• Today: Isolated sprinkles after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 49. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
• Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. West wind 9 to 13 mph.
• Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. West northwest wind 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
• Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34. West northwest wind 3 to 6 mph.
• Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.
• Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35.

(AP) — A 37-year-old Illinois truck driver has been given 20 years in prison for a crash in Nebraska last year that killed a Maryland family.

Josef Slezak was sentenced on Wednesday in Sidney. Slezak, of River Grove, Ill., had pleaded no contest to four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular homicide involving an unborn child. Prosecutors dropped four manslaughter counts in exchange.

Authorities say Slezak had been driving virtually nonstop from Milwaukee, Wis., and was in western Nebraska on Interstate 80 when he fell asleep at the wheel on Sept. 9, 2012. His semitrailer slammed into the back of a car, killing Christopher Schmidt, his wife, Diana Schmidt, and their children ages 2 and 3. Diana Schmidt was 30 weeks pregnant.

The Schmidts were from Gaithersburg, Md.

(AP) — The Nebraska Labor Department says the partial shutdown of federal operations has delayed release of the state’s unemployment report for September.

The report was scheduled to be released Friday. It’s unclear when the data will be ready to release, now that the shutdown has ended and furloughed federal workers are returning to work. Department spokeswoman Grace Johnson said Thursday that there’s no word yet on when the information will be available so Nebraska can prepare and release its report.

Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate for August was unchanged from July, at 4.2 percent.

 

(AP) — Nebraska villages and cities worried about their drought-depleted water supplies are being advised to make deals with irrigators.

Utilities section director Lash Chaffin with the League of Nebraska Municipalities made the suggestion Wednesday during a water law conference in Lincoln.

Chaffin says making deals to buy irrigation allotments is cheaper than digging new wells in the middle of the summer, when water demand is high.

Nebraska weathered a major drought last year, but more rain this year helped ease the situation in most of the state. The National Drought Mitigation Center says more than 94 percent of Nebraska was at least abnormally dry as of Tuesday. Five percent of the state remains in extreme drought.

(AP) — Gov. Dave Heineman has appointed a state tax official to serve as Nebraska’s new tax commissioner.

Heineman announced Thursday that he has chosen Kimberly Conroy, of Papillion, as the new head of the Nebraska Department of Revenue. Conroy will replace Doug Ewald, who is stepping job to take a job with an Omaha tax and auditing firm.

Conroy has served as the state’s deputy tax commissioner since September 2008. Prior to that, the 53-year-old worked as director of the Revenue Department’s compliance division. She also worked in the tax department at Union Pacific Railroad.

The department oversees state policies and procedures for collecting revenue.

Conroy will assume her new responsibilities on Saturday. She will receive an annual salary of $135,000.

The Executive Director of the Golden Spike Tower, JoAnne Hoatson, has announced her resignation.

A news release Thursday said Hoatson, who has held the position since 2009, will be leaving in November.  Hoatson said, “I’ve had another career opportunity come up and I’ll be moving into that position in November.”

While she will be changing her career, she will not be changing the place she calls home, and says she will be staying in North Platte.

Hoatson noted the many great things in place at the Spike, including the staff, volunteers and Board of Directors.

Hoatson said, “It’ll be hard to leave on my last day, as most of those working and volunteering at the Spike have become family.”

The search for Hoatson’s replacement will begin immediately.

If you are interested in the position, submit a resume to Jeanie Gilbert at PO Box 393, North Platte, Neb. 69103 or visit GoldenSpikeTower.com.

 

A 61-year-old Thedford woman has been charged with a felony following a crash in a North Platte neighborhood.

According to North Platte Police Department (NPPD) Public Information Officer, Rodney Brown, Officers were dispatched to a one-vehicle accident at around 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday in the area of Lakeview Boulevard and Redwood Drive.

Officers learned that a purple 1994 Ford Explorer driven by Cindy Kenton had driven westbound from Redwood, over a median on Lakeview, struck a traffic sign and eventually came to rest on the lawn of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 4100 West A Street.

Following an investigation, Officers determined there was probable cause to arrest Kenton for Driving Under the Influence of Liquor, 1st Offense, Over .15.

Officers then conducted a search incident to the arrest and found prescription pills that did not belong to Kenton.

Kenton was then charged with felony Possession of a Controlled Substance-Lorazepam and a misdemeanor charge of Open Container in a Motor Vehicle.

Kenton was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.

(AP) — Twenty-seven states allow or require schools to stock epinephrine that’s used to fight sometimes life-threatening allergic reactions caused by eating certain food products, such as peanuts, or bee stings.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, 16 of those laws were enacted in 2013. So far Virginia, Maryland, Nebraska and Nevada are the only states to require it.

Charlotte Collins is senior vice president of public policy and advocacy for the allergy foundation and has been keeping track of which states are enacting laws to encourage schools to stock the devices.

She believes the trend was sparked by last year’s death of a Virginia first-grader who had an allergic reaction on a playground after eating a nut. She went into cardiac arrest and died at a local hospital.

A 39-year-old Wyoming woman is dead following a collision with a semi on Interstate 80 Wednesday evening near Wood River.

According to a news release, Hall County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to an injury accident at around 6:45 p.m. near Mile Marker 229 on I-80.

Officials say a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica driven by 26-year-old Karisa Bennett of Torrington, Wyo. was eastbound in the passing lane.  A semi that was also eastbound began to veer into that passing lane and forced Bennett into the median.  Bennett lost control and continued into the westbound lanes where her vehicle was struck by a 2008 International semi pulling a trailer.

The driver of the semi, Ivan Asimionese, was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured.

Bennett and the front seat passenger, 35-year-old Sarah Hatch also of Torringotn, were wearing seatbelts and were transported to St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island with non-life threatening injuries.  The backseat passenger, 34-year-old Larrah Gurnsey of Scottsbluff, was transported to St. Francis in “very critical” condition.  Another backseat passenger, 39-year-old Jennifer Jones of Torrington, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies are still attempting to locate the driver of the semi that was changing lanes.  Based on the initial investigation, Investigators do not believe speed or alcohol were a factor in the crash and do not anticipate any charges being filed.

A North Platte man has been charged with a felony after he is accused of stealing a laptop computer from Walmart.

On September 19th, an Officer from the North Platte Police Department (NPPD), received a complaint from Walmart staff that a male and female had entered the store around 5:00 a.m., stole a laptop, left the store and departed in a Ford Explorer.

On September 28th, Officers identified the female suspect but found no probable cause to arrest her for the theft.

Eventually, Investigators identified the male as 33-year-old Elliott Fair and found probable cause to arrest him for Felony Shoplifting.

On October 16th, Officers responding to a disturbance in the 1100 block of West 3rd Street made contact with Fair.  He was placed under arrest and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.