SIBLEY, Iowa (AP) — A former football coach and teacher already serving Nebraska prison time for child sex offenses has pleaded guilty in an Iowa case.
Osceola County District Court records show 40-year-old Kyle Ewinger entered the plea Monday to sexual abuse and was sentenced to 10 years. The records say the former Sibley-Ocheyedan coach was fired after the district superintendent found him sleeping in his classroom next to a 10-year-old in October 2015.
Last April Ewinger was sentenced to 55 to 85 years in a Nebraska prison after an Omaha jury found him guilty of sexual assault of a child. Prosecutors say he assaulted the 9-year-old son of a woman he was dating in 2012 and 2013.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Republican senator who’s among President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics within the party blamed technology for the country’s divisions during a discussion with University of Nebraska-Lincoln students this week.
Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska spoke to more than 600 students Monday at an event called “Why Don’t We Get Along? How Huskers Can Change the Future.”
The first-term senator said technology has undermined traditional community structures, and people try to replace them with ideology or “political tribes.” Political parties aren’t adequate replacements for communities, according to Sasse, who has said he regularly considers leaving the GOP and becoming an independent.
“Republicans and Democrats are crappy tribes,” Sasse said during the panel discussion. “These aren’t people who love you and are going to comfort you in your old age. They’re just political parties.”
Sasse recommended that students engage in meaningful ways away from their screens, such as having more face-to-face interactions.
But many student panelists said the solution is more complex than unplugging from technology.
Junior student Grace Chambers said technology and social media shouldn’t be avoided, but rather used as a tool to educate and engage students.
Hunter Traynor, a senior, criticized Sasse’s argument as ignoring their reality of growing up immersed in social media.
“It’s hard to think aspirationally when all the solutions are pitched in nostalgia,” Traynor said.
Traynor acknowledged that technology use has exacerbated rifts in American society, but he said it’s also created opportunities for conversations that can heal them.
Traynor recommended that his peers “seek out information you disagree with on purpose.”
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific railroad is eliminating 250 jobs and furloughing another 450 employees as it continues working to reduce its expenses.
The Omaha World-Herald reports the Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad outlined the latest cuts in a memo to employees on Tuesday.
Union Pacific officials say the cuts are part of its effort to make the railroad more efficiency. The furloughs in Union Pacific’s mechanical department are possible because the railroad has stored 1,200 locomotives.
Union Pacific said last month that its fourth-quarter profit increased 29 percent to $1.55 billion because demand remained strong and the railroad had already begun streamlining operations.
Union Pacific operates 32,400 miles of track in 23 western states.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A recently-disbarred Omaha lawyer who helped defend a former doctor convicted of killing four people has been sentenced to jail in a child abuse case.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that 44-year-old Jeremy Jorgenson was sentenced Tuesday to more than 18 months. The sentence came as a surprise, as Jorgenson had pleaded no contest last year in a deal with prosecutors to four misdemeanor counts for which he expected to get probation. However, judges aren’t bound by recommendations of probation. Judge Greg Schatz said Friday that probation wouldn’t be appropriate, noting that Jorgenson’s 7-year-old stepson had suffered a broken arm when Jorgenson picked the boy up by his collar and dropped him last February.
On Friday, Jorgenson was disbarred for a series of ethical violations.
Jorgenson had been part of the defense team for Anthony Garcia, who is on death row for the revenge killings of four Omaha residents tied to his 2001 firing from a Creighton University medical school program.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Two months after President Donald Trump signed a law to legalize hemp, Nebraska lawmakers and state agency officials are working together to help farmers get a piece of the market.
Lawmakers heard public input Tuesday on a bill that would allow farmers to grow and harvest hemp in Nebraska. Many have eyed it as a way to diversify their crops in a climate that’s well-suited for it, but state officials haven’t decided exactly how to regulate it.
That could change with the December passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized the crop but requires states to set rules on how it’s grown. Those that don’t will automatically defer to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which will require growers to participate in a federally run program.
“This is a growing market, and we need to allow our Nebraska farmers to have alternative crops,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Justin Wayne, of Omaha, said in testimony to the Legislature’s Agriculture Committee. “More importantly, people need to be able to participate in the manufacturing of (hemp) products.”
The Farm Bill requires states to impose a licensing or registration system for hemp, track the supply and conduct annual tests to ensure it contains legal levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, the active compound in marijuana that allows users to get high. Hemp contains a negligible amount of the chemical, but if the levels in a batch rise above what’s allowed under law, states are required to have procedures in place to destroy it.
Wayne said he introduced it because he believes farmers and businesses are missing the opportunity and he sees it as an opportunity to draw processing plants to his north Omaha district, a strategic location near Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. He said he met recently with Gov. Pete Ricketts to decide how to proceed.
Ricketts said on his monthly radio call-in show Monday that his administration was still working with Wayne on a workable proposal. The Republican governor has previously said his hands were tied because hemp was classified as an illegal and dangerous drug before the Farm Bill passed.
Nebraska Department of Agriculture Assistant Director Amelia Breinig said the agency needed more time to review and discuss the legislation but supports hemp as a commercial product. She said the bill is “a step in the right direction” and pledged to continue working with lawmakers.
Wayne said more than 25,000 products have been derived from hemp, from fabrics, food and rope to industrial oils and body-care products. He said 47 nations currently allow the crop, up from 30 when he first introduced the bill two years ago.
Hemp appeals to many farmers because it thrives in a variety of soils and environments, resists droughts and contains high levels of protein and health fats, said Andrew Bish, an executive with Bish Enterprises, a Giltner-based manufacturer of farm machinery that’s used to harvest hemp.
“This is truly a valuable commodity, and these are just a small fraction of its uses,” he said.
Roger Harmon, a western Nebraska farmer, said businesses and venture capitalists have approached him about growing hemp seeds on his land near the Colorado border and expanding the market statewide. With commodity prices down, Harmon said hemp would help farmers who are struggling.
“Soybeans, corn and wheat simply aren’t covering it for farmers anymore,” he said.
Nebraska has a long history of hemp production before it was outlawed in 1937 and the plant still thrives in the state, said University of Nebraska at Kearney economist Allan Jenkins. Jenkins, who has advocated for the crop, said Fremont had a hemp processing plant 120 years ago, and many farmers participated in a “Hemp for Victory” program during World War II to replace fabrics that were no longer coming from Asia.
“The growing conditions in Nebraska are so favorable for hemp that it has prospered without any chemicals or irrigation now for 75 years,” Jenkins said.
Della Marjorie ‘Mick’ Hoffmann, 88, formerly of North Platte, died
Saturday, February 9, 2019, at Bryan East Medical Center in Lincoln.
Mick was born May 12, 1930, to Leslie Jasper and Dorothy Evelyn
(Chamberlin) Mayfield at Maywood. Mick began her life journey as a farm
girl growing up in Lincoln County and sharing many adventures with her
brother, Bud. These early years made her tough and ready to face life’s
challenges. After graduating from North Platte High School in 1948 Mick
attended Teacher’s College in Kearney then taught at a small country
school for two years. She later worked at Walther’s Office Supply in
downtown North Platte until she began her family.
Mick married Larry Hoffmann in North Platte on September 26, 1959. They
soon had four girls in five years so Mick stayed home to raise the kids
and was instrumental in helping Larry with his cattle buying career for
IBP by answering the phone and making arrangements.
Mick made delicious kolaches and pies, needlepointed many beautiful
pieces, and collected Hummels and glassware. She enjoyed her vegetable
garden and many flower beds. Later in life Mick traveled the world with
Larry and yet enjoyed local country auctions. They were married for 54
years when Larry died in 2014.
These last few years Mick lived at Clark Jeary in Lincoln where she
reinvented herself, made new friends and loved to tease the staff. The
family is especially grateful to the excellent care she received at
Clark Jeary and at the very end, the nurses on 3rd and 7th floor at
Bryan East in Lincoln.
Mick will be remembered for her keen sense of business and her even
better sense of humor. She was quick to forgive and move forward in
life. She always fought the good fight, right up until the end.
Along with her husband, Larry, she was also preceded in death by her
mother, Dorothy Vencill; brother and sister-in-law, Bud and Phyllis
Mayfield; sister-in-law and her husband, Mary Frances and Charles
Brannen; sisters-in-law, Regina Minton and Theresa McCaslin; and
brother-in-law, Thomas Hoffman.
Mick was a good and loyal friend who was preceded in death by her dear
friends, Marie Voorhies, Gladys Morin, Maxine Lange, Dort Lewis and
Betty Shaner; as well as her many pets that she loved and cared for
throughout her life, especially her pony, Laddie, and Trixie the family dog.
She is survived by her daughters, Ann (Gary) Neimanis, of Dexter, Iowa,
Lisa Hoffmann, Kristina Hoffmann, and Molly Hoffmann, of Lincoln;
grandchildren, Austin (Lauren) Neimanis, Katherine Hoffmann and Avery
Hoffmann; great-grandson, Hudson; sister-in-law; two brothers-in-law;
many nieces, nephews and other family.
In keeping with Mick’s wishes, there will be a private family burial at
Fort McPherson National Cemetery. A gathering of family and friends
will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, February 14, 2019, at Odean Colonial
Chapel at C & Sycamore. In lieu of flowers, memorials are to Paws-Itive
Partners or the Maywood Cemetery. The memorial book may be signed at odeanchapel.com or prior to the gathering from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on
Thursday at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore, which is in charge of
arrangements.
Joan C. Driggs, 88, passed away February 9, 2019 at the Sutherland Care Center. She was born May 28, 1930 to LeRoy E. and Alta I. (Ward) Walker at North Platte. Joan graduated from North Platte High School with the class of “49”.
She was united in marriage to Herbert L. “Herb” Driggs on June 16, 1951. Joan resided in North Platte her entire life. She was employed as a nurse’s aide at Linden Manor and then at Great Plains Regional Medical Center for over 16 years. She was a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the North Platte Volunteer Fire Fighters Ladies Auxiliary.
She is survived by her two sons, Jeffrey C. (Kendra) Driggs of North Platte and Stephen L. Driggs of Lincoln; three grandchildren, Alyssa, Chris (Jade) and Lindsey; and other relatives. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; and a sister, Mildred Lorraine Gade.
Online condolences may be shared at www.carpentermemorial.com. A memorial has been established in her memory. Visitation will be Sunday, February 17, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. with family receiving friends from 5 to 6pm at Carpenter Memorial Chapel. Services will be 11:00 a.m. Monday, February 18, 2019 at the funeral home. Private burial will follow at North Platte Cemetery. Carpenter Memorial Chapel is in care of arrangements.
Esther Alscena (Winters) Arensdorf, age 83 of Tryon passed away on Sunday, February 10, 2019 in North Platte, Nebraska.
Esther was born at the family farm northeast of Tryon on April 14, 1935 to Warren and Ora (Miller) Winters, the youngest of their children. Esther attended elementary school at the District 1 country school in McPherson County and District 4 in Tryon. She attended McPherson County High School. On June 7, 1952, Esther was united in marriage to Dale Duane Arensdorf in Julesburg, Colorado. They lived at the Bird Huffman ranch until May 1953. They then moved to the Walt Bassett ranch where they resided the rest of her life. They had five children: Deb, Dan, Jeff, Pat, and Dale Dee.
She had many talents – cooking, baking, sewing, quilting, and gardening – that she used to support her family and demonstrate her love for them and her friends. Each child, grandchild, and great grandchild had a favorite meal that she would happily prepare, and anyone who stopped by the ranch near mealtime was treated to great food and a card game. Everyone raved about her branding and holiday meals. Her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren have beautiful quilts – “love in stitches” – that she lovingly sewed by hand for them, in addition to making rugs, towels, afghans, and other items.
Esther was joyful in nature and always laughing. Her creativity and playfulness created unforgettable memories for her family and friends at Halloween and Easter in particular. She loved to tell stories and entertain. She especially loved dancing, playing games, and making happy memories with her family and friends. Her thoughtfulness was unmatched with cards and hand-written letters for each birthday, anniversary, and special occasion. She was a member of the Helping Hand Club, where she enjoyed collaborating with her neighbors and friends.
She will be lovingly remembered by her husband, Dale, sisters Wilma Neal and Alma Bullington, daughters Deb (Jim) Schmidt and Pat (Cliff) Dailey, sons Dan (Berva), Jeff, and Dale Dee (Peg), 16 grandchildren, and 26 great grandchildren. Grandchildren include Randi (Patrick) Gude, Ryan (Kendra) Schmidt, Alan (Nicole) Schmidt, Dana (Kyle) Songster, Dawna (Derek) Payton, Darla (Terry) Sautter, Wyatt (Erin) Arensdorf, Jason (Jennifer) Arensdorf, Jeremy Arensdorf, Jared (Amanda) Arensdorf, Warren (Jackie) Dailey, Lara (Ben) Hager, Bandy (Chari) Arensdorf, Levi (Amber Hollenbeck) Arensdorf, Dale Riley Arensdorf, and Duell Arensdorf.
Esther was preceded in death by her parents and an infant sister, Alice, sister Dorothy Kramer, brothers Roy and Glenn Winters, daughter-in-law Joleen (Shelly) Arensdorf, and granddaughter Jessika Songster.
Memorials may be made to the Tryon Volunteer Rescue and Fire Department and online condolences can be shared at www.adamsswanson.com.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 2pm at the McPherson County High School Gymnasium with the Reverend Dr. Doug Delp officiating. Burial will follow at the Miller Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 1 pm to 8pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 with family receiving visitors from 6pm until 8pm at Adams and Swanson Funeral Home, which is in charge of arrangements.
LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A driver who survived a central Nebraska collision that killed three of her passengers has been charged with four felony counts.
Dawson County Court records say 20-year-old Angelique Kampmann, of Kearney, is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide while driving under the influence, one of causing serious injury while driving under the influence and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence, first offense. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press.
The collision occurred Oct. 16 on U.S. Highway 30 between Overton and Elm Creek. The Nebraska State Patrol says a southbound car driven by Kampmann didn’t halt at a stop sign and collided with an eastbound sport utility vehicle.
Eugene “Gene” L. Pursley, age 59 of North Platte, passed away February 9, 2019 at his home surrounded by family.
Gene was born September 18, 1959 in Stratton, NE to George Walter and Josephine (Deal) Pursley. He graduated from Sidney High School in 1978 and moved to North Platte for electrical and refrigeration schooling. He worked at Pappas Standard for many years and then in 1985 was hired at the North Platte Public Schools and worked his way up to Director of Building, Grounds and Transportation. At the time of his death, he was in his 34th year of service. On July 5, 1986 he married Tammy Johnson in North Platte at the Nazarene Church. He was a past member of the Eagles Club, he loved Husker football, square dancing, bowling, fishing, hunting and playing cards. He was instrumental in helping many young men complete their Eagle Scout projects. He will be remembered for his work ethic, his willingness to help others, and being a friend to everyone.
Gene is survived by his wife Tammy of North Platte; sons Derek (Dehjin) Pursley, and Zach Pursley all of North Platte, and Tyler (Tristan Johnson) Pursley of Lincoln, NE; 5 grandchildren Kayson, Bentley, Chevy, Porscha, and Enzo, all who called him Papa; brother Steve (Bonnie) Pursley; as well as many nieces, nephews and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents George and Josephine Pursley; brothers Ernest and LeRoy Williams; sister Jacki Wilson; and father and mother-in-law Clarence and Rita Johnson.
Memorials are suggested in his name and online condolences may be shared at www.adamsswanson.com. Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday February 13, 2018 at Parkview Community Church of Nazarene with Reverend James Trippett officiating. Burial will follow at North Platte Cemetery. Gene’s family requests that those attending the service wear Husker apparel. Visitation will be 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Tuesday February 12, 2019 at Adams and Swanson Funeral Home which is in charge of arrangements.
