May 2017 – Page 20 – North Platte Post Archive

Costco approves building chicken plant in Nebraska

Posted on May 11, 2017

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Costco officials have given final approval for construction of the company’s planned chicken processing operation in eastern Nebraska.

Company Vice President of real estate Jackie Frank said site work could begin in the next few weeks. A ceremonial groundbreaking is also planned for June.

Costco would invest about $280 million to build the plant, hatchery and feed mill complex. Supporters say area farmers would raise chickens to be slaughtered at the facility, a system that could generate about $1.2 billion annually for the eastern Nebraska economy.

Opponents of the plant expressed concerns in a series of Fremont city meetings last year, some speaking out on how the chicken industry treats farmers as a disposable resource.

The plant is projected to open April 2019.

Ricketts raises concerns about Nebraska state revenue

Posted on May 11, 2017

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is raising concerns that the state could collect less revenue than expected in the final months of the current fiscal year.

Ricketts said Thursday the state would have to collect $835 million over the next two months to meet estimated revenue in the fiscal year than ends June 30. During that same period last year, Nebraska state government received $793 million.

Ricketts says it’s possible the state could collect enough to match the estimates, but revenue would have to grow by more than 5 percent. He says that’s unlikely, given the struggling agricultural economy.

Ricketts says the state needs to constrain spending, but declined to say what he’ll do with the budget recently approved by lawmakers.

Attorneys say 8-year-old was bullied before killing himself

Posted on May 11, 2017May 11, 2017

Attorneys for the mother of an 8-year-old Ohio boy say he was bullied and knocked unconscious at school two days before he killed himself.

The boy killed himself at his Cincinnati home Jan. 26. The attorneys say a school surveillance video shows the boy being thrown against a wall by another child in a bathroom entrance and knocked unconscious. The attorneys, who viewed the video, say the boy lay unconscious for 7½ minutes before an assistant principal and a school nurse came to his aid.

The attorneys say school officials told the boy’s mother that day that he’d fainted but was alert. They say she only learned of the bullying after attorneys obtained a police investigative file.

Cincinnati school officials say police and media have “mischaracterized” events in the video.

Police: Man unlocked shackles, cuffs in deadly jail escape

Posted on May 11, 2017

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Investigators say an inmate accused of shooting two deputies, killing one, in an Iowa jail escape somehow managed to unlock his shackles inside a transport van.

Court records presented Wednesday at 24-year-old Wesley Correa-Carmenaty’s initial court hearing say he was in handcuffs and leg shackles May 1 when he was taken from a courthouse to the Pottawattamie County Jail. But he had unlocked them by the time the van reached the jail.

Police say a struggle ensued between Correa-Carmenaty and the deputies, and that Correa-Carmenaty managed to grab one’s gun. Police say he shot Deputy Mark Burbridge in the head and Deputy Pat Morgan in the abdomen before taking both deputies’ guns, ammunition and the keys to the van. Burbridge died; Morgan is recovering.

Correa-Carmenaty was recaptured in Omaha, Nebraska.

Nebraska lawmakers debate holding back kids who can’t read

Posted on May 11, 2017

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are debating whether schools should hold back third-grade students who aren’t reading at grade level.

Senators adjourned for the day Thursday without voting on the bill, but the measure’s sponsor says she’s close to having enough support to force a vote next week.

Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha says teachers and parents need to intervene early to make sure children can read before they move to fourth grade. She says schools should expect every child to read.

Opponents of the bill agree that childhood reading is crucial but say holding students back harms them. They say the state should focus on programs including pre-school, full-day kindergarten and professional development for teachers.

Couple charged with abuse after makeshift child cage found

Posted on May 11, 2017

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say officers searching a south Omaha home for drugs and other evidence found a makeshift cage used by a couple to corral a 3-year-old girl.

Police reports say a baby gate had been fastened to the top of a crib to form the cage that apparently was often occupied by the girl. She and a 12-year-old boy were removed from the home by state authorities after the April 18 search.

Court records say 32-year-old Kaylee Taylor and 34-year-old Joseph Hamilton both face two counts of felony child abuse. Hamilton also is charged with misdemeanor domestic assault and theft counts and four felony drug charges.

Jail records say both remained in custody Thursday. Their attorneys didn’t immediately return calls from The Associated Press.

NPPD, LES utilities to end power plant partnership

Posted on May 11, 2017

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Lincoln Electric System has decided to end its contract to buy power from one of the Nebraska Public Power District’s plants near Hallam.

LES spokeswoman Rachel Barth says the utility decided it wouldn’t need the electricity Sheldon Station generates because its predicted customer demand appears smaller than expected.

The Lincoln utility is also in the middle of reviewing its electricity generating portfolio to ensure it has the right mix of power sources.

To end the contract with NPPD at the end of this year LES will pay $10.5 million.

Omaha woman infected with Zika delivers healthy baby girl

Posted on May 11, 2017

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha woman infected with the Zika virus while pregnant has delivered a healthy baby girl.

Evelyn Suastegui gave birth to the girl on Tuesday. Suastegui was the first pregnant woman in Nebraska to have a confirmed case of the mosquito-borne virus.

Suastegui had said she began feeling ill while vacationing last year in Mexico. Her Zika infection — and pregnancy — were diagnosed after she returned to Nebraska.

Doctors spent the rest of her pregnancy checking for fetal abnormalities.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that 1 in 10 pregnant women in the continental United States with a confirmed Zika infection delivered a baby with serious defects.

Area State Track Qualifiers

Posted on May 11, 2017May 15, 2017

North Platte HS
Alli Skala – Shot Put, Discus
Delano Hernandez – Pole Vault
Jacob Harvey – Pole Vault
Payton Smith – High Jump
Trevon Weaver – Long Jump, 100 Meter, 200 Meter
Joey Larson – Discus
Elliott Purdy – Discus
Nick Bocott – 300 Meter Int. Hurdles

North Platte St. Patrick’s HS
Amanda McClellan – Pole Vault
Gracie Rippen – Pole Vault
Allie Montgomery – High Jump
Rebecca Pasquinelly – Discus
Kaleigh Kummer – Triple Jump, 300 Meter Hurdles
Girls 400 Meter Relay (Hayley Homan, Amanda McClellan, Kaleigh Kummer, Jordyn Childears)
Girls 1600 Meter Relay (Gracie Rippen, Madison Kleewein, Kaleigh Kummer, Hayley Homan)
Ethan Munson – High Jump
Jaydn Brown – Long Jump
James Schroll – 100 Meter, 200 Meter
Lane Knisley – 100 Meter
Garrett Foust – 400 Meter, 300 Meter Int. Hurdles
Chase Ochs – 400 Meter, 800 Meter
Gary White III – 110 Meter Hurdles
Boys 400 Meter Relay (Jacob Swift, Lane Knisley, Gary White III, James Schroll)
Boys 1600 Meter Relay (Gabe Vyzourek, Chase Ochs, James Schroll, Garrett Foust)

Brady HS
Michaela Jurjens – Pole Vault, 300 Meter Hurdles
Tara Callahan – Shot Put, Discus
Emery Swan – 400 Meter, 800 Meter
Girls 1600 Meter Relay (Michaela Jurjens, Joya Most, Emily Mann, Emery Swan)
Colton Lovitt – Long Jump
Christian Gentry – Discus
Noah Jurjens – 1600 Meter
Boys 3200 Meter Relay (Noah Jurjens, Colton Lovitt, TJ Roe, Tyrell Rossman)

Maxwell HS
Sydney Mullin – Long Jump, Triple Jump, 100 Meter, 200 Meter
Nicole Howitt – Discus
Caden Messersmith – Pole Vault
Will Huffman – Long Jump, Triple Jump

Paxton HS
Mason Schimonitz – High Jump
Roper Chandler – Shot Put
Bennett Perlinger – 1600 Meter
Boys 3200 Meter Relay (Emmit Rosentrater, Mason Schimonitz, Kaden Schow, Bennett Perlinger)

Stapleton HS
Lucas Harbur – Triple Jump
Trenton Harbur – 100 Meter, 200 Meter, 400 Meter
Nathan Holmes – 3200 Meter

Mullen HS
Addy Vinton – High Jump, 100 Meter Hurdles, 300 Meter Hurdles
Haley Jones – 800 Meter
Molly Paxton – 3200 Meter
Girls 1600 Meter Relay (Addy Vinton, Brittni McCully, Aubrey Frye, Haley Jones)
Lane Edis – High Jump
Tell Spies – Discus
Luke Christen – 800 Meter, 1600 Meter
Lance Moore – 110 Meter Hurdles, 300 Meter Int. Hurdles
Samuel Vinton – 300 Meter Int. Hurdles
Boys 400 Meter Relay (Daniel Young, Lance Moore, Lane Edis, Brode McIntosh)
Boys 1600 Meter Relay (Justin Wiens, Lance Moore, Lane Edis, Brode McIntosh)

Wallace HS
Hannah Nelson – Long Jump
Peyton Messersmith – Triple Jump
Margaret May – 200 Meter
Madisen Messersmith – 400 Meter
Girls 1600 Meter Relay (Jayden Widener, Peyton Messersmith, Margaret May, Madisen Messersmith)
Micah Swedberg – High Jump, 400 Meter
Jared Sullivan – Triple Jump
Boys 1600 Meter Relay (Tyler Daniels, Jared Sullivan, Robbie Nelson, Micah Swedberg)

Gothenburg HS
Kasey Wellman – Long Jump, Triple Jump
Amaya Ackerman – Long Jump
Arleigh Costello – Shot Put
Andie Geiken – 400 Meter
Kayla Weyers – 800 Meter
Girls 1600 Meter Relay (Kayla Weyers, Kasey Wellman, Andie Geiken, Madison Harpole)
Girls 3200 Meter Relay (Liliana Sitorius, Madison Harpole, Courtney Harpole, Kayla Weyers)
Tyce Hruza – Pole Vault
Wyatt Hotz – Pole Vault
Patrick Hudson – Discus

Hershey HS
Bailie Vanarsdall – 1600 Meter, 3200 Meter
Ashley Hassett – 100 Meter Hurdles, 300 Meter Hurdles
Kyler Banks – Pole Vault
Jason Davis – Shot Put
Monte McNeil – 800 Meter
Eli Huebner – 1600 Meter, 3200 Meter
McKade Smith – 300 Meter Int. Hurdles
Boys 3200 Meter Relay (McKade Smith, Dalton Ebmeier, Eli Huebner, Monte McNeil)

Sutherland HS
Bailee Fear – Long Jump, Triple Jump, 100 Meter
Dani McNeel – Discus
Haeven Schuster – 200 Meter
Morgan Burke – 3200 Meter
Garrett Elfeldt – Pole Vault
Blake Scott – Pole Vault
Jade Paxton – 3200 Meter

Woman accused of scamming grandfather faces 7 new counts

Posted on May 10, 2017

GERING, Neb. (AP) — Seven new theft counts have been filed against a western Nebraska woman already accused of scamming her 84-year-old grandfather out of more than $250,000.

Court records say 33-year-old Stacia Keener is accused of promoting a Disney World youth trip for children taking classes at her music studio in Scottsbluff. Investigators say she took parents’ money to pay for the trip but never bought tickets or scheduled it. Her preliminary hearing is set for Monday.

Keener already has pleaded not guilty to theft and forgery charges in the case involving her grandfather. Court records say the man reported that Keener had lied to him about needing money to pay back taxes and attorney and had forged checks on his account.

Her trial in that case is set to begin July 31