Gov. Kay Orr said Tuesday she won't campaign for re-election in a county bitterly divided over a proposed radioactive waste warehouse because her life has been threatened. Boyd County, a sparsely populated ranching area on the state's northern edge, has been in turmoil since officials began considering it as a possible home for low-level radioactive waste from five states. A rancher who opposes the plan is on a hunger strike. The Nebraska State Patrol said a letter was received in early August ``that contained some implied threats.'' Patrol spokesman Jeff Hanson declined to release any further details, saying the matter was under investigation. Hanson said the letter lacked some elements needed before authorities could charge anyone with making terroristic threats. Orr spokesman Doug Parrott said he understands that the threat is related to the nuclear waste dispute. Mrs. Orr said she knows who made the threat but wouldn't disclose the name. She said she had hoped the situation in Boyd County wouldn't deteriorate to the point of threats. ``There are a lot of things that you consider when you step into a public office,'' Mrs. Orr said. ``I think most of it was pretty well understood by Bill (her husband) and me. ``It's dismaying to think that we have gotten to this point that people lose faith and confidence in their government.'' The proposed waste site lies about two miles outside Butte, a village of about 500 people. Supporters have welcomed the money the dump may bring. Opponents have said they fear accidents and long-term effects of the radioactive waste. US Ecology, a waste site developer chosen by the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission, has applied to the state for permits to build the waste warehouse. The reinforced concrete warehouse near the South Dakota border would hold waste from the five states that make up the commission: Nebraska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Nelson's campaign manager, Sonny Foster, said it was the first he had heard of any threat against Mrs. Orr. He said it had ``absolutely nothing'' to do with the Nelson campaign. ``I think that I can say on the behalf of Ben Nelson that we don't feel that threatening people is part of the political process and there's no way that Ben Nelson would ever condone that kind of activity,'' Foster said. Nelson has visited Boyd County and has said that he is concerned about the diisions in the community, Foster said. One rancher who opposes the waste site has been on a hunger strike for more than three weeks. Lowell Fisher of Spencer, who said Tuesday he had lost 29 pounds since his fast began on Sept. 17, said he didn't believe the threat against Mrs. Orr was a serious one. ``I think it's stupid but if you have enough people who are emotionally upset, they say something,'' Fisher said. Fisher said he intends to continue his water-only diet until the governor tells the waste compact commission that the community objects to the waste site or holds a special election to see if there is. An aide to the governor has said Mrs. Orr lacks the power to call such an election and noted that the village board has supported the waste site plans.
