YORK, Neb. (AP) — A man convicted last year for a second time in the death of his infant daughter has been sentenced to 35 to 40 years in prison.
Ryan Kozisek, formerly of Gresham, was sentenced Monday in York County District Court. He had pleaded no contest last month to attempted child abuse. Prosecutors had lowered the charge and dropped another.
He has been given credit for nearly four years already served behind bars.
In March, the Nebraska Court of Appeals granted Kozisek a new trial, saying his ex-wife should not have been allowed to testify in his original trial. The baby died Jan. 25, 2011, a day after Kozisek called 911 to report she wasn’t breathing.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is proposing an effort to eliminate a variety of job-licensing requirements.
Ricketts says he will call on lawmakers to pass a package of eight bills in his annual State of the State address on Thursday.
The proposals would ease requirements for aspiring cosmetologists, massage therapists, audiologists, potato shippers and school bus drivers, among others. Ricketts argues the regulations targeted are generally redundant or more stringent than those in other states, and he says eliminating them won’t affect public safety.
Jim Vokal of the Omaha-based Platte Institute says the proposals chosen are “low-hanging fruit” and eliminating them could make it easier to find a job or start a business. Ricketts worked with the group as well as various state agencies to come up with his list.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A small Nebraska town again is caught in the crosshairs of a debate over alcohol sales and widespread alcoholism on a bordering South Dakota Native American reservation.
County officials voted 3-0 Tuesday to recommend the state renew liquor licenses for four beer stores in Whiteclay. Those stores sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of beer in 2015 despite Whiteclay’s dozen full-time residents.
The decision is a setback from activists who’ve targeted the city for decades in hopes of stopping sales.
Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe blame Whiteclay for problems on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned.
Whiteclay’s history dates to 1882, when it was part a buffer zone created to protect the tribe from whiskey peddlers. President Theodore Roosevelt eliminated the zone in 1904.
CHAPMAN, Neb. (AP) — Despite pleas from residents of the tiny central Nebraska city of Chapman, a school board has decided to close the community’s school.
The Northwest school board voted 3 to 3 late Monday on a vote to rescind an earlier decision to close the Chapman school. The board then tied in a vote to ratify the December closure vote.
The tie votes meant the earlier decision apparently will stand.
The board voted again on the matter after hearing more than two hours of testimony, primarily from students, teachers and residents of the 280-person town near Grand Island.
Since the earlier vote, two new members had joined the board.
The move to close the school comes amid declining enrollment and the school’s high cost per student.
FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — The Fremont City Council will consider whether to approve grants to aid Costco’s construction of a $275 million chicken processing plant.
Costco will seek the council’s approval Tuesday night of $1.35 million in economic-development grants.
Costco is working with Lincoln Premium Poultry to operate a plant that would employ up to 1,000 people. Costco has promised that up to 820 of those jobs involve production working paying at least $15 an hour. About 100 supervisory or professional jobs would pay between $45,000 and $350,000 annually.
Costco has agreed to operate the plant for at least 15 years.
Opponents of the plant have filed a lawsuit, saying the facility would hurt air and water quality.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is marking the opening of a food pantry inside the student union on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.
The Huskers Helping Huskers Pantry Plus will offer food and hygiene items to enrolled students.
University officials were prompted to open the pantry by a survey that showed three of every 10 UNL students reported occasionally worrying about having enough food. About 10 percent say they rarely or never could afford a balanced meal.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Juan Franco noted it was good the university was opening the pantry, but sad that the students need the program.
More than 400 universities and colleges across the country have opened similar pantries.
A penguin that was stolen from a display at Cody Park’s Santa’s Workshop and Winter Wonderland last month has been recovered.
On January 9, at around 4:24 p.m., a North Platte police officer took several reports of items being stolen from vehicles in the 800 block of West E Street. Investigator John Deal says two citizens reported that their vehicles had been broken into and numerous items were stolen, including a work bag with a two-way radio, a spotting scope and other hunting optics and several other items.
One of the victims found a cell phone in their vehicle that didn’t belong to them.
Deal says officers checked the phone and determined that it belonged to 20-year-old Alexander Fourtner.
Officers responded to Fourtner’s residence in the 700 block of South Eastman. According to Deal, the officers were speaking with Fourtner in his bedroom when one of them noticed the penguin that had been stolen from Cody Park. The penguin had some minor damage and had the words “Buckaroo Bandits” written on it in permanent marker.
Further investigation led to the discovery of the majority of the property that had been stolen from the two vehicles on E Street. Property from numerous other thefts around North Platte was also recovered. Deal says a number of cases will likely be cleared once the investigation is complete.
Officers questioned Fourtner, who claimed that he did not steal the penguin, and said it had been brought to his house by an acquaintance that he would not name.
Police are asking anyone with information about the penguin, or if you’ve been a victim of theft, to contact the North Platte Police Department.
Deal says Fourtner was charged with felony theft between $1,500-$5,000 for the two vehicle break-ins and jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.
The investigation is ongoing and Deal says Fourtner will likely face more charges, including possession of the stolen penguin.
K. F. Kaleuati passed away on January 6, 2017, at the age of 68 years. He is a retired member of the Nebraska-Kansas Great Plains United Methodist Conference where he served churches for 35 years.
He is survived by his wife Sandra Jean of 45 years, two daughters—Margaret Anne Kaleuati,her husband Matt Karaffa and son Frankie, Karen Michelle Kaleuati and her special friend Adam Taghavi; two brothers—Roger Joseph, Jr. and wife Linda of Macungie, Pennsylvania, and William (Billy) Joseph of Center Valley, Pennsylvania; and numerous nephews and nieces.
Memorial donations are suggested to donor’s choice, online condolences may be shared at www.adamsswanson.com. Condolences may be sent to the family at: 3911 W Redwood, North Platte, NE 69101.
Funeral Service will be at 11:00 am, Saturday, January 14, 2017 at First United Methodist Church, McDonald and West E with the Reverend Dr. Doug Delp officiating. Lunch will be at the Fellowship Hall following the service; all are invited. Those wishing to sign the register book may do so 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Friday, January 13, 2017 at Adams & Swanson Funeral Home which is in charge of arrangements.
A former North Platte travel agent will spend the next three to five years in prison after she was convicted of stealing thousands of dollars from clients.
In December of 2015, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received information from a Moorefield couple that they had possibly been scammed by a travel agent in North Platte.
The couple reported that they had booked a large family vacation to Hawaii in February of 2015 through a travel agent, later identified as Ella Mae Sculley. The couple alleged that they made two large payments to Sculley but began finding problems with the vacation plans.
According to Investigators, the couple contacted the parent travel company and found that their vacation had not been booked. They say they made numerous attempts to contact Sculley but got no response.
After a lengthy investigation into Sculley’s business banking accounts, it was determined that Sculley had indeed received two checks from the alleged victims, but did not make any payments to the parent travel company.
It was determined that the couple has lost over $18,000 due to the incident.
On February 11, 2015, Sculley was contacted by law enforcement and placed under arrest. She was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with felony theft by deception.
On Monday, Lincoln County District Court Judge Donald Rowlands sentenced Sculley to three to five years at the Nebraska Women’s Prison, in York.
Rowlands noted that a previous theft conviction, in which Sculley was convicted of stealing $8,000 when she worked for Goodwill, in Lexington, meant that he had no choice but to send her to prison.
Sculley must also pay over $30,000 in restitution.
