OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two Omaha health systems plan to create a network for pediatric clinical trials.

The systems say that network will eventually let Nebraska children remain closer to home for such trials.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center and Children’s Hospital & Medical Center are establishing the network as part of a four-year, $1.6 million grant that the university center received from the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Jill Snowden is an associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the university center, and she says the patients are going to get access to clinical trials that are the cutting edge of what we have available in pediatric care.”

LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Lexington man’s body has been recovered from a sand pit pond in south-central Nebraska.

The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office says 52-year-old David White had been swimming in the privately owned pond about two miles east-southeast of Lexington. Someone called for help just before 1 p.m. Saturday after White disappeared beneath the water. His body was recovered around 2:45 p.m.

The sheriff’s office says the initial investigation suggests that White drowned.

A 28-year-old North Platte man is facing felony charges after authorities say he forcibly sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl.

On October 21, investigators with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office were informed of the possible sexual assault of a juvenile female.

Investigators met with the girl at Bridge of Hope Child Advocacy Center and conducted an interview.

At the conclusion of the interview, it was determined that the girl had been forcibly sexually assaulted by Brian Piel.

Investigators located Piel and placed him under arrest.

He was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center and charged with felony first-degree sexual assault (forcible rape).

Piel’s bond has been set at ten percent of $250,000.

NEHAWKA, Neb. (AP) — Investigators say embers or hot ashes from a living room fireplace touched off a fire that killed six members of a southeast Nebraska family.

Thirty-six-year-old Michael and Michelle Speer and their girls were killed early Thursday morning at their home near the village of Nehawka (neh-HAH’-kuh) — about 30 miles south of Omaha.

The Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s office said in a news release Monday that flames erupted in combustible materials near the fireplace and soon spread to room furnishings and up walls.

The fire marshal’s office says firefighters found all six bodies in beds. A preliminary autopsy report says they died from smoke inhalation.

The four girls have been identified as 11-year-old Elli Perez, 7-year-old Adilynn Speer, 5-year-old Emma Speer and 2-year-old Anniston Speer.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Michelle Collins Speer is a 1998 graduate of North Platte High School.  The father of the oldest child, Elli, 11, is James Perez, a 1997 NPHS graduate.  A fund has been established at https://www.gofundme.com/james-perez-2v9vn5g.

The North Platte Community College Theater Department will take a walk on the dark side when it presents, “No Exit,” next week.

The play is a dark and disturbing look at hell by Jean-Paul Sartre. The plot is that two women and one man are locked up together for eternity in a hideous room in hell. There are no windows. There are no mirrors. The electric lights can never be turned off, and there is no exit.

The irony is that the torture is not of rack and fire, but of the burning humiliation of each soul as it is stripped of its pretenses by the cruel curiosity of the damned. The soul is shorn of secrecy, and even the blackest deeds are mercilessly exposed to the fierce light of hell. It is an eternal torment.

“This play combines philosophical arguments with the fiction of a theoretical hell,” said

Ritch Galvan, NPCC theater instructor. “There may be sometimes the audience might laugh, but the play is primarily about doomed souls.”

The show contains strong language and adult situations.

It will be presented in NPPC’s McDonald-Belton Theater at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2-5. Tickets can be purchased at the door at a cost of $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens.

• Corey Edward Pawlowski, 27, North Platte and Leah Marie Pusateri, 27, North Platte
• Rick Alan Arneson. 37, North Platte and Sage Elizabeth Merritt, 33, North Platte
• Jeret Edward Burke, 34, Gothenburg NE and Tiffany Jo Ellison, 28, Gothenburg NE
• Jeffrey Thomas Grasz, 39, North Platte and Victoria May Daly, 24, North Platte

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average price of gasoline in the U.S. has dropped four cents over the past two weeks to $2.25 for regular grade.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday it’s the first time the price dropped in 11 weeks. Part of the reason is seasonally lower gasoline demand.

The Lundberg Survey found the average price of midgrade gasoline was $2.54 a gallon while premium was $2.75.

The highest average price for regular gas in the contiguous U.S. was $2.78 in San Francisco. The lowest was $1.95 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The average price for diesel was $2.45, up three cents from two weeks ago.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska health officials are reminding parents to take safety precautions on Halloween.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says taking a few simple steps can help keep kids safe while trick-or-treating.

Kids should never go out trick-or-treating alone, and young children should be accompanied by an adult.

Officials also say that costumes should be decorated with reflective tape, or kids can carry glow sticks to help ensure drivers can see them.

Parents should also make sure that costumes are short enough that kids won’t trip over them.

Parents should also inspect candy and treats to make sure they don’t show any signs of tampering.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Six Nebraska prison staff members have been disciplined in the wake of an escape of two inmates from the Lincoln Correctional Center in June.

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services announced the action Friday in a news release but declined to name the staff members. The release says the discipline involved firing, demotion, suspension and disciplinary probation. No criminal wrongdoing by staffers was found.

The action came after convicted sex offenders Armon Dixon and Timothy Clausen escaped from the Lincoln prison in a laundry truck. Both were recaptured within a week. Director Scott Frakes has said the inmates escaped because staff members failed to follow security procedures.

Criminal charges related to the escape have been filed against Dixon and Clausen, who are now housed at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution.