LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state oversight agency report says Nebraska’s child welfare system showed little progress in keeping children in their homes.
The Nebraska Foster Care Review Office said Thursday that the number of children in out-of-home care increased during the year that ended June 30, compared with the year before.
The annual report said there were 3,145 abused and neglected children in foster homes, group homes, emergency shelters and other out-of-home placements on June 30 this year. That is a 4 percent increase from the previous year, and represented the first increase in nearly three years.
Kim Hawekotte, executive director for the review office, called the data “disappointing.”
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said it had not seen the report, but the agency appreciates the work of the review office.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has vacated a felony manslaughter conviction for a dump truck driver who caused a fatal crash in 2012.
The high court said Friday that the trial judge was wrong to allow two traffic infractions — driving too fast for conditions and following too closely — to serve as the basis for Lyle Carman’s felony manslaughter conviction. The high court said those minor offenses would allow only for a misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide conviction.
Carman was convicted last December for the June 7, 2012, crash on Interstate 80 near Lincoln that killed 23-year-old Raven Addy-Cruz, of Kearney, and seriously injured her husband and year-old daughter. He was sentenced earlier this year to 3 years’ probation and 90 days in jail.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state Sen. Ernie Chambers is asking the Nebraska Supreme Court to sanction the attorney general for legal advice he gave over the state’s attempts to obtain lethal injection drugs.
The Omaha lawmaker filed a grievance Thursday with the Counsel for Discipline of the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Chambers, who fought for years to abolish the death penalty, alleges that Attorney General Doug Peterson advised state corrections officials to move forward with their efforts to obtain foreign-made sodium thiopental. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said states cannot legally import the drug.
Peterson has said court rulings cited by the FDA do not apply to Nebraska, and questioned the agency’s interpretation of those decisions. A spokeswoman for Peterson declined to comment.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission has decided against putting the state’s public television network up for auction.
The Federal Communications Commission had set a Jan. 12 deadline for television stations to decide whether or not to participate in a national auction of the broadcast spectrum.
The goal of the auction is to free up space on the airwaves for use by wireless carriers. Stations have the option of moving to a lower portion of the spectrum or getting paid for going off the air.
A consultant told commission members in October that the FCC is unlikely to want stations in small markets such as Nebraska to pay anything close to the opening bid price, $320 million.
Commissioner Clay Smith says the study group concluded that the network was too valuable to the state.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has requested all state flags be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of a shooting rampage this week in San Bernardino, California, that left 14 people dead.
Ricketts’ announcement Thursday follows a proclamation from President Barack Obama to lower all U.S. flags.
The flags will also fly at half-staff in honor of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, which will be observed on Monday.
Flags will be flown at half-staff until midnight Monday.
An abandoned bike trailer in the parking lot of a North Platte bank caused quite a stir in North Platte on Thursday evening.
Just before 6:00 pm, North Platte Police received a call from a Nebraskaland National Bank employee, who reported that a bike trailer had been abandoned in their parking lot.
Police arrived, and after observing wires protruding from the trailer, took full precautions, diverting traffic and calling in the State Patrol bomb squad.
After further investigation, it was determined that the trailer contained numerous items, including electronics, but nothing dangerous was found.
The scene was cleared at around 9:00 pm.
Police say Surveillance footage was viewed and an unidentified individual is seen riding a bike with the trailer attached.
It appears the individual was having mechanical problems with the trailer.
The individual in the video stops and rummages around in the trailer, then abandons it and leaves the area on the bicycle.
Officers say it appears that the person is a junk collector and had mechanical issues with the trailer and just abandoned it.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 49. South southeast wind 5 to 14 mph.
Tonight
Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. South southeast wind 5 to 9 mph.
Saturday
A 20 percent chance of showers after noon. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Southwest wind 5 to 11 mph becoming north northwest in the afternoon.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 17. Northwest wind 3 to 8 mph.
Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 52. Light and variable wind becoming west southwest 5 to 8 mph in the morning.
The Jazz Band at NPCC rehearses ahead of a holiday concert planned for 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at the South Campus. The event is free and open to the public. (Photo by Heather Johnson)
Sights and sounds of the holiday season will take over the North Platte Community College South Campus next week.
The annual NPCC Christmas Concert and Art Show is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 10 in the McDonald-Belton Building. The event is free and open to the public.
“This is a great opportunity for families to come hear some great music and see some fine artwork that will put them in the holiday spirit,” said Elizabeth Peters, music instructor.
Artwork from the Drawing I, Drawing II, 2-D Design, Art Structure and Ceramics classes will be set up in the fireplace area and in rooms 135 and 137. According to Dik Haneline, art instructor, pottery, charcoal and graphite drawings, collages and acrylic design pieces will be among those on display.
The concert will be in the theater. The following ensembles will be featured: the Concert and Select choirs, directed by Peters, the Jazz Band, directed by Ron Daly, and the Chamber Ensemble directed by Carmen Allen.
The Concert Choir will perform Renaissance and Irish Christmas carols, including “Fum, Fum, Fum” and “White Is in the Winter Night.”
The Select Choir will sing “Let It Go,” from the movie “Frozen,” as performed by the popular a cappella group Pentatonix.
The Jazz Band will present upbeat carols including “Santa Baby” and “Now Rock, Ye Rested Gentlemen.” The Chamber Ensemble will feature a brass sextet, performing a medley of classics such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Jingle Bells.”
ELM CREEK, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in Central Nebraska are investigating an early morning crash that killed a pedestrian near Elk Creek.
The Buffalo County Sheriff’s office says the incident was reported around 4:30 a.m. Thursday after an adult man was hit on Highway 183 near Interstate 80.
The victim was struck in the area between a Pilot truck stop and the Paradise City adult entertainment business.
Sheriff Capt. Bob Anderson says investigators haven’t determined exactly where the collision happened.
Authorities were still looking for the driver that hit the pedestrian Thursday afternoon.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state oversight agency report says Nebraska’s child welfare system showed little progress in keeping children in their homes.
