On Monday, in Lincoln County District Court, a North Platte couple pleaded not guilty to child abuse. In a separate case, a NP woman pleaded guilty to an assault charge.

The NP couple, 27-year-old Heather and 23-year-old David Granados pleaded not guilty to child abuse. The couple was arrested on September, 17^th, after an investigation which suspects that the two exposed their juvenile to illicit drugs.

Authorities say that Hair follicle tests from the child tested positive for amphetamine, methamphetamine and THC, the active chemical found in marijuana.

The couple are scheduled to appear in court November 19^th.

 

A North Platte woman pleaded not guilty in District Court when she made a plea deal.

Elizabeth Cardenas, 49, was accused of stabbing her husband in the back on July 17^th. Cardenas was convicted on the charge of attempted second-degree assault which was lowered from an aggravated assault charge. The charge of tampering with a witness was dropped as part of the plea deal.

Cardenas is scheduled to appear for sentencing on December 12^th.

Cardenas stabbed her husband in the back with a knife while he was cleaning broken glass from a drunken incident that the convicted Cardenas caused prior to the stabbing.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 71. North wind 6 to 10 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37. North northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 75. West wind 5 to 10 mph.

On Saturday, October 27^th, Rick Smallfoot was arrested on charges of Strangulation and 3^rd Degree Domestic Assault after an alleged argument turned physical.

Officers from the North Platte Police Department responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at around 2:50pm, on the 1500 block of West 1^st, where the 48-year-old Smallfoot is accused of grabbing his alleged domestic partner around the neck then throwing her into a chair.

The 43-year-old victim told officers that they were arguing before the alleged assault happened.

Officers arrested the suspect, Rick Smallfoot, at the residence where the alleged assault occurred and was booked into the Lincoln County Detention Center.

 

On the following morning of Sunday, October the 28^th at around 3:50 AM, officers responded to another report of a domestic disturbance at the 1900 block of West 1^st, a few blocks away from the alleged Smallfoot incident.

The 31-year-old victim told authorities that his domestic partner assaulted him after a verbal argument turned physical.

Suspect, Megan Herrick, 27, is accused of striking her domestic partner in the chest, arms and face multiple times which, according to the victim, caused pain and minor injury to his mouth.

Herrick was arrested at a location other than where the incident allegedly occurred and was booked into the detention center. Herrick is charged with 3^rd Degree Domestic Assault.

On Sunday evening, at around 7:30PM, officers served a Lincoln County warrant to Thomas Brownell which was issued because he allegedly failed to appear for a secluded court date. Brownell was charged with 3^rd Degree Assault and Disturbing the Peace at an earlier time.

 

A couple of hours later, at around 9:50PM on Sunday evening, a domestic disturbance was reported at the 500 block of East G. Street.

The suspect, 52-year-old Curtis Triplett, was allegedly yelling and pushing around a 17-year-old girl which then woke-up his alleged domestic partner. Triplett is accused of grabbing the 46-year-old victim by the throat/neck area when she attempted to confront him as he was apparently yelling at the juvenile.

The victim told investigators that the suspect caused her pain and difficulty breathing.

After investigation, Triplett was arrested for Strangulation, 3^rd Degree Domestic Assault and Child Neglect and was jailed at the LCDC.

The Connection Homeless Shelter is definitely having a great start to their week thanks to the Attorney General of the State of Nebraska, Jon Bruning as well as North Platte Mayor, Marc Kaschke.

On Monday, October 29^th, Bruning presented a check to the Executive Director of The Connection, Roy Lawton, for $26,562.50. According to Lawton, he was informed that Bruning had plans to visit the shelter but gave very little detail, “I’m still in a state of shock,” Lawton said shortly after receiving the courteous gift.

The funds were made available through a settlement over bad business practices. Bruning asked Mayor Kaschke where the money should be directed, kept for surprise; The Connection is where Kaschke decided as a fit destination.

The funds are unrestricted and will be used for general expenses or however the shelter will decide.

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission offices and service centers, as well as Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium, will be open for the first day of the November firearm deer hunting season.

Hunters will be able to purchase permits at Game and Parks offices in Lincoln, Omaha, Norfolk, Kearney, North Platte, Alliance and Bassett. The offices will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Nov. 10, except the Kearney office will be open until 5 p.m.

Game and Parks offices will be closed Nov. 11 and Nov. 12 for Veterans Day. There will be deer check stations at the Lincoln, Norfolk, Kearney, North Platte, Alliance and Bassett offices, however.

The aquarium, which sits south of Gretna, also will have a check station open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Nov. 10-12.

The Kearney area has recently fell victim to fraudulent activity of local bank accounts after hackers compromised personal information and officials say that many consumers in the Kearney area already have replacement credit and debit cards in response to the data breech.

On October 19^th, the City of Kearney released a notice warning the public of the observed activity,

  “In the last several days, the public has reported fraudulent use of debit/credit cards on their local accounts. The Kearney Police Department is asking residents to continue to monitor their checking and credit card accounts for fraudulent activity and to report that activity to the responsible financial institution.”

Kearney police say up to 500 debit and credit cards have been compromised after hackers invaded a computer network of a Kearney business. According to the Associated Press, Dan Warrington, Kearney Police Department investigator, said that he isn’t sure which business or businesses were involved.

Counterfeit cards are believed to have been used nationally and internationally which are linked to the fraudulent activity in Kearney.

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. West southwest wind 3 to 6 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37. Light and variable wind.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 68. Light northwest wind becoming north northwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

On October, 26^th at 10:30am, Robbie Stefka, board member of the North Platte Public Schools Foundation, presented a one-thousand dollar check to Mandy Brandes, Healthy Schools Healthy Kids Coordinator with the West Central District Health Department, as the first donation to kick off the fundraiser, ‘Adopt-A-Backpack’ which will help fund the WCDHD’s Backpack Program.

The Backpack Program provides food for hungry children on weekends and school vacations. When staff members at local elementary schools identify hungry students, they communicate with the health department so that the student may take home a bag that has been supplied with nonperishable & perishable food to take home on Friday afternoons which includes two breakfast meals, two lunch or dinner meals and are delivered to participating schools by volunteers.

According to the news release from Kirsten Parker, Campaign Co-Chair of the Adopt-A-Backpack fundraiser,  there are children on a waiting list for the program,

“Currently over 150 backpacks go out each week with kids on the waiting list. Our goal with the Adopt-A-Backpack campaign is raise the funds so every child in need will have a backpack!   Our goal is raise $10,000 by December 31st, which will provide an additional 35 backpacks per week, for a year available for kids in need.   We are promoting to businesses to “Adopt-A-Backpack” for a year for $288, 3 backpacks for $864 or 5 for $1,440.   Each backpack is valued at approximately $6 per bag, per week, per child.”

Being hungry impairs a child’s ability to learn, you can help our future leaders learn and live a less hungry life by helping the Adopt-A-Backpack fundraiser reach ten-thousand dollars raised by December 31^st.

Three semi trucks were involved in a roll over crash yesterday on Interstate 80, westbound at around 6 in the morning.  The accident happened near mile marker 206, east of the Brady interchange.

Deb Collins, public information coordinator with the Nebraska State Patrol, told the North Platte Telegraph, a semi hauling 50-pound bags of dried beans had over-corrected after nearly driving off the road. The bean-hauling semi rolled over ending up positioned across both lanes. Two incoming semis collided with the trailer which caused the beans to spill onto the road. The two semis didn’t overturn from the incident.

One driver involved was treated and released for a hand injury.