(Omaha, Neb.)- Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol Troop A-Oman took four impaired drivers off the road during high visibility

patrols in conjunction with a special enforcement effort Thursday- Saturday, August 2-4.

High visibility patrols were utilized in an effort to reduce the potential for alcohol related crashes and accidents involving motorists and pedestrians in the congested areas near the site of the Cox Classic Golf Tournament. The added enforcement was paid for thanks in part to a $9,960 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS).

During the effort troopers made 364 contacts and issued 252 citations & warnings. The following statistics reflect activity during the special enforcement.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Nebraska woman whose 2-year-old son sprayed bleach on his baby sister’s face has been given probation.

The 26-year-old Tricha Speights was given 18 months of probation. Online court records say Speights pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of negligent child abuse.

Police say Speights left her children alone in their apartment on May 5. When she got home, she found the boy had sprayed 3-month-old Gracelynn.

Records say the girl suffered first-degree burns on her face, and her vision might have been affected.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A threat to Nebraska’s ash trees has been found in northwest Missouri, less than 100 miles from Nebraska.

The Missouri Departments of Agriculture and Conservation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture say the emerald ash borer had been confirmed near Parkville, which sits on the northwest side of Kansas City, Mo.

Mark Harrell, of the Nebraska Forest Service, says there have been no confirmed sightings in Nebraska yet.

Ash trees account for 25 percent to 35 percent of trees in Nebraska. In Iowa, where sightings have been confirmed on the northeast side of the state, there are an estimated 88 million ash trees.

Larvae of the emerald ash borer beetle drill into ash trees, eat through vascular tissue and stop the flow of water.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say the eastbound Interstate 80 rest area east of Lincoln has reopened with more floor space and accessibility for wheelchairs.

The Nebraska Department of Roads says the men’s and women’s restrooms are bigger and a family restroom has been added. The department also says an exterior viewing platform that oversees the picnic area and a sculpture has been rebuilt and features a new stairway to the grounds.

The steel sculpture by Richard Field is titled “Memorial to the American Bandshell” and was installed in 1976.

The rest area sits about four miles east of the Greenwood interchange.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Record drought is causing Nebraska’s Platte River to dry up, and that’s threatening the water supply for the state’s second-largest city of Lincoln.

The river’s low level is putting the pinch on Lincoln’s 260,000 residents, because they get their water from wells sunk next to the Platte near Ashland.

Adding to the problem is the competition for water from Omaha, Nebraska’s largest city. Omaha has put in dozens of wells both upstream and downstream from Lincoln’s along the Platte over the past 10 years.

Jerry Obrist, chief engineer for the Lincoln Water Department, has been monitoring the area’s water levels and said the river’s flows are as low as those seen in the drought of 1955.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — About 800 students will receive degrees at University of Nebraska-Lincoln commencement exercises next Friday and Saturday.

Ceremonies for recipients of masters’ and doctoral degrees will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Ceremonies for recipients of baccalaureate degrees will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday at the sports center.

Carolyn Pope Edwards, the Willa Cather professor of psychology and a professor of child, youth and family studies, will give the address at the postgraduate ceremony. Dennis Molfese, a professor of special education and communication disorders, will address the baccalaureate ceremony.

The ceremonies are free and open to the public, and tickets are not required. They will be Web-streamed live from the Devaney Center through a link at the UNL Web site, www.unl.edu.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Squirrel hunting season is open in Nebraska, and officials say it provides a great opportunity to teach novices about hunting.

Mike Streeter with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says squirrel hunting can offer a good opportunity to teach someone to hunt.

And there are plenty of opportunities to hunt squirrels because the season runs through next Jan. 31.

Streeter says hunters should wear insect repellant and drink plenty of water when they go after squirrels. And hunters should be careful where they point their firearms, and they should make sure they know what might be behind or near their target.

The daily limit is seven squirrels.