June 2016 – North Platte Post Archive

Water sample shows zebra mussel larva in west Omaha lake

Posted on June 30, 2016

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says a recent water sample shows the presence of invasive zebra mussel larva in west Omaha’s Lake Zorinsky.

The corps says the larvae are microscopic, and that there is no indication that they are a threat to the dam’s infrastructure.

There are no immediate plans to lower Lake Zorinsky or use any chemicals to treat the lake for zebra mussels.

The small black-and-white striped mussels, native to eastern Europe, are voracious eaters, gobbling up plankton that many native freshwater fish need to survive.

The mussels can also attach themselves to boat motors, bait buckets and dam mechanisms, causing damage to motors and facilities.

Residents ask for patience in addressing Whiteclay problems

Posted on June 30, 2016

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Members of a group that was formed to address violence and panhandling in Whiteclay say they’re trying to fix the problems but need more time.

The group released a statement Thursday asking for the public’s patience. Members joined forces after Gov. Pete Ricketts encouraged local residents to seek a solution to the issues in the village next to South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Whiteclay’s four beer stores sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of beer last year despite having only a dozen full-time residents. Critics blame the town for high rates of alcoholism and fetal alcohol syndrome within the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

Whiteclay grocer Lance Moss says members are discussing how to deal with health and safety issues, law enforcement, abandoned buildings and people loitering in the street.

Lincoln police arrest 2 Firth men in homemade fireworks case

Posted on June 30, 2016

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln police say they’ve arrested two southeast Nebraska men on suspicion of selling homemade fireworks.

The two Firth men, ages 38 and 34, were arrested and jailed Wednesday after police were initially called to investigate a possible drug deal.

Police say the 38-year-old sold 40 fireworks for $4 each to another person in the Lincoln Airport Authority parking lot Wednesday afternoon.

During the course of the investigation, police talked to the seller’s neighbor and searched his garage, finding fuses, powder, bottle rockets and nearly 20 homemade fireworks.

Director: Nebraska didn’t correct 15 miscalculated sentences

Posted on June 30, 2016

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s corrections director says state officials failed to correct the prison terms of 15 inmates after discovering in 2014 that hundreds of sentences had been miscalculated.

Scott Frakes acknowledged Thursday that corrections staffers didn’t calculate new sentences even after learning they were inaccurate. He says he doesn’t know why the sentences weren’t adjusted, but the staffers responsible were from a previous administration and no longer work for the department.

One of the inmates, Sean McGlaughlin, was rearrested on Wednesday. Another inmate, Aaron Finney, was discharged from parole too early.

Frakes says 10 of the inmates are still incarcerated in Nebraska’s prison system and will have their sentences adjusted, one is in federal custody, one is in a California prison and one was deported to Mexico.

Laws encourage alternatives to prison for veterans with PTSD

Posted on June 30, 2016

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Defenders of a former Army sergeant in North Carolina say he truly believed he was protecting fellow soldiers from a Taliban bomber when he fired 24 rounds at police and firefighters responding to a fire in his apartment.

Psychologists testified that Joshua Eisenhauer returned from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress that made him a paranoid, hyper-vigilant insomniac, and so delusional that he drew his weapon whenever anyone came to his door in Fayetteville.

They say untreated PTSD could scramble his mind beyond repair if he spends the rest of his sentence, up to 18 years, in prison.

North Carolina is considering enabling judges to consider PTSD as a mitigating factor when sentencing military veterans. Critics say this is unnecessary and could end up harming veterans and others with the disorder.

Nebraska judge overturns fracking water disposal decision

Posted on June 30, 2016

$fracking$ SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — A judge has overturned a Nebraska commission’s decision to let a Colorado company use a well north of Mitchell to dispose of salty groundwater and chemical-laden fracking wastewater that result from oil and gas exploration and production.

Judge Derek Weimer said in a ruling released Tuesday that the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission had exceeded its authority in April 2015 when it approved a request by Terex Energy Corp., of Broomfield, Colorado.

A petition for the judge’s review was filed by neighboring landowners Jane Grove and Hughson Flying A Ranch Inc. In court documents they say there’s no Nebraska statute that allows the commission to authorize disposal of the wastewater from other states. The judge agreed.

2nd Beatrice Six lawsuit trial wrapping up

Posted on June 30, 2016

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Closing arguments are expected to be given Thursday in the second trial of a lawsuit filed against Gage County by people wrongfully convicted in a 1985 rape and slaying.

Both sides wrapped up their cases Wednesday. The six people — James Dean, Kathleen Gonzalez, Debra Shelden, Ada JoAnn Taylor, Joseph White and Thomas Winslow — were wrongly convicted in the killing of Helen Wilson in Beatrice and served a combined 77 years in prison before DNA testing cleared them in 2008. They’ve become known as the Beatrice Six.

Lawyers for them have argued that Gage County investigators labored to close the case despite contradictory evidence. The first trial last year ended in a mistrial.

Second man sentenced to 20 years in prison for Omaha slaying

Posted on June 30, 2016

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The second of two men convicted in the drug-related slaying of a man found bound and burned near Gretna in 2012 has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

35-year-old Joseph Fleming will serve 10 years before he is eligible for parole. His sentence will begin later this year after he finishes a sentence on a gun charge.

Fleming entered a plea agreement for a charge of manslaughter in May in the death of 31-year-old Jose L. Quintero. He was originally charged with first-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

Quintero died from neck and head trauma after being beaten with a pipe. He was also stabbed.

The other person charged in the crime, John Meyers, pleaded guilty to the same charge and received the same sentence last week.

Ku Klux Klan dreams of rising again 150 years after founding

Posted on June 30, 2016

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The Ku Klux Klan is trying to make a comeback and reshape itself for a new era.

The white supremacist organization was born in the defeated South after the Civil War. It’s 150 years old and has been in decline for decades.

Yet Associated Press interviews with Klan leaders show the group is still alive and dreams of restoring itself to what it once was: an invisible empire spreading throughout society.

Watchdog groups estimate total Klan membership at only a few thousand nationwide, and some scoff at the idea of a Klan resurgence. There’s no single Klan, and different Klan groups disagree over tactics and philosophy.

But Klan leaders say they feel U.S. politics are going their way as a nationalist, us-against-them mentality deepens among some across the nation.

North Platte Weather-June 30

Posted on June 30, 2016

Today

A chance of thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Some storms could be severe, with large hail and damaging winds. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Light and variable wind becoming east 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tonight

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. East northeast wind 9 to 11 mph.

Friday

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. East southeast wind 9 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

Friday Night

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 61. East southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Saturday

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. East southeast wind 8 to 11 mph.

Saturday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.

Sunday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 79.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 60.

Independence Day

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.

Monday Night

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64.

Tuesday

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.

Tuesday Night

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 93.