(AP) — Omaha railroad Union Pacific is reminding July Fourth holiday travelers to be careful when crossing railroad tracks.

It can take more than a mile for a train to stop, and by the time a locomotive engineer sees a vehicle on a crossing, it is often too late to stop the train.

Union Pacific’s police chief, Robert Morrison, says drivers should always expect a train at crossing and obey all railroad signals and gates.

The Federal Railroad Administration says there were 1,960 incidents at railroad crossings nationwide last year and 271 deaths.

A fire broke out in the 700 block of West 11th in North Platte Wednesday night.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at around 10:30 p.m.  According to the North Platte Fire Department, the fire was contained to the second floor of the structure and the fire was extinguished just before 11:30 p.m.

A neighbor told the Post that nobody was in the residence at the time of the fire and there was no evident damage to any of the surrounding structures.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the North Platte Fire Department and the Nebraska State Fire Marshall’s Office.

*This is a developing story*

 

(AP) — Nebraska health officials say anyone with breathing problems might want to limit the time they spend outside over the next couple days because of fireworks.

Douglas County Health Director Dr. Adi Pour says the smoke from fireworks can aggravate breathing problems. That’s especially true for people with asthma, the elderly, young children and people with heart or lung disease.

Pour says those people should limit the amount of time they spend outside over the next couple days and avoid strenuous activity.

Pour says the fireworks air pollution should by mostly gone by Friday evening.

(AP) — Two new reservoirs will be created in central Nebraska as part of a plan to manage habitat for endangered species along the Platte River.

But officials say the new reservoirs won’t be designed for recreation because the water levels in them will fluctuate throughout the year.

The new bodies of water will be built on the Phelps Canal between Overton and Lexington.

The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District board approved a 50-year agreement Monday to provide water to the reservoirs.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will use water from the reservoirs to maintain water flow in the Platte River at levels needed for the habitat of threatened and endangered species.

Federal funding will provide most of the $75 million cost of the project.

(AP) — Packing a picnic for the Fourth of July has a new price tag: less than $6 per person.

The American Farm Bureau Federation this year launched an informal price survey to tally the cost of hot dogs, burgers and other Independence Day fare.

The group says the average cost of a summertime picnic including hot dogs, cheeseburgers, pork spare ribs, potato salad and lemonade comes to $57.20 for 10 people, or $5.72 per person.

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s picnic menu also includes baked beans, watermelon, corn chips, chocolate milk, ketchup and mustard.

The trade group produces an annual informal price survey for Thanksgiving fare. Last year, the group said a turkey dinner with all the trimmings would cost about $49.48 for 10, or slightly less than $5 per person.

• Today: Sunny, with a high near 85. Light south southeast wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. South southeast wind 8 to 10 mph.
• Independence Day: Sunny, with a high near 88. South wind 8 to 13 mph.
• Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. South southeast wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

(AP) — U.S. health officials say middle-aged women are the fastest-growing group of people dying from drug overdoses.

For many decades, the overwhelming majority of U.S. overdose deaths were men killed by heroin or cocaine. But by 2010, 40 percent were women — most of them middle-aged women who took prescription painkillers.

Skyrocketing overdose death rates among females are closely tied to a boom in use of prescribed painkillers. The new report is the government’s first to spotlight how the death trend has been more dramatic among women.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the number and rate of female prescription drug overdose deaths increased by around 400 percent from 1999 to 2010. For men, the increases were around 250 percent.

(AP) — The attorneys general of Nebraska and Oklahoma are expressing concerns that Google is profiting from ads tied to online videos that promote illegal activity.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning sent a letter to Google on Tuesday about ads that appear on YouTube, the internet giant’s video subsidiary.

Bruning and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt took issue with videos that reportedly promote the sale of prescription drugs without prescriptions and counterfeit merchandise. They say other videos offer instructions to create fake driver’s licenses and passports, coupled with advertisements for immigration lawyers.

Revenue from the paid advertisements is split between the video’s producer and Google.

Bruning criticized the company for a “lackadaisical attitude toward Internet safety and consumer protection.”

(AP) — A task force created to address water sustainability in Nebraska is about to begin its work.

Gov. Dave Heineman announced his appointments Tuesday to the 34-member task force. The group was created to find ways to make Nebraska’s water supply more sustainable for farmers, ranchers, cities, wildlife and recreational users.

Eleven members were appointed by Heineman: Brian Barels of Columbus, Joel Christensen of Omaha, John Heaston of Cozad, Tim Luchsinger of Grand Island, D. Chandler Mazour of Gothenburg, Roric Paulman of Sutherland, Rex Peterson of Gordon, Gerry Dale Sheets of Sargent, Scott Smathers of Lincoln, Walter Dennis Strauch of Mitchell and Lennie Adams of Waterloo.

Another 16 members are from the Nebraska Natural Resources Commission. Seven non-voting members include state lawmakers and the head of the Department of Natural Resources.

A North Platte man who violated his parole led North Platte Police on a foot pursuit Monday evening.

At around 6:15 p.m., Officers responded to the Craft State Office Building at 200 South Silber to assist with a parole violation.

A Parole Officer told Police that after advising Christopher Mounteer that he was going to be arrested for a parole violation, Mounteer fled and departed in a red Honda Accord.

About a half hour later, an Officer observed the vehicle parked in an alleyway and was able to conduct an investigative stop near Carr and West 5th Street.  They learned from the driver that Mounteer had fled from the vehicle on foot.

Shortly thereafter, Mounteer was observed running on West 6th Street and a foot pursuit ensued.

Officers were eventually able to corner Mounteer and restrain him in a garage in the 2100 block of West 5th.

Mounteer was arrested and transported to the Lincoln County Jail.

In addition to the parole violation, Mounteer was also charged with Resisting Arrest.