Binge drinking, alcoholism, drunk driving, health risks and social mistakes are some of the many topics that will be covered in the presentation designed to educate students about encountering alcohol in a college environment.

The free program is mandatory for students living on MPCC campuses. It is also open to the public. Shows will be 8 p.m. March 9 at the McCook Community College Weeth Theater and8 p.m. March 10 at the North Platte Community College McDonald-Belton Theater.

“A Shot of Reality” is one of the hottest groups on the college circuit,” said Josh York, assistant student activities director for NPCC. “One of the biggest draws is that the group does not get on stage and lecture about the effects of alcohol and drugs on the body. Instead, it informs and entertains through learning tools.”

One of the tools is vision impairment goggles.

“Those demonstrate different levels of intoxication and show the wearer what it is like to see through the eyes of someone who is intoxicated,” said York.

According to the “A Shot of Reality” website, the program also combines interactive comedy, audience role playing, facts and education about the dangers of alcohol. It provides an honest, engaging, humorous and sober look at alcohol awareness on campus.

The goal of “A Shot of Reality” is to talk to students as friends instead of preaching at them like parents. It has proven to be highly effective.

“We realize certain students will choose to drink,” the website reads. “We want them to be educated. We want them taking care of each other and themselves.”

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Western Nebraska police are encouraging anyone with information about a recent string of vandalized vehicles to come forward.

The Scottsbluff Police Department says it began receiving reports of damaged vehicles Saturday night and was continuing to receive them into Sunday morning. It says it has received at least 40 reports. Some of the vehicles had been shot with a BB gun.

No arrests have been made. An investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police department.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a Kearney man has accidentally shot himself in a hand.

The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

Police say Dallas Murray told officers he was shot in his left palm while trying to remove a laser guide rod after his 9-mm handgun jammed. Murray says he forgot to remove the magazine and clear the chamber before trying to clear the jam.

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — The Scottsbluff airport has joined airports in Kearney and North Platte in signing new, one-year agreements with Great Lakes Airlines for government-subsidized flights.

The agreement runs through February 2016.

All three airports had initially selected Beachwood, Ohio-based Aerodynamics Inc., but in January the U.S. Transportation Department said Aerodynamics did not possess “the managerial competency necessary to oversee its current charter and proposed scheduled passenger operations.”

The airports had sought service from other carriers because of reliability problems with Cheyenne, Wyoming-based Great Lakes. But Scottsbluff airport director Darwin Skelton says Great Lakes has been very consistent and reliable over the past couple of months.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Wrongly convicted Nebraska prisoners would have more chances to demonstrate their innocence under a bill advanced by lawmakers.

Senators gave the measure first-round approval on Tuesday with a 35-0 vote.

The bill would remove the three-year window after a conviction to seek a new trial based on newly discovered, non-DNA evidence. Arkansas, Idaho and Wyoming are the only other states that impose such a restriction.

It also would allow judges to order DNA testing on evidence that wasn’t previously tested, or where new technology could lead to more accurate results. Current law only allows the tests when such options weren’t available at trial.

Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln says her bill could also help catch guilty people who weren’t convicted.

KIMBALL, Neb. (AP) — About 1,000 tons of contaminated soil from the Love Canal environmental disaster in New York is being shipped by rail to Kimball for incineration after backlash over a disposal plan in Canada.

Glenn Springs Holdings, which is under contract to dispose of the waste, dropped its plans to move 1,600 cubic yards of waste by truck to an incinerator in Sarnia, Ontario. Residents and politicians in Sarnia protested the disposal at the site owned by Clean Harbors Inc. Glenn Springs will now send the waste to sites owned by Clean Harbors in the Nebraska panhandle and Utah.

In the 1970s, it was discovered that that 22,000 tons of toxic waste had been buried in Love Canal, a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, by Hooker Chemical Co. and then ignored by authorities for decades.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state water official from Missouri is slated serve as the new director of Nebraska’s Department of Environmental Quality.

Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Monday that he has chosen Jim Macy of Jefferson City, Missouri, for the position.

Macy served as director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ financial assistance center, which provides funding for drinking water and wastewater projects.

He also served as a section chief for the department, a field and regional director, a soil and water district coordinator and an environmental specialist.

Macy will start March 9. His annual salary will be $120,000.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lawmakers have defeated a measure that could have opened the door to expanded gambling in Nebraska.

Senators voted 27-16 on Monday to indefinitely postpone the proposal after less than an hour of debate. The proposed ballot measure by Sen. Paul Schumacher would have given lawmakers the power to regulate gambling, if voters had approved it.

The measure faced heavy opposition from gambling opponents, who argued that voters have already decided the issue.

• Today: A slight chance of snow before noon, then a slight chance of snow after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 22 by 5pm. Blustery, with a north wind 17 to 26 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Tonight: A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 3. Wind chill values as low as -12. North wind 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 23. Wind chill values as low as -10. Northwest wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
• Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 5. Wind chill values as low as -3. Northwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming light and variable.
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 44. Southwest wind 5 to 9 mph.
• Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 21.
• Friday: Sunny, with a high near 55.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new report suggests economic growth is ahead for nine Midwestern and Plains states.

The survey report issued Monday says the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index climbed to 57.0 in February from 54.8 in January.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the regional growth is likely although areas “linked closely to the energy sector, including ethanol, are experiencing pullbacks in economic activity.”

The survey results from supply managers are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while a score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.