David Clasen/DN
I
LEGENDARY
SHOW: B.B. King
jams with his
band Monday
night at the Lied |
Centerfor
Performing Arts.
He said early in
the perform
ance that he
feeis old when
he sits down, |
but his band
told the 75
year-oldhehad
earned it I
Customer
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i
Environmentalists: Hemp could save some farmers
BY GEORGE GREEN
With environmentalists urg
^ ing citizens to use recyclable
* . energy sources and family farm- 4
f m ers struggling because of poor
commodity prices, some people
suggest introducing a controver
i sial qrop: hemp. . . . ...
f John Roulac, president and
f founder of NUTIVA, a companys
that, distributes hemp products, *
said his product has a variety of
h uses and is completely
; biodegradable. y / * *
5* ^ Hemp, Roulac said, can be
| used to make paper, building
materials, interior automobile
parts, {odd products, plasties,
’ .; textiles, garments and ethanol. \ ,
"The list of uses seems end
y \ less," be said. *:V y, >*.c
Erwin Sholts, chairman of
the North American Industrial
‘ Hemp Council, a group that
advocates the legalization of
industrial hemp, said hemp* .
could put many farmers to work
• because,it has many potential4.
uses.
Wisconsin loses four family
farmers a day, he said. But when
hemp was legal in the 1930s,
Wisconsin was the hemp capital
of the U.S., employing hundreds
of farmers, Sholts said.
Despite what some see as
multiple benefits from hemp,
the federal government will not
grant farmers permits to grow,
Sholts said.
Jhe Marijuana Tax Act of
1937 does hot forbid farmers
from • growing hemp, but
requires interested farmers t<r
apply for permits, he said.
But since the middle of the
20th Century, the government
has not taken an active role in
giving permits because' of
hemp’s close relative, marijuana,
Sholts said.
“In the wisdom of the Drug
Enforcement Agency, very few
have been given,” he said. *
; The difference between a
hemp and marijuana, Roulac
said, is hemp contains less than
1 percent of the chemical THC,
which causes marijuana users to
feel high.
“Smoking hemp just gives
you a big headache," he said.
Terri Teuber, a public infor
mation coordinator for the
Nebraska State Patrol, said hemp
already causes problems for
local law enforcement officials.
Each year criminals from
outside Nebraska converge on
the state to harvest large
amounts of hemp that grow nat
urally here, she said.
d She said the criminals mix
the non-potent hemp with mari
juana, which allows them to
make more money off each sale.
Furthermore, she said the
criminals are frequently armed
felons who pose a threat to area
residents.
“These people are dangerous
to home owners,” Teuber said.
Mike Chapman, a
spokesman for the DEA in
Arlington, Va., said that hemp
causes problems for law
enforcement officials simply
because it is so closely related to
marijuana.
He said a person could be
growing marijuana under the
guise of growing hemp because
the plants are nearly identical.
But, he said the DEA does
acknowledge the potential ben
efits of hemp.
“We’re not insensitive to the
hemp argument," he said.
Chapman said the DEA is
reviewing the government’s poli
cy on hemp.
Despite reluctance from the
federal government, Sholts said
support for industrial hemp is
growing.
Former CIA director, Jim
Woolsey, joined Sholts’ hemp
council board of directors after
he learned about industrial
hemp’s many uses, he said.
When Ford and Mercedes
Benz learned about industrial
hemp, the companies made
plans to construct some of their
automobile parts from the fiber
within this decade, he said.
Some Nebraskans support
industrial hemp, too.
Last year, Sen. Ed Schrock of
Elm Creek introduced a bill that
would allow farmers to grow
hemp in Nebraska if they
received federal grants. The bill
was defeated.
Seven other states including
Illinois, North Dakota, Virginia
and California have passed simi
lar bills, Roulac said.
• More than 30 countries,
including France, Germany,
England and Canada already
recognize the values of industri
al hemp cultivation, Roulac said.
But, Sholts said, because the
government associates hemp
with marijuana, it is hesitant to
let farmers grow.
“Because its spelled H-E-M
R you can't have it,” he said.
Law & Order
-W
Police arrest 16-year-old .
for vandalizing sculpture
> Uniyersity Police caught a
IQ-year-old boy responsible for
vandalizing a campus sculpture
in-September when he returned
to tfrte scene early Monday
mornings/' „
k: . .'When confronted, the boy
admitted smashing^some mar
* ble panels taken from a retain
ing wall around the sculpture
"Wiljy" north of Kimball Hall
• and east of Westbrook Music
Building, Assistant Chief Mylo
„ Bushing said.
The boy also implicated a
friend in the vandalism that
caused an estimated $5,250
damage. Between Sept. 13 and
15,12 marble panels were pried
off the retaining wall and
smashed on the sidewalk.
The retaining wall around
the sculpture is faced with 3
foot by 1-foot panels of traver
tine marble, which were import
ed from Italy.
Bushing said police planned
to talk to the other boy involved
early this week.. •
Shortly after midnight
Monday, a University Police
officer patrolling the sculpture
garden area spotted the 16
year-old and recognized the boy
from a suspect description from
one of die September incidents,
Bushing said.
When asked, the boy told
police he knew something
about how the slabs were
destroyed, and after being read
his rights, the boy admitted
smashing two or three of the
, panels.. ,
The boy was ticketed for
V felony vandalism.
Mgn with bag over head
[ComhuskerBank
Ldjincoln bank was robbed
Tipoint Saturday morning,
mlice are still looking for
Shortly before the
Cornhusker Bank’s 6100 O St.
branch's noon closing time, a
man with a white sack over his
head entered and demanded
money, Lincoln Police Ofc.
Katherine Finnell said!
The suspect pointeda hand
gun at the two tellers and
demanded money, Finnell said.
Thesuspect got an undisclosed
amount of money from the
tellers' drawers. On the way out,
the man also took a bank bag
from a customer, who was wait
ing to make a deposit, Finnell
said. • .
The suspect was seen leav
ing in a Honda minivan. The
van, which had been reported
stolen Friday, was found a short
time later in the Gateway Mall
parking lot, Finnell said.
The suspect is described as a
black man, 5 feet 8 inches tall,
170 pounds and wearing on his
head a white sack with eye holes
cut out.
Lincoln man ticketed
for attacking float dummy
A Lincoln man who said he
was told he couldn't get into a
fraternity party unless he tack
led a Herbie Husker dummy in
the house’s homecoming float,
was ticketed for vandalism early
Saturday morning.
The man responsible,
Christopher Bouwens, 21,
flagged down a University Police
officer on R Street at 2:50 a.m.,
and said he had been beat up at
the Alpha Tau Omega house,
1433 R St., after tackling Herbie
and a Jayhawk in the float.
The fraternity’s vice presi
dent told police that Bouwens
and another man started the
fight after they were confronted
about the vandalism.
Bouwens was taken to
BryanLGH Medical Center East
for treatment of minor injuries
and cited for vandalism.
Compiled by Josh Funk
Preunant Too Soon?
No matter your situation, if you’re
experiencing an unplanned pregnancy,
you have choices to make.
The Nebraska Children’s Home Society
can help you make the best decisions for
you and your baby - without obligations.
To speak with us confidentially,
please contact us.
Pregnancy Hotline;
(800) 390.6754
(402) 483.7879 • www.nchs.org
4700 Valley Road • Uncoln,NE 68510
t • c i i T y
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Comte to am d|Mtt Jlo
Thursday, November 9, 3:15 - 5:30
Military and Naval Science Building
(14th and Vine Streets, 2nd Floor)
Learn more about Air Force ROTC, meet Air Force ROTC ,
cadets, listen to Air Force officers discuss their Air Force careers,*
* o (9) (9) enjoy a Veteran’s Day Retreat Ceremony ...FREE
pizza and pop! jlWJESSIr
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
Call or e-mail Major Tammy Lundborg, 472-2473 or tlimdborg2@iiiil.eda, v
for more info or to let her know you will attend.
