The Columbus Telegram from Columbus, Nebraska • Page 1

"Thanks largely to the industry's technological progress the cost of gasoline has risen far less since 1947 than Congressional salaries." David T. Wendell COLUMBUS TELEGRAM A'FREEDOM .7 MORNING NO 80 NINETY SEVENTH YEAR Saturday, April 3, 1976 COLUMBUS, NEBRASKA 28 Pages Today 15c Single Copy KIKJDERGARTNER SCOTT FERGUSON and licensed their bikes with the Colum- weaves his way through the bus Police. Officers Neal Drum and Robert maneuverability course during the bicycle Mielak, Reserve Officer Danny Sines and rodeo at Field School Friday. The 194 par- Police Secretary Debra Hillmer super- ticipating students undertook several vised the rodeo, riding tests, received bicycle inspections, (Telegram Photo by Stan Linhorst) Nebraskans like tight budget by SUSAN IHNE Legislative Reporter Columbus Sen. Don Dworak believes Nebraskans want to live within their budget and he says that is why he led the opposition to this year's ap- propriation bills.

Dworak said he does not like the image of leading the op- position on. a bill where only six others joined him. my duty'to' oppose LB 690 because I sincerely believe Nebraskans want to live in the present tax structure," he said. LB 690, by the Legislature Tuesday and ready for the governor's signature or vetoes, recom- mends a $457.9 million budget for the state. An additional $12.3 million is recommended for capital improvements.

The original recom- mendation from the governor was $417.4 million, the Appropriations Committee suggested a $413.4 budget. Dworak said the original recommendations were "more in line" with what the state could afford without cutting or' raising taxes. As vice chairman of the Revenue Committee which approves. tax rate increases or jij decreases in Nebraska, Dworak said $445 million in jj state taxes is expected to be collected next year if -there are no cuts or raises in the tax lit structure. jjs Dworak said the governor's original plan was to cut in- taxes by two per cen- tage points.

If the governor intends to 'cut (axes, $38 million will need to be sliced from the budget, he said. The governor may veto any protion of the bill to cut the budget. The Legislature may override the governor's vetoes with 33 votes but must or reject the bill en- tirely, not by specific items. Dworak said the governor mUIioiTof'the bill for the tax rates to remain the "I believe the governor will act conservatively," Dworak said. "If he vetoes too much to try and lower the Legislature will override his veto and taxes will have to increase." The Legislature will override or accept the governor's decisions on the "last day of the session, April 7.

Dworak said he began the opposition to the bill by moving that LB 690 be con- sidered by each line rather than as a whole. "It gave the senators a chance to look at each recommended increase or new program before they approved it," je said. Because he believes serious misuses of money were ignored, Dworak said he decided coalitions' were formed before the bill was on the floor. During the discussions of LB and Avoca -Sen. Cal Carsten, chairman of the Revenue Committee, made amendments to cut costs.

Many amendments were aimed at the University of Nebraska because It requested one the largest increases, 23 per cent, over the previous year, Dworak said. "I want a strong University but we can't spread ourselves too thin," he said. "We should try to do better with what we have right now rather than expanding "so The upkeep on our current facilities is enough' without adding the upkeep and cost of new ones." "Our final -hope was to propose to send the bill to the governor as a whole rather than line by line," Dworak said. The Legislature voted to send the budget as a whole to the' governor so he could compare it to the revenue as a whole, Dworak said. "Hopefully, he will act conservatively to keep Nebraskans within their budget," he said.

Dworak said next year he would like to be on the Appropriations Committee which recommends the state budget because he said he feels he knows how Nebraskans feel about state revenue and expenditures. He said it would be difficult to be appointed to the com- mittee since he is a first-term senator and seniority is considered when caucuses meet to determine com- mittees. Police banquet planned The sixth annual Police Appreciation Night will be held Saturday, April 10, at the Legion Club. The entire Columbus Police force, spouses'and guests, will be treated to an evening of dining and dancing by Hart- man Post 84,, American Legion, "in appreciation of a job well done the past year." The evening begins with a 6 p.m. cocktail hour and dinner at 7 p.m..

A program follows, and dancing to a combo begins at 9 p.m. Police Appreciation Night started six years ago, when the American Legion nationally suggested law enforcement people be recognized through the Legion Law and Order program. Many posts began to recognize individual officers, but Hartman Post decided to honor everyone in the police department. The event has gained in popularity each year. Featured speaker is Darrell Merry, Thurston, senior vice commander of the Depart- ment of Nebraska American Legion.

Dennis Matson will be master of ceremonies. The outstanding officer for 1975, selected by fellow officers, will be announced. He will receive a plaque from Hart- man Post and his name will be inscribed on a permanent plaque'at the Police Station. Hartman Post Commander Darrel Baldwin. ''We expect a good turnout for this event, as in past years.

The Post feels this is one of its top community projects, because it is a chance to honor the officers for one night in return for the fine job they do all year." Tickets are on sale at the Legion Club, and by Don Dion, Darrel Baldwin and Make Zastera. Auxiliary police officers will be on duty during the evening. MORALS VS. EDUCATION? BySTANLJNHORST Man: A Course of Study. name sounds non- controversial enough, but across the nation and in Columbus the 13-year-old MACOS concept has resulted in strong criticism and defense.

What is the course and what does it try to accomplish? MACOS was developed beginning about 1963 partly with a National Science Foundation grant. Developers rejected the idea a'formal textbook and substituted films, filmstrips, simulation games, wall posters, photo murals, charts, maps, booklets, and classroom discussion. Although a teacher leads the class, much of the activity relies on student initiative and responses to teachers' questions and suggestions. Central to the course are the questions: "What is human about human beings?" and "How can they become more so?" An "inquiry, method" in instruction is used, stressing the value of childrens' own ideas' and opinions necessarily dependent on what they have been taught by their parents and i a i "creative thinking" on the part of children. The; course format depends on "children ex- pressing their own viewpoints, drawing from their own experiences, and comparing and contrasting American society to other societies and man to the animal kingdom.

Part of the criticism MACOS results from the use of the' other society the Netsilik Eskimos in their primitive environment before the introduction of civilization and the study of animals STUDENTS' INNOVATION MACOS students at Lost Creek in one project this week, were given cards depicting materials available to the Netsilik Eskimos and from their own knowledge of the characteristics of the materials were instructed to figure out how to make a usable sled and then draw a picture of it. (Telegram Photo by Stan Linhorstj! TODAY'S INDEX Farm News Pages 2-3 Editorials Page 4 Social News PageB The Quiz PageS Comics Page 11 Classified Pages 12-15 Local Readings 46 at midnight 66 high Friday 40 high year ago 4 low year ago 6:08 Sunrise Sunday 6:58 Sunset Sunday 6:06 Sunrise Monday 6:59 Sunset Monday salmon, herring gull, and baboon. Man is contrasted with the animal kingdom; American and values are con- trasted with the Netsilik. Teachers say no evolution or moral judgments are taught or. implied, maintain that they are, or that sixth grade children are not mature enough to discern which moral judgments of the Netsilik are unacceptable in modern.

American In Columbus the course was first taught at North Park School about six years ago and currently is being taught by Mary Ann Bede at Lost Creek School and by Marcella Houser at More than 1,700 schools across the country use MACOS. While critics say the course is undermining religious values and children's parental respect, the April issue of Redbook reports that the course is widely used in parochial schools of different faiths. The'classes at Emerson and Lost 'Creek have resulted in presentations before the: Plotte County Place Names Nuclear opponents called 'elitists' By KEITH BRYAN The Union Pacific was originally a one- location somewhere in the vicinity of Hum- track railroad. Since trains, then as now, ran phrey. Grunewald was located southeast of both directions, it was necessary to locate Humphrey, apparently on the Columbus-to- Madison stage road, but that is all that Is known of it.

Granville, in one brief reference, is alluded to as a town, which its very name suggests. There is no hint of its location, but one would guess that it lay somewhere within i LINCOLN, Neb. (UPI) A public power. executive charged today that opponents of power plants are "elitists" whose to curb the industry's growth could to the starvation of millions of people. Ralph Shaw, general manager of the the Omaha Public Power District, said "If you stop power, you stop growth." Shaw commented at a news conference he addressd an Engineering Week convocation at the University of Nebraska- In Ws speech, Shaw said the antinuclear is rapidly becoming the most vserious energy problem in the United The movement "stands a better chance of.

the ability of Nebraska's farmers to ''produce food for the world than any other -single factor," he said. "If the growth of use is stopped abruptly, enormous masses of people now living will die of star- vation." "The antinuclear campaign is being waged by a group which has an excellent, but biased, of nuclear technology and is highly skilled in propaganda tactics," Shaw said. "The antinuclear crusaders project a bewildering mix of outright falsehoods and halftruths." At the news conference, he said a movement is underway in Nebraska to halt construction of nuclear plants. OPPD has a nuclear power plant in operation at Fort Calhoun and is planning a second nuclear unit at the same The Nebraska Public Power District operates a nuclear power plant at Brownvllle. "If the citizens of the state decide that we do not need nuclear power, then the industry will have no choice other than stopping current construction and shutting down our existing nuclear plants," Shaw s.aid.

He said that would mean "a much highef cost for a greatly reduced supply of electricity and a large increase in the cost food production." On the safety of nuclear plants, Shaw said "nuclear energy can be used within acceptable limits of risk." He said he wished the technology for disposal. of highlevel nuclear wastes was more ad- vanced, but emphasized that it will be 10 years before enough high-level nuclear waste ac- cumulates to require special disposal sites. Shaw also said alternate forms of energy production are not practical at this time. "We will be fortunate to get 5 per cent of our total energy needs from the sun twenty years from now," he said. "The other exotic sources such as geothermal and tidal flows offer even less except in very isolated in- stances." Shaw was asked about OPPD's role in restoring power to areas of south-central Nebraska struggling to recover from a storm Monday night which caused an estimated $25 million damage.

"We have told every municipal and rural electric system we will do anything we can," Shaw said, adding a shortage of replacement equipment Is the biggest problem. sidings at regular intervals onto which one train could pull out to await tlie passage of another. These stops gave the opportunity to board and discharge passengers and freight, so apparently at least in Platte County each of these sidings had its own little station. These stations and towns, from west to east lne western part of Humphrey, across Piatte County were Gardiner, Duncan Since Barnum's Ranch southwest ot (originally Jackson), Cayuga, Columbus, has been written up, mention will be Warraqk and Benton also called Spitley and made also of Galley's Ranch southeast of town, currently named Richland. Richland, of The English-born GaUey family was unique in the present Granville Township, which takes in course, now stands in Colfax County, thanks to a shift in the county boundary.

This installment of the series is a "clean- up" of place names about which little or nothing is known. One of these is West Hill, north of Genoa. As the story goes, two of the original settlers in that area lived on hills a mile or two apart. One they called "east hill" and the other "west hill," which in tune grew capital letters and survived to this day. West Hill Cemetery still carries the name.

Somewhere perhaps in that same area was Norwich post office, but research has turned up no Information concerning Norwich, The context in whichs its name has been found suggests that Prairie Hill may have been a neighboring community of Palestine or perhaps it was another name for Palestine. But all information about Prairie Hill seems to have been lost. Part of the Palestine community is situated in Joliet Township, which one old-time Informant 'thought was named for Joliet, the French explorer, by Joseph Rivet, a county commissioner from that precinct. Rivet was a French-Canadian. Another equally qualified consultant was of the opinion tie precinct was named for Jpliet 4 Dlnols, from whence many of the, settlers came.

Obscure are'the histories ot MillvUle, Granville and Grunewald. MUlvllle Is men- tioned In an 1866 clipping "the Union Creek that it migrated to Columbus from the west rather than the east. They had gone from England tp Utah in 1853 with the Mormons. After becoming disenchanted with the Mormon organization they returned to Columbus in 1859 and took up land to the Southeast of town. Situated along the emigrant trail, the place acquired distinction as a rest stop for fellow Mormons and others who traveled the trail.

Only two pieces remain to be written in this series, those about Rosenburg and Columbus. If there is any place name that hasn't been covered, the reader having knowledge of it is asked to rush what information he has to the Telegram so the necessary research can be done before the series ends. The articles have included 60 Platte County place names, far more than I would have suspected as having existed before I undertook the project. Fourteen of these names are still carried by the present townships. There were at various time 36 places that could have conceivably grown to towns.

But roads and railroads were the vines that brought towns to bloom, so that now only nine of this number maintain legal town status. Transportation improvements and the reduced number of farm families have produced a noticeable withering among some of this fortunate nine. Perhaps events of the future ruralizing of an expanding population for one will cause a revival of some of our forgotten places names and MillvUle settlements" suggesting a the coining of new ones to take their places. school and special meetings with parents to explain the class format and goals. According to Mrs.

Bede the class gets into the '-'nitty gritty of what life is all about. We have fantastic discussions on real life situations." She said through discussions the classes provide insights, experience, and for children that "you just can't read to them out of a book." Lost Creek Principal Gary Harkness said the class refines human capabilities and expands the skills of learning so that children are more inventive, creative, and able to survive on their own. The different animals and the lessons about the Netsilik compare and contrast them to today's technology; beliefs and lifestyles. Critics contend that the lessons on the primitive Netsilik teach children un- moral values from wife swapping to doing away with the elderly. But Mrs.

Bede and Mrs. Houser said the critics often quote out of context, take material out of context from teachers' materials, or believe everything read about the myths of the Netsilik. The Netsilik are used as a springboard to show how we act differently, they said. Both Mrs. Bede and Mrs.

Houser, asked in separate interviews if "MACOS tends to reinforce the same values that critics say the class is i a "exactly" and said nowhere does the course try to destroy beliefs in the Judaeo- Christian moral standard. "I try not to indicate how I definitely feel on something," Mrs. Bede said. "I have kids of all different backgrounds and religions and if I giv? a moral judgment I might be offending some. If I don't some say I'm not upholding my position as a moral leader." But the MACOS format does encourage discussion by the children which often leads to talking about their own beliefs.

Teachers often recommend to children that they ask parents about anything that might involve an actual set of values and say that the course should stimulate family discussion. Harkness said that even though the course is teacher directed it puts students in the limelight and provides better discussions than the sterile discussions generated from answering questions in the back of a textbook, "Here the teadhcr tries to get the children to think deeply with open ended questions requiring more than a a yes-no answer," he said. At the same time that it shows how society is in- terwoven and interdependent, it allows the children to develop independent thinking and problem solving, he said. Pat Beckenhauer, Emerso'h principal, said the course format allows students who never done much before to blossom. All the educators agreed that student response and participation is greater and is one of the class's goalC One-local critic of MAC05 criticized the class for causing her daughter to ask questions about sex after seeing a film about herring gulls.

She sajil her daughter had never asked her such questions before and she blamed the child's curiosity on MACOS and the encouragement to ask questions of parents. Susan Roth, another out- spoken local critic, criticized the course for comparing American values to those 'of the Netsilik'. "Value'clarification has nothing to do with education," she said, and that the class'Is encouraging children to doubt the moral and religious values being taught by She said the class leads children to think social problems are due to vironment and can be solved by changing the environmfejuV "Man himself is tfie problem not the e'h- vironment," she said. Mrs. Roth said the inquiry method of study and open ended questions are ti(i- setting and causes childrenjtii question much more than tH should.

Local MACOS critic ftg Neater said the "throwing around too many big, loaded moral Mrs. Neater said filjh content is sometimes distasteful and that too rnujiii of the instruction depends tjifJa teacher's own moral Children themselves ajrb enthusiastic about the course and say it is a better way to learn about society. Visits to the MACOS classes at Emerson and Lost Creek seemed to confirm that children do take an active part in discussions and like the class format. They said it allows them express their own ideas, see how far man has advanced from the primitive culture of the Netsilik, develop respect for different people, and help develop understanding of the problems that society faces. Children said the class is so intersting that there is much less "goofing off." I They also said any violence depicted in the Netsilik culture is tame compared, with what they have seen on television and that many ot the distasteful episodes on the films are not as bad as a visit to the farm..