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Hall County Board Approves Money to Keep Vets Home in G.I.

NE-Veterans-HomeThe Hall County Board of Supervisors has approved $10,000 to help cover the potential legal costs of keeping a veterans home in Grand Island.

The board voted Tuesday to put the money into what officials call a “war chest.”

Other groups are contributing to the effort for a total of $30,000. The Grand Island City Council will vote Wednesday to add $10,000. The Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation will each give $5,000.

Gov. Dave Heineman announced in July that the city of Kearney was selected to house the new Central Nebraska Veterans Home. Local leaders, including Mayor Jay Vavricek, say the move will uproot veterans at the Grand Island facility, which has about 375 employees.

North Platte and Hastings were also being considered as potential sites for the new home.

Police Identify 2nd Omaha Homicide Victim Found in Pickup

crime(AP) — Authorities have released the name of the second of two men whose bodies were found inside a pickup near a city pool in southeast Omaha.

Omaha police identified him on Tuesday as 26-year-old Juan Uribe-Pena.

The bodies of Uribe-Pena and 29-year-old Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz were found just before 5 a.m. Sunday by a police officer near Spring Lake Park pool.

Police say the deaths are being investigated as homicides but have not said how the men died. No arrests have been reported.

Judge May Close Preliminary Hearing for Accused Omaha Killer

Dr. Anthony Garcia
Dr. Anthony Garcia

(AP) — A judge will decide Wednesday morning whether to close a preliminary hearing for an Indiana man accused of killing four people with ties to an Omaha medical school.

The preliminary hearing for Anthony Garcia is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday. Before that, a judge will decide whether to close the hearing to the public. Garcia’s attorneys argue that news coverage of the preliminary hearing would hurt Garcia’s right to a fair trial.

Garcia is being held without bond on four counts of first-degree murder. Police say he killed the 11-year-old son of Creighton pathologist William Hunter and the family’s housekeeper in 2008, as well as Creighton University pathologist Roger Brumback and his wife in May.

Brumback and Hunter had fired Garcia from the Creighton pathology program in 2001.

Omaha Police Officer Shoots Dog After Attack

omaha-police(AP) — Authorities say an Omaha police officer shot a dog that had pinned a man against a fence.

The officer shot the dog Tuesday following a report of a man being pinned by his neighbor’s German shepherd. The man told dispatchers that the dog got out of its kennel.

Police say the dog charged at officers. One officer fired his weapon.

The dog was shot in the head. The Nebraska Humane Society says the dog was later euthanized.

The station reports the dog’s owner was cited for improper restraint of a dog and dog menacing behavior.

Nebraska Appeals Court Upholds Lengthy Sentence of Sex Offender

sex-offenders(AP) — The Nebraska Court of Appeals has affirmed the lengthy sentence of a 29-year-old man for sexually assaulting a teenage girl starting when she was 14.

The appeals court on Tuesday upheld the 40- to 50-year sentence for James Graves, of Salem, who was convicted last August of two counts of first-degree sexual assault.

Graves must also register as a sex offender after his release.

Graves’ appeal said he and girl had a consensual “boyfriend/girlfriend relationship” and that they were engaged to be married when she was 16.

But the appeals court noted that Graves subjected the girl to repeated acts of sexual abuse and violence, including an instance in which he broke into her bedroom window before dawn, dragged her through the window and savagely beat her.

Minden Employee Dies After Exposure to Toxic Gases

city-of-minden(AP) — An employee for the city of Minden in southern Nebraska has died following exposure to toxic gases from a sewer line.

Authorities say 55-year-old Robert Honomichl died Tuesday morning at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.

Honomichl and another employee, 51-year-old Mike Kleen, were clearing a blockage on Sunday when they were overcome by toxic gases in the manhole. The city is investigating the incident.

Kleen was released from a local hospital and is recovering at home.

Florida Boy Fights Rare Brain-Eating Amoeba

Zachary Reyna
Zachary Reyna

(AP) — Health officials in Florida say a 12-year-old boy is fighting a rare and deadly infection that is attacking his brain.

Family members told media outlets that Zachary Reyna of Southwest Florida was infected with Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic single-celled living amoeba that is commonly found in freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers. State health officials say it can cause a rare brain infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) that destroys brain tissue and is usually fatal.

Victims typically are exposed to the bug while swimming or doing water sports in warm ponds, lakes and rivers during the hot summer months, mostly in the South.

Family members said the boy was infected while knee boarding with friends in a ditch near his family’s LaBelle house on Aug. 3. He is being treated in the intensive care unit at Miami Children’s Hospital.

Authorities Identify Omaha Woman Killed by Truck

car-pedestrian-accident(AP) — Authorities have identified the woman killed by a truck while crossing a street in south Omaha.

Omaha police say 62-year-old Bonnie Lebbs, of Omaha, was killed Aug. 2. Neighbors say the woman was returning from a grocery store with items in a small wagon.

Police say the driver of the semi and trailer was turning onto a street when the accident happened. Witnesses told authorities that as the vehicle turned, Lebbs was underneath the rear tires of the trailer. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say alcohol use or speed do not appear to be factors in the crash.

Investigation Leads to Felony Weapons Charge for NP Man

Christopher Rosenberg
Christopher Rosenberg

A North Platte man is facing a felony weapons charge following a theft investigation by Police.

At around 3:30 pm on July 30, 2013, an officer with the North Platte Police Department (NPPD) responded to a reported theft in the 700 block of West B Street.  The residents told the responding Officer that they believed 29-year-old Christopher Rosenberg and a house guest had stolen property from them.

They told Police that jewelry and other personal items had been taken.  Additionally, they stated that a Hungary 9×18 handgun was also missing.

Through their investigation, Officers learned that the handgun had been seized during the service of a search warrant in the 900 block of  North Bailey in mid-July, and was being held in evidence at the Police Department.

Eventually, Investigators determined there was probable cause to arrest Rosenberg and charge him with being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, a Class 1D Felony.

Rosenberg was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

 

Kenneth Walter Huebner


huebner

Kenneth Walter Huebner, 92, long time businessman and civic leader of North Platte, passed away Saturday, August 10, 2013 at Denver, CO. He was born December 26, 1920 to Charles F. and Gertrude R. (Hinck) Huebner at Hershey, NE. After attending elementary school at Huebner School District 26 at Hershey, he graduated from Hershey High School in 1939. He then attended St. John’s Lutheran College in Winfield, KS, majoring in business. Following college he was employed at McDonald State Bank. He served in WWII in the US Army Air Corp in England, France and Germany. He was united in marriage to Aletha Laura Knapp on February 16, 1947, and was a devoted husband. They made their home in North Platte. To this union, four children were born. After the war Ken was employed at Flicker Packing Company, and then he and his brother, Ted, started their own business in 1951, Huebner Supply Company. He retired in 1990 but continued to work during the spring seasons. Ken served on the city council and was a two term Mayor in the 1960’s. He took an active, leadership role in many organizations, including the Hospital Board, Chamber of Commerce, Board of Public Works, Development Corporation, United Way, Salvation Army, Rotary and others. He was an active member of the Trinity Lutheran Church of Hershey, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church and a founding member the Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church. Survivors include his four sons, James K. (Sue) of North Platte, Thomas J. (Mollie) of Port Isabel, TX, Charles D. (Kathy) and Paul F. (Connie) both of North Platte; seven grandchildren, Sara (Andy) Johnson, Rebecca (Neil) Magnuson, Hannah Huebner, Adam Huebner, David (Amanda) Huebner, Samuel (Michelle Mostaed) Huebner, and Jesse Huebner; four great grandchildren, Abigail and Kenneth Johnson, and Titus and Silas Magnuson; siblings, Theodore C. Huebner of North Platte and Margaret (Gene) Myers of Bountiful, UT; sisters-in-law, Miriam, Lois and Helen Huebner, Virginia Knapp, Charlene (Bob) Hamilton and Karen (Mark) Boerger; many nieces, nephews and extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Aletha on December 31, 2006; and brothers, Eugene, Alfred and Robert. Memorials are suggested to Mission Central, located in Mapleton, IA or to the donor’s choice. Online condolences may be shared at www.carpentermemorial.com. Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Thursday, August 15, 2013 at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church with the Reverend Robert Deardoff officiating. Burial will be at Floral Lawns Memorial Gardens with military honors graveside. Visitation will be from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday at Carpenter Memorial Chapel, which is in charge of arrangements.

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