On January 4^th  North Platte Public Elementary Schools will participate in a Plastics Recycling Competition.

ABC Recycling and Keep North Platte Lincoln County Beautiful are hosting the #2 Plastics Recycling Competition throughout the district.  The competition will be held from January 4^th through February 15^th.  They will be collecting only clean and rinsed #2 plastics, which is typically found in milk jugs, detergent bottles, shampoo bottles and coffee containers (that includes most  white and color plastics).  Look for the #2 in the chasing arrows symbol on the bottom of all plastics.  The schools are competing for a Picnic Bench made out of recycled #2 plastic lumber.  The bench is donated by Adams Bank and Trust.  We appreciate their great partnership in this event, which teaches students a valuable lesson in recycling and protecting the environment.

According to Keep America Beautiful, if all 8 billion pounds of plastic bottles produced in the U.S. in 2009 had been recycled, the material could have produced 22 million extra-large t-shirts.  #2 Plastics are also known as HDPE or high-density polyethylene, is one of the most commonly used plastics in the United States.   #2 plastic is typically found in milk jugs, plastic bags and refillable plastic bottles. In addition to synthetic plastic lumber, recycled HDPE is used to manufacture lawn and garden products, buckets, crates, office products and automobile parts.

Recycling contributes to reduction in resource consumption and pollution. Over 80% of U.S. households have access to a plastics recycling program. By recycling your #2 HDPE plastic waste, you are helping to create new, reusable, eco-friendly products and keep millions of pounds of waste from entering our landfills

Fun Facts

• In 2009, 94% of Americans have access to plastic bottle recycling – Keep America Beautiful

Recycling 10 plastic bottles saves enough energy to power a laptop computer for over 24 hours. – Environmental Protection Agency

• Enough plastic is produced in the US each year to shrink wrap Texas. – Benefits of Recycling
• Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy than incinerating it. – Recycling Facts
• About 28% of HDPE milk jugs and water bottles are recycled. – Environmental Protection Agency

Help your school win! Collect as many # 2 plastic containers as you can

between January 1st and February 15th. Bring them to your school –

drop them off – they will be taken to the recycling center to be recycled.

Easy as 1-2-3! Save our environment by RECYCLING!

 Milk Jugs

 Detergent Bottles

 Shampoo Bottles

 Coffee Containers

 Buckets

 Tubs

NO SODA OR WATER BOTTLES

Please make sure to rinse your items out

before dropping them off.

#2 Plastics Only

SPONSORED BY: Keep North Platte & Lincoln County and ABC Recycling and Adams Bank and Trust

News Director Scott Carlson sat down with Jenn Porter-Milne of Fur the Love of Paws Rescue. Fur the Love of Paws is working to secure a new location so they can further their efforts to save animals from being euthanized in shelters.

To donate, visit the following pages:

https://www.facebook.com/FurtheLoveofPAWSRescue/?fref=ts

https://www.gofundme.com/FUR-Facility

Motorists’ reports of a reckless, speeding vehicle led to the arrest of a Connecticut man for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).

Around 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 29, Troop D- North Platte received several calls of a blue Subaru driving erratically at a high rate of speed eastbound on Interstate 80 near North Platte.

A trooper observed a vehicle matching the description headed eastbound at 114 mph and initiated a traffic stop approximately three miles east of the North Platte Exit (mm 177).

Upon contact with the driver the trooper smelled the odor of alcohol. He initiated a DWI investigation that resulted in the arrest of the driver, Erik L. O’Connell, 36, of Milford, Connecticut.  O’Connell was lodged in the Lincoln County Jail on charges to include Second Offense DUI, Open Container and Speeding.

“We want to thank the motoring public for helping us remove impaired drivers from our roadways,” said Col. Bradley Rice, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “By sharing the responsibility we can help keep our roadways safe for everyone.”

The Nebraska State Patrol will continue its participation in the national “You Drink & Drive You Lose (YDYDYL) campaign through Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. Troopers and communication specialists will work overtime through the New Year’s holiday weekend thanks in part to a grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS).

Motorists are reminded they can report impaired or reckless drivers to the Nebraska State Patrol Highway Helpline when safe to do so by dialing *55 from any cellular phone, or 1-800-525-5555 from any landline. Emergencies should be reported to 911.

Col. Rice said, “Let’s all do our part to be home for the holidays. Always wear your seat belt, obey the posted speed limit and never drive impaired or distracted.”

BAYARD, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraskan accused of killing a Colorado man and stuffing the body into a barrel that he dumped into a creek remains in Wyoming to face charges in that state.

It’s not clear when 24-year-old Zachary Mueller, of Bridgeport, will return to Nebraska to face murder and weapons charges. He’s accused of killing 33-year-old Pedro Dominguez, of Greeley, Colorado. A farmer found the barrel in a creek near Bayard, Nebraska, on Dec. 4. Nebraska records don’t list the name of an attorney who could be contacted to comment on Mueller’s behalf.

His Wyoming charges include one for car theft and one for domestic violence.

Morrill County Attorney Travis Rodak said Mueller will return to Nebraska after the Wyoming legal system is finished with him.

WILCOX, Neb. (AP) — A 17-year-old has been killed in a single-vehicle crash in southern Nebraska.

The Phelps County Sheriff’s Office says Parker Sturgis was driving Tuesday morning on a road between Wilcox and Atlanta when the car hit a culvert.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Jamie Tilson says the car rolled several times and Sturgis, of Wilcox, was ejected. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A public interest group wants the Legislature to examine the practices and performance measures of for-profit colleges operating in Nebraska.

The U.S. Department of Education has accused some for-profit colleges of predatory practices, including fraud in some cases.

Nebraska Appleseed said in a report Monday that more information is needed to determine whether the colleges operating in the state are “engaging in problematic practices that have been discovered in other areas of the U.S.”

Nebraska Appleseed says tuition costs at Nebraska’s for-profit colleges are nearly seven times higher than that of community colleges and twice as high as the state’s public college and university system.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A man is suing an Omaha comedy club, claiming he broke his leg while under hypnosis during a 2014 show.

38-year-old William M. Bendorf of Omaha filed the lawsuit this month against the Funny Bone Comedy Club.

Bendorf’s attorney says the performer believed Bendorf was no longer hypnotized when he sent him back to his seat. The lawsuit says Bendorf was still in a trance and walked off the stage, breaking his leg.

A woman who answered a phone at the club Monday referred questions to the club manager, who she said was out of town. The manager didn’t immediately return a message left by The Associated Press.

Online court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment on the club’s behalf.

CLAY CENTER, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a teenage brother and sister have died in a car crash on a rural gravel road in south-central Nebraska.

The crash occurred early Tuesday morning on Road 312 just south of Clay Center. Authorities say 17-year-old Jacob Johnson and 15-year-old Taylor Johnson were pronounced dead at the scene.

Clay County Sheriff Jeff Franklin says three of the four minors in the car were ejected. Names and information about the others in the car have not been released.

The crash cause is being investigated.