LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s child welfare system will run out of money by mid-April unless lawmakers approve an emergency $7 million cash transfer to cover foster care expenses.

Tony Green, acting director of the Division of Children and Family Services, told a legislative committee Tuesday that the department can’t wait for the regular budget process that ends in May.

Green says the shortfall was caused by higher rates for foster care services, increased mileage costs that weren’t expected, unpaid bills from last year and the loss of some federal foster care payments.

Green made his request to the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee. Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha, the committee chairman, says the problems were caused by former members of the Heineman administration.

RUSHVILLE, Neb. (AP) — A 19-year-old man has been caught after his second escape from Sheridan County authorities.

Sheridan County Attorney Jamian Simmons says Michael Brown was caught just after 1 a.m. Tuesday in Gordon. Simons says officers had received a tip about Brown’s location. Brown previously escaped from the back of a police car on Jan. 21 and was captured the next day. He escaped from the Sheridan County Jail on Feb. 10.

A jailer said Brown remained in custody on Wednesday. Brown’s attorney in another case didn’t immediately return a call from The Associated Press. Brown faces escape, criminal mischief and other charges.

Simmons says Brown’s jail escape is still under investigation.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — Scotts Bluff County’s commissioners don’t like the location of a proposed disposal well for fracking water in nearby Sioux County and have appealed for help from a state regulatory board.

Terex Energy Corp. wants to truck the saltwater recovered from oil searches and production in Wyoming and Colorado to a Nebraska ranch about 14 miles north of Mitchell. The water would be injected into an old oil well. The water would be carried in by an initial maximum of 80 trucks a day.

The commissioners on Tuesday approved a letter to the Nebraska Oil and Gas Commission, which has scheduled a March 24 public hearing on the proposal.

The Scotts Bluff commissioners cited concerns about wear and tear on county roads and on the possibility of spills.

North Platte radio stations KELN-FM (97.1), KNPQ-FM (107.3) and KOOQ-AM (1410) took top honors at the Eagle Communications Annual Award Banquet last night in Hays, Kansas.

North Platte was honored with the “Lead Eagle Award,” presented by Eagle Communications CEO, Gary Shorman.  This award is given to the market in the Eagle radio division that has shown the greatest sales and net-profit increases.

Shorman pointed to the tremendous sales and net-profit attained by the North Platte group in 2014.

The Eagle radio division has properties in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, and is a 100 percent employee-owned company, which also owns cable TV systems in Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado, plus broadband and social media sites.

Individual awards were also given to the sales staff of the North Platte Market.

Connie Jurgens received the “Market Leader Award” for the highest sales volume for the year.

Sales Manager, Olivia Brown, received the “100/0 Award” for giving 100 percent effort in her duties with Eagle, with no excuses.

Lastly, Dianne Morales and Scott Martin each received awards for attaining at least $100,000 in sales during the year.

“The Lead Eagle Award shows the commitment of the Eagle staff and management to the North Platte area, through community and client service,” said newly appointed North Platte General Manager, Lewys Carlini.

Nebraska Market Manager, Jerome Gilg, said much credit goes to sales manager, Olivia Brown, for a consistently successful sales approach.

Gilg added that Eagle North Platte is proud of the award, and will re-double efforts to make 2015 even better for clients.

Eagle Radio also owns and operates northplattepost.com.

COURTESY OF THE NORTH PLATTE POLICE DEPARTMENT

02/17/2015 00:03:32 FAMILY DIST-NO ASSAULT “800 E 9TH ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 00:06:36 HARRASS-ANNOY PHONECALLS “1300 W 17TH ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 00:56:10 SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY “2300 W 13TH ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 02:18:44 AIRPORT SECURITY CHKPOINT “AIRPORT,
5400 E LEE BIRD DR
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 03:45:19 CITIZEN ASSIST “1600 E D ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 05:51:04 OTHER DISTURBANCE “500 S BELMONT AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 06:17:29 FOUND PROPERTY “100 E WILLIAM AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 07:29:13 SPEEDING “2000 RODEO RD
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 08:24:48 PROP DAMAGE-NO ALC RELAT “2000 W 4TH ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 08:41:31 B.E.A.T. COMM POLICING “600 MCDONALD RD
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 08:40:54 ESCORT – CARPENTERS “2000 W A ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 08:56:53 CITIZEN ASSIST “1 NORTH PLATTE
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 09:00:24 GEN PARK & TRAFFIC “1300 E 12TH ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 09:38:36 DOG BITES “1400 N SYCAMORE ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 09:57:20 CRIMINAL MISCHIEF “300 W 4TH ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 09:58:21 CITIZEN ASSIST “3900 W A St
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 10:26:42 GEN PARK & TRAFFIC “1600 S DEWEY ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 10:28:05 OTHER DISTURBANCE “3200 S NEWBERRY RD
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 10:36:16 ESCORT- ODEAN CHAP “ODEAN CHAPEL,
302 S SYCAMORE ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 11:17:47 CITIZEN ASSIST “900 S BRYAN AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 11:53:18 GEN PARK & TRAFFIC “300 REID AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 11:56:32 WELFARE CHECK “700 W 4TH ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 12:09:42 SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY “900 S BRYAN AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 12:11:31 CITIZEN ASSIST “900 S BRYAN AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 12:52:31 CITIZEN ASSIST “1400 RODEO RD
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 13:19:26 EMERGENCY MESSAGE “300 S Vine ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 13:57:40 CITIZEN ASSIST “1700 W 1ST ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 14:29:19 ASSIST OTH LAW ENF “NORTH PLATTE,
1 NORTH PLATTE
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 14:37:32 PROP DAMAGE-NO ALC RELAT “400 E LEOTA ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 14:31:50 TRAFFIC ACCIDENT-GENERAL “400 E Leota
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 14:56:33 WATCH FOR/INFORMATION “1400 RODEO RD
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 15:09:35 CITIZEN ASSIST “1400 HACKBERRY RD
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 15:20:16 THEFT BY SHOPLIFTING “500 E PHILIP AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 15:33:55 WELFARE CHECK “1200 E 4TH ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 16:18:33 BURGLARY “1300 N POPLAR ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 16:31:22 SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY “500 S SILBER AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 17:03:11 ASSIST OTH AGENCY “900 W B ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 17:10:09 HARRASS-ANNOY PHONECALLS “500 W 8TH ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 17:21:02 CITIZEN ASSIST “900 S BRYAN AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 17:52:12 B.E.A.T. COMM POLICING NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101

02/17/2015 20:11:56 ASSAULT 3RD DEGREE-MINOR INJ- DOMESTIC “2300 E PHILIP AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 20:44:46 NO PROOF OF INSURANCE “200 block N Jeffers
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69103”

02/17/2015 21:57:38 EXPIRED PLATES/REGISTRATION “HALLIGAN DR /S JEFFERS ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 22:00:22 ALARM-BURGLARY CALL IN “3800 S NEWBERRY RD
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 22:11:44 SUSPICIOUS VEHICLE “2900 S OAK ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/17/2015 23:08:05 AIRPORT SECURITY CHKPOINT “AIRPORT,
5400 E LEE BIRD DR
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/18/2015 00:48:09 SPEEDING “700 block W 9th
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69103”

02/18/2015 01:04:18 DRIVING UNDER SUSPENSION “700 E 4TH ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/18/2015 01:18:23 MOTOR VEH LIGHT REQUIREMENTS “800 N JEFFERS ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/18/2015 01:24:21 OPER OUTSIDE CLASS OF MV LICENS “RODEO RD / JACKSON AV
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/18/2015 02:16:05 AIRPORT SECURITY CHKPOINT “AIRPORT,
5400 E LEE BIRD DR
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/18/2015 03:14:15 OTHER DISTURBANCE “2800 W 4th
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69103”

02/18/2015 04:41:49 VIOL TRAFFIC CONTROL DEV “W 8TH ST /N WILLOW ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/18/2015 06:51:06 TRAFFIC ACCIDENT-GENERAL “E B ST /S COTTONWOOD ST
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

02/18/2015 07:42:56 AIRPORT SECURITY CHKPOINT “LBF,
5400 E LEE BIRD DR
NORTH PLATTE, NE 69101”

North Platte High School principal, Mike Brownawell, is resigning.

Brownawell announced his intent to resign in an email to teachers on February 13, and in a letter to North Platte Public Schools administration.

The NPPS Board of Education must approve Brownawell’s resignation, which is expected to happen at their next meeting on February 24.

Brownawell was hired as the NPHS principal in 2013.  Prior to that, he was the assistant principal at Adams Middle School.

Brownawell’s resignation will be effective at the end of this school year, if approved by the school board.

 

• Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34. Wind chill values as low as -12. North northwest wind 7 to 13 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8. Wind chill values as low as -4. Light and variable wind becoming south southeast 5 to 8 mph in the evening.
• Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. Wind chill values as low as -4 early. South southeast wind 8 to 10 mph.
• Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19. South wind around 7 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
• Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 52. West northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon.
• Friday Night: A slight chance of rain and snow before midnight, then a chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Saturday: A 30 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 33.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Four bills in a Nebraska legislative committee could fix what animal advocates call weak state laws surrounding animal neglect.

Senators heard public testimony Tuesday on the measures, which stem from the 2013 case of a Malcolm puppy mill where dogs were found living in conditions one county judge likened to a Holocaust concentration camp.

Department of Agriculture director Greg Ibach says he supports a bill by Sen. Jerry Johnson of Wahoo that would allow the department to intervene in cases where the lives of dogs and cats are at risk.

Representatives from Hearts United for Animals, a nonprofit no-kill shelter in Auburn, say the bill’s standards for animal health and safety are too low.

On Sunday, February 22, the North Platte Catholic Schools will hold the 40th annual Irish Fest celebration at St. Patrick’s High School, 500 S. Silber, from 12:00 Noon to 3:00 p.m.

Organizers say the entire community is invited to the event, which features a homemade turkey and noodles dinner served from 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., mini carnival games and prizes, Fun Jumpz, a silent auction, bake sale, and raffle.

This year’s Irish Fest Raffle offers a 55” HDTV, $1,000 cash, a $500 Kwik Stop Gift Card, a $500 SCRIP certificate, and a 10” tablet computer. Raffle sponsors are: Bill Summers Ford, Computer Troubleshooters, and Kwik Stop.

Raffle tickets are $2.00 each (or 10 for $15) and are on sale now through Sunday.

They can be purchased from any McDaid or St. Patrick’s student, at the North Platte Catholic Schools Endowment, 601 S. Tabor, or at McDaid and St. Patrick’s schools.

Raffle tickets will also be sold at Irish Fest.

The raffle drawing will take place at 2:50 p.m. on Sunday, the 22nd . You do not have to be present to win.

The event originally called “Mardi Gras” was first celebrated by the North Platte Catholic Schools on Tuesday, February 11, 1975. In the early years it was held on “Fat Tuesday” prior to the start of the Lenten season. Later it was changed to Sunday, and has been a tradition since.

For the past 40 years, Irish Fest has involved hundreds of volunteers and proceeds have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to the operating budget of the North Platte Catholic School system.

A North Platte man who apparently took the lyrics, “This land is your land, this land is my land,” a little too serious, is now facing a felony theft charge.

On February 9, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a subject, in Heartwell, Nebraska, who claimed he was the victim of an internet scam.

The caller said he answered an ad on Craigslist to lease pasture land in Lincoln County.

The man set up a meeting with the advertiser in Sutherland, on February 6, to view the land.

The victim told deputies he met with 33-year-old Riley Hubert, who led him to an area north of Sutherland and showed him some open range land.

Hubert told the man he was currently leasing the land and wanted to sublease it for summer grazing.

Hubert and the alleged victim then came to an agreement on the lease, and the man paid Hubert the first half, a total of $19,500.

The man said after a few days he became suspicious of the lease and contacted law enforcement.

Deputies investigated and learned that Hubert didn’t have the original lease on the pasture land, and the land owner had no contract with Hubert.

Through their investigation, deputies learned that Hubert had purchased a pickup and fled to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Deputies contacted the Cheyenne Police Department and, on February 12, Hubert was arrested in Cheyenne on a Lincoln County warrant.

Authorities say Hubert was in possession of a large amount of cash at the time of his arrest, and also numerous items that he had recently purchased.

Hubert signed extradition paperwork and was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center on February 16.  He’s been charged with felony theft by deception.

According to the LCSO, Hubert had recently bonded out of jail for similar scams.  That bond has been revoked.

The investigation is ongoing.