MALCOLM, Neb. (AP) — Refugees from northern Iraq have established a national cemetery in southeast Nebraska.
About 250 people gathered Saturday to celebrate the establishment of the new 20-acre Yazidi Cemetery.
The land was bought for $150,500 in October by the United Yezidi Community of America, a Lincoln nonprofit aiming to unify the Yazidi community.
Yazidi people are ethnically Kurdish and have long faced persecution for their religion, the most recent being the 2014 genocide by the Islamic State in northern Iraq.
The nonprofit’s website says Lincoln has the highest Yazidi population in the country. Co-founder Khalaf Hesso says the cemetery is for all Yazidis in the United States.
Nonprofit President Alias Aldakhi says the cemetery binds the community together and gives its roots in Nebraska.
HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 2-year-old and 8-year-old have been taken into state custody because they were found locked outside their south-central Nebraska home in the 91-degree heat.
Someone called police around 6:30 p.m. Sunday after spotting the children apparently trying to get into their Hastings home. The children reported that they’d been locked outside since before lunch.
The officers knocked on the residence doors, but no one answered. Police say the children seemed OK and didn’t need medical attention.
Police say the parents never did show up Sunday evening. It’s unclear whether they surfaced Monday. A police spokesman didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press.
June L. Walker of North Platte passed away June 9, 2017 at Great Plains Hospital at the age of 83. June was born June 22, 1933 at Farnam, Nebraska to Elmer and Eva (Keiper) Hilton. When June was very young the family moved to the farmstead north of Cozad, Nebraska. June graduated from the Cozad High School in 1951. In 1956, she was united in marriage to Gerald Walker at the United Methodist Church in Cozad. In 1962, the Walker family began with the births of Michelle Lynn, Monte David and Marsha Sue. Soon after they moved the family to North Platte, Nebraska. June was a great home maker and also worked at the Greyhound Bus Depot and NBC computer center. Her most treasured times were spent at home taking care of her family and spoiling her grandchildren. She enjoyed gardening, flowers, tea parties with her girlfriends, listening to country music and the Grand Ole Opry. June was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; a daughter, Michelle Gill; sister, Doris Hergenrader; and brother, Leonard Hilton. She is lovingly survived by her children, Monte (Anissa) Walker of North Platte and Marsha (Rick) Nester of Layton, UT; 6 grandchildren, Sam Gill and David Gill of Phoenix, AZ, Brittany Nester of Layton, UT, and Colton (Erin Lewis) Walker, Luke Walker and Bryson Walker, all of North Platte. A memorial has been established in her memory. Online condolences may be shared at www.carpentermemorial.com. Services will be held Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at the North Platte First United Methodist Church with Rev. Dr. Doug Delp officiating. Burial at Farnam Cemetery will follow at 2:00 p.m. Visitation will be Tuesday, June 13, 2017 from 1 to 8 at Carpenter Memorial Chapel.
Bull rider Mason Ward, along with other high school rodeo athletes, has qualified for the 2017 Nebraska High School Finals Rodeo in Hastings June 15-17. The top four in each event after the state finals goes on to compete at the National High School Finals Rodeo. Photo by Jill Saults.
Hastings, Neb. (June 11, 2017) The entry list has been set for the Nebraska State High School Finals Rodeo, to be held in Hastings June 15-17 at the Adams County Fairgrounds.
Nearly 150 high school rodeo athletes will compete in twelve events. The top four competitors in each event at the state level will earn a berth at the National High School Rodeo Finals in Gillette, Wyo., July 16-22, where national champions will be crowned in each event.
Included in the contestant list are North Platte residents Trey Seevers, who enters finals first in the saddle bronc riding and second in the bareback riding, and Mason Ward, who leads the bull riding and will also team rope and participate in the boys cutting.
Sutherland sends two cowboys to finals: Colten Storer (boys cutting, team roping, tie-down roping and steer wrestling) and Kaine Stokey (boys cutting, team roping and bull riding).
Wallace’s Ansley Brown will compete in the pole bending and breakaway roping.
Four contestants from Sutherland have qualified for state: Tristan Haake (breakaway roping), Andrea Meyer (barrels, poles, breakaway and goat tying), Cauy Pokorny (steer wrestling, tie-down roping and team roping) and Arika Starr (barrels and poles.)
The twelve events include bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, team roping, breakaway roping, goat tying, pole bending, barrel racing, boys cutting, girls cutting, and bull riding.
The Finals, the culmination of 29 regular season rodeos, will be held at 10 am and 6 pm on June 15-16, with the short round on June 17 at 1 pm. After Thursday and Friday’s performances, the top ten contestants in each event will advance to the short round on June 17. The cutting will be held at 7:30 am on June 15-16, with the short round at 8 am on June 17. The 2017-2018 Miss Nebraska High School Rodeo Queen will be crowned prior to the performance on June 17. For more information, visit www.AdamsCountyFairgrounds.com or call 402.462.3247. For information on the Nebraska State High School Rodeo Association, visit www.hsrodeo-nebraska.com.
Qualifying high school rodeo contestants for the 2017 Nebraska State High School Finals Rodeo (list and ranking of student athlete subject to change):
Bareback Riding
1. Gauge McBride, Kearney
2. Trey Seevers, North Platte
3. Ty Richardson, Ainsworth
JUNE 11, 2017 (LINCOLN, NEB.) — Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) troopers have arrested a man suspected of shooting at a vehicle traveling on Interstate 80 in Lincoln.
The incident occurred just after 12:30 p.m. Sunday, June 11, 2017. Troopers, assisted by Lincoln Police, responded to reports that the driver of a red Toyota Rav4 had displayed a handgun in the window and fired multiple shots at another vehicle while both were driving westbound on I-80.
Neither occupant of the victims’ car were injured, but the car was struck by at least one bullet. After arriving on the scene, troopers arrested Havacu Quintero, 48. Quintero was lodged in Lancaster County Jail on charges of Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm, False Reporting, and Possession of Forged Documents.
The Nebraska State Patrol Aerial Division assisted in the situation.
NEW YORK (AP) — “Wonder Woman” wrapped up Tom Cruise’s “The Mummy” at the weekend box office, pulling in an estimated $57.2 million in North American theaters.
Universal’s “The Mummy” looked it age, selling a relatively feeble $32.2 million in tickets in its debut weekend.
That couldn’t compete with Warner Bros.’ “Wonder Woman” in its second weekend. The Gal Gadot superhero film has quickly earned more than $205 million domestically in two weeks.
The poor opening for “The Mummy,” which cost an estimated $125 million to produce, meant a weak start for Universal’s ballyhooed “Dark Universe.” ”The Mummy” is intended to launch a new connected franchise of monster movies.
The A24 thriller “It Comes at Night” aimed for more discerning horror fans. It sold a modest $6 million in tickets in its debut weekend.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say three people were killed when two motorcycles collided at an intersection in the middle of Omaha.
Police say the crash happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, when a Suzuki motorcycle ran a red light and hit a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Police say two riders on the Harley — 34-year-old Adam Kammann, of La Vista, and 37-year-old Christine Zadina, of Omaha — and the Suzuki driver, 24-year-old Andrew Torrice of Omaha, all died.
Police say all three were wearing helmets.
Investigators say excessive speed by the Suzuki is considered a factor in the crash.
KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska farmers, ranchers and other agricultural professionals will gather in Kearney to learn about changing technology and how to prepare for tough economic times.
The Nebraska Farm Bureau, University of Nebraska and KRVN Rural Radio Network will host the Agricultural Economic and Technology Summit on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Holiday Inn in Kearney.
Presenters will discuss trade, climate challenges and rapidly evolving agricultural technology. Experts will share advice on specific crops and livestock, managing risk and using data.
Registration is still open on the farm bureau’s website, www.nefb.org. It costs $75 for both days, or $40 for a single day.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission wants to enroll private landowners in the Open Fields and Waters Program.
The program pays landowners for allowing walk-in hunting or fishing access on their properties. Last year, the commission enrolled more than 230,000 acres in the program.
Game and Parks biologists will post boundary signs, and enrolled property locations are published annually in the Nebraska Public Access Atlas, which is available at https://bit.ly/2s0q5EJ. Participating landowners also receive protection from liability under the Nebraska Recreation Liability Act.
Landowners can contact their nearest Game and Parks district office.
