North Platte Post News Director Scott Carlson sat down with Katie and Ciera from the Adams Middle School High Ability Learner Program to discuss their “Hooked on Art” project.  Listen to what it’s all about here…

https://soundcloud.com/eagleradio-1/adams-halart-club-hooked-on-art

North Platte, NE –  The search committee for a new CEO of the North Platte Area Chamber of Commerce & Development Corporation announced today that they have hired Gary Person.  Person is from Sidney, Nebraska where he was the City Manager for the City of Sidney for over 15 years.  During his employment as City Manager, Person was active in Economic Development efforts for the Sidney area.  Prior to City Manager, Person held the position of Economic Development Director in Sidney and Cheyenne County for 23 years.  Person has a long history of volunteerism as well, including involvement in various Sidney area, statewide, and national organizations.  He is credited with many accomplishments as a Sidney Jaycee and for his long tenure on the board of the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m excited and confident about accepting the position with the North Platte Area Chamber of Commerce & Development Corporation.   After meeting with the executive search team, the board of directors and the City Administrator, I could sense how totally committed everyone is to the future of the North Platte area with such a sincere emphasis on teamwork and support.  I know from firsthand experience it takes the business community, the City, the County, the Schools and the citizens to work together to make good things happen and embrace the challenges ahead.  What I’ve experienced in conversations and meetings over the past several days with the good people of the North Platte area just feels so right.  There is an instant trust factor.  Together I believe we are a winning combination,” remarks Person.

Staff members John Hales, Kathy Swain, and Gayla Cox, will remain on staff in their current roles.  Additionally, the Board of Directors of the North Platte Area Chamber of Commerce & Development Corporation has expanded personnel resources to bring in an Economic Development Vice-President / Director of Communications and Marketing person to the team.  Person has officially hired Megan McGown to the position.

“Megan McGown and I worked together in Sidney and she has extensive community and economic development experience.  She is a proven and effective winner with outstanding talent.  We worked together for over 10 years in the Sidney / Cheyenne County area and helped lead that community and county to significant economic growth during the past decade and approximately $300 million of new development projects were added through our team efforts,” Person said.

Both Person and McGown have statewide leadership experience.  Person served as state president of the Nebraska Economic Developer’s Association and the Nebraska Jaycees, as well as serving four years on Gov. Kay Orr’s staff.  McGown is a past state president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Executives and served on the prestigious Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry board of directors as well as getting her Master’s Degree in Organizational Management with emphasis in Economic Development.

McGown recently relocated to the North Platte area when her husband, James, accepted the position of superintendent of Brady Public Schools.  “I am very excited at the possibilities that this position brings. Not only the opportunity to work with Gary again in a field that I am truly passionate about, but also to be able to work in a county that is on the cusp of great things. It speaks very highly of the organization, the members, and the stakeholders for them to be this committed to furthering the area’s economic development efforts and I very much appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it,” McGown said.

The board formed a search committee in September to find current CEO Dan Mauk’s replacement shortly after Mauk notified the board of his plans to move to the Eastern part of the state to be closer to family.  Mauk has led the Chamber since 2009.  Mauk will assist Person with the CEO transition.

“We are very anxious to have this experienced team of leaders joining our organization and community.  We expect high energy and focus in the area of Economic Development and Community Development initiatives and the board is committed to investing in these efforts,” states Lucas.

“Timing is perfect.  Our membership and community will have an opportunity to meet Gary and Megan at the Annual Chamber Banquet on November 5^th and Dan Mauk will also be there to join us in celebrating his accomplishments and service to our community.  The hiring process went very well, with applications from many qualified candidates.  We expect a smooth transition for the staff and members,” added Lucas.

NEW YORK (AP) — Where did dogs first arrive on the scene? Scientists have long debated that question, and now a study of doggie DNA from around the world is pointing to Central Asia.

Researchers say man’s best friend may have evolved somewhere near what is now Nepal and Mongolia.

Previous studies have suggested southern China, the Middle East, Siberia and Europe. Dogs, our first domesticated animal, arose from wolves at least 15,000 years ago.

The new work is based on dog DNA from 38 countries. It came not from house pets, but rather from dogs that wander freely in villages or fields.

Results were reported in a paper released Monday by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

LINCOLN – Calamus Reservoir has been reopened to boat traffic as efforts to find a missing boater continue. The Homestead Knolls boat ramp remains closed, however.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Garfield County Sheriff’s Office and Burwell Fire Department are searching for Wesley Sell, 38, of Arcadia. Sell has been missing since the fishing boat he was riding in sank amid high winds on the afternoon of Oct. 11.

Calamus Reservoir is located 5 miles northwest of Burwell in Garfield and Loup counties.

CHADRON, Neb. (AP) — A Chadron mother and her boyfriend have been arrested in connection with injuries suffered by her 10-month-old daughter.

Online court records say 22-year-old Jessica Cuny is charged with assault and intentional child abuse. Thirty-five-year-old Verne Weston is charged with being an accessory to a felony. Online court records don’t list the names of attorneys who could be contacted to comment on Weston’s or Cuny’s behalf.

The two were arrested after doctors at a hospital in Aurora, Colorado, determined that the little girl was suffering from nonaccidental head injuries, including a skull fracture.

The investigation began Oct. 10, when Cuny took her daughter to a medical clinic in Chadron and then joined her later at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora.

BURWELL, Neb. (AP) — A service has been scheduled for a 38-year-old Arcadia man believed to have drowned at Calamus (KAL’-uh-muhs) Reservoir in central Nebraska.

The celebration of life service for Wesley Sell is set for Thursday at Arcadia United Methodist Church.

Authorities have yet to recover Sell’s body. The boat he and three family members were in sank near Virginia Smith Dam on Oct. 11. Other anglers rescued Sell’s two teenage children and an adult relative.

Boats, planes and a drone were deployed on and over the water as authorities searched the shoreline. Windy weather and rough water hampered searchers.

On May 29, 2014, a 42-year-old trooper with the New York State Police made a traffic stop on an interstate highway north of Binghamton. The veteran trooper parked behind the stopped car and approached the driver’s side window. In that fleeting moment, a truck traveling in the same direction at about 90 miles per hour suddenly swerved, sideswiping the car and striking the trooper, killing him instantly. The truck’s driver, a 60-year-old male with a criminal record, admitted after his capture that he intentionally veered to hit the trooper.

The chilling account of the unprovoked attack is just one of dozens of detailed narratives recounting the felonious deaths of law enforcement officers in the United States in 2014. The accounts are a central component of the latest Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) report, issued today, which shows that 96 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty last year—51 as a result of felonious acts and 45 in accidents. The annual report, released by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, also shows that 48,315 officers were victims of line-of-duty assaults in 2014.

In addition to the narratives, the online-only report includes comprehensive data tables that provide a closer look at the incidents: officer profiles, circumstances, weapons, locations, and identified suspects.

The felonious deaths of the 51 officers—all males—occurred in 24 states and Puerto Rico. The figure represents a significant increase over the number that occurred in 2013, when 27 officers were killed, but is lower than the numbers from 2009 (56 officers) and 2005 (55 officers).

Among the report’s findings:

• The average age of the officers who were feloniously killed was 39, and they had served for an average of 13 years.
• Offenders used firearms to kill 46 of the 51 victim officers; 33 were slain with handguns, 10 with rifles, and three with shotguns.
• 59 alleged assailants (54 of them males) were identified in connection with the line-of-duty deaths; 50 had prior criminal arrests.
• 39 of the officers feloniously killed with firearms were wearing body armor at the time of the incidents.
• The largest percentage (30.8) of assaults on police officers occurred while they were responding to disturbance calls.

The LEOKA publication contains data on duly-sworn city, university/college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement officers. The information in the report comes from various sources: the law enforcement agencies participating in the UCR Program, FBI field offices, and several non-profit organizations, such as the Concerns of Police Survivors and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

In addition to collecting details about the critical aspects of fatal confrontations and assaults, the FBI’s LEOKA Program conducts extensive research on the data that eventually gets incorporated into officer safety awareness training the FBI provides for partner agencies.

O’NEILL, Neb. (AP) — Officials say an 87-year-old O’Neill woman hit by a semitrailer as she crossed a street in town has died.

Phyllis Larson died at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where she was flown after the incident.

Investigators say Larson was crossing East Douglas Street in O’Neill a little before 12:30 p.m. Thursday when she was hit by the truck, driven by a 39-year-old South Dakota man.

Investigators say the driver was turning west onto Douglas Street when he hit Larson.

The accident was investigated by the O’Neill Police Department and Nebraska State Patrol.