OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Hotel workers in the Omaha area are undergoing training on how to spot women and minors being forced into prostitution.
The effort is part of a pilot project coordinated by the Coalition on Human Trafficking, comprised of law enforcement officials, charities and area nuns.
The coalition aims to provide awareness and tips to hotel and motel employees on how to respond when they believe someone is a victim of human trafficking or is being sexually exploited.
Experts say high-profile events, such as the coming College World Series in Omaha, bring a higher risk of sex trafficking occurring at lodging facilities.
The Magnolia Hotel in downtown Omaha is participating in the training program. About 45 workers recently heard a presentation about human trafficking.
Lincoln – University of Nebraska men’s basketball coach Tim Miles announced Friday the hiring of Rashon Burno as an assistant coach for the Husker program. Burno comes to Nebraska after spending the past three seasons at the University of Florida under Billy Donovan, who was named the head coach of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder last month.
Nebraska Coach Tim Miles said Burno’s coaching ability and recruiting acumen made him an ideal candidate for the opening on the Husker coaching staff.
“Rashon will be a tremendous addition to our already strong coaching staff,” Miles said. “He is a high-level recruiter and a smart coach. As a former point guard, he will really help out working with our guard play. He is a connector with all people and a high-energy guy. He worked with an elite-level program with Coach Donovan at Florida and brings great experience at the NCAA Tournament, including a Final Four appearance two years ago. Rashon also brings a life story that our players can relate to and that they can learn from.”
During his stint at Florida, Burno was part of two Southeastern Conference championship teams while the Gators reached the NCAA Elite Eight in both 2013 and 2014, while advancing to the Final Four in 2014. In three years with Burno at Florida, the Gators posted an impressive 81-28 record (.743).
“Rashon is an outstanding coach, teacher and recruiter,” Donovan said. “Nebraska is getting an even better person. I will always be thankful for my time with Rashon, and I know he will be a great asset to Nebraska basketball.”
A former point guard at DePaul, Burno worked with the Florida backcourt players, coaching three Gators to All-SEC honors (Kenny Boynton, Mike Rosario and Scottie Wilbekin) in his tenure. Wilbekin became the first Gator guard to earn SEC Player of the Year in 2014.
In Florida’s historic 2013-14 season, the Gators posted a 30-game winning streak that included the SEC’s first-ever 18-0 regular season, capped with the fourth SEC Tournament title in school history. In 2013-14, UF compiled an unblemished 10-0 record in games Burno served as the scout coach, including an early season win against Kansas, a sweep of Alabama, conference wins over LSU and Ole Miss and the NCAA Tournament victory against Albany. UF’s win over Kansas kicked off Florida’s program-record 30-game winning streak.
The Gators also posted an 11-1 record in 2012-13 when Burno handled the opponent scout, including a 5-0 record in SEC regular-season play and an NCAA Tournament victory over Northwestern State. Florida went 29-8, including a 14-4 record in the SEC, during the 2012-13 season, losing in the Elite Eight to Michigan.
As an assistant coach at Manhattan College, Burno helped the Jaspers to a 21-13 record in 2011-12 – the team’s first season under head coach Steve Masiello. The Jaspers added a postseason win in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament to post just the 11th 20-win season in the 106-year history of the program while capping a massive 15-win turnaround for a team that went 6-25 in 2010-11.
Burno, a three-year team captain at DePaul who played for the Blue Demons from 1998 to 2002, reunited with his former head coach, Pat Kennedy, as an assistant coach at Towson University in 2010-11. Burno began his coaching career as head coach at Marmion Academy in the Chicago suburbs from 2007 to 2010, while also serving as an economics and physical education teacher.
During his playing career at DePaul, Burno started 58 games and helped the Blue Demons to two postseason appearances, advancing to the 2001 NCAA Tournament and the 2000 National Invitational Tournament. He finished his career ranked third in DePaul history with 201 steals and was named to the 2001 Conference USA All-Tournament Team.
As a high school player, Burno helped anchor back-to-back national championship runs in 1996 and 1997 at St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City, N.J., under Hall of Fame head coach Bob Hurley.
Burno and his wife, Ellen, have three children, Micah, Rashon and Braxton.
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee has recommended reducing the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds among a series of changes aimed at speeding up a game that has reached historic lows in scoring.
The NCAA experimented with a 30-second shot clock during the NIT and CIT postseason tournaments and the rules committee recommended making it permanent for the 2015-16 season. The shot clock was last reduced for the 1993-94 season, from 45 to 35 seconds.
Scoring in college basketball hit an all-time low in 2012-13 and nearly matched it last season, when teams scored 67.6 points per game.
The committee also recommended extending the restricted arc from three to four feet to reduce the number of collisions under the basket. Teams also would have one less second-half timeout.
Barbara Mae Rundback, age 83 formerly of Tryon, passed away Friday May 15, 2015 at The Golden Living Center in Fullerton, NE.
Barbara was born on November 26, 1931 in Ord, NE to John and Eva Mae (Donthit) Ragland. She graduated from Ord High School in 1949 then taught at a country school near North Loup.. She also taught school North of Tryon, Ringgold, and Thune. She married Carl Rundback on July 14, 1951 in Tryon and the couple made their home south of Ringgold on the ranch. She was a very good piano player and a devoted member of the Ringgold Free Methodist Church. She will be remembered as a loving mother, cook, and excellent seamstress.
Barbara is survived by her husband Carl of Tryon; sons Kenneth (Joan) of Stapleton, Wayne (Donna) of North Platte, Bill of North Platte, and Frank of Stapleton; 7 grandchildren; 5 great grandchildren; siblings Rachel (Cedric) Peterson of Gering, LaVon Ragland of Broken Bow, and John Ragland of Lincoln; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and a daughter Carolyn, and a grandson James Vanderway.
Memorials are suggested to the Ringgold Free Methodist Church and online condolences may be shared at www.adamsswanson.com. Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. May 19, 2015 at the Ringgold Free Methodist Church with Reverend James Paine officiating. Burial will follow at the Broken Bow Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. at Adams and Swanson Funeral Home which is in charge of arrangements.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has affirmed the first-degree murder conviction of a western Nebraska man sentenced to life for killing his girlfriend.
Craig Johnson was sentenced last year for the Dec. 11, 2011, killing of 42-year-old April Smith. Smith was found bound, strangled, beaten and stabbed on her living room floor in the home she and Johnson shared eight miles west of Sidney.
Johnson argued on appeal, among other things, that his trial judge should not have allowed inconclusive DNA testing found at the murder scene into evidence.
On Friday, the high court agreed that the DNA evidence should not have been allowed, but found the error harmless, as prosecutors had more than enough other evidence — including other DNA evidence — to convict Johnson.
2014 Missouri Valley Player of the Year Joins Big Red
Kyndal Clark (Photo from Facebook)
Lincoln – Kyndal Clark, the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and a 2015 member of the WBCA Allstate Good Works Team, will join the Nebraska women’s basketball team as a fifth-year senior transfer for 2015-16, Coach Connie Yori announced on Thursday.
Clark, who will officially graduate from Drake on Saturday, averaged 19.3 points per game while knocking down a Missouri Valley Conference-record 116 three-pointers as a junior for the Bulldogs in 2013-14. Clark hit 41.1 percent of her threes on the season, including a scorching 45.3 percent (78-172) in MVC play.
The Webb City, Mo., native started all 98 games of her Drake career, including the season opener against South Dakota in 2014-15, when she scored 17 points in 37 minutes before suffering a season-ending injury.
Clark will have one season of eligibility at Nebraska and will be eligible to play for the Huskers immediately. She produced 1,418 points, 422 rebounds, 270 assists and 171 steals in 98 career games at Drake, while earning All-MVC honors in each of her first three seasons.
“We are thrilled to add a player of Kyndal Clark’s caliber to our program, even if it is for just one season,” Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. “We recruited Kyndal out of Webb City High School, and we are excited to finally get a chance to coach her. She is coming off a pretty significant injury, but when she is healthy she is a talented player. She also can add a lot of leadership to our program.”
Clark was a preseason first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection as a senior, before earning a spot on the WBCA Allstate Good Works Team in 2015. She will receiver her bachelor’s degree from Drake on Saturday after majoring in information systems.
As a junior, she averaged 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals on her way to Jackie Stiles Missouri Valley Conference Player-of-the-Year honors. She also was named the Drake University Howlett Female Athlete of the Year across all sports.
Her huge junior season included a career-high 41 points against Northern Iowa on March 2. She added 38 points against Missouri State on Feb. 16, 2014. She pumped in 36 points, including a school-record 10 three-pointers in a win over Loyola, while contributing 35 points against SIU-Edwardsville.
Clark claimed second-team All-MVC honors while starting every game as a sophomore. She finished with 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.5 steals while capturing a spot on the MVC All-Defensive Team.
She opened her collegiate career by starting all 34 games for then-Drake head coach Amy Stephens. As a true freshman in 2011-12, Clark averaged 9.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Clark also earned a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team.
Clark was recruited to Drake by Stephens, now an assistant coach at Nebraska, out of Webb City High School. As a senior, Clark earned first-team All-Missouri honors from the AP and the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. She led Webb City to the Missouri Class 4 state title as a junior and a third-place finish in Class 5 in 2011.
A tremendous outside shooter, Clark set a Missouri state record by burying six three-pointers in the third quarter against Joplin on Dec. 14, 2010.
Nebraska also officially added senior volleyball player Alicia Ostrander to its women’s basketball roster on Friday. Ostrander, a 6-3 outside hitter for Coach John Cook’s volleyball team, will complete her fifth season as a volleyball player for the Huskers in the fall of 2015, before turning her full attention to basketball for the start of 2016 Big Ten Conference action. The native of Gordon, Neb., will have just one season of women’s basketball eligibility with the Huskers. Ostrander is one of the top rebounders in Nebraska high school history. The two-time Class C-1 all-stater pulled down 20 or more rebounds on 10 occasions at Gordon-Rushville High School, including a school-record 30 boards in a game as a senior. She also had single-game highs of 43 points and 15 blocked shots as a prep player.
(Minden, Neb.)- A traffic stop on Interstate 80 near the Minden exit in Buffalo County led to the seizure of 37 lbs. of marijuana.
Just before 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 13, a trooper stopped an eastbound 2005 Chevy minivan for Following Too Close near the Minden exit on I-80. The trooper was given consent to search the vehicle. The search led to the seizure of 37 lbs. of marijuana. The marijuana contained in 37 packages was concealed in an air compressor in the cargo area of the minivan.
The driver of the vehicle, Raymond A. Perez, 55, Log Lane Village, Colo., was lodged in the Buffalo County Detention Center on a charge of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An 8-year-old Lincoln boy who had hallucinations and who tested positive for methamphetamine has been taken from his mother.
A judge on Thursday ordered the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to take temporary custody of the boy and two siblings.
Court documents say the boy told an investigator about awakening Tuesday and seeing “bugs crawling everywhere and stuff dripping from the ceiling.” The boy says the hallucinations continued at school, where staffers called his family.
The documents say a subsequent urine test confirmed the presence of meth and other amphetamines.
The investigator says the boy’s mother showed signs of meth use when she was contacted. She declined to take a drug test. She has not been criminally charged or arrested.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Carlos Gonzalez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Colorado Rockies stopped their 11-game losing streak Thursday night with a 5-4 victory over Los Angeles following a rare rain delay at Dodger Stadium.
Wilin Rosario also went deep for the last-place Rockies in the opener of a four-game series between the top and bottom teams in the NL West. Play was halted for 85 minutes during the sixth inning at a ballpark that hasn’t had a weather postponement in 15 years.
Dodgers rookie Yimi Garcia (2-1), who has been filling in as closer with Kenley Jansen on the disabled list following foot surgery in February, gave up a leadoff single to Nick Hundley in the ninth and a one-out single by Drew Stubbs. Charlie Blackmon was called out on strikes before Gonzalez drove a 2-1 pitch halfway up the right-field pavilion for his third homer of the season.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Hotel workers in the Omaha area are undergoing training on how to spot women and minors being forced into prostitution.
