March 2014 – Page 22 – North Platte Post Archive

Nebraska Medicaid Bill Dead, But Debate Not Over

Posted on March 23, 2014

(AP) — Nebraska’s latest attempt to expand Medicaid may have died this year, but the issue is certain survive through the November elections and beyond.

Opponents succeeded last week in blocking the measure with a legislative filibuster. Supporters plan to regroup and look at other options.

Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln is the bill’s the lead sponsor. She says she plans to talk with Nebraska’s next governor about Medicaid proposals, as well as the new state senators who will replace 17 term-limited lawmakers in 2015.

Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha says he believes pressure on lawmakers will increase once the state starts to experience the consequences of the decision, including possible hospital closures and federal tax penalties for small businesses.

Opponents say they’ll continue to fight any expansion efforts in Nebraska.

Police Find 2 Missing Lincoln Teens in Florida

Posted on March 23, 2014March 23, 2014

(AP) — Two missing 16-year-old Nebraska girls have been found in Florida.

Racheal Bates and Samantha Zuerlein were found Sunday morning sleeping in a 1997 Lincoln Continental on the streets of Titusville, Fla.

They were last seen on March 15.

Lincoln Police Capt. David Beggs says the girls are physically OK, but Titusville police are holding them until their parents can make arrangements to pick them up. And their mental health is being evaluated.

Teresa Zuerlein says it was a huge relief to learn Sunday that her daughter is OK. Zuerlein says she’s surprised the girls made it all the way to Florida and kept on the move.

Bugs Resistant to Genetically Modified Corn Found

Posted on March 23, 2014

(AP) — Researchers say bugs are developing resistance to the widely popular genetically engineered corn plants that make their own insecticide, so farmers may have to make changes.

Cases of rootworms eating roots of so-called Bt corn have been confirmed in Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota and Minnesota.

Iowa State University researchers say rootworms have developed resistance to two of the four genetic traits in corn plants that are engineered to kill rootworms.

Iowa State professor Aaron Gassmann says the problem isn’t widespread yet, but farmers and seed companies should consider changing their approaches to pest control.

In areas where Bt corn has failed to control rootworms, farmers turned to insecticides. The USDA says 76 percent of all corn planted last year was Bt corn.

Locals Love it as MLB Makes Quick Trip Down Under

Posted on March 23, 2014

SYDNEY (AP) — Yasiel Puig and Paul Goldschmidt hadn’t left the stadium before workers began dismantling what was quite an impressive place to play baseball.

For a week, at least.

Home plate was dug up, the pitcher’s mound flattened and the eight-foot-high perimeter home run fence taken down within an hour after Puig’s Los Angeles Dodgers beat Goldschmidt’s Arizona Diamondbacks 7-5 Sunday.

It was a two-game Dodgers’ sweep of Major League Baseball’s opening weekend at Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw won the Saturday opener 3-1, sending the Diamondbacks back to the U.S. 0-2 to start the season and with the L.A. team holding a very early two-game lead in the AL West over their Arizona adversaries.

The regular season will resume next weekend for both teams, with a few exhibition games scheduled this week while they recover from jet lag after the 15-hour flights Down Under and back.

The cricket ground, and Australian baseball fans, meanwhile, may never be the same.

Nearly 80,000 fans attended the weekend games at the 162-year-old ground in leafy Moore Park, minutes from downtown Sydney.

Clearly, sports-mad Australia loved having the world’s best baseball players in Sydney. So did their rugby, cricket, soccer and Aussie Rules football stars who took time to mingle with Kershaw and Puig, among others, for photo shoots.

It was a mutual admiration society, with Kershaw posing on his birthday with a kangaroo and kicking around a rugby ball on the eve of his opener. Puig and Goldschmidt even tried their hand at cricket.

Cracker Jack and two-foot-long hotdogs became part of the menu at the SCG snack bars, and MLB commissioner Bud Selig was non-committal about a return to Australia in the near future.

Australian fans might like to see it sooner than later. Never were foul balls into the stands more heartily cheered, because they could keep them. In cricket, where balls are changed only after a predetermined amount of play, they must be returned to the field.

“This event was outstanding, really cool,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “The crowds were great. The preparation from the city of Sydney was outstanding. They treated us well.”

Mattingly says a concern after the teams return to the U.S. will be avoiding complacency. They’ll have a few days off, then three exhibition games before returning to the regular season next Sunday for a three-game series in San Diego.

“My biggest fear is when you start games, games that don’t count are tough to get ready to play,” he said. “And then you get lazy and you get bad habits. That’s what I will try to fight.”

Regardless, Mattingly loved his Australian experience.

“Your team kind of comes together on a trip because you really don’t know anyone else,” he said. “We document how far you’ve got to go, and how it changes our schedule, but at the end of the day you look back on it as a memory you don’t really forget.”

Gamblers Score Four In First, Hold Off Storm

Posted on March 23, 2014

KEARNEY, Neb. – Four first period goals gave the Green Bay Gamblers (26-22-6) an early lead to knock off the Tri-City Storm (19-33-3) 5-2 at the Viaero Event Center on Saturday night.

Both Storm goals were USHL firsts, as affiliate player Jake Wahlin scored in the opening period and defenseman Grant Hutton was credited with a tally in the second.

Wahlin got Tri-City on the board and secured an early lead, scoring at 4:37 of the first frame. The play was started by Garrett Gamez, who completed a give-and-go play with Cody Milan and found the affiliate forward open in front of the net for a tap-in goal.

Green Bay responded quickly however, as Aaron O’Neill scored his first goal of the season 21 seconds later to tie the game at 1-1.

The Gamblers scored three more times in the first to take a 4-1 lead. Goals were tallied by forwards Dawson Cook, Ryan Lough and Ryan Siroky.

Tri-City pulled within two in the second when Hutton scored his first in his 15th USHL game after he was acquired at the trade deadline.

The Storm outshot Green Bay 27-13 in the final 40 minutes, but couldn’t get any closer.

The final goal was netted by Nick Schmaltz and it secured the 5-2 victory for the Gamblers.

Hayden Lavigne got the start in net for Tri-City and finished with 24 saves, while Cam Hacket picked up the win for Green Bay with 33 stops.

Tri-City will now hit the road for four games over the next two weekends in Fargo, Sioux City and Green Bay. The series with the Force at Scheels Arena starts on Friday night at 7:05 p.m.

The Storm’s final home game is scheduled for April 5 against Lincoln at 7:05 p.m.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Nolan Aibel, Drew Mayer, Joey DiBenedetto, Nick Hutchison and Patrick Curry, along with defensemen Cutler Martin, Sean Lang, Fredric Larsson, Tory Dello and goaltender Jacob Johansson…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Tri-City – Jake Wahlin (Garrett Gamez, Cody Milan) 4:37
Green Bay – Aaron O’Neill (Jordan Gross) 4:58
Green Bay – Dawson Cook (Matthew Weis, Nick Schmaltz) 6:13

Green Bay – Ryan Lough (Matthew Weis) 13:09

Green Bay – Ryan Siroky (Drew Best) 19:28

2nd Period

Tri-City – Grant Hutton (Garrett Gamez, Cody Milan) 14:20

3rd Period

Green Bay – Nick Schmaltz (power play) (Matthew Weis, Connor Hurley) 11:48

PENALTIES

1st Period

Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 8:54
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Checking From Behind) (Misconduct), 10 min, 8:54
Tri-City – Dan Labosky – (Interference), 2 min, 14:48
Green Bay – Nick Schmaltz – (Hooking), 2 min, 15:39

2nd Period

Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Checking From Behind), 5 min, 2:36
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Checking From Behind) (Misconduct), 10 min, 2:36
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Fighting), 5 min, 2:36
Green Bay – Jordan Gross – (Fighting), 5 min, 2:36
Green Bay – Jordan Gross – (Fighting) (Instigator), 2 min, 2:36
Green Bay – Jordan Gross – (Fighting) (Instigator) (Game Ejection), 10 min, 2:36
Green Bay – Patrick Polino – (Tripping), 2 min, 8:35
Tri-City – Matthew Freytag – (Head Contact), 2 min, 16:53
Tri-City – Kevin Kerr – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 18:26
Green Bay – Dawson Cook – (Interference), 2 min, 19:59

3rd Period

Green Bay – Dawson Cook – (Elbowing), 2 min, 9:42
Tri-City – Daniel Fritz – (Interference), 2 min, 11:15
Tri-City – Kevin Kerr – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 19:00

Power Play

Green Bay –1/7

Tri-City – 0/4

Shots

Green Bay: 16, 9, 4, = Total: 29
Tri-City: 8, 19, 8, = Total: 35

Saves

Green Bay – Cam Hackett – 33/35
Tri-City – Hayden Lavigne – 24/29

Few Omaha Gay Rights Complaints Filed

Posted on March 22, 2014

(AP) — Two years after the city of Omaha adopted an ordinance aimed at protecting the workplace rights of gay and transgender employees, only a handful of complaints have been filed with the city’s Human Rights and Relationship Department.

City officials say they have not received many calls from business owners looking for help or clarification about the law, and they’re not aware of any lawsuits tied to the ordinance.

The Omaha City Council narrowly approved the ordinance in March 2012 that bans employers, job-training programs, labor groups and other organizations from discriminating based on a person’s sexual orientation. The measure included exemptions for religious organizations.

Lincoln Resident, Home Association Clash Over Car

Posted on March 22, 2014

(AP) — A Lincoln resident and his homeowners association are duking it out in court over whether the man can park his car in his driveway, or whether he has to pull it into his garage.

The fight began when the Bishop Square homeowners association attempted to have Matt Catlett’s BMW towed from his own driveway in 2012. The homeowners association says its covenant requires residents in the Lincoln development to park their cars inside their garages, and that Catlett had been warned to do so.

A judge this week issued a Solomon-like ruling on the spat, saying the covenant bars Bishop Square residents from routinely parking in the driveway. But she also prohibited the association from towing any vehicles parked in residents’ private drives.

Man Won’t Face Death Penalty in Fatal Neb. Shooting

Posted on March 22, 2014

raymond-frank-gonzales — Raymond Frank Gonzales

(AP) — A man charged in connection with the death of a South Sioux City woman in northeast Nebraska will not face the death penalty.

Prosecutors in February had filed documents indicating they would seek the death penalty for 22-year-old Raymond Frank Gonzalez. He is accused of shooting 28-year-old Bonnie Baker to death. She was found Dec. 15 in a mobile home park.

Prosecutors rescinded the death penalty request. They would not discuss what prompted the change with reporters.

Gonzales has denied shooting Baker. Two others also face charges.

Gonzales’ trial is set to begin July 15 in Dakota County District Court. He faces a life sentence if convicted of first-degree murder.

Authorities ID Neb. Grain Worker Killed in Accident

Posted on March 22, 2014

(AP) — Authorities have identified a grain elevator worker killed in a southeast Nebraska anhydrous ammonia explosion.

Johnson County Attorney Julie Smith says 63-year-old John Bennett, of Greenwood, was killed in the Thursday night blast at the Tecumseh branch of the Midwest Farmer’s Co-Op.

A 911 call reported the explosion around 6 p.m. Thursday. Rescue crews took Bennett and another worker to a local hospital, where Bennett later died.

Two others, including a sheriff’s deputy, were treated for non-life threatening injuries or exposure to anhydrous ammonia.

Anhydrous ammonia is used by farmers as fertilizer. The colorless gas can burn the eyes, throat and damage lung tissue at high exposures.

Nuggets’ Hickson Out for Season with Knee Injury

Posted on March 22, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Nuggets forward J.J. Hickson has a torn ligament in his right knee, general manager Tim Connelly said Saturday.

A date for surgery to repair the ACL hasn’t been set.

Hickson is the fourth Denver player lost for the season to injury. Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee and Nate Robinson have all undergone season-ending operations.

Hickson was injured early in the fourth quarter of Denver’s 122-106 loss at Dallas on Friday night.

The 25-year-old Hickson went down along the baseline, got up and went straight to the locker room with 8:10 remaining in the game. Hickson was leading the Nuggets with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Hickson joined the Nuggets as a free agent last summer. He averaged 11.8 points and a team-best 9.2 rebounds in 69 games. He also posted a team-best 26 double-doubles.