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Gina R. Jesse

Gina R. Jesse, 45, of North Platte, passed away December 4, 2017 at Great Plains Health.  She was born February 21, 1972 to Wayne and Linda (Biggerstaff) Olson at Callaway, NE.  Gina graduated midterm from North Platte High School with the class of “90”.  On January 27, 1990, she was united in marriage to her childhood sweetheart, Larry Jesse.  They lived on the east coast, while Larry was stationed in the United States Coast Guard, returning to North Platte in 2013.  She was a devoted wife, loving mother, daughter and sister. Gina loved fishing, collecting sea shells, holidays, and was a wonderful cook!

She is survived by her parents, Wayne and Linda; husband, Larry; sons, Trevor (Anna) Jesse, Zackary Jesse and Weston Jesse; a grandson, T.J. Jesse; father and mother-in-law, Mick and Barb Jesse; a sister, Tana (Scott) Ambrose all of North Platte; a brother, Allen (Lynnette) Olson of Long Grove, IA; and many other relatives.

A memorial has been established in her memory.  Online condolences may be shared at www.carpentermemorial.com.  Services will be 1:00 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, 2017 at Carpenter Memorial Chapel with Pastor Brett Terry officiating. Burial will be at Ft. McPherson National Cemetery near Maxwell.  Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thursday with family receiving friends from 5 to 7 and Friday prior to the services at Carpenter Memorial Chapel, which is in care of arrangements.

Marilyn G. Downing

Marilyn G. Downing, age 87 of Mullen, passed away Wednesday December 6, 2017 at Pioneer Memorial Nursing Home. Memorials are suggested in her name and online condolences may be
shared at www.adamsswanson.com. Services will be held 10:00 a.m. (MT) Monday December 11, 2017 at the First United Methodist Church in Mullen. Burial will follow at the Cedarview
Cemetery. Adams and Swanson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Nebraska appeals court upholds manslaughter conviction

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Court of Appeals has upheld the convictions of an Omaha man serving 14 to 22 years in prison for killing another man.

Carl Heng was convicted last year in Douglas County of manslaughter and a weapons count in the Aug. 24, 2015, shooting death of 25-year-old Robert Lane. Heng acknowledged shooting Lane, but argued it was in self-defense. Prosecutors said Lane was unarmed and not posing a threat to Heng.

On appeal, Heng claimed, among other things, that his trial court was wrong to exclude expert testimony and that there had not been sufficient evidence to convict him.

On Tuesday, the appeals court said Heng’s claims were without merit and that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s conclusion that Heng did not act in self-defense.

EPA reaches settlement with energy plant over toxic odors

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — Federal officials say a company whose northeast Nebraska renewable energy plant was the main contributor to toxic odors that drove some people out of their homes has agreed to a $50,000 settlement.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says in a news release Tuesday that Big Ox Energy also agreed to work with the EPA and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality to prevent future chemical releases like those that occurred at the company’s South Sioux City plant last year.

EPA investigators found in January that Big Ox discharges at its South Sioux City plant contributed to the creation of toxic gases that sickened a plant worker.

Sewer odor issues blamed on the plant displaced 26 households at their height in 2016.

FEMA suspends aid for Omaha Tribe after audit questions

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The federal government is suspending disaster aid for the Omaha Tribe because auditors couldn’t verify how the tribe spent $14 million in past aid.

The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that auditors couldn’t find documentation to show how the tribe spent the money it received after the 2011 Missouri River flooding.

The tribe’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to a message Tuesday afternoon.

The flooding covered hundreds of thousands of acres of land along the Missouri River in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri in 2011 after massive amounts of water was released from upstream dams.

The tribe was forced to close down its casino that employed 181 people and 11 homes had to be rebuilt. Farmland the tribe owned in Iowa and Nebraska was also damaged.

Nebraska officials warning of unlicensed payday lender

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance is warning residents against doing business with a payday lender that is not licensed to do business in the state.

The department announced the warning Tuesday and says it has issued a cease-and-desist order to an entity calling itself Steve’s Payday Loans.

The department says Steve’s claims to be located at an address in Lincoln, but an investigation found there is no such company at the address it lists on its website.

The state says online loan forms on the business’ website are not secure or encrypted, which could put the information entered there at risk of theft.

Calls to a number on the website were immediately disconnected by an automated system.

Police: Omaha man dies after being shot in north Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a man shot in north Omaha over the weekend had died of his injuries.

Police say 56-year-old Lionel Johnson died Monday at a hospital. Officers investigating a report of a shooting a day earlier had found him on a sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound.

Police say the case is being investigated as a homicide.

No arrests had been reported by Tuesday evening.

Icy roadway blamed for western Nebraska crash death

ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say an icy road led to the crash death of an Alliance woman in the Nebraska Panhandle.

The accident occurred around 11:30 a.m. Monday on U.S. Highway 385, about 11 miles (18 kilometers) north of Alliance.

The Nebraska State Patrol says 35-year-old Lisa Penaluna lost control of her northbound car and collided with a southbound semitrailer driven by Gary Chestnut, who lives in Kansas.

The patrol says Penaluna died of her injuries and says Chestnut suffered minor injuries.

Inmate who helped 2 others escape gets more prison time

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A prisoner who helped two other inmates escape a Lincoln prison has been given more time behind bars.

Court records say 27-year-old Brandon D. Williams was sentenced to three to four years in prison — time that will be added to the 10 to 15 years he’s already serving for a robbery in Douglas County. He’d pleaded no contest in the escape case.

Prosecutors say that on June 10 last year, Williams helped Lincoln Correctional Center inmates Timothy Clausen and Armon Dixon hide in a laundry cart before rolling the cart into a laundry truck that was headed to another prison.

They escaped from the truck after it left the center. Dixon was caught the next day in Lincoln, and Clausen was caught five days later at an Omaha apartment.

Driver dies in Omaha Interstate 80 crash

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 31-year-old driver has died in a crash on Interstate 80 in Omaha.

The accident occurred around 2:10 p.m. Tuesday on the east side of the city. The Omaha Police Department says an eastbound sport utility vehicle drifted into another lane and then, when the driver overcorrected, slid across two lanes and struck a parked semitrailer in a construction zone.

Police say the driver died later at an Omaha hospital. He’s been identified as Tyrone Santos Morales, who lived in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue.

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