The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 20, 2001, Page 2, Image 2

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    I
News Digest
Racing world mourns the loss of a legend I
■ Friends,family and fans
spend the day paying tribute
to Earnhardt
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOORESVILLE, N.C—A sin
gle black balloon broke free from
die wrought iron fence surround
ing the sprawling complex hous
ing Dale Earnhardt’s racing teams.
A security guard caught the
balloon and retied it next to the
growing memorial of personal
ized tributes left by fens Monday
in memory of the seven-time
Winston Cup champion who died
in a crash at the Daytona 500 the
day before.
A sign said the compound was
"respectfully closed today.” Still,
employees of Dale Earnhardt Inc.
solemnly filed in, past the security
officers posted at every gate.
“It ain’t too good in there.
Everyone’s trying their best,” said
Cam Ramey, the security chief. ‘
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who fin
ished second in Sunday’s race,
emerged from the complex short
ly before noon in a black pickup
truck.
He was driven across the street
and up a private drive to his home.
Another truck with two of his
friends followed.
"He's holding up as best he can
under the circumstances,” said
Steve Crisp, the DEI employee
who drove Earnhardt Jr. to his
house.
“There is a lot of character in
that family and in that organiza
tion,” said HA “Humpy” Wheeler,
president of Lowe's Motor
Speedway in nearby Concord.
He said he thought the teams
i _
still would participate in this
weekend’s Dura-Lube 400 at
North Carolina Speedway in
Rockingham.
“Knowing how Dale would
have felt, I think so,” Wheeler said.
Hundreds of fans left poems,
letters and pictures at the com
pound, quietly taking in the scene,
occasionally wiping away a tear.
“Forever A Champion,” one sign
said. “R.LR Intimidator. You'll Race
In Our Hearts Forever,” said
another
When a team wins a race, tra
dition at Dale Earnhardt Inc. calls
for a checkered flag to fly in front
of the complex until the next race
begins the following week. On
Monday, die flag was at half-staff,
representing both Michael
Waltrip’s victory at Daytona and
Earnhardt’s death on the last lap of
die race.
“It’s like Superman is dead,”
said Craig Freshwater, who made
the 30-mile trip from Charlotte to
pay his respects. "Heroes aren’t
supposed to die.”
TWelve miles up the road in
Kannapolis, Earnhardt's home
town, a lone police officer stood
outside the home of Earnhardt’s
mother, Martha. The blinds were
drawn and about a dozen cars
lined the driveway.
A sign in front of a nearby drug
store said, "We'll Miss You Dale.”
Fans also headed for the town
of Welcome, where Earnhardt’s
team was based at Richard
Childress’race shop. Among them
was 59-year-old Gary Farabee of
Lexington.
“He was a guy you either loved
or loved to hate,” he said. “But it’s
just not the same this morning. It
just doesn't feel right
“Over the last year, I think he
exposed his inner self, his softer
side, a litde more,’’ Farabee said. “I
don't think I pulled for him as
much as a racer as I pulled for him
as a man.”
Allen Wrenn of Summerfield,
who was accompanied by his wife,
Blanche, said he had known the
Earnhardt family since Dale’s
father, Ralph, raced cars as a pro
fessional
“He really raced. He didn’t pull
no punches,” Wrenn said. “If he hit
somebody, that was OK, and if
somebody hit him, that was OK,
too.”
Billy Simmerson, 30, of
Salisbury, brought his 1-year-old
son, Chris, to the shop. “I don't
think NASCAR will ever be the
same without him,” he said. "I
know it won’t be nearly as interest
ing.”
Museum honors
Oklahoma City
bombing victims
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OKLAHOMA CITY — President Bush opened a
museum commemorating the 1995 Oklahoma City
bombing Monday, imploring Americans to “confront
evil, wherever and whenever” it exists in a nation vul
nerable to senseless violence and terrorism.
"The presence of evil always reminds us of the
need for vigilance,” Bush said in a solemn address.
The emotional ceremony began with 168 seconds
of silence - one second for each life lost in the rubble
of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Only the
whistling, wintry wind and the rippling of an
American flag could be heard outside die Oklahoma
City National Memorial Center, where nearly 1,500
people gathered less than 100 yards from the site of
the worst act of terrorism on U.S. soil
A grim-faced Bush toured the museum, stopping
to hear a recording of the explosion from a nearby
building. He signed his name to a registry, with the
words: “God Bless.” First lady Laura Bush wrote,
“With love,” and signed her name, too.
Jeannine Gist, mother of one of the victims, took
Bush into a room covered with photos of those who
died, each picture accompanied by a memento from
their lives. “This is my daughter here,” Gist told the
Bushes, pointing to a picture of Karen Karr, who
worked at a fitness center in the federal building.
A business card was placed next to Karr's photo.
“That was a really hard job - picking out something
that represents somebody's life,” she said. The Bushes
shook their heads sympathetically.
The president started to walk away, but did a dou
ble take at the wedding photo of Cindy Brown. She
had been married five weeks to a fellow Secret Service
agent when the explosion killed her and three other
Secret Service agents.
“We knew some of the agents here,” Bush said to
no one in particular while gazing at faces of the dead.
His voice was hoarse, choked with emotion.
Brown’s husband is on Bush’s protective detail.
Another agent killed in the blast, Alan G. Whicher,
protected Bush's father.
The tragedy can never be forgotten, the president
said at the ceremony.
“The time for mourning may have passed, but the
time for remembering never does,” he said.
Bush praised rescue workers and civic leaders
who helped the state and the nation recover from the
bombing.
“Together you endured,” he said. “You chose to
live out the words of St Paul: Be not overcome with
evil, but overcome evil with good.
“Here we remember one act of malice,” the presi
dent said. "Yet we also remember many acts of kind
ness and love.”
Editor Sarah Baker
Managing Editor Bradley Davis
Associate Nows Editor Kimberly Sweet
Assignment Editor Jill Zeman
Opinion Editor JakeGlazeski
Sports Editor Matthew Hansen
Assistant Sports Editor David Diehl
Arts Editor Samuel McKewon
Copy Desk Chief: Danell McCoy
Copy Desk Chief: Jeff Bloom
Aft Director Melanie Falk
Art Director Delan Lonowski
Photo Chief: Scott McClurg
Design Coordinator Bradley Davis
Web Editor Gregg Stems
Assistant Web Editor Tanner Graham
General Manager. Daniel Shattil
Publications Board Russell Willbanks
I Chairman: (402)436-7226
Professional Adviser Don Walton
(402) 473-7248
Advertising Manager NickPartsch
(402)472-2589
Assistant Ad Manager Nicole Woita
Classified Ad Manager Nikki Bruner
Circulation Manager ImtiyazKhan
Fax number (402) 472-1761
World Wide Web: www.dailyneb.com
The DaHy Nebraskan (USPS144-080) is published by
the UNL Publications Board,20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St,
Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, Monday through Friday during the
academic year, weekly during the summer sessionsJhe
pubfic has access to the Publications Board.
Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and
comments to the Daily Nebraskan by calling (402) 472-2588.
Subscriptions are $60 for one year.
Postmaster Send address changes to the Daily
Nebraskan, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St, Lincoln NE
685884)448. Periodical postage paid at Lincoln, NE.
ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 2001
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
Overton? Comments?
Ask for the appropriate section editor at
(412) 472-2588 or e-mail dvOvnl.edo.
^ >7 -r
Malkawi/Newsmakers
on Sunday in
Suspected Dartmouth killers found
■Two teens suspected of murdering
two college professors were found at
an Indiana truck stop hitching a ride.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW CASTLE, Ind. —Two teen
agers wanted in the stabbing deaths of
two Dartmouth College professors were
arrested Monday after authorities acting
on a hunch used a CB radio to lure the
boys to an Indiana truck stop.
James Parker, 16, and Robert lUlloch,
17, were captured peacefully before
dawn at an Interstate 70 truck stop more
than 700 miles from the site of die slay
ings in Hanover, N.H.
Sgt. William Ward of the Henry
County Sheriff’s Department said he
heard a trucker say he was carrying two
teens who were looking for a ride to
California.
Ward, who had seen television
reports that the Dartmouth suspects
might be headed to California, got on the
CB and suggested the teens might find a
ride at the Flying J truck stop south of
NewCasde.
“I just said, ‘Why don’t you drop
them off at the fuel desk and someone
will pick them up in a few minutes?”'
Ward said.
The teens were caught a short time
later as they were asking another trucker
for a ride.
Said Ward: “It was a long shot, and I
didn’t expect it would be them.”
Parker andlhlloch will be charged as
adults with two counts of first-degree
murder in the deaths of Half and
Susanne Zantop, whose bodies were
found in their home Jan. 27.
It was not known when the teens
would be extradited from New Castle,
which is 40 miles east of Indianapolis.
Attorney Robert Katims, who is rep
resenting Parker, said the boy's parents
were on their way to Indiana. He said no
decision had been made on whether the
boys would waive extradition.
Tlilloch’s mother, Diane TUlloch, told
The Dartmouth, a student newspaper:
“We love our son, and we want the press
to know that he’s innocent until proven
guilty.”
Half Zantop, 62, taught earth sci
ences. His wife, Susanne Zantop, 55, was
chairwoman of the German Studies
Department Both were naturalized citi
zens who were natives of Germany and
traveled abroad frequently.
Their slayings shocked the6,500-stu
dent Dartmouth campus and the sur
rounding community of Hanover
Authorities have refused to discuss a
motive or any connection between the
boys and the victims.
Authorities said they believed the
teens left their hometown of Chelsea, Vt,
on Thursday, and a nationwide man
hunt began over the weekend.
Orange County, Vt., Sheriff Dennis
McClure said die boys became suspects
in the Dartmouth case after authorities
learned one had bought a military-style
knife via the Internet. The boys were
asked last Thursday to come in and pro
vide their fingerprints, which they did
voluntarily. Arrest warrants for both were
issued late Friday and early Saturday.
“All I know is that the prints probably
matched enough (from the crime scene)
for an identification,” said McClure, who,
declined further comment
A car belonging to Parker’s parents
was found Sunday at a Sturbridge, Mass.,
truck stop, where workers said they saw
two teens who matched the suspects’
description on Friday night
They were seen at a New Jersey high
way rest area Saturday morning asking
for rides, police said.
The boys told a trucker who picked
them up in New Jersey that they were
from California and had hitchhiked to
Massachusetts to look for work. They
said they weren’t able to find jobs so they
were returning to California.
Audrey McCollum, a friend and
neighbor of the Zantops, said the arrests
do not ease the pain for her and her hus
band, Bob.
“These two extraordinary people are
still dead and, in a sense, the tragedy is
extended because if these two kids did it,
which hasn’t yet been proven, what it
tells me is that our society has just gone
off the rails," said McCollum, a retired
psychotherapist
Delay in removing Milosevic halts legislation
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia
-Yugoslav officials said
Monday it may take
months to draw up legisla
tion for cooperation with
the U.N. war crimes tribu
nal, signaling further
delays in the extradition of
former president Slobodan
Milosevic for trial.
Carla Del Ponte, the
chief U.N. war crimes pros
ecutor, meanwhile, urged
the European Union to step
up pressure on Yugoslavia
to extradite Milosevic and
other indicted war crime
suspects for trial in The
Hague.
Though she didn’t urge
the 15-nation bloc to set a
deadline for extraditions,
Del Ponte said that the
European Union had the
means to convince
President Vojislav
Kostunica and other
Yugoslav leaders to send a
“signal” of cooperation.
Yugoslav officials have
insisted that the country’s
current laws ban extradi
TODAY TOMORROW
Partly cloudy Mostly sunny
high 31, low 8 high 29, low 1.3
J 0
tion of local citizens to for
eign courts and that a new
law would be needed to
allow cooperation with the
international war crimes
tribunal in The Hague,
Netherlands. Even advo
cates of Milosevic’s extradi
tion have pulled back in
recent days.
Yugoslav Justice
Minister Momcilo Grubac
cautioned Monday that it
would take “several
months” for legislation out
lining cooperation with the
U.N tribunal to be drafted
and put to parliament —
and that such a law might
actually work against extra
dition of suspects.
The law might give,
“national courts ... the pri
ority (over The Hague tri
bunal) to conduct war
crime trials,” he told
reporters.
Some federal govern
ment ministers who have
switched loyalties from
Milosevic to his successor,
Kostunica, also said they
would oppose any move to
extradite the former
Yugoslav leader. Kostunica
is against extradition.
At the same time, those
in the Yugoslav parliament
favoring extradition are
outnumbered by those
opposed, meaning they
would vote against any law
that could deliver Milosevic
to the tribunal.
Yugoslavia’s new
authorities face growing
U.S. and other internation
al pressure to cooperate
with the court. The United
States has given Yugoslavia
a March 31 deadline to
make good on the issue or
risk losing $100 million in
financial aid.
The Associated Press
■ CaMoniia
Barrymore, Green's escape
injury after house catches fire
LOS ANGELES—Afire gutted
the home of actress Drew
Barrymore and her comedian
fiancg Tom Green. Both escaped
injury. They were awakened early
Sunday by their dog.
“We're great,” Barrymore, a
star of “Charlie’s Angels,” told
reporters at the scene.
“Other than the fact that the
home burned down,” Green
added.
Their dog, Flossie, woke diem
up around 3:30 a.m. when she
barked and “literally banged on
their bedroom door,” said Eddie
Michaels, Barrymore's
spokesman.
It took firefighters about an
hour to douse the flames.
Firefighters estimated damage at
$700,000 in the two-story, 3,500
square-foot home north of
Beverly Hills. The cause of the
blaze was under investigation.
■ Zimbabwe
Two journalist flee country
after being threatened
HARARE — Fearful of vio
lence against his wife and 2-year
old daughter, a British journalist
threatened with deportation flew
out of Zimbabwe on Monday.
Joseph Winter, a British
Broadcasting Corp. correspon
dent, left the country after gov
ernment agents broke into his
Harare apartment early Sunday
morning, claiming they intended
only to serve him with a deporta
tion order.
A second journalist ordered
deported, Mercedes Sayagues,
has moved from her Harare apart
ment to a friend’s home with her
8-year-old daughter.
Wmter and Sayagues, a corre
spondent for South Africa’s week
ly newspaper the Mail and
Guardian, were ordered to leave
the country within 24 hours
Saturday. A High Court judge
delayed their deportation until
Friday to give them more time to
make personal arrangements.
Winter and his family flew out
of the country Monday.
The expulsions came amid
growing threats against inde
pendent journalists in Zimbabwe.
■ Hawaii
Submarine commander
refuses to talk to investigators
HONOLULU — The com
mander of the U.S. submarine
that sank a Japanese fishing vessel
has refused to discuss the acci
dent with investigators from the
National Transportation Safety
Board until the Navy completes
its investigation, officials said on
Monday.
NTSB investigators met with
Cmdr. Scott Waddle over the
weekend when he told them his
lawyer recommended he only
respond to written questions
from the NTSB for the time being
and only about search and rescue
efforts, NTSB spokesman Ted
Lopatkiewiscz said.
Waddle's information could
be crucial to the NTSB effort to
determine how the USS
Greeneville failed to detect the
190-foot Ehime Maru before it
conducted an emergency rapid
ascent drill
■ Iraq
Country's media threatens
attack on Kuwait,Saudi Arabia
BAGHDAD—Iraqi media on
Monday threatened to punish
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, saying
they helped U.S. and British
airstrikes against sites around
Baghdad last week.
Some 11,000 Iraqis marched
Monday in the capital, some
burning American, British and
Israeli flags and carrying banners
declaring “aggression will not
scare us and sanctions will not
harm us” - the latest in daily ral
lies since Friday's attack.
In Kuwait, the foreign minis
ter brushed off the suggestions of
retaliation.
“They have the right to... say
what they want,” Sheik Sabah A1
Ahmed A1 Sabah told reporters.
"But Kuwait is protected by its
people, its friends, its Arab broth
ers and its allies.”
The indirect threat came in
Monday’s edition of Al-Thawra,
the newspaper of Iraq’s ruling
Baath Party.