(AP) — A Denver-based oil exploration and production company has suspended operations at a test well it drilled in the southern Nebraska Panhandle.

Earthstone Energy Inc. says in a news release that it had reached oil at its Cheyenne County well, which reached down 6,550 feet. But Earthstone says it didn’t find enough oil to justify construction of production facilities.

Earthstone says it’s acquired oil rights on almost 47 square miles of land, mostly in Cheyenne County, which borders Colorado.

Earthstone President Ray Singleton says the company still plans to drill one or two more wells in the area in the next 18 months.

 

An eleven-year-old boy was treated at Great Plains Regional Medical Center (GPRMC) after he accidentally shot himself in the foot.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the Emergency Room at GPRMC Saturday after receiving a report that they were treating a boy for a gunshot wound to his right foot.

Deputies spoke with the boy and his mother and were told that the boy had shot himself with a .22 caliber rifle after he and some friends took the gun from the top shelf of a closet in his home and went to a homemade fort about a mile from his home which is located north of North Platte.  The boy told Deputies they planned to use the firearm to shoot birds.

Deputies say none of the boys had much experience with firearms, but managed to get the gun loaded.  The boy then picked the gun up by the butt stock and trigger when it fired, hitting him in the foot.

Authorities say an investigation revealed that all weapons in the home were stored property with the exception of the .22.

No charges have been filed at this time, and Deputies are considering the shooting to be accidental.

• Matthew David Harris, 20, Colorado Springs CO and Noelle Mathea Davis, 18, Memphis NE

 

• Adam Travis Kershaw, 29, North Platte and Alyssa Marie Matthews, 25, North Platte

 

• Randall Harlan Koehn, 21, Sutherland NE and Tanya Ranae Koehn, 21, Sutherland NE

 

• Dwayne Lee Zeigler, 39, North Platte and Brenda Kae Reichman, 38, North Platte

 

• Steven Marcus Bucholz, 23, North Platte and Emily Ruth Fischer, 22, Maywood

 

• Wesley Lee Sharp, 40, North Platte and Roxanne Alice Foust, 40, North Platte

 

• Ryan William Nickolite, 34, North Platte and Lindsay Alyson Young. 32, North Platte

 

• Trent Michael Norquest, 24, North Platte and Alexandria Sue Stansbery, 23, North Platte

(AP) — The Nebraska Ombudsman’s Office expects to handle a record number of calls this year.

The office handles people’s complaints about state agencies. Over the past 10 years, the office has averaged nearly 2,300 cases a year.

The number has been climbing. By Sept. 1 the count had hit 2,075. The record set last year was nearly 2,500.

State Ombudsman Marshall Lux said that, by his rough math, his office will have handled 3,100 cases by Dec. 31.

Lux says problems with the state’s ACCESSNebraska hotline have added to the load of calls to his office. Callers have been having trouble getting through to the hotline.

• Today: A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Southwest wind 5 to 8 mph.
• Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 7pm and 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. North northeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
• Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. Northeast wind 10 to 13 mph.
• Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light after midnight.

(AP) — A Nebraska man currently on probation for two cattle theft convictions is now accused of bilking an Iowa City bank out of nearly $62,000.

Police traveled to Nebraska on Thursday to bring 59-year-old Micky Don Davis, of Ainsworth, Neb., back to Iowa City to face a theft charge.

Authorities say Davis received $61,920 in his bank account from a fraudulent wire transfer performed by a third party. They say Davis then wired a portion to another party in Hong Kong and withdrew $13,000 in cash. Police say he provided false information to bank officials in the process.

Davis is being held in Iowa’s Johnson County Jail on $100,000 bond and could not be reached for comment Saturday.

(AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol says a 48-year-old Texas man has died after crashing his motorcycle on Interstate 80 in western Nebraska.

The patrol says Christian Davis Boyce, of Dallas, died in the crash that happened just before noon Friday east of Paxton.

Investigators say Boyce was eastbound on I-80 and pulling a trailer when he lost control and crashed.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The patrol says he was wearing a helmet.

(AP) — Visitors will still be able to access soon-to-be-closed state parks for walk-in activities like picnicking, hiking and bird watching.

That word from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission follows its announcement on Aug. 30 that it will temporarily close nearly 30 parks around the state.

The agency said a tight budget and a long list of maintenance projects forced the closure of 24 state recreation areas and five historical parks. Most will close Sept. 16 and reopen May 1.

Gates into the parks will be closed and vehicles will not be allowed to drive on park roads. But the agency says visitors can park outside the gates and walk in for a variety of activities, including wildlife viewing, photography, fishing from banks and some hunting.

Camping will not be allowed.

(AP) — A researcher and clinician next week will address conferences in Kearney and Lincoln on childhood stress.

Dr. Bruce Perry will share the latest information on how bad childhood experiences and stress affect brain development and he’ll discuss how to help children and families heal.

On Wednesday Perry will address health care professionals at Younes Conference Center in Kearney. He’ll describe how to better evaluate child development and family dynamics for the effects of severe emotional stress.

On Thursday Perry will be at The Cornhusker hotel in Lincoln, speaking to child welfare, behavioral health and foster care providers.

The public may attend either event, but space is limited.

For more information and to register for the Kearney event, go online to https://1.usa.gov/15qJ4Gk . For the Lincoln event, go to https://bit.ly/15Zf1Wx.

(AP) — About 45 people are expected to become U.S. citizens later this month in a special ceremony at the Homestead National Monument.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony at 2 p.m. on Sept. 16. The event is the culmination of the process for this group of foreign-born individuals to gain most of the rights of U.S. citizens.

Park Superintendent Mark Engler says holding the ceremony at the Homestead Monument makes sense because the Homestead Act encouraged immigration to the country.

The Homestead National Monument is located about 4 miles west of Beatrice and 45 miles south of Lincoln.