GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln-based nonprofit dedicated to recycling and composting has recognized the Nebraska State Fair for its efforts to keep waste out of the Grand Island landfill.

WasteCap Nebraska has bestowed a GoZero zero-waste designation on the State Fair for its work recycling and composting during the 2016 event.

State Fair facilities director Jaime Parr says the fair saw nearly 1,047 tons of materials recycled or composted during the 10-day fair in August and September.

It’s the fair’s third zero-waste designation since 2014.

FRANKLIN, Neb. (AP) — Southern Nebraska officials have identified a woman whose body was found in a burning home earlier this week.

An autopsy identified the woman as 71-year-old Margaret Nielsen and said her cause of death was smoke inhalation.

Nielsen was found dead after firefighters extinguished the Monday morning fire. Adam Matzner with the State Fire Marshall’s Office says the fire was caused by an unattended candle.

SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities are investigating what caused the deaths of two people found in a western Nebraska home.

Cheyenne County Attorney Paul Schaub said a man and a woman were found dead in a home in Sidney.

Schaub says investigators can’t yet rule out foul play. Law enforcement officials were called to the home early Friday after the woman’s employer called to report that she had not shown up for work in several days.

Schaub did not release a cause of death, saying autopsies had been ordered. Officials did not release the names of the two people.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska Board of Regents has approved construction of two buildings on the Kearney campus at a total estimated cost of $36.4 million.

The board approved the move Friday to replace the aging Otto C. Olsen Building. That building houses several programs, including the College of Education Early Childhood Education Center.

The largest of the two-building project would house many of UNK’s science, technology, engineering and math programs. The building will be about 80,000 square feet and is projected to cost $30 million. It could be completed by October 2019.

The other building, proposed at $6.4 million and 17,800-square-feet, would house the Early Childhood Education Center and support 152 children — triple the capacity of the Olsen building.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Education Department is seeking sponsors to operate its Summer Food Service Program.

The program provides meals and snacks to children at schools, churches, playgrounds and parks during summer and other school breaks. It was created to ensure children in low-income areas can get meals when they don’t have access to school lunches or breakfasts.

Eligible sponsors include public or private nonprofit schools, residential camps and local or state government sites. Also, private nonprofit sponsors and sites are eligible. Program sponsors may apply for up to $15,000 a year for non-recurring expenses.

Grant applications may be downloaded from the Nebraska Department of Education Nutrition Services’ web page at: http://www.education.ne.gov/NS/SFSP/news.html.

The following letter was received by The Post on January 28, 2017:

Have hope. My daughter is an only child, a freshman at NPHS, soon to be 15. My daughter had been picked on as a little 2nd grader in grade school due to her curly hair, clumsiness, and pension for rock t-shirts and ripped jeans. She just wasn’t into pink frilly little girl dresses. She stood up for herself and walked away often, but I also received phone calls from the school about a few playground verbal lashings and even a punch or two. The teasing stopped. We are blessed that she is strong. Now fast forward to middle school: I’m getting calls from the school because shes reducing kids to tears. Instantly I’m concerned because my kid is a bully!!!! I ask her what the heck, and her side is a bit different. We called a meeting at the school and ask the other kids and their parents to be there. It became apparent that my daughter was defending another girl from being horribly teased by the popular boy and reduced him to tears in the hall with a scathing lecture on being a ‘d##k’. I was proud. The school was embarrassed. The other parents were shocked and embarrassed. Her standing up for others knew no bounds and became something she was known for. She even stood up to a teacher who once asked another student if they were stupid. We were concerned for High School. So many faces and people she didn’t know, wanting to be a typical teen, possibly of peer pressure, and teen bullying is a whole new level. She’s been doing good, grades good, new friends. New people to help, new people to stand up to, and new opportunities to choose the right and do the right thing. Why am I sharing this? Because we hear about the bullying and the sad stories that plague our community. We need to let these child victims know there is hope out there, there are good strong friends to lean on. We also need to encourage our kids to get involved if they see something that is not okay. Be on your kids’ side, ask questions, give them the tools to ask for help, look for help, and accept help. Help others even if it’s not your problem. I understand it’s hard for kids to fight against the flow of voyeurism when there’s drama in the halls or on the playground but as adults, you need to be the strength they need to at home to know how to stand up for themselves and stand up for someone else. To be empathetic and brave. You cannot control bullying and you cannot expect human nature to change from its base. But you can teach your family to choose the right, be the strength, and act when there is a wrong.

The following letter was received by The Post on January 28, 2017:

I am writing this in regards to bullying- my daughter has been bullied pretty much through middle school- 8th grade really hit the hardest, she was called mean things pretty much every day by a certain group laughed at whispered about although she was kinda friends with everyone but at the same time was very excluded as well. She has low self-esteem which didn’t help in her case it made an impact on her day to day life. Eventually, as the days got harder and harder for her to cope she got sexually assaulted in the school library by a very popular jock. She decided to go to the school counselor and let them know what happened-I got the call I was very proud of her standing up for herself. She was interviewed by The Bridge of Hope and he got a “talking to” by the investigator. And that was that. She continued going to school until her anxiety got increasingly worse AND was still in a class with this kid. Eventually, she just couldn’t do it she refused to go to school, I was in pain with her not knowing what to do. I called the school had meetings with principle made a plan. She just couldn’t do it. It was either home-school or switch schools in that process it was too late to switch schools I went to the school administrator to try to see if she could do anything and they were basically no help,  didn’t care and didn’t want to listen to my story with my child to get her back in school. Ok so I took her to Dr got her diagnosed with anxiety got her on meds which were my last resort but I was willing to try anything at that point she was ready to jump the cliff. Got her counseling but eventually, she just didn’t want to go and she was doing much better on medicine. Now she is in 9th grade at HS. She has done better but still was put in classes with this kid which is just crazy but she deals with it and she tells me all her former classmates think that she lied about the whole thing and looks at her as a liar and he even has said to her his family said she ruined their whole summer over this and they hate her. Even though he admitted it to an investigator. She has been off her med since this summer but recently started having anxiety again. She is a very good kid and it’s painful to go through but I won’t let her be alone in this I’m in this with her. This is our story of being bullied being insecure and living with anxiety. It’s one of the hardest things to go through.

From the staff at The Post:

We at the North Platte Post rarely take sides on issues, but when it comes to bullying, we stand firm behind those who are bullied. In recent weeks, children as young as 12-years-old have committed suicide publicly using social media outlets like Facebook Live. We would recommend you Google these videos and watch them.  We don’t encourage you to watch the end result, but we do encourage you to listen to the pain that these children are experiencing because of their peers. One 12-year-old girl recently posted a two-hour video describing her pain before taking her own life online.  The problem is that most people don’t watch them and prefer to shove this epidemic to the back of their mind. Teachers, administrators, parents and law enforcement, our children are killing themselves! We have to stop this now!  We know it’s not an easy job but if we stand together and ensure that bullies will have consequences, we can make a difference.  The letter below was written to us from a parent of a student at a Lincoln County School. In order to protect them, we have removed their names.  We hear too many stories like this.  If the schools or police won’t tell your story, we will.  Please message us on Facebook or email [email protected].   

Received by The Post on January 28, 2017

My name is — and my son — goes to school in Hershey, NE. He is not a “Popular kid”. He is not an athlete. He is just your run of the mill average kid except for one thing. He is bullied.

There isn’t a day that goes by that he doesn’t come home from school upset. His fellow students may not think they are causing any harm or that they are just kidding, but the fact is that this so-called “kidding” is harmful. We have had numerous conversations with the administration about this problem but the problem continues and he gets a backlash if he reports a student about the harassment. Not only does this harm his self-esteem but it is affecting his grades as well.

As a parent, you try your hardest to shield your children from harm but as it sits, my hands are tied. I myself can not stop “Your Children” from hurting my child within the grounds of our public school system. That’s why I am posting this. I need everyone’s help to stomp out bullying. I’m sure there are many parents out there that are aware that their children are bullies but refuse to step in and teach them that this is not right. I have heard teachers say that my son needs to toughen up. Well, maybe you teachers need to toughen up and be aware that you are part of the problem.

These episodes not only happen in the hallways, on the playground or off campus, but right under your nose in the classroom. What you are teaching my son is not going to make a difference if he quits school or worse yet, commits suicide because of the constant bullying?

To all the students that may happen to read this, [my son] is a great kid. He is supportive and a loyal friend. He has some pretty amazing talents. Get to know him, give him a chance. Don’t contribute to him possibly becoming one of the statistics