Weather permitting, the 1st – 6th Streets North Platte project on US-83, locally known as Jeffers Street, will resume April 4.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane northbound to complete the work on sidewalks, ADA ramps, red imprinted concrete and barrier curbs.

Once this work is completed on the east side of Jeffers Street, traffic will be switched to the northbound lanes and work will begin on the southbound lanes and the west intersections.

This includes completing the storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water services as well as the concrete pavement, sidewalks, lighting and traffic signal work.

During the construction, there will be a 12′ maximum width restriction through the project. Due to turning radius being difficult for semi-truck traffic, they are encouraged to use an alternate route.

All work is anticipated to be completed late summer of 2016. Motorist are reminded to be extra careful in and near highway work zones, and to buckle up, every trip.

Connie Kramer, a 911 telecommunicator in the North Platte 911 Center, is among a select group of national finalists in the Smart Telecommunicator Awards, a program which recognizes and rewards 911 telecommunicators for their contributions to their 9-1-1 agency and community.

Over the past several weeks, colleagues and citizens have nominated 9-1-1 call-takers and dispatchers (telecommunicators) across the United States. The annual awards program, now in its’ 5^th year, has received hundreds of nominations nationwide, and today finalists were announced to kick off an online public vote to determine winners.

Connie has 26 years of service with the North Platte Police Department, serving 12 years as a Clerk/Dispatcher and 14 years as a Clerk/Dispatcher II.  Connie was past president of the Nebraska Emergency Services Communications Association (NESCA).  In 2011, Connie received the NESCA Jud Reed Memorial Award recognizing her outstanding service to others through training, good judgment and devotion to the communications field.  Connie has been appointed to the NESCA Training Committee for several years, developing a training curriculum for public safety communicators.  She is also a guest instructor at the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center twice each year for the basic dispatcher and emergency medical dispatcher training courses.  Connie serves as a Communications Training Officer for the North Platte Police Department, training new employees and keeping the program up-to-date.

Connie helps foster a good working environment.  She has a positive attitude and is very supportive of her employees and coworkers.  Connie leads by example and is insistent that she gets involved in the day-to-day activities of a dispatcher while fulfilling her supervisory responsibilities.  She takes pride in her work and the operation of the 911 Center.   Connie sets a good example and should be an inspiration to her co-workers.

The public can now review the finalist submissions and vote online at www.smart911.com/sta through April 1, 2016, at 5:00 pm EDT.

Weather permitting, construction will begin on US Highway 83 between R.P. 98+63 and R.P. 105+37, along the Lincoln/Logan County line, on Wednesday, March 30.

Construction will include milling of existing roadway and shoulders and asphalt overlay. Traffic will be controlled by flagging stations during working hours. There will be a 14′ maximum width restriction for the duration of the project.

All work is anticipated to be completed mid-summer of 2016.

Motorists are reminded to be extra careful in and near highway work zones and to buckle-up, every trip.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services says an inmate has assaulted a staff member at the State Penitentiary in Lincoln.

The assault occurred Sunday. The department says the staffer was taken to a Lincoln hospital for treatment and then released.

The names of the inmate and the staff member and other details about the incident have not been released.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Gering man has died after being ejected from his tractor after he drove it off a dirt berm.

The accident occurred around 4:20 p.m. Sunday at the Western Sugar Cooperative facility on the east side of Scottsbluff. Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman says in a news release that several people reported seeing the tractor being driven erratically before it entered the co-op’s property, where it ran off the berm, ejecting him. Investigators suspect the man had been drinking alcohol.

He was pronounced dead at a Scottsbluff hospital. Overman identified him as 47-year-old Leland Smith.