July 2014 – Page 47 – North Platte Post Archive

Woman Dies After Eastern Nebraska Collision

Posted on July 15, 2014July 15, 2014

STROMSBURG, Neb. (AP) — A 20-year-old Stromsburg woman has died after her car collided with a farm machine at a rural intersection in eastern Nebraska’s Polk County.

The Polk County attorney’s office says the accident occurred about 4:30 p.m. Saturday about four miles west of Stromsburg on County Road 125. The office says Lindsay Larson was driving her car west when it was struck by a self-propelled corn tassel chopper that was northbound on County Road I.

County Attorney Ronald Collins says it appears the 17-year-old driver of the farm machine didn’t halt at a stop sign, so the machine collided with Larson’s car in the intersection.

The crash is being investigated.

Bertha Irene Coleman

Posted on July 15, 2014July 16, 2014

Bertha Irene Coleman, 66, of Ord, NE, formerly of North Platte, NE, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Sunday, July 13, 2014, at the Park Place Golden Living Center in Grand Island, NE.

Bertha was born September 17, 1947, to Walter Max and Vina Easter Ann Pace Hasenauer at North Platte. She grew up on the family farm in Hayes County, NE and graduated from Maywood High School in 1967. Bertha then moved to Trayer, KS where she worked as a caregiver to a handicapped child and later washed dishes for a restaurant in Oberlin, KS.

On July 13, 1969, Bertha married Vance Wayne Coleman at the Berean Fundamental Church in North Platte where they made their home for a short time. In December 1969 they moved to a farm in Hayes County where Vance worked for her father. They moved to Hiawatha, KS in November 1970 then returned to North Platte a few months later and stayed until 1994 when they moved to Ord.

Bertha enjoyed solving word puzzles, crosswords and word finds.

She is survived by her husband, Vance, and two sons, Tim and Andrew Coleman, all of Ord; a daughter, Vina (Rick) Smith, of Springfield, MO; a grandson, Trey Michael Salem; three sisters, Barbara DeMoude, of Cheyenne, WY, Beulah (Dale) Docter, of Hershey, NE and Betty (Alton) Lowry, of Fort Collins, CO; three brothers, Charles (Barbara) Hasenauer, of North Platte, Herman (Becky) Hasenauer, of Wellfleet, NE and Eisenhower (Rhonda) Hasenauer, of Cheyenne, WY; her stepmother, Mable Hasenauer, of North Platte; aunts and uncles, Mary Smith, Bonnie (Paul) Broeder and Raymond (Arlene) Pace, all of North Platte and Mrs. Gerald Vadeen, of Arvada, CO; many nieces, nephews and other family.

Bertha was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Vina Hasenauer; an infant daughter; infant twin sons; two brothers, Ivan and David Hasenauer; and a brother-in-law, Harold DeMoude.

Cremation was chosen. A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Thursday, July 17, 2014, at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore with Pastor Doug Olson of the Ord Evangelical Free Church officiating. Inurnment will follow in Fort McPherson National Cemetery. The memorial book may be signed from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore. Condolences may also be shared at odeanchapel.com. Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society or the Kidney Foundation. Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore is in charge of arrangements.

NP Woman Accused of Shoplifting with Child Present

Posted on July 15, 2014

A North Platte woman has been arrested after she allegedly shoplifted from a local business while a 10-year-old child was with her.

At around 6:30 p.m., on July 14, an officer with the North Platte Police Department responded to Walmart on the report of a shoplifter.

The officer met with an off-duty NPPD officer, who reported seeing the suspect, 55-year-old Pamala Youngs, place food items in plastic shopping bags and leave the store without paying.

Following further investigation, Youngs was placed under arrest and charged with felony shoplifting and, because she had been banned from the store, 2nd degree trespassing.

Additionally, Youngs was charged with misdemeanor child abuse because the child was with her while she committed the crime.

Youngs was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

Eastbound I-80 Traffic to Be Diverted in Lincoln

Posted on July 15, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Eastbound Interstate 80 traffic in Lincoln is scheduled to be diverted this week so a contractor can work on lanes near the bridges.

The Nebraska Roads Department says the lanes will be temporarily closed between Exit 405 and Exit 409. They will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 11 p.m. and be reopened at 6 a.m. the next day.

Daytime closures of one lane and other nighttime closures are also possible in the area.

The work is expected to be finished in three days.

I-80 Westbound to Be Closed at Gothenburg Tonight

Posted on July 15, 2014

If you’re traveling east from North Platte on Interstate 80 tonight, you can expect your trip to take just a bit longer.

According to the Nebraska Department of Roads, the I-80 westbound will be closed at the Gothenburg interchange from 11:00 p.m. tonight through 6:00 a.m., tomorrow morning.

Traffic will be routed off of I-80 at the Gothenburg off ramp, and back on using the Gothenburg on ramp.

The closures are for the removal of the bridge over I-80 at the Gothenburg interchange.

Bell Named to Biletnikoff Watch List

Posted on July 15, 2014

Nebraska senior receiver Kenny Bell was named to the watch list for the 2014 Biletnikoff Award on Tuesday. The award annually recognizes the outstanding receiver in college football.

The 6-1, 185-pound Bell was named to the Biletnikoff watch list for the second straight season. Bell enters his final season at Nebraska on the verge of becoming the most prolific receiver in school history.

Bell ranks fifth on Nebraska’s career receptions list with 134 catches, leaving him 32 catches behind the NU record of 166 receptions by Nate Swift. Bell is third in school history with 1,901 career receiving yards, leaving him 578 yards from Johnny Rodgers’ school record in that category.

Bell has 15 career touchdown receptions heading into 2014, including four touchdown catches in 2013. He has shown a knack for the big play throughout his career with each of his last 13 touchdown catches covering at least 20 yards.

Bell has led Nebraska in receptions each of his first three seasons, the first player to accomplish that at Nebraska since Matt Davison from 1998 to 2000. This fall, Bell could be the first player to lead the Huskers in catches for four straight years. Bell finished his junior season with a team-high 52 receptions for 577 yards and earned honorable-mention all-conference honors.

Bell is one of 55 receivers on the watch list, including five players from the Big Ten Conference. The Biletnikoff Award is sponsored by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, and is named for College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff who starred at Florida State and with the Oakland Raiders.

Ten semifinalists for the award will be chosen on Nov. 17, with three finalists announced on Nov. 24. The winner will be announced on Dec. 11 as part of the ESPN College Football Awards Show.

Dawson County Raceway Results – July 13

Posted on July 15, 2014

The racers that compete at Dawson County Raceway went way beyond the expectations of the fans in the stands in presenting an encore-racing program that rivaled the fireworks shows displayed on the Independence Day holiday on Sunday evening in Lexington, Nebraska.

Lightning up the night with their stellar efforts that resulted in trips to the winners circle were IMCA hotshoes: Colton Osborn, Brandon Clough, Casey Werkmeister, Kyle Bond and Grand National veteran Josh Leonard on Sunday.

Grabbing the lead at the halfway point, the Cozad cruiser Colton Osborn was able to power his way to the IMCA Modified Feature victory. Osborn snared the lead on the 11th circuit and never looked back after starting in the fifth row. Close behind Colton was brother Cale Osborn in second place overall, after he started in the fourth row and had a strong final five laps to earn runner-up accolades. Making the long-haul from Lincoln was worth it, as Mike Densberger was among the leaders throughout the feature and his efforts to avoid incidents resulted in a third place finish. Densberger along with Chuck Stryker of Eddyville were the earlier in the evening heat race winners.

Doing his best to trump the field, Gibbon’s Josh Leonard swept the checkered flags in the Grand National races that he competed in on Sunday. In the Feature, Leonard went to the cushion and was on a rail like a runaway freight train, as he refused to lose and drove away for the victory. Jarred Hackler of Hastings started in the third row, but was quickly in contention for a podium finish and his efforts paid off with a runner-up finish. Veteran wheelman Robbie Leonard was third overall in the Feature after winning his initial heat race earlier in the evening.

Breaking through to the top of the podium in the IMCA Northern Sport Modified division with his first Feature win of 2014 at Dawson County Raceway was Brandon Clough of Wallace. Clough has been a mainstay inside the top five and flirted with winning but it was his night this time around as he scored the win from his front row starting position. Continuing his hot streak on ovals in Southwest Nebraska, Jamey Kennicutt of Gothenburg was the runner-up as he was able to drive to the podium from his fourth row starting position during the early laps to avoid accidents deep in the field. Making a late charge from his fourth row starting position, the Ageless Wonder, Denny Egge of Kearney was third overall with a strong final five laps. Clough and Kennicutt were the heat race winners in the division.

No stranger to the winners circle, Casey Werkmeister recovered quite nicely from a setback earlier in the weekend where he blew up a motor to finished with back-to-back feature wins in the IMCA Stock Car division in North Platte on Saturday and Lexington on Sunday. Werkmeister darted to the front on the fifth lap, after getting a great start to be among the leaders just prior to the fifth circuit. Making a late charge and challenging for the lead in the waning laps was Cozad’s Colton Osborn, who was forced to settle for runner-up honors. Leading the initial four laps of the feature was Jeff Whiting of Gothenburg, who was able to stay up on the wheel and pedal his way to a third place finish. Whiting and Werkmeister were the heat race winners in the Stock Car division.

Doing their best to put on the best show possible for the fans in the stands, fan favorites Dillon Thompson and Kyle Bond put on a whale of show along with Tiffany Bittner, as the trio ran away and hid from the rest of the field of IMCA Hobby Stocks on Sunday. Bond of Gibbon was able to drive his way to the point on the second circuit and never look back to claim the victory. Close behind with many challenges for the lead was Thompson of Campbell, who crossed the finish line in second place overall. Having to come from deep, as a result of getting stuck in traffic, Norfolk’s Tiffany Bittner closed the gap in the waning laps with fast lap times to finish third overall.

(Unofficial Results)

–IMCA Modified Feature: 1. 50c-Colton Osborn; 2. 6c-Cale Osborn; 3. 81-Mike Densberger; 4. 7a-Steve Aitken; 5. 34jw-Cole Hodges; 6. XII-Jay Steffens; 7. 2-Jeremy Herbst; 8. 1c-Cole Egge; 9. 30x-Micah Veleba; 10. 19-Chuck Stryker.

Heat Race Winners: 81-Mike Densberger; 19-Chuck Stryker.

–Grand National Late Model Feature: 1. 85-Josh Leonard; 2. 3h-Jarred Hackler; 3. 85x-Robbie Leonard; 4. 51-Les Siebert; 5. 23-Tom Kubicka; 6. 55-Jake Neighbors; 7. 5s-Dylan Schmer; 8. 83-Denton Duncan; 9. 88-Brandon Leonard; 10. 28-Kevin Safranek.

Heat Race Winners: 85-Josh Leonard; 85x-Robbie Leonard.

–IMCA Northern Sport Modified Feature: 1. 20b-Brandon Clough; 2,. 15k-Jamey Kennicutt; 3. 1x-Denny Egge; 4. 0hp-Bryan Herrick; 5. 12j-Kerry Jones; 6. 15r-Robbie Kosmacek; 7. 33-Chad Young; 8. 8c-Corey Cruzan; 9. 68-Craig Howard; 10. 67-Terry Fletcher.

Heat Race Winners: 15k-Jamey Kennicutt; 20b-Brandon Clough.

–IMCA Stock Car Feature: 1. 24w-Casey Werkmeister; 2. 50c-Colton Osborn; 3. 16w-Jeff Whiting; 4. 35jw-Casey Woken; 5. 19-Dana Morgan; 6. 45-Mikey Dancer; 7. 24-Bob Chalupa; 8. 29e-Brendan Eilts; 9. 99k-David Easterday; 10. 00-Sara Klein.

Heat Race Winners: 24w-Casey Werkmeister; 16w-Jeff Whiting.

–IMCA Hobby Stock Feature: 1. 0-Kyle Bond; 2. 11-Dillon Thompson; 3. 95b-Tiffany Bittner; 4. R89-Nate Refior; 5. 26-Ryan Gardine; 6. 85-Robert Leonard; 7. 2c-Zach Canas; 8. 5-Chuck Ledbetter; 9. 53e-Tyler Easterday; 10. 2x-Travis Kernick.

Heat Race Winners: 0-Kyle Bond; 11-Dillon Thompson.

Cool July Morning Sets Record in North Platte, Other Cities

Posted on July 15, 2014July 15, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The unseasonably cool weather this week helped several Nebraska cities set record low temperatures.

The National Weather Service says several new records were set across the state Tuesday morning. Cool air lingering in the region is delivering temperatures more common in fall than in July.

Omaha set a new record low of 50 Tuesday morning. The previous record was 51.

North Platte eclipsed a 1973 record low of 48 when its temperature fell to 44 Tuesday morning.

Imperial’s low temperature tied a record at 50.

Forecasters say more record low temperatures are possible Wednesday morning.

Troopers to Beef Up Patrols for Kearney ‘Cruise Night’

Posted on July 15, 2014

In an effort to reduce the potential for serious injury and fatality crashes the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP), in conjunction with the Kearney Police Department and the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, will conduct a special enforcement in an effort to “Drive to Save Lives”, Friday & Saturday, July 18-19, in Kearney.

The special enforcement is planned to coincide with the 27^th annual Kearney Cruise Nite. The event held Wednesday-Sunday, July 16-20, draws hundreds of classic car enthusiasts together for four days of fun and festivities.

The special enforcement will include high visibility patrols and DUI checkpoints during the evening and early morning hours of Friday & Saturday, July 18-19.

In 2013, troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol Troop C- Grand Island arrested two drivers for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and cited 11 juveniles for Minor in Possession of Alcohol (MIP). Six speeding citations were also issued, including one for traveling 100 mph in a 65 mph zone.

“This is a big event and we want everyone to enjoy themselves,” said Captain Chris Kolb, Commander Troop C- Grand Island. “We hope by making ourselves visible and available participants will choose to be safe and voluntarily comply with all traffic safety laws.”

A $9,710 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS) will help pay for overtime hours for troopers and communication specialists during the two nights of special enforcement.

North Platte Weather-July 15

Posted on July 15, 2014

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the morning.
Tonight: Isolated showers between 9pm and midnight, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. East southeast wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 66. East southeast wind around 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Southeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming light and variable after midnight.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. South wind 3 to 7 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 56.