Janice Mae Ecker Visscher of Aurora, Colorado, formerly of Sutherland, died July 31, 2017. Graveside services will be at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 4, at Floral Lawns Memorial Gardens. Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore is in charge of arrangements.
Month: August 2017
Jason D. Roth Death Notice
Jason D. Roth, 37, of North Platte, died Aug. 1, 2017. Services will be at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 7, at the Episcopal Church of Our Savior. The casket will be closed. Burial will be at the North Platte Cemetery. Carpenter Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Health officials investigating Nebraska salmonella outbreak
WEST POINT, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating an outbreak of salmonella in northeast Nebraska.
Officials say 15 cases in West Point have been confirmed. Six more are suspected.
The source of the outbreak hasn’t been confirmed. Medical experts say salmonella is caused by bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts of humans and animals. It is usually spread by eating contaminated food, including beef, poultry, milk, eggs and vegetables. Thorough cooking kills salmonella.
Symptoms include fever, diarrhea and stomach cramps.
Lincoln officer unhurt as concrete chunk strikes windshield
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Police say someone tossed a chunk of concrete at a police cruiser on patrol in Lincoln, cracking its windshield.
Police spokeswoman Angela Sands says the marked cruiser was struck by several objects around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, but the lone officer inside wasn’t injured. The officer pulled over and took cover until another officer arrived to help.
They soon found a baseball-size chunk of concrete but not the person who tossed it.
It’s not clear whether the cruiser was specifically targeted. Sands says the attack is similar to three other incidents in the area in June.
Tribe warning Winnebago Hospital patients of infection risk
WINNEBAGO, Neb. (AP) — The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is warning patients about possible exposure to serious infections when they were treated at the podiatry clinic at the Winnebago Hospital in Winnebago.
A tribe news release says that, between April 17 and June 2, a podiatry instrument may not have been properly sterilized between patients. That may have raised their risk of exposure to HIV and hepatitis B and C. Indian Health Service officials are not aware of any infected patients.
The release says that, so far, 35 patients have been recommended for testing. Tribal Chairman Frank White says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reviewing the situation.
Nebraska ecologist wants to observe animals during eclipse
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — An ecologist in Nebraska is encouraging people to observe the behaviors of animals during the rare total eclipse.
The moon’s shadow will darken Grand Island for nearly three minutes at about 1 p.m. on Aug. 21 as the Great American Total Solar Eclipse makes its way through town.
Rick Schneider is the program manager and an ecologist for the Nebraska Natural Heritage Program of the Nebraska Game and Parks department. Schneider says he knows of no specific studies done on how a total eclipse impacts the circadian rhythm of an animal.
He says the eclipse is a good opportunity to observe wildlife and pets to see if the loss of sun at midday has any effect on their behavior.
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University of Nebraska system announces $25M in cuts
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska system president has announced new structures and processes aimed at saving the system $30 million in coming years.
President Hank Bounds announced plans Wednesday to achieve nearly $25 million, or about 80 percent, of the targeted cuts by sharing more services across campuses as well as by trimming operational costs and positions of employment, in some cases.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus expects to cut at least 100 jobs, most of them through attrition and some through layoffs.
Bounds says the changes are necessary to help manage a $49 million budget gap created by a combination of state funding cuts and rising costs. He says the Lincoln campus will raise tuition and increase enrollment to address the remaining $19 million.
Man gets probation for trying to rob bank from drive-thru
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been given four years of probation for trying to rob a bank branch from a drive-thru lane.
58-year-old James Fitzsimmons was sentenced Wednesday. Court records say he also was fined $2,500. He’d pleaded no contest to a bomb threat, terroristic threats and attempted theft.
Authorities say Fitzsimmons passed a note to a drive-thru teller at a U.S. Bank branch in Lincoln on July 29, 2016. The note said there were gunmen inside the bank as well as bombs that could be remotely detonated.
He left without getting any money. No bomb or gunmen was found in the building.
FDA OKs new drug to treat all forms of hepatitis C
U.S. regulators have approved another drug to treat all forms of hepatitis C that works in as little as eight weeks.
AbbVie’s drug, Mavyret (mav-EH’-rit), was approved Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration for patients without significant cirrhosis who haven’t been treated previously for the liver-destroying virus, plus those with a form of hepatitis who were not cured by a prior treatment.
Mavyret joins two other AbbVie hepatitis C drugs, one from Merck and several from Gilead on the market.
The list price without insurance will range from $26,400 for eight weeks’ treatment to $52,800 for 16 weeks’ treatment.
Hepatitis C affects at least 2.7 million people in U.S. The virus develops slowly over decades and many people don’t realize they are infected until signs of liver damage emerge.
Former Nebraska student teacher sentenced to jail in sex photos case
MADISON, Neb. (AP) — A former Norfolk student teacher accused of changing a student’s grade in exchange for explicit photos of her has been sentenced to six months in jail.
24-year-old Sean Neal, of Wayne, was sentenced Thursday in Madison County Court. Neal had pleaded no contest in June to attempted contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor.
Prosecutors say Neal had raised the grade the same day the 14-year-old Norfolk High School freshman sent the photos. She reported the incident to school officials within a day or two.