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Man accused of cattle theft in south-central Nebraska

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RED CLOUD, Neb. (AP) — A 26-year-old man has been accused of stealing cattle in southern Nebraska.

Court records say Austin Petr, of Blue Hill, is charged with theft in Webster County and, in Clay County, with seven counts of prohibited sale of livestock. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Thursday from The Associated Press.

Authorities say calves belonging to Alan Johnson, of Blue Hill, were reported missing Jan. 13. Authorities say that on the same day Petr sold 40 of his cattle and 30 unbranded animals at a sale barn in the Clay County community of Sutton.

Authorities say a subsequent investigation revealed that 27 of the unbranded calves were matched with animals in Johnson’s herd.

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Authorities poring over skull found by boy in Nebraska

ASHLAND, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a boy has found what’s believed to be a human skull along an eastern Nebraska creek.

The boy spotted the skull Wednesday evening while walking along a trail at Carol Joy Holling Camp south of Ashland.

Cass County Sheriff’s Capt. Dave Lamprecht says it unclear how old the skull is and how the person died. An investigation has begun.

Lincoln YMCA closes new lap pool, saying it’s too shallow

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new Lincoln YMCA has been forced to close its indoor lap pool. Apparently, it’s too shallow.

Some swimmers at the Copple Family YMCA had complained about hitting the pool floor with their strokes. Others said the shallow water hampered their flip turns.

The YMCA’s Barb Bettin told the Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/2r5cA7J) that, “Not everything is perfect when you finish up a project, and we’re going to make it right.”

The pool is 75 feet (23 meters) long, 3 feet (1 meter) deep at one end, nearly 5 feet (1.5 meters) at the other. Contractors will tear up about 30 feet (10 meters) toward the shallow end, dig it 6 inches (15 centimeters) deeper and pour a new floor. The work is expected to take most of the summer.

Former Nebraska university administrator fined for theft

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former administrator at a University of Nebraska-Lincoln center has been sentenced for using university money to pay personal airplane travel expenses.

Court records say 30-year-old Laviania Thandayithabani (tehn’-daye-uhth-uh-PAH’-naye) pleaded no contest to misdemeanor theft after prosecutors lowered the charge from a felony. She was fined $1,000 last month and ordered to pay more than $11,300 in restitution.

She was assistant director of operations for the Nebraska Transportation Center, which aids collaboration by university, industry and government officials on transportation issues and research. University police say in court documents that they found 17 charges on the university travel portal system from April 2015 through December 2016 totaling more than $11,300. Officials say none of the trips was approved.

Ex-coach pleads not guilty to sex assault of boy

SIBLEY, Iowa (AP) — A former Sibley-Ocheyedan football coach and teacher fired after the superintendent found him sleeping in his classroom next to a 10-year-old has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

Iowa court records say 39-year-old Kyle Ewinger entered the written plea Wednesday in Osceola County District Court. His trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 17.

Ewinger, of West Burlington, was fired after he was found with the boy sleeping on an air mattress. A criminal complaint says the boy reported that Ewinger had performed a sex act on him.

Nebraska court records say Ewinger has pleaded not guilty a charge of sexually assaulting a child in Douglas County. No trial has yet been scheduled. A pretrial conference is set to resume June 21.

Omaha hospital closes doors, opens emergency room nearby

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A hospital in Omaha will be closing its doors after 40 years and opening a new emergency room six blocks away.

Creighton University Medical Center will stop taking patients on Friday. When the hospital closes, a new emergency room will open six blocks east at Creighton University Medical Center University Campus.

The decades-old hospital’s Level I trauma center and role as a teaching facility for Creighton’s medical school will move to a third facility, the expanded Creighton University Medical Center-Bergan Mercy.

Chief medical officer at CUMC-Bergan Mercy, Dr. Devin Fox, said Wednesday that the closure of the hospital won’t leave northeast Omaha without medical services.

Ex-school official accused of attacking wife gets probation

Brian Redinger

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A former Shelton school superintendent accused of attacking his wife has been sentenced to 18 months’ probation and fined $500.

46-year-old Brian Redinger was sentenced Thursday in Hall County District Court. He pleaded no contest in April to two misdemeanors: domestic assault and reckless driving after originally pleading not guilty to making terroristic threats, strangulation, domestic assault and criminal attempt at assault.

Sheriff’s investigators say Redinger attacked his wife last year, hitting her head on a car dashboard and later driving at her before she escaped to safety at a Hall County truck stop.

He resigned his position as superintendent of Shelton Public Schools some weeks after his arrest.

Traffic stop leads to huge meth seizure, arrests in Omaha

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Law enforcement officials say a traffic stop has led to the seizure of $1.5 million worth of methamphetamine and the arrests of several people in Nebraska.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says it conducted a traffic stop Wednesday morning on Interstate 80 at Lincoln. Deputies say the occupants of the vehicle gave deputies permission to search it, turning up 35 pounds of crystal meth in the rear cargo area.

Officials say an investigation revealed the meth was destined for Omaha. With the help of the Omaha Police Department and federal Homeland Security and Drug Enforcement Administration, several people in Omaha were arrested in connection with the case.

Officials say more than $112,000 in drug money also was seized.

FDA asks drugmaker to stop selling its opioid painkiller

U.S. regulators want a narcotic painkiller involved in the opioid epidemic off the market.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it has asked Endo Pharmaceuticals to stop selling its reformulated, extended-release painkiller, Opana ER.

It’s the first time the FDA has asked for the removal of an opioid painkiller.

Endo had touted the new formulation as abuse-resistant, though the FDA did not allow the company to market it as such when granting approval for sales several years ago.

The FDA says it has seen a “significant shift” from people crushing and snorting Opana ER to get high to injecting it.

Abuse of Opana ER was blamed for a 2015 outbreak of HIV and hepatitis C in southern Indiana linked to sharing needles.

Endo officials did not immediately respond.

North Platte man killed in Dawson County Crash

A two-car crash on Interstate 80 one-half mile west of Cozad in Dawson County has claimed one life and sent another person to the hospital. The crash occurred just before 1:00 a.m. Thursday, June 8, 2017.

A car driven by Deloyce Robinson, 89, of North Platte, entered the westbound lanes of I-80 traveling the wrong direction when it collided with a pickup driven by Nicholas Yonce, 28, of Garner, North Carolina.

Robinson was killed in the accident. Nebraska State Patrol investigators determined that Robinson had not been wearing his seat belt.

Yonce was treated at the Cozad Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Yonce was wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash.

“This is a tragic crash, but an important reminder that all motorists should wear their seat belt,” said Major Mike
Gaudreault, Nebraska State Patrol Field Services Division Commander. “Of the 79 fatalities on Nebraska roadways in 2017, 80 percent have not been wearing seat belts. Properly wearing your seat belt dramatically increases your chances of surviving an accident.”

All lanes of I-80 at Mile Marker 222 have reopened after a two-hour closure of the westbound lanes to complete the investigation.

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