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Lincoln Public Schools Seek Help for Misbehaving Students

misbehaving-studentLincoln Public Schools is considering hiring a Pennsylvania company to help the district intensity its behavioral skills program for misbehaving elementary and middle school students.

The company is Specialized Education Services Inc., of Yardley, Pa. If contracted, it would help the district implement a full-day program. The goal: Help schools deal with students whose behavior problems are increasingly difficult for teachers and administrators to control.

District associate superintendent of instruction Jane Stavem told the Associated Press the company has a program called Success Schools. It would provide an administrator and people to train LPS teachers. The district’s half-day services would be expanded to a full-day program that would serve about 100 students instead of 60 to 70.

Omaha Police Search for Shooter of Iowa Cop

Jamal Dean
Jamal Dean

The hunt for a man suspected of shooting a police officer in northwest Iowa has spread to Omaha.

Officers surrounded a block about a mile west of downtown Omaha on Thursday night, but Jamal Dean wasn’t found during the 90-minute search.

He’s suspected of shooting Sioux City Police Officer Kevin McCormick. Authorities believe Dean has ties to the Omaha area.

Police say McCormick pulled over a car on Monday afternoon in Sioux City. McCormick was still in his cruiser when a man stepped out of the car and opened fire with a rifle. McCormick was hit in the head by a bullet fragment. He’s been released from a hospital.

A $15,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the capture of Dean.

North Platte Mayor Makes Pick for Fire Chief

Dennis Thompson and Mayor Dwight Livingston
Dennis Thompson and Mayor Dwight Livingston

It looks like North Platte has a new Fire Chief, pending the approval of the City Council.

Mayor Dwight Livingston announced Thursday that he will be recommending Dennis Thompson to the North Platte City Council at their May 7th meeting.

Thompson has been with Fire Department for over twenty years, and served as a volunteer firefighter for five years prior to that.

Thompson has served as the Interim Fire Chief since the retirement of Chief Paul Pederson in March.

The hiring process was extended when too few candidates met the testing requirements of position.  Livingston said that the candidates were narrowed down to Thompson and one other.

When asked about his thoughts on Mayor Livingston’s choice, Thompson said simply, “I’m elated!”

Thompson said he told Chief Paul Pederson over 20 years ago at his job interview that he wanted his job, and now his dream is coming true.

He also wanted to encourage the community to communicate with the Department.

 

Suicides Among Middle-Aged Americans Sharply Increase

cdcHealth officials say suicides among middle-aged Americans climbed at a startling rate over the past decade, a period that included the recession. Overall, the suicide rate for the age group jumped 28 percent from 1999 to 2010. And among whites, it shot up 40 percent.

One theory is that the recession caused more emotional trauma for this group, those ages 35 to 64. Experts also note that white baby boomers have always had a higher suicide rate.

The suicide rates for younger and older people did not change. And there was little change among middle-aged blacks and Hispanics. The numbers are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Warren Buffet Becomes a Tweeter

warren-buffetBillionaire Warren Buffett is known for being reluctant to invest in technology companies, but he now has a Twitter account.

Buffett unveiled his new @WarrenBuffett online handle on Thursday during a speech.

Buffett has always resisted investing in technology companies because he says he can’t predict the future of those businesses the same way he can in insurance or manufacturing businesses.

Buffett says even though he may not understand Twitter well, he knows it can’t be all bad because one of the company’s co-founders is from Nebraska.

Buffett’s first tweet said simply “Warren is in the house.”

Buffett doesn’t have a computer in his office at work, but he does use one at home for research, writing and playing bridge online.

Colorado Pot Magazines May Be Treated Like Adult Mags

colorado-signMarijuana magazines are under scrutiny in Colorado, where lawmakers might require stores to put them behind the counter.

The unusual provision to treat pot magazines like pornography faced a hurdle in the Senate Thursday. It was added to a marijuana regulation measure last week when the House debated it.

High Times magazine says the provision would make Colorado the only state to treat pot magazines like porn. A lawyer for the magazine says it would consider suing if the provision is signed into law.

The Senate committee considering the magazine provision is also debating whether to retain another contentious measure added by the House to the regulation bill. That is whether to revive a blood-level driving limit rejected four times by the Senate.

Bugs Pose Threat to Local Grape Growers

green-june-beetle(AP) — A beetle that’s partial to grapes has surfaced in western Nebraska and poses a threat to grape growers.

Green June beetles were found in Lincoln County.

Dave Boxler is an entomologist for the West Central Research and Extension Center, and he says the bugs like sugars such as those in tree sap and overripe fruit — especially grapes.

Boxler says the beetles can ruin a crop because they eat and defecate on the fruit.

The bugs are native to the eastern and southern parts of the U.S. and common in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Boxler says experts think the bugs are moving north and west because of warmer conditions and milder winters over the past 10 years.

Suspects in Lincoln Murder Plead Not Guilty

GavelTwo men have pleaded not guilty to various charges stemming from the slaying of a Lincoln man last year.

Adrian Casares and Miguel Castillo entered their pleas during their arraignments on Wednesday.

Neither has been charged with the homicide in the killing of 25-year-old Tyler Schoenrock. He was shot three times.

Casares is charged with terroristic threats and a weapons count. Police say he threatened Schoenrock during a confrontation late Dec. 29 at a Lincoln apartment.

Castillo is charged with being an accessory to murder. He’s told investigators that Casares shot Schoenrock when the three of them rode into the countryside on the north side of Lincoln, where Schoenrock’s body was found on Dec. 30.

Their trial dates haven’t been set.

Autism Scientists Seek More Brain Samples

brain(AP) — Autism scientists are seeking more brain samples for research.

They announced Thursday a new network collecting brain specimens around the country. They say the more they get, the better the chances of finding better ways to treat the developmental disorder.

So far the network has four sites: Mount Sinai medical school in New York, the University of California in Davis, the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, and McLean Hospital near Boston.

A freezer malfunction damaged many of that Harvard-affiliated hospital’s specimens. Neuroscientist Robert Ring of the advocacy group Autism Speaks says the network was planned before that.

Ring says the network has more than 6,000 people signed up to be donors after death. Brains from people with autism and without are needed.

Teenage Daughter Expresses Anger at Mom Who Was Missing for 11 Years

Brenda Heist
Brenda Heist

(AP)- The teenage daughter of a woman who secretly left her family 11 years ago says she’s angry and doesn’t want to have a relationship with her.

Morgan Heist said Thursday that she’s still trying to sort out why Brenda Heist would have decided to abandon her and her brother in Pennsylvania in 2002 and hitchhike with strangers to Florida.

Morgan Heist is now a 19-year-old freshman at a community college outside Philadelphia. She says she thinks about how she’s spent the last decade mourning a woman who was alive.

Morgan says that knowing what she knows now, she wishes she never cried over her mom’s fate.

Brenda Heist’s mother says she’s been released from police custody and is staying with a brother in northern Florida.

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