It took the Colorado Rockies just six games of the 2013 season to equal their longest winning streak of their dismal 2012 campaign. Dexter Fowler and Wilin Rosario homered as the Rockies routed the San Diego Padres 9-1 at Coors Field on Sunday afternoon. The win completes a sweep of the Padres and gives the Rockies five straight wins after their opening defeat. Fowler’s two-run homer highlighted a three-run first, and Rosario’s three-run jack in the seventh put the result beyond doubt. Jonathan Herrera chipped in three hits and two RBI. Jhoulys Chacin worked into the seventh inning on the mound for his first win. The Rockies are one of only four teams in the major leagues who have tallied five wins this season, and are off to their best start since 1995. They’ll face their sternest test of the season thus far over the next three games in San Francisco against the defending champion Giants. First pitch tonight is set for 9:15.
Month: April 2013
GIRLS SOCCER: Lady Dawgs Win GNAC Again
The North Platte Lady Bulldog soccer team successfully defended their Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference title this weekend in Kearney. The ninth-ranked Lady Bulldogs routed Scottsbluff and handed both Hastings and Kearney their first losses of the season en route to the championship, beating the host Bearcats 4-2 in the final. Their record on the season is 7-0. In the boys soccer GNAC tournament, the Bulldogs finished sixth, earning their first win of the season by topping Scottsbluff in the consolation semifinals.
Study Says Death Rates Worse at Rural NE Hospitals
A new study says the death rates in small rural hospitals are worse than at most hospitals.
The study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association notes that the death rate in remote hospitals got worse between 2002 and 2010.
The death rate at other hospitals improved over that same time period.
Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Texas and Kansas are the states with the most critical-access hospitals.
Nebraska has 65 of the smaller, rural hospitals that qualify for special treatment from Medicare because they provide critical access to care.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Karen Joynt, says it may be harder for rural hospitals to afford the latest technology and advancements that are helping other hospitals.
13-Year Old Nebraska Girl Critically Injured in ATV Accident
A 13-year-old Nebraska girl was critically hurt this weekend when her hair got caught in the engine of the ATV she was driving.
Lancaster County Sheriff’s Sgt. Derek Horalek says Emma Kringle was hurt Saturday afternoon in the accident near Branched Oak Lake, which is near Malcolm.
She remained in critical condition Sunday in a Lincoln hospital.
Authorities say Kringle was driving the three-wheeled ATV when her ponytail became entangled in the engine’s moving parts. That caused her to crash.
Omaha Doctor Charged with First-Degree Sexual Assault
An Omaha doctor has been charged with first-degree sexual assault and witness tampering after a woman says the 83-year-old man forcibly performed oral sex on her.
The 26-year-old woman told police Nosrat Massih invited her to his Omaha condo to look it over, then removed her clothes and forced himself on her. She told police Massih had been drinking.
Massih was charged Wednesday and posted 10 percent of a $20,000 bail to be released from jail. Online court records do not show that Massih has a lawyer. Massih could not be reached Saturday for comment.
His preliminary hearing on the charges has been set for April 29 in Douglas County Court.
Omaha Police Investigate Fatal Shooting of 23-Year-Old
Police are investigating a fatal shooting at an apartment complex in central Omaha.
Omaha police were called to the apartments near 83rd Street and Underwood Avenue on Saturday afternoon.
The officers found a Jer’ray Moore lying in front of the building with a gunshot wound.
The 23-year-old Moore died later at Alegent-Creighton Medical Center.
Game and Parks Using Poop Planting to Regrow Forest
One of the first waves of replanting northwest Nebraska after last year’s wildfires will be done by animals.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission plans to feed seeds for native shrubs and trees to wildlife in the area and rely on the animals to distribute the seeds in remote parts of the Pine Ridge when they defecate.
Wildlife biologist Shelly Steffl says eight hundred biodegradable blocks of seeds have been created. The blocks will be spread through the area for the animals to eat.
The blocks are available to landowners for $3 apiece. Anyone interested in obtaining the seed blocks should contact Steffl at 308-432-6190 or visit the Upper Niobrara White Natural Resources District.
‘Purpose Driven Life’ Author’s Son Commits Suicide
The Southern California church headed by popular evangelical Pastor Rick Warren says his 27-year-old son has committed suicide.
Warren’s Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., says in a statement Saturday that Matthew Warren had struggled with mental illness and deep depression.
Warren is the author of “The Purpose Driven Life.” In 2008, his church sponsored a presidential forum with Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney had been invited to a similar forum last fall, but Warren canceled it, saying the campaign had become too uncivil.
Saddleback’s website says that about 20,000 people attend weekend services at the church near Los Angeles.
Man Falls 60 Feet to His Death During Colorado Rock Climb
(AP) — Authorities say a 62-year-old man was killed after falling 60 feet in a rock climbing accident in Colorado.
Karlyn Tilley, a spokeswoman for the Golden Fire Department, said the man was climbing with his two adult children while using technical gear at a popular cliff about 20 miles west of Denver. She says he fell at about 1 p.m. Saturday.
About a dozen climbers who were nearby helped with the rescue and brought the man off the mountain within an hour of the fall.
Tilley says the man was unresponsive and not breathing when paramedics arrived.
Lincoln Man Charged with Bugging His Mother’s Phone
Police have arrested a 59-year-old Lincoln man, saying they suspect him of bugging his 90-year-old mother’s phone.
Richard Stamler was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of unlawful interception of communications.
Police spokeswoman, Officer Katie Flood, says the man’s sister called police on March 28 to report that she had found a recording device connected to her mother’s phone line and recognized her brother’s voice recorded on the device.
Police say a letter written by the man to his sister demands documentation of his mother’s savings and threatens the sister with legal repercussions if she stands between him and his mother.