April 2014 – Page 70 – North Platte Post Archive

$100K Gift to Aid UNL Center Holocaust Studies

Posted on April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

(AP) — A gift to the Harris Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will aid in the study of methods for teaching about the Holocaust and intolerance.

Nebraska alumni and siblings Peter Sommerhauser, of Milwaukee, and Eileen Sommerhauser Putter, of Seattle, donated $100,000 to the University of Nebraska Foundation to establish the Lou Sommerhauser Fund for Holocaust Education. The fund will provide annual resources to the Harris Center.

The Sommerhauser family provided the money to honor their father, Lou Sommerhauser, and their grandparents, Albert and Babette Sommerhauser, who died in a Nazi concentration camp.

Lincoln Man Gets Jail for Park Beating

Posted on April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

(AP) — A 19-year-old Lincoln man has been given jail time for beating a person who was trying to buy drugs from him.

A judge sentenced Mahir Jejna on Wednesday in Lancaster County District Court to a year each on charges of third-degree assault and aiding and abetting theft by unlawful taking. He will serve the sentences concurrently.

Authorities say Jejna attacked a man at a park last July who was buying marijuana from him. Jejna is accused of grabbing the victim’s neck and punching him. Another man with Jejna allegedly stole the victim’s phone.

Jejna later pleaded no contest to the charges.

Nebraska is New Front in Battle for Control of GOP

Posted on April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

(AP) — Compared with the acrimonious primary campaigns elsewhere, the race for the GOP Senate nomination in Nebraska sounds like two nice guys running for local Rotary Club president.

But make no mistake, Nebraska is a new front in the bitter national struggle inside the Republican Party between established leaders determined to maintain control and right-wing insurgents trying to change the party’s direction.

Behind the public geniality, party powerbrokers including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his allies are quietly backing Shane Osborn, a Navy veteran best known as the pilot of an American spy plane forced down by the Chinese military in 2001. They are steering donors his way.

Tea party groups are endorsing Ben Sasse, the president of Midland University in Fremont, and sending him contributions, too.

Mountain Lion Hunting Survives Neb. Veto Override

Posted on April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

(AP) — Supporters of a bill to outlaw mountain lion hunting in Nebraska have failed to override Gov. Dave Heineman’s veto.

Lawmakers fell six votes short Wednesday of the 30 needed for an override. Heineman rejected the bill last week, saying the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission should have the power to manage the animals.

Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha argues that cougars pose no real threat to humans — and if they did, state law already allows people to kill them to defend themselves or their property.

The state approved mountain lion hunting in 2012, while Chambers was briefly out of office because of term limits.

Chambers introduced a motion Wednesday to reconsider the vote so that lawmakers might revisit the issue this year.

Buffett Gives UNL Chancellor Twitter Advice

Posted on April 2, 2014April 2, 2014

(AP) — University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman is turning to billionaire Warren Buffett for advice on Twitter even though the investor has only sent five tweets.

Buffett appeared Wednesday in one of Perlman’s “Perls of Knowledge” videos that showcase the chancellor’s silly side while promoting Buffett’s alma mater.

In the video posted online at https://perlsofknowledge.unl.edu Buffett takes a break from grading losing entries in his $1 billion NCAA basketball bracket contest to talk to Perlman.

Buffett tells Perlman to go with kittens in his tweet because the cat market is up.

These new videos are supposedly revealing who has been helping Perlman succeed on social media. In previous videos, Perlman offered his thoughts on the zombie apocalypse, the expression “YOLO” and UNL’s skateboarding professor.

Water Released from Lake McConaughy to Benefit Whooping Cranes

Posted on April 2, 2014

(AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun releasing water into the Platte River from Lake McConaughy in an effort to benefit endangered whooping cranes during their migration stopover in central Nebraska.

The releases started Saturday and are expected to continue until May 10. They should increase flows from Overton to Grand Island to about 1,700 cubic feet per second.

That is the minimum flow in a dry year that the wildlife agency believes is necessary to maintain adequate roosting and feeding habitat for whooping cranes.

The whooping crane is one of the rarest bird species in North America. It stands nearly 5 feet tall and has a wingspan of up to 7 feet. Whooping cranes are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Lincoln Man Drops Lawsuit on City’s Dog Law

Posted on April 2, 2014

(AP) — A Lincoln man has dropped his lawsuit challenging the city’s eviction of his dog based on an ordinance that bans wolf-dog crossbreeds.

Alex Kaftan filed to have the petition dismissed Friday.

In February, Kaftan was forced to move his dog, Mars, outside the city because of the city’s ban. Mars is a Czechoslovakian vlcak (VUHL’-chak), a breed created in 1955 by crossing German shepherds with Carpathian wolves. The breed is now self-propagating and recognized by the American Kennel Club. Neither of Mars’ parents was a wolf.

Kaftan’s attorney, Misty Christo, says Kaftan may ask the City Council to amend the hybrid definition so it doesn’t inadvertently ban the entire Czechoslovakian vlcak breed from the city.

Heineman Signs Tax Relief Bills Into Law

Posted on April 2, 2014

(AP) — Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has signed a series of tax relief measures into law, and he says the bills passed this year will amount to $412 million in tax reductions over the next five years.

Heineman announced Wednesday that he has approved five tax bills. He expects to sign a sixth this week.

The new laws include an indexing measure to ensure tax brackets keep pace with inflation, a sales tax exemption on farm machinery, a $25 million increase to Nebraska’s property tax credit program and two laws that would expand homestead exemptions.

The sixth bill is a sales tax exemption for purchases made by historic car museums.

Sen. Galen Hadley, chairman of the Revenue Committee, says he wants to work next year on the way farmland is taxed.

Neb. Nuke Plant at Full Power After Brief Outage

Posted on April 2, 2014

(AP) — Utility officials say a Nebraska nuclear plant is operating at full power again after a brief outage last month.

The Omaha Public Power District said Wednesday that Fort Calhoun resumed generating electricity on March 19 — two days after a problem on the non-nuclear side of the plant during maintenance triggered the shutdown.

It reached full power on March 21.

This is the second time Fort Calhoun went offline briefly since it restarted in December after a prolonged outage.

Fort Calhoun, which sits about 20 miles north of Omaha, had been off line from April 2011 until December. It initially shut down for routine maintenance, but significant flooding in 2011, a small fire and a series of safety violations forced it to remain closed for more than two years.

Neb. Congressman Apologizes for Ill-Timed Joke

Posted on April 2, 2014

(AP) — Rep. Lee Terry has issued an apology for his attempt at a joke to explain his tardiness to a congressional committee hearing held to question General Motors officials about faulty car ignition switches responsible for at least 13 deaths.

In the televised hearing Tuesday, the Nebraska Republican apologized for being late, explaining that his flight to Washington was canceled for mechanical reasons. He then added “probably an ignition switch.”

The comment drew widespread criticism. Some family members of those killed in defective GM cars were present at the hearing.

Terry apologized later Tuesday, saying he had no intention of being insensitive.