April 2014 – Page 7 – North Platte Post Archive

Nebraska Governor Candidate Bios

Posted on April 28, 2014April 29, 2014

By the Associated Press

Name: Jon Bruning

Age: 44 (TURNS 45 ON WEDNESDAY. DOB is 4/30/69)

Home: Lincoln

Political Party: Republican

Occupation: Attorney general

Public offices held: Attorney general, state senator

Education: B.A. and law degree, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Family: Wife, Deonne; two children.

Faith: United Methodist

Website: https://www.jonbruning.com/

Name: Tom Carlson

Age: 72

Home: Holdrege

Political Party: Republican

Occupation: Nebraska state senator, retired financial adviser

Public offices held: State senator

Education: B.S., M.S., University of Northern Colorado; PhD, University of Iowa

Family: Wife, Margo; three children

Faith: Evangelical

Website: https://tomcarlsonforgovernor.com/

Name: Mike Foley

Age: 60

Home: Lincoln

Political Party: Republican

Occupation: State auditor

Public offices held: State auditor; Nebraska state senator

Education: B.S., State University of New York at Brockport; MBA, Michigan State University

Family: Wife, Susan; six children

Faith: Catholic

Website: https://www.mikefoleyforgovernor.com/

Name: Beau McCoy

Age: 33

Home: Omaha

Political Party: Republican

Occupation: Nebraska state senator, owner of home-roofing business

Public offices held: State senator

Education: B.A., Bellevue University

Family: Wife, Shauna; five children

Faith: Baptist

Website: https://www.beauforgovernor.com/

Name: Pete Ricketts

Age: 49

Home: Omaha

Political Party: Republican

Occupation: Angel investor, part-owner of Chicago Cubs baseball team, former TD Ameritrade executive

Public offices held: None

Education: B.S., M.B.A., University of Chicago

Family: Married; three children

Faith: Catholic

Website: https://petericketts.com

Name: Bryan Slone

Age: 56

Home: Omaha

Political Party: Republican

Occupation: Former tax attorney, CPA

Public offices held: None

Education: B.S., law degree, University of Nebraska

Family: Wife, Leslie; two children

Faith: Methodist

Website: https://sloneforgovernor.com/

Name: Chuck Hassebrook

Age: 59

Home: Lyons

Political Party: Democrat

Occupation: Former director, Center for Rural Affairs

Public offices held: University of Nebraska regent

Education: Bachelor’s Degree, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Family: Wife, Kate; two children

Faith: Lutheran

Website: https://www.chuckhassebrook.com/

Justice Department to Collect Data on Stops, Arrests

Posted on April 28, 2014

(AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder says the Justice Department plans to collect data on police stops, searches and arrests in an effort to study racial bias in law enforcement.

Holder said in a video message Monday that the data will be collected in five pilot cities over two years as part of a new initiative called the National Center for Building Community Trust and Justice. He said racial disparities in the criminal justice system “breed resentment” toward law enforcement.

The $4.75 million project will be funded through grants; the cities will be named later.

After the acquittal of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the Florida death of Trayvon Martin, President Barack Obama directed the Justice Department to work with local law enforcement to help ease tensions between police and minorities.

Authorities ID Nebraska Crash Victims

Posted on April 28, 2014April 28, 2014

(AP) — Authorities have released the names of a motorcyclist who was killed and a car driver who was injured in a collision on U.S. Highway 30 just east of Grand Island.

The accident occurred just after 4 p.m. Sunday. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office says the motorcycle was headed east when it struck the driver’s side of a northbound car that was turning left onto the highway at Gunbarrel Road.

The motorcycle driver was pronounced dead at the scene. On Monday the Sheriff’s Office identified him as 52-year-old Rodney Beckman, of Marquette.

The car driver was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island. She was identified as 59-year-old Constance Baasch, of Grand Island. Her injuries were considered non-life-threatening.

Utah Woman Accused of Killing 6 Babies Charges

Posted on April 28, 2014

(AP) — Prosecutors have filed six first-degree murder charges against a Utah woman accused of killing six babies after giving birth to them, and keeping their bodies in boxes in her garage.

The charges were filed Monday morning shortly before 39-year-old Megan Huntsman appeared in court for the second time. She was informed of the charges during the brief hearing.

Prosecutors say Huntsman is the only suspect in the deaths of the babies. They say a seventh dead infant found in the garage appears to have been stillborn.

Investigators believe Huntsman’s estranged husband, Darren West, is the babies’ father, though they are awaiting DNA results to confirm that. West is not a suspect.

Huntsman is being held on $6 million bail.

Authorities say they think they know her motive, but they have declined to reveal it publicly.

University of Nebraska Chief Leaving for NY Job

Posted on April 28, 2014

(AP) — University of Nebraska President J.B. Milliken will be stepping down on Friday before stepping up to his next challenge as chancellor of City University of New York.

Milliken announced in January that he’d accepted the new job, leaving the Nebraska post he’s held since 2004.

The move is a continuation of the intellectual awakening Milliken underwent as a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

When Milliken returned to the Nebraska system, it was coming off four years of double-digit tuition increases totaling 47 percent. He’s helped slow the rate of increases to an average annual rate of 4.2 percent over the last decade.

Milliken says he’s “always been a big believer that affordable access is priority No. 1 of public universities.”

Consolidation Costs Nebraska Town Its School

Posted on April 28, 2014

(AP) — It’s a year of “lasts” for Newcastle High School in northeast Nebraska.

The last prom, the last set of finals, the last high school graduation in the village of 325 people.

Newcastle officials have been struggling with declining enrollment and so have agreed to consolidate the district with the Hartington district. The merger is expected to be approved Tuesday during a meeting of the State Committee for the Reorganization of School Districts in Lincoln.

The plan for next year has students from fifth grade through high school attending school in Hartington, 28 miles away. Hartington administrators have said students from prekindergarten through fourth grade will remain at Newcastle for at least for a year. Beyond that, it’s uncertain.

NSAA Announces 2014 Oustanding Service Awards, Hershey’s Rotert Honored

Posted on April 28, 2014

The NSAA Outstanding Service Award is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to a Specific NSAA Activity – The recipients of this year’s award are the first three of six Music Coordinators who are selected by each NSAA District Managing committee to represent their district on the State Music Coordinators Advisory Committee.

District Music Coordinators’ perform a key role in the planning, oversight and management of our NSAA District Music Contests. Their responsibilities include: recruiting host contest sites/directors, assigning schools within each district to those sites and contest budgetary considerations. They are full time educators and music directors for their own music programs who in addition dedicate their time, talent and efforts throughout the school year to making district music contests a valuable experience for our association.

Jim Kucera of Waverly Public Schools

Jim Kucera is currently in his thirteenth year as Middle School Instrumental Music Director, and Assistant High School Marching Band/Varsity Band/Jazz Band Director at Waverly Public Schools. He was previously the Director of Bands at Nemaha Valley Schools for eleven years. Jim is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he received both his Bachelor’s of Music Education degree and Master’s degree in Education.

Jim’s professional affiliations and activities include the National Association for Music Education, Nebraska Music Educators, Nebraska State Bandmasters Association, Jazz Education Network, Waverly Education Association, Nebraska State Educator’s Association, National Educator’s Association and National Association of Secondary Schools Principals. Jim has served as NSAA Music Coordinator for the District One Managing Committee and *fifty two high schools in that district since 1995.

Jim received the Jack Snider Outstanding Young Band Director Award in 1992 and the Horace Mann Crystal Apple Educator Award in 2007. He is active in the community with American Legion Baseball and is a founder of “Friends of Baseball.” An organization devoted to raising funds, writing grants and gaining sponsors to make baseball better for the youth of Waverly.

Doran Johnson of Omaha Westside High School

Doran Johnson is currently in his sixteenth year as the Choral Director and Department Chair at Westside High School in Omaha. Previously he was the Choral Director at Gundy Center Middle/High School in Gundy Center, Iowa. He received his Bachelors in Music Education from University of Northern Iowa and his Masters of Music at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Doran’s professional Affiliations and associations include Nebraska Music Educators Association, NAfME, American Choral Directors Association and Nebraska Choral Directors Association, and Nebraska Music Educators Association’s Chair of Choral Affairs. Doran has served as NSAA Music Coordinator for District Two Managing Committee and the *eighty high schools in that district since 2006.

Doran received the 2012 Nebraska Music Educator of the Year Award and the Schrager Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2008.

Teresa Rotert of Hershey Public Schools

Teresa Rotert is in her twenty-fourth year as the K-12 Vocal Music Director at Hershey Public Schools and is also the Girls Golf Coach and Quiz Bowl Coach. Prior to her present position at Hershey she taught music at Paxton and Sutherland in Nebraska. Teresa earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Kearney State College.

Teresa ‘s professional Affiliations and Associations include the National Association for Music Educators, Nebraska Music Educators Association, Nebraska Choral Directors Association, American Choral Directors Association. She has served as a site host for “Sing Around Nebraska” since 1998. She has served as NSAA Music Coordinator for the District Four Managing Committee and *fifty six high schools in that district since 2006.

Teresa was selected as the VFW District IV Teacher of the Year in 2007, American Legion Elementary Teacher of the Year in 2008 and received the NMEA 31 Year Certificate as a music educator in Nebraska this past fall.

These honorees have made significant impact in their resepctive schools and communities. The NSAA is extremely appreciative to these educators and the role they have in high school activities.

*School numbers refer to 2011-2013 NSAA District Music Contest Participating member schools.

Accused NP Child Molester Pleads Not Guilty

Posted on April 28, 2014

A North Platte man accused of sexually assaulting a young girl multiple times has entered a not guilty plea.

Wendell Matthews appeared in Lincoln County District Court on Monday for arraignment.

Prosecutors say North Platte Police received a report of a sexual assault of a child in December of 2013.

It was alleged that Matthews had sexual intercourse with a now 10-year-old girl, when she was between the ages of 7 and 8.

The incidents reportedly occurred at the victim’s home, on multiple occasions, when she was alone with Matthews.

Following an investigation, Matthews was arrested in February and charged with 1st degree sexual assault of a child.

He faces 20 years to life in prison, if convicted, and will be back in court for a status hearing on June 23.

Matthews is currently free on bond.

Justice Store to Open at Platte River Mall

Posted on April 28, 2014April 28, 2014

Shopping at the Platte River Mall will soon be more awesome, especially if you’re a Tween.

DP Management representatives announced today that Tweebrands will be opening a Justice store in the mall.

According to a news release, Justice is a store that serves tween girls, ages 7-14, with sizes including 6-20.

The store will be contained in 3500 square feet at the south end of the mall near Bath and Body Works.

Justice, which also has stores Grand Island and Lincoln, claims to be the “leading retailer in tween girl’s fashion.” They operate 950 stores nationwide.

Mall manager, Clarine Eickhoff, says she is excited to scratch this store off her Wish List.

“You anxiously wait until opening day and then you can breath a little easier,” Eickhoff said. “Justice has been a part of our property’s plan, and we are pleased that our leasing agents and ownership could accomplish it.”

Eickhoff said the addition of Justice, the mall is 94% occupied with regionals and nationals, and almost 99% occupied with a mix of locally owned specialty shops.

If you’re interested in working at Justice, fill out a candidate profile at career.tweenbrands.com.

Eickhoff says the store is slated to open in June.

NP Man Charged in Machete Attack Gets Prison

Posted on April 28, 2014April 28, 2014

A 35-year-old North Platte man has been sentenced to prison for attacking a father and son with a machete.

George Trejo appeared in Lincoln County District Court on Monday for sentencing.

Prosecutors say Trejo attacked 55-year-old Richard Cooper and his son, 27-year-old Richard Beck, with a machete last July in the 1400 block of East 12th Street.

Cooper sustained cuts to his face and forehead, and a broken bone in his face. Beck was cut on the face and hand when he tried to stop Trejo’s attack on his father.

Deputy Lincoln County Attorney, Jennifer Wellan, said, as part of a plea agreement, she would ask that the sentences be served concurrently and dismiss two charges. However, she said that, due to the extremely violent nature of the crime, a penitentiary sentence was warranted.

Wellan said the victim’s injuries were serious, and one of them will never regain full use of their hand.

Trejo’s attorney, Amanda Speichert, asked Judge Richard Birch to consider that Trejo had saved the state the time and expense of a trial by entering a plea.

She also pointed out that the machete allegedly used in the attack had never been found.

Trejo then told the court that he was extremely sorry for his actions, and that he “never meant for it to happen like this.”

Judge Birch then sentenced Trejo to 5 to 10 years for 1st degree assault, and 2-4 years for use of a weapon to commit a felony.

The sentences will be served concurrently.