LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is trying a new approach to serve children and youths who have serious emotional disorders.

Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Tuesday that the state is adopting a “system of care” approach designed to promote better communication and cooperation among public and private agencies, families and youth.

Sheri Dawson, who oversees the state’s behavioral health services, says state officials will review whether Nebraska has gaps in services for youths or if services are redundant. Youths with emotional disorders frequently interact with multiple state agencies and private groups.

The initiative follows a planning process that included input from more than 1,000 families, youth, system partners, service providers and others.

Department of Health and Human Services CEO Courtney Phillips says she expects the system will help children, youths and families achieve better outcomes.

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Officials say a sightseeing helicopter crashed near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee, killing all five people aboard.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said in an email that the Bell 206 helicopter crashed Monday around 3:30 p.m. near Sevierville. Officials said the tourist helicopter was destroyed by fire after the crash.

Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin says the helicopter appeared to have come down the side of a mountain and crashed at the foot of it.

The crash site is less than a mile from a large outlet mall in Sevierville and adjacent to a neighborhood off the main tourist drag. The site is about three miles from Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The Post has confirmed, through family members, that three of the individuals killed were 22-year-old Peyton Rasmussen, 18-year-old Parker Rasmussen and their mother, Johna Morvant, all formerly of North Platte.  Morvant is originally from Sutherland.  This is a developing story.  The FAA has said the investigation into the crash could take up to a year.  Peyton and Parker are the children of former Cedar Bowl owner Scott Rasmussen.

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https://www.northplattepost.com/2016/04/05/5-killed-in-tennessee-helicopter-crash-are-identified/

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A Wisconsin man has died after a car crash along Interstate 80 in south-central Nebraska.

Authorities say 25-year-old Matthew Schmidt, of Green Bay, was alone and headed east last Wednesday when he lost control of his car about three miles east of Gibbon. The car ran off the roadway and rammed into a tree.

Schmidt was taken to a Kearney hospital. The Nebraska State Patrol was informed Sunday that Schmidt had died.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Frustrations are boiling over in the final days of this year’s Nebraska legislative session.

The session slowed to a crawl Tuesday morning, one day after lawmakers advanced a Republican-backed bill to reinstate the winner-take-all system in presidential elections.

Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, who opposed the measure, spent several hours talking to consume debate time as the session nears an end. Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete filed a motion to end the session early, which lawmakers rejected.

Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley says he’s frustrated by the increased number of filibusters this year to try to block legislation, but no one person is to blame. He says he’s concerned about what it means for the future of the Legislature.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction and sentence of a 24-year-old western Nebraska woman who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl.

But the appeals court on Tuesday lowered the requirement for Molleigh Valdez, of Alliance, to serve a lifetime on the state’s sex offender registry to 25 years on the registry. The appeals court found that the judge was wrong to find Valdez committed an aggravated offense, requiring the lifetime registration, without a hearing or receiving evidence.

The appeals court upheld her conviction of third-degree sexual assault of a child and sentence of five years in prison.

The girl told authorities that she and Valdez had engaged in sexual activity after the girl’s mother contacted police about suspicions of a relationship between the two.