UPDATE:

Stanley M. Frye bonded out of the Lincoln County Detention Center around 2 PM today in regards to his Cruelty to Livestock charge after posting bond, 10% of $5,000.00.  Lincoln County Court has issued authorization to release the remaining hogs and payment of approximately $1,518.00 to the City of North Platte for expenses incurred in the management and caring of the livestock.  The swine will be loaded and continue to their destination, Jim’s Farms Meat in Winton, CA later this evening after temperatures have cooled. 

 

(NORTH PLATTE) (N.P.P.D.)-At around 12:43 PM on 07/31/12 Officers and Animal Control Officers responded to the area of South Bend Rd. near West North River Rd. on the report of a semi truck and attached livestock trailer broken down at that location.  Officers learned that the trailer had been parked at that location since around 9 AM due to mechanical problems.  The trailer also contained around 225 head of swine in various states of distress.  The semi driver and suspect, Stanley M. Frye told officers that had picked up the load of pigs around 1130 PM on 07/30/12 from their broker in Iowa and were in route to California to unload.  Frye told police that the semi suffered mechanical problems, which forced him and another passenger to stop at the above location and attempt to repair the truck.  They were waiting on parts for the semi when officers first made contact.  The parts were finally delivered to them at around 230 PM.  Due to the lack of air, breeze and water, members from the North Platte Fire Department were dispatched to the scene in an attempt to cool the animals with water.  Pigs are known to have inadequate sweat glands.  At around 2 PM it was approximately 95 degrees Fahrenheit with very little wind.

Following a joint investigation between NPPD, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Dept. and the Nebraska State Patrol it was determined that there was probable cause to arrest Frye for Abandonment or Cruel Neglect to Livestock 54-903, (I Mis).  Frye was cited for Driving Under Suspension and at least one other carrier violation.

Eventually the semi was repaired and the swine transported to the Lincoln County Fair Grounds, where they are currently being cared for and kept.  Dr. Rick Keeten, of the North Platte Vet Clinic and members of the Lincoln County Fair Board also aided in assessing and caring for the live stock.  At the time of this press release only one animal has perished.   Efforts are being made to determine their future destination.

(NORTH PLATTE) A fantastic new addition to the Great Plains Regional Medical Center (GPRMC) is on the way! The new building is aimed at Modernizing the facility to enhance the patients experience by providing private rooms for each patient thus creating more space for family members. Also the new plans will install new efficiencies for staff and patients, reducing travel between buildings, and allowing more privacy for patients.

The new building will incorporate a design with redundancy  to create the efficiencies. Areas such as Intensive Care, Women’s & Children s area, and the Medical/ Surgical department  have capacity increasing design, also featuring a new parking lot to be finished by November/December.

The total investment of this project lands at approximately $100 Million dollars primarily funded through bonds, to bring to the GPRMC an additional 210,000 square feet of new space, a five story inpatient tower to provide 116 private rooms and additional space for families, a new lobby, new kitchen and cafeteria, conference center, new sleep lab, updated cardiac and pulmonary equipment, information technology addition and a new central Utility Plant.

Construction began in July 2012 for the new Information technology addition. The completion date of the patient tower is expected to be in the Spring/Summer of 2015.

Hospital Board Chair David Pederson says in a statement:

“What is being presented here today is by far the largest locally owned undertaking in the history of this region. “

GPRMC wants to take advantage of the beautiful state of Nebraska by adding features that make the beautiful skies of the state shine, as well as other features to integrate into the design like the sand-hills and with the tower design there will be more natural light shining through. The landscape will also feature a healing garden .

Additionally all services will continue throughout the construction. A high priority will be placed on directional flow of patients and providing parking for visitors and patients. A new temporary main entrance will be located east of the current entrance. A temporary entrance for Same Day Services and Cardiology will be located just south of the ER entrance and the temporary main entrance will include patient registration, information desk and gift shop.

 

 

 

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A 64-year-old motorcyclist has died in a crash about 20 miles of North Platte in western Nebraska.

The accident occurred around 5:30 p.m. Saturday on Nebraska Highway 97.

Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer says William Dover, of North Platte, was driving south on his motorcycle when he lost control of it on a curve. The motorcycle ran into a ditch and flipped over.

Kramer says Dover was taken to Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte, where he was pronounced dead.

LOOMIS, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 74-year-old man has died after the semitrailer he was driving rolled and then rammed into a utility pole in south-central Nebraska.

The accident occurred Monday afternoon about six miles north of Loomis, in Phelps County.

The victim was identified as Keith Schwarz, of Arapahoe.

Investigators say the semi ran onto a soft shoulder and rolled.

Today: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 99. South wind 5 to 13 mph.

Tonight:  A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. South southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm after midnight.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. North wind around 7 mph becoming east in the afternoon.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A Kearney woman who was injured in a house fire has died.

The 60-year-old Karen Murray died Saturday at a Lincoln hospital.

Murray and her caregiver, 31-year-old Sarvinoz Kadyrova, were injured on July 23. Four others safely escaped.

Kadyrova remains in critical condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A 42-year-old North Platte man has been given four to 12 years in prison for two drug convictions in separate cases.

Jeffery Manary initially was charged with manslaughter and a methamphetamine charge in connection to the death of Esther Smith nearly a year ago. After a plea deal, prosecutors dropped the manslaughter charge and lowered the drug charge in the Smith death case and another drug case involving sales of a prescription painkiller.

Manary was sentenced on Monday in Lincoln County District Court.

Manary’s co-defendant and Smith’s sister, Elizabeth Crawford, pleaded guilty in March to two misdemeanor counts in Smith’s death. Crawford was sentenced to 18 months of probation.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A 35-year-old North Platte woman accused of helping her husband operate a methamphetamine lab at their home has been given jail time.

Kristen Lehn  was convicted of child abuse and possession of meth.

Police says Lehn and her husband, 35-year old Zane Lehn, had the meth ingredients in their home. Two elementary-age children lived in the home at the time.

Zane Lehn was given two to six years in prison earlier this month. On Monday Kristen Lehn was given 270 days in jail. Judge Donald Rolands says Kristen Lehn was primarily an accessory to the drug crime.

BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) — A 21-year-old man has died nearly a week after the pickup he was driving collided with a semitrailer in central Nebraska.

that Brett Kramer, of Litchfield, died Sunday.

Custer County Sheriff Dan Osmond says the accident occurred on July 23 about four miles south of Broken Bow. Osmond says Kramer was trying to cross a highway when his pickup was struck broadside by the big rig.

Kramer was taken to a Broken Bow hospital and then transferred to a Kearney hospital.

(Kearney, Neb.)- A Sunday traffic stop on eastbound Interstate 80 in Buffalo County has led to the seizure of nearly 16 lbs of marijuana and the arrest of two Florida men.

Just before 8:00 p.m., Sunday, July 29, a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol Troop C- Grand Island, stopped an eastbound 2004 Ford Crown Victoria for speeding near the Odessa Exit on I-80. The trooper smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and a probable cause search led to seizure of 15.8 lbs of marijuana. The drugs were located in multiple plastic bags in a box in the trunk of the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle, Donnovan E. Woodberry, 21, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., and a passenger in the vehicle, Justin P. Hicks, 18, Niceville, Fla., were both lodged in the Buffalo County Jail each on a charge of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.