The Nebraska Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is pleased to announce their fall launch of Great Strides. Great Strides is a national walk event held in hundreds of cities that generates critical funds to fight cystic fibrosis, a fatal genetic disease.

In Nebraska, fall walks are scheduled at the following locations:

8/24/13 North Platte 10:00 am Cody Park – Park Shelter
9/15/13 Grand Island 1:30 pm Eagle Scout Park – North Shelter
9/22/13 Kearney 1:00 pm Yanney Heritage Park – Rotary Shelter

“We are looking forward to our first ever Great Strides Walk in North Platte,” said Jennifer Curtis, local volunteer and Chairperson for the CF Foundation’s Great Strides North Platte Walk. “I am amazed and grateful to everyone who has supported this inaugural event in an effort to remember Anthony Hornelas who lost his fight against cystic fibrosis last year.”

Funds raised through Great Strides have helped spur dramatic progress in the lives of those who have cystic fibrosis. Fifty years ago, most children with CF did not live long enough to attend elementary school. Today, people with CF are living into their 30s, 40s and beyond.

The 2013 national goal of Great Strides is to raise nearly $42 million nationwide for CF research, education and care. In North Platte our goal is to raise $10,000 which is a portion of the $500,000 we raise statewide.

Local sponsors and partners of Great Strides include Children’s Hospital and Arbor Health Plan.

Cystic fibrosis affects about 30,000 adults and children in the United States and 70,000 people worldwide. It causes debilitating lung infections that lead to premature death. More than 10 million Americans are symptomless carriers of a defective CF gene.

The CF Foundation is an accredited charity of the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.

To help fight CF, get involved in Great Strides by calling the Nebraska Chapter at 402.330.6164 or by visitinghttps://greatstrides.cff.org.

About the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is the world’s leader in the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis. The Foundation funds more CF research than any other organization, and nearly every CF drug available today was made possible because of Foundation support. Based in Bethesda, Md., the Foundation also supports and accredits a national care center network that has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health as a model of care for a chronic disease. For more information, go to www.cff.org.

A former property manager has been accused of stealing from a North Platte mobile home park.

On July 1st, North Platte Police responded to Mobile Manor Mobile Home Park at 1907 West 14th Street regarding missing funds from their business account.

The owners alleged that their former property manager, 59-year-old Barbara Fox, stole around $18,000 from the business over a four month period from February to June.

Following an investigation, an Investigator determined there was probable cause to charge Fox with the crime.

On August 20th, Fox was arrested on a charge of Felony Theft by Unlawful Taking.

Fox was processed and released from the Lincoln County Detention Center.

(AP) — They’re called “super agers” — men and women who are in their 80s and 90s, but with brains and memories that seem far younger.

Researchers at Northwestern University are looking at this rare group in the hope that they may find ways to help protect others from memory loss. And they’ve had some tantalizing findings: Imaging tests have found unusually low amounts of age-related plaques along with more brain mass related to attention and memory in these elite seniors.

The super agers aren’t just different on the inside; they have more energy than most people their age and share a positive, inquisitive outlook. Researchers are looking into whether those traits contribute to brain health.

The study is still seeking volunteers, but fewer than 10 percent of would-be participants are eligible.

(AP) — It might look like state troopers are just having a good time, but they’ll actually be doing their jobs when they inspect the midway games at the Nebraska State Fair this week.

The Nebraska State Patrol will conduct inspections of the games on Friday in Grand Island.

The inspections will ensure that the carnival games are in compliance with Nebraska gambling laws.

That means the games must be games of skill, not games of chance, and must be fair and winnable.

(AP) — A Buffalo County jury has convicted a man who pulled a gun out two brothers outside a strip club in south-central Nebraska.

According to Court records, 43-year-old William “Will” Sheldon was found guilty of using a weapon to commit a felony, tampering with evidence and terroristic threats. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in October.

Prosecutors say that on June 3 last year, Sheldon pointed a handgun and threatened the two brothers during a fight outside the Jammers club, which sits near the Odessa interchange on Interstate 80 west of Kearney. Sheldon owned and operated the club.

Prosecutors say he tampered with video surveillance equipment at the club after the incident.

• Today: Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. East northeast wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. East wind 6 to 10 mph.
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
• Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. South southeast wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.

(AP) — At least two major U.S. freight railroads are trying to install cameras in their locomotives to make sure crews are following rules and avoiding cellphone use.

Union Pacific filed a court action this week asking a federal judge to declare that it has the authority to install the cameras under the railroad’s labor agreements. Kansas City Southern railroad won a similar lawsuit last month over the objections of labor unions.

Installing these inward-facing cameras to monitor crews was recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board after the 2008 collision of a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific train in southern California that killed 25 and injured more than 100.

Metrolink did install cameras after that crash, which was blamed on a distracted engineer sending text messages.

(AP) — Nebraska health officials say they’ve recorded 11 human cases of West Nile virus in the state this year.

The state Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that of those cases in 2013, three people have been hospitalized.

West Nile virus is transmitted to people through mosquitoes that feed on an infected bird. Most people with the virus will have no symptoms or only mild flu-like symptoms. A small percentage will develop a serious illness.

Health officials say 75 mosquito pools in 14 Nebraska counties have tested positive for the virus. No birds have tested positive.

In 2012, there were 193 human cases of West Nile virus in Nebraska and four deaths.

(AP) — A Scottsbluff man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a man at the Hells Angels’ Motorcycle Club building in Omaha.

Jay Witt was ordered held without bail during a Wednesday hearing. He is accused of killing 48-year-old William Furlong on July 14.

Prosecutors say the 48-year-old Witt shot Furlong following an altercation. Witt was arrested Monday without incident after investigators tracked him via GPS in a stolen vehicle.

Witt also faces charges of use of a weapon to commit a felony and possession of a weapon by a felon. Online court records don’t list the name of his attorney in the case.

(AP) — A national school-finance expert is echoing a concern raised by many Nebraska public schools: that state aid needs to be predictable.

Policy analyst Michael Griffith urged Nebraska lawmakers on Wednesday to look for ways to make it easier for schools to anticipate how much money they will receive each year.

Aid has fluctuated in recent years, leading to conflicts between small and larger districts. Many have increasingly relied on property taxes since the recession, but surging farmland values and rising enrollment in urban schools have caused more money to flow to larger districts.

Aid is distributed through a formula that seeks to fill the gap between what school districts need and their local resources.

Nebraska is expected to distribute nearly $1 billion each year between July 2013 and June 2015.