Kevin Abourezk: Indian center opposes city work

"Chirping birds can be heard, wildflowers smelled on this warm spring day in this narrow strip of land on the banks of the Salt Creek.

Hovering over the otherwise pastoral scene is a gigantic yellow earth mover, the only discernible evidence of a controversy brewing between the city and the Lincoln Indian Center.

“If we knew about this, we could’ve brought the community in and stopped that immediately, but we didn’t know about it,” said Cal Pekas Jr., facilities director for the center, motioning toward the earth mover.

Recently, officials at the Indian Center learned about the city’s plan to remove 6,885 cubic yards of dirt from city-owned land just north of the Indian Center.

The city plans to move the dirt to the site of a nearby housing project under construction. The dirt’s removal will replace flood storage lost because of construction of the housing project, said Rick Hoppe, Mayor Chris Beutler’s chief of staff."

Get the Story:
Lincoln Indian Center opposes city's dirt removal plan (The Lincoln Journal Star 6/1)

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