April 2014 – North Platte Post Archive

Playoff Panel Weekly Top 25 Starting Oct. 28

Posted on April 30, 2014April 30, 2014

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The college football playoff selection committee will release a weekly top 25, starting Oct. 28, and panel members will be required to recuse themselves when a school they work for comes up for discussion.

The selection committee will use the same voting procedure and recusal policy as the committee that chooses the 68-team field for NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

The 13-member panel, which includes five current athletic directors, will meet in person and the rankings will be released on Tuesday nights on ESPN.

The committee will chose and seed the four teams that will play in the national semifinal and pick some of the other teams that will play in the four other marquee New Year’s bowls.

NCAA Files Motions That Could Delay O’Bannon Trial

Posted on April 30, 2014

The NCAA has filed a flurry of motions in federal courts, seeking rulings that could delay the start of the landmark antitrust lawsuit brought by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon and others.

The latest filings target both the judge assigned to the case and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on issues that are at the center of the trial, now scheduled to begin June 9 in federal court in Oakland, Calif. Among them is a request for U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken to reconsider an earlier ruling that the NCAA cannot use the defense that money from big revenue sports like football and basketball is used to fund smaller sports and women’s sports.

Other filings ask for the 9th Circuit to give the NCAA permission to appeal the class action certification decision earlier by Wilken, and for any litigation over the video game portion of the case to be either severed or for the trial to be postponed until a reputed $40 million settlement reached last year between the plaintiffs and EA Sports and others is finalized.

California Chrome Made 5-2 Derby Favorite

Posted on April 30, 2014

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — California Chrome has been made the early 5-2 favorite for the 140th Kentucky Derby, with Hopportunity the second choice in the full field of 20 horses.

Trained by 77-year-old Art Sherman, California Chrome drew the No. 5 post on Wednesday. Eight horses have won from there, most recently Funny Cide in 2003. Sherman could become the oldest trainer to win the Derby, surpassing Charlie Whittingham’s mark of 76 when Sunday Silence won in 1989.

Hopportunity drew the No. 11 post and is 6-1 for the race Saturday at Churchill Downs. He’s trained by Bob Baffert, a three-time Derby winner.

Wicked Strong, named for the victims of last year’s Boston Marathon bombings, is the 8-1 third choice and will break from the 20th post on the far outside.

Danza is the 10-1 fourth choice and drew the No. 4 post.

NY Couple Killed by Train Ruled Murder-Suicide

Posted on April 30, 2014April 30, 2014

(AP) — New York state police say the deaths of a couple standing together in front of a freight train was a murder-suicide, but investigators can’t say when Earl Myatt Jr. decided to drive his beloved wife of 42 years to the railroad crossing.

Relatives have said Myatt became despondent after his wife, Mary, suffered a brain aneurism in January that left her with the mental capacity of a toddler.

Troopers said Earl Myatt called one of his sons and apologized two minutes before stepping with his wife onto tracks into the path of an oncoming CSX Railroad freight train on Sunday.

Police said video showed them waiting on the tracks before they were hit and killed. A suicide note was found in Myatt’s car.

Kansas Horse with Equine Herpes Virus Euthanized

Posted on April 30, 2014April 30, 2014

(AP) — A horse in northeast Kansas has tested positive for equine herpes virus after participating in a barrel racing event in Nebraska.

Kansas Animal Health Commissioner Bill Brown said Tuesday the horse was euthanized and samples were sent to a laboratory, where tests showed lesions consistent with EHV-1. Additional testing in Kentucky confirmed the horse had the virus.

The horse participated in a competition in Lincoln, Neb., in mid-April. A few days later a Wisconsin horse also was confirmed with the virus and euthanized.

The virus is easily spread by airborne transmission, horse-to-horse contact and contact with nasal secretions on equipment, tack, feed and other surfaces.

Kansas agriculture officials are not imposing any restrictions on equine events but encourage horse owners to take precautionary measures.

Lincoln Man Imprisoned for Child Sex Assaults

Posted on April 30, 2014April 30, 2014

(AP) — A 40-year-old Lincoln man has been sent to prison for sexually assaulting a child.

Online court records say Jose Martinez on Tuesday was given 25 to 40 years in prison and credited for 275 days served. Martinez had pleaded no contest to sexual assault of a minor.

Court documents say a girl was 15 a year ago when her mother told officers that she’d caught Martinez assaulting her daughter. The girl reported that Martinez started assaulting her when she was 11.

Mid-Plains United Way to Host ‘Taste of the Plains’

Posted on April 30, 2014

There’s very little we humans like to do more than fill our bellies. Tomorrow, you can do just that, all while supporting a great cause.

The Mid-Plains United way is sponsoring “Taste of the Plains.”

The event will offer tasty samples of foods, beverages and desserts from area vendors. Organizers say vendors from McCook, Lexington, Sutherland, Paxton, Gothenburg and North Platte will be on hand to tantalize your taste buds.

Additionally, attendees will be able to view the works of local artists and bid on silent auction items, including Husker football tickets, a gym membership, personal training an much more.

The event will be held Thursday, May 1, at the Holiday Inn Express from 5:30-8:00 p.m.

Tickets are $25, and can be purchased in advance or at the door.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, call 308-532-8870 or stop by the Mid-Plains United Way office on the 2nd floor of the Wells Fargo Building, 315 North Dewey, Suite 203B.

All proceeds from the event go to support Mid-Plains United Way funded agencies.

Omaha Police Investigate Armed Bank Robbery

Posted on April 30, 2014

(AP) — Omaha police are investigating an armed bank robbery in northwest Omaha.

Police say in a news release that officers were called to a US Bank branch at 89th and Maple streets late Wednesday morning.

Bank employees told police that three people entered the bank, displayed firearms and demanded money. Witnesses say one of the suspects assaulted two bank employees during the robbery. Police say after getting an undetermined amount of cash, the suspects fled on foot to the south.

No arrests have been made.

Omaha Crime Stoppers, in partnership with the local bankers association, offers up to a $25,000 cash reward for information leading to the arrest of bank robbery suspects.

Papillion Woman Accused of Embezzling $136K from Bank

Posted on April 30, 2014

(AP) — A 41-year-old suburban Omaha woman has been accused of embezzling nearly $136,000 while working at a bank.

Federal records say Amy Fisher, of Papillion, is accused of thefts that occurred from September 2012 through March this year. Prosecutors say in court documents that Fisher took the money from several customers’ Bank of the West accounts.

Fisher didn’t immediately respond to a call Wednesday from The Associated Press. Online court records don’t list an attorney for her.

Her initial court appearance is scheduled for May 28.

Omaha Bomb Experts Clear Truck at Offutt AFB

Posted on April 30, 2014

(AP) — Omaha police bomb experts have found nothing alarming on a truck that was halted at nearby Offutt Air Force Base.

A news release from the 55th Wing Public Affairs office says a military dog checking vehicles around 4:15 a.m. Wednesday at the base’s south gate alerted its handler to the possible presence of explosives. The base requested aid from Omaha police and closed the gate. The base sits on the south side of the southern Omaha suburb of Bellevue.

The Air Force says the Omaha bomb unit found no explosives on the commercial delivery truck, and the gate was reopened.