August 2013 – Page 2 – North Platte Post Archive

NU VB: Huskers Drop 3-1 Decision to Auburn

Posted on August 31, 2013August 31, 2013

St. Louis, Mo. – The No. 10 Nebraska volleyball team (1-1) dropped a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25) decision to the Auburn Tigers on Saturday morning. One day after a dominating performance over Louisiana-Monroe, the Huskers faced a challenge in a feisty Tiger squad.

Kelsey Robinson led Nebraska on the day with a double-double, including 18 kills and 18 digs. Kelsey Fien recorded 13 kills, while Justine Wong-Orantes also chipped in 18 digs. Mary Pollmiller paced the offense with 27 assists, while Kelly Hunter added 19 assists.

Nebraska hit .218 as a team in the match, as the Tigers hit .208. The Huskers were out-blocked 9-7 and out-dug 86-71. NU recorded six service aces, but could not overcome the errors from the service line as NU tallied 14 by the end of the match. Auburn had just two service errors.

The Huskers started the match with a 5-3 lead after a long rally and a kill by Robinson. The two teams exchanged leads, with nine ties until the Tigers went up 18-15. Freshman Melanie Keil came in for NU at middle blocker and the Huskers capitalized on a kill by Robinson as Nebraska strung together a 3-0 run to cut Auburn’s lead to 20-19. The Tigers responded, but a block by Hall and Robinson pushed Nebraska to a 3-0 run, tying the match at 22-22. Auburn would roll off three more points on the Huskers to close out the set 25-23.

The two teams hit an identical .213 clip for the first set and each had two team blocks. Nebraska was out-dug 28-19 as four Auburn players had at least five digs in the set. Robinson led the Huskers with seven kills.

The Huskers found their rhythm and responded in the second set, taking a 5-1 lead with the help of two kills from Fien. The lead was stretched to 9-3 as Auburn called a timeout. The Huskers came out of the timeout to take a 15-5 lead, aided by a kill from Broekhuis and a double-block from Hall and Robinson. Back-to-back kills from Fien made it 20-6, Huskers, but the Tigers strung together a run of their own to make it 20-10, NU, and force Nebraska to use a timeout. Haggerty ended an 11-1 run for the Tigers with a kill to make it 22-18, but Auburn would not back down until Nebraska finished off the second set with a 25-22 win.

Fien led NU in the second set with six kills on 13 attacks, while the Huskers hit at a clip of .220. Wong-Orantes guided the Huskers defensively with seven digs, as NU out-dug the Tigers 16-12. Auburn was held to a hitting percentage of .091.

Back-to-back aces from Kelly Hunter helped the Huskers to an 8-6 lead early in the third set. Hall made her presence known with two kills to make it 14-10, NU. Auburn came back to take the lead at 17-16, as a kill from Robinson would tie the set at 21-21. A double-block by Hall and Robinson would bring the Huskers within 24-23, but Auburn held on to take the third set 25-23.

Fien once again led NU in the set with four kills, while Hall and Broekhuis each had three. Nebraska hit .178 for the set, while Auburn hit at a clip of .257. Both teams recorded three team blocks, while NU was out-dug 23-13.

The intensity did not let up in the fourth set as the Tigers and Huskers battled point-for-point. Nebraska went up 7-6 on a kill by Amber Rolfzen, but Auburn responded to take the lead, eventually taking a 12-9 advantage and forcing NU to call a timeout. Haggerty and Broekhuis connected for a double-block to tie the set at 15-15, as Nebraska then used a spirited rally to tie the set again at 17-17. Auburn took a 20-19 lead late in the set, but the Huskers would not be able to gain enough momentum and dropped the set 25-23.

Robinson had five kills in the fourth set, while Amber Rolfzen posted four kills. The Huskers hit .261 and Auburn hit .250. Both teams tallied 23 digs.

Nebraska returns to action this evening as the Huskers will take on Saint Louis at 7 p.m.

AP Source: Tim Tebow Cut by Patriots

Posted on August 31, 2013August 31, 2013

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says Tim Tebow has been cut by the New England Patriots.

After being let go by his third team in 18 months — and with the regular season just five days away — the quarterback’s chances of immediately catching on with another team seem slim. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Patriots had not announced the move. It was first reported by ESPN.

Tebow’s stay with the Patriots lasted just under 12 weeks and could signal the end of his NFL career. The former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback played in just three of New England’s four preseason games, and was sacked four times in the finale, a 28-20 win over the New York Giants on Thursday night.

Nebraska Holding Lottery for Deer Hunters

Posted on August 31, 2013August 31, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A lottery is being held for deer hunting access to Platte River Recreation Access lands in the central Platte River Valley.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says 38 hunters will be chosen from a drawing in early October. They’ll be allowed to hunt deer on designated lands Nov. 16-24.

Applications, limited to one per person, will be accepted by mail or in person at the Game and Parks service center in Kearney from Sunday through 5 p.m. on Sept. 30. Hunters can apply to hunt three areas but will receive permission on only one area if their names are drawn.

More information and a map showing the available areas can be obtained at platteaccess.org, by calling 308-865-5338 or emailing ngpc.platteaccess@nebraska.gov.

Convicted Fort Hood Shooter Arrives at Death Row

Posted on August 31, 2013

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Fort Hood officials say the Army psychiatrist sentenced to death for the 2009 shooting rampage has arrived at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

Officials released a statement Friday saying Maj. Nidal Hasan had arrived at the prison’s death row.

A military jury convicted Hasan last week of killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 at Fort Hood, a sprawling Army post in central Texas. The same jurors deliberated less than two hours on Wednesday before deciding Hasan should be put to death.

Hasan joins just five other inmates on the military’s death row.

Death sentences are rare in the military court system, and they’re automatically appealed. The appeals process often takes years if not decades.

The military hasn’t executed an active duty U.S. soldier since 1961.

Transparency Sought for Nebraska Tax Incentives

Posted on August 31, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are looking for a better way to gauge whether tax incentives for businesses actually work, and whether the investment is worth the cost.

Lawmakers repeatedly pushed for answers Friday in a joint committee hearing with State Tax Commissioner Doug Ewald.

Ewald says nearly half of the companies that apply for tax credits never qualify because they fail to meet the state’s investment and job-creation requirements. Yet those companies still created thousands of jobs.

In February, a legislative panel reported that Nebraska has no way to judge whether its business tax incentives have succeeded in attracting businesses, or whether the companies would have come regardless.

The Revenue Committee chairman, Sen. Galen Hadley, says the challenge for lawmakers is to keep Nebraska competitive with states that offer tax breaks.

Burglars Take $10,000 Worth of Hair Extensions in Lincoln

Posted on August 31, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police say a burglar sole $10,000 worth of hair extensions from an African goods store in one of several business burglaries in the city in recent days.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports (https://bit.ly/16Xe40i ) owners of the African Market say they arrived at the shop Thursday morning and found a cash register and several boxes of unusual expensive hair extensions missing.

Lincoln police officer Katie Flood says it’s unclear how the thief got inside the shop.

Just a few miles northwest of that shop burglars broke a window to get into Le Nails, where money, nail polish, acrylic powder and an airbrush are missing valued at more than $3,000.

They were among several commercial burglaries in the last few days. Police are investigating to see if they are related.

Lincoln Man Gets Jail Time for Disturbing Emails

Posted on August 31, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been sentenced to six months in jail for sending an email to a Nebraska Department of Labor employee threatening to slaughter her like a cow.

The Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/18r10OE ) reports Friday 27-year-old Jordan Wackerla has entered a plea of no contest to stalking and disturbing the peace.

A judge sentenced him to 180 days in jail starting Sept. 8.

Wackerla originally faced a felony terroristic threats charge, but prosecutors dismissed it as part of a plea agreement.

The Nebraska State Patrol arrested Wackerla last September following an investigation into two phone calls and two emails with disturbing images of mutilations left for the state employee at work.

Investigators say he told them he sent the emails when he was confronted about them.

Bubba Burger Layoffs Announced in Hastings

Posted on August 31, 2013

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Employees at the Bubba Burgers plant in Hastings have received notice that production will shut down and they’ll lose their jobs.

KHAS-TV reports Friday (https://bit.ly/15civkQ ) that 39 workers will be affected by the first round of layoffs and 22 in a second phase.

Layoffs could begin as soon as the end of next week.

A plant manager says the plant could be shut down anywhere from less than 12 months to more than two years.

Nebraska Workforce Development sent a Rapid Response team to the plant Thursday to help current employees with the transition.

Some workers have the option to transfer to other facilities.

The company did not immediately return messages.

Bubba Foods bought the former Armour-Eckrich plant in Hastings in 2010 after it had closed the year before.

Former State Lawmaker Could Lose Law License

Posted on August 31, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An ethics complaint has been filed against former Omaha state Sen. Brenda Council over her involvement in a gambling scandal.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports (https://bit.ly/16Xlu3L) that the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Counsel for Discipline filed the complaint accusing Council of professional misconduct.

Council pleaded guilty last year to two misdemeanor counts of filing false campaign finance reports. Prosecutors say the reports concealed her misuse of more than $63,000 in campaign donations at casinos. She was fined $500 and ordered to pay court costs.

If the Nebraska Supreme Court finds Council guilty of committing professional misconduct, she faces anything from a public reprimand to loss of her law license. Her attorney, Vince Powers, is asking for a public reprimand.

Council could not be reached for comment Friday.

Aurora, CO Teen Accused of Stabbing Mom 79 Times

Posted on August 31, 2013

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Police say an Aurora teen accused of stabbing her mother 79 times spat in her face and sent her a threatening email before the slaying.

Eighteen-year-old Isabella Guzman was being held on suspicion of first-degree murder on Friday in the death of 47-year-old Yun-Mi Hoy.

According to an arrest affidavit, Hoy’s husband told police that Isabella attacked his wife in their upstairs bathroom Wednesday night. He said Isabella then walked out past him, staring straight ahead and holding a knife.

Hoy called police to her home earlier that day because of Isabella’s behavior. Officers warned Isabella that her mother could throw her out of the home.

The teen’s father, Robert Guzman, told Denver’s KMGH-TV (https://bit.ly/17rB9r9) that he had counseled his daughter at her mother’s request hours before the killing.