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Victims of fatal Keith County crash identified

JUNE 9, 2017 (LINCOLN, NEB.)  — The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) has released the names of two people killed in a crash on I-80 west of Ogallala Thursday evening.

The crash occurred just after 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 8, 2017, at mile marker 121, when an eastbound Toyota Tacoma pick-up crossed the median and collided head-on with a westbound Dodge pick-up.

The driver of the Dodge has been identified as Aaron James Davis, 38, of Greeley, Colorado. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Toyota pick-up was Kent T. Brakken, 71, of Cedaredge, Colorado. Brakken was transported to Ogallala Community Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Investigators have determined that seat belts were used in both vehicles. The specific cause of the accident is still under investigation, but medical issues have been ruled out.

NPCC Lady Knights basketball signs Baa Nacona from Chinle, AZ

Nahatabaa Nacona, seated center, from Chinle, Ariz., signs letter of intent to play basketball for North Platte Community College.

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team has added a third new recruit, Nahatabaa Nacona, for the 2017-18 season.

Nacona, a point guard from Chinle, Ariz., goes by the nickname of Baa. Nacona has played basketball since she was in sixth grade and has played varsity basketball for Chinle High School the past two seasons. She also played softball and volleyball, but loved the sport of basketball more.

Nacona, in her senior season averaged 16.1 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, 5.5 steals per game, and 6.0 assists per game. Nacona has led the Chinle High School Wildcats to the Arizona State 3A Tournament Final Four the past two seasons.

Nacona said, “I am honored and very excited to continue my education and basketball career with North Platte Community College.”

Nacona joins Tiara Hartfield, from Houston, Texas; and Jasmine Satterwhite, from Austin Texas on the Lady Knights basketball team for the 2017-18 season.

2 killed in I-80 crash near Ogallala

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say two people have been killed in a collision on Interstate 80 in western Nebraska.

The collision occurred just after 8:30 p.m. Thursday, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of Ogallala. The Nebraska State Patrol says an eastbound pickup truck crossed the median and rammed into a westbound pickup.

The patrol says the driver of the westbound truck died at the scene. The other driver was pronounced dead at Ogallala Community Hospital. Their names won’t be released until relatives have been notified about the deaths.

Man accused of cattle theft in south-central Nebraska

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RED CLOUD, Neb. (AP) — A 26-year-old man has been accused of stealing cattle in southern Nebraska.

Court records say Austin Petr, of Blue Hill, is charged with theft in Webster County and, in Clay County, with seven counts of prohibited sale of livestock. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Thursday from The Associated Press.

Authorities say calves belonging to Alan Johnson, of Blue Hill, were reported missing Jan. 13. Authorities say that on the same day Petr sold 40 of his cattle and 30 unbranded animals at a sale barn in the Clay County community of Sutton.

Authorities say a subsequent investigation revealed that 27 of the unbranded calves were matched with animals in Johnson’s herd.

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Authorities poring over skull found by boy in Nebraska

ASHLAND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a boy has found what’s believed to be a human skull along an eastern Nebraska creek.

The boy spotted the skull Wednesday evening while walking along a trail at Carol Joy Holling Camp south of Ashland.

Cass County Sheriff’s Capt. Dave Lamprecht says it unclear how old the skull is and how the person died. An investigation has begun.

Lincoln YMCA closes new lap pool, saying it’s too shallow

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new Lincoln YMCA has been forced to close its indoor lap pool. Apparently, it’s too shallow.

Some swimmers at the Copple Family YMCA had complained about hitting the pool floor with their strokes. Others said the shallow water hampered their flip turns.

The YMCA’s Barb Bettin told the Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/2r5cA7J) that, “Not everything is perfect when you finish up a project, and we’re going to make it right.”

The pool is 75 feet (23 meters) long, 3 feet (1 meter) deep at one end, nearly 5 feet (1.5 meters) at the other. Contractors will tear up about 30 feet (10 meters) toward the shallow end, dig it 6 inches (15 centimeters) deeper and pour a new floor. The work is expected to take most of the summer.

Former Nebraska university administrator fined for theft

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former administrator at a University of Nebraska-Lincoln center has been sentenced for using university money to pay personal airplane travel expenses.

Court records say 30-year-old Laviania Thandayithabani (tehn’-daye-uhth-uh-PAH’-naye) pleaded no contest to misdemeanor theft after prosecutors lowered the charge from a felony. She was fined $1,000 last month and ordered to pay more than $11,300 in restitution.

She was assistant director of operations for the Nebraska Transportation Center, which aids collaboration by university, industry and government officials on transportation issues and research. University police say in court documents that they found 17 charges on the university travel portal system from April 2015 through December 2016 totaling more than $11,300. Officials say none of the trips was approved.

Ex-coach pleads not guilty to sex assault of boy

SIBLEY, Iowa (AP) — A former Sibley-Ocheyedan football coach and teacher fired after the superintendent found him sleeping in his classroom next to a 10-year-old has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

Iowa court records say 39-year-old Kyle Ewinger entered the written plea Wednesday in Osceola County District Court. His trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 17.

Ewinger, of West Burlington, was fired after he was found with the boy sleeping on an air mattress. A criminal complaint says the boy reported that Ewinger had performed a sex act on him.

Nebraska court records say Ewinger has pleaded not guilty a charge of sexually assaulting a child in Douglas County. No trial has yet been scheduled. A pretrial conference is set to resume June 21.

Omaha hospital closes doors, opens emergency room nearby

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A hospital in Omaha will be closing its doors after 40 years and opening a new emergency room six blocks away.

Creighton University Medical Center will stop taking patients on Friday. When the hospital closes, a new emergency room will open six blocks east at Creighton University Medical Center University Campus.

The decades-old hospital’s Level I trauma center and role as a teaching facility for Creighton’s medical school will move to a third facility, the expanded Creighton University Medical Center-Bergan Mercy.

Chief medical officer at CUMC-Bergan Mercy, Dr. Devin Fox, said Wednesday that the closure of the hospital won’t leave northeast Omaha without medical services.

Ex-school official accused of attacking wife gets probation

Brian Redinger

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A former Shelton school superintendent accused of attacking his wife has been sentenced to 18 months’ probation and fined $500.

46-year-old Brian Redinger was sentenced Thursday in Hall County District Court. He pleaded no contest in April to two misdemeanors: domestic assault and reckless driving after originally pleading not guilty to making terroristic threats, strangulation, domestic assault and criminal attempt at assault.

Sheriff’s investigators say Redinger attacked his wife last year, hitting her head on a car dashboard and later driving at her before she escaped to safety at a Hall County truck stop.

He resigned his position as superintendent of Shelton Public Schools some weeks after his arrest.

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