OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha tax preparer has been imprisoned for falsifying documents for several clients.
Prosecutors say 42-year-old Lisa Holmes was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison, one year of supervised release when she leaves custody and was ordered to pay restitution of nearly $49,000. She’d pleaded guilty in December to tax fraud.
Prosecutors say Holmes inflated income figures for some business clients, which resulted in their receiving higher tax refunds than they should have.
BROWNVILLE, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators will inspect Cooper nuclear power plant next week to determine why a key heat-removal system and its backup were both offline at the same time last month.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will conduct a special inspection at the plant owned by the Nebraska Public Power District to determine what led to the error.
Regulators say that on Feb. 5 workers discovered a problem with a system that would help remove heat from the plant during an accident. That system may have been offline for months.
During the time that system was disabled, workers did maintenance work on a back-up heat-removal system, and it was offline for about 72 hours.
Cooper sits along the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska near Brownville about 80 miles south of Omaha.
CHICAGO (AP) — If you’re gorging on bacon or skimping on nuts, you might want to rethink your diet. That’s according to new research that links 10 foods with deaths from heart disease, strokes and diabetes.
The study says overeating or not eating enough of those foods contributes to nearly half of U.S. deaths from the three causes.
The researchers used data showing that about 700,000 Americans died in 2012 from heart disease, strokes and diabetes. They also examined several years of national health surveys that asked adults about their diets.
“Good” foods that were under-eaten included nuts and seeds, seafood and fruits. “Bad” foods that were overeaten included salt, processed meats and sugary drinks.
Results were published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials have announced plans to cut 39 jobs at a Beatrice facility for people with developmental disabilities and transition residents out of a state program in Hastings.
The staff reduction announced Tuesday will affect workers at the Beatrice State Developmental Center who aren’t considered front-line staff, such as laundry and maintenance employees. Officials say the change came after a review found that some employees were performing duplicative tasks.
In an unrelated decision, state officials plan to move six residents out of homes run by the Bridges program in Hastings.
The change comes because the Bridges program violates federal rules designed to keep residents with developmental disabilities out of institution-like settings. Courtney Miller of the Department of Health and Human Services says plans will be made for each resident.
On 3/6/17 at 8:43 PM officers with the NPPD responded to a shooting incident at a residence in the 1100 block of west 11th street.
Officers made contact with an 18 year old male victim who had a gunshot wound to his forehead. Medical attention was given by officers until EMT’s arrived. Once the victim was transported to the hospital officers contacted several people who were at the scene. They learned that the suspect in the shooting was Christian Vera who was located in the alleyway behind the residence. Christian was taken into custody without incident. A mid-size handgun was located in the alleyway near Christian.
It was determined based on evidence and witness statements that several individuals were playing video games inside of the residence when Christian Vera produced a handgun to show to the victim. During the process of showing off the handgun Christian negligently discharged one round which struck the victim in the head.
There is nothing to indicate at this time that any disagreement or quarrel occurred prior to the shooting and the incident is believed to be accidental. The suspect and victim are related to one another.
Christian was placed under arrest for 2nd degree assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony. One of the definitions of 2nd Degree Assault in Nebraska is recklessly causing serious bodily injury to another with a dangerous weapon.
It is suspected that the handgun in question was stolen and further follow up is being conducted.
The victim was flown to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, NE and his current condition is unknown.
No further information is available at this time and the investigation continues.
North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team defeated the Central Community College Lady Raiders 78-50 to win the Region IX Division II championship Monday night at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium.
The Lady Raiders had an abbreviated roster and only suited up five players.
The Lady Knights jumped out to a 11-2 lead and led the entire game. They held a 21-9 lead after the first quarter.
The Lady Knights outscored the Lady Raiders 18-12 in the second quarter to take a 39-21 advantage at the break. Allison Tichy scored 13 of her team high 19 points in the first half.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the Lady Knights scored the first six points to push the lead to 24 at 45-21. The Lady Raiders followed up with their biggest run of the game scoring the next eight points to make the lead 45-29. The Lady Knights held a 56-35 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Lady Knights started the fourth quarter by going on a 15-8 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 71-43.
The Lady Knights, now 10-18, had four players in double figures led by Tichy’s 19 points. Thomesha Wilson was next with 16 points, followed by Jessica Lovitt with 12 points. Lexa Lealiiee added 11 points. Wilson and Lovitt each recorded a double-double with 12 and 11 rebounds respectively.
Lovitt, Wilson, and Tichy were all named to the Division II All-Region IX team and the All-Region IX Division II Tournament Team.
The Lady Raiders finish their season at 14-15. Maddie Wolfe led all scorers with 25 points. Megan Fiala was the only other Lady Raider in double figures with 14 points. Payton Blanke recorded 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Raiders.
The Lady Knights continue their season on Saturday, March 11 hosting Region 13 winner Dakota College at McDonald-Belton Gymnasium at 3 pm for the District F playoff. The winner of that game will advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association Women’s Division II National Tournament in Harrison, Ark.
Today
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s corrections director says his department is still struggling to hire and retain prison employees but contends the situation has improved.
Director Scott Frakes made his comments during a budget hearing with lawmakers on Monday. His testimony followed a prisoner uprising Thursday that left two inmates dead at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, which has more than 50 job vacancies.
Corrections officials have said the prison was adequately staffed at the time. But union officials say prison workers are frequently asked to work overtime because of employee turnover and unfilled jobs, which drains their morale.
Frakes says annual turnover rates for the entire corrections system has fallen from 32 percent to 26 percent over the last four months, but he wants to see an even lower rate.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Medical marijuana advocates are urging Nebraska state senators not to confirm a chief medical officer who opposes the use of marijuana or any of its byproducts.
Dr. Thomas Williams could be confirmed as the state’s chief medical officer following a committee recommendation last week. Advocates who want to see Nebraska legalize medical marijuana say he is unwilling to consider treatments that could help people who suffer from cancer or seizures.
Williams in a letter urged a legislative committee not to advance a bill that would allow children with seizures to use a drug containing a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana, provided the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves that drug this summer. He wrote marijuana has no medical use and has a “high potential for abuse.”
Lana Albrecht-Watson has been named as an Excellence in Teaching recipient by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).
The Tryon woman is a nurse educator and the nursing clinical coordinator for both the registered nurse and licensed practical nursing programs at Mid-Plains Community College. She was nominated for the award by her peers.
“Lana’s reputation and experience in the classroom made our selection very easy,” said Dr. Jody Tomanek, MPCC area vice president of academic affairs. “Lana is not only outstanding when it comes to teaching, but her work with the nursing student organization and the number of community activities they do is commendable as well. The college is extremely proud to have Lana recognized for her efforts.”
The Excellence Award honors teachers who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to their students and colleagues.
“I’m very proud to receive the award,” said Albrecht-Watson. “I really do have a passion for teaching. It’s exciting for me to watch students learning, having fun and reaching goals they wanted to reach.”
Albrecht-Watson has been a full-time instructor at the college for six years. She is an alum of MPCC’s nursing program – having entered it in 1995, right out of high school.
“It was an honor to be asked to come back and teach at the place where I got my start,” said Albrecht-Watson. “The whole reason I teach is because I want to have good nurses when I need them, or when my family or friends need them. At MPCC, I get the satisfaction of knowing we are sending an excellent, well-prepared group of nurses into the workforce.”
That’s part of why pinning day is the most exciting for her. It’s also the most difficult.
“The nursing students become like family,” said Albrecht-Watson. “I get to be kind of like their mother. It’s fun to build that rapport with them and watch them grow, but it’s always hard to say good-bye.”
Her efforts will be recognized during NISOD’s International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence on May 28, in Austin, Texas. There, she will be treated to a red carpet experience and presented with a specially cast, pewter medallion.
