TECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — A corrections staffer has been accused of exchanging unauthorized emails with a Tecumseh prison inmate.
Online court records say 28-year-old Chelsea Guiffre (GUHF’-ree) is charged with unlawful acts by a corrections employee.
Guiffre told Judge Steven Timm that she wanted to enter a plea Wednesday of not guilty. But Timm told her he wouldn’t take her plea until after she’d been able to meet with a lawyer.
Corrections spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith said Thursday that Guiffre has been suspended without pay from her job as a case manager at the Tecumseh prison.
A court affidavit says Guiffre used the name Gemma Jansen to exchange emails with inmate Troy Giles, who’s serving a sentence of 15 to 20 years for an assault in Douglas County.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Three former state senators are urging Nebraska lawmakers to maintain the Legislature’s nonpartisan tradition and promote an atmosphere of cooperation and collegiality.
The opinion piece released Thursday encourages senators to base their votes on what they believe is best for their constituents, rather than political party concerns.
Their commentary follows an earlier, prolonged floor fight this year over legislative rules. Conservative senators pushed for a rule change that would have made it easier to overcome legislative filibusters. Progressive lawmakers fought the idea, resulting in gridlock for the session’s first 30 days.
The article was written by former state Sens. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln, John Harms of Scottsbluff and Galen Hadley of Kearney, who served as speaker. All three are registered Republicans who were sometimes at odds with their parties.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say two men were arrested after officers found around 280 pounds of marijuana and more than $60,000 in a vehicle after a traffic stop on the western edge of Lincoln.
The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy pulled over the van for several traffic violations around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on Interstate 80. The office says the deputy smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle. A subsequent search uncovered the pot and the cash hidden throughout the vehicle.
The Sheriff’s Office says the marijuana has an estimated street value of $900,000.
The two men were arrested on suspicion of possession for sale and a related crime. Online court records don’t show Thursday that the two have been formally charged.
DENVER (AP) — The Denver FBI has honored a youth dropout prevention group apparently without realizing it is partially funded with marijuana taxes.
Youth on Record Executive Director Jami Duffy mentioned the funding Thursday as she accepted the Director’s Community Leadership Award at Denver FBI headquarters.
She said the program that focuses on music received $75,000 in marijuana tax revenue last year and is expecting an additional $148,000 this year.
Colorado’s voter-approved marijuana industry is still illegal under federal law and faces uncertainty under new U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Asked about the funding, FBI spokeswoman Amy Sanders pointed to the corporations and foundations listed as donors on Youth on Record’s website . That list does not include the marijuana-based funding.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Employees of billionaire Warren Buffett’s company will again have the chance to win as much as $1 million a year for life if they can correctly guess the sweet 16 of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The contest is open only to the more than 350,000 employees of the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate Buffett leads.
Winning that top prize is difficult because upsets routinely happen in the NCAA tournament.
But Berkshire will also offer a $100,000 prize for the person with the bracket that remains perfect the longest.
If more than one person ties in the contest the prize will be split. For instance, last year two people tied and each received $50,000.
Berkshire owns more than 90 companies, including Geico insurance, BNSF railroad, See’s Candy and Fruit of the Loom.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers will continue investigating whether a longtime state senator lives in his district.
A special legislative committee decided Thursday it had jurisdiction to hear the case against Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha. Lawmakers have spent the past month questioning whether the investigation could move forward because challenger John Sciara failed to meet all legislative rules.
Former Nebraska Supreme Court Justice William Connolly says Sciara fulfilled all statutory requirements.
Sciara says he is pleased the case is moving forward but disappointed it didn’t happen sooner.
Sciara, who lost the 2016 election to Chambers by more than 6,000 votes, contends Chambers really lives in Bellevue. Chambers has provided senators and reporters with utility bills from his north Omaha home as proof of address.
North Platte St. Patrick students are wearing GBJF 2017 #LIVING WATER wristbands as they prepare to host the three-day retreat in March 2017. Young people are encouraged to attend and even apply to be part of the Banana Bunch that will help lead the weekend. (Courtesy Photo)
Five hundred (500) young people from across the Diocese of Grand Island and the Midwest signed up for the 19th Annual Going Bananas For Jesus Catholic Youth Rally in North Platte, Nebraska, March 17-19. The Biannual event started 30 years ago in Scottsbluff.
The core team created a schedule filled with prayer, workshops, seminars, and musical performances. Brenda Conell says it’s a faith-filled event that encourages people to grow stronger to Christ through discovery and prayer. These events will be held at the North Platte Catholic School facilities.
“We do offer adult mini sessions and special workshops, too,” says Conell, as we are focused on faith development for all Catholics in the region.
Special keynote presenters, Jesse Manibusan and ValLimar Jansen will headline the weekend with music and faith stories.
Jesse Manibusan is a composer, singer/songwriter, storyteller, humorist, catechist, evangelizer and encourager. Manibusan has that knack to build instant rapport, connect to his audience, and create life-giving memories that help deepen faith and cultivate the joy that inspires service, sacrifice and the celebration of life.
ValLimar Jansen is a highly regarded singer, composer and recording artist. She is educated and experienced as a university/college professor, a leader of worship and prayer and a workshop presenter at conferences across the United States and abroad. ValLimar Jansen has a long history of singing sacred music.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday, March 17, 2017
8:30 pm Living Passion Experience
Saturday, March 18, 2017
8:30 am Welcome & Morning Prayer
9:15 am Speakers/Workshops
12:45 pm Speakers/Workshops
2:55 pm Banana Splits & Service Project Celebration
7:30 pm FREE PUBLIC CONCERT with Jesse Manibusan and ValLimar Jansen
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 29-year-old man has been imprisoned for the crash death of a teenage girl while he was driving drunk in Omaha.
A judge sentenced Tyvinn Smith to 22 to 25 years in prison Wednesday. Smith had pleaded no contest to vehicular homicide while driving drunk and to two related charges.
Prosecutors say Smith was speeding June 24 when he slammed into the back of a car on Sorensen Parkway around 10:45 p.m., killing 16-year-old Janis Brown and injuring two others. Prosecutors say Smith had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit and had cocaine and PCP in his system.
Marjorie A. Cool, 100, formerly of Callaway, died Wednesday, March 8, at Hilltop Estates in Gothenburg.
Funeral services will be held Monday, March 13, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. CDT at Tallin Church south of Arnold. Interment will be at Tallin Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to Morning Star Church in Callaway, the Senior Center or donor’s choice. Visitation hours are Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Arnold Funeral Home.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped charges against a teenager accused of sexually abusing a mentally disabled woman in suburban Des Moines whom he met online.
The case against Nicholas Fifield was dismissed Tuesday with prejudice, which means the charges can’t be refiled. A judge rejected an earlier plea deal.
A criminal complaint says Fifield, then a 17-year-old high school student, met the 18-year-old woman online and took her on a date in December 2015. The complaint says they went to his house and had sex, even though the woman said “no” several times.
The motion to dismiss says the woman’s parents asked that the case be dropped. The motion also says the woman can’t help prosecutors because of her “mental health diagnosis and attendant condition.”
TECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — A corrections staffer has been accused of exchanging unauthorized emails with a Tecumseh prison inmate.
