OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say an Omaha garbage man was critically injured after being struck by a car.
The incident occurred around 8 a.m. Wednesday in west Omaha. The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Police say the man was riding on the back of the garbage truck and had jumped off to grab more trash when he was hit by a teenager driving a silver Jeep.
The man’s name and updated condition have not been released.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Low-income families that receive government aid to care for children could see an increase in payments under a bill advanced by Nebraska lawmakers.
Senators gave the measure first-round approval on Wednesday with a 26-21 vote.
The bill by Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln would also minimize the so-called cliff effect, which eliminates payments for recipients when their incomes grow beyond a certain point. Advocates say the cliff effect reduces the incentive for recipients to seek a raise at work or a higher-paying job.
Under current law, a family of two gets $293 a month plus $71 for each additional person. Formula changes under the bill would increase the average payment by $112 a month.
The increase would cost $10.5 million annual in federal money.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill allowing petition circulators to be paid by the signature rather than an hourly wage has received first-round approval in the Nebraska Legislature.
Senators voted 38-0 Wednesday on a measure by Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte that would lift a 2008 ban placed on signature-based compensation.
An initiative or referendum petition allows registered voters to place an amendment on the ballot. The bill’s supporters say the ban limits citizens’ access to ballot petitions because most grassroots organizations do not have enough resources to support hourly wages.
Lawmakers have to vote in favor of the bill twice more before it advances to Gov. Pete Ricketts.
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — The principal of a suburban Kansas City middle school has resigned nearly a month after a student with Asperger’s syndrome was seriously hurt in a bullying incident.
Principal Dan Weakley of Liberty Middle School also will take a personal leave of absence for the remainder of the school year. The Liberty Board of Education on Monday accepted Weakley’s resignation and granted his request for leave.
Twelve-year-old Blake Kitchen suffered injuries including a cracked skull and a fractured jaw in the Feb. 19 attack in the school’s cafeteria. The sixth-grader spent several days at a hospital.
A 14-year-old eighth-grader at the school admitted to the assault and was placed in the custody of the Missouri Division of Youth Services.
SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — The governor has filled an empty seat on the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Gov. Pete Ricketts selected John Rundel, from Trenton.
The appointment will let the commission vote Tuesday on an application for a fracking wastewater injection well in Sioux County.
Rundel is a petroleum geologist with 36 years of experience in the oil and gas business. The appointment will expire on Sept. 28, 2015.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska school district will soon incorporate opportunities for high school seniors to go to work for local businesses as part of a program designed to prepare students for careers.
Westside Community Schools will create a Center for Advanced Professional Studies to develop partnerships with businesses that will act as satellite campuses. Students may spend part of their day working on projects at the businesses.
The new program is part of the district’s larger effort to expand its career education programming, and to learn and fill in skill gaps in the workforce.
The Nebraska district is modeling its program on one developed by the Blue Valley district in Kansas City, Kansas.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Public Power District board decided to stick with its original choice for the utility’s next chief executive after completing a second search.
The utility said Wednesday that current OPPD vice president Tim Burke was again chosen from a field of finalists. The board is scheduled to vote on his selection at its meeting Thursday.
OPPD was criticized in January after its initial CEO search was conducted mostly in secret. The utility also refused to identify the original finalists.
The board said in January it wanted Burke to replace retiring CEO Gary Gates, but then it reopened the search. Burke and three other finalists interviewed with the board this month and met with the public.
Burke’s salary will increase to $419,217 from his current $356,605 if the board approve
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — A 15-year-old Connecticut boy is being held on $2 million bond after he was charged in the slaying of a man who police say had spilled coffee on him.
Police tell the Stamford Advocate that 52-year-old Antonio Muralles was leaving a Stamford restaurant March 11 when he bumped into the teen, spilling the coffee. Police say the teenager stabbed Muralles.
The boy appeared in a closed hearing Tuesday. He didn’t enter a plea, and his attorney declined to comment on the allegations. The newspaper said the case was moved to adult court.
Twenty-two-year-old James McLamb of New Haven also has been charged with murder in Muralles’ death and is being held on $2 million bond. His lawyer says he is reviewing the charge.
Police are looking for a third suspect.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln house bought to become the official home of the University of Nebraska president is back on the market.
The 700,000-square-foot house is listed for $750,000. It has five bedrooms and five baths, and it was built in 1927.
The University of Nebraska Foundation bought the house in December 2013. The home was never lived in by former NU President J.B. Milliken or interim NU President Jim Linder. The foundation said this past January that “a different residence would better meet the future needs of the university.”
University spokeswoman Melissa Lee says housing arrangements for the university’s new president, Hank Bounds, have not yet been determined.
PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — A former Sarpy County sheriff’s deputy who faced a misdemeanor sexual assault charge has pleaded no contest to a lesser charge.
Fifty-three-year-old Rick Wheeler has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of public indecency. It’s punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
He had faced up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine if he was found guilty of the original charge of third-degree sexual assault.
Wheeler was accused of inappropriately touching a woman in September at a Papillion bar.
Wheeler was a sergeant who’d worked 26 years for the sheriff’s office. He was fired afterward.
Court records show he’s appealing a decision by the county merit commission that upheld his termination.
Wheeler will be sentenced in May.
