February 4, 2012

UNMC College of Dentistry’s annual Children’s Dental Day is Friday

About 200 Nebraska children will be traveling to Lincoln Friday to visit the dentist. The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry will be hosting their annual Children’s Dental Day. College of Dentistry Dean John Reinhardt says college students will be providing a number of dental services for these children. He says they will provide more than $100,000 in treatment to these children who are in need.

All of the children have been screened in their local communities and have been recommended for treatment.

Dr. Reinhardt says College of Dentistry students will perform extractions, root canals, fillings, cleaning and apply fluoride treatment and sealants.

An estimated 200 Nebraska children from 14 communities including Crete, Columbus, Norfolk, Stanton, Wayne, Wisner, Beemer, Lyons, West Point and Wisner to name a few, are taking part. Roughly 240 College of Dentistry students will provide the service free of charge. Dr. Reinhardt says one of their goals is to make this a fun event for the children so they don’t develop a fear of going to the dentist for future work. He says they are providing a carnival atmosphere with lots of activities to entertain the children and keep them smiling.

The College of Dentistry holds two Children’s Dental Day events each year. The next event will be held in the Panhandle.

UNL officials vow to go room-by-room to eliminate dorm bed bugs

Bed bugs have become a problem at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a problem that seemingly won’t go away.

But, university officials vow to make them go away, declaring that they will begin a room-by-room search to rid the dormitories and other university housing of the pests.

“We’ll pay whatever it takes to get it done,” Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Juan Franco, says. “And, so, while there’s not an unlimited number of dollars out there, we will take care of the problem and we will spend whatever it takes to take care of that problem.”

Reports began to surface a few weeks ago of students complaining of bed bugs. Now, bed bugs have been discovered in 25 dorm rooms. The latest report found a room at Abel Hall with bed bugs as well as in an apartment in Husker Village.

Director of Housing Glen Schumann says examining every dorm room will be a long, costly process. University officials estimate the extensive extermination process could easily top $100,000.

Specially-trained dogs will be used to locate bed bugs. A special treatment will be used to destroy them. Schumann expects the room-by-room process to take at least a month, perhaps as long as a month-and-a-half.

Schedule of recruiting announcements for Nebraska football

National Signing Day is Feb. 1 and the Husker football team has 14 commitments coming into the day with the potential of four of five more. Bo Pelini is holding a press conference at 2:30 today where he’ll talk about the 2012 signing class. Here is a schedule of when other potential top recruits will make their announcement. Check back here for the latest or follow us on Twitter at Nebraskasports. (All times listed are central time)

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Severe weather poster contest kicks off amid record high temperatures

Nebraskans are all too familiar with severe weather and now 4th grade students across the state have an opportunity to put their knowledge about the subject to good use. The Nebraska Association of Emergency Managers, the National Weather Service and the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency are again sponsoring a severe weather poster contest. Jodie Fawl is the Public Information Officer for the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency and says students are asked to put their ideas on paper for a statewide competition.

Fawl says this is open to all 4th grade students in the state of Nebraska. This is a classroom project in some school district but that isn’t a requirement. Individual students in schools not taking part or those schooled at home are encouraged to enter.

The top prize is a $200 gift card. Prizes will also be presented to those placing 2nd through 4th place. The deadline to enter posters is February 24th. They can be turned in to County Emergency Manager offices throughout the state. They can be found by logging onto “nema.ne.gov”.

Wayne State partnership allows in-state tuition at South Sioux City’s College Center

The Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees voted this month to approve a new program that allows a Wayne State College tuition discount program for the College Center in South Sioux City, Nebraska. Jay Collier is with the Office of College Relations at Wayne State and says they named the program “The Bridge”. He says the plan included serving students from South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska and the Missouri River Bridge is symbolic as it connects all three states.

The Bridge is a three year pilot program and will set undergraduate tuition at the College Center at the in-state rate, plus one dollar for students outside of Nebraska. The reduced tuition rate will benefit students who take classes at the College Center. Collier says this program helps bridge the gap between out-of-state and in-state tuition for their students.

This is also a partnership with Northeast Community College.