Elmwood vote: whether to stay dry
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By Al Laukaitis, Kendra Waltke, Cara Pesek, Art Hovey, Joe Duggan/Lincoln Journal Star
Cass County: Will Elmwood stay dry?
No alcohol has been sold in Elmwood since 1886, the year the community was incorporated as a village.
The town’s reputation of being one of the oldest dry towns in the state could change Tuesday if voters approve a measure to allow beer and liquor sales.
“I would prefer to have the town remain dry,” said Richard Clements, president of the American Exchange Bank and the village’s attorney.
“My own personal opinion is moderate use of alcohol is not good or bad. I just have concerns, particularly about access to minors,” he said.
Clements said he has discussed the issue with Cass County Sheriff William Brueggemann, who also believes Elmwood should remain alcohol free.
“It’s a positive for Elmwood to not have alcohol use because it attracts families,” Clements said.
Coleman and Deb Lenz, owners of CD’s Express convenience store in Elmwood, initiated a petition drive which garnered 62 signatures. Fifty-one of those signatures met the qualification criteria, said Cass County Election Commissioner Nancy Josoff. The petitioners needed 46 to get the measure on the ballot.
“We have been in business since December 2004 and we have lived in this community all our lives and we feel there is a need to serve the community and meet its needs,” said Deb Lenz, who declined further comment.
Elmwood, about 22 miles east of Lincoln, has 411 registered voters. The town has about 700 residents. People who want to buy alcohol have to drive to nearby Murdock or Eagle.
Clements noted that the village is not involved in the ballot measure. “This is a petition by the people,” he added.
This is not the first time that someone has tried to get alcohol sales into the community.
In 1935, voters defeated a measure that would have allowed the sale of 3.2 beer, 124 to 85. Later that year, the state Liquor Control Commission denied an application for a beer license.
After a successful petition drive in 1992, voters defeated a measure that would have allowed beer to be sold by the package, 130 to 93.
And in 1997, the state liquor control commission denied an application for a bottle club license, saying that “until the issue of allowing liquor by the drink has been voted on, a license cannot be issued.”
Cass County: Louisville voting on keno
In nearby Louisville, voters will decide whether to allow keno. If passed, the game would played at the Good Times Bar. The town would use its keno proceeds to help pay off the debt for its new well fields and water treatment plant, said deputy clerk Cheryl Knutson. Two other ballot measures also would help reduce that debt and also pay for street improvements and economic development.
Otoe County: Ribeye and keno?
The Otoe Steakhouse offers its customers a good ribeye. If voters give their nod Tuesday, the restaurant soon will be adding keno to the menu.
The village board placed keno on the primary ballot at the request of steakhouse owners Melvin and Evelyn Giittinger.
If the proposal passes, 6 percent of the keno proceeds will be used by the village for street improvements, said Melvin Giittinger, who believes the measure will pass. Bellevue Keno would be the game’s operator.
“I think it will. I don’t see how it can go wrong. I don’t think there is anybody against it,” he said.
Otoe has only 216 people but Giittinger said having enough people to play keno won’t be a problem because the steakhouse draws folks from surrounding towns and from Omaha.
“We have the best steaks in the county, make that the state,” Giittinger said.
Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest, he said, with crowds averaging between 60 and 100 for the two nights.
Saunders County: Bonds for park work
The city of Yutan is asking its residents to approve a $600,000 bond issue to pay for improvements to Timbercrest Park and Clear Creek.
City Administrator Gary Duncan said the funds would be spent on a restroom and storage facility; a “splash pad” filled with water cannons and other aquatic features; and lighting for one or two of the ballfields south of the park.
The city also would work with the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District to clean up and stabilize the banks of Clear Creek, which runs through Yutan. Other improvements would include: sidewalks, a parking area and a pedestrian bridge.
Yutan, located on the eastern edge of Saunders County, has about 1,218 residents.
“We are optimistic but realistic, too, that it is tough times or people think it’s tough anyway,” said Duncan, when asked if voters would approve such a measure in the current economic climate.
Lancaster County: Hallam voting on keno
Hallam could be added to the list of towns where keno can be played if voters approve the idea on Tuesday.
A vote yes would allow keno games at MacDonald’s F-4 Pub, said Village Clerk Vicky Polak. Keno also could be allowed at a new bar or restaurant that will replace The Hitchin Post II, which is under new ownership, she said.
The city’s share of keno funds would pay for improvements at the town park, and a parking area for the new auditorium — amenities still needed four years after the town was hit by a tornado.
Lancaster County: Waverly mayor
Three candidates hope to be the next mayor of Waverly, bringing new blood to an office held for 12 years by Ron Melbye, who did not seek re-election.
The two candidates who win the most votes will advance to the November election.
Seeking the job are:
Republican John Hesterman, 49, a member and current president of the Waverly City Council. He is general manager of Hamilton Equipment in Lincoln and owns rental properties.
Independent Michael Werner, 48, a computer hardware technician at Infocrossing in Omaha and owner of Waverly Self Storage.
Republican Greg Dudley, 44, a lifelong resident of Waverly and technical representative.
Butler County: Primary to decide winner
Tuesday’s primary likely will decide who fills the District 2 seat on the Butler County Board of Supervisors.
Incumbent Wayne Hassebrook and newcomer Tony Krafka face each other in the Republican primary. Only one can advance from the primary.
And because no other party has produced a candidate for that seat, whoever wins this vote will go into November’s election unopposed — unless a write-in campaign begins, said Vicki Truska, county clerk and election commissioner.
The county board has several issues looming ahead, including a contentious zoning plan, the paving of River Road and a bridge over the Platte River by Bellwood.
Two others seeking seats on the board are unopposed: Republican Max Birkel is the sole candidate for District 4, as is Democrat Larry Zadina for District 6.
Several townships have proposed levy overrides for operating costs, which is a fairly common budget procedure, Truska said.
Jefferson County: Law enforcement center
Jefferson County voters will decide Tuesday whether to expand the county’s law enforcement center.
An $8.56 million bond issue, if passed, would be used to add 32 jail beds, a courtroom, meeting room and office space for the county attorney and county and district court staffs, said Sheriff Nels Sorensen.
The existing jail has 14 beds, he said, and most nights, the county has 13 or 14 inmates, though sometimes it has more, and has to pay other counties to house the overflow, Sorensen said.
“We have had them all over creation, wherever there’s a bed,” he said.
Jefferson County: Fairbury mayor
Three candidates are seeking the seat of mayor of Fairbury.
LaVeda Fry has held the position since last November, when former mayor Gene Mueller lost a recall election. Fry, a former city councilwoman, was voted into the position by her fellow council members after then-council president, George Phillips, resigned.
Jan Fogleman and Homer L. Ward are also seeking the mayor’s seat.
The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November.
Saline County: Hospital district proposed
Friend’s Warren Memorial Hospital is one of five city-owned hospitals in the state, but perhaps for not much longer.
On Tuesday, voters will decide whether to create a hospital district encompassing parts of Saline and Seward counties. Creation of the hospital district would allow the hospital to collect about $100,000 a year in tax revenue, according to hospital CEO John Wilson.
The money would be welcome at Warren Memorial Hospital, which lost some patients and angered others after its board voted to remove the hospital privileges of Dr. Robert McKeeman in January of 2006. McKeeman’s privileges have since been restored, but hard feelings over his suspension and reinstatement remain.
“It’s not going to save us,” Wilson said of the tax money that formation of a district would allow the hospital to collect. “It’s just going to give us more stability.”
Saline County: Candidates
Elsewhere in the county, seven candidates — Ronnie Kahle, Mikki Hoffman, William Boller, Kelly D. Burkey, Lisa M. Wells, Jeff Jacobsen and Lindsey Zoubek — are vying for three seats on the Dorchester School Board. The top six vote-getters on Tuesday will advance to the general election.
Two Democrats — Janet Henning and Chuck Vyhnalek — are vying for the District 5 Saline County Board of Commissioners spot. No Republican candidate filed.
Gage County: Courthouse renovation
Gage County voters will decide whether to approve a $2.8 million bond issue to renovate the county courthouse.
If approved, the money would be used to replace the structure’s roof and all of its 225 windows; replace the heating and air-conditioning system; upgrade the electrical system and lighting; add sprinklers and fire alarms; and to make some repairs to the building’s foundation, said Gage County Supervisor Ron Fleecs.
“It’s about 107 years old, so we’re just doing these things so it’s around for another 100 years,” he said of the building.
Fillmore County: Exeter vote: pool, sales tax
While the rest of the county’s voting population focuses on state and national elections, residents of Exeter face some big local decisions on primary day.
One of them involves a $1.3 million bond issue to build a new swimming pool in the recreational complex on the southern outskirts. The other is a proposed 1.5-cent city sales tax, expected to be used to pay back the 20-year financing on the pool and also to fund economic development and other needs.
Becky Erdkamp, village clerk in a town of about 700 residents, said the current pool was built in 1964 and is long past its 20-year life expectancy. Problems with leaks and pumps have forced the village board to close the pool for as long as two or three weeks in recent years.
“If we want our kids to have something to do,” Erdkamp said, “a pool is the best option to keep kids off the streets.”
Elsewhere on the ballot, three incumbents on the county board, two Republicans and one Democrats, are unopposed in their re-election bids.
York County: Incumbents challenged
Two York County commissioners with a combined 32 years of service are being challenged as they seek their fifth terms on the county board.
Ken Stuhr of Waco must get past four fellow Republicans to earn the right to face Democrat Doug Deprez, currently the county weed superintendent, in November.
Stuhr said recent controversies involving the county’s veterans services officer and construction of a hog-confinement complex just south of Interstate 80 are among the possible factors in attracting so many opponents.
“I don’t belong to any special interest and I don’t ride the fence,” Stuhr said. “People don’t always like what I’m saying, but they’re going to know it’s from the heart.”
Commissioner Bob Wolfe of York also faces primary opposition on the Republican side of the ballot from former County Clerk Pat Bredenkamp. Bredenkamp has more than 40 years’ experience as a courthouse worker.
“I kind of miss it,” Bredenkamp said.
Board members earn about $19,800 a year.
Wolfe said economic development is an important issue in 2008. That includes filling a spec building that remains empty on York’s northern outskirts several years after its construction. Despite the extended vacancy, Wolfe has no regrets about the expense.
“A corporation that’s coming to a community doesn’t want to look at a cornfield,” he said.
Seward County: Incumbent challenged
Seward County voters will concentrate mostly on state and national candidates Tuesday.
County Board Chairman Joe Ruzicka, for example, is unopposed as he seeks re-election in District 2.
An exception is the race between incumbent Republican Larry Dedic and challenger John Culver for the District 4 seat on the county board.
Culver, 52, and owner of a cabinet construction business at Crete, is making his first bid for public office.
A major focus of county board business recently has been adding on to the jail, building a new jail that could house prisoners from other counties, or building something even more ambitious that would also accommodate judges and courtrooms in a full-scale law-enforcement center.
The county board’s preference in solving a problem with over-crowded cells could be on the ballot as soon as November. But in May, Dedic and other board members are still trying to sort out the impact on taxpayers.
Costs as high as $12 million -$14 million have been estimated in discussions with a consultant.
“The way it looks right now,” said Dedic, “the price tag might be a little too high.”
That could mean a more modest approach in which the county would add on enough space to the current jail to accommodate 50 prisoners. By oversizing the kitchen and other basics, commissioners could explore a second expansion of cell space later.
“A 100-bed facility, we wouldn’t be able to, I don’t think, fill it at this point in time,” Dedic said. With other counties boarding their neighbors’ prisoners, “we could potentially get to a point of over-capacity.”
Culver, however, likes the idea of the law enforcement center. One of the problems it would eliminate is having to transport prisoners several blocks to court appearances.
“I think it would be a great idea to have them housed all in one facility,” he said.
Culver is also raising concerns about all the landfill business coming to Seward County from Lincoln. He wants higher rates for out-of-county customers or some other means of slowing down the rate at which the landfill south of Milford is filling up.
Nemaha County: Auburn school bond
Voters in the Auburn Public School District will decide on a bond proposal that would add classrooms at the elementary and an auditorium and practice gym at the high school.
The bond issue has three parts.
Part one, $4.5 million, would build 18 classrooms, a library and a physical education area at the elementary. It would also build a physical education/wrestling room and two locker rooms at the high school.
Part two, $2.5 million, would build a performing arts auditorium at the high school.
Part three, $900,000, would build a practice gym at the high school.
The project would cost $7.9 million if voters approve all three parts. Part one must pass before the other two parts could be approved.
Auburn voters defeated a $7 million bond issue by about 150 votes in May 2007.
One of the main reasons the school board wants to issue the bonds is to consolidate the elementary schools and reduce class size, said Superintendent Steve Schneider.
Expanding the newer elementary school would allow the district to move fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders out of an older building, which could then be closed. It also would allow the school to reduce elementary classes to below 20 students.
Nemaha County: Peru keno
Keno will be on the primary ballot in Peru, City Clerk Cindy Moran said. The four-member city council, which voted unanimously for the ballot issue, would use keno revenue for community improvements.
Cotty’s Place, a local restaurant, has expressed interest in offering the game to customers.
Peru, population 922, voted 2-1 in favor of keno in the early 1990s. But when a vendor backed out of a plan to run the game, keno was never offered in the Missouri River community. Because so much time has passed since the game was originally approved, state law required the city to seek voter approval again.
Richardson County: Laux running again
Former Richardson County Sheriff Charles Laux wants to serve another term on the Richardson County Board of Commissioners.
Laux, criticized for mishandling the Teena Brandon rape investigation that preceded the 1993 murder of Brandon and two others in a Humboldt farmhouse, has become a fairly regular candidate in far Southeast Nebraska.
After he was defeated as sheriff in the wake of the Brandon case, he served one term on the Richardson County board from 1997 to 2001. In 2002, he lost a bid to become sheriff in Johnson County.
Laux, of Dawson, is running against incumbent Bill Ely, of rural Stella, in the Republican primary.
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