April 2014 – Page 60 – North Platte Post Archive

Gering Meat Packing Plant to Be Demolished

Posted on April 6, 2014April 6, 2014

(AP) — Gering officials are looking forward to the demolition of an idle meatpacking plant in the Nebraska Panhandle city.

The Swift Packerland building has been empty for about ten years and has long been considered unsafe.

Twin Cities Development Project Developer Mike Sarchet says city officials have been working with the building’s owner, JBS Swift, to have the building demolished for several years.

Asbestos removal has been scheduled and should be completed by June. After that the structure can be demolished.

Sarchet says he’s excited about the possibility of another business using that site once demolition is completed.

Rockets Rally for 130-125 OT Win over Denver

Posted on April 6, 2014

HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden had 32 points and Chandler Parsons scored eight points in overtime to lift the Houston Rockets to a 130-125 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.

Denver led by one in overtime when Houston made three consecutive 3-pointers to make it 130-122 with less than two minutes left. Parsons made the last two and high-fived with fans on the front row as he ran down the court after sinking the second one.

The Rockets trailed by eight late in regulation before using a 9-1 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Harden under heavy pressure from Randy Foye, to tie it at 117 with 7.1 seconds remaining.

Evan Fournier scored 26 points and Aaron Brooks added 24 points and 15 assists against his former team.

Philly Police: Tot, 2, Picks Up Gun, Kills Sister

Posted on April 6, 2014

(AP) — Philadelphia police say a 2-year-old got hold of a loaded gun and fatally shot his 11-year-old sister.

Police say the fatal bullet struck the girl’s shoulder and then traveled to her chest.

Lt. John Walker says the mother was home Saturday morning with four children in a master bedroom. Police say the shooting occurred when she left the room at about 10 a.m.

The girl was rushed to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, but died a short time later.

Police believe a male friend had brought the gun to the house that day.

Prosecutors are investigating to determine if any charges will be filed.

The shooting occurred in the city’s Mantua section.

Experts Decode Germs’ DNA to Fight Food Poisoning

Posted on April 6, 2014

(AP) — Chances are you’ve heard of mapping genes to diagnose rare diseases, predict your risk of cancer and tell your ancestry.

But to uncover food poisonings?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is beginning a program to outsmart food outbreaks by routinely decoding the bugs’ DNA.

First up is listeria, bacteria especially dangerous to pregnant women.

Federal and state officials are sequencing the genomes of all the listeria infections diagnosed in the U.S. this year, along with samples found in tainted foods or factories.

It’s the first time the technology has been used for routine disease surveillance — looking for people with matching strains who may have gotten sick from the same source.

CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden calls it a new, more precise way to find and fight infections.

Northeast Neb. Town May Lose Hospital

Posted on April 6, 2014

(AP) — A northeast Nebraska town may stop providing hospital services this summer because the Tilden Community Hospital has been losing $60,000 a month.

Tilden may convert the town’s hospital to an outpatient clinic and close the emergency room.

So Tilden residents might have to drive 22 miles east to Norfolk when they need a hospital.

Tilden hospital administrator Lon Knievel says he recommended the change to the city council because he thinks it’s the best option. But Knievel says he didn’t make the recommendation lightly.

Tilden residents received a letter last week explaining the proposed change.

Potato Inspectors Patrol Seed Stores in Nebraska

Posted on April 6, 2014

(AP) — Nebraska has three inspectors trying to make sure that potato seeds sold in the state are free of pests to protect growers.

Two of the inspectors from the state Department of Agriculture recently quarantined nine boxes of potato seeds at a Lincoln True Value hardware store

The store’s owners didn’t have paperwork needed to prove the seeds were free of the Columbia root-knot nematode worm. That pest eats the roots of plants like grasses, legumes and cereals.

Nebraska Agriculture Department spokesman Christin Kamm says the inspectors are part of the state’s efforts to protect the potato industry here.

Nebraska farmers only grow about 20,000 acres of potatoes each year, but the state provides potato seeds to the rest of the industry.

Trumbo, Diamondbacks Beat Rockies to Avert Sweep

Posted on April 6, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Mark Trumbo homered for the fourth straight game, and the Arizona Diamondbacks averted a sweep by beating Colorado 5-3 on Sunday.

Wade Miley pitched eight strong innings to extend his mastery over the Rockies. He also had a career-best three hits, including an RBI single and benefited from a defense that turned five double plays as the Diamondbacks won for just the second time in nine games this season.

Miley improved to 7-0 with a 2.52 ERA in 10 career games (nine starts) against the Rockies, matching the longest winning streak against Colorado to start a career.

The winning pitcher in Arizona’s only other victory this season, Miley (2-1) allowed two runs and seven hits.

Addison Reed gave up a leadoff single to Carlos Gonzalez in the ninth and Gonzalez stole second and went to third on catcher Miguel Montero’s throwing error. Troy Tulowitzki walked to put runners on the corners.

UConn and Kentucky for National Title

Posted on April 6, 2014

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Connecticut and Kentucky couldn’t have met in last year’s championship game and few people gave them a chance to be in this year’s.

But they are.

Seventh-seeded Connecticut and eighth-seeded Kentucky meet Monday night in the NCAA championship game.

Neither was around in last year’s postseason — Connecticut because of a tournament ban over academic issues; Kentucky because it didn’t make the field.

They both have made their presence felt this year on the way to an unlikely title game.

Connecticut (31-8) has brought defense to the forefront in a five-game run that has the Huskies within 40 minutes of their fourth national championship.

Kentucky has used late game heroics from Aaron Harrison, one of five freshmen starting for the Wildcats (29-10), who are looking for title No. 9.

Sale Shuts Down Royals as White Sox Win 5-1

Posted on April 6, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chris Sale gave up four singles in eight scoreless innings as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Sunday.

Alexei Ramirez and Tyler Flowers each drove in a pair of runs as the White Sox won the series finale after dropping the first two games.

Sale (2-0) struck out six and walked one. In his previous four starts against the Royals, the White Sox had backed him with one run, enough to beat James Shields 1-0 in the 2012 opener.

Shields (0-1) took the loss in this one, too, giving up a run on five hits, striking out six, walking none and hitting two batters in seven innings.

Final Four TV Viewership Down after Move to Cable

Posted on April 6, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — The Final Four’s television viewership is down after its move to cable.

The two NCAA semifinals Saturday averaged a total of 14 million viewers, an 11 percent decrease from last year’s games on CBS. That number included viewers of the main coverage on TBS along with the school-specific “TeamCasts” on TNT and truTV. Turner Sports and CBS did not receive network-by-network ratings breakdowns from Nielsen.

TBS is in about 14 percent fewer homes than CBS.

This was the first time the semifinals were on cable. Turner and CBS are in the fourth season of a 14-year, $10.8 billion deal to jointly broadcast the tournament. Monday’s title game will be on CBS.