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James LeRoy ‘Jim’ Guggenmos

James LeRoy ‘Jim’ Guggenmos, 80, of Ogallala, died at Great Plains
Health in North Platte on Saturday, February 16, 2019.

Jim was born May 4, 1938, to Michael Francis and Avis Agnes (Reitz)
Guggenmos at Sargent, Nebraska and grew up in the greater Custer County
area where he graduated from high school. In 1957 Jim married Donna
Smith at Broken Bow, they later divorced.  He married Theresa Reitz on
August 1, 1977, at Grant and they made their home in Ogallala where they
were members of the Assembly of God.

Jim worked for Sargent Irrigation, driving back and forth to Grant for
20 years then worked at Alco in Ogallala until retiring.

When not working, Jim enjoyed working on cars, fishing, hunting, and
trying his luck on scratch tickets.  He also loved to watch old Westerns
and eat.

He is survived by his children, Tom (Kathleen) Guggenmos, of North
Platte, Kyle (Marlene) Guggenmos, of Oakdale, Tamma (Bill) Zulkowski, of
Kearney, Twila Guggenmos, of Oakdale and Annette Kerber, of Norfolk;
numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; brother, John Guggenmos,
of Ogallala; sisters, Yvonne (Rick) Turner, of Gering and Vivien
Peterson, of Arthur; and numerous other family members.

Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Theresa; and parents, Michael and
Avis.

Funeral Service will be 1 p.m. (CT) Saturday, February 23, 2019, at
Parkview Community Church of the Nazarene in North Platte. Burial will
follow at 2 p.m. (MT) in the Ogallala Cemetery. Visitation is prior to
the service.  Online condolences may be shared at odeanchapel.com.
Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore is in charge of arrangements.

Delbert Ross Sommer

Delbert Ross Sommer, age 88, of Maxwell, died February 16, 2019 at Great Plains Health.  He was born on June 27, 1930 at the rural Maxwell home of his parents, Albert and Helen (Ross) Sommer.  He was the oldest of 3 children, being a big brother to Marilyn and Donna.

He attended grade school at McPherson School and graduated from Maxwell High School in 1948.  He then served 4 years with the U.S Navy, returning after to the home farm at Maxwell.  During his military time, he married Joyce Meyer at Maxwell on November 30, 1952.  They celebrated 57 years of marriage, and had one son, Dwight, who was born on October 11, 1955.

In 2002 he married Joan Beckman of Overton.  They enjoyed life at the Maxwell farm and did some traveling.  In the fall of 2017, they moved to Linden Estates in North Platte.

Delbert was a member of the First Baptist Church in Maxwell, and a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Survivors include his wife, Joan of North Platte; sisters, Marilyn Pramberg of Atlanta, Georgia, and Donna Sundstrom of Maxwell; grandchildren, Jason (Gina) Sommer, Shannon Tolle, and Luke and Hayley Sommer; great-grandchildren, Grace, Janie, and Brynlee Sommer, and Hunter Tolle; step-children, Dorinda (Jeff) Zink of Naper, NE, Diane (Terry) Wohlers of Ft. Collins, CO, and Dona (John) McCarter of Overton, NE; 11 step-grandchildren; 27 step-great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandchild; numerous other family members; and many friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Joyce; son, Dwight; brothers-in-law, Duane Pramberg, and Larry Sundstrom.

Memorials may be made in his name to the Maxwell Veteran’s Memorial and online condolences may be shared at www.adamsswanson.com.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at the First Baptist Church of Maxwell with the Reverend Tim Lizenga officiating.  Burial will follow at Fort McPherson National Cemetery with Military honors graveside.  Visitation will be noon – 8:00 p.m. with the family receiving friends 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at Adams & Swanson Funeral Home which is in charge of arrangements.

 

Gary Ray Shuck

Gary Ray Shuck, 54, of North Platte, passed away Thursday, February 14,
2019, at the North Platte Care Center.

Gary was born December 5, 1964, at Pocatello, Idaho, to Daniel Shuck Jr.
and Darlene Shuck.  The family moved to Nebraska when Gary was 8 years
old then when he was a junior, he moved to Pecos, New Mexico where he
graduated from Pecos High School in 1984.

After graduating Gary enlisted in the U.S. Army and did his Basic
Training at Ft. Hood, Texas.  He served in the area of Tactical
Telecommunications and earned the rank of Corporal. Following his
honorable discharge in 1992, Gary moved to Marietta, Georgia, married
Linda Cabanis and they later divorced.

Gary drove a truck for over 20 years then retired due to his health.

Survivors include his father, Daniel Shuck, Jr. and his wife, Eloise,
and sisters, Janet (Lloyd) Lockhart and Donna Shuck, all of North
Platte; brother, Robert Shuck, of Santa Fe, New Mexico; niece, Roxie
Heessel; as well as several aunts, uncles and cousins.

Gary was preceded in death by his mother, Darlene; paternal
grandparents, Dan and Hazel Shuck; and maternal grandparents, William
and Roxie Godfrey.

Cremation was chosen and services will be at a later date.  The memorial
book may be signed at odeanchapel.com.  Odean Colonial Chapel at C &
Sycamore is in charge of arrangements.

Prosecutor denies man arrested in raid was kept from lawyer

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An assistant U.S. attorney has denied allegations that federal agents and prosecutors wrongly kept a man arrested in an August immigration raid from seeing his attorney.

A law firm hired to represent Eric Beringer, a supervisor for Elkhorn River Farms in north-central Nebraska’s Holt County, made the allegations earlier this month. John Berry says a lawyer from his firm was told he couldn’t see Beringer until the day after the Aug. 8 raid. Berry is moving in court to suppress anything Beringer said to federal agents or prosecutors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods says in a court filing that Berry had called her office that day but didn’t say who his law firm would be representing. Woods also says Beringer didn’t indicate he wanted an attorney present after being read his rights and agreeing to speak.

Woods says the lawyer from Berry’s firm was told he couldn’t speak with Beringer because other suspects were being processed and for “security and logistical concerns.”

Nebraska mayor unhappy with mental health center’s location

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska mayor is warning that his city could lose property tax revenue if county officials move ahead with their choice for the site of a new mental health crisis center.

Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike tells The Omaha World-Herald that the nearly 7-acre (2.8-hectare) property would be better used for private development, and that the city would loses out on potential revenue because the crisis center will be tax-exempt.

Sarpy County Board Chairman Don Kelly says he plans to meet with Hike on Thursday to discuss the issue.

The board selected the site last week. The center would serve as a short-term emergency facility where people can get voluntarily mental health and substance abuse assessments. Officials hope the center will alleviate burdens on hospitals and the county jail.

GAMESTORY: Bulldogs season comes to an end with loss in Lexington

The Bulldogs Boys basketball teams season has come to an end after a 55-39 pt loss in the B-7 sub-district tournament in Lexington.

The game started off fast and furious with each team getting open looks that wouldn’t fall. Defense started to pick up in the first quarter as both the Minutemen and Bulldogs looked to take things over early. It was a quarter that featured a lot of fast play but missed shots and would end with Lexington in the lead 12-9.

The second quarter Lexington would come out and start firing on all cylinders. The Minutemen would go on an 8-0 run to start the second putting the Bulldogs back on their heels. All of a sudden it was 20-9 in favor of Lexington. The Bulldogs would get a stop on defense and come out with a 6-0 run of their own on back to back three point shots forcing Lexington to take a time out with 3:56 left in the second. The rest of the quarter teams would trade buckets until the very end. A missed shot by Steven Garcia would give Lexington the ball with 5 seconds left, more than enough to move the ball up court and throw up a three at the buzzer. Lexington would lead at the half 27-20. At that point, no Bulldog had more than 3 points.

The momentum from a  buzzer beater would carry in the third quarter for the Minutemen, they would start the quarter on a 7-2 run that would get a time out from the Bulldogs with 5:48 left on the clock. Out of the time out, Lexington would go on another quick 5-0 and with 3:12 left in the quarter they would have the big lead 39-22. North Platte would make a 6-0 run of their own to end the quarter down just 11 points 39-28. You got the feeling after that run that the Bulldogs would not go away quietly.

In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs would cut the lead to single digits a few times but Lexington would always seem to have an answer. With about 3 minutes left, North Platte would start to foul the Minutemen and make them earn points from the line. The strategy worked as first as the Lexington team would miss two sets of free throws leading to easy buckets for the Bulldogs. North Platte would never get it closer than 9 points before Lexington started making free throws.

The Minutemen would avenge the loss to the Bulldogs from earlier in the season by eliminating them 55-39 ending the North Platte season.

Priest pleads not guilty to sexually assaulting woman

Rev. John Kakkuzhiyil
ORD, Neb. (AP) — A May trial has been scheduled for a Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting a woman in central Nebraska.

Valley County District Court records say the Rev. John Kakkuzhiyil (kah-kuh-ree-AL’) entered a written plea of not guilty Monday to a charge of forcible sexual assault. His trial is set to begin May 6.

The woman who accused him has obtained a protection order against the cleric. She says he assaulted her in November when she went to his Ord home on business. She says she blacked out after having a couple of drinks with him.

The Grand Island Diocese says Bishop Joseph Hanefeldt placed Kakkuzhiyil on leave Dec. 15 upon learning that the Nebraska State Patrol was investigating the allegations.

Authorities say 1 person died in southeast Nebraska blaze

VESTA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say one person has been killed in a southeast Nebraska house fire.

The fire was reported around 5:20 a.m. Sunday in Vesta, which sits about 7 miles (12 kilometers) west of Tecumseh in Johnson County. Fire officials think the person who died in the fire lived in the home. The person’s name hasn’t been released. An autopsy was ordered.

The fire cause is being investigated.

Distribution warehouse closes and eliminates 300 Omaha jobs

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — About 300 jobs will be eliminated in the Omaha area when a distribution warehouse that served Shopko stores closes.

The Omaha World-Herald reported the closure of the distribution center on Monday.

The distribution center, run by Spectrum America Supply Chain Solutions, closed as a result of Shopko’s bankruptcy.

Spectrum America says the exact timing of the closure hasn’t been determined yet. The company will also close a distribution center in Boise, Idaho.

Andrew Rainbolt with Sarpy County’s Economic Development Corporation says he’s hopeful the people who lose their jobs will be able to find new positions quickly.

School policy on reporting abuse differs from state law

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha school district’s policy on reporting suspected abuse differs from state law that requires all school employees to report abuse to law enforcement.

The Omaha World-Herald reports the district’s policy is being scrutinized because an Omaha elementary school principal has been charged with failing to report suspected abuse by a teacher.

The district policy requires staff members to report abuse to the principal but it’s somewhat unclear on who reports the incident to authorities.

Prosecutors in Douglas and Sarpy Counties told the newspaper that it’s not enough to report an incident to a supervisor.

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