COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A 41-year-old Columbus man has been sent to federal prison for distributing and possessing child pornography.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that Edward Johnson was sentenced to eight years and must serve 15 years of supervised release after he leaves prison.
Court records say the original state charges against Johnson were dismissed on Dec. 23, giving way to the federal case.
Prosecutors say a public website reported that a computer user in Columbus had posted two images of child pornography on the website. A Nebraska State Patrol officer posing as a teenage girl then had several online chats with Johnson. Prosecutors say that in July, Johnson sent child porn to the undercover officer.
A subsequent search of Johnson’s home computer revealed 200 videos of child pornography.
Each and every Wednesday, you can find the North Platte Noon Rotary Club congregating for their weekly meeting at the Quality Inn and Suites Sandhills Convention Center.
This Wednesday’s meeting was extremely special to Rotarians from all across Central Nebraska, as they welcomed Rotary International President, Gary C.K. Huang, of Taiwan.
Making Huang’s visit to North Platte even more special, was the fact that this is the first visit of his Presidency.
A Rotarian since 1976, Huang has served in numerous capacities in the organization. He has been instrumental in the development of membership throughout Asia. He is the first Taiwanese President in the club’s 109 year history.
Huang is an adviser for Wah Lee Corp. and the Bank of Panhsin. He is also the director of Federal Corporation and Sunty Development Company Ltd.
The theme Huang chose for the year is “Light Up Rotary,” saying he was inspired by the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius, who said, “It is better to light a single candle than to sit and curse the darkness.”
“Light Up Rotary is our theme, but it is more than a theme,” Huang said. “It is how we think in Rotary, how we feel, how we work.”
Huang added, “It is how we make a difference-every day, in every club, every district and every country where we serve.”
Huang has also set an ambitious agenda for his Presidency, leading an international effort to grow Rotary membership by 50,000, and spread membership across Russia and China. He said he seeks to increase membership to a total of 1.3 million members worldwide.
“The Rotary way is the Confucius way,” Huang said. “The Rotary way is to light the candle. I light one, you light one and 1.2 million Rotarians light one. Together, we light up the world.
In true Husker fashion, the Noon Rotary club made sure that Huang would never forget his visit to Nebraska, by presenting him and his wife with a Husker t-shirt and a framed photograph of the Husker basketball team. He was also presented with a key to the City of North Platte by Mayor Dwight Livingston.
The North Platte First Nationals have announced changes to their schedule for the remaining games this week.
The First Nationals are down to their final week of the regular season and have added a game and changed the game time of this weekend’s games.
The North Platte Seniors (26-17) will now play Ogallala at 7:00 pm on Friday at Bill Wood Field. The First Nationals also changed the game times of the Saturday and Sunday games against Malcolm. The Seniors will now play Malcolm at 1:00 pm Saturday and 11:00 am Sunday both at Bill Wood Field.
The updated schedule for this week can be seen below:
Wednesday July 9th– Junior/Senior doubleheader vs. Gering @ 5:30 and 8:00
Thursday July 10th– Senior game vs. Hershey @ 7:00
Friday July 11th– Senior game vs. Ogallala @ 7:00
Saturday July 12th– Senior game vs. Malcolm @ 1:00
Sunday July 13th– Senior game vs. Malcolm @ 11:00
Tonight’s game against Gering is the final regular season game for the North Platte Juniors (22-8). It is also Leadership Awards night for the First Nationals. The recipient of last year’s Seniors Leadership award was Drew Beyer and the Juniors award went to Kevin Hancock.
The 7th annual Bluewater Blues Festival will be held at 17 Ranch Winery in Lewellen on July 18 and 19.
Some of the finest and most entertaining blues bands and musicians will converge on Lewellen to play their blues riffs and soulful sounds so you can hear great rhythm and blues.
The schedule for July 18 features an Early Bird Jam at the winery that will begin at 6:00 pm. There is no cover charge and you can enjoy a Blues Burger.
The schedule for July 19 will feature Dan Treanor’s Afrosippi Band playing from 5:00 to 6:30 pm. Three Shots will play from 7:00 to 8:30 pm and the Rusty Wright Band will end the Bluewater Blues Festival by playing from 9:00 to 11:00 pm.
Tickets to the Bluewater Blues Festival are $15 per person in advance if you buy by July 10. The cost is then $25 per person after July 10, 2014 and at the gate the day of the event. Advance tickets may be purchased at locations as follows:
Tickets may be purchased with cash or check at:
Lou Kraus Music * 119 N Spruce St * Ogallala, NE 69153 * 308-284-8384
JNB Carports * 1317 Country Club Dr. * Sidney, NE 69162* 308-254-6275
Lincoln Hwy Garage * 2210 Rd 117, Hwy 30 * Sidney, NE 69162 * 308-249-4702
Mega Music * 1100 W. Main, Suite 2 * Sterling, CO 80751 * 970-521-9020
Tickets may also be purchased at 17 Ranch Winery at 304 Main St., Lewellen. For credit card purchases please call (1-308-778-5542).
The 17 Ranch Winery is located in the heart of downtown Lewellen Nebraska. The relaxed setting of the event will allow you to get together with friends and spend the afternoon and evening listening to the music. The evening meal, served by Jimmy L’s Catering, will consist of a Western Nebraska Barbeque: pulled pork sandwich, brisket sandwich, bratwurst, nachos. Wine tasting, wine, and Budweiser beer will be available for purchase.
This event, sponsored by 17 Ranch Winery in Lewellen, starts at 5:00 p.m. ending around 11:00 p.m. Gates open at 4:00 p.m. Food vendors and concessions will be open on or near location during the festival. Handicapped accessible restroom facilities are available on site.
Cornhusker League West All-Stars. Photo courtesy of Lori Allberry.
North Platte’s Jack Kenny drove in a run to help the West Team beat the East Team 3-1 in the Cornhusker League American Legion All-Star Game.
The All-Star game was played in Grand Island Tuesday night. Kenny’s RBI came in the third inning as he grounded out to the shortstop to drive in Gretna’s Zach Howell and propel the West to a 3-0 lead.
First Nationals coach Rick Ostergard was the head coach for the West Team this year and had three of his own players on the team. Kenny was joined by Darian Allberry and Luke Volz.
Kenny played both center field and right field in the game and finished 0-2 at the plate with an RBI. Allberry started in left field and pitched a scoreless third inning for the West and went 0-2 at the plate. Volz started at third base and went 1-2 at the plate.
The West took the early 2-0 lead thanks to a first inning two-run home run by Grand Island’s Phoenix Stevenson and never looked back. The East scored its lone run in the fourth inning. Hits were hard to come by Tuesday as the West had five in the game and the East had four. The West team did commit three errors compared to just one by the East team. Kearney’s Peyton Pocock earned the win on the mound for the West team.
The West team was made up of players from North Platte, Columbus, Kearney, Grand Island, Hastings, Norfolk and Gretna, while the East was players from the Lincoln Legion teams.
The North Platte First Nationals return to action Wednesday night at Bill Wood Field. North Platte plays Gering in a Junior Senior doubleheader beginning at 5:30 with the Juniors game. The Seniors first pitch will be at 8:00 pm. Tonight’s game is also the Leadership Awards night for the First Nationals.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — How often do your favorite TV outlets all carry the same show at the same time — and in prime time, without ads?
Tune in to just about any channel on Sept. 5 at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific to see for yourself. Dozens of broadcast and cable networks will again donate a simultaneous hour of commercial-free airtime to carry the fundraiser “Stand Up to Cancer.”
Participants will include ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, HBO, Showtime, Lifetime, ESPNews and many others. A Canadian broadcast is being added this year.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Joel Gallen are returning to produce the telecast for a second time and other stars from TV, film and music will encourage and accept donations from the public. The money raised supports cross-disciplinary research toward new cancer treatments.
SEATTLE (AP) — It was little comfort to the residents of a Seattle home along Lake Washington when the naked man who crashed through their front door began loudly reciting Scripture.
Police say a woman in the home called 911 at about 2 a.m. Tuesday while her husband grabbed a baseball bat to protect his wife and two young children on the home’s upper floor.
Arriving officers spotted a naked man walking down the street, talking to himself. He took off running, they chased and caught him.
Police say after they arrested the 20-year-old man for investigation of burglary, he told them he’d taken LSD. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment, then booked into jail.
BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) — A 51-year-old Broken Bow woman no longer faces charges in the death of a 20-month-old boy.
Online court records say the charges against Diane Hill were dismissed last week at the request of Custer County prosecutors, who didn’t explain their reasons. The charges could be refiled, however.
Hill and her daughter, 24-year-old Brittney Pryce, were charged after the Nov. 22, 2013, death of Noah Pryce. Investigators say the boy died of a head injury suffered while in the care of Pryce and her mother.
The boy was a ward of the state, and Brittney Pryce and her husband were his guardians.
Brittney Pryce is still charged and is scheduled for a hearing on July 24.
Today: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Southeast wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. East southeast wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. South southeast wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. East southeast wind 5 to 13 mph.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. East wind 7 to 15 mph becoming north northeast in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.
COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A 41-year-old Columbus man has been sent to federal prison for distributing and possessing child pornography.
