Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol responded to hundreds of incidents this weekend, mostly related to the winter storm that rolled through Nebraska between Friday and Sunday evening. During the weekend, troopers responded to 49 crashes, performed 224 motorist assists, and assisted other law enforcement agencies with 47 incidents.

“Our troopers and dispatchers were busy all weekend with weather-related incidents,” said Colonel John Bolduc, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “Responding to incidents during a winter storm can be dangerous for first responders, facing the elements and potential of secondary crashes in the area. Drivers should always use caution and move over when emergency vehicles are present.”

Troopers also made seven arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol, several of which were initiated by a trooper responding to a stranded vehicle or vehicle that had crashed. In addition to those incidents, troopers also made multiple drug arrests following traffic stops.

At 1:15 a.m. Friday, a trooper stopped a vehicle for speeding on Old Highway 71 north of Kimball. During the traffic stop, the trooper discovered the driver had a suspended license. A search of the vehicle revealed 3 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and a homemade metal sword.

The driver, Erik Nuss, 39, of Bayard, was arrested for driving under suspension, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a deadly weapon while committing a felony. Nuss was lodged in Kimball County Jail.

At approximately 1:20 p.m. Friday, another trooper stopped an eastbound semi-tractor/trailer for driving on the shoulder of Interstate 80 near Gibbon at mile marker 284. During the traffic stop, the trooper smelled the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed a small amount of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and also 31 fraudulent credit cards, including one that had been used earlier in the day at a gas station in Ogallala.

Both occupants, Garik Hunanyan, 28, and Yana Kravets, 22, of California, were arrested for possession of fraudulent financial transaction devices, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana – less than one ounce. Both were lodged in Buffalo County Jail.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. – The annual Christmas at the Cody’s will take place in Dec. at Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park in North Platte.

Every year many area organizations and volunteers decorate every nook and cranny of the Cody mansion turning the home into a seasonal wonderland. This festive event includes lights on the outbuildings, grounds and Scout’s Rest Ranch Barn to bring visitors holiday cheer from the Cody era.

Buffalo Bill will welcome you to his home where local musicians provide entertainment in the piano room as guests tour the mansion. Take the chill away with hot cider, Christmas cookies and roasted chestnuts in the old storehouse outside the mansion.

Horse drawn wagon rides will take folks around the grounds of the state historical park and Santa will be listening to Christmas wishes along with a scavenger hunt for kids in the Scout’s Rest Ranch barn. Park visitors can adorn a military appreciation tree with a special service member’s name.

A ribbon cutting and lighting will be Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m. Additional dates for Christmas at the Cody’s include Dec. 7-8; 14-15; 21, 22 and 23, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is $8 per person, $5 for kids 4-12, and kids 3 and under are free. All military and first responders receive free entry on Saturday, Dec. 15 for Military and First Responder Appreciation night. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.eventbrite.com.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s largest utility is encouraging homeowners to use LED Christmas lights this year because they will use less energy.

The Nebraska Public Power District says LED lights can use 99 percent less energy and last significantly longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.

NPPD’s Cory Fuehrer says LED lights do tend to cost more up front than incandescent bulbs, but they save money over time through lower electric bills.

An added benefit is that LED lights are much cooler and reduce the risk of fire.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The head of a Nebraska company that designs scarves with a hidden pocket says consumers shopping online have to beware of counterfeit products.

Angela Lee Diaz, the founder of Sholdit, says other companies have been copying her patented scarf designs and selling them online. Sometimes the counterfeiters even steal pictures and other material directly from the Omaha-based company’s website and use it on their own.

Lee Diaz says consumers should examine the details of product listings online for clues that they are authentic like trademarks and patents.

Sticking to trusted websites can help, but consumers still have to be wary of offers that seem too good to be true.

HOLDREGE, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has indefinitely suspended the law license of a Holdrege attorney.

The Nebraska Counsel for Discipline says Kent Person repeatedly brushed off requests by a probate court and his client to administer an estate and made false statements about having taken action on the estate. His neglect of the case caused more than $1.1 million in federal, state and local penalties to accumulate. A second attorney had to be appointed by a probate court to administer the estate.

Person replied to the complaint by noting he was suffering from depression and was overwhelmed in his practice.

Under the high court’s decision Friday, Person can file for reinstatement after two years if he’s fully paid back the penalties and fees. He would be required to serve two years’ probation if he is reinstated.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha released a list Friday of 38 priests and other clergy members who have been credibly accused of sexual misconduct, a move prompted by a request from the state’s top prosecutor.

The archdiocese said 24 of the priests were under its control when the allegations surfaced but that all of the men have since died or been removed from the clergy. At least two men on the list where convicted and served prison sentences for molesting children.

The archdiocese said the allegations date back to 1956, but no cases were reported before 1978. Reports on 10 other visiting priests and four deacons were also submitted.

“We acknowledge this report with sorrow, and know that it will cause a great deal of pain,” Omaha Archbishop George Lucas said in a written statement. “We’re deeply saddened so many innocent minors and young adults were harmed by the church’s ministers. To victims and their families, I am sorry for the pain, betrayal and suffering you have experienced in the church.”

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office requested the reports in August, shortly after a Pennsylvania grand jury report estimated that hundreds of priests in Pennsylvania molested more than 1,000 children since the 1940s and that senior church officials covered up the abuse.

A spokeswoman for Nebraska’s attorney general did not immediately answer questions from The Associated Press on Friday about whether it had seen the Omaha archdiocese’s list or whether it had received similar requested reports from the state’s other two Catholic dioceses.

Lucas said no one currently serving in the archdiocese’s ministry has been the subject of a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse against a young person. The archdiocese has 132 active priests and 215 active deacons.

He acknowledged failures by church leaders and promised transparency moving forward.

“When we see these numbers that go back many decades, we can see that there was a pattern of failure — both on the part of those who misused their office to abuse minors and vulnerable adults, and on the part of those who refused to listen to victims in a compassionate, just and forthright way,” the archbishop said.

Of the 38 clergy names submitted, the archdiocese said 34 had offended before 2002, when the U.S. Conference of Bishops created a charter requiring U.S. dioceses to protect children from abuse.

The list of credibly accused clergy, which is available at report.archomaha.org , includes John Fiala, who left the Omaha Archdiocese in 1996. He died last year in a Texas prison after being convicted of sexually abusing a teenage boy and of trying to hire a hit man to kill the victim. Fiala was ordained by the Omaha archdiocese in 1984. The archdiocese paid an undisclosed settlement to the victim in 2011.

The list also includes defrocked Omaha priest Daniel Herek, who was sentenced to prison in 1999 for sexually assaulting and videotaping a 14-year-old boy. He also served jail time several years later for exposing himself in an Omaha parking lot.

The list will be updated if the archdiocese receives additional substantiated allegations and after the archdiocese conducts a forensic audit of its historic clergy files, according to the archdiocese.