The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was busy writing tickets early Saturday morning after they broke up a party involving minors and alcohol.

On February 9, 2019, at 02:20 a.m., Deputies received a report of a loud party with minors present on East Hall School Road. It was reported about thirty people were at the party and there were cars parked in the roadway. Upon arrival at the residence, Deputies saw several minors outside and inside the residence that appeared to be consuming adult beverages.

Deputies met with the subjects and found that thirteen of the individuals were under the age of twenty-one and consuming alcoholic beverages. These subjects were issued citations for Minor in Possession of Alcohol. The individual in charge of the residence was issued a citation for Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.

WOOD RIVER, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released its final environmental impact statement on what a 345,000-volt transmission line through the Nebraska Sandhills could mean to habitat for the endangered American burying beetle.

The release Thursday began a 30-day period for public inspection . The service said it will then decide whether to issue a permit that would allow incidental violations of the Endangered Species Act. Documents are available by appointment at the service’s Nebraska field office in Wood River.

The habitat lies along the 225-mile (362-kilometer) path of Nebraska Public Power District’s R-Project line. The line would start near the Gerald Gentleman Station near Sutherland and extend to a new substation near Thedford.

NPPD has said the line would alleviate congestion, increase reliability and allow for wind power development.

Opponents have said construction would disrupt wildlife and cultural gems and that wind farms associated with the proposed line would destroy unspoiled vistas.

The Endangered Species Act bars the “take” of a listed species, but the act also allows the service to issue permits for the “incidental take” of endangered and threatened species. But those seeking permits must design and implement a comprehensive habitat conservation plan that minimizes and mitigates harm to the species during the proposed project.

NPPD has prepared a habitat conservation plan for the beetle as well as a conservation plan to minimize impacts to migratory birds such as whooping cranes. The R-Project construction would permanently remove 33 acres (13.4 hectares) and temporarily disturb 1,250 acres (506) of the beetle habitat over the 50-year term of the permit.

The district would commit to protect at least 500 acres (202.3 hectares) of occupied beetle habitat in Nebraska.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state lawmakers and conservationists who have seen a major drought, historic flooding and gigantic wildfires over the last decade are pushing to prepare the state for climate change, but if history is an indicator, legislators won’t be warming to the idea anytime soon.

Nebraska is one of seven Plains states that haven’t created a formal plan to confront the local impact of more extreme weather, bucking the trend of 33 others and the District of Columbia that have done so since the mid-2000s.

A 2016 report endorsed by a bipartisan legislative committee called on lawmakers to write a plan “based on empirical evidence and Nebraska-based data.” But a bill that would have started the process died in the Legislature in 2017, leaving some supporters exasperated.

“I don’t know if it’s politics. I don’t know if it’s just climate deniers. I just think this is very serious for our generation and future generations,” said Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, of Lincoln. “Just winging it is not a plan.”

North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming also have no plans in place, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, a Virginia-based nonprofit that tracks state climate plans.

Pansing Brooks has again introduced the measure, calling for the University of Nebraska to develop a plan for adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change. University officials would submit it to lawmakers and the governor by Dec. 15, 2020.

The plan would require university officials to estimate Nebraska’s total greenhouse gas emissions, outline goals to reduce them, and identify the positive and negative impacts of climate change on the state economy.

They also would have to drill down on how it would affect specific state resources, including farms and ranches, water, public health and energy. The university would get up to $250,000 from a state environmental fund generated by landfill waste and tire sale fees.

Pansing Brooks will present the proposal to a legislative committee Monday with backing from Nebraska’s state climatologist, university forestry officials and environmentalists, but its prospects are unclear.

Nebraska has endured several stretches of record weather in the last decade. Nebraska State Climatologist Martha Shulski said researchers can’t conclusively tie any specific weather event to climate change, but the planet’s gradual warming likely made those weather outbreaks worse and is expected to fuel severe storms, floods and droughts in the future.

In 2011, a giant snowpack in the Rocky Mountains led to weeks of flooding along the Missouri River, threatening Nebraska cities and leaving farmland deep underwater.

A major drought in 2012 killed trees throughout the state and caused a cattle feed shortage so severe that some ranchers had to harvest ditch weeds to keep their animals alive. State officials ordered more than 1,100 farmers to stop irrigating their crops to compensate for low water levels.

The drought also contributed to more than 1,600 wildfires that year that burned a total of 813 square miles — an expanse more than six times the size of Omaha.

Despite the weather extremes, some members of Nebraska’s Republican-dominated Legislature remain skeptical about efforts to prepare for climate change.

Sen. Dan Hughes, who will review the bill as a member of the Legislature’s Executive Board, said he was concerned about the proposal’s $250,000 price tag and the potential cost of its recommendations.

Hughes, a farmer from Venango, said he questions whether man-made made climate change is real and noted that Nebraska has always dealt with droughts, floods and wildfires. He argued the state shouldn’t spend money to prepare for problems he said may never materialize.

“I’m concerned it would be detrimental to our economy for no measureable benefit,” he said.

The influential Nebraska Farm Bureau, which represents farmers and ranchers who routinely deal with harsh weather, said it doesn’t plan to take a position on the bill.

“We are aware of it, but it’s not a top issue for us,” said Craig Head, a group spokesman.

The reluctance in Nebraska may be driven by the political polarization of climate change science, said Jon Christensen, an adjunct assistant professor at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

Christensen said the Nebraska proposal “appears to be a very sensible and cost-effective approach,” but the issue too often gets hijacked by extreme positions on both sides — those who deny climate change and others who demand dramatic and immediate changes.

“It’s so polarized because both climate and the environment have become identified with political parties,” he said. “If you ask people whether they’re concerned about potential changes in rainfall and crop productivity, I suspect you’d get a very different answer than if you ask if they’re concerned about climate change.”

All the states without climate plans lean conservative, but those that have approved plans include the Republican-led states of Arkansas, Alaska, Kentucky and South Carolina.

“Climate plans are a really important step because it shows states are serious,” said Doug Vine, a solutions fellow at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

Shulski, the state climatologist, said developing a plan could help state officials mitigate some of the effects of climate change.

In the meantime, Shulski said she’s working with individual Nebraska cities to develop their own plans. Some are looking to buy more snowplows and improve their storm drains to accommodate heavier precipitation, while others have identified shelters for the elderly and poor to escape extreme summer heat.

Shulski said scientists don’t know exactly how much Nebraska’s average temperatures will rise, but the state will likely experience more frequent flooding from intense rain and snowstorms and hotter, longer summers that could stress livestock and crops. River and groundwater levels could drop as well, requiring more conservation.

“The best time to plan for a tornado is not when you hear the sirens going off,” she said.

BRIDGEPORT, Neb. (AP) — A former Morrill County veterans service officer has been convicted of stealing money from the agency’s account.

The Scottsbluff Star-Herald reports that Devin Heumesser pleaded last week to four counts of misdemeanor theft in Morrill County District Court in a deal with prosecutors.

Heumesser had been charged in August with one felony theft count. An arrest affidavit says that following Heumesser’s firing last year, the acting veterans service officer reported his suspicion that funds had been stolen from the office’s checking account.

The Nebraska State Patrol found 45 questionable withdrawals totaling more than $17,000, and an arrest warrant was issued in May for Heumesser.

Heumesser has agreed to pay more than $18,000 in restitution to the Morrill County Veterans Fund. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 1.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Seven nurses who work in a Lincoln hospital have filed a lawsuit against CHI Health alleging the hospital is violating state and federal wage laws by not paying enough for on-call work.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the lawsuit filed this week seeks class-action status. All of the nurses so far named in the suit work as registered nurses or staff nurses in the interventional radiology department at CHI St. Elizabeth. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Lincoln.

The lawsuit says nurses were paid between $2 to $4 an hour for on-call work, violating state and federal minimum wage requirements.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Nebraska’s minimum wage is $9 an hour.

The lawsuit seeks back wages, retirement contributions and interest due, as well as other damages.

An email from CHI Health, based in Englewood, Colorado, said the system is “looking into all matters raised in that complaint and will handle all appropriately.”

Update: 2/11/19

The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office has identified the driver who was injured in an accident early Sunday morning.

The driver of the southbound 2004 Chevrolet pickup truck in the February 10, 2019 fatal crash has been identified as Gary R. Lea, age 32, or rural Kearney.  He was transported from the scene to CHI-Good Samaritan Hospital with injuries.

The driver of the northbound 1993 Chevrolet pickup truck died at the scene of crash.  The identity of that individual has not been confirmed.  An autopsy has been ordered.  The investigation remains ongoing.

______________________________________________________________________________

The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal two-vehicle traffic crash which was reported at 4:47 AM on Sunday, February 10, 2019 on the Platter River bridge on Highway 10 just south of the Minden, NE interstate 80 interchange east of Kearney, NE.

According to a preliminary investigation, a two-vehicle head-on collision occurred on the Hwy 10 Platte River bridge involving a southbound 2004 Chevrolet pickup and northbound 1993 Chevrolet Pickup. There were no passengers in either vehicle; both vehicles were totaled. The collision caused a fire to the northbound vehicle. The driver of the northbound pickup died at the scene and has not yet been identified. The driver of the southbound pickup was injured and transported to the CHI-Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.

Assisting deputies at the scene were members of the Kearney Police Department, Kearney Volunteer Fire Department, Nebraska Dept of Transportation, CHI-GSH paramedics and the Buffalo County Attorney’s Office. The Buffalo County Attorney’s Office has ordered an autopsy. The area of the Platte River bridge on Hwy 10 was closed for several hours during the investigation by the Kearney / Buffalo County Fatality Accident Investigation Team.

Next of kin have not been notified.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Federal authorities in Las Vegas have arrested a convicted killer who escaped from a Nebraska work-release correctional center almost two weeks ago.

Nebraska prison officials say 40-year-old Anthony Gafford left the Community Corrections Center in Lincoln on Jan. 26 and never returned. Deputy U.S. Marshal William Iverson in Lincoln said Friday that marshals took Gafford into custody without incident Thursday night.

In 1997, at age 19, Gafford was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in the killing of 16-year-old Jacque Holbert in Omaha.

Holbert’s 21-year-old son, Jacque “Jack” Holbert IV, was fatally shot while lying in a bed in a home in Omaha on Jan. 20 — six days before his father’s killer escaped.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nigerian man convicted of scamming at least two Nebraska victims out of thousands of dollars has been sentenced to federal prison.

Federal prosecutors say 32-year-old Adewale Aniyeloye was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison for wire fraud. Restitution will be determined and ordered at a later date.

Prosecutors say that from about February 2015 to September 2016, Aniyeloye and other co-conspirators engaged in a form of email fraud called spoofing. Aniyeloye used hijacked email accounts that appeared to be legitimate to thousands of business employees across the United States who had accounting responsibilities and would direct the recipients to complete wire transfers. The business employees, thinking the requests were legitimate, would comply.

In 2016, Aniyeloye was arrested when he traveled to the U.S. Prosecutors say businesses lost more than $6 million in the scam, including two in Nebraska that lost more than $163,000.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts told lawmakers Thursday that his proposed tax break for military retirees was necessary to keep skilled, highly motivated workers in Nebraska.

Ricketts presented the proposal to the Legislature’s Revenue Committee along with dozens of veterans, including some he hired during his time as a TD Ameritrade executive.

The bill would exempt half of the benefits paid to military retirees who stay in Nebraska. It would apply to an estimated 13,000 retirees and cost the state an estimated $16.9 million in lost revenue in its first two years.

Ricketts said he views it as a workforce development bill to address Nebraska’s statewide employee shortage.

“This bill is about retaining those veterans in this state and making sure they contribute to this state going forward,” he said.

Ricketts said several managers he worked with at TD Ameritrade rose quickly through the company’s ranks because of the skills and work ethic they honed while serving at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue.

Nebraska already offers a smaller exemption to military retiree but gives them a complicated choice: They can choose between exempting 40 percent of their retirement pay over a 7-year period after their service ends, or 15 percent for the rest of their lives once they turn 67. It also excludes retirees who left the service before January 2015.

Ricketts has said the current law is “clunky” and his proposal would streamline the process and benefit all retirees.

Nebraska is already losing retirees from Offutt Air Force Base to neighboring Iowa, which exempts 100 percent of military benefits from taxation, said Sen. Tom Brewer, of Gordon, who introduced the bill on the governor’s behalf.

Brewer said Kansas also exempts all military retirement income, while neighboring South Dakota and Wyoming don’t impose an income tax. Missouri and Colorado provide greater tax benefits to military retirees than Nebraska currently does.

“This bill takes a substantial step toward solving a serious problem I believe we’ve had in Nebraska for a long time,” said Brewer, a military retiree who spent 36 years in the Army.

Some lawmakers questioned whether the bill would provide enough incentive to keep retirees. Even if the bill passes, Nebraska’s neighboring states would still provide more tax benefits.

“If we give 50 percent, is this going to stop them from going to Iowa?” said Sen. Mike Groene, of North Platte.

Brewer said the benefit could be one of many factors retirees consider when deciding where to move.

Two Nebraska tax-policy think tanks spoke neutrally on the bill, warning lawmakers that the tax break could divert money from other priorities such as broader tax cuts or funding for roads and K-12 public schools.

“Lowering the taxes for military retirees is just part of the equation,” said Sarah Curry, policy director for the Platte Institute.

Renee Fry, executive director of the OpenSky Policy Institute, said lawmakers should be mindful of the need to pay for existing state services.

“We’re concerned that as we continue to give a little bit here to this person and a little bit there to that person, we’ll continue to put those high-quality services in jeopardy,” she said.

OSHKOSH, Neb. (AP) – A grand jury has determined that no crime was committed by anyone in the death of a jail inmate in western Nebraska.

The jury met to investigate the Sept. 18 death of 37-year-old Candy Flood, of Sidney, at the Garden County Jail in Oshkosh. Flood was being housed there for Cheyenne County after being arrested on suspicion of disturbing the peace.

The Sidney Sun-Telegraph reports that the jurors heard testimony from nine witnesses and reviewed 122 exhibits during their Jan. 30 session regarding Flood’s death. State law requires a grand jury investigation when someone dies in custody or being arrested.

The jury report says Flood’s death was caused by heart attack and high blood pressure.