Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 10

B2 NEBRASKA Thursday, February 19, 2009 Lincoln Journal Star State 3rd among carbon monoxide deaths Trap debate snags senators islature," she said. "Read your papers. Watch your television. Talk to your constituents. We have serious issues to deal with." The Nebraska economy, she said, while better than the national economy, is starting to struggle.

Their constituents, she said, sent them to Lincoln to help ensure they have the opportunity to take care of their families' basic needs and mm ill provide a good quality of life. "The stimulus plan is what we should be talking about," she said. "That impacts education, jobs and the future of the state." Senators ended debate without a vote and will return to the bill first thing this morning. They did manage to pass an amendment, offered by Lincoln Sen. Kathy Campbell, that would allow any county to pass a resolution prohibiting trapping in its rights of way, should the law be repealed.

Opponents of the bill have said trapping should not be allowed in public rights of way because people and pets could become unsuspecting victims of the traps. Supporters say legal traps would not hurt even a child. Opponents have raised the specter of huge bear traps snapping peoples' legs off, Omaha Sen. Scott Laut-enbaugh said. "When people say what about the children and the pets, I'm going to stand up and say what about the evidence and the history? What are we actually talking about here?" he said.

Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoun2journalstar.com. cooling unit, have it serviced. An odor can mean you have a defect in the cooling unit, which can give off CO. When buying gas equipment, buy only equipment carrying the seal of a national testing agency, such as the American Gas Association or the Underwriters' Laboratories. Install a battery-operated CO detector In your home and check or replace the battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall.

Avoiding CO poisoning In your vehicle: Have a mechanic check the exhaust system every year. A small leak can lead to CO buildup inside the car. Never run a vehicle in a garage with the garage door shut. Never run a vehicle inside a garage that is attached to a house, and always open the door to any garage to let in air when running a vehicle inside the garage. If you're driving a car with an open tailgate or hatch, open your windows to move air through the car.

If only the tailgate is open, CO will be pulled into the car. Venting gas appliances properly: All gas appliances must be vented to prevent CO buildup. Never burn anything in an unvented stove or fireplace. Have your chimney checked or cleaned every -year. Chimneys can become blocked by debris, which can cause CO buildup.

Never patch a vent pipe with tape, gum or something else. This kind of patch can make CO build up. Horizontal vent pipes to fuel appliances should not be perfectly level. Indoor vent pipes should go up slightly as they go toward outdoors to help prevent CO or other gases from leaking if the joints or pipes aren't fitted tightly. How to heat your house or cook safely when the power Is out: Never use a gas range or oven for heating.

Never use a charcoal grill or barbecue grill indoors, unless you use it inside a vented fireplace. Never burn charcoal indoors. Never use a portable gas camp stove indoors. Never use a generator inside your home, basement or garage or near a window, door or vent. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sam Franco delivers emotional testimony in opposition to LBs 34 and 403 during a hearing before the Legislature's Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Immigration bills The Legislature's Judiciary Committee heard three immigration bills on Wednesday: LB34, introduced by Omaha Sen. Brad Ashford, would prohibit businesses from knowingly employing undocumented workers and require employers to use E-verify to confirm eligibility of all new hires after Dec. 31, 2010. LB403, introduced on behalf of Gov. Dave Heineman by Sen.

Russ Karpisek of Wilber, would prohibit state agencies and local governments from providing federal, state or local public benefits to undocumented residents except those exempted by federal law. They would verify legal status using the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program. LR9, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Tony Fulton, would encourage state law enforcement agencies to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to enable them to perform immigration law enforcement. pie do and say things they normally wouldn't.

It is causing them to stand in opposition to their brothers and sisters in Christ, even though God calls them to love, he said. The bills don't reflect Nebraska values, he said. Instead, people ought to be rolling up their sleeves and helping their neighbors. Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoungjournalstar.com. Budget BILL WOLFThe Associated Press ing its use, Castro said, would mean more time and expense for many small businesses that would have to buy computers and highspeed Internet service, and learn to use the program.

Ben Salazar, publisher of Nuestro Mundo, a SpanishEnglish newspaper in Omaha, said his family had been in this country nearly 100 years, and racism and discrimination existed then asitdoesnow. "Today, for the last sever -al years, Latinos are the new target, the new scapegoats of this society," he said. At the hearing, the Rev. Dr. Chuck Bentjen of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in Nebraska said a wave of fear in the nation was making peo- There was one accidental death from carbon monoxide poisoning (not related to fires) for every 40,000 Nebraskans from 1999 to 2004, giving Ne-.

braska the third-highest rate among states. Wyoming and Alaska rank first and second. Nearly three-fourths of deaths nationally occurred in homes, and 41 percent happened during December, January and February. There are an estimated 28 nonfatal ER visits due to carbon monoxide poisoning for every death. Men and women are equally likely to visit an ER for carbon monoxide poisoning, but men are 2.3 times more likely to die from it.

The death rate is highest among those 65 or older. In descending importance, common causes are faulty furnaces, vehicle exhaust, faulty stoves, gas-line leaks, gas water heaters and machinery. About CO poisoning What is: Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death. Some people including infants and those with chronic heart disease, anemia or respiratory problems are more susceptible to the effects. More than 400 Americans die each year from unintentional CO poisoning, more than 20,000 visit emergency rooms and more than 4,000 are hospitalized.

The gas is found in combustion fumes, such as those produced by vehicles, small gas engines, stoves, lanterns, burning charcoal and wood and gas ranges and heating systems. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. CO poisoning can be difficult to diagnose because symptoms mimic other illnesses. High levels of CO inhalation can cause loss of consciousness and death, and people who are sleeping or intoxicated can die before ever experiencing symptoms. Preventing CO poisoning from your home appliances: Have your heating system, water heater and any gas, oil or coal-burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year.

Do not use portable flameless chemical heaters indoors. They burn gas and can cause CO to build up. If you smell an odor from your gas refrigerator's Carbon Continued from Page Bl the kitchen. Deputy Fire Chief Dean Staberg said the carbon monoxide gauge registered "off the scale." The gas came from a car left running in the garage. Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood said one of the women came home from studying around 1 a.m.

and was so tired she forgot to shut off the car. Alcohol wasn't a factor. Lueking and Johnson were back home on Wednesday. They were even able to joke and laugh about it a bit with Johnson's boyfriend, Ryan Anderson. The women don't remember much.

Their third roommate, Sarah Meyers, left the duplex around 7:45 a.m., Lueking said. Around 8 a.m., Johnson called her from her bedroom and asked her to come upstairs. When she reached Johnson's room, Lueking said, she noticed a strong smell, which could have been exhaust from the car. Johnson told her she had passed out in the bathroom and asked Lueking to call her father. By the time Lueking started talking to him, she couldn't stand up.

"I don't know what her dad heard it was probably the equivalent of a drunk dial," Lueking said. BY JoANNE YOUNG Lincoln Journal Star State senators were ensnared again Wednesday morning in a debate on whether to repeal a prohibition on trapping wildlife in county road rights of way. Second-round debate has taken nearly two full mornings and has caused some frustration among senators who believe the Legislature has more important things to discuss. During debate on a motion to kiU the bill (LB5), Lincoln Sen. Danielle Nan-tkes said they had spent enough time on the issue.

"Wake up, Nebraska Leg- Immigration Continued from Page Bl ed students, but it does propose that those students could not get financial aid or other assistance. Only students identifying themselves as non-citizens would have to be verified. In 2008, the state used the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program for 3,318 verifications of legal status, Nebraska Department of Labor Commissioner Catherine Lang said. SAVE found 58 of 3,145 people filing claims who identified themselves as on-citizens were ineligi-btes Thestate would have paid those 58 claimants $322,448 if they had not been identified as ineligible, she said. Many of the bills' supporters say the state has to do something to discourage undocumented workers from coming to Nebraska for jobs.

Others said when citizens break laws they are charged with crimes and sent to prison, and people who break immigration laws should not be allowed to do so without penalty. Dennis Murphy, with Ne -braska Minuteman, said the notion that illegal immigrants take jobs that Americans don't want is wrong. Many retirees needing to re -turn to work and people who have been laid off from Lange-Kubick Continued from Page Bl Kara Dermann had struggled for years with mental health problems, her husband said. In the end, they were' too much for her. She left a doctor's appointment that unseasonably warm March afternoon.

She went home and underlined a passage in Dave's Bible, the one he used for daily devotions. Suffer the little children She drove to Holmes Lake. When Dave was in fifth grade, he stood on the playground at Prescott Elementary School. The school bully ran past, hit -ting him in the stomach as hard as he could. Dave BSDC Continued from Page Bl the lawsuit, staff members waited five days before reporting the incident.

X-rays of her legs weren't performed until Feb. 20 at a hospital, the lawsuit says, and a day later she underwent surgery. Screws had to be used to fix the fractures in her legs, and a 9-inch plate was inserted in one of her legs. Bauer, the lawsuit says, experienced five days of excruciating pain from the undiagnosed leg fractures because of the negligence. Ellsworth is seeking an unspecified amount of damages from the state for medical expenses, pain and anguish suffered by his sister and other alleged consequences of her care.

In addition to the state's failure to properly train and supervise staff members, Ellsworth says in the lawsuit that the incident revealed a failure to adopt policies and they walked in the the first time, they heavy with grief, he People cared. "It got easier." Hope was everywhere Wednesday morning. A researcher spoke, citing studies and surveys. matters, he said. It up your heart.

poet read. "When people leave us, they really leave us." Dave sang. He and Natalie still ride bikes to Holmes a 12-mile loop. they pass the spot Kara died "her snapshot of Earth" always tell her hello. She would want them have hope, he said.

Cindy Lange-Kubick at 473-7218 or clangekubickjournalstar.com. Continued from Page Bl Lincoln Sen. Danielle Nantkes said she is concerned regents will have pressure to increase tuition if state aid doesn't meet salary, health insurance and other rising university costs. Nantkes said she fears tuition increases will make quality education unaffordable for working families during these uncertain economic conditions. Medicaid providers would get a 2 percent annual increase in rates under the committee plan, compared to 1 percent under Heine -man's plan.

Senators will learn about the pain behind the proposal the specific cuts agencies will have to make because many budgets barely cover salary increases during budget hearings that begin next week, Heidemann said. Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicksjournalstar.com. jobs could take those jobs. Before the hearing, the Latino Coalition of Nebraska brought together community leaders, business owners, church representatives and others to express opposition to the bills and describe why they would damage not only Latinos but the whole state. Anita Maddali of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund in Chicago said E-Ver; ify was flawed and using it would lead to discrimination against anyone who looked or sounded foreign.

Ever Preciado, who owns El Rancho restaurant at 27th and 0 streets, and business owner Ricardo Castro said E-Verify would burden small businesses. Mandat didn't see it coming. That's how the grief feels. It still feels that way, the father says. But now they have tools to deal with it.

Dave and Natalie talk about Kara every day. They laugh about things she said and did. The way she laughed, even as she suffered. They laughed at Mourning Hope, too. They made squares for a quilt and a pillow from a mother's yellow shirt to give a girl comfort.

They didn't just sit in a circle crying. At the breakfast Wednesday, they stand up. Natalie thanks the group, reading fast from a page of notebook paper. Dave thanks them, too. procedures requiring all employees to immediately report all falls and provide prompt care when a resident is injured.

Hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and neglect have been reported at the center over the past few years, it has repeatedly run afoul of federal standards and it is expected to lose about $29 million in annual federal funding. Lincoln mom says diagnosis ignored The second action filed against the state on Wednesday is from Sandy Ham of Lincoln. She alleges that staff members at the center twice ignored a diagnosis that her son Ian Ham, who is mentally retarded and has diabetes, had a swallowing disorder and did not inform her of the disorder. She says they instead maintained he had behavioral problems and that his health deteriorated because he was not When door felt says. Hope opens A don't their Lake, When where last they to Reach "I remember handing her the phone back then I blacked out." Johnson then called Anderson, who called 911.

Both women were taken to BryanLGH Medical Center West and transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where each underwent a couple of two- hour treatments inside a pressure chamber that replaces carbon monoxide with oxygen, Lueking said. They watched movies inside the chamber. "It's not great to let two people who've almost died sit and think by themselves in silence for two hours," Lueking said with a laugh. They were released around 11 p.m. Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Lueking said she felt OK, just tired and stressed. Johnson said she was sore from a black eye and bruising on her chest and knees. Johnson said the experience made her feel lucky and grateful, and Lueking said it made her feel more cautious about her body. "It makes you think a lot more carefully about what you're putting in your body and how you're treating yourself," Lueking said. "This is something you can't even see, and it could have killed us." Reach Hilary Kindschuh at 473-7120 or hkindtcnuhjoumalstar.com.

treated for the swallowing disorder. A gastric feeding tube eventually was inserted into her son, but she alleges it was improperly reinserted at an outside hospital and that after returning to the Beatrice center, the contents of the tube went into her son's perineum. Ham says he was in the hospital for two weeks with pneumonia, collapsed lungs and an infection. "They told me he could die," Sandy Ham said. Her son was one of the 47 "medically fragile" people moved out of the center, a decision Ham supports.

Nebraska Advocacy Services filed her claim against the state with the State Claims Board, the same group that received the claim by the Manes family. The board is the first stop for residents seeking compensation from the state for causing injury, death or other civil wrongs. The board's rejection of claims, or inaction, clears the way for lawsuits to be filed in district courts. That was the case with Ellsworth, who filed a claim on behalf of Bauer in March 2008 that the board did not act on, prompting the lawsuit to be filed in Gage County District Court. Nebraska Advocacy Services said it also is trying to assure that the people moved from Beatrice to hospitals over the past two weeks are safe and getting appropriate treatment.

The group said it will formally request the names of the 47 moved and their guardians after the state refused its informal request for the names, said Tim Shaw, Nebraska Advocacy Services director. Shaw said he is discouraged by the state's refusal. "That action on the part of the state frustrates our federal authority to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities. It delays our ability to do THE BLOTTER Woman pleads not guilty to buying beer A woman accused of buying kegs of beer for her 18-year-old daughter and underage friends entered not guilty pleas to 22 counts in Lancaster County Court on Wednesday. Cheryl Lynn Beckner, 43, faces five counts of procuring alcohol for a minor and 17 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child under 18.

Police went to Beckner's home, 5501 Locust early on Jan. 25. There, police say, minors between the ages of 15 and 20 were drinking at the house. Officer Katie Rood said the air Inside Beckner's home registered a 0.03 on a Breathalyzer used to measure blood-alcohol content..