February 2015 – Page 19 – North Platte Post Archive

Nuggets Waive Robinson, Claver

Posted on February 22, 2015

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets waived Thomas Robinson and Victor Claver, two of the players they acquired in a deal with Portland at the trade deadline.

General manager Tim Connelly announced the moves Sunday.

Robinson, Claver and Will Barton, along with a 2016 lottery-protected first-round pick, were obtained from the Trail Blazers on Thursday for Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee.

The 6-foot-9 Claver was drafted by Portland with the 22nd pick in 2009. He played 80 games over three seasons with the Blazers.

Robinson, a 6-9 forward out of Kansas, was originally drafted by Sacramento with the fifth-overall pick in 2012. He was dealt to Houston and then to Portland. He has played 172 games, averaging 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds.

NFL Prospects Attempt to Move Past Forgettable Moments

Posted on February 22, 2015

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NFL prospects come to Indianapolis each February to focus on their futures.

It’s their past embarrassments that always seem to get attention at the league’s annual scouting combine.

Here, no question is off limits — dropping the football on the 1-yard line before a score, sitting out a season because of an academic scandal, even aiming too high on an opposing player and getting ejected in a conference championship game.

And here, the possible draft picks will get their chance to explain what happened.

White’s Double-Double leads Iowa in 74-46 Rout of Nebraska

Posted on February 22, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Aaron White had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Iowa rode a 21-2 run to end the first half to a 74-46 victory over Nebraska on Sunday.

Peter Jok scored 14 points and Jarrod Uthoff had 11 points and four blocked shots for the Hawkeyes (17-10, 8-6 Big Ten), who swept the season series against Nebraska (13-14, 5-10) and sent the Huskers to their fifth straight loss and seventh in eight games.

Iowa, which shot 50 percent and made 10 3-pointers, was the first Nebraska opponent in 38 games to make at least half its shots from the floor.

Nebraska got 16 points from Terran Petteway and 10 from Walter Pitchford. The Huskers’ 32.7-percent shooting matched their season low, and they were just 2 of 18 on 3s.

Shavon Shields, who had 25 points in the first meeting with the Hawks, was held to three points on 1-of-6 shooting.

USDA: Cattle in Nebraska Feedlots Up Again This Month

Posted on February 22, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the number of cattle in Nebraska feedlots is up 2 percent over last year this month.

The report says feedlots with capacities of more than 1,000 head contained 2.49 million cattle as of Feb. 1.

Cattle placements during January totaled 495,000. That was down 9 percent from last year.

The USDA says it revised last year’s estimates of cattle on feed to improve the accuracy of the numbers. Cows and bulls were removed from the counts, which are supposed to reflect only cattle that can grade select or better.

US Gas Prices Jump 13 Cents Per Gallon, 26 Cents in Last Month

Posted on February 22, 2015

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of a regular gallon of gas jumped 13 cents in the past two weeks to $2.33, repeating the hike seen two weeks prior for a total 26 cents rise in the last month.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that the rise follows months of crashing prices and is still $1.08 per gallon less than a year ago. She attributed the rise to an increase in crude oil prices in mid-January and labor strikes at several refineries.

In Southern California, prices also rose following an explosion at ExxonMobil’s Torrance refinery.

Los Angeles saw prices jump more than 35 cents making it the highest-price gas in the lower 48 cities surveyed, at $2.91.

The low average was in Salt Lake City at $1.91.

In Nebraska, the average price for a gallon of regular is $2.26.

Sheriff: Washington Man Was Posing for Photograph When Train Struck Him

Posted on February 22, 2015

KALAMA, Wash. (AP) — The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office says a man struck and killed by a train south of Kalama was posing for a photograph at the time.

The man had been driving from Tacoma to Portland, Oregon, on Saturday morning when he and his female traveling companion stopped to smoke a cigarette and take pictures along the Columbia River.

The man was posing between two railroad tracks while a northbound BNSF freight train was approaching. Investigators say he apparently did not see an approaching Amtrak passenger train coming from the other direction.

The victim’s identity has not been released. His companion was not injured.

Partisan Motives Alleged in Push to Open Nebraska Votes

Posted on February 22, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The last election gave Republicans an even larger majority in Nebraska’s nonpartisan Legislature, and now some conservatives are seeking to end the secret votes that let lawmakers break from their party when choosing legislative leaders.

Conservative groups and factions of the Republican Party are seeking a requirement that Nebraska lawmakers disclose how they voted when picking committee chairmen and the speaker of the Legislature. A legislative committee will review the measure Wednesday.

Supporters insist the push is a matter of government transparency, but Democrats and even some Republicans see it as a conservative effort to impose party discipline on moderates.

Nebraska’s one-house Legislature has no formal party structure or leadership, leading to frustrations by some Republicans since the party dominates in state politics.

Fuel-Hauling Trains Could Derail at 10 Per Year

Posted on February 22, 2015

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The federal government predicts that trains hauling crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades.

The projection was contained in a Department of Transportation analysis from last July. It says the derailments could cause more than $4 billion in damage and possibly kill hundreds of people if a serious accident were to happen in a densely populated part of the U.S.

The study took on new relevance this week after a train loaded with oil derailed in West Virginia, causing a spectacular fire and forcing hundreds of families to evacuate.

Monday’s accident was the latest in a spate of fiery derailments. Senior federal officials say it underscores the need for stronger tank cars and other safety improvements.

Anti-Vaccine Mothers Discuss Their Thinking Amid Backlash

Posted on February 22, 2015

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. (AP) — One is a businesswoman and an MBA graduate. Another is a corporate vice president. The third is a registered nurse.

These three mothers — all of them educated, middle-class professionals — are among the vaccine skeptics who have been widely ridiculed since more than 100 people fell ill in a measles outbreak traced to Disneyland.

The backlash has been so severe that dozens of anti-vaccine parents contacted by The Associated Press were afraid to speak out. But a handful of mothers agreed to discuss their thinking.

Michelle Moore is a businesswoman who lives in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego, Oregon, with her 2½-year-old twin girls. She says vaccines have a place, but she regards them as a medical choice that should be researched carefully.

Bellevue Police Shoot and Wound Suspect Before Arresting Him

Posted on February 22, 2015

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Bellevue police are investigating an incident where officers shot and wounded a man before arresting him.

Police say the shooting happened around 11:45 p.m. Saturday when officers responded to a domestic dispute

Bellevue Police Officer Laurie Synowiecki says the 33-year-old suspect was intoxicated and armed with a rifle when officers arrived.

During the incident, the suspect raised his rifle toward the officers, and they fired on him.

A woman and two young children were also in the home, but they were hiding during the confrontation and weren’t hurt.

The suspect was treated at the Nebraska Medical Center before being transferred to Sarpy County Jail Sunday morning. He faces charge of attempted first-degree assault, terroristic threats, child abuse and using a weapon to commit a felony.