July 2013 – Page 17 – North Platte Post Archive

Crime in Nebraska Up One Percent in 2012

Posted on July 25, 2013

(AP) — A new report says the number of crimes reported in Nebraska increased 1 percent in 2012, compared to the previous year.

The Nebraska Crime Commission said in its annual report Thursday that 53,911 crimes were reported to law enforcement agencies in 2012. In 2011, agencies received 53,317 reports.

The report says 4,587 violent crimes were recorded last year, a 4 percent increase. The number of murder and manslaughter cases fell to 52, a 22 percent decline. Reported robberies increased 14 percent, to 1,120. Aggravated assault cases increased 2 percent, to 2,751. The number of forcible rapes dropped 1 percent, to 664.

Commission executive director Michael Behm says Nebraska saw a 1 percent increase in property crimes, to 49,324. The nation saw a 1 percent decline.

Number of State Wards in Nebraska Falls to Nearly 5,300

Posted on July 25, 2013

(AP) — The number of state wards in Nebraska has fallen nearly 14 percent since March 2012.

The state Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that Nebraska had 5,284 wards as of July 15. In March 2012, the state had 6,121 wards.

Thomas Pristow, director of the Children and Family Services division, says workers in Nebraska’s five service areas have adopted a new approach that focuses on providing more in-home services. Pristow says the state has also increased its monthly face-to-face meetings between wards and caseworkers.

Pristow says the highest number of stat wards was 7,803 in April 2006. The number of wards fell below the 6,000 mark in 2012.

Lincoln Judge Retires After 33 Years on the Bench

Posted on July 25, 2013

(AP) — District court Judge Alan G. Gless is retiring after more than 30 years as a judge in the Seward area.

The court system announced Thursday that Gless would retire from his position in the 5th Judicial District on Sept. 1.

He had served as a judge for 33 years.

To fill the position, the Judicial Resources Commission will call a meeting to determine whether his retirement creates a judicial vacancy in the 5th district, made up of Boone, Butler, Colfax, Hamilton, Merrick, Nance, Platte, Polk, Saunders, Seward and York counties. That decision will be based on judicial workload statistics.

EPA Contractor Agrees to Pay $65,450 in Settlement

Posted on July 25, 2013

(AP) — A company the Environmental Protection Agency hired to remove lead paint from homes in Omaha has agreed to pay $65,450 for failing to take proper precautions.

The EPA says Prudent Technologies of Kansas City, Mo., violated several rules for dealing with lead paint at two properties in Omaha.

For instance, the agency says Prudent failed to cover the ground with plastic sheeting and post signs warning about lead paint around the job site.

Most of eastern Omaha has been considered a super-fund site by the EPA because of the extent of lead contamination, which can endanger children’s health, causing decreased intelligence, slow growth and behavior problems.

Warrant Issued for Wife of ‘Dog’ the Bounty Hunter

Posted on July 25, 2013

(AP) — Police in Colorado say an arrest warrant has been issued for the wife of TV bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman after she was accused of verbally harassing a teenager.

Attorneys for Beth Chapman say she did nothing wrong.

Police in Monument, north of Colorado Springs, couldn’t reach Chapman to issue a summons, so they obtained the warrant.

Chapman’s Colorado attorney, Gary Lozow, says she will cooperate with police and expects to be exonerated.

Police Lt. Steve Burk says the alleged harassment took place July 10 at a lake. He declined to provide details.

The Chapmans appear on the CMT show “Dog and Beth: On the Hunt.” They own a home in Castle Rock.

HBO: Unimaginable That Gandolfini Pilot Will Air

Posted on July 25, 2013

An HBO executive says it’s unimaginable that a drama pilot featuring one of James Gandolfini’s final performances will air.

Gandolfini shot a pilot for “Criminal Justice,” an adaptation of the 2008 BBC series. Gandolfini played a low-rent New York City attorney.

The 51-year-old star of “The Sopranos” died of a heart attack in June.

HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo told the Television Critics Association on Thursday that he couldn’t imagine airing the pilot with Gandolfini since he wouldn’t continue with the drama.

“Criminal Justice” was being restructured as a miniseries.

Lombardo says it’s difficult to think of recasting Gandolfini’s part. He didn’t indicate what the drama’s future would be.

Gandolfini’s final movies, the crime film “Animal Rescue” and the romance “Enough Said,” are awaiting release.

Missouri Woman Imprisoned in Nebraska Prostitution Case

Posted on July 25, 2013

(AP) — A Missouri woman has been given 21 months in federal prison for taking another woman from Illinois to Missouri to Nebraska for prostitution.

A news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says 27-year-old Jessica Alamina, of St. Robert, Mo., was convicted of transporting someone for prostitution. Alamina must serve three years of supervised after she leaves custody.

Gilg’s office says that in May 2012, Alamina took the woman to Missouri and placed online advertisements. A month later Alamina brought the woman to Omaha. Gilg’s office says Alamina posted advertisements in the escorts section of Backpage.com and took the money from the woman after her “dates” with people who responded to the ads.

Ex-Pro Wrestler Charged with Murder

Posted on July 25, 2013

(AP) — Authorities in Florida say a former professional wrestler faces murder charges in the stabbing death of a woman at a Tampa apartment complex.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s officials say the woman was stabbed Wednesday night and the suspect fled. Twenty-nine-year-old Brian McGhee’s vehicle was spotted in Tampa and authorities began pursuing him.

Authorities say McGhee crashed his vehicle late Wednesday during the pursuit near Interstate 75 in Pasco County. The woman died of multiple stab wounds early Thursday.

As a wrestler, McGhee went by the moniker “The Future” Donovan Ruddick. He worked for World Wrestling Entertainment from 2010 to 2012.

McGhee’s was taken to a Tampa hospital after the crash.

A photo of what appears to be a bleeding arm or leg was posted Wednesday night to a Facebook page under McGhee’s name.

Ceremony Set for UNMC Regenerative Medicine Program

Posted on July 25, 2013

(AP) — The University of Nebraska Medical Center is holding a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the naming of the Mary and Dick Holland Regenerative Medicine Program.

The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday.

Regenerative medicine involves science that enables the body to repair, replace, restore and regenerate damaged or diseased cells, tissues and organs. Regenerative medicine research includes the possibility of repair of damaged heart muscle after a heart attack, replacement of skin for burn victims, and restoration of movement after spinal cord injury.

Dick Holland, of Omaha, and his late wife, Mary, have a long history of philanthropy and support of UNMC.

New York Man , 112, Is the World’s Oldest

Posted on July 25, 2013

(AP) — The oldest man in the world is a 112-year-old former musician and coal miner from Grand Island, N.Y.

Guinness World Records says research shows Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez (sah-luh-stee-AH’-noh SAHN’-chez BLAHZ’-kehz) became the world’s oldest man when Jiroemon Kimura died June 12 at age 116.

The world’s oldest person is a woman, 115-year-old Misao Okawa of Japan.

Salustiano is currently the only man born in 1901 with proof of birth.

He was born June 8, 1901, in the village of El Tejado de Bejar, Spain. He moved to Cuba at 17, then to the United States in 1920 where he worked the coal mines of Lynch, Ky. He eventually moved to the Niagara Falls area of New York, where he still lives.

He has two children, seven grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.