Several North Platte businesses are getting into the spirit of the Relay For Life’s “Paint the Town Purple” campaign, August 1st through August 6th. Residents and businesses are encouraged to wear and decorate with purple colors to show support for the Relay For Life event, Saturday August 6th at Adams Middle School.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say a 26-year-old North Platte woman was arrested after traces of methamphetamine were found in her daughter’s system.  Court records say Kayla Tobey has been charged with intentional child abuse.  Jail records say Tobey remained in Lincoln County custody on Friday.   Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press.  Police say a tipster said earlier this month that Tobey’s daughter, who is in preschool, may have been exposed to meth.  Police say tests on some of the little girl’s hair showed meth traces.  Police say it’s unclear how meth got into the girl’s body.  Tobey’s next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A pool of mosquitoes has tested positive for West Nile virus in North Platte.
Shannon Vanderheiden with the West Central District Health Department told North Platte television station KNOP that the
sample was collected about two weeks ago.
Mosquito pools in Madison, Dawson and Douglas counties also have tested positive for the virus this year.  West Nile virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. Last year in Nebraska, there were 48 confirmed human cases and two deaths from West Nile.

SUTHERLAND, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska game officials have confirmed a mountain lion sighting north of Sutherland in western Nebraska.
The mountain lion was spotted on the rail of a bridge north of Sutherland on July 20. The animal jumped off the bridge and into the muddy river bank.  A conservation officer found the prints in the mud for analysis, and experts used them to confirm the sighting.  Mountain lions, also called cougars and pumas, have turned up as far east as Omaha.

 

MAXWELL, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska Army National Guard sergeant who died in Afghanistan has been buried.  A service was held Tuesday at Fort McPherson National Cemetery in Maxwell for 28-year-old Omar Jones, of Maywood.  The Nebraska National Guard says Jones died of a noncombat
injury on July 18 at a base in Balkh Province. His death is under investigation.  The North Platte Telegraph reports that Maj. Steve Collins was Jones’ commander during a deployment in Iraq. Collins says Jones “had the biggest heart of any soldier I knew.”  Jones was an electrician assigned to the 623rd Engineer Company in Wahoo.  The guard says Jones was born in Jackson, Miss. After active duty in the Army, he joined the Nebraska National Guard in 2005.  Jones is survived by his wife, Ava, and two children.