April 2017 – Page 4 – North Platte Post Archive

NPCC Knights softball to host Central in Region IX Division II Championship Series

Posted on April 26, 2017

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Knights softball team will play the Central Community College Lady Raiders April 29-30 for the Region IX Division II championship at the Dowhower Softball Complex.

It is a best of three series, which is a new format for determining the Region IX champion.

The Knights are the number one seed in the tournament with a regular season Region IX Division II record of 10-2, and earned the right to host the championship series. The Lady Raiders, who were 4-8 in Region IX Division II play, hosted Southeast Community College, also 4-8, to see who would face the Knights. After losing to Southeast, the Lady Raiders battled back in the second game to win 3-2, and took the deciding game 12-2.

The Knights are 28-26 overall and have a.408 team batting average, with 40 home runs hit on the season. Individually the Knights are led in hitting by Sarah Beaton at .477 in 172 at bats. Beaton also has nine doubles, three triples, and three home runs with 34 runs batted in. Following Beaton in the team lead for average is Samantha Gill at .475 in 181 at bats. Gill has 12 doubles and eight home runs with 39 runs batted in. Samantha Foster leads the Knights in home runs with 12 and runs batted in with 64. Foster has a .472 batting average in 193 at bats with 20 doubles and 2 triples.

In the ring, Foster has a 3.29 earned run average with 94 strikeouts. Foster has had 29 appearances and an 11-14 record. Erin Renwick also has appeared in 29 games and has a 16-11 record. Renwick has a 3.76 earned run average and has struck out 64 opposing batters.

The Lady Raiders are 16-31 overall and has a team batting average of .351 with 26 home runs.

Danica Schaefer leads the Lady Raiders in hitting with a .427 batting average in 143 at bats. Schaefer also has 16 doubles, two triples, five home runs, and 35 runs batted in. Maddi Kucera has a .403 batting average in 159 at bats. Kucera has nine doubles, five triples, one home run and 29 runs batted in. Katelyn Keene leads the Lady Raiders in home runs with eight, followed by Antonia Rodriguez with six home runs. Rodriguez has 45 runs batted in to lead the Lady Raiders.

Carsen Nelson leads the Lady Raiders in the ring with a 5.46 earned run average. Carson has pitched in 29 games and has an 8-16 record with 78 strikeouts. Keene has a 5.47 earned run average in 24 games. Keene has a 7-7 record with 61 strikeouts.

Game times for the series are: Game one is Saturday, April 29 at 3 pm. Game two follows at 5 pm on Saturday. If game three is necessary, it will be played Sunday, April 30 at 1 pm.

All games will be broadcast on the radio at ESPN 1410 and on the Internet at www.northplattepost.com. They will also be livestreamed at www.npccknights.com.

The winner of this series will represent Region IX in the District G playoff series at the Region 11a champion to secure a bid in the National Junior College Athletic Association National Tournament in Clinton, Miss. On May 17-20.

Second crash involving Omaha school bus in as many days

Posted on April 26, 2017

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A crash involving a school bus and car in north Omaha has left a school aide on the bus injured. It was the second crash involving an Omaha school bus in the area in as many days.

The crash happened Wednesday afternoon at 48th Street and Northwest Radial Highway. Omaha police say an adult — the school aide — on the bus was taken to a hospital with injuries. A child on the bus was not injured.

Officers said driver of the car was not injured.

Omaha Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Farmer says the bus was transporting a student from Bryan Middle School.

On Tuesday, five people — including a student — were injured in another north Omaha crash involving a school bus.

Iraqi national sentenced to up to 10 years for abusing girls

Posted on April 26, 2017

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An Iraqi national has been sentenced to six to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing two girls in Lincoln.

44-year-old Tarik Mohammed denied charges that he sexually touched the two sisters at his house. Prosecutors say one girl was 10 or 11 when she was abused; the other says Mohammed touched her inappropriately on her 14th birthday.

A Lancaster County jury found him guilty in February of two counts of third-degree sexual assault of a child.

At trial, jurors heard from two other girls who said Mohammed had raped them — one in Iraq, the other in Syria.

Because it happened outside Nebraska, he couldn’t be charged on those allegations.

Fire heavily damages Omaha restaurant in Florence community

Posted on April 26, 2017

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A popular Omaha restaurant in the Florence community has been heavily damaged by fire.

Officials say Mouth of the South restaurant caught fire around 7 a.m. Wednesday, and the historic building burned for two hours.

Fire Chief Dan Olsen says the building’s age, multi-layered ceiling and gusty winds made the fire hard to fight. He says brick fire walls kept the fire from spreading to other buildings.

The restaurant, which serves Southern cuisine, was closed at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.

Man found not mentally fit to stand trial in Nebraska death

Posted on April 26, 2017

DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP) — One of two men accused of killing another man in northeast Nebraska’s Dakota County has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial.judge on Wednesday ruled that Andres Surber will not stand trial, based on a state psychiatrist’s report.

A judge on Wednesday ruled that Andres Surber will not stand trial, based on a state psychiatrist’s report.

Authorities say Surber and Brayan Galvan-Hernandez, both of Wakefield, shot to death 41-year-old Kraig Kubik, of Emerson.

Parts of Kubik’s body were found in a car and in a creek. Authorities say Surber and Galvan-Hernandez had gone to Kubik’s home Nov. 1 and demanded that he give them a car that once belonged to Surber.

Galvan-Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murder and related charges.

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Judge could rule soon to let beer stores keep licenses

Posted on April 26, 2017

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Four Nebraska beer stores could learn soon whether they can stay in business near a South Dakota Indian reservation plagued by alcoholism while they appeal a state regulator’s ruling that could force them to close.

A judge may decide as soon as Thursday whether to suspend the ruling against the stores in Whiteclay while they appeal their case. The stores sell millions of cans of beer annually next to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. An attorney for the stores argued Wednesday that his clients can’t stay in business if their licenses expire as scheduled on Sunday.

Attorney Andrew Snyder is asking the judge to let the stores automatically renew their licenses, as they have in previous years.

Critics blame the stores for problems on the reservation including high rates of fetal alcohol syndrome.

Teachers union, Ricketts in spat over proclamation

Posted on April 26, 2017

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s teachers union is in a spat with Gov. Pete Ricketts after the governor refused to sign a proclamation honoring the group’s 150th anniversary.

The Nebraska State Education Association issued a statement Wednesday calling the action “mean-spirited and indefensible” and disrespectful to its 28,000 members.

The association says it followed all procedures outlined by the governor’s office to request a proclamation and followed up with phone calls and an in-person visit. It says Ricketts recently issued proclamations honoring groups that represent engineers, architects and farmers.

Ricketts spokesman Taylor Gage says the administration has re-evaluated how it issues proclamations related to education groups, placing a focus on teacher innovation and student achievement. Gage says Ricketts questions how the union can oppose policies he believes will improve outcomes for students.

Arbor Day events planned at Nebraska Capitol, state building

Posted on April 26, 2017

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials are hosting tree-planting events at state buildings to celebrate Arbor Day.

One ceremony will take place at 9:30 a.m. Friday on the Capitol’s southwest lawn. The Office of the Capitol Commission is hosting the event with Lt. Gov. Mike Foley and dignitaries from the Nebraska Forest Service and the Arbor Day Foundation.

A second tree-planting event is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lincoln Regional Center, the state psychiatric hospital. Gov. Pete Ricketts will present a service award to Dave Nicklas, the facility’s retiring arborist. Officials will also plant trees in honor of four now-deceased hospital staff members.

Arbor Day originated in Nebraska and is recognized as an official state holiday.

Jail officials to study procedures in wake of inmate death

Posted on April 26, 2017

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The director of the Douglas County Jail says officials will be looking at the jail’s policies and procedures following the death of a 61-year-old inmate with health problems who had been combative with corrections officers.

Director Mark Foxall said Wednesday at a news conference that officials will try to determine how best to identify risk in people booked into the Omaha facility.

Douglas County officials say Steven Claycamp died Tuesday evening at a hospital after a struggle with jail staffers when he tried to leave his cell. Staffers eventually placed him in restraint chair and gave him a sedative, then took him to a hospital when he became ill.

State law requires a grand jury investigation any time a person is dies in custody or while being arrested.

Nebraska lawmakers to need another $50M to balance budget

Posted on April 26, 2017

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers who worked to erase a nearly $900 million projected revenue shortfall will have to come up with another $50 million to balance the state budget.

The Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board set new revenue estimates on Wednesday, predicting the state will collect $4.3 billion in the current fiscal year and $9.2 billion in the upcoming two-year budget cycle.

The new projections will wipe out the $3.5 million that lawmakers had available for priorities this year.

Forecasting board members offered differing views on the state economy. Members from Nebraska’s larger cities offered a positive outlook, while rural members warned of a struggling farm economy.

Sen. John Stinner of Gering, the Appropriations Committee chairman, says the estimates are another hurdle but not disastrous when it comes to balancing the budget.