Keep North Platte and Lincoln County Beautiful (KNPLCB) and ABC Recycling would like to announce that Lincoln School in North Platte is the winner of the Plastic Recycling Contest among Lincoln County Schools.

A total of 14 schools participated including all North Platte Public Elementary Schools, Brady, Maxwell, Sutherland, and McDaid.  A total of 10,120 pounds of plastic was collected through the event.  Lincoln School in North Platte collected a total of 2,107 pounds of plastic.

The entire event saved 151.8 cubic yards of landfill space, 82.47 barrels of crude oil and save 2530 gallons of gasoline.

On Monday, May 11^th at 2:30 PM, KNPLCB, ABC Recycling and Kildare Lumber will be presenting a bench made of composite wood donated by Kildare Lumber to Lincoln School.

The composite wood is made from recycled plastic.  This is a great way to show the students and participants what the end result might be for the tons of plastic collected.

ABC Recycling will have all of the bales of plastic stacked on a flatbed trailer so that everyone can see the amount of plastic collected in just one month of the competition.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker who wants to legalize medical marijuana says his bill would help suffering children, while opponents criticize the measure as too lax.

Lawmakers clashed Thursday over a proposal that would allow doctors to prescribe cannabis to patients with cancer, epilepsy and other chronic illnesses.

Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue offered an impassioned case for the legislation, arguing that advocates may place the issue on the 2016 ballot if lawmakers fail to act.

Opponents say Nebraska shouldn’t legalize the drug just because other states have, and urged lawmakers to consider the possible consequences.

Senators didn’t get to a vote, and could resume debate Tuesday. Some proposed amendments would prohibit smoking the drug and would not allow marijuana to be prescribed for chronic pain.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has made good on his promise to veto a proposed 6-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase.

The Republican governor rejected the measure shortly after lawmakers gave it final approval Thursday. Ricketts argues in his veto message that measure contradicts the public’s desire for tax relief.

The bill would incrementally raise the tax over four years to help pay for road and bridge repairs, generating an estimated $76 million a year once fully implemented.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, a conservative who normally opposes tax increases. Smith casts the measure as a “user fee” for motorists and argues that good roads promote economic growth.

Smith has said he has enough support in the Legislature to override the veto.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Farmers and ranchers who open their property to tourists could be shielded from certain lawsuits under a bill advancing through the Nebraska Legislature.

Senators gave the proposal first-round approval Thursday with a 33-1 vote. Sen. Ken Schilz of Ogallala says he introduced it to promote rural tourism and give farmers and ranchers another potential revenue source without the fear of lawsuits.

A 2012 Nebraska Tourism Commission report found that liability concerns were a major roadblock to the tourism industry’s growth in the state.

Schilz says the bill would not allow property owners to be careless. Landowners would only be protected if an injury was due to an “inherent risk” of the land, unless the owner knew of a danger and failed to disclose it.