March 2015 – Page 10 – North Platte Post Archive

Fargo Strikes Late To Edge Storm 2-1

Posted on March 28, 2015

KEARNEY, Neb. – A pair of Fargo Force (25-26-6) forwards scored their first goals of the season to defeat the Tri-City Storm (34-16-6) 2-1 at the Viaero Event Center on Friday night. The Force swept the weekend series with Tri-City, and claimed the season series three games to one.

Chris Wilkie had the lone goal for Tri-City in the loss on the power play, while Alec Dillon was on his toes all night, making 38 saves to keep his team in the game the whole way.

With the only assist on Wilkie’s goal, Storm defenseman Bobby Nardella broke the single season record for assists and points by a Tri-City blueliner, set by Chris Nathe during the 2002-03 season. The Notre Dame commit now has 29 assists and 38 points through 53 games on the year.

The Force opened the scoring just 4:38 into the game when Michael Babcock scored his first of the year, forcing a rebound past the goal line during a Fargo power play.

Wilkie got Tri-City even with his 32nd of the year at 13:56 of the middle frame, also on the power play. The forward’s goal total currently leads the USHL, as does his 15 man-advantage tallies.

But the game stayed tied at 1-1 through the rest of the second period and most of the third until Force forward Kyle Sylvester broke the tie with just2:18 left on the clock.

The Force outshot the Storm 40-27 in the game, with winning goaltender Robbie Beydoun making 25 saves in the victory.

Tri-City is currently in second place in the USHL’s Western Conference with 74 points. Four games remain in the regular season and the Storm have clinched a spot in the 2015 Clark Cup Playoffs.

The Storm are back in action on Friday night in Sioux Falls, facing the Stampede at 7:05 p.m. They will complete their home schedule the following evening against Cedar Rapids at the Viaero Event Center at 7:05.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Matthew Freytag, Kyle Eastman and Nolan Aibel, along with defensemen Tory Dello and Mattias Goransson…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period
Fargo – Denis Smirnov (power play) (Michael Babcock, Mason Morelli) 4:38

2nd Period

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (power play) (Bobby Nardella) 13:56

3rd Period
Fargo – Kyle Sylvester (CJ Hayes, TJ Roo) 17:42

PENALTIES

1st Period
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 3:49
Fargo – Michael Babcock – (Interference), 2 min, 9:07
Fargo – Justin Baudry – (Roughing), 2 min, 9:07
Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Roughing), 2 min, 9:07
Fargo – Austin Pooley – (Broken Stick), 2 min, 9:13

2nd Period
Fargo – Tim Faulkner – (Roughing), 2 min, 1:06
Fargo – Mason Morelli – (Slashing), 2 min, 7:17
Tri-City – Chase Berger – (Roughing), 4 min, 7:17
Fargo – Tim Faulkner – (Roughing), 4 min, 7:17
Fargo – Tim Faulkner – (Continuing Altercation) (Misconduct), 10 min, 7:17
Tri-City – Chase Berger – (Continuing Altercation) (Misconduct), 10 min, 7:17
Fargo – Jake McLaughlin – (High Sticking), 2 min, 12:26
Fargo – Jake McLaughlin – (Roughing), 2 min, 12:26
Fargo – Jake McLaughlin – (Continuing Altercation) (Misconduct), 10 min, 12:26
Tri-City – Mason Appleton – (Roughing), 2 min, 12:26
Tri-City – Mason Appleton – (Continuing Altercation) (Misconduct), 10 min, 12:26
Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 15:08

3rd Period
(no penalties)

Power Play

Fargo – 1/2

Tri-City – 1/5

Shots

Fargo: 18, 8, 14 = Total: 40
Tri-City: 10, 13, 4 = Total: 27

Saves
Fargo – Robbie Beydoun – 26/27
Tri-City – Alec Dillon – 38/40

Log Shows 1.5 Million Have Visited Kearney Archway in 15 Years

Posted on March 28, 2015

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — It took 15 years, but new numbers show that 1.5 million people have visited The Archway monument spanning Interstate 80 at Kearney.

The 1,500,000th visitor was a member of a fourth-grade group from Heartland Community Schools in Henderson.

Archway Marketing Coordinator Jace Robinson says that’s fitting, because students from Heartland were the first school group to tour the attraction when it opened in 2000.

Attendance has steadily climbed in recent months at the museum that features exhibits commemorating the Oregon, Mormon and California pioneer trails and the nation’s highway systems and railroads. The turnaround is welcomed after the monument was forced into bankruptcy in 2013 following years of disappointing attendance.

Couple Sues Nebraska Agency Over Adoption of Troubled Boy

Posted on March 28, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A military couple is suing the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, accusing the agency of hiding the serious medical and mental health issues of a 6-year-old boy they adopted in 2009.

The couple adopted the boy while they were stationed at Offutt Air Force Base.

Their attorney, Sally Rasmussen of Lincoln, says Nebraska HHS told the couple that the boy “was a handful” and might have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

But the couple’s lawsuit says they later learned the department was aware, but didn’t tell them, that the boy had been diagnosed with severe attachment disorder and bipolar disorder.

That would violate state law requiring it to provide the medical records of children it places for adoption to adoptive parents.

Former Lincoln Head Shop Owner Gets Prison for Running Synthetic Drug Ring

Posted on March 28, 2015

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The leader of a large synthetic drug-dealing business has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon sentenced 48-year-old

John Ways Jr. on Friday. Ways is the former operator of the head shop Exotica. He was found guilty last year of running a multimillion-dollar money laundering scheme involving the sale of synthetic controlled substances. Prosecutors say the stores sold drug paraphernalia and controlled substances that included synthetic drugs such as K2 and bath salts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the Exotica operation is the most extensive enterprise involving the sales of synthetic controlled substances to be prosecuted federally in Nebraska.

Lincoln Man Gets Prison for Stealing Car, Running Over Owner with It

Posted on March 28, 2015March 28, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been sentenced to 15 to 23 years in prison for assaulting another man, stealing his car then running the man over as he drove away.

19-year-old Khalid Osman was sentenced Friday in Lancaster County District Court.

Osman was found guilty on March 10 of robbery, second-degree assault, failure to stop and render aid in an accident causing serious injury, and a weapons count.

He will be eligible for parole after serving about seven years.

Prosecutors say Osman left the 45-year-old victim with a compound leg fracture that required three surgeries.

Huskers Walk Off No. 16 Longhorns, 1-0, in 15 Innings

Posted on March 28, 2015

Lincoln – Deadlocked in a scoreless game in the bottom of the 15^th inning, senior Austin Darby delivered a one-out base hit to left field and Texas’ Ben Johnson booted the ball, allowing Tanner Lubach to score from second base for the game-winning run. The 1-0 victory clinched the series for the Huskers, who are now 20-7 on the year.

After Jeff Chesnut, who improved to 4-0 on the year in the win, retired UT’s 4-5-6 hitters in order in the top of the 15^th, Texas reliever Travis Duke hit Lubach in the back to start the bottom of the frame. Freshman Jake Meyers moved Lubach into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, setting the stage for Darby. The senior right-fielder, who was 1-for-6 heading into the at-bat, got behind 0-2 in the count, but then lined an offering from Duke into left field where Johnson committed his third error of the season and Lubach easily scored the game winner in front of 5,852 fans at Hawks Field.

Starter Kyle Kubat, along with relievers Jake Hohensee, Colton Howell and Jeff Chesnut limited the Longhorns to four hits and three walks on the day, while piling up 19 strikeouts. It was the most strikeouts by a Husker staff since 2009 when NU notched 22 punch outs in a 15 inning game against Louisiana-Lafayette.

After the Longhorns produced three hits through the first three innings, they then didn’t record another hit until Johnson led off the 14^th with a single. Texas totaled just seven base runners and had a runner in scoring position only twice all game.

Kubat went 8.0 innings in the start and for the second-straight game he struck out a career-high nine batters. Following a two-out single by Brooks Marlow in the fourth, Kubat retired the final 13 Longhorns he faced. It was the senior’s third career outing of at least 8.0 innings and trailed only his 8.2-inning effort against Michigan at last season’s Big Ten Tournament.

Hohensee tossed a pair of no-hit innings after Kubat, striking out three Longhorns and walking one. Howell then took over in the 11^th and retired the first eight batters he faced, including a career-high tying five strikeouts, before giving up back-to-back walks with two outs in the 13^th. Chesnut came in and struck out Taylor Stell to end UT’s threat. After giving up a leadoff single to Johnson in the 14^th, Chesnut sat down the final five UT batters he faced.

With NU’s bullpen keeping UT’s offense off the bases, NU’s offense had multiple chances to score. The Huskers had the winning run in scoring position in 10^th, 11^th, 12^th and 13^th inning, before finally breaking through in the 15^th. The Huskers loaded the bases in both the 11^th and 13^th innings, but each time the Longhorns’ bullpen was able to get out of the jam.

Saturday’s contest was the longest game at Hawks Field since 2013 when the Huskers beat Northwestern in 16 innings. It was also not the longest game in Nebraska-Texas history either, as NU won a 16-inning marathon in 2005.

The Huskers and Longhorns wrap up their series tomorrow at Hawks Field, with first pitched scheduled for 12:05 p.m. Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle will have the call on the Husker Sports Network and the game will be streamed live on BTN Plus.

Man Killed in Fiery Crash Near South Sioux City

Posted on March 28, 2015

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — Officials are still trying to identify a man killed in a fiery head-on crash near South Sioux City in Dakota County.

The crash happened late Thursday night on U.S. Highway 20. Investigators say an eastbound semitrailer and westbound car collided head-on, causing both vehicles to burst into flames.

The semi driver escaped and was treated at a Sioux City, Iowa hospital for minor injuries.

The man in the car died at the scene. Officials have said only that they believe the man was from central Iowa.

An autopsy is being conducted and is expected to help identify the victim.

Lincoln Woman Gets Probation for Leaving Scene of Fatal Fall

Posted on March 28, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 35-year-old Lincoln woman has been sentenced to five years’ probation for leaving her fatally injured friend in the street after he fell from the sunroof of a vehicle she was driving.

Lancaster District Judge Paul Merritt Jr. sentenced Lindsey McCallister to probation on Friday, fined her $500 and revoked her driver’s license for 18 months. She must also serve 180 days in jail beginning Dec. 1, 2019, unless that jail term is waived.

McCallister earlier pleaded no contest to leaving the scene of a serious injury accident and misdemeanor DUI.

James “Jamie” Rubio died Aug. 24 after falling from the sunroof. McCallister said she couldn’t find her cellphone to call 911, but investigators say she made seven calls and sent three texts to other people after Rubio fell.

Cattle Killed After Wandering Onto Highway Near Wellfleet

Posted on March 28, 2015

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska authorities say no people were injured, but several head of cattle were killed when the animals got out of an enclosure and wandered onto a nearby highway.

Five cows and one calf were killed Thursday night after wandering onto U.S. Highway 83 near Wellfleet and being hit by a semitrailer.

The semi was totaled, but its driver was not injured.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Sgt. Wayne Connell says one lane of the highway was temporarily shut down as the semi and animals were moved off the road.

Regulators to Provide Another Update on Nebraska Nuke Plant

Posted on March 28, 2015

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators are planning another update on the performance of a Nebraska nuclear plant that was offline for nearly three years before restarting in 2013.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting in Omaha on April 9 to discuss the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant.

Fort Calhoun, which sits about 20 miles north of Omaha, was shut down from April 2011 until December 2013.

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.

Omaha Public Power District must demonstrate Fort Calhoun can operate safely before regulators will ease its inspections.

The meeting will run from 6-9 p.m. on April 9 at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Thompson Center.