July 2015 – Page 3 – North Platte Post Archive

85-Year-Old Man Involved in Nebraska Crash Dies

Posted on July 30, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An 85-year-old man involved in a two-vehicle crash in eastern Nebraska in July has died from his injuries.

Otoe County Chief Deputy Mike Holland says John Stevenson, of Holdrege, died Monday at a Lincoln hospital.

Stevenson was driving a car on July 10 near Syracuse when his vehicle collided with another car. Authorities say Stevenson failed to yield to the other car.

Stevenson had been hospitalized since the crash. His wife, who was a passenger in the car, remains hospitalized in fair condition.

The driver of the other vehicle was also hospitalized but has since been released.

Appeals Court Tosses Nebraska Man’s Sentence for Shooting Bald Eagle

Posted on July 30, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has tossed a Nebraska man’s sentence for shooting a pair of protected birds last year near Macy.

Lamar Bertucci has spent the past five months in prison for shooting an eagle and a rough-legged hawk. A federal judge has set Bertucci’s resentencing for Aug. 12.

Bertucci pleaded guilty in killing the birds, but had disputed the $10,000 value that a federal probation officer put on the eagle.

The officer, who prepared Bertucci’s presentence report, relied on testimony from a Virginia-based wildlife expert, who estimated the replacement cost of the eagle.

The bird’s worth mattered to Bertucci because the amount of the loss can dictate the length of a sentence. He was sentenced last year to eight months in prison.

Group Works to Plant Native Prairie Grass on Land South of NP

Posted on July 30, 2015

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Thanks to a $700,000 grant and an organization’s efforts, around 15,500 acres of land south of North Platte is looking greener.

Four of Nebraska’s Natural Resource Districts bought the land and formed the Nebraska Cooperative Republican Platte Enhancement Project. A group official says it’s in the process of converting it back to native prairie grass.

The group worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to develop a seed mix that would grow well on the property. The goal of the project is to help reduce the amount of water used on the land.

The acres used to be a part of Lincoln Farms, which was the largest continuous farm in the state at the time it was sold.

Iowa Authorities ID Nebraskan Whose Body Was Pulled from River

Posted on July 30, 2015

COUNCIL BLUFF, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a man whose body was recovered from the Missouri River at Council Bluffs.

Council Bluffs police identified the man as 37-year-old Jeffrey Kahler, of Omaha, Nebraska. Police say there’s no evidence that a crime was involved in Kahler’s death.

His body was spotted a little before 5:30 p.m. Sunday just south of the Veterans Memorial Bridge, which connects Council Bluffs with south Omaha. Council Bluffs firefighters recovered the body less than 30 minutes later.

Only Small Increase in US Girls Getting Cervical Cancer Shot

Posted on July 30, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — More U.S. girls are getting a controversial vaccine, but the increase last year was only slight.

A national survey released Thursday found 60 percent of adolescent girls received at least one of three doses of the vaccine against human papillomavirus, or HPV. It was 57 percent in 2013.

For boys, the rate was 42 percent, up from 34 percent.

The vaccine has been available to girls since 2006 but has been recommended for boys since 2011. It protects against cervical cancer and genital warts. The shots are recommended at age 11 or 12, to protect youths before they start to have sex.

Health officials say not enough pediatricians are strongly recommending HPV shots. Vaccination rates against other diseases like whooping cough are much higher.

Teen Accused of Suffocating Newborn Then Going Shopping

Posted on July 30, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say a teenager suffocated her just-born baby before taking his body with her on a trip to Victoria’s Secret in New York City.

Eighteen-year-old Tiona Rodriguez pleaded not guilty Thursday to a murder charge stemming from the shopping trip two years ago. Prosecutors say she was arrested on a shoplifting charge at the store, and her 8-pound newborn was found dead in a bag she was carrying. The shoplifting charge was later dropped.

Prosecutors say Rodriguez intended for weeks to kill the infant and sent a text message about plans to “dig a hole” and “put it somewhere.”

Defense lawyer Earl Ward says Rodriguez’s term of pregnancy was unclear. He says Rodriguez didn’t know she was pregnant and she had a stillbirth. He says she acted out of confusion.

Ricketts, Foley to Lead Nebraska Trade Mission to Japan

Posted on July 30, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Lt. Gov. Mike Foley are traveling to Japan in September for back-to-back foreign trade missions.

The governor’s office announced Thursday that Foley will lead a delegation Sept. 9-11 to promote Nebraska’s beef and pork products in the country.

Ricketts will lead a separate delegation of state business leaders to the annual Midwest U.S.-Japan Association Conference in Tokyo, from Sept. 12-16. Ricketts will address the conference on Sept. 14.

Ricketts says the Japan continues to be one of Nebraska’s top export customers and business investors. Brenda Hicks-Sorensen, director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, will join the governor’s trade mission to meet with companies.

The trade mission is the second of the governor’s administration. Ricketts traveled to Europe in June.

Feds Release Updated Strategy Against AIDS in America

Posted on July 30, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials have updated their strategic plan for fighting AIDS, setting new goals for reducing infections and deaths.

The plan unveiled Thursday updates one issued five years ago. Developments since then include new diagnostic tests, a daily pill for infection prevention and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act — increasing the number of people with health insurance.

However, new HIV infections have stayed about the same, at around 50,000 a year. Diagnosed infections have dropped in women and heterosexuals, but climbed in gay and bisexual men.

The updated document adds some new goals for 2020, like reducing the death rate among HIV-diagnosed people by at least one-third, and increasing the percentage who control their infection though medication.

Police ID Motorcyclist Killed in Lincoln Collision

Posted on July 30, 2015

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 19-year-old man who was fatally injured when his motorcycle ran into the back of a car near a Lincoln intersection.

Police identified him Thursday as 19-year-old David Romero, of Lincoln.

The accident occurred around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday. Police say the southbound car turned west onto O Street at 56th Street and soon was hit from behind by the westbound motorcycle. Police say Romero died later at a hospital and that the car driver, Lori Morin, of Lincoln, wasn’t injured.

Man Hurt When Chair Broke at UP Facility Gets $920,000 in Lawsuit

Posted on July 30, 2015

GERING, Neb. (AP) — A man who was injured at a Union Pacific facility when a chair he was sitting on broke has been awarded more than $920,000 by a jury in western Nebraska.

Dan Anderson filed the lawsuit in March 2010, alleging that the railroad failed to provide him a safe place to work. The accident occurred on Oct. 2, 2007, when Anderson was 55 and working as a control operator at Union Pacific’s South Morrill facility in Scotts Bluff County. The verdict was rendered last week after a three-day trial.

Anderson’s attorney Kyle Long says Anderson lost 61 days of work and had to undergo back surgery.

Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said Thursday that the railroad respects the jury’s decision but plans to appeal.