107, which would have placed a cap on the amount of proper ty taxes used to support schools in Nebraska. The bill proposed to limit the prop erty tax aid at 47 percent, and many senators in support of the override said they thought that amount was still too high. Sen. Ardyce Bohlke of Hastings said she believed education is the responsibility of the state, but she argued Nebraska’s property tax sup port is high in comparison to sur rounding states. Bohlke cited Kansas, where prop erty tax aid is 30 percent. “It’s not like we’re trying to do something that no one else has recog nized is a good policy,” she said. The motion failed with a vote of 23-23. Thirty votes are needed to over ride a gubernatorial veto. Senators also failed to override a veto on LB652, introduced by Sen. Nancy Thompson of Papillion. Only 24 senators voted to override the bill, which would have changed the •• If the state can’t afford these costs, then how in the world can the counties afford them?” Carol Hudkins Malcolm senator. state’s juvenile justice system by shift ing responsibility from juvenile court judges to the state’s Office of Juvenile Services. Again, the cost of the switch was a determining factor, said Sen. Doug Kristensen of Minden. Sen. Carol Hudkins of Malcolm 1 disagreed, saying the bill was needed to improve the state’s rehabilitation process. “If the state can’t afford these costs, then how in the world can the counties afford them?” she said. An override of Johanns’ veto on LB922 also failed with a vote of 24 20. The bill would have added a dis trict court judge in Dawson County and a juvenile court judge in Douglas County. “Just because the governor didn’t put this in his budget, it doesn’t mean it’s not needed,” said Sen. Deb Suttle of Omaha. Another failed override came with LB717, which would have given $ 150,000 over three years to local 3 emergency planning committees. About $2,000 would have been ? given to each committee, said Sen. Don Preister of Omaha, who motioned for the override. “I hope we never have to hear those words, ‘Why weren’t we pre pared?”’ he said. The motion fell five votes short, as * senators voted 25-17 on the issue. £ ; Women’s health bill ,! > I spared from Johanns’ ax 1 ■ Senators’ override will add women’s health office in state health deparment. By Jill Zeman Staff writer You could say Omaha Sen. Pam Brown saved the day for women Tuesday. Legislators voted to override Gov. Mike Johanns’ veto on LB480, which will create the Women’s Health Initiative within the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. Thirty votes are required to override a gubernatorial veto. Brown, who was outside the legisla tive chambers when the vote began, glanced at the electronic voting board when she came in. It showed" ' 29-5. . . ; • - ■■ , ... Brown quickly went to her seat and placed her vote. As the number of votes changed to 30, Sen. DLAnna Schimek of Lincoln rejoiced. She had introduced the bill. Two more senators casrt their votes for the override. It was a hard fought victory, as the bill was the only override made by the senators Tuesday. - \ . - The bill^introduced Jan. 14, 199$ tfas passed by the Legislature April 4 and was vetoed April 10. The bill’s purpose is to improve ^ I see no real purpose in the billr Gene Tyson Norfolk senator the health of the women of Nebraska ; by instituting a system of education, ; policy implementation and services, * Schimek said. \ I Schimek emphasized fhe bill was ?. not an attempt to undo the organiza tion of the Health and Human ' Services Department and noted there are already separate offices for rural health care, the blind and visually impaired and minorities. . | Sen. Gene Tyson of Norfolk § opposed the bill, and said he felt it- -y would create another level of unnec- l essary bureaucracy. > “I see no real purpose in the bill,” • he said. ^ Sen. Roger ^ehrbejp, qf * Plattsmouth, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said he I could not support the bill, but * because the override was successful, 1 he'felt he needetl to introduce an override of LB480A, which Johanns ] vetoed with LB480. The appropriations bill would have given more than $280,000 to fund the initiative, but it failed by a vote of 21-23.