West Nile Season is upon us and West Central District Health Department wants to ensure that you and your family stay protected during this season.

West Nile Virus is a disease that is spread by infected mosquitoes.

The best defense against the Virus is protecting you with repellant and not giving mosquitoes a place to lay eggs or develop.

1. Use DEET up to 30%
2. Wear Long Sleeves and Pants
3. Drain Standing Water Here are some things you can do around your home.

• Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers that have collected on your property. Pay special attention to discarded tires. Stagnant water in tires is where most mosquitoes breed.
• Drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers left outdoors.
• Have clogged roof gutters cleaned regularly (spring & fall), particularly if the leaves from surrounding trees have a tendency to plug up the drains. Roof gutters can produce millions of mosquitoes each season.
• Turn over plastic wading pools and wheel barrows when not in use. Don’t let water stagnate in birdbaths. These provide breeding habitats for domestic mosquitoes.
• Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens can become major mosquito producers if they are allowed to stagnate. Clean and chlorinate swimming pools not in use. A swimming pool left untended by a family on vacation for a month can produce enough mosquitoes to result in neighborhoodwide complaints. Mosquitoes may even breed in the water that collects on pool covers.
• Use landscaping to eliminate standing water that collects on your property. Mosquitoes may breed in any puddle that lasts for more than four days.

Reporting of dead birds is a good way to check for West Nile virus activity in the environment to allow implementation of prevention and control measures to minimize the spread of the virus.

West Nile is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. The infected birds, especially crows, are known to get sick and die from the infection. In turn, the mosquito can pass the virus to humans.

Only one type of mosquito, the common Culex variety, carries the virus.

Citizens may call WCDHD at 308- 221-6840 if they see a dead bird. Testing will only be conducted on birds that have died within 24 hours, with no evidence of maggots or rotting.

Birds may be frozen in anticipation of the delivery to WCDHD. Individuals should avoid bare-handed contact with any dead animals, and use gloves or an inverted plastic bag to place the bird carcass in a garbage bag and call WCDHD.

Today: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. East wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 7pm, then scattered thunderstorms between 7pm and 1am, then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. East southeast wind 7 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Saturday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Light and variable wind becoming north 5 to 9 mph after midnight.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 79. North wind 8 to 11 mph.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
Monday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 85.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld an award of more than $228,000 to a former BNSF Railway worker who said he was fired in 2010 for refusing to withhold evidence in a criminal forgery investigation.

A jury in 2013 sided with Kirk Ludlow in his claim that BNSF violated the Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act.

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected the railroad’s claims on appeal that the lower court should have dismissed the lawsuit. BNSF argued that requesting Ludlow to stop pursuing his allegations that another employee had forged his signature on veterans benefits paperwork did not constitute an unlawful practice.

The appeals panel also rejected BNSF’s claims that the lower court had awarded too much in attorneys’ fees.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A group that wants to put Nebraska’s death penalty on the 2016 ballot has hired a consultant to help circulate petitions before an Aug. 27 deadline.

Lincoln Strategy Group, an Arizona-based firm, will manage paid circulators. Nebraskans for the Death Penalty spokesman Chris Peterson said Thursday that the group has also hired Rod Edwards, a former campaign consultant for Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, Attorney General Jon Bruning and State Auditor Charlie Janssen.

Edwards will focus on volunteer recruitment. Jessica Moenning, a private adviser to Gov. Pete Ricketts, is coordinating the campaign.

The group formed after lawmakers voted to override Ricketts’ veto and abolish the death penalty. Organizers have to gather roughly 57,000 signatures to place the law on the ballot and 115,000 to do so while suspending the law.

Weather permitting, 3 rd Street and Jeffers Street intersection is scheduled to be closed for eastbound and westbound traffic, as well as pedestrian traffic, on Friday June 5.

According to the Nebraska Department of Roads, the 2nd Street and Jeffers Street intersection will be open for eastbound and westbound traffic and pedestrian traffic on June 5.

Also, the eastbound and westbound traffic at the intersection of 4th Street and Jeffers Street will be reduced to one lane each direction on Tuesday June 9. Parking will not be permitted on the south side of 4th Street between Jeffers Street and Dewey Street during the time that 4th Street is narrowed to two lanes.

Motorists are reminded to be extra careful in and near highway work zones, and to buckle up, every trip.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska agriculture officials have reversed an earlier decision and cancelled all poultry events for the rest of the year, including exhibits at fairs.

The state Agriculture Department announced the change Thursday. Poultry shows, bird auctions and fair competitions featuring poultry will be banned at least until January 1.

Officials say this ban was imposed to help protect the poultry industry.

Several other states where bird flu has been found have also banned poultry events.

Tests have confirmed bird flu on at least three farms in northeast Nebraska, and 4 million birds are being killed to control the spread of the disease.

Bird flu has been found on two other farms with just over 3 million chickens, but the disease hasn’t been confirmed by subsequent testing. Those farms are quarantined.

FALLS CITY, Neb. (AP) — Heavy rainfall has accumulated in farm fields and covered streets in much of southeast Nebraska, and more rain is in the forecast.

The National Weather Service says showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue Thursday morning and return Thursday night and overnight.

A flood warning covering Johnson, Pawnee and Richardson counties says there have been reports of more than 5 inches of rain in some spots over the past 24 hours.

The Falls City Airport in Richardson County reported just under 4 inches, and county emergency manager Brian Dixon said residents have been dealing with surface flooding but no major damage.

Dixon says local tributaries that empty into the Missouri River have kept to their banks, but he worries that could change with more rain.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker who supports capital punishment has stirred controversy by posting a photo of a beheaded woman on his Facebook page to show his opposition to the state’s recent abolishment of the death penalty.

Sen. Bill Kintner says he posted the photo to make a point, but took it down Wednesday, saying policing the comments was unmanageable.

The photo came from the Twitter account of Pegida Ireland, a group that protests what it calls the “Islamisation” of the West. It didn’t explain who the woman was or the circumstances of her death.

Kintner, who says he’s not affiliated with the group and took the photo from his Facebook feed, argued that people like those who killed the woman would be housed and “well fed” because Nebraska abolished capital punishment.

Today: Scattered thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. East southeast wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. East northeast wind 6 to 10 mph.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. East wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. East wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. East southeast wind around 7 mph.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 79.
Sunday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56.