Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 41

'r" 3 mfglAAAVantcds.S Sunday loumaI-Sfar JULY 23,1989 Meeting unlawfully, bribery among allegations by Kaufman and others Nuckolls panel seeks probe of me Nuckolls County is on of three candidate sites for a proposed low-level radioactive waste facility in Nebraska. Attending the meeting were committee Vice Chairman Michael Karmazin of Lawrence, Secretary Cindy Mazour of Deweese, member Irvin Schleufer of rural Nora and moderator Hugh Kaufman, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employee and an environmental whistle blower from Washington, D.C. tee Chairman Gary Tordrup of Superior resigned July 19. Despite the lack of a quorum, the committee, led by Kaufman, decided to meet with the Village Board of Nora to request that it ask the county attorney of Nuckolls County and the Nebraska attorney general to prose- cute four committee members who walked out of a June 26 committee meeting In um-son.

Speaking for the committee, Kaufman alleged that Jagels, Lillich, Ostdiek and Sather unlawfully met among themselves during a short recess June 26 and decided to walk out of the meeting. He alleged that the four tried to "sabotage" the meeting and that their ac- Uons violated Nebraska's public meetings law. I- Alleged bribery The Village Board of Nora also wttlbe revested to ask the county attorney of Nuckolls County to investigate Lillich and recently appointed committee member Arlan Drudik of Nelson for alleged bribery. According to Kaufman, Lfflich, who is also co-chairman of a pro-faculty group, "People for a Better Nuckolls County," requested $100,000 from the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact for a pub-See MEETING on page 2E Absent were members Elliott Jagels of rural Davenport, Everett Lillich of Superior, Lee Ostdiek of Blue HilL and Marvin Sather and Arlan Drudik, bof Nelsoa Commit- ByAIJ.Laukaitis NELSON The Nuckolls County nuclear waste site monitoring committee, crippled by the lack of a quorum Saturday, nevertheless called for the investigation of five of its members and two state officials for allegedly violating various Nebraska laws. The alleged violations include meeting unlawfully, failing to provide public documents and bribery.

The committee took the action despite the fact that only four of 10 committee members showed up for the meeting at the Nelson Community Center. Six members are needed to make the quorum needed to vote and transact business. Eli Stutzman to be sentenced in slaying of ex-roommate AUSTIN (AP) EH Stutzman, whose son's death along a Nebraska road 3 years ago drew national attention, win be sentenced July 31 after being found guilty of slaying his former roommate. Jurors deliberated about five hours Friday be-fnre findlmr Stirtz. 1 1 nttik 'tlx "-i' 'V T'- -r- I 4 trv i man, 38, guilty in I "It 2 the April 1985 snooting death of Glen Pritchett 24 who worked for Stutz- man's remodeling a BETTY STEVENS 8UNOAY JOURNAL-STAR It takes Elsie Williams about two minutes to roll out the crust and fill a cherry pie.

Elsie 9s Cafe serves up love and loads of food By Batty Stevens 7 ITHACA "The whole town died Elevator gone, grocery gone. Only me, television repair and post office left" Elsie Williams may believe the whole town died, but every day, beginning at 3 or a.m, she bounds out of bed in an at-. tempt to revive it with good food. And most days she goes fun tilt until at least 10p.m. Williams is 60 percent owner and 100 percent operator of Elsie's Cafe.

There is a for sale sign on the front but she Is halfhearted about that "I'd like to stay but finding help is such a problem," she said Even when she can find help, it is hard to know how much she will need "Sometimes well have over 60 people in for dinner. Next day halfdozen." Williams says her best menu items are pan-fried cinnamon rolls and potato salad Cooks from scratch "Prn a scratch cook," she said But Williams goes beyond scratch. She not only makes her own pie crusts from lard she renders the lard from fat When Staff members: Roskens probe is affecting NU morale By Jack Kennedy NORFOLK The Inability of the Unl- versity of Nebraska Board of Regents to decide on President Ronald Roskens pay and whether to extend his contract is affecting morale at the institution, NU staff members said Saturday after the board deferred action on the issue for the second consecutive month. No NU president (originally called chancellor) has been fired in modern times. "It's a disgrace to the institution," University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty Senate President Jim McShane said of the board's reluctance to settle the issue.

"It seems the board cannot get a ma-. jority" to agree on a course of action, McShane said The board should decide and end public debate in the news media, he said f. -After the Regents Chairwoman Nancy Hoch of Nebraska City said "discussions are continuing with the president" and an announcement win be made when a decision is reached Hoch refused to explain why the board's study of the president was taking so long. Regent Robert Men of Hastings said Saturday he hoped the issues could be resolved by the regents' next meeting in September. Allen said he dldnt know if the continued delays will affect Roskens1 ability to guide the university.

Staff morale in NU system headquar-See REGENTS on page 2E Landing gear problems delay Lincoln pilot SEWARD (UPI) A singlengine plane landed safely at the Seward Mu-nicipal Airport Saturday after circling for about an hour correcting landing gear problems while an emergency crash team looked on below. Randy Sorensen, the airport's co-man- ager, landed the plane safely, said his partner, Dan Hurtz. Hurtz said Sorensen, of Lincoln, was flying around the area and "radioed to see if we could check and see if the landing gear was down and locked" "It was not so we alerted the fire station in Seward," Hurtz said "They came out and we had a crash crew on standby." The Lincoln Fire Department also dispatched a crash rig to the scene south of Seward Hurtz said Sorensen manipulated the gear on the Mooney airplane by "pulling it up and pushing it down" until it finally engaged she advertises "nomemaae ice cream. she means made by her in an ice Cream freezer. She also bakes her own bread "It's hectic, 111 tell you," she said smiling.

It would be hectic enough if she confined her culinary efforts to the cafe with Its red linoleum-topped counter and tables that seat 60 people, including farmers, hunters, cyclists, foreigners visiting University of Nebraska field laboratories' near Mead and members of the Nebraska GAIL FOUMSUNDAY JOURNAL-STAR Michael and Holly Carpenter and daughter, Haley Marie, peek out from behind 168 roses, minus a few given to nurses and relatives, at St Elizabeth Community Health Center. 14 dozen roses greet new mom business and EUStutarwn roomed with Stutzman and his i-year-old son, Danny. Stutzman, who asked state District Judge Jon Wisser to decide punishment, faces a sentence ranging from five years probation to life in prisoa Pritchett's body was found in a culvert, about a mile from a ranch where Stutzman boarded his horse in southeast Travis County. He had been shot once in the head Stutzman left Austin with Danny after deputies questioned him about Pritchett's death. Stutzman was arrested in Azle, near Fort Worth, in December 1987, after Danny's body was identified in Nebraska.

Danny's body was found clad in blue pajamas in a ditch near Chester in December 1985. Chester residents buried the boy, calling him "Matthew," or gift of God The cause ot Danny's death has not been determined Stutzman was arrested in connection with the death when some who knew Stutzman contacted authorities after reading a "Readers Digest" article published about the mystery surrounding the boy. Stutzman was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of abandoning a body and concealing the death of another person. He told Nebraska officials his son developed a respiratory problem before the trip and died while they were driving to Ohio. I Assistant District Attorneys Marianne Powers and Carta Garcia described Stutzman as a pathological liar who had been overheard arguing with Pritchett about their sexual relationship and who fled Austin without his belongings after the slaying.

Stutzman cooperated with deputies by letting them search his house and giving them his rifle, Stutzman's attorney Connie Moore said Pritchett was shot with that type of weapon, but a deputy testified the rifle was accidentally destroyed by the sheriffs office. 3 1 wauonai uuaro. auemuig a nearuy irain- Elsie Williams ingcamp. But Elsie spreads out She delivers She delivers cinnamon rolls to three different outlets in Mead some every day, some three days each week, some oc-: casionally. The rolls are popular because, "I put love in 'em.

'That's what I ten 'em anyway," she said They ordinarily cost 35 cents, but during a recent visit she sent a very young customer out the door with one in exchange for a hug. On Thursdays, she Is at the sale barn in Wahoo by 7 a.m, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, often not returning until 10:30 p.m. Before that 7 a.m. opening she has completed all the baking for the cafe, the sale bam and her catering business. To whom does she cater? Caters to everybody "Anybody and everybody.

Picnics to Memphis Lakes. University of Nebraska field labs. Last Monday, Eastern Star at Elkhorn. Relish plates, chicken casserola Recently, fun wed- See ELSIE on page 3E a By Jana Miller Michael Carpenter says his wife, Holly, knew he would do something nice to celebrate the birth of their first child But just how nice, she had no idea. Carpenter fined his wife's room at St Elizabeth Community Health Center with 14 dozen roses two dozen of every color available on Wednesday, the day Haley Marie was born.

About the only roses the rose supplier couldnt furnish that particular day were stiver ones, and white ones with red tips, Carpenter said The Carpenters should know an about roses. They are owners of Community Flowers and Gifts at 70th and Van Dora streets. Carpenter also works as an adolescent psy- chlatric counselor at RivendeU Center for Children and Youth in Seward and Mrs. Carpenter is administrative aid at the Lancaster Office of Mental Retardation. Community Flowers and Gifts manager Donna Hanenkamp arranged the bouquet and employees Jennifer Eberly and Linda Bo-browskideUveredit The bouquet wouk.

cost about $500 retail, Carpenter said The red roses should last the longest about seven days and the yenow ones win have the shortest life span three to five days, be said Carpenter said he helped carry the 70-pound bouquet into his wife's room and waited to see her reaction. "She immediately bawled" he sakL Haley Marie's grandmothers and the nurses who helped care for her and her mother were Invited to take roses from the bouquet before the family left the hospital on Saturday. While mother and daughter were in the hospital, the roses attracted a constant stream of admirers, Carpenter said He said he was told that the roses were mentioned on about every tape recording made by nurses as they left their regular shifts. woman remains unsolved mystery Gothenburg (Case of missing DtwtoaCowrty YvS and the next morning you'd never be able to see that there had been any dig-gag," he said Those construction sites have drawn the State Patrol's attention, Ahrens said The areas recently were covered with a "cadaver dog" trained to detect the odor of decaying flesh, but the State Patrol "didn't come up with anything," he said Ahrens said officials are considering using a powerful X-ray device that can locate objects underground Said Nichols: "Yeah, I'm supposed to have buried her in that brand new overpass right in the center of town. Now, god Jesus, how would I have done that? Somebody's got to be real ingenious to do that to find the right time to be able to pun something off like that They would Just have to be a genius.

"They cant solve a case and they've got to find a guinea pig. They've got to find somebody to roast in this fire and it's me 'cause I have no alibi -I really don't "If they were to find her (body) a couple mues west or north or south of here, hey, they'd come and get me no problem. But I am guilty of nothing," Nichols said Lie detector tests He asserted that he underwent six State Patrol lie detector tests in one day and passed them an. Just before she disappeared Mrs. Nichols and her husband spent "a couple of hours" on Dec.

10, 1987, playing pool and shut fleboard at Pete's Lounge before it closed at midnight, said Gary Geiken, owner. seeing somebody (a particular man) on the side," he said "I'd talked to her about it several different times and she said "There's The man mentioned by Nichols has been Interviewed by law enforcement officials, who apparently are convinced he wasn't involved with Mrs. Nichols disappearance. Lending support to the theory that Mrs. Nichols ran away was a note found under the front seat of a car that she often used Addressed to the aneged boyfriend the note said she had considered leaving her children and husband Ahrens said State crime lab tests confirmed that the handwriting was hers, he said But others, including some law enforcement officials, believe Mrs.

Nichols was slain and her remains were disposed of somewhere in Dawson County, possibly In Gothenburg. Construction project For example, Mrs. Nichols father, Kenneth Williams of Simla, Colo, notes that a major construction project of the state Department of Roads was under way at the time of her disappearance. It included the building of an overpass above Gothenburg's Sixth Street and another above some Union' Pacific Railroad tracks and VS. SO.

Roads Department Project Engineer Merle Bargmann of North Platte said a tremendous amount of gravel fin was used at both locations and remained uncovered during the winter of 1987-88. "I imagine that something could have buried In that gravel late at nlt By Bill Kreifel Chrtstl Jo Nichols "seemed really when she and her husband, Mark, stopped for some groceries at the Jack Jill store in their hometown of Gothenburg early on the morning of Dec. IL 1987, says a store clerk. That was the last time that Mrs. Nichols, 22, was seen in public.

Two large-scale ground searches Involving hundreds of volunteers, private and governmental investigations, and scores of news articles and broadcasts including a segment on NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" program have failed to shed any light on her Marital Some people theorize that marital difficulties and the pressures of motherhood caused her to run away from her husband and two children (Undsey, now 4, and Preston, now 3), leaving her cosmetics, most of her clothing, her Social Security card and her pawnable wedding rings at their rented Gothenburg home. Others believe she was killed Her husband admits he Is a suspect in the case. Nichols, 27, believes his wife ran away. However, he said he was puzzled when her blue suitcase was found by a trucker in March 1988 when the snow melted at the Maxwen rest area on Interstate 80 west of Gothenburg. Nebraska State Patrol Investigator Terry Ahrena of North Platte said the suitcase contained a few items of Mrs.

Nichols clothing, nCTpurse and billfold (which contained her driver's license but no money), and a matchbook from Pete's Lounge of Gothenburg, where she worked in the afternoons. The suitcase was found by a tree near the rest stop exit Ahrens said "We don't know at this point if it was put there to throw us off the traU or put us on the trail. I guess well learn that later down the line," he said He said that its contents were "just like what be (Nichols) described that she left with." Said Nichols: "I know for a fact that I did not describe the exact contents of that suitcase. They (officials) completely lied about that" 'No Idea' Nichols, a service station attendant, said he has "no idea" how the suitcase eame to be at the rest stop. He said his wife had threatened him with divorce several times.

"I hn1 suspicions that she might be U-'-'O Christ! Jo Nichols Is pictured with her daughter, Llndsey, on Thanksgiving Day 1887. After the lounge dosed the couple stopped at the Jack Jul store. "Mark did the shopping, and she stayed in the front of the store and talked to me," said clerk Mike Heua "But the one thing I noticed was like ScIICHOLSQpa893E Geiken, who Is Nichols uncle, said the tenseness between the couple that night was apparent Geiken said Mrs. Nichols had told him that she and her husband were having marital problems. "And it surprised me that they were in here that night," he said 1' 1.