Will Flyer's owner get bus(ted)?

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BY DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star

Gary Walker says he’d go to jail to defend his right to allow people eating at a south Lincoln diner to smoke in his nearby bus, which he calls the Freedom Flyer.  A judge will soon decide whether that’s where he ends up.

Walker’s decision to park his bus next to the Hi-Way Diner — and skirt the city’s smoking ban — landed him in court Tuesday. His son owns the diner.

The city went after him for violating a zoning law that bans the use of recreational vehicles as accessories to businesses.

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Gary Walker put the "Freedom Flyer", a retired StarTran bus outfitted with tables, near the Hi-Way Diner in an attempt to circumvent the Lincoln smoking ban and provide a location for loyal customers to enjoy their meal and have the option of smoking. (Michael Paulsen)

Gary Walker put the "Freedom Flyer", a retired StarTran bus outfitted with tables, near the Hi-Way Diner in an attempt to circumvent the Lincoln smoking ban and provide a location for loyal customers to enjoy their meal and have the option of smoking. (Michael Paulsen)

After a one-hour trial, the judge took the case under advisement.

“I feel fairly confident that we’ve won our case,” Walker said.

Walker bought the bus after the smoking ban was passed by voters last year, and before the ban went into effect. He checked with local officials first to ensure the bus was legal, he said.

“I didn’t want any fight,” he said.

But when the city’s Building and Safety Department went after him, he got his back up.

“Their hands are pretty much tied because they’re having a terrible time coming up with a law that I’m breaking,” he said.

If it’s legal for people to smoke outside the diner in their cars, how can it be illegal for him to let “friends” smoke inside his vehicle?

“I just have a bigger vehicle than most people,” he said.

A 40-passenger bus, to be exact.

If his confidence is misplaced and he loses the misdemeanor case, he says he’ll go to jail rather than pay the maximum $100 fine.

“I’m kind of a stubborn old rebel,” he said. “I’ll just set it out.”

By his calculation, he’d have to serve almost two days in jail if he refuses to pay the fine.

“It’s a matter of principle,” he said. “I’m fighting for freedom and rights and I think most people agree with what I’m doing (and) that I’d be letting them down if I didn’t. It’s not a smoking issue as much as a rights issue.”

Walker’s attorney, Kirk Naylor Jr., said both sides were given 10 days to present the judge with additional material before a decision is handed down.

City Attorney Dana Roper said his office would have no comment until after the verdict.

Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.