Today: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. South southwest wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. East southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 68. North northwest wind 6 to 9 mph becoming east northeast in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. East wind 9 to 11 mph.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 53. East wind 9 to 13 mph.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 62.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska children would not wear handcuffs or leg irons in court unless absolutely necessary under a bill passed by the Legislature.

Senators voted 44-2 Thursday to prohibit mandatory juvenile restraints during court appearances. A judge must conduct a hearing with lawyers and guardians to decide whether or not to restrain a juvenile for the purpose of courtroom safety.

Currently, juvenile offenders transferred from detention centers appear shackled in court regardless of the severity of their offense. Advocates say the presumption of restraints damages children psychologically and affects courtroom behavior.

The bill would also lower penalties for status offenses, which are age-dependent crimes like truancy or possession of alcohol.

Gov. Pete Ricketts has five days to take action on the bill.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court says food stamp recipients are entitled to a face-to-face meeting in their local welfare office for hearings that could affect their benefits.

The ruling upends the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ longstanding practice of requiring recipients to travel to Lincoln for the hearing or participate by telephone.

The ruling Thursday came in the case of Melanie Marshall, of North Platte, who sued after she was denied an in-person hearing in the North Platte office.

The high court on Thursday said the department’s own regulation on such hearings gives recipients the option of a face-to-face hearing in their local office.

Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 60. South southeast wind 8 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Tonight: Scattered thunderstorms, mainly between 10pm and 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. South southeast wind 7 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. South southeast wind around 8 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon.
Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. South southwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming north northeast in the evening.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 66. North wind 6 to 8 mph.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 55.
Sunday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40.

North Platte Community College will round out the spring semester with a cultural experience. The music department has planned an “end of the year” concert for 7:30 p.m. April 30 in the McDonald-Belton Theater.

The event will be accompanied by an art show featuring the work of approximately 32 NPCC art students. Both activities are free and open to the public.

“We try to offer a really uplifting concert at the end of the year,” said Elizabeth Peters, music instructor. “We have a lot of students graduating, so we want to send them off with a bang.”

The song, “Best Day Of My Life,” by the indie rock band American Authors is one of many upbeat selections that will be performed by the select choir. The select choir will also sing “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from the movie “Dirty Dancing.”

The jazz band will offers samples of swing, blues and Latin music, and the concert choir will showcase a song from the “Nebraska Sings” concert performed in March at the North Platte High School.

“We wanted to bring ‘Let There Be Music’ to our theater because some people might not have had the chance to hear it the first time around,” said Peters. “The concert choir is also performing a piece based off a text found during the Holocaust and written by a child. It’s all about hope – even when going through the worst conditions. It’s a very moving piece.”

The chamber ensemble will perform the classic, “Danny Boy.” The ensemble, typically directed by Carmen Allen, will have a guest conductor in Ron Daly, who also directs the jazz band.

“We’ve got some guest performers coming in from the community,” said Peters. “They include Gregg Todd, Rob Martinson, Donna Pucket and Tori Daly.”

Peters will direct the concert and select choirs. Pucket will serve as collaborative accompanist on the piano. Todd will play drums, Daly an alto saxophone and Martinson bass.

The jazz band members are:

Walker Baird – tuba

Stephen Capa – alto saxophone

Ryan Carey – trombone

Courtney Nunberg – trumpet

Kato Craig – trumpet

Chamber members:

Violin 1 –Andrew Parish

Violin 1 –Andrew Parish

Violin 2 – Sarah Savage

Clarinet – Elizabeth Peters*

Alto Saxophone – Donna Pucket*

Trumpet – Courtney Nunberg

Tuba – Walker Baird

Cello – Kaylee Payne

 

The NPPC choir members are (*denotes select choir members):

Soprano:

Autumn Bickel

Jade Higgens

Hannah Hokanson*

Stacy Osbon

Nikki Schmidt*

Sara Savage

Kari Hunt

Leah O’Connor*

Macey Budke

Alto:

Amy Taft

Abby Kurtzer

Bailey Rickertsen

Katie Roessler*

Alex Weinman

Kylie Wroot*

Tenor:

Walker Baird

Ryan Carey*

Steven Keltz*

Bass:

Andrew Parish*

Trevor Pochop

Brett Schmidt*

The art show will consist of pieces from the Drawing I, Drawing II, 2-D Design, Painting I, Painting II, Problems in Painting I, Life Drawing and Photography classes. Art instructor Dik Haneline said exhibits will be set up in the fireplace area of the McDonald-Belton Building as well as in Rooms 135 and 137.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — State regulators have approved a controversial disposal well in northwest Nebraska for wastewater generated by oil and natural gas production.

The Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission voted 2-0 on Wednesday in favor of the project, proposed by Colorado-based Terex Energy Corp.

The company wants to truck in salty groundwater and chemical-laden fracking wastewater from oil operations in Wyoming, Colorado and, eventually, Nebraska, to an old oil well on a ranch in southern Sioux County.

Nebraska already has 121 active saltwater disposal wells, but the project near Mitchell has drawn opposition from environmental groups. Seven state senators have urged the commission to delay its decision so they can review Nebraska’s safety laws.

Bill Sydow, the commission’s executive director, says landowners near the site can appeal the decision in district court.

(North Platte, Neb.)- A special enforcement encompassing five counties in west-central Nebraska led to the arrest of 25 individuals on drug charges.

The special enforcement in Dawson, Dundy, Custer, Harlan and Keith Counties involved high visibility patrols and vehicle checks beginning in the evening hours on Monday April 20 and continuing through the afternoon hours on Tuesday April, 21.

Twenty-four of the drug arrests occurred in Dawson County with 16 individuals arrested for Possession of a Controlled substance, and eight individuals arrest for Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.  One individual was arrested in Keith County for Possession of Pharmaceuticals without a Prescription.

Colonel Bradley Rice, Superintendent Of the Nebraska State Patrol said, “While determining the origin of the contraband is difficult, this effort sends a message that Nebraska is serious about keeping illegal drugs from entering our state.”

In addition to the 25 drug arrests, 24 individuals were cited and released for Possession of Marijuana More than an Ounce, but Less than a Pound and 83 individuals were cited and released for Possession of Marijuana Less than an Ounce

Arrests were also made for driving under the influence of drugs (3) and alcohol (1). Citations and warnings (173) were issued for various traffic violations, to include speeding, following too close, failure to signal, and failure to stop at a stop sign.

The Nebraska State Patrol conducted the special enforcement in conjunction with Sheriff’s Offices in Dawson, Dundy, Custer, Harlan and Keith Counties.  A grant from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) helped to pay for the special enforcement.

Authorities are investigating a death that occurred during an arrest in Sidney last Sunday.

Cheyenne County Attorney Paul Schaub says two police officers had responded to a 911 call at a residence Sunday, at around 6:00 p.m., and spotted a woman running away from the home. Police went inside and confronted her husband, Dana Hlavinka, who was holding the knife, and shot him.

The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating, and a grand jury will be summoned to investigate the death, as required by Nebraska state law.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office has been appointed as Special Deputy Cheyenne County attorney’s, and will present the matter to a grand jury as soon as the investigation is completed.

 

Weather permitting, I-80 eastbound will be closed between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. May 5 into the morning of May 6, according to the Nebraska Department of Roads.  Traffic will be routed off of I-80 at the Gothenburg I‑80 interchange off-ramp, and back onto I-80 using the Gothenburg I-80

Traffic will be routed off of I-80 at the Gothenburg I‑80 interchange off-ramp, and back onto I-80 using the Gothenburg I-80 Interchange on-ramp.

Weather permitting, I-80 westbound will be closed between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. May 6 into the morning of May 7.  Traffic will be routed off of I-80 at the Gothenburg I‑80 off-ramp, and back onto I-80 using the Gothenburg I-80 on-ramp.

The closures are for setting of new girders on the I-80 Interchange bridge.  Motorists are reminded to drive cautiously through highway construction zones.