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The men and women serving at Offutt Air Force Base can go off into the wild blue yonder, but no longer can they cross the street and visit one Bellevue bar.
The 55th Wing, host unit at the base, has declared Rumors Restaurant and Lounge, 12642 S. Ninth St., temporarily off-limits to all armed forces members.
Brig. Gen. John N.T. Shanahan, commander of the 55th Wing, issued the order Friday after consulting with base security and Bellevue law enforcement officials, said Deb Aragon, a wing spokeswoman.
The order is another in a series of less-than-positive developments for the nightspot across Fort Crook Road from the base.
A man was shot outside Rumors early Jan. 31, suffering an injury that authorities did not consider life-threatening.
Bellevue police say Rumors is attracting a “rowdy” crowd, including some Omaha gang members. Police Chief John Stacey Jr. has said he hopes to have the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission review Rumors’ license.
Rumors’ owner Bill Keown has defended his bar.
“It’s a heck of a predicament to be in after 22 years in business,” he said earlier this month. “A shooting can happen anywhere. It’s just unfortunate it happened at Rumors.”
It is not unusual for a base commander to declare certain businesses off-limits.
Last week, officials at Osan Air Base in South Korea banned service members from four off-base “juicy bars” that allowed troops to take “bar girls” off the premises, the military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported Sunday.
Contact the writer:
444-3106, andrew.nelson@owh.com
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