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7 Nebraska State Recreation Areas to Allow Fireworks

fireworksLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Seven state recreation areas in Nebraska plan to allow fireworks for Independence Day celebrations.

The Game and Parks Commission says visitors can shoot off fireworks from 8 a.m. until midnight on July 4 only.

The fireworks will be allowed at Branched Oak State Recreation Area (SRA) near Malcolm, Fort Kearny SRA near Kearney, Memphis SRA near Memphis, Fremont SRA near Fremont, Two Rivers SRA near Venice, Pawnee SRA near Emerald and Wagon Train SRA near Hickman.

Signs will point the way to designated fireworks sites, and boundaries will be clearly marked. Using fireworks elsewhere in state areas or at other times is prohibited.

The commission urges visitors to use caution, and says only fireworks approved for sale in Nebraska can be used. Visitors are responsible for cleaning up spent fireworks.

1 Dead After Several Weekend Shootings in Omaha

crime-scene-police-shootOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police investigating six weekend shootings that left one man dead and seven other people wounded.

The shootings all occurred in northeast Omaha either late Saturday or early Sunday morning.

Police Officer Kevin Wiese said 25-year-old Travis Holbert died at Creighton University Medical Center after one of the shootings.

Holbert was sitting on a porch near 33rd and Burdette when he was shot by someone in a vehicle around 3 a.m. Sunday.

Six other shooting victims were in critical condition Sunday, but the conditions of all four men and three women wounded weren’t immediately available.

Young bounces back in Royals’ 3-2 win over A’

kc-royalsOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Chris Young bounced back from his worst start of the season to pitch six innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 Saturday.

Kendrys Morales hit a two-run single in the sixth off Scott Kazmir (4-5) that erased a 2-1 deficit. The Royals won for the fourth time in five games on their road trip.

Young (7-3) allowed four hits and two runs. He walked one and struck out four.

That was in stark contrast to Young’s previous start against Boston when he was tagged for seven runs in 4 2-3 innings.

Sam Fuld doubled for the A’s, who were wearing throwback uniforms from 1965 when the franchise was in Kansas City. Oakland has lost two straight after a season-high, five-game winning streak.

For the second consecutive game these two bitter rivals played without incident. When they played in Kansas City in April, all three games were marred by bench-clearing dustups.

Posey, Susac power Giants to 7-5 victory

colorado-rockiesSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Buster Posey drove in two runs, and Andrew Susac had a three-run double in the seventh inning to rally the San Francisco Giants to a 7-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.

Matt Duffy added three hits, including a home run, for the Giants, who won three games in a homestand for the first time since sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 19-21.

Nolan Arenado extended his hitting streak to 14 games with an RBI double and Wilin Rosario added two hits and drove in a run for the Rockies, who had won five of their previous six games.

George Kontos (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win. Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his 20th save.

Rafael Betancourt (2-3), making his second appearance since being activated from the disabled list, gave up Susac’s hit

Nearly 90 University of Nebraska Faculty Take Buyout

university-of-nebraskaLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska says nearly 90 faculty members at three of its campuses have taken a buyout offered last fall, freeing up $9.2 million to be reallocated into hiring new faculty and staff members for the 2016-17 school year.

The buyout provided a one-time payout equal to 90 percent of the base salary for tenure-track faculty 62 or older and with at least 10 years of experience at NU.

NU spokeswoman Melissa Lee says 63 of those taking the buyout were at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Twenty-two faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha accepted a buyout, while only four at the University of Nebraska at Kearney did.

The system’s medical school in Omaha did not participate.

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Bail Set for Omaha Woman Accused of Running Travel Voucher Scheme

gavel-and-scaleOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Bail has been set at $150,000 for an Omaha woman accused of operating a travel voucher scheme that bilked her employees out of thousands and customers out of more than $1 million.

30-year-old Patricia Urbanovsky also had her passport confiscated Friday at her bond hearing in Douglas County Court.

Urbanovsky faces three felony counts of theft. She faces up to 20 years in prison for each count if convicted.

County Attorney Don Kleine says Urbanovsky ran a scheme through her event-planning business, Creative Creations, to sell discounted Southwest Airlines travel vouchers, which turned out to be unusable.

Kleine says Urbanovsky had three former employees buy $141,000 in vouchers with their personal credit cards, promising to pay them back. When she did, the checks bounced.

Man Seeks $400K from Grand Island for Electrical Mishap

city-of-grand-islandGRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A Grand Island man is seeking $400,000 from the city of Grand Island, saying a major error by the city’s utility department “fried” his house.

Michael Brewer’s claim says that on Oct. 23, city utility crews hooked power lines to his house backward. The error caused Brewer’s appliances and walls to ignite. It ruined the house’s wiring, plumbing, furnace, air conditioner, sprinkler system and personal property in the house.

The effect, Brewer said, “was like the house was hit by lightning.”

Grand Island Utilities Director Tim Luchsinger did not contest the department’s fault.

The City Council has six months to either approve or deny the claim. If it denies the claim or does nothing, Brewer has the right to sue.

Small Plane Pilot Unhurt in Emergency Landing Near Lincoln

emergency-landingLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The pilot of a small airplane is unhurt after making an emergency landing about 3 1/2 miles south of the Lincoln Airport.

The incident happened early Friday afternoon.

The pilot told authorities the plane was experiencing engine problems.

The Piper Comanche landed near some train tracks.

David Haring of the Lincoln Airport says the pilot alerted airport authorities about landing at the airport, but that engine issues prevented the plane from reaching the runway.

Sheriff: Wyoming Man Kills Infant Before Injuring Self

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CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Authorities say a man shot and killed a 4-month old baby before turning the gun on himself in the tiny southeastern Wyoming town of Lingle.

53-year-old Duane Clarkson Sylvester’s wife called 911 on Thursday night to report that her husband was suicidal. The Goshen County Sheriff’s Office says that while the woman was on the phone, she told dispatchers that Sylvester shot her baby and then himself.

The man was flown to a hospital in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, where he is in the trauma intensive care unit.

Sylvester’s 33-year-old wife was uninjured. No other details have been released.

History Weekend Set July 4-5 at Fort Atkinson

fort-atkinsonFORT CALHOUN, Neb. (AP) — The Declaration of Independence will be read during a Living History Weekend at Fort Atkinson State Historical Park in eastern Nebraska.

Volunteers will portray life at the 1820s military post during the Saturday and Sunday event and demonstrate trades such as blacksmithing and coopering as well as crafts such as spinning and weaving.

Fort Atkinson sits on the east side of Fort Calhoun, which is situated 15 miles north of Omaha. A park entry permit is required for all vehicles and may be purchased at the park.

Contact the park for more information at 402-468-5611 or ngpc.fort.atkinson@nebraska.gov.

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