Creativity Unlimited Arts Council (CUAC) recently elected board members at its general membership meeting.

New board members elected for a 3 year term were Ron Meyer, Shannon Orr and Lynda Perry.  Terri Burchell was elected to a 2 year term.  Current board members elected for a 2nd term were Weldon  Umphress and Wava Best.

The entire membership is looking forward to a progressive year of activity.  After many years of working to restore the former Post Office at 5th and Jeffers several plans will be completed that will give a supportive public signs of real progress.

Last week the exterior fire escape was removed from the West side of the building. A volunteer work crew continued cleaning out the basement in preparation for new class rooms and the construction of an elevator and new stairwell in an effort to make the building handicapped accessible.

Next year, 2013, will be the 100th anniversary of the building.  Additional information about the Prairie Arts Center may be found at Prairieartscenter-ne.org

Today: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 56. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 16 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 23. North northwest wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light in the evening.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 69. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.

Deputies received information that a Non-Compliant Sex Offender was possibly living in Sutherland, NE.      It was reported that 56 year old Mickey Spencer was living in or around Sutherland area.   After an extensive investigation Deputies did locate Mr. Spencer in Sutherland.

Deputies interviewed Mr. Spencer and found he had moved to Sutherland in July of 2012, also he had not registered with the Sheriff’s Office as required.  Mr. Spencer was arrested for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender and incarcerated in the Lincoln County Detention Center.  Details of Sex Offender rules are on our website.

There’s a set of data a person must supply to register. According to the LCSO website:

All offenders will be required to register in 3 days prior to release from incarceration (local or state), or at a law enforcement agency with AFIS (automated fingerprint systems). In addition to the current registration data collected, the required information will also include:

1. ALL addresses that he or she lives or frequents

2. All employment locations

3. All school information

4. Travel & immigration documents

5. Professional licensees or certificates

6. Remote communication device identifiers/addresses

7. Email addresses, chat room id, etc

8. Signed consent form to search (if 6 or 7 is provided)

9. DNA sample

10. Palm prints in addition to fingerprints

All registration changes will take place in person at the sheriffs’ offices. The offender must report any change in residence/temporary residence, employment, or school on an approved form (NSP792).

Anyone required to register is required to report each email address, instant messaging address and any other Internet communication identifiers they use (i.e. names used in chat rooms, Facebook, MySpace). Any changes must be submitted within 24 hours. Providing false information or failing to report a change in 24 hours may constitute a felony offense.

Authorities say alcohol is suspected in a crash that sent eight people to the hospital in western Nebraska.

KSID radio in Sidney says the accident happened early Sunday on a maintenance road near Sidney. The Nebraska State Patrol says eight people were in a pickup, which crashed after it went across a ditch and hit an embankment.

The patrol says no one was wearing a seatbelt.

Four people were taken a hospital in Sidney. There’s no word on their condition. Four others were taken to a hospital in Scottsbluff. They were listed in stable condition on Monday.

The accident happened just after 1 a.m. The truck was totaled.

A message to the patrol Monday afternoon was not returned.

The North Platte Chamber & Development’s Small Business/Retail Development Network is funding the mobile marketing campaign that alerts subscribers to sales, specials, promotions and events such as the monthly “First Thursdays” where businesses stay open late and feature entertainment, refreshments, specials and featured items.

Mobile marketing is a popular form of marketing that has potential to reach consumers who sincerely wish to do business with affiliated businesses. According to this info graphic from Mogreet, a company specializing on mobile media marketing, 98% of all text messages are opened, 174 million Americans text daily and the average person looks at their phone 150 times per day.

The NPAC&D  went live with the campaign in September. “It’s catching on around the country,” says CEO/President of the NP Chamber Dan Mauk, “We want to be modern with our marketing and we think this can be a targeted marketing.” Mauk mentioned that subscribers would only receive one or two messages a week.

Subscribers to the text club will be recipients of offers/specials, event notifacations and various other benefits. The campaign will also target visitors in the North Platte area who visit frequently.

The campaign offers a benefit to merchants and consumers. Merchants can measure effectiveness of the mobile offer and the customer can take advantage of an exclusive offer sent to their phone.

If you’re interested in specials and promotional details of local merchants text SHOPNP to 313131.

Listen to North Platte Area Chamber & Development’s President Dan Mauk and Vice President Carol Bodeen on their Mobile Marketing and “First Thursdays”.

Officials from the US Postal Service plan to attend meetings across the country to determine new hours of operation for post offices everywhere. In Nebraska the first meetings will take place in, Bee, Brownville, Nemaha, Elk Creek, Endicott and Swanton. The meetings are an effort to reach profitability by reducing costs by $22.5 billion by 2016 according to the US Postal Service in April 2012:

  The plan requires the reduction of annual costs by $22.5 billion by 2016. This cost reduction is necessary given projected declines in First-Class Mail volume, which has already dropped by 25 percent since 2006. However, the Postal Service can achieve only a portion of these reductions under current business model constraints; legislative changes are needed to achieve the full cost reductions and to provide the Postal Service with the flexibility needed to adjust more quickly to our customers’ changing mailing and shipping needs.

The last year of profitability for the USPS was in 2006 with $.9 billion, in 2007 the postal service began making payments of $5.5 billion to prefund future retiree benefits.

The post office in North Platte isn’t among towns listed for a proposed change in operation hours. Post offices in Lincoln County include…

Hershey: A proposed reduction of 2 hours: (Currently) Mon-Fri: 8a-12p -1:30-4p Sat: 8a-10a Sun: Closed

Maxwell: A proposed reduction of 4 hours (Currently)Mon-Thu: 9a-1:30p Fri: 9a-1p Sat: 9a-11a Sun: Closed

Brady: A proposed reduction of 4 hours (Currently) Mon-Fri: 7:45a-12:30p-1:30p-4p Sat: 7:45-9:15a Sun: Closed

Wellfleet: A proposed reduction of 2 hours (Currently) Mon-Fri: 7;30a-12:00p-12:45-3:45p Sat: 8a-9a Sun: Closed

According to the Associated Press, the postal service expects to record $15 billion in losses this year, and in the past month, it missed two payments totaling $11.1 billion for future retiree benefits.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 71. West wind 7 to 11 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 35. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 57. Breezy, with a north wind 13 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.

On Friday September 28^th at 12:17AM, Casey’s General Store located at 2421 Rodeo Road, was robbed at gun point by a 16-year-old juvenile suspect.  An amount less than $500 cash was taken from the store according to the North Platte Police Department. It’s believed that an employee called law enforcement minutes after the incident.

Responding officers reviewed surveillance footage and interviewed witnesses at the scene. Following investigation, officers believed they knew where the juvenile suspect was located at. Once at the residence, officers made contact with suspect 19-year-old Amanda Giles, when she allowed entry to the home. The juvenile suspect was located inside the home, along with evidence to the robbery.

Giles was arrested for being an accessory to a felony for allegedly withholding evidence and allegedly claiming the suspect was not in the home.

It was determined during the investigation that the juvenile suspect acted alone. According to the NPPD, it’s believed that Giles didn’t have previous knowledge about the juvenile suspect’s alleged intentions to commit the robbery.

The juvenile suspect was arrested for robbery and use of a firearm to commit a felony.

Both suspects are housed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.

Sometime last week, Walmart posted an XL Foods, Inc. beef recall for the “Great Value 8lb Beef Patties; UPC Code 007874206246; Best if used by 2 June 13.”

Make sure to check your freezer for any previously purchased products that match the description and  UPC Code.

The recall reads:

Like many other retailers, we were recently informed that some of the fresh and frozen ground beef items produced for Walmart and Sam’s Club were made using beef trimmings imported from XL Foods, Inc. in Canada and could possibly be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7.

Because we are committed to providing our customers and members with safe and affordable food, we promptly removed the specific products in cooperation with the following suppliers: Fair Oaks Farm, Interstate Meat Distributors, and Kenosha Beef International. In addition, we programmed our cash registers to block any sales of the recalled products.

While no illnesses have been reported to date, we encourage our customers and members to check their refrigerators and freezers for possible items affected by this recall. Those who may have purchased any of the items listed below should properly dispose or return the products to the store or club of purchase for a full refund.

Please note that all ground beef products currently on display are NOT impacted by the recall.

 

 

If you would like to read the full recall release, click here