Fremont Tribune from Fremont, Nebraska • 2

1 XMi fceoeA-w 4 laf.yc' -rw. trnito i n. lai A2 Fremont Tribune, Wednesday, April 2, 2008 kuS. fc 1 IUt s- A- i 1av IM- William Cooper William Bill Ft Cooper, 84, of Nickerson died April. 2, 2008, at Golden Living Center in Tekamah.

Arrangements are pending at Moser Memorial Chapel in. Fremont. 1 USDA bets on soybeans, but farmers consider corn Lyle Hanson Lyle Hanson, 90, of Fremont, formerly of Mead, died Tues day, April 1, 2008, at A.J. Merrick Manor in Fremont. "I Arrangements are pending at Ludvigsen Mortuary in Frq- mont.

Carol Karpisek The funeral for Carol A. Karpisek, 68, of Omaha, formerly ot; David City and Morse Bluff will be 1 1 a.m. Thursday at Mose( Memorial Chapel in Fremont. She died Sunday, March 30, 2008, at Nebras! ka Skilled Nursing and Rehab Center in Omaha. almost $16 a bushel, while com prices have held relatively steady, near $6 a bushel The pendulum has swung decidedly in favor of com at this point, Good said.

For a lot of the central and northern Illinois farms, corn pencils out easily to be $200 an acre more profit than soybeans. American farmers planted 93.6 million acres of com last year, more than any year since 1944, because of high prices. Com has been in heavy demand in the United States to make the fuel additive ethanol, while booming economies in the developing world are buying more of the crop for animal feed and other uses. Farmers planted soybeans, meanwhile, on 63.6 million acres, the smallest figure in 12 years. Using surveys of farmers conducted in early March, the USDA said farmers would shift back toward soybeans this year.

Across the country, the USDA projects farmers will plant 86 million acres of com, 8 percent less than last year. The government thinks the soybean crop will grow to 74.8 million acres, an 18 percent increase. In Iowa, the nations largest com and soybean producer, the USDA thinks farmers will cut back to 13.2 million acres of corn from 14.2 million acres, and plant 9.8 million acres of soybeans, up from 8.55 in 2007. And in Illinois, the countrys No. 2 com and soybean state, the agency says farmers will plant 12.6 million acres of com, 5 percent fewer than last years 13.2 million.

Soybeans are expected on 8.8 million acres this spring, up from 8.2 million in 2007. The projections, combined with the soybean price drop, could push more farmers to reconsider. Bill Clift raises com, soybeans and other crops in Caldwell County in western Kentucky. He originally intended to plant about 2,000 acres in soybeans and about 1,000 acres in com this spring. After this market has done its thing today, that may be changing, he said Monday after the USDA report led to another drop in soybean prices.

In Shelby, about 80 miles west of Omaha, Greg Whitmore plans to plant 65 to 75 percent of his 2,500 acres in corn. Weather permitting, that figure could grow. Hed like to plant a few of his fields planned now for soy with higher-paying com. You can still make more dollars per acre by planting com, Whitmore said. CHAMPAIGN, 111.

(AP) A few days before the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its estimate of how much corn, soybeans and other crops farmers will plant this year, Larry Gleason was getting ready to do what the forecasters were betting he wouldnt. Plant more corn. The USDA said Monday that it expects American farmers to cut back on corn this year in favor of soybeans. But soybeans prices dropped sharply in the days before the projection was released.

Before the price drop, Gleason planned to do what the USDA said he would: Plant about half the 3,500 central Illinois acres he farms in corn and the other half in soybeans. Last year, Gleason, his brothers and father planted 70 percent corn. In the last two weeks, weve seen the bean market fall, said the 56-year-old Gleason, who farms near Elkhart, 111., about 20 miles northeast of Springfield. Weve made some plans to add more acres of corn and take away some beans. Similar shifts could happen on farms across the Com Belt, University of Illinois agricultural economics professor Darrell Good said.

Soybean futures prices have fallen more than 20 percent since early March, to just over $12 a bushel from Prayer breakfast is Saturday A mens prayer breakfast will take place at 7 a.m. Saturday at Wilderness Lodge in Fremont. The cost is $7. The public is welcome. For more information, call Ted at 721-7389.

PEO chapter to meet Friday PEOs Chapter AJ will ipeet at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the home of Patty Dillon. Breast cancer benefit planned A breast cancer benefit for Lori Russell is planned for Saturday at Plaza Lanes in Fremont. The benefit will include open bowlingTexas Holdem at 4 p.m. and colored pin sweeper at 6 p.m.

Sign-up sheets are available at Plaza Lanes or call 721-0300 to reserve a spot. Space is limited. The signup deadline is Thursday. There will be a live auction, raffles and prizes. Snacks will be provided.

Book sale plans members night The Friends of the Library Annual Book Sale begins Thursday with members night from 6-8 p.m. at Fremont City Auditorium. The book sale continues from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. WAVES group meets April 12 Flatwater WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), a veterans group, will meet at 11 a.m. April 12 at Fremont Club, 950 N.

Clarmar Ave. All women of the sea services, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, past and present, are invited to attend. Reservations are required. For more information, call Katheryn Howe, 721-4163, by April 9. She was bom Dec.

10, 1939, in Newport, Ore. to Henry and Alice (Cull) Eggleston. She moved' to Curtis when she was 2 and then moved to Mitchell in 1950. She was a 1957 graduate of Karpisek Mitchell High School and attended Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. She lived in Gering for a year.

She married George A. Karpisek on Aug. 10, 1958, in Gering. After her marriage, she lived in Morse Bluff and then moved to David City in 1993 and to Omaha in 2002f. She worked in home health care at David City for 10 years.

Her husband preceded her in death Oct. 24, 1992. She was a member of United Presbyterian Church in North and the Red Hat Society in Omaha. Survivors include: five daughters, Kimberly (and husband, Larry) Spaugh ofWilbur, Cynthia Ault of Omaha, Robin Timm of Aurora, Kelley (and husband, Michael) Fujan of War hoo and Kristen (and husband, Randy) Aase of Shelby; half brother, Leslie (and wife, Diann) Brabetz of California; step brother, Gayle (and wife, Jeri) Brabetz of Casper, stepsisters, Gracia Brabetz and Leora (and husband, Clyde) Smith, all of Farmington, N.M.; and eight grandchildren. She also was preceded in death by her parents; an infant son, Kevin; and her stepmother, Marjorie Brabetz.

The Rev. Maetta Snyder of United Presbyterian Church in North Bend will officiate Thursdays service. Visitation will be from 2-8 p.m. today and 9-11 a.m. Thursday, all at the funeral home.

Burial will be 2 p.m. Thursday in Linwood Hill Cemetery. i A memorial has been established to the Nebraska Skilled' Nursing and Rehab Center Library Fund at Omaha. Gladys Mueller Gladys Mueller, 68, of rural Fremont died Tuesday, April 2008, at her home. Arrangements are pending at Ludvigsen Mortuary in Fre mont.

Fired labor director awarded $1 million OMAHA (AP) A former Nebraska Department of Labor director has been awarded more than $1.1 million in federal court following a law- State lawmaker decries over immigration i suit that the suit thathe told Lecuona-, wronglYfired; yr' fil5da'epkrtment lawyer Gary Hi3h'beenththat it would for fexecutivecHrfeCtor of the'de- him forbid staffers to testify partments Safety and Labor Standards when he was fired in July 2005. Hirsh said in the lawsuit that he was targeted by state Labor Commissioner Fernando Lecuona III after three of Hirshs staff members testified at a legislative hearing on proposed workplace safety bills. on legislative matters on their own time. Hirsh said that following meetings with Lecuona and the lawyer, they retaliated by issuing disciplinary actions against him. Hirsh was fired several months later.

He had amassed 33 years with the department. On Monday, the U.S. Dis UTILITIES: Remodel should help to better serve customers The lawsuit said Lecuona reprimanded Hirsh for allowing the staffers to testify even though they did so on their time off. Hirsh said in ferent areas of the Municipal Building. Theres accounting functions on the second floor, he said.

Theres accounting functions on one side of the hall on the first floor. Theres accounting functions in the citys clerks office. There are some things that happen on the third floor. It seems that we make people stop in several places in order to get their business done at city hall. I was thinking about this as a one-stop shop for people dealing with financial transactions with the city.

With the remodeling, all payments to the city would be accepted at the same counter. Hopefully, since everyone would be working together in one area they would be better informed in whats going on in the different areas and be better able to answer cus a a UsL 9 trict Court jury in Omaha awarded the 61-year-old Hirsh $391,000 in actual damages and $350,000 in punitive damages. Based on testimony dost wages and benefits, Judge' Joseph Bataillon awarded other damages of $386,184, bringing the total awarded to more than $1.1 million. The judge- delayed final judgment to give both sides 10 days to file briefs regarding punitive damages. Hirshs attorney, Thomas Hoarty of Omaha, did not immediately return a call made Tuesday to his office by The Associated Press.

tomer questions regardless what a person is coming in to do. Were intending for people to have an easier experience when they come to do business in the city. Marshall said all of this is being done with a single goal. We want to provide better service to our customers, he said. As we go, well look at staffing needs.

Weve already moved one employee from billing to HR (human resources) because we needed more help there. But this isnt an idea that came up overnight. Weve been tossing this around and talking about it for nine or 10 months. After we decided to do it, we had to get it into the budget and hire an architect, he said. The city hired Michael James of James Associates in Omaha.

'b wl I Continued from page A1 that leads to the city clerks office. Some remodeling also will be done in the accounting area on the second floor, where a new city clerks office will be built. Accounting and purchasing offices will he moved to the first floor. All transactions with the city will be done at that counter, Marshall said. We will cross train all of those people so they can handle receipts from the Department of Utilities or the city.

That will help us better serve our cbstomers, but it will also help us better cover workers when they go on vacations or take time off. It will be better use of our staff. The architecture estimate for the work to be done this summer is about $107,000, Marshall said, adding bids vote on the motion to kill thd measure, which would have required state and local agen cies to verify that residents, applying for state benefit are in the United States legally. Ashford said he hoped to forge a compromise on fin immigration bill over the summer. The bill failed because members of the committee were opposed to a part that' would repeal a 2006 law offering in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants.

Legislators voted to override Gov. Dave Heine-mans veto of that bill. Mark Quandahl, chairman of the state Republican said Lathrop could have introduced a motion to advance the measure, but did not. Fremont Tribune 135 North Main 721-5000 Fremont, NE 68025 Bill Vobejda Publisher Tracy Buffington Executive Editor Brent Wasenius MgSports Editor Amy Bell Controller Vincent Laboy Advertising Director Greg Pehrson Circulation Manager Janelle Prchol Production Manager The Fremont Tribune welcomes news lips It you hare something lor the Ufa Section, News Editor tommy Real-McKeighan con help you. Call Brent Wasenius, managing sports editor, if you hare a tip, idea or question concerning sports.

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Box 9, Fremont, NE 68026-0009. VSJ This is LINCOLN (AP) State Sen. Brad Ashford blasted his own Republican party Tuesday for a leaflet criticizing a -Democratic lawmakers fail- ure to support a measure to ban taxpayer benefits to illegal immigrants. The party has distributed leaflets and placed automated calls throughout the Omaha district of Sen. Steve Lathrop.

Ashford called a news conference to decry the message, saying it isnt true and that Republicans are trying to use immigration as a political wedge. Ashford is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which voted last month to kill the bill (LB963), drawing the anger of the Republican governor. Lathrop is the committees vice chairman. Lathrop and Ashford didnt Numbers drawn Tuesday were: Nebraska Pick 5: 19- 1 1 -26-25-23. Jackpot was $54,000.

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April 22. We anticipate three or four bids, he said. Theres quite a bit of interest, but three or four bids is realistic. He said the idea came from City Administrator Bob Hartwig. Discussions were held between the two of them and administrative services director Jan Rise.

Marshall said the work will be done in four phases so the office can continue to function. The only exception is that the drive through will be closed for three weeks during the construction period while pneumatic tubes are placed in the drive-through lanes. Hartwig said during the past several months hes noticed that different city accounting functions are in dif 720 GET A NEW DISH NETWORK SATELLITE Before you build, see www.designhomes.coim dlsfl iitieu INSTALLED FREE OF I Free DVR! Local Channels Included! I I 3 Ask About Our Discounted Stock Display Modelsl Over 4Q New Homes Available Immediately I Call For A Free Brochure DVDl 800-627-9443 ilesignhomes. com ww 3 Months FREE! 1 1 NO NEEDED TO START 1 Watch Now 1 Only $39.99 per month! I Pay Later! I I Lots of Channels! I 866-526-9599 Call for Details Vise!.