ST. PATRICK’S CHURCH
415 NORTH CHESTNUT ST
There will be 35 vendors showing off their crafts and wares.
The ladies of the Church will again serve lunch from 11 am-1 pm. The luncheon menu is as follows: Homemade potato-vegetable soup, ham salad on croissant sandwich, dessert and a drink for only $6.00. Tickets for the luncheon will be available the day of the boutique.
A noted horticulturist who founded a nationally known nursery in eastern Nebraska has died after an explosion at his home in Clarkson.
Officials say 76-year-old Harlan Hamernik was pronounced dead a little before 11 p.m. Monday at a Lincoln hospital. The explosion and fire were reported around 8:15 p.m. Monday.
Colfax County Attorney Denise Kracl says Hamernik suffered severe burns. She said Tuesday that there won’t be an autopsy. No injuries to anyone else have been reported.
The cause of the explosion and fire are still being investigated.
Hamernik and his wife founded Bluebird Nursery in 1958. He also served as mayor of Clarkson and on the village board.
The Omaha school board’s lawyer has been cleared of allegations about her handling of the scandal over explicit emails sent by the woman hired to be the district’s next superintendent.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that Omaha school board President Freddie Gray, at Monday night’s board meeting, shared the response from the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Counsel for Discipline.
Former state Sen. Ernie Chambers had filed a grievance alleging negligence by attorney Elizabeth Eynon-Kokrda , saying she should have informed the entire board about emails sent on a district computer by Nancy Sebring before she left the Des Moines district for the Omaha post.
Eynon-Kokrda had conferred only with Gray. Gray and Eynon-Kokrda have said Sebring minimized what she’d done, so they didn’t share the information with the board.
Nebraska’s child and family services director says the call centers that handle requests for food stamps, Medicaid and other public benefits are understaffed.
Thomas Pristow told a legislative panel Tuesday that staffing at the centers has not kept pace with the number of programs now handled by its employees. The state runs four customer centers that process applications for 16 public-benefit programs.
The call centers have received mixed reviews since the program was launched in 2010. Call times have trended downward, but some users still complain about long waits and mix-ups that caused them to lose their benefits.
A new law requires the state to offer face-to-face services as well as the call centers. Lawmakers have said they’ll likely push for more changes next year.
Authorities say five people have been hospitalized after a fire erupted at a house in northeast Omaha.
Omaha Fire Department Capt. Tim McCaw says six people were in the house when the fire was reported just after 9:10 a.m. Tuesday. The blaze has been extinguished.
Two men were found unconscious in the basement, and another man was found on a porch. Authorities say the three were in critical condition when taken to Nebraska Medical Center.
Two other people escaped from the house and were in serious condition when taken to Creighton University Medical Center.
Another man was treated by firefighters.
McCaw says the fire cause is being investigated.
A federal appeals court says the lawsuits of five people wrongly convicted in the 1985 killing of a Beatrice woman can continue.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued opinions Monday in the cases of Joseph White, Thomas Winslow, Ada JoAnn Taylor, James Dean and Kathleen Gonzalez. They were convicted in the 1985 murder of Helen Wilson and served time in prison. They were exonerated in 2008 after DNA testing implicated another man.
They sued Gage County officials in federal court. Last year, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit brought by Winslow, Taylor, Dean and Gonzalez. A different judge allowed the lawsuit by White to proceed.
On Monday, the 8th Circuit allowed all of the cases to proceed, saying Gage County officials manufactured evidence and recklessly investigated the five.
Nebraska’s corn and soybean harvests are still ahead of schedule, but winter wheat growth has fallen behind.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its weekly crop report Monday that the statewide corn harvest is 80 percent complete, one month ahead of average. The soybean harvest was nearly 86 percent complete, about three weeks ahead of average.
The report says winter wheat seeding is nearly 95 percent done, but less than half of the winter wheat crop has emerged. That puts it two weeks behind the average schedule.
A man who’d been convicted in a Nebraska court of attempting to receive child pornography has been sentenced in federal court for producing child porn.
Federal prosecutors say 41-year-old Allen Hudson, formerly of Plattsmouth, was given 25 years and three months for producing pornography. Hudson will be on supervised release for life after he leaves prison.
Prosecutors say Hudson pleaded guilty in state court in February 2011. But Nebraska State Patrol technical experts soon discovered more pornographic images on Hudson’s computer, including images of Hudson with an 11-year-old boy. Investigators eventually learned Hudson frequently had young boys stay overnight as guests at his home.
The patrol then referred the new evidence to federal prosecutors.
The fire at 1718 W 3rd has left the Storm family without shelter which they can call their own, “They’ve lost everything,” said a a cousin of the family who organized a donation.
The family of six is looking for a rental property owner who has an available home with four bedrooms that allow dogs. Donations of household items such as clothing, dishes, food, personal hygiene or any basic need are being accepted by cousin of the family, Kim Ziel. contact her at 308-660-6335
If you would like to donate funds you may do so by going to Centris Federal Credit Union at 301 East Philip Avenue.
North Platte Fire Department received the report of the house fire at 1718 W 3rd at around 3:23PM Monday. The home was giving off heavy smoke when responding units arrived.
According to Battalion Chief Jason Trimble, the fire is believed to have started in the bedroom of the home. No injuries were reported. The cause of the blaze is undetermined.
The Nebraska Department of Roads and the Nebraska State Patrol organized a meeting of players that communicate during winter weather to ensure mobility and safety on the interstate and western Nebraskan roads.
The Winter Operations and Emergency Management meeting was held on Tuesday at the North Platte Holiday Inn, to support communication between agencies, upgrade current practices and review procedures.
Roger Klasna, District Operations & Maintenance Manager of NDOR District 6 announced the trial of two Infrared Sensors to be used in Paxton. The sensors send out infrared signals to the road which measures the friction point of the roadway which helps the department of roads determine how safe or unsafe a road may be in slick conditions. The sensors relay information to the control center, in case of slick conditions, the NDOR can alert the public to take caution.
The sensors will also play a key role in gathering data on effective ways to keep the roads safe, “Ice has less friction than a dry roadbed does,” explained Klasna, “By knowing these numbers we can put a different type of product on the roadway, like our anti icing agent, to test which chemical works better for us.” The mission of the NDOR is to produce a safe transportation system for the traveling public.
There are only two sensors that are planned to be used, being on the slightly more expensive side, the investment is clear. The sensors are non intrusively placed on a pole by the road way rather than placed on the road way like other sensors that run the risk of damage.
Though only two will be in use doesn’t mean that they won’t move around. The sensors are mobile and easy to place anywhere, “I see it being very beneficial if we were to get more of these,” Klasna said, explaining that slick roads pose a higher threat than just snow.
The sensors are planned to be used in Paxton for possibly the length of the on-coming winter. This winter will serve as a test to determine if the sensors are worth investing more money into.
