HARRISON, Neb. (AP) — Officials say fire lines held up overnight and firefighters will be attacking the east side of a wildfire that has blackened hundreds of acres in northwest Nebraska.

Chadron media reports that Harrison Fire Chief J.W. Geiser says the east side of the fire remains vulnerable, so fire crews will hit that area the hardest on Monday.

A regional emergency management official, Misty Skavdahl, says at least eight departments have been called in with several pieces of equipment to help fight the flames. The fire is burning roughly eight miles east and six miles north of Harrison. It was first reported to the Harrison department on Sunday morning.

Skavdahl says no injuries have been reported and there have been no reports of buildings being burned.

(Lincoln County Sheriff) On June 15^th, 2012 at 3:46 pm, Deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office were asked to respond to a private railroad crossing near mile marker 151 on U.S. Highway 30.     It was reported a large farm tractor was struck by a Union Pacific train.   The private crossing is very near the Lincoln / Keith County Line, just south of Highway 30.      

 

Deputies along with Sutherland Rescue responded to the scene and located the 24 year old male driver of the tractor Justin Christner of Sutherland, NE.   Mr. Christner was injured but alert; he was transported to Great Plains Regional Medical Center for treatment. Mr. Christner was reported to have multiple injuries but in stable condition.   The train crew reported they were not injured as a result of the accident.

 

Preliminary investigation revealed the tractor Mr. Christner was driving a Case 225CVT was stopped waiting for a westbound train to pass.  After the westbound train passed, Mr. Christner drove the tractor south across the tracks.    Mr. Christner apparently could not see an approaching eastbound train, as the westbound train obstructed his view.  The eastbound train was on the south track and upon contact, pushed the tractor off the train tracks.

 

Train traffic was not completely shut down and Union Pacific Special Agents responded to assist in the investigation.     Further investigation will follow.

Today: Sunny and hot, with a high near 101. West wind between 5 and 9 mph. 

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. Breezy, with a south southeast wind between 13 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 95. Breezy, with a north northwest wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.

(Alliance, Neb.)- An armed man who held law enforcement at bay for more than 14-hours, during a Tuesday, June 12 stand-off in downtown Alliance is believed to be responsible for the murder of 38-year old Joshua Bullock of Denver.

Investigators with the Nebraska State Patrol say during the stand-off Andres Gonzalez, 27, Alliance, told negotiators that he had killed Bullock.  Investigators believe Gonzalez killed Bullock on or around December 1, 2011 and that he disposed of his body in a remote area of Dawes County. Investigators will be searching the area for Bullock’s remains as they continue to piece together the incidents surrounding his death.

On Wednesday June 13, investigators with the Nebraska State Patrol arrested Gonzalez’s girlfriend.  Rose Siefke, 19, Hemingford was taken into custody and lodged in the Box Butte County Jail on a charge of Being an Accessory to a Felony.

“Josh Bullock’s disappearance was an active case, but we had little information to go on” said Investigative Services Lt. Monica Bartling. “Our investigation will now focus on finding Josh’s remains and bringing some closure to his family and friends.”

Bullock’s burnt out pickup was found by a rancher in a ravine southeast of Chadron on December 14. 2011. The 38-year old with ties to the Alliance and Chadron areas was last seen the afternoon of December 1, 2011 after visiting family members in Alliance.

Investigators with the Nebraska State Patrol, in conjunction with the Dawes and Box Butte County Sheriff’s Office had been investigating Bullock’s disappearance.  His information had been entered into the Nebraska Missing Persons Clearinghouse and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a “Help Find Josh Bullock” Facebook page was also established by friend and family.

Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Southeast wind between 8 and 11 mph.

Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Southeast wind between 12 and 15 mph becoming calm. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 85. North northeast wind between 6 and 10 mph.

All of us at Eagle Radio & North Platte Post would like to congratulate Karlie Osborne on being chosen 2012 Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska. Karlie’s mom, Laura, was part of our radio family. Karlie also received awards for Speech, Photogenic and Personality. We are so proud of you Karlie and know your momma is smiling from ear to ear in Heaven.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A convicted Nebraska sex offender has been arrested again, accused of sexually assaulting a child starting when she was 7.

Local media says that 69-year-old Donald Warfield, of North Platte, was arrested on Monday.

Police say a 15-year-old told investigators that inappropriate touching began when she was 7 and continued for three or four years.

In 2002 Warfield was convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old.

Court records say Warfield was arrested earlier this year for failing to properly register as a sex offender. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Lincoln County jail records say Warfield remained in custody on Thursday, pending $250,000 bail. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press

Deb Collins-(Lincoln, Neb.)- Retired Nebraska State Patrol Captain Rod Getting has been honored with the “Roger Goad Memorial Award”, during the 40^th annual International Training Conference (ITC) of the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators (IABTI) held June 4-8 in Hershey, PA.

A Captain in the Field Services Division, Getting retired from the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) in December 2009 after more than 25 years of service. Captain Getting spent 20 years as a Hazardous Devices Technician (Bomb Technician) with the agency.  During his service as a Hazardous Devices Technician (HDT), Captain Getting worked as an active HDT, commanded the NSP Bomb Squad, was an Assistant Instructor for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and worked with the ATF/IABTI Peer Support program. Captain Getting was the recipient of two Meritorious Services Awards and the Nebraska State Patrol Honorable Service Award for injuries sustained in the line of duty.

In March 1997, Getting along with two other NSP HDT’s and an FBI Special Agent Bomb Technician were preparing to destroy old, deteriorated blasting caps when the caps exploded. The explosion which occurred near Grand Island injured all four men, with Getting sustaining the most severe, life threatening injuries.

At the time of his retirement Getting said, “What we learned that day has helped to train countless hazardous devices technicians around the country in the handling of deteriorated and abandoned explosives.”

The Roger Goad Memorial Award may be  presented annually to a member of IABTI who has done the most to further the aims and goals of the IABTI or who, by their actions, has brought great credit to the profession and, thereby, to IABTI.  The award is given in honor of Captain Roger Goad, an explosive officer with the Metropolitan Police, London, England, who was tragically killed in London, during August 1975, while attempting to disarm an improvised explosive device.

It’s an exciting day! The Pageant results are in and are as follows…

The following are pageant results for the title of Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska 2012

• Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska – Karlie Osborne
• 1st Runner Up – Nicole Nickerson
• Speech – Karlie Osborne
• Written Test – Nicole Nickerson
• Photogenic – Karlie Osborne
• Appearance – Jimi Pinney
• Personality – Karlie Osborne
• Congeniality – Nicole Nickerson
• Horsemanship – Riyatta Frye                                                                             

The following are pageant results for the title of Miss Rodeo Nebraska 2013

• Miss Rodeo Nebraska 2013 – Samantha  Chytka
• 1st Runner Up – Amanda Pflasterer
• Speech – Amanda Pflasterer
• Written Test – Gina Jespersen
• Photogenic – Smantha Chytka
• Appearance – Smantha Chytka
• Personality – Amanda Pflasterer
• Congeniality – Smantha Chytka
• Horsemanship – Smantha Chytka

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Utility officials say Nebraska consumers should be wary of scammers who might offer to pay their bills for free through a bogus government program.

Lincoln Electric System CEO Kevin Wailes says the utility scam has been making its way across the country.

As part of the scam, consumers are told they can get their utility bills paid through special funding from the Federal Reserve that President Barack Obama approved.

Wailes says the scammers steal users’ personal information and social security numbers.

The scam has been confirmed in California, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee and Texas so far. Wailes said LES wanted to warn consumers in Nebraska ahead of time.